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Thursday, 04 February 2016 Hey! And I'm not any queen. But then I have two "queens" here with their latest singles which I'm going to share here, and also both from the Anime "Dagashi Kashi", and in case you haven't watched yet, the songs are better than the show. Which is good news, draws the crowds in. Now that I have them on the shelf, I guess I have to tell you why they are good. Or you may not even watch the show. (oops)

音楽 The Klassic Note Review

MICHI - Checkmate!? [Single]

Limited Edition	Regular Edition

(Clearly the Limited Edition cover is nicer. If only they can stop making those Anime Regular Edition covers. But then again, I settled on that two years ago already)

Origin: She's a newbie, she's not to be confused with another famous singer with the same name which I don't bother to type it out (because it sucks), and she has a great voice. After her debut from last year for her first single, she brings her 2nd single to this Anime, and if you think she's an Anime singer, she is, as written on the CD booklet. Other than that, I have no much background of her. She's new, and she deserves a chance. Well, the songs deserve as much a chance as her, I would say.

(1) Checkmate!?
Not my type of song, and even worse, first impressions aren't great. Not mixing in or even tailor-made for the Anime itself (well the show is something else, but I will not talk about it here), this song just turns out to be a jazzy tune promoting the singer. And I feel that. Not only she's doing it well, the lyrics are suggestively... complex. Finding out that Elements Garden (recall sphere's "NEVER ENDING PARTY!!!!", Mina-chan's "pretty fever") is behind this release, I then felt that vibe coming out from their composition once again, and think overall this is a good song. It suffers from the usual bridge-part-of-the-song pitfalls, but then I forgive that and enjoyed the tune, all in all.
Rating: 4 stars (Less Than Average)

(2) Infinity
Of course, as always, it's the B-side that takes the win and gets credit for being on my shelf. What's good about this song? It's catchy. It's easy listening. It's some rock music. It even reminds me of that singer in UNLIMITS, especially with MICHI's less-than-deep voice and the fast-paced melody and lyrics, this song is definitely well done. If a song is easy to remember, then it must be a good song.
Rating: 4 stars (Above Average)

Conclusion: All in all, this is an average single, in my opinion. It has suffered setbacks for being less than desirable, but I managed to give it after many more listens, which is still good by my standards. Support this newbie singer on the rise, and enjoy this with the Anime, thinking if it has a relation or ever strikes a beat in your heart about it. Fort me, it's not much. But it's worth a try for making MICHI stand out in the crowd with this new release. That is probably what matters.

ALSO!

音楽 The Klassic Note Review

Taketatsu Ayana - Hey! Calorie Queen [Single]

Limited Edition	Regular Edition

(I wish the Regular Edition is also like this, but less of the donut but more of her. Can that happen? *smiles*)

Origin: Wow when was the last time I got another single from Taketatsu "Ayachi" Ayana on my shelf? If you're unfamiliar with this voice actor who coincidentally also acts in the credited Anime, then you need to spend more time watching some 2D stuff. She's not unfamiliar in Klassic Note, and I reviewed another one of her singles two years, and only missing one, I'm already here with another one. Effort is seen from her making the songs sound great, and I support her for doing so. Tying in well with the Anime, this single is compatible to her and everything in many ways than other.

(1) Hey! Calorie Queen
All hail the new generation of royalty, and this time it's sweets. Picking the best topic in the world to create a song on, I must say the composer (also the producer) took advantage of this and made the most festival-like catchy tune I have ever heard for an Anime like this. Making Ayachi the "queen", singing lyrics that suggest we can be the "sweets" for her to taste... this song goes a long way. All in all, this song brings out the essence of the show, albeit in a different style, making it less than expected in my opinion. Song structure error is also present here, but can be easily forgiven hearing Ayachi sing, you know, because she sounds too appropriate for it.
Rating: 4 stars (Above Average)

(2) Asayake to Yakusoku no Uta [Song of Sunrise and Promise]
Typically people who use the word "song" in a song don't sound too creative, but then you haven't heard the rest of the song. Okii Reiji has been under the microscope of Klassic Note for some time now (even the TWEEDEES band name he created last year is under the credits after his name now), and before that has been in many bands, and an active producer for Ayachi's singing career. Giving this song multiple listens brings out his usual quirky yet subtle style of music, and the meaningful lyrics somehow got into me. Overall a very nice song with progression, and no doubt that reason I needed to give this single the thumbs up.
Rating: 4 stars (Average)

Conclusion: This is a great single. If you want me to compare to the previous one I reviewed (from Anime "Denki-gai no Honya-san", I can only say they are different. This one packs a lot of punch, and the B-side is a nice listen, especially coming from this particular composer. Definitely worth a listen in my opinion, and if you're a fan of Ayachi, I guess you're already listening to it some way of other. I like it. Ayachi. And also this release.

-Kaineng, on the Klassic Note


THE PACKAGE
Still surprised I underestimated the delivery date, so it was supposed to be tomorrow but luckily came in today. Both singles have special gifts along with them, and MICHI's single also had an Anime sticker which is the same as the cover itself. The close-up on MICHI-san is great on her single, and I wish someone can translate that warning section of the booklet, because it says many things that are not supposed to be on a CD, and I think also not in any sweets package. A downside here, is that the text in the lyrics are rather small (I'm looking without my glasses this close), and the inside of the booklets for both singles are very similar. Same production, huh. Don't make it too obvious, yes?

MICHI's single...	... And there's Ayachi's "nutrition panel". She is tasty.

(Also, photos taken so badly so I made it less obvious by making them smaller haha. I'm smart.)
(And you bet I thought of which special gift to get, but ended with HMV Japan's instead. MICHI I didn't think that much, so CDJapan would do *laughs)


This is all, then. I'm tired after a whole week of study, and I still have an early morning to go, so I'll wrap this up so I can sleep. Which is also why I intend to do this tomorrow, but then since it appeared here then I couldn't resist. Which one to prefer? Oh please don't make me choose between them. (It's Ayachi BTW haha)

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