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Since the blog is taking off so well, I might as well take the time to run an official Facebook page.
I am a huge procrastinator, though. Do not expect miracles  (〃￣ω￣〃ゞ

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Keep Calm And Listen To Anisong

I did a pretty neat job, if you ask me. Animelo should of enrolled these as their official concert goods a long time ago - as an exclusivity to western fans.

On another topic, when already talking about this... remember that post I did about Animelo FLAG NINE a while ago? Well, it seems that a certain miss Sumire Kamisaka is now called Sumire Uesaka. That means two things could of happened:

1. She changed her name

or

2. Google Translate (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

 ┬─┬ノ( º _ ºノ) 

GRANRODEO - Henai no Rondo

Karneval OP

Tracklist:

1. Henai no Rondo

2. Y.W.F

3. Sakura Shoku Dai 2 Button

4. Henai no Rondo (OFF VOCAL)

5. Y.W.F (OFF VOCAL)

6. Sakura Shoku Dai 2 Button (OFF VOCAL)

Ah, the same situation is going on as when I was reviewing Mamoru Miyano's Canon. You get a pretty typical, shoujo anime, but the producers decide to surprise you with such a great theme song. Henai no Rondo opens with a mysterious and foreboding accordion solo, setting up a circus-like ambient, but only a guitar riff is needed to remind what GRANRODEO is really about. A upbeat, dark track rich in arrangement quirks like bells and synths follows, ensuring that the infectious melody is stuck in your head. Kishow's voice falls back in some bits of the song where the accordions are actually the main feature, but his training in voice acting has really blessed him with a fantastic, deep colour. It seems that Ani-rock as a genre is really picking up, and Henai no Rondo is a great example of it, which is why it deserves a 9.

Following in a similar matter, Y.W.F retains the rocky guitars, but it's tempo and rhythm make it more of a dance song. The vocals here are almost unrecognizable, as they are both vocoded, and used at unusual heights, but along with the synthy arrangement and the occasional dubstep sequences, the track sounds very mainstream and pop. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable as much as Henai no Rondo is, although it can get repetitive, seeing as it is longer by a minute. Also, it shows that GRANRODEO can move into other genres sometimes without decreasing the quality in the music itself. Its rating is 9 as well.

With a slower intro and a happier atmosphere, Sakura Shoku Dai 2 Button is the single's ballad. Of course, with the single being released in April, the verses, even though somewhat generic in the group of sakura-related songs, reflect the feelings of spring, being uplifting and optimistic. The choruses, on the other hand, for some reason are completely contrasting and are actually the better part of the song, as they are melancholic, sad and very touching, making for a great anime ED. Just when you thought the track has been rounded up by the slowly disappearing bells in the background, a choir of children and Kishow's random ad-libbing needlessly elongate the great finish, making this a 6-minute song of which half is not really that good. The mark it gets is 7.

Disregarding the random, generic ballad which can be found in almost every release from the beginning of March to the end of spring, the single is a great start for GRANRODEO this year, making way for more great anime OPs like Henai no Rondo was. My overall rating is: 8

The comment box doesn't bite; be polite when feeding it, though.

On another topic, this is the 50th post on Japanese Melodia. Yay!

Yoko Takahashi - Shibashi Sora ni Inorite

EVANGELION IN

Tracklist:

1. Shibashi Sora ni Inorite

2. Uchuu no Uta: Circle Mind

3. Shibashi Sora ni Inorite (Off Vocal Version)

4. Uchuu no Uta: Circle Mind (Off Vocal Version)

1. Shibashi Sora ni Inorite

I think I've never heard a song that is truly frightening, except for this one. The bizarre, deep chants in German (I think) make for all the fun, and achieve about the same effect as an Internet joke with a click and a sudden shock; especially the sequences where you get the feeling that those voices are speaking directly to you. Apart from them, unfortunately, most of the song is just awkward and boring, with Yoko's voice being very stale, and the gooey, headache giving arrangement which fails in being a rip-off from Kotoko's techno tracks. Maybe I should give bonus points because the song successfully invoked emotions, which is exactly why music was created, but the rest just doesn't make up for it.

Rating: 6

2. Uchuu no Uta: Circle Mind

With a complete contrast in the theme, the following tracks reminds of an unusual merge of classical music and enka (Japanese traditional music). The arrangement here is quite relaxing and serene, featuring both the violins and the harp, and it goes along perfectly with the voice Yoko is now using, which is much calmer and better. At certain moments, the track can even sound religious, with the vocal solos and the choir accompanying her, but in a minute or so, the rhythm picks up and after going through various phases and experimentations, it gains an anisong feel to it with an unusual Disney-like ending. It was definitely a great decision to merge genres like this, and it makes the song very unique.
Rating: 10

Mecha anime have never been lacking in good music, and even though Shibashi Sora ni Inorite was kind of a mixed bag with good and bad elements, Uchuu no Uta makes everything worth listening to. My overall rating is: 8.

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Nagi Yanagi - Yuki Toki

Yahari Ore no Seishun Lovekome wa Machigatteiru OP

Tracklist:

1. Yuki Toki

2. Oto no Nai Yume

3. Surrealisme

4. Yuki Toki (Instrumental)

5. Oto no Nai Yume (Instrumental)

6. Surrealisme (Instrumental)

1. Yuki Toki

Every singer has stepped out of their usual style at least once, and Nagi's time has come now. Unlike Zoetrope or Laterality, the track represents an overused, generic anisong style dominated by the piano and the guitars. Strangely, though the atmosphere of the song is happy and cute, she doesn't try make her vocals nasal even once, which I'm thankful for, because her warm colour is very hard to achieve. Summing up, this is not bad, but at the same time nothing which hasn't been heard before.

Rating: 7

2. Oto no Nai Yume

The follow up is a dreamy, slow ballad unlike the cheeriness found in Yuki Toki. Finally, the B-side isn't a filler, like in few recent reviews I've done, and the arrangement is quite interesting with the standard acoustics, piano, and an occasional flute as well. Nagi's voice is a bit too weak to hold longer but calmer tones, unlike the power she can sometimes show, but it doesn't really ruin the relaxing experience.

Rating: 9

3. Surrealisme

I'm not sure if I can go that far and call Surrealisme a proper song... it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey... stuff. No matter how long you listen to it, foot tapping is impossible, because the rhythm goes just from being as regular as a ticking clock to a state in which there almost isn't any. The same weirdness applies to the instruments, where the better question is what isn't used... and Nagi doesn't even sing - more like rap extremely fast or hold elongated tones in the only bit of sanity that is the chorus. My love of strange songs kicks in again, and I will probably grow to like this even more than Zoetrope, my current favourite song from her, seeing as this should of definitely been the A-side.
Rating: 10

This single is definitely quite different that what she has released before, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a bad thing - except the very A-side, which turned out to be the worst song in the single. I don't really see why it couldn't of been done better, since Nagi is no stranger to mind-blowing songs, like my new favourite, Surrealisme. My overall rating is: 9

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ClariS - Reunion

Oreimo 2 OP

Tracklist:

1. reunion

2. Tik Tak

3. Mint Gum

4. reunion -Instrumental-

1. reunion

Considering that the ClariS girls were found through Nico Nico, it is not at all strange that their songs are very similar to that of the usual electro Vocaloid style. This song is light and whispy, and can even incorporates dubstep in its chorus - making it very fun to listen to with the colourful arrangement. Both Clara and Alice's vocals are very expressive and gentle, although they are filtered, and quite young (in other words, they are much better than idols who get years of training), and such music fits perfectly with the theme of Oreimo.
Rating: 8

2. Tik Tak

The next track starts off with a mysterious intro, and is darker and more touching than the previous. Although it is strikingly similar to some K-pop ballads, the laid-back tempo and synths are still present, and ClariS sounds almost like one singer here, because the two's voices are almost indiscernible.
Rating: 9

3. Mint Gum

With the employment of violins and numerous acoustics, this is more like usual anisong we get to see, like YuiKaori or Sphere. This song retains the light, but natural arrangement even though it's much slower and ballad like. I suppose that after upbeat, synthy songs this one is not as original or interesting, but it can still show an other side of ClariS, which is enjoyable and uplifting as well.

Rating: 7

Whether or not you believe these two girls are really 14 year old and in high school, their vocal ability is certainly excellent, and the single would definitely be one of their good releases. The only thing that may hinder them in the future is the unoriginality which sometimes appears. My overall rating is: 8.

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Yukari Tamura - Fantastic Future

Hentai Ouji to Warawanai OP

Tracklist:

1. Fantastic future

2. Kizutsuku Houseki

3. Datte x2 UkiUki

4. Mou Chotto Fall in Love

1. Fantastic future

Without any first introduction, we are immediately thrown into Yukarin's fast, happy reciting. Usually, upbeat, romance-oriented songs like this quickly become boring to me, but this one has a great thing in it; it's extremely catchy. Infectious, almost. Aside from that, the arrangement is a pretty standard mix of synths, march-like drums but also quirky, uplifting violins which definitely add to the track's enjoyability over longer periods of time. Although this is one cute song, with her being the professional she is, it's not overdone and diabetes-causing, like some of them can be.
Oh, and do watch the PV. It's hilarious.

Rating: 9

2. Kizutsuku Houseki

"Is this Yukari?" was my first thought - her voice was just so deep and contrasting to the previous track (and most of her discography, as well), fitting to the overall jazz style. Her vocals in this song show the maturity she really has as a singer, with stunning but still subtle passages and vibratos, and it turns out to be a song that reminds of older anisong classics with an unexpected mix of saxophones from jazz and hard guitars from rock, especially at the middle eight section. Being all laid-back and clubby it's a great experiment she should definitely do more often.

Rating: 10

3. Datte x2 UkiUki

Even by the funny title you would guess this is a joke-ish track, but it is really overdone and is a complete childrens' song that one would expect to hear in Doraemon or something like that. It's more cute than Fantastic future, and it's amusing to hear her voice go from one colour to another (and pronounce the words like a child) but it's definitely something I shouldn't take for a serious listen. Forever 17?
More like forever 7.

Rating: 6

4. Mou Chotto Fall in Love

Maybe named after her tour of the same title (Fall in Love)?  Anyways, this is a bit more rocky and nostalgic track, featuring the saxophones as well, but it's still just one comic filler, being perhaps just a bit more serious Datte UkiUki. There's nothing especially memorable about it, except maybe the turbo-speed ultra cute "Ah Ah Ah Ah" which could be featured in a character song.

Rating: 5

And this is why Yukarin shouldn't really do longer releases other than real full-lenght albums, because the ideas are going to run out very quickly if she sticks to the cute style for all of the tracks. Fortunately, the A-side was great, and so was Kizutsuku Houseki, giving us a different view on her as a musician. My overall rating is: 7 ½

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