Yoko Kanno is doing the soundtrack for the Live Action version of Cowboy Bebop, and produced SEATBELTS doing this Virtual Session of the shows original theme song TANK! That wasn’t SEARBELT’S only recent virtual session, they also did Space Lion from the same show, LION, The Real Folk Blues, Don’t bother none, and the list goes on. Having the iconic compositions of Yoko Kanno (with possibly some new tunes when the show finally comes onto the small screen) and the Jazz presentation of Seatbelts in the new incarnation of Cowboy Bebop is just one of the reasons I can’t wait for this program to finally air.
Yoko Kanno is one of the most amazing composers and band leaders ever, and it is always a treat to discover someone new singing her praises by playing her music (and yes, I do mean that literally). Back in 2009 a band called Platina Jazz got together to create covers of the best Jazz music in Anime, so I figure at least half of their music has to be created by her. Let me show off a few of their tunes so you can get an idea of who they are.
Starting off with the single most recognizable tune from Anime Jazz, Yoko Kanno’s TANK:
Then there is Inner Universe from Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex, another track composed and originally preformed by Yoko Kanno!
And another killer classic from Cowboy Bebop, Knock A Little Harder:
If you don’t already know the questions this anime answered 30 years ago and continues to answer today, this video will explain it to you. This exploration of the Ghost In The Shell universe was created by Beyond Ghibli, and he has many more where this came from.
Mamoru Hosoda’s latest film, Mirai will be in theaters for a limited engagement beginning November 29th courtesy of GKIDS. They have just released another trailer for it, and I wanted to share it here. If the creators name sounds familiar but you’re not sure why, some of his previous works included The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, and Summer Wars.
A brand new song from Kisida Kyodan & THE Akishin Rocket, it is another great Anime OP track, this time from Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens. The Cd/DVD music video combo was released earlier this week (February 7th), and the anime series just started airing at the beginning of January. The series only has 5 episodes out so far, but more than anything else it reminds me of Cowboy Bebop, and not just because of the incidental music. I included one of their earlier Anime tracks, Blood On The Edge being the OP from Strike The Blood, just because I could.
I missed seeing it in the theaters, and it hasn’t been streaming anywhere that I could find (not even on Funimation who have the North American rights), but now it is finally available on Disc: Your Name. Featuring music by the Radwimps, it pretty much broke every theater record in Japan, and won multiple awards. Another winner this week is Westworld: The Complete First Season, an excellent reboot of the original franchise. You can stream at least some of the episodes at that SYFY link, if you haven’t seen it yet you should check it out. Project Itoh: Genocidal Organ is the latest Sci-Fi story in the Project Itoh series, dealing with some fairly current topics. Taken together, the series of feature films covers about 150 years of a parallel history, like yet unlike our own. Finally there is Trollhunters: Season One, with Season 2 available to stream beginning on December 15th.