Animusic Tourny Musings, Day 31

Actually instead of highlights, this is more like propaganda. And this is one of those cases where I don’t think it’s a big deal–all the songs are winners in my eyes, for these groups. I just would like certain songs to go forward because it would be more fun than if they didn’t.

In fact that has been more often than not the case, where all the songs in a given group feel like they deserve to move on, so the choosing the entries on the basis of personal biases and preferences feels much more permissible. Now that hasn’t been the case all the time, but in general the contest has yielded a crop of very entertaining entries (musically good is a whole different story…).

What I want to see people vote on is READY, from the iDOLM@STER, or The Idol Master, or iM@S, or whatever the hell people like to call it. The song is basically the “main” theme to not just the anime (it’s OP1) but all of the “2nd Vision” project of iM@S. Not that there’s per se a main theme…you get what I’m saying?

This is the TV-size cut from the anime. In the 2011 TV anime itself there are a couple different versions, but most notably the final concert version where it changes into, heh, CHANGE (OP2) in the middle, because we all know CHANGE has the better pre-chorus.

Actually that has been kind of a theme for the Anime Music Tourney, because often times (IMO) inferior songs are not the representative songs from a given IP in the tourney, which both makes me kind of sad that the better representatives are entirely missing, but also not so sad when these slightly-worse samples don’t make it to the next round.

At any rate, READY is first rate, from the stand point of a lot of different contexts. And it’s all about the contexts. Here’s the master version (which shows you a pretty HOP STEP JUMP bridge (Jeff Lawson was on to something wasn’t he; I know it’s from Kita e but still).

The full song and lyrics are available above, with minor errors within margin, I think. I didn’t really check. As you can tell it’s kind of a rallying cry type of song, because that’s the kind of encore/kickoff track you use at a live show. Keeping in spirit and functionality of idol groups, READY is not only fitting anime OP/ED material, it has to work on the stage. That’s a lot more than what I can say than most songs in the Animusic Tourney.

Possibly the definitive live version:

It has to work on stage, it has to work in a game, but it also has to be easy enough to sing to since something like 13 different voice actresses of varying skill levels has to perform it in the recording booth and also on stage. You and I can also perform it at karaoke, since this is that kind of a song. A real theme song for a franchise with big aspirations. Of course, it has to work while waving your glow sticks around, too.

If you prefer Rie Kugimiya, there’s this version…

And then there are these eager cosplayers! In America no less.

Lastly, if you want to learn the calls, this video on Nico can help.

You can vote for READY here. While you’re at it, check out all the other cool songs in the tourney!

PS. So, about that bracket thing…yea, I have a USPS priority mail cardboard full of things. I guess as the contest gets further I might become less busy and thus can hammer out some details.


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