j1m0ne's blog

Been speed listening to way too much stuff. At least my exams are over now so I’ll have more time to go through all this properly.

24-31 January

Singles
Junpaku Sanctuary. Chihara Minori (lyrics)
I like this. It sounds a lot like a typical Jpop dance track, but it’s got a tune that just sticks in my brain. Probably helps that she’s been plugging it to death on her radio show. I’m still not overly fond of her as a seiyuu, her performance as Natsume Aya (Tenjou Tenge) left me scarred for life but her bubbly personality, and her ace singing is slowly winning me over. (We share the same birthday too.)

Fake. Mr.Children
I’ve always thought that ballads are their main strength, but Fake is a good example of Misuchiru rocking out, albeit rather gently.

Moshi toki o toberu nara. Sasuke
Probably destined to be one-hit wonders, this acoustic duo are unlikely to ever hit the heights of Aoi Bench again. A bit of a shame really, as this is a pretty decent single.

Michi. GReeeeN
Seriously, that is a diabolical name for a band. This single is quite catchy even if for the most part they sound like a pale imitation of Ketsumeishi.

Futari de ii janai. Suzuki Masayuki & Shimatani Hitomi
I’m no fan of Shimatani but I quite like this song – a bit of a throwback to 80s/early 90s disco. Catchy stuff.

Tokimeki Memorial Character Single Volume 3 – Yayoi Mina. Fujita Saki
Hmm. The character singles really aren’t as good as the OP/ED singles; and while this is slightly better than Volume 2 (Yoshikawa Yukako), it isn’t particularly memorable.

Sorairo no tsubasa. Shiraishi Ryoko (lyrics)
Npa!! Koncha~su!! If either of those sound familiar, you must be a Shiraishi fan (like me). The lead single Sorairo no tsubasa (Himawari!! OP) is composed and arranged by ex-JUDY AND MARRY bassist Onda Yoshihito, and it shows. Very reminiscent of JAM’s hits, it’s a very happy, cheerful pop song. Hi-Jump!, the ED theme for her radio show on JOQR is another upbeat tune (and features the two salutations as part of the lyrics) and Mafuyu no mangekyou is an r’n'b tune – not something you often hear from anime singers.

Cross*Heart. CooRie
A bit of a disappointment. Cross*Heart is flat and lifeless, like much of the recent material rino’s put out under the CooRie name. Will she ever make songs as good as Sonzai and Taisetsu na negai again?

Sketch Switch. Asumi Kana, Mizuhashi Kaori, Shintani Ryoko & Goto Yuko
I was hoping for something as catchy as the Ichigo Mashimaro song, but alas this just doesn’t do much for me. Newcomer Asumi Kana’s singing also leaves a lot to be desired.

Fate/Stay night Character Song II – Tohsaka Rin. Ueda Kana
Quick, grab me a barf bag. What in the name of Archer is this? I certainly wasn’t expecting a happy, chirpy song from the Fate/Stay night series. Avoid like the plague.

Kaidoku Funou. Jinn
Get your earplugs ready. Kaidoku Funou is so rubbish I’m at a loss to find words to describe listening to it….I’ll borrow Andy Roddick’s assessment of his hammering by Fed-ex. “It was frustrating. It was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible.”

HONEY BEAT/Boku to Bokura no Ashita. V6
I have a soft spot for V6 (and Okada Junichi). HONEY BEAT is another one of their happy, cheesy tunes; though perhaps a little less gooey than the last single Good Day!! whilst Boku to Bokura no Ashita is a mellow mid-tempo ballad. Nice if you’re into typical boy-band stuff.

Kumo ni notte. U-KA Saegusa IN db
The rap bits threw me off for a bit, but it’s actually a fairly catchy song and I caught myself humming the tune for a while afterwards.

Tooi nioi. YO-KING
Often overshadowed by his more famous wife YUKI (of JUDY AND MARY fame), YO-KING who is also the vocalist in pop group Magokoro Brothers makes great rock ‘n’ roll music similar in style to Okuda Tamio. Tooi nioi is the current OP theme for Gintama, and is probably my favourite song from the show so far.

Remote Viewing. Okui Masami
I used to be a massive fan, but her output of late has been pretty sub-par. Remote Viewing is meandering and tuneless, the c/w song Haitoku no Kiss would’ve been better off as the single actually.

Oh My Juliet.. LM.C
I’m sorely tempted to use all sorts of lame puns to describe this, but I’ll just leave it at ‘this is utter bollocks’. Oh well, I already knew what to expect after skipping every single Red Garden ED sequence since my ears were assault by Rock The LM.C back in episode 1. Oh, and just how good was episode 16? I’m well hyped up for the rest of the series now.

Kimi ga kureta mono. HOME MADE KAZOKU
I don’t think they’ve made anything else that’s even half as good as Thank You!!. This is one of those horrible rap/ballad hybrids that makes you wanna gouge your eyes out. The C/W song is a bit better except for the (non)chorus.

Albums
Sora. Hirahara Ayaka
I thought her last album 4tsu no L was a step forward from her first two records, testing out different styles and changing her sound. Of course, she hardly sold any records so Sora is a return to her piano-driven, orchestral roots in an attempt to recapture past glories. It only succeeded in making me fall asleep though. Her rich, deep voice is wasted on material as bland as this.

Asatte no Houkou OST. Mitsumune Shinkichi
The last time an anime soundtrack made me feel all warm and fuzzy was probably Someday’s Dreamer (sp?) OST. This might just top Rozen Maiden as my favourite Mitsumune work, there probably won’t be many OSTs as good as this in 2007. If it isn’t on my top 10 anime-related albums at the end of the year I’ll eat my laptop.

Asatte no Houkou Character Image Album – Shouko-hen. Ito Shizuka & Yuumao (lyrics, #2)
Like the first installment (Karada-hen) the monologues and image songs are styled in the same way; one from the viewpoint of an adult Shouko and the other from Shouko as a child; plus another monologue (presumably) after the events of the anime. I prefer Karada’s album a little more, probably cos the songs are slightly better overall. I think Yuumao’s really good at writing image songs; her lyrics really capture the character’s thoughts and feelings. This time she writes all the music and lyrics (the first volume had Itou Masumi co-writing one of the tracks) and also sings the track a direction of the day after tomorrow. Good stuff.

Saiunkoku Monogatari OST 2. Ryo Kunihiko
OST 1 was rather disappointing, and this one’s not that much better. Did Ryo use the scraps leftover from the Juuni Kokki OST for Saiunkoku? It sure sounds that way. I hope the music for the second season of Emma is better (OT: I can’t wait for this to start, it’s been two years we’ve been left hanging…sob. Though I’ve already read the manga so I’ve been spoiled to death anyway).

Gift~eternal rainbow~ OST. Nanase Hikaru
I wasn’t really into Nanase/Itou/whatever until her work on Zettai Shonen, and even now her work can veer between the brilliant (Noein, D.C.S.S, Nishi no yoki majo) and the banal (Tactical Roar, Kagihime, Gunparade Orchestra). This is somewhere in between that; not dreadful but not particularly awe-inspiring either. It has ‘Anime OST’ written all over it.

Hatsuyuki. SNoW
A very strong, confident debut album even if there’s only something like 3 new songs on it. One of them, sign is a particular favourite – a nice, upbeat acoustic pop tune driven by a strong piano riff. Elsewhere there’s plenty of familiar tunes; the two singles from Jigoku Shoujo, Hanabi made Ato Sukoshi de, On&on and Yes.

HEART. Yuna Ito
….I guess I was never into r’n'b that much. The fact that this is outselling Suga Shikao’s Best of and Chage & Aska’s new album is dispiriting. Oh well, Sony promoted the hell out of it so she’d probably be dumped on a scrap heap if this didn’t do well. There’s a few adjectives I could use to describe HEART – dull, drab, boring, bland, insipid, flat, dire, vapid, abominable etc etc. I could’ve used the hour I wasted listening to this doing something more interesting, like playing tiddly-winks.

DOUBLE. Chage & Aska
Their fanbase have probably forgotten them, or in more likeliness; have turned to playing chess or walking their dogs around the park as their main activity. Or maybe listening to classical music cos it’s easier on the ears. Hence no-one buying their records anymore. I guess I just shouldn’t have listened to this after the Yuna Ito rubbish cos I’m feeling a tad grumpy now. To be fair this is a likeable album, I’m sure my mum (who likes Hikawa Kiyoshi) wouldn’t have any complaints if I stuck it on in the car stereo. But listen to Southern All Stars’ last album Killer Street and then compare it to DOUBLE and you can understand why SAS have managed to maintain their success and Chage & Aska not.

M. Tomita Maho
Listening to this had me scratching my head. I had her pinned down as a bit like Shintani Ryoko (catchy pop-rock) but M is all over the shop stylistically. Songs like NO WAY (sounds more like something Amuro Namie would do) and Miss You Night (a bit disco) sound completely out of place next to stuff as cheery as MA.MO.RU! and Hare nochi hare!. A rather bizzare listening experience.

ALL SINGLES BEST. Suga Shikao
Singles have always been his strength, and this collects the best of them. New song Shunkashuutou is good too.

LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL. GLAY
Rubbish. Next!

Σ. eufonius
Another mini-album after last year’s Subarashii Sekai. Unfortunately Σ (sigma) isn’t as good as that; the first few tracks are forgettable though it does end on a strong note with two of their best songs to date – delete and Narcissus.

That’s The Way It Is. LOW IQ 01
I guess I was secretly hoping this would be bad so I could make up all sorts of lame low IQ jokes about it. (Un)fortunately, it’s rather ace so I’ll shut up. Get this if you like stuff like Husking Bee, BEAT CRUSADERS and ASPARAGUS.

Someone please, please get out Minagawa Junko’s Shout it out. I’ll worship you forever if you do.