 |
Title |
| Pocket Monsters:
Pocket Monsters Ranger and Manaphy, the Prince of
the Sea - Music Collection |
| International Title |
| Pokémon
Ranger and the Temple of the Sea |
| Music By: Shinji
Miyazaki |
| Record Label:
Media Factory |
| |
 |
| Running Time: 61:24 |
Discs: 1 |
| Release: July 2006 |
CD Number: ZMCP-2853 |
|
| Comments |
 |
Anthony
Romero |
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First,
thanks goes to Jessica Stan for sending this in for
review!
This soundtrack follows up on Shinji Miyazaki's effort
on the 2005 film, Pokémon:
Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Like his
previous effort, Miyazaki shows a lot of restraint
and avoids going "back to the well" to reuse themes
familiar to the franchise. The ending result is another
good and unique score for the series' composer.
Just like Miyazaki was taken by the setting of the
previous movie to craft something unique, the composer
again uses the film's locations to create a score
that feels unlike others in the franchise, utilizing
the underwater serenity and show-like aspects. Its
not nearly as strong as the 2005 film score, but
still works. The soundtrack succeeds the most when
it takes a swing at capturing that sense of serenity
and achieves it. "Prince of the Sea" is a great example
of this along with "For Manaphy". The other
soothing tracks don't quite measure up, though, especially
the chorus supported themes for the Akusha cues,
which have their moments but feel overdone. Some
of these soundtrack themes are a little too simplistic
as well. "Play with Manaphy!" is a good example of
this as it goes for a tropical-feel, but actually
sounds like it belongs in a beach level in the Mario
Kart series. Still,
the soundtrack has its gems, and leading the way
is "Depart! Set Sail!" which captures that sense
of adventure as it swells and then keeps it up for
its over three minute duration. "The
Phantom Troops Attack!!" is also a little interesting,
especially as it starts with the battle theme straight
from the Game Boy games, but doesn't manage to be
particularly memorable.
As before, Miyazaki does cut loose with one dated
sounding track. This time its "Enter Pocket Monsters
Ranger!! - E.O.P. Mission", which features guitar
and trumpet work to make it feel like a retro piece.
Its enjoyable in its over-the-top approach, and fits
a spy theme quite well. The soundtrack does have
one dud too in the form of the "Each Thought", which
feels like an old "show tunes".
It tries for a nostalgic grasp of the music style,
but really never catches on.
In terms of the songs, the disc has three in total.
Unlike previous releases, these songs are all placed
at the end of the disc. Also unlike earlier Pokémon
movie soundtracks, there is no single release of the
credit song, "A Thing to be Protected" by Sowelu. The
song is a good one, having great vocal work that's
supported by light orchestra work that is supported
by piano and drums. It may sound like an odd mix,
but it works and the song escapes from sounding too
much like Japanese pop. It's odd, though, that the
song wasn't given a single release. In fact, the
only other way to get the song is from Sowelu's 24:
Twenty Four (DFCL-1288)
album that was released the same month, which features
singer Sowelu/Aki Harada with an open sweater and
a black bra. I'm not saying the latter to seem prudish,
mind you, just making note that it's odd to see someone
promote an album featuring Pokémon music in that
way.
In regards to the final two songs, and the bonus
tracks off the CD, first off is the TV version of
"Spurt" by Rica Matsumoto which was the
opening show song of the year and the last one for
the "Advance Generation". It's an okay song, but
one of the least memorable of the opening themes.
Following this is the "Big Meowth Day" song
which is sung by Meowth voice actor Inuko Inuyama.
Suffice to say, Inuyama's singing voice is an acquired
taste, and personally I find it very grating.
Overall, this soundtrack is good but fails to reach
the heights of some of the better entries in the
series. Worth getting for series fans, though, as
Miyazaki is good as always here. As a side note,
for those counting, this is the longest running
CD score release in the movie series so far, excluding
the radio drama disc for the The
Birth of Mewtwo - Audio Visual Box (ZMCP-596).
Rating:  |
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| Tracks |
- The Pocket Monster of the Sea
- The Phantom Appears
- Enter Pocket Monsters Ranger!! - E.O.P. Mission
- Theatrical Title Theme 2006
- Opening: Underwater Pocket Monsters Show
- Haruka's Dream
- Fearow - Capture
- The Phantom Troops Attack!!
- Ruins of the People of the Water
- The Legend of Akusha
- Pressing Ambition
- Hesitating to go on an Adventure with Youth
- Depart! Set Sail!
- Each Thought
- For Manaphy
- Play with Manaphy!
- Find Manaphy!!
- Akusha the Temple of the Sea
- Temple Waltz
- To the Crown of the Sea
- The Temple Begins to Sink
- Save the Temple!
- As Long as I can Breath...
- Embracing the Crown of the Sea
- Soldier of Light, Satoshi
- Carnival of the People of the Water
- Prince of the Sea
- A Thing to be Protected (Movie Version)
By: Sowelu
Bonus Tracks
- Spurt! (TV Version)
By: Rica Matsumoto, Composer:
Hirokazu Tanaka
- Big Meowth Day (Movie Version)
By: Inuko Inuyama, Composer: Kazumi Mitome
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