Top 5 Original Japanese K-Pop Songs

This ranking is based purely on my own opinion, so, please respect that

 

This is my current K-Pop love of the moment (Rainbow's JaeKyung).
But, I couldn't find a gif of her derping. Her hair tho

 

And, here it is, another ranking! Don't worry, I've started writing a rant, too. And I plan to start reviewing dramas eventually, too.

That title on its own probably doesn't make sense so I'll elaborate. Of course, many Korean artists debut in Japan with Japanese language remakes of pre-existing songs. However, there comes a point where the artist has to release a brand-new, all-original track for the Japanese audiences. I'll be counting down my personal favourites. Oh, and you should probably consider this as a kind of Part Two of this.

5. Rainbow - Gonna Gonna GO! / Shoujo Jidai - MR. TAXI

 

Yes, that's right, it's a draw! My rankings so far make it look like SNSD are one of my favourite K-Pop groups but they aren't. Don't get me wrong, I like them, and they're miles better than, say, T-ara or something. Thing is, some SNSD songs tick all my little personal boxes while others...well, they don't hit a single chord with me. And that's just how it is. However, MR. TAXI is one song that I loved from the moment I heard it. It sounded really cool and the Japanese was a ridiculous improvement on whatever it was that was supposed to be happening in their previous Japanese release, Gee. It was a pleasant surprise. I never go in expecting to be wowed by this lot, so, when they do come out with a song I love, I end up more impressed that I probably would have been otherwise. Half of SNSD's songs bore me, while the other half excite me...well, not quite but when I like them, I really do like them. 
Rainbow, however, are my favourite K-Pop girlgroup. Gonna Gonna GO! is extremely K-Poppy in terms of style but it's really catchy, too. Also, these girls have had excellent Japanese since their Japanese debut, which is more than I can say for some Korean groups who try their luck overseas. Their Japanese language skills do not disappoint in this track, either. The production of this song is extremely slick and, though it may not be Rainbow's best song nor the most original thing ever, there's some definite appeal in this song. Though, technically, it borders on the generic, this song has a certain charm to it which definitely draws the listener in. Also, this song has a cool rap thrown in there, as always, which just adds to it.

 

4. ROMEO (Park Jung Min) - Give Me Your Heart

 

This song didn't chart particularly well, only reaching the #26 spot in the chart and that was probably due to an immense lack of promotion on this single's part. I actually adore this single and that's why it made it onto this list. I think, had it been given the promotion it deserved, this single would have done a lot better. In terms of style, this song is very is very similar to Jung Min's first proper solo release, independent from SS501, 'Not Alone'. I absolutely adore the style in that song, so, when I heard this track, I was ecstatic. Give Me Your Heart is a very cool and dramatic song, with a really catchy melody. I love the violins in the backtrack, too. As a Japanese release, this is also a really strong track. Jung Min's Japanese sounds seamless and natural, his accent and pronunciation are really good. Obviously, he still sounds Korean, but less obviously than quite a lot of other Korean artists singing in Japanese. Jung Min always did have the best Japanese in SS501, proved not only by his singing but also his success in the language games of their Japan-based TV show, and his Japanese has only improved since the last time he released anything in Japan. I really do think he needs more promotion, he's a really good singer, his Japanese is great, I feel his musical style would appeal to a Japanese audience (somehow) and, really, look at him, he's a human bishi! He's a Horse Prince, but, still, Horse Princes can be bloody pretty, apparently. I know looks don't count for all, but, when promoting him to another market than his home market, looks always help.

 

3. 2NE1 - SCREAM

 

This single only hit #7 on the Oricon charts so, in terms of doing well in Japan, it's not the best but it's still good. However, this is one of my very favourite 2NE1 songs so on the list it goes! Dara's Japanese isn't the strongest which lets the track down just a little but it doesn't have any real bearing on the quality of the rest of the song. This song is really cool and powerful, with impressive vocals. Cool is the only word to describe this song, really. CL and Minzy are particularly mind-blowing, actually, in both their rap and vocal parts. But, honestly, CL has so much style and power that it's unbelievable. As painfully naff and cheesy as it may sound, she's not known as 'The Baddest Female' for nothing, of that I have no doubts.

2. BIGBANG - Gara Gara GO!

 

The kings of K-Pop, BIGBANG, moved onto original tracks as early as their second single, chancing it against Tegomass (and, clearly, not succeeding...I don't even know what they got). This is one of my favourite BIGBANG tracks and my second favourite of their Japanese A-Sides (can't argue with BEAUTIFUL HANGOVER, really, that shit's far too good). I know there's a Korean version of this song, too, but I'm pretty bloody sure it came after and, as such, is a remake of the Japanese song and not the other way around. This is a really catchy, fast-paced song - it's fun and, somehow, it's really quite Summery. I feel that this song was also one of the first in a K-Pop trend that spread like wildfire, in terms of song style and even music video visuals. With plenty of English chants and even some more simple Japanese, this song's easy to sing along to, granted you miss out the fast parts. Unless you do those know those bits, obviously (I do, I have to say). It's just...yeah, fun.

It's very upbeat yet cool at the same time. Like, really cool. Especially those rap parts. And the 'T.O.P' part. That can't be argued with. That shit is too good. So, yeah, there seem to be no specific reasons...I just love this song.

 

1. Kim Hyun Joong - HEAT

I already did a review of this song as part of this review but that was referring more to what I liked about the song than why I thought it was a good choice for the first non-remake song HyunJoong released in Japan. Proof that it deserves the #1 spot lies solely in the fact that this single sold well enough to stick Yamashita Tomohisa, one of Japan's ultimate pop aces since he was around sixteen years old, with the first (and only) Oricon #2 in his recording career, which started when he was about nineteen. He's twenty-eight this April. You also have to keep in mind that it's an extremely rare feat for a K-Pop artist to top the charts with their second Japanese release. So, there, we have the proof, but, what contributed to this? There are various factors that may have led to this success. First-off, HyunJoong is a huge star all over Asia, so, it would only make sense for him to hit Japan hard. He had already gained fans in Japan through his time as a member of SS501, a group who made their Japanese debut ahead of the current Halyuu boom in the Japanese music scene, and his roles in the dramas, Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss. Japan experienced a K-Drama boom a before K-Pop really hit it big there, and, furthermore, both of these dramas are remakes of popular manga, the first having had a hugely successful Japanese drama adaption and the second being somewhat of a classic. Both of these manga also have anime and T-Drama adaptions, too. And, really, Boys Over Flowers and Hana Yori Dango are among the most successful dramas ever in their respective countries of origing, so, it's not surprising that HyunJoong's role as the lovable Aspie, JiHoo (formerly known as Rui) drew him in some fans. Furthermore, the song was created by Japanese music legends, B'z. They're a truly powerful duo in the Japanese music scene so, really, having a song created by that pair puts HyunJoong at quite an advantage. I mean, aside from being HUGE in themselves, one half of B'z is responsible for the composition for the best selling debut single in Oricon chart history, the long-awaited first single of KAT-TUN, selling over 750 thousand copies in its first week. Actually, this song is more Japanese-sounding than it is Korean, and considerably so, too. This probably helped it sell so well. As much attention as certain Korean artists are getting in Japan right now, Japanese-style songs will always have more appeal, seeing as Japanese-style music been gradually tailored to...well, appeal to the Japanese public. Besides, with some groups coming out with the same generic style of song all the time, maybe this is a nice change, I don't know. I'm not Japanese, I'm just speculating.

 

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So, yeah, there you have it, my personal ranking of K-Pop artists first original Japanese tracks. Though, technically, some of these may not be the best or the most interesting or even the most successful (though, #1 is certainly one of the more successful ones), but, y'know what, I really like them and think they deserve their spots.



!December Top 4!

All opinions are my own, not your's, so, if you disagree...oops?

 

You better check this out, bisshes
I think I'll make this whole 'lovely gif of one of my biases' a trend for these monthly rankings

 

That's right, it's that time of month again - the COSMIC CHILD Monthly Top 5! -is met with total silence-

Well, anyway, though, as always, this is later than I would have liked, but, oh well. So, without any futher ado, let's get a move on!

By the way, I can't think of a 5th song so we're skipping that. I do know more song but not well enough.


4. SHINee - 1000nen, Zutto Soba ni Ite

Well, you lot in the back there, those sweaters are...ugly

 Since the MP3 seemed reluctant to get itself onto my MP3 player, I don't know this song very well, so I'm not going to say much. At all. It's a very sweet and emotional song and if I had room, it'd be on my MP3 Player. And I'll be fixing that shortly. Unfortunately, I can't remember the tune so yeah. It's nice, though.

 

3. Berryz Koubou - WANT!

 

Keep the hair, keep the hair! - an ode to Momoko

 This single's A-Side is, pretty much, everything I wanted from Berryz Koubou, no pun intended. Honestly, even if this is just a one-off, I've wanted to see the girls tackle this style for oh-so long, now. As much as I am a huge fan of their fun and upbeat tracks, and as much as their mature stage between Heroine ni Narou ka! (which was, yes, mature but it worked so it doesn't count) and Be Genki! didn't work for me at all, I love when they go for the more adult yet still upbeat and dancy style. However, what I really wanted to see the girls attempt was this exact style of autotune-ridden dance music - yes, it is extremely autotune heavy at parts but, and, oh, do I praise the powers that be!, the autotune in this is a lot less awful than some of UFP!'s recent attempts. In fact, this and MoMusu's Wakuteka give me reason to be less nervous about the application of autotune within Hello! Project, therefore making it easier for me to see past the mess that was CAT'S EYE. Anyway, this shade of maturity is a lot cooler than certain others the group has displayed. I have no desire to see the girls dabbling in  that sultry, coy genre of maturity any longer - it just looks odd, especially with Momo just looking completely out of place and Chii looking far too happy. However, this works perfectly with the girls' images. It's a bloody catchy song, too, I'm not kidding. It's actually ridiculously catchy! And the vocals sound great, even the autotune free ones. Risako and Miyabi lead so powerfully! My sole complaint about the song is that the chorus is awfully reminscent of Pink Lady's Nagisa no Sinbad's verses in terms of melody - I wonder if anyone else picked up on this?
The B-Side, Yuuki wo Kudasai!, is less impressive. It's still a nice song, definitely, but it certaintly doesn't bring anything new to the table. It's a very typical and sweet, happy-go-lucky Berryz B-side track, so, don't go in expect anything new and amazing. Of course, should you like such songs, it's actually very good. I do like the song, I like it a lot, let me make that clear, but, in comparison to the B-Side, which is something a little outside of Berryz's safety zone, the B-Side almost seems a little safe, or a little 'been there, done that'. Regardless, it's still a very nice and upbeat song~!

 

2. NEWS - WORLD QUEST / Pokopon Pekorya

 

Shige's pose doesn't quite match up with the rest, now, does it?

I also did a review of this entire single, if you'd care to give it a gander. And, as such, what else can I say about this single than it kicked Chankapana's arse (and it was bloody good). Honestly, I am so ridiculously happy that these guys are finally back.

 

1. GACKT - WHITE LOVERS ~Shiawase no Toki~

 

His hair made me so happy. Really.

 

Now, this really shouldn't be surprising, what, with my love for GACKT and all. I already did a review of this song's A-side, so there's not much to say about that, really. I mean, it was fairly in depth and there's nothing I could say here that hasn't already been said there.
The B-Side, however, was something I didn't get to talk about. ONE MORE KISS is a fast-pased and dramatic song that reminds me of Ai Senshi and (a better version of) YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz' YOU ARE THE REASON. In terms of melody, it's really quite reminiscent of older GACKT songs yet, in terms of musical arrangement, it's much closer to his newer stuff. This track really brings the new and the old together, and with fantastic results, too. It's far from being my favourite of GACKT's songs, but, with a full discography of about 200, give or take, tracks, I can't say that's really a problem. I do love this song a lot and, since I first heard it, I cannot get the bloody thing out of my head.

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This was kind of half-arsed but I just wanted to get it up before it was too late. And I couldn't finish it. It's more of an obligation thing, ugh.



TOP 5 JAPANESE CHRISTMAS SONGS

All opinions are my own, and that should really go without saying. Please respect that.

Christmassy GACKT is always good, I find.

So, that time of year has come yet again. Actually, Christmas is my favourite time of year, for many reasons. Winter, I've finally realised, is my favourite of the four seasons. I love this time of year, and all that is just enhanced by all the special songs you only listen to at that same time of year (I refuse to listen to them outside of December, in all honesty).
Now, Japan has released a good bunch of Christmas songs, despite being a non-Catholic country - in fact, South Korea have barely any Christmas songs despite the fact that, though being a generally non-Catholic country, many K-Pop stars are openly Catholic. I suppose Japan must make a bigger deal of it all and, of course, J-Idol Pop in particular is a genre somewhat built on gimmicks, right?
As an avid fan of Christmas and Japanese music, I'd like to take this opportuniy to give my personal Top 5 Ranking of Japanese Christmas Songs!

5. Arashi - Dear Snow

Jun, that garish jacket does not fit in. Way to ruin the colour scheme, pshhh.

This ranking is kind of Johnny's dominated (an accident, I promise), and, as such, it kicks off with none other than JE's popular export, Arashi(though, that being said, SMAP actual have a better sales ranking to their name, as do Kinki Kids, so, their success is only about 3rd in the rankings - bare in mind that these statistics may be outdated)~!
To me, this sounds really Christmassy - it has the right balance of warm and cold to it. Also, the instruments and such, the arrangement and that, is very clever in getting that Christmassy feel across. It's very typically Arashi, but it has somewhat of an old English Christmas feel to it that I can't quite place. It's a really gorgeous song and it's nothing but Christmassy, though, without being all in-your-face cheesy. It works really, really well.
The lyrics aren't the cheeriest (as you scroll down, you'll realise that there is actually one song that isn't just sad in this ranking), but they're sweet. Yeah, they're definitely nice lyrics. In the song, the narrator is in love yet they can't follow through with this love, they can't convey their feelings. They know the love is unrequited and, rather than being a total arse and dwelling on the fact their love isn't paying attention to their lovely feelings of lovely love, the narrator's accepting that it simply cannot be with them. They do state what they'd do if only the two could be together but the song ends on a far less hopeful note, with a line that basically means 'It will never happen but I'll still love you' - it's sweet but harsh, definitely. I believe this works well with the idea I presented earlier regarding the blend of warm and cold tones. It's a lovely song, really.

4. °C-ute - Aitai Lonely Christmas

That fade effect isn't very good, though, is it? No wonder Nakky looks so pissed and Maimai looks so judgemental.

Regrettably, this is only song in this ranking by a female artist. However, there are plenty more in my Top 10 and Top 20 lists, but, I'm not going to post anything so pointlessly long if I don't have to. So, yeah, kudos to °C-ute! I honestly think that °C-ute are the H!P group with the best talent and sound the best live out of all the groups. Anyhoots, onto the song, right?
This song seems to be about a girl who wants to spend Christmas with her love, so, nothing really very special or original here, though, there appears to be a catch. They lyrics don't explain anything and the PV is pretty much plotless, so, what the catch is, I'm really not sure. My assumption is that she can't see her love for whatever reason, though I'm pretty sure they haven't broken up. Yet. It seems like they're on the verge of breaking up though they haven't even reached Christmas - this makes the girl sad because she really just wanted to spend Christmas wih her love. She's never felt this kind of love before and she really just wants to cherish Christmas with him. She tries her best to hide her pain but it's not so easy, so, this song is her feelings conveyed through the voices of °C-ute - metaphorically, of course, seeing as the lyrics weren't written by any young girl afraid of an impending break-up and were, instead, written by Tsunku♂, a 44-year-old man with a wife and kids. It's quite a bittersweet song and I like that about it.
Though, my brain, upon having just read the translation, has drawn an automatic connection between the lyrics and the drama, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. Obviously, it doesn't all match-up, but some parts do. It's of note that this drama is my 2nd favourite drama of all time and my favourite anything of the romance genre. I'm picky when it comes to romances, but this one hits all the right keys.
The melody of the song is really catchy and the arrangement is fantastic. This is one of my all-time favourite °C-ute songs, to be honest, which is sad since I'll only let myself listen to it in December. The tone of this song gives it an almost cool feel, as well as a sad and sentimental touch. And, on top of that, Airi and Chisato sound bloody amazing (don't they always, though?).

3. NEWS - SNOW EXPRESS

Since this is an album track and I couldn't find any decent screenshots, here's a wallpaper graphic made using screenshots of their performance of this song from the DIAMOND Concert DVD. Credits go to rabbid-mongoose @ devART.

 In my head, this song isn't strictly a Christmas song but, all things considered, it does qualify, so, in the list it goes! Besides, there's no denying that its a really Wintery song, and that's not just because of the title. Honestly, you just have to listen to it to realise that it practically just screams Winter at you. Also, at the start and end, there are little sound effects like wind. I think this adds a really nice a really feel to the song and seriously emphasises the Wintery effect. Listening to this song around Christmas time really allows you to get lost in that snowy feeling.
The melody of the song is also really catchy and the song is nice and upbeat. That's another thing I like about the song - it makes you think of snow and cold stuff without being a sadder song.  The line distribution is practically perfect, too, ignoring that Yamapi technically gets the most lines (hey, no complaints, I love me some Pi). Of course, I don't mind when line distribution isn't great or, even, when it's terrible, it doesn't bother me, but it's still nice when the line distribution is properly good. Well, to be fair, in terms of singing lines, it is just perfect, but Yamapi actually has an extra rapping part and, oh, god, his rapping. Sure, he's not the best rapper ever, but his rap in this song is really good. It sounds really cool and fits in the song extremely well. And, oh, by the way, I mean seriously cool.
I can't actually find any translations of the song that aren't blocked by the school's censorship filter, so, I can't analyse the lyrics. However, I will say that I find the idea of a 'SNOW EXPRESS' really endearing. In my head, I automatically think of a train and, to be fair, I blame the film, Polar Express, for that one, but I really like that inage in my head. It's really cute. (It's unrelated but I plan to do a drawing based on this image within the week - I want to do a Christmas drawing~!) Though, to be fair, the song starts off with a line about being on a bus, so, really, that image is purely in my head.


2. KAT-TUN - White X'mas

Koki - 'Draw me like one of your French girls'
And, Junno, at least try to look like you're a part of the picture!

This might look biased - my 2 favourite artists topping the list.
Well, y'know what, maybe it is but like hell do I care! Of course I'd be biased towards a Christmas song by my favourite group - it hardly takes a genius to work that one out. Ahem.
White X'mas is a track that can be described only as a heartfelt ballad with the narrator looking back on memories of Christmasses passed by, supposedly spurred on by some kind of winter scenery. I wouldn't say it's a terribly depressing song, but, at the same time, I would not say that it is a cheery song by any stretch of the imagination. Though the title is something often associated with idyllic and sweet Christmas scenes (all blame goes, no doubt, to Bing Crosby's famous single), this song doesn't really reflect that at all. Actually, rather than the snow resembling anything sweet and heartwarming, it's kind of shown for what it really is - cold and piercing. It's possible that, for the narrator, this sort of weather was once something warm and comforting, but something, presumably a break-up, has lead them to associate it all with something less pleasant as they're reminded of better times. It's sort of bitter-sweet in that respect. Sure, Christmas is a time of joy and love and all that, but, I'm really drawn to the mood of this song. I do have a bit of a thing for sad or tragic Christmas songs; they're always a nice break from the painfully cheesy stuff. Oh, and that god-awful Mariah Carey song. I hate that bloody song, with a burning passion.
This song is a ballad, which I suppose many people wouldn't really want to listen to in the build-up to Christmas - ballads don't really get you riled up that often. However, since I've made a point of only listening to this song in December, if I can help it, my brain's made the natural connection between this track and Christmas, so, in a way, it still gets me excited. It's not the most obviously Christmassy song ever, but it's extremely Wintery. Christmas and Winter practically come hand in hand, so it all works. Anyway, it's a really beautiful ballad, to be fair. It's got a gorgeous melody and it's been arranged in such away that it's all kind of...resonant, if that makes sense. Possibly not, but, if you know the song, you might get what I mean. It's sort of mystical in that sense, I feel, and the effect also adds to the tone of the song greatly.

1. GACKT - 12 Gatsu no Love Song

Lots of people kissing and absolutely no GACKT - that's a dead disappointment

This will always be my favourite of all Christmas songs in the history of Christmas songs. It's a really fantastic song - I mean, it was a enough that GACKT actually had a Christmas song at all. To be honest, there are actually four main versions of this song with about eight updated versions. The four main versions were released as separate singles within the years of 2001 and 2004 and each song was performed in the four different languages in which GACKT is fluent - Japanese, English, Mandarin Chinese and Korean, respectively. I'm not as familiar with the Chinese version - this is something I plan on recitfying this year, mind - but the Japanese, English and Korean versions are all absolutely brilliant. What I love about the different versions is that it means you can just listening to the song three times in the row without getting too sick of the song - aside from the obvious linguistic differences in the songs, there are always other things that set them all apart from each other, be it arrangement, bridge melody, adlibs, whatever. Each version of this song is a unique version and it really adds to the listening experience.
As to what version would be my favourite, I think I'd have to say the original, Japanese-language version. Probably because it's the one I heard first and, though I do love the adlibs in the others, I like how the melody stays consistent and pure in this. I feel that, somehow, a Christmas song is best with a simplistic melody.
 The message conveyed by this song is really nice. Lyrically, the song initially seems to be your bog-standard romantic ballad, but, as is always the case with GACKT, there's always something deeper hidden between the lines. In this particular case, it's a plea for world peace. But, that's not all - it's also a celebration of the love in the world. This highlighting of the bonds people can form with each other acts makes a strong point regarding the situation of 3rd world countries, trying to tell us that our love should be given unto such people. This song was also written as a result of his trip to Madagascar where he had seen many children, though living in poverty, still smiling, being truly happy over the smallest things; something that seems to have been especially touching at the time, which wasn't too long after the 9/11 attacks. This situation, apparently, also brought light to huge gap between the rich and the poor. So, overall, I think this song has a pretty good message. And, to be fair, I'm cool with Christmas songs being politically motivated.
Though, it must be noticed that, on the surface, this is basically a song about love lost and the resulting loneliness. Maybe that's just a typical GACKT ballad, but it could also be a metaphor by the corruptions of society causing us to mindlessly hate the people we should love. Who knows?

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So, there we have it, my personal Top 5 Christmas songs from Japan. 

Thanks for reading and have an absolutely brilliant Christmas~! Merry Christmas to you all!

Top 5 Korean → Japanese K-Pop Tracks

All opinions are my own, of course~ If you don't agree, then, well, meh, your problem. Don't make it mine ;D

 

And, here we have a lovely GIF of HyunJoong being a dork. Why? Because he's my favourite K-Pop artist ever yet he is in no way relevant to this article. He. Needs. To. Be. There.

 

 

So, any fan of K-Pop knows that it's customary for a Korean artist to test the Japanese waters by releasing a carbon-copy of one of their older songs, normally one of the more popular ones, only with, more often than not, shoddy Japanese. Some even go on to release more past their debut single, releasing about 3 or 4 carbon copy tracks before actually bringing out anything new and interesting. This process is the bane of many a K-Pop fan's life, too. However, from time to time, they come out with a remake that is actually listenable and, even more rarely, comes out better than the original! My god!

 

Okay, hugely sarcastic and critical tone aside, this post is dedicated to highlighting what I think is the very best of K-Pop's 'Japanese versions', basing it on pronunciation, how well the lyrics flow and how right it sounds.
Also, for simplicity's sake, I will be focussing only on A-Side tracks. And, also, only songs that were released separately from their Korean counterparts. Some are released together (all of BIGBANG's ALIVE songs, DBSK's Why? Keep Your Head Down and SHINee's Sherlock, for example).

So, let's get started~!

5. Shoujo Jidai - Genie

And Kanyon named this lot as S/mileage's leg rivals. Fat chance, Kanyon, their legs are in a different league.
Also, SooYoung is gorgeous. No arguments allowed.

Shoujo Jidai, Girls' Generation, SNSD, call them what you will, but I will be referring to them from her on out as SNSD (even though, in person, I normally call them Girls' Generation), for simplicity's sake. I'm too lazy for all those...ugh...words...
Anyway, I have to give kudos to the girls for finding their way into my heart with a remake of what is one of their biggest Korean tracks. Seriously, Tell Me Your Wish, more commonly known as 'Genie', was a huge hit back in Korean and became one of SNSD's most famous tracks, with a ton of dance moves that will go on in K-Pop dance history for evermore. Normally, when a group tries to tackle something like that, and for their debut Japanese single no less, it goes wrong. Terribly wrong. Okay, over-exaggeration there but it's difficult to make such an iconic song work when you completely change the worlds. To be honest, though, I always thought that, granted it was done right, Genie had the potential to work really well in Japanese. The lyrics flow perfectly and don't sound unnatural at all. It really does just sound like the original but in Japanese. Shame their second Japanese single didn't have the same success for me (Gee was a hot mess in Japanese, okay?)

4. KARA - Mister

Jumpin' jumpin' jumpin' now Jumpin' now - wait, wrong song.
Look at how cute Seungyeon is here, though!

Interestingly enough, Mister, despite not being a digital single or having a MV, was hugely popular in Korea, when it was performed alongside 'Wanna' as part of the promotions for the group's 2nd album, Revolution. The famed 'butt dance' played a pretty important role the track's popularity. Just over year later, the song was used as the girls' debut song in Japan with fantastic results. It seems the glorious 'butt dance' hit off with Japanese audiences just as well as it did on its home soil. The butt dance is loved by all, why deny it? And, honestly, this single landed, KARA have seen incredible success in Japan. Sure, they get #2 and #3s more often than they do #1s, but the #3 is still fanatastic. After all, MomoClo have yet to earn themselves a single #2 on the Oricon weekly, nevermind a #1 (and, seriously, based on sales numbers, MoMusu do better than MomoClo, generally), and there's absolutely no denying their popularity! As such, KARA's success cannot be ignored! Besides, not many Hallyu artists, aside from the obvious pair, BoA and Tohoshinki (or, DBSK, whatever works best for you), have managed to get #1s on the Oircon Weekly Chart.
Anyway, that aside, it's time to focus on the actual song. This version actually varies slightly from the Korean version in that the song's arrangement is slightly different and the verses are sung much higher - trying to pander to the Japanese audience, who are used to consuming singles by higher-pitched girlgroups, maybe? However, personally, I do prefer the Japanese version. It's cuter, I guess, and not just cause of the pitch. The lyrics are really cute and memorable, because of the simple syllables. The make-up of the Japanese language is nicely complimented by this song. Also, the fact they've included lyrics from the original version is really nice, too. The whole song's totally sweet but has a cool edge to it, as well. It's totally appealing. It's definitely one of the most memorable Korean → Japanese remakes, that's for sure.

3. BIGBANG - My Heaven

If you look carefully...you can see people in TOP's glasses. Specular Reflection has failed you, Tabi!

My Heaven is the Japanese remake of an older BIGBANG song, from their 3rd mini-album, Stand Up. This track was actually called 'Heaven'. BIGBANG are probably the only K-Pop group I can think of, aside from KARA, of course, that decided to go with an album track as their debut, which I think was quite interesting. It was a way of showing what the group were actually like, without spending time on a new song which may or may not flop, and appealing to those who were already fans without churning out some remake of that one song everyone knows. I'm actually quite impressed that they didn't go ahead and just shove a remake of Lies in everyone's faces.
Now, I prefer this version to the Korean version but that's also probably because I heard this version first, and, as always, I prefer Japanese, but, the thing is, it's not any better than the Korean version. That is to say, they're really both as good as each other. But, thing is, it's such a good remake that it still has to be in here.
Everything about this remake just works. The lyrics are fantastic and still retain that soft yet catchy feel of the original. I love it when a remake captures the same feel as the original completely (though, I like it even better when the remake enhances it~).
This song is also very important to the VIPs, form what I gather. In their lives, this tends to be the song that's sung at encores, or just at the end of the concert, or whatever. The fans are invited to sing along and the performance really emphasises the bond BIGBANG have with their VIPs, which, I must say, is a particularly strong one.

2. RAINBOW - Mach

Surefire way to appeal to the Japanese market - dress up like Sexy Power Rangers (or Super Sentai, I suppose)?
Also, am I just biased or does JaeKyung look best in that outfit? Or is red just a more flattering colour? Who knows?

Mach never started out as a heavily promoted track with an MV - it was a Digital Single in its own right and it did get a few live performances on Korean music show though. When I first heard the Korean version of this song,  I really loved it. It sounded really slick and cool, I was immediately drawn to it. However, it didn't become one of my favourite RAINBOW songs. Okay, no, it was up there, but not quite high enough to get all that much attention from me. That being said, when I heard that their 2nd Japanese single was going to be Mach, I was ecstatic. It made me remember how much I had loved the song the first time I heard it. And, then, the PV landed and everything was perfect. Yes. The PV concept was seriously cool and the girls looked stunning! especially JaeKyung
However, an amazing PV and concept being given to a previously MV-less song is not enough for a song to become my 2nd favourite Korean → Japanese remake song. The Japanese lyrics really work with this song, more than I feel they did with the Korean. Like, in the Korean version, it still sounded really cool and, of course, it was still a fantastic song but the Japanese version just had that little bit extra. Just a little more oomph.
Actually, this was a seriously close 2nd place. But, since I'm a bigger fan of SHINee, I had to let bias win over this time round. It was the only option I had, promise!
 

1. SHINee - JULIETTE

Actually, this CD cover would make a seriously awesome poster!

Quite honestly, I'd take this version over the original any day. I seriously the Japanese language version of this song to the Korean one. In Korean, it's a nice song and I like it enough but I was never properly taken by it. However, when I first heard the Japanese version,  I instantly fell in love. Something about the Japanese version sounds slicker and cooler and, though I haven't got a clue what that something is, it makes all difference to me. I think it's really just down to the lyrics - the sharper sound of Japanese really works with this song. Like, seriously. It brought the song up. The flow of the Japanese language is more fitted to this song than the flow of the Korean language. The Korean version sounded, somehow, a little cheesier than the Japanese vesion which, in turn, sounded more powerful. Now, I do prefer the Japanese language, but I would like to stress that there is no bias on my part here as I think the Japanese version of Lucifer failed to do the original any justice whatsoever and that the lyrics in the remake were a mess, in terms of composition and flow. Furthermore, this version of JULIETTE has a much better line distribution than its Korean-language counterpart. The song started off as what seemed to be somewhat of a Jonghyun-fest, while this version is a lot fairer. Of course, there's still a lot of Jonghyun, regarding solo parts, but, here, a number of his parts were given to Taemin who had barely any lines at all in the original. Improvements all round~!

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So, there ya have it. My Top 5 Korean → Japanese K-Pop Tracks. This was actually a pretty hard ranking to write up and, truthfully, the first 3 are all extremely close. Note that I didn't do it based on group-bias, though, since BIGBANG are actually my favourite group of the lot.

 

I'll just sum up what my Bottom 5 Korean → Japanese K-Pop Tracks would be, just because it's pretty easy to do so.

Secret's Madonna  and then all of T-ARA's Japanese singles thus far (i.e; excluding Sexy Love) -coughs-

 

Well, until next time~!

 

 



October Top 5

All opinions are my own, deal with it, ect

 

 

!OCTOBER TOP 5!

 

Since I'm on the school library's PC, I can't make an actual graphic, so, have some amusing GACKT instead

 

Okay, I admit it's a little late to be doing this now, but, it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. A ranking of my personal Top 5 single releases of the past month, that is. For simplicity's sake, I'm limiting it to Japanese releases this time. I'll probably add K-Pop in next time, when I actually work out what I'm doing...maybe something else will make its way in there too? Doubtful, but, who knows?

 

5 . Sexy Zone - Sexy Summer ni Yuki ga Furu

It looks like a Christmas card, cuuuuute!

Okay, so, I'm not huge on Sexy Zone - I like their debut single a lot but Lady Diamond didn't work for me at all - okay, no, I can listen to it quite happily but it didn't draw me to them as a group. They have some nice B-sides, though, and I realise I should pay them a little more attention.
Anyway, I've only listened to the A-Side once (need to check out those B-Sides) but it still deserves a place on this ranking. The reasons I only gave it one listen and the reason for it appearing on this list are the same...or, rather, there's only real reason (okay, no, it's a nice song anyway) - it's a Christmas song. I love Christmas songs and J-Pop artists handle Christmas songs so well! Trust me, this song will die of overplaying once December hits (I prefer not to get into the real Christmas mood until December - November's too early, you know, and, besides, my birthday's the 1st of Decmember, so I starting off the Christmas period with a celebration of my existence).
The A-side, despite its somewhat confusing title that had most people pretty stumpted when the single was announced (Was it a Summery song? A Christmas song? Neither? What?), is really fun and cute. And, yes, it's definitely a Christmas song, without a shadow of a doubt. The melody is Christmassy, the backtrack is Christmassy, it's all Christmassy. I especially love the use of church bells in the background - it's very reminiscent of old Christmas Carols. This is something often seen in British Christmas songs and, being British, that's what I grew up with. The fact that you hear these bells a lot in J-Pop, too, makes me feel quite nostalgic~! It's a cute song with a cute video!!

4. SHINee - Dazzling Girl

Now, Jjong, if you sit down, no-one will know you're tiny. Ignoring that you're still taller than a bunch of Japanese male idols.

When I said I'd keep to Japanese releases, I meant singles released in Japan on the Oricon charts, purely because it's easier to keep track of what was released this month in just one country and...well, South Korea don't seem to do singles very often. I wasn't just going to cut out K-Pop - It's a genre I love!
Regarding the A-Side, this is far from one of my favourite SHINee track - it's a cheesefest and there's nothing else to it. Well, cheese can be great. In this case, it's actually pretty good - I love the chorus and it's great to bounce around to. However, the verses are, at least for me, far less memorable. The chorus is ridiculously catchy and it took me about two listens of the short CM preview alone to have the tune memorised yet, until only recently, I couldn't remember the rest of the song past that. This song only loses out to me for that reason - even though it has a brilliant choruses, it simply lacks everywhere else. However, as I'm growing to know the song more, I'm simulataneously growing to love it. It is not anywhere near being a favourite SHINee track of mine, though.

The B-Side, Run With Me, is a beautiful track. Truthfully, I've listened to it less than Dazzling Girl, but it was a treat for the ears, I will tell you that. It's a sweet and emotional ballad song, with a fast-paced tempo and laid-back melody, a combination I love. At first, it sounds like nothing more than your painfully generic K-Pop boyband ballad, but, then, the verse kicks in and it all goes uphill from there. When I first heard this, I was going home late at night by car and it totally fit that environment, with the windows being all heavily condenced and the orange glow of the streetlights reflecting against the raindrops - okay, all that sounded well naff, but it fit perfectly with the mood created by the song. I love how the verse builds up to the chorus, and though the chorus shares melodies with that cheesey thing at the start, the choruses actually sounds really cool and powerful. This song also gets lots and lots of bonus points for all of Minho's singing lines - he does sing in Dazzling Girl, I know, but he gets more solos in this song than normal. I really love Minho's voice, it's actually my 3rd favourite voice in SHINee. His rap is awesome, too. Key's last solo is so powerful and strong - I needed to say it. And, of course, this song is rounded off fantastically by the fabulous Taemin, my SHINee bias (for the record, Jongyun is second on both the bias list and the favourite list, with Taemin topping both - Jjong can sing better but I prefer Taeminnie's voice - Also, these two lists are essentially the same but the bias list has Onew 4th and Key 5th while the voice list has them both tied for 4th).

 

3. Weather Girls - Koi no Tenki Yohou

Pretty in pink! Like, seriously, they're so pretty! And, hey, UFP, this is how you make your group look cute yet also cool. Also, hey, UFP, THIS IS HOW YOUR FARKING DO A DECENT GRAPHIC EDIT!

 Here we have the debut single of T-Pop girlgroup, Weather Girls - and I don't mean Japanese debut, like with all those K-Pop groups lately but, rather, actual musical debut. Regardless of that, I believe that they are actually, in fact, the first Taiwanese girlgroup to debut in Japan. Go them, paving the way for Taiwanese music in a way that UFP was never able to! Prior to the release of this single, these girls were just, quite literally, weather girls. Weather Girls started out reporting weather on Taiwanese weather and there were actually a huge number of girls involved, all revolving according to a wota, however, for the Japanese debut, in order to make things a lot less complicated, they limited the group to seven girls - one for each day of the week. They weren't even pop idols in Taiwan...just weather girls. Their weather reporting gig seriously wasn't for me - I'm not one for watching a bunch of girls in cosplay reporting the weather in overly-cutified voices and, often, broken English, but that's just me. The sexualisation of weather reporters has always eluded me, is all.
However, them as a pop group...that is something I can latch on to easily. The reason this song found its way on to this ranking...well, there isn't one straight reason, of course! In this case, as opposed to the weather reporting thing, the whole cute yet also 'sexy' image appeals to me a lot and, probably, because this 'sexy' is less blunt and more...well, it seems like a subtle kind of maturity, which is blended quite sweetly with a cutesy image. It's the balance I love. They're mature but not so much that they're just sexualised beyond all belief and they're cute but not so much that I end up with toothache. The girls make the PV extremely watchable - they have so much charisma and chemistry with the camera! And, with little doubt that'd it be thanks to their previous occupation, they handle close-ups so well. These girls are the queens of facial expressions.
On top of all that, the song is horrendously (and, I promise you, I mean that in the nicest of ways) catchy. It gets stuck in your head so easily - I listen to song once every so often and it finds itself stuck in my mind for ages after.
The dance is also eye-catching and looks like fun! The girls' actual execution of the moves is sharp and looks somewhat effortless.
This is an amazingly promising debut single, I feel. I also think that, soon enough, these girls could potentially gain a lot of interest in their slick tying together of Taiwanese culture and clear influences from both Japanese and Korean pop music (the latter being a hit in Japan, the former...well, same thing, obviously).

 

 

2. Morning Musume - Wakuteka Take a chance

GIANT RIHO OF DOOM, STEALIN' UP ERIPON AND HARUNAN'S SPACE - screw you, graphic editor, screw you. This is pretty shoddily edited, too.

I won't dwell on this one so much, as I already did a pretty in-depth review of this single. I seriously adore this single. This, like the #1 single on this list, is, in my opinion, the respective artists's best single since late 2009. I also adored the number of coupling tracks and the line-ups for said coupling tracks. There were some interesting combinations and all the songs were absolutely brilliant, being some of the best B-Sides in some time - all of them. This is one of the very best overall singles, tracklist-wise, in Morning Musume history, I feel. Also, yay for UFP using promotion and money to make things look, and sound, better! Most of all, that A-Side is farking love.

 

1. GACKT - 白露 -HAKURO-

Hello there, Baby Setsugekka

 Okay, the title needed to be in Japanese. Hakuro -HAKURO- is a stupid looking romanisation, and I like shoving in hyphens wherever possible, so, it had to be this way if you're wondering why...Hyphen = KAT-TUN fan, so, yeah).

Anyway, that aside, I doubt it's of any surprise to anyone that the GACKT single was the one to win me over - there are probably more than enough hints that I like GACKT scattered around this blog, after all (though, there does seem to be a common misconception among people I know that I prefer Kame to GACKT - sure, I'm more obsessed with Kame, but I have more love for GACKT).

Truth be told, this is my favourite GACKT single, as a whole package with B-Side included, since Setsugekka -the end of silence- from back at the end of 2009, with my favourite A-side track since Stay the Ride Alive which was, in all honestly, released on New Year's Day 2010. So, basically, this is my favourite GACKT release in 3 years. And, why? It's the most GACKT-y, so to speak. All of GACKT's singles are quintesentially GACKT, of course, but, this one is especially so. And why do I say that? I'd say that this song features more of the typically-GACKT details that we see in many of his older songs -  softer verses contrasted with heavier choruses, OTT drama with tear-jerking potential, flutes and other instrumentals that can be used to give a uniquely Japanese undertone (i.e; a bit of Japanese folk in there), gorgeous falcetto lines contrasted with deep and powerful lower vocals, ect. If you know GACKT, you'll know what I mean.

Regarding the A-Side, I have but one criticism - the theme of the video/single cover. It's like Setsugekka 2.0! I did come to the conclusion that this may just indicates  a continuation of a specific storyline, as GACKT has done before with the Moon Saga (Moon, Crescent & Diabolos) and Rebirth & RE:BORN. It wouldn't be anything new to fans if that were the case, after all. As such, this lone criticism is extremely minor.

The B-Side, Jounetsu no Inazuma also more than makes up for this. This is also my favourite B-Side since Setsugekka's B-Side, 斬～ZAN～ (stylised as such for the same reasons as Hakuro was). So, basically, yes, this single is the best thing in 3 years. That's the simple truth. Not that I haven't loved all the releases since then, of course. But, the B-Side is amazing. The B-Side really matches up to the brilliance of the A-Side, while setting an entirely different mood and tone. It's a perfect combination because of the differences. A truly fantastic single through and through, and, I assure you, deserved the #1 spot on this ranking for reasons other than biased DEAR love.

 

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So, that's all for now. Until next time that is~

How will the November results turn out, then? Will GACKT claim that #1 spot yet again or will The Monsters and their single which is already well-loved by me try to challenge him? Will DIY♡ dance their way into my heart, or will I be forced to bow down and kiss the feet of a certain Johnny's septet? (lamelamelamelame).

Check back at the end of November (or, more likely, the start of October) to find out! ♡♡



Top 7 Favourite Amazing Lyrics!

Yes, there's lots of piss-ripping and sarcasm, but I'm just joking around so don't get pissed

 

 

 

1. 'If I died, would you come to my funeral? Would you cry?'
2. 'Jidou hanbaiki kankoohi, atatakai no kau machigae tsumetai, demo futari atataka' 
3. 'The wise men follow the star, the way I follow my heart' 
4. 'looking for my heart, couldn't find it on eBay'
5. 'You're my Kryptonite'
6. 'Ai wa shinpuru na karee raisu mitai da ne?'
7. 'FRUSTRATE ON ME'

1. JLS - Beat Again

The sheer emotion with which this line is sung is what really gets me. It's so powerful and meaningful. It's like JB (the JLS member, not Bieber, not Im Jae Bum) himself said - these are beautiful and deep lyrics...or something. I'm sorry, but this line just makes me laugh a little everytime. It just sounds so daft. The continued death metaphor in this song doesn't quite work for me. Now, I'm not bashing JLS as a whole here - I secretly like that 'That's Where I'm Coming From' song. And there was another song I secretly like, but I only heard it like once because my sister barely ever plays that one.

 

2. ℃-ute - Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku

This line roughly translates as 'I got some canned coffee from the vending machine. I had planned for it to be warm, but, no, it was cold. However, together, we're both warm' (I took some liberties in the translation here so it made a little more sense). Wow. Touching stuff there, Tsunku. Nothing totally inane there, not at all. Okay, I like this song, despite being one of the only people who seemed to watch the PV without getting emotional (That PV was boring! These people clearly haven't been watching enough tear-jerking dramas about impossible and trouble romances! tattahitotsunokoi;A;), but this line is just stupid. The song isn't actually very emotional, to be honest, despite how it sounds. Okay, I thought the PV was about a break-up and I was like 'Oh, okay, that's kind of sad, but no-one's crying and there's no real drama, this isn't emotional', but then I was told it wasn't a break-up at all, they were just using different methods of transport in order to get home. Okay, no, that's not emotional in the least. I don't even feel the pain of any 'character' involved in this song or video. And that's what the song's about, too, by the way. It's a nice song, but it's not as sad as it sounds like it should be and this specific line has no emotional quality to it whatsoever.

 

3. Justin Bieber - Mistletoe

Okay, so I'm not a person who mindlessly hates Justin Bieber on the basis that he's Justin Bieber. I just hate most of songs and the ones I don't hate, I tolerate at best. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but this specific song is probably my least favourite of every single thing he's released. It's so naff and cheesey - I've never been fond of American Christmas songs (I know he's Canadian, but it's an American Christmas song anyway, if you get me - it was produced by Americans, most likely). British and J-Pop Christmas songs are more to my tastes, thank you. However, this specific line is just awful. I can't even tell what it's supposed to mean. Is that supposed to be powerful and touching? It just sounds like they were trying to fit in Christmassy phrases wherever they could. That's not how Christmas songs work, you know. It's about the mood, NOT SHOVING IN NATIVITY FIGURES IN PLACES WHERE IT MAKES NO SENSE TO.

 

4. JLS - TAKE YOU DOWN

Another JLS track, then (sorry, guys). But, really, Oritsé, didn't you know it's illegal to sell organs on eBay? (Ofufu, I'm hilarious...?)

But, really, okay, I get that it's meant to show that his hard is completely lost and so lost, in fact, that he can't find it on that one place online where you can find absolutely anything (which is a total myth, by the way, or else I'd have a KAT-TUN T-Shirt by now)...but...it sounds dumb. It doesn't fit the rest of the song and it's such a clumsily applied reference. There are so many other words or phrases that could have been used here and, even if they ended up sounding clichéd, at least they wouldn't sound daft.

 

5. One Direction - One Thing

Speaking of clumsily applied references...Yep, this is the third one, now. Again, I totally get the meaning of the line - the person being referred to is the only thing that can take the song's speaker down and truly weaken him - but it just sounds really quite silly. It's hard to try and accept the emotional value intended for these lines when you're busy trying to get past that there's a bloody Superman reference shoved in for absolutely no reason. I'm really sure something else could have been used, really?

 

6. NEWS - Ai wa Simple na Curry Rice

This lines translates as 'Love is like a simple curry rice, right?'

Now, NEWS, as much as I've never been in a relationship, I'm quite sure love probably isn't very much like that at all. In this case...I can't try and understand the intended emotional value because I'm just confused. But, at least, unlike the last three, this can get away with just being kind of cute and silly and I take it as such. It's a nice song, but the whole concept of the song baffles me slightly. But, the important thing is that I can listen to it without laughing at it. Granted, I don't know what the rest of the song's about, so, maybe it would make far more sense if I did know?

 

7. KAT-TUN - Never Again

More than anything, this is just some quality Engrish from Koki. It's not a bad line as such, since I can just ignore it since it's practically nonsense. But, really, I've always wondered what Koki by this? I can't tell if the line is referring to being frustrated as someone, or it's some kind of really weird way to describe having sex, or what. Oh well, I guess there are some things we'll never know.

 

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Eheheh, this was just me filling space while I finish off another Top 5 Ranking post and a film review, both of which should be up soon! This came into my head and, somehow, I had to write it. It's just dumb, though, but oh well.

Top 5 People || Top 5 Songs

All opinions expressed here are my own. If you have a problem with that, then, shoo, I don't want you here! And if you have an issue with any obviously biased opinions then...what are you doing on a post that's just about loving things!

Also, please ignore the obvious crappiness of the banner. I'm a lazy git.

So, what is this post?

It's a Top 5 Ranking review, to put it simply.

I'll be looking at each of my Top 5 individual singers (so, no groups and whether or not they are in a group is irrelevant) and, then, out of all the solo songs they've produced, I will choose my favourite and write up a brief review on it.

The list of people who I will be looking at are (according to the banner from left to right);

GACKT, Kamenashi Kazuya, Yamashita Tomohisa, Takahashi Ai & Kim Hyun Joong

So, let's start, then~

I'll be dealing with this in reversed order of preference.

5. Kim Hyun Joong - Lucky Guy

This wasn't an easy one, to be perfectly honest! I was probably stuck between this, Please Be Nice To Me (from the SS501 Solo Collection) and Break Down (from the...uh...Break Down album, obviously). Eventually, I went with this one, just because of the pure love it got from me when it was released. I don't know if you know, remember or care, but I actually did a small review of this when it came out. It was actually my 2nd legitimate review on this blog ((the things before didn't count as reviews)). 

I do actually adore this song, though. It's extremely catchy and upbeat. I really like how it stands out from most male K-Pop artists' music in that it doesn't really have many electro elements to it. I admit I'm not good with genres at all, so I can't exactly place what it is, but, it's not electro whatever it is.

On top of having a catchy beat, the words are pretty catchy - the chorus has enough English and simple enough Korean even for people who can't remember Korean songs by the lyrics (I'm guilty of this, most of the time, though I can get this chorus - though, I have a habit of remembering the lyrics of the Japanese instead now -.-')

The song also has a really awesome dance routine. It's actually really fun to do, even if you're barely following it!! xD

Here's the PV for you to check out yourself (if you're interested, the song you can hear parts of at the start and end is Do You Like That?)

4. Takahashi Ai - Cosmos

This one was also quite hard because...for Ai, who had been a lead in Morning Musume for almost her entire Morning Musume career, she has a surprisingly small number of solos! It's worth noting that I'm trying to limit myself to CD-released solos, as, otherwise, I would have chosen her performance of Goto Maki's Sayonara "Tomodachi ni wa Naritakunai no" (which is the best thing I've ever seen her do, oh my god, it was perfect. It's such a beautiful and emotional performance). I was also discounting the Hello! Cover single - I don't think it would've made much difference, but her cover of Matsuura Aya's dearest. certainly had a chance.

So, in the end, out of the 4 songs I could choose from, this managed to stand out as a fairly obvious winner for me. This song, found on the Champloo 1~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~, is a cover of Yamaguchi Momoe's 1977 hit. This makes me feel cultured, because now I know J-Pop songs from the '70s =w=

This song is a really beautiful ballad which, based on a translation, seems to be about a young woman, who is getting married, and has to leave her mum who is, evidently, alone. Ai sings the words with powerful emotion and her voice suits the song perfectly. I do believe that giving Ai this specific song is one of the best things UFA have done because the result sounds rather gorgeous. Actually, this sounds weird, but this song seems really befitting of a Summer's day with a slight breeze - I want to stand in the breeze while listening to this! Aren't songs that have this kind of effect on you the best~?

This song doesn't have a video, so I'll leave you with this. Quite embarrassingly, one of the first things that comes up on YouTube when you search for this is my dub of the song from a year ago -.-''

3. Yamashita Tomohisa - One in a million

I chose the blue cover cause I like his shirt best out of all the cover. That's the only reason.

God, that wasn't an easy choice. Seriously, I adore Yamapi's entire discography - okay, sure, there's the odd song I'm not crazy about, but, for the most part, I love it. So, there was a lot to choose from here, but, I managed to narrow it down to this track - One in a million. I mean, I could have shown off with my glorious knowledge of every solo track he has ever released on CD, but, nope, I'll go with a single. Because I'm not going to lie to look better or some sort of arsery like that.

Now, this song came out after I'd gotten over the whole 'Ew no autotune is dead rubbish and ruins everything for everyone why do you hate me?' thing, which, quite honestly didn't last long - I mean, GACKT taught me otherwise with GHOST and Koakuma Heaven over a year earlier. Actually, at this point, I could readily accept that, granted it was used correctly, autotune could actually sound really quite cool. One in a million is one such song where the autotune sounds pretty cool. It works.

This song is pretty dancey - very electric and extremely catchy. Of course, there's some dodgy English from Yamapi in parts (his English has improved so much recently, though!). I really love this song. I actually often find myself forgetting that this is one of my favourite Yamapi tracks until I listen to it - that's when I remember it's actually my favourite of them all. I don't know why I forget, though. You think that'd mean it's not my favourite, right? But, really, when I do listen to it, I enjoy it so much. Honestly, I think it's good that I forget, because I'm kind of worried that if I listen to it too much then I'll get sick of it. I probably wont, but safety precautions, you know? Maybe it's dumb, but I have these worries! =~=

On top of that, the PV is pretty cool. Or, maybe, I'm just a sucker for black&red colour schemes because, really, I am. Honestly, I'm extremely grateful that the school I go to's colour scheme is black&red, even if there are so many other things I really don't appreciate about it. But, even so, this colour scheme makes the PV look that much cooler. Plus, Pi rocks sunglasses like no other, I swear. He looks too cool like that. And that's all I say there, because I think it's getting to the point where it's stopped being a review and suddenly become an opportunity to gush over Yamapi.

Here's a live performance of the song because I can't find the PV on YouTube o~o

Also, as a bonus, here's an English version by some Austrian singer and it's not nearly as good.

Kamenashi Kazuya - 1582

Well, here's a nice contrast to the openings of the three previous reviews - this was not a hard choice at all. I swear, this was almost painfully easy. Like, I don't even know if I'll be able to write this properly without just gushing and spewing fangirl liquids - keeping in mind I mean tears and drool and things. Basically, this song is up there as one of my favourite songs of all time. I could listen to it so many times and still not get sick of it. It has such a brilliant blend of sensuality, elegance, pain, sadness, hope and...argh...the list goes on. 

The song has a distinctively Japanese feel to it, though it isn't obvious - that is to say, we don't hear flutes and Koto in the backtrack. In fact, the backtrack is pretty electric and really not very traditional. A lot of that mood is brought in by the lyrics; take for example the use of 'watakushi' over 'watashi' in the chorus parts - 'watakushi' is still used in Japan today, but is very formal and rarely used in casual situations. Of course, such formal speech patterns are normally associated with a more old-fashioned way of talking, right? Also, a lot of the Kanji used in the song are less modern, such as the more formal Kanji for 'hitomi' (eye) being used, when the phonetic version used is clearly 'me', a more modern term with the same meaning, as well as the Kanji for 'izuko', an outdated version of 'where', being used for 'doko'. 

I really like the lyrics in this song for that reason. I also like the meaning of them - the story they tell. It's all a bit confusing, really, but beautifully written nonetheless. The lyrics seem to tie themes of sex and death together - the sexual referencing in this song is far from sleazy, though and is a lot more based around lust and romance. The impression of pain and suffering in this song is pretty strong, too. Just the words and the imagery used is so poetic and powerful, I've always thought that.

Another thing that draws me to this song is the ambiguity of it all, the theories behind it. First off, the lyricist is 'n' - this had been a mystery for a while and all that was known about 'n' was that they had also done the lyrics for Kame's solos 'w/o notice??' and 'SWEET'. Maybe n was Kame's assigned lyricist? Even so, n managed to raise a decent amount of questions in the fanbase. Eventually, it was revealed that n was Kame, big surprise. Thing is, though, he had actually hidden this fact so that fans wouldn't over-analyse 1582's lyrics. Apparently, it didn't stop them. So, did he have something to hide? Or was he just bored of the Akame fans ruining everything?

But, that's just one thing. There's also the discussions about what the real story of this song is. The most popular theory is a pretty interesting one, I have to say. Here, we assume that the title of the song refers to the year - 1582 AD, which would support Kame's description of it being a song with a Japanese feel. Why? Because 1582 is the year of a rather significant event in Japanese history - the death of Oda Nobunaga at Honno Temple or, simply put, the Incident of Honnoji. Now, it's no secret that Oda is Kame's most admired historical figure - he's said it enough times. Also, the fact that Oda died by way of committing Seppuku when he was trapped in the burning Honno Temple would explain the burning sounds at the beginning of the track. But, taking that into account, with these lyrics, from's who point of view was the song written? It is believed that Kame wrote the song through the eyes of Mori Ranmaru - the ever-loyal vassal of Oda. It's a bit too much to go into detail about in this review, so, maybe I'll write up another post on it one day, but, for now, I'll just say that whole theory made this song more interesting for me. But, don't get me wrong, regardless of that, this would still have been my #1 Kame song.

If all that wasn't really enough, the song also has one of the best live performances I've ever seen. No. Really. No biased involved, trust me. It's just so beautifully...well, over-the-top. The extravagance of it all is simply stunning - the stage production is mind-blowing. Okay, maybe I'm getting a bit too excited now, but, really, it helps that Kame is an amazing performer. He has such stage presence and he really makes this performance special. The live version of the song also had different lyrics, which add an extra level of depth to the song's meaning!

Here's the album version of the song;

And here's the glorious live performance;

The difference in lyrics is the only real reason I provided two videos.

1. GACKT - Mind Forest

Hardly the most flattering picture of GACKT, I admit, but I don't care

Oh, god' sake. If I said the ones before were hard to choose then I was wrong. This was the hardest. I was really drawn between this, FLOWER, In Flames and Rain. But, I think I'll let Mind Forest win due to the fact that, out of all of those songs, this one was the first I ever owned on CD. It was on the first GACKT CD I ever owned, actually, so it probably has the most meaning to me. Basically, I love all four songs equally, but I'm only allowed to review one, so, for discussion's sake, I had to choose one of them.

First off, I adore the use of traditional Japanese instruments in the backtrack of this one - the way they're blended with a much heavier and more modern selection of guitars and drums and stuff (I'm so smart-sounding when it comes to musical terms). The constant switching between soft and heavy is very effective, too. It adds to the mood of the song beautifully. Also, the flute (or whatever it is) is a brilliant instrumental - it sounds so sad and lamenting. It adds a really tragic feeling to the song, while that fluctuation of strength and tone adds a sense of emotional instability. It's brilliantly done. Also, did you know that GACKT songs are some of the only songs where I find myself going 'Oh, the instruments sound amazing, I mean, listen to those drums'? I guess I appreciate the whole package more often with his songs, somehow.

The backtrack builds emotion all on its own, of course, but GACKT's voice itself is packed with so much power and emotion. Listening to his songs, I always just find myself caught up in how beautiful his voice is. His voice is amazing and he does have a fantastic vocal range, but the emotion he can transmit in his single is just overwhelming sometimes. Especially pain - he conveys pain and sadness so well, I've found my eyes just watering at the sound of his voice often enough. I also forget how amazing I think his voice is and end up getting really caught off-guard by it. Ah, damn, that's stupid of me.

Of course, as is the way of many GACKT songs, the song appears to have a tragic tale behind it. Due to the fact I can't understand Japanese, just reading the translated lyrics doesn't allow me to understand the full story (maybe if the lyrics had some kind of footnotey guide or if they were on a subbed vid it would help. I can't be bothered looking, though). The real issue is that most GACKT songs are very poetic, so plain translated lyrics alone don't sum up anything about the song's true meaning. He has a tendency to use words with double meanings, or that, with a change of Kanji (but same phonetics) the line has a whole new meaning, that still relates to the song's story as a whole, but also adds extra insight. I've always been fascinated by his clever application and manipulation of the Japanese language in his lyrics, so, as I said, until I know the full details of this song, there isn't much I can really say about the lyrics as I will surely be missing something.

Here's the song;

There's also an English version of the song by GACKT's now-defunct band, YELLOW FRIED CHICKENz;

Personally, I prefer the Japanese version, but that's just me.

All right, that's all of the songs - sorry for going overboard with the Kame song. I think, out of all the songs I chose, it was definitely the easiest to right about. I apologise if it bored you, though! xD

I think my next post will be something other than song reviews, considering I'm being constantly reminded about how little I actually understand music. I'll go for another opinion rant or drama review or something. Or that 1582 summary I mentioned earlier.

Well, anyway, thanks for reading~! I'm going try and up the activity levels from here on out.