j1m0ne's blog

April was a busy month for anime-related releases as the spring season got into swing and theme songs started flowing out. Which also meant I had the privilege of listening to a pile of shite in hopes of dredging a few good releases out, so speed reviewing is back again. But hey, I did find a lot more to like this month than I did in March – I think it’s probably got something to do with my mood since March for me was like, being kicked in the guts and then runover by a bulldozer.

Hitpile
Kanjite Knight. ULTIMATE LAZY for MAZINGER (Shin Mazinger OP)

Quite possibly one of the most wicked collaborations on paper – the prospect of Jam Project with rock legends Okuda Tamio & Saito Kazuyoshi was just mind-blowing. Kanjite Knight is written by Kageyama Hidenobu, Date Ayumi & Mizutani Kimio and it’s absolutely smokin’ hot, full of energy and sing-a-long catchy to boot. Supplemented by the anthemic folk of Unforgettable Days (Kageyama with Lazy), this single is one of the highlights of my April. Rockin’!

Don’t say “lazy”. Sakurakou K-ON BU (K-ON! ED)

It’s good to see Don’t say “lazy” outstripping Cagayake! in the sales stakes – it’s so punchy, in-your-face and full of attitude, something that rarely occurs in the cheese-filled anison world. Even better of course, is Sweet Bitter Beauty Song which has twice as much swagger and agression as Don’t say “lazy” and the only track across the two K-ON! singles where I love the instrumental versions as much as, or probably more, than the vocal version.

Niji. Kobukuro (includes Cross Game OP)

Been so long since I’ve liked a Kobukuro single (since Towa ni Tomo ni/Million Films in 2004 to be exact), I don’t like how they’ve allowed saccharine gloop to overwhelm their folksy roots style in recent years, even if it’s selling them a boatload of records. Niji is reigniting my interest in the duo though, three great tracks on one CD single isn’t something that happens too much these days. Their vocal harmonies are sweet as always and it’s great to see the variety across the songs – the upbeat title track, the latin-tinged Summer Rain (which serves as the Cross Game opening theme) and the pensive Rururu – and I love them all equally.

Mana. Kingetsu Mami

I often make snap decisions to buy albums without really thinking it through. Sometimes I’ve been burned (hello, Ikezawa Haruna), other times I’ve been pleasantly surprised (thank you, Iizuka Mayumi). However, I honestly had no idea what to expect from veteran seiyuu Kingetsu Mami’s 10th studio album. Never having bought any of her past releases, the only thing I went by was a couple of 30-second samples off her site and the fact I knew that she could sing based on previous anime theme songs she’d done. I’m not even interested in her voice acting, or rather I should say I don’t even remember her being in anything particularly remarkable since the turn of the century (referring to Princess Nine and Gasaraki).

So I tried to keep my expectations low for Mana – but I’m pleased to report that the gamble paid off. All 12 songs’ lyrics are penned by Kingetsu herself and written in colllaboration with ’80s singer-songwriter Iwasaki Motoyoshi (who also composed music for Hamtaro & Di Gi Charat). The latter fact comes across pretty evidently in the old-school 90s Jpop ballad feel of the material throughout the album, so if you like Iwao Junko or Kasahara Hiroko you might find Mana a worthy album to add to your collection. A couple of highlights – the classic Mandopop inspired Xing Yue Ye (星月夜) is sweet, lovely and er.. a bit cheesy, Gekka Bijin is a moody ballad being used as the ending theme for the DS Yatsu Hakamura game and feel-good retropop number Go! Baby Go! is a fun track on which Kingetsu and Iwasaki trade vocals. I didn’t waste my ¥3000 after all.
Pick of the disc: Xing Yue Ye

Superluminal Ж AKIBA-POP. MOSAIC.WAV

I swear listening to MOSAIC.WAV kills more brain cells than banging my head repeatedly on my car door frame, but I still can’t stop playing their songs anyway. I mean, what other group would incorporate Bach’s Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring into a bloody cutesy denpa song and name it LOCAL JESUS (though the lyrics are kinda creepy if you’re a believer)? Of course, all the other songs are dripping with silly yuri and otaku overtones, most of which we’ve already heard – the pair of Yuri Seijin Naoko-san themes are still as dumb as I remembered them, Oshiete Oneti’s Ai no Kojin Jugyo is still deliciously full of onee-san love and Panctuary is still bloody annoying. Certainly MOSAIC.WAV are an acquired taste and if you’ve only ever heard their tame anime material, seek Superluminal Ж AKIBA-POP out. It’ll fry your brain.

Free and Dream. Suara (Tears to Tiara OP)

Upbeat singles don’t come too often for Suara so this is a welcome change of pace. At first I wasn’t really loving Free and Dream, but it’s grown on me a lot now. And Asu e -Sorairo no Tegami- is totally <3 It reminds me a lot of some of the songs from Amaneuta, which I love to bits.

Miracle Fly. Kuribayashi Minami (Sorakake OP2)

Anything that follows the abomination that is AliPro’s retarded first opening is gonna sound godly in comparison, but Miracle Fly is actually very nice… maybe not near the top class Kurinoko stuff like Hoshizora no Waltz or Crystal Energy, but still good. And the quite awesome Little Promise also serves to sweeten the deal.

Get the door. Ohashi Rie (Queen’s Blade OP)

I find it hard to associate this song with inflatable water balloons. It probably doesn’t deserve as much, it’s epic and has strings and a nice tune! But too bad it loses in epicness to the ending theme…

So-so stack
KARMA. KOKIA (Phantom OP)

Back to the trademark new world sound for KOKIA after her subdued double album barrage last month. KARMA is er… a little too theatrical for me while Insonnia is… too slow. I guess I’m still stuck on the AKIKO∞KOKIA stuff, this single is just merely OK for me. I’ll probably grow to like it more a few months down the line.

White Album Character Songs 1 & 2. Hirano Aya/Mizuki Nana

Not a bad set of tunes from both, the Ogata Rina one slightly shades it for me ‘cos of Garasu no Hana… and cos it’s Mizuki Nana of course. Hirano’s Tsuiteru ne Notteru ne is irritatingly addictive, though she’s adopting a really strange nasal pitch on it for some reason.

Future Stream. Sphere (Hatsukoi Limited OP)

Have you ever heard a seiyuu idol group that can actually sing together decently? No? Well, you aren’t going to find it here either. Sphere takes Music Ray’n’s four individually talented (to a certain extent) girls and makes them warble along to what is essentially a gay Eurobeat tune circa 93, adding a painfully spastic (lol, not Perfume!) PV to intensify the torture. Having said that, the masochistic me enjoys anything with Tomatsu Haruka in it, even if her singing borders on atrocious – loving Kotobuki Minako though, who is rightly described by the rest of Sphere as the best singer in the group.

Day by Day/Shining Rain. Imai Asami (Kemeko DX! game ED theme)

Guess it’s pretty strange to be a Mingos fan and not into iDOLM@STER a single bit. She’s built up quite a strong fanbase just based on the game alone – look at her credits, you won’t find a single decent anime role there. Mingos possesses a decent set of pipes, but the songs here are not totally tailor-made for her – Day by Day is an excruciating example of how uncute voices should not be made to sing cutesy tunes, and although she does a decent job on Shining Rain I can’t say I particularly like the song that much either. For a first single it’s not too bad though, and it did manage to sell a decent amount of copies that should ensure I get the opportunity to support more of her musical ventures in the future.

Glossy: MMM. Hashimoto Miyuki (Saki OP)

Eh. There’s not much I can say about this except that it’s just another regulation Hashimoto Miyuki song, not mindblowing but not terrible either. I’m not really fond of the stuff she doesn’t write herself (Glossy is written by Hata Aki).

Toradora! Character Song Album. Various

The quality of the songs is pretty patchy, but there are a couple of tracks I really loved:

Hatsukoi limited. marble (Hatsukoi limited. ED)

I’ve never really been into marble in the past, no real reason beyond the fact that there are maybe half a dozen Jpop groups doing the same sort of music, better (IMHO). I didn’t like Hatsukoi limited. from the moment I heard it on the show, but I love Sora ni mau though, very nice and soothing.

The fine every day. Kicco (TAYUTAMA OP)

I much prefer the song Kicco did for the Tayutama game instead (Shunkan Spline) – that was awesome but The fine every day is a little generic and boring. Again the c/w song here is much stronger than the A-side, though it has one of the more bizarre titles I’ve heard – Jounetsu no Wobble? wtf.

Parallel Hearts. FictionJunction (Parallel Hearts OP)

ParaHearts is one of the FJ project’s weakest songs in recent memory, there’s not much about the melody or arrangement that really grabs me. And what do you know, it’s another single saved by a strong B-side – FJ YUUKA’s gentle Hitomi no Chikara is oh so lovely… almost as good as ummm… Angel Gate. That’s the first song that came to mind when I heard this.

Shitpile
Set me free/Sing a song!. Hirano Aya
I wasn’t getting good vibes from either song when I previewed the PVs on her site a few weeks back and my negative opinions stand. Shouty yet bland, the only plus point is that neither is quite as bad as the nightmare that was Namidax3.

Cagayake! GIRLS. Sakurakou K-ON BU (K-ON! OP)
The biggest problem with both songs on Cagayake is that Toyosaki Aki is at the mic. The second biggest problem is that neither song is remotely likeable. Well, at least the good stuff was saved for Hikasa Yoko…

Shuketsu no Sono e. Hayashibara Megumi (CR Evangelion Image Song)
Nope, Megu’s music still ain’t doing anything for me. Boring as hell.

Omoide to Yakusoku. Kawasumi Ayako, Noto Mamiko & Hirano Aya (Queen’s Blade ED)
No it’s not a continued Hirano bias, in fact she’s the best thing about this…. piece of shit. Already doomed from the word go by the choice of singers alone, not helped by a stinkingly bad song.

phosphorus. eufonius (Polyphonica Crimson S OP)
Churning out singles at the rate eufonius do is obviously gonna affect the quality of the songs and just a mere month after the high of Kono Koe ga Todoitara comes this duffer of a single. Sleep-inducing, insomnia-curing etc.

Marionette. Sakakibara Yui (Pygmalion theme)
All I can say for Marionette is… WTF. Song sucks, PV sucks, headache. And she’s singing through her nose on the c/w song. Do not want.

Blue sky, True sky. Yuuki Aira (Tears to Tiara ED)
Boring x365