Review: Ai Higuchi - Akuma No Ko
Ai Higuchi's new album Saiaku Saiai is a solid collection of jazz-inspired piano ballads, with a sentimental J-Pop sound at the core. The three final b-sides in the album are fantastic, particularly the melodic '80s rock of Clean Land. However, if one song on the album deserves to be talked about, it is the sentimental drama of Akuma No Ko.
Attack on Titan's final segment of the show disappointed me with the heavy metal theme song The Rumbling by SiM. While the drama is appreciated, the melody lacks the sentimentality that made Boku No Sensou. On the other hand, the anime's ending theme, Akuma No Ko, has the emotion and the drama, even if it is not as a new Red Swan or Boku No Sensou.
Ai Higuchi reminds me in many ways of Mandopop icon G.E.M. Both of them are skilled singers, but excel in sing-talk and prescribing emotion through the instrument of their voice. With that understood, the minor-key rap opening Akuma No Ko makes more sense. The section is brilliant but soon moves into a more commonplace piano ballad segment, once again dripping with emotion and burgeoning drama.
This is fulfilled by the flying chorus. The refrain is fully realized, instantly rising through the half-time, towering instrumental. It is not anything new, but the triumphant and climactic strings and brass, along with the additional refrain adds a sense of finality, perfect for an ending theme for a TV show's final season.
Of course, the lyrics of Akuma No Ko add to this sense of emotional growth and evolution. Translations probably don't do the song justice, as Ai Higuchi herself proclaims midway through the song "Once these words are translated, the real meaning won't be understood". From I what I could get, the song deals with themes of war and peace, hope and loss, and holding onto someone dear in the chaos of the world. This is simply perfect for the themes of the anime and the current world.
Akuma No Ko is dramatic and triumphant. It rises over its piano-ballad base with aggressive raps, flying drums, and epic flute solos. However, it thrives best when giving us a sentimental song, lost and broken, but rising from the rubble to fight another day.
I love this! Wow, AoT has many good songs? This and My War? And maybe more. Wasn't much of a fan of the anime so I quit after S1. But the songs!
ReplyDeleteTrue, I don't really watch anime, but I always trust AoT to deliver to goods for anime tracks. I hope they put all these tracks into a full album one day, I'd certainly get it!
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