{single} Sakamoto Maaya – Saigo no Kajitsu

June 5, 2009 at 6:36 pm | Posted in Music, Sakamoto Maaya | 1 Comment

Sakamoto Maaya – Saigo no Kajitsu
坂本真綾 – さいごの果実

(released November 21st, 2007)

1. さいごの果実 [Saigo no Kajitsu]
2. ミツバチと科学者 [Mitsubachi to Kagakusha]
3. さいごの果実 (w/o maaya)
4. ミツバチと科学者
5. さいごの果実 (short size)

Sakamoto Maaya’s 15th single. Maaya returns to Tsubasa Chronicle with yet another ending, this time for the Tokyo Revelations OVA. Saigo no Kajitsu was my favorite J-Pop single of 2007, and it still does not disappoint.

It is unavoidable that I am going to end up comparing Saigo no Kajitsu to Kazemachi Jet despite their vast musical differences, because they have been endings for the same series. Saigo no Kajitsu has a more definitive ending/parting feeling, because it’s sung with an overall sadder tone. The opening guitar line is wonderful, and I love how the song starts out mellow and builds up. Sakamoto Maaya’s expressive capability continues to amaze me in this, as she goes from lonely to hopeful to desperate to optimistic again – she completely lets loose during the bridge. There were a few high notes that made me uneasy, but her emotion more than makes up for it. The composition is wonderful; nothing beyond the standard guitar, percussion (the tambourine was a nice touch), and strings I’ve heard in so many of her songs, but I’m a sucker for dramatic string parts, so I loved it.

With a title like Mitsubachi to Kagakusha (“the honeybee and the scientist”), I wondered if this was going to be one of Maaya’s quirkier, cute songs. It turns out just to be standard J-Pop. The lighter tone of this track feels a bit strange after the sweeping, epic A-side, but it’s nice. I love the energy level of this song though – it’s something I’d jam to but isn’t too rockish. My favorite part is around the 2:20 mark, when Maaya does this short “question & answer” passage – I like how it’s sung with attitude. I’ll admit that Maaya’s vocals do sound better here due to the fact she’s not stretching her voice to hit high notes, but they don’t leave the same emotional resonance as Saigo no Kajitsu.

Saigo no Kajitsu (short size) captures the best of Maaya’s vocals – the gentle opening and the dramatic middle and ending. The bridge is left out, so you don’t hear some of the high notes she struggles with but the downside is that the build up that made me like the original in the first place is absent. There’s almost no transition to the chorus (I think it’s the second one, not the first) – the song goes from soft to the dramatic parts suddenly. The intro is cut short as well.

Favorite Track: Saigo no Kajitsu

Overall Grade: A-