Reviews written by dest
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DELIGHT (Japan Version)
1 people found the following helpful
June 9, 2006 Good voice, but sell-out jpop?I used to be Rina Aiuchi's #1 fan. I bought everything she released. I still consider her debut album "Be Happy" as the prime out of all of her releases, even though others may disagree (the ones who love their anime themes will love this CD).
As the releases went down the way, her looks started becoming more matured, so why has she changed her look now to resemble a 12 year old? She looked 10 years older on the last album cover for "Playgirl." Someone went airbrush crazy on her and is trying to manipulate her sound to sound like Ai Otsuka or any Hello Project soloists.
However, thank goodness Rina took it upon herself with some of the lesser album tracks to make them more mature-sounding. After all, how many times can you hear the word "Glorious" without going crazy? So if you buy this, only get it for the album tracks, not the awful singles like Miracle and Glorious.
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Sincerely Yours (Japan Version)
Sincerely Yours (Japan Version)
(2)Our Price: US$16.75Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:June 11, 2003 Chilled-down, yet still warm.Even though I prefer many of her other top single tracks to this song, it still is my favorite *single* to listen to. This is because of my enjoyment out of the main 3 tracks. Unlike some other Rina singles which have some typical retro/dance beats, this one has some light, hollow beats. It's hard to describe the melody, but I feel that Sincerely Yours is an emotionally capturing single like her top hit "Navy Blue".
One of the most interesting parts (which everyone overlooks..) is that the single cover is actually a photograph. I believe Rina's grayscaled "hat" pose symbolizes any friend/spouse you've once known. Even if you aren't involved with the acquaintance anymore, a joyful photo will still prove the sincere happiness you both once shared.
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FULL JUMP (Japan Version)
June 11, 2003 Jumpin' tune, yet still makes me feel lazy.Thank goodness Aiuchi Rina has such an airy/smooth voice that it entertains me just to hear her sing anything, regardless of how bad it is. The tune is hyper definitely, but these beats have got to go. Most singers are going for super-sharp and advanced beats in their songs this year. This song sounds like a carbon copy of her "I can't stop my love for you" single which came out the year before.
To be honest, Aiuchi Rina is my favorite jpop artist, and I will always support her releases. However, I'm not afraid to say when a song isn't up to her par. Full Jump is just not as good as her usual inventive tunes. The coupling track "Himawari" is also tired-sounding, but its low-keyed beat is more interesting to me.
The "full throttle" remix to Full Jump is absolutely terrible. It's just a rearranged rock version of the song, and Rina cannot do rock for her life. Anyway, Rina is always changing, so I feel this is just one of those average, inbetween-ish singles that isn't as good as others.
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Jisei (Japan Version)
March 26, 2003 The first single is explosive!I am very impressed by Nao's debut single JISEI. It's the most addicting song of the year to me so far. Perhaps the most noteworthy thing about her is that the single was produced by the acclaimed RYOJI, and he is basically going to be in charge of any of her discography for now. She is also the latest addition on the beat-pumping avex Rhythm Zone label.
But anyway, there are three great songs included on this single. The first is "Jisei", which is a really uplifting and sweet song. It's medium-tempo, and I suppose it was meant to have a winter theme, since it came out at the beginning of January. The second song is "Peace in my life", which sounds exactly how it's titled. Very happy-go-lucky, but still has some nice beats. The third song is "Soba ni ireru nara" which is the saddening conclusion song to the single. It would fall under the ballad category and could be lightly danced to.
Though her voice sounds a bit digitally enhanced (another example of this would be Kaori from ELT), she seems naturally calm and this single just would make any bad day seem brighter. I'm so excited to see a new artist like this who is so individual!
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Kaze no nai Umi de dakishimete (Japan Version)
Kaze no nai Umi de dakishimete (Japan Version)
(1)Our Price: US$13.75Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:March 19, 2003 She always wins me over, and this is no exception.I was surprised to see that no one reviewed this single yet, so I figured I'd add on my two cents.
We were truly lucky to have her last single Deep Freeze and this one, Kaze no nai umi de dakishimete, to be released within 2 months time of each other. However, that didn't necessarily mean that "Kaze no nai..." would be as good, due to the closeness in their release dates.
However, this song sounds completely different and catchy compared to Deep Freeze(which I also very much liked btw). It starts out with a slow tempo and seems like a ballad, then it rises and becomes more of a dashing-pop song. This song is hard to describe, but is a pleasure to listen to. It has a very mystical feel to it, and the single cover has a mystical-looking Rina Aiuchi picture on it. She's very beautiful and it looks even better up close :) The inside cover folds out into a full-body pic of Rina in her pretty robe outfit.
The other positives about this single: CHEAP price, and a very good coupling track for "Little Grey Mermaid". The song Little Grey Mermaid sorta sounds like Kuraki Mai's "Perfect Crime" in a way, if you've ever heard that song.
I'm eagerly expecting whatever Rina Aiuchi's next work is, just because her light-electronica music is heavily addicting!
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Make-up Shadow (Japan Version)
Make-up Shadow (Japan Version)
(5)Our Price: US$14.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:March 13, 2003 The latest Uehara Takako single is no shadow of heI didn't know what to expect from a song with the title "Make-up Shadow". I didn't know if it would be a typical girl-pop song. However, this is a fantastic voyage into her blues-pop style, and much resembles my other favorite song by her, GLORY~kimi ga iru kara~. It has now been a year since her first single on Avex's SONIC GROOVE label, and this is a pre-album single release for her new album coming soon.
While it seems like a blues song, it's stylish and elegant at the same time. She furthermore shows off her elegance and great figure with the single cover and promotional video (aired on japan MTV stations).
Takako truely is a bombshell artist compared to her counterpart Speed members, and definitely proves it with Make-up Shadow. Be sure to at least catch the album next month if you do not buy this single release!
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POWER OF WORDS (Japan Version)
POWER OF WORDS (Japan Version)
(6)Our Price: US$38.25Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:July 13, 2002 Always a winner to me!I'm glad that Aiuchi Rina's new album "Power of Words" has achieved so much popularity, since she deserves it. I always order her singles, as well as this album, as soon as they become available on PRE-ORDER on this site. I'm glad that my continuous support paid off, since this single shot to #1 the day of its release (as aforementioned by another reviewer). This was expectable though, "Navy Blue" and "I Can't Stop my Love For You <3" are mega-hits ^_^ Though I don't believe that it's BETTER than the first album, it's pretty equal to it, and has a great range of songs.
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Stay (Hong Kong Version)
July 13, 2002 Fayray's style never gets old...It's true that the titled track sounds similar to other songs in the typical jazz style. However, Fayray's voice never weakens or dies down. It always seems like she's putting her full effort into the songs and she has the perfect blues voice. Especially since joining the Avex label, her songs have improved even more. I haven't bought this single due to it containing only 2 tracks, but I can't wait until she has her next album with this song on it :)
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FUTURE BREEZE (Japan Version)
FUTURE BREEZE (Japan Version)
(4)Our Price: US$16.75Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:July 13, 2002 Sadly unoriginal compared to the other singles.Because this is one of my favorite groups, I've tried to keep an open mind listening to Move's newest single "Future Breeze", but in fact, it sounds like a song that was cheaply thrown together. This was Move's first simaltaneous release of a video single version of this song as well, and I had expected it to be really good. Instead, this is hardly a future breeze, but more like a reflection of the past. I thought Move was done with these poppy eurobeat songs as singles. I understand that this is the first single release since their last album, but still, it was released four months after.
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Over (Overseas Version)
November 5, 2001 This single stands out among past ones.Over the past few years, Fayray has transitioned from a techno/dance style to a blues-like style. I can't say that I liked the new style as well until I finally heard this single "Over". I really like the way an electric guitar is integrated into the beat of this song. It's still a blues song, but Fayray's strong voice and the background music flow great together. On the coupling track "I Touch Myself", she demonstrates her ability to sing in English and still deliver a great song. This is the first single released under the Avex Trax label by Fayray, and I feel that this will open a new door of opportunity to her.
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October 27, 2001 She's definitely climbed to the top with this one.
Aiuchi Rina (nicknamed a*rina) debuted in early 2000, and since that time, she has primarily released singles which concentrate on poppy eurobeat tunes. Her vocals are distributed evenly, not being too overblown with deepness or too high-pitched. Though her voice has always had a perfect depth to it, I believe that she shows off the most talent in this new maxi-single, Navy Blue, a ballad packed with emotion. The cover of the single purposely shows Aiuchi Rina in a more plain outfit with a solemn expression on her face to show that this song is more serious, as compared her others. She sings remorsefully about her feelings which resemble the color "Navy Blue", and the guitar is played romantically through this duration. The coupling track on this single, "Broken Heart", also contributes to its success. It gives off a slight R&B beat to pick up the pace off the first song, but it still delivers a warm sensation as a result of a*rina's sullen feelings. Finally, there are two remixes and one instrumental version of the title track. The first remix seems to be a trance version of the song, and it gives off a surreal ambiance as if you're floating over a warm sea. The second is a calm and simpler remix of the original song and it seems to further amplify a*rina's crisp voice. In all, this single is very heartwarming and it's no wonder that it hit #2 on the Oricon Countdown during the first week of its release. I'm definitely glad that she earned this ranking and has progressed so fast!
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August 9, 2001 Shela displays her brilliant, true colors.
After hearing a few of her previous singles, I decided to take a chance on Shela's first album "Colorless", her being a newcomer artist under the Avex Trax recording company. First of all, I opened the thick CD booklet in wonderance and was surprised to see attractive color scans of all of her singles incorporated into this album. These scans had been laminated onto clear, plastic sheets! When I played the CD, the main song which first caught my attention was "SEPIA", a limitedly released single. This song has beautiful, yet sorrowful, violin tunes in the beginning, and then it surprisingly becomes uplifting as the song progresses. I thought this was a great effect on this song. The songs "19RED", "friends", and "Purple Pain" contain beautiful piano melodies and Shela's mellow voice is very soothing to the ears. Another song, "Love Again~eien no sekai~", is a very tearful ballad. To finally make this CD even more interesting, the first track "feel" adds a great pop rhythm. Overall, I was very impressed with this debut CD. Her songs are not too overblown with techno or R&B music like many of the other j-pop artists out there, making Shela more outstanding. I am hoping this artist releases more successful additions to her discography in the future. Good Luck, Shela!
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Perfect Crime (Japan Version)
Perfect Crime (Japan Version)
(45)Our Price: US$38.25Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:August 9, 2001 The real crime here.One of my favorite Kuraki Mai singles was "Simply Wonderful", and it was cut from this CD... that is definitely the perfect crime here. It's such a shame how most of her other songs just sound like rip-offs of "Secret of my Heart" (an older single) after a while. And then the noisy "Stand Up" song isa very un-fitting song to her calm and pop singing style. The album before this was much, much better than this one.
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