C'est la rêve qui chante…

{soundtrack} Pandora Radio Special CD Vol. 2

Pandora Radio Special CD Vol.2
Alice character song ~ Kinjirareta Asobi (CV: Kawasumi Ayako)

(released August 26th, 2009)

1. オープニング [Opening]
2. ひと口食べて値段を当てろ!クイズ牛肉ハウマッチ! [Hito kuchi tabete nedan wo atero! Quiz gyuuniku how much!]
3. 禁じられた遊び [Kinjirareta Asobi]
4. 結果発表 [Kekka Happyou]
5. エンディング [Ending]
6. おまけ～罰ゲーム [Omake ~ Bachi Game]

The second Pandora Hearts radio CD. Contains the character song for Alice sung by her seiyuu, Kawasumi Ayako. Hm, this is a nice way to kick off the Kawasumi Ayako reviews :)

When I first saw Kinjirareta Asobi, I was expecting something dark…not only because of the music style in Pandora Hearts, but also because the song title is the same as a certain ALI PROJECT song. Instead we have a slow, floaty piano & orchestral number. Kawasumi’s singing doesn’t sound very much like Alice – in fact, despite her acting versatility, she sounds the same in every character song she’s done in terms of voice tone. However, her singing is rather pretty here, so I’ll forgive that.  The vocals aren’t very dynamic in this song – it pretty much stays in one calm, ethereal state (I want to hear Ceui cover this now…). I keep thinking of Alice and Jack caught in some dreamlike waltz when I hear this. The lyrics are about Alice waiting for someone and wondering why she was born and Kawasumi does indeed capture Alice’s loneliness and and yearning for her memories well. I almost thought this song would feature the “other” (darker) Alice persona (that’s all I can say without giving a spoiler), but I’m glad it featured the more naive, innocent Alice. Kinjirareta Asobi is wonderful follow up to MinaJun’s swear to…, and shows the contrasting inner personalities of the two – Oz’s tumultuous emotions and Alice’s soft melancholy. While Minagawa’s vocals were more impressive, Kinjirareta’s soothing arrangement seals the deal for me.

Overall Grade: A-