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How do you one-up awesome Celtic folk music? Why, with epic rock arrangements of course! Takanashi Yasuharu, notable for his work on Terra e…, Shiki and Naruto: Shippuuden brings us this gem of a soundtrack, rife with music to really get your blood pumping! With this soundtrack review, we move from something extremely diverse to something far more constricted. This is not a bad thing of course, quite the opposite in fact – while diversity is awesome, confining the music to a single branch of styles results in a more cohesive feel to the soundtrack as a whole.
As someone who once played as part of an impromptu (and short-lived) Celtic rock band (and a traditional folk band even before that), this soundtrack has great appeal to me. These days, Celtic music is something of a blanket term that covers an enormous range of styles originating from the traditional folk music of the Celts to the more modern music derived from some of its earlier stylistic characteristics. Generally speaking, when people think of Celtic music, they think more of the styles that have evolved from traditional Scottish and Irish music (aka Gaelic music) than from say… Welsh folk music (which is unfortunate in some ways, but that’s beside the point). The first FAIRY TAIL OST is no exception to this – the majority of its folk influences resemble the Gaelic traditions far more than any other.
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Fairy Tail Main Theme
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Main_Theme.mp3 350 0]
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It was back when it first began airing that I last watched FAIRY TAIL (I find it hard to watch an anime while I’m still reading the manga) and one scene has remained in my memory ever since. It’s another of those amazing moments in which the music perfectly complements the scene by amplifying the emotions and moving it from ‘pretty cool’ to ‘awesome.’ But even away from said scene, the Fairy Tail Main Theme is still an excellent track. It has the slightly ‘bouncy’ rhythms usually associated with a hornpipe, although, like most tracks on the OST it is far developed beyond the traditional bounds of the style. The hard-panned (panned far left and far right) double tracked distorted guitars (a technique used in a lot of rock music and pretty much everything on this OST) give the track a much larger and more ‘epic’ feel – a perfect metaphor for the guild itself!
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Dragon Slayer
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Dragon_Slayer.mp3 350 0]
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There are many ways to develop a theme in music but one of the most impressive in my opinion is the gradual build of elements throughout a track. Dragon Slayer utilises this principle, continuously restating a few simple melodic themes, but adding additional instrumentation with each pass, resulting in a gradual build in tension and excitement. In a way, this sort of build parallels the typical character development style favoured by most shounen anime and manga – start small and build power in stages. The track also seems to convey a sense of freedom, and to a lesser extent, solitude. At first the melody is held by what seems to be a lone set of uilleann pipes (albeit without the characterisitc drone), with more and more ‘friends’ joining throughout the build.
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Nigiyaka na Machi
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Nigiyaka_na_Machi.mp3 350 0]
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Nakamatachi
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Nakamatachi.mp3 350 0]
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While a good portion of the soundtrack is dedicated to Celtic rock, there are also several great acoustic tracks which adhere slightly closer to the more traditional folk styles. Of all the tracks on the OST, Nigiyaka na Machi is the one that comes closest to slotting perfectly into the style of the hornpipe, right down to the rhythmic percussion in the background mimicking the dance-steps of would-be dancers. The track has a feeling of constant movement and activity, the perfect reflection of a lively town. Nakamatachi is one of the few tracks on the OST which is very clearly written in compound time (6/8 to be exact) and like the former track, is a perfect example of the type of music you might expect to hear if you went to see a modern-day Celtic folk band play live.
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Yuuki
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Yuuki.mp3 350 0]
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In complete contrast to what I’ve written about so far, the soundtrack also features a few darker and more atmospheric pieces of music. Yuuki is one such track, creating something that resembles a soundscape as much as a piece of music with its slow movement and unsettling sound effects. The choice of harmonies, combined with the almost questioning movement of the strings create a sense of mystery and uncertainty, while the harp arpeggios and choral parts add a wondrous and mystical edge to the track. Combined with the harpsichord interjections (the harpsichord is often associated with the undead in fiction, especially vampires), this results in a rather spooky and somewhat threatening track.
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Kanashiki Kako
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Kanashiki_Kako.mp3 350 0]
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From fear to melancholy, the FAIRY TAIL OST has tracks which cover both aspects. Kanashiki Kako is one of the more sorrowful pieces on the soundtrack and in a way, one of the more beautiful pieces because of it. With its slow, soft movement, it almost has the feel of many traditional Celtic Laments. The relative emptiness of the piece tends to be a recurring theme in music used to flashbacks, particularly those which contain an unhappy past. It’s entirely possible that the majority of the Celtic vibe of the track comes from the use of a whistle for much of the melody.
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Koori no Senjin
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Koori_no_Senjin.mp3 350 0]
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No action anime OST would be complete without a few battle tracks. The many battle themes on the FAIRY TAIL soundtrack are generally split between being rock or being orchestral (with some crossovers and Celtic music in-between). To start with a couple of the primarily rock themes, we have Koori no Senjin and Ankoku no Madoushi. The first of the two is extremely aggressive and threatening, making full use of dissonance to unsettle us and put us on edge. In particular the heavy use of the wah-wah effect on the lead guitar and the pedal note that comes in about halfway through the track are designed to push us to the point where it almost grates on our nerves.
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Ankoku no Madoushi
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Ankoku_no_Madoushi.mp3 350 0]
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Ankoku no Madoushi is very different in many respects. Instead of relying on dissonance to put us on edge (though it’s not completely without it), it uses the darker tones of an organ, tubular bells, and harpsichord to give an oppressive feeling. However, the most interesting thing about the track is that it’s seemingly built on the Spanish Gypsy scale, an altered version of the Phrygian dominant scale. This is one of the scales you often hear in ‘Egyptian’ themes. It actually works really well in context, giving the track the feeling of being slightly out of place in relation to the rest of the music. While it’s similar to the rest of the soundtrack, that small element sets it aside as being noticeably different, perhaps an interesting metaphor for the dark mages the track is meant to represent – similar to other mages, but just outside the norm.
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Yousei no Shippo
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Yousei_no_Shippo.mp3 350 0]
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The FAIRY TAIL OST may contain a hefty amount of Celtic influences and rock music, but it is by no means devoid of orchestral tracks. First among these is Yousei no Shippo, another track in 6/8, with a very ‘piratey’ feel. The rhythmic stabs, combined with the sweeping movement of the melody and the slightly playful air give the sense of organised freedom often attributed to pirates in fiction. Oh great, now I’m going to have to figure out how to liken guilds to pirates *facepalm*. There are actually some very solid similarities between guilds in FAIRY TAIL (particularly the eponymous guild itself) and pirates as they’re portrayed by fiction. The most notable of these are the carefree sense of fellowship between the guild members; their rowdy, haphazard behaviour and drinking; and the sense of freedom they exude as a guild.
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Eisenwald
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Eisenwald.mp3 350 0]
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Akuma Deliora
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Akuma_Deliora.mp3 350 0]
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The second and third orchestral pieces I’ll glance over are darker, more oppressive tracks. The first of these – Eisenwald – I’ll mention mainly because of the (more than passing) similarity to a certain theme from Final Fantasy VII. It’s entirely possible that this is just a strange coincidence, but I’d like to think it means that Takanashi Yasuharu is a fan! Akuma Deliora features very similar instrumentation but is much longer and more entertaining to listen to. Opening with an organ drone and quickly moving into ominous choral chanting, it makes for great music to represent a mysterious evil. In addition to this, it features some nice musical juxtaposition (though nowhere near the levels at which Stravinsky uses it), moving rapidly from soft sections to more intense sections.
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Ifuudoudou – Rock ver. –
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[flv:FAIRY_TAIL_Ifuudoudou.mp3 350 0]
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What better track to close a review with than an awesome rock fanfare rendition of the Trio section of Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (aka Land of Hope and Glory)? Since it’s traditionally used as a British patriotic song and the theme ascribed to it for that purpose is ‘hope,’ it makes an excellent victory fanfare. It also makes me want to spontaneously throw up my arms and do a victory lap now that I’ve finally finished writing about all the tracks I wanted to talk about!
I’ve heard people ask ‘Why is the OST to FAIRY TAIL Celtic rock? Why did the composer choose that style above anything else?’ It’s an interesting question so I thought about it for a while to see what answers I could come up with. Just how does the FAIRY TAIL OST connect to the anime and why does it work so well? Merely through watching episodes you can see that it definitely does capture the spirit of the anime, so there must be reasons behind it. In my opinion, Celtic rock suits FAIRY TAIL for two reasons. Firstly because rock fits well with the fiery nature of most of the Guild members – not a day goes by without the entire hall being completely trashed by their rowdiness, and secondly, the Celtic influences gel surprisingly well with the slightly rustic feeling of the world setting and emphasise the romance and freedom of guild life.
I will admit straight out that I can currently think of no other anime OSTs based around Celtic rock. The only works that comes close are some of Kajiura Yuki’s more electronic and Celtic influenced tracks. There are however Japanese groups outside of anime who specialise in similar genres, an example being Yousei Teikoku (Erza no Theme is very reminiscent of their style in some ways). Much of the rock music can also be compared to The Black Mages and the more Celtic tracks could be likened to a large variety of folk bands and one off albums all around the world (Battlefield Band and the Xenogears arrange album, Creid leap immediately to mind). There are also plenty of other anime soundtracks out there which feature a good body of Celtic music, such as Karigurashi no Arrietty, Mouretsu Pirates (to an extent), and Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora.
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Artist: Takanashi Yasuhara
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Release Date: January 06, 2010
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Catalogue No.: PCCG-1016
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Label: Pony Canyon
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Discs: 1
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Tracklist:
01. Fairy Tail Main Theme
02. Erza no Theme
03. Mahou Hatsudou
04. Dragon Slayer
05. Rakuen no Tou
06. Yami Guild
07. Mirajane no Theme
08. Nigiyaka na Machi
09. Yousei no Shippo
10. Seirei Mahou
11. Lucy Ganbaru
12. Gray no Theme
13. Natsu no Theme
14. Shukumei
15. Shinobiyoru Kage
16. Laxus Bousou
17. Fairy Law
18. Nakamatachi
19. Kokyou
20. Lucy no Theme
21. Koori no Senjin
22. Yuuki
23. Yami yo, Tsudoe!
24. Eisenwald
25. Ankoku no Madoushi
26. Salamander
27. Hyoujin Mau
28. Mahou Taisen
29. Kanashiki Kako
30. Akuma Deliora
31. Titania no Yoroi
32. Moeagaru Kobushi
33. Saigo no Mahou
34. Guren no Ikari
35. Ifuudoudou – Rock ver. –
36. Fairy Tail Main Theme – Slow ver. –
Total Time:
1°09’07″
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Posted by 
fdsJGDSKGHSDJKHGSDJHGSHGDJSHVSJDH!!!!!!
MOOMBA! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111oneone!!!!!
AND YOU INCLUDED DRAGONSLAYER! FDJSKFJKSJ!!!!!
This is the best RC post ever! ;o;
Oh great, you gave into Stereoman. Now he’ll be insufferable. It’ll be like we have two me on the staff! :O
What’s next? Fairy Tail side banners? 😛
Hmm, I wouldn’t mind another RC banner for a change…
Got to agree with Stereoman here
Cool!
Best thing about Fairy Tail, the OSTs.
Takanashi Yasuharu has been on my watchlist ever since I heard his works here and on Shiki.
He also did well on Carnival Phantasm, especially that Final Dead Lancer one.
Nice post. Hope you do the other volumes as well 🙂
I haven’t actually seen Carnival Phantasm yet, but knowing that Takanashi did the soundtrack has added another reason why I need to do so!
Dragon Slayer <3
I’m trying to find one song from this OST, and it’s basically the can-can. Unless they actually use the real one.
And I kind of did something like Stereoman’s freakout when I found this. Fairy Tail has one of my all time favourite OSTs. Thanks!~
Sadly, I don’t remember hearing the song when I went through any of the OSTs. I don’t think they included “Habanera” from Carmen either.
But if there’s one song I know they included that I’m glad they did, it’s “Piano Concerto No. 2” by Sergei Rachmaninoff, titled “Rakuen no Tou“, on Vol. 2 (it’s different from the same-titled song in this volume, mind you). If you don’t remember, it’s the song that plays when Show Spoiler ▼
If there’s gonna be a review of the OST Vol. 2, I hope they include “Rakuen no Tou”, because it is seriously awesome.
On another note, I’m still waiting for Vol. 4…
If I do cover Vol. 2, it’s fairly likely that Rakuen no Tou will be part of it since Rachmaninoff’s works are pretty damn awesome!
DO EEEEEET!
Great post~ The music of Fairy Tail is probably the best anime music that i’ve heard personally. I would say what made me love it so much was that many of the songs have a very Celtic feel to it. Which is very apt considering the whole nature of the show itself~
Love nu-celt!
A sound that’s both refined and contemporary…
I’m really loving these posts of yours.
The level of analysis you get from an actual musician is just so much more – it’s fantastic.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy them! 🙂
As usual, great article! 🙂
I love the upbeat hanging around type songs this show has. It has that classic town themes like JRPGs have. Also I love Kanashiki Kako, Erza no Theme and Yousei no Shippo.
love these OST analysis and praise. Anime is a medium where scenes can totally be enhanced by music and it’s nice music is appreciated around hear. Keep up the good work.
While I’m not as fond of Fairy Tail’s OST as many fanatics are, I do appreciate its refreshing use of instruments for a Celtic, overall theme.
I think you’ve heard this a lot already, but I’m also *really* digging the format of these posts! It’s great to have at hand the song and the analysis in a single page.
Meanwhile, I’ll be eagerly awaiting for some Ao no Exorcist or Madoka Magica OST posts…
Right, just for the hell of it, I’m gonna translate these track names for the curious:
Show Spoiler ▼
As someone who’s been looking at soundtrack after soundtrack, this one really was a breath of fresh air since Celtic themes are uncommonly used in anime soundtracks. Few of the stuff I’ve been listening to has held my attention like Fairy Tail’s music and if this is indicative of his ability to compose, I think it’s high time to delve into Takanashi’s other works.
Nice! Fairy Tail’s soundtrack has been among one of my favorites. Despite not having actually watched the show, the themes evoke the feeling of badassery in spades, making it one hell of an exciting listen all around and one where you need not have seen the show to enjoy fully. The character themes are also excellent all around and are one of the highlights of the soundtrack.
The character themes are all definitely very nice! I’m particularly a fan of Erza no Theme and Natsu no Theme.
Nice article and thanks for the sharing. I’m totally buying it if I’m coming across this soundtrack.
Screw downloading/torrenting, I’m supporting this with real money.
okay you have mentioned kaijura yuki so much, sooo much. eagerly awaiting that post more than anything.
You get props above the other anime blogs for providing the music in your posts! I love the soundtrack to this show.
Wow, I just listened to the full OST. Beautiful music, definetly goes to the top 5 of my OST lists.
I love these posts about soundtracks! One of the things i like most about anime, is alle the great music that comes out of it. Heck, my Itunes library is filled with mostly soundtracks from anime and videogames. I feel so geek when i browse trough it. But at the same time, i feel proud about it too <:
Badassery all around
Brilliant review of one of my favorite soundtracks. It was a pleasure to read!
See, now this is just killing me.
Seriously man, all this hinting … portfolio post where T_T?
Also, Takanashi Yasuharu, Suzuki Saeko, Katou Tatsuya … I’m starting to get a good idea of your anime OST tastes …
You know, am I the only one who wouldn’t mind if you went into more detail about that? I mean, I love reading what you have to say about music, so going into it’s history and what your views are on them sounds like a great idea to me.
Someone know where i can get the Celtic “Can Can” remix from fairy tail ? :/