ZAQ - Gekijouron

High School DXD OP2

Tracklist:

1. Gekijouron

2. Dokuyoruron

3. Shout to the top

1. Gekijouron

The first track opens heavily, with drums being in the spotlight and a silent piano in the background, before switching roles and unraveling in her signature electronic-pop style.  Even though Gekijouron has certain elements from Alteration, the impression as a whole gives off more melancholy and a certain sad tone, especially with ZAQ showing off her deeper registre and great control of it, including even occasional vibrato. The catchy, dramatic chorus is the highlight, employing rock guitars and making up for impact, along with the incredibly chaotic, fast and eargasmic piano solo from the middle eight section, speeding it up just by imagining her play on the piano, coupled with synths moving at the exact same speed. After the slow build up, hearing ZAQ's voice soar in the final chorus decides this as my new favourite from her.

Rating: 9

2. Dokuyoruron

After hearing the fast and exciting A-side, Dokuyoruron comes in as the calmer ballad in the single, and, fortunately, ZAQ's composing skills prevent it from being another generic one. Her voice is, contrasting the first track, this time higher and actually filtered, but the widening instrumentation makes up for the lack of vocal depth, with violins paired with heavy drums and even the choir present sporadically. While the strings are quite subdued in the background, often just playing a single tone, the always-present electronic part bursts in the chorus, completely covering the already hidden bass and other, high-pitched synths present almost all of the time. Wrapping up, everything stops as the vocals climb up for an octave and finish the track.

Rating: 7

3. Shout to the top

Immediately greeting us with something a bit stronger, ZAQ's much more nasal and cuter colour comes to notice, as well as vocoding, signifying that a usual pop song is ahead, utilizing nothing but synths and even cadences that can recognizably be from A-pop (that's probably what I'll call American pop from now on). Still, it manages to be interesting and catchy, and very much reminding of KOTOKO's BUCANEER. Here, with the presence of so much voice change from the natural tone, a strange difference arises as well, between the "very very high pitch" singing used in the background, presumably also by ZAQ, and the "very high pitch" one used in normal singing. This isn't perhaps varied as the other two tracks are, but it does have the element of fun while listening to it.

Rating: 8

I could as well list one of the reasons for having ZAQ as one of my favourite singers the fact that her idol was Minorin, but her self-composing ability is a rare one in today's anison, and is probably a valuable resource in Lantis, the bane of most good musicians. My overall rating is: 8.

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livetune adding Fukase (from SEKAI NO OWARI) - Take Your Way

Devil Survivor 2 The Animation OP

Tracklist:

1. Take Your Way

2. Ready for Calming 

3. Each and All

4. Take Your Way (Inst)

5. Each and All (Inst)

1. Take Your Way

A funky, retro-futuristic start makes way for an unusually happy arrangement, seeing as Devil Survivor is an anime with such a grim theme. As expected from livetune, the instrumentation is a pretty standard and overused mix of  light piano, guitars and synths, alike to the Vocaloid work he does; which, disappointingly, also translates into the vocal part done by Fukase, as the melody is inconsistent and with no transitions between different tones. Just as one gets used to the track, Fukase's disheartening and weak voice colour affects it further, actually providing a relief when filtered and edited in the middle eight section. Despite being so popular, Take Your Way is nothing special, besides the very introduction to it.
Rating: 7

2. Ready for Calming

Continuing on, Ready for Calming is opened by a single piano melody, occasionally crossed with bells. The atmosphere it gives being completely different from the previous track, I'm glad livetune decided to include an instrumental-only, which fits him much better than full vocal songs. Suddenly, the summer-like ambient is broken at the half of the short interlude, rising in a trance-like climax accompanied by dubstep, while breaking down in a richer sound with the same melody and a well-hidden choir. Like a cycle, slowly everything strips down to the only piano from the beginning, albeit just playing the repeated melody again, with not much substance. Quite a lot of livetune's potential is shown here, only if he focused on being just a little more complex.
Rating: 8

3. Each and All

The third track on the single is here, and as by some rule (the rule of laziness, probably), it is the most generic and boring one. Both the arrangement and the instrumentation is actually very similar to Ready for Calming, but the addition of Rin Oikawa just needlessly prolongs the track and makes the already repetitive composition more so. Even with a few good spots, the whole thing is just a really sloppy power-ballad.
Rating: 4

With the exception of Ready for Calming, livetune's work almost always feels like a waste of time (supercell is sometimes no better at this as well). The technique of making Vocaloid songs unfortunately affects his music with real vocalists, and the level of not being able to differentiate one of the songs from another makes me question how he got so famous in the first place. Well, if I can't help with a praising review, at least I can give advice to livetune's other victims: one listen of Sis puella magica solves everything. My overall rating is: 6

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T.M. Revolution x Nana Mizuki - Preserved Roses

Valrave the Liberator OP

Tracklist:

1. Preserved Roses

2. Preserved Roses (T.M. Revolution Only) - Regular Edition

3. Preserved Roses (Nana Mizuki Only) - Regular Edition

4. Preserved Roses (Anime Ver.) - Limited Edition

1. Preserved Roses

Mecha anime always have, and always will have the best music for some strange reason, and Preserved Roses reaffirms the rule in a very impressive fashion. Even after numerous listens, the track feels energetic and uprising, being quite synth-heavy electronic and upbeat. Two of the strongest and most dramatic voices collaborate here, and while the title suggests that both have an equal share, the reality is that most of the time Nana is leading the main melody while T.M. Revolution just serves as harmonic background. Still, the chorus almost negates any drawbacks on both of their singing roles, as the signature vibrato dominates the short but enjoyable 3 minutes. The only flaw one might find here can be the lack of complexity for something called the greatest anime song duo, but it is modeled after the mainstream flow of J-pop which doesn't necessarily imply the lack of artistry in it.

Rating: 9 ½

2. Preserved Roses (T.M. Revolution Only) & 3. Preserved Roses (Nana Mizuki Only)

Unfortunately, instead of having each artist sing the whole song, both tracks are a bit empty since the gaps T.M. or Nana are supposed to sing are just plainly left out in one song or the other. It does not make for real listening I thought we will get, and it is still not a full instrumental (which would be nice), but I imagine it would be good for maybe... karaoke purposes? Imagine singing alongside either one of them; personally, I find Nana's part to be easier. Be free to comment your preferred version.

Rating: Unrated

Seeing as an actual web site was opened regarding the two major musicians collaborating, I won't be surprised, and actually will be very happy if they announce some future work together. The question is, can it live up to the high standards Preserved Roses set?

My overall rating for this single is: 9 ½ - RECOMMENDED

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