Nostalgic anime songs

Many of us have watched anime growing up and some of the songs featured in these anime become etched in our memory. Whenever we hear these songs again, a wave of nostalgia washes our senses and refrshes us. Here are some of the themes I find nostalgic. If you have any addition to make, add it to comments.

Catch you catch me- This is the theme of the famous Cardcaptor Sakura that I watched while I was in elementary school. I loved the anime as well as all the themes. You'll see some more themes from this anime in this post. The song is a classic anime song. It is upbeat with a kawaii voice.
4.2/5

Purachina- Another theme from Cardcaptor Sakura. It is the opening from the third season. I remember I used to wait the whole day to watch the thrid season. I used to think about it even at school. The song is refreshing sung by one of my favourite anime singers, Maaya Sakamoto. It has an airy atmosphere.
4.4/5

Identified- This is from Beyblade. Beyblade was a roaring success when it aired on TV. Kids were cray about it. This is the theme song from the third season. The song is a pop song with a summer mood. I like the cheery atmosphere.
4.5/5

Legend of mermaid- When I think of this song, I can't stop crying. It is the first japanese song I seriously heard (Catch you catch me was another) that got me into the world of jpop. It is from the Mermaid Melody anime series. The anime was pretty good too with nice and colourful illustrations. The version of this song in the last episode, when everyone sings together is the best.
4.4/5

Kagami no naka- It is the opening of Ultra Maniac. I used to watch Ultra Maniac in middle school and I hated to miss even one episode. Princess Tutu and Daa! Daa! Daa! used to air with this. I used to watch all of them together in the afternoon. Kagami no naka is a nice, uptempo theme with a strong chorus.
4.4/5

Love Chronicle- This is the last ending from Full moon wo Sagashite, an anime by Arina Tanemura. The song is nostalgic even for those who have not seen the anime. Most of the songs featured in the anime were masterpieces. Too bad the singles didn't sell and the band had to break up. It has a wonderful intrumental prelude and touching lyrics.
4.6/5

Yuzurenai negai- I have never seen Magic Knight Rayearth anime. I just accidentally heard this song somewhere on the internet. It has sold over a million copies. The song sounds oldish. The chorus stands out.
4.4/5

Kibou no Kaneoto~love goes one~- Another song from Mermaid Melody anime. This was the last song from the anime. Legend of mermaid was the first. Somehow, for me, the first andlast songs and episodes of an anime seem to have an emotional effect. Those are the only two episodes you remember with fondness from an anime.
4.5/5

Kutsuzure- This is the last ending from Black Cat anime. The song itself sounds nostalgic with a wintry atmosphere. The singer is a male although he sounds like a female. Daia no hana from this anime is also good.
4.5/5

Ashita ga yatte kuru- I HATED the Ninku anime. Ashita ha yatte kuru was the ending to the anime. While swithcing between channels, I heard this song and I loved it. It is by Yume Suzuki.
4.5/5

Scarlet- I have never seen or read Ayashi no Ceres. I came across this song on the internet. I have heard other songs from Iwao Junko featured in CCS. This is one of her best songs. Sounds somewhat like a Yuki Kajiura composition.
4.5/5

Kanata e- I don't know which anime it was featured in but it was featured in some sci-fi anime. It is sung by Anza who sung the second CCS opening song. It is mid tempo.
4.4/5


Well, I lost count of the songs I reviewed. I still have many songs in my mind but I'll make a second part for them. These songs bring back so many wonderful memories.

Anime movie review- Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2- The Sealed Card

In my earlier review of Cardcaptor Sakura, I mentioned watching both the movies in the series and I promised to review it later. Since I like the second movie more than the first, I will review this one first.

The movie is titled 'The Sealed Card'. Unlike the previous movie which focuses on Sakura's abilities as a cardcaptor, this one focuses on Li and Sakura's romantic relationship. The timeline of this movie is set after the complete anime series. Sakura has managed to convert all cards into Sakura cards and Eriol lives peacefully somewhere with Kahoko.

The main conflict in this movie is a card called 'void' which was made by Clow Reed to balance negetive and positive forces. It can nullify the other cards. The card's spirit somehow breaks free. She is lonely and wants to get back her friends, the other clow cards from Sakura.
Oblivious to this, Sakura consents to participate in a school play. I think their school is crazy about dramatics because they have a play every season.
On finding out about the card she asks Eriol about it. He says that it is a negetive card that has power equal to all the 52 cards combined.

Li and Meiling come to the school for a surprise visit. They decide to spend their vacations in the town. Sakura meet Li at the beginning but is unable to confess her feelings. She even takes him home but just ends up cooking and chatting about general things. In the end of the anime, Syaroan proposed to Sakura. That's why Sakura needs to give him an answer.

Rika's boyfriend who plays the main role has an accident and so Li plays the main role. The play is a romantic one and whenever Sakura looks at someone during practice, Li looks at her. The same is true for Sakura.
After school, Sakura tells Li that to capture the card, she must lose her most important feeling. Both are aware of what that feeling is (love). Li says if there is no other choice then she must lose it. Sakura is hurt by this and she runs away.

On the day of the play, the card wreaks havoc again and almost everyone disappears. Tomoyo makes special costumes for Li and Sakura. They go after the card to a tower. The card has captured all of Sakura's cards by now.
Li tells Sakura that even if she has to lose her love for him, it is okay because he'll fall in love with her once again. After this, the card takes in Li. Sakura is sad but she uses all her power to capture the card. Finally, it becomes a hope card.

Syaroan appears again and all others are released. The theme Ashita e no merodii starts playing. Li tells her that he did not lose his feelings for her after all. She is very happy and yells 'I love you' jumping ito his arms.
I thought the theme song was discordant but after hearing it at the right scene with the right meaning, I thought it fitted the movie quite well.

The movie was very nice and emotional. Throughout the movie, the romantic theme is maintained. There are a lot of nice scenes here and it is the anticipated conclusion to the Li's proposal.

The art was good like most of Clamp's works. This one is my personal favourite.

All the romantic scenes were good but I felt the fantasy elements were only there to create conflict. Still, the fantasy parts were good too.
The supporting characters in this series are interesting and create a wonderful atmosphere. They all have unique personalities.

A very balanced movie overall. It ties the whole anime series together with a wonderful conclusion. The theme song lyrics were fitting. This is the conclusion to the wonderful Cardcaptor Sakura series so don't miss it. It makes the series memorable.

Art- 4.5/5
Story-4.7/5
Characters- 4.6/5
Music- 4.2/5
Overall- 4.7/5

Pros

Art
Story
Characters
Theme

Cons

The last scene could've dragged more.

Jpop review- Ai Otsuka- Ai am best

Ai am Best is Ai Otsuka's first compliation containing all of her hit single tracks. It contains her highest selling single Sakuranbo, her second highest selling Planetarium and third highest selling Smily/bidama.

"Ai am BEST" is Otsuka Ai's first compilation album. The title is a play on her first name, Ai, and the English word I. The album is a collection of Otsuka's first ten singles plus the airplay single for her LOVE COOK album, Cherish. LOVE MUSiC was used as an airplay single to promote this album. The DVD contains the music videos for all of the CD tracks. The CD only version, of the album, was released months later, in a limited low-price edition and a regular price edition. The album contains two hidden features. There is a secret track at the end of the the CD: tracks 14 through 98 are silent and are about 5 seconds each. Track 99 contains a previously unreleased song, BABASHI no Theme. The DVD contains a hidden music video for the same song, however it needs a code to unlock it. With your DVD remote arrow buttons, press "UP" 9 times, then press "RIGHT" 9 times, then press "DOWN" 9 times, then press "LEFT" 9 times and finally press "ENTER" and the hidden clip will be revealed, "BEST OF BABASHI". This video was filmed at the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.

It is certified Triple Platinum for the shipment of 750,000 albums.



1.Momo no hanabira- This was Ai's debut single. She considers it one of her best songs. Lots of 'yura yura' going on in the song. The instrumentals are refrshing like a forest scene. There's some shamisen too. Not a bad track but sounds more like an album track than a single track.
4/5



2.Sakuranbo- Her super hit single. It was a good uptempo song but she has better ones. I found it good but nothing spectacular.
3.8/5



3.Amaenbo- A very good ballad with nice arrangement. Ai's first ballad so, she sings it with lots of emotion. The ending guiatrs were a little out of place but it was good too.
4.6/5



4.Happy days- At first, this one sounded like pure noise but later I got used to it. She could've spared the microphone. The chorus builds up well.
3.9/5



5.Kingyo Hanabi- One of the first tracks with Planetarium and Cherish that I heard from Ai. Compared to its preceeding and following tracks, it is mellow and hardly audible. A nice ballad but it has lost value ever since the first listen in my ears.
4.4/5

6.Daisuki da yo- This one stands out more than Kingyo hanabi but I didn't like it very much. Two ballads together was not a very good idea. It sounds generic. Ai sings it well.
4.4/5

7.Kuroge Wagyu Joshio Tan Yaki 680 yen- The PV was unique but the song was another average pop song. A little better with the added shamisens.
4.2/5

8.Cherish- This one is actually and album track from Love Cook, her highest selling album. I love how the chorus picks up. The PV is nice too. It was featured in a NANA tribute album.
4.7/5



9.Smily- Some people hate it but I love it. It is a much, much better version of Happy days without that annoying microphone and jamming guitars. It is Ai Otsuka showcasing her 'kawaii' side. She did a wonderful live of this on her anniversary tour.
4.5/5

10.Biidama- It means marbles in english. Ai looked cute in the PV but the song was pretty average. The instrumental was good. The chorus was not very catchy and it sounded like another average pop song.
4/5

11.Neko ni fuusen- Ai's song titles just keep getting wierder. This one means 'Cats and Balloons'. When I think of the title I can only imagine a cat piercing a balloon with its claws but the PV shows cats flying on balloons. The song is an acoustic pop song. The chorus is nice. The lyrics were good.
4.3/5



12.Planetarium- If this song sounds similar, it is because the chorus is like 'Suteki Da ne', the theme of one of the Final Fantasy games. It was a tribute to Rikki, the singer of Suteki Da ne. Ai sings better than Rikki and the shrill violins are missing making the song much more pleasant. One of her best ballads to date. This single too fails to shine in the album despite inferior tracks surrounding it.
4.5/5

13.Love Music- A pop song with a nice chorus. It didn't catch my attention. A pleasant song.
4/5

Babashi no theme- This is track 99. Tracks 17-98 have 3 seconds duration and are silent. This is pathetic. Please stop the album at Love Music. Ai yells 'babashi' along with some men for one minute. Not in the least catchy. It is a joke.
2/5

Overall, this was one of Ai's best albums and the first I tried from her. It is much better than her studio albums (maybe not Love Cook since it sold more). One shortcoming was that Ai's voice sounds the same in all the songs. That's one of the reasons why the good songs don't shine in this album. She lacks enough emotion and power in some songs while she sings some not-so-good songs with amazing vocal technique.

Ai Otsuka is a unique artist with bubbing creativity and wonderful composition skills. Her quality has been degrading recently. You must try out her earlier albums or this best before judging her based on her present day releases which are terrible. I hope Ai regains her ispiration and composes wonderful tracks like those in this album.

Overall- 4.4/5

Pros

Composition
Arrangement
Ai's voice

Cons

Good songs don't shine
Might sound repetitive after some listens

Book review: Johanna Lindsey- Gentle Rogue

Johanna Lindsey is a popular author of Historical Romance who has sold over 58 million copies worldwide. Her Malory series of novels are extremely popular. Gentle Rogue is the third book the Malory series.

It depicts the love-relationship between James Malory- a rake and a viscount and an American girl Georgina (shortened to Georgie). Georgina has been waiting for the past six years for her fiance who went to the British-American war (it might have another name but this is what I gathered) and never returned. With great difficulty, she manages to trace his location and attempts to go to England alone with her trusted servant Mac (I am not sure he is a servant). While searching for her fiance, she goes to a tavern where she meets a handsome man (James Malory) whom she immediteley dislikes. There, she realizes that her fiance is married to another woman and has children too! She is extremely disappointed and decides to return to America as soon as possible. However, there are few ships that will make it before six months, which she feels, is too long.




Mac finds out that there is another ship setting sail for Jamaica which will reach in one month. But it is an all-men ship. Georgie disguises herself as a cabin boy to the captain and sets sail. But unfortunately, the captain turns out to be James Malory whom she met at the tavern. She is afraid that he might recognize her and he does, but he pretends not to remember her. So begins their romance.......

Gentle Rogue is a typical pirate/historical romance. It is much like the stuff written by other historical romance writers. The heroine is a typical impulsive/adventurous heroine and the hero is very typical too. What makes this book even a little bit different is that at least Johanna Lindsey has drifted away from the typical high social position hero and weak heroine towards something less generic. A sea romance might be refreshing to those who are bored of generic modern/historical romances.


Pros- Interesting plot and characters
Well-written

Cons- The end really drags and teh beginning is too slow
Repetition of how blasted English aristocrats are (Even though I am not British, I found that excessive)

Summon Night- Swordcraft Story 2

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 is an action-RPG with fantasy elements much like its predecessor Summon Night- Swordcraft Story. But this time, there is no tournament to spice up the story.

You are a boy/girl (I was a girl), starting out with sword forging. You live in your masters house. One day, you go up to the hills and encounter a monster. You defeat and then you get the chance to choose you summon beast. The choice is very direct by asking you what beast you see instead of making you go through a weird questionaire like Swordcraft Story 1. The chosen beast becomes yours and then your own adventure starts.




Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2 is much like its predecessor in terms of graphics, gameplay and music. However, it is even more difficult to win than its predecessor. The very first boss battle took me a long time to win.

Pros- Good graphics

Cons- Too hard

Summon Night- Swordcraft Story

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Manga Review- Wanted

Wanted is a one-volume manga by famous mangaka Hino Matsuri who has also written (or rather is writing) the Vampire Knight series.

Armelia is an orphan girl who sings for work. One day, she met a boy, Luce, and fell in love with him. Unfortunately, Luce was kidnapped by the notorious pirate, Scar. Armelia swore to herself that one day she would rescue Luce. But the truth is not what she thought it was...

She meets a pirate whom she mistakes for the pirate who kidnapped her boyfriend but that pirate is actually her boyfriend! She does not know this, however, though the pirate does. Both of them embark on a journey to search for a hidden singing note or melody or something like that (I am forgetting the exact name). The authorities however are looking for him and continue to follow them....

Wanted is a typical shojo manga with the spirited heroine, elusive hero and plot twists and turns kept to the bare minimum. It was only three chapters long, so there wasn't much scope for character development. The story was a good read overall, and the illustrations better than average, or in fact, quite good in comparison to many other shojo manga.

It is a short manga, only one volume long, so if you have time, you can read it. It is a strange conicidence how I am reading so many pirate stories these days (Currently I am reading Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey).

Pros- It is short
Not too boring
Good art

Cons- Too generic. You might know the ending before you begin reading it.

Best places to buy- Amazon sells it cheap and if you don't mind secondhand, then try half.com or ebay

Book review- Erich Segal Love Story

Erich Segal's love story is a very popular book which has sold over 21 million copies. It was also made into a film which was very successful (in fact it was a script before it became a novel). The review includes spoilers.

The story centres around the romance of Oliver Barret IV- a Harvard jock and Jennifer Calliveri- a music student in the neighboring Radcliffe school of music. They meet in the library of Radcliffe first and then start going out. From there, their love becomes more serious and they decide to get married. Jennny's dad agrees with reluctance but Oliver's parents are skeptical. Oliver cuts off ties with his family and Jenny starts working so that she can support Oliver's Harvard law school fees. Their life is full of hardships from then. Oliver has to sacrifice many of the thinsg that he is used to having. Finally, when he graduates, he gets a well-paying job, effectively ending their financial troubles. At this point, however, it is discovered that Jenny has a health problem and will not live long (Blood cancer, I guess with the constant mention of platlets but it is not stated anywhere). Finally, she dies.

This book was like a typical Nicholas Sparks romantic-tragedy. Erich Segal's writing style is conversational and informal. The beginning bored me because it was so ordinary and I briefly considered putting the book down but since it is such a short book, I decided to finish it. The ending, even though tragic was quite touching. Overall, not a bad book.

Pros- Strong heroine
Realistic romance though it is very short

Cons- The first 63 pages or so are too ordinary to be interesting.
The book was too short