Shiro Sagisu has been involved in the Japanese music industry for a long time, working as a producer since the late '70s. He got involved with anime soundtracks in the '80s, and has contributed to a number of projects by Gainax, including Nadia and Neon Genesis Evangelion. When his entire body of work to date is viewed as a whole, it is impossible to pinpoint one specific style that embodies his work. Instead, a variety of musical styles and instrumentation are used in different projects, depending on what best fits the subject matter.

Or, in the case of the soundtrack for His and Her Circumstances, he seemingly just lumped everything together into one set and used it all. With many composers this would be a terrible thing, as there would be no common theme to the show's music. However, in this case, the fact that the music to the show is all over the map actually works out, because the show itself is so manic, especially the early episodes. If you have never seen at least the first episode of the show you just can't appreciate how high energy it is, but also how it can change moods in an instant, requiring jumping from crazy fast music to somber music in a split-second. That this has been successfully accomplished, with the background music always supporting whatever is going on in any specific scene, is a major accomplishment. Does such varied music make for a good soundtrack album, however?

The music on the first soundtrack CD for the show is presented in what appears to be chronological order, based on how early it appears in an episode of the show. For example, the first track, AVAN title, is the music that accompanies the "Don't Sit Too Close to the TV, Kids!" warning that was commonly given at the beginning of animated shows when this one was first aired. We then move into the full version of the opening theme song, then the summary music used at the beginning of every episode, then the theme songs for the heroine, Yukino (since she is presented before the hero), and so on, and so forth. Soundtrack albums like this that just go in straight chronological order can be pretty schizophrenic even in a normal show, but because this show is so ADHD-afflicted you would get that effect no matter what order you used, so the chronological approach makes sense.

But enough about organization; let's talk about quality. Overall, the music here is of a high quality. There are no strange and annoying synthesized sounds, and the only time there is repetition of musical themes, it is well done. The composer is using a bit of a cheat, though. See, there are a few classical pieces that are used in here. You just aren't told what they are. For example, my favorite pieces on the album are tracks 4 and 5, Yukino Miyazawa I (Concerto) and Yukino Miyazawa II (March). You will note that those tracks are referred to as a concerto and a march, respectively. That is a clue. I used to think the composer just did a great job of writing piano concertos and march music, until I happened to be driving to the airport in Washington, DC a few years ago, and the music for Yukino Miyazawa I came on the air on the classical station I was listening to, with a slightly different arrangement. Nowhere in the CD booklet does it mention who the actual composer is, but I know that piece isn't Shiro Sagisu's original creation. Also, I don't care what you say, you will never be able to convince me that track 5 isn't a John Philip Sousa piece. My freshman year at University there was a marching band member living on my floor who had pretty much every Sousa song ever composed on CD, and would play them at high volume, so I know these things whether I want to or not. I can't vouch for the other tracks on the album, but likely a few of them are pilfered from the public domain as well.

Anyway, back to the music. Overall, good use is made of real instruments throughout the songs on this CD. Some of the pieces sound like they are performed by a small chamber orchestra — especially the classical pieces. If you have read any significant number of my reviews in the past, then you will know that I consider this to be a very good thing. There is definitely a place for solo piano work, or small ensembles, but you just can't beat an orchestra for richness of sound. A good example of this is on track 6, Everyday Peace, where the violinists pluck their strings by hand rather than using their bows. You just can't reproduce that sound properly using a synthesizer, though composers have tried (and failed) over the years.

Moving deeper into the album, we run across some simpler songs, focusing more on guitar work. Interestingly, where most anime composers use synthesizers to get strange sounds, Shiro Sagisu relies here on string-bending and other guitar tricks to get his strange sounds. Track 8, Work Hard Together, is a good example of the string-bending technique in action. Happy, feel good music flows until we get to track 10, We Meet Only to Part. This begins a series of three tracks that are closely tied to the male lead, Arima. As Arima is strongly introverted, his songs are more pensive and lack the manic energy of the songs associated with Yukino. Tracks 10, 11, and 12 all feature piano work, either solo or in tandem with strings. Even though the instrumentation stays the same, the emotional content of the music varies somewhat. Where track 10 is quite melancholy, track 11 strikes a hopeful tone before track 12 takes things back down the hill.

Afterward, things perk up again, with a number of interesting tracks. Proving that the female lead, Yukino, gets all the love is track 16, Yukino Miyazawa III (Jazz Rock). Where Arima gets pensive piano work, Yukino has had a piano concerto and march already, and now here she gets music that sounds like it was pulled right out of a '70s action movie. Proving that not only Arima can do pensive, track 18, Yukino Miyazawa IV (Kanon), gets the full string quartet treatment in a nice introspective piece. And let's not forget track 19, Yukino Miyazawa V (Nocturne), her own piano piece that gets all moody and melancholy. You can tell Ms. Miyazawa is the main star, can't you? Our poor male lead only gets two tracks named after him, while the star gets five.

Earlier I had mentioned that there was one theme running through this album. This would be the "Into a Dream" sequence of tracks. Into a Dream, track 23, is the ending theme for the show. Two other times on this album that music makes an appearance, though a different arrangement is used each time. Track 13 uses it as a happy, upbeat solo piano piece, while track 21 uses it as a slow piece, using piano but also featuring strings. I think this version is my favorite, as the musicians really pull a lot of emotion out of the music. The regular version is actually kind of dull in comparison, featuring a guitar, a bass, drums, and our two stars as singers. Though it may not be very musically deep, it is pretty fun to listen to.

Overall, this is a really good album. It accomplishes the two main goals of a soundtrack album, in that it properly captures the aural experience of the show while also providing an album that is fun to listen to in its own right. There is enough good stuff here that it might be worth your while to track down whether you've seen the show or not, but for fans, getting this album is a no-brainer.