An Cafe - Magnya Carta

Magnya Carta is often referred to as the album released at the height of An Cafe’s career. Vocalist Miku has said that he has a goal for An Cafe, and that is to "surpass Magnya Carta." Is this album really that brilliant? Or were the members of the band merely fixing a standard in their minds to make them work harder in the future?

Magnya Carta starts with a song that has been used again and again in An Cafe’s lives: LOCK ON☆za☆O NEW sekai. It has a fast-paced beat and a strong bass line, making this a very energetic and powerful song to start the album with. The second song, Smile ichiban ii onna is one that every fan should be familiar with. The almost pop-sounding base of this song gives it a different vibe from the others, but An Cafe manages to make the style work to their advantage. With strong beats and sound effects that continue the whole way through, a truly amazing guitar solo and inspiring lyrics along the way, this song is a welcome addition to an otherwise pure punk album.

The album continues with Nyappy in the world 2, which is lighter in tone than the first two tracks. It's a somewhat relaxing song where the instruments seem to play in perfect harmony. The fourth song, Pipopapo Telepathy, might make the listener feel slightly surprised with its calming tune and soothing vocals. However, one is soon woken up from this feeling by arguably the best song on this album, Maple Gunman.

The moment Maple Gunman starts, it feels like your heart is beating faster and faster as the guitar is accompanied by the bass and drums simultaneously. Everything comes to a stop, and then starts up again to play along to Miku’s vocals. Even though it's pretty amazing so far, the first few minutes are nothing compared to the second half of the song. After the second chorus, Miku breaks into a semi-rap. It is followed by Bou’s solo, complemented by kanon’s smooth bass and Teruki’s skillful drumming. The final chorus seems ten times more exciting than what was leading up to it, with Miku’s final melodic vocals contributing to make it one of the most thrilling songs one could find.

An Cafe brings back some of its "Amedama Rock" style with the sixth song, Pxxxy’n Pudding. kanon’s bass seems to take over the whole song and is fittingly accompanied by Miku’s controversial lyrics. Listeners will also notice some similarities in the music that remind of bands such as Led Zeppelin, which only goes to show how well suited An Cafe is to this style of music. Some sadder songs follow, and they all seem to revolve around Bou’s departure from the band. However, this only adds to An Cafe’s sound as they all seem to completely pour their hearts into whichever song they are playing. The climax of their emotions is the tenth track, Meguri aeta kiseki, a musical master-piece that is coupled with heart wrenching lyrics to express just how much the band cares about its guitarist.

The finale of Magnya Carta incidentally becomes one of the most important songs to An Cafe, with almost every live since its release ending with the audience singing it to show their allegiance to the band. The song itself is a solid track, and the guitar, bass and drums collaborate well together; even without knowing the significance of the song, it feels extremely sentimental. Miku’s vocals work very well and seem to centre the song. The music, however, is slightly plainer than the other songs on the album, although it does give a clearer, less crowded feeling and is a good ending to the faster-paced collection of songs.

A point about Magnya Carta is that the whole album flows extremely logically from one song to the next. From a somewhat lighthearted beginning to more epic and meaningful songs, it eventually ends perfectly with the iconic BondS ~kizuna~.

So, in conclusion, the band indeed took its music in a new direction with Magnya Carta, and one might argue that this is the album that made its career what it is today. Unfortunately, Magnya Carta still doesn't have the originality and breakthrough attitude that the band's other albums had. In all, this album was a great milestone in An Cafe’s career, but compared to their albums both before and after, it should not be thought of as an impossible standard that can never again be reached. What could have attributed to the band’s feelings is simply that they didn’t want Bou to leave, so in a way they have glorified the last songs they created together. Thus, when they say the standard can’t be reached again, the band is most likely just preserving the memory of the music they made with someone they cared about enormously. Both the music and the feeling of Magnya Carta can be surpassed, but not replaced - because every note and every word of this album is filled with the love they had for Bou.