TWIJ…#19
09 May 2007
Interesting stuff out this week. In some Oricon chart news, Horie Yui’s Days/Say Cheese! debuted at No.8 with 16,255 copies sold. It’s a looooong way off her last single Hikari (from Inukami!) that debuted at No.4 with 28,000 copies sold in the first week around a year ago.
SECRET AMBITION is now Mizuki Nana’s biggest selling single, chalking up another 6,151 copies sold and dropping 1 spot to No.21 - now 53,821 sold in total. It’s her first past the 50k mark too.
Singles
Hoshizora no Spica. Tamura Yukari
I still have issues with the bridge part before the chorus (the bit that goes Mayonaka no taiyou, manatsu no Orion) where the lyrics just don’t seem to fit with the melody. It’s still a good song regardless. I guess it would be silly to have a 19-year old Nanoha singing songs like Little Wish… the C/W songs are hit (Melody) and miss (Sensitive Venus). Judging by first day sales, Hoshizora no Spica looks on course to be Yukarin’s biggest-selling Nanoha related single - don’t think it’ll top Douwa Meikyuu’s overall sales figures though.
First day Oricon chart placing: No.8
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Blood Queen. Misato Aki
This is probably the best thing about the anime it’s from (Princess Resurrection/Kaibutsu Oujo). Misato isn’t particularly well known - she’s one of oh so many cookie-cutter anisong singers that relies on good tieups and songwriters to sell a few thousand copies. Hata Aki and Kurosu Katsuhiko are on hand for the excellent BLOOD QUEEN and the not-so-excellent Boukyaku Butterfly.
First day Oricon chart placing: No.36
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Hotaru/RUN. Remioromen
Oh dear. I was hoping for something more upbeat/anthemic like Minami Kaze or Akashia but instead we get yet another limp ballad and a tuneless mid-tempo rock song. Couldn’t they have made Shiawase no Katachi the lead track instead? That’s by far the best song on this single. C’mon guys, you can do better than this.
Watch: Hotaru PV RUN PV
First day Oricon chart placing: No.4
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Shiori. Aqua Timez
I already know I hate their next release (Alones, the new Bleach OP theme) but at least we get this cracking single first. Aqua Timez are definitely best and catchiest out of all those Ketsumeishi/Def Tech soundalikes out there.
Watch: Shiori PV
First day Oricon chart placing: No.5
Rating: ★★★★☆
Eien no tsubasa. B’z
The theme for the upcoming war movie Ore wa, kimi no tame ni koso shini ni iku (For Those We Love is the official English title), this is B’z 43rd single and their first decent ballad for ages. Their music gets blander and more generic by the release but they’re still big after nearly 20 years in the business, which is no mean feat. Inaba Koshi’s still hot though ^^
Watch: Eien no tsubasa PV
First day Oricon chart placing: No.1
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Yume no tsuzuki e. surface
surface are essentially a younger version of B’z…. in sound anyway. They’ve not had much success of late, with their last top 20 single (Sono saki ni aru mono) being more than 6 years ago now. Guess the D.Gray-man tieup is giving them a hand here - this is a fine single and IMHO is better than the B’z one. The only problem is of course, that they’re called surface and not B’z.
First day Oricon chart placing: No.17
Rating: ★★★★☆
gravitation. angela
It’s been more than a year since they released anything, probably due to Atsuko’s illness. This is their third single for a Xebec show (after Stellvia and Fafner) and I’m very pleased that it’s made a good debut in the daily charts especially in such a tough week. gravitation is typical of their style, but there’s no other group around that sounds quite like angela. Fans will be delighted with this single - 3 great new tracks + instrumentals. The cover is horrible though, I’d be embarassed to buy it in a shop ^^;
First day Oricon chart placing: No.15
Rating: ★★★★☆
Akai Namida. Kawada Mami
Akai Namida started out really slow and I thought Oh noes, this is going to be boring! Thankfully a few beats kicked in halfway through and saved me from boredom. Beehive is better, but neither song is as good as the wonderful Hishoku no Sora.
First day Oricon chart placing: No.24
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Kizuna (feat. MEGARYU). PANG
PANG is a rather hardcore looking (after she chopped off her dreadlocks) female reggae singer signed to cutting edge, a subsidiary of avex that handles a pretty eclectic bunch of artists from Fantastic Plastic Machine to Olivia to Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. MEGARYU is also on the same label, and a frequent collaborator of PANG’s. This is a nice breezy, summery single but truth be told the weather where I am at the moment is so dreary that listening to this makes me feel a bit annoyed.
First day Oricon chart placing: outside top 30
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Koi no uta. Maeda Nobuteru
The TUBE frontman’s first solo single in 5 years and it’s a sappy ballad. Cheesy as they may be, I really do prefer his band’s summer-themed offerings. And hey, summer’s just round the corner….
First day Oricon chart placing: No.13
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Giniro no Sora. redballoon
I was happy when they got signed up by a major label (Sony Music), though I wonder if they can sell any records without the help of Gintama. Listening to Giniro no Sora conjures up (happy) memories of Gintoki and his bankai ^^; The c/w songs are all pretty good too - definitely my favourite single this week.
Watch: Giniro no Sora PV
First day Oricon chart placing: No.11
Rating: ★★★★☆
Happy My Life~Thank you for everything!!~. yozuca*
Happy my life!! is just…..
. Thankfully the catchiness of believe yourself more than makes up for it.
First day Oricon chart placing: No.29
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Kimi ni sachiare. Nakamura Ruria
I don’t know a whole lot about her except that she’s 16-year old actress who played Sailor Saturn in SailorMyu a couple of years ago. Gave this a spin as there’s no albums I’m interested in this week, and as expected it’s harmless pop fluff a-la Ueto Aya and her ilk.
First day Oricon chart placing: Outside top 30
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Still looking for:
-Hikawa Kiyoshi. Where are all you enka lovers???…. I’m not a huge fan (seriously), but I do like the odd Hikawa and Hosokawa Takashi song now and again. Must be my mum’s influence, lol. Would people like Mizuki Nana as much if she’d pursued her dream of being an enka singer?
-Tsubakiya Shijuusou
-THE INAZUMA SENTAI
-Moriyama Naotaro
-Minagawa Junko’s Vitamin J album is out 10th May.
-Lambsey, but I don’t expect to find it. Still searching for their debut album after nearly a year, and may eventually buy it….. if it wasn’t so friggin’ expensive. Found it! Oh my joy knows no bounds….
Didn’t care for:
-Abe Natsumi
-lisa
-Muramasa
-Ore Ska Band
-Mr.Children’s B-sides collection. I already find their album tracks pretty unbearable…
-GOLBETTY
Next week:
New singles from EXILE, abingdon boys school, savage genius, DOES, Base Ball Bear & Kuribayashi Minami plus albums from 100s and Kuwata Keisuke.