sentiment: happy
harmony: "Lipstick" by Sachi Tainaka
Now what do we have here? It'll be the first time I'll be making a review for Sachi Tainaka's single... haha! Well, I wasn't able to do some reviewing with her Itoshii Hito e single because I don't know what to say about the single. It was extremely good even if it didn't do a good job in the Oricon. If you must know, it only reached #67 with only approximately 2,000 copies sold. Oh such a letdown but I still like the single. The cover was hot and superb and I don't know why it didn't touched the hearts of the listeners. Or maybe because it was a very sad song... but it's B-side Begin was pretty good! A sort of rock and roll with the combination of her oh-so-powerful vocals.
And now moving into the review proper, Lipstick/Ichiban Boshi is Sachi Tainaka's 6th maxi single under Sistus Records (a subsidiary of Geneon Entertainment). Songs and lyrics are all produced by Sachi Tainaka herself (which is a great thing because she really never fails to amaze with her music writing and composing skills). Ichiban Boshi was used as the theme song for the J-movie entitled Persona. Here's the tracklisting for the single:
Lipstick (4:45)
Ichiban Boshi (4:50)
Lipstick -instrumental- (4:43)
Ichiban Boshi -instrumental- (4:48)
Lipstick is I think one of Sachi Tainaka's upbeat songs that has a really nice tune. And another point, I think this is one of her singles in which the A-side song is not a ballad compared to her last singles Saikou no Kataomoi, Aitai yo./Kimi to no Ashita, and Itoshii Hito e which are all ballad but the corresponding B-side songs are upbeat (except for Aitai yo./Kimi to no Ashita since this is a double-A single) and most likely perky. This song has the mixture of ska (because of the trumpets) and rock which is a good combination, IMO. It's kind of similar to Hitomi Shimatani's summer-ish single Neva Eva and it's a little perky as well. The song starts with a very dramatic matter but after a couple of seconds, it changes your mood into a very different and complex way. Then the next few lines, it will be slow and a bit dull but before the chorus starts, it will give you a thrill because Sachi's voice will be powerful again and will give a supreme feeling overall.
Ichiban Boshi, on the other hand, is actually what I have been expecting -- B-A-L-L-A-D. Of course, it'll have a ballad song because IMO, this is where Sachi is good at. And with her high-pitched and powerful voice, it blends well with any ballad but I still prefer Lipstick over this. With the usual blend of power ballad, it has a natural sad tone and an "almost-crying" voice of Sachi similar to her Aitai yo. song but I like the latter more. Not that very special, I should say but still a good performance, I should say. Tis just making my day, a little dull and emo so I'd still go for Lipstick!
Overall, I can rate this single a 4/5 score because I really like Lipstick very much and a bit let down with Ichiban Boshi.
sentiment: raging with happiness
harmony: "Naraku no Hana" by Eiko Shimamiya
Ah-hahaha! I must say I'm a night early again from the original release of this single. I just love the cover of this single... don't you think it's attractive? I don't have much taste for aesthetical objects/pictures but it's really artistic. Simple yet it covers all. I don't have my copy of my single yet but I already have the long version of Naraku no Hana and the B-side FLOW.
I don't get why most of the people translate the song as Hell's Flower or the Flower of Hell. I'd say it should be the Flower of Hades or Hades's Flower. Why? I based it on the kanji. Take a look here:
地獄 - "jigoku" which means hell
奈落 - "naraku" which means underworld
(Note: Hell and Underworld may have the same usage but they are completely different term)
I'd consider it if they will use Pluto since Hades & Pluto are the same person, right? And take another look, according to Wiki, here's the definition for both:
Hell - is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished.
Underworld - underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go.
So why Hades? Well simply because he is the king of underworld right? Nuff said.
Alright let's go to the critic proper... Naraku no Hana is probably one of the darkest song that Eiko Shimamiya performed. It has one weird and eery start and end. Although it's dark, it's still upbeat that's why I like the song. Upbeat that I can say it is really an appropriate opening theme for the rated-M visual novel game & anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai. And with the usage of electric guitars, it'll give you a crack for 5:01. I give it a 5/5 even if the finishing touch was kind of unsatisfying like in the case of Mami Kawada's Beehive.
The B-side FLOW has a fairly upbeat tune featuring a different tune of Eiko Shimamiya. It's much lighter than Naraku no Hana but I like the first song better. I can't say much on this song as it didn't really caught much of my attention.
Overall, the single's not half bad and I think I will like FLOW when I listen to it more. I hope this will help her to be more famous because her voice is not that bad. I like most of her songs and I'd say it's not really bad. And after a year, at last, she will have her 2nd maxi single.
If you want to listen to these two songs, click here or here.
sentiment: a bit bored
harmony: Shining stars bless☆ (preview) by Kaori Utatsuki
Now I'm gonna promote again wahaha! I'm doing this for the nth time.
Anyways...
Shining stars bless☆ single; 1st Maxi Single
Release Date: August 1, 2007; Nanatsuiro Drops Opening Theme
Tracklisting:
Shining stars bless☆
I'm home -unplugged-
Shining stars bless☆ (instrumental)
I'm home -unplugged- (instrumental)
Now what is my impression in this single? I think it is suited and great as an opening theme for Nanatsuiro Drops since the anime is a magical girl and romance genre. I haven't heard "I'm home" but I assume it's a ballad song and she will be using her guitar strings again since it's an unpluggd version. I think I'm gonna like the single but what I don't like is that KOTOKO still made the lyrics for her songs instead of herself. I know she's still new in releasing singles but MELL and Mami Kawada were the ones who wrote the lyrics for their songs for their singles. But nonetheless, I still like the music though. I hope she will improve in her next single - that she will write her own songs since it's her maxi single not KOTOKO's. I'm not against that, but at least she will learn to write and compose her songs just like Mami Kawada and MELL did. ^^
Feeling: Euphoric
Currently Listening To: "Carpe Diem" by Mami Kawada
Yes! Mami Kawada is getting promotions and getting famous lately... xD Good for her because she has the talent, guts and of course, she deserves it! I just visited on her main website (川田まみ : GENEON OFFICIAL WEB SITE) and saw on the "News" part that in August 8, 2007 she will release her 4th maxi single entitled 「Get my way！」 and it will be used as the 2nd ending theme for my favorite anime series Hayate no Gotoku! xD Yay! I'm uber excited right now!!! I want it!! I want it!!!!!! I WANT IT ALREADY!!!! XD *jumps* but for Mami Kawada, I will patiently wait for that single to be released... xD I wonder which song will get the PV... That I will find out too soon! xD For now, there's still no single cover but once I found out that the single cover's out, I will post it here. ^___^
But in fairness, it's release date is just close to the release date of the opening theme of Nanatsuiro Drops (which is the Shining Star Bless) by Kaori Utatsuki, a co-I've member. And it will release earlier than the "Naraku no Hana", the opening theme for the horror anime series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai which will be performed by Eiko Shimamiya, also a co-I've member. Why am I wondering? Because I discovered the release date for Naraku no Hana first than Get My Way! I just find it odd but nonetheless, I'm still excited for them! And in fairness again, KOTOKO has no upcoming single for now... I guess Mami Kawada is getting really famous in the I've now and that makes me happy. Well KOTOKO is still the most famous but I hope that there will come the time that KOTOKO and Mami Kawada will be equal in popularity, if you know what I mean. xD
