A Special Music Post!
I was inspired by Week 27 on MAL’s ‘Anime Music Piece of the Week‘ where the theme chosen for that week is ‘Relaxing’. Therefore I decided to come up with my own selection of easy listening and relaxing tracks. The criteria for choosing the music piece is similar to that on MAL Keionbu where they must be from an anime but with one of exception. I narrow down the scope of my selection to instrumental pieces from soundtracks release in 2009.
One would have thought that it’ll be an easy-peasy task to choose from a small selection of recently released soundtracks but the opposite is true. After running through the available collection that I’ve got wind of, I managed to compile a list of 10 tracks which I find to be rather enjoyable and befitting my definition of ‘relaxing’. Each of the tracks are by different composers and from anime series that I’ve watched… uh well, 80% of them anyway.
Without further ado, here are my 10 selected tracks and I’m quite happy with them (/^_^)/:
Track 01: Minna Genki **
Anime: Ristorante Paradiso
Composer: KoKoYa
~ This is my favourite bgm track from Rispara. It is such a perky piece, one that instantly brightens up the mood.
Track 02: Haru wo Shiraseru Mono **
Anime: Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
Composer: Yoshimori Makoto
~ I love ZNYC’s theme tune. It’s a wonderful, relaxing piece , one that I’d listen to time and again, enjoying the flow of the melody…my winter kind of music.
Track 03: Ai **
Anime: Kemono Souja Erin
Composer: Sakamoto Masayuki
~ I have to say that this is my favourite piano track from Kemono Souja Erin’s soundtrack. There’s something in the melody that made me feel glad about letting go of the day’s sighs.
Track 4: Soshite Tabi wa Tsudzuku **
Anime: Xam’d: Lost Memories
Composer: Michiru Oshima
~ The music is seemingly steep in nostalgia. I love the oboe, piano and violin combination. My favourite of the slow pieces from Xam’d: Lost Memories.
Track 05: Cradle **
Anime: Pandora Hearts
Composer: Kajiura Yuki
~ I absolutely adore this little track from Pandora Heart’s OST 2. It’s a departure from Kajiura’s usual stuff and certainly sounds different from the other tracks on the OST. A beautiful and soothing piece…it’s like saying goodnight.
Track 06: Eden of the East **
Anime: Higashi no Eden
Composer: Kenji Kawai
~ Strangely enough, not many dig Higashi no Eden’s soundtrack but I, on the other hand, love it. Kenji Kawai wonderfully captures the atmosphere and mood of the series, reflecting its pacing. Several of the tracks are great as stand alone pieces which is one of the reasons why I enjoy listening to the album so much. Eden’s theme tune evoke that feel good factor…strolling by the river bank or taking a slow enjoyable cruise on a boat comes to mind when I listen to this particular track. I also keep picturing Akira and Saki together on the ferry…lol.
Track 07: Madogiwa no Hanatachi **
Anime: Aoi Hana
Composer: Haketa Takefumi
~ Aoi Hana has one of the loveliest soundtrack pieces I’ve ever heard this year…imo, even better than Umi Monogatari. Kudos to Takeda Takefumi for composing the beautiful scores that’s very much reflective of the anime slice of life theme. This particular track is like my tea break kind of music. Relaxing indeed.
Track 08: Hikari no Asa **
Anime: Sora no Manimani
Composer: CooRie and Ookubo Kaoru
~ This was one of the anime series I watched from summer. I have to admit the bgm didn’t stand out all that much but this particular track is the one that I remember liking when I heard it and the clean version certainly didn’t disappoint. It feels like a night out with friends, gathering for bbq. Puts a smile on my face.
Track 09: Kagayaku Egao **
Anime: Umi Monogatari
Composer: Muramatsu Ken
~ Alright, a jazz influence piece of track from Ken Muramatsu and my favourite from CD1 of Umi Monogatari’s soundtrack. Very cool, classy kind of composition that meets with my liking for lite jazz music. Toast to Ken!
Track 10: Sakae no Katsuyaku **
Anime: Summer Wars
Composer: Akihiko Matsumoto
~ I’m not sure why I ended picking this piece but then I realized I was looking for something that could arouse a sense of looking forward, *kick start to a brand new day with full of hope and confidence* kind of score…well, this piece just sort of fits in and falls into place. The piano and strings intro sort of gently prods you on.
So then, that’s my first ever compilation on tBP.
One might wonder how the heck did I choose. To be honest, I don’t really have any particular method of making my selection. However, the pieces I pick are the ones that I feel are memorable, brightens up the mood and made me feel pleasant. Some even evoke a sense of nostalgia. Overall, they are lovely pieces to unwind the day with. I must admit that I had a lot of fun coming up with this compilation and you’ll probably notice the string of piano-based themes in the selection. I don’t expect it’ll suit everyone’s taste as I recognize that everyone will have different preferences and interpretation of what they deemed to be easy listening or relaxing.
Click the icon to play the entire compilation \(^_^\)
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funnily enough, i haven’t watched all these shows, but i’ve heard all the OSTs, go figure 😛
But they are great choices, thanks for reminding me why Natsume, Kemono no souja erin, will remain as one of the better animes in recent years, story-wise and music wise, imo.
yea!! Summer Wars made it in to. 🙂 the movie was a visual feast.
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Lol…yeah, I do that too. I pick and listen to soundtracks of shows I didn’t watch. It’s usually because of recommendation, sometimes it’s because of the composer that I like. It’s impossible to watch every single anime releases. That would be utterly crazy. But music is different. We can still enjoy the music despite not having watch the show they are featured in. I missed Natsume. I haven’t found any series that came close to it in terms of story, sentiment & endearment. *Is glad* that there’s still the music to remember by. (n_n)
Yes, Summer Wars was indeed a visual treat. I adore the main theme ‘Summer Wars Overture’ … each time I listen to it, I kept visualizing the smurfs village and little blue smurfs getting to start off the day …rofl 😀 Really cute and rousing theme.
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Geez, you have no idea how much the Summer Wars Overture has been stuck in my head. I just can’t seem to NOT think of it because that catchy melody is so nice and eclectic that it really stands out and is a lot of fun to listen to. Very much like that Wake-up track, but with more orchestrals.
A shame that the Relaxing week slots filled up so quickly though :3
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Solid selections overall. Choro Club always makes for relaxing fare and Minna Genki certainly serves up that dose of optimism really well. The music from Kemono souja Erin has managed to be heartwarming and Aoi Hana’s got quite a bit of relaxing pieces all over that album.
I really do need to listen to Umi Monogatari, but I’ve been short on time as of late since I’m eager to see if Muramatsu offers anything new this time.
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🙂 Thank you. I didn’t watch Umi Monogatari all the way through but overall I do love the music they used on the episodes that I’ve seen except for parts of some sequence where I thought the mostly piano based arrangement didn’t quite fit in. I must say that I prefer the breezier CD1 over the moodier CD2 after listening the OST. And ya, you should give it a listen when you have the chance to.
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I really enjoyed Aoi Hana and Umi Monogatari’s soundtracks as well. Makes me miss summer a whole lot. xD In general, all of the songs featured here are very nice to listen to. :3
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Oh wow, this is so awesome – this post just made my day! 😀 Some of the tracks I never heard and others were very familiar, but I love all your choices 🙂 Thank you for posting this 🙂
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@Chiisai, thank you for commenting. ^_^ Glad you like the selections. I particularly enjoy Aoi Hana’s soundtrack. Very soothing music. However, Umi Monogatari has lots of lovely bgms as well. Nice piano tracks on both albums.
@Kitsune, (*^_^*) Happy to oblige you with some new music. Glad you like my selections. Hopefully you get a chance to listen to some of the albums if not all. They are worth checking out.
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