Search - Toru Okada :: Video Girl AI (1992 Anime Film)

A really great CD, with slow, emotional songs

04/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Video Girl Ai anime series is one of the most romantic and dramatic animes around and this soundtrack fit perfectly. Even though it's all in Japanese, the melodies are very beautiful and the singing is also very nice. I think it's one of the best anime soundtracks around, and if you haven't seen the series, you should definitely check it out!"

A soundtrack for the heartbroken

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 06/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first soundtrack of Video Girl Ai, taken from the 6-part anime series based on Masakazu Katsura's manga, is a mixture of songs in and inspired by the series and instrumentals. Though the series only took a third of the manga, the songs gave the anime an extra boost. Oh, and all songs are in Japanese, and as this hasn't been domestically released, there are no English lyrics. Fortunately, I found other resources. However, this does a splendid job in enhancing the mostly sadness of love, in a love triangle where Yota is in love with Moemi, who is in turn in love with his best friend Takashi, but Takashi doesn't care much for her.



Opening and ending themes of an anime is akin to the A-side and B-side of a single. The ending theme is usually nothing to scream about, whereas the opening theme, along with the opening animation helps in grabbing the viewer. Video Girl Ai is an exception, where both opening and ending themes are terrific.



"Happy Tears," the bouncy opening theme sung by Noriko Sakai, is a mixture of Petula Clark and Supremes-style pop, completed with energetic horns and drums section. This is an extended version, at 5:41, as opposed to the TV-size version, referring to an edited version, usually a minute or so in length and only the first verse, that is played over the opening credits seguing into the beginning of the episode.



The reflective and bittersweet guitar ballad, "To That Day," the ending theme, always sends me into a blue reflective funk, as it is about how a couple is on the outs and how the girl wants to remember the happier days that were recorded on a video. In fact things have gotten this bad: "Both hands full of memories I had believed/I count them again and again, and yet, I get no further than my little finger." One of the choruses forlornly says "I'm miserable over you! Sorry, but this way, even now, I'm leaving behind my feelings. If everything about us has disappeared, right now I want to rewind, to that day." This song, sung by Kimura Maki, is another winner. Maki also sings "He's The One I Love," the last song which comes out in the video when Yota and Ai are reunited in the finale. This tearful ballad reminds me of the delicacy of Tiffany's "Could've Been."



"Tomorrow is Tomorrow" sung by Taguchi Chun, is another uptempo pop number with some rock guitar mixed within. This song is played when Yota and Moemi are out looking for a present for Takashi downtown. However, given the chorus lyrics, the title should be "Tomorrow's Wind": "Tomorrow's wind will blow tomorrow, baby/Don't cry, fall in love with me and let's chase our dreams." The lyricist is none other than manga creator Masakazu Katsura.



"Message" by Navi Katze has a haunting echoing melody and is played in episode 1, where the action cuts back to both heartbroken Yota and Moemi, the former when he learns of Moemi's love for Takashi, Moemi when Takashi callously tells her she's not his type: "Every time I call your name, you recede further away/Groping in the dark night when no one is beside me/I'm searching for you."



Mayumi Sadou sings "Glass Moon," another danceable Bananarama-like with French overtones, with some stomping drum machines that give "Tomorrow" a run for its money. More reflections on why people fall in love: "Did the two of us meet only in order to be sad? Why?" she sings at one point. However, the final breakup of something unworkable is sung thus: "In the blue night, a sigh jumps like a fish/The two of us, in moon shadows about to tear/Now, the last fish has jumped,/ The two of us, in fragile moon shadows... shattered."



"Takashi's theme" is a 70's funky jazz type instrumental, in order to show how cool and handsome the character is. Another instrumental "Searching For Ai" has three parts, the wonderland synths of "Illusion," the techno part of "Battle," and the soaring synths a la Giorgio Moroder or Low-era Bowie of "Reunion."



A definite soundtrack for the broken-hearted, its upbeat tunes and ballads are a comfort to the ear and heart. One of the best anime soundtracks ever!"

It is good rythm and voice I want this record

Jin Bock Lee (jblnavy@hanmail.net) | Republic of Korea | 10/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"fun and good soun"