Hey! Say! JUMP - AinoArika / Aisureba Motto Happy Life RE single review

Artist: Hey! Say! JUMP
Title: AinoArika / Aisureba Motto Happy Life
Release date: 05 FEB 2014
Type: single
Version: Regular Edition

Packaging: Being the regular edition it is as basic as it can be. The jewel CD case is slim so there is no room for a back slip of paper for a back image, you just see the CD itself. The CD jacket just has the cover, a track listing and lyrics. This is the first press of the RE so the CD is pictured labeled, which just means there is a picture on the CD itself. For this it is solo images of the group members.

Tracks:

1. AinoArika
Why o' why did they add a rap to this song? It was a perfectly good song that did not need an awkward rap break in the middle of it to ruin the flow of the music. And who mixes a rap in the middle of an upbeat energetic song with classical instruments? Yet despite that one glaring annoyance I have with the song I still find myself enjoying it. I just wish there was a version minus the rap so I could enjoy it more.

2. 愛すればもっとハッピーライフ (Aisureba Motto Happy Life)
A cute song that also gets an awkward break around the middle, but instead of a rap it is some DRM thrown in for what I am assuming is a dance break. It does not come off as anything special to me as HSJ has plenty of cute, poppy, upbeat songs and this one is not as strong as some of the others. Also for a group that is supposed to be moving towards a more mature image this feels like a step back for them.

3. Oh! My Jelly! ～僕らはOK～ (Oh! My Jelly ~Bokura wa OK~)/ Hey! Say! 7
This song had to have been written for the CM tie-in it was attached to. Or I would hope so or it would mean Johnny's had a song about Jelly lying around just in case. That said the song is more in the vein of the second A-side and goes for a cute and upbeat pop sound. And again there are better songs that HS7 has that are the same style which makes this one feel rather forgettable.

4. スギルセツナ (Sugiru Setsuna)/ Hey! Say! BEST
I am happy that HSB does not disappoint. They have my favorite song on this single, and not just because of my bias for the sub-unit for Takaki Yuya being a part of it. Though AinoArika would be just as loved if it was missing the rap. Sugiru Setsuna has the more mature sound that one would expect from a group of over 20s even though like the rest of the songs on the single it is rather upbeat and poppy. It just lacks the cute and a section of the song that pulls the listener out of it.

5-8. (karaoke tracks)


Overall: This single is a great showcase of my frustration with the group. AinoArika is the kind of song you would expect them to be releasing as they mature as a group but then you have something like Aisureba Motto Happy Life pulling them back into the young and cute image they have never been able to shake.

And honestly the cute would not be so much an issue if it were better and less generic. I never forgot how AinoArika went like during the year but even after only just listening to Aisureba Motto Happy Life I cannot tell you how it goes. Same with Oh! My Jelly!, which is easily outshone by previous HS7 unit songs in all categories. So this single ends up being half good and half bland.