Anison – touki REVIEWS

mini-album review: Utada Hikaru “One Last Kiss”

It’s been 14 years!

Crazy to believe that the Evangelion rebuilds are finally coming to an end, but alas, here we are. With this end comes an end to the collaboration efforts between Utada Hikaru and the series, as well. You may be familiar with Hikki’s works with Kingdom Hearts but if you don’t know about their efforts with Eva… where have you been?! Jokes aside, Utada Hikaru’s work with Eva is one filled with lyrics of love, beauty, and their sound is that of an etherealness that is reminiscent of their works in the mid-00s.

Their final release with the project comes in the form of a mini-album, with one new track, a rehash of an old Eva song, and remasters of all their tie-ins. “One Last Kiss” is the title of the new song and is meant to signify one last effort – but will it be worth it in the end? Is this one last kiss one for the books? Let’s check it out!

single review: Shimamiya Eiko “Naraku no Hana”

Next up for the countdown to Halloween, we’ve got the second tie-in for Miss Shimamiya Eiko to the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni anime series. Released as ‘Naraku no Hana’, this single is the opening theme song for the sequel to the mysterious horror/thriller anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, based on the game of the same name, which is titled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (which you should watch, frankly, if you loved the first series and wanted answers to your burning questions).

‘Naraku no Hana’, literally known as Flower of Hell, follows the dark themes of her previous single, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (the fourth time this title has been mentioned here), but is this flower of hell one that blooms beautifully or is it wilted in quality? Read on!

single review: Tommy heavenly6 “Pray”

Second up on the artist spotlight series for Tommy heavenly6 is the second single from her second album, Heavy Starry Heavenly, which Gintama fans may be very familiar with!

Pray is the title of the next single, tied-in with popular anime series Gintama as its very first anime opening in 2006. It continues on the Halloween theme that many of the singles from Heavy Starry Heavenly follow, but this time opting for a more humorous vibe but with some ghostly samurais!

Pray is one of Tommy’s well-known singles, but is this prayer worth chanting with or is it just going to be left unanswered? Click on to read more…

single review: Shimamiya Eiko “Higurashi no Naku Koro ni”

I’m back!

To commemorate the return, and just in time for the Halloween season (a short three days), I will be reviewing some fun horror-related tunes, whether they be from a horror anime, or have some concept/affiliation to the horror genre in any way. First up, I’ll be reviewing the opening tracks from a fun, mysterious anime series known as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, or When They Cry for Western fans.

An iconic opening track, “Higurashi no Naku Koro ni”, titled just like its tie-in, is a single released by I’ve Sound alum Shimamiya Eiko, and it propelled her career by making it her best-selling single. How does this track and its B-side hold up now, with a new Higurashi adaptation airing, and does it still spook to this day?

single review: Shimatani Hitomi “ANGELUS / Z!Z!Z! -Zip! Zap! Zipangu!-“

Ready to head into the Latino vibes of the next InuYasha tie-in single? Or how about the Olympian feel of the second song on this single?

Performed by yet another avex soloist, Shimatani Hitomi, whose music always has some part of the world to them, ‘ANGELUS / Z!Z!Z! -Zip! Zap! Zipangu!’ serves as Hitomi’s first double-A-side single, with InuYasha’s sixth opening being the first and the other as TV Tokyo’s theme for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. With two vastly different styles packed in one release, there’s something here for two extremes! But will each song hold up on their own as zeroes to heroes, or are they just total zeroes?

single review: Tackey & Tsubasa “One Day, One Dream”

Next up is Johnny’s duo Tackey & Tsubasa with their single ‘One Day, One Dream’, tying in to the InuYasha anime series as the fifth opening. Tackey & Tsubasa are the second Johnny’s-associated group to tackle the series, and here, they go for a more pop-rock sound as opposed to V6’s J-pop sound of ‘CHANGE THE WORLD’.

With ‘One Day, One Dream’, they keep up the momentum, but is this single going to be as bright as day, as serene as a dream, or is it going to be a dark nightmare we must get ourselves out of? Read on…

single review: Every Little Thing “Grip!”

Today we’re taking a look at the fourth song from the InuYasha series, ‘Grip!’. It is the fourth opening song of the first series.

Performed by popular avex duo Every Little Thing, who has a very traditional J-pop sound, ‘Grip!’ keeps things upbeat for the InuYasha series. Featuring the A-side and one B-side song, ‘Grip!’ may potentially be a single that gets you in its grasp, but is the single overall a grip worth reciprocating or is it something to loosen yourself out of?

single review: Aikawa Nanase “Owarinai Yume”

Third up in the InuYasha song review series is Aikawa Nanase’s ‘Owarinai Yume’. With its tie-in as the third opening song, we’ll be transported in hyper-speed with the song’s harder rock sound.

Known for her heavy rock vibes and her unique vocal, Aikawa Nanase may deliver just as well as hitomi did for InuYasha’s second opening. This does make me wonder… is this endless dream worth traveling through, or is this more of a nightmare that I need to wake myself up from?

single review: hitomi “I am / innocence”

Next up on the InuYasha series is the second opening single, “I am / innocence“, performed by avex artist hitomi, not to be confused with Hitomi Yaida (and also not to be confused for ayumi hamasaki’s ‘I am…’, as my young, naive, innocent self believed initially).

hitomi also happens to be one of my favorite singers ever, begging for a question here: how does this single fare compared to a lot of her other stuff?

Her first double A-side single, hitomi keeps InuYasha’s upbeat opening momentum, but is this single one of grand self-discovery or is it just not innocent of being bad?