[DBZ][REVIEW] Dragonball Z Hit Collection BEST: "Never Ending Story"
Wuken
It seems that everywhere I look, I see something that celebrates the
end of Dragonball. First, it was the Dragonball Daizenshuu (the
Dragonball Coffee Table books). Then, it was "Saikyou E No Michi" (The
Dragonball 10th Anniversary Movie). And now...
"Never Ending Story".
This is the title of the two CD compilation set that celebrates 20
"Hit Collection" CDs (18 actual Hit Collections, 2 1/2 Specials) full
of wonderful Dragonball Z music. The Dragonball Z Hit Collections have
been known for having a wide variety of tunes, ranging anywhere from
the likes of downright-wacky tunes ("Tenkaichi Gohan") to fast-paced,
hard-rock renditions ("Saikyou no FUSION"); from beautiful, soft
ballads ("Yume no kakera") to pseudo-techno mixes ("spacepeople DBZ");
from country-music style beats ("TRICKY STAR To Kaete Kita Mirai") to
mambo melodies ("Ichido wa Kekkonshitai MAMBO").
"Cha-La Head-Cha-La" was the song that started it all. After this
opening theme electrified Dragonball fans everywhere, other notable
songs came to take a similar role. "Detekoi Tobikiri ZENKAI POWER!".
"We Gotta Power". "Bokutachi wa Tenshi Datta". We know of these songs
because we hear them all the time while watching Dragonball Z. But
what about "Brain Dance"? "Aitsu wa Son Gokuu"? "Unmei no Hi ~
Tamashii Tai Tamashii"? "My Song For You"? "Mama wa Shiawase
Inotteru?" "Vegeta-sama no Ryouri Jigoku"? Does anyone out there even
_recognize_ these song titles at all?
Most likely not. Why? Because the songs mentioned above are image
songs from the Dragonball Z Hit Collections, and are rarely played, if
ever, in the anime. These image songs might not have become as popular
as the Dragonball Z movie ending themes, or the television opening and
ending themes, but they still are all wonderful songs in themselves.
"Never Ending Story" takes a look back at some of the image songs that
made up the Dragonball Z Hit Collections (primarily image albums in
themselves), and invites you along for one heck of a musical ride.
Fasten your seat belts.
"Never Ending Story" is composed of two CDs. The first one is simply
entitled "Disc 1" - the "Genki $ Kakkoii" CD. I honestly can't find a
better way to describe it. All of the songs on this CD are energetic
and fast-paced, or are so cool-sounding that you'll find yourself
listening to them over and over again. The main singer on this CD is
none other than Kageyama Hironobu, the singer responsible for "Cha-La
Head-Cha-La", as well as other popular Dragonball Z songs. The track
listing for Disc 1 is the following:
Disc 1: "Genki & Kakkoi"
COCC-13917
Released 11.30.1996
Total Playing Time: 63'57"
1.) Aitsu wa Son Gokuu (あいつは孫悟空)
2.) Happy Birthday
3.) POWER OF SMILE (パワー オブ スマイル)
4.) MIND POWER (気)
5.) HERO (KIMI ga HERO) (HERO (キミがヒーロー))
6.) Brain Dance
7.) spacepeople DBZ
8.) Cool Cool DANDY (Cool Cool ダンディ)
9.) Unmei no Hi ~ Tamashii Tai Tamashii ~ (運命の日～魂vs魂～)
10.) Yaake no Kodomotachi (夜明けの子供たち)
11.) Aoi Kaze no HOPE (青い風のHOPE)
12.) Ginga o Koete RISING HIGH (銀河を超えてライジング ハイ)
13.) Tobidese! HERO (reprise) (飛び出せ！ヒーロー)
14.) Growin' Up Itsukamata Aeru Hi Made...
(Growin' Up いつかまた逢える日まで...)
15.) CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA ~ JUNGLE FEVER MIX ~
Disc 2 is composed of mostly ballads (hence, the theme of the CD), and
no one does those better than KUKO, otherwise known as "Waffle". She
is the main singer on this CD, and her voice simply shines! The track
listing for Disc 2 is as follows:
Disc 2: "Ballad"
COCC-13918
Released 11.30.1996
Total Playing Time: 70'52"
1.) Eien no Chikyuu (永遠の地球)
2.) Good Night my Blue
3.) Hikari no Tabi (光の旅)
4.) Yume no kakera (夢のかけら)
5.) Toki to Sora no Shita de (時と光の下で)
6.) MESSAGE FROM FUTURE (未来からの伝言)
7.) WHITE & WORLD & TRUE (白と世界と心)
8.) HO-TA-LU
9.) Ougon no COMPASS (黄金のコンパス)
10.) AQUARIUM no Yoru (アクアリウムの夜)
11.) Hoshi no Mita Yume (星の見た夢)
12.) FOR EVER~
13.) Sora meguru Bouken (空めぐる冒険)
14.) Hitomi no Naka no Chikyuu (瞳の中の地球)
15.) Kimi no Sora e (君の空へ)
The cover of the album shows Son Gokuh in a fighting stance; off to
each side of him are miniature reproductions of the covers to each of
the 20 "Hit Collections".
The gold-colored CDs are kept in a white, plastic two-CD box
case. In one of the "in-pockets" of the CD box case there is a small
booklet that contains the lyrics to each of the songs mentioned in the
track listings above, as well as a couple of liner notes about the
production of this CD collection. There are also interviews in the
booklet, which describe in detail the reasons behind the making of the
CD collection, what the composers' opinions and comments are on each
song, and what the Dragonball Z singers (Kageyama Hironobu, KUKO,
YUKA, etc.) themselves think of the songs. This last part is, to me,
the most interesting portion of the CD collection. Before buying this
compilation, I could only guess at what the singers' impression of
Dragonball Z music was. Now, I have a better understanding of what
they think about Dragonball Z music, and I now see just how much they
love singing the songs. Of course, the quality of the songs tells me
that already, and I really didn't need to read it in an interview.
Kageyama Hironobu, KUKO, MONOLITH, and the others pour their hearts
and souls into these songs, and it really shows, especially on the
"Ballad" CD.
Overall, "Never Ending Story" is a definite must-buy if you like
Dragonball Z music. Add this to the Dragonball and Dragonball Z 5-CD
Box Set ("Daizenshuu") and Dragonball Z: The Best Selections, and
you've got yourself a great selection of wonderful songs. I have
noticed, however, that "Never Ending Story" has omitted songs from
some Hit Collections, most notably Characters Special 2, which
contains image songs of the voice actors singing (the Characters
Special 2 CD contains the infamous "Vegeta-sama no Ryouri Jigoku"
(Prince Vegeta's Cooking Hell), amongst others). Nevertheless, "Never
Ending Story" still has a great selection of music, and the omission
of a few songs that I particularly like doesn't hurt it at all. If
you're someone who doesn't have very many Dragonball Z CDs, this would
be a good CD collection to pick up if you are interested in getting
more of the music behind the series.
My hats off to the producers, composers, and singers involved in
"Never Ending Story"; thanks for making such a great, FINAL Dragonball
Z Hit Collection album, and thank you again for 8 years of wonderful
Dragonball Z music.
Dragonball Z Hit Collection BEST: "Never Ending Story"
Nippon Columbia COCC-13917 & COCC-13918
4800 yen
Released 11.30.1996
Total Playing Time: 134'49"
For more information, please visit ANIMEX Online Magazine at:
http://www.c2i.co.jp/col.me/ANIMEX/RELEASE/release11/COCC-13917.html
Wuken (ウー剣) (aka アベサミツシェルイン)
http://www.dragonfire.net/~Wuken/ -- mailto:sabe...@ucla.edu
Just another chatter in #db at anime.terratron.com
Maintainer of the Dragonball Z Image Gallery and Listening Booth