Counterpoint - Shawna
As an illustrious singer once sang, "Music brings people together." Sounds good if everyone were from the same
church denomination and ecclesiastic ditties saturated the airways. Peace on earth and all. But music inexorably spurs
heated arguments and national scandals. Think John Lennon claiming the Beatles were more popular than God, or Ice T
rapping about cop killing. And again, look at Matt in this week's KareKano column claiming that anime pop is only good
for mindless background noise, when it has so many practical applications.
Use Number One. Exercise Music
One, two, three, four, up, down, side, side, don't give up, you're almost there. That's right ladies. That's
right guys. Kick your heels to trim those thighs. The beat goes on. The beat goes on. Tenshi no E no Gu from
"Macross" gets off to a great start and will make you want to sing, "La, la, la" while you transform into a superstar
prince or princess, capable of anything…even twenty successive sit-ups.
Use Number Two. House Cleaning Music
What does every American listen to when he/she cleans house? Oldies, right? Oldies always inspire that good
old-fashioned 50's work ethic, and remind us that a dry martini is waiting for us at the end of a hard day's work.
Anime pop has some distinct Oldies pop overtones. Ureshi Namida from "Video Girl Ai" even begins with "shoo be do wap."
The CD I was given then moves into some old fashioned love songs that are presumably vocalizing all the hopes and dreams
of lovers (I don't speak Japanese, but the tunes inherently suggest love songs. Trust me). So scrub those kitchen
floors clean in four/four time, and then have your significant other's slippers waiting for him/her as you ponder all
your missed opportunities by listening to love songs.
Use Number Three. Pump up Music
Anime music works great to pump up athletes before sporting events. "Sobakasu" from "Rurouni Kenshin" can only be
described as having a head bobbing fast beat--the perfect combination for a warm up song before the big game. I
scientifically tested the pump up value of anime pop with my own basketball team. Though we are always fierce on the
court, after having warmed up to "It's Gonna Rain" we only lost our game by twenty-six points instead of the usual
thirty point average. Big results warrant big changes. Anime pop will also pump you up for your late night assassin
work. Everyone knows how hard it can be to have to go out and covertly kill a person after looking forward to just
staying home and watching "Ally McBeal" or anime. If you only had some "Driver's High" from "GTO" an aura of coolness
would surround you and prepare your mind for your duties.
Use Number Four. Save the World Music
If you are ever in the position of being able to save the world from evil masterminds, alien invaders or just
plain stupid people, anime pop will make great theme music. With Matt falling into one of the three previously
mentioned categories (you decide which one), the world is even now, in supposedly peaceful times, really in great
danger. Not to worry, anime pop will patriotically empower you to do the right thing.
Use Number Five. Strategy Music
Hopefully you were smart enough to make Matt's death look like a suicide. Not too difficult since he already
had a noose around his neck. But, if brought up on legal charges, move to Oregon, play the heart swelling, "fight for
the people" - style anime songs during your trial, and argue that you were helping Matt out of his misery. Since
assisted suicide is legal in Oregon, and no jury will want to convict a person interested in fighting for the people,
you should have no worries.
It's all there. How can anyone ignore such useful music? With anime pop, anything is possible. Cue
guitar beat, track nine and fade to black. (Shawna)
The following is a list of the anime pop songs provided to Matt and Shawna:
1. Macross - "Tenshi no E no Gu" (Mari Iijima) [Movie ED]
2. DNA^2 - "Blurry Eyes" (L'arc~en~Ciel) [TV OP]
3. Ranma 1/2 - "Love Panic!" (YAWMIN) [OAV 1st OP]
4. Video Girl Ai - "Ureshii Namida" (Noriko Sakai) [OAV OP]
5. Video Girl Ai - "Ano Hi Ni" (Maki Kumura) [OAV ED]
6. EVA - "Zankoku na Tenshi no Tesis" [TV OP]
7. EVA - "Fly Me to the Moon" (Yoko Takahashi Acid Bossa Version) [TV ED]
8. Rurouni Kenshin - "Sobakasu" (JUDY & MARY) [TV 1st OP]
9. Rurouni Kenshin - "1/2" (Makoto Kawamoto) [TV 2nd OP]
10. Rurouni Kenshin - "It's Gonna Rain" (Bonnie Pink) [TV 4th ED]
11. Card Captor Sakura - "Groovy!" (Hiromi Kouse) [TV 1st ED]
12. Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou - "Yume no Naka e" [TV ED]
13. Serial Experiments Lain - "duvet" (BOA) [TV OP]
14. GTO - "Driver's High" (L'arc~en~Ciel) [TV 1st OP]
15. GTO - "Hitori No Yoru" (Porno Graffitti) [TV 2nd OP]
16. GTO - "Shizuku" (Miwako Okuda) [TV ED]
17. Sakura Diaries - "Kimi no Mado Kara" [OAV ED]
18. FLCL - "Ride on Shooting Star" (The Pillows) [OAV ED]