On May 6, 2009, the 5th Anniversary Monster Hunter Orchestral Concert took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

  Produced by Capcom and organized by Harmonics International, the music was performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Harmonics has extensive experience organizing live videogame music events in Tokyo, though this was arguably the company’s most elaborate project to date. 

Monster Hunter has been described as a social phenomenon in Japan, popular as a multiplayer game.  The title is so well regarded here that the PSP is sometimes offhandedly referred to as the “Monster Hunter machine,” due to the number of people who own the console primarily for playing a single game.

Prelude to the Event

The layout of the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space and scheduling of the event all built up anticipation for the live music. A three story-tall escalator outside the art center conveyed visitors to outside a series of winding halls. 

Mostly everyone arrived close to an hour before the musicians took to the stage.  Inside the venue, the Monster Hunter Orgel arrange album was playing over the speakers.  Featuring chimes playing in quick succession, along the lines of an uptempo music box, the soothing musical style of the album served as an appropriate prelude to the main event.

The official concert pamphlet that was made available prior to the concert impressively detailed the process behind the games' soundtracks, and subsequently the arrangement of the night’s concert. Situated besides full color photographs of Monster Hunter concept art, screenshots, photos of participating musicians and featured instruments were detailed descriptions of each of the night's featured songs.

The concert began with several pieces from the original Monster Hunter by series composer Masato Kohda. Previously the musician's songs have been featured in the Monster Hunter Freedom trailer and made an appearance at last year’s Press Start Symphony of Games in Tokyo. Eleven of the songs performed at the Orchestral Monster Hunter concert were his compositions.  However, other composers’ tracks are set to be featured prominently in the upcoming continuation of the series on the Wii console.

Having entered Capcom in 2002, Yuko Komiyama is perhaps best known for her music for Mega Man X7 and Mega Man X8.  There, as with Monster Hunter, she has collaborated with a number of other musicians. In a reflection of the more central role her compositions will play in the next title, her song from Monster Hunter 3 (tri-) was the final arrangement on the program performed at the concert.

Of the two other participating composers, Tetsuya Shibata has spent the most time at Capcom. Having joined in 1997, he has written music previously for various entries in the Devil May Cry series. In addition to composing, he manages audio projects across titles for the Capcom sound team. He was joined by Akihiko Narita, from whom a music track was featured at the concert. He joined Capcom in 2004, composing for multiple Monster Hunter installments, as well as Lost Planet.

The Sound of Monster Hunter

The selection of songs began with "Monster Hunter" by Kohda, among the most immediately recognizable melodies from the series. Before transitioning to a series of other themes by Kohda, Tetsuya Shibata's "Awakening" made an appearance.  It was followed by more intense selections: "The Hunted," "Lioleus (Boss Battle in Woods and Hills)", Monoblos  (Boss Battle in Desert), and "The Moving Mountain of Sanctity" from Monster Hunter.

The first three songs from Monster Hunter 2 preceding the intermission began with "Village of Deeply Blessed People" by Yuko Komiyama. Again, two songs by Kohda from Monster Hunter 2 followed: "The Black Shadow Dancing in the Storm ~ Kushaldaora" and "Queen of the Blazing Kingdom - Teo Teskator & Nana Teskatori."

Throughout the concert the use of lighting within the hall underscored the dynamic emotional range of the music.  Gradually transitioning between restful and tumultuous pieces, the spotlights floating across the walls and the waves of light bathing the orchestra were in sync with the atmosphere of the given piece.

A special facet of the Monster Hunter background music is its frequent incorporation of regional instruments and melodies. Several trained musicians skilled in their use took to the stage for the concert.  Koji Ezaki performed an Indian bamboo recorder.  Satoshi Yamamoto performed the bouzuki, a long-necked lute familiar to Greek music.

Masahiko Fuyubayashi played the uhd, a Middle Eastern relative of the guitar. Finally, percussionist Kondoh Ikuo played the Egyptian tabula.  In their history, these regional instruments would not likely have crossed paths often, but in the fantasy world of Monster Hunter, anything is possible.

A sign of the lofty stature of Monster Hunter music in Japan was reflected by the large number of game composers seated in the audience for the orchestral concert. Seated next to each other in the mezzanine were Yasunori Mitsuda and Yoshie Miyajima of Procyon Studio. Not far away was Hideki Sakamoto, the representative director of Noisycroak. Behind them were seated Masahiro Sakurai, Kenji Ito and Yoko Shimomura. 

The rapt attention of these composers as they ingested and analyzed the orchestral performance was among the most memorable sights of the evening. The intense concentration on their faces as they scrutinized every detail of the composition, arrangement and performance was unforgettable.

Returning from the intermission, "Song Sung to the Spirits" by Kohda from Monster Hunter 2 marked the entrance of vocalist Ikuko. The special guest of the event she has been a contributor to anime and videogame arrangement projects for years, dating back to arrange albums of early ‘90s role-playing game titles.

She sang two songs, ending the event with the second encore performance of the Monster Hunter 2 theme "Hunter, Go Forth."  Following the first of Ikuko’s musical performances, Narita’s song for the night was performed: the Theme of Pokke Village. This was followed by Kohda’s theme "Cutting Fangs of the Roaring Dragon - Tigarex" from Monster Hunter 2.

Coda: The Music Continues

All attendees upon leaving the event received a special commemorative DVD. Part one of the disc included videos of the orchestral recordings for Monster Hunter 3.

Interviews with composers Tadayoshi Makino and Yuko Komiyama, as well as conductor Adam Klemens of the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, lent some insight into the audio process underlying the upcoming game title's score.  In addition, Shirou Hamaguchi of Imagine co.ltd. will be composing and arranging music tracks for Tri-.

The second half of the DVD featured a documentary on the making of the monster voices found in the Monster Hunter series. Footage of recordings of alligators, tigers and walruses demonstrated the incredible care for detail that informed all levels of the sound design for Monster Hunter. 

An intense and captivating reflection of the craftsmanship underlying five years of original and remixed soundtracks, the orchestral concert demonstrated to me that there is much to be discovered in the music of Monster Hunter by a wider international audience.