HERE IS GREENWOOD
Vocal Best Collection
VICL-40077~40078
Disk1: 51min, 13sec
Disk2: 62min, 47sec
¥3800

by Eugene Cheng

Disk 1
1. Koko wa Greenwood (5:01)
2. Meireikei no Ouenka (2:49)
3. How Nice to be a Lady! (4:03)
4. Nanatsu no Namida (4:35)
5. Ai wa Moumoku (4:24)
6. Tadashii Kyodai Ai (3:24)
7. Shinobu*Koi (4:20)
8. Maho no Mori BGM - Jomaku (2:01)
9. Maho no Mori BGM - Yuusha no Koushin Step 1 (0:41)
10. Maho no Mori BGM - Tatakai Step 1 (0:32)
11. Maho no Mori BGM - Shouri (0:04)
12. Maho no Mori BGM - Yuusha no Koushin Step 2 (0:09)
13. Maho no Mori BGM - Tataki Step 2 (0:15)
14. Maho no Mori BGM - Shouri Level Up (0:04)
15. Maho no Mori BGM - Yuusha no Koushin Step 3 (0:04)
16. Maho no Mori BGM - Maoh vs. Yuusha (1:32)
17. Maho no Mori BGM - Rakujou (0:13)
18. Maho no Mori BGM - Shuusho (0:58)
19. Ame ya Dori (3:53)
20. Greenwood Carnival (4:40)
20. Meireikei no Ouenka (Karaoke) (2:49
20. Shinobu*Koi (Karaoke) (4:22)

Disk 2
1. Midori no Joushaken (4:12)
2. Ashita no Tenki (4:58)
3. Kimi wo Sukide Yokatta (6:08)
4. Mezase Barcelona (4:15)
5. Good Morning Boys! (4:37)
6. Kimi wo Mamoritai (5:11)
7. First Love (3:05)
8. Koko wa Hapyaku-hachi Machi (4:47)
9. Kimi to Itsumade (4:34)
10. No Brand Heroes (3:53)
11. Greenwood Carnival 2 (8:00)
12. Kimi to Itsumade (Karaoke) (4:34)
13. No Brand Heroes (Karaoke) (3:55)




KOKO WA GREENWOOD is the creation of manga artist Nasu Yukie. It chronicles the life of 4 young men in a high school dorm, and is, in my opinion, one of the more interesting series to appear in recent years. The popularity of the manga spawned a series of radio dramas and drama CDS, which in turn resulted in the creation of a 6 part OVA series.
The 2-disc vocal collection compiles music from both the drama CDs and the OVA series. There are many GREENWOOD CDs available, but in my opinion, this is the definitive GREENWOOD CD. All the great themes from the OVA series can be found here, including the upbeat "No Brand Heroes", that so fittingly describes the tone of GREENWOOD, and the slow and sorrowful "Kimi wo Sukide Yokatta" ("I'm Glad I Fell in Love with You).
In my mind, "No Brand Heroes" is the classic and definitive GREENWOOD song. The lyrics are very suited to the spirit of GREENWOOD and the music is incredibly infectious. The orchestration of this song is really one of my favorites, from the blare of the trumpet chorus to the subtle, barely audible string parts. And a brilliantly delivered vocal by Sakamoto Chika, who doubles as the voice actress for Kisaragi Shun, the "boy who looks like a girl pretending to be a boy" in Greenwood.
"Kimi wo Sukide Yokatta" is the ending theme for the 2-part finale of the GREENWOOD OVA series. These last two episodes tell the story of Suka's bitter-sweet trials in pursuing his second love. This soft ballad is to these episodes what "No Brand Heroes" is to the first four. I cannot say enough about the music direction in the OVA series. It is superbly created, composed, and executed. This song is both melancholy and sweetly joyful at the same time.
"Mezase Barcelona" is another vocal track that deserves some note. This song could well be described as Hasukawa Kazuya's theme song. The english translation of this song would be "Aim for Barcelona", and given Hasukawa's talent for running, and his penchant for the worst of luck, this song, with its theme of "keep going" is definitely for him.
Even though the disc is called a "Vocal Collection", it contains other music as well. The first disc includes several Background Music (BGM) tracks from the "Here is Devilwood" OVA. Both disks contain Karaoke versions of the better songs. Also, there are several tracks from the drama-CD's that are particularly interesting. In these tracks, the cast of GREENWOOD sings the songs, and some of these are quite good. "Greenwood Carnival" is one of my personal favorites because of the enthusiasm it evokes, and the atmosphere it creates is very similar to the one I envision GREENWOOD as having.
If I were to compare the two discs, I would have to say that the second one is far better. I am not a big fan of the BGM tracks which are on the first disc, and the second disc contains all the music from the OVA series which I am familiar with. The first disc is mainly music from previous drama CDS.
There are many other noteworthy tracks on this CD, but some surprises should be left to the listener to discover. Suffice it to say that you will undoubtedly find yourself enjoying this CD, and subscribing to the GREENWOOD philosophy, which covers the two important aspects of human existence: love and life. It can be summed up in 2 of the phrases of the OVA series...

"Love thy Daily Life" and "Second Love Always Be with You"

Be forever green.