Album review: Nichika - Nichika

We will remember

I’ve been slacking off lately…and this should have been written up ages ago.

Pengie reviews Nichika, a brand-new upcoming band which deserves mention. She takes a look at their debut self-titled album, in which she states,

“this has become my favourite album of 2008 so far”

She speaks very highly of this debut album, by describing the album has “brilliant genre hopping” and I couldn’t agree more. Her writing throughout this review continually praises Nichika for their uniqueness and variety of different genre’s packed in one album…a debut album.

She also has a PV and a few tracks on offer for readers to have a taste of their own. She finishes by tearing herself away from Haikara’s “ROCK PIT” as best album of this year by reigning Nichika’s debut self-titled album as the best. A worthy read, for existing fans of Nichika and readers who want to try out something new.

On a sadder note…

Pengie remembers Maakii, the lead vocalist of HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR, who is bound to leave the band at the end of this year because of marriage commitments. It is a huge disappointment for long-time fans like me and Pengie as we remember when she debuted at 18 years of age.

Pengie opens up to “Remember”, their latest (and last for Maakii) PV. A split in the band is never a happy thing, hence the sombre and sad tone throughout Pengie’s writing. Her short yet ample review of the PV itself is humbling, noting only on the profound points of the PV which symbolises Maakii’s departure from the band. While it is short, the embedded PV and screenshots fill up the gap nicely.

She opens up to her feelings about Maakii and the band and all I can really say, is that it’s basically a humble retrospect of Maakii’s time with Haikara.

Pengie and I have been there since the beginning, and I know exactly how she feels in her writing. Other readers who are in the same situation as her can sympathise and understand her feelings fully.

Pengie’s last segment is extremely special. It is, hmmm…its hard to explain, a solemn celebration of her time with Maakii perhaps. Maakii’s voice, personality…her presence, has done a lot for Pengie, and I’m sure her presence in such a band has changed a lot of people.

And never forget.

First look: ikimono gakari - Planetarium

Pengie meant for her feature “First Look” to be quick and snappy review for a PV she has watched recently…and she definitely means it. Seriously, Ikimono Gakari’s latest PV entitled Planetarium has only been on the internet for a couple of hours and Pengie already has a in-depth review on it.

Pengie starts her breakdown of the PV by admitting that she needs to pay more attention to Ikimono Gakari, and she really should. She makes detailed points on the PV itself, mentioning its heart-warming and grand qualities. She stresses that even though this song is quite long and may drag on a little bit, it is a brilliant song nonetheless and well worth one’s attention. She ends by saying Planetarium is going to be like Otsuka Ai and Kurage, Nagareboshi; an individual song which has made her focus and pay attention to the artist.

An extensive review which has been written in the quickest of times, thus serving the purpose of “First Look”.

SFGundam’s Monthly Awards

SFGundam from OPV ends September by introducing us to artists which are in his Monthly Awards. This is a great idea to introduce his readers artists which he finds noteworthy and worthy of such awards. In his September edition he introduces us to GIRL NEXT DOOR, Mr. Children, and Rie Fu. He gives brief descriptions on each artist, applauding them on why he has chosen them for each award. I hope SFGundam continues with this as it is a brilliant idea.

Single reviews: Perfume, Ikimono Gakari, Chihiro Onitsuka

Our very own Henkka ventures out of his bogan basement and walks out into the unknown, coming across Perfume, ikimono gakari and Chihiro Onitsuka. He still has his bogan mindset with him at all times, and with such a distorted mindset, you’re bound to get interesting and surprising opinions. He has a very interesting review of Perfume, mind you, he’s new to electronica so don’t take your pitchforks out yet…His Ikimono Gakari review is not as surprising as his Perfume review, as he is a big fan.

Hold on, did Henkka just review Chihiro Onitsuka? I think Henkka has drunk a bit too much when he reviewed this, since I honestly do not associate him with ballads…at all. What’s even more surprising is that Hennka has been a fan of Chihiro for a while. Anyways, he makes good points about Chihiro and her style. All in all, a traditional Henkka review, always surprising.

Chihiro needs to SOUND INSPIRED for a change. That’s the key to getting me interested in her again. That, or performing topless.

You know she’s not 13 right?

Single: Dir en grey - GLASS SKIN

Recommended Reading. Rockerica reviews Dir en grey’s latest single entitled Glass Skin by introducing them as the “Gods of Japanese Rock”. One could argue and discuss, but with such a diverse discography and by capturing a large fanbase outside of Japan without singing in English is a pretty good statement of how good they are.

In Rockerica’s review of their latest, she has an extremely detailed review of the single which Dir en grey has successfully fabricated together, ranging from the beautiful to the rough. Her choice of words in her analysis of “undecided” is…wow, totally brilliant. I have Rockerica to thank for getting me back into Dir en grey. Superb review.

YUI taking a break

Tokyograph reports that YUI is going to take a break from music after the release of her new song coming this fall. With 3 albums, countless singles and a movie under her belt, she fully deserves a break. Hopefully she’ll come back next year all refreshed and ready to stun the Japanese music industry yet again.

Airi in Gachinko de Ikou

Amy has some scrumptious eyecandy of Airi in Buono’s latest single, Gachinko de Ikou. Well, its not all of Airi of course, she also shares some equally mouth-watering pictures of the whole gang. Pity the photos don’t go lower than the knees…Honestly, why would the photographer miss out on their heels…I mean kmon.

The H!P Opinions of a MetalHead

Henkka, our Finnish contributor for IW has moved homes! He is moving from his humble origins back at Vox to Wordpress at Intlwota. Make sure you update your RSS readers!

The Rules Of Asian Pop

Recommended Reading. Stereo Love celebrates 20k views and it’s a mighty feat to go that far in such little time, a congratulations is more than necessary. But his main article is a feat in itself; SL goes deep into the world of Asian pop, explaining the “rules” of how to be successful in the world of pop in Asia. He applies his rules on current artists within the pop world, for men/boys and women/little girls. It’s something I haven’t seen from SL and it’s wonderful to see another side of him critiquing on music.

Obviously, people who are the “Pinnacle of Morality” shouldn’t dwell near the world of Asian pop.

First look: Otsuka Ai - Kurage, Nagareboshi

Album review: miaou - All Around Us

Recommended Reading. Pengie is touched by the overall beauty of Ai-chin’s latest PV, “Kurage, Nagareboshi”. She can relate to the lyrics of this beautiful song to her own life stating situations like these are “bittersweet”. She also has an interesting perspective on the ambiguous title. For those who haven’t seen this beautiful PV, pengie has an embedded version on her post.

In her second post, she reviews miaou’s latest album, “All Around Us”. She introduces miaou, for those who haven’t heard them before, as being “mellow rock without vocals”. She takes an in-depth spin of the album, showcasing her favourite tracks from the album while picturing in her mind the places where this “mood music” takes her. For those who want to try out something new, or in need for some relaxing music, try out miaou, you won’t be disappointed.

PV: alice nine. - RAINBOWS

Rockerica has a very interesting approach in reviewing alice nine.’s latest. His use of unique facts is wonderful change to the standard writing style, and he makes the best of it by including amusing and interesting points about the PV.

Although I’m not sure about Fact 5…I don’t see hot girls going mental about Dir en Grey…although the term handsome is subjective to each individual…

Perfume - Love the World

Millhouse takes an overdue look at Perfume’s Love the World, insisting its simplicity makes the Perfume experience much more enjoyable. Although he has unmistakable love for Kashiyuka, he insists that some parts of the PV where Kashiyuka is shown does scare him.

Tanimura Nana…

Kahori@TimeToFall glances over Tanimura Nana’s brief history in the music industry. He is quite puzzled at why such a beautiful debut song has such a low ranking on Oricon when compared to her third single which involved “lowering your neckline and putting a sexy face”. But Kahori rethinks it over again and comes to an insightful conclusion.

I know how you feel Kahori, I know exactly how you feel.

[Album] Eri Nobuchika - nobuchikaeri

Gates of Heaven reviews Nobuchika Eri’s debut album in great detail, going over every song with an open mind but also giving his personal opinions about every song.

He concludes by boldly stating that this is,

One of the best Japanese debut albums out there, and yet she is still in the shadows.

Quite frankly, he could be any more right but that’s just me. This girl can honestly sing and deserves far more promotion than some other artists within her record label.

Blogging about Blogging

Aiwish ponders why her blog has decreased in readership, by having suspicions of her previous blog post may have something to do with that. But her main concern is with International Wota why we haven’t covered his previous posts.

The truth is, (and I’m sure a lot of IW-covered bloggers will be asking us this too) is that IW contributors try our absolute hardest to cover every single post as often as we can. But with daily commitments, it hinders the amount of time available to cover entries.  (The comments in aiwish’s entry from the IW admins will give a clearer idea on how IW operates.)

But to those who are in a similar situation, hang in there and keep writing, even despite the lack in write-up’s. Stick with your blog, write regularly and within time you will emerge with an audience who will regularly check your blog.

unchained enters the terrible twos

Recommended Reading. Pengie’s blog “unchained” has turned 2! Happy birthday unchained!

To celebrate this occasion, Pengie has provided a very in-depth and personal timeline of how “unchained” was born and raised, with references to how her style of blogging has evolved from a very parallel and closed approach to something “that you can sink your teeth in”. She also makes comments on her thoughts and dreams relating to her future career and how it has changed since a year ago.

I really do hope Pengie stays blogging for years to come and I wish “unchained” the best for all the years to come!

Perfume-Concert in Sapporo

Firstly, this blog is NOT on the IW blog roll, I just stumbled across it.

According to this one guy (I honestly have no idea who he is) he went to the Perfume Sapporo concert and he has a summary about it but in a chat/IRC kinda summary (you’ll understand when you read it). He has a pretty good review of the concert, but one thing that totally struck me is that…

Perfume performed a Berryz Koubou song.

I don’t think I need to repeat myself.

And this guy has his H!P groups all messed up. And even if it a rumour, which I totally doubt, it is quite amazing.

Read it, you’ll understand.

Alice Nine - Rainbows

Millhouse at Our Pleasant Vista celebrates the upcoming release from Alice Nine entitled Rainbows. He shares his love for this “pretty standard Alice Nine song” by sharing his favourite parts of the song/PV. Millhouse’s love for this song is definitely catching on to me and it’s worthy of having a listen.

Just one slight problem, what is with Shou’s glasses. Kanye, Perfume and now Shou.

HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR - HOT LIMIT (Channel-Ai)
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR’s “HOT LIMIT” (appears)

Channel Ai discusses the latest single by HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR by reviewing each track individually. They also mention that the PV is a “carbon copy” of T.M Revolution’s original PV. And yes, the motorcycle noise makes no sense whatsoever.

Appears, on the other hand has a totally different approach to reviewing HOT LIMIT. He clearly states in his review that Haikara clearly “fails in their interpretation of the single”. One may disagree with this bold statement but after reading his clear and genuine explanation, you gotta ask yourself whether are Haikara looking to interpret or reinterpret this song.

Maakii to leave HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR

Pengie at Unchained has also been struck by the sudden news of Maki leaving Haikara. While tears have been shed, Pengie recollects herself and explains from a fan’s perspective that we fans, cannot do anything to stop these abrupt actions from happening. We can only watch them from the sidelines and cheer them on until the end.

Upsides to UFA’s Policies

Midori takes an insightful look at the pros at the continually bashed policies that UFA impose on the girls. Midori has taken a more in depth look at the policies than what a normal fan would percieve. Some of the points she makes are very valid and are worth having a think about.

Kago returns to TV on “Sanma no Manma”

TokyoGraph reports that Kago Ai will appear on “Sanma no Manma” - a popular talk/variety show. This will be her first TV appearance since her revival back in April.

[single] Tomiko Van - Tokyo Biyori

GatesofHeaven suggests Tokyo Biyori is definitely of a higher caliber than some of Tomiko Van’s songs on her covers album, which GoH openly criticizes them to be a catastrophe. GoH also finds salvation in both Tomiko’s B-sides stating them to be “nothing short of excellency”.

Hopefully our ex-DAI singer can bring back what she does best by releasing more outstanding tracks.

I Believe (GoldHikari)

GoldHikari’s expresses his love of ayaka’s “I Believe”. He sees some flaws to this sensational debut ballad by ayaka. But states that these small flaws are a simple nullity when compared with ayaka’s deep vocals, the originality of the song and the how much heart is in this ballad. GoldHikari also takes a quick glimpse at her b-side, Yume no Kakera. GoldHikari concludes with,

Anyways this single is a MUST HEAR, it’s just so powerful and so phenomenal.

Ladies and Gentlemen, GoldHikari is not lying.

ayaka - Sing to the Sky

Recommended reading. amaiyume at Amai Wana has the most in depth track by track review of ayaka’s latest album. She analyses each song with great interest and explains quite thoroughly on how she feels about each track. There is a lot of praise for all the tracks, and I wasn’t surprised either. Ayaka has pulled an amazing album which clearly has exceeded expectations. As amaiyume clearly states,

ayaka certainly brought everything she had with Sing to the Sky and it certainly paid off

Everyone knows ayaka’s ballads such as “Mikazuki” and “I Believe” but after hearing her non-ballads on “Sing to the Sky”, it’s no wonder how much she’s grown since “First Message”. Mind you, she hasn’t forgotten how to sing beautiful and heartfelt ballads.

Pefume City Has a RSS Feed! (and Love The World covers)

Broomhead of TLS shares the latest covers of Perfume’s new single “Love The World” as well as sharing the his joy of Perfume City changing to Wordpress. He also makes comparisons between the covers of “Love the World” and “Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance”.

Plus, his last point fills me with anticipation.

Is she ageless?

Hello Island brings up quite an amusing point about Nacchi and her smile by showing evidence with a mosaic of Nacchi photos.