Weekly OP: Baptize

For being an all-around awful anime, Seikon no Qwaser had some great OPs and EDs. This is in particular the second opening, and as I've pretty well hashed the actual abysmal (but very bouncy) content of the series earlier, I won't waste too much time on that, except to note that, in keeping with a general trend of second opening songs, this one is a bit darker than the one which preceded it.

Baptize is done by the group Yousei Teikoku. They've a number of other anime to their credit, as well as two albums that I'm aware of. This song is fairly representative of their work; very fast paced, with a bit of symphonic rock feel to it. They fairly brazenly market to the gothic lolita market, and you can hear a good bit of that in their music too. In that respect, they're kind of like Ali Project, but with a harder feel.

Normally, I find it pretty easy to overdose on Yousei Teikoku. Or for that matter, on Ali Project. This is a pretty good one, too, mostly I think because they don't try to be cute. It's a very driving, intense song, that barely gives you a time to catch a breath. This includes the vocals; one of the things I like about this song is the way it really tests the vocal chords. It's a very tough song to karaoke; the words come rapid fire, hopping up and down the scale with wild abandon. The presence of a backup chorus and tolling bells in the background help, as well. They give a somewhat religious feel to it. Or perhaps, sacrilegious is a better term.

One somewhat ignored aspect to this song, and I think overlooked in a lot of anisongs, is the drumming. I don't know who the kid is behind the drum set in this song, but he's a beast. My luck, it's probably a drum machine. The bridge, on the other hand, is a somewhat lackluster, almost perfunctory guitar solo, as if they had to have one because that's what anime opening songs have. I'd have preferred if they went back to lyrics and rocking.

In any event, I think this is one of Yousei's better songs, and definitely worth a 4/5. Which is probably more than I would have given it on first listening, but it's grown on me.