Late to the bandwagon as usual. I don't follow melody (I'm dropping the period after her name for posting) much, but I think she can be a fine singer ever since hearing Miss You. She established herself as more than capable of pulling off a casual, fast-talking style of performance.
Since then, I've only been interested in Believe Me, a more contemporary, laid-back work. As a general rule, her songs are upbeat but don't stand out. Indeed, Believe Me is only stand-out in the sense that it's not like her other songs. It's not a song I would usually seek out, as I could just switch on the radio and listen to something similar from Nelly Furtado's earlier stylistic period.
Finding my Road is not any faster than her other upbeat songs, nor is it necessarily carrying a better melody, no pun intended. What it has going for it is its ambient club feel, which automatically screams cosmopolitan to me. Still, the deal sealer is the video itself.
Comparing her moves to Tamaki Nami is a bit of a stretch, because when Tamaki Nami wants to dance, she can dance. However, melody doesn't appear to be a slouch in her own dance PV's. In Finding my Road, though, she's absolutely smoking in her silver outfit with what looks like CG'ed glow lights (as opposed to glowsticks) flying around.
If it wasn't evident by now, I'm not so much a fan of the music behind the video so much as the video itself.
Her newest single, Love Story, is currently charting on Oricon. It's a sparkly ballad that she executes well on, although she could have gone for a fuller voice in the chorus, where it counts. She's a bit too casual early on, choosing to go along with the music rather than drive it forward. Still, she finishes strong at the song's climax to the end.
More than her voice, the music sounds like it's been done before. All aspirations to epic-ness are for naught when you realize that so many others have done the same thing. She needs a better composer, someone who can give her a song approaching Believe for dance, or Final Distance for ballads. She needs to stop being safe
and take some risks.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
melody. - Finding my Road, and Love Story
Friday, June 8, 2007
Sakamoto Maaya - 30 Minutes Night Flight
(Originally 28 March 2007)
Jeff is right. 30 minutes night flight is the stand-out track. The rest are of a generally slower pacing, which isn't necessarily bad, except they don't really have any direction and no stand-out characteristics, leaving a flat and uninspired impression.
30 minutes starts quiet and atmospheric, and my immediate impression was that it was opening like Ulrich Schnauss in open ambiance. This was followed by the impression that it had transitioned into Utada Hikaru's Keep Tryin' opening with the addition of a bit of dissonant noise-like effects. The fog clears with a consonant flourish, and a guitar motif is introduced thereafter, rhythmic and insistent. Maaya's vocal line mirrors this motif in rhythm. The bridge leads into the chorus with a ramp in strength. Throughout the song every point has a smooth transition and subdued, shimmering intensity is pervasive.
At the outro, distant modulated voice enters, saying "30 minutes, night flight." The introduction of this and the synthesizer in the instrumental passage add to that kind of flighty, refreshing, transcendental feel that is simultaneously intimate. I couldn't imagine this representing a red-eye flight unless I was one of 10 people evenly distributed along the plane (and man, that red-eye flight was sold out). This song is too cozy to be shared with so many other passengers, especially screaming babies.
Maybe not such an excellent choice for a night flight, but night train, night drive? All perfectly acceptable.
Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora - complete
(Originally 28 March 2007)
I'm going on Ayako subs on this one, which are…maybe not the greatest (an understatement), but they have first mover advantage. Maybe I'll reconsider my lack of opinion if I get Static-Subs or WinD subs, but that's only if I feel inclined to take another run at this series.
I don't despise KyoSora, not on any kind of scale approaching Saikano, but a root cause of detachment in both was on account of their lead(s). Saikano had a loser for a male lead and a crybaby for a female lead, and all the good characters were secondary cast and thus cannon fodder. KyoSora has a cry-bigot for a female lead, and some attempt at a callous persona for a male lead. Good characters were not developed to their full potential. If the characters aren't compelling it's hard to earn that trust necessary to suspend disbelief. Following that, the lack of backstory, poor dialogue (which also strongly contributes to character), and irrelevant events, not only become less forgivable, they become irritating.
The other gripe was there weren't any powerful moments. There were decent moments towards the end (i.e. the last episode), but they were the result of either knowing the story of Chikane and Himeko from KnM, or the fact that I find non-casual goodbyes (even really long drawn out ones) generally touching. Love confessions over the course of the series were trite. The Kaon x Himiko confession scene against the same kind of gold background in KnM had zero effect on me. The dialogue just wasn't there, and neither was there any build up. All it was was an event, which is to say, an unmemorable scene among a sea of other unmemorable scenes.
I retract my earlier statement about moments. There were also decent moments elsewhere, except they just happened to involve either Kaon and/or Himiko. Did those particular moments have any real impact on the story? Not really, since there wasn't much of a story to begin with.
I'm done with the criticisms. In the character department, Kaon/Chikane wins, again. I suppose that means Himiko wins by association, but I was embarrassed at having to bear witness to her having to play a magical cello. It brings back not-too-distant memories of La Corda d'Oro, which is totally eclipsed by Nodame Cantabile. Mika was relatively compelling compared to everyone else only because she had the most contrasting flashbacks, or maybe even just the most flashbacks. Having a quarter of a backstory, even if only hinted at in scenes, is better than having zero backstory summed up in two lines of dialogue.
The OP is acceptable, light and energetic, with a vocalist who isn't overly cute. I'm fond of the ED, with its forthright lyrics (as far as Ayako's translation goes) and arcing melody. It's a strong ballad, and very loopable. I didn't give much attention to the OST, but the violin piece used throughout the series wasn't nearly as strong as Chikane's theme from KnM, and that violin piece is the only memorable bit.
I considered saving the last episode for no reason other than to hear Kaon speak in Chikane's voice, but for now, off it goes. I can tolerate YouTube if I need a fix.
Edit: Out of morbid curiosity, I did dig up the last Kaon/Himiko scene on YouTube. At first I thought Kaon's dress in the portrait might have been Chikane's dress at the end of KnM. It was not to be, but would have been awesome.
No one likes a cry-bigot
(Originally 4 March 2007)
Hearing anyone cry is hard on my ears, and reactions range from awkward silence to cringe-inducing irritation. Nothing pushes buttons more than hearing screaming babies, losers complaining about getting pwnt on TFC, the horde of emo kids lining the halls of my old high school at lunch time when I visited during reading week, and dumb anime characters.
Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora experienced a high point of irony when Kuu, the totally useless character who seems to enjoy wallowing in said uselessness by creating pools of tears to drown in, loses the one comfort she seemed to have: even though she was useless, she was at least a useless human. Anyone paying even the slightest attention to the story (as opposed to just watching for Chikane/Himeko, who clearly need more screen time) could have seen what was coming since episode one.
If you had any faith in humans (or anime characters?) then you might not have expected the reaction, but it makes perfect sense. I don't like it one bit, because there are tons of people with similar mindsets, that being the asshat mentality, and you should all by now what I think of asshats.
Here's the setup: Kuu is depressed (or emo). She's not good at anything, zero effort
being a pretty plausible cause. Anyway, throughout the first half of the series she props herself up by pitying the Absolute Angels, because they are weapons, and since she's human she is by default better than them even though she can't (or doesn't try to) do anything, let alone blow up buildings.
Kuu is incapable of doing anything, so she props up her self-esteem by pitying those below
her, and they are below
her for no other reason except she's human and they are not. I suppose it's a notch better than wanting kill those below
you but not by much. I despise those kinds of people, because they walk around all cocky and condescending, be it because they belong to some religion and you don't, or they went to some private school and you didn't, or they're rich and you're not, or they're poor (and thugging it, yo!) and you're not, whatever. Neither of these things are bad on their own, but when these become reasons for claiming some sense of existential superiority, then a serious smacking is warranted.
You could be smarter, you could be more cordial (you probably will be by default compared to such company), you could be more athletic, more musically inclined, more motivated, it doesn't matter, because their deity is better than yours (or they have a deity to your atheism), or their school has a better reputation than yours, or you just happen to be a cheater at TFC (because they said so), and therefore they will always be superior to you (even though they suck at sniper…and life).
Maybe it bothers me because I have an inferiority complex. Usually you can't actually take a swing at anyone lest it land you in jail and then they laugh at you more, so you just ignore it, and they sit smugly and inflate their own egos. Short of gagging them, banning them, or killing them, they will never shut up no matter how much you try to humble them, because they can never be humbled when God is on their side or something stupid like that. It's fortunate they live in this time, as opposed to the past, when such fervour would be rewarded by a position in the front lines, and they'd like it.
Just to drive home the point one last time, here's an extreme analogy. Joe Six-pack's a loser, dropped out of school because he was just too damn lazy. In effect, he's pretty worthless, lives in the basement of your parents' home, and can't be bothered to even write a resume, let alone apply for jobs. He sucks at life and may or may not know it, but it doesn't matter because at least he's not Chinese. Or Jewish. Or Black. Or handicapped. But he might just be retarded. I digress.
Kuu begins to bawl her eyes out, screaming that she doesn't want to be this. No name, no description, because, you see, to be an Absolute Angel is to be some abhorrent thing that defies qualification. One would think that this would be gratifying to watch, seeing her emotional prop kicked out from under her. It would be have been, if the irony was demonstrated in any other way. Instead, she drowns herself in more self-pity, which continues into the next episode.
Depressive paralysis is about the closest thing to suicide as you can get without actually trying to kill yourself. It's hard to see someone actively trying to not live, be it through self-pity or otherwise. At some point the hands just get thrown up, and I say fine, go hang yourself, just stop wasting my time by attention-whoring yourself out, because you just know that those people don't really do anything with help, or advice, or support. You can give it to them, but it will never change them because all of those things have the one thing that they do crave: attention. I stop caring and actively encourage self-destruction. Maybe that's just the biologically competitive side kicking in at the potential for resources (space, air, reduction of noise pollution) to be freed up.
"On the market"
(Originally 4 March 2007)
So Hikki's divorced, and it was made official Friday. I wasn't expecting it, there was no smoking gun from what little news about her gets out (she values her privacy). That said, I'm not shocked or stunned. Perhaps being so far removed from situation and receiving the announcement in the most non-personal way possible (written text over the internet) might have played a part, but more importantly I don't really care. And neither should most other people.
Oh for sure, I am slightly disappointed that things didn't work out for her, but if it's some big train wreck then it's being covered up really well. From the joint statement, it seems that things have changed, and they've grown apart over their four and half years together to the point where they are likely back where they started (or have always been) — good collaborators. But a companionate relationship is lacking two other components of the love triangle, if you believe in that theory. At any rate, if a relationship defined more or less through work — and it's not as if they work exclusively with each other — was what it came to, and with her still being pretty young, it's not unreasonable that they should split up.
I received comments from two people along the lines of, Well now she's single again maybe you/I have a chance.
This is true, in that anyone can take a shot at her. I'm sure that whoever handles her mail (could be her come to think of it) will notice a sharp increase in marriage proposals. I don't like to think of it in those terms; it's a bit insensitive even for a subject I'm not moved by. It's probably one of the first things that come to anyone's mind, because we're all human and Hikki is a j-pop idol, but it's a belittling and opportunistic take on the situation. At the end of the day, better not to say anything at all about it other than to wish for her continuing success despite a stressful period (whether it's in the past or ongoing, it was stressful at one point in time) in her life. She still has her health and plenty of time and resources (she doesn't need to write to pay the bills) to pursue her career and maybe another relationship, eventually. Life goes on.
And because internet dorama is funny, trolls and self-righteous posters collided on the U-O thread devoted to the divorce announcement. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the moderator stepped in and put everyone in their place. For now.
PV for Mosaic Kakera
(Originally 11 February 2007)
I prefer the shortened version found in the Code Geass. I think the novelty kind of wears off over the full length. The PV tries to capture the fragment theme in the song lyrics and the title, and as such is kind of artsy-abstract.
SunSet Swish, FLOW, Tokitou/Tokito Ami
(Originally 7 February 2007)
Instead of studying for midterms, I'm bumming around on YouTube. Inspired by the realization that I kind of like the second ED for Code Geass, I ran off to try and find it. One video was taken down on account of copyright (infringement), but another one is available for the time being. The biggest appeal for me is the casual swing feel, with enough push into the next phrase to keep things moving along at a good pace.
Anything Code Geass inevitably brings up the first OP as well, Colors by FLOW. I watched a couple AMV's, one of which was an overdubbing of the Eureka Seven OP with Colors, the other was more of an original production with scenes from the series itself. Apparently FLOW songs are similar enough in structure and timing that slotting in another of their songs synchs up with the same animation.
Somehow, probably by looking for other videos uploaded by one of the users, I wound up at the PV for the School Rumble OP. I eventually settled on a subbed version. The song itself is typical high energy, pretty catchy. The vocalist is a model who can sing decently live as well, although her live performance (from the clips) seems too casual and she has trouble with either air control or just lower range pitching. I suppose the model thing is apparent by her stage presence.
The video itself is just hilarity. Any time there is random and senseless violence (at times obviously fake, though) it's worthy of a chuckle. First off, if everyone wants in on that sandwich, why do they stick around to fight that guy? After defeating the first class, the second class confronts the guy. It seems they might have gotten lost on the way to the snack/lunch counter. The guy then makes a detour into a class room, and beats up a bunch of people wearing air filter masks. He is finally stopped by a bunch of geeks. This isn't so much a battle as a cheap, if funny, setup to beat up lots of guys.
Throughout this the vocalist is along for the ride, making cute but unintentionally (or intentionally) hilarious poses when juxtaposed by the freeze frame of males in various states of physical abuse with exaggerated expressions written on their faces.
