Lately I’ve been indulging in personal bouts of music nostalgia.

Since 2007, when Johnny’s made a permanent mark upon my listening spectrum, I’ve been wrapped up in boybands. If it isn’t catching up with the current releases of Johnny’s, or delving into their storied past, or trying – however grudgingly – to give other boybands a chance… well there hasn’t much of an alternative, actually. Sure, Inoue Joe has made his mark, Miura Daichi is always gold, and I made the perfunctory effort to keep up with other groups I’ve enjoyed in the past, such as AAA (oh, how low I’ve fallen), Micro, or Tamaki Nami. But other than Joe and Daichi, the one constant in my listening habits was a Johnny’s production. Whether this was Arashi, V6, or Domoto Koichi has fluctuated depending on who has had the latest release. This, of course, means it was usually Arashi.

All of this changed about three weeks back after I attended the AKB48 concert, though.

Caught up in the enthusiasm of the wota, I gave the 63 and then some girls more of a listen. Foolishly, I did not follow my own self-laid steps for joining a fandom with this endeavor… or perhaps not-so-foolishly when you consider that 63 girls is still more than all of the members of the currently active Johnny’s groups (that is, from SMAP on – Shonentai being disregarded for focusing on solo activities of late) combined, including former members such as Mori Katsuyuki, Moriuchi Takahiro, and Kusano Hironori. At any rate, I never got past step 1, because I’m still sort of in the denial stage. Perhaps at some point I’ll get around to watching Mendol so I’ll have fulfilled step 2, but that won’t be for a while.

Because being the easily-distracted person that I am, I was clearing out space on my poor abused laptop to make room for AKB48’s discography and came across concerts that I had downloaded, but never actually finished watching because, well, I’m easily distracted.

The first of these was SOUL’d OUT’s Single Collection at Nihon Budokan. I started watching, trying to comprehend why I wasn’t so engaged by Diggy-MO’ and Bro.Hi performing the songs that I loved. It wasn’t until the fourth song, VOODOO KINGDOM, where the pyrotechnics began that I got starry-eyed, but more to the point, VOODOO KINGDOM was an instant reminder of why I enjoyed both SOUL’d OUT and Diggy-MO’s releases then and now. Now we’re in 2007, folks, with a slight nod to early 2009 for Diggy-MO’s solo album.

Next came I’ve in BUDOKAN 2009.  I never actually got past the first disc – Shimamiya Eiko (always my favorite of the I’ve pantheon of singers) singing Ginga no Ko shot me back to, well, 2006. The ethereality of that song has made it a solid favorite of mine. Which is a shame because since Johnny’s, I’ve kept up with I’ve Sound – pun unintended – but haven’t really listened to anything. To be honest, I’m still not really listening to anything new, since my I’ve love paused at 2006.

This year, besides being Arashi’s 10th anniversary, is also the 10th anniversary of a great many other artists. Let’s go over two of them first – Crystal Kay and Kuraki Mai. First was Crystal Kay, who was suddenly gaining immense popularity in KAT-TUN communities because she performed a duet with Akanishi Jin for her 10th anniversary collection album. She’s actually on here a bit unfairly, because I was drawn back to her music before AKB48 by her single featuring CHEMISTRY’s Kawabata Kaname and I’d been listening to the aforementioned album before the concert. Then Kuraki Mai, who had a 10th anniversary live, and everything I’d figured out about the need for shiny during SOUL’d OUT’s concert flew out the window because I was hooked even though Secret of my heart was just the woman singing on stage. A slow song, nonetheless. We’re now in 2005, for you guys keeping track.

Around this time, because of Crystal Kay’s collaboration song with CHEMISTRY, Two As One, I got a bit nostalgic over some of my favorites from them. These have been few, because CHEMISTRY mostly pulls the slow kind of R&B, but every so often something clicks. FLOATIN’ is one such song, harkening back to the startup days of Tofu Records releasing in the US, and the first several times I bought a Japanese pop album. Though the JPOP CD I heard FLOATIN’ on was released back in 2003, the actual song takes us to 2002, now.

Back on the concert track. Before JPOPSUKI switched trackers, some kind soul uploaded the ISO of dream’s 2001 live. Though I didn’t get into dream until 2003, 3-nin dream is my favorite of the group’s many incarnations. The group just isn’t the same without Matsumuro Mai for me – odd, because when I was first trying to reconcile between 8/7-nin dream and 3-nin dream on the old AnimeLyrics.com forums, I identified Yu and Kana but mistook Mai for Erie, I think. Either way, 3-nin dream, whether because I have a fondness for trios or because the Japanese music of the early 2000s is essentially my starting point, awoke.

Then another 10th anniversary artist, Shimokawa Mikuni. Shimokawa, along with Okui Masami, Ishida Yoko, Takahashi Yoko, and Yonekura Chihiro, is really best known for her anime song – personally, I think she’s up there with the rest of the anison greats, but don’t hold me to that. She’d also released a 10th anniversary album, and while this was a while ago, I gave it a whirl. Big mistake, because she’d sung songs for a lot of shows I watched, and some of her songs are iconic for me. I also had a good amount of Hayashibara Megumi’s discography sitting around somewhere, along with some Okui Masami albums, and Yonekura Chihiro’s stuff was popping up on the new JPOPSUKI tracker. Now I was caught up in the dizzying spiral that is anime music.

And then the thing that clinched the deal – anime music ties in inevitably with Dance Dance Revolution for me. In fact, Dance Dance Revolution marks the beginning of the end of my interest in anime, harkening to my ditching meetings of an anime club I helped found in high school to attend the daily meetings of the Dance Dance Revolution club. Already having dj TAKA and Sota Fujimori’s solo efforts from Bemani on my laptop, and a bunch of BeForU as well, I now compounded it by hunting down a number of DDR soundtracks with the pieces that weren’t on the aforemention albums, and also hunting down SMiLE.dk albums for the full versions of such iconic tracks as Butterfly and Dancing All Alone.

So my music player (currently my poor DS Lite), once taken up completely by Johnny’s tracks, is now slowly returning to a state of… well, I was going to say normality, but that isn’t quite right. For the past two years, Johnny’s had become the norm. Perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a state of balance.

What does that mean for this blog? It found its greatest number of viewers when I was just entering the Johnny’s fandom. But the Johnny’s fandom is also horribly time and energy-consuming. There are endless variety shows, dramas, releases, photoshoots, all needing to be caught up with. It begins to feel like a full-time job in itself. So perhaps this the spark of hope that this blog can become more varied again, that maybe it can actually fulfill the functions of a blog, or just be active. Period. I wouldn’t be too sure, seeing as the 2009-2010 Countdown’s coming up, as is Katori Shingo’s Talk Like Singing, but here’s the hope.

Oh, but if you know anyone who’s willing to pay a person to keep up with Johnny’s, let me know.

Well, not unless you follow me on Twitter, that is.

So for you poor unfortunate souls, here it is: I went to the AKB48 concert at Webster Hall about… 7 hours ago as I type this. (That’s right, it’s midnight and a half.)

I know. I haven’t updated in almost 4 months and this is what I come back with? You are in horror. Kimi, you cry, what is this? Where are the Johnny’s we have come to know you for?

Yeeeeeeeah, about that.

It’s a funny thing, going to a concert when you’re not a fan.

Funnier when fans terrify you. No, really. You deal with Arashi fangirls bordering on obsessive-delusional, and then tack on all the stories of how fanatical wota can be. It’s probably a bad idea to go to the concert knowing only one song.

And the situation becomes funniest when you go with a newly-bought copy of Coming Century’s mini-album Hello-Goodbye in your bag. Huh. Lucky the wota didn’t see that.

But for whatever stupid reason, despite not bringing along a notebook/writing utensil, the blogger in me would not let me go and I ended up jotting the setlist into a text message draft on my cell phone in the midst of what had to have ben at least 60 roaring people. So have a concert report from what is probably an interesting perspective! And then some.

The concert was supposed to start at 5, doors were going to open at 4. I arrived at 2:12-ish and found at least 30 people already crowded around the doors. Of note were a bunch of young-ish Japanese guys right in front, which was surprising to me because I hadn’t expected Japanese people out of nowhere for AKB48, but they became important later for very different reasons.

About half an hour later, I was joined by the two biggest AKB48 fans I know – Umi, perhaps better known as the maintainer of the AKB48 Livejournal community, and Solaire, whom you probably know better as Samantha of Egao YES Idols. How I know them is something not entirely related to this blog or this post, but I also couldn’t have picked two better people to go to the concert with – everything I didn’t know about AKB48, they were more than willing to push upon me. And then some, considering I went karaoke with them the day before when they were cosplaying in K-branded versions of the serafuku from the cover of Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou.

So there I am, with the two wota and their signs. 6 of them, in fact. They were eye-catching enough that 5 individual crews approached them for an interview. I sort of got drawn (awkwardly and unwillingly) into the last two. So if you see a girl going “Uh, I just became a fan because of these two” on any clips of the Webster Hall line – that’s me. And for future reference, if you don’t want to stand out, gaijin wota are probably not the way to go.

While waiting, though, knowing that I only recognized two people out of the 16 present (not that I can still tell you all of who went to New York other than that they were members of Team A, K, and some Research Students) Solaire made sure to impress upon me who Miyazawa Sae was, since I got the honor of holding her sign. So, count with me – Sae, Maeda Atsuko (known to me for that whole “my type is Yunho of DBSK” debacle), and Akimoto Sayaka (you don’t know Umi without knowing Sayaka. Trust me, it’s for your own good). Yep, my chances of surviving the concert were looking great.

Finally, at 4:30-ish they let us in, New York-Tokyo staff gave their guests tickets that went unchecked, we all got a pink glowstick and a red-bordered hankerchief, and then we got to the Grand Ballroom upon which all the Japanese wota mobbed their way to the front. And now that they were standing and near, things became unfortunate. If you read my report on the AAA concert at Otakon in 2007, you know this. I’m short. These guys were all at least a head taller than me, with the tallest one of all (standing directly in between me and the stage) having his streaked blond hair fluffed up to about an inch off his skull.

Why yes, I did have a lot of time to study the back of his head.

So despite being dead center in what was approximately the 3.5th row in the mishmash of people, the stage was not going to be fun to see, for any of the three of us. And this was after I’d switched spots with both Umi and Solaire so they could enjoy the concert more. (Who am I to take away the fun from fans? If I had signboards and you blocked me at an AAA/Arashi/V6 concert, I’m smacking your head down. They were better behaved.)

And then they started jumping, the ground started shaking, and the girl right behind Mr. Too Tall and Jumpy warned us, “They’re going to be jumping throughout the concert.” This did not look good.

So, let’s have a little review. Lesson number one of being a wota: You wait. (Umi and Solaire agree heavily on this. Especially when you try to interrupt wota while they are wota-ing.) Everyone else has to wait, so you wait too.

But rule number one of being a wota when a tiny little Asian girl is behind you: KEEP YOUR ASS THE FUCK DOWN SO SHE CAN SEE OR SHE WILL BE VERY PUBLICLY PISSED AT YOU HOURS LATER. Especially because you’re more likely to get some with the uninterested tiny little Asian girl than with the idols you kind of freaked out by being maybe too enthusiastic. Or if you have to jump, then at least do it to the music and not EVERY SINGLE SECOND.

Thank you, this has been a Public Service Announcement.

But honestly it would have helped all the tinier people to be in front, because I wasn’t the only one. (Solaire’s around my height. The heels she wore did not help.)

The concert started at around 5:30, to the relief of the slowly-beginning-to-riot crowd. First was a cute announcement in Japanese and then English – I’m not entirely sure it wasn’t given by the AKB48 girls themselves – telling us the usual stuff. No recording, no flash pictures, please don’t inconvenience other people (too bad that never happens), etc. And ended with a very very cute “Mou chotto matte kudasai!” – which is why I’m not entirely sure AKB48 was not saying it. But it was so adorable that the crowd made audible their approval despite having to wait longer.

A few minutes later, the opening bits of Aitakatta kicked off, and sixteen girls in uniforms ran out to massive cheering. I’m kind of certain that they were in the Aitakatta uniforms too, but don’t quote me on that. Oh, and remember how I said I only knew one song? This was that song. Is it looking as fun for you as it did for me, yet?

The dread of wota aside, once the music started it was hard not to get caught up in the rush. The girls who were clearly excited to be there, the bass pounding throughout your body, the adrenaline in the air rising, the crowd mobbing forward with a giant approving roar… it is hard to not enjoy a concert where the fans are so clearly in love with the performers – and even then there were some in the audience who were there out of curiosity, but when everyone’s into it, you can’t help but get swept up. Of all the songs they performed, this was definitely the best opener.

Soon after, with a “We are AKB48! Thank you for coming today!” from Acchan, the girls went into Baby! Baby! Baby! – no bikinis, unfortunately for you, but their uniforms started looking a bit disheveled. I don’t study them enough nor do I remember if it had actually been that way during Aitakatta, or if they pulled a string and magically shirt tails came out of skirts and suspenders slid off, but it was kind of amazing.

Following this was Namida SURPRISE, which I only identified because of the sudden Happy Birthday in the chorus. Yeah, that was a surprise the first time I listened to it, alright. Unfortunately, neither song particularly struck nor stuck with me, but the crowd was whooping it up. To be fair, the crowd (and the wota in front) had been whooping it up since Aitakatta, though.

16 people still apparently equals three lines, by the way, but the girls were pretty good about switching it up – people who were obviously not usually lead girls had their turns to come to the front and wave and smile and sing to the fans. So the concert began in three lines and Namida SURPRISE ended in three lines. At this point, Acchan thanked everyone again, as did Takahashi Minami, who surprised me with her lower voice. (Both were in the front line.) It should also be noted at this point that throughout the concert, the girls made a very concious effort to speak entirely in English.

Takamina stumbled and had some interjected help from Sayaka a couple of times – especially when trying to say the word “introductions.” After all, next up were the self-introductions.

I honestly do not remember all of the girls who were there, nor what order they went in, but I can tell you that Team K was generally at the end, Research Students scatted amongst them, and Team A mostly in the front.  I think that’s pretty good considering how I know just about nothing of the group. I’m sure you can find a full list somewhere in some actual AKB48 fan’s report. All self-introductions had the girls’ full names (in the Western order), a “Please call me [nickname]!” line with time for the crowd to yell it back at her, and a little something about her. Sometimes they threw in their ages. All of it was pretty much in English. Acchan and Takamina, in front, were amongst the first four people to introduce themselves. Acchan had to bring up that Oshima Yuko in the row behind gave her cheesecake to eat the night before. (“It was very DERICIOUS!”) In the second row, I remember Fujie Reina making me laugh by commenting on how surprised she was at the size of drinks here, Yuko saying “Please call me Y-U-K-O YUKO!”, Kojima Haruna announcing that she went to the drugstore, and reacting with a little bit of shock at remembering Ono Erena’s name from her role in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. She also stumbled a bit – but instead of having only Sayaka to help her, she lifted up her hand, and started reading from her palm. In the final row were four girls – Sae, someone who I don’t recall, Sayaka, and Satou Amina. Sae made a huge motion of surprise at the portion sizes in America, Sayaka talked the longest (having the best English), and Amina blanked out and just decided to use “dokidoki,” as in “I am very dokidoki!” – leading Sayaka to translate for her “She is very excited!”

There was a bit more talking, where Sayaka roused the crowd, before announcing that the next bunch of songs were going to be unit songs. Sure enough, Acchan kicked it off with Nagisa no CHERRY – and yes, the frilly skirted yellow/blue costumes were there. For what was probably the first time, I found myself entranced by the dancing legs. The short skirts and bare arms did not help.

Next was Bye Bye Bye, again with outfit change –  and not to be confused with any number of songs sharing the same title. As Google would not stop doing to me when I was trying to see if the costumes were the actual ones. Despite having only three members on stage, No Sleeves made sure to dominate. And the Haruna fans to my left were very very happy. (I just realized I watched Haruna in Coin Locker Monogatari and she was somewhere in the background for both Yamatarogari and Mei-chan. Except I wasn’t entirely fond of the former, and she was sort of nonexistent in the latter two anyways.)

Then the girls trooped onstage in the animal costumes for Ame no Doubutsuen. This being my first time – I thought it was adorable. The costumes helped. The (again) mesmerizing legs helped more. This being not Umi and Solaire’s first time, though, they were kind of sick of it.

It got shunted down to four girls again for Nageki no FIGURE, again with a costume change. I was getting used to the costume changes, but what I really needed to get used to was the dancing skin assaulting my eyes. I did like the dance, the robotic movements brought to mind Perfume at first, but bare arms moving sharply through the air are not the best way to help me retain much memory. (And the bliss brought about by Korean fried chicken post-concert didn’t help me much either.)

But no, getting used to the bare skin was neccessary because the last of the unit songs was Blue Rose. When Team K strutted out in the accompanying costumes (jackets already open, skimpy black outfits leaving little to the imagination), Umi let out a shriek and began to stumble, grabbing onto my arm. Well, I guess when you’re that enthusiastic, the song has to be some sort of awesome, right? If it wasn’t, the girls certainly made it so – oozing attitude, sex, and wild rocker headbangs. Or mostly Sayaka did. Replete with stripping off her jacket (to a very excited crowd) – and then sheepishly saying her heel broke after the song. I’d been getting into the spirit of the cheers up to now, but the “HOI HOI HOI”s during the chorus were at their strongest here, from both me and the crowd.

Following a short talk from the Team K girls (again, mostly Sayaka), it was back to the whole group songs, kicking off with Boku no Taiyou. The Team K girls went back to change costumes a bit later because of the talk, so they ended up joining in the song about halfway.

Then with a hearty “1, 2, 3, GO!” off went BINGO! – the English version. While I confess it’s fun to listen to English versions of songs sung by the original artist, it’s usually going to be the Japanese that wins for me. Then came Oogoe DIAMOND in English,  which was again, a curiosity that was a bit jarring for me. I applaud the effort to reach out to a foreign audience, but I like it when they’re not struggling with the language.

It should be noted – Mr. Too Tall and Jumpy went a bit overboard with being Too Tall and Jumpy during one of the English songs. While he was being his tall jumpy self through out the concert (along with the rest of the wota), here he got some of his buddies to lift him up. Into the air. Where he flailed at the girls onstage.

Which is all fine and nice when your feet are firmly on the ground and you’re not blocking – ahem –  a certain tiny little Asian girl from watching. No one behind him was very happy about it, though. The wota in front of me, with his backwards cap and leather jacket and huge lightsticks and freaky metal Kanye sunglasses started leaning back further than before – almost knocking right into me and giving me more than a deep breath of the fumes from his leather jacket – to avoid getting hit by Too Tall and Jumpy’s flailing limbs. And during Ame no Doubutsuen, two Japanese girls ended up to my left, between me and the Haruna fans, and they’d been cheering as happily as anyone for the girls, but when this happened they started yelling at the guy to stop it and get his ass down. Except in Japanese, of course. (What did I tell you? Don’t block tiny little Asian girls.) According to Solaire, who obviously had a better view of the stage than I did during this spectacle, the AKB48 girls were kind of freaked out by it too. Luckily his buds tired out about half a minute before the song ended.

We were then told that the next song would use the scarves (really, kerchiefs for us) – beginning the mad scramble for the scarves. If you’re an AKB48 fan, you probably know that the next song was Hikoukigumo. I have to admit, twirling the kerchief in the air got fun after a while.

And then Sayaka – having made sure we were having fun – announced that the last song was Sakura no Hanabiratachi. Lots of groans and awws did not stop them from launching straight into it – Sayaka the most enthusiastic one of all. Even if I didn’t know who she was, I would definitely have noticed her because she was bouncing all over the stage. Some of the other girls had apparently begun to tire out – but forgive my untrained eye, I couldn’t tell – so Sayaka was possibly trying to make up for them. To be fair, though, all of them were waving their arms and smiling their mouths off at the crowd when they were close. And the crowd very happily joined in with the dance movements.

When the girls had left, the crowd demanded an encore with various calls for about a three minutes before the girls came back out – Acchan, Takamina, and Sayaka all telling us “Thank you for the encore!” They’d taken off the costume top and wore relatively tight I ♥ NY shirts on top, and bounced straight into Iiwake Maybe.

Sayaka thanked us for the encore again and announced the next song to be 10nen Zakura. I apologize for having absolutely no comment on this, but now it’s almost 4AM and the last time I stayed up this late was for a school paper. You’ll forgive that my brain is failing.

Following this, Sayaka said “The last song is – again – Oogoe DIAMOND!” Despite the groans from the crowd, they launched into what was supposed to be the final song – again. Despite my own personal groanings, it was the English version – again.

And so the girls left again… another chant for an encore was held… and out they came for the third time for another round of Hikoukigumo. Replete with, yes, red scarf spinning and waving.

Before we could do a third chant for an encore, though, Webster Hall staff shut us down by playing the generic waiting music.

Leaving the concert hall, Umi (following me), Solaire (also following me), and I (having never been in Webster Hall before) headed the wrong way, doubled back, and then realized people were talking about buying goods. Off they went to buy posters/photos/whatever else was for sale in that crowded room right before the steps to the exit. Me, being the cheapskate non-fan that I am, stood off to the side safeguarding their signboards while getting poked in the head by a spiky-leafed plant. Also, fans are terrifying.

When we finally made it out of the building, their stuff safely in hand, we saw the bus the girls were supposed to board. Fans slowly began to crowd around and wait to freak out over their leaving the building as I chose to step off far to the side to avoid the stampede. Luckily (or unluckily), the fierce Webster Hall staff cleared out that half of the sidewalk and shooed us off, and Umi decided that perhaps she was too hungry and in need of alcohol to hang around and wait.

And so marks the end of my terrifying experience amidst AKB48 wota-hood. And I don’t know how likely I am to do it again. As for the final verdict on me being an AKB48 fan – no, still not one. But more of a “not yet” if Umi and Solaire have anything to say about it.

For those of you curious – here are my “goodies” from the concert.

The jokingly-named “souvenir” ticket that went unused and so actually became a souvenir.

The flyer for the concert that was apparently also blown up into a poster? I could be wrong.

The kerchief/scarf/my new fashion accessory if I ever remember to use it as such.

And before you ask, no, I’m not selling that last one.

Since the airing of ROOM OF KING last fall, I have developed a love for the music of Kimaguren, the duo who pretty much singularly handled the soundtrack, along with releasing the catchy ending theme.

Apparently recently they hooked up and became good buddies with fellow (albeit with a much greater career lengthspan) musical duo Yuzu, after finding a common birthplace, common friends, and probably a common beer or three. They liked each other so much they decided that despite all members being males, they had to make a lovechild.

And so, my friends, I bring to you… well, two友 [two Yuu], the single released by ゆずグレン [Yuzuguren]. The name literally means “Two Friends”, but also sounds like “to you” and Tuyu (both the name of a CM group featuring Johnny’s – TU-YU – and a resort town – fully Mar del Tuyú – on the coast of Argentina). If you know me, you probably know I’d like to milk it for all it’s worth – but I think I just did.

To best describe the song probably requires a description of its creators. Kimaguren songs usually have a very laid back island melody with guitar worked in somehow and combined with a fast beat, which is admittedly the best setting for the sort of vocals ISEKI and KUREI provide. Normally KUREI does a half-spoken, half-sung, occasionally rap stanza – that grows all the more addictive as his voice grows softer and breathier – and then together with ISEKI wails out the chorus or hook with all the energy they can muster. Neither vocalist will charm over listeners by the power of their vocals alone – it’s the whole package Kimaguren makes, with some fun lyrics when the occasion calls for it, that draws fans in.

On the other hand, Yuzu, I am less qualified to talk about. They’ve been around since 1998, but the thing I most identify them with in my head is guitar ballads and folk songs. Which isn’t far off the course, as the two started off as street musicians. Based off this song alone, I’d declare their vocals of the standard Japanese nasally sort. And speaking of which…

Combining these elements into two Yuu creates a soothing and heartwarming song. Even though the stanzas – spoken by KUREI – are almost hypnotizingly lulling, they’re broken up by the song outburts of Yuzu (and possibly ISEKI) and there is a steady guitar strum that leads us through into the heartfelt chorus. The single also features an instrumental and a remix version – the latter of which introduces more instruments and synth effects. No matter which version you listen to, you will come away with a relaxed feeling, and perhaps the thought that these are four men who truly love music and doing what they do.

After all, they wrote this song to you.

I’ve been gone about a month and a half, through no one’s fault but my own. And in fact, this little tidbit is just about a week and a half old too. But what the heck, I adored the BECK anime series when it was still running, and so this warrants a post even as I’m working on the other ones I can’t seem to finish.

BECK: Monogolian Chop Squad ran in 2004, with the manga finishing just a year ago, and featured the packed-with-musical-influences-and-bad-Engrish (mis)adventures of an indies band trying to make it into the big leagues. (The band is originally called BECK, after a dog, but is named “Mongolian Chop Squad” for their American releases because of the trademark by the singer Beck.) Along the way, they obviously run into more than their fair share of troubles, including a rival band with a grudge that does get signed, band spats, and Koyuki running through the problems that plague the average teenager – or is falling in love with the younger sister of your tough band leader not quite an average problem?

You may be wondering what this has to do with Japanese pop – in fact, it has loads. BEAT CRUSADERS took charge of the musical direction, bringing along indies punk band Husking Bee’s vocalist to provide the singing voice of main character Koyuki. A number of their songs (BEAT CRUSADERS’, that is) were also used in or covered in the series, as well as that of other indie bands. The ending theme, done in series by the supposed rock band-to-end-all-rock bands The Dying Breed, was actually provided by meister, the brainchild of Do As Infinity’s guitarist Owatari Ryo. (The B-side of the single, while never showing up in the series, features Bonnie Pink.) And pop vocalist Sowelu provided the singing voice of Minami Maho, the aforementioned younger sister. There are even two soundtracks – one of the songs as they are, supposedly performed by the bands and characters in the series; the other containing the original songs as done by their indie bands and more new songs. 5 years later, it’s still amongst my favorite anime, and still a source of some fun music.

5 years later, also, we get our tie in to the other half of this blog – actors and Japanese dramas. BECK is now getting turned into a live-action film (a considerably easier adaptation than, say, Yatterman, I’d think. With the exception of the patchwork dogs), starring Mizushima Hiro (Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Hanakimi, Zettai Kareshi) as band leader Minami Ryusuke “Ray”. They also dredged up an all-star cast – as far as manga adaptations go – for the rest of the band, including Sato Takeru (ROOKIES, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Princess Princess D, BLOODY MONDAY) as vocalist/guitarist Tanaka Yukio “Koyuki”, Nakamura Aoi (Q.E.D., Shinigami no Ballad) as Koyuki’s eventual best friend and the band’s drummer Sakurai Yuji “Saku”, Kiritani Kenta (ROOKIES, Crows ZERO, but probably best known on this blog as the Post-It guy from Ryusei no Kizuna) as the ramen shop worker by day/tough-as-nails-with-an-afro rapper by night Chiba Tsunemi, and Mukai Osamu (Hachimitsu to CLOVER, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, also showed up in Nodame Cantabile, Osen, and Bambi~no!) as the smokingly attractive (look who casted correctly) bleached bassist Taira Yoshiyuki. It will be directed by Tsutsumi Yukihiko, also no stranger to manga/anime adaptations as he directed the Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo season starring Domoto Tsuyoshi and Tomosaka Rie, H2, Psychometer Eiji, and most recently 20th Century Boys. Oh, and for the Arashi fans, he directed PIKANCHI. Nope, no lack of star power here.

While the series focused on Koyuki’s story – there’s even a period where Ryusuke goes missing – the movie will focus on Ryusuke’s side. No word yet on who Minami Maho will be portrayed by, or if she’ll even be a part of the movie, as her role in the series does center on her part as Koyuki’s love interest.

Supposedly 30 original songs are being written for the actors to play after a month of intensive training – not unlike and perhaps even better than the movie adaptations of Nana, for which the vocalists (Nana starring Nakashima Mika and Reira starring Ito Yuna) were the key point.

Also, rather amusingly, this will be the third link between Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru, both of who were once Kamen Riders and worked together in Mei-chan no Shitsuji as siblings vying for the love of Eikura Nana’s Mei-chan role. And I suppose if you really wanted to push it, Sato will show up in the fourth episode of MR. BRAIN, Mizushima’s current drama. This aside, though, I’ve already got a movie to see in 2010. How about you?

Sources: Sports Hochi, Tokyograph, Anime News Network (but they all got it from Sports Hochi anyways)

Kuroki Meisa’s bedroom eyes should be banned from all countries.

Perhaps her eyes themselves should be banned, period.

You see, a hellcat, according to thefreedictionary.com, is:

hell·cat (hlkt) n. Informal
1a. A woman regarded as bad-tempered and evil.
1b. A woman who practices sorcery; a witch.
2. A person who torments others.

Now, we can’t have that loose on the world, can we? Her eyes are tormenting enough already, what with the lovely bouts of jealousy and lust they incite in others, and so I offer to you the less inciting cover above. Also, I just don’t like an abundance of hair, and she practically had a mane in the other cover that reminded me of Amuro Namie on a frizzy hair day. But if you need something to jack off to, then who am I to deprive?

Speaking of which,  one of the biggest drawing points for many overseas listeners when it comes to Meisa seems to be her similarity to so many artists. The cold domination of Amuro Namie with the sensuality Koda Kumi thrusts at you, rolled into one attractive package.

Despite having two decent “single tracks” (term being used as loosely as Meisa herself, seeing it was more of a promotional video or two being aired a lot earlier than the album’s release date), the album itself is particularly uninspiring. SONY certainly knew which ones were winners, but unfortunately, it leaves the remaining 6 tracks out to dry.

o1/ Hear the Alarm?: If the title weren’t bad enough, this R&B track starts out with (and rides on) a series of synth beats that leads into the monotonous (if layered) chorus covered with some vocoding. Now… synth beats, monotonous vocoded singing, and a title with “ALARM”. Clearly Amuro Namie’s influence wasn’t over with after Like This. Add to that the fact that the song is essentiallly about a girl who is in an affair, and you’ve got a pretty good idea of the how this album is going to pan out. (No, really. The recurring themes in this album seem to involve “Bad girls,” “Sex,” and a shitton of English. Especially that last one. Every song is half in English.) While Meisa’s vocals don’t seem to have grown – in fact, she sounds strained during the chorus when there is no synth, though if she provides the random vocalizations, she sounds lovely there – this song gets to add to the pile of those that prove you don’t need to be able to sing well to have a singing career. This song, however, does grow on you if you let it. Intentionally or otherwise. Watch out for those alarms.

o2/ Like This: Laziness says I reviewed this once upon a time – say, almost a year ago, when its video first came out. So laziness also dictates I copy-paste because honestly, a year’s not going to change this song much.

I started hearing Amuro Namie. [...] We should all know by now the Japanese pop industry is anything BUT unique. You can only stretch pop so many ways. And to give Kuroki credit, it’s a nice synth R&B/hip-hop song, the dance beat catches on fast, and her voice isn’t so bad in it, though it lacks power. It’s stereotypical of the genre as found in Japan, but I could give this more than a singular listen. But from the layering of the chorus, to the semi-rap of the bridge, to the attitude permeating the song… it’s all screaming Amuro Namie to me.

o3/ Bad Girl: Word on the street is, actual bad girls are a endangered species now that being “bad” is more “in” than Britney Spears’ non-existent panties are in her pants. Word on the street also says copy-pasta’s not part of a very fulfilling diet, but what are you going to do, cook me Kraft macaroni & cheese instead? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

Kuroki [...] brings out all the sexy you ever wanted but were too afraid to ask for. [...] Unfortunately her vocals don’t seem to have improved any, but fortunately the song – a heavily synthed R&B affair – is such that good vocals aren’t required to carry the song. It’s a fun listen, and that’s all it needs to be. [...] And for those who can’t handle the imagery from the video, the song is sexy in its own right.

To Kuroki’s (or her management’s) credit, though, despite leaving us hanging after releasing Like This in mid-2008, we flocked just as quickly back to her 7 months later when this video dropped to announce the upcoming album, and it definitely kept us interested.

o4/ Criminal: With this song, we take an abrupt turn-around from the previous three tracks. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we’re still on the synth R&B, and we’ve still got the loads of “bad girl” English. (Hell, the term “bad girl” makes an appearance in the lyrics.) No, what happens is that with this song, Kuroki Meisa drops all pretense of being seductive with her vocals, with half of them being screamed and the other half at her usual singing ability. Actually, no, that’s incorrect. She’s been singing like that all along. This song just makes it painfully obvious. And to be honest, I was all prepared to hate this song for the scream alone – the chorus wasn’t too catchy, and it’s normally the winning point of a Kuroki song, so why ruin it? But then I watched the video, and dammit if Kuroki Meisa’s sexy looks didn’t win me over. It distracted me from the scream long enough to get sucked in by the snappy dance beat and the “Crimi crimi criminal” of the chorus, so I repeat my plea – can we ban her eyes?

Creepily enough, at the end of the music video, despite the feline eyes (still sexy), she looks more like a vampire instead of an anthropomorthic hellcat. So let me put this out there – Meisa. You are hot. Not amazing enough to join my list of girlcrushes, but I’d still tap you. Really I would. As long as you stay away from the vampire image. I deal with enough vampire crap from the popularity of Twilight already.

o5/ No, no, no: Okay, now the Amuro influences are getting blatant. This sounds completely like something Amuro Namie would have put out around the time of the STYLE album. The kicker? Kuroki actually sounds like a good singer in her own right here, playing mix-and match with some amazingly seductive low in pure Namie’s Style and the sweet highs that form the two ends of Kuroki’s vocal spectrum, then weaving them through a series of beats that intend on drumming themselves into your head. While like the rest of the album, this isn’t an amazing track, it’s a perfectly decent piece on its own that perhaps suffers mostly because I insist on making the comparisons. (Yeah, Amuro totally could’ve done this. Better.)

o6/ SEX: Darren Hayes, formerly known as half of the Australian pop duo called Savage Garden, released a song on his debut album Spin titled Dirty. First it opened with the sounds of a girl making noise like we’d just started a cheap porno, and then had Hayes making breathy noises and sharp vocalizations much like he was actually in the middle of the act too. If you didn’t have an idea of what the song was insinuating by the title alone, he made sure you realized pretty quickly.

SEX has similar intentions – if you had no clue what this song’s about after reading the title, even if you don’t understand Japanese, the song definitely plans on clearing that up. From the start the synth is both ominous and dizzying, and Kuroki vocalizing to the beat doesn’t lighten things up any. The song keeps at a slow pace, with only the singing adding any variety, effectively forcing you to pay attention to it. And with lines like “It hurts so good,” “夜を制御不能な　出来事で満たして” [Satisfying the night with uncontrollable events], and that purely English rap, you can’t miss the meaning. Speaking of the rap, it and her spoken lines (“Going crazy, cause I’m thinking bout SEX”) end up being the best part of the song, partially because her half-scream singing method ruins the feeling. Leave the sex crap to Akanishi Jin, Meisa.

o7/ Lost: Okay, so perhaps not every song can be about sex and sordid love affairs that aren’t supposed to happen. Lost tries to be the requisite love song, which means toning down the attitude-filled R&B, and leaning towards a lighter musical background. Unfortunately, this fails in two parts – Kuroki doesn’t stop that half-scream, leading to disastrous pain when you hit the chorus; and an inordinate part of the song brings on her higher range to make her sound less sexual, and that sounds rather strained. Luckily, there is no video and no bedroom eyes from our hellcat, so this song isn’t going to grow on me. It’d be hard-pressed to grow on anyone, and would be much better off, well, lost.

o8/ THIS IS CRAZY: Someone at SONY was smart enough to include only one of the above, because the final track on Kuroki’s debut album brings us back to the formula that won interest in her singing career to being with. I have a fondness for homonyms being used in lyrics – part of the reason why V6’s Tokonatsu VIBRATION got anywhere with me –  and the lyricist has a bunch in the bridges of the song, such as “watashi ga STOP (gotta stop)”/”oshiemashou (must show).” There are times when this song feels like it’d be better placed near the beginning of this album, possibly switched with Criminal (which sounds like a great album-ender), but while it’s fitting with the first half of this release, it’s also as mediocre as the rest of the songs in the half this is located in.

Anyone who listens to this album is sure to agree – Kuroki Meisa is out to paint herself as a bad girl. Considering her ability and the genre she’s working in, this album could’ve given her that reputation in more than one way. It starts out catching, but declines soon enough considering this album – mini-album, really – is only 8 tracks and 30 minutes long. If you expected any better, then that might have been your fault as much as it was her inability. The one thing you can’t fault this hellcat for, though, is that perfect face.

HIMEKA, also known as Catherine St. Onge, is a success story that goes beyond the tales of other “overseas talent breaking into the Japanese music industry” tales.

For one thing, as far as we know, she’s not Japanese. (Everyone else has been raised in Japan – Crystal Kay – or partially East Asian. Even JERO had some of the blood… somewhere.) She’s Canadian. And while we’re on it, her Japanese skills aren’t that great either. She’s admitted as much herself.

For another, she’s 27. I don’t mean to be pointing out her age, but the Japanese business is renowned for the overall younger-is-better attitude they seem to have. Leah Dizon was 20 – or 19 – when she got her contract and moved to Japan.

And last, she wasn’t so much discovered sitting around in Canada with whatever overseas/international auditions were being held; she moved to Japan and won her chance in the Second Annual Animax Anison Grand Prix.

The result of this, a contract with SONY. So between you, me, and at least a hundred others according to her facebook fangroup… yeah, I’d say she’s done pretty well for herself.

Her first single, 明日へのキズナ [Asu he no KIZUNA], isn’t released until May 27th, but you can currently hear it as the opening to the anime series Valkryia Chronicles, or a short clip in the commercial for the single above. You can also find more videos of her performing and singing thanks to the YouTube fan user HIMEKAMediaArchive. While some may denounce her as an anime song artist and less “legit” than someone in the business without the anime tie-ins (Here’s looking at you, Raid!) – it’s what she wanted to do, and she made it. She sounds great doing it, too – her stage moniker, HIMEKA, doesn’t have an actual meaning beyond being the name of a character she once wrote, but you could easily substitute the characters 姫歌 (princess+song) and it wouldn’t be far off from the image she’s got now. Hint, hint to her marketers.

While this is obviously belated – congratulations, Ms. St. Onge! Or HIMEKA, as may be the case now. Girls with a similar dream are no doubt waiting for you to wow the world. You’ve wowed me already, at the least.

Since resurfacing at the tail end of 2008, after being missing for much of the aforementioned year, you may or may not have noticed that I’ve been trying to keep at least a weekly schedule, even if the update days are as random as a PMSing woman’s mood swings.

Alas, this week the PMSing woman decided to go off on a spree. Shopping spree, killing spree, I’m not actually sure what. She may have just decided to kick back in a comfy armchair with a Fuzzy Navel or five and watch a marathon of Nathan Fillion shows. (Castle is rather prone to reruns on her screen.)

So in her stead, here is an apology from her browbeaten husband to those of you who – for whatever insane reason – do enjoy my writing. He offers you my two recent articles on Pleasure Principled, Ray’s latest project in the Japanese music blogging world. You can choose from my dislike of pairings – with a nod to the Nissy x Misako pairing in particular – or my perhaps-more-than like of Saitou Ryuusei – though I’ve yet to completely understand the appeal of Hey! Say! VOLTRON JUMP.

And while you’re there, you may find you like the works of the other contributors too. So much that you may forget about the PMSing woman and leave her for less angry pastures – but please don’t. We’ll be back next week. Hopefully.

It’s really quite ironic.

If you don’t know this by now, Raid and I are big fans of Urata Naoya. We were waiting for the release of his solo album, TURN OVER, for ages. Since it was announced that he’d be working on a solo project, at least.

Somewhere along the way, it went totally wrong, and based on the web reactions (for example, Brett over at Kurayami Monogatari and Noah at stylejapan), there are definitely people out there who love it. Us, on the other hand? We’re not entirely impressed. Or maybe that’s just me. Raid’s the one you want for lines like “OMGAH THIS SUCKS”, after all.

To be honest, probably some of the disappointment is my fault. The instant I read that he’d be working with TinyVoice Productions, my mind immediately leapt to the sound of Miura Daichi, who’s also worked with them and has yet to churn out anything falling even a bit short of stellar.

But Urata’s voice and Daichi’s voice are completely different Pokemon, and asking one to do well in the same environment as the other isn’t entirely fair. Then again, who ever said I was fair?

o1/ intro: At just over a minute, this track is exactly as the title proclaims – an introduction. A steady beat with the consistently threatening monologuing by a muffled deep voice. I keep expecting the voice to go “Luke, I am your father” – because even without the hissing sound of the breathing apparatus, this could be Darth Vader. I can’t entirely say it does set the mood for the album, nor can I say it’s a track I’d listen to given the choice, but it would make for a very dramatic concert opening.

o2/ TURN OVER: The first track where we get to hear Urapapa’s vocals (because if the intro voice was him, he’s been hiding a pretty low register all this time) is a mellow R&B track where, beyond a change in tempo as dictated by the melody, everything centers on the singing. And as much as I hoped otherwise, with the exception of a line just before the chorus and the chorus itself at a pitch just under it, he spends most of it in falsetto. It isn’t a bad sound, and the song really wouldn’t work if he had sung as normal, but my head has already begun to hurt. I just don’t like falsettos.

o3/ Baby Bang! feat. SPHERE: Because I’m slamming this in before I head to my MU110 class (where we learn to listen to music “intelligently” – ironic, isn’t it?), I’m just going to quote my comments on the video post for the same track: “I must give the song its props. It’s a dance track so it’ll make perfect use of Urata’s dancing chops, and based off the group dance shots in the video he’ll have a good performance to show us with this song. It grows on you too, if you haven’t outright decided that you hate it. Urata spends most of the track in a falsetto and his higher range, too, so when SPHERE makes his grand entrance it makes a perfect contrast. All the same, I’m hoping that the rest of the album doesn’t keep him in this area, because it will hurt to listen to within the first three days.”

o4/ I think I’m in love: Thankfully, despite the last line of that quote up there, Urata doesn’t stay in falsetto. A R&B ballad with a clapping beat combined with Ura’s voice is a soothing mix, as proven by this song. It’s not a standout track, but Urata’s vocals here, emotional but not overpowering, is pleasing to the ear along with being a much needed break from that falsetto.

o5/ Ecstasy feat. YUKALI: For the record – YUKALI is not the same girl in HALCALI (who apparently prefers it spelled YUCALI). Another track where the “music” is nothing little more than a series of varied beats to surround the vocals, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this song. On one hand, Urata whispering is pretty damn sexy, especially when he starts on the rapid-fire bit in the pre-chorus bridge. On the other, YUKALI’s whiny voice when she’s begging for it (“Kiss my ear, kiss my lips” etc.) negates the sensuality of its surrounding sections. With the exception of that one bit, it’s a pretty sexy song.

o6/ Too Late: Can I be honest? The trilling harp strum with makes me think of one Kamenashi Kazuya’s w/o notice??. And that wasn’t entirely pleasing to my ears. Luckily this doesn’t run the gamut of eardrum killing, other than the return of Urata’s higher register at times, but as a lazy R&B track it’s surprisingly bland.

o7/ HOT LIKE FIRE: This track marks the debut of Urata’s strong vocals (their prior cameo in Ecstasy was marred by the backup vocals), holding their own against a quirky combination of beats and notes, just barely hinting at influences from the seductive sounds associated with Arabian music with a distinct hip-hop attitude. While the vocal melody of the stanzas are a nice listen, the chorus (consisting only of “HOT LIKE FIRE” repeated as necessary) takes away just as quickly. If Hidaka had a solo project, this song belonged on there.

o8/ voice of mind: A slow piano opening marked the entrance of this track, and in my mind, I noted we’d hit rock bottom. Luckily, I was proven wrong. While this slow song, like every other song, is engineered to allow Urata to show off, there’s something about it that makes it unique. Perhaps because it’s a refreshing break from the computer beats and attempted hip-hop. For Urata’s part, he delivers passionately, and while we’ve got a few high notes, it’s an easy piece that’s not too different from the duet ballads he shared with Nissy as AAA.

o9/ anything about sex: We return to the R&B attempts here, with another ballad and a snappy beat that features Urapapa’s higher voice once more. If you didn’t realize by now, I’m not a fan of the high, and while not a bad track, it’s again nothing standout.

1o/ Starting all over: This was originally going to be the promotional track off the album, and much like the final result, there’s a dance beat that intends to grow on you. It didn’t become the PV, and while it would have been a lot less odd than Baby BANG! (well, I’d like to think the blue bukkake wouldn’t have happened with this song), this song has the potential to become boring very quickly, with the same series of beats over and over and the only real variation (just barely) deriving from the vocals.

11/ Like a tatoo: Surprisingly, we don’t get to the sort of sound I expected from Urata on this project until… the next-to-last song? Considerably more upbeat and club than everything we’ve heard so far, but still retaining the seductive attitude this album is trying to push, Urata keeps pace with the electronic music and displays his variety of tones (sad stanzas, sexy soft bridge, and normal at the chorus). Also, please note that I’d desperately like to insert a “[sic]” into that title.

12/ White lie: The final track is representative of every other song on the album, with minimal music and a focus on Urata as a singer. It’s also my favorite, which is a damn shame, because if I hadn’t chosen to review this album I might never have listened to it. This shares a lot of elements with the experimental ethereality of my favorite Utada Hikaru period, with a hazy synth accompaniment to Urata’s layered vocals over a variety of beats. Unfortunately, it ends with an English spoken bit – presumably by the same person at the beginning – and while it makes for a full-circle closing, it detracting.

In the end, because I had such expectations for Urata’s solo efforts… it was decent, and that’s all it was. Even with a few months’ break to grow accustomed to the songs between starting and completing this review, none of them – with the exception of Baby Bang!, thanks to its accompanying video – stuck with me enough to make any sort of impression afterwards. And unless a sophomore effort comes along, I’m ready to declare this project a flop for me.

Something I’ve noticed during my stint in various fandoms is that people are loyal. If they obsessively like something, then they will support anything related to it, no matter how distantly related it is. For example, when the music of ORANGE RANGE’s KIRIKIRIMAI was used in the Fantastic Four movie’s motorbike stunt scene, there was a huge buzz. Never mind that not a second of the vocals showed up, or that it wouldn’t be on the soundtrack. It was in the movie! People went to watch the movie for that reason alone!

Not me. I don’t have the attention span to stick with fandoms to the point of micromanagement. You see, somehow, over the course of the two weeks in which I kept the Music Station episode on which both Arashi and Tohoshinki/DBSK/”SCREW THIS NAMING SCHEME, SM, I GIVE UP” appeared to promote and perform their latest singles, I ended up becoming a definite fan of the latter. There are dreams, there is the knowing of songs without really looking up the lyrics (and this is really harder because the Tohorangers still have accents, and I only listen to their Japanese releases of yet), and there is the looking up of variety appearances.

Honestly, I only have the attention span for one #-member boyband at a time. The instant I became a fan of V6, any consideration for NEWS was immediately shoved out of my head – KAT-TUN was never in the running. Kanjani8 used to not get any love because NEWS was also formerly 8 members, and they still don’t because AAA now also has 7 members. Tackey & Tsubasa don’t have a chance against KinKi, and while I tried to get into SMAP and TOKIO a lot more than I currently am – which is still saying something –  they never could surpass Arashi. (Luckily for w-inds., there are few, if any other, 3-member boybands in Japan.) But somehow, the Tohorangers (perhaps due in part to my nicknaming them the “Tohorangers”) are edging their way in there.

And so it is only appropriate that the single I next review is their 23rd, どうして君を好きになってしまったんだろう? [Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan darou?] At least they were kind enough to provide a song to help explain my feelings.

Doushite, for the sake of brevity, is a sweet ballad with a beautiful instrumental. As a person who hates slow songs, this surprisingly grabbed at me immediately, and I’m not sure what I noticed first. There is the music, light guitar with a drum/snap beat and some electric transitions, led by a harp. It sounds like a odd combination, but it’s a pretty bare-bones track that could by the technical definition be shuffled into the R&B genre, and here it is the simplicity that works. There are the vocals, passionate and led by Jaejoong (of course the girl would be the most emotional about a love song). While his vocals comes off a bit strong against the simple backing at times, there’s a good use of harmony and the rest of the Tohorangers adopt a lighter touch with their own vocals… Okay, I lie. Junsu and Yoochun are always breathy, Yunho’s kind of high for someone who’s labeled as being a bass/baritone of the group, and Changmin’s sort of whiny when he’s not screaming his lungs out. So there’s not much of a difference. But what sounds bad in theory, once again, turns out to be an excellent final result.

And of course, the subject matter. The title is literally “Why did I fall in love with you?”, and the song tells the story of an unrequited love because the significant other “chose a different path.” We now get several minutes of “coulda shoulda woulda,” a few seconds of “but dammit I didn’t,” and by the end of the short song (a length of 3 minutes and 20 seconds, and always sending be scrambling for the Back button), the singer has given himself to the idea that his lover will no longer be there, and wishes them happiness in their life.

Me? “Why did I fall in love with you, Tohorangers? You’re Korean and I’m focusing on my Japanese! I could’ve paid attention to you sooner when everyone in the wFL fandom started trickling towards either Johnny’s or Korean boybands. I should’ve probably never listened to this song. I would’ve been able to keep you forever in my mind as the boyband for the more danceable songs and left it at that. But dammit, I didn’t and now I’m actually paying attention to you as idols! …and you’re doing another ONE PIECE song too. I AM NOT HAPPY. Or at least my wallet isn’t.” And that is your summary of the song lyrics the way I hear it.

The song was originally written and composed by Lambsey, and so that duo will be covering it themselves this year. Clips of it can be heard on their site – but to be honest, it just isn’t the same. The music is different. The vocals lack the girl. The lyrics… okay, the lyrics are the same. But because I heard this first, it’s become the definitive version for me, and it makes me rather sad because I figure any group who wrote a ballad I could fall in love with on first listen deserves a better shot. I guess the credit has to go to the Swedish arrangers once more.

Box in the ship, the B-side, is more suited to those of you wanting fun pop. Island mood meets boyband pop, in fact. Perhaps the easier way to describe it would be to call it a laid-back SAYAENDOU. Unfortunately, it’s not as catchy or inspiring, and merely serves its role as a theme song for some island-themed ride in Universal Studios Japan. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, but it could’ve been much better.

So, DBSK fans, make room, another one’s joining the crew. And I’m still not entirely sure why.

(By the way, guys, sorry to say, but this isn’t an April Fool’s joke.)

It’s already that time of year again, when you all whip out your wallets and donate $5 to the cause of Kimi’s Early Christmas.

Okay, okay, I kid. But with April around the corner, it’s already time for a new season of Japanese TV, which also means it’s time for me to name-drop like Armageddon’s here. As always, all summaries from DramaWiki, because I’m a lazy, lazy blogger who can’t be bothered to translate unless absolutely necessary.

Atashinchi no Danshi: In the drama, Horikita’s character is burdened with 100 million yen worth of debt after her gambling father disappears. Chased out of her home by collectors, she is forced to sleep in places like internet cafes. However, she meets the president of a major company who offers to pay off the debt if she marries him, and she soon finds herself moving in with a rather eccentric family.

I don’t count myself among the legions of Horikita Maki fans. In fact, I’m watching this for her pretty boy co-stars. Among them, Kaname Jun, Okada Yoshinori, Mukai Osamu (Hi Raid!), Yamamoto Yusuke, and for my sister and probably other fans of the Koizora drama or Tenimyu, Seto Koji. This sort of looks like it’ll become a reverse harem drama, though her character’s supposed to be already married and there’s also an old man and a little boy in the pretty family. But when a drama promises me “eccentric,” I’m going to demand wacky hijinks.

BOSS: Amami stars as the new “boss” of a team of quirky detectives who are trying to fight a series of brutal crimes. Her character is intelligent and capable in her work. But even though she can understand the mentalities of the criminals she pursues, she has difficulty understanding men, leaving her unable to find what she really wants: a husband.

TAKARAZUKA LOVE, REPRESENT. Okay, so though I know of more than one ex-Takarazuka actress who continues to work in television, I only really follow the exploits of the gorgeous Maya Miki. Amami Yuuki, however, was also a former Takarasienne, a former otokoyaku, and a former top star before Maya Miki came along, and so it seems only right to give her due credit and a chance to appreciate her as well. Also presumably members of her “quirky detective” squad, Toda Erika, Kichise Michiko, Nukumizu Youichi, and ex-sentai Tamayama Tetsuji, with Takenouchi Yutaka presumably being her love interest and Mizobata Junpei doing… something. He’s jailbait for her, isn’t he?

GHOST FRIENDS: Fukuda plays a high schooler who can see ghosts as a result of a car accident. The story follows her growth as she interacts with the spirits she meets, and even falls in love with a young male ghost named Kaito.

Because a) I still have an obligation to follow AAA’s exploits, in this case, Nishijima Takahiro’s; b) there is Okada Yoshinori and I cannot get enough of his acting; c) Tomochika and Katase Nana promise fun times (and my sister will be glad to see Irie Jingi once more); d) I always was a sucker for supernatural short story manga, but they usually turn out well. Here’s a desperate hope that a drama will do the same. (Fun fact: The obligatory Johnny’s link here is Sakurai Sho, who’s starred with both Okada and Fukuda Saki before and dealt with Tomochika and Katase Nana indirectly through the projects of other members of Arashi.)

GODHAND Teru: The story revolves around a young man named Mahigashi Teru. When he was young, his father, a brilliant surgeon, died in an accident, but not before saving Teru’s life. As a result, Teru also aims to become a great surgeon like his father, devoted to never letting a patient die. As a clumsy newcomer at his hospital, he seems to be an unlikely savior. But whenever a patient’s life is in danger, his true powers emerge in the form of his “god hands,” allowing him to successfully perform even the most difficult operations.

Honestly? The manga this is based off of wasn’t all that great. As a medical drama, Iryu still surpasses (if outdated). However, if it’s anything like the manga, then it’ll be focused less on Japan’s medical community, and more on the growth of Teru (played by Hiraoka Yuta) as a surgeon. More importantly, though, Kaname Jun shows up.

HANCHOU: Focusing around the criminal division department of a fictional small police station in Harajuku, this drama doesn’t have any over the top criminals or special abilities. Rather, the team solves crimes by hard work and accumulated effort, even when they’re up against a wall. A realistic drama that shows the relationship of trust in a group of police officers with pride in their duties.

A “realistic” police drama with – surprise, surprise – Tsukaji Muga. Wow, he’s been doing loads as an actor. Also features Sasaki Kuranosuke in his second leading role after GIRAGIRA, and okay, that’s all I’ve got. This is what, Kiina without the mysteries?

Hyouryuu NET CAFE: The story revolves around salaryman Toki Koichi, who leads a trouble-free but unexciting life. One day he stops by an internet cafe, where he runs into his first love whom he never forgot. A sudden electrical failure traps him and the other customers in the cafe, which has become a strange universe of its own.

This doesn’t bode well. After all, Hyouryuu Classroom (The Drifting Classroom) is a horror manga and it can only be assumed the manga this drama is based off that. The biggest name is undeniably lead Ito Atsushi, who’s probably best known overseas as being the Densha Otoko – which I didn’t watch and don’t plan to, either. So why would I be interested in watching this? …I have no clue.

IKEmen Soba-ya Tantei: The plot revolves around Higuchi Juntaro, a good-looking employee at a soba restaurant (the “ikemen” in the title is a pun on the word “men,” meaning noodles). While working there, he is constantly asked to solve various cases.

With the pun in the title, and the emphasis on the soba, I’m expecting this to be a milder version of Kuitan. Perhaps not as food oriented, but the food had better be snuck into the mystery somehow. Stars Fujiki Naohito in his return to the drama world after nearly a year, with Namase Katsuhisa presumably playing the bumbling detective (his first role of the kind – detective, that is – since TRICK!) and Furuta Arata… well, I don’t know what role Furuta Arata will be. But he looks like the type to own a soba shop.

KonKATSU!: Nakai plays a single salaryman in his mid-thirties. He has focused himself on his work rather than finding a marriage partner, but the topic of marriage is constantly coming up around him. As a result, he begins thinking about his own life and begins looking for a potential wife.

Nakai Masahiro of SMAP is finally starring in a drama again after so long. 4 years (5 if you don’t want to count the sequel) is quite a bit of time, after all. He almost got one last year, but since he didn’t actually get it, it doesn’t count. So while this is a romance drama, what I’ll be looking for is to see if I can disassociate the Nakai of Utaban and various other variety shows from his character onscreen. Also faces you’ll probably know if you like the romance or Johnny’s dramas respectively – Ueto Aya, Shaku Yumiko, Tanihara Shosuke, Ryo, Tanaka Yoji, Fubuki Jun, and Sato Ryuta. (I’ll let you figure out where the divide is, though honestly at some point I’m sure there’s a 3 degrees of Johnny’s thing going on.) Also, KAT-TUN member Ueda Tatsuya finally gets a drama role, but let’s be honest, if you decide you’re watching this after reading my blog, it’s probably to see Nakai.

LOVE GAME: “LOVE GAME” revolves around a secret game in which the participants can win 100 million yen if they succeed at a love-related task. However, no one has ever succeeded in the game before. Shaku plays the beautiful but mysterious “dealer” of the game. The challenges she presents to the contestants, who are constantly monitored, include tasks such as “get your wife to sign divorce papers within 8 hours” and “steal your friend’s boyfriend within 3 days.

I’m sorry, did anyone read the title and the description and not think LIAR GAME? Shaku Yumiko is a gorgeous woman, yes, but now in my head she is an amalgamation of Kichise Michiko and LERONIRA from LIAR GAME and that’s a bit of a scary thought. The parallels to LIAR GAME (which has been mentioned more than the actual drama in question, sorry) is the most appealing thing I’ve found, right down to the countdown timer on the site (you can see it above), but if they make the individual stories – as each episode seems to contain its own task – interesting enough, I could stick around. Also, what’s with the creepy game-focused shows? (See The Quiz Show 2, below.)

Majo Saiban: In “Majo Saiban,” Ikuta plays a typical part-timer with little interest in social issues. However, he is unexpectedly chosen as a juror in the trial of a suspected female murderer. While the mystery surrounding the case unfolds, an unknown group is secretly attempting to bribe the jury.

As Japan faces the deadly threat of jury duty, Fuji TV capitalizes by having a jury drama. It’s genius! Now Japan will learn to dread jury duty as much as we do here in America! Okay, I kid, my one experience with jury duty was painfully boring and I never set foot in the courtroom outside of playing every Gyakuten Saiban game I could get my hands on, but the suspense in this is certainly alluring. If you’re like my sister and just watch for the eye candy, though, it stars Ikuta Toma, and has loads of pretty ladies and Suzuki Ryohei (who is not a lady, though still pretty) amongst the jurors.

Meitantei no Okite: The original writing is a short mystery collection that takes a humorous approach to many of the genre’s cliches. Matsuda stars as the “famous detective” Tenkaichi Daigoro, while Kashii Yu plays the female lead as a rookie cop.

Matsuda Shota? Check. Kashii Yu? Well, people probably care less about her and more about her marriage to Odagiri Joe, but… Check. Kimura Yuichi? (Who no one knows but will forever be immortalized in my mind for his on-the-spot gag in Fuji TV’s Winter 2008 Star Bowling special. Because I’m too lazy to hunt down a clip – basically Katori Shingo of SMAP claimed he’d get “star” power from the other SMAP members when Nakai offered him the star candy that supposedly helped Koyama Keiichiro and Ikuta Toma get strikes. So he calls upon “Kimura (Takuya)-kun” – and gets Kimura Yuichi instead.) Check. Mystery? Check. Parody? Check. Probability of this being horribly cliched without the humor? Check. Am I watching it anyways? Check.

Rinjou: “Rinjo” revolves around Kuraishi Yoshio, a legendary coroner with a keen eye for evidence. The term “rinjo” is said to be police slang for the initial investigation carried out at the scene of the crime.

On DramaWiki, this is classified as a police drama, which means I fully expect department interaction. Police is becoming the easy way to say “Mystery, but mystery’s getting a bit overdone so we’ll stick a police officer or three in there and call it police.” Also, after the disappointment of VOICE as a post-mortem mystery drama (though it made for a fine human-relations thing), I’m hoping I’ll get my fix of it here. Okay, that’s all I got. No one’s going to be watching this for the only name I can mention, Ibu Masato, right?

Shiroi Haru:  The show’s theme is the love between a parent and child. Haruo is a man just released after a 10-year prison sentence. He encounters a young girl, who turns out to be his own daughter that he conceived with his ex-girlfriend just before he went to jail.

Recent Kohaku star (and the person who upturned Hagiwara Mai of some H!P group as the youngest Kohaku participant) Ohashi Nozomi plays the daughter, and Abe Hiroshi is the gruff prison daddy. This promises to be heartwarming. For watchers of Love Shuffle, Yoshitaka Yuriko is in here; also, Endo Yuuya, who I like out of nostalgia for the early days of Tenimyu. Also, I predict that I’ll be bored with this within the first episode, but I’m watching it anyways, so what do I know?

The Quiz Show 2: Sakurai plays the host of a live TV quiz program. On the show, contestants who achieve 7 correct answers win 10 million yen, and those who get 8 correct answers will have one of their wishes granted by the TV network. But while the questions start off innocently enough, as the game progresses, the questions gradually delve into the contestants’ past crimes or indiscretions, presenting them with the dilemma of having to confess their guilt in order to win. Sakurai’s character also has a mysterious past. Before becoming the show’s host, an accident had left him in a vegetative state for six years, which also resulted in him losing most of his memories.

To be honest, this is the one I’m looking forward to the most. The first series, something I can only sort of describe as a cross between Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? and LIAR GAME, was amazingly addictive and well done considering its late timeslot, shorter length, and possibly lower production values. Sakurai Sho and Yokoyama Yu will have hard jobs living up to the acting of Katagiri Jin and Totsugi Shigeyuki as the host and producer respectively… unless they change the menacing atmosphere into something more “suitable” for Johnny’s boys and Matsuura Aya. (It could happen. Despite retaining the same producers and a screenwriter, the directors have changed.) In which case I will be quite disappointed, and still follow just to see more Maya Miki hotness. Dammit, NTV.

Yako no Kaidan: Sayama Michio is a young and callous beautician who will stop at nothing to fulfill his ambition(s). Coming from an impoverished background, he suddenly becomes the darling of the beauty world. He holds women who desire beauty captive and puts on several different faces when dealing with Murase Minako, the female owner of the place that he works at; Hatano Masako, a woman of leisure; and Fukuchi Fujiko, an editor of a weekly magazine to come out tops. He also gets involved with two detectives who are investigating him for a prior incident.

Fujiki Naohito’s running his hand at two serial dramas this season, though ironically enough in this one he wants to avoid the good detectives. As expected of a drama on a womanizer, several pretty faces of the older variety show up – readers of my blog will be most likely to recognize Kimura Yoshino and Muroi Shigeru, though.

It looks like Fuji TV’s knocking out a nice variety of dramas this season. In contrast, TBS, which gained a fairly avid following from me last year, pretty much went down the drain with their offerings this season. If you are wondering where SMILE is in all this, as it’s a Matsujun drama and all… well, I think the Matsujun part should have answered your question. (Also, I just don’t care for that sort of story.) I maintain that The Quiz Show will be the one I’m looking forward to, which would be good for NTV if I were in Japan, but unfortunately I’m not.

Last season I found myself severely disinterested in anime, but there may be some coming up on my plate this season, as I’ve found myself much more adaptable to the 30-minute timeslot compared to the hour that a drama takes up. Summaries from Anime News Network.

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: After losing their mother, Alphonse and Edward Elric attempt to bring her back using the forbidden science of human alchemy. However, alchemy operates on the theory of equivalent trade, and breaking the human alchemy taboo carries a heavy price. Ed loses his leg, and Al loses his body. Ed is able to seal Al’s soul inside of a huge suit of armor, at the cost of his arm. Years later, Ed (now with two mechanical limbs) and Al (still trapped in the armor) leave their childhood home, each brother concerned with the other’s happiness. Ed, who has a natural talent and skill for alchemy, becomes nationally certified and is soon known everywhere as the “Fullmetal Alchemist.”

I’d just finished the first go-round of this series when my interest in anime as a whole had begun to wane, so part of this is the nostalgia factor. (It’s been over 4 years already? Wow.)  That’s a bit hard when almost everyone has switched voice actors but the two heroes (Paku Romi as Ed and Kugimiya Rie as Al), but still doable as the anime also took a drastic turn from the manga near the end of its run and all the new ones are also veteran seiyuu. It’s a money-maker, so production values will also probably be high. Unless you hated the first round, there’s no way you can go wrong with this one.

Pandora Hearts: Oz Bezarius, heir to one of the duke houses, has just turned fifteen. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absence of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he’s cast into the prison known as the “Abyss”, only to be saved by a “chain” known as Alice, the bloodstained black rabbit. The mystery there begins as Oz unravels the mystery behind Alice, the Abyss and the strange organization know as Pandora. The series features heavy references to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and can be considered both fantasy and mystery.

MINAGAWA JUNKO LEADS. Character designs look a bit stereotypical, and I sort of want to draw parallels to Kuroshitsuji, but because this is based off a manga, there should be plenty of story to draw from. None of this is quite as important as the fact that Minagawa Junko plays the hero. With this and the above – TBS, your crappy drama selection is forgiven.

Ristorante Paradiso: The manga’s story is set in a restaurant in Rome that the heroine Nicoletta visits from the countryside. Her parents divorced when she was young, so her grandparents raised her while her mother tried to remarry. Unfortunately for Nicoletta, her mother abandons her even after remarrying. Nicoletta goes to the restaurant that is now owned by the new husband of Nicoletta’s mother, and ends up apprenticing there among a kitchen staff of colorful characters.

In short: Bambi~no! the anime. Okay, I lie. (Especially as Bambi~no! was it’s own manga.) But I like food, I like slice of life, and colorful characters always make for an interesting time. (I speak from firsthand experience.) Again, this is based off a manga, and I am expecting things that may not happen because I didn’t read this one. Orikasa Fumiko plays the heroine, but her most memorable role for me has also been her debut role (Makino Ruki from Digimon Tamers) so expectations aren’t going anywhere on that count.

Which series this season (or starting this season, as the case is for HagaRen) are you eagerly awaiting?