“Don’t wake me when I land, where they barely understand what I speak but they nod to my beats.” – Lupe Fiasco, Paris;Tokyo
I’ve always liked the way music works with anime. It’s kind of amazing to me that so many good soundtracks and original compositions can come from it (then again, I’m always amazed at how innovative and different music can be in general). Even if the music doesn’t stand out to me, most soundtracks do a good job within the context of the show. There are very few shows which have bad or ill-fiiting music; a lot of times you can say “Well, the show was pretty bad but at least the music was okay”. Or perhaps that’s just me and my inability to dislike most styles of music.
Then there are those times where a certain track or opening just “clicks”. Perhaps it’s something to do with the animation or the scene that goes along with it, but those moments where the music just fits can really add to a serie’s appeal. What really interests me is the case with openings. I don’t understand a lick of Japanese outisde a few keywords or phrases I’ve picked up naturally through watching anime. Add to that the natural rhythm and stylisation of Japanese singers (or, you know, any singers ) and I really have no idea what they’re talking about at all. But that doesn’t matter because there’s no barrier between me and the instrumentals. If the music sounds good and fits the show’s themes, storyline, animation, characters, basically anything, it’ll forever be to me what “fits” with that show. It acts as the musical link between me and the series, which I find is normally one of the strongest. It’s the summation of everything about the show within one and a half minutes, reminding me of everything I know and love. After a few replays, the anime will forever be defined to me by that music. It may seem obvious to say, but whenever I listen to an opening I can’t not think of the anime that I first heard it in. And all this happens without even knowing the lyrics.
But every now and again I wonder if I can really trust my interpretation of the way openings work. Lyrics are definitely important. The most significant example I can think of is the opening to Casshern Sins. When I first heard it, I was incredibly disappointed. The pop rock opening didn’t seem to have a place within the bleak, post-apocalyptic world of Casshern. I wondered what in the hell the creators were thinking. Then I actually read the (translated) lyrics:
Hey now, why were we born?
Hey now, why did we meet?
…
On a hill rife with fissures under the rusted sky,
We, the living, are much like blue flowers.
Wow, these words are literally perfect for this show. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that this song had been created specifically for it. Even so, the song still doesn’t sit well with me as I think of the show since the happy go lucky musical style is so different from the tone of the series. Something like this works a lot better.
Another example I can think of where a similar thing happens is the insert song for the original Full Metal Alchemist series, Brothers.
Just… perfect.
When I nominated this song for the MAL music club (join today!) the theme was Hope. I was suprised when the general consensus was that the song was more the exact opposite of that, and I wasn’t sure why. After checking out the lyrics, I can see what people meant:
Dear Mom, sweet Mom!
We loved you so much.
But all our efforts
Unfortunately were in vain.
Then there’s all the stuff about forgiveness, death, sin and all other sorts of terrible, terrible things. So yeah, “hopeful”. But seriously, I had no idea about the lyrics when I nominated the song, since that wasn’t what I was paying attention to. The melody and soothing tone of the song made me think of sadness, but also about hope for a better tomorrow and redemption, and that’s the reason I nominated it.
There’s no doubt in my mind that knowing the lyrics to a song can improve your understanding and appreciation of the series – the Casshern opening is testament to that. However, me learning the lyrics to Brothers kind of took away from my enjoyment of that song and how I looked at it personally. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a brilliant song, but I don’t think I’ll ever look at it (or the series) again in the same way. It might’ve been a rare case where not knowing what was being said was actually better.
Lyrics or not, perhaps it’s just more about your taste in music and your own way of mind and personality that shapes how important a song is to you within a series. Althouh it is important to know what’s being said to get the whole picture, I just know that every time I hear Guns ‘n’ Roses or Sorairo Days, I’ll probably end up with a smile on my face.
And I’ll never understand half of what rap artists are saying.
My poetry professor told us that music is the highest among the arts because there is no interpretative barrier to enjoying it. Anyone can listen to any tune and have an enjoyable experience.
One of the students asked “what about words and language?” (I thought this highly relevant because we were in poetry class) and he said that the human voice can be enjoyed as if a musical instrument — the melody is a powerful enough access point.
I completely agree, since I probably know only as much Japanese as you and yet I really enjoy so many songs from anime shows. My favorite franchise Macross is built on music almost as much as mecha and I can’t imagine how diminished it’d be without the music (Wait, I can, there was Robotech lol).
The funny thing is that I thought the tones in Brothers was really sorrowful and I didn’t know what the lyrics meant either (until reading this post anyhow). I do think that the hope still simmers underneath, but it’s not that readily apparent with the mournful tones that the piece delivers (if I were to pick a song to play at a funeral, this would work).
And the sentiment that you said in the opener is pretty much true 80-90% of the time. Only a few (ironically, K-ON! is one of those) anime series have horrid soundtracks and I think you’d have to dig around deep to find the terribad stuff.
I’m not familiar with either Casshern Sins or FMA Brotherhood I’m afraid, but I can relate to a lot of what you say here. Like you, my knowledge of Japanese is scant so it’s the cadence and general ‘feel’ of the lyrics that grabs me more than anything (their meaning may or not be a contrast with the vibe of the accompanying music, which is often interesting in its own right).
But then, I’ve always been bad at discerning lyrics and often mishear them anyway! For that reason, I was drawn to Jrock and instrumental music, and soundtracks especially. Listening to the OSTs on their own throw up a load of memories and even some new thougts on the show that the music’s written for.
While most fans and bloggers are checking studios and character designers, I’m usually tempted to watch a series because of the director and quite often I’ll watch it because of the OST composer on their own. The two seasons of ef- were a case in point: Tenmon’s music scores worked so well in Shinkai’s movies that I watched them just to hear those lovely piano and violin pieces.
I started listening to music in other languages before I started watching anime. Perhaps that’s what helped pave the way for me getting into anime in the first place? I know I wasn’t bothered by the language barrier like so many other viewers commonly are.
For me, at least, J-Pop and J-Rock express a certain feeling of euphoria and emotionalism that I just don’t get out of Western pop music. There’s certainly a specific “sound” to it that, while owing a big debt to Western pop/rock, is uniquely Japanese. But the lyrics… I’ve wondered before if I’d enjoy them half as much if I truly understood them. Maybe I just enjoy the sound of the Japanese language? At my job I’m constantly surrounded by people speaking in probably a dozen different languages. If I had to rank which ones I find the most pleasing, I’m sure that Japanese would be near the top, and I don’t think that’s just because I’m an anime fan.
I pretty much agree with Martin, the general “feel” of the lyrics usually draws me in. Even when I’m watching an opening/ending theme where I’m able to read the translation, I still associate it with my own personal understanding of the “spirit” of the show rather than whatever literal message that the lyrics are spelling out. If that makes any sense.
Every time I think about this and try to articulate my thoughts about it, it never comes out quite like I want it to.
My iTunes has more Japanese music in it than English and I can’t understand a thing they are saying, except for the occasional word I have also picked up from watching anime. I think I actually started listening to J-rock/pop slightly before I got really into anime. My cousin are half-Japanese and I remember them introducing me to Uverworld, Gackt, and maybe a few others. Would have to say that music really plays a big role in anime. half the time whenever i hear Anna ni Issho Datta no ni, my eyes start to water and i don’t know why.