Overview

Composed for the Gunslinger Girl game based off a popular anime and manga, this soundtrack is one of Tenpei Sato's rarer works. Compared to his Nippon Ichi compositions, how does the album fare in terms of quality and composition?

Body

To be honest, if you like violin, you will most likely love this piece of work. Almost every track features the violin in some aspect or another, with many of the pieces having it as the lead. While some people may complain that using the violin too much can be detrimental to the overall flow of the soundtrack, I wouldn't worry about that too much here. Tenpei Sato is a craftsman of implementing violin into his works.

There are many different types of sounds on this album. You'll hear slow themes, Spanish themes, suspenseful themes, and action oriented themes. For example, "Shadow Flowers," the opening track on the album, incorporates violin and piano with some soft percussion accompaniment into a very mysterious track. While there is really nothing that stands out, per se, there just seems to be a mysterious force that captivates me. It's really quite an impressive opening, even if it is simple. Another piece, "Killing Me Softly With Your Violin," manages to impress with its focus on the violin with string accompaniment. It's a typical Sato slow theme, but it's also quite enjoyable. The melody is absolutely superb.

As for the Spanish piece, "Red Castanets," the only piece with such an influence, has a nice combination of flamenco guitar, castanets (of course), and violin. It's a very playful piece of music with lots of energy. I like the use of the flamenco guitar here, a instrument rarely used by Sato anymore. In fact, this track reminds me a lot of music from Phantom Brave, another excellent release by Sato.

"Blood Runner" has a very suspenseful, espionage-like sound to it. Incorporating a bit of jazz into the mix, Sato does a fantastic job of fusing together a nice electronica beat, a violin lead, and some excellent piano accents. In addition to all this, the melody is another one that really sticks out in my mind. Another suspenseful track, "Gunfire Beats," differs in the fact that it is slightly more action oriented. The instrumentation is very similar, but the inclusion of some nice choral highlights help make the track sound so much darker. This track comes highly recommended.

While there are fewer action themes on this release, most likely due to the type of game, the few that are on here are excellent. "Crazy for You" is quite dark and also incorporates a chorus. There is a fantastic use of strings and percussion as well, making a track definitely worth the time. However, the real treat lies in "The Parade of the Rolling Wheels." This is easily my favorite track on the soundtrack. It features a fantastic electronic beat with a focus on strings to drive the melody. It's quite frenetic overall with a hint of darkness and makes for a great final battle theme, or so I assume. Definitely a great way to end the game if you ask me!

Summary

While this soundtrack release is relatively short at 17 tracks, many of the tracks are of great quality. There's a nice blend of styles with a heavy focus on the violin. I only recommend avoiding this album should you dislike the violin. If you like the violin and Tenpei Sato, this should be an album to search for! It'll definitely be worth the money!