ANIME THEME SONG COLLECTION
Victor VICL-4101, 21 Nov 1997
67:04 (17 tracks)
¥2520

—by Mark L. Johnson

1.		Boku de aru tame ni	3:41
		[Taiho Shichauzo (You're Under Arrest)]
2.		LOVE SOMEBODY	4:19
		[Taiho Shichauzo (You're Under Arrest)]
3.		Future	3:35
		[Pure Pure Himiko]
4.		Kurumi Pan (Walnut Bread)	3:01
		[Pure Pure Himiko]
5.		Yuu sha ou tanjou! (The King of Braves is Born!)	3:53
		[Yuu sha ou Gaogaigar (King of Braves GAOGAIGAR)]
6.		Itsuka hoshi no umi de (Someday at the Star of the Ocean)	4:06
		[Yuu sha ou Gaogaigar (King of Braves GAOGAIGAR)]
7.		Bokura no rekishi (Our History)	4:20
		[CLAMP Gakuen Tantaidan (Clamp School Detectives)]
8.		Piani Pink	3:41
		[CLAMP Gakuen Tantaidan (Clamp School Detectives)]
9.		Wish	4:27
		[Wish]
10.		Kakugo kanryou (Resolution Completion)	4:05
		[Kakugo no Susume (Susume's Resolution)]
11.		Future Shock	4:02
		[Tetsuwan Baadii (Birdy the Mighty)]
12.		RIDE ON THE NIGHT	4:10
		[City Hunter Special]
13.		Oh! My Dream	4:00
		[Daguon]
14.		FIGHT FOR YOURSELF	3:27
		[Ayame chan Hii Kikku (Ayame's High Kick)]
15.		Inori no Asa (Morning of Prayer)	4:34
		[Shamanic Princess]
16.		ENDLESS PARTY	3:32
		[Boku no Marii WARS!! (My Dear Marie Wars)]
17.		Heisei Time Bokan Song	3:22
		[Heisei Time Bokan]

Mainstream
Both songs from the TAIHO SHICHAUZO TV series YOU'RE UNDER ARREST) are rather good. "Boku de arutame ni" by the Flying Kids was a hit single in Japan, and is a love song with a steady flow. "Love Somebody" is one of my favorites on this CD, with a great strong beat and catchy feel.
"Future" is an average song with a strong beat but with no real feeling. The ending theme from GAOGAIGAR is also an average song, with a slow mood and a forgettable melody.
Very impressive is the music from CLAMP SCHOOL DETECTIVES, including the opening theme "Bokura no rekishi". The vocal harmonics and catchy tune is well done. " Ride on the Night" from the CITY HUNTER SPECIAL is also well done. As with many anime songs, it seems time displaced by a decade or two calls forth memories of old Billy Joel tunes.
"Inori no Asa" from SHAMANIC PRINCESS almost fits into the cute section, and is probably the most original of the titles here. The bells and other accompaniments make this a truly addictive song.

Cute
With a title like "Kurumi Pan" (Walnut Bread), it turns out to be an average song with a high-pitched female vocal with a light Latin beat. "Wish" also is average, with a slow feel and a roaming melody. "Oh! My Dream" has the privilege of having a male singer and still being cute, although the song does not stand out in any major way.
On the good side, "Future Shock" from TETSUWAN BIRDY is catchy with a heavy beat and a great refrain. "Endless Party" also proves to be a fun song with a great guitar accompliment. But "Piani Pink" from CLAMP SCHOOL DETECTIVES wins the cutest song award, with an amazingly addictive beat and melody.

Macho
Probably most introductory songs from giant robot shows fit into this category. GAOGAIGAR's is no exception, with a performance that would easily fit into a CD like the Gundam Singles Collection. This reviewer is not a big fan of these styles of songs and thus found they detracted from the other music.
"Kakugo kanryou" and "Fight for Yourself" are also average macho songs, with steady beats and nondescript vocal performances.
And to end us off, they had to throw in "Heisei taimu bokan no uta", which belongs on an outdated karaoke box rather than this collection. The cute female background support pushed me over the edge on this one.
Overall, based on the original criteria described at the beginning of this review, this CD collection just barely fits into the "good CD" list. The eight really good and great songs were good enough to make up for the nine forgettable ones. This CD is mainly recommended to fans of some of these shows who would like full length versions of their favorite songs, as the rest of the CD will not justify the purchase.