REVIEW: Ok, I will admit that I am a major Miracle (yes I just called her that) fan. I guess I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Koha in the sense that I love her at times and at other times I love to hate her. Her Kirarin Revolution material is not exactly up my alley in terms of taste, but I can appreciate the kookiness of some of the past tracks (Balalaika, Happy☆彡, Koi no Mahou wa Habibi no Bi! etc). Tsukishima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu presents us with another single this week, her first in a while and although I had initial reservations, Papancake is a grower.
SINGLE REVIEW
Papancake
I believe that the thing that makes us enjoy Kirarin singles is that they have an addictive quality in that they are extremely catchy. They tend to repeat phrases over and over and have you humming particular parts of the songs in the most inopportune moments (Cha-cha-chance in church anyone?). Papancake once again continues this formula, however less effectively, with the pa-pan's at the end of the chorus. I think that might be the problem with this song. Kirarin singles tend to have their signiture phrases at the beginning of the chorus (Balalaika, Chance, Happy☆彡 even Koi Kana) while Papancake's is at the end. For me this made it not stand out at first listen, but after subsequent listens I appreciated it more. This song is a grower and perhaps surpasses most of Koha's past releases.
The music of the song is particularly nice. I'm not a musical expert so I couldn't pinpoint specific instruments that I liked. Something sounding suspiciously like a guitar of some sort was cool =) ... The instrumental section of the song is very good, in that the electric guitar (yeh?) actually fits the song so the inclusion isn't a total "wtf?".
So a lot is good on this single, now the bad: Koharu's voice is horrible on this release. We are all used to her singing but it's as if she (and her character) haven't improved at all over the past 2 years, if not become even worse. Right, that makes sense. The way she sings "cakii-o" is the cutest thing ever though. All in all she sounds more childish than usual on this record.
This song has ups and downs, the good slightly outweighs the bad. Only Koharu could release a song where horrible singing doesn't totally ruin it! While I enjoyed the song and it may beat the likes of some of Koha's releases, it is nowhere near Balalaika which in my opinion is top class.
Oh! Tomodachi
I'm just going to outright say it: This song is painful. My ears are bleeding! It's not so much the song, though it is atrocious, it is more Koha's voice. It's even worse than Papancake and she sings in annoyingly strained stretches of lines. If her squeals aren't enough to break the sound barrier and shatter your glasses they stick an even higher backing vocal in the chorus. I mean, honestly?
Once again the music is nice. The rockier sounds (if you can call them that) in this single are probably the major winners, musical wise.
I believe that the thing that makes us enjoy Kirarin singles is that they have an addictive quality in that they are extremely catchy. They tend to repeat phrases over and over and have you humming particular parts of the songs in the most inopportune moments (Cha-cha-chance in church anyone?). Papancake once again continues this formula, however less effectively, with the pa-pan's at the end of the chorus. I think that might be the problem with this song. Kirarin singles tend to have their signiture phrases at the beginning of the chorus (Balalaika, Chance, Happy☆彡 even Koi Kana) while Papancake's is at the end. For me this made it not stand out at first listen, but after subsequent listens I appreciated it more. This song is a grower and perhaps surpasses most of Koha's past releases.
The music of the song is particularly nice. I'm not a musical expert so I couldn't pinpoint specific instruments that I liked. Something sounding suspiciously like a guitar of some sort was cool =) ... The instrumental section of the song is very good, in that the electric guitar (yeh?) actually fits the song so the inclusion isn't a total "wtf?".
So a lot is good on this single, now the bad: Koharu's voice is horrible on this release. We are all used to her singing but it's as if she (and her character) haven't improved at all over the past 2 years, if not become even worse. Right, that makes sense. The way she sings "cakii-o" is the cutest thing ever though. All in all she sounds more childish than usual on this record.
This song has ups and downs, the good slightly outweighs the bad. Only Koharu could release a song where horrible singing doesn't totally ruin it! While I enjoyed the song and it may beat the likes of some of Koha's releases, it is nowhere near Balalaika which in my opinion is top class.
Oh! Tomodachi
I'm just going to outright say it: This song is painful. My ears are bleeding! It's not so much the song, though it is atrocious, it is more Koha's voice. It's even worse than Papancake and she sings in annoyingly strained stretches of lines. If her squeals aren't enough to break the sound barrier and shatter your glasses they stick an even higher backing vocal in the chorus. I mean, honestly?
Once again the music is nice. The rockier sounds (if you can call them that) in this single are probably the major winners, musical wise.
PV REVIEW
The PV for Papancake follows the usual routine of Koharu dancing around in a room as she did in her previous PVs but there is something special about it which makes it stand out to me.
Firstly let's talk about the set. The setting could not be more random: We have a palm tree in one corner, vines hanging from the walls, some old tv sets stacked on top of each other, a mailbox, a bicycle, stars and more. It's like some horrible yardsale that your parents made you take part in when you were 9, but somehow it works. It's eclectic in a downtrodden, humbling way.
Koharu dances on a small platform in the middle of her yard sale in an adorable outfit. The inspiration for the costume was obviously flowers/petals, it's very sweet. The colour combination of the yellow and purple is lovely and it stands out against the bright yellow backdrop of the set.
The PV is a mixture of shots of Koha dancing, eating pancakes and playing with the stuff around the set.
The dance is pretty good for a Kirarin song. They're known for having unusual moves and that is no different here, but it's quite good. I like the pa-pan section of the dance.
The pancake scenes are cute, with Koha looking at the screen and pointing at her pancakes just to make sure we all understand exactly what pancakes are. Thanks Koha!
The other scenes are simply adorable, the scene with the teddy bear. Too kawaii for words!
This PV really enhances the song, as any good PV should. It's a winner!
Firstly let's talk about the set. The setting could not be more random: We have a palm tree in one corner, vines hanging from the walls, some old tv sets stacked on top of each other, a mailbox, a bicycle, stars and more. It's like some horrible yardsale that your parents made you take part in when you were 9, but somehow it works. It's eclectic in a downtrodden, humbling way.
Koharu dances on a small platform in the middle of her yard sale in an adorable outfit. The inspiration for the costume was obviously flowers/petals, it's very sweet. The colour combination of the yellow and purple is lovely and it stands out against the bright yellow backdrop of the set.
The PV is a mixture of shots of Koha dancing, eating pancakes and playing with the stuff around the set.
The dance is pretty good for a Kirarin song. They're known for having unusual moves and that is no different here, but it's quite good. I like the pa-pan section of the dance.
The pancake scenes are cute, with Koha looking at the screen and pointing at her pancakes just to make sure we all understand exactly what pancakes are. Thanks Koha!
The other scenes are simply adorable, the scene with the teddy bear. Too kawaii for words!
This PV really enhances the song, as any good PV should. It's a winner!
ROUNDUP
So once again I have a love/hate relationship with Koharu. I love her personality and I hate her voice (in this single). Would a better voice have made the songs much better? Hmm maybe not but it would have definitely saved the c/w which may have been a decent song. I have no idea, I was never getting past the voice on that track. The PV is her best in a while, maybe ever. Yes, this is Koha's best PV I think.
The single comes with a sticker set or something along those lines. I would purchase the SingleV, I don't think you'd be missing much in not getting the c/w on the single.
In short, Papancake is a lovely addition to the Kirarin library, a sweet, fun song it has hidden charms and will grow on you with every listen.
Papancake: B-
Oh! Tomodachi: D+
Papancake PV: A-
Overall: C+
The single comes with a sticker set or something along those lines. I would purchase the SingleV, I don't think you'd be missing much in not getting the c/w on the single.
In short, Papancake is a lovely addition to the Kirarin library, a sweet, fun song it has hidden charms and will grow on you with every listen.
Papancake: B-
Oh! Tomodachi: D+
Papancake PV: A-
Overall: C+
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1 comments - Join the discussion!:
I think its atrocious that they didn't even try to make her sound better with their twisting little knob things and buttons on the A-side and yet you say the B-side is even worse? I'm sooo scared about listening to it now! *puts it off*
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