Rewrite: Philosophyz – Runa Mizutani
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Album Title: Rewrite: Philosophyz – Runa Mizutani |
| Record Label: Key Sounds Label |
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| Catalog No.: KSLA-0067 |
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| Release Date: January 28, 2011 |
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| Purchase: Buy Used Copy |
Overview
Rewrite is the latest visual novel from Key, the acclaimed creators of Clannad and various other titles. Some six months before the game’s release, Key released a single featuring the opening and ending themes for the game. It generated considerable anticipation among Key collectors. Did it live up to expectations?
Body
Given the original was already arranged by a2c, it wasn’t too hard for MintJam to cover “Philosophyz”. Once again, there is a mix of rock and synth tones in the backing and there are plenty of exuberant guitar solos. The biggest change is that TERRA replaced Runa Mizutani on vocals. His voice isn’t as airy as the original singer and perhaps loses the magical quality of Key. However, it definitely suits the rock-based original much more and is a very convincing performance overall.
MintJam took more liberties with their cover, “Yami no Kanata e,” shifting away from the balladic original in favour of a soft rock anthem. TERRA gives a more sensitive performance here and once again shows his versatility. But the highlights are often the instrumentals, with the acoustic backing seducing listeners and a2c’s guitar solos dazzling once more.
The single is rounded off by ‘karaoke’ versions of the songs featuring nothing but the backing tracks. A bonus or two would have been welcome, but alas, MintJam didn’t provide it in this case.
Summary
In the end, both of these theme songs are excellent thanks to a combination of excellent songwriting and performance. They captured the tone of Rewrite perfectly and were a welcome preview of the game. That said, it may be better to pick up the full soundtrack — featuring these songs and more — unless you’re solely interested in the theme songs.
Do you agree with the review and score? Let us know in the comments below!
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Posted on August 1, 2012 by Don Kotowski. Last modified on August 1, 2012.
About the Author
Don Kotowski Currently residing in Philadelphia. I spend my days working in vaccine characterization and dedicate some of my spare time in the evening to the vast world of video game music, both reviewing soundtracks as well as maintaining relationships with composers overseas in Europe and in Japan.
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