j1m0ne’s blog

I think I wasted most of my breath on raving about MURAMASA☆ this week so you know I think something is awful if the review is only one line long. Also doesn’t help that there a lot of high-profile Jpop releases out at the same time…

SWINGING. MURAMASA☆ (Druaga OP)

Ska isn’t the usual style of music you’d expect to hear in anime theme songs, but I’m happy that the Japanese ska scene is getting any sort of exposure in Western markets. I’m actually pretty surprised MURAMASA got an anime gig as they’re signed to indie label Limited Records, home to some of my favouritest punk/rock bands including Hoover’s Ooover, B-DASH and any for delight. SWINGING is however, being released by Avex, who are producing the music Druaga anime and I’m guessing (and hoping) that the tie-in will earn them a few more sales.

I dunno if it’s just me, but MURAMASA seem to have slightly toned down the ska beats on SWINGING, clamping down on the number of horns and focusing on heavier electric guitars. Compared to the c/w songs, the song is merely passable; the chorus wears thin after about 5 listens. But it’s saying something that I’d still rank SWINGING amongst the Top 3 anime themes of the spring season; such is the poor quality of the songs on offer.

I absolutely love CHOCOLATE SHAKE. Didn’t know Yumi was singing in English ‘til I saw the lyric sheet but it doesn’t matter, cos it’s one of the catchiest, bounciest pop tunes I’ve heard this year. KimiBoku is awesome too – starting out all ballad-like and charging straight back into horn-infested ska waters. Reminds me why I got into J-ska stuff in the first place. If anyone’s looking out for similar bands to MURAMASA, try getting hold of some GOLLBETTY or Yum!Yum!ORANGE.

Verdict: 9 Otsuus for dance-ability.
First day Oricon debut: No.12

sanagi. POSSIBILITY (Gintama ED9)

Kudos to Sony for using Gintama as an engine for introducing some of their lesser known acts to the general public; the likes of DOES, redballoon and KELUN have gotten more exposure that way. I’ve never heard of POSSIBILITY myself, but the first impression sanagi gave me was that their sound was similar to groups like Aqua Timez, ORANGE RANGE and Flow – a mash of rap and rock that is pretty popular amongst teenagers these days. It’s unfortunate that sanagi is paired up with arguably the best Gintama theme song so far (DOES’s 5th opening Donten), making it appear flat by comparison. It’s alright’s ska influences hint that there is more to POSSIBILITY than just aping the three bands mentioned above.

Verdict: 8 smokin’ Takasugis.
First day Oricon debut: No.15

O2. ORANGE RANGE (Code Geass R2 OP)

Hmm. I started out liking O2, but with each passing episode of Code Geass R2 it’s starting to annoy the pants off me. It doesn’t have much of a tune and the rappers sound like they’re drugged up to their eyeballs. Like everyone else, I wish Flow had been employed again instead – WORD OF THE VOICE is wasted on something like Persona. Oh well, I’m at least thankful that they didn’t use Jinn or Access. Oh, and I’m loving Harujion, though I’m starting to wonder what’s up with the proliferation of reggae/ska-inflected songs this week ^^;

Verdict: 6 Puzzled Gintokis. Still can’t decide whether I love or hate O2.
First day Oricon debut: No.03

Kaze ga Nanika wo Iou to Shiteru. Hayami Saori (Wagaya no Oinari-sama ED)

I think Hayami’s got a lovely, crystal clear vocal but it’s not really being put to good use on Kaze ga etc, a mediocre mid-tempo ballad that sounds like it was written in the mid-90s. The song’s arrangement and melody reminds me of Mieno Hitomi’s Dearest, which served as the I!My!Me! Strawberry Eggs opening theme at the turn of the century. And that was a much better song with a much stronger chorus IMHO. I prefer the c/w song Miracle Way~Tsuyoku Yasashiku Mamorarete~ but then I suppose I would, given that it’s written by lyricist Sonoda Ryoji and Fujita Junpei of Elements Garden, both of whom worked on recent Mizuki Nana releases. So half a good single here, and I’ll be interested to see how Hayami does on the the theme songs for the upcoming Sekirei - the opening will apparently come with a dance

Verdict:5 bored Zuras
First day Oricon debut: No.39

Hen na Kamisama o Shitteru yo. Hanazawa Kana (Kyoran Kazoku Nikki Yuka ED)

I’m pretty bored by the fact that they intend to milk as much out of Kyoran fans as possible by releasing separate singles for each ending. If they had lumped them all together onto one CD I might’ve considered buying it, but 8 singles? Overkill. I wouldn’t pay ¥100 for this single either. The Yuka ending was never one of my favourites, it just sounds…weird. And boring as hell too, though I must commend the fact that all those remixes on each CD actually sound like some effort went into the production process (has bad memories of the crappy remixes on the Negima 1000%SPARKING box set). The spaced-out mix here actually makes the song sound a lot better than the original.

Verdict: 4/10 Okitas for exciteability.
First day Oricon debut: >Top 50

Lucky Tune. Anna (To Love-Ru ED)

Anna is the lead singer of BON-BON BLANCO, a group whose concept is lost on me (maracas and congas a band does not make). I hated them with a passion, and their songs for One Piece (Bon Voyage) and Get Backers (Namida no Hurricane) made me cry…when the blood started flowing out of my ears. Luckily Anna (an American citizen btw) has ditched the latino rubbish in favour of a bland mainstream pop-rock sound for her debut solo single. I’m not really complaining, but I do wonder why Lucky Tune, which is a pretty crappy song by any stretch of the imagination, got the nod for To Love-Ru ahead of the vastly superior Hoshi no Kakera.

Verdict: 5 space alien penguins for blandness.
First day Oricon debut: No.42

The Worst of the Rest
Tochoshatachi. KENN (Druaga ED)

Hoo boy. Another one of those forgettable generic anime songs - one listen to this and I’m already begging for mercy. Obviously no issues with KENN’s singing, but I prefer the stuff he did with The NaB’s for Yu-Gi-Oh!GX. Tochoshatachi and its coupling track KIZUNA sound so gay they should’ve gotten a woman to sing it.
First day Oricon debut: No.45

Baby Romantica. SCRIPT (Junjo Romantica ED)

I was surprised that I didn’t dislike this as much as I thought I would. I think my expectations were dimmed by the fact that I detested the opening theme by PigStar, but Baby Romantica is sufficiently pleasant to warrant a second listen. Not something I’d stick on my car stereo though.
First day Oricon debut: >Top 50

Never looking back~Suki tooru kokoro de~/que sera sera. Rie/TASO (Crystal Blaze OP/ED)

Ska may stand a chance of slipping comfortably into the anisong genre, but R&B certainly does not. I have no idea who the heck chose this pair of dreadfully dull slow jams to represent Crystal Blaze, but they sure need to be shot. Way to go for making people tune out within the first 2 minutes of the show.
First day Oricon debut: >Top 50

still doll. Wakeshima Kanon (Vampire Knight ED)

I’m no visual kei fan and I don’t care that the songs are supposedly written by one of its gods (Mana of Malice Mizer fame), they’re still boring as hell. I kept waiting for some sort of climax on still doll but I was still waiting by the time the song was over.
First day Oricon debut: No.22

Zettai loveXlove Sengen!!. Hirano Aya, Shiraishi Ryoko & Tomatsu Haruka (Zettai Karen Children ED)

For such a bombastically stupid show aimed towards the brainless and er…5-year old kids, the songs are pretty dull aren’t they? The three seiyuu also sing a version of the opening song and although it is a slight improvement on the original (which was recorded by a bunch of 14-year old girls), it still doesn’t stop it from being a bit shite. I can’t decide which of the two tracks I dislike more but the bottom line is that they’re both crap.
First day Oricon debut: No.14

AWAKE~Boku no Subete~. Ono Daisuke & Kamiya Hiroshi (Monochrome Factor ED)

This sounds so much like a Johnny’s song it’s not funny. At best AWAKE would make a half-decent KinKi Kids B-side but nothing more. Good job on masking Kamiya Hiroshi’s bad singing though.
First day Oricon debut: No.25

Work Guy!!. Fukuyama Yoshiki (Kamen no Maid Guy ED)

I respect the guy but hot-blooded, guitar shredding, shouty rock has never been my thing. In fact, listening to Work Guy!! Made me feel like my head was being pounded by rocks.
First day Oricon debut: No.20

Kataomoi Fighter. GO!GO!7188 (Itazura na Kiss ED)

GO!GO!7188’s career has been in terminal decline over the last 4 years and nothing can save them anymore, it seems. Their original material is crap so go check out their covers album Tora no Ana 2 which was released on the same day.
First day Oricon debut: No.13

Gintama icons this week courtesy of 泉源福池.

Er, you might’ve noticed that I’m playing about with rotating header images - I’m not really happy with how some of the turned out (the Aria one in particular) so I’ll be working on it over the next few days.

Posted on May 30th, 2008 under music, this week in japan • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback