StylipS - Prism Sympathy

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya ED

Tracklist:

1. Prism Sympathy

2. Tsunagu Kizuna . Tsutsumu Kodoku

3. Brand-new Style!! ~Mahou Mitai na Show time~

4. Prism Sympathy (Inst.)

5. Tsunagu Kizuna . Tsutsumu Kodoku (Inst.)

6. Brand-new Style!! ~Mahou Mitai na Show time~ (Step Two/Inst.)

1. Prism Sympathy

Silent, synthy rotations open the first track, bursting into an upbeat, technopop idol track followed by a series of cheerful voices. As expected, besides the various electronic elements, rarely any other instrument is used in the arrangement, except perhaps the barely noticeable electric guitar. Although, no matter the instruments or the genre, everybody seems to use a dubstep breakdown somewhere in the song, even StylipS, though it's well-hidden behind the filtered unison of the vocals which barely do any soloing. Usually nothing more is expected of them, as the melody is somewhat simple and easy to perform. Hyper-kawaii isn't usually my style (well, besides Yukarin) but it's not that boring, and I can get around to listening to it more eventually.

Rating: 7

2. Tsunagu Kizuna . Tsutsumu Kodoku

More like usual anison, the piano and the violin make an introduction with a strange, off-key single note hidden in the melody. The track gains some tempo with an acoustic guitars, and several solos from different members, until the touching and catchy chorus unravels, being especially effective since it's sung in unison and dreamlike bells. I haven't really expected to hear such a song from StylipS (whom I have never heard a song from before), but it seems the classic anison element is present as well. Every verse ends with a piano chord, before everything climaxes into the effective middle eight breakdown with a rocky guitar involved. How can it be possible that this isn't a tie-in?

Rating: 8

3. Brand-new Style!! ~Mahou Mitai na Show time~

Finalizing the single, a more energetic start opens, being much more idol-like and... cheerleaderly (?) with all the bright, happy, diabetes-inducing unison of voices. Like a mix of the previous two tracks, Brand-new Style uses both light electric guitars but also recurring anison elements like the violin. With, once again, almost no solo vocal usage, every member overly aims for the perfect kawaii voice, but only ends up with too much nasal usage and a sugary, unmemorable colour. For some strange reason, which very well may be the chord progression in the chorus, this song reminds me of Minorin (but, lately, everything does).

Rating: 7

If it were any other idol-pop group, I'd probably frown at the very idea of reviewing a single of theirs, but StylipS fortunately managed a good debut here at Japanese Melodia. Of course, I am hoping for more material alike to the second track, which was my favourite. My overall rating is: 7