I’m not going to faux for a second that I do know a lot about anime soundtracks. I’ve the next then common understanding of the way to learn music, what goes into making higher then common music, and some different technical particulars from idea courses that by no means actually caught. I’m not going to bore people by dusting off data that’s a decade or extra older and at this level in all probability has a yokai I’d moderately not disturb lurking close by. Or in plain converse: I’m going to attempt to not be a music snob on this one. I’m additionally 100% open to being corrected if once I do use extra technical language I’m fallacious. Gotta continue learning irrespective of how outdated I get.
Ever since I turned a buddy of Natsume (again in 2013-ish), I’ve been engaged on my arguments for why Natsume’s E-book of Mates is such a particular anime. I imply I can speak up all of the emotional elements of exploring ones’ id via the lens of the supernatural whereas additionally rising up all I’d like. That doesn’t fairly promote the sequence to new-comers as I’d have hoped. I additionally occur to have just a few in actual life pals that choose the extra technical positives to the sequence verses the emotional gushing I have a tendency to make use of.
I’d all the time stumbled a bit with extra technical elements in attempting to persuade somebody to observe an anime. It didn’t really feel proper to attempt to upsell them on the animation, or the voice performing on this case. Each of which I personally discover greater than satisfactory, particularly given how lengthy the sequence has been working. In my hesitation about these elements, extra then as soon as somebody has latched onto the ‘it may well’t be price it for those who didn’t reward it from the beginning!’. I don’t fairly agree with that perspective, however I do get why it is smart for a lot of.
That’s, till it dawned on me how putting Natsume‘s soundtrack is. To be extra particular, I’m speaking in regards to the reoccurring music that was in seasons one via 4. My ear simply isn’t what it use to be, so I can’t fairly inform if seasons 5 via seven have an excellent completely different soundtrack. I’d assume that with the studio change from season 4 to 5, that the soundtrack was modified as nicely. Some googling suggests this to be the case, however I’m not allocating a rabbit gap to ensure.
The early season soundtrack has all the time resonated with me. There’s a little bit of a saying I heard concerning soundtracks generally: a very good soundtrack might be talked about in passing, a nasty one might be talked about as a tipping level as to why the entire venture was unhealthy, and an awesome soundtrack will go largely unacknowledged. I genuinely imagine that Natsume’s E-book of Mates, seasons one via 4 has one of many best soundtracks recorded for anime.
So everyone seems to be all on the identical web page, I used this video (not official) as a reference for this put up. The very first thing is that when the opening notes of the soundtrack hit me: I used to be immediately transported again into the late 2010’s. That basically wasn’t misplaced on me, and to be trustworthy kinda made me lose my breath for a second or two. The truth that because the soundtrack progressed in my thoughts I might vividly recall a scene or extra normally, that included every music totally shocked me.
These aren’t probably the most advanced or intricate items of music, I don’t assume my data has aged that a lot. Too name them easy could be a disservice to the composer and the musicians. These items make the most of their instrumentation – which I believe is fairly near chamber music -, and being so nicely composed with past competent musicians actually brings it to the subsequent degree. It’s not music that hits your ear after which sticks with you want annoying opening or ending theme. Like a number of what makes Natsume so particular, is that the music takes time to settle and sink into your ear. As soon as it’s there it by no means actually leaves you. It simply may take you a bit to comprehend what it’s from, and the place you unique heard it.
For that alone, a soundtrack that lingers in your ears even years after you final heard it, I believe that makes Natsume’s E-book of Mates a fairly worthwhile anime to take a look at.
