1992 Original Soundtrack

### Music By

Akimitsu Honma, Toshiro Yabuki, Tsutomu Ohira, Fujimaru Yoshino, Terasawa Hisaki

### Language

Japanese

*Ai no Kusabi* Original Soundtrack (間の楔 オリジナル・サウンド・トラック, *Ai no Kusabi Orijinaru Saundo Torakku*) was the first OST for the series and was released on October 10, 1992, to accompany the first anime episode. The tracklist includes 16 tracks - 15 original songs, and a remix of the first song, Midnight Illusion (TV Mix). It was re-released as part of the deluxe edition in 1996.

Most of the songs are instrumental only, except for Midnight Illusion which contains lyrics written by Yoshihara Rieko herself. The song starts with a monologue narrated by Shiozawa Kaneto who voiced Iason in the 1990s OVAs and is followed by the song performed by Toshihiko Seki who voiced Riki. Midnight Illusion was composed and arranged by Toshiro Yabuki (矢吹俊郎).

The Ai no Kusabi theme was composed by Toshiro Yabuki, Tsutomu Ohira (大平勉) and Akimitsu Honma (本間昭光) and was arranged by Masatoshi Nakata (中田雅敏).

The songs are named after notable characters, locations and terminology used in the books, which set the tone for each track. The booklet also contains some words from Yoshihara Rieko to the listeners.

## Tracklist

1. Midnight Illusion (5:31)
2. Riki (3:51)
3. Mistral Park (1:53)
4. Iason Mink (2:39)
5. Midas (3:24)
6. Λ3000 Jupiter (2:09)
7. Ceres (3:57)
8. Bison (2:39)
9. Mars (1:50)
10. Katze (2:33)
11. Riki and Iason (2:03)
12. Blondy Iason and Z107M Riki (3:54)
13. Riki and Guy (1:42)
14. 間の楔 (Ai no Kusabi) (3:32)
15. Rozh-Liena Vultan\* (6:06)
16. Midnight Illusion (T.V. Mix) (4:32)

\*The name of this song is spelled Rozh-Liena Vultan on the CD and Booklet of both 1992 and 1996 versions, however it is spelled Rozh-Liena Vultain at the back page of both editions.

### Title References

* More obvious references include: Riki, Iason Mink, Midas, Ceres, Katze and Guy.
* Midnight Illusion is the title of the prequel side story.
* Mistral Park, also known as Area 3 is one of the areas of Midas. The importance of Mistral Park for the story comes from the fact that it was at the pet auction in Mistral that Riki unexpectedly saw Iason for the first time after almost a year. This is also where Kirie approached Iason. In short, this was the turning point where Riki's year of freedom was about to end.
* Lambda 3000 Jupiter is the AI that rules Amoi and the creator of elites.
* Bison is Riki's former gang to which all his closest friends belonged.
* Mars is the Ceres slang for those who attempted to leave the slums and make something of themselves. It is a derisive turn as it is expected, or rather, guaranteed that they are going to fail. The kanji used for Mars means "hero".
* The "Z107M" in Blondy Iason and Z107M Riki is Riki's pet registration number. This title contrasts the previous track "Riki and Iason" in that it emphasises their Master-Pet relationship.
* Rozh-Liena Vultan, this is an extremely expensive liquor, translated in the official translation as Roget-Renna Vartan. Its importance for the story comes from the scene in which an intoxicated Riki visits Guy and gives him this drink as a gift. The scene takes place after Riki's departure from Bison and after he became a courier for Katze. The scene was a window into the deterioration of his and Guy's relationship and the point where Guy attempted to confront Riki about his strange behaviour of the past months.

## Lyrics

### Midnight Illusion

#### Monologue

(voiced by Shiozawa Kaneto as Iason)

スラムの雑種は下品が生きの良さが取り柄らしいな。随分と仕込み甲斐がありそうで、結構なことだ。まずは、スラムの垢を綺麗に落としてもらおうか～？ペットの恥は、飼い主の名折れだからな。お前の主はこの私だ。口で言ってわからないようなら、体で覚えてもらおう。それがエオスの流儀だ。ここではお前の意識など必要としない。ペットに必要なのは、主に対する絶対的な服従。それだけだ…

.....

そう、それでいい。何も見るな、何も聞くな。ただ感じていればいい。もっと深く、熱く、みだらく。私だけを…お前は私のペットだ、リキ… たとえ、奈落の底を這いずり回ろうともな。

**English Translation** (by Darcy):

This crude vivacity certainly seems to be the one redeeming feature of slum mongrels. It appears that your peculiar upbringing was fruitful, how splendid. First of all, shouldn’t you wash off the grime of the slums? After all, a pet’s shame reflects poorly on the name of its master. And your master is me. If the words are not enough to make you understand, I will make your body remember it. That is how things are done in Eos. Your self-awareness is not required here. What is required of a pet is absolute obedience to its master. That is all….

.....

Yes, that’s right. See nothing, hear nothing. All you have to do is feel. Deeper, hotter, lewder. All mine… You are my pet, Riki… Even if we crawl past this point of no return.

#### Song

(performed by Toshihiko Seki as Riki)

Translated by Magnetdance

## Booklet Contents

### Yoshihara Rieko's Note

**Japanese:**

「えっ? サントラCD､出るんですか?」

第一声はたぶん、 跳ね上がっていたのではないでしょうか。 ですから､デモ・テープをいただいたときにはドキドキ・ワクワクで、口元もだらしなく崩れて･･･(笑)。これって、やっぱり、原作者の役得かなぁとか思いながら聞き終わって-- ため息、ひとつ｡ この興奮を誰かにおすそ分けしたいーと､思わず拳を握りしめた私です。

作曲の矢吹さん始め、 スタッフの皆様、本当にありがとうございました。今回、私も初めて作詞という貴重(無謀?)な体験をさせていただいたわけですが、まさか、自分におハチが回ってくるとは思わなかったので、

「デュエットですか? 皆 悲鳴上げそうですね。あっ、だったら私、 イアソンさまには (あまい囁き) のアラン・ドロンばりに耳元で囁いていただきたいです、アハハ･・・」

やっぱり、影でニラミをきかす原作者--ていた方が良かったかな(笑)。

吉原理恵子

**English Translation** (by Darcy)**:**

"Huh? Soundtrack CD is coming out?"

Those were perhaps my first words and I am pretty sure I jumped out of my seat. So when I got the demo tape, I was really so excited that my jaw dropped...(laugh). After listening to it I thought to myself that this must be the perk of being the original author and I sighed, alone. I really wanted to share this excitement with someone and i clenched my fists subconsciously.

I am really so thankful to all the staff, especially the composer, Mr. Yabuki. This time I also had the precious (reckless?) experience of writing lyrics for the first time. I never in a million years thought that my turn for this would come ,

"Will it be a duet? Everyone seemed to scream. Oh, in that case I want for Lord Iason to whisper (sweet whispers) in my ear in the style of Alain Delon, haha...."

After all, I wonder if maybe I should have exercised my authority as the original author from the shadows.

Yoshihara Rieko

### Credits

Booklet credits:

* Original Story: Rieko Yoshihara
* Producer: Tohru Miura (AIC), Hisaki Terasawa (TDK Records)
* Sound Producer: Toshihiro Yabuki, Tsutomu Ohira, Akimitsu Honma
* Director: Jun Yamasaki
* Recording Engineer: Kohji Morimoto
* Recording Studio: Sound Dali, Parome Music Studio
* Illustration: Naoyuki Onda
* Designer: Hakubun Arai, M. Egashira
* Special Thanks: June, AIC, Akira Nishimori, Toshihiko Sagawa (June), Yasuo Hasegawa (AIC), Tohru Nakano (81 Produce)

Distributed by: Warner Music Japan

## 1996 Deluxe Edition Version

It seems (more examples needed to confirm) that the 1992 edition's catalog number is TDCD 1014 while the 1996 edition is marked TDCD 1140. Otherwise the booklet and CD look identical, and the back side uses the same picture but the extra text slightly differs.

## Articles from June Magazine

There is an article in June Magazine #67 from 1992 about Toshihiko Seki's recording of Midnight Illusion.

Translation (by Darcy):

Ai no Kusabi Image Song - **Midnight Illusion**

Toshihiko Seki Vocal Dubbing Report

From 1:00 am on August 14th, the vocal dubbing of "Midnight Illusion" (lyrics by Yoshihara-sensei!), a CD-only recording, took place at Dali Studio in Setagaya.

As you can see, Mr. Seki, who appeared in a casual style, sang several times along with the already-made backing. After that, he voluntarily re-sang some parts of the song himself, added the treble part, and completed it very smoothly in less than two hours (because it's digital, recording and retakes are quick).

Mr. Iason Shiozawa (unfortunately?) wasn’t present to deliver his thrilling lines in person, but what Mr. Shiozawa recorded by himself during the post-recording  was included.

Post-recording will start at 3:00 pm on the same day at AVACO Studio in Waseda. Mr. Seki will drive to the venue (post-recording report can be found in another June edition!). This is the first song on the CD. Last one is the TVMiX (karaoke). Let's learn it by heart and sing it secretly (?).

Captions:

1. At the Dali Studio Entrance
2. Mr. Onda’s newly drawn CD jacket ♡ There is a poster (the one with Guy, Katze and Kirie with the kiss in the background) for those who preorder now on a first-come-first-served basis, there may still be time!? Preorder at the record store (we don’t do mail orders) TDK Records / 3 000 yen
3. The booth window where Mr. Seki is in from behind the control room. You can hear the song from the large speakers on left and right. The monitor TV in the upper center said "It's okay to laugh" regardless.
4. Mr. Seki singing enthusiastically
5. Taking advice from Mr. Yamazaki, the director
6. The unit "Banana Fritters" with Noriko Hidaka and Koichi Yamadera also released an album. Mr. Seki is a regular on NHK Educational TV’s “Fue wa Utau” program, so the song was spot on. After this, off to the post-recording studio!
7. In studio’s control room, with the equipement neatly arranged

## Gallery

1992 Original Soundtrack Booklet Front1992 Original Soundtrack Booklet Back1992 Original Soundtrack Booklet 11992 Original Soundtrack Booklet 21992 Original Soundtrack Booklet 31992 Original Soundtrack Back of Box1992 Original Soundtrack Spine1996 Original Soundtrack Deluxe Open CDOriginal Soundtrack 1996 Deluxe Edition Front Cover