So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analysis

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Black_Liger
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So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analysis

Post by Black_Liger » Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:52 am

I say so, cuz by listening to the soundtrack, most pieces are synthesized, some others have real instruments but are just sections or even less than 3 instruments (I could be wrong). And less than a quarter of the pieces until now are properly orchestrated.

Some tracks have the FIRST seconds orchestrated only to be completely synthesized until the end.

Examples:

Easygoing Saiyaman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflVVzH ... q&index=18

Fusion Complete

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VvrO ... WnbQSOaX3q

Majin buu Theme Deceptive appearance, 3 first seconds orchestrated, has another orchestral cue in the middle, it's only an ensemble of brass, nothing else though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WumcdpjGLuk

Some seem to have tiny ensembles instead of whole instrument sections or pitiful amount of brass, or NON at all!.

First Figure Majin buu (tiny ensemble, only 2 woodwinds, pizzicato strings might be one Cello, I could be wrong)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94pWP05 ... q&index=29

Super Saiyan 3 (Has String Section, but only ONE french horn no other brass, if Choir is not synthesized, it's was a short recording with variations, repeated over and over again)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEnc89 ... q&index=27

Many pieces have the same sampled percussion,some repeat in two tracks, only slowed down or accelerated.

Reviving Majin Buu (The quality of the drums SCREAM sampled percussion, it also REPEATS through the whole track, meaning it's either a sample, or they recorded the first part and repeated it to lower the cost)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMdyFiS ... WnbQSOaX3q

Theme of Shenron (Sample percussion, search for Nine tailed Demon fox from naruto ost, same percussion, this sample also appear on a bear grylls show too!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mto6v6m ... WnbQSOaX3q

Farewell (When the percussion kicks in, it's a sample percussion, same one from "power of a super saiyan god" from BoG, only slowed down)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCOZ9J-7fVI

There are only a handful of tracks that are completely orchestrated decently.

In other words This is why Sumitomo score sounds so hollow when playing along in the episodes, it was literally made on a cut off costs budget. It literally feels Mechanic and soul less, sure, I love lots of the tracks of sumi-kun. But facts are facts, This is score is almost as cheaply produced as Plan To Eradicate the Saiyans (old version). And by Cheaply, I mean to cut real life instrument costs, at literally, all costs. Just take a look at this, not even the synths used are of decent quality at least by today's standards.


Just compare this. a synthesized game score from the 90's. Does it NOT Fit what Sumitomo's score mostly sounds like?

Compare this

Fusion complete synth part (srsly...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6VvrO ... 3q#t=0m22s

to this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs8wiYf ... 3&index=12

Food for thought Gentlemen, I do not think DB deserves this badly cheap treatment.


PS: No offense to Crash Bandicoot fans, I love Crash!
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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Kakacarrottop » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:27 am

Some of those tracks you posted actually reminded me of the music FUNi used in their 1995 Dragon Ball dub. Also synthesized doesn't always equal cheap, i mean i wouldn't call Depeche Mode's music cheap just because they mainly use synthesizers, just like how i wouldn't call a high school orchestra's music expensive just because they use orchestral instruments.
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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Cold Skin » Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:54 am

It's only more respectable that despite obvious low budget, Sumitomo managed to make fantastic tracks that are highly requested on Volume 2.
My guess is that due to the low budget, Sumitomo was really allowed very few fully orchestral pieces, maybe it was something like "you've got one day of recording orchestral pieces if you want, and we don't want to pay orchestral recordings more than that, so choose carefully which tracks will be the few chosen ones to be beautiful orchestral tracks".

He did manage to compose pretty interesting tracks despite those sick restraints, with an exceptionally low budget that would likely put most composers into a corner.

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Black_Liger » Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:29 pm

To Kakacarrottop:

Of course, synthethized doesn't mean bad or cheap, I like a lot of the synth tracks of sumitomo, however, many tracks do have a bland sound.Like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THpp3iJ ... q&index=30

I don't know, but by this time and age, there should be some pretty amazing synths on the market for a composer who is now working on what might be the most popular anime in the world.

The quality of the synth ACTUALLY does vary between tracks though.

This theme sounds vastly better than the track above. has more punch. And is indeed one of my favorites.

To Cold Skin.

There's no denying there are some good on this soundtrack, I pretty much LOVE the easy going saiyaman track even if the orchestral part of it it's pitifully short, which brings me to the question. Who's the damn fool who is in charge of the music placement? There's a nice part of the track that has never played, it borders a nostalgic feel and would have made some scenes MUCH better. The orchestral parts of the score rarely play... It's discouraging.

And funny you say that, I think that's exactly what happened, and that's what enrages me most, because the orchestral work of Sumitomo is quite good!. if it had been 75% orchestral, 25% synth, it would have been perfect. Since I've yet to find an orchestral pieces of him that's bad. (Doesn't change the fact some tracks are very weird... ok, but maybe, since your theory that they might have been composed for certain scenes, and Toei is just placing them horribly wrong... besides anyone that listens to the track, they will find out Toei has cut the best part of the dragons... like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ueRNz ... 22#t=0m46s

and this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflVVzH ... 3q#t=0m44s
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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Cold Skin » Fri Mar 06, 2015 1:59 pm

^ Yes, when I bought the soundtrack and listened to all pieces in full for the first time, I was very surprised to hear lots of bits of various tracks that had never been used so far, and I wondered why.
It would only bring all the more variety as episodes go by, and some parts of some tracks really bring a potential that has sometimes never been exploited in any scene.
It's as if the "music placer" thought "let's use the part of the tracks that has the least instruments and the least melody, like the beginning and skip to the very end without using the part where the melody has fully developped".

It's really weird that where we're at in the story, the "music placer" has still not used entire parts of some tracks, and when there's not that many episodes left, it makes you think that they will not be used at all by the end of the show.
There is clearly some wasted potential in the music placement, and a surprising amount of content in this soundtrack has never been heard before.

I think if any of us had been the "music placer", the first thing we would have done when listening to all tracks offered to us would have been to identify the strongest parts of tracks and picture where we could use them. Not say "let's ignore the best parts and only use the intro(s)".

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by SpiritBombTriumphant » Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:05 pm

I think the issue is that he only made about one album's worth of songs. We only got 33 tracks, give or take a few that didn't make the cut, while Yamamoto had four three albums worth of music released and a fifth fourth one that was cancelled due to the scandal regarding plagiarism. Toei simply didn't pay Sumitomo enough money to compose more music. Although honestly, I think they should've halved his pay for that nasty disco track....
Last edited by SpiritBombTriumphant on Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by kei17 » Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:28 pm

SpiritBombTriumphant wrote:I think the issue is that he only made about one album's worth of songs. We only got 33 tracks, give or take a few that didn't make the cut, while Yamamoto had four albums worth of music released and a fifth one that was cancelled due to the scandal regarding plagiarism.
The Final Chapters soundtrack is still missing a lot of tracks that have been used in the show. I guess the Sumitomo score still has more than twice as many tracks as the currently released ones. Also, FIght It Out, Let It Burn, and Never Give Up!! are not Sumitomo's compositions, so we have only 30 tracks released at this point.

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by SpiritBombTriumphant » Tue Mar 17, 2015 7:59 pm

kei17 wrote:
SpiritBombTriumphant wrote:I think the issue is that he only made about one album's worth of songs. We only got 33 tracks, give or take a few that didn't make the cut, while Yamamoto had four albums worth of music released and a fifth one that was cancelled due to the scandal regarding plagiarism.
The Final Chapters soundtrack is still missing a lot of tracks that have been used in the show. I guess the Sumitomo score still has more than twice as many tracks as the currently released ones. Also, FIght It Out, Let It Burn, and Never Give Up!! are not Sumitomo's compositions, so we have only 30 tracks released at this point.
So far I've only heard of three or so that are missing. Off the top of my head I can name two: the song used in the prologue for the director's cut of Battle of Gods and then the "Last time" song used for Kai 2.0. I highly doubt there are twice as many songs even with the three songs you've taken out. I haven't heard many different pieces of music in the show. Everything seems to be recycled over and over again... =/

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by kei17 » Tue Mar 17, 2015 8:49 pm

SpiritBombTriumphant wrote:
kei17 wrote:The Final Chapters soundtrack is still missing a lot of tracks that have been used in the show. I guess the Sumitomo score still has more than twice as many tracks as the currently released ones. Also, FIght It Out, Let It Burn, and Never Give Up!! are not Sumitomo's compositions, so we have only 30 tracks released at this point.
So far I've only heard of three or so that are missing. Off the top of my head I can name two: the song used in the prologue for the director's cut of Battle of Gods and then the "Last time" song used for Kai 2.0. I highly doubt there are twice as many songs even with the three songs you've taken out. I haven't heard many different pieces of music in the show. Everything seems to be recycled over and over again... =/
I haven't counted all of them, but I can recall at least 15 unreleased pieces of music from memory. I haven't watched the Buu arc of Kai for months, so there must be much more than what I can recall. For your information, the audio director said that Yamamoto had already composed over 50 tracks when Kai first started, when people were bitching about the repetitiveness of the music placement.

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Naruto6583 » Wed Mar 18, 2015 10:46 am

SpiritBombTriumphant wrote:
kei17 wrote:
SpiritBombTriumphant wrote:I think the issue is that he only made about one album's worth of songs. We only got 33 tracks, give or take a few that didn't make the cut, while Yamamoto had four albums worth of music released and a fifth one that was cancelled due to the scandal regarding plagiarism.
The Final Chapters soundtrack is still missing a lot of tracks that have been used in the show. I guess the Sumitomo score still has more than twice as many tracks as the currently released ones. Also, FIght It Out, Let It Burn, and Never Give Up!! are not Sumitomo's compositions, so we have only 30 tracks released at this point.
So far I've only heard of three or so that are missing. Off the top of my head I can name two: the song used in the prologue for the director's cut of Battle of Gods and then the "Last time" song used for Kai 2.0. I highly doubt there are twice as many songs even with the three songs you've taken out. I haven't heard many different pieces of music in the show. Everything seems to be recycled over and over again... =/
Well actually there's still
The fight it out recap track
Title Card
EyeCatch A
EyeCatch B
Never Give Up NEP
Evil Wizard
Large Gap
Misplaced Determination
Unnatural Power
Deceptive Appearance
Trapped Between Past And Present
Farewell
Coming To A Decision
Comical Anxiety
Friends or Rivals
No More!
Impatience
A Series Of Brutal Blows
The Fight is On!
The Battle Begins
Evil Buu Theme
Birth of the Super Warrior
A Selfless Decision
Daily Life
Internal Struggle
So 25 tracks still unreleased maybe more depends if we get anymore new tracks
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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by SpiritBombTriumphant » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:37 am

Okay, I see you guys' point. But let me reiterate something. Whereas Sumitomo has around 60 or so tracks made for Kai 2.0, Yamamoto had 4 albums worth (the fourth/last got cancelled).

Vol. 1 - 33 tracks
Vol. 2 - 34 Tracks
Vol. 3 - 29 Tracks
Vol. 4 - N/A

That is much more than the 60 or so Sumitomo has made. And in my personal opinion, Yamamoto's were better. =/

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by Daisetsu » Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:54 am

That's not really a fair comparison to make, considering Yamamoto had 3 arcs to "create" music for, while Sumitomo only had 1 arc... plus Battle of Gods.

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Re: So the buu kai score was done on a LOW budget? Analisis

Post by shinmaru » Thu Jun 11, 2015 3:27 pm

I'm at episode 123, and the music sounds like video game stage music. I do like this one https://youtu.be/kQb_pPdJFy8, but it's more a Naruto theme than DBZ

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