Rokushin Gattai God Mars - Liner Notes from BGM Collection Vol. 1, by Sei Toujoubeppu & Kei Wakakusa (Part 2)

 

This is a continuation of an English-translated version of liner notes that were included in God Mars' first BGM collection. Whereas the first part discussed comments left by Mr. Toujoubeppu—the music selector for the show—this part will cover the comments left by composer Kei Wakakusa.

Translated by "Yume".

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"This was the first anime I worked on: Rokushin Gattai God Mars"

Composer: Kei Wakakusa

"Rokushin Gattai God Mars" was the first anime I worked on. That's why I approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm. However, looking back at this project I realize I was driven by the desire to get it done properly, and so ended up rushing things. Because of the constrained schedule, I was really worried if I had enough time to finish everything I wanted. To compose so many tunes, I needed a whole month at the very minimum—but asking for this would have been outright selfish of me...
Having said that, I am really grateful to Mr. Toujoubeppu for the guidance he provided to all the staff members. I believe there were many things I couldn't have done without his assistance.

Either way, this was the first time I wrote a score for an anime. I had to write the tunes while imagining the corresponding scenes. This job was really fun, but also really complicated. "What if I am not skilled enough to, so to say, turn the visuals into music properly?" Such a thought kept weighing on me. For example, my tunes had to evoke the images of Emperor Zel and Planet Gishin, as well as the different types of evil and justice...
I held long conversations with Mr. Toujoubeppu, and then had to find the correct approach by trial and error. Now I'd like to describe some of the troubles I faced.

I have used two drums while arranging the show's theme song, and its tempo was unusually fast. Even the best studio musicians struggled to play it. Also, when I was writing the intro, I struggled to convey the sense of awe which God Mars, a 50 meters high robot, would strike into the onlookers. I believe I did my best to write the soundtrack for this show. Mr. Mizushima's singing was really good. Also, I am really thankful to Mr. Toujoubeppu for using my songs this effectively.

Speaking in general, this job had both extremely fun and extremely difficult moments. I felt considerable time pressure working on it. If I had a chance to redo this, I'd need some more time to further improve and refine my work. 

I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Mr. Toujoubeppu in particular, but also to all the people whom I worked with, and all those who supported me. I am thankful to all the staff members.