Maho Tsukai Tai! Best Selection Album

MAHO TSUKAI TAI!
BEST SELECTION ALBUM
Copyright © 1995 Triangle Staff /Bandai Visual
TYCY-5591
Available: January 28, 1998
¥ 3,059

—by Mark L. Johnson

1. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 1) 1:21

2. Mahou KURABU no uta (The Magic Club Song) 4:16

Onosaka Masaya, Koyasu Takehito, Konishi Hiroko, Iizuka Mayumi, Iwao Junko)

3. Ohayou! JIEFU kun (Good Morning! Jeff-kun) 4:37

Konishi Hiroko

4. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 2) 1:04

5. ONE WAY TRUE LOVE 4:30

Iizuka Mayumi

6. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 3) 0:59

7. BUD GIRL no Dokuhaku (Bud Girl's Soliloquy) 4:19

Iwao Junko

8. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 4) 1:10

9. Kiite yo DAIYARII (Listen Diary) 4:49

Konishi Hiroko

10. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 5) 1:57

11. Kitto kitto... (Surely surely...) 5:24

Konishi Hiroko

12. Sae's no Nikki (Sae's Diary 6) 1:12

13. Mata Ashita (See You Tomorrow) [ending theme] 3:22

sung by MASAMI

14. Sae no Nikki (Sae's Diary 7) 1:46

15. Sanobi o shite Follow You (Striving to Follow You) [opening theme] 4:20

Konishi Hiroko, Iizuka Mayumi, Iwao Junko

16. Mata Ashita (Again Tomorrow, The OVA 6 version) 3:04

17. Mahou Shoujo MEDORE (The Magical Girl Medley) [karaoke version] 5:28

MAHOU TSUKAI TAI! (which roughly translates to "I Want to Use Magic!" or "Magician Team"—it's a multiple pun), detailing the story of five school magicians and their comical fight against a mysteiorus alien invader, ended its six-episode run last year.
During the course of the series, there have been numerous MAHOU TSUKAI TAI! CDs before including individual character promotions, the original soundtrack, image vocals, and dramas. This "Best Selection Album" is really a best vocal collection, and is the latest (and possibly last) CD to be released for the series. Of note, this is mostly a collection of songs released on previous CDs (the openings and endings, the character singles, and 3 image tracks from the "Koi to Mahou to Atarasii Uta" CD).
In line with the series, this vocal collection CD is presented as part of Sae's diary. The CD booklet is full of Sae's doodles, and a couple of short mini comic stories. Before most of the tracks are short diary exerpts read by Sae, but this is more to provide color than to create an actual full length drama track.
All of the songs are sung by the character's voices, though Sae (Konishi Hiroko) sings a majority of the tunes. This is by no means bad though, as all the characters turn out good performances.
Perhaps the greatest motavitor to picking up this CD is the incredibly catchy opening theme "Sanobi o shite Follow You." Sung by the 3 female main seiyuu, this fifties style pop song definitely sets the mood for the series and the other tracks.
The ending theme "Mata Ashita" is also present in two forms. This slow melodious lullaby is also very well done, as the original full length ending and as the extended bonus track used in the last episode.
"Mahou Club no Uta" adds character to the CD, rather than act as a song. All the members of the Kitanohashi High School magic club sing this march-like anthem, interspersed with mistakes and character outbursts.
Konishi Hiroko comes out well with a good performance in character of Sawanogu Sae. "Ohayou Jeff-kun" is dedicated to Sae's cute mini-bear, and is very cute, lighthearted and poppy. "Kiite yo Diary" turns out to be a faster song with a good background vocal accompaniment (more in the vein of old KIMAGURE ORANGE ROAD). And "Kitto Kitto..." is very similar, with a bit more of that opening fifties style beat.
Nanaka's song, "ONE WAY TRUE LOVE", voiced by Iizuka Mayumi is probably my other favorite of this CD. A fast pop beat and a great voice turns make this a really nice song. Iwao Junko as Akane sings "Bud Girl no Dokuhaku", a song in the same style as "Kitto kitto..." though the performance isn't as good.
Finally, the CD ends with "Mahou Shoujo Medley", which really has nothing to do with the series. Instead it's a crossbreed melody between 20s style music and old anime shows like CUTEY HONEY. It's all instrumental, and doesn't really add much as a bonus track. I would have left it out.
In any case, overall this is a perfect CD for MAHOU TSUKAI TAI! followers, since all the best vocal tracks are here. The CD itself seems a bit short, especially when one considers that excluding the bonus tracks and diaries, there are only 8 real tracks. However, all the songs are above average to excellent pop tracks which keep within the musical scope of the series. A worthwhile purchase for fans, and perhaps worth a listen from newcomers too.