Jpop songs review (again):

1. Mega NRG Man/ Initial D : Express Love
As with most Japanese songs featuring fully English lyrics, the pronunciation isn’t the best, but this would be one of the best so far. The beat is good, and it has the Initial D’s feel to it, but the tune and vocals are plain. Not bad, but not the best either.

6/10

2. Kanako Wada/ Kimagure Orange Road: natsu no mirage

The vocals are clear and crisp, but the tune doesn’t really bring that quality out. T’was a pity, because it really brought the music down.

6/10

3. Yuki Mizutani/ puriti sami: watashi no baadigaado

A country music feel to the introduction, which is lost midway into the music, caught my attention. The vocals are unique with high notes and a smooth quality to it, but not enough to bring out the tune, I feel. (Or perhaps, I’m just not used to this particular style of music.)

5.5/10

4. Arisa Mizuki / Sailor Moon Stars: kaze no sora mo kitto

Quite a typical Jpop voice and a typical Jpop tune, which you’d probably find in a theme of a shoujo anime, but it doesn’t have enough energy and life to it to interest me much.

6/10

5. Changin’ My Life (Myco)/ Full Moon Sagashite: New Future

The introduction was mellow, a little on the plain side. The song progresses quickly into a more upbeat tune, and has nice transitions on the overall. The English parts were a little weird though, again due to the incorrect pronunciation of the words. The instrumentals were a nice addition, but still, the song was, on average… average.

7/10

6. The Pillows/ Furi Kuri (FLCL): Little Busters

I’ve heard this before, and perhaps it’s grown on me, but I consider this a nice song still! :D A kind of laid-back energy is evident in the music, which keeps you awake, though you won’t necessarily rock to it. The strong drums and instrumental inserts really makes up for the blandness of the vocal lead. Heheh, I think I may be a little less impartial on this.

8/10

7. Masanori Ikeda/ Kimagure Orange Road: kiken no triangle

The instruments were simple, and the rest of the background music was kind of basic too, but they’re the redeeming points of this song, really. The beat is strong in here, and the interludes were brief but bold. My only complain is the vocals and the tune didn’t match up to the other aspects of the music.

7/10

8. Myuji/ X TV: eX Dream

Nice moods in there! You can actually feel the emotions coming through the music. Not just the lead singer, but the instruments as well. A melancholic mood dominates the mellower, slower parts, whilst where the tempo has increased a notch, a somewhat angst-ish feel is present. >3<

9/10!

9. BoA & Westlife – Flying Without Wings

Gwarr… The tune just smells of Westlife, but I have to say, the vocals were very strong, especially BoA’s. Also, her pronunciation was actually quite okay, though she did overdid the slang a little. The instruments were nothing special, though in this particular style, I don’t think they could do much. Its length seems short after listening to characteristically lengthy Japanese songs. Hmm… (3 minutes vs 4 minutes on an average)

7/10

10. Miyavi! Freedom Fighters, Ice Cream Motto Hadashi no Megami to, Kikanju wo Motta Hadaka no Ohsama

(I predict that I’m gonna be exhibiting favoritism.) Nice instrumentals, and I just love the beat and liveliness that’s quite a distinctive feature of Miyavi’s music. In some parts of the song, his English (okay, I know it’s only one word, but…) sounded American. >___> Haha… And the transitions were playful as well, but they weren’t awkward. I love his other songs more, but this one’s nice too.

8.5/10

11. Tacky & Tsubasa: Venus

Very upbeat atmosphere! The cha-cha/ Italian feel’s there as well. The tune’s catchy and distinctively ‘Italiano’ makes it a nice change. *___* Hehe, I forgot about the other qualities, but the vocals were smooth, if I remembered correctly. Nice, nice music.

8.5/10

12. Crazy Ken Banc: Tiger & Dragon

This had a dated feel to it, (yep, another oldie, I think) but the rhythm and tune was fun enough to engage me. Quite a humorous song, and the vocals had a gruff quality to it that fitted the song nicely.

7.5/10

13. Hitomi: I am

>__> I’m sure all Inuyasha fans would recognize this song. The song I’m hearing though, isn’t from the anime version but perhaps a remix. (I’ve no idea whether this is the remix or the original version…) But the one I’m hearing now is more superior to the anime one, in my honest opinion. The background music is richer, the transitions more interesting, the beat more lively. The vocals, of course, are the same. The interludes were okay.

8/10

14. Koda Kumi: No Regret

I think I have another favorite! This had a rather catchy tune and nice tempo and beat. The instruments were superb, and I like the singer’s voice a lot. The interludes were interesting and located strategically. (One complaint though… The song didn’t seem to end. >__>)

9/10

15. Globe: Stop! In the name of love.

Heh, I’m amused by the song title. It sounds like what the characters from Sailor Moon would say. And the instrumental interlude works well for me (I’m a sucker for them). The slow tempo proceeds to become Allegretto pretty swiftly. The female’s vocal was nice, but again, the English parts just don’t seem to have enough power. The beat is more or less unchanging throughout the song and the strong beat might account for the slightly techno feel this music had. The male singer sounded a little odd, but this is quite a fun song.

8.5/10

16. Namie Amuro & Verbal: Lovin’ it

“I’m lovin’ it!” Very different styles that combined really well… Namie Amuro and Verbal didn’t seem to compliment each other well, but in this song, they did. Namie’s strong and tranquil voice was brought out beautifully in this song. The tune itself and the instruments are not worth mentioning (they’re good, in actuality, but not good enough).

7/10

17. The Gospellers: Get Me On

Woah, this really sounded like an English song even though there’re more Japanese lyrics in it. (I don’t like the lead singer’s voice, but I’ve got to say that they have skills.) Their pronunciation was too good. O__O Sounds like a typical American boy band, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

7/10

18. Ayumi Hamasaki – Ayu’s Aeuro Megamix (Y&Co. Mix)

A remix which isn’t that bad, though as most remixes go, this is probably too fast for someone not under the influence of drugs. I think I’d prefer the original.

8/10