Song Usage and Placement

Key Discussion
#10

This is far from something unique to Key, but I always found it extremely satisfying when the credits theme starts playing after a long route. When I was playing CLANNAD I kept getting bad ends during Tomoyo’s route, so when the ending theme started playing and the screen faded to white, that was very cathartic.

I also really liked how in Little Busters! (spoiler tagging for safety) different routes had different ending themes. Alicemagic, Faraway, and Regret were all fitting for the routes they were used for.

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#11

Torch wasn’t the only instance of a terribly chosen ending song, come to think of it. Episode 11 of Charlotte comes to mind. Yake Ochinai Tsubasa was forever ruined no thanks to that.

Key’s pretty good at choosing the right moments for songs at certain points in their VNs, and it never fails to move me. I’m a sucker for sad songs playing at emotional moments. Their selection of background music is stellar, and they make pretty solid choices for background music, whether for emotional, dramatic or even comedic effect.

If there was one thing music related I could think of to complain about, Two Shadows felt way overused because Clannad had so many routes and they all had that same ending song. Not a bad song, but I got tired of it pretty fast.

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#12

Speaking of Charlotte, lets not forget the transition to ED in episodes 3 and 4. Or wait, we cant forget it, because it never existed in the first place!

Seriously, the was not even a simply fade in. And it wasnt like there was a dramatic, suddenly black screen ending. It was just “show ends” > “blank space…” > “Oh yeah, I forgot, lets start the ED now.”

Charlotte did make up for it with the episode 6 ED though; I love when shows do a credit scroll on a black screen with a unique ED to emphasize the dark mood of the ending scene. Very reminiscent of a certain track and moment from Little Busters that I hold very dear…

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#13

I really loved the end of After Story in the CLANNAD anime when Nagisa Warm Piano Arrange starts playing before the illusionary world “ends” and “fuses” with the current timeline to reset time.

That was just such a great music placement. It gave such a powerful and impactful feeling. It also gave a sense of closure to the story, having a melody that basically screams out "my life is perfect with you/was perfect with you, and I’ll never want to ever regret being with you

I also loved when " Reply" was playing near the end of Shizuru’s route in Rewrite during the Diary scene. I honestly thought the song was actually made for that scene. Considering its a diary, and the song is “Reply”, which was something Kotarou could never do for Shizuru’s during that time, no matter how much she was worrying about him.

That scene was just perfect in many, many ways.

Then we have Angel Beats! I loved the part during Yui’s route when they put Ichiban No Takaramono in the final Yui scene before she got obliterated. I especially loved that it continued and rolled on until the end credits were done

It’s honestly just perfect and beautiful. Beautifully placed, and very emotional.

For Little Busters! (anime), I know that a lot of people didn’t like this particular music piece being used in the anime, as opposed to the visual novel, but for Refrain, I personally loved Song for Friends playing when Riki and Rin were rescuing people from the bus crash. Yes, it was supposed to be a serious scene. But I actually did like it because it made the scene stronger, because it was basically inferring that it was a song for the LB gang, making it more emotional if they possibly died. It was going for feels, rather than seriousness.

And then we all know Key’s ED’s are all beautifully placed. Canoe, Koibumi, Aozora, Song For Friends, etc.

The things I’d want to differ

Definitely. Planetarian and Rewrite for their adaptions.

For Rewrite, near the end of Terra, Radiance is playing and honestly, I didn’t like it playing there. Yes, it was very fitting, but it just didn’t have the impact. The scene was impactful, but the song was not. I do hope they change that.

And for Planetarian, I’ll be honest and say the BGM’s could be better for the final chapter, when it gets animated. Just doesn’t have impact.

#14

I think there are definitely aspects of game design that don’t get enough attention and sound direction is one of them, big time.

KEY games have the benefit of having a main writer also acting as a composer, so he has the ability to project the specific emotions he’s fishing for more efficiently than a writer and a composer could do separately. This is especially noticeable in the trademark KEY climaxes.

On top of that, it aids in the direction of the games. Jun Maeda just has to say, “this song goes here because that’s how I wrote it” instead of writers, composers, and directors all convening to decide what songs go where.

i cri everytim

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#15

I already disliked the song to begin with, but that instance just felt like the producers (KyoAni, not Maeda-sensei) were insulting me. I have half a mind to do an edit where I switch the EDs between the two seasons; have Torch for season one and Dango Daikazoku for AS.

That’s another point where I agree fully. I trust you also caught the Negai ga Kanau Bashou/Place Where Wishes Come True leitmotiv there as well, which hints at the nature of the scene.

Ana was another one that struck me as a bit insulting–not to me, but to Lia: Listen to her accent–she clearly has a better grasp of English than whoever wrote that nonsense.

Now, for several that haven’t been mentioned yet (Angel Beats!):

1. Alive: When Yuzuru speaks to Hatsune, the orgel version of Memory plays softly under the sound of his voice, but when she dies, it switches to the full orchestra. This is repeated again at the end of the Graduation ceremony, just before Naoi heads off. The way it shifts from the simplicity of the orgel to the elegance of a full orchestra serves nicely to go along with the shift from nostalgia to melancholy in these scenes. And speaking of Graduation…
2. Ichiban no Takaramono (ver. karuta)–I mentioned in the AB! screenshot thread that the final scene before the end credits gets me every time, and that it’s always on one particular line of dialogue, but I doubt that wouldn’t work on me if it weren’t accompanied by this beautiful song playing under it.

And how about this? People often forget about the Clannad movie, and even when they remember, they don’t usually think of it getting things right, but I have to say the people at TOEI picked a great place for the OP (Megumeru): They put it over the opening scene in the cherry orchard. It starts off with just the sawtooth countermelodies as Tomoya and Nagisa get acquainted, and then, when the dialogue is over and they start up the path, the full vocals and all other tracks burst in. I can only imagine how satisfying it must have felt for those premier audiences to hear that for the first time, thinking, “this is it–this is really happening–this is a real Clannad movie”. The hype must’ve been real. Short-lived, but real.

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#16

Blegh. Other than the OP, which sounded gorgeous and well-fitting as you stated, Toei ruined the soundtrack and music placement with their new OST’s and BGM that did no justice. I felt like I was watching some southern horror movie when listening to their soundtrack.

The fact that they also changed Dango is a wtf… all the emotional scenes (excluding their version of the ending to After Story) were not emotional at all because of the music.

Glad KyoAni actually used the original soundtrack.

Anyways, I don’t know if this is necessarily music placement in the show itself, but I have the movie version of AIR from Toei, on DVD, and I loved how they put “Tori no Uta” as the main-theme on the title screen. It gets you hyped up.

#17

Oh, no, I wasn’t saying the whole OST was good; I totally agree with every point you made, I was only praising the OP (one of only two songs they kept).

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#18

As far as I heard, the original Dango song wasn’t really an arrange of Nagisa in the VN. And I personally liked the Dango song in the movie – it felt like it suited being a kids’ show song (well Dango Daikazoku is an in-story kid’s show) more than the Nagisa arrange. Though I understand that the Nagisa arrange had more reason to sound that way.

The movie soundtrack, while being decent for the most part, was used in an in-your-face manner so amazingly that everything came off as cheesy. Just watch the (movie ending) reunion with Ushio scene. Well the whole movie was very cheesy, but that’s another topic.

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Key Sounds Label - Music Discussion
#19

In the original vn, there was no dango related song at all. It was literally Nagisa just saying dango like two or three times.

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#20

Buuuut if we get technical, it was established that the Dango song has the same melody as Nagisa’s theme at the end of After Story when the Girl in the Illusionary World sings it.

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#21

It gave me nightmares.

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#22

Discussion question time!
What song should be the first one we hear in the Rewrite anime?
(Discounting the OP, if it plays before everything else)

I firmly believe that if the anime starts with a monologue from Koutarou, the song that plays should be Hinagiku. It carries a great sense of mystery that I think frames the entire series. Also, because it’s Kagari’s theme, it provides great foreshadowing. When the viewer inevitably hears it again later, they would be more aware that the scene is different from the normal shenanigans from the common route. Any other scene might use something else, but the powerful opening monologue deserves to be backed by Hinagiku.

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#23

I actually went and listened to all the OSTs and you’re right. Hinagiku is the only one that could be nicely used IF the Rewrite anime started with a Kotarou monologue. Didn’t they also use it fo the VN? I don’t remember much of the beginning hehe. But then, they could still not start with a monologue. In the visual novel, they started with the monologue then a Yoshino scene, I believe. In the anime, they could reverse it and show us the Yoshino scene with either DIS is a pain or Wataboushi then a monologue but then the monologue would be different and with a different OST like Sanka… But that’s still very unlikely so yeah, you’re right, the monologue with Hinagiku would be a better start for the anime. I believe that too but I still kind of wish for something different than the VN.

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#24

While I also hope this is the case, I could also see them starting with the first Kotori scene, while using Nirinsou (Kotori’s theme), and then cutting to said monologue. I could see this happening, as to not immediately throw the anime only viewers into a serious moment.

#25

I recalled another favorite song placement! (Rewrite Kotori) You know the scene where Kotarou wakes up in a hospital and realizing that he survived the ordeal was a very cathartic moment and even more so when Honesty played along with it. ;u;

I hope they do this in the anime too, if they ever adapt Kotori route faithfully.

BTW, if there’s any song placement I ever disliked, it was when My Unpleasant Thing (Little Busters!) was playing. It’s a very uneasy song, but it always detracted from the experience for me whenever it plays. There’s also Fabrication (Air), but it’s probably because it’s not meant for the anime format. The track worked well in the VN though.

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#26

I think it would be a crime if “Carnation” didn’t play when Shizuru first appears in the anime.
It’s such a beautiful song, and the closest thing to Koibumi.

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#27

It’s her character song so it wouldn’t make sense to not have it play. Just like Nirinsou (Soft Windflower) should play for Kotori and Sunbright for Lucia and so on.

#28

I would say Finale during the salvation in Akane’s route

#29

Helios asked for someone to revive this topic so I’m back to talk about Planetarian. Because this is about Planetarian, I always end up talking about Christian beliefs, especially my own, somewhere down the line. I try not to make it too awkward but like, it’s just how I am so bear with me.

I have no idea if @Totoro_Futaki is even here anymore but I have to disagree with your opinion that the bgm’s in the final chapter don’t have enough impact. I believe they do, and here’s why. (I guess Planetarian spoilers) Most of the journey outside of the planetarium has no bgm and just is the sound of rain. Actually to be more accurate, there is only the sound of rain whenever Yumemi isn’t with the Junker. Which I just found really interesting. It says something here, but that interpretation can be different for everyone. For me though, I interpret this as follows. Its not immediately obvious, but the basically the sole purpose of the Junker in this game is to meet Yumemi and eventually be given purpose by her display of the stars. If Yumemi is not around, there is no longer light in this world. Instead of light though, the novel chooses to use sound instead. There is no longer purpose. Like sure, Yumemi is still around, but this is the only time in the novel where Yumemi isn’t by his side. In this way, the absence of sound is powerful.

Entirety of planetarian vn spoilers At the end of the fight, Yumemi is almost dead and Perfectly Human plays. I think one of the coolest things about this track is it’s naming convention. IIRC it can be translated as Perfectly Human or Perfect Human. One references the fact that Yumemi is essentially human, and not a robot. The other references the fact that Yumemi is comparable to Jesus, the perfect human. I think this song is really good also because it seems almost hopeless, but yet as we see later (kinda) Yumemi still lives, even if its only in our hearts (or maybe even more so?).

Then before the credits, the last song that plays is Itsukushimi Fukaki, the Loving Depths, or also an instrumental version of What a Friend We Have in Jesus. The only audio that goes along with this is the sound of rain and Yumemi inviting all to the planetarium. As a Christian, my interpretation is as follows. As was discussed in the Planetarian General topic, Yumemi is essentially Jesus, the stars represent heaven, and rain is the sin that blocks us from it. In her (his) death, Yumemi (Jesus) invites us to see the stars (heaven) even though we are still being rained on (are still sinners). The song gives us confirmation of this connection. And it also confirms that whatever happens, we have a friend in Yumemi (Jesus) who lives in our hearts.

At this point I should’ve just posted in Planetarian General… maybe…

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