MAISON IKKOKU PARTY ALBUM
ChaChaMaru Karaoke Battle
Kitty Records
KTCR-1197
¥2500

by Eugene Cheng

1. Opening Theme - Yume no Iriguchi e... (4:01)
2. ChaChaMaru Karaoke Battle (1:03)
3. Cinema (1:29)
4. Ashita Hareruka (Will Tomorrow Be Brighter?) (2:33)
5. Sunny Shiny Morning (2:03)
6. Suki sa (2:18)
7. Kanashimi Yo Konnichiwa (Hello, Sadness) (1:08)
8. Fantasy (1:33)
9. Ending Theme - Begin the Night (0:35)
10. Cinema (Karaoke Version) (1:21)
11. Ashita Hareruka (Karaoke Version) (1:40)
12. The Sunny Shiny Morning (Karaoke Version) (4:59)
13. Suki sa (Karaoke Version) (1:32)
14. Kanashimi yo Konnichiwa (Karaoke Version) (1:33)
15. Fantasy (Karaoke Version) (5:50)




This disk is one of the many MAISON IKKOKU CD's available It's an especially interesting one because it is part karaoke CD, part drama CD, and part CD soundtrack. The manner in which the first 10 tracks are laid out parallels the structure of a MAISON IKKOKU TV episode. First comes the snippet of background story, followed by the opening theme. Then the episode itself is acted out, and finally the closing theme.
Tracks 1 and 3 are where all the drama happens. Godai has invited Kyoko to a nice quiet evening of Karaoke with him. He buys a karaoke CD, with Yotsuya spying on him all the while. On the train, Godai bumps into Kozue Nanao and loses the disk. Meanwhile, Ichinose-san wants Kyoko to go with them all to the ChaCha Maru for a party; when Kyoko says she already has plans, Ichinose wants to know what they are. When Kozue arrives to return the CD, Kyoko and Godai are dragged along to the ChaCha Maru. And thus begins the Karaoke Battle...
Tracks 2 and 10 are the opening and closing songs for the Karaoke 'episode' and are basically the same themes we get from the mid-season TV episodes. Tracks 4 through 9 are where the Maison Ikkoku bunch actually do the singing.
Ichinose-san sings the first song, "Cinema." And for a drunken, gossipy old woman, she sings as well as can be expected. But when you're drunk, everything sounds beautiful. Yotsuya and Godai sing the second song, "Ashita Hareruka." Godai does his humble best. But Yotsuya, true to his character, sings quite horrendously and comically.
The third song is Kozue's rendition of "Sunny Shiny Morning". This is one of my favorite MAISON IKKOKU songs, and I adore it because of the energy and great melody. Kozue actually sang the song passably well, and still managed to sound cute.
Roppongi Akemi sings song number four, "Suki sa." This is a very slow moving love song, and Akemi sings it very well. I was really very surprised.
The fifth song is the first opening, "Kanashimi Yo Konnichiwa". Every fan of MAISON IKKOKU knows this song, so the choice of singer for this one was particularly funny: Godai Yukari, Godai's energetic grandmother. Hearing an old lady's rendition is a shocking contrast to what I am used to, but for an old woman, she can sure belt it out.
Song six is the one to listen to if you're looking for a duet between Kyoko and Godai. They sing "Fantasy" which is a very lovely, slow ballad. It's not often that you get to hear the two main characters sing a song together, so it's nice to listen to them when they finally do.
Tracks 11-16 are the Karaoke versions of the songs that are sung on the CD, so you can practice your favorite MI tunes. The CD includes sheet music for the melody in the booklet, so you'll have all the proper notes and lyrics handy.
There are all sorts of little extras that make this CD a worthwhile purchase. Sheet music for anime is sometimes difficult to find, so the music included in the CD booklet is a big bonus. Plus the booklet also includes stamps that you can put onto your CD to customize it. There are 6 stickers, each with one of the singers on top.
The price is certainly low for a CD, but when you take into account that there are only 8 tracks of songs, and that 6 of the songs are sung by the characters instead of the original singers, it may not seem as much of a bargain. All songs are sung by the original (Japanese) voice actors.
MAISON IKKOKU fans should take note of this CD. You get karaoke, you get a great drama CD, and you get to hear your favorite characters make fools of themselves. Is that a bargain or what?