I'm reaching back a few years with this one, but it's still a decent anime, and since magical girls are in vogue lately, why not? White Destiny is the opening song to the somewhat forgotten Pretear, which aired in the dark ages of 2001. I remember buying the DVDs in late 2003, and it was always fun paying $30 for each disc of a three disc series. Now, of course, I grouse about paying $50 for a four disc series, and that's assuming I pay for it at all, and I have it on good authority that my desire to actually pay money for anime puts me in the minority. That is, however, another rant.
This rant is about a song, by the estimable Yoko Ishida. She's had a long and distinguished career; older fans will recall that she got her start with Otome no Policy, the ending song for Sailor Moon R, back in 1993. After that, though, she largely fell off the map until the turn of the century, specifically between Pretear and Ai Yori Aoshi. The latter was a complete snoozer, but this song is quality.
The song is carried, from beginning to end, by Yoko's voice; the intro has only a light instrumental accompaniment to her voice. Even past that, though, the main backing is a steady bass. It would be a dance beat, I think, if a bit faster, and with more drums. In any case, guitars are almost absent; it's just the bass, and a bit of synth. Little is there to distract from Yoko, who has a very pretty voice; not ultra high pitched, like many jpop singers, but also without the smokiness of some of the more sexy singers (Ogata Megumi, I'm looking at you).
The absence of a guitar solo is somewhat striking, actually. The bridge is again, bass and synth. And the odd thing is that it works. In some ways, I'd look at this as a bridge between the 1990s, and the more driven, guitarish 2000s opening songs. This song does not attempt to be light and peppy throughout. Nor does it try to be too moody, either. It's... determined, I would say, which is appropriate; the anime is intended to be a more empowered telling of Snow White, as evidenced by its subtitle.
Major points to take away from this song? the pacing is excellent, of course. The refrain is really what carries it, though, in the end. It continues in a falling scale, kind of, starting high and marching down low, with Yoko's voice giving the impression of running down a set of stairs.; a lot of short, broken notes add to that impression. And... it's not overdone. Everything about this song should really put it squarely in the category of mediocrity, and yet it manages to be engaging, catchy, and overall, good; that I'd still rate this in the upper echelon of anisons, even after ten years, is testament to that. Five of five stars.
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