[rapoon]

some of the best orchestral music i've heard is off of misc anime soundtracks..
a couple that come to mind..

escaflowne
berserk - not really orchestral, but still good
princess mononoke

any recommendations? not necessarily from Anime soundtracks but good material from japanese composers.

 

[mulveling]

Everyone is quick to mention Yoko Kanno in queries like this (she did the Cowboy Bebob and Escaflowne soundtracks - I do sorta like the escaflowne ones), but I'm not really a big fan of hers, so I'm not listing any of her stuff

Under your criteria for [mostly] orchestral soundtracks:
I think you might really like Neon Genesis Evangelion's movie soundtrack, End of Evangelion. The Refrain soundtrack from the same series is not orchestral, but it's got an awesome remix of the Cruel Angel's Thesis theme song that I can't get enough of.

I really love The Twelve Kingdoms soundtracks, but part of it may be that I am blinded by my love for the show. Beautiful, simple compositions with one very gorgeous vocal for the ending theme song.

Other series with orchestral or orcestral-ish soundtracks are Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars, and the Record of Lodoss War OAV (actually I'm not sure if the Lodoss wars ones actually counts as orchestral). You might like the .hack//sign soundtracks (most people do), give them a shot.

In general, some of the other anime soundtracks I really enjoy:
The Revolutionary Girl Utena soundtracks. Volume 5 is easily the best of the bunch. I believe that one is the soundtrack for a musical version of the anime. These soundtracks may be hard to track down legit copies of. The style of the others is hard to describe and is not for everyone, though.

Hana Yori Dango Movie Soundtrack: The first half is a bunch of jazzy-type compositions I really like. Again, this could be really hard to find.

Vampire Princess Miyu OAV and TV soundtracks are both good, and they have a dark, eerie style that fits the show so well.

A quick mention of other soundtracks I like: Please Save My Earth 1, Mermaid's Scar, Mermaid Forest, Maison Ikkoku, Marmalade Boy Best Collection, Chobits Soundtrack 2, Cardcaptor Sakura.

Edit: Added in a bunch of stuff I forgot

 

[Textual Intercou]

noir ost 1 is often said to be one of the greatest, with canta per me as my highlight...great song. if someone could direct me to more music that sounded like that, I would give them a pie or something. literally.

the composer's other stuff (madlax, .hack//sign) is also pretty good

 

[dhwilkin]

Quote:

Textual Intercou said... noir ost 1 is often said to be one of the greatest, with canta per me as my highlight...great song.

Absolutely seconded. Coming in right after "Canta Per Me", for me, are "Salva Nos" and the opening theme. Incidently, you should check out the Grandia II 'Deus' soundtrack. In addition to being a pretty good game soundtrack in general, track 4 "A Deus" reminds me of a more relaxed "Canta Per Me", where the main instrument is a harp (I think).

Generally, any collaboration of Maaya Sakamoto and Yoko Kanno is gold, as is anything done by Joe Hisashi (guy that did Mononoke). Haibane Renmei has a very good score, as does Tenchi Muyo in Love (the first movie). Oh, and the first OST to Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar (usually just known as Sugar) is one of those absolute gems that nobody seems to know about, one of the few w/ a good deal of piano usage. I also highly recommend (on the j-pop side of things) any anime music by Megumi Hayashibara, most prolific on Slayers, also found in Saber Marionettes.

There's plenty of other stuff, but can't write everything in one post. Plus, you can check past threads about this subject.

 

[rsaavedra]

These are my must have Anime OST's:

Ghost in the shell
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke

Have the 3 DVD's. The import of Ghost in the Shell OST's is currently in transit from Amazon, Spirited Away's OST I've had since the DVD came out, and Princess Mononoke I still have it in my soon to buy list.

 

[strohmie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Textual Intercou the composer's other stuff (madlax, .hack//sign) is also pretty good

Be aware that she composed much of the music for the upcoming game Xenosaga Episode II, specifically the "movie scene" parts of the game. This probably covers cut scenes and battles, etc. Samples found here.

As to the topic, my current favorites are the GitS: Stand Alone Complex OSTs previously mentioned. "Fish ~ Silent Cruise" from the first SAC soundtrack is one of my all-time favorites.

Others often gracing my CD player include the Gungrave anime OST (Tsuneo Imahori, who also composed the great Trigun soundtrack) and Heroic Legend of Arslan OST1 (Norihiro Tsuru).

 

[tiberian]

yea jo hisashi is a fantastic composer, so far i have heard the music of 'castle in the sky', 'mononoke hime' and 'spirited away', all fabulous, basically a must have even if you don't like orchestral music.

the 'wolf rain' and 'chrno crusade' OSTs are from yoko kanno (not too sure, oh well) are both excellent cds, check them out.

make sure you check out the music of 'serial experiments lain' as well. very good metal and trance music.

 

[Kikkoman]

I'd have to, I think, 4th the recomendation for Noir OST 1 its one of my favorites.
Some of my other favorites are the: Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuioku Hen OST (which contains my favorite anime song "The Wars of the Last Wolves") and Witch Hunter Robin OST I both composed by Iwasaki Taku, .Hack//SIGN OST 1, and X OST 1
Also FLCL OST 1 and 2 are good, but you can just get the The Pillows albums to get full versions of the songs.

 

[GokieKS]

Gotta start with Yuki Kajiura's works:
.hack//SIGN, .hack//Liminality, Noir, Boogiepop - Music Inspired by Boogiepop and Others (NOT the Boogiepop Phantom OST)
In the course of roughly one year, just due to those 4, she's become my favorite anime composer... and .hack//SIGN has become my favorite anime and anime soundtrack.

Yoko Kanno's works are of course great, and WOLF'S RAIN's is one you might consider checking out (the first OST is available as a domestic release). Escaflowne remains her best work though (well, some people like Cowboy Bepop's music better, but it's a completely different style).

What else? I love the Ai Yori Aoshi soundtracks (nowhere near being orchestral though), the Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) soundtracks, and Shingetsutan Tsukihime (first OST released/to-be-released domestically as Lunar Legend Tsukihime).

And finally, it's not anime, but you can find plenty of orchestral versions of various game music, especially the well-known ones (Final Fantasy soundtracks, for example).

~KS

 

[rapoon]

thx for the recommendations. what ive heard so far, i like alot of yoko kanno's material. fav song off escaflowne is "shadow of doubt", but hajime did that track, along with gloria and several others. finding samples of some of the tracks and albums many of you recommended is difficult.

 

[Kikkoman]

oh I forgot a realy important album for any Final Fantasy fan. If you like FF music you NEED the "Final Fantasy Concert 20020220" album. Its just wonderfull.

 

[GokieKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kikkoman oh I forgot a realy important album for any Final Fantasy fan. If you like FF music you NEED the "Final Fantasy Concert 20020220" album. Its just wonderfull.

Agreed. Though the vocal tracks ("The Place I'll Return To Someday ~Melodies of Life" by Emiko Shiatori, especially) aren't nearly as good.

And the MCs sound like idiots.

~KS

 

[Ivion]

Many suggestions have already been given in this thread, but doesn't stop me to back them up!

The Noir OST is very nice, I always found it kind of a mix between classical and techno (especially Salve Nos) and is a good score.

Crest of the Stars (Seikai no Monshou) is a soundtrack which I also recommend, it is all instrumental and has a space feeling (the setting of the story is in space, which might explain that

).

My favorite anime OST of all time is the Haibane Renmei OST, which I absolutely adore, it is brilliant. The OST is composed mostly of classical music and has a very distinctive sound, but the classical music isn't your average classical music, it's a tad different. It utilizes some instruments which you normally don't encounter in classical music. There are also some more pop-orientated songs in the OST; they're not bad, but just not my cup of tea. In any case, the Haibane Renmei OST is a score that everyone has to hear, it is great!

 

[ooheadsoo]

Some stuff I don't remember being mentioned yet

More Yoko Kanno: Macross Plus, Turn A Gundam, NHK Documentary on China, Earth Girl Arjuna

Rahxephon is ok but some of the jazz cuts are a bit atonal at times, if that bothers you.

 

[kaiwei]

Check out the Last Exile OSTs by Geneon / Dolce Triade. They're pretty good too.