single review: Perfume “Magic of Love”

I’ve been on a huge Perfume kick lately, and I’m not complaining! I have been a huge fan of Perfume for over 10 years, and I can’t recommend them enough to people. Today, I’ve come to really appreciate their music evolution over time, and it feels like I’ve grown to love them even more with everything they do.

For this particular post, I’m transporting myself back to 2013, when I was just a budding university student who, much like every Perfume fan, was anticipating for that next Perfume release and whether it held itself up to the quality that Perfume churns out every time. We’re taking a look at their single, ‘Magic of Love’, which didn’t quite make a huge mark on the charts but still cemented their influence over Japan. Is this single filled with magic to make fans new and old fall in love, or is this just not the right spell?

May 3, 2020January 11, 2022 toukimeiki

single review: Perfume “love the world”

Let’s go back to 2008, a better time, when there wasn’t a global pandemic and Perfume was ruling the Japanese charts for the very first time in their (at the time) 8-year career. Coming off from the success of their first album ‘GAME’, fans were anxiously awaiting for the next release and a lot of questions came up: how were they going to follow this up? Are they just a one-trick pony? Will they continue this same level of success?

Luckily, Perfume released their seventh major single, ‘love the world’, in July 2008 to huge success, becoming the first techno-pop single to reach #1 on the Oricon charts in its first week, and it ran on to be their best-selling single of their career. It did receive some critical success, as well, but how did I find the single myself? Was it as loving to the world as its title suggests, or is this only a one-way love? Read on!

May 2, 2020January 21, 2022 toukimeiki

mini-album review: APRIL “Da Capo”

What a time April 2020 was. Despite it being one of the few months of 2020 where all hell seems to have broken loose, and we all know why, April has brought upon a lovely array of K-pop comebacks to tide ourselves over while we are all in quarantine. One such group is APRIL, with a name that’s as appropriate as the timing they set their comeback, who are now delivering a concept that incorporates a slightly different style than their usual fluttery sound with a new feel to their choreography.

Coming in the form of their 7th mini album, shortened to ‘Da Capo’, APRIL attempt to reach into a darker side with new title track ‘LALALILALA’, but is this darker side going to have listeners sing along to their tune or is this a lala-lackluster release?

March 30, 2020January 21, 2022 toukimeiki

Anison Corner #1: Gintama’ OP1 – serial TV drama “Tougenkyo Alien”

In the very first of my new review series, Anison Corner, I’ll be taking a look into what makes an anime song and its counterpart visual so good (or so bad). From its relation to the anime’s story, to its technical aspects such as the song, the animation, and how it translates to the viewer, Anison Corner will take all these details and score them up just like any of my regular reviews, and I’ll give you my recommendations for each anison on this site! Whether it’s openings or endings, or even inserts and OST tracks, you’re guaranteed to see a variety of anison moving forward.

First up is an opening from a series that doesn’t seem to drop in score on MAL, and it’s a series that just almost seemed to never see its end in sight, with its various anime and live-action films, and its various title changes… you know I’m talking about Gintama! For the first review, I’ll be taking a look at the alien-like world of Gintama’, the series’ second ‘season’, and its first opening. Read on!

January 11, 2020November 15, 2021 toukimeiki

single review: AKB48 “RIVER”

Back in the last decade (2000 to 2009), a girl group by the name of AKB48 was already making waves for establishing a large group that would hold 48 members for a concept of ‘idols you can meet’, and while the idea was entertained for about 3-4 years, it didn’t actually take hold of Japan until the release of a quaint single with inspirational power in late 2009.

With the release of ‘RIVER’, AKB reached new heights, with the single being the best-selling idol-pop single since the last 7 years (you know, back when Morning Musume. was still a huge name), but is this RIVER worth the traverse to the other side, or is it generic enough to have you drown?

January 10, 2020November 15, 2021 toukimeiki

single review: BEYOOOOONDS “Megane no Otoko no Ko / Nippon no D・N・A! / Go Waist”

Ahem.

Hello! Project is at it again! The mega-group BEYOOOOONDS, ridiculousness aside, consists of two already-formed Hello! Project groups, joined with three winners of the ONLY YOU audition, makes their debut in the summer of 2019 with a triple A-side that addresses the hot topics: will that boy with glasses like me? Will we reach out to Japan? Will we get the body we want?!

I wonder if we get any of these answers through this single release and if they end up being the right ones… there’s only one way to find out!

January 9, 2020November 15, 2021 toukimeiki

single review: Koda Kumi “TABOO”

Speaking of nostalgia, remember when Koda Kumi created homosexuality in Japan? I was there when that happened.

Jokes aside, Koda Kumi is an LGBTQ* icon, and she’s no stranger to the ‘taboo’ topics of being gay in her music. From her lustful dance moves with her back-up dancers of the infamous music video of ‘SHAKE IT’, to the sensual lesbian foreplay of the 4 TIMES, Koda Kumi has done it all for homosexuals everywhere. She does this exclusively for her 2008 single ‘TABOO’, and one has to wonder how ‘taboo’ she’s gonna go, but is this worth exploring or should we just forget it even happened?

January 8, 2020November 15, 2021 toukimeiki

mini-album review: miss A “Touch”

Let’s take it back to 2012, 8 years ago, when people thought the world was gonna end, and miss A was ready to ‘touch’ all our hearts… in a way that you might not think. The formerly-JYP Entertainment four-member group gave us a slamming debut in 2010, then proceeded to keep up the momentum into the next two years.

With their first mini-album, “Touch”, miss A turned around their concepts, leaving their ‘bad girl’ and ‘good-bye baby’ concepts behind for a darker, slightly tragic, and gothic image. However, was this image worth a touch or did it burn them upon contact?

January 7, 2020November 15, 2021 toukimeiki

mini-album review: Red Velvet “‘The ReVe Festival’ Day 1”

Remember last year? It ended so soon! It was a tough year for K-pop, but apart from everything’s that happened, the music that was pumping out in 2019 did not let up, with many artists going in different directions for their sound.

One in particular was popular SM Entertainment girl group Red Velvet, who decided to take things in strange fashion, going for offbeat and disjointed in the initial part of their ‘ReVe Festival’ mini-album series. It certainly divided their (and K-pop’s) fanbase, as it was a totally off-kilter sound. Now, you’re probably wondering if it holds up at all after last year, and if the mini’s songs have any of the same sound… then step right up and see!

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