ガクの冒険 (オリジナル・サウンドトラック)

Yellow Magic Orchestra members Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto are well-known for (among many other things) their work soundtracking films. Yukihiro Takahashi’s movements in these realms, as is the case with most of his solo endeavors, is woefully underappreciated in comparison to his bandmates. Though he doesn’t have a score for an internationally acclaimed film to his name—such as Hosono’s for The Tale of Genji or Sakamoto’s for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence—what he’s done is no less valuable. Takahashi scored most of the films of Makoto Shina, and his work on The Adventure of Gaku particularly stands out. Here, he operates in a different mode than you might be accustomed to hearing from him, casting aside his New Romantic-inspired pop sensibilities for a more Balearic sound fitting of the film’s rural riverside setting. It brings to mind Joe Hisaishi’s beautiful score for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The movie’s really cute too, by the way.