Okay, not all of these singers were featured in FictionJunction projects, but It’s more of a poll which includes all the vocalists that Kajiura Yuki have worked wit h in the past. This is sort of in response to Megu’s earlier post of the H!P Poll. XD
The Top “Single Digits” (because I couldn’t decide on the 10th one)
1. Kubota Keiko
Keiko is right now, my favourite alto. I adore her performance style. She has fantastic stage presence and is a very engaging vocalist to watch. The first solo FictionJunction work I heard from her, “Kaze no machi e”, was what made me fall in love with her voice to begin with. I later found out she had a very strong alto voice from her Kalafina works, and is the one that takes on majority of the lower background vocals for any of Kajiura’s works.
2. Ootaki Wakana
I don’t suppose it is a surprise that two Kalafina girls round off my top two. I adore Wakana almost as much as I adore Keiko. I agree with Megumi when she says that Wakana has the best control of all of Kajiura’s vocalists. Both she and Keiko have incredibly powerful voices, and I just adore how Wakana carries herself. She often gets the melody, but has a gorgeous high soprano voice as well.
3. Oda Kaori
Kaori only recently moved up on my list. She doesn’t have as much control as the more experienced vocalists, but she is still very good considering her age. She also is quite versatile, often switching between a lower vocal part or supporting the higher vocal part. She might get drowned out slightly due to her lighter voice type, but don’t underestimate her. She can carry quite a tune.
4. Nanri Yuuka
At one time, Yuuka dominated the scene with her own solo collaboration with Yuki. I love the timbre of Yuuka`s voice as it is quite unique. She has very folk type of sound to her, and she can sing very well. The only reason why she is not higher on my list is that she unfortunately gets a bad case of nerves when performing.
5. Hikaru
Hikaru really surprised me with how well she sang. Most of Kalafina’s works heavily feature my NO. 1 & 2. Hikaru is no pushover though. She’s has a very strong stage presence as well. She conveys a lot solely from her singing, and like Wakana, she’s a wonderful soprano.
6. Arai Akino
One of the people that worked with Yuki early on, and produced many stunning tunes. Akino has a gentler voice, so she doesn’t get the more dramatic material like we hear with the modern day Kajiura vocalists, but nobody does beautiful and dreamlike the way she does.
7. Ishikawa Chiaki
Before the big FictionJunction boom, we had See-Saw and Chiaki. She’s one of the weaker vocalists on this list, but what I liked the most about See-Saw was the good relationship Chiaki had with Yuki. If you watch them together, they have a more true collaborative feel between the two of them, making “See-Saw” more of a true duo.
8. Kaida Yuriko
Yuriko doesn’t get as much attention as the other FictionJunction girls, but I like her too. She doesn’t necessarily get featured a lot in the group songs, especially because she doesn’t have that big powerful voice like the others, however, she is the strongest first soprano of the bunch, providing the upper harmonies that the rest don’t do as well as she does.
9. Itou Eri
I love Eri’s haunting voice. She again is very strong soprano and you can find her featured in many of the Tsubasa soundtracks. Like Yuuka though, she often has a bad case of nerves as well which hampers her overall performance a bit. When she’s on though, she has a breathtaking voice.
That’s it for now. Check out either Fated Light or Lost Wing for more Yuki Kajiura (and related projects) features.
- Tsuki
