ONE MORE WEEK TO GUESS

But meanwhile, what is today's #MusicWomenWednesday ?

It KMM-dan which just means "all the voice actresses what did the WitchCraftWorks ED" which means "the Tower Witches" which means KMM Dan (KMM団) Tanpopo Kuraishi (CV: Shiori Izawa), Tsurupeta (CV: Momo Asakura), Twintail (CV: Shiina Natsukawa), Gantai (CV: Yuuko Iida), and Deko (CV: Natsumi Hioka)

https://animethemes.moe/anime/witch_craft_works/ED1-NCBD1080

I don't have time this morning for a full loadout, so for now you can follow the links on animethemes.moe and regarding this ED itself, well...

I have done a full writeup in the past 😝

It Wednesday! It morning! It... have music time!

We getting close to a particularly-special one (can anyone guess?) but not quite yet. Two more weeks!

Today is special anyway, even if we haven't left "cast songs" territory, because it involves an excellent voice actress, and my second-favorite show. (Sadly my Space Brothers fav is sung and performed by DUDES! Can you imagine?!)

Asami Seto not only voices the title role in Chihayafuru, she covers the ED in the first two seasons (sadly they did not for season 3, which I still haven't quite forgiven them for yet)

https://animethemes.moe/anime/chihayafuru_2/ED1-NCBD1080

Iconic, sweet, and the perfect outtros, even if not terribly-exciting.

Seto herself does not have a side singing career, but does have dozens of cast songs to peruse.

#MusicWomenWednesday

Good morning and good #MusicWomenWednesday !

The Monogatari series is well-known for a plethora of OPs all by the seiyuu voicing whichever girl is the arc's focus. The EDs are of a slightly different stripe, usually involving singers-only, and in the case of Second Season we meet Marina Kawano who is involved primarily with Monogatsstuff.

https://animethemes.moe/anime/monogatari_series_second_season

Active since 2011, but with only the single studio album I can find, and only singles on streaming.

ED duties in this case were shared with Luna Haruna, a singer who started around the same time (2011) and with three studio albums and a few more series she OP/EDs with like Saekano and SAO. She's dropped more singles in recent years, so hopefully another album is on the way.

Cello

A part of Kids on the Slope as well, but here is one of the earlist examples I can find in anime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9FCg4B3e1E

A Takahata-directed work very few know or have seen, and perhaps his first "serious work" that would stamp his style after Ghibli began, as it was not adventure-tale-y or "a thing about pandas" 😝

#AniMangaAlsoRan

Another cast song #MusicWomenWednesday !

We had Ai Kayano just a few weeks ago, and to that today we add Satomi Satou due to the super-cute second ED from Hyouka

https://animethemes.moe/anime/hyouka/ED2-NCBD1080

Kayano-of-the-suspiciously-more-than-expected-cast-songs-for-not-having-a-separate-singing-career is Mayaka here, and Satou joins as the ever-curious Chitanda. As she also voices Ritsu in K-On!, let's just say get gets up to a lot herself.

The only place she crosses my lists is here, but a lovely tea time can be spent exploring the rest.

Good #MusicWomenWednesday morning! What is the soundtrack for today?

Looks short and sweet, brought to us by one of the more zany EDs out there, and emblematic "cast song"

https://animethemes.moe/anime/kill_me_baby/ED1-NCBD1080

Chinatsu Akasaki and Mutsumi Tamura are the singers here, but neither have "singer" in their repertoire nor studio albums or singles to their name, but both are involved in a number of cast anisong. (Chinatsu primarily.)

So amusingly, they're best chased through a site like the above.

Perhaps the Cinderella Girls OP is best-known at this point, but this ED is just... hypnotic. Like no other!

Busy morning, but it #MusicWomenWednesday time, and we have finally arrived as one of the most instantly-recognizable vocalists in YUKI--Yuki Isoya (Yuki Kuramochi)--and her OP for Kids on the Slope

https://animethemes.moe/anime/sakamichi_no_apollon/OP1-NCBD1080

She also owns the Chica Umino cinematic universe, having done almost all the OPs for Honey and Clover and 3-gatsu no Lion

Active since 1991 and with a dozen studio albums of her own, she was also the lead vocalist of JUDY AND MARY (so if you watched any Kenshin...), NiNa, and more.

A lot out there to explore.

Here are lots of music videos and live performances: https://www.youtube.com/@yukiSMEJ/videos

Hayami -sama, meanwhile, has about double that--for "cast songs" as well as her own, and some studio albums, mini albums, a pack of singles...

Not the bigged amount as far as "singing career" goes outside of anime references, but then between all the drama CDs, video games, live-action dubbing... WHEN DOES SHE HAVE THE TIME?!

But when Heaven's Lost Property alone delivers 15+ OPs and EDs, that's plenty to go by.

I'm sure I experienced her voice acting first in Eden of the East, but not 100% sure which song I might have. Probably an Oreimo? I mean.... whatcha gonna do. Sometime live gives you Oreimos.

Anything more iconic than secret base? I am really not sure!

Perhaps I'll summon @otakureview again to argue about Shirayuki-hime OPs 😛

This #MusicWomenWednesday brings us back to a proper "cast song" and quite possibly for many people their first and strongest one. Which which cast and what song?

https://animethemes.moe/anime/ano_hi_mita_hana_no_namae_wo_bokutachi_wa_mada_shiranai/ED2v2-NCBD1080

It feels like secret base strikes "perfect ED" chords about as strongly as Anohana itself left an impact for most viewers, and so we connect Ai Kayano (Menma, and somehow Darkness in KonoSuba), Haruka Tomatsu (Anaru, later Asuna from SAO and Zero Twom and appeared before), and Saori Hayami (Tsuruko, and modern seiyuu goddess of every part under the sun)

Ai Kayano doesn't have a separate signed singing career with a label, but is involved with a kind of hilarious number of cast anisong anyway: here, Hyouka, Girls und Panzer, KonoSuba, Symphogear... 40 song performances, 30+ "with"

A reliable voice!

🖼

I unspoilered my previous, and wonder if @BongoMcnulty would be amused to review now ;-)

https://urusai.social/@cthellis/117137014072240035

Thankfully most of both are available on streaming (though I am not going to count to see in Kajiura's case; getting "most" of her entire compositional catalog would truly be a feat--but there's lots) and in her case there's a lot of "what can I say?" because there's just so much TO say.

Plus, I need to go to work. 😝

So I will return later.

...but in the meanwhile, I will do another broad invitation, and call out @otakureview specifically again. TAG, take this further, however you want! 😝

Sound of the Sky is not on my list, but it's a good song, Brent. Interestingly, Kajiura did not compose for that series. And for earlier ones, like Noir, the anisong drove around her.

I suspect for most people, where I have them on my list is the same place....

A cute, magical girl show that premiered in 2011, and had a sweet and saccharine ED... until the hammer drops in Episode 3

THIS ending is what sticks with you. As you're like... "oh, shit just hit the fan didn't it?"

https://animethemes.moe/anime/mahou_shoujo_madokamagica/ED2-BD1080

Magia may be most-iconic because of the show, but its tone and drive and the utter compulsion of Kalafina bites from the very first chords. Kajiura's theme compositional talents I think are personified here most.

Even the visuals back the hell off to not distract, INCREASING impact.

Kajiura brought them together (two of whom were already a part of her FictionJunction) and served as composer and arranger until she left the label a decade later, after which Kalafina started to break down as well, though reuniting a few years ago due to fan love.

And there's lots to love. One of the things that hits me plenty with anisong are "complex harmonics"--we got a first example last September in the Dangiaoh OP, and in not to long the most prominent one.

Kalafina's vocalists have in many ways "one voice" and so as they weave in and out of melody and harmony, there is an ethereal "angelic choir" feeling to it all. And this is often how their talents are wielded for the shows they are selected for; including a WHOLE LOT of Nasuverse.

Breaking modern group today with #MusicWomenWednesday as we introduce some heavy-hitters, and make @otakureview the happiest of happy.

Yuki Kajiura wasn't as connected to the group or song when I mentioned Ali Project back in May, even though she was composing on Noir, but there is one group that gained prominence, that she was attached to at the hip to, in Kalafina.

And here I feel like I want to give their combined entry a mention first, before the point they enter my lists.

A vocal group formed largely around the end credits for Garden of Sinners, (a series of films not NEARLY well-known enough as they should be), Kalafina takes "atmospheric" to those very heights

https://animethemes.moe/anime/kara_no_kyoukai_1_fukan_fuukei/ED1-BD1080
https://animethemes.moe/anime/kara_no_kyoukai_2_satsujin_kousatsu_zen/ED1-BD1080
https://animethemes.moe/anime/kara_no_kyoukai_3_tsuukaku_zanryuu/ED1-BD1080
https://animethemes.moe/anime/kara_no_kyoukai_4_garan_no_dou/ED1-BD1080
https://animethemes.moe/anime/kara_no_kyoukai_5_mujun_rasen/ED1-BD1080

...and now we enter the 2010s, starting in spring, featuring Etsuko Yakushimaru performing the ED to Tatami Galaxy, one that is stupidly iconic for me

https://animethemes.moe/anime/yojouhan_shinwa_taikei/ED1-NCBD1080

AND more this very season, from Arakawa Under the Bridge. So I would meet this song first

https://animethemes.moe/anime/arakawa_under_the_bridge/OP1-BD1080

Active since 2006, with three studio albums (thankfully all on streaming) and some extras. A voice that is "easy to place, but hard to place" IYKWIM. Somewhat breathy and light crooning, in songs that are very... Well, I think the tags "ambient" and "experimental" on her wiki work pretty well.

Well-used also in Penguindrum OPs and Hi-Score Girl EDs.

I will eternally come back to Kamisama no Iutoori, tho amusingly that brings up a bunch of death game series these days 😝

#MusicWomenWednesday

And so this #MusicWomenWednesday we return to Bakemonogatari, where we last met Yui Horie.

The Monogatari series in general has an intereting anisong stamp; a new OP for each new girls' arc, sung by her voice actress, but for each specific series they generally maintain a single ED which is NOT a cast song.

For Bakemonogatari, that would be through Nico Nico Douga connections, with Nagi Yanagi serving as guest vocalist for the group supercell.

https://animethemes.moe/anime/bakemonogatari/ED1-NCBD1080

Yanagi has gone and done WAY more anisong than you would expect, and has 13 studio albums through 2025 with scattered streaming support. Supercell takes in some as well, with more singles-focus through the years, but plenty to check out.

1) Guns & Roses - Paradise Lunch
2) Bob-Omb Battlefield - Video Game Jazz Orchestra
3) Dr, Wily - Stage 1 - Mariachi Entertainment System
4) Green Greens - Rare Candy
5) Sootopolis City - The Consouls
6) Super Bell Hill - Jazztick
7) Fire Emblem - Kirby's Dream Band
8) One Winged Angel - ErichWK
9) Rainbow Road - 8-bit & The Single Players
10) MAGWest 2025 concert - Super Soul Bros (it was their Guns & Roses that fed the list, cus no Paradise Lunch option on Apple Music, thus the video game quick spinoff.)

#MondayRandom10

Been a few since the last #MondayRandom10 . Let's see what Yui Horie pulls off.

1) Vanilla Salt - Yui Horie
2) Soul Salvation - Megumi Hayashibara
3) Abracada-Boo - Karoi Ishihara
4) X-encounter - Maon Kurosaki
5) Asymmetry - Yui Horie
6) Love Power - Aice5
7) Platinum - Maaya Sakamoto
8) only my railgun - fripSide
9) She Can Drops - Petit Milady
10) Absolute Blue - Sora Amamiya

My list brings all the @otakureview to the yard. (And @ishambard I suspect.)

Well well since the Nodame album is not on streaming I can't build a station on it, so with Crystal Kay's leadoff instead We Gonna Boogie this #MondayRandom10

2) XXX - SOULHEAD (feat. Kumi Koda)
3) Losin' - Yuna Ito
4) Yuki No Hana - Mika Nakashima
5) Ride on Time - May J.
6) Fierce - Che'Nelle
7) Talkin' About You - Jasmine
8) Buddy - Hiraidai
9) Kirakuni - Crystal Kay
10) Get Real - LISA