Richer music for a darker storyline
G. Gordon | You know... around. | 03/23/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Out of the several series soundtracks for Shoujo Kakumei Utena, I would have to say that Virtual Star Embryology is the one most often in my CD player. It's hard to be disappointed by ANY of the music in this series, but this CD especially sticks out in my mind.
The mood changes from the start of the album to the end, but there is definitely a mood present in all of the songs.
The background music is spectacularly lush and as a whole darker in tone than the previous soundtrack ("Knife of Nectar" stands out most prominently in my mind). Some of the tracks instill in me the most beautiful sort of melancholy ("Premonition in the Eyes" and "Eternal Secret" always do it. Of course, there are still plenty of lighter moments ("Momentarily Distillation" and "Panorama Is in Full Bloom" are nothing if not perky).
The duel songs on this album generally keep me more entertained than those on the first soundtrack. They seem livelier to me... with the exception of "Magic Lantern Butterfly Moth 16th Century," which has a slightly slower tempo.
The long and the short of it is... I adore this soundtrack. My only complaint is that "I am an Imaginary Living Body" (Mikage's duel chorus) is not included on this soundtrack, but rather the next one. That always throws me a little bit, but it's relatively minor given the absolutely entrancing music on the rest of the CD. If I were you, I would definitely give it a go."