Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 2000% - Idol Song Otoya Ittoki CD review

Title: Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000% Idol Song Otoya Ittoki
Artists: Ittoki Otoya (Terashima Takuma)
Release date: 15 May 2013
Version: n/a

Packaging: In the same style of the rest of the single series for Maji Love 2000% where everyone is wearing old fashioned clothes with a classy-retro look to the design. Otoya's does well to still capture the personality of the character as well as using the "hidden" image theme each cover has. This one is probably one of the most subdued as it is just the crown on the books he is for whatever reason trying to balance on his head.

Track listing:

1.SMILE MAGIC
An energetic song with a rock flare that is a signature sound for Otoya's solo songs. The start of the song is relatively quiet compared to the rest of the song with just some chimes and Terashima's vocals, but that only lasts a few lines before more instruments for the song kick in. There is a sound effect used throughout the song that came off more distracting at times, though sometimes I find it annoying other times I am fine with it. Either way the song has a nice driving beat and is full of energy.

2. HORIZON
There is an urgency that is built up throughout the song that really drives the song at places.  It is a solid song and a nice change of pace for an Otoya solo without breaking too far away from the sound his songs usually have. I love the short instrumental breaks with the violin solo, it fits so well even though there are quite a bit of electronic effects and sounds that go through the song. I actually like this song more than SMILE MAGIC and it is up there as one of my favorite solo songs for Otoya.

3. SMILE MAGIC (instrumental)
4. HORIZON (instrumental)


Overall: A rather balanced single and a couple of good songs to add to Otoya's collection of solos. Both fit well with the character while at the same time is just different enough to not just simply blend in with the previous songs. His character singles so far have been rather solid from the images used to the songs themselves so he is one of the characters I feel safe with knowing whatever release he gets I know I will enjoy it.

Chu-Z looses its yellow

I confess to dragging my feet about writing this post, but since sadly this is not the only recent graduation announcement I want to write about. But this is the harder one as I love Chu-Z and all of the group's members so much so the fact that one is leaving is just not something I have quite wrapped my head around.

But a couple of days ago Asuka announced that she will be graduating from the group.The final release with her will be the upcoming album that releases on March 9th, Chu-Z My Selection,, and her graduation date is March 24th.

Official Chu-Z blog (Japanese only)


To be honest I have worried about the future of the group as the members are all over 20 and for female J-idols that is rather old. It has been one of the things I have liked about the group though, the fact that they are a group of young women and it helps sell their cute and cool image to me. But on the other hand I do worry that they may be thinking about their post-idol life all the more because they are older and know that this is not going to last forever. And it does not escape me that Asuka is the second oldest member at 26.

That all said I am of course glad that the group will continue on. It is not too surprising as they did loose a member early on so this is not exactly new. I hope it does not take away with any momentum the group has had as I would love to see them reach their goal of performing at Budokan one day. They are finally reaching the point they are doing limited touring for oneman shows and I want to see them continue to grow as a group.

If anything I just wish they could continue on as six. It is going to be strange for some time to see them as five instead. And who knows if they will continue the sub-units as Sun Chu will just be a duo. I guess at least there is still the upcoming album to look forward to, and it will now seem all the more precious as being the final release Asuka will be in.

Uta no Prince-sama - Maji Love 2000% - Idol Song Masato Hijirikawa CD review

Title: Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000% Idol Song Masato Hijirikawa
Artists: Hijirikawa Masato (Suzumura Kenichi)
Release date: 08 May 2013
Version: n/a

Packaging: The basic design and packaging does not change for any of the covers in this single series. For this one though the newspaper is what is used to show a "hidden" image of Masato with a crown at his side. Even though I know the newspaper's title is a reference to the agency in the series I cannot help but think of the movie by that name instead when I look at it. But I'm certain that is just a cultural thing so I would be in the minority.

Track listing:

1. 恋桜 (Koi Zakura)
This song brings in a mix of traditional Japanese instruments into it that helps it sound something like an enka song. With Masato being the traditional Japanese beautiful male character it is a perfect fit and it would be odd if any other character had a song like this unless it was for one of the drama CDs where they are "performing". It does start off with the piano but it fades into the background and not nearly as prevalently used throughout the song as it was with the anime song for the previous single. Suzumura's voice is placed into the spotlight with this song and sounds great even though it is a different singing style than the typical pop song.

2. Sanctuary
A more standard pop song than the first track and one that sounds like it could have been given to just about any other character. So that is a bit of a disappointment, especially with the other track being the opposite of that. That said it does have its merits, like the vocal change ups, from the soft start to the verses that build up to the stronger chorus. It is a nice contrast from the previous track with that. It also has a nice energy to it and is an enjoyable listen. If it was not paired up with Koi Zakura or maybe had something to it that made it more distinctly a Masato song outside of the voice actor it would stand out much better.

3. 恋桜 (Koi Zakura) (instrumental)
4. Sanctuary (instrumental)

Overall: The first track is the stand out of the two and is easy to recall with its distinct sound. Sanctuary is not bad by any means, it just lacks the stand out qualities of the other track. It is still a solid pop song that is enjoyable like the vast majority of the Uta no Prince-sama discography. So it is a good single and nice to have after the first of this single series as the first was something of a disappointment.