State of the Character Songs Fall 2008

Hello, readership!

Once again, we're a month into the current season, and it's time for the State of the Character Songs. I've come a long way since I started this group - it was and still is a one-man operation, but the sheer amount of stuff I've gotten done since then...mostly in several gigabytes worth of music, and it shows. Now, on with what this post is for - a look at shows from the current season and how likely they are to get character songs.


Rosario to Vampire Capu2: Seven character CDs confirmed, four of which are being released very soon. The layout of the songs is all but identical to season one, except for the addition of Kokoa to the lineup and Naze Koumori getting a song on the single for The Kapuchuus. One cover song and one original song per single. Kapuchuu~

Toradora: JC Staff + Rie Kugimiya + Starchild handling the music = extremely likely. The guessability rate is somewhere around 80%. Past patterns are usually a good indicator of the present and the future, though if there's no news for me to go on, I'm limited to guesswork.

Hyakko: Alright, the elements this time are Lantis + Aya Hirano + schoolyard comedy. Estimate comes to...75%. Shows of its type are usually ripe for character songs, going by the record.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka and ef - a tale of melodies: These two are grouped together because they're covering their characters in much the same way. Each of the main cast members gets an ED theme which functions much the same as a character song. Also, there's the whole "adapted from a visual novel" thing.

Yozakura Quartet: I'm leaning towards a 45% guesstimate ratio on this one, but I was proven wrong with Oinari-sama before. Of course, anything can happen - that's where the fun of guessing lies. So that I can look back and say if I was right or way off course.

Kannagi: Guesstimate ratio at 85%. The voice cast is strong in this one, including Miyuki Sawashiro and the Tomatsu/Hanazawa duo. Even if nothing further comes of it, we'll always have Nagi's dancing on the stage.

Kemeko Deluxe: There will be character songs, this has already been confirmed. However, they're once again included only with the limited edition DVDs. The official website shall update with the news in time.

Toaru Majutsu no Index: Two character song and drama CDs have been confirmed, and there may be more. At the very least, songs for sparky and Index are expected.

Macademi Wasshoi!: Five character song albums, culminating in a Christmas release by the Miyazaki/Ise/Fukui trio that is MA*chu*RI. 5pb. Records has a really good track record when it comes to character songs. And speaking of 5pb. releases...

Chaos;Head: Recently, for the Xbox 360 version of the PC game (titled Chaos;Head Noah), a set of "triggers" (aka character song singles) have appeared. The voice cast for these carries over from the anime, so they match up well enough to count.

Releases from Other Seasons that Aren't Finished Yet
Two Nogizaka Haruka character song/drama CDs, the last To Love-Ru Variety CD, the Itazura na Kiss soundtrack (which will include character songs), a Minami-ke Christmas mini-album, the final Kanokon DVD release (with a song for the twins).