Is Sumitomo's music bad because of budget?

[MCDaveG]

Because, I have this impression, that lot of people are fans of his music and aknowledge that Dragon Ball Kai ''Part 2'' music is not what they actually expected (and few are caught by it completely),
and they resort to say ''Well, the score is bad, but that is because of the low budget''.
So i thought that I will ask about some of the hard evidence, because I wasn't impressed by the Battle Of Gods soundtrack either. Yeah, it was better than the stuff I heard in Kai, definitely.
But, how much is it:
a) Sumitomo can shine in one work, but can't handle the variety and quality for bigger project of more episodes.
b) Small budget - that is something, that can't affect quality of your work, if you make it digitally. Can affect time you spend on it, people you can hire. So time restriction probably?
c) Small budget - You didn't gave me enough money, so I don't give a f**k. *Scribble, scribble, scribble* here is a sad theme, *Scribble, scribble, scribble* here is cheerful technodisco theme, which your ears will bleed from....
d) another aspect

Because the Kai was in making like since the first one ended, that's huge amount of time to create the music for one show.
Also, I heard lot of actually not that bad music from DB games and I presume, that budget for those wasn't even on par with what budget is for making the music for a series.
I am a music producer myself, but haven't appearantly worked on music for Japanese TV show and what I've heard about animators there, the story about producing the music for Japanese shows can be anything like.
Is there any story or interview about this thing in general? I know about various tidbits, like Seiji Yokoyama who did music for Saint Seiya enjoyed the work so much, that as the anime was cancelled before adapting the Hades arc in 1989,
he recorded a whole new CD inspired by that arc from manga and released it alongside the previous soundtrack. The tracks were later reused in the Hades OVAs 15 years later.

[Black_Liger]

I know I always give them same examples..

But he did Shibakane Hime's soundtrack and this track particularily stands out as really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IchXXLG-OBE

I really think buu kai kai was scored on a tight budget... It almost seems as if it was recorded using scraps of the budget for BoG, as the movie actually used full fledged choirs but the anime only gets one "Choir" original track, and it's only 3 chants with no words or anything like that. Also there little pieces that use full orchestra.

For Example most tracks are missing certain instrument sections. Like the Apocalyptic track doesn't have a trumpet and trombone section, and only has one french horn, the "vegeta gets possesed" theme, while really good in my opinion, only has spicatto strings "the pluck sound" which repeats itself and the brass in this piece could very well be synthesized and it repeats itself and is only atmospheric. The Majin buu theme is mostly electronic and only 5 or so seconds of it are orchestrated.

I stand that the fully orchestrated stuff is real good. But Toei should stop being cheap.

[MCDaveG]

Well, that example wasn't bad. Tough the orchestra was synth. The popular quote for mostly animated programs is true ''Only Simpsons still use live orchestra'' and it is mostly true.
Last Anime show I remember with live orchestra from recent days is Gundam Unicorn.
That's why I noted that orchestral pieces aren't much of the issue nowadays. Live ensemble sounds great, but you can emulate it nowadays for the most part.

[Black_Liger]

Well, that example wasn't bad. Tough the orchestra was synth. The popular quote for mostly animated programs is true ''Only Simpsons still use live orchestra'' and it is mostly true.
Last Anime show I remember with live orchestra from recent days is Gundam Unicorn.
That's why I noted that orchestral pieces aren't much of the issue nowadays. Live ensemble sounds great, but you can emulate it nowadays for the most part.

Hunter X Hunter used full orchestra most of the time, and it was freaking awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwiQoJBrP-Y

It depends on who you hire I guess, you never get bad music from Yoshihisa Hirano.

[mcdonough88]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

[Naruto6583]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

I would say budget remember the buu arc was all done in house

[dbboxkaifan]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

I would say budget remember the buu arc was all done in house

He might just not be a very good composer because Yamamoto even produced great soundtracks for games which are considered some of the worst of the DB franchise and they still stood out (Final Bout, Ultimate Battle 22) and the games themselves looked to be pretty low quality too (UB22 not so much DBFB).

[MCDaveG]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

I would say budget remember the buu arc was all done in house

He might just not be a very good composer because Yamamoto even produced great soundtracks for games which are considered some of the worst of the DB franchise and they still stood out (Final Bout, Ultimate Battle 22) and the games themselves looked to be pretty low quality too (UB22 not so much DBFB).

That's what I think personally, because talent is something, that can't be hindered by budget. More so in these days, when you can replace whole orchestra with sampling and synthesizers.
To me, most tracks from the recent Kai sound like with no idea. They are just long repetitive loops with few changes and really basic synth arrange done. If this is the reason out of the money he got, then he must've got 20 dollars for one track.

[dbboxkaifan]

Sumitomo has some good tunes but overall he's certainly not better than Yamamoto, Kikuchi, Tokunaga, Faulconer or etc so this is kind of disappointing because if Columbia Japan releases Dragon Ball Kai - Original Soundtrack IV then it'll be upsetting seeing that the actual authentic OST IV will forever be forgotten even though it never officially came out. A cover of it showed up as well as the tracklist and a release date, though.

Code: Select all

DISC 1
1 	
[Disc 1] TATAKAI NO MAKUAKE
[Disc 1] 戦いの幕開け
2 	
[Disc 1] DAIBOUKEN NO YOKAN
[Disc 1] 大冒険の予感
3 	
[Disc 1] TRAINING TIME
[Disc 1] トレーニング★タイム
4 	
[Disc 1] KIKKOU SURU TATAKAI
[Disc 1] 拮抗する戦い
5 	
[Disc 1] KUSEN
[Disc 1] 苦戦
6 	
[Disc 1] SENUN
[Disc 1] 戦雲
7 	
[Disc 1] HIROGARISHI SENUN
[Disc 1] 広がりし戦雲
8 	
[Disc 1] ARATANARU BOUKEN HE
[Disc 1] 新たなる冒険へ
9 	
[Disc 1] KYOUSHA HE IDOMU YUUSHI
[Disc 1] 強者へ挑む勇士
10 	
[Disc 1] TATAKAI NO RONDE
[Disc 1] 闘いの舞踏曲
11 	
[Disc 1] SHIRETSU NA TATAKAI
[Disc 1] 熾烈な闘い
12 	
[Disc 1] ISSHINITTAI
[Disc 1] 一進一退
13 	
[Disc 1] HISSHI NO ENGO
[Disc 1] 必死の援護
14 	
[Disc 1] SHOUSHA NO DANCE
[Disc 1] 勝者のダンス
15 	
[Disc 1] KINPAKU NO KOUYA
[Disc 1] 緊迫の荒野
16 	
[Disc 1] YOKI SENU JITAI
[Disc 1] 予期せぬ事態
17 	
[Disc 1] YOKAN-DRAGONBALL KAI -
[Disc 1] 予感～ドラゴンボール改～
18 	
[Disc 1] MISHIRANU KYOUI
[Disc 1] 見知らぬ脅威
19 	
[Disc 1] BUKIMI NA SHIZUKESA
[Disc 1] 不気味な静けさ
20 	
[Disc 1] SAIYAJIN NO UNMEI
[Disc 1] サイヤ人の運命
21 	
[Disc 1] SHINIYUKU MONO TACHI HE
[Disc 1] 死にゆくモノたちへ
22 	
[Disc 1] HISAN NA JOUKEI
[Disc 1] 悲惨な情景
23 	
[Disc 1] TSURAI SENTAKU
[Disc 1] つらい選択
24 	
[Disc 1] KYOUDAI NA TEKI
[Disc 1] 強大な敵
25 	
[Disc 1] KANASHIMI NO NAMIDA
[Disc 1] 悲しみの涙
26 	
[Disc 1] KOUKYOUKYOKU[HENSHIN]
[Disc 1] 交響曲「変身」
27 	
[Disc 1] SOUZETSU NA TAIKETSU
[Disc 1] 壮絶な対決
28 	
[Disc 1] HISOU NA UNMEI
[Disc 1] 悲壮な運命
29 	
[Disc 1] PIANO KUMIKYOKU[KAKUSEI]
[Disc 1] ピアノ組曲「覚醒」
30 	
[Disc 1] SATORU MESHI KAKUSEI
[Disc 1] 悟飯覚醒
31 	
[Disc 1] KYOUGAKU!
[Disc 1] 驚愕!
32 	
[Disc 1] SATORU SORA.ZETTAI ZETSUMEI
[Disc 1] 悟空、絶対絶命
33 	
[Disc 1] ONONOKU SHUNKAN
[Disc 1] おののく瞬間
34 	
[Disc 1] DRAGONBALL KAI -TITLE-
[Disc 1] ドラゴンボール改～タイトル～
35 	
[Disc 1] DRAGONBALL KAI -SUBTITLE-
[Disc 1] ドラゴンボール改～サブタイトル～
36 	
[Disc 1] DRAGONBALL KAI -EYE CATCH A-
[Disc 1] ドラゴンボール改～アイキャッチA～
37 	
[Disc 1] DRAGONBALL KAI -EYE CATCH B-
[Disc 1] ドラゴンボール改～アイキャッチB～
38 	
[Disc 1] DRAGONBALL KAI -JIKAI YOKOKU-
[Disc 1] ドラゴンボール改～次回予告～
DISC 2
1 	
[Disc 2] ARAGAENU CHIKARA
[Disc 2] 抗えぬ力
2 	
[Disc 2] FUAN TO SHOUSOU
[Disc 2] 不安と焦燥
3 	
[Disc 2] ARATA NA TEKI NO SHUTSUGEN
[Disc 2] 新たな敵の出現
4 	
[Disc 2] KIKAI NA SEIBUTSU
[Disc 2] 奇怪な生物
5 	
[Disc 2] OMINOUS SILENCE -BUKIMI NA SHIZUKESA-
[Disc 2] Ominous Silence ～不気味な静けさ～
6 	
[Disc 2] [NAZO]
[Disc 2] 「謎」
7 	
[Disc 2] KAMI NO IZANAI
[Disc 2] 神の誘い
8 	
[Disc 2] NAMEKKUSEI NO HIBI
[Disc 2] ナメック星の日々
9 	
[Disc 2] KINTOUN!
[Disc 2] 筋斗雲ーっ!
10 	
[Disc 2] SHENRON NO FUKKATSU
[Disc 2] 神龍の復活
11 	
[Disc 2] FUKASHIGI NA GENSHOU
[Disc 2] 不可思議な現象
12 	
[Disc 2] KAME HOUSE
[Disc 2] KAME HOUSE
13 	
[Disc 2] HEION NA TOKI
[Disc 2] 平穏な時間(とき)
14 	
[Disc 2] BUBBLES DANCE
[Disc 2] バブルス・ダンス
15 	
[Disc 2] TEN KARA SAZUKARU SHIAWASE
[Disc 2] 天から授かる幸せ
16 	
[Disc 2] ANDO NO KYOUSOUKYOKU
[Disc 2] 安堵の協奏曲
17 	
[Disc 2] SATAN NO POLKA
[Disc 2] サタンの舞曲(ポルカ)
18 	
[Disc 2] DRAGON SOUL
[Disc 2] Dragon Soul ～Orchestra ver.～
19 	
[Disc 2] DAICHI WO KAKERU
[Disc 2] 大地を駆ける
20 	
[Disc 2] SHISSOU BATTLE!
[Disc 2] 疾走バトル!
21 	
[Disc 2] ARERE ?
[Disc 2] あれれ?
22 	
[Disc 2] YUUGA NA HIRUSAGARI
[Disc 2] 優雅な昼下がり
23 	
[Disc 2] DAIMAOU ARAWARU
[Disc 2] 大魔王現る
24 	
[Disc 2] GYAKUTEN BANKAI
[Disc 2] 逆転挽回
25 	
[Disc 2] KYOUSENSHI.SAIYAJIN
[Disc 2] 強戦士、サイヤ人
26 	
[Disc 2] KAISEN!
[Disc 2] 開戦!
27 	
[Disc 2] KOKOU NO SENSHI
[Disc 2] 孤高の戦士
28 	
[Disc 2] YUUSHI NO GAISEN
[Disc 2] 勇士の凱旋
29 	
[Disc 2] KAMIGAMI NO BORERO
[Disc 2] 神々のボレロ
30 	
[Disc 2] ASHITA HE NO MICHI
[Disc 2] 明日への道
31 	
[Disc 2] TATAKAI NO HATE NI
[Disc 2] 戦いの果てに
32 	
[Disc 2] KOMIAGERU YUUKI
[Disc 2] 込み上げる勇気
33 	
[Disc 2] SHOURI HENO ICHIGEKI
[Disc 2] 勝利への一撃
34 	
[Disc 2] YOROKOBI HA SHIZUKANI
[Disc 2] 喜びは静かに
35 	
[Disc 2] TSUKANOMA NO HEION
[Disc 2] つかの間の平穏
36 	
[Disc 2] KIKAI NA SEIBUTSU
[Disc 2] 奇怪な生物 ～スロー・バージョン～
37 	
[Disc 2] TATAKAI NO MAKUAKE
[Disc 2] 戦いの幕開け ～ロングバージョン～
38 	
[Disc 2] JIKAI YOKOKU[KOKORO NO HANE]VER.
[Disc 2] 次回予告「心の羽根」ver. 

Source: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/COCX-36748

Still, if they were to release Kai 2.0's music with a different title like "Dragon Ball Kai: Original Soundtrack Majin Boo Hen" hell, the Faulconer CDs were named similarly "Dragon Ball Z: The Majin Buu Sagas".

[Ajay]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

This track reminds me so much of one of the tracks from Battle of Gods.

It's like the BoG track is a more grandiose take on it.

[mcdonough88]

This one would fit DB good! Why hasn't Sumitomo been this good?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-867cS1TNo

This track reminds me so much of one of the tracks from Battle of Gods.

It's like the BoG track is a more grandiose take on it.

Exactly why I thought would fit DB!