What You Need to Know: By some accounts, had the direction of
Yamato veered more toward that of a full on anti-war film, than it surely would have been accepted by global audiences more so than it was. As it is,
Yamato was delivered as a film intended for domestic audiences only, with its proud and patriotic overtones situated squarely at the forefront of the film. From that,
Joe Hisaishi, Japan's top film composer, went on to deliver quite an emotional and rousing score for the movie, which in my opinion features some of his best work. At a minimum, it's the best action writing I've heard from him (even though there are limited instances of it in the score).
With Hisaishi, listeners will often think of the magic he has created for the various animated films that we've heard him in. In Yamato, he drives his music toward a more mature, dramatic angle and does so with great craftsmanship, The main theme is on point and is repeated in various methods throughout the duration of the score. Funnily enough, and talk about coming out of left field --- there are some measures in the main theme that reminded me of the theme from Nicolas Cage's, The Rock. However, it's not an overwhelming similarity so I chalk it up as an incidental occurrence. Overall, The Yamato main theme plays well and fits the patriotic needs of the movie.
The tone of the score, at times, is reflective and somber. Hisaishi demonstrates his versatility by writing well timed, mature cues of music to represent the downbeat occurrences of the film. Other times, the melodic anthem of the main theme comes to life for extended moments, balancing out the somber notes with that of pride and nationalism. With such a polished ebb and flow, this is the type of score that could have made a serious move come award season if it were from a commercially accepted movie. And after having heard so many of the Miyazaki scores Hisaishi's done, it was interesting to see this side of him flourish a bit.
As mentioned earlier, Hisaishi finally exhibits examples of strong action material, an area that's not exactly his strong suit. Though brief, these instances are sharp and proves that the composer has some might in an area that I previously found him to be a bit somewhat deficient. The instrumentation alone far exceeds anything I've heard from him previously in the action realm.
When it comes to some negative moments in the score -- there is a brief sequence at the end of the score that is a direct lift of the melody from Princess Mononoke. Thankfully, it doesn't last long enough to the point where we would call Joe, Horner-san. There are also some predictable pop songs (as per usual) at the beginning and end of the album which are easily passable. Overall though, these are minor blemishes. If you're a Hisaishi guy (or gal) than the score for Yamato should definitely be on your radar!
