m.o.v.e – anim.o.v.e 01 (a J!-ENT World Groove Album Review)

GROUP:  m.o.v.e

ALBUM: anim.o.v.e

LABEL: avex tune

CATALOG #: AVCT-10170/B

DURATION: 1:04:45

RELEASE DATE: August 19, 2009

1. 創聖のアクエリオン
2. LIBIDO -m.o.v.e × 宝野アリカ
3. 魂のルフラン
4. たった一つの想い
5. Gravity
6. 優しい傷 -m.o.v.e × AKINO (from bless4)
7. 名もなき愛 -m.o.v.e × 桃井はるこ × 三木眞一郎-
8. Give a reason
9. God Knows
10. 愛・おぼえていますか
11. anim.o.v.e Type D Mix

For the electronic group m.o.v.e, they are obviously no strangers to the world of anime. Having had their songs featured on the anime series “Initial D”, this time the group takes on their first anime cover album. “anim.o.v.e 01” features covers of popular anime hits from the past to anime to titles that were released not too long ago but also collaborations from a few artists who have performed some of those anime hit songs.

And of course, for those familiar with m.o.v.e, can expect electronic music by t-kimura (who is now playing more of a producer and musician for the group behind-the-scenes), vocals by yuri and rap/vocals by motsu. In fact, almost all instruments on this album is by t-kimura with the exception of the track “Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” (featuring piano by Eri Mochizuki).

The album kicks off with “Sousei no Aquarion” from the anime series of the same name and was originally sung by AKINO. The second track features the first m.o.v.e collaboration on the album with Arika Takano of the group ALI PROJECT (known for their theme songs for anime such as “Rozen Maiden” series and “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” series). For the most part, this was a unique collaboration since both do similar type of music and both yuri and Arika do a fine job singing together.

The third track features “Tamashii no Refrain” was originally sung by Yoko Takahashi from the popular anime series “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, the fourth track “Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” from the anime series “GUNSLINGER GIRL” and was originally sung by KOKIA. Possibly one of the most interesting covers on the album is the fifth track “Gravity” from the anime series “Lucky ☆ Star”. As the song was used as a parody of m.o.v.e and a scene on the anime series parodying “Initial D” by a group called m.o.e.v and so, it was an interesting nod to the parody song to be sung by the actual m.o.v.e and do a pretty great job at it.

The sixth track “優しい傷” is the second collaboration song on the album sung by m.o.v.e and AKINO (from bless4) followed by the third collaboration track titled “Namonaki Ai” featuring m.o.v.e with Haruko Momoi and Shinichiro Miki.

The eighth track “Give a reason” is from the anime “Slayers NEXT” and was originally sung by Megumi Hayashibara. The ninth track “God Knows…” was originally sung by Aya Hirano for the anime series “The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi” and the last cover song on the album is “Ai-Oboete Imasu Ka” from the anime series “Chou Jikuu Yousai Macross”, which was originally sung by Mari Iijima.

The final track titled “anim.o.v.e TYPE D MIX” is pretty much a 14-minute mashup of m.o.v.e’s “Initial D” anime theme songs.

As for the DVD, the DVD is the live concert of m.o.v.e from this year titled “m.o.v.e LIVE TRANSFORM 2009 @ SHIBUYA A-X”. The nearly 1-hour concert is a well-attended concert and compared to previous m.o.v.e concerts on DVD, this concert is quite energetic in the way it’s shot. multiple camera angles capturing the frenetic energy of m.o.v.e, the instruments and the audience. What fans will truly enjoy are the rock n’ roll driven interpretations of past hits. The track list for the DVD are as follows:

1. Overture of “Humanizer”
2. platinum (Drum ‘n Bass REMIX)
3. DIVE INTO STREAM
4. SAIL AWAY
5. DEEP CALM
6. PLANET ROCK
7. KEEP ON MOVIN’
8. Lookin’ On the Sunny Side
9. Gamble Rumble

I actually found the overall look of the concert to be quite slick and producer Atsushi Suzuki and director Hiroyuki Abe and the folks at IMAGE DEVICE did a wonderful job of capturing the concert.

The concert is quite vibrant with its red and blue lighting. For the most part, the interesting part of the actual concert in terms of its camera angle which may be cool (or not-so-cool) to the viewer is that there is one camera right put in front of the action and thus the camera is shaking due to the amount of activity at the front. Also, a camera right behind the audience and thus, you get some blury shots of the stage but clear shots of the audience with their hands up in the air. These shots are few but are spread out through the concert.

Definitely, an interesting and creative way to film this concert and everything works out quite well.

The concert is presented in 16:9 LB but I wish the soundtrack was in Dolby Digital 5.1 (the concert is provided in Linear PCM Stereo). But for the most part, this is one if not the slickest m.o.v.e concert on DVD that I have seen and the good news is that it’s included with the CD+DVD version of “anim.o.v.e 01”.

As for the CD insert, there are character designs of yuri and motsu (like the front cover) and lyrics to the songs and production credits. Also, a mini flier promoting ALI Project’s upcoming album.