This early
1990's soundtrack by composer Kow
Otani is certainly a lively, to the say the least,
collection of music. The score has a very unorthodox
style to it, which will likely be hit or miss with
some. The standout cue on this disc is the theme "Job
Hunting",
which sounds like it would have almost been more at home
in a Sonic the Hedgehog or 1080° Snowboarding
game. The track's slightly repetitive nature coupled
with simplistic orchestration that is aided by electronic
music gives the theme a video game like flavor, yet
the theme's upbeat tempo makes it a fairly pleasant
experience. This is especially crucial given that a
modified version of the theme also appears on track
11, meaning that almost 20% of this CD is comprised
of this theme as each clocks in at over five minutes
in length. "Ain't Nothing
Wrong" also has this video game style vibe to it.
Likewise, due to a fast tempo and upbeat pacing the
track is also pretty enjoyable. The disc is uneven in
some places, though, particularly the slow paced "Mariko"
cue which tends to long outlive its welcome during its
four minute runtime. "MM-h" is another of
these themes that tend to miss their mark, as it's
a very low key cue that just doesn't work well as a
stand alone experience.
As for the song "At What Time" by Makihara Noriyuki,
it's not bad although isn't particularly memorable all
the same. It's definitely feels like a standard 1990's
pop song, that's for sure, although it is nice to have
two different versions of the melody here, one with more
contemporary background music and the other with an orchestra
playing in the background.
Overall, the CD isn't great, but its unorthodox and diverse
collection of themes should appeal to some, particularly
those looking for more of Otani's earlier work.
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