File 5: Music to Be Murdered by

A year ago, I came up with the corner Music to be Murdered by for this blog, where I introduced catchy tunes from various detective fiction productions (TV/film/games/etc). I had originally thought of it as an easy way to crank up the number of posts, but the last year, I've had no shortage of other review material, so I kinda forgot about the corner. But now it's back!

Title: The Theme of Lupin III '78
Composer: Oono Yuuji
Album: too many to mention.

Lupin III is one of the most beloved franchises of Japanese popculture. It has been around since 1967 and is even now in 2015 still going strong. The series is about the adventures of Lupin III (grandson of Arsène Lupin) and his little gang of thieves. An animated TV series of Lupin III was first broadcast in 1971, but really made it big in 1977 with the sequel series, Lupin III Part Two. It was the theme song of this series that most people nowadays associate with Lupin III. The song is often remixed but The Theme of Lupin III '78 is always the base.
 

And what a song it is! The speedy jazzy tune conjures up the image of fun adventures of a band of suave thieves in the seventies and eighties. I linked to a live performance of the theme, where the song comes even more alive because of the dynamic musicians. Sure, it's a rather loud song for a thief, but hey, it's stylish and catchy!

Music to be Murdered by is still an irregular corner though, so no idea when the next post will appear...

Original Japanese title(s): 大野雄二『ルパン三世のテーマ'80』

File 4: Music to be Murdered By

Let's post this before I forget it: a new Music to be Murdered by post! A corner where I post music from various detective-related media and crappy art drawn in MS Paint to accompany the tune!

Title: Mystic Antique
Composer: Tsujiyou
Album: Trick Original Soundtrack

Trick is a quirky TV series that started out as a detective series with a bizarre sense of humor, and is now more closer to a comedy-series that takes on the form of a detective series. The first season was a bit more serious/dramatic in tone, and while the duo of Yamada and Ueda exposed psychic charlatans for what they were in each episode, there were also hints that the supernatural really did exist. The opening theme of Trick (also used for the movies and the game) is called Mystic Antique and embodies that supernatural, somewhat strange feeling of the series with its organ melody.

And why did I draw an egg to accompany this song? Well, it's the accompanying opening sequence to this song! How can an egg breaking be a proper opening sequence to a TV series? I don't know. The contents of the egg changes per season/production by the way, the TV seasons have shown different kind of colors, while lately, even more surprising things have popped out of the egg. Mystic Antique is also used as the main theme of the series, and you'll occasionally hear it as the background music to the final denouement scene.There is also a slightly arranged version of this song, titled Antique Mystic.

Original Japanese title(s): 「Mystic Antique」（辻陽）　『トリック　オリジナルサウンドトラック』

File 3: Music to be Murdered by

And once again a musical post, with the third post in my Music to be Murdered by series, where I talk about music from a variety of detective-related media! It's an irregular corner (I post whenever I feel like it), but I think I'll try to get at least one post a month out in this corner. And now, to a track I have probably mentioned several times on this blog already.

Title: Silent Shadow II
Composer: GAMADELIC
Album: Tantei Jinguuji Saburou - Yume no Owari ni 10th Anniversary Special Album

Silent Shadow II is one of the best tracks of the videogame Tantei Jinguuji Saburou - Yume no Owari ni and one of the tracks you will hear most often. Like all of soundtracks in the hardboiled detective series Tantei Jinguuji Saburou (probably the only game series to feature a dedicated 'smoking' button), Silent Shadow II is a fantastic jazzy track. It is used relatively early in the game, as background music to a section where you are investigating a disappearance. In this section, you move between locations like an university and the immense area around Shinjuku Station looking for clues and questioning people, and Silent Shadow II is an excellent musical partner to your investigations.
 

Game music is different from a lot of other kinds of music in the sense that many tracks are composed and meant to loop infinitely. It's the player who decides the pace of the game, and this particular section can take as long as you want, as you have the freedom to move around and to question the people as you see fit. You will therefore hear Silent Shadow II loop many times, but it is such a great track, I really don't mind. Wander around urban Shinjuku and enjoy the music.

There are actually three seperate Silent Shadow tracks in the game, each different but used in similar situations. I might introduce the other two tracks in the future.

Original Japanese title(s):  「Silent Shadow II」（GAMADELIC) 『探偵神宮寺三郎　夢の終わりに 10th ANNIVERSARY スペシャルアルバム』

File 2: Music to be Murdered By

The second post in the Music to Be Murdered By series, where I introduce various tracks from mystery productions. Today, a classic!

Title: Detective Conan Main Theme (Vocal Version)
Composer: Oono Katsuo
Album: Detective Conan Original Soundtrack Super Best

The main theme of the Detective Conan anime series is a triumphant, upbeat sax melody by Oono Katsuo and easily the best tune from the whole series soundtrack. It has seen various transformations throughout the years, but this time I'll introduce a lesser popular version of the tune. This specific variation of the main theme, titled Detective Conan Main Theme (vocal version), is a sad version of the song, with someone humming the familiar tune in a slow, almost mourning way. It is usually used during the confession of the murderer. The Standard Use of the track is 1) the murderer finally admits (s)he commited the murder, 2) the murderer explains his/her reasons for the murder 2.5) [Optional] Conan explains why the murderer was wrong for committing the murder and 3) the murderer is taken away by the police. Visually:

Nowadays, it's almost seen as a gag track though. The song may be sad, but the motives of a lot of murderers in Conan are often quite silly and the gap between the sadness and the sheer ridiculousness of the motives is sometimes too much even for this track. The most famous, and most hilarious example of this is in episode 135 of the anime (an original episode not based on the comic), where this song is used while the murderer explains she killed the victim because she threw a clothes hanger at her. Not even a sad song like this one can make her sound like a sympethetic murderer!

Original Japanese title(s): 「名探偵コナン~メイン・テーマ(ヴォーカル・ヴァージョン)」（大野克夫）　『名探偵コナン ― サントラ・スーパー・ベスト』

File 1: Music to be Murdered By

Welcome to the first post in the Music to be Murdered By corner, a corner where I'll post music from various detective TV series/movies/games. I try to discuss detective fiction in all kinds of media (I should work a bit on that musical tag though...), but it is sometimes hard to discuss everything from a certain medium in a review. I especially find it hard to discuss music in reviews, even though I really enjoy soundtracks.

Thus this corner was born, where I'll just introduce one piece of background music a time. Rule: it must come from a mystery related production. And could there be a better way than start with a track from the album that lends its name to this corner?

Title: Shissou - Main Theme ("The Wild Run - Main Theme") 
Composer: Wada Kaoru
Album: Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Original Soundtrack - File 1: Music to be Murdered By

Shissou is one of the two main themes for the anime adaptation of the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo series. The track is thrilling, fast-paced and definitely one of the better tracks of the series. It is usually used just when a new murder is discovered. The Standard Use of this track is as follows: 1) a scream, 2) [Shissou starts] everybody runs to the place where the scream came from, 3) they discover the door is locked and 4) discovery of the victim. And visually:

Given that every other victim in Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo is killed in a locked room set far away from the main party, you can imagine how often you'll hear this theme. A variation is used in the preview of the next episode, maintaining that same sense of thrill. If you have seen enough Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo episodes, you'll automatically start to run to... anywhere as soon as you'll hear this theme.

And that concludes this first post of Music to be Murdered By. This is an irregular corner, so the next post in this series will come whenever I feel like posting music.

Original Japanese title(s): 「疾走　（メインテーマ）」 （和田薫） 『金田一少年の事件簿　オリジナルサウンドトラック File 1: Music to be Murdered By』