“Fuuun! Kabuki Den” is a side-story title to Tengai Makyou II. With music composed by Kouhei Tanaka (who later went on to score all things Sakura Taisen), this “original soundtrack” is actually a fully orchestrated album. The only problem with it, besides this misnomer, is the disc length: only 35 minutes! I wanted 70 minutes of this stuff, because it was truly fantastic.
Along with the stunning opening “Main Theme” (the melody of which appears multiple times on the album), Tanaka’s score includes five vocal albums. They are the four from CANVIE to SANGUE (appearing on the Perfect Graffiti album in instrumental form), as well as “Devil Gahpu.” The vocal tracks are actually some of the less impressive ones on the album, particularly because they attempt to be funny, showing the characters’ quirks.
As a whole, Tanaka continues to do what he does best, blending the traditional Asian instruments with a sweeping, engrossing, and fast-paced orchestra. The wonder and joy of life is most definitely expressed through these songs, perhaps moreso here than any of the other orchestral tunes from the Tengai Makyou series.
Unfortunately, this album may be the rarest of all Tengai Makyou CDs to date. I won’t even speculate as to one’s chances of finding the album through conventional means. Enjoy the samples for now, and support Hudson in any future endeavors to bring this unique series and its music to our side of the Pacific.