Azumanga Daioh Vocal Collection [Soundtrack]

Masaki Kurihara (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 5, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Geneon [Pioneer]
• ASIN: B0009PVZSC
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #423,774 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ear-Playing-Tricks Cake

2. Let's Make It

3. The Heart Is a Girl's Parachute

4. Get It Together! Try la Lai

5. Poi Poi Peace

6. I Won't Be Defeated Tomorrow. Go! Friend!

7. Fall in Confetti

8. Everyone's One Way

9. I Shall Take a Break from Being an Adult, And Go Out

10. Wind of Mon-Ami

11. Sarabai! [Movie Version]

12. Raspberry Heaven

Editorial Reviews

Brand New and manufacture sealed. First class shipping from New York. Customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Songs that'll take you to Raspberry Heaven, July 13, 2005

By 

Daniel J. Hamlow (Narita, Japan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Vocal Collection (Audio CD)

The second of three Azumanga Daioh soundtracks released domestically is the Let's Sing-The Vocal Collection, where most of the songs are the characters singing. I'll be referring to the characters as opposed to the voice actresses. The cutesy keyboards and strings are all courtesy Masumi Ito and the Shinozaki Group strings.

Azumanga Daioh is one of the few anime series with both a strong opening and closing theme song, both of which are sung by Orange & Lemons. The perky synth and strings "Soramimi Keiki," or "Ear Playing Tricks Cake" present here in the extended as opposed to TV-size versions. Ditto with "Raspberry Heaven," more gentler, but with promises of a happier tomorrow: "You won't be alone in Heaven, I promise/Raspberry Heaven!/Sweet tears, smile again in paradise."

Foremost is the cute singsong "Let's Make It" or "Tsukurimashou" by ten year old pigtailed smarty-pants Chiyo-chan. She sung the first verse and title words of this song over and over in the very first episode when demonstrating her cooking. However, here, each verse demonstrate the particular talent each of her friends has. In Kagura's case, it's "Let's swim", followed by "I wonder who will be in first place," and finishes with "It is Miss Kagura!" For sleeping, it's Osaka; fastest runner, Sakaki. There's a funny spoken skit where Yomi wonders why she's not included, to which her friend Tomo says, "You don't have a special talent at all," which nearly leads to a fight between them. Hence, "Let's sing, let's sing" or "utai mashou!"

In the Christmas episode, the girls went to sing some karaoke. The tall introverted loner Sakaki-san impressed and surprised her friends by singing a mid-paced and wistful pop tune, "The Heart Is A Girl's Parachute." She wonders if she should stop her lonely ways, wanting to be more approachable though, and at the end realizes that "the courage to change is a parachute/... (look everyone) I'm smiling." Also wistful is "Wind of Mon Ami" by Kaorin, about the maddening and unrequited love she has on Sakaki, and feelings after she graduates: "I wish such gentle days would last for a long time/Into the future/I miss you always."

"Poi Poi Peace," sung by the rowdy and energetic Tomo-chan, is the most upbeat tune, with a clamourous brass and piano. Those familiar with the anime will recognize the chorus melody as coming from her cellphone ringtone. Her free-spirited attitude is demonstrated in the chorus: "Poi Poi PEACE, that's right hurray!/Are you trying too hard lately?/so, peace. Things that you hate/let's just chuck it."

The heaviest song is the competitive jock Kagura's song, "I Won't Be Defeated Tomorrow. Go! Friend!" highlighted by a churning metal guitar. Though competitive, she basically wants to be stronger and thus accepts any challenges. That's her way of trying to make friends with the introverted Sakaki, also a great athlete.

The song "Sarabai" by Chiyo-chan was performed during the closing credits of the AD mini-movie. In the same Christmas episode, Yomi demonstrated her lack of singing talent in singing a snatch of this same tune.

Speaking of Yomi, the studious and most normal girl in the series, her song "Everyone's One Way" or "Sore zore no One Way," sounds like an 80's mid-paced pop with disco strings. A song realizing that one day she and her friends will be separated, she calls on them to appreciate the memories they spent together.

The spacey Osaka, our cute CD cover girl, has the airy song, "Get It Together! Try La Lai!" features a dreamy recorder and keyboards. "Absentminded and carefree and... only me? I wonder why?" sums her up perfectly. She also sings a duet with Chiyo in "Fall in Confetti."

And on duets, the teachers, the lazy English teacher Yukari and more with it PE teacher Nyamo trade lines in the horns-driven pop of "I Shall Take A Break From Being An Adult, and Go Out." Where Yukari wants to sleep on her day off and sponge off Nyamo when they eat out, Nyamo would rather use her time more valuably and responsibly. As the chorus says, taking a day off is akin to how one takes a break from being an adult.

Of the voice actresses, Aya Hisakawa (Nyamo) and Sakura Nogawa (Kaorin) are actual pop singers, the former who sang extensively in the 90's, the latter whose PoTeChi (Japanese for potato chips) album was recently released.

All songs are sung in Japanese, with Romanized Japanese and English translated lyrics. It's so heartening to find another new all-time favourite of sweet songs, and this is one of them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voice Actors Sing Azumanga Daioh Character Songs, August 12, 2006

By 

City Hunter "Ryou" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Vocal Collection (Audio CD)

The Azumanga Daioh Vocal Collection CD includes full versions of the Azumanga Daioh opening and ending theme songs performed by Oranges & Lemons, "Ear-Playing-Tricks Cake" ("Soramimi Cake") and "Raspberry Heaven," respectively. It also includes Azumanga Daioh character songs sung by the Japanese voice actors (seiyuu), which fit their characters very well - with one notable exception. In the Azumanga Daioh animation (anime) series, Koyomi Mizuhara, aka Yomi, is a terrible singer. But on her character song "Everyone's One Way" ("Sorezore no One way"), Yomi sings wonderfully. The Japanese voice actor for Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara is Rie Tanaka, who also does the speaking voice and the singing voice for Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed. But, in speech and in song, Yomi and Lacus sound nothing alike - a testament to Rie Tanaka's range and versatility.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Azumanga Daioh Fans, September 20, 2005

By 

Agent Excel "agentexcel" (Hillsboro, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Azumanga Daioh Vocal Collection (Audio CD)

The first and last songs are the full version of the opening and ending themes of the TV series respectively. Most of the other songs are full versions of songs sung in the series. If you are a fan, you want this. I received this CD a week or so ago and I have played it repeatedly. Yes, it is that good.