State of the Character Songs Winter 2010

We're into a new year, a new decade, and a new batch of anime. There are still a few holdovers from 2009 on the airwaves, but the spring is the season to clean. With simulcasting gaining increasing prominence and shows darting every which way, where do people turn for advice on character songs? To the Celonius28's Song Images Quarterly State of the Character Songs, beginning with its first installment in 2010. Read onward, fellow enthusiasts.


Chu-Bra!!
A set of four character singles has already been confirmed for the four main girls. Nayu (Minori Chihara), Haruka (Sayuri Yahagi), Yako (Minako Kotobuki) and Kiyono (Yoko Hikasa). A good day starts with good underwear and good music. I'm expecting at least one of these to be a comedic patter song. Possibly Nayu.

So Ra no Wo To
Wo To's two "parents", so to speak, in K-ON! and Strike Witches both had character songs, and this one will as well. Rather than a straight up album release, these will be across the DVDs. Kanata is first, and the rest are likely to follow.

Ladies versus Butlers!
One character song/drama mini album has already been confirmed, covering Sernia and Tomomi. Sanae and Kaoru are likely to be on the next one, and there may be more beyond that. It'll definitely have character songs, that much I'm sure of. Unlike the show previews, these will not be played at the same time. I wouldn't reccommend that. Does something awful on the ears.

Omamori Himari
A character song album has been confirmed. The show's already determined who the main haremettes are (the group that sings "BEAM my BEAM"), and this'll give them a chance to sing solo. Koshimizu, Iori Nomizu and Yuki Matsuoka are among the voices on here. Press information is saying that solo versions of "BEAM my BEAM" will be a major selling point for this.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
A character song album has already been confirmed, covering F Class. This wouldn't be the only show Hitomi Harada is singing in this season, and it's very likely to feature the trap that's captured the hearts of confused fans, Hideyoshi. It is under Lantis, and they have a pretty good track record with these things.

Dance in the Vampire Bund
It's under Shaft and has FlyingDog as a label. The chances of the show to have character songs is low, but there's always a margin of error factored into these things.

Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu
While I'm not ruling out the possibility of a CD release, current trends point to the character songs being included on the DVDs, similar to Wo To. As the series is likely to have six DVDs, and there are six tenants at the Hidamari Apartments, everything works out nicely.

Ookamikakushi
It's a small franchise, and under FlyingDog. The possibility certainly exists, but I rule it unlikely. We'll see what happens.

Seikon no Qwaser
Similar to Baka Test, songs have already been confirmed in the form of a mini album. There are several pairs that one can look at in this show, depending on what you've seen. You have Toyosaki and Fujimura (Blacksmith), Toyosaki and Hikasa (K-On!) and Hirano and Chihara (Suzumiya). The best music, fresh from the source. It's well documented what the source is.

Hanamaru Kindergarten
It's been confirmed via the show's blog that Tsuchida, at least, is getting a character song. It's also under the Starchild label, so the chances are pretty likely. No character songs will happen, but the show will have its massive collection of ED songs, which will likely include solos by the main trio, as well as Tsuchi and Yamamoto.

Past Seasons Updates

In the time since my last update, two Archives for Toaru Kagaku no Railgun have been confirmed. Given that Index had four, I'm expecting an equal number for its spinoff. The first two cover Mikoto/Kuroko and Uiharu/Saten. Other candidates for singing include Kiyama-sensei, Mii and maybe Mitsuko.

Sora no Otoshimono has also had a proper character song album announced. The main grouping of characters (Tomoki, Mikako, Sugata, Sohara, Ikaros and Nymph) are all going to sing. Even Tomoko. This is Columbia, and they have a pretty good track record when it comes to music. Both in providing it and the songs themselves.