Reading through my Gundam X review/Gundam Wing Sucks post, I realize I forgot to comment on the music for the Gundam Franchise. I'll do a few at a time, since I'm still plowing through some of them.
Note: There's no order to these; I'm simply grading them individually.
Tobe! Gundamu! (Fly! Gundam!) - From Mobile Suit Gundam
The very first Gundam theme, ever. And it shows.
For this song, as with any review you read of MS Gundam, you have to keep in mind it came out a long, loooong damn time ago. As in, before I was born. Yep, that "79" isn't just for the Universal Century.
The song itself is indicative of the time when the anime came out, carrying a lot of thematic similarties to Lupin the 3rd's opening them (disco/funk feel, name of the franchise repeated). The lyrics are incredibly simplistic, playing more like a High School's fight song (The Fighting Gundams!). Just look at the translated lyrics:
Also of interest, since this is the first anybody ever saw of the series, you'll note that the pronunciation of "Gundam" is "Gundamu", which is actually what the romanji spells out. Also, to my knowledge, it's one of only two Gundam Openings that actually use the word "Gundam" or the title of the series, the other being G Gundam.
VERDICT: I like this song now, but it did take quite a while to grow on me. Hit or miss, but give it a listen before throwing it on your iPod.
SIMILAR IN FEEL TO: OP for Lupin the 3rd (Simply called "Rupan Sansei no Teemu"[Theme of Lupin the 3rd]), OP for Zeta Gundam ("Zeta- Toki Wo Koete" [Zeta- Beyond The Time])
THE WINNER - From Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
This is, IMHO, either the best Gundam opening ever or tied for it. It also shows a bit of age in its late 80's-early nineties rock style), but it also does a great job of engaging the viewer: The video helps, but by itself, the song gets you pumped with a great mix of keyboard, guitar, and even a saxophone for good measure. The video is definitely worth a look however, as it does a good job of applying the music to a fight scene.
The only thing I can really nitpick about The Winner is that it's not any different in message from most of the rest of the Gundam catalog: It's a love song ("I've got a burning love"), but it's not nearly as bad as Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket's Opening.
Verdict: This is one of the best themes I've heard in anime, period. You really should be rocking this on your music player.
Similar in feel to: Nothing else in the Gundam series, with exception to the inferior, but still awesome, Men of Destiny, which is the theme for the back half of 0083 and performed by the same singer. There's also an english version called "Back to Paradise", which sucks - it's much slower, and the vocals are just lacking.
Flying In The Sky - From Mobile Fighter G Gundam
So, you've got an anime that takes itself none-to-seriously (Windmill Gundam? Tequila Gundam, from Neo Mexico?!)- how do you get the audience hyped up for it? Well, you throw in some very easy lyrics, including shouting out the name of not only the anime, but of one of the Gundam's special attacks ("Shining Finger", or as it sounds, "Shining Fingaah!") and including some horrible, horrible engrish ("Bright you now"). Voila.
I can't knock it, though- forget Gundam ZZ, this is the original Gundam comedy. It went places it probably shouldn't have, had all the depth of a shot glass and was still a blast, and the Opening sets the mood rather well. I still listen to Flying In The Sky every now and then, but it can wear on you quickly.
VERDICT: Give it a few spins, as it's a somewhat catchy tune and much, much better than the 2nd OP. I doubt it'll become anybody's favorite, though.
Similar In Feel To: I can see some people saying it sounds like ZZ's "Anime Ja Nai", but other than that, it stands alone pretty well.
More to Come...
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