Fans of Figure 17, scour to the ends of the earth to find this cd! (and make sure it's the real thing, not some cheap bootleg copy.) The booklet alone for this image album makes the price worth it!

Tracklisting (translated titles mine)

1. I'm Right Here - Tsubasa
2. Pure Calm - Tsubasa
3. Fairy Dance (chestnut recorder version)
4. I'm Right Here (chestnut recorder version)
5. Fairy Dance - Hikaru
6. Distant Landscape - Tsubasa

Akiko Yajima - tracks 1, 2, 6
Toshihiko Takamizawa - tracks 3, 4
Fumiko Orikasa - track 5

The Review
Though very short, this image album for Figure 17 is definitely worth seeking. When I got my copy, I was immediately impressed by the accompanying booklet. It's full of beautiful watercolor sketches as well as some screenshots from the show, printed on heavy textured paper. It's almost an artbook in miniature.

As far as the songs go, they are all very peaceful - even childlike - in nature, and reflect the relaxed country setting where the show takes place. Instrumentation is primarily acoustic, and the vocals are very gentle and appropriate, considering they are being sung by the characters of Tsubasa and Hikaru. After all, an Image Album is meant to be songs sung by the characters to share their feelings. Since I don't speak or read Japanese, I can't say for sure what the songs are about. I can pick out words and phrases here and there, but with only a scarcely rudimentary knowledge of the language and being unable to read the booklet that comes with the cd, I have to go by the overall feel of the album. I believe that this album has captured the feelings of Tsubasa and Hikaru quite effectively.

Don't let the short running time put you off in finding this cd. It is hard to find now (at least for me in the United States), but I did manage to get my copy from Amazon.com as an import. (Ironically, Amazon.co.jp had it on backorder!) I feel this is a case where the elaborate packaging design makes the higher price of importing from Japan worthwhile for this now rare CD.