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Basiscape’s Filthy Porn Soundtrack: Oh! Samura Girls! S Music Collection (Review)

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Remember that one time Hiroki Kikuta sent us hentai games [2]?  It seems like everyone’s joining in on the fun now, as Basiscape recently released a two-disc soundtrack titled Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! S Music Collection (Oh! Samurai Girls!) for a computer-based light eroge title that actually acts as a sequel to the 2009 original. While I’ve never heard of the series, it was apparently popular enough to warrant its own televised run in Japan.

The story focuses on a tightly-knit group of high school students who come from a town that has strong ties to its samurai ancestry. Basicape was tapped to work on the score this time around, and they’ve released the soundtrack on Basiscape Records much to the surprise of fans, with music primarily by Azusa Chiba and Yoshimi Kudo along with contributions by Kimihiro Abe and Masaharu Iwata.

Is this a sexy eroge musical adventure worth partaking in? Find out after the jump.

This soundtrack is really a beast to tackle. It’s offers a very eclectic blend of sounds, covering everything from heavy metal to traditional classical and Japanese to even the wild West and mariachi-flavored themes. I’d say there’s an even mix of playful and more serious cues, and I must say that the brass, which is used quite frequently, and the guitar work in particular are pretty convincing.

The album opens with the classy “Fight With Swords,” sporting some nice flamenco-style rhythmic guitar along with strings and brass, combing genres that are more distinctly separated later on.

Starting with some of the more jazz-flavored tracks (some of my favorites), I enjoy the bright piano and side stick percussion in the fun and elegant “Ordinary and Special,” the spunky “Designated City Kawakami,” and the rich laid back piano chords in “Sentimental Guys.” “Yamato is Great” incorporates what sounds to be a porn groove with its sexy bass line and side stick percussion, while “Love Kawakami” gets super funky with some wah-wah guitar work. Finally, “Danger Zone” impresses with its xylophone and jazz percussion in this playfully spooky track.

Delving more into rock territory, “THE PINCH” is a tense orchestral theme accented by wailing electric guitar and heart-pumping bass, while “A Great Duel” gets Asian-flavored shredding similar in style to Dynasty Warriors. There are a number of other rock themes, but in terms of what really sticks out, the bluesy “A Very Bad Feeling” with its jazz organ, the upbeat “Young Men Should be Like That,” and the Japanaese shamisen-infused “Dannoura” and “Naoe Family” are a few of my favorites.

There are also a lot of more instrumental/orchestral themes. One of my favorites on the album is the lengthy “Sunset Amnesia” with its soothing acoustic guitar and harmonica melody. Another favorite, “German Hound,” is a traditional classical piece of music that’s very convincing and quite beautiful. A few tracks sound very Hitoshi Sakimoto-esque in style, including “Forth to Battle” with its string stabs, heavy brass, and Japanese elements and the ominous “Awakning of Blood” that comes in near the end of the album. There are then a slew of emotional cues that work in strings and piano with “Pathetic Ballad” being one of my favorites with its beautiful piano solo, “This is Warmth!” which features a sweet music box style lead, and the reflective ending themes, “Hymn of Courage” and “Distant Journey.”

From there, things get a little less organized. There’s the super upbeat mariachi/bossa nova theme I alluded to in the introduction, titled “”Cheerful Comrades” as well as a few pop tunes, “Summer Season Has Come” that sounds like a fun day out shopping and “Adversity Break” with its spunky bass line, sounding like a dungeon theme from a traditional RPG. “Let’s Take a Nap” is a cute lullaby with a nice swing to it, and “To the Brightest Future” is a bouncy Western track that sounds like it’s from Wild ARMS. Finally, I was impressed by a few tracks that focus on a traditional Japanese sound, including “Temple Inhabited by a God” with its foreboding strings, shakahauchi, and chromatic bells as well as the beautiful “Investigation on a Family” that sounds like a peaceful and quiet morning.

In all, I have to say that there’s a lot of great music here. Unfortunately with such a large variety, it’s hard to find anything to latch on to without having a context to tie it to. However, due to the source material, it’s unlikely that I or many of you out there will likely play the game, so we’ll probably have to make due with the music. People hankering for more music from Basiscape may want to pick it up, but the 3,000 Yen import from CD Japan [3] or the $19.99 digitally from iTunes [4] may not be worth the risk for the casual Basiscape fan.

Let us know what you think of Basiscape’s first foray into eroge. Are you surprised to see this soundtrack release exist at all?

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#1 Comment By Brandon Robison On April 6, 2012 @ 1:36 pm

You really could’ve/should’ve littered this review with double entendres.

#2 Comment By null On April 6, 2012 @ 2:23 pm

Light eroge? UTW posted some screens of the game ( [5]), but some of the NSFW shots don’t look exactly “light” to me *g*

Anyway, I’ve got this ordered from CDJ since a week or so but they’ve got some trouble sourcing it from Basiscape Records. I was especially delighted to see Teisena returning for more violin performances (since she already “rocked” on Grand Knights History).

#3 Comment By Audun Sorlie On April 6, 2012 @ 6:21 pm

This article would have been 100 times better if I wrote it.

#4 Comment By Jayson Napolitano On April 6, 2012 @ 6:55 pm

@Brandon: I’m not clever enough for that.

@null: Huh… I guess you’re right! When I was writing this, I searched around on Google images to see what I could find. Everything I found was pretty light (clothes on, suggestive themes). I thought that seemed about right since it’s about high school. But yeah, definitely not light!

@Audun: I thought that myself as I was writing the title, haha.

#5 Comment By Audun Sorlie On April 6, 2012 @ 6:59 pm

Why didn’t you hand it to me? I am the eroge expert at HG101 after all

#6 Comment By null On April 13, 2012 @ 7:46 pm

@Audun: Guess you have to write a second review then. But I expect something cathedral-style then 😉