Utada Hikaru(宇多田ヒカル) - Bad Mode(BADモード) Album Thoughts(Jpop/Experimental)

 

     Japan Pop culture nerds need on introduction to this artist. I'm pretty sure their name has come up due to a certain video game or anime theme song. They have provided songs for soundtracks to dramas and films in Japan as well. I'm not going to make too much of a fuss about her new album because They seem like a very low key person who just so happens to still hold the title of Queen of Jpop when other Japanese singers have fallen off over the coming years..... Her eight album is titled Bad Mode and you pretty much heard most of it before it hit the selves. She came out as non Binary last year. Hence the use of "They" in this post.

1

BADモード 

2

君に夢中 (Kimini Muchuu)

3

One Last Kiss 

 14K

4

PINK BLOOD 

 6.9K

5

Time 

6

気分じゃないの (Kibunja Naino) 

7

誰にも言わない (Darenimo Iwanai) 

8

Find Love 

9

Face My Fears by 宇多田ヒカル (Hikaru Utada) & Skrillex 

 32.4K

10

Somewhere Near Marseilles (マルセイユ辺り)

11

Beautiful World (Da Capo Version) 

12

キレイな人 (Kireina Hito) (Find Love) 

13

Face My Fears (English Version) by 宇多田ヒカル (Hikaru Utada) & Skrillex 

 114.5K

14

Face My Fears (A.G. Cook Remix) 

   I'm going to be completely straightforward; Bad mode - at least in my opinion is her weakest album of her new era. No. It's not because Bad mode is an awful album. It's actually the other way around when you take in the record as a full body of work. Bad Mode is just boring if you're a listener expecting an album that will have you blown out the water. Utada is an artist that was always defined by her strong need of self expression in Their songs. No matter if it's their self defining lyrics, the darkness in their voice, or the production in her music that only They and Their team can seem to create. Production was the key element that really made Bad Mode that amazing album that it is. Songs on the album merge Sync-pop with Jazz and other elements as heard on the stand out track on the album titled same as the album. I loved the little things in this track like the running water sound and the constant key changes in the instrumental. The song called time also has a great defining moment during the transition at the last half of the song. Vocally is where the album is a sleeper. Utada is known for writing catchy hooks or at the most songs that make fans want to raise their hands and sing along. Bad Mode doesn't have many moments like this to look back on. We as fans can appreciate Utada continuing to be artsy- especially seeing her perform the songs live with all the musicians who added all those different components to the tracks. I'm just not as impressed as I was in the pass. Not to mention most of the album was the singles they released already. I had to warm up to these tracks when they came out and now, I love them for the more part. Pink Blood's lyrical meaning hit home for me more than the song itself. The new tracks also are warming up to me after a few listens because I wasn't too interested in tracks like Find Love at first.  I'm finding it in me appreciate Utada's vision when they made this album though.  Sometimes I'M JUST NOT IN THE MOOD! [Insert me laughing]

   They're the only artist in Japan that could sell thousands of albums with a cover of them in a sweat hoodie in her home(?) as their son(?) runs in the background........  

Yuuri(優里) - ICH(壱) Album Thoughts(Jpop/Rock/Acoustic)

 

   Yuuri is a Japanese male vocalist that became popular through the internet in Japan. He's known for singing covers and adding his own self written songs mixed in. Some hardcore fans might have also seen him be frontman for a band known as The BUGZY until the band decided to split in 2019. He released over ten digital singles before finally dropping his first full length album titled Ichi.

Tracklisting

1	ベテルギウス
2	ドライフラワー
3	花鳥風月
4	ミズキリ
5	シャッター
6	ミザリー
7	レオ
8	ピーターパン
9	スマホウォーズ
10	夏音
11	背中
12	かごめ
13	桜晴
14	インフィニティ
15	飛行船
16	かくれんぼ

   Yuuri's music doesn't sound too different from the other male singers who play guitar but something about his music did captivate me when I first watched his music video. I think was reason was that he wasn't in the video, so it was easier for me as the listen to focus in on his voice instead of what he looked like or was doing in the video. Ichi was a pretty long album using the same pop rock acoustic style that  Japan does so well. We could also highlight his lyrics of hear wrenching love loss however, The listener can listen without understanding Japanese due solely on Yuuri's raw vocals. 

     Vocals on Ichi are heartfelt as the are determined to reach the listener. His barroom raspiness has his voice like he's shouting at the listener when you belts his choruses. He's defiantly one of those new singers on the scene to watch out for if you're into Japanese pop music. ENJOY!!!! 

True Mothers(朝が来る) Japanese Film Thoughts(2020)

 

   True Mothers is a 2020 to 2021 film that was written and directed by Naomi Kawase. Hiromi Nagasaku, Arata Lura, and, Aju Makita star in the film that was chosen as Japan's entry to the 23th Academy Awards best international film but didn't make the cut sadly....Still, many reviews praised the film's strong sensitivity for a subject once looked at as hard to discuss among mothers. 

    A family is met with torment as a women returns to get her child back after she put him up for adoption......

    I, just like many others who viewed this film, enjoyed the method used to talk about adoption and who can be called someone's real mother. Does being someone related by blood make you a true mother or does being the one who raised a child make you the true parent? True Mothers explores this question without making the child the central focus of the film. Instead you get the spotlight place on the women: one who wanted to have a child but can't due to her husbands low sperm count and a young teenage girl who had a baby too early in life. I also have to applaud the story for not being a stereotypical "find the blood related mother" kind of story. The child knows early on that he's adopted and that his mother is out there. What's sad about his film is the sacrifice one must make in giving their baby away even if they might want to keep the child..... Being a fourteen year old mother in Japanese society is defiantly frowned at. Then on top of that, having a child without a father is even worse, Social norms like these cause many young girls to give their babies to adoption centers whether they want to or not. Imagine doing that then still wanting to see your baby years later? True Mother's plot progresses on the edge of this shifting tension. 

  The acting performances were well done on all accounts. Makita's performance as the young mother that's come back for her child was powerful. Even more so when you see her background story. She deserves an award for her performance. 

     I noticed the use of scenery such as the river and the cloud filled sky during certain points in the film. It was like these sights signals a sign of rebirth for all the characters involved. Especially in the film's conclusion where all the conflicts are cleared up. I love the last scene's overall feel so much. 

   True Mothers is a great melodrama film about a topic that many other films have touched on however, not in the same way that Kawase has done.  People who love Japanese cinema need to have this film in their collections...... I was also already in my feelings because I watched Blue Bayou(great emotional film BTW) before watching this film. 

Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train(劇場版「鬼滅の刃」 無限列車編) Japanese Anime Film Thoughts

 

    I'm sure that I don't need to give that animated series much introduction. Most people know of Demon Slayer even if you've never watched an episode or never flipped through the manga. The series popularity began with the manga which was created by Koyoharu Gotouge and is currently the best selling manga of all time(over 150 million sold worldwide). The anime adaption only introduced the series to a wider audience like myself.... Such also, was the base that created the film that beat out Haoyo Miyazaki's Spirited Away as highest grossing animated film in Japan. 

    A group of demon slayers investigate a train that makes passengers disappear..... One young boy still also looks for a way to turn his sister back into a human after she was turned during an attack on their family. 

     I don't have too much to say about Mugen Train to be honest.  The film is just a continuation of the first season of the Demon Slayer anime. You probably will enjoy this film without watching the anime but you won't know anything about the characters or why they react the way that they do during the film. Viewers do get a tiny rehash of what happen to the main character in his "dream" sequence but that won't be enough to give the enjoyment you will get from watching the anime first. Storylines are nicely paced in areas that give enough drama and action to keep you hyped. Especially the last half and hour or so is really gripping however, I could have also seen this film divided into episodes. I heard that the creator always planned to make the Mugen Train arc into a film because of the pace and duration. Honestly, Mugen Train is a fun film that was made for the fans. It's not the best animated film ever. It's just a film that satisfies fans who waited for more Demon Slayer after season one. Content wise, the film doesn't beat out Miyazaki nor Makoto Shinkai's works. Demon Slayer just did a good job staying in it's own lane.  

    If there's people who are planning to read the spin off manga titled Stories of Water and Flame before watching Mugen Train, DON'T DO IT. That manga has a major spoiler in it that ruins the ending of the film. I'm happy that I watched the film before reading this manga.... 

Takaya Kawasaki(川崎鹰也) - Calendar(カレンダー ) Japanese Acoustic Pop Album Thoughts

   

 

Takaya Kawasaki is a pretty new Japanese vocalist that gained a following singing covers on 

TikTok. He continued to share his music through Youtube and released his debut album toward that end of last year. The album is titled Calendar. 

Tracklist:
1. カレンダー
2. 僕と僕
3. Young Song
4. ヘイコウセカイ
5. あなたへ
6. ありがとう、ありがとう
7. 明日未来
8. ぼくのきもち
9. 道しるべ

    Takaya is a raw vocalist that tries to stay true to his guitar accompaniment all through his debut. I've never heard an artist start an album on such high energy then still have that same energy after the album is finished. There's some violins and drums sprinkled in the instrumentals however, majority of the tracks are carried by Takaya's sheer powerful vocals. Since his vocals are loud, they sound out over all the production going on in the background. I believe everything he sings about because of how he pens his lyrics that don't take life for granted highlighted by the emotions in his voice. Calendar is a great debut for the singer. I was able to listen to front to back repeatedly without skipping any tracks.    

   Over singing can also be a problem. He's always hitting big notes in every track to the point that I'm even more interested in seeing him grow as an artist. A lot of solo performers are coming out of the music internet realm in Japan, so I can't wait to see how each of them stands out, like Takaya Kawasaki has.