I must be. I pulled out Divergence Eve last night, just before going to bed.
Just to watch the OP and ED’s; all four of them. It still irks me that I can’t find the 2nd ED anywhere, even retail. Seems I’m not alone. Robert’s got the 2nd OP, but I’m not sure what the other song is that they’re calling the “Divergence Eve Theme;” the 1st OP? Or is it “Pump Up,” the first ED, which Gendou.com has?
After taking a look through the various animé soundtracks available in the U.S. I am beginning to think the music industry here could take lessons on overpricing their junk. OMG, Cowboy Bebop. (Let’s just say that the “fansub rules” I developed to support the producers of the animé I enjoy does not apply to the domestic music industry, whose products I neither support nor enjoy. And the animé music industry is on really shaky ground.)
Planning on an order soon, but I’m not sure what to add to it.
Coyote Ragtime Show DVD 1
Shana, DVD 3 & 4
FMP: TSR DVD 4 (out May 1)
GITS: SAC collection
That will clear some obligations and finish TSR. Then for late May/early June, I can pick up
Shana DVD 5
Melancholy DVD 1
????
I’m soliciting suggestions for the rest, including “obligation buys” that I’ve overlooked.
Update: well, dangit, AnimeNation is having a “40% off everything by ADV” sale. I’d rather browse that, than look at the news right now. So I will.
Update 2: Ok, I’ve put in not one, but two orders; one to Anime Nation, and the other to Robert’s Corner Store.
From Anime Nation:
Coyote Ragtime Show DVD 1
Shana DVD 3
From Robert:
Shana DVD 4
GITS: SAC collection
FMP:TSR DVD 4
I’m taking advantage of their relative strengths here; Anime Nation had the slightly superior sale, but little of what I wanted, whereas Robert had everything I wanted, and he’s never disappointed me on a pre-order. Unlike some other companies I could name. Grrrrrr.
The fact that they’ve both adopted PayPay checkout is icing on the cake.
Update 3: (taken from the comments below) They both shipped on 4/17! I thought FMP:TSR wasn’t going to be out until 5/1. Kewlies.
I like all the Divergence Eve songs, but “Pump Up” is the silliest thing imaginable for the series. I suspect it was written, recorded and animated by people who only had character sketches of Misaki to work with.
“Sora,” on the other hand, is just gorgeous. I love the full version in the last episode. Actually, I’d love a soundtrack album of the incidental music, too.
I’ve advanced the theory in the past that Pump Up and Kiss, Kiss, Kiss were written and animated to show us what Misaki was really like, aside from the desire to know what drove her father to his fate, and the soul-crushing responsibility that she ended up with.
But it’s more likely that they’re just part-and-parcel of the same thought process that resulted in the fanservice and all the women having such huge breasts.
And either I’m a bigger softie than Steven or Sora is truly a fantastic song; with the visuals of the ED, it can almost reduce me to tears by itself. Put it at the end of an episode…ESPECIALLY the last one…damn.
I’m a sucker for anything in a minor key. Or bagpipes. Been meaning to do a post about things like that; maybe I will this week.
The difference between “Pump Up” and “Kiss Kiss Kiss” is that the latter actually shows us the characters and hints at their relationships…I think it’s actually showing us how Misaki got to Camp Daisy via various hitchhiking, managing to meet just about all our characters on the way.
“Pump Up,” though, is just so…wrong. Especially placed at the end of an episode, where we have no doubt just seen some horrible thing happen. It always strikes me as ludicrous beyond compare. (Plus the song is only so-so.)
I think the OP of the first series and the ED of the second series are both excellent. The OP of the second series is totally deceptive for someone who doesn’t know anything about the series, but it actually does somewhat relate, at least a little bit. The ED of the first series is bizarre; it has nothing at all to do with what the series is about.
Given the analytical tone of this discussion, the post I have scheduled for tonight is quite apropos.
Edit: not that it’s anything original. Just something I found that I thought was humorous, given our inclinations and blogging.
I agree that the OP for “Misaki” is somewhat deceptive for what is to follow…but if a person starts watching “Misaki” before watching “Divergence,” well, trying to tie the OP to the show is going to be the least confusing thing they’ll be hit with.
The “Kiss Kiss Kiss” single you linked above says it includes “intro & outro” themes, so it should have the Misaki Chronicles ED as well. Usually if the same artist does the OP and ED for a show they’ll be sold as one single.
Hm… and I skipped ordering it because I didn’t see that note. Damn.
Edit: no, wait, I remember now, I DID see the note, but was afraid it was probably referring to “Pump Up” because it’s obviously the same singer, whereas the other song has an entirely different style — don’t know if it’s a different singer also.
According to the Anime News Network, Nao Nagasawa sang all three Divergence Eve songs.
Yeah, I suppose I could have looked it up….
Yeah, I know, I take all the fun out of SWAGing.
Well, if the S is for ‘stupid’ instead of ‘scientific’ we might have something there…
Anyway, I’ll add it to my late May/June order. FOR WHICH I’M STILL LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS, PEOPLE!
The first person to suggest “Naruto”, “One Piece”, or such similar ilk will receive a free one-way trip into the imagination of (p)Resident Evil, who remarked today “Studded leather clashes with pink chiffon.”
Should I be disturbed that I have friends who know such things? Perhaps one day, I can convince him to record his “Morally Questionable Pooh Stories” for posterity. Well, I think they’re his. I’ve never actually wanted to investigate….
Well, I’ll be damned. Both orders shipped today. What’s really weird about that is that Robert’s includes FMP:TSR 4. Evidently he got an early shipment. Woohoo!
I bought the “Divergence Eve” soundtrack from Robert’s. It consists of four tracks: the opening and closing songs for “Misaki Chronicles” (in full-length versions) and instrumental versions of same. Not bad, but it’s weird hearing the “Kiss Kiss Kiss” chorus kick in immediately, instead of after the brief opening reprise.