I’m pretty sure the greenish creature is voiced by Chiwa Saito (who is already voicing Anya in this show) - could anyone confirm it, please? It’s probably in the credits but I can’t say I know Japanese. :P [edit: Matthew confirms!] Going back to the actual episode: a start of a new arc (supposedly an original one). Pretty exciting - even the music somehow got more confident/exciting, too - but with very uneven art quality throughout (can’t wait to see the DVDs). There’s more after the jump~

Low quality but you can see how awesome the OST cover is. I love how it’s an exact opposite of OST3 cover.

As requested. Click for bigger version.

And that is fanservice, again. :p

I wonder if this 「ネギま！？夏 スペシャル！？」 DVD includes a Creditless OP (assuming it has an opening even). The full Haru DVD doesn’t have it, but it was included on that digest DVD 2 months earlier - there was no digest for Natsu… was there?

Did anyone else think about T2: Judgement Day during the second half of episode 2? lol. All that serious chatter with girls having fun in the background reminded me of Sarah Connor’s visions from that movie… lol.

I’m loving the show so much! The opening battle between Eva and Negi was stunning visually and exciting (even if super short) - I dunno, everything in the first 2 episodes seems to perfectly suit my taste. Even Chiwa (+ Shinku) had a cameo again! Can’t wait episode 3.

Ahhhh wait, I remembered I didn’t like one thing in ep2 - the BGM they played during that Eva vs Nagi flashback.

The official site got updated with specs for the 4th volume of 「Higurashi no Naku Koro ni」 and it’s supposed to come with a second mini-Soundtrack disc. The first mini-OST came with DVD Volume 1 and has two tracks which do not appear on either of the full OST releases. More Kenji Kawai = hurrahz.

「 ひぐらしのなく頃に 」 四 【初回限定版】 + ミニサントラＣＤ２「雛見沢探訪」 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Vol.04 Limited Edition + mini-SoundtrackCD2   Kenji Kawai 2006.11.10 : FCBP-40

I just felt like writing about the new SHAFT anime and I don’t think I’ll be writing anything about other new shows… :) It’s the third show from the people responsible for Tsukuyomi MOON PHASE and Pani Poni Dash! - it’s so darn good to have them and Chiwa Saito back for the new season.

I haven’t read the manga (at all) or seen the original anime (in full), but I heard all kinds of things about both - from good (lots of fanservice) to bad (lots of fanservice). Well… one thing that’s certain is that SHAFT has actually stripped their rendition of Negima! from pantsu & other fanservice - totally fine by me as long as they can keep the whole show as enjoyable and stylish as the first episode was.

Stylish… yep, the style is pretty sweet, but what about the story? Well… I’ve no idea what it might be about… The opening and ending sequences make it seem like Evangeline is going to be the central character of the show, but they really could end this in the next one or two episodes and move onto something else… have to wait and see.

After the initial previews I thought this would be a step-back for SHAFT, but thankfully it is a widescreen show and as long as they keep this animation up for the whole TV run (which I doubt knowing SHAFTs previous 2 efforts weren’t pretty before hitting DVD), I think I’ll be a very very happy viewer. Obviously, not everybody has to like the style that Akiyuki Shinbo and SHAFT have. I’ve seen some complaints about randomness, jumping around same simple backgrounds (BS!) and other stuff. The art, animation, quick cuts between different parts of a room and music are all very similar to Pani Poni Dash (which I liked) while dark scenes bring memories of Tsukuyomi (which I love) back - obviously I’m enjoying everything quite a bit here. I don’t mind the classroom (or jumping around it) one bit and actually, I am very happy they went with a university style auditorium instead of your regular classroom - we’ve seen those way too many times.

But really… the things that made me most happy in the first episode were: A: vampire and dark scenes with shadowing that probably only SHAFT can make work this nice. B: Chiwa Saito is in the show! Of course I’ll be watching the whole thing…

Liked the first one? This has more of volume 1 type of tracks, but with a lot less annoying happy bgms. If you didn’t… why are you even reading this? The disc has a total of 5 alternate versions of the main theme (including the one played in the finale), and it still skips one from the mini-Soundtrack. It includes only 1 of the 3 “new” tracks from that disc, which with (I think) 4 other happier tunes leaves 20 that are quite creepy and maybe slightly depressing (which is totally fine with me). Few tracks, which I don’t remember hearing in the show, also leave an impression - most importantly 「狂気」, I really can’t recall hearing such a hectic track in any of the episodes. Oh yes, I forgot - 「ミチシルベ」 is the murder track from Onikakushi and Tatarigoroshi chapters - I complained when it wasn’t included on the first OST on my previous blog, so YAY now! Great release for those who enjoy this kind of music (like me).

「事件 ～Another Ver.～」 and 「メイン・テーマ ～Piano Ver.～」 from the mini-Soundtrack were left out of the official OST releases. 「メイン・テーマ -哀」 on this album is different from the ～Piano Ver.～.

The package also includes a new Rena card (Rika came with 「Kakera Musubi」).
 

「メイン・テーマ -罪」, 「調査」, 「やわらかな陽光」, 「メイン・テーマ -結」, 「ミチシルベ」.
 

Because Kenji Kawai can set the mood right.

2006.09.26 edit: cover added.

「 ひぐらしのなく頃に 」 OST Vol.2 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni OST Vol. 2   Kenji Kawai 2006.10.06 : FCCM-159

Related stuff: lyrics;

FINALLY!!!! And it is supposed to include 「sniper」 (from episode 14 of 2nd GIG) as well as 「player」 and 「date of rebirth」 - Origa’s opening and ending themes to SSS!

2006.10.14 edit: What is this? No 「sniper」 in JVC tracklisting? What’s going on? It’s still in the item description on the same page…

2006.10.16 edit: According to Kunai from YKDB forums, 「sniper」=「somewhere in the silence」.

2006.10.27 edit: cover added. Bigger version here.

2006.11.15 edit: sniper seems to have gotten yet another new title.

「攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX Solid State Society」 O.S.T Ghost in the Shell STAND ALONE COMPLEX Solid State Society OST   Yoko Kanno 2006.11.22 : VICL-62172