Anime Toonz: Kikuko Inoue [Original recording reissued]

Anime Toonz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Jellybean Records
• ASIN: B00005B9U4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #367,246 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Probably not for anyone who loved the original songs, July 31, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anime Toonz: Kikuko Inoue (Audio CD)

Fans hoping to hear Inoue Kikuko's rendition of some of Japanese animation's most well-known theme songs will likely be disappointed with this disc. I strongly recommend listening to the music samples before purchasing. The music has been totally remixed into techno with a very strong beat. The remixes themselves aren't particularly inspired, with extended moments of repetition acting as filler. The vocal parts of each track act almost in a secondary role; they are relatively short and are mixed in at such a low level that it's almost lost in the background.

My verdict: Kikuo-san's voice is as beautiful as ever; so it's truly a pity that it was wasted on this disc.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected at all..., May 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Anime Toonz: Kikuko Inoue (Audio CD)

I got two copies of this CD, one for myself and another for a anime-loving friend. When it arrived, I was excited to see how it would be, because the titles looked terrific. These are a good representation of what's out there in anime music (which made me give this CD those two stars.) However, in my initial excitement when seeing this on amazon.com, I must have overlooked the fact that these were remixes. Kikuko Inoue has a nice voice and all, but the remixes don't do justice to the songs as they were originally, generally speaking. I'm a huge fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion's "Thesis of a Cruel Angel," and I couldn't even listen to the entire track on this CD. For those of you who like new twists to your favorite anime songs, by all means, don't let my opinion be the deciding factor as to whether or not you get this CD. But for those of you who expect something like the original, don't bother with this one. Save your money up for that import instead!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice concept, but very poorly done . . ., August 13, 2001

By 

valleyvineyard (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anime Toonz: Kikuko Inoue (Audio CD)

I purchased this cd on a whim (as I adore techno *AND* anime music). I probably would've been happier filling up my car's gas tank with the [amt]...

It's a nice idea (and I've heard a lot of successfully done anime techno remixes), but the music is poorly done. Kikuko Inoue has a very nice, clear voice and the techno beats aren't half-bad... but together they don't really fuse correctly. During half of the songs it sounds like the DJ and the singer are singing different songs... (the Escaflowne mix is probably the worst on the album, as it sounds like the DJ is playing music to Utena as the singer does the Esca opening... sounds really disorganized).

The main problem with the music is this: the techno beats are nice, but they're so EMPTY! The DJ has this problem throughout the whole cd. There's a good backbone to a techno song, and the voice overlaps nicely on some songs (horribly on others, such as the Esca song), but there's no techno melody to back it up. It's just the drumbeats and the standard used-a-thousand-times techno sounds. It's like listening to an amateur musician play a standard beat on a Casio keyboard and then sing the songs... sounds very pre-programed and leaves a LOT to be desired. The Fushigi Yuugi opening would be o.k. if the DJ would play some of the melody along with the singer (since they seldom overlap her voice as it's done in the original song).

I will admit, though, that the Utena closing (it's the second TV closing song, not Missing Truth) is at least interesting. It's actually not too bad since the DJ uses some interesting voice synthesizers on the chorus... however, the synth and the singer don't always hormonize very well, and some of the song is painful to listen to (unfortunately for us Utena fans).

All in all... my advice is to probably pick something else up first. Para Para Max does some decent anime theme song remixes. Shine (a J-pop group) does a fun Euro-anime mix that has some of the older stuff (Totoro, Cat's Eye, Sailor Moon, Eva, Cutey Honey, etc).

If you really want to listen to this mix, go buy yourself a cheap electronic keyboard, hit the button for the standard drum dance beat, and sing along. You'll get about the same effect as spending [amt] on this cd, and you can actually do more stuff with the keyboard. :P (Although the cd would probably make a nice frisbee...)