Not really related, but super cute so whatever~

Being the ドS person I am, I just won’t let this blog rest in peace just yet :p

So what was 2011 like for rehi? I could very well just summarize it with “I DISCOVERED ABE MAO AND TOKYO GIRLS STYLE AWESOMENESS SO IT WAS AWESOME.” but well, let’s try a little bit harder than that lol

Best of anison:

Oh, look who's back =D

Yep, Hocchan’s epic return this year won’t be forgotten all that easily. Immoralist is still my favorite song of the year, period. Unfortunately, aside from this epic single, 2011 was pretty bland on the seiyuu-singers side of anison (wait, when is it ever not so?). Music Ray’n fucked up bad in the latter half of the year with their girls’ individual careers (no thanks to a certain stalker). Nana’s music keeps going in decline, with people like Minorin and Faylan (not seiyuu of course but similar style so I’m dumping her here) falling suit. But wait, it’s not all black. Kitamura Eri’s label switch was one huge blessing, both to her, and to my ears. Shirushi is easily one of the most solid anison releases of the year *nods*

On the other hand, this year was more of a veteran singers year for me. Ishikawa Chiaki and Itou Kanako left the biggest impressions on me, and I’ll be sure to follow their releases closer than ever in the times to come.

Singles:

Kitamura Eri – Shirushi (C3 OP)

LiSA – oath sign (Fate/Zero OP)

KOTOKO – Light My Fire (Shakugan no Shana OP1)

Yakushimaru Etsuko Metro Orchestra – Nornir (Mawaru Penguindrum OP1+OP2)

Ishikawa Chiaki – Fukanzen Nensho/Switch ga Haittara (Kamisama Dolls OP+ED)

Rie Fu – For You (Hourou Musuko ED)

Kuriyama Chiaki – Cold Finger Girl (Level E OP)

Sphere – Hazy (Hanasaku Iroha ED1)

Itou Kanako – Hacking to the Gate (Steins;Gate OP)

Horie Yui – Immoralist (Dragon Crisis OP)

Albums:

Triple H – HHH

Fairy Story – Fairytale

Toyosaki Aki – love your life, love my life

Kajiura Yuki – FICTION II

Sakamoto Maaya – You can’t catch me

Best of whatever else rehi listens to:

My current music love <3

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve made a couple of really awesome discoveries this year, which make it totally worthy in terms of music, despite my interest in anison dropping.

Abe Mao, TOKYO GIRLS’ STYLE, Noanowa, SEKAI NO OWARI… just to name a few. I also got into the black hole that is AKB48 (and derivatives), but I’m not sure just how related that is to this post seeing as I’m still not too interested in the music side of things (even if my last.fm says otherwise) so yeah, let’s not touch on that subject now. If you’re interested in my AKB rants (ok, mostly SKE really), then you can go here instead.

Singles:

SEKAI NO OWARI – Starlight Parade

TOKYO GIRLS STYLE – Liar

BUMP OF CHICKEN – Zero

Uemura Kana – My Favorite Songs

7!! – Lovers

Abe Mao – Motto./Hikari

NIKIIE – HIDE&SEEK

Akanishi Jin – Eternal

Kitano Kii – Kizuna

Itano Tomomi – Dear J

Albums:

Stereopony – More! More!! More!!!

KOKIA – pieces

DadaD – Touch Touch Touch

TOKYO GIRLS STYLE – Koudou no Himitsu

Negoto – ex Negoto

Violent is Savanna – SWING

andymori – Kakumei

Shibasaki Kou – CIRCLE CYCLE

Abe Mao – Su.

Kitano Kii – Kokoro

The lists are in no particular order, and I didn’t really think too deeply about the stuff I picked. Just went through my folders and picked out whatever I realized I still listened to if it’s an older release, or stuff I can see myself still listening to well into next year for the newer releases. Of course, there’s plenty of bias and personal tastes there. Remember, this is just my take on the year.

Well then, 来年もよろしく！

Persona 4 The Animation

It’s finally here!!! I’ve been waiting for a persona game adaptation since forever.  Although I wish they’d animate 3 first, since it’s probably easier to animate and insanely more epic, persona 4 adaptation is all fine with me.  I’m actually trying to forget Persona ~Trinity Soul~  was there to begin with, although, truth be told, I liked some of the characters there (mainly the girls).

As I’ve stated in another post, I’ve played persona 3 and 4 at least two times each.  That’s around 100+ hours of gaming for each (yes, I like to actually check the dialogue at least once, although I end up checking it a second time).  I could say a lot about the games but there’s little point in that.  Also, seeing as the anime is closely following the game (almost to a fault), extra information from the game will probably not be needed.

Anyway, I promised I’d blog this even if the world ended, so here it goes.

Story so far

Episode 1

Welcome to the Velvet Room.

The Velvet Room (as seen in episode 2 though xP )

Narukami Yu (The Fool) is transferring to the idyllic Inaba, a town in the countryside, due to family issues (parents end up working away, etc etc, you know, like almost every anime out there).  He’s going to be living in Yasoinaba along with his uncle, Doujima Ryoutarou (The Hierophant), and his niece, Ryoutarou’s daughter, Doujima Nanako (Justice).  The Doujimas pick Narukami from the train station and stop at a gas station on their way home.

The Handshake (seems harmless, no?)

After a hardshake with the friendly employee, Narukami seems to experience some nausea but shakes it off (yes, it’s important).  Finally at home, as Narukami remembers his last day at his old school, he ends up sleeping and has a dream about a foggy area and a silhouette saying, more or less, that if he wants to know the truth, he needs to catch it.  Leaving the small details aside, the next day starts with Narukami introducing himself to his classmates (under the ever watchful eye of teacher “Morokin” – or “King Moron”) and getting to know some of them, mainly Satonaka Chie (The Chariot) and Hanamura Yosuke (The Magician), although Amagi Yukiko (The Priestess) gets enough screenplay, mostly by being with Chie.  Narukami also learns about the Midnight Channel, a hidden channel only appearing in midnight during a rainy night, supposedly showing the people who watch it their soulmate.  The other event that day is Konishi Saki (a school senior) discovering the body of a news announcer (Yamano Mayumi) who allegedly had an affair with a city council member married to a popular enka singer.  The body was discovered hanging upside down from a TV antenna.  For the record, the police inspect the crime scene.  Ryoutarou is there, along with his assistant, Detective ADACHI (Adachi Touru), although Adachi doesn’t seem to be helping much, looking like a wimp and getting nauseous because of the corpse.

Other than that, Narukami, Chie and Yosuke end up eating in the Junes Megastore.  Back home, Ryoutarou ends up falling asleep on the couch, while Nanako and Narukami keep watching TV.  Narukami tries the Midnight Channel rumor and discovers that the channel exists.  Although blurry, he is able to discern a female figure that resembles Konishi Saki.  He also finds out that he can put his hand inside the TV screen.

Next day, Narukami, Chie and Yosukue and the others discuss the Midnight Channel broadcast and decide to check on it in one of Junes’ big TVs, eventually getting sucked inside the TV due to Narukami’s ability to pass through the TV screen.  Inside, they arrive at a place of incredibly dense fog.  A shadowy figure scares them off and they end up in a spooky room with torn posters and a noose hanging from the ceiling.  For Yosuke’s bladder needs, Chie exits the room and is greeted by Kuma (The Star).  Kuma is angry (and scared) with all the people coming in and wants them to go out.  He gives Narukami a pair of glasses that penetrate the fog and runs away just before Shadows appear.  The group tries to escape but is surrounded by the Shadows.  Chie faints and as the others try to defend, a voice pushes Narukami to unlock his potential, and his Persona, Izanagi, comes forth, eventually defeating the Shadows.

Yes, this is the good guy...

And that's the good guy's Persona

Episode 2

Long story short, Chie wakes up and Kuma kicks them out of the place using some TVs.  In the morning, a weird guy from a different school tries to hit on Yukiko, ends up getting shot down and runs away obviously pissed.  At shcool, the group learns that Konishi Saki was found dead in a way similar to the first body discovered.  Yosuke is rather devastated, as he had a crash on Konishi, and believes that the Midnight Channel has something to do with the series of recent deaths.  Narukami and Yosuke go back to the TV world, leaving Chie outside as an anchor should something happen, their anchor method proves totally ineffective though.  Kuma meets them inside (there’s nothing inside that suit!!!), gives Yosuke another pair of glasses and follows them, after Narukami agrees to help Kuma rid his world of nuisances.  The group follows some voices and ends up in a store where Yosuke has a breakdown after hearing Saki’s voice explaining how he’s annoying but she talks to him because he’s Junes’ manager’s son.  A Shadow Yosuke appears, claiming he’s a part of Yosuke and sharing Yosuke’s dark thoughts.  Yosuke denies everything, causing the Shadow to transform.  Yosuke eventually comes to realize that Shadow is a part of him as Narukami defeats it.  Finally, Yosuke accepts his darker self, enabling Shadow Yosuke to morph into Yosuke’s Persona and receiving the Magician Arcana.

Spooky Shadow Yosuke! Tremble, World!

Awwww, Shadow Yosuke is happy xP

Narukami and Yosuke exit the TV world, and get scolded by Chie.  Back at home, Ryoutarou is late again and Narukami helps Nanako with the dishes.  The episode ends with the Midnight Channel showing a female figure running between two series of horse statues.

Thoughts

I like the designs… I liked how it actually feels like the game with the game day transitions and how closely it follows the game.  I absolutely love how the first episode used the game’s OP for its OP.  The soundtrack (besides the second OP and the two EDs) is directly from the game, which is more than I had hoped for, although thinking about it, they’d be stupid NOT to use it, wonderful music most of the time, lower budget, music readily available, it’s a win-win situation.  The issue some people might have with it is the transitions.  It does feel it’s moving a bit fast at times, although, having played the game, I feel at home there.  Another issue I have was the whole Yosuke – Dark Yosuke encounter.  It does basically follow the game, although I found the particular progression and dialogues rather weak.  I suppose they don’t want (or maybe should) tweak the game script, but it could use some fixes here and there.  Last issue I have so far is… It’s going to be a short anime, isn’t it… I was hoping for a 24-26 episode anime but I doubt they’ll use all the side characters and stuff.  They’ll probably focus on the main group only, that’s basically dropping a third to half the game, from where I’m standing but I suppose it’d be hard using all these, seemingly unrelated side characters in the anime (the other Social Links).  I hope they’ll use as much of the game as they can.

Last but not least, the voice actors from the game as also voice the anime characters (at least the main characters, from what I can tell).  That’s nice since Horie Yui is an excellent Chie.  That’s not very nice cause Kugimiya Rie is voicing Rise, which I thought was epic fail.  It’s one of the few times the english dub is better by a mile.  Then again, I’m not at ALL fond of Kugimiya Rie and her tsundere lolis so maybe I was a bit preoccupied, who knows, I still don’t like her as Rise.  Rise is one of my favorite characters in Persona 4, thus my gripe.  No, Rise hasn’t appeared in the anime yet, unfortunate though that is.  The other is Nanako.  Nanako rules.  Nanako for President.  Nanako for Goddess, etc etc etc.

Overall I’m rather pleased.  The existence of a **TRUE** Persona anime is reason enough for celebration.  I’m looking forward to the next episode, although much of the fun isn’t there since I know the story firsthand already but meh, if anything, I’ll enjoy watching Nanako and Rise, along with the epic persona 4 soundtrack.  I can hardly wait for Nanako’s “Heaven” theme.

NANAKOOOOOOOOOOOOO o(^o^)o

That’s all for now.

PS Minor Persona Arcana Trivia :  Some names have Arcana names in parentheses next to them.   That’s the Major Arcana associated with the character, these associations called Social Links in the game.  Maximizing a Social Link (ie getting really intimate with the person of that Social Link) allows the player to unlock the most powerful persona of the associated Arcana.   Also, each persona in the game is categorized under one of them.

PS2 Igor, Margaret, Limousine, and the Velvet Room.  Igor and Margaret are mysterious characters leaving in a space called the Velvet Room.  The Velvet Room takes various shapes, depending on the individual guest and the general situation.  The guest, signs a contract to take responsibility for his actions no matter the outcome and is given access to the Velvet Room.  The reason is mostly unknown other than Igor following some agents of fate, ones that have before them unlimited possibilities (and stuff like that).  In the game, Igor helps the player fuse personas into new ones, and offers quests and guidance.  The Velvet Room itself lies beyond space and time.  Other than that, the whole Velvet Room thing is a mystery, offering little info other than cryptic semi-information.  The Velvet Room has appeared so far in the beginning of both episodes.

PS3 I am back, mwahahahaha! Yes, my Anime Spring 2011 Impressions ended up… eh… unfinished… But no matter, I’m back again.  I’ll try to get the Fall 2011 Impressions ready once I watch all the stuff I want.  But Persona’s gonna get blogged cause it’s epic, mwahahahahaha.

Over and out ^-^

I so cool >o<

Summer is (almost) over, and yours may have been fun or boring, relaxing or stressful… but if you’re an AKB48 fan, sure there’s been at least one good thing about it: the massive amount of releases from them and their subunits and sister groups. From June to August, there was at least one AKB-related release per week (if we include DVDs / BDs and photobooks). As for the music releases, some of them (mostly singles) were really nice, others were not-so-good, but I took my time to listen to them all and now I’m going to share my impressions with you guys!

June 1st : Tomomi Itano – Ai ni Pierce

Similarly to her debut single Dear J, Tomochin’s 2^nd digital single is an upbeat, catchy, autotuned-as-hell dance song. While I still prefer Dear J (one of my favorite J-pop songs this year), I really love it and I find it much better than her previous digital single Wanna be now, which I liked a lot at first but now I barely listen to it – it got old too quickly. Ai ni Pierce sounds a lot like some of the best songs by GIRL NEXT DOOR (or should I write “girl next door” now?), a group I recently became a fan of. I hope she releases more songs like this in the future!

P.S: Am I the only one who thinks she looks like Meisa Kuroki in the cover?

Overall score:  9 / 10

June 8^th: AKB48 – Koko ni Ita Koto

The long-awaited 1^st original album by Japan’s favorite girl group was originally scheduled to be released in April, but just like many other releases, it was postponed due to the earthquake, making the wait even longer. Many fans, including myself, had high expectations for this album, mainly due the amazing a-sides that preceded it. And of course, the fact that it was the first time AKB48 released an original album (SET LIST and Kamikyoukutachi were both best-of compilations) played a very important role in generating such hype. However, when the album finally came out, many fans were disappointed by what they heard… and I can see why. Most of the new songs made no impression on me at all when I gave my first listen to this album. None of them are instantly catchy songs like, for example, Heavy Rotation or Beginner, and even now that most of the album tracks have grown on me, the only ones I really really like and can listen to on repeat are Shoujotachi yo, Overtake, Boku ni Dekiru Koto and Koko ni Ita Koto, which is my personal favorite and the only album track I loved from the very first listen. I absolutely adore this kind of choir songs with cheesy lyrics about graduation (Sakura no Shiori fan here!). Another positive point of this album is that they included stage song Team B Oshi. I love it; it’s so cheerful and fun! Still, the best songs on this album are, from my point of view, the single tracks. Heavy Rotation, Beginner and Chance no Junban (yes, I DO love it and I know I’m probably the only one. Oh, and I think Mayumi Uchida is cute) are catchy tunes I just can’t get enough of. My global impression is positive, I do like this album and there are a few gems on it (even if most of these were previously released), but it’s really fan-oriented. It’s not an album you should use to introduce AKB’s music to someone who never heard it before, unlike Kamikyokutachi or even some stage albums. But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, the stuff AKB48 have released this year so far is a lot weaker than last year’s… I’m still waiting for the next Heavy Rotation or Oogoe Diamond!

P.S. The photobook included in the limited edition is awesome.

Overall score:  6.5 / 10

June 22^nd: Atsuko Maeda – Flower

The debut single from the cute face of AKB48 is one release I ended up liking a lot more than I’d ever imagined. Acchan’s vocals have never been top-notch (though not as painful to listen to as Tomochin’s), and the moment I heard the first 30-second preview of the title track Flower I knew it would be a sleep-inducing, uninteresting, plain ballad, so I was afraid the rest of the songs would be in that fashion. But, to my surprise, the b-side tracks turned out to be good. Very good, actually. Hoozue to Café Macchiato (my favorite from the single) and Yoake Made are two great ballads, I love them to bits, and while Acchan’s vocals are far from being great, she sounds quite nice here. Her soft voice fits this kind of songs. Kono Mune no Melody and La Brea Ave. are more on the upbeat / rock side and are very good songs too, but I must say they would be A LOT better if they were sung by someone with more powerful vocals. As for Brunch wa Blueberry, it’s rather forgettable if you ask me… cute tune, but nothing too special.

Overall score:  7 / 10

June 22^nd: Mai Oshima – Second Lady

I haven’t listened to her previous two singles and since I wasn’t into AKB48 when she was part of the group I never cared about her, but since I’m reviewing every AKB-related release from this summer, I thought: “why not give it a listen?” The first impression I got from this single is that both songs on it sound like the typical generic pop stuff Avex gives to their female soloists they don’t care much about (Maki Goto and Nana Tanimura are the first examples to come to my mind), and while I find Mai’s vocals better than Tomochin’s and Acchan’s, that doesn’t save this single from being mediocre and forgettable.

Overall score:  4 / 10

June 29^th: no3b – Kuchibiru Furezu…

These girls almost always put out cool upbeat tunes as singles, and Kuchibiru Furezu… is one of those songs I like so much. The verses are nothing special… but the chorus is so epic it makes up for it! (I still prefer Answer though). I’ve heard quite a few fans say they prefer the b-side Sakkaku over the main track… and while I like it (pretty fresh and original, different from their usual stuff), I don’t think it can even compare to KuchiFure. Now let’s move on to the solos of all three members: even though Miichan is my oshi and she’s quite a decent vocalist, I was looking forward to Takamina’s solo the most because her singing voice is just epic and I really like the two solo songs she has so far (Itoshisa no Accel and Kiseki wa Yoru Umareru). Sadly, the song she got this time, Dareka Oshiete, is so meh I almost cried from disappointment.  Miichan’s and Kojiharu’s solos (Sayonara ni Kizuite and Asatte, Jamaica, respectively) are pretty nice though, the former is a lovely R&B-ish ballad and the latter is basically another Cloudy Sky. Overall, a very good single!

Overall score:  7.5 / 10

July 6^th: Not yet – Naminori Kakigoori

Yuko & friends made their debut earlier this year with a single that barely caused any strong impression on me (I enjoy Shuumatsu Not Yet now, but it took me a while to take a liking to it… though I still don’t like the b-sides except for their version of Nakinagara Hohoende). For that reason, I expected nothing from their 2^nd one… but to my surprise, I fell in love with the title track the moment I heard it for the very first time, eventually becoming one of my favorite summer songs this year. I love everything about Naminori Kakigoori: its catchy chorus, the awesome and colorful PV, the fun lyrics… everything! Sadly this song doesn’t seem to have many fans, but I’m used to liking songs that are usually disliked by the fandom, so… B-side Bokutachi no Offshore is another catchy summer song I loved at first listen, a close second favorite from this single, and what I like about it the most is the fact that it sounds very… AKB-like, that’s it. The other b-sides aren’t that interesting, but I guess I don’t mind listening to them… besides, the 2 songs I love are more than enough for me to give this single a high rating!

Overall score: 7 / 10

July 13^th: Tomomi Itano – Fui ni

I find most of the stuff she’s released since her debut to range from good to great, but this single just doesn’t make the cut. The title song is not that bad actually, but when you can’t hold a note like in Tomochin’s case, you need really impressive or catchy songs to stand out and this isn’t one. As for Tsuki no Inori, it’s a beautiful ballad and I have a soft spot for those, the arrangement and melody are pretty nice… but her dreadful vocals ruin it, which is a pity. And the rest of the tracks aren’t any better… Boku no Sei is a snooze fest, Dark side is a mess, Don’t miss it sounds a lot like TUNNEL and I never really cared about that song, and as for Come on!, I believe it had potential to be really good but it just ended up being yet another generic, freaking repetitive bitch-pop song. I guess my expectations were too high…

Overall score:  4.5 / 10

July 20^th: NMB48 – Zetsumetsu Kurogami Shoujo

The record-breaking debut single from the Pedobear-friendlier version of AKB48 (?) is something I have mixed feelings about. I don’t like the title track or the fact that all five songs sound very similar. But on the other hand, I really like Seishun no Lap Time and especially Boku ga Maketa Natsu, because that’s the kind of super-energetic idol pop songs like Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara or Enkyori Poster that I love so much and AKB48 have been lacking lately. And as for the two remaining songs, both Mattemashita Shingakki and Mikazuki no Senaka are far from being impressive but I kinda enjoy the latter, so overall, this single gets a pass from me~

Overall score: 6 / 10

July 27^th: SKE48 – Pareo wa Emerald

Lately, I’m finding the stuff SKE48 are releasing a lot better than that of their “big sisters”, and this single is a good example of this. Pareo wa Emerald and Papa wa Kirai are two songs I just can’t get enough of: cool, catchy and quite decent vocally. Definitely two of my favorite songs this summer. Hanabi wa Owaranai and Tokimeki no Ashiato, while not at the same level of greatness of the two songs I mentioned before, are pretty good too and I like them a lot. Tsumiki no Jikan is the only one I don’t like here, but it doesn’t stop this single from being much better than all the singles AKB48 have released this year so far combined together.

Overall score: 8 / 10

August 3^rd: Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 – Hetappi Wink

Most of the stuff from Mayuyu’s group gives me headache (and not only because of their ear-drilling vocals) and there are only like 4 or 5 of their songs I really really enjoy, so I was shocked at the fact that I actually liked all 6 songs from their 2^nd single as a 7-person group. Hetappi Wink is totally my summer jam this year, it’s so fun and puts me in a great mood! I thought nothing would be even near to Hashiritai GO! GO! GO! as my number one WH song, but Hetappi Wink has become a really close second favorite from the group. I just can’t get enough of it. The rest of the tracks, especially Mamma, Grazie and Bikini wa Niawanai are really catchy and fun as well, and Mayuyu’s solo song Mirai no Koibito is one of those old-school idol songs we usually get from her that become a lot better with every extra listen. If you are a fan of bouncy, happy, catchy idol pop songs with ultra high-pitched vocals, I totally recommend this single to you!

Overall score: 8.5 / 10

August 10^th: DiVA – Cry

Anyone whose hearing capacities are in a good condition will probably agree that DiVA is the best AKB48 subunit vocals-wise, but great vocals don’t always necessarily imply great music. Tsuki no Uragawa was alright, but wasn’t too memorable (mainly because of the rather meh b-sides)… luckily that’s not the case of Cry. Both the title track and Chika Suidou are very cool upbeat tracks with powerful instrumentals that go very well with their vocals. Yuka and Sayaka, in that order, are clearly the best singers of the group, but I can see an improvement in both Umechan’s and Sae’s singing in comparison to their first single. Their version of MARIA is really great too and I actually like it better than the original. No way out is my least favorite song here, but is still better than stuff like Information and that boring version of Blue rose on their debut single. Good job, girls!

Overall score: 8 / 10

August 17^th: SDN48 – MIN·MIN·MIN

Why, SDN? Why? With the release of their first two singles, I thought their music career was turning out to be very awesome, with songs like Ai yo, Ugokanaide, Eros no Trigger or Ai Chuseyo that I’ve been listening to on repeat for months. However, the whole MIN·MIN·MIN single is probably one of the biggest J-pop disappointments I’ve had this year so far. The title track, unlike GAGAGA and Ai Chuseyo, is not catchy at all unless you listen to it repeated times (though I’ve somewhat managed to like it after giving it some time); Onedari Champagne is kinda messy, with some alright parts and some extremely terrible ones, and as for Abazure… it’s not that bad, but nothing that catches my attention either. The best thing about this single is definitely their version of Everyday, Kachuusha, I love it!

Overall score:  5 / 10

August 24^th: AKB48 – Flying Get

I must say it makes me kinda sad that AKB’s fastest-selling single so far is actually their weakest A-side in a while. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the song or anything, I really enjoy seeing it performed live and thanks to that it has grown a lot on me (plus it has one of the best PVs I’ve seen from the group), but compare it to their epic A-sides like Heavy Rotation, Beginner, Oogoe Diamond, RIVER and the likes… to me, Furage sounds more like B-side material. Similarly, Dakishimecha Ikenai and Seishun to Kizukanai Mama fall in the category of “nice and all, but nothing that I’ll listen to non-stop”. Yasai Uranai hurts my ears and I prefer to pretend that song doesn’t exist. My favorite song from this single is definitely Ice no Kuchizuke, yeah it’s cheesy, yeah it may be not their best song, but for some reason I really like it: the moment I first heard it in that Ice no Mi CM, I fell in love with it. Not a terrible single, but rather average – AKB can do much better.

Overall score:  5.5 / 10

Yeah, it’s finally over~ It’s funny how I barely post here (I’m a lazy ass), but when I do, my posts always end up being long as hell.

What’s so special about TGS you ask? Well, for the first time in my life, I can put a hand to my heart and say that I loved a girl group purely for their music. I’m dead serious here.

To start off, the group consists of 5 girls, currently aged between 13 and 15, with roles spread out evenly within the group. In other words, not all of them sing the same amount of lines, and the best dancers are given a chance to shine. From what I’ve seen, pretty much everyone agrees that Ayano and Hitomi are the best singers, and guess what, they’re the group’s main vocalists so hurray, Avex does things right. Mei is by far the best dancer, and we can see plenty of that in their debut single’s PV, Kirari.

Miyu is the eldest and the group’s official leader (it even specifically says so on their official site). The only one left is my personal favorite, Yuri. She’s erm, crazy, which is fun, kinda, and I personally find her to be the prettiest, so voila, it all balances out!

The group was introduced last year on January 1st, and are labeled as a “Girls “Dance & Vocal” Group from AVEX” though to be honest most people would just pass them off as idols. I did at first, but not anymore. They made their CD debut last year too, on May 5th (my birthday, what are the chances) and have released an album and 7 singles so far (their latest having gone on sale just a week ago).

If you’ve checked the two videos I’ve linked so far, you’ll probably be seeing the gist of it by now. Their sound is far from cutesy, and their dances plenty elaborate and well executed. It’s like a breath of fresh air from all the uninventive girl groups that plague the music industry lately.

The first thing I ever heard from them is their cover of Boku no Tegami on the ZONE tribute album that was released not all that long ago. The album is filled with girl groups (Sphere, ClariS, Tomato n’ Pine, bump.y, etc.) but TGS’ funky arrangements immediately stood out from the rest when I was listening. And that’s exactly their music’s biggest selling point in my opinion, the arrangements.

TGS has a solid beat present in most of their songs that can immediately be linked to them, yet their songs still diverge enough from one another to not sound recycled or uninspired. I haven’t found the time to dig through all their singles yet, but from the album alone I can easily say that they’ve got songs of plenty of varieties. Yes even cutesy stuff, it’s just not “omg someone plz check my blood sugar level” cute, y’know?

Kodou no Himitsu is the song that totally sealed the deal for me. I spent an entire day looping it by itself, and I thought I was over doing that kind of stuff now. It’s the first track on the album, which shares the same name, but with a longer intro added to it, sucking you into the mood of the album immediately.

Aside from the awesome music, there’s also the nice fact that they hold weekly live performances, which actually get aired on ustream too. They also don’t lipsync, but I’ve yet to decide whether that’s a good thing or not. At least it doesn’t seem to affect their brilliant dancing though, so that’s alright I guess.

The girls all have their separate official twitter accounts, as well as an account for the group that always updates with info and the like. It really is nice stuff for us people who are cursed with living outside of the holy land T_T

–

And that pretty much concludes my fangirling post. In case you didn’t get it, I really like this group now, and there’s plenty of reason for others to like them too, so I’m sharing what info I’ve gathered over the short period of time I’ve known them, in hopes of getting more people interested in this quintet of talented girls.

I just hope Avex doesn’t give up on them all that soon (sales aren’t so great really…) because I’d like to see plenty more TGS in the future!

I love Yuri's many hats the most actually =x

*pokes reader* Oi, blog’s not dead yet!

So yeah, the title this time around should give enough of an idea about the content of this post. Let’s just get on with work shall we.

The good:

Ishikawa Chiaki – Fukanzen Nenshou / Switch ga Haittara (Kamisama Dolls OP/ED)
Spanish guitars all over Fukanzen Nenshou? This isn’t some 80s idol song, this is Ishikawa Chiaki at her best. I’ve loved Ishikawa’s work since her Uninstall single, and it’s nice to see her still coming up with different kinds of music. Fukanzen Nenshou might come off as awkward on first listen, but Ishikawa’s brilliant vocals always bring one in for another listen, and that’s where you’ll fall in love. Switch ga Haittara on the other hand is somewhat weaker, but still has the same effect. Not quite slow enough to be called a ballad, but it’s a relaxing song befitting of an ending theme. Needless to say, the win point is the vocals, be it Ishikawa’s voice, or the backing vocals.

Katate Size (Hirano Aya, Horie Yui, Maeda Ai) – Orange Smile (Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou ED)
I have no idea what it is about this seiyuu unit that despite all the odds, seems to get such nice songs. While this single isn’t as good as the first one they released, it’s better than the second, which was pretty good too. The title song is a cute catchy tune that kinda does make you want to smile, while the c/w, Lime Night, is a slower and more serious song, also very different from what one would expect coming into this kind of unit. I wonder if calling them the Perfume of the seiyuu world would be appropriate? A shame they’re only around for the Nurarihyon anime…

Kasarinchu – Yamerarenai Tomarenai / High High High (Usagi Drop ED)
Partly because I’m biased when it comes to Usagi Drop (Rin <3) and partly because I really like this kind of laid back acoustic sound. There are 4 songs on this single, and 3 of them really hit home with me (the one that doesn't is Yamerarenai Tomarenai btw). So yeah, recommended for those who like おっさん music I guess.

nano.RIPE – Omokage Warp (Hanasaku Iroha OP)
Are you used to Kimiko’s voice yet? No? Then you haven’t listened to nano.RIPE enough! So yeah, aside from the squeaky vocals that might, or might not, turn more than one person off, nano.RIPE delivers yet another strong rock-ish single. Actually, I consider this single to be their weakest to date since they got their contract with Lantis, but the band’s solid style is definitely still there.

Nanri Yuuka – Kiseki (Sacred Seven ED)
After the awesome single that was Shizuku, I’m glad that Yuuka’s next release wasn’t a disappointment. Of course I didn’t expect it to be as good, and certainly it isn’t, but still, Kiseki has that similar mysterious feel to it. Oh wait, I know what this mysterious feel is… It’s that Kajiura-style, hah. So yeah, Yuuka sticks to her roots I guess, but you won’t find me complaining about that.

Mizuki Nana – Junketsu Paradox (BLOOD-C ED)
To be honest, I was tempted to put this in the meh section, but figured it’d be an insult to Nana’s vocals. While the 3 songs on the single are all fine, I feel nothing from them. I like Nana’s music for its originality, because she tries tackling different genres left and right. This? Well it’s good, but I’ve heard plenty of this “epic” sound from her already. But I’m judging this as a standalone single, and as such, it has all the right variables of the formula I’ve set. Great vocals, interesting instrumentals, fluent melody line. My brain says it’s good, yeah. Oh btw, I like 7COLORS the most here hah, though it sounds like PERFECT SMILE #2.

The meh:

Youmo to Ohana, Touyama Nao – Sekai wa Odoru yo, Kimi to. / Koko Kara Hajimaru Monogatari (Ikoku Meiro no Croisee OP/ED)
Touyama Nao sure is getting plenty of singing despite being quite a new face in seiyuu biz, and I’m not sure I get why. Regardless, the Opening here is what we’ll look at. Sweet ballad with soothing vocals, really befitting of the cozy atmosphere in the anime. Unfortunately, that’s not quite my cup of tea (I actually dropped the anime after the first episode) and the 2nd track on this single isn’t very helpful, so it remains a meh single that I’ll forget about soon enough.

Nanamori Chu Goraku Bu (Mikami Shiori, Otsubo Yuka, Tsuda Miwa, Okubo Rumi) – Yuriyurarararayuruyuri Daijiken (YuruYuri OP)
Crazy, catchy, and apparently that makes most stuff fine nowadays. Well, the 2 songs here really are fun, at least before you get the obligatory headache.

LAMA – Spell (NO.6 OP)
Synthetic ethereal music whoo. Definitely not the kind to appeal to most, but for a debut single this is a nice attempt at standing apart from the rest. In my case, I’d rather stick to Yakushimaru Etsuko for this kind of mysterious feel, but I’ll definitely be giving LAMA another listen if I come across them again.

Larval Stage Planning – Kimi+Nazo+Watashi de JUMP!! (Baka to Test to Shokanju Ni! OP)
Typical I’ve hyped music I guess, and I’ve always had a strange soft spot for those. This kind of electronic, auto-tuned, cheesy music can lift any sunken mood, but only the first few times. I don’t really see myself still listening to this by the end of the year unfortunately.

FictionJunction – stone cold (Sacred Seven OP)
I can’t help but laugh when I realize that Yuuka’s in the Good section while Kajiura/FJ is in the Meh section. Oh well, stone cold is the usual trancy, fast-paced, Kajiura style song with those nice epic vocals, but it’s just too damn long and repetitive. I always end up getting bored of it before I reach the end, and that really ticks me off. The c/w is just… boring.

Choucho – Kawaru Mirai (Kamisama no Memocho OP)
Fresh sounding and pleasant to the ears, but somewhat forgettable. I actually like the c/w, Sleeping Butterfly, better. Simple, pretty. Kawaru Mirai is a bit of a mixed bag.

The bad:

Aso Natsuko – Eureka Baby (Baka to Test to Shokanju Ni! ED)
Generic anison is generic. I’ve never been a fan of her work, with the slight exception of Programming for non-fiction, and this single did nothing to help there. While the tunes may be somewhat catchy, I really find nothing beyond average happy-go-lucky music here.

Tomatsu Haruka & Horie Yui – Kamisama to Issho (Nekogami Yaoyorozu OP)
Earplugs where?! Okay, so the horrible singing was expected. The song… BLOODY catchy. Now guess which kind of “bloody” I’m referring to.

Nanamori Chu Goraku Bu (Mikami Shiori, Otsubo Yuka, Tsuda Miwa, Okubo Rumi) – My Pace de Ikimashou (YuruYuri ED)
Unlike the opening where there’s actually something fun about the tune and the headache you’re bound to get isn’t immediate, the ending is just plain annoying. Like something hammering in your head constantly, guaranteeing a headache before the end of the song. The c/w, Precious Friends, had my hopes up for a few seconds, before I zzzzzz-ed.

IDOLING!!! – Don’t think. Feel!!! (Fairy Tail ED)
The thing about AKB48 is that they have so many non-idol songs in their stages that liking them doesn’t mean I’ve finally grown a tolerance for idol music. However, even as idol music, this kinda fails. The cuteness is there, but the catchiness… well, I’ve heard catchier to be honest. Ignoring the pointless versions of the same song plastered in here, the different songs themselves feel disturbingly similar. If there’s one thing to praise, it’s the main instrumental bridge in Alphabet de Kore Nanda!? but that’s about it.

R-15 – HIRAMEKI! Peace (R-15 ED)
Err… You might like this if you like your pointless, overly hyper, silly music. I don’t.

Harada Hitomi – Once (Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi OP)
A case of someone trying too hard only to fall flat on their face. I get the feeling someone was trying to make an impression here, but I only remember dozing off at some point.

–

Holy shit that was long O_O Don’t expect this kinda of thing that often, that’s definitely not happening. So yeah, the usual claims apply. This is but my opinion, feel free to share yours if you want.

So the first half of the year is gone already… time sure flies, doesn’t it? 2011 is turning out to be pretty nice in terms of Japanese music and there have been many albums I enjoyed, even if I’m the kind of person who prefers to listen to individual songs rather than albums as a whole. Are you curious to know which ones have been my favorites? Then, keep reading this post!

10. Aki Toyosaki – love your life, love my life

Aki’s music is something that takes some time to be fully appreciated: at first listen it may sound too weird to some (to me it did), but it gets a lot better with every listen and eventually you end up realizing that its weirdness is what makes it cool. There’s something about her music that just makes me keep on listening. I don’t know exactly why, but many of her songs have a magic feel that makes them quite different from the typical cute pop many Japanese artists put out. That said, love your life, love my life is quite a good debut album from her. While most of the new tracks are far from being at the same level as some of the stuff from the singles (and there are a few songs I don’t particularly care for), the best tracks in the album make up for it, making it sound nice as a whole. I must say I’m really glad my two favorite b-sides (Magical Circle and Nanika ga Sora wo Tondekuru) were included: this album wouldn’t be the same without them. As for the new tracks, I like Hello Allo and Kimi ni Arigatou the most, but none of the songs I mentioned before come even close to love your life, my absolute favorite song of hers so far <3. For the reasons I mentioned above, this album may not be to everybody’s liking, but if you aren’t nitpicky about vocals and are looking for something different and original, give it a try!

Recommended songs: love your life, Nanika ga Sora wo Tondekuru, SHUN PU.

9. no3b – no3b

Because my J-pop rankings wouldn’t be the same without at least one AKB-related release. For an idol album, this is pretty solid and it has many different types of songs, as opposed to most idol albums which mostly consist of sugary cute pop songs. Of course we can find some songs of this style here (Bye Bye Bye, Shaku ga Hoshii, Relax!, etc.), but cool stuff like Next Heaven, Kiss no Ryuusei or Lie is what makes this CD quite different from your average idol pop album. Oh, and the solo tracks are awesome, much better than the ones from their latest single Kuchibiru Furezu… for sure. Overall, this album is a lot more consistent than AKB48’s Koko ni Ita Koto (which has quite a few great songs, but a lot of fillers as well) and I totally recommend it if you like idol music! Now if only it didn’t have so many recycled songs… but better recycled and good than new but sucky, I guess.

Recommended songs: Kiseki wa Yoru Umareru, Kiss no Ryuusei, Next heaven.

8. Kii Kitano – Shin

I’ve been following Kii’s musical career since she debuted, and every single she’s released until now has been better than the previous one: for this reason my expectations for her debut album were set very high. While I must admit that I expected it to be better (I honestly prefer the stuff from the singles, b-sides included, to most of the album tracks), Shin is not a bad debut effort at all and there are quite a few gems on it. Her music reminds me a lot of J-pop from the 90s / early 00s, and I just love that style. Juukyuu-sai, my favorite song from the album, totally sounds like one of Ayumi Hamasaki’s epic power ballads, I LOVE it! It gives me chills down my spine every time I listen to it <3. Other album tracks I really like are Fuukaren and Zutto, Issho da ne. As for the single tracks, all of them are great, but Kizuna is my favorite. I’ve been listening to it non-stop since it came out and I don’t seem to get enough of it! It’s a shame that many of the new tracks aren’t that impressive (and the fact that most of them are located together in the first half of the album doesn’t help), but they’re still listenable and the rest of the songs are so great that make up for it. This girl has a lot of potential and I can’t wait to hear whatever she’ll put out next!

Recommended songs: Juukyuu-sai, Kizuna, Todokanai.

7. Kana Nishino – Thank you, Love

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect from Kana’s third album, having been released right after one of the worst singles of her entire career and all. However, while it’s still far from being at the level of her previous album to LOVE (one of my favorites of 2010), Thank you, Love has turned out to be a lot better than I had imagined. I still love the single tracks to death (except for Esperanza, of course. That song still sounds to me like something Shakira would’ve rejected) and I like how the lovely I’ll be there has been included in the album (even though if it were up to me, I would’ve picked Beautiful instead). As for the new songs, I really like most of them, and stuff like Clap Clap!! or Every Boy Every Girl is pretty cool… but Flower is my favorite by a long mile. For me, that’s the best song she’s released in a long while: after all, that’s the type of song that made me a fan of hers in the first place. Her sweet voice suits perfectly these touching ballads, and in fact that was the kind of song that made her big in Japan – I wish she went back to releasing this kind of songs as singles.

Recommended songs: Flower, if, Kimitte.

6. AAA – Buzz Communication

For being my first time listening to one of their albums, this left a really good impression on me! Buzz Communication is a great collection of upbeat songs and many of them have that epic feel that would make them perfect to be used as part of the soundtrack of some videogame or mecha anime series. The first half of the album is especially awesome <3. The fact that most of the songs on this album were previously released (and three of them are actually covers) may be a disappointment to some, but that doesn’t stop it from being a pretty consistent release!

Recommended songs: Dream After Dream ~Yume Kara Sameta Yume~, Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Tsuyosa to, Aitai Riyuu.

5. Chiaki Kuriyama – CIRCUS

For a debut album, this is pretty good! Better than I expected, actually. Chiaki’s brand of rock is pretty cool and fresh, most of the new tracks are very nice, and the single tracks sound a lot better as part of the album than as individual songs (I didn’t really care about Kanousei Girl and Ketteiteki Sanpunkan the moment they were released, but after listening to the album I ended up liking them a lot more than I’d ever imagined). If only 1) her debut single had been included in the album, 2) Chiaki’s voice hadn’t been given those weird filters in Ketteiteki Sanpunkan and 3) the tracks had a different order (all the best songs are located in the first half of the album, and I hate it when this happens because it makes the songs in the second half look weaker than they actually are), this album would’ve probably been a bit higher in my list. Oh, and I almost forgot to say that Cold Finger Girl is so awesome that words just can’t describe how much I love it.

Recommended songs: Cold Finger Girl, Roulette de Kuchizuke wo, Mirai no Hikari.

4. Do As Infinity – EIGHT

I already wrote about this album in one of my previous posts, and my opinion about it hasn’t changed since then: I still love it as much as I did when I listened to it for the first time. This is a very solid release, it has many great songs and there are practically no fillers here. It may not be the most unique or varied album ever, but if you’re looking for high-quality pop-rock stuff, this album is for you!

Recommended songs: JIDAISHIN, Fly to the Freedom, Kimi ga Inai Mirai.

3. Mao Abe – Su.

After having released one of the best singles of the year so far, Abema puts out another great album. I thought it was hard to be at the same level as her previous one since it was too awesome, but the truth is I love this one almost as much. The single tracks were great and most of the new tracks are really good as well, what else can I ask for? (Well, I would’ve liked something like Itsu no Hi mo too, but I guess we can’t have everything). Totally recommended!

Recommended songs: Motto., 19-sai no Uta, Hashire.

2. Piko – 1PIKO

This album was a very pleasant surprise to me: without knowing anything about the artist, I just downloaded it because I liked the cover and gave it a listen out of boredom, so I expected nothing… but I happened to love it at first listen. I really enjoyed most of the songs, and surprisingly, this is one of those rare cases where the album tracks are so much better than the singles. Piko’s voice may take some time to get used to (at times it sounds so high-pitched that he even sounds like a girl), but this is a really great rock album.

Recommended songs: Rebirth, Akashi, PikoPiko☆Legend of the Night.

1. GIRL NEXT DOOR – Destination

The moment I heard the first 4 or 5 tracks of this album, I knew I was going to love it. Destination was the first album from these guys I ever listened to (I had only heard a couple of their singles before), but it was enough to turn me into an instant fan. Most of the songs from this album are very upbeat and have an epic feel: I can totally imagine many of them being used as openings to classic anime series, and while some people may label this type of music as ‘dated’ or ‘generic’, I do love it. Maybe the only negative thing I have to say about this CD is the lack of variety (which applies to GND’s whole discography, by the way), but who cares about that when the quality of the music is so consistently good? I personally don’t. With no doubt, my #1 album of the year so far, and I don’t see anything else topping it anytime soon.

Recommended songs: Freedom, Hajimari, Ready to be a lady.

—————————————–

And yeah, that’s all! If you’ve been patient enough to read the whole post without falling asleep, congratulations! (and thanks a lot for reading =D). Now it’s time for you to share your opinion… Which Japanese albums released this year did you like the best? Feel free to leave a comment!

I’m not sure what to make of the fact that I knew which single I’d be crowning as my no.1 for the first half of the year without giving it barely any thought. It could mean two things:

1, said single is just too damn awesome.
2, everything else was just darn shitty.

Well, I say it’s a mixture of both lol

Anyway, let’s just get on with it shall we.

Best anison single of 2011 (first half):

インモラリスト

I was in love with the title song the moment I heard the full version. It’s so messed up but so controlled at the same time, brilliant. If it takes a break of over a year to come up with something this awesome, then I’d welcome such a break at any time. The 2nd track on the single, True Truly Love, is also strong enough to stand its own as a title track even, and Hocchan rapping has to be the cutest thing I’ve heard in a long time. Then the 3rd track, Holiday, while easily the weakest, was also a cheerful song that harmed no ears. A fine single all around. Oh, and the PV is kickass.

Honorable mentions: Rie Fu – For You (Hourou Musuko ED), Sphere – Hazy (Hanasaku Iroha ED).

…and since I’m at it~

Best anison-related album of 2011 (first half):

love your life, love my life

Toyosaki Aki – love your life, love my life

While I’ll admit to having been a bit disappointed with this album, that is in no part because the songs were no good. Quite the opposite, if anything. Aki’s singles prior to the album release had just set the bar too high, that’s all. Songs like love your life and Dill were just too lovable and hard to compete with. Of course, said songs are in the album, so that’s all good there. As for the album songs themselves, I’d point out Hello Allo and Alright as being the better ones, while march is also good in its own way. All in all, this is definitely one of the strongest albums I’ve come across from any seiyuu lately. A shame that it was somewhat wasted on these vocals in particular…

Honorable mentions: Katakiri Rekka – History of WORXSONGz, Sakamoto Maaya – You can’t catch me

…and that would be all. I might make a similar post for regular JPop later on. Or hoax kawaii-nanami into doing it =x

Title: ストーカーの唄 〜3丁目、貴方の家〜 (Stalker no Uta ~3 Choume, Anata no Ie) – Stalker Song ~3rd Block, Your House~

Artist: 阿部真央 (Abe Mao)

Lyrics: 阿部真央 (Abe Mao)



Translation-

I stole it, from the staffroom’s network. This is the 63rd time I call your number.
I’ve been freely using it, the information network I possess. Your house is at the 3rd block.

After crossing the park At the end of the river Turning right at the 3rd block.
Your after school habits The place of youth The 3rd block where you live.


Don’t be afraid, ‘kay? I just love you.
I just want to get closer to you. Please notice.

3rd block, 3rd block, if you take a turn there,
The house of yours with the red roof.
3rd block, 3rd block, I was loitering around it.
3rd block, 3rd block, your house.


I saw the nameplate. 2 residents in the household.
You turn on the lights in your room at 8pm.
Your little sister, she’s cute yeah. She’s called “Moe-chan” yeah.
The 3rd block with the stakeout of love.

Don’t be afraid, ‘kay? I’ll just be watching.
I’ll just be loving you. Please notice.

3rd block, 3rd block, if you look up, see
The room where my beloved you sleeps.
3rd block, 3rd block, it looks like I’ll be misunderstood.
Inside of me it is already Our house ♥


3rd block, 3rd block, if you look up, see
The house of my beloved, beloved you.
3rd block, 3rd block, I was loitering around it.
Hoping to see you Right at your side.


3rd block, 3rd block, if you take a turn there,
The house of yours with the red roof.
3rd block, 3rd block, I loiter around it.
At any time, 3rd block, your house.

I’m watching Always. I know Everything.
I’m watching Always. I love you… ‘kay?

Romanji-

Shokuinshitsu no renraku mou, nusunde shitta Bangou ni kakeru no ha kore de 63kaime
Motsu dake no jouhou mou, kushishite shitta Anata no ouchi ha 3 choume

Kouen wo nuketa saki Kawa wo tsukiatari Usetsushita tokoro 3 choume
Houkago no shinshuukan Seishun no basho Anata no sunderu 3 choume


Kowagaranaide ne? Suki na dake
Chikazukitai dake Kizuite

3 choume, 3 choume, soko wo magareba,
Akai oyane no anata no ie
3 choume, 3 choume, urouro shiteta
3 choume, 3 choume, anata no ie


Hyousatsu wo mite shitta Nisetai juukyo
Anata no oheya no denki ga tsuku no ha gogo 8ji
Imouto san, kawaii ne “Moe chan”tte iu no ne
Ai no harikomiba 3 choume

Kowagaranaide ne? Miteru dake
Aishiteru dake Kizuite

3 choume, 3 choume, miagereba hora,
Itoshii anata no nemuru oheya
3 choume, 3 choume, kanchigaishite shimaisou
Watashi no naka ja mou Futari no ie ♥


3 choume, 3 choume, miagereba hora,
Itoshii, itoshii Anata no ie
3 choume, 3 choume, urouro shiteta
Aemasuyouni tte Anata no sugu soba


3 choume, 3 choume, soko wo magareba,
Akai oyane no anata no ie
3 choume, 3 choume, urouro shiteruyo
Itsu datte, 3 choume, anata no ie

Miteruyo Itsumo Shitteruyo Nandemo
Miteruyo Itsumo Aishiteruyo… Ne?

Kanji-

職員室の連絡網、盗んで知った　番号にかけるのはこれで63回目
持つだけの情報網、駆使して知った　貴方のお家は3丁目

公園を抜けた先　川を突き当たり　右折したところ3丁目
放課後の新習慣　青春の場所　貴方の住んでる3丁目


怖がらないでね?　好きなだけ
近づきたいだけ　気づいて

3丁目、3丁目、そこを曲がれば、
赤いお屋根の貴方の家
3丁目、3丁目、うろうろしてた
3丁目、3丁目、貴方の家


表札を見て知った　二世帯住居
貴方のお部屋の電気がつくのは午後8時
妹さん、可愛いね　「萌ちゃん」って言うのね
愛の張り込み場3丁目

怖がらないでね?　見てるだけ
愛してるだけ　気づいて

3丁目、3丁目、見上げればホラ、
愛しい貴方の眠るお部屋
3丁目、3丁目、勘違いしてしまいそう
私の中じゃもう　ふたりの家♥


3丁目、3丁目、見上げればホラ、
愛しい、愛しい　貴方の家
3丁目、3丁目、うろうろしてた
会えますようにって　貴方のすぐ側


3丁目、3丁目、そこを曲がれば、
赤いお屋根の貴方の家
3丁目、3丁目、うろうろしてるよ
いつだって、3丁目、貴方の家

見てるよ　いつも　知ってるよ　何でも
見てるよ　いつも　愛してるよ…　ね?

Every time I look at the POP MASTER cover (right), my eyes bleed. It couldn’t be any cheaper could it? It seems they spent all the money on the SCARLET KNIGHT one (left) – probably one of her best CD covers ever <3

Anyway, since this is mainly about the music, let’s start talking about what really matters: the content. While two singles on the same day may seem a lot, let’s remember that they only contain 2 tracks each, so basically we’re getting the same amount of new songs we got in each of her past 3 singles (4 each). These new singles are being released this Wednesday, but they’ve been on the Internet since last Saturday, so I’ve had plenty of time to listen to them carefully (plus I’ve been listening to the radio rips of some of the songs ever since they were first streamed) in order to give a more or less solid opinion.

SCARLET KNIGHT is the first of the two singles and Nana’s 23rd overall. More often than not, CDs with pretty covers tend to be crappy, but by listening to the title track, that doesn’t seem to be the case of this one. SCARLET KNIGHT is one of those epic Nana songs with overly powerful vocals we all love. It reminds a lot of stuff like Justice to Believe, but there’s something about SCARLET KNIGHT that makes it a lot more epic. The majestic instrumentals, paired with Nana’s impressive vocals, make out of this song a musical orgasm. I LOVE IT. One of the best songs she has released as of recent. Her a-sides from the IMPACT EXCITER era were all pretty good (yes, I love Mugen, screw the haters), but this is even better. The intro and the chorus are with no doubt the best parts. Now if only the PV was half as good…

Then, we move on to HIGH-STEPPER, the only b-side of the single. My first impression of this song was: “wow, SCOOP SCOPE meets Sabaku no Umi“, and yes, it’s basically a rockish version of SCOOP SCOPE and with stronger, more ‘serious’ vocals instead of the cute voice she used in said song (and the reason why, among the many rock songs Nana has, Sabaku no Umi in particular came to my mind is the intro, which reminds me a LOT of it). I like SCOOP SCOPE, but HIGH-STEPPER has what the former needed to be more than just a good song. It’s far from the epicness explosion that was SCARLET KNIGHT, but still a pretty nice song, fresh and different to what we usually get from her. Perfect as b-side material.

Wow, that was such a great single… will POP MASTER be as good, or is this another deal like Minori Chihara’s double single release where one of them was awesome beyond words and the other utter crap? Let’s see:

I’m going to be honest, when I first heard POP MASTER, my initial impression was far from being good. From the name, and having been previously described as a “dance song with a strong choreography”, I expected something of the likes of Gimmick Game or Toraware no Babel, so when I heard a generic cute pop song instead, I was quite disappointed. Unlike a great deal of the non-Japanese fandom of J-pop, who tends to hate every “kawaii-sounding” song to death, I usually don’t mind J-singers releasing cute songs, but in Nana’s particular case, it kinda bugs me because being such an impressive vocalist, singing this kind of songs feels like a waste of her vocal talent. Thank god the song grew on me after a few listens and now it’s one of my many guilty pleasures. But let’s be honest, even though biased me loves it now, POP MASTER is not worthy of being an a-side. It would be perfect as b-side material or even as a possible album track, but this is not the kind of a-side I expect from Nana. It’s not bad, actually, it’s quite catchy and gets a lot better with every extra listen, but compare it to SCARLET KNIGHT for example… it’s clearly the weakest song of the new batch.

And finally, we move on to the last of the new songs, UNBREAKABLE. OMG, now that’s the kind of song I expect from Nana… why wasn’t this the a-side? This is what expected POP MASTER to be: a very upbeat dance song with strong vocals. I love it almost as much as SCARLET KNIGHT, and like this song, I’ve been playing it non-stop ever since it was streamed. I feel like dancing whenever I listen to it… even though trying to dance to this must be so tiring.

Oh, so it’s already over? Me wants more… it would’ve been great if each single had 3 songs at least. Anyway, since everybody loves rankings, I’ll post my ranking for Nana’s new songs, directly copypasted from a shout I left on Last.fm:

1. SCARLET KNIGHT

2. UNBREAKABLE

3. HIGH-STEPPER

4. POP MASTER

SCARLET KNIGHT and UNBREAKABLE are by far the best songs on the single: powerful instrumentals, powerful vocals, and pretty much all the elements that make most of Nana’s songs so awesome. 2 great songs, a pretty good one and an alright one… not a bad balance at all! (I personally love all songs now, but I tried to be as objective as possible). If you’re one of those people who don’t really like her experimental stuff, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy these singles a lot – okay, except HIGH-STEPPER maybe – since they’re closer to the style that fans who have been following her for a while now are more familiar with. Both singles are worth listening, despite POP MASTER being weaker than a title song should, and really good actually. I know I’ve said this way too many times already, but… great job, Nana!

I totally did not forget about this post. Really!

*cough* Anyway, since there are people interested after all, I bring you now the second part of my gif collection for Yukirin’s many awesome reactions. If you liked the previous post, then brace yourself for this one, ’cause I’m the kind to leave the best for last, if you know what I mean ;p


I declare you… Reaction Queen Team B captain XD

tototototototo!

Yukirin sew rude to her seniors :<

“You did not just say that about me.”

I wanna try whatever that spicy stuff was if it can get me hyper like that o.O

Embarrassed Yukirin is cute too <3

Short, but expressive.

Someone’s gonna get hurt…

By far my favorite. This is one of those that make you go さっすがゆきりん

The end! Not?

–

Well, that’s the end of it for now alright. I was hoping to get some more nice reactions from the second part of Dokkiri Jougakuen, but that seems to have gotten infinitely postponed (or plain out cancelled?) probably because of the disasters that had struck Japan recently.

Whatever the case though, I’ll continue making gifs of Yukirin’s awesome reactions whenever I come across worthy ones, and once I have enough, I’ll post them here. Unfortunately, I have no idea how long that’ll take though, so don’t hold your breath else you might run out of air before I post…

Note: Yeah, not all of them are really reactions *cough*lastone*cough* but I figured cute stuff is good too ^^