An otaku's thoughts on Shangri-la (not the anime, the musical!)
www.youtube.com/watch, is one of the videos I used, but I also utilized some of the other Shangri-la stuff available on Youtube.
Well...let's start with costumes.
In terms of style, I'd LIKE to say it's similar to FFVII, but that isn't the case. The western style outfits, maybe, but the Japanese style outfits throw the whole thing off. Part of me thinks of it like, "It's like FFXII, if you replaced all the Mediterranean influences with Japanese ones."
But then, the style of outfits in FFX is kind of similar to Shangri-la, since Yuna's outfit has some Japanese influences in it. But then in FFX-2, they changed the outfit a lot...
Oh, I found something interesting. Sumika's outfit is kind of similar to Nana Mizuki outfit in her PV for Etsuraku Camellia, although the color is different. Or maybe I'm just weird...
But honestly, I don't really see how it's so similar to FF. Anime style? YES. I'm strongly reminded of Kara no Kyoukai (although the setting is different, there are Japanese style outfits prominently featured in it) and the anime Shangri-la (LOL how interesting.) Game style? Hmm...the feeling I get from the outfits reminds me of Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, due to the overall...flashiness of the outfits :D I could almost say the same thing about the Shin Megami Tensei series (although there are lots of school uniforms used, the feeling is very similar for me. Although the outfits might not be outlandish enough).
Now, analyzing music~ (since I am an anime music geek >:D)
I was struggling to find something I could compare the music to. At first, based on the percussion, I thought, "shouldn't they be river dancing or something?" But after listening to it repeatedly, I was strongly reminded of Yuki Kajiura. However, some of the vocalized songs basically sound like standard Takarazuka songs, but with rock instruments, which was kind of disappointing. I was totally expecting them to combine classical and rock elements, and they did. They just didn't do it effectively, or as effectively as they could have.
So, as much as I'd love to compare the soundtrack to FF or another video game franchise with great music, I really can't. It still has that Takarazuka feel to it. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that I can't make the comparison ^^;;
BTW, by no means do I dislike the music of Shangri-la. I think it's excellent. Besides, you can't really compare the music of video games and Takarazuka...unless you're talking about Phoenix Wright. But that's a subject for another day.
Oh, and Yuuhi and Tomu are awesome. And I'm almost warming up to Sumika. ALMOST. (But my, she's pretty in this! ^_^)
Well...let's start with costumes.
In terms of style, I'd LIKE to say it's similar to FFVII, but that isn't the case. The western style outfits, maybe, but the Japanese style outfits throw the whole thing off. Part of me thinks of it like, "It's like FFXII, if you replaced all the Mediterranean influences with Japanese ones."
But then, the style of outfits in FFX is kind of similar to Shangri-la, since Yuna's outfit has some Japanese influences in it. But then in FFX-2, they changed the outfit a lot...
Oh, I found something interesting. Sumika's outfit is kind of similar to Nana Mizuki outfit in her PV for Etsuraku Camellia, although the color is different. Or maybe I'm just weird...
But honestly, I don't really see how it's so similar to FF. Anime style? YES. I'm strongly reminded of Kara no Kyoukai (although the setting is different, there are Japanese style outfits prominently featured in it) and the anime Shangri-la (LOL how interesting.) Game style? Hmm...the feeling I get from the outfits reminds me of Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, due to the overall...flashiness of the outfits :D I could almost say the same thing about the Shin Megami Tensei series (although there are lots of school uniforms used, the feeling is very similar for me. Although the outfits might not be outlandish enough).
Now, analyzing music~ (since I am an anime music geek >:D)
I was struggling to find something I could compare the music to. At first, based on the percussion, I thought, "shouldn't they be river dancing or something?" But after listening to it repeatedly, I was strongly reminded of Yuki Kajiura. However, some of the vocalized songs basically sound like standard Takarazuka songs, but with rock instruments, which was kind of disappointing. I was totally expecting them to combine classical and rock elements, and they did. They just didn't do it effectively, or as effectively as they could have.
So, as much as I'd love to compare the soundtrack to FF or another video game franchise with great music, I really can't. It still has that Takarazuka feel to it. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that I can't make the comparison ^^;;
BTW, by no means do I dislike the music of Shangri-la. I think it's excellent. Besides, you can't really compare the music of video games and Takarazuka...unless you're talking about Phoenix Wright. But that's a subject for another day.
Oh, and Yuuhi and Tomu are awesome. And I'm almost warming up to Sumika. ALMOST. (But my, she's pretty in this! ^_^)