Anime Toonz Volume 3: Kristine Sa Lime

Anime Toonz Volume 3: Kristine Sa Lime
Credits: 2005 Jellybean Recordings, Inc.

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Track Listing:

1. Minna no Kimochi (Every Heart) - Inuyasha
   Gomi Full Remix
   
2. The Real Folk Blues - Cowboy Bebop
   Masi & Mello 12" Raw Vocal Remix
   
3. Urusei Yatsura no Teema - Urusei Yatsura
   DJ Jinnai Full Vocal Remix
   
4. Jajauma Sasenaide - Ranma 1/2
   YMCK Full Vocal Remix
   
5. Candy Candy - Candy Candy
   DJ Jinnai Full Vocal Remix
   
6. Find The Way - Gundam Seed
   Architekt9 Dub
   
7. Jajauma ni Sasenaide - Ranma 1/2
   Beta Full Vocal Remix
   
8. Urusei Yatsura no Teema - Urusei Yatsura
   Bit Shifter Dub
   
9. The Real Folk Blues - Cowboy Bebop
   Masi & Mello Dub
   
10. Minna no Kimochi (Every Heart) - Inuyasha
    John Creamer & Stephane K Full Vocal Edit
    
11. BONUS TRACK: Forever Love - X
    Vocals by Maria Kawamura / Adam Marano Club Mix

Thoroughly Enjoyable >>> by skysenshi co-written with Sean Sanchez
After a long long wait, fans of Kristine Sa can enjoy hearing her once more. She has released not one, but two Anime Toonz CDs. These contain remixes of some of the best and popular songs from well-loved anime like Inuyasha, Cowboy Bebop, Urusei Yatsura, Gundam Seed, and Ranma ½. When you peruse the album cover, you’ll see listings and short blurbs of some US and internationally renowned DJs, with DJ Jinnai leading the helm. Remixes are done by DJ Jinnai, Architekt 9, Bit Shifter, Gomi, John Creamer & Stephane K, Masi & Mello, and YMCK. Of course, a short bio of the beautiful and talented Kristine Sa is featured on the very first page.

We're done with the Lemon Edition (Yellow CD). Up next is the Lime Edition, which I call the Green CD. Again, this could be identified by the album cover's color. As I have mentioned previously, I am not a fan of remixes. There’s something about original arrangements that make me want to preserve their sacredness, so I had to undergo a huge paradigm shift—even discussing the album with Sean, a friend who’s wild about remixes—weeks before (and after) the CDs arrived at my door.

The Lime Edition is distinct from the Lemon Edition in that the songs here are songs that are really reminiscent of what you'd hear while clubbing. Lemon is all about experimenting and having fun, Lime is all about gyrating, drinking, and flirting on the dance floor. It features seven anime theme songs, with four of them having two different versions each.

Kristine's Sa's vocals are downplayed here, given airy and etherial effects, which I believe is a perfect approach for this particular album. This is most obvious in Every Heart Gomi Full Vocal Remix. Norman Cook method was used and the speed of the song was just right, with the vocals being able to catch up to the beat. The John Creamer & Stephane K Full Vocal Edit rendition of Every Heart, on the other hand, made use of heavy base and drum beats, which made it seem like a dub kind of mix. Propellerhead method was applied, but if they wanted a K-Full Vocal Edit, they could've combined Propellerhead with the Norman Cook method. The remixer could also make use of more effects within the song such as flanger, scratch and reverb.

The Real Folk Blues is remixed twice by Masi & Mello. The 12" Raw Vocal Mix has a combination of Propellerheads and Norman Cook methods and lengthy instrumentals were used to stretch the song. The chorus could've been given more of an oomph had it been looped and a fading ending could've been more appropriate than an abrupt end. The Dub Mix uses Propellerheads, with drum beats and heavy base predominant all throughout. Reverb and echo special effects were also applied, as are lengthy instrumentals. Sean loves this remix the most because he believes the way the instruments battled against each other was perfectly done.

I find Kristine Sa very enchanting here. If you didn't find her seductress side in the Lemon CD, you'd most definitely find it here. The DJ Jinnai Full Vocal Remix of Urutsei Yatsura no Teema isn't the playful-cutesy track you've heard in Lemon's Bit Shifter Full Vocal Mix. This one's playfull, all right, but it sounds as if Ms. Sa means to tease her listeners.

On a slight change of note, I would just like to state that my personal favorite is Candy Candy. The reasons? DJ Jinnai did a particularly good job in this remix—making it sound like something you'd hear from an old Sega Megadrive game. DJ Jinnai's talents have been proven, no doubt about that. But Candy Candy also holds a special place in my heart. I believe Ms. Sa may have been too young to have gotten hold of the anime but she definitely captured Candy's fun side. I really appreciated that.

Lime Edition also has a bonus track: X's Forever Love, with vocals done by Maria Kawamura. While you can find this in AnimeToonz volume 2, it's great that they decided to feature this in volume 3 as well. It's so...80s, in a nice and endearing way. Don't expect Ms. Kawamura to have the same voice quality as Ms. Sa, though. They're completely different artists.