It was more about those who want to express their feelings but can’t do so in a straightforward manner
I thought “Pink lemonade” was a very light-hearted song. But it’s not a pop song but a guitar rock song with the piano featured, right?
Mia: Thanks to Shota Horie (Penguin Research) who was in charge of the arrangement, the opening song ended up having more of a rock-like feel to my surprise. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this song will blend in with the anime.
Chiba: I was not involved in the opening song production. But from the impression of the original manga, I was expecting more of a soft and gentle song. So when I heard “Pink Lemonade” for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised and thought to myself, “Oh, this is how we are going to do this?!” Had it been a soft song, the anime would’ve been soft and peaceful from the beginning till the end. So I think it’s a good song to change up the tempo.
Wakeshima: I was a little worried about whether my lyrics could properly blend into this cool and exciting song when the changes were made. But Mia’s voice put the song and lyrics together very well.
What kind of feelings did you have when you sang the lyrics of your favorite sister, Kanon?
Mia: I think what kind of mood I’m in is the most important factor when I’m singing and recording. To give you examples, I thought of these feelings―the feelings you have when you noticed something’s starting but you haven’t quite grasped what it is yet, so you ask yourself whether that’s love or not; the feelings you have when you are excited about meeting someone you like and imagining what you’ll talk about with that person; or the feelings you have when you reflect yourself at the end of the day and start thinking to yourself “I shouldn’t have said that today” or “why was I so nervous.” I tried to make myself feel these feelings and bring them out just the way they are as best as I can through singing.
How well did you manage to bring out those feelings?
Mia: When I was tuning my mood, I was good at negative emotions like sadness or pain. It took me a little while to bring myself to feel happy and excited but when I did, I thought to myself “Ah, I found it!” then sang the song.
Wakeshima: When I went out to eat with Mia, she said in a very calm voice, “I am having so much fun” without a slight change in her facial expression. So I asked her, “On the scale of 1 to 10, how much fun are you having right now?” because I was worried she was not having fun. But then she said, “10”. (laughs)
Everyone: (laughs)
Wakeshima: Then I said in surprise, “You are having that much fun?”
Mia: I kind of knew that I had difficulties communicating how much fun I was having with others (laughs). That’s probably the same in singing and why it took me a while to tune myself into feeling happy.
Wakeshima: But “Pink Lemonade” wasn’t a song about who could easily express all of his or her feelings. In fact, it was more about those who want to express their feelings but can’t do so in a straightforward manner. So I think Mia and her way of expression were well-suited for the song. Also her voice is clear and cute, so it aligns very well with the “soft and fluffy” image the director had in mind. In the end, I think it was a wonderful opening song.
Picture three demons having a girls-talk at a tea party
And the ending theme song “Akumade Koiwazurai’s” lyrics and music were written and composed by Wakeshima and has been arranged by Chiba, right?
Wakeshima & Chiba: Yes
And “Akumade” in “Akumade Koiwazurai” could be interpreted as “demons” because Beelmama is a story of demons, right?
(Translator’s note: There are two ways to interpret the title “Akumade Koiwazurai”: “Lovesickness till the end” or “Even demons have lovesickness”)
Wakeshima: That’s right. I actually rewrote the lyrics of the hook to match the title because I really liked the title. So the lyrics were more heartbreaking at first but the director said, “there’s no way I could cherish the soft and fluffy vibe with these lyrics”(laughs). So the director told me to picture three demons having a girls-talk at a tea party where they are talking about their unrequited love saying stuff like, “Are you going to confess?” which followed by, “B..but what do I say?” The director wanted me to write the lyrics more cute and girlish. So I rewrote the lyrics to be more happy and cute.
I think the theme of “Akumade Koiwazurai” overlaps with “Pink Lemonade” in that they both describe a girl who is in love, but can’t take the next step because she can’t face her own feelings. How did you differentiate one from the other in this case?
Wakeshima: I knew in advance that each voice actress will be singing the part for their character in the ending song.
You mean Saori Onish for Beelzebub and Misaki Kuno for Belphegor and Ai Kakuma for Sargatanas, right?
Wakeshima: Yes. I thought it’d be nice if they could sing just like how each of their character would sing, so I wrote the lyrics thinking as though I am writing a character song. Everyone was so kind to help me fulfill my selfish desire of “I want to make these characters to say these lines” in a way.
Nakayama: In the demo Wakeshima made, she sang the entire song in three different voices to match the voice of each character. After listening to the demo, the voice actresses were saying “it might be better if Wakeshima would just sing the ending song instead of us” (laughs)
Chiba: Yeah, Wakeshima is really good at that.
Wakeshima: No, it was actually really hard. And even though “Akumade Koiwazurai” is an ending song, I wanted it to be an upbeat, fast-tempo song to end on a high note unlike typical ending songs. I have to thank the voice actresses because it was their voices and singing skills that kept the soft and fluffy feel in the song and prevented the ending song from sounding out of place.
“This is way more soft and fluffy beyond my expectation”
Also, the arrangement for “Akumade Koiwazurai” was done well.
Chiba: Thank you. We started to make the ending song in the middle of the anime production. And at that time, we had an idea of what kind of soundtracks will be used in the animation. So as Wakeshima has mentioned, I tried to make the ending happier and more charming. I’d figured each episode would end on a cheerful note so I’ve added the drum and the electric guitar in order to keep the mood.
I’d imagine that would be one of the roles of the ending song—giving the audience a particular feeling to take home with at the end of the episode.
Chiba: Depending on the anime, there are different patterns such as heightening the suspense like “what would happen next?” or end abruptly in deep sadness. But for Beelmama, I thought it’d be the best to end the episode on a happy and positive note.
Mia: “Akumade” is really full of cute sounds and it’s like a collage of pleasant sounds which warm the audience’s hearts. By extending the soft and fluffy vibe of the main story, the ending song makes the audience to feel “Oh, that was great. I am so happy.” I think it’s a wonderful ending song that allows the audience to enjoy the sweet aftertaste after finishing up the episode.
Chiba: In fact, I’ve tried to put the main theme soundtrack of the anime in the interlude of the ending song. It was one of the demos I have submitted at the first meeting that had left a lasting impression on me. I thought to myself, “This is a good theme song.” At that time, I didn’t go out of my way to insist that we needed to use the song. But when I saw the opportunity, I’ve used the melody of said demo and changed the code just a little bit to mix it up with different soundtracks. It’s just something that I played with and I didn’t put much meaning into it either when I used it in the ending song as well.
It seems like you were trying to make the ending song flow with the main episode.
Chiba: That’s right. I decided to put it in because I thought it’d be interesting and I wanted to make the best out of this chance of making soundtracks as a team.
Nakayama: The lyrics of the opening song were written by Wakeshima and the soundtracks and the ending song were made by Wakeshima and Naotyu. I think that was the right decision because they provided consistency in the music of the anime.
Wakeshima: I am glad to hear that.
Nakayama: Well, I thought “I am sure they’ll do a good job” (laughs). A lot of times, those who are involved in the opening song are not usually involved in composing the soundtracks. But this time, with Wakeshima as the centerpiece, we were able to make quality music that’s well-suited with the anime. Even the director said, “This is way more soft and fluffy beyond my expectation” after he had listened to the soundtracks.
Wakeshima: But that’s what he said he wanted from the beginning (laughs)
Nakayama: That’s exactly what the staff around him told him when he said that. Wakeshima and naotyu- truly helped us a lot and thanks to them we were able to secure the ‘soft and fluffy’ vibe.
Lastly—what does this experience of making anime soundtracks mean to you, Wakeshima?
Wakeshima: I’d realize my roots were in classical music after all. And I realized being creative was very important to me, for I became a singer-songwriter because I wanted to make music. This project gave me an opportunity to make music that was different from what I had been making. It was different because I had to brainstorm ideas to somehow turn the image I had in mind into music—and at the same time, making sure the music would flow well with the animation. This experience gave me a new perspective on how I make music.
Chiba: Now you can see the big picture.
Wakeshima: Yeah. For example, until now, making the right melody was what I had focused on the most when I made songs as a songwriter because I’d always imagined that I’d be singing the songs. When you make anime soundtracks, on the other hand, you have to consider the overall feel of the animation, understand how the sound will affect the audience and how you would incorporate the music in a particular scene. So I think I know more ways to express what I have in mind because I had been focusing making the overall impression that’s well-suited in the scene, more so than the melody in this project.
Kanon Channel: We would like to thank our translator Shunya for their help in translating this article. We hope to provide more of these translations for you!