S/mileage- Wait no, ANGERME's 'Taiki Bansei / Otome no Gyakushuu' Single Review!
I am back with another review! It is actually my second review for this year, oh wow. It's been quite some time since I last review something. My first review of the year was on 4TE's debut single. This time, I shall review S/mileage- Err, I mean ANGERME's new single, 'Taiki Bansei / Otome no Gyakushuu.'
It's been quite some time since I last reviewed something from S/mileage- Err, ANGERME. Yea, I'm still not used to referring to them as that yet. This is their first single under the new group name. Also, this is the debut single for their 3rd generation members. I have to say, I have very mixed feelings about this new single. While the single was seemingly good and showed a different side to the group, I was still slightly disappointed in some stuff.
Also, this is quite random but I just want to point out that ANGERME have new member colors now. I feel like an idiot since I just realized this just now. The new member colors are; Ayaka → Red; Kanon → Dark Pink; Kana → Light Pink; Akari → Blue; Rina → Orange; Meimi → Purple; Mizuki → Light Blue; Mahou → Green; and Rikako → Yellow. How is it that I just realize this now? I'm an idiot. Anyways, on with the single review! ☆
*The single isn't released until February 4th, 2015. However, it's another usual double A-side single with no B-sides. So I'm just gonna post my review on it now. I might as well do it now than never~
When I first listened to 'Taiki Bansei', I thought it was pretty good song. I listened to a concert rip of it and everyone sounded great. I was so excited about this song. However, when the actual music video came out on Hello! Station, I ended being disappointed? The song wasn't that great and the music video didn't quite appeal to me either. It took me awhile to get myself to like the song again. It grew onto me; however, I still don't necessarily love-love it.
So let's start talking about the music video first. When the music video starts out, for the first twenty seconds, I thought that it was going to be a throwback to 'Egao Yes Nude'. Both of the settings look quite similar and both were shot in a gray-ish color. However, after twenty seconds was done, I was greeted with a large splash of color and squeaky high voices... Oh god.
For Hello! Project standards, it's a pretty decent music video. I like the setting- the stage was very bright. There was a lot of bright lights. It was very vibrant. I also really liked the background for the close-up. I'm a sucker for all things colorful. The close-up shots really stood out to me, in a good way. It was a pretty decent music video. It's not my personal favorite. It could've been better. It had potential to be a better music video. I wonder what the real music video for it looks like though. I'm quite curious about that.
I think one thing about the new S/mileage- err, ANGERME- is that the dances are actually getting better. I really the choreography for the song! The girls are slowly becoming better dancers. And since the group now has nine members, maybe they can try doing some formation dances?~ The dance really suit the song so well. I also love how they did like trio dances (I'm going to call it that) between the verses. The dance is not too difficult and easy to remember~
I have very mixed feelings about the outfits though. Some outfits suits the girls while the other are just plain horrific. I love Ayaka's outfits, she looks very classy. I also think that Rina and Kana's outfits also suit them very nicely. And I think that Mahou looks absolutely lovely. I love Akari's outfit! It's very boyish and quite casual~ That's the type of outfit I usually wear~ It really suits Akari very well! I think that Ayaka, Akari, and Mahou really stood out to me!
However.. For Rikako, Kanon, and Muro-tan- while their outfits were okay, they didn't really suit them. Rikako did stand out in her own unique way. She was in the center most of the time when it came to the dance and she had a lot of screen time. I was just a bit surprised that she didn't get any solo lines in the songs. And then there was Meimi- Oh my god, girl. What the heck happened to your hair? What happened to your beautiful long hair? What the- What the heck happened to your outfit? If I could, I'd fire Meimi's stylist for this music video.
Well, enough about music video- let's move onto the song! Again, as said before, I liked it when I first heard a concert rip of it. However, I was quite disappointed when I actually heard the full studio version. In my opinion, they just sounded a little bit weaker and squeakier compared to the live performance. Also, there wasn't a lot of solo lines in this song. I was quite surprised about that. If I'm correct, only Ayaka and Muro-tan received solo lines. I was expecting others like Meimi or Kanon to also receive solo lines.
The song has a bit of fast-paced. It's a very funky song that will make you dance. It's a very fun song, in my opinion. It's extremely up-beat and quite catchy at the same time. It will be stuck in your head for a few days. Nowadays, I find myself humming the lyrics every now and then unconsciously. This is a bit different from what I usually hear from the group. And they pulled it off very well. I was impressed. Honestly, funky-sounding songs aren't necessarily my cup of tea. But now, I like this song. It's pretty good.
I remember reading from somewhere that 'Taiki Bansei' was like a better remastered version of 'The Matenrou Show'. Hmm... I guess I kinda do agree with that. Both songs does have a funky sound to it. However, 'The Matenrou Show' sounds weaker compared to 'Taiki Bansei'. Also, I just want to point out that this song was not written by Tsunku at all. Ermahgawd. This was actually a song by Nakajima Takui- and he did a pretty fantastic job! Bravo bravo~
And now, we go onto the next song which is everyone's favorite -and my favorite too- which is 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' It literally translates to "A Girl's Counterattack." When I first listened to a concert rip of this song, I was immediately drawn to it. I really liked the song! This was completely different from what I heard from the group. Even when the full studio version came out, I was still in love with this song. Currently, it's my favorite song.
Let's start talking about the music video for the song first. Right from the get-go, I recognized the setting to be similar to the setting from Houkago Princess' 'Manatsu no Yoru no Yume.' As you may or may not know, I am actually a fan of Houkago Princess. Anyways, we'll talk about them later. We're focusing on ANGERME, here. The music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu' was quite similar to 'Manatsu no Yoru no Yume' in terms of the setting and some of the trio close-ups/shots. That's all the two music videos had in common mostly. Obviously. ANGERME had the better quality video.
I can tell that they put all the money onto this music video. And you know what? I'm glad they did. For Hello! Project standards, this is actually a very good music video. It's pretty good, I was really impressed. The video gave off a very mysterious yet eerie feeling to it. It also has a bit of a vintage look to it, in the beginning. The usage of purple actually helps enhance that mysterious-cool feeling to the music video as well... well in my opinion, of course. Honestly, this may be one of S/mileage- err, ANGERME's better music videos.
In this music video, the dance wasn't quite as fast paced. However, it did really suit the song very well. It was very simple dance, in my opinion. It's quite easy to remember. Slowly, the group is starting to have better choreography and are becoming better dancers. Although, one thing I'm quite iffy about was Mahou's ballet solo during the music break near the end. It really felt a bit out of place. However, Mahou did look very pretty... So, I guess I'll tolerate it?
The outfits were simple and white. However, they were still very pretty and I think that the outfits suit all the girls very nicely. And thank god, Meimi's hair isn't a complete horrific mess in this music video. However, Rikako... that short hairstyle isn't really doing you much justice here compared to 'Taiki Bansei.' To me, the white dresses kinda gave up a mix of modern yet vintage. I remember seeing a little bit of lace patterns here and there. They reminded me of porcelain dolls. And porcelain dolls in a way give off a very vintage yet mysterious feel to them.
For this music video- I think that Akari, Mahou, and Ayaka really stood out to me. Those three really stood out to me visually in this single. Akari was Akari- She looked really pretty. Mahou was just lovely, very lovely. And Ayaka is so pretty, so beautiful. (I wish I was beautiful like her, haha. /whacked;) Don't misunderstand, I think all the girls look extremely pretty in the music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' I commend all the stylists for this music video~
Now, enough about the music video, let's start talking about the song. Oh my god, if only this song was released near Halloween five months ago. This would've been a perfect idol Halloween song. The minute I listened to this song, I just fell in love. This is just extremely different from what I hear from the group and they pulled off this cool yet eerie sound so well. Bravo, bravo~
As said before, this would've been a perfect idol Halloween song. Guys, remind me to put this on my 2015 Halloween Playlist. Even though the song was released in winter, it definitely has a Halloween feel to it. It's very mysterious and eerie- it just draws you in. Honestly, now that I think about, I think I know why they added in the random ballet dance. It's because - you know how in horror/mystery movies - there's that part where eerie 'seemingly innocent' classical or other vintage music starts playing before the scary part comes and everyone dies. Now I understand the significance. I just had a breakthrough.
Finally, they start bringing in the solo lines for this song. I was quite surprised that Rikako didn't get any solo lines? She was very popular among the Kenshuusei and I thought that she would get a huge push in the group. It turns out that she didn't really get that big of push. Muro-tan kinda did though. Anyways, everyone sounded great in this song. They're finally utilizing Kana's deep voice! She sounded great. I love her somewhat solo-duet line with Meimi. Meimi sounded fantastic, as always. Although, Ayaka sounded a bit weak.
I also wanted to point out again that this song wasn't written nor composed by Tsunku at all. I think the writer and composer did an amazing job on 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' In the future, it would be really nice to hear other songs that are not written by Tsunku. He can just relax and recover. The girls will do just fine for now. I have faith in them. Now, I'm actually looking forward to hearing more new sounds from ANGERME. They're off to a pretty good start!
Well, that's all for my very random single review on ANGERME's new single. It's not the best, I know. I'm trying to get back into the habit of creating more reviews more often now. It's pretty decent single, maybe I'll buy it if I have time. I kinda want to see the real music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' It'll probably be really cool and eerie?~ Until my next post, jyaa ne~
MUSIC; 乙女の逆襲 / アンジュルム
MOOD; Satisfied. I actually finished a review! ヾ（*⌒ヮ⌒*）ゞ
(｀・ω・)メ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝*;’*';☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
It's been quite some time since I last reviewed something from S/mileage- Err, ANGERME. Yea, I'm still not used to referring to them as that yet. This is their first single under the new group name. Also, this is the debut single for their 3rd generation members. I have to say, I have very mixed feelings about this new single. While the single was seemingly good and showed a different side to the group, I was still slightly disappointed in some stuff.
Also, this is quite random but I just want to point out that ANGERME have new member colors now. I feel like an idiot since I just realized this just now. The new member colors are; Ayaka → Red; Kanon → Dark Pink; Kana → Light Pink; Akari → Blue; Rina → Orange; Meimi → Purple; Mizuki → Light Blue; Mahou → Green; and Rikako → Yellow. How is it that I just realize this now? I'm an idiot. Anyways, on with the single review! ☆
*The single isn't released until February 4th, 2015. However, it's another usual double A-side single with no B-sides. So I'm just gonna post my review on it now. I might as well do it now than never~
- - 01. 大器晩成 - -
When I first listened to 'Taiki Bansei', I thought it was pretty good song. I listened to a concert rip of it and everyone sounded great. I was so excited about this song. However, when the actual music video came out on Hello! Station, I ended being disappointed? The song wasn't that great and the music video didn't quite appeal to me either. It took me awhile to get myself to like the song again. It grew onto me; however, I still don't necessarily love-love it.
So let's start talking about the music video first. When the music video starts out, for the first twenty seconds, I thought that it was going to be a throwback to 'Egao Yes Nude'. Both of the settings look quite similar and both were shot in a gray-ish color. However, after twenty seconds was done, I was greeted with a large splash of color and squeaky high voices... Oh god.
For Hello! Project standards, it's a pretty decent music video. I like the setting- the stage was very bright. There was a lot of bright lights. It was very vibrant. I also really liked the background for the close-up. I'm a sucker for all things colorful. The close-up shots really stood out to me, in a good way. It was a pretty decent music video. It's not my personal favorite. It could've been better. It had potential to be a better music video. I wonder what the real music video for it looks like though. I'm quite curious about that.
I think one thing about the new S/mileage- err, ANGERME- is that the dances are actually getting better. I really the choreography for the song! The girls are slowly becoming better dancers. And since the group now has nine members, maybe they can try doing some formation dances?~ The dance really suit the song so well. I also love how they did like trio dances (I'm going to call it that) between the verses. The dance is not too difficult and easy to remember~
I have very mixed feelings about the outfits though. Some outfits suits the girls while the other are just plain horrific. I love Ayaka's outfits, she looks very classy. I also think that Rina and Kana's outfits also suit them very nicely. And I think that Mahou looks absolutely lovely. I love Akari's outfit! It's very boyish and quite casual~ That's the type of outfit I usually wear~ It really suits Akari very well! I think that Ayaka, Akari, and Mahou really stood out to me!
However.. For Rikako, Kanon, and Muro-tan- while their outfits were okay, they didn't really suit them. Rikako did stand out in her own unique way. She was in the center most of the time when it came to the dance and she had a lot of screen time. I was just a bit surprised that she didn't get any solo lines in the songs. And then there was Meimi- Oh my god, girl. What the heck happened to your hair? What happened to your beautiful long hair? What the- What the heck happened to your outfit? If I could, I'd fire Meimi's stylist for this music video.
Well, enough about music video- let's move onto the song! Again, as said before, I liked it when I first heard a concert rip of it. However, I was quite disappointed when I actually heard the full studio version. In my opinion, they just sounded a little bit weaker and squeakier compared to the live performance. Also, there wasn't a lot of solo lines in this song. I was quite surprised about that. If I'm correct, only Ayaka and Muro-tan received solo lines. I was expecting others like Meimi or Kanon to also receive solo lines.
The song has a bit of fast-paced. It's a very funky song that will make you dance. It's a very fun song, in my opinion. It's extremely up-beat and quite catchy at the same time. It will be stuck in your head for a few days. Nowadays, I find myself humming the lyrics every now and then unconsciously. This is a bit different from what I usually hear from the group. And they pulled it off very well. I was impressed. Honestly, funky-sounding songs aren't necessarily my cup of tea. But now, I like this song. It's pretty good.
I remember reading from somewhere that 'Taiki Bansei' was like a better remastered version of 'The Matenrou Show'. Hmm... I guess I kinda do agree with that. Both songs does have a funky sound to it. However, 'The Matenrou Show' sounds weaker compared to 'Taiki Bansei'. Also, I just want to point out that this song was not written by Tsunku at all. Ermahgawd. This was actually a song by Nakajima Takui- and he did a pretty fantastic job! Bravo bravo~
- - 02. 乙女の逆襲 - -
And now, we go onto the next song which is everyone's favorite -and my favorite too- which is 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' It literally translates to "A Girl's Counterattack." When I first listened to a concert rip of this song, I was immediately drawn to it. I really liked the song! This was completely different from what I heard from the group. Even when the full studio version came out, I was still in love with this song. Currently, it's my favorite song.
Let's start talking about the music video for the song first. Right from the get-go, I recognized the setting to be similar to the setting from Houkago Princess' 'Manatsu no Yoru no Yume.' As you may or may not know, I am actually a fan of Houkago Princess. Anyways, we'll talk about them later. We're focusing on ANGERME, here. The music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu' was quite similar to 'Manatsu no Yoru no Yume' in terms of the setting and some of the trio close-ups/shots. That's all the two music videos had in common mostly. Obviously. ANGERME had the better quality video.
I can tell that they put all the money onto this music video. And you know what? I'm glad they did. For Hello! Project standards, this is actually a very good music video. It's pretty good, I was really impressed. The video gave off a very mysterious yet eerie feeling to it. It also has a bit of a vintage look to it, in the beginning. The usage of purple actually helps enhance that mysterious-cool feeling to the music video as well... well in my opinion, of course. Honestly, this may be one of S/mileage- err, ANGERME's better music videos.
In this music video, the dance wasn't quite as fast paced. However, it did really suit the song very well. It was very simple dance, in my opinion. It's quite easy to remember. Slowly, the group is starting to have better choreography and are becoming better dancers. Although, one thing I'm quite iffy about was Mahou's ballet solo during the music break near the end. It really felt a bit out of place. However, Mahou did look very pretty... So, I guess I'll tolerate it?
The outfits were simple and white. However, they were still very pretty and I think that the outfits suit all the girls very nicely. And thank god, Meimi's hair isn't a complete horrific mess in this music video. However, Rikako... that short hairstyle isn't really doing you much justice here compared to 'Taiki Bansei.' To me, the white dresses kinda gave up a mix of modern yet vintage. I remember seeing a little bit of lace patterns here and there. They reminded me of porcelain dolls. And porcelain dolls in a way give off a very vintage yet mysterious feel to them.
For this music video- I think that Akari, Mahou, and Ayaka really stood out to me. Those three really stood out to me visually in this single. Akari was Akari- She looked really pretty. Mahou was just lovely, very lovely. And Ayaka is so pretty, so beautiful. (I wish I was beautiful like her, haha. /whacked;) Don't misunderstand, I think all the girls look extremely pretty in the music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' I commend all the stylists for this music video~
Now, enough about the music video, let's start talking about the song. Oh my god, if only this song was released near Halloween five months ago. This would've been a perfect idol Halloween song. The minute I listened to this song, I just fell in love. This is just extremely different from what I hear from the group and they pulled off this cool yet eerie sound so well. Bravo, bravo~
As said before, this would've been a perfect idol Halloween song. Guys, remind me to put this on my 2015 Halloween Playlist. Even though the song was released in winter, it definitely has a Halloween feel to it. It's very mysterious and eerie- it just draws you in. Honestly, now that I think about, I think I know why they added in the random ballet dance. It's because - you know how in horror/mystery movies - there's that part where eerie 'seemingly innocent' classical or other vintage music starts playing before the scary part comes and everyone dies. Now I understand the significance. I just had a breakthrough.
Finally, they start bringing in the solo lines for this song. I was quite surprised that Rikako didn't get any solo lines? She was very popular among the Kenshuusei and I thought that she would get a huge push in the group. It turns out that she didn't really get that big of push. Muro-tan kinda did though. Anyways, everyone sounded great in this song. They're finally utilizing Kana's deep voice! She sounded great. I love her somewhat solo-duet line with Meimi. Meimi sounded fantastic, as always. Although, Ayaka sounded a bit weak.
I also wanted to point out again that this song wasn't written nor composed by Tsunku at all. I think the writer and composer did an amazing job on 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' In the future, it would be really nice to hear other songs that are not written by Tsunku. He can just relax and recover. The girls will do just fine for now. I have faith in them. Now, I'm actually looking forward to hearing more new sounds from ANGERME. They're off to a pretty good start!
(｀・ω・)メ＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝*;’*';☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
Well, that's all for my very random single review on ANGERME's new single. It's not the best, I know. I'm trying to get back into the habit of creating more reviews more often now. It's pretty decent single, maybe I'll buy it if I have time. I kinda want to see the real music video for 'Otome no Gyakushuu.' It'll probably be really cool and eerie?~ Until my next post, jyaa ne~
MUSIC; 乙女の逆襲 / アンジュルム
MOOD; Satisfied. I actually finished a review! ヾ（*⌒ヮ⌒*）ゞ
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