From now on, I will only be writing and performing Action Jazz and I am claiming it as a new genre and no one can stop me. (New Harmony 1010 course is 30% off- cornellmusicacademy.com/harmony )
Charles, check out the soundtrack to Big O. It's done by Toshihiko Sahashi, and includes a song called Rundown which is a hyperspeed piano run played in the show by an android (including discussion on why just playing all the notes fast is not the same as feeling the piece). Lots of jazz and mood in the soundtrack, plus the show was animated by the same studio that did the iconic original 90s Batman: TAS.
What is even more badass is that the Jazz he is playing in his cockpit can be heard by everyone friends and foe alike through some radio frequency, so it started having a big psychological impact on the battlefield. There is a scene where pilots on the opposite side were doing a briefing session after one of their squadron got mysteriously wiped out. When they reviewed the video datas on one of the black boxes, all they could hear was Jazz playing in the background while they comrades were being shot down one by one. That's how they knew who just attacked them.
My fencing coach would ask me to listen to free form jazz, because he theorized that the unorthodox beats and melody would help me be more reactive to changes in my opponent’s tempo. I think this is why jazz works so well in a combat setting. It’s two Individuals trading blows back and forth. Also this show helped get me in to jazz and anime. Super happy you are highlighting it!!!
I grew up on martial arts and the similarities between improvization and sparring are endless. Classical instrumentation is inherently tied in with warfare and combat itself, not to mention that fighting is literally just a subset of dance if you are willing to look at it as such.
Reminds me of a joke that goes something like: “Who would win in a fight, a buff nerd, or a jock who listens to jazz?” There’s more to it, but I can’t remember it.
That is actually exactly fits to the character in the show who listens to free form jazz as he is almost entirely unpredictable and sporadic in their movements.
So one thing I love about Thunderbolt is that Io uses his Jazz to stay alert while flying at insane speeds through the debris field while Daryl, the sniper, uses the relaxing music to tune out his distractions and focus on his target.
Exactly. I've watched most of the Gundam series, certainly all of the UC, and this show blew me away in it's portrayal. It's not an easy watch though, this is defiantly the most R, M, or 18+ anime of the franchise. Gundam has never turned away from the effects of war on the mind, but this one takes it to another level.
@@lelandvaughan4429 I would say Victory & IBO are darker in that the ones suffering the most are children/innocents but Thunderbolt is definitely up there in the war crimes, "this isn't what I signed up for", and literally threatening people with family being political prisoners.
@@DeamonChocobo Oh IBO definitely is pretty heart-rending and I haven't seen Victory (trouble finding it), but it's the casual brutality of Thunderbolt that gets me. Really feels like a War movie more than any other Gundam series I've seen.
@@RedHornSSS floating debris, minvosky particles, space battleships, rick dom snipers and then this guy blasting jazz on the radio while flying in a mobile suit in space. Things couldn't get more hectic than this!
Here's the list of musicians featured on the album Sax-Umezu Kazutoki Trombone-Yoichi Murata Piano-Onishi Junko Bass-Toshihisa Nagami Drums-Hattori Masatsugu Junko Onishi is a very famous jazz pianist in Japan. I am not too familiar with the rest of the band, but looking at their profile, they are some of the best musicians in Japan's free jazz scene. The soundtrack also feature "dCprG", an avant garde big band lead by Kikuchi and is highly influenced by Miles' Davis' electronic period. As far as I can tell from the Japanese article, the piano track was indeed overdubbed on "Chromatic Universe"
Jazz is alive and well by being the adopted child to the Japanese. Man the amount of love for Jazz here in Japan is truly heartwarming. It’s alive, more alive than in the US.
Junko Onishi is a real legend, I can't believe I'm just hearing of her. Here's a clip of her playing with Kenny Garrett in '91. ruclips.net/video/K060F3bRXKg/видео.html
Mecha in general is pretty overlooked nowadays tbh. Can't really fault the current state of the industry though lmao, mecha pretty much was what most mfs in japan would've watched in the 80s lol
Season 3 was delayed, it's adapted from a manga and the writer for it fell ill part way through what would be adapted for season 3. I believe they've returned to writing again and reaching the end of Thunderbolt now so it depends on what that part of the studio is working on (which is possibly the Hathaway movie trilogy so could delay it until those are finished).
Naruyoshi Kikuchi was also one of the main saxophone players on the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. There's also an amazing song he did with the band Quasimode called Cosmic Eyes (which I uploaded since it's not on streaming outside of Japan). Some of his soloing on that song sounds straight out of Cowboy Bebop as well haha
Went to a concert for thunderbolt. The piano and the drums go super hard live. Watching the pianist and drummer going back and forth and watching them both having an absolute blast is an experience I won’t forget
Kudos to the Manga writer for being able to visualize how Jazz could fit in the battle scenes and the story. The anime team and the musician translate it well from the page too. Incredible future war series. Enjoyed every second of it.
I'm so glad Charles took a closer look at the Gundam Thunderbolt soundtrack after diving a little bit into Groovy Duel a while back. Thunderbolt is so fuuuuuuckin good and I'm glad it's getting more recognition :)
Gundam Thunderbolt’s mix of chaotic jazz and fighting made me actually appreciate jazz for what it is. Chaotic, and I love. I listen to a lot now a days. Oh god I’m alone, is my absolute favorite out of the soundtrack. But only by a bit.
The Bleach soundtrack is definitely another interesting one. You wouldn't really expect latin jazz and flamenco playing during a swordfight. Escalon and Distancia para un duelo are my two personal favourites but the entire OST3 is filled to the brim with awesome music.
this anime's soundtrack can only be explained as "freeform jazz" it's so strange but the entire plot of the show is like pop vs jazz, and guess who won?
You can listen this kind of jazz from the likes of artists such as Tigran Hamasyan, Ari Hoenig, Avishai Cohen, Eldar Djangirov etc. Fans generally refer it as post-bop most the time anyway.
@@RobinsMusic I can understand where you're coming from, at least a little, though I have a feeling that I like it much more than you do. I can enjoy up to a certain level of free form jazz, I don't mind at all if a song isn't melodic per se, but is it asking to much for it to at least be linear? Improv all you like, But I would enjoy it a lot more If the transitions and interplay were a bit less jarring. that said the individual musicians are truly amazing amazing at what they do, i just wish they were about 20% more in sync.
In terms of the performers and finding out more information about them, VGMDB has basically every video game and anime soundtrack catalogued and they're usually very thorough with it. For instance, I just checked the page for the OST and it says the bass clarinettist from Shutsugeki-you was one Mr. Kazutoki Umezu, and you can even click on his name under the credits at the top to see what else he's done (apparently he composed the soundtrack to Wild7, performed clarinet & bass clarinet on the ARIA soundtrack, etc.).
Dude thunderbolt was insane and the soundtrack just took it to that next level. Was painful how long it took each episode to come out but now it’s a constant recommendation to people .
When I saw "jazz anime," i was immediately like "is this guy talking about Thunderbolt?" This was a DEEP pull, cool to see people talking about this show again
Life-long musician and Gundam fan. Thunderbolt was such a breath of fresh air in so many ways. The pacing, the characters, the animation, and that soundtrack! GOD, that soundtrack! Long time trumpet player and bass player, and I never thought I'd hear THAT in a mecha series. Had a great time watching this, and seeing Thunderbolt get a wider audience outside of anime/mecha enthusiasts.
Another anime's music you might find interesting is an old one, Samurai Champloo (I know, the opening is definitely not jazz, but a lot of the songs found in the ost are heavily jazz influenced.) Great anime too. I love this analysis series you're doing, I hope you keep it up.
It really has to be pinned. Samurai Champloo started the whole LoFi thing. Also regarding Anime, He clearly has to check out Hiroyuki Sawano, who did Soundtracks for Guilty Crown, Cabaneri of the Iron Fortress, i dont know which Gundam and most famously Attack on Titan
If your looking for more Gundam, I recommend Gundam Unicorn's OST composed by Sawano Hiroyuki. Real epic orchestral stuff. He also did the OST for Attack on Titan. Hope you do a video on him some day
Yes Sunrise knows how to make epic Hollywood style music that Hollywood seems to have somehow forgotten. They just slap some pop artist’s performance and call it a day. I like composed epic music like in Pacific Rim and Inception in my Hollywood movies.
Gundam Thunderbolt combines the best elements from Gundam. The Universal Century, High Blood Pressure action and visuals, compelling and conflicting morals, and FANTASTIC MUSIC COMPOSITION. Edit: Universal Century is best Century in Gundam.
The piano solo on “I’m 60” is kinda nuts, especially the first chorus. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t (I’ve even transcribed some of it to play for myself because it’s so harmonically interesting).
Trigun might have some interesting tracks to talk about. It’s got rock, and jazz, an’ simple old western sounding tracks. And also weird dissonant tracks with static. Quite the mix, but I guess the show does cover several genres of storytelling.
I think In the MANY gundam series’ this one is in the more war drama area. So a chaotic soundtrack that’s unfamiliar and scary sets a great tone for this fast, life or death story.
@@TheHKZero Even then though, they do tend to mix up musical styles a lot in Gundam. Like G Gundam is mainly orchestral, but can still have jazz influences in there.
If you like the concept or "dueling instruments", check out the Groovy Duel scene from the second season where Io and Bianca play the song of the same name.
He just turned Jazz into a psychological weapon. When the other pilots hear the music in their piles of junk, they know It's comming and they can't do nothing about it. Gundam Thunderbolt is brilliant.
i think a big reason why jazz is so alive in japan is because they're put in stuff like anime, a medium of storytelling that is mostly appropriate for all ages. being introduced to a wide variety of genres of music from such a young age, and in a very entertaining way, is such a great method of creating a personal connection with such music. and this feeling will almost always carry through adulthood where they themselves can create content related to the stuff they've loved growing up.
Agreed. Plus given that Japanese tend to study things diligently to the music they want and different music enthusiasts from different music genres kept jazz and other music styles alive like blues etc. Even in fashion, if they want to rock funky 70s styles they will look for any type of inspiration, guides on Do's and Don't, even have a monthly fashion guide presented via magazines to get ideas from.
@@HenSt-gz7qj It's kinda sad that a lot of shows don't get this: you can have the most awesome jaw-dropping visuals, but if the music isn't up to par the moment becomes lesser. It's especially the case in Western media where it's common for people to think that background music should just be background music, and while that can work for certain scenes there should be times where the music rises to the occasion and gives the scene the emphasis it deserves. Instead a lot of times you just hear the same generic, forgettable music that doesn't seem to do anything but just be... there.
True, and each era of the franchise has a different feel. As far as the classic early stuff goes, I’m really fond of Shigeaki Saegusa’s work on Zeta, ZZ, and Char’s Counterattack.
I thought the exact same thing when I first watched Thunderbolt and the soundtrack definitely helped it become one of my favorite anime series ever. Completes the vibe for me and really sets a super interesting ambiance for the series that hooks you in with an unique manner.
In 2013 Code Geass: Akito of the Exiled(a spinoff of the Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion) had some free jazz tracks, one was used for the trailer and the anime community was MAD about the music lmao.
I love the chaos of this free form. As someone with ADHD I love how much stimulus this is throwing at me, as a musician, I love the talent and musicianship.
I am soooooo stoked you’ve finally covered Thunderbolt! It’s a fantastic watch when you see the action matched with the incredible compositions. If you’re looking for more, definitely check out Kids On The Slope (although you may have already?), Showa Rakugo, Baccano!, Carole And Tuesday, Space Dandy & pretty much anything from the Lupin The Third series 🤘🏽🤓
I got the chance to hear an actual Rakugo performer review Showa Rakugo and they claimed that it's really true to the art form, too. And I LOVED Kids on the Slope. The medley scene.. OH GOD THE MEDLEY SCENE. Still gets me.
Ahh, you'd love the Bungou Stray Dogs and Baccano OSTs, though, in those cases, the jazz /is/ fitting. Also...some Haikyuu songs are, randomly, just great and insane jazz.
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing has a jazz OST, but it's a very different jazz from what's in Thunderbolt. It's more streamlined and less chaotic, but even though the same songs are played multiple times in the series, they never get old
This is one of my favorites animes and I'm so happy to see it get the attention it deserves! My personal favorite song would be the main theme, just the franticness, the solos and especially the drums create a really disturbing yet alluring piece.
Thunderbolt finally getting its time under the sun lmao The track "Kushimotobushi" from the 2nd season remains one of my favorite songs from the whole series purely because of the context in which the song was used. They knew what they were doing with that scene istg.
Ai Kuwabara was the pianist for Groovy Duel (from the last video). She has a few albums with her trio available. 'From Here to There' is my favourite, especially the tracks 'Bet Up' and 'Edit Typos.'.
Anime soundtracks are so much more interesting than western cartoon soundtracks. In Japan it is very common to find an interesting chord progression. Even in J-Pop nowadays, maj7s are extremely common.
I don't think the genre comparison holds up, because anime is usually serial drama while western cartoons usually feature stand-alone episodes and focus on comedy. The musical approach to each reflects this. Video games are a more apt example of your point. Consider how creative the OSTs of games like Breath of the Wild and Nier are compared to, like, Assassin's Creed? God of War? And this is for like a million reasons, going well beyond chord progression (BotW out here just stacking 4ths anyway lmao)
@@MadassAlex I can't agree more. What I was trying to say is that there is more jazz influence in mainstream modern Japanese music than mordern Western music. Ofc there is alot of jazz in new western music but in general, Japanese music has a more interesting sound. I do agree that I delivered the message in an odd way, but I hope you can understand what I meant. (I am stacking 4ths too haha)
I love where the hits from the trumpet in that sword scene match up to the emotion of that person in gundam and when the sword swings and misses. Absolutely stunning
Sento kaishi yo seems to make more sense to me if im counting 9/8, the second bar of "5/4" on the drums has an ending fill that doesnt feel right counting that way, cuts it short. Idk. Maybe just me.
It's just called post-bop, I get it sounds crazy and all but still grounded in existing jazz tradition. Avant-garde is nothing more than edgy term invented by industry journos who typically, at the time, had no clue about what they're talking about. I'd suggest avoiding using it.
Appreciate having your face to showcase that even someone who adores this type of music can be hit by the abrasive highs; the more I learn about jazz, the more I learn about the intentionality behind it, and have an incredible appreciation for those who find joy in weird sounds.
It’s funny because when I was in middle school this soundtrack was the thing that got me into jazz, and well now I’m doing summer courses at nyu 5 years later so I guess it wound up being pretty profound in my life lol
I think you'll love Sakamichi no Apollon! The animation there was rotoscoped to make it accurate to what the characters are playing, and that's not even mentioning the jazz ost produced by Yoko Kanno herself!
Don't forget bossa nova ;) (Galdin Quay, Costa Del Sol, New Wave Bossa Nova) - I think bands like The Consouls are bringing jazz genres more into the mainstream via VGM and I have had the pleasure of seeing them live. VGM and anime may be quietly revolutionising our musical palettes....(dare I say for the better!)
The Gundam franchise usually has very good music playing in the background, because they put a lot of effort into everything! One of the reasons to why it’s my favourite franchise 😄 Char’s theme (Universal Century timeline) has also very catchy jazz!
"NieR: Automata" and "NieR Replicant ver.1.22...", though they aren't animes, are japanese rpgs and have FANTASTIC scores and won some awards for best video game soundtracks and such. They both use a completely made up language made of a mix of already existing languages and what they would sound like if they came together thousands of years in the future. But it also allows the players to listen to the characters talk in the cutscenes without getting tangled in the music vocals. A LOT of interseting stuff!!! I think you should check it out!
@@MitoseNorikoFan I've heard that... SEED just kinda burned me out of the franchise, and then on top of that life went to hell around that time, so I only know what I know about the more recent stuff by such statements. ^_^;
If you want to check out thunderbolt, it’s pretty easy to get through. It also takes place during the one year war, but is pretty stand alone. Also really short, both seasons are just a little over 2 hours of watch time.
One of the main themes of that anime that it has 2 opposite pilots who happens to listen music during missions... One of them likes fast and dynamic Jaz we herd during that fight scene. The other one likes slow vocal jaz. And it serves the purpose of showing that both of them lots in common because they both listen to Jaz. But in a same time point out that they had lots of differences because they prefer different kind of jaz. And same can be sad about sides they fout for... Very poetic if you think about it...
Being a Gundam fan, I expected jazz. I just didn't expect free jazz lol, definitely made this my favorite Gundam show due to the fact that I play free jazz.
I'm not a 'music-guy' as it were, this is magic and wizardry to me. But as a MASSIVE fan of Thunderbolt, I need to say to me the music choice isn't just about matching the tempo of the action. The story in the show is not one of heroics or triumph. It's chaos, it's nasty, and gritty. It's raw and real juxtapose to some gnarly sci-fi robo battles. And this style of jazz really really fits I think with the themes on display here. Especially when comparing the songs played when Io is on screen vs Daryl. While Io's tracks emphasis his desire for freedom and the only place he can find it is in the chaos and adrenaline of battle. Where as Daryl on the other hand has a constant melancholic somber mood and a nostalgia for a simpler time. The whole ensemble really comes together as something truly special and unique. But my personal ramblings aside great video! I loved your energy and insights~.
A lot of people, myself included, really love to listen to Eric Dolphy and lots of other free jazz. It doesn't have to be your thing, but it also doesn't have to be reserved to simply being a way for musicians to explore and release. A really interesting discussion could be had about its kind of... meta-purpose, but it's also just really good music that is super enjoyable to plenty of people.
Omgosh Charles you need to give some of the soundtrack in Persona 5 a listen. They're so full of life and energy that just really captures it's ethereal sleek aesthetic. Some specific tracks I feel best represent the character of the entirety of the soundtrack would be: Layer Cake Beneath The Mask Butterfly Kiss Last Surprise The Poem of Everyone's Souls
Jazz themed soundtracks are actually pretty common in Japan for anime. The original DBZ sound tracks are a great example of a whole entire rewrite for the English dub. They replaced the jazz with electronica via Bruce Faulkner
I found out about this show about 6 years after my first child was born, who I named Io Flemming lol. Really neat and I love the music in this. But I can't find a way to stream it anywhere? Any tips?
Code Geass has some fun battle themes with a saxophone, but I haven't watched it in a long time so I can't recall if the rest of the soundtrack also emulates that :)
The original Mobile Suit Gundam is known for using disco as its battle theme. I haven’t watched Build Fighters, but I’m pretty sure it used flamenco for its final battle. Funky music is something of a running theme in the Gundam franchise.
OMG YESSSS, I love this show. But this breakdown made me realize something that I'm really curious about the process of. Obviously the music syncs up with the action A LOT. But does that mean that they animated to the music or, more likely imo, had the animation/animatics play in front of the band and let them riff on the what was playing in front of them. Which I think is REALLY COOL. That means these songs are like the embodiment of each fight, the literal audio translation of the action happening in front of them. And conversely even if it was the other way around, the idea of a fight being drawn around an entire track like this is almost more impressive in scope and scale. I would LOVE to know the process they used. The amount of creativity that when into those scenes make me so happy, and its why I adore thunderbolt.
most possibly the music comes first. if im not mistaken, the script/layout for the anime comes first, then the music, then only the actual animation production. a lot of animes do it like that.
Sir ill have you know this is quite literally the EXACT soundtrack I expect after i watched cowboy bebop for the first time. Jazz will forever be my battle music.
Haven't watched akito the exiled but the soundtrack by Ichiko Hashimoto also uses pretty avant-garde jazz which supplements the frantic pacing for the fight scenes.
Why Spotify? Honestly, since I don't use it, why use Spotify (I just have no clue and I'm honestly asking, since the only thing that comes to mind about it is ads)
@@adhoccerswings you can pay to not have ads. My sister listened to it with ads when I was there one time - I can't imagine suffering through that if you don't have to.
@@adhoccerswings It has one of the biggest music libraries, it's cheap and the recommend algorithm is pretty good for discovering new artists. The compression is kinda trash and the UI kinda sucks, but if you find something really good, you can just download it somewhere else for better quality
The two anime that I think of off the top of my head are Cowboy Bebop and the original Space Battleship Yamato. I'd also like to mention Akira as well. I could probably find more if I had the time.
Pretty sure thunderbolts director also directed cowboy bebop. Part of the explanation for the style choice was he got tired of writing space operas so is started writing space jazz.
By having that midi at the bottom showing the chords. Your teaching me so much more about thia beautiful instrument. Thank you for indirectly being my teacher
Hey Charles what a great video discussing the idea of free form music (in this case jazz) and how it affects the shows they are put in. I’d love to see you go over some of Kevin Penkins work, especially in tower of god, where he uses electric instruments to create a similar idea to this soundtrack
The fact that the free form jazz is better to play than listen to is indicative of the the character it represents; Io Fleming, the Full Armor Gundam pilot, listens to the jazz as a way to ‘get into the groove’ of the Thunderbolt Sector, using the beat and vibrations to navigate and fight better-which may be way his mobile suit resembles a drum kit, but don’t quote me on that This is juxtaposed with the easy listening music we also hear (i.e. “The Dreaming Girl In Me”) being a representation of Daryl Lorenz, the Psycho Zaku pilot and an ace sniper who uses that music - something deeply nostalgic to him, as he used to listen to it on a radio that was a gift from his father - to calm down and line up his shots By the end (once Daryl has sacrificed his limbs to pilot the Psycho Zaku), his fight with Io is _only_ accompanied by the aforementioned free jazz, as they have become more alike at that point, both relishing in the opportunity to fight-finding it fun, even, something which would’ve seemed alien to Daryl before then
i totally recommend looking into the second thunderbolt season/movie! theres a beautiful scene of one of the pilots from the first thunderbolt playing jazz with another pilot
I don't know if you did a video on JoJo's the bizarre adventure yet but I love their music and I like how put two different styles of music together. I'm referring to the song specifically (diamond unbreakable) with the classical piano and The Rock feel, it's amazing.
Thanks for shinning light on one of my all time favorite Anime's - Gundam. Every new series never cease to impress me with their new wonder and creativity.
i used to take about 30 minutes before any band practice (for my doomy metal band) to improv on my bass like you describe at the 7 minute mark. It was always so easy to get lost in the moment and not let my brain interfere with what the instrument felt like it needed to do. It is an amazing stress reliever. The great part is that no matter how traditionally "bad" it sounded, whenever one of the other band mates in the next unit, or one of mine started trickling in they'd be shocked at how cool it sounded. I would start by stringing together a few rhythms and just evolving it and meshing them together and see where it takes me. If I had to be analytical about why, I would say it came from listening to Autechre daily for years where rhythms evolve gradually in many tracks. It got to the point where my band mate would quietly record me from outside the unit without me knowing. We would then pick out the bits to write a song with.
![Stromae, Pomme - “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Visualizer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1F3OGIFnW1k/mqdefault.jpg)
From now on, I will only be writing and performing Action Jazz and I am claiming it as a new genre and no one can stop me. (New Harmony 1010 course is 30% off- cornellmusicacademy.com/harmony )
Yes.
Please.
I need more action jazz in my life.
You may like "ink long dry" from final Fantasy 14
You should really look into Gundam Origins and early unicorn. I’d love to see more videos on those. Thank you so much for the awesome content!
Charles, check out the soundtrack to Big O. It's done by Toshihiko Sahashi, and includes a song called Rundown which is a hyperspeed piano run played in the show by an android (including discussion on why just playing all the notes fast is not the same as feeling the piece). Lots of jazz and mood in the soundtrack, plus the show was animated by the same studio that did the iconic original 90s Batman: TAS.
You have my support, and probably my money.
“The trumpet’s doing the thing with the guns and the stuff” is exactly the kind of smart musical analysis I come here for.
New favorite Charles Cornell quote.
@@goldenandesite High-level music theory terminology
@@TheUnderscore_ I wish the trumpets in my school band did the thing with the guns and stuff
It's the type of musical analysis I understand
A true scholar
What is even more badass is that the Jazz he is playing in his cockpit can be heard by everyone friends and foe alike through some radio frequency, so it started having a big psychological impact on the battlefield. There is a scene where pilots on the opposite side were doing a briefing session after one of their squadron got mysteriously wiped out. When they reviewed the video datas on one of the black boxes, all they could hear was Jazz playing in the background while they comrades were being shot down one by one. That's how they knew who just attacked them.
This is the type of thing I need to know and have 0 interest in trolling gundam series to learn. 10/10 fun fact
Yeah, it's cool to think it's diegetic, rather than something only we hear, makes it so much more interesting.
Ooohoho, I just got chills reading this. Love it
@@KaneyoriHK I just learned what diegetic means
@@dankjank1236 why does that word exist it feels so random welp guess now I know a new word
My fencing coach would ask me to listen to free form jazz, because he theorized that the unorthodox beats and melody would help me be more reactive to changes in my opponent’s tempo. I think this is why jazz works so well in a combat setting. It’s two Individuals trading blows back and forth. Also this show helped get me in to jazz and anime. Super happy you are highlighting it!!!
You have an excellent coach. Impressive advice.
I grew up on martial arts and the similarities between improvization and sparring are endless. Classical instrumentation is inherently tied in with warfare and combat itself, not to mention that fighting is literally just a subset of dance if you are willing to look at it as such.
Reminds me of a joke that goes something like:
“Who would win in a fight, a buff nerd, or a jock who listens to jazz?”
There’s more to it, but I can’t remember it.
That is actually exactly fits to the character in the show who listens to free form jazz as he is almost entirely unpredictable and sporadic in their movements.
I fear having to face you in fencing now.
So one thing I love about Thunderbolt is that Io uses his Jazz to stay alert while flying at insane speeds through the debris field while Daryl, the sniper, uses the relaxing music to tune out his distractions and focus on his target.
Exactly. I've watched most of the Gundam series, certainly all of the UC, and this show blew me away in it's portrayal. It's not an easy watch though, this is defiantly the most R, M, or 18+ anime of the franchise. Gundam has never turned away from the effects of war on the mind, but this one takes it to another level.
@@lelandvaughan4429 I would say Victory & IBO are darker in that the ones suffering the most are children/innocents but Thunderbolt is definitely up there in the war crimes, "this isn't what I signed up for", and literally threatening people with family being political prisoners.
@@DeamonChocobo Oh IBO definitely is pretty heart-rending and I haven't seen Victory (trouble finding it), but it's the casual brutality of Thunderbolt that gets me. Really feels like a War movie more than any other Gundam series I've seen.
the thunder-roaring colony debris field as a background setting just works so good with the crazy feeling of the jazz too
@@RedHornSSS floating debris, minvosky particles, space battleships, rick dom snipers and then this guy blasting jazz on the radio while flying in a mobile suit in space. Things couldn't get more hectic than this!
Here's the list of musicians featured on the album
Sax-Umezu Kazutoki
Trombone-Yoichi Murata
Piano-Onishi Junko
Bass-Toshihisa Nagami
Drums-Hattori Masatsugu
Junko Onishi is a very famous jazz pianist in Japan. I am not too familiar with the rest of the band, but looking at their profile, they are some of the best musicians in Japan's free jazz scene. The soundtrack also feature "dCprG", an avant garde big band lead by Kikuchi and is highly influenced by Miles' Davis' electronic period.
As far as I can tell from the Japanese article, the piano track was indeed overdubbed on "Chromatic Universe"
i found umezu kazutoki on spotify a while ago on accident and it was one of the best mistakes of my life
Jazz is alive and well by being the adopted child to the Japanese. Man the amount of love for Jazz here in Japan is truly heartwarming. It’s alive, more alive than in the US.
Junko Onishi is a real legend, I can't believe I'm just hearing of her. Here's a clip of her playing with Kenny Garrett in '91.
ruclips.net/video/K060F3bRXKg/видео.html
Gundam Thunderbolt is criminally underrated. I’ve been waiting for season 3 for a couple of years now.
Mecha in general is pretty overlooked nowadays tbh. Can't really fault the current state of the industry though lmao, mecha pretty much was what most mfs in japan would've watched in the 80s lol
The mecha genre saturated itself in the 80s, so now it's just 1 or 2 each season.
Season 3 was delayed, it's adapted from a manga and the writer for it fell ill part way through what would be adapted for season 3. I believe they've returned to writing again and reaching the end of Thunderbolt now so it depends on what that part of the studio is working on (which is possibly the Hathaway movie trilogy so could delay it until those are finished).
@@theainanimate1661 i just want at least a translation of the last chapters
@@stuckboiss3187 Vol. 18 comes out in the US next month, not sure how much is left after that
Naruyoshi Kikuchi was also one of the main saxophone players on the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. There's also an amazing song he did with the band Quasimode called Cosmic Eyes (which I uploaded since it's not on streaming outside of Japan). Some of his soloing on that song sounds straight out of Cowboy Bebop as well haha
i was wondering where ive heard this style before holy crap
@@phatnomnom4077 you heard cosmic eyes before? Or you mean Kikuchi on cowboy bebop?
Don’t forget mid valley the horn freak in trigun
Quasimode is definitely one of the best bands out there. Both them and SOIL & Pimp Sessions put out some serious bangers.
@@Therius Love Soil & Pimp sessions as well. Their newest album Lost in Tokyo is fantastic
Went to a concert for thunderbolt. The piano and the drums go super hard live. Watching the pianist and drummer going back and forth and watching them both having an absolute blast is an experience I won’t forget
when and where u saw it at
@@shadow1910 i need to know... why did i not know... it's probably only in japan kind of thing
@@LBC_squared 次のワードで検索すると、2018年にNYで行われたライブの映像をいくつか見れますよ。
Anime NYC Gundam Thunderbolt concert
僕は日本にするので実際にライブは見ていないのですが。
First time I watched Thunderbolt, I went, *"What in the Cowboy Bebop is going on?"*
Loved how they worked the jazz into the series.
Kudos to the Manga writer for being able to visualize how Jazz could fit in the battle scenes and the story. The anime team and the musician translate it well from the page too. Incredible future war series. Enjoyed every second of it.
I'm so glad Charles took a closer look at the Gundam Thunderbolt soundtrack after diving a little bit into Groovy Duel a while back.
Thunderbolt is so fuuuuuuckin good and I'm glad it's getting more recognition :)
I adore how the machinery noises of the mobile suit parts clanging together kinda acts as percussion instruments that complement the soundtrack.
And the way the non-classical instrumental techniques (shakes from the trumpet, biting the reed on the bass clarinet) sound like electronic noise!
When you feel like the piece sounds bad, but at the same time really good, you know you created some tremendous Jazz.
Wrong. Good music sounds good. Not bad or mediocre. Theres no inbetweens
@@itom1994 lol pretty bad take
@@tylerkauffman7772 no it’s not
@@tylerkauffman7772 pretty bad take on what? What that person said made no sense. Either the “jazz” sounds good or bad.
@@itom1994 you made music black and white in terms being “good” or “bad”. That’s an objectively ludicrous take on something subjective like music.
Gundam Thunderbolt’s mix of chaotic jazz and fighting made me actually appreciate jazz for what it is. Chaotic, and I love. I listen to a lot now a days.
Oh god I’m alone, is my absolute favorite out of the soundtrack. But only by a bit.
The Bleach soundtrack is definitely another interesting one. You wouldn't really expect latin jazz and flamenco playing during a swordfight.
Escalon and Distancia para un duelo are my two personal favourites but the entire OST3 is filled to the brim with awesome music.
Bleach music best music
I still listen to "Going Home" every time i wanna relax
@@RaptorDrei My favorite rendition of it ruclips.net/video/x2SmyYUylMg/видео.html
agreed I'd love to see analysis on some of the stuff in bleach
Thanks for bringing this up so I can binge
I am a lifelong gundam fan and Thunderbolt is an artistic gem. Big robots, war crimes, and jazz. Doesn't get better than that.
this anime's soundtrack can only be explained as "freeform jazz"
it's so strange but the entire plot of the show is like pop vs jazz, and guess who won?
You can listen this kind of jazz from the likes of artists such as Tigran Hamasyan, Ari Hoenig, Avishai Cohen, Eldar Djangirov etc. Fans generally refer it as post-bop most the time anyway.
It honestly mostly sounds like random noise to me and I can’t really enjoy this type of jazz
@@RobinsMusic boring lol
@@RobinsMusic how so? All of the chord progressions and solos are quite fun to listen to
@@RobinsMusic I can understand where you're coming from, at least a little, though I have a feeling that I like it much more than you do. I can enjoy up to a certain level of free form jazz, I don't mind at all if a song isn't melodic per se, but is it asking to much for it to at least be linear? Improv all you like, But I would enjoy it a lot more If the transitions and interplay were a bit less jarring. that said the individual musicians are truly amazing amazing at what they do, i just wish they were about 20% more in sync.
In terms of the performers and finding out more information about them, VGMDB has basically every video game and anime soundtrack catalogued and they're usually very thorough with it. For instance, I just checked the page for the OST and it says the bass clarinettist from Shutsugeki-you was one Mr. Kazutoki Umezu, and you can even click on his name under the credits at the top to see what else he's done (apparently he composed the soundtrack to Wild7, performed clarinet & bass clarinet on the ARIA soundtrack, etc.).
Dude thunderbolt was insane and the soundtrack just took it to that next level. Was painful how long it took each episode to come out but now it’s a constant recommendation to people .
When I saw "jazz anime," i was immediately like "is this guy talking about Thunderbolt?" This was a DEEP pull, cool to see people talking about this show again
NO WAY THIS VIDEO ACTUALY EXISTS OH MY GOD!!! I never thought in a million years I’d get to see you cover Gundam Thunderbolt and I’m SO HAPPY
Life-long musician and Gundam fan. Thunderbolt was such a breath of fresh air in so many ways. The pacing, the characters, the animation, and that soundtrack! GOD, that soundtrack! Long time trumpet player and bass player, and I never thought I'd hear THAT in a mecha series.
Had a great time watching this, and seeing Thunderbolt get a wider audience outside of anime/mecha enthusiasts.
Another anime's music you might find interesting is an old one, Samurai Champloo (I know, the opening is definitely not jazz, but a lot of the songs found in the ost are heavily jazz influenced.) Great anime too. I love this analysis series you're doing, I hope you keep it up.
Saved me a comment. (Is all on RUclips too)
This has gotta be pinned!!!
It really has to be pinned. Samurai Champloo started the whole LoFi thing.
Also regarding Anime, He clearly has to check out Hiroyuki Sawano, who did Soundtracks for Guilty Crown, Cabaneri of the Iron Fortress, i dont know which Gundam and most famously Attack on Titan
If your looking for more Gundam, I recommend Gundam Unicorn's OST composed by Sawano Hiroyuki. Real epic orchestral stuff. He also did the OST for Attack on Titan. Hope you do a video on him some day
Also Gundam Hathaway as well. In fact, Sawano added new things and some elements inspired from recent Hollywood movies in Hathaway.
I don't like Gundam Unicorn, but I *LOVE* Sawano's tracks.
Yes Sunrise knows how to make epic Hollywood style music that Hollywood seems to have somehow forgotten. They just slap some pop artist’s performance and call it a day. I like composed epic music like in Pacific Rim and Inception in my Hollywood movies.
Intelligently written music with gorgeous harmonies and lovely melodies - and robot battles! What’s not to like?
Gundam Thunderbolt combines the best elements from Gundam. The Universal Century, High Blood Pressure action and visuals, compelling and conflicting morals, and FANTASTIC MUSIC COMPOSITION.
Edit: Universal Century is best Century in Gundam.
Facts
The piano solo on “I’m 60” is kinda nuts, especially the first chorus. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t (I’ve even transcribed some of it to play for myself because it’s so harmonically interesting).
I want that played at my 60th birthday bash ;) - preferably live by The Consouls
Ngl that's my go to music while getting high...
Trigun might have some interesting tracks to talk about. It’s got rock, and jazz, an’ simple old western sounding tracks. And also weird dissonant tracks with static. Quite the mix, but I guess the show does cover several genres of storytelling.
I thought the same thing! Tsuneo Imahori is such an interesting composer, his work on Trigun is killer!
I think In the MANY gundam series’ this one is in the more war drama area. So a chaotic soundtrack that’s unfamiliar and scary sets a great tone for this fast, life or death story.
Ironically this is the only one to feature Jazz and Blues. The rest tend to use Pop, Rock or Massive Orchestral Suites.
@@TheHKZero Even then though, they do tend to mix up musical styles a lot in Gundam. Like G Gundam is mainly orchestral, but can still have jazz influences in there.
If you like the concept or "dueling instruments", check out the Groovy Duel scene from the second season where Io and Bianca play the song of the same name.
He just turned Jazz into a psychological weapon. When the other pilots hear the music in their piles of junk, they know It's comming and they can't do nothing about it. Gundam Thunderbolt is brilliant.
YOU DARE CALL THE ZAKU 2, RICK DOM, AND ZAKU 1 PILES OF JUNK!? BLASPHEMY!!!
If you’re on an anime hit the Great Pretender has an amazing jazzy soundtrack, it’s about a heist/con group and it’s so enjoyable
I woulda said this one too!
Came to say this, it's super similar and really fits the anime aesthetic
i think a big reason why jazz is so alive in japan is because they're put in stuff like anime, a medium of storytelling that is mostly appropriate for all ages.
being introduced to a wide variety of genres of music from such a young age, and in a very entertaining way, is such a great method of creating a personal connection with such music. and this feeling will almost always carry through adulthood where they themselves can create content related to the stuff they've loved growing up.
Agreed. Plus given that Japanese tend to study things diligently to the music they want and different music enthusiasts from different music genres kept jazz and other music styles alive like blues etc.
Even in fashion, if they want to rock funky 70s styles they will look for any type of inspiration, guides on Do's and Don't, even have a monthly fashion guide presented via magazines to get ideas from.
Meanwhile America is practically a cultural wasteland.
Gundam has always had really great soundtracks!
they learn from Star Wars, the music can make or break a scene... or even the whole show.
@@HenSt-gz7qj Gundam is literally the star wars of japan, their histories are both so long and interesting lol
@@HenSt-gz7qj It's kinda sad that a lot of shows don't get this: you can have the most awesome jaw-dropping visuals, but if the music isn't up to par the moment becomes lesser. It's especially the case in Western media where it's common for people to think that background music should just be background music, and while that can work for certain scenes there should be times where the music rises to the occasion and gives the scene the emphasis it deserves. Instead a lot of times you just hear the same generic, forgettable music that doesn't seem to do anything but just be... there.
True, and each era of the franchise has a different feel.
As far as the classic early stuff goes, I’m really fond of Shigeaki Saegusa’s work on Zeta, ZZ, and Char’s Counterattack.
@@pingho1115 Star Wars as inspiration for Gundam is well documented. That's not a claim, it's historical fact.
I thought the exact same thing when I first watched Thunderbolt and the soundtrack definitely helped it become one of my favorite anime series ever. Completes the vibe for me and really sets a super interesting ambiance for the series that hooks you in with an unique manner.
Zeta Gundam's soundtrack touches up against a pop/jazz sensibility, but this series takes its music to the next level.
Gundam Thunderbolt has some of the most chaotic jazz ever, and I love every bit of it. Thanks for analyzing the music from one of my favorite shows!
In 2013 Code Geass: Akito of the Exiled(a spinoff of the Code Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion) had some free jazz tracks, one was used for the trailer and the anime community was MAD about the music lmao.
I love the chaos of this free form. As someone with ADHD I love how much stimulus this is throwing at me, as a musician, I love the talent and musicianship.
I am soooooo stoked you’ve finally covered Thunderbolt! It’s a fantastic watch when you see the action matched with the incredible compositions.
If you’re looking for more, definitely check out Kids On The Slope (although you may have already?), Showa Rakugo, Baccano!, Carole And Tuesday, Space Dandy & pretty much anything from the Lupin The Third series 🤘🏽🤓
I got the chance to hear an actual Rakugo performer review Showa Rakugo and they claimed that it's really true to the art form, too. And I LOVED Kids on the Slope. The medley scene.. OH GOD THE MEDLEY SCENE. Still gets me.
Ahh, you'd love the Bungou Stray Dogs and Baccano OSTs, though, in those cases, the jazz /is/ fitting.
Also...some Haikyuu songs are, randomly, just great and insane jazz.
Another vote for Baccano. I'm just sad that its availability is so limited.
And in case of thunderbolt it is not?
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing has a jazz OST, but it's a very different jazz from what's in Thunderbolt. It's more streamlined and less chaotic, but even though the same songs are played multiple times in the series, they never get old
This is one of my favorites animes and I'm so happy to see it get the attention it deserves! My personal favorite song would be the main theme, just the franticness, the solos and especially the drums create a really disturbing yet alluring piece.
Thunderbolt finally getting its time under the sun lmao
The track "Kushimotobushi" from the 2nd season remains one of my favorite songs from the whole series purely because of the context in which the song was used. They knew what they were doing with that scene istg.
Ai Kuwabara was the pianist for Groovy Duel (from the last video). She has a few albums with her trio available. 'From Here to There' is my favourite, especially the tracks 'Bet Up' and 'Edit Typos.'.
Anime soundtracks are so much more interesting than western cartoon soundtracks. In Japan it is very common to find an interesting chord progression. Even in J-Pop nowadays, maj7s are extremely common.
Absolutely.
They aren’t common in western music?
@@cloudhazard2860 You missed my point. They are less common when we are talking about western pop.
I don't think the genre comparison holds up, because anime is usually serial drama while western cartoons usually feature stand-alone episodes and focus on comedy. The musical approach to each reflects this.
Video games are a more apt example of your point. Consider how creative the OSTs of games like Breath of the Wild and Nier are compared to, like, Assassin's Creed? God of War? And this is for like a million reasons, going well beyond chord progression (BotW out here just stacking 4ths anyway lmao)
@@MadassAlex I can't agree more. What I was trying to say is that there is more jazz influence in mainstream modern Japanese music than mordern Western music. Ofc there is alot of jazz in new western music but in general, Japanese music has a more interesting sound. I do agree that I delivered the message in an odd way, but I hope you can understand what I meant. (I am stacking 4ths too haha)
I love where the hits from the trumpet in that sword scene match up to the emotion of that person in gundam and when the sword swings and misses. Absolutely stunning
Sento kaishi yo seems to make more sense to me if im counting 9/8, the second bar of "5/4" on the drums has an ending fill that doesnt feel right counting that way, cuts it short. Idk. Maybe just me.
Finally, Charles geeking out Gundam Thunderbolt much more than I do. Glad you like it.
i LOVE avant garde jazz. the unabashed creativity is amazing.
It's just called post-bop, I get it sounds crazy and all but still grounded in existing jazz tradition.
Avant-garde is nothing more than edgy term invented by industry journos who typically, at the time, had no clue about what they're talking about. I'd suggest avoiding using it.
@@GuyWhoLikesTheSnarkies1435 I suggest you shut up
@@RobinsMusic Lol, YT knows better who should keep their mouth quite it seems🤣
@@GuyWhoLikesTheSnarkies1435 wdym
@@RobinsMusic Open YT on browser incognito tab and see whose comment got hidden instead lol
The soundtrack of "the woman called fujiko mine" is also another good one written by naruyoshi kikuchi. Its pretty good
I love these music theory review videos so much. Having a RUclips video to come and watch that teaches me about music theory is so nice, keep it up!
Appreciate having your face to showcase that even someone who adores this type of music can be hit by the abrasive highs; the more I learn about jazz, the more I learn about the intentionality behind it, and have an incredible appreciation for those who find joy in weird sounds.
It’s funny because when I was in middle school this soundtrack was the thing that got me into jazz, and well now I’m doing summer courses at nyu 5 years later so I guess it wound up being pretty profound in my life lol
Nice
I think you'll love Sakamichi no Apollon! The animation there was rotoscoped to make it accurate to what the characters are playing, and that's not even mentioning the jazz ost produced by Yoko Kanno herself!
Oh Japan, the country where genres dead in the mainstream (jazz, blues, classic rock, etc) continue to thrive
Don't forget bossa nova ;) (Galdin Quay, Costa Del Sol, New Wave Bossa Nova) - I think bands like The Consouls are bringing jazz genres more into the mainstream via VGM and I have had the pleasure of seeing them live. VGM and anime may be quietly revolutionising our musical palettes....(dare I say for the better!)
The Gundam franchise usually has very good music playing in the background, because they put a lot of effort into everything! One of the reasons to why it’s my favourite franchise 😄
Char’s theme (Universal Century timeline) has also very catchy jazz!
I love this. Can you do more of jazz in Japan, especially music from persona 5 or just Japanese jazz in general?
Hell yes with Gundam in the mix.......
"NieR: Automata" and "NieR Replicant ver.1.22...", though they aren't animes, are japanese rpgs and have FANTASTIC scores and won some awards for best video game soundtracks and such. They both use a completely made up language made of a mix of already existing languages and what they would sound like if they came together thousands of years in the future. But it also allows the players to listen to the characters talk in the cutscenes without getting tangled in the music vocals. A LOT of interseting stuff!!!
I think you should check it out!
I haven't kept up with Gundam since SEED, to my shame, but it's really cool to see you checking them out!
Gundam Hathaway was a cool departure from the usual stuff narratively, but the mobile suit designs in it are seriously bad.
@@MitoseNorikoFan I've heard that... SEED just kinda burned me out of the franchise, and then on top of that life went to hell around that time, so I only know what I know about the more recent stuff by such statements. ^_^;
If you want to check out thunderbolt, it’s pretty easy to get through. It also takes place during the one year war, but is pretty stand alone. Also really short, both seasons are just a little over 2 hours of watch time.
One of the main themes of that anime that it has 2 opposite pilots who happens to listen music during missions... One of them likes fast and dynamic Jaz we herd during that fight scene. The other one likes slow vocal jaz. And it serves the purpose of showing that both of them lots in common because they both listen to Jaz. But in a same time point out that they had lots of differences because they prefer different kind of jaz. And same can be sad about sides they fout for... Very poetic if you think about it...
Being a Gundam fan, I expected jazz. I just didn't expect free jazz lol, definitely made this my favorite Gundam show due to the fact that I play free jazz.
I’ve cherished this soundtrack for years thanks for covering it
The Code Geass soundtrack, especially 0's theme is a blend of Latin jazz and double harmonic scales!
The track "Zero" from Code Geass need more appreciation
I'm not a 'music-guy' as it were, this is magic and wizardry to me. But as a MASSIVE fan of Thunderbolt, I need to say to me the music choice isn't just about matching the tempo of the action. The story in the show is not one of heroics or triumph. It's chaos, it's nasty, and gritty. It's raw and real juxtapose to some gnarly sci-fi robo battles. And this style of jazz really really fits I think with the themes on display here. Especially when comparing the songs played when Io is on screen vs Daryl. While Io's tracks emphasis his desire for freedom and the only place he can find it is in the chaos and adrenaline of battle. Where as Daryl on the other hand has a constant melancholic somber mood and a nostalgia for a simpler time. The whole ensemble really comes together as something truly special and unique. But my personal ramblings aside great video! I loved your energy and insights~.
Anime from the mid to late 90's has a lot of amazing music! Even now listening to Cowboys Bebop soundtrack is filled to the brim with Jazz! Love it!!
A lot of people, myself included, really love to listen to Eric Dolphy and lots of other free jazz. It doesn't have to be your thing, but it also doesn't have to be reserved to simply being a way for musicians to explore and release. A really interesting discussion could be had about its kind of... meta-purpose, but it's also just really good music that is super enjoyable to plenty of people.
Omgosh Charles you need to give some of the soundtrack in Persona 5 a listen. They're so full of life and energy that just really captures it's ethereal sleek aesthetic.
Some specific tracks I feel best represent the character of the entirety of the soundtrack would be:
Layer Cake
Beneath The Mask
Butterfly Kiss
Last Surprise
The Poem of Everyone's Souls
yep
It was so fun watching J-Music Ensemble have Persona 5 like eat up 2 years of their professional life getting excited doing covers of it :).
Holy shit that’s one of my favorite videogame sound tracks and I listen to it often to this day, I bed he would absolutely love the music
@@robsonclark9678 man their performance if Layer Cake is so fun I'd kill to be in a tight group like that with that groove
@@EthanVillanueva Also The Consouls recent cover is pretty good. I've had the pleasure of hearing it live at their last gig.
Just watching you play those notes near the end i think made me fall in love with Piano.
I hope one day someone looks at me the way you do those keys
I've always just called thunderbolt, 'jazz gundam'. great video
Jazz themed soundtracks are actually pretty common in Japan for anime. The original DBZ sound tracks are a great example of a whole entire rewrite for the English dub. They replaced the jazz with electronica via Bruce Faulkner
I found out about this show about 6 years after my first child was born, who I named Io Flemming lol. Really neat and I love the music in this. But I can't find a way to stream it anywhere? Any tips?
It gets posted occasionally on the Gundaminfo YT channel, but if you're that into it you should just get the bluray.
I love the songs, but I also just love that it fits in so well with the scenes they associate with.
Everyone needs to see gundam thunderbolt, everyone. Not just music lovers or anime fans, EVERYONE. Its actually a modern masterpiece.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love it. Good pace, very effective character development, so clear good or bad side, I love it.
Code Geass has some fun battle themes with a saxophone, but I haven't watched it in a long time so I can't recall if the rest of the soundtrack also emulates that :)
The original Mobile Suit Gundam is known for using disco as its battle theme. I haven’t watched Build Fighters, but I’m pretty sure it used flamenco for its final battle. Funky music is something of a running theme in the Gundam franchise.
OMG YESSSS, I love this show. But this breakdown made me realize something that I'm really curious about the process of.
Obviously the music syncs up with the action A LOT. But does that mean that they animated to the music or, more likely imo, had the animation/animatics play in front of the band and let them riff on the what was playing in front of them. Which I think is REALLY COOL. That means these songs are like the embodiment of each fight, the literal audio translation of the action happening in front of them. And conversely even if it was the other way around, the idea of a fight being drawn around an entire track like this is almost more impressive in scope and scale. I would LOVE to know the process they used.
The amount of creativity that when into those scenes make me so happy, and its why I adore thunderbolt.
most possibly the music comes first. if im not mistaken, the script/layout for the anime comes first, then the music, then only the actual animation production. a lot of animes do it like that.
@@AprilZN-DokutahSuzuki If so, really impressed with the animation teams ability to follow and time to the music.
thunderbolt is one of the altime greatest shows ever. The way the music correlates with the crazy action packed scenes is amazing.
completely unrelated but
GET THIS MAN ON THE CELESTE SOUNDTRACK STAT!!!
YES CELESTE MUSIC IS SO GOOD
⚫Piano
大西順子 Ohnishi Junko
Tracks 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12
⚫Celesta
大西順子 Ohnishi Junko
Tracks 3
⚫Keyboard
菊池成孔 Kikuchi Naruyoshi
Tracks 6, 9, 11, 14-15
坪口昌恭 Tsuboguchi Masayasu
Tracks 7
⚫Drums
服部正嗣 Hattori Masatsugu
Tracks 1-6, 8, 10, 12
⚫Bass
永見寿久 Nagami Toshihisa
Tracks 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12
⚫Guitar
伊平友樹 Ihira Tomoki
Tracks 9, 11, 14-15
⚫Saxophone
菊池成孔 Kikuchi Naruyoshi
Tracks 1, 5
⚫Trumpet
西村浩二 Nishimura Kouji
Tracks 1, 5-6
⚫Bass Clarinet
梅津和時 Umezu Kazutoki
Tracks 6
⚫Vocal / Chorus
Geila Zilkha
Tracks 8, 10
市川愛 Ichikawa Ai
Tracks 9 / 9
坂本愛江 Sakamoto Yoshie
Tracks 11, 16 / 9
矢幅歩 Yahaba Ayumu
Tracks 12
菊池成孔 Kikuchi Naruyoshi
Tracks 14
中沢ノブヨシ Nakazawa Nobuyoshi
Tracks 15 / 9, 15
⚫Music Programmer
米田直之 Yoneda Naoyuki
Tracks 9, 11, 14-15
Sir ill have you know this is quite literally the EXACT soundtrack I expect after i watched cowboy bebop for the first time. Jazz will forever be my battle music.
The music during the boondocks would be an interesting theme to dig into. It adds such depth to the show and I think it would be a great video.
An anime I think you need to check out for its jazz soundtrack is Code Gass. Crazy good to my untrained ears at least.
Haven't watched akito the exiled but the soundtrack by Ichiko Hashimoto also uses pretty avant-garde jazz which supplements the frantic pacing for the fight scenes.
I actually got to see this band live at a convention! The woman on the piano was absolutely ripping into the thing, it was a total joy to witness.
Love this anime and it's soundtrack, too bad it's off Spotify.
Really?, the 1st season OST it's available as far as I see, the 2nd season album seems to be region locked but 1/2 it's alright.
Why Spotify? Honestly, since I don't use it, why use Spotify (I just have no clue and I'm honestly asking, since the only thing that comes to mind about it is ads)
@@adhoccerswings no harm in having an accessible music library without the hurdles of managing it yourself, a lot of people appreciate that.
@@adhoccerswings you can pay to not have ads. My sister listened to it with ads when I was there one time - I can't imagine suffering through that if you don't have to.
@@adhoccerswings It has one of the biggest music libraries, it's cheap and the recommend algorithm is pretty good for discovering new artists. The compression is kinda trash and the UI kinda sucks, but if you find something really good, you can just download it somewhere else for better quality
The two anime that I think of off the top of my head are Cowboy Bebop and the original Space Battleship Yamato. I'd also like to mention Akira as well. I could probably find more if I had the time.
It isn't an anime but the Skullgirls OST is absolutely fantastic, some of the stand outs being In A Moments Time and Unfinished Buisness.
Pretty sure thunderbolts director also directed cowboy bebop. Part of the explanation for the style choice was he got tired of writing space operas so is started writing space jazz.
have you ever heard the track “City Lights” from the Tetris Effect soundtrack? another pretty cool jazz tune to check out sometime!
By having that midi at the bottom showing the chords. Your teaching me so much more about thia beautiful instrument. Thank you for indirectly being my teacher
Hey Charles what a great video discussing the idea of free form music (in this case jazz) and how it affects the shows they are put in. I’d love to see you go over some of Kevin Penkins work, especially in tower of god, where he uses electric instruments to create a similar idea to this soundtrack
The fact that the free form jazz is better to play than listen to is indicative of the the character it represents; Io Fleming, the Full Armor Gundam pilot, listens to the jazz as a way to ‘get into the groove’ of the Thunderbolt Sector, using the beat and vibrations to navigate and fight better-which may be way his mobile suit resembles a drum kit, but don’t quote me on that
This is juxtaposed with the easy listening music we also hear (i.e. “The Dreaming Girl In Me”) being a representation of Daryl Lorenz, the Psycho Zaku pilot and an ace sniper who uses that music - something deeply nostalgic to him, as he used to listen to it on a radio that was a gift from his father - to calm down and line up his shots
By the end (once Daryl has sacrificed his limbs to pilot the Psycho Zaku), his fight with Io is _only_ accompanied by the aforementioned free jazz, as they have become more alike at that point, both relishing in the opportunity to fight-finding it fun, even, something which would’ve seemed alien to Daryl before then
I would love id you could react to the soundtracks of Persona 5. The game has AMAZING jazz tracks!
Even more amazing when covered by The Consouls and J-Music Ensemble
There you are
i totally recommend looking into the second thunderbolt season/movie! theres a beautiful scene of one of the pilots from the first thunderbolt playing jazz with another pilot
I don't know if you did a video on JoJo's the bizarre adventure yet but I love their music and I like how put two different styles of music together. I'm referring to the song specifically (diamond unbreakable) with the classical piano and The Rock feel, it's amazing.
Thanks for shinning light on one of my all time favorite Anime's - Gundam. Every new series never cease to impress me with their new wonder and creativity.
I would also check out Spy Family...the intro is a blast!
i used to take about 30 minutes before any band practice (for my doomy metal band) to improv on my bass like you describe at the 7 minute mark. It was always so easy to get lost in the moment and not let my brain interfere with what the instrument felt like it needed to do. It is an amazing stress reliever. The great part is that no matter how traditionally "bad" it sounded, whenever one of the other band mates in the next unit, or one of mine started trickling in they'd be shocked at how cool it sounded. I would start by stringing together a few rhythms and just evolving it and meshing them together and see where it takes me. If I had to be analytical about why, I would say it came from listening to Autechre daily for years where rhythms evolve gradually in many tracks.
It got to the point where my band mate would quietly record me from outside the unit without me knowing. We would then pick out the bits to write a song with.