The Best Anime CD "going back" #3: KURAU Phantom Memory <2004> by KATSUKI Yukari

Last year, I started writing "The Best Anime CD going back" series.

This is the 3rd review. I apologise for a long wait in between, but I haven't gave up yet(^^;. Today, I'll write about "KURAU Phantom Memory OST"<2004> by KATSUKI Yukari.

Here's my short review.
(Note: full marks is *****)

[Sound(music composition/arrangement): ****]
To say the truth, the sound of this OST is not so fantastic (*1). However, even though all the tracks are rather simple, it's still excellent because of the beautiful acoustic sound. KATSUKI's music strength is in the piano. Especially, track:#04 is very symbolic.

<Recommended tracks (excl OP/ED songs)>
-->#01-Nostalgia
-->#03-Mirage
-->#04-Daily Life
-->#11-Affection
Coincidentally, all above tracks feature acoustic instruments, which makes them more dramatic.

-->#14-Lonely Freedom
It's another of KATSUKI's vocal track, and is also very good.

[Theme songs [OP/ED]: ****/****]
The OP song: 懐かしい宇宙["Natsukashii Umi", Nostalgic Space] (composed, and song by 新居昭乃[ARAI Akino]) stands out as an exceptional piece in ARAI's long Anisong singer career(*2). It's like a contemporary J-pop song, although it is very different from the popular style (like Perfume).

The ED song: Moonlight (music, lyrics by KATSUKI Yukari) is also excellent. It's very rare for OST composer to sing an OP(or ED song) by herself/himself. As for me, I'm used to listen KATSUKI's music. But this is the 1st time hearing KATSUKI's voice on this soundtrack. KATSUKI's voice is rather low, but very good vocals.

LINK OP movie:[Link-1, Link-2].

LINK ED movie:[Link-1, Link-2].

[Visual/Package design: ****]
Simple but excellent. The package, and the booklet is deep blue colours.(This is bacause the CD subtitle is "INDIGO".) The booklet is rather simple, not having a commentary and an interview. But overall artistic taste is excellent.

[Supplemental info: the composer / Ms. KATSUKI Yukari]
KATSUKI is well-known, and has a long career as a soundtrack composer. Most of her works are written for TV dramas under the name of S.E.N.S.(*3), and NHK documantaries. As long as I know, "KURAU" is her 1st Anime soundtrack.
I'm very glad to be able to listen her music in an anime work. As I wrote in the previous review, it's generally hard to find a female soundtrack composer in Japan. KATSUKI is one of these exceptions(like KANNO Yoko（菅野 よう子）, O'HASHI Megumi（大橋 恵）as I stated before).

[Supplemental info: the Anime / KURAU Phantom Memory]
(Please refer Wikipedia for the synopsis, and the characters)
KURAU was originally aired in midnight time slot, having 24 episodes. According to ANN's user polling, KURAU is not so well-received outside of Japan. But I like KURAU. At a glance, you may feel that KURAU is about a female fugitive story. But the story is complex and has a rather feminine touch, even though the female protagonist Ms. AMAMI KURAU is a rather gender-neutral character, far from being a Moe/Kawaii character. But I also like the plot so much. For the studio BONES, it was a bold decision not going along with today's trend (Moe Moe everywhere) (*4).
All these factors give KURAU the edge over the others. I'm also very pleased how the story ended (really happy ending, it's quite exceptional as midnight anime.).

[Link: Try to listen](*5)
1: HMV-JP
2: @Tower-JP

[Note]
1) As I wrote in many articles, Japanese CD sales are in hard slump. Generally speaking, music companies couldn't pour much money into making OST CDs as they did once.

2) I like ARAI's songs so much. ARAI Akino is definitely the pioneer of Iyashi-kei(New Age/healing) Anisong singer. Most of her songs are all Iyashi-kei songs. So the OP: "Natsukashii Umi" is very exceptional. If you like to listen the essence of her songs, I strongly recommend her 1st best album: BEST ALBUM 空の森("Sora no mori", A forest in the air, VICL-60042/Victor Entertainment) which is released in 1997.

3) S.E.N.S. is the KATSUKI's unit name. It's made up of KATSUKI and FUKAURA Akihiko（深浦 昭彦）. The official HP has English section.

4) This is just my thought. I generally don't appreciate the works which don't have the edge, or a sense of "one of a kind". "BONES" is named after "Making animes, having a strong backbone by the founder. I think that RahXephon is the symbolic work of BONES. Yes, I highly appreciated RahXephon. I'll talk about it in the RahXephon CD review as "going back" series since RahXephon music(by HASHIMOTO Ichiko) is also excellent.

5) I'm not sure whether you can listen to the sample tracks if you're outside of Japan.

[CD DATA]

Title : KURAU Phantom Memory OST "INDIGO"
Composer : KATSUKI Yukari（勝木 ゆかり）[Wiki-JP-link]
JP-CD-No.: VICL-61475
Price : JPY3,045-
Release : 2004
Company : Victor Entertainment Japan
Status : Available/On-sale
(**STOP buying pirated CDs, it is bleeding/killing the music industry**)