Onimusha 2 Orchestra Album - Truth of Cynicism

Today's song is from "Onimusha 2 Orchestra Album".  This is another album of arrangements, and consist only of songs that were composed by Taro Iwashiro.  The songs are all "orchestral" in one way or another, but they contain a lot of synth and definitely have some extensive mixing. The result is a very glossy sounding set of tracks, something that is common in a lot of anime and Japanese film scores.  The album is separated into 13 "chapters"; most of which are arrangements of character themes from the game.  There are a few exceptions, including two versions of the main theme, and a track which appears to be from the original soundtrack itself.

This track, "Chapter X Truth of Cynicism" is the theme for the character Tokichiro Kinoshita.  In the game's story line, which is a fantasy version of Japan's unification wars, Kinoshita is a lowly servant of the warlord Nobunaga, who eventually becomes Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the warlord that conquered Japan.  Both Nobunaga and Hideyoshi are real life figures in Japanese history and are portrayed in this game as villains (something which is not terribly inaccurate).  As such, Kinoshita's theme is that of a cunning and deceptive servant, out to claw his way to power.  The music portrays this effectively.  It is one of the most playful songs on the album, conveying Kinoshita's servitude, but also his intelligence.  It's exactly that playfulness that makes this one of my favorite songs on the album.  It's not particularly rich, but it's a pleasant and entertaining listen.  Enjoy!

Album info: http://vgmdb.net/album/869