Giant Robo II Original Soundtrack

The first Giant Robo OST was nothing less than a soundtrack event. If a musical style could be done with an orchestra or chorus then Giant Robo probably had it, and did it as well as any soundtrack you'll find. Fortunately the first episode wasn't a fluke - Giant Robo II Original Soundtrack offers the same variety and overall excellence as its predecessor, through both exciting arrangements of earlier themes and an array of original classics.

Giant Robo II's most impressive original theme is perhaps the most exhilarating of the entire series. "Rush! Issei and Yoshi" adds Hollywood Western to the series' already extensive list of styles, and from the opening salvo to the rambunctious main melody to the final, climactic repeat, it's a bona fide classic. Even after owning the soundtrack for years now, I still never fail to repeat the theme at least once on every listen.

Other standout themes original to OST2 include the delicate but devious flute segment in "Giant Robo Through an Accident", the apocalyptic "The Black Ball Vogler" and the forceful, brass-driven "Inversion! Giant Robo vs. Uranus". With the exception of "Inversion!" these themes might not be as memorable as "Rush!" or the major themes established in OST1, but they keep the drama at a consistently high level.

Many of those memorable themes from OST1 appear as reprises here, and in almost all cases they offer something new, if not improved, over the originals. "Main Title" and "Secret of the Shizuma Drive" add short but substantial organ intros. Both "Shizuma's Will ~ Daisaku's Determination" and "Episode 2 Ending" reprise the Experts of Justice theme, the former with a tender orchestral rendition and the latter with a more dramatic choral version. Best of all are the reprises of OST1's gorgeous "Tragedy of Bashtarlle" operatic theme into equally gorgeous instrumental versions. Whether led by woodwinds in "Bashtarlle's Recollection" or strings in "The Day the Earth Stood Still", the theme is every bit worth repetition.

Really all that's lacking are lighter fair like OST1's "View From Up High", and ethnic-flavored compositions as heard in previous and later installments. That's merely an observation and not a complaint - Giant Robo II keeps the emphasis on the drama and does it far too well to complain.

Artists that can channel such varied and dramatic compositions through an orchestra and chorus with Masamichi Amano's prowess are few and far between. The brass section in particular he wields with might and authority, yet softer passages performed by woodwinds and strings are no less impressive. Factor in his skilled yet tactful use of a chorus (something quite a few game music composers could learn from) and there's not a substandard element to the whole score. For anyone with even the slightest taste for an orchestra, Giant Robo II OST joins its predecessor as a simply essential soundtrack.