Customer Rating: 
Summary: Most incredible musical score - ever.
Comment: I loved Princess Mononoke from the first time I watched it. The art alone is stunning. Dark forests, misty crags... The story, too, is amazing, and far darker than most other Miyazaki movies. That said, this soundtrack contains some of the most amazing pieces of music I have ever heard. Not out of all anime soundtracks, or even all soundtracks. It's in a category of its own.
The entire soundtrack has an echo to it. Whether I'm driving, working, or just sitting around, this soundtrack makes any activity infinitely more enjoyable. I could listen to this for weeks and never tire of it, in fact, I have.
Some of the tracks are frantic, some are soft and calm, some are mind bendingly sad, and others are just plain beautiful.
And whether or not you've seen the movie, whether or not you like animation or any of that, this is WELL worth the buy. I would pay four times as much for it and still call it a steal.
We owe Hisaishi much.
Customer Rating: Summary: Second Best
Comment: What people say that this soundtrack isn't the best of Hisaishi's is true. He has done better than this. On the other hand, that just shows how incredible he is, because this is a wonderful soundtrack. It's a slightly dark, dramatic soundtrack with several recurring themes. The themes are dark and mysterious, and almost haunting. They are mostly in the lower register, played by cellos and basses, beautiful and dark.
The disc starts off with "The Legend of Ashitaka". This is mostly the recurring theme in the movie and soundtrack. It's played by low, dark strings and then rises slightly and then the brass comes in. It's a dramatic opening piece that is fitting to what it happening in the movie. "The Demon God" is another recurring theme. It's even lower than Ashitaka's parts, dark and dangerous. Starting out with a long, low note it moves on to a steady heavy beat with some high, kind of creepy strings and then percussion, and then underneath all of that the low notes come back with the low strings and low brass. A creepy piece that fits the creepy part of the movie well.
"The Journey to the West" is a quieter piece. It takes advantage of woodwinds and slightly higher strings than the previous songs. With the use of flutes, it gives off a more delicate touch. "The Demon Power" is a fast, frightening sort of song. "The Land of the Impure" is less dramatic than the others. It's kind of quieter and less dark, though not without it's dark moments. It too has the themes. "The Encounter" brings to us the theme that will be recognized as a more gentle, recurring theme, with flutes and more gentle instruments. "Kodamas" is a cute little piece that fits what is happening in the movie wonderfully.
"The Forest of the Gods" is a very short little piece that is meant to display a more magic touch. It's very short and more for transition. "Evening at the Ironworks" is also very short, with a kind of cool sound. "The Demon God II - The Lost Mountains" is mostly the same pulsing, creepy demon theme again, set for the movie. "Lady Eboshi" is an interesting piece that's kind of creepy and kind of fascinating at once. "The Tatara Women Work Song" is sung and breaks the orchestration of the movie, but it quite nice.
"The Furies" is a dramatic little piece, strong and bold. "The Young Man from the East" includes the Ashitaka music again, but slightly more dramatic than the beginning. "Requiem" is another theme built on low strings and played by high notes. It's slightly less dramatic than other pieces as well. "Will to Live" is extremely short and more of a transition piece that has Mononoke's theme embedded in it.
"San and Ashitaka in the Forest of the Deer God" starts out creepy but ends with a high notes theme. "Princess Mononoke Theme Song" is a woodwind song, played gently and beautifully, but very sadly. "Requiem II" has the low theme again. "Princess Mononoke Theme Song II" is another sung song, and is rather pretty.
"Battle Drums" brings the score back to the rhythmic aspect. Several percussion instruments are played here throughout the entire piece. "Battle in front of the Ironworks" is a pulsing, creepy song. "The Demon Power III" is a bit different, though still with the same demon theme. This time it's slightly creepier. "Requiem III" is sad and heavy. "Retreat" is a low, dramatic piece. "The Demon God III" picks up where the previous track left off. It's a creepy and low song which later has several themes thrown together. "Adagio of Life and Death" is a slow, gentle piece until the slightly dramatic ending.
"The World of the Dead" is very creepy and low. "The World of the Dead II", on the other hand, has very different music at its start, and more of the flutes. Later on in the song the creepy aspects of the previous come, but slightly less creepy than they had been, as they are underneath the strings now. "Adagio of Life and Death II" is another slow piece with a dramatic ending.
"Ashitaka and San" is a piano and strings piece. It is very lovely and very pretty. "Princess Mononoke Theme Song III" is again a singing song, rather like the previous one. "The Legend of Ashitaka Theme" is a beautiful piece, dark and dramatic, but then rising up in a huge swell to the lovely recurring theme that is Ashitaka. The difference between this and the other pieces is that this one is significantly longer than other Ashitaka songs and has much more to his theme.
So yes, much of this soundtrack is dark and low. On the other hand, it's not all dark and low. There are some lovely higher parts too, and even some singing, if you want it. The soundtrack matches the movie very well. Dark, with some light parts? Yes, that about sums up both. I highly recommend this soundtrack, even if you haven't seen the movie (I hadn't when I first heard it, and I loved it) for some wonderful stuff. If you had heard the "Spirited Away" soundtrack (highly recommended) before this and have turned to more Hisaishi because you liked him, be warned. This is not as good as the spectacular "Spirited Away", but it's second best of all of his soundtracks and I urge you to listen to it anyways.
