Yumi Hara - HOTARU-BI

                                                                             Corpse Party: Tortured Souls ED

Tracklist:

1. HOTARU-BI
2. Afureru Omoi
3. Spiral Moment
4. HOTARU-BI (off vocal)
5. Afureru Omoi (off vocal)
6. Spiral Moment (off vocal)


1. HOTARU-BI

Given that this is an anime ED, the fact that this is a ballad is not surprising at all. The arrangement begins with a mixture of bells and piano, but leads into the pair of very hard, deep strings and guitars in pair, making it more of an power-ballad. It's a shame, though, that Yumi's voice doesn't follow up with the great arrangement, being very thin and frail; an obvious telltale sign of a voice actress without much singing talent (rare are the ones who are able to both act and truly sing). Bringing nothing new to the table, the song isn't very original but at least it does its job satisfyingly well.
Rating: 7

2. Afureru Omoi

I don't seem to gravitate particularly towards cute-ish songs because there is a big risk of overdoing it,but this one I could enjoy very much, as its pretty much right on spot. The composition is an upbeat, happy piece of usual idol music featuring acoustic guitars, but that is exactly what is more suited to Yumi's colour of voice, as it is cute and sweet by default. Also, it is alike to character songs, not only because of the style, but because of the adorable little voice-acted "Arigato" at the end
Rating: 7

3. Spiral Moment

As we get more into the single, every next song is more upbeat, with this one being a rockier track than others. Unlike the previous song, where the guitars were just used as a support, here they are very engaged. With Yumi's voice taking a strange, yawning colour, she sounds almost exactly like Aya Hirano from her older days o__o, which is supported by the fact that it does sound like her main slice-of-life light rock stuff.
Rating: 8

Well, that was nice. As expected, the single was pretty much average in every aspect, both the vocals and instrumentals, and it really makes a difference in music quality depending on whether the main career of the seiyuu is singing or acting. My overall rating is: 7

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