In the midst of handing out video game soundtracks left and right - a Bouncer CD here, a Parasite Eve II CD there, music music everywhere! - TOKYOPOP had time to throw in an announcement or two. The bulk of their announced titles should put a grin on the face of anime soundtrack fans everywhere going broke trying to import their favorite tunes.

The TOKYOPOP Soundtrax label, well established as a domestic distributor for video game soundtracks like the recently announced Resident Evil Code: Veronica X OST, is set to expand their target soundtrack market to include anime. Tokyopop Anime Soundtrax will debut with a trio of anime albums as follows:

• Trigun Official Soundtrack: Despite the western-in-space aesthetics of the show, Trigun's soundtrack is hardly honky-tonk with its mix of hip-hop and electronica. Made popular on Cartoon Network and through its video release by Pioneer Entertainment, this funky mesh of sound is the only thing appropriate for a hero with a name like Vash the Stampede. Luckily for fans, this soundtrack doesn't carry the same 60 billion dollar bounty Vash does.
• Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 Official Soundtrack: From one of the most popular anime franchises ever, comes the electronic sound of the cyberpunk series Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040. With the show's own rock star, Priss, BGC2040 wouldn't be complete without a soundtrack of digitally mixed techno-rock crafted by producer Kouichi Korenaga. To get the sounds he wanted, Korenaga worked with electronic musicians to give BGC2040 its own distinct cyberpunk sound.
• Vampire Princess Miyu Official Soundtrack: Having been a staple in gothic anime for years, the aural backdrop of Miyu's world, as conceived by Kenji Kawai (the composer of Ghost in the Shell), is being released in North America for the first time. The perfect companion to the Vampire Princess Miyu Television Series, currently being prepared for release by TOKYOPOP® Anime, the soundtrack is a journey through traditional and contemporary Japanese folk music and reflects Miyu's perpetual twilight between the human, demon and vampire worlds.

All three albums are scheduled to street August 23rd, and are set to carry a retail price of $14.98 a piece.

For those that can't wait till August to get a taste of what's to come from Tokyopop, I've thrown up a review of Trigun: The First Donuts, the first import OST for the series. I wouldn't exactly call the soundtrack a "mix of hip-hop and electronica" as Tokyopop chose to label it, but it is one hell of a album regardless of genre. Take a peek at the review here to get a feel for what to expect from Trigun's musical offerings, and listen to a selection of my favorite tracks from the album. Enjoy!