Last time we viewed a rockin’, blood-pumping tune from a hidden gem of a series…with GUTS!!! Dai-Guard’s OP Back Alley Space Boy was my song of choice. And rounding out the second-third of this challenge is a song that sends a chill up my spine whenever I hear it. That is, if it’s in the context of a certain anime, because the track itself is actually from a rather famous symphony!
Day 20: Music that fills you with dread – Dvorak’s New World Symphony (Gaiking – Legend of Daiku Maryu) (SRW K)
Starting off with some info on the anime, Gaiking – Legend of Daiku Maryu is a re-imagining of the 1976 anime Dino Mech Gaiking. While on a fishing trip with his father, young Daiya Tsuwabuki swears that monsters attacked their boat and captured his father before disappearing. No one believes him, but five years later the monsters return, locked in combat with a strange battleship called the Daiku Maryu.
Daiya ends up helping the crew of the Daiku Maryu fight off the monsters by piloting the battleship’s secret weapon, the Flame Giant Gaiking. The captain of the Maryu then tells him that they’re from a separate dimension, where they fight as part of a rebellion against the Darius Empire. With reason to believe that his father is being held captive by the Empire, Daiya joins the Daiku Maryu to aid the rebels and rescue his father.
Ask most people that are familiar with Super Robot Wars, and they’ll tell you that it’s borderline criminal that Gaiking has only appeared twice in the series. And the last one was in 2010, to boot. Gaiking’s long overdue for a return, and all of the music that comes with it. Although, one track in particular may be difficult to include.
One of the main antagonists of Gaiking: LoD, Proist, once traveled to Daiya’s Earth and became enchanted with Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony. She decided to name her personal battleship the Chou Maryu Dvorak, and she even plays the fourth movement of that symphony whenever it enters combat. And yes, for the fight against Proist in SRW K (and later L) they play a looped version of the first minute of that movement.
So, yeah…you could say that I’m cheating by using a piece of classical music instead of a track straight from the anime. But while Gaiking’s OP and Insert songs are just as good as our previous entry, I can’t deny that I really like the use of classical music here. And it really is effective at sending that chill up your spine. But go listen to the full fourth movement yourself if you haven’t already. Heck, listen to the entire symphony sometime. There’s a reason it was used by Gaiking’s production team.
Anyway, will we hear a full orchestral version of Dvorak’s New World if when Gaiking makes its grand return to SRW? Only time will tell. And speaking of time, we’re just about done with today’s entry. Tomorrow, I’ll have another hot take ready as we listen to an arrangement that I like better than its original anime composition.