Customer Reviews

Sen to Chihiro No Kamikakushi

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Please know that this is the image album for Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, not the original soundtrack, or OST. What's the difference? The OST contains the actual scores used in the movie. An image album contains songs inspired by and/or based upon the movie. I was surprised to find that five of the ten songs on this CD are vocals! I was expecting all instrumentals. I should have looked at the picture more closely, it has image album written in tiny characters under the movie title. The original movie soundtrack contains 21 scores, while this one only has 10 tracks. If you love the movie go ahead and listen to this one, but I suggest buying the OST first.

Sad to say, I missed seeing the movie when I was over in Japan, largely due to the fact that my Japanese wasn't quite up to scratch to understand it (a regret: I should have watched it even though I could only understand some of it). However, after listening to the music at one of the listening booths at the Ginza HMV, I simply HAD to buy this soundtrack...In my personal opinion, the music of a movie accounts for 70-80% of how good the movie is, because it sets the emotional atmosphere of the movie. My two personal favourites are tracks 05 and 10 (especially if you crank up the volume with a GOOD pair of headphones), because the emotional depth of the soundtrack completely captivated me. I would say this ranks up there with the Laputa and Mononoke Hime soundtracks, definitely one of the best out of Studio Ghibli. You should DEFINITELY make a point to buy this OST if you haven't already.

With regards to the movie coming out in the States, I hear that it's already going to France and Hong Kong, and seeing as how Disney has invested quite a large sum of money to help make this film, I don't see why they wouldn't bring it to the States (especially since it has done so well in Japan - it already broke the attendance record for "Titanic", and they expect it to beat the box office gross earnings sometime in November).

As expected, Joe Hisaishi comes through with another fantastic movie. Coupled with his movies are memorable, incredible soundtracks. I encourage everyone to listen to his works, especially Mononoke Hime OST. However, this item pictured here is NOT the original soundtrack (OST)! It is the IMAGE ALBUM. What's the difference? The OST contains the music score from the actual movie. An image album features tracks based upon or inspired by the movie. The OST contains 21 tracks while this one only has 10. Don't be fooled! Five of the ten songs on this CD are vocals, which really surprised me! They weren't what I expected! I ended up with this CD because image album is written in tiny Japanese characters under the title. I should have looked at the larger version, but I didn't think about it. I did my homework AFTER I bought the wrong CD. However, I do wish the item description clarified what I was purchasing. What you should get is the OST with the music from the movie. I appreciated this one, but I found some of the vocal tracks a bit unusual. I would rather have a majority of instrumentals. Get this one too, if you really love the movie, but know that it's not the original score.

I'm amazed with Hisaishi's composing skill. I rank him on my personal number two! Number one would be Nobuo Uematsu of course. The music adds in alot of emotion to the movie! Luckily I was able to see Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi. (Spirited Away) An epic tale about a girl that has to save her parents and get out of a different world. She relies on one man to help her. When you combine this type of storyline with this type of music, you have one awesome anime!

I've heard that Di$ney's not gonna show this picture in USA...what a shame! Too bad 'cause it will beat Titanic in Japan! So do yourself a favor and buy this OST, it is like any other OST Hisaishi has done for Miyazaki: sweet, haunting, original, beautiful... Magical in one word!