May'n - ViViD

Blood Lad OP

Tracklist:

1. ViViD

2. Wild Rose

3. ViViD (without May'n)

4. Wild Rose (without May'n)

1. ViViD

An impending intro joined by a western-style guitar open the Blood Lad theme song, unraveling into Mayn's signature uplifting  techno-dance beat mixed with light rock passages. As if it were from any J-pop singer, its catchiness and may actually be the main selling point, as the track switches from happy to relatively serious in a short amount of time. Unsurprisingly, though, the vocals, after climbing up in quality with her previous singles, remain consistently powerful and versatile, especially in one moment where she hits a very high tone, followed by a harder electric guitar sequence, and wrapping up the final chorus filled with unusual harmonies including the filtered supporting vocals. Overall, it's a bit simple and short when compared to most of anison, but still quite enjoyable.

Rating: 8

2. Wild Rose

In contrast with ViViD's energy, the next track starts silently, with a touching piano intro over subdued strings and bells. As the song progresses more, a rich arrangement appears adding acoustic guitars and even more strings with the slow tempo. In contrast, here, May'n switches from her dominant vibrato capability to a unique whispery vocal colour, which perfectly suits such a relaxing piece. Ending the same way it started, it gives the impression that it could very well be used in an anime as an ending theme, although the title is mistaken with the intentions and emotions this track reflects.

Rating: 9

In the sea of generic B-side ballad finishers, Wild Rose stands out, even surpassing ViViD in my eyes. This being either the third of the fifth single in this era, depending on if you count the digital ones, it seems it's already about time for a new album from May'n, which I am expecting to be of the same quality. My overall rating is: 8 ½

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May'n - Run Real Run

Real Onigokko THE ORIGIN OP

Tracklist:

1. Run Real Run

2. Outsider

3. Run Real Run (without May'n)

4. Outsider (without May'n)

1. Run Real Run

Mysterious, gritty synths open the actual high-speed dance track, following the trend of electro-inspired music she's been releasing lately. With the aggressive techno flying around, the guitars somewhat take the back place and silently play the (citing Tsukiyo no Hikari) "James Bond theme" and give an impact to the already very upbeat, fast in tempo track. Usually, songs like this come off as too unemotional, but the powerful chorus and May'n's great voice, along with the dramatic melody perfectly reflect the emotions of despair, fright and the unavoidable fate of one who is caught in the Onigokko game. Run Real Run is right up there with her better songs, and the PV is definitely recommended as well.

Rating: 9

2. Outsider

An impending machinery intro sets the scene for another beat heavy song, and as to replace a ballad, the B-side is quite sadder and more subtle, but at the same time does gain upbeatness in an interesting electro-ballad experiment. May'n's vocals here are fairly darker here, including the Kanon Wakeshima-like gothic tones and creepy ominousness, but they do retain the striking height and drama from the previous track. In the same way the dysharmonic melodies are used here, the instrumentals are also quite hard to define, being a merge of electronica, slight guitars and an occasional bell. Still, even though the song was interesting by pure music theory, it sometimes fails to be interesting and attention-catching, and that's probably its major flaw.

Rating: 7

This single comes really close to being my new favourite from May'n (even with Scarlet Ballet being such a masterpiece). It's a shame she has B-sides that usually erode the impressions from her releases, but I guess it's a necessary sacrifice when the big amount of time goes into producing excellent music like Run Real Run. My overall rating is: 8.

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