long with instantly identifiable visual hallmarks like wild hair colors, speed lines and Frisbee-sized eyes, many anime adventures also feature exceptionally perky opening or closing themes. These lively compositions often tend to be pop-oriented melodies with tireless tempos and spirited vocals. Anime Toonz presents a zestful compilation of remixed and re-recorded motifs from some of the medium's most famous titles, all sung by popular Japanese diva and voice-over artist Kikuko Inoue.
Driving beats and lounge-inspired keyboards propel the first cut, "Kareshi Kanojyo No Jijyo Opening Song Remix," which intersperses English phrases like "you may dream," "dreams come true" and "I love you" amid the Japanese lyrics. "Neon Genesis Evangelion Opening Song Remix" complements Inoue's emotive delivery with a soft yet steady electronic rhythm, just as "Revolutionary Girl Utena Closing Song Remix" is enhanced through synthetic percussion and extensive vocal processing. Meanwhile, "Crayon Kingdom Opening Song Remix" offers a festive, singsong air, and "Vision of Escaflowne Opening Song Remix" presents a seductive but slightly scary atmosphere that, on occasion, recalls Mike Oldfield's impressive "Tubular Bells." Revamped tunes from Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, Sakura Diaries, Fushigi Yuugi, Cardcaptor Sakura and Ah! My Goddess round out the collection.
The 20-page booklet accompanying the disc includes both English translations and Japanese transliterations of the original words, along with the actual names of the various numbers (although familiar to anime fans primarily as opening or closing themes, each work has a formal title, too). The liner notes also include brief biographies of Inoue, cover-art illustrator Shinya Hasegawa and remixers DJ Beta, Small Jet and KGK.
Famous themes in unfamiliar forms
Each year, the music charts in Japan are filled with cloying songs performed by ingénues with saccharine voices and dubious talent. Many anime productions mimic these faddish "J-Pop" melodies as part of their opening and closing themes. Anime Toonz nicely roughs up the oftentimes syrupy motifs, adding exciting house, trip-hop and drum & bass beats to a dozen compositions that, in their original incarnations, were undeniably catchy yet conspicuously commercial.
"Sakura Diaries Opening Song Remix" is definitely among the more mercurial melodies on the disc, with playful synthesized slaps, bright noises and ringing vocals darting about throughout the lengthy cut. "Ah! My Goddess Opening Song Remix" evokes a classic electronica ambiance, slightly slowing down the tune's overall cadence while incorporating vibrant bass effects. Conversely, resounding rhythms intensify "Sailor Moon Opening Song Remix," turning that familiar jingle into an energetic and genuinely entertaining dance track, just as DJ Beta fashions a truly delightful and dynamic "Fushigi Yuugi Opening Song Remix" by combining Inoue's lilting tones with a relentlessly throbbing tempo.
However, a few works fail to entirely erase their bubble-gum beginnings. Despite a frenetic pace, the "catch you, catch you, catch me, catch me" refrain of "Cardcaptor Sakura Opening Song Remix" remains ridiculous, while the simplistic sounds heard on "Kareshi Kanojyo No Jijyo
Closing Song Remix" give that number a rather dated feel. Additionally, Inoue—who has voiced characters in such series as Ranma 1/2 and El Hazard—proffers a skilled but, like many female Japanese pop stars, at times overly sugary delivery. Nevertheless, most longtime anime fans
should enjoy hearing and, before too long, almost assuredly dancing to these alternate versions of well-known Anime Toonz.
