In 1997, Avex Trax artist Amuro Namie released the album “Concentration 20” and became a monumental album for the pop diva who just turned 20.

Ten years later, Avex Trax artist BoA is 20 and begins her 2007, with the release of her fifth full length album titled “MADE IN TWENTY (20)”.

The album debut at #1 and became her fifth straight album to debut at the top spot on the Oricon Album Charts.

Since debuting in Japan with her first album “LISTEN TO MY HEART”, her latest album shows a mature side while the first was a symbol of energetic, youthful music.

Bare in mind, that when she exploded onto the music scene, she was only thirteen years old.

Having watch her evolve as a Korean and Japanese music artist and to see her accomplish so much within the last seven years is amazing and the interesting thing yet, she has showed no signs of stopping.

As for her new Japanese album, “MADE IN TWENTY (20) was released on January 17 in a CD and a CD+DVD version.

The version I am reviewing is the normal CD version which features a total of 15 tracks, three that were CD single releases in 2006.

The first track starts of with “Lady Galaxy”, a sexy upbeat song sung nearly all in English.

Singing in English for the first track was quite interesting but her cover of popular 1984 WHAM hit “LAST CHRISTMAS” (track #14) is even more impressive as she sings the whole song in English very well.

One of the interesting things about this album is how her CD single tracks (the fast songs) are very different from the non-released fast songs on this album. The second track “Nanairo no Ashita ~brand new beat~” (her 19th CD single) arranged by music artist Daisuke “D.I.” Imai and Chikara Hazama is an upbeat happy upbeat pop song.

As the fourth track “STILL.” and “Candle Lights” which are good examples of a BoA “mature” track, the fifth track “SO REAL” and shows that the 20-year-old can still jam.

The ninth track “Revolution-CODE:1986-110 Feat. RAH-D” is definitely classic BoA. An awesome upbeat fast song that is reminiscent to her early music.

The seventh track features her 20th CD single “KEY OF HEART” (used as the ending theme for the 3D animation Japanese adaptation of “Over the Hedge”). A fun upbeat song that so far, compared to the other fast songs on the album are very night and day.

Where songs such as “Lady Galaxy”, “SO REAL”, “no more make me sick” and “Prayer” use a deep bass, transitional beat similar to music artists like Fergie and even Nelly Furtado, “KEY OF HEART” is something that sounds more Mandy Moore and early Jessica Simpson.

So, the faster tracks between her CD single releases and the songs on the album are quite different in style.
Continuing the mature theme, BoA shows listeners that she’s not just a pop diva but that she also has a sensual side as heard from her ballads.

The third track “Winter Love” which is BoA’s 21st CD single, is a beautiful ballad that debuted at No. 2 but eventually topped the Oricon Charts at No. 1.

In my opinion, one of her best songs to be released in Japan and to make things better is a live version for “Winter Love” included as the final track on this album.

Also, featured is BoA the songwriter who wrote the seventh track “OUR LOVE ~to my parents”. I definitely would like to see more of this in future albums.

Upon listening to this album many times, you tend to hear different sides musically of BoA.

You get a little of classic BoA, mature BoA, boodie-shaking BoA and also a sensual side heard through her ballads.

Essentially, you do get something different with each track on this album, which is cool. “MADE IN TWENTY (20)” is a good album, average at best.

Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing BoA evolve in the next stage of her music career.

— DENNIS A. AMITH

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Every year in Japan, schools hold an “undokai” (school sports event) which is typically held in September (May in some schools).

For many of you who have probably seen this on Japanese television show or perhaps an anime may have seen this before.

Whereas in the US which has its annual field day where individuals compete typically for a ribbon and showcase the athletes in grade school, Japan makes it a group effort and groups compete with other groups in racing, tug-of-war and

other related sporting events.

Also, unlike the US where parents don’t watch their kids perform at Field Day (come to think of it, we have grown up thinking of Field Day as a great day of not having to do homework and getting free ice cream) but in Japan, it’s a serious event where family tend to watch their children/siblings participate in the sports activities.

Several record labels have partaken in releasing music compilations for “undokai” and being offered by Avex Trax is “Cheers ~undokai songs~” featuring artists from Dept. 4 (an A&R division of Avex Entertainment, Inc. representing artists featured on this compilation).

There are two versions of this compilation with one containing 12 tracks and an another which is 2-CD’s (AVCD-23081) featuring the instrumental versions of the twelve songs.

The version I am reviewing is the single CD version.

Although this compilation is educational, the price for this compilation is around Y1,886 (a little over $15 US).

It makes this CD a great purchase to obtain songs that were released that same year such as Otsuka Ai’s “Frienger”, AAA’s “Hurricane Lilly, Boston Mari”, misono’s “VS” and many more.

There are some songs that are interesting choices to be featured on this album such as the classic TRF song “EZ DO DANCE” (the only 90’s song from Avex on this compilation) and Tokyo Purin’s “Jitensya nandayo jinsei ha” (2000) and you also get a chance to sample artists that you may never had heard before.

There is a good balance of music from pop and rock and each artist featured on this compilation are diverse in the type of music offered on this album.

As for contents, the album’s booklet comes with the lyrics for each song.

Of course, it would have been nice to see a DVD of the music videos of each song but this compilation is being marketed as educational and for such a low price.

So, if you want to learn more about Avex Entertainment, Inc. music artists, you may want to also check out “a-nation `06 Best-Hit Selection” which does come with a DVD featuring many music videos for the majority of the tracks on the album.

All in all, you really can’t go wrong if you buy this compilation. You get a total of 12 songs for a great price and there is a really good balance of songs featured.

A cool compilation for a great price! Check it out.

— DENNIS A. AMITH

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The 6th album from the very elegant pop star Lee Jung Hyun is full of energy and takes certain styles embodied in previous albums in “FANTASTIC GIRL”.

I have to admit that I had a stupid moment as I could have reviewed this album months earlier but upon receiving it from my friend who sent me it as a gift, I thought it was a photo booklet. I looked through the photos many times and only months later when I was perusing a website, I realized that what I received was not just a photo booklet but the actual album for Lee Jung Hyun.

Sure, I’ve received album in different packaging (especially with HK albums) but I found it pretty interesting to see the album bundled in this way.

But on to the review. Lee Jung Hyun’s music has always appealed to me. From the energetic fast paced music with her vocals (which some may think is high pitched at times but I find enjoyable), she’s able do different music genres and have fun with it.

Her last album “Passion” was Latin-based and her sixth album “FANTASTIC GIRL” blends a little bit of the past and something new altogether.

As a matter of fact, a few tracks that you hear on this album has a style that you may hear coming out of producer Timbaland (ala Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado) or music coming from the Pussycat Dolls.
“FANTASTIC GIRL” features 12 tracks with collaboration from producers Yoon Il Sang and Choi Joon Young. Also, featuring a collaboration with Double K.

The album definitely has that dance music feel and tracks such as “Fun Fun” featuring Double K has that 80’s style beat with Korean instruments playing in the background. Then you have “Dallyeo (Run)” which has a Pussycat Dolls music style feel to it.

And you have many other awesome R&B hits such as “Welcome to My Style”, “NamjaNeun YeojaReul Gwichanhge Nae (Men Annoy Women)”,“All In” and “Ni NajaReul Jwo” (Give Me Your Man)” for those who enjoy that top 40 feel.

Then you get to a track like “CheolsuYa SarangHae” (I Love You, Cheol Soo) which uses an 80’s analog synth style sound that she utilized on her third album “Half”.

And of course, you get the Lee Jung Hyun smooth ballads for songs such as “Ddo Saranghal Su Isseulkka (Will I be able to Love Again?).

As mentioned before, the packaging for the album is via a 7 x 10 28-page photobook. A flap that looks like a postcard which leads to a CD holder in the front inside page. And a thank you sheet with track listing and promotional card for the record label.

I must admit that I do miss the fast, hyper-energetic techno or trance style of the older albums but at the same time, each album for Lee Jung Hyun shows how she is able to embrace different styles of music and also shows how she matures and improves with each album.

Lee Jung Hyun does step into new territory with “FANTASTIC GIRL” and like all her albums which show change and improvement, this album is no different. Featuring a good balance of music, Lee Jung Hyun fans will dig it!

— DENNIS A. AMITH

“ The 2006 best selling music artist in Japan” (Oricon). An amazing achievement for sexy music diva, Koda Kumi.

Having won many awards including the highly coveted ”Grand Prix” Award (Artist of the Year) for Japan’s 2005 Nihon Record Taishou Awards (Japan’s equivalent to America’s Grammy Award show) and dominating the headlines for the past few years with her bold music style and uber-sexiness, needless to say that she has earned it.

As for her music, in the past, I may have been a bit critical of her earlier work but for her fifth original album. “Black Cherry”, I am actually enjoying it a lot and have listened to the album from beginning to end many times.

I feel that the production value of her current music is so much better on “Black Cherry” compared to her previous albums and it’s cool to see the singer being utilized on tracks that are rock, pop and R&B-based.

Listening to her earlier works and listening to her now, such a major improvement.

Some may compare her to a Japanese Christina Aguillera because of the image but Koda Kumi is not just about showing off the body, she has the music talent to go with it.

I should note that as a songwriter, Koda won an award for that at the 2006 Nihon Record Taishou Music Awards and the majority of the tracks on this album were written by her.

And on this album, Koda goes into another territory for the track “Milk Tea”which she wrote and composed the music for.

The version I’m reviewing is the CD + 2 DVD first press version which includes three bonus tracks. Also, her music video DVD and another DVD which includes her “Cherry Girl” drama.

This album contains 10 songs released in as CD singles in 2006. Some may wonder how is that possible but to explain it quickly, she releases a CD single every month (Note: Koda once released a CD single once a week) but with two best hit releases, this is her first original album since “Secret” released back in April 2005.

But as much as the releases are enjoyable, even the unreleased songs are highly enjoyable. From the club-like head bopping song “Get Up & Move! to the rock-based “Ningyohime” (Mermaid Princess) are very cool!

As for the first DVD included, 9 of her music videos are included. For those who can find a first pressing, the 10th track is the making of each music video.

As for the second DVD, it features her one shot drama “Cherry Girl” which was created by the group behind the drama “Busu no Hitomi no Koishiteru” which Koda’s “Koi no Tsubomi” was the theme song to.

To describe “Cherry Girl”, I guess you can call it an action film within the same type of style as “Charlie’s Angels”. Koda Kumi is the main character who takes on cases which involve spywork and fighting.

Joining Kumi are actresses Ito Yuko and MEGUMI. As for equivalent to Charlie, it’s played by SMAP member Inagaki Goro. And also a baddie played by sax musician and actor, Takeda Shinji.

What I found interesting is to see how Koda Kumi was an actress. She actually does very well in this film and doesn’t surprise me if this film became the springboard for her career.

Now granted, I’m not saying “Cherry Girl” is an awesome film but considering that I have seen so many dreadful Japanese films starring a music artist, “Cherry Girl” was quite entertaining and the character of playing a sexy spygirl and a club hostess fits Koda’s sexy diva persona.

Suffice to say that “Black Cherry” is indeed a significant release for Koda Kumi fans is an understatement. This is her best album thus far!

There are really no negatives that I can find with this album. You either like her music or you don’t.
“Black Cherry” is a well-produced album that really showcases her talent as a singer, writer and a composer.

I hope you are able to get the 2-DVD version if you can find it.

A must buy for Koda Kumi fans!

— DENNIS A. AMITH

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Within the last seven years, we have seen the female pop group dream evolve from a trio to an eight member troupe and now a seven-member group to become part of “GirlsBOX”, the Avex Trax umbrella group featuring other artists such as Nagasawa Nao, Kaiyou Aiko, Saito Michio, Hoshii Nanase and several other female artists.

The story of dream begins back on January 1, 2000 when trio Matsumoro Mai, Hasebe Yu and Tachibana Kana were the three members selected among 15,000 girls who auditioned at “Avex dream 2000”.

For Avex Trax, the creation of dream was a passing of the torch initiated by female idol groups who brought EuroBeat to the masses. From Amuro Namie and the Super Monkeys to MAX, D&D, Folder and several others.

The trio released it’s first CD single on January 1st titled “Movin’ On” and from 2000-2002, the trio released a total of 14 CD singles.

It was on February 13th with the release of the group’s 14th Maxi Single “MUSIC IS MY THING” that the 2nd generation of dream began and the group became more pop oriented.

With original member Matsumuro Mai graduating from the group, the groups numbers increased to eight with the addition of Ai Risa, Abe Erie, Takamoto Aya, Nakashima Ami, Nishida Shizuka and Yamamoto Sayaka.

As many may have made comparisons between dream with another female idol group with large numbers, the group went through another change a year later with member Ai Risa leaving the group, thus making dream to a seven member group.

From here on in, seven has become somewhat of a significant number for the group.

Seven years as a group and on January 1, 2007, celebrating their seventh anniversary with the release of “7th Anniversary Best” and “Greatest Live Hits”.

“7th Anniversary Best” features 26 songs from their first CD single “Movin’ On” (2000) to “Transit -independence-“ (2005) and a special anniversary track titled “Dreaming Way”.

With three different releases, a 2-CD album a 2-CD+DVD album and a limited edition version that comes with a photobook.

For dream fans, this album is indeed the ultimate collection. You get every CD single release and songs that were released from dream’s concept albums “BOY MEETS GIRL” and “Natsuiro”.

For anime fans, your favorite songs by dream featured on anime such as “Inuyasha”, “Hikaru no Go”, “Ichigo 100%”, “Asobotto Senki Goku” are on this best album.

And if you buy the version that comes included with a DVD, you get to see all 19 music videos (2000-2006) from the group.

I could remember the first music video from dream and I have to admit that the original video is a bit cheesy but to watch the original members from way back in 2000 and to see how dream evolved over the years is pretty cool.

Most of all, to see how the production quality of the music videos had improved over time.

I was very impressed with the last two videos on the DVD such as “Kono natsu ga Owaru Maeni’ which features a love lost through tragedy and “Transit –independence”, trying to move on after the tragedy and to have a new love.

As for contents, the CD book features a few photos, discography and lyrics. Also, included is a “7th Anniversary Best” card featuring a member from dream and a little flyer showing information on the group’s website.

There are many positives of why to buy the 2-CD+DVD version of “7th Anniversary Best”. With some best albums, you are always missing a song but in this case, all CD singles are included with a few extras and the full DVD with all oftheir PV’s, can’t beat that!

If you are a dream fan or someone who wants to make their first dream purchase, this best album has it all.

— DENNIS A. AMITH Read more

A fantastic collaboration between singer/songwriter BONNIE PINK and m-flo for m-flo’s 21st CD single “Love Song”.

The duo m-flo featuring producer/DJ Takahashi Taku and MC Verbal have attracted fans to their music since their debut with singer LISA back in 1999 with “the tripod e.p.”.

Known for their style of music that fused Japanese hip hop and dance music, the duo has been known for experimentation and trying things different.

With original member LISA leaving the group to pursue a solo career, m-flo who has had collaborations in the past with a number of artists began to incorporate the monicker “m-flo loves…” with it’s 2003 release “REEEWIND!” featuring m-flo loves CRYSTAL KAY.

This marked the duo’s work with other artists from other labels such as CRYSTAL KAY, melody, EMYLI, Wada Akiko, Hinouchi Emi and many more.

As for BONNIE PINK, she is the free spirit performer that creates the music that she wants to do. (see our J!-ENT interview)

May it be rock-based or pop, she has a large fan following and a respect from fans because of her creativity as a singer and as a song writer who takes chances.

I have always enjoyed the music that came from both m-flo and BONNIE PINK and to find out that the two collaborated for “Love Song” was surreal.

The pairing between the two is something that is out of left field and I never would have imagined such a collaboration to ever happen. And the result is very very cool and very fresh!

“Love Song” is an upbeat song featuring a head bopping, addictive dance beat. The hip hop from Verbal and BONNIE PINK’s vocals are just smooth and beautiful.

The second track “she loves the CREAM” featuring m-flo loves DOPING PANDA is the theme song for “Global Astroliner”, an anime short on the Avex anime project “Amazing Nuts!”

The song is very frenetic going from disco to mind-numbing beat with Verbal’s MC’ing and then a churging of the electric guitar suddenly comes and changes the pace of the song. And for fans of DOPING PANDA, change is very good.
DOPING PANDA known for infusing disco, rock and digital sounds into their music and collaborating with m-flo definitely brings something different than what we are typically used to hearing from m-flo.

The third track “Lotta Love ~yasutaka nakata capsule mix~ features m-flo loves MINMI.

MINMI known for her style of Japanese reggae, like BONNIE PINK has ventured into a variety of different genres of music and in this case, her collaboration with m-flo features a a danceable, groovy pop song that showcases her talent beyond the reggae music she is known for.

The fourth and fifth tracks are instrumental tracks for the first two songs.

I found m-flo’s 21st CD single “Love Song” quite ambitious with the artists utilized for this CD single.

Not only do we get three collaborations with three talented artists that have their own different style of music compared to the music we often hear from m-flo, just to listen to these artists work with the duo create great music is too awesome.

I look forward to what m-flo will be doing next.

— DENNIS A. AMITH

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As the entertainment company Avex is known for the music industry, they have their sites set on various areas of entertainment such as film and definitely in the area of animation.
One of the most ambitious projects is “Amazing Nuts!”, featuring a joint collaboration between Avex Entertainment Inc. (who now has an anime division for anime distribution) and well-respected Japanese animation studio, STUDIO4°C.

From Avex, featured is music from rhythm zone artists m-flo (ala m-flo loves DOPING PANDA), RAM RIDER, Koda Kumi and Mink).

STUDIO4°C who has worked on critically acclaimed animated films such as “MEMORIES”, “Spriggan”, “Princess Arete” and “Mind Game” and most notably to “Matrix” fans for “The Animatrix”.

Even Japanese music fans may recognize their work from the music videos such as Glay’s “Survival” and Hamasaki Ayumi’s “Connected”.

And this is just to name a few as the studio has created works for television and video games as well.

But to know STUDIO4°C, you need to go back to the founders Morimoto Koji, Tanaka Eiko and Sato Yoshiharu.

Morimoto Koji is known for his work that are frenetic and bizarre and has set himself apart other animators with his unique approach to animation, thus he is considered one of Japan’s top animators.

Morimoto is known for working on Otomo Katsuhiro’s “AKIRA” and also animation directorial works for the “Franken Gear’s” segment on “Robot Carnival”, “MEMORIES” and many more.

His animated film works include animation such as “Tomorrow’s Joe”, “Golgo 13”, “The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do you Remember Love?”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “Macross Plus” to name a few.

Musically, Utada Hikaru fans will recognize his work on the music videos for “EXODUS” and “passion”.

The trio have produced a wide variety of work since 1986 and nearly twenty years later, have shown no signs of slowing down.

So, here we are with “Amazing Nuts!”, a 37 minute anthology which contains around four distinctive shorts that last about 7-8 minutes long.

The big positive is the studio is being given the freedom to create something different and new without having it to be based on an original manga.

According to producer, Tanaka Eiko, their goal was to create shorts that could be a music video, a pilot to future anime projects and a standalone DVD release.

The first short is titled “Global Astro Liner” which is directed by Nakayama Daisuke (who also provides the character designs).

Nakayama’s previous works include “Blood: the Last Vampire” and “Ghost in the Shell” films. “Princess Mononoke” and “Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children” and “Maho Shoujo Tai Arusu” TV series.

The music featured is “She loves the Cream -Amazing Nuts! Ver.-” by m-flo loves DOPING PANDA. Combining the hip hop and R&B sound of m-flo and the frenetic rock and digital sounds of DOPING PANDA, the animation and the music balance each other well.

“Global Astroliner” has the feel of a futuristic police or headhunter team taking down underworld thugs in the future.

The film is definitely futuristic, urban, gritty, frenetic, of a metropolitan city rift with chaos and you are fed with many scenes of multiple teams of bad guys and scenes that looks like it comes from an actual series.

Obviously an anime short that shows that it can be a potential animated series if given the chance to.
The second anime short is titled “Glass Eyes” directed by Yamashita Takashi with character designs by
Morimoto Koji.

The music for this short is titled “Smile Again” by digital music artist RAM RIDER known for his experimentation with 8 bit sound and digital music.

“Glass Eyes” is Yamashita’s first animated project as a director. Hired because of his script and a story about a guy who has dreams or images of apocalypse.

And throughout these dark scenes in his mind is a woman who looks like she’s in a brink of death. Is he supposed to save her?

The animation is so beautiful as it shows love and destruction. This short was hands down, my favorite short of the whole anthology.

Different animation styles with interest dark imagery that was just too awesome that you just craved for more. A wonderful balance between CG and animation.

I felt that RAM RIDER’s music also showed an interesting balance with his music and the animation.

The third animation is titled “Tatoeba Kimi ga Sekaijyu no Teki ni Nattemo” (Even if you were to become the enemy to the rest of the world) aka “Kung-Fu Love” which is directed by Aoki Yasuhiro and also the person responsible for the character designs.

The music featured in this short is titled “Twinkle” by Koda Kumi.

Definitely a no brainer to include Japan’s top selling music artist of 2006 in this Avex project (which is the label Koda is from).

“Kung-Fu Love” features a fighter who takes on other opponents and also finds love.

Suffice to say that compared to the other two shorts which were gritty and dark, this short is actually very colorful. and different animation wise from the previous two.

Also, as the music found a good balance in the first two shorts, “Twinkle” is more of a pop song that tries to feature Koda Kumi’s bubbly personality with the main character. Even the main character sports the Koda Kumi eyes when shown close-up.

I actually enjoyed the animation style and use of lighting for “Kung-Fu Love”. Although simple drawn characters, the actual city that the characters live in are lush and is beautifully created.

Aoki who’s previous roles as key animator for the “Sailor Moon” films, “You’re Under Arrest” TV episodes and director for the Mahou Shojou Tai Arusu TV Series (again, just to name a few) utilizes the fighting action scenes very well.

Aoki used between 6,000-7,000 drawings for this 10 minute short which is five times the volume for a TV series.
Similar to the first short, “Kung-Fu Love” shows many scenes that could become a TV series or a film if ever given a chance.

The fourth and final short on the anthology is “Joe and Marilyn”.

This time a 3D animated film directed by 4°Fahrenheit with character designs by Ishida Takafumi.

The music featured in this short is “Here by my side” sung by Mink. Mink is an English and Japanese speaking artist that has made it to the top on the billboard Dance Charts in the US.

The story of “Joe and Marilyn” revolves around a love story between the two characters.

Marilyn is a performer and is shown singing in front of many people until trouble finds itself into a venue that Marilyn is performing at. Unfortunately, Joe somehow gets involved in the trouble and I don’t’ want to spoil the rest for you.

Some may look at the animation with the thick hair and think this is 3D from several years ago but it really isn’t.

Needless to say that Mink’s ballad works with the short very well but compared to the other three shorts, it does seem out of place. But then again, the nature of this anthology was to have something different.

As for the DVD release, there are several versions released.

The limited edition DVD box set of “Amazing Nuts!” (AVBA-35001, Y5800, pictured on page 1) is definitely the version I highly recommend on getting.

Included in the DVD box set are two DVD’s. One which includes the 37 minute anthology feature and a second DVD which includes a 40 minute that includes “The Story of Amazing Nuts!” with interviews with STUDIO4°C, those who were involved in directing or character animation of the shorts and also the interview with the music artists.

The biggest key in the DVD box set is the over 300+ pages of storyboard and interviews discussing the progression of the featured shorts.

For those who are art students who want to get into animation, these type of books are definitely desired and to see how much time and work was involved for just 7-10 minutes of animation will blow you away.

You won’t believe how detailed they were for each of these shorts when it came to storyboards. Everything was thoroughly planned.

The regular edition of “Amazing Nuts!” (AVBA-35003, Y2856) features the anthology with no special features.

And last, is the “Amazing Nuts!” CD+DVD (RZCD-45477, Y1895) which is the soundtrack which comes with the four audio tracks and the four music videos. Total time is 13 minutes for the DVD music videos.

Granted, you can possibly catch most of what you want to see in the CD+DVD version but the DVD box set offers so much more that I won’t hesitate but recommend the limited edition box set.

All in all, I look at this anthology as a collection of animated artwork. Showcasing a studio known for taking risks and doing things different, many fans of STUDIO4°C’s animation respect the work of those involved in this anthology and it doesn’t surprise me that people from all over the world have been importing this product.

Unfortunately it does not look like the anthology has been picked up by a US anime distributor, thus it could mean that you may need to import this and also need a region-free player.

A lot of work went into creating these shorts and it would be a shame if they weren’t furthered to a OAV or TV series.

All in all, for fans of STUDIO4°C, this is definitely worth owning for your collection.

A — DENNIS A. AMITH

For more information visit, http://www.avexmovie.jp/lineup/amazing-nuts/

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Celebrating her 24th birthday and her 3rd year as a music artist, a DVD of Otsuka Ai’s special concert at Hibiya Yagai Ongaku-Do from last September was released on New Year’s Day.

In three years, Otsuka has had 13 of her last 14 CD singles debut on the Oricon top 5 music charts and has become one of the shining female vocalists on the Avex label.

Otsuka fourth concert DVD “LOVE IS BORN”, is a 110 minute DVD featuring an energetic performance by the Osaka-born artist but this time at an outdoor venue. .

With “LOVE IS BORN” being my first Otsuka Ai concert DVD that I’ve reviewed, I would have to say that I’m quite impressed by Otsuka’s live performance.

I’ve watched many Japanese music artists do live concerts outdoors but for this concert, the ambience was just perfect.

At nighttime, nestled in Hibia Park with the rees and vegitation, buildings in the background and you can even hear the crickets chirping.

It was definitely a perfect and beautiful setting for a concert until the rain came (fortunately) at the end of the concert.

But even during the rain, the wet singer and audience didn’t seem phased.

With each song that she performed, Otsuka was energetc and it was great to see the camera footage on the musicians of her band and the audience.

Rarely do you see much focus on the band members for a solo artist but you can tell that they really feed off Otsuka’s onstage energy and it shows.

From the moment she starts her concert off with her hit single “Yumekui”, to the moment where she sings “Birthday Song” and interacts with the crowd to sing with her to the moment where bugs are flying towards the stage and a scared

Otsuka Ai stood cowering while her band members try to get the huge bugs away from her stage area. Also, the artist showing off her piano talent while singing “planeterium” to the final song before the encore as she and the fans get into the excitment of the song “Sakuranbo”.

Even when the concert is completed, the singer continues to talk and interact with her fans.

This is truly an artist that cares about her fans and I really found the interaction with the fans very enjoyable.

The camerawork on the DVD is very well-done with cameras everywhere on stage to cover Otsuka and her band even a camera at the audience.

With the use of many camera angles, It would have been nice to be able to select a concert angle to watch the concert.

The video quality of the concert was very good and stage lighting was well done. Well-balanced shots from all camera angles and nothing dizzying.

As for the DVD’s features, well, there are no special features but a menu chapter for 5.1 and 2.0 audio and song selection.

With 5.1, the audio is indeed crisp and with the crickets chirping, it definiitely gives you a different audio sense compared to most concert DVD’s.

If you bought the first pressing of this DVD, you were able to obtain a 40-page photo booklet. Otherwise, you can buy it now (w/o the book) at a cheap price at under $28 (US) which is great for fans who import and were used to paying $60-$100 for a concert LD or VHS back then.

Since Otsuka Ai’s debut, I have seen this artist mature and diversify her talents from music to acting (Tokyo Friends) and with each single coming one after the other making it on the Oricon top 5, she still remains grounded and keeps it real.

All in all, this is a great concert that I feel Otsuka Ai fans will truly embrace.It’s full of energy, great music and very well-done camera work that fans will definitely enjoy..

It’s a bit of a barebones DVD but on its own and for its price, still worth checking out.

A — DENNIS A. AMITH
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A man obsessed with his sisters murder. A man possessed by his murdered sister.

Perhaps one of the most ambitious anime series yet, welcome to the anime Le Chevalier D’Eon. An anime combining individuals from French history, religion, horror and mystery.

Paris, 1742 and a coffin floats in the shimmering Seine. Written on the coffin are the words “Psalms” and inside the coffin is Lia de Beaumont.

The story focuses on her brother D’Eon as he tries to find the reason for her mysterious murderer while the shadow of evil rests on the palace of Kings and the dark alleys of Europe.

I have no doubt how difficult this anime may have been to translate and to plan out.

Having the story set in France during the 1700’s and to combine real characters during that era, mixing in religion, possessed zombies, mysticism and horror makes one hell of an anime!

With six volumes planned, the first volume focuses on the first four episodes as D’Eon tries to find out why his sister was murdered but the more he looks into it, he learns about the evil that lurks around him.

To make things even more confusing to the main character, somehow D’Eon when in battle against the evil forces, gets possessed by his murdered sister.

Why this is happening and the secret life that Lia De Beaumont lived is what the first volume focuses on.

Obviously “Le Chevalier D’Eon” is an anime that is too difficult for me to even describe.

All I can say is because the anime focuses on the Rococo era, the costumes, the characters, the secret societies, the use of religion, the mysticm and the horror definitely makes this anime standout.

It’s definitely unique.

The character designs for the anime is something that is fresh.

The voice acting for both Japanese and English dubs are done very well.

Special features include commentaries with the ADR Director and one of the voice actors (a commentary that has a lot of profanity), an informative commentary by the translators which really go into detail of the challenges they faced, putting together the 20-page booklet with character info & relationships. Also, including a storyboard analysis, script and creator interview.

I found it very interesting when they talked about the real D’Eon de Beaumont, although not having a sister in real life, nor possessed but in real life believed he was a woman and lived his life as one in his later life.

Special features include historical notes, Japanese promotional video and trailer, clean opening and closing animation and more.

All in all, I feel there is a lot of potential with this anime series.

Obviously, the first volume is more of a set up for more important things to come in the next volume. So, look at the first volume more as introduction to the characters and situations of the series.
I definitely look forward in seeing how this anime progresses.

If you are into dark, horror anime or the Rococco era, definitely check this anime out!

B+ — DENNIS A. AMITH

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A tale about four women searching for their dreams in Tokyo. The story of four women through hapiness and pain, welcome to “Tokyo Friends”.

Originally released as five episode OAV drama series on DVD (three volumes), the series sets up for a major film release for “Tokyo Friends” which came out in Japan in the Summer of 2006.

The main storyline revolves around the character Iwatsuki Rei (played by singer Otsuka Ai).

Rei moves from the country to Tokyo and gets a job at a pub called “Yume no Kura”.

Through the pub is where Rei meets Abiko Maki (Kobayashi Mao) who is Rei’s co-worker. A woman who has a talent for painting and is urged by her teacher to pursue her dreams in art.

At the pub, we meet an OL named Fujiki Ryoko (Yoko Maki) who seems to be drunk all the time and seems to be with a different man. As it is her dream to find a financially sufficient husband.

And last, there is Hayama Hirono (played by Matsumoto Rio) who is an actress who came to Tokyo to be close to her senpai. And ends up working at the pub. Hayama’s dream is to star in her own play.

And through the pub, the main character Rei witnesses a fight between members of the rock band Survival Company.

By trying to help stop the fight, Rei ends up getting a bloody nose and from that point, she and the band’s guitarist, Ryuuji develop a relationship.

With the band needing a new vocalist, the band takes in Rei as their new vocalist.

So, throughout the series, we watch as Rei and the band Survival Company evolve, as they experience many ups and downs.

As for the four women, aside from knowing their dreams, we also see the trouble they have with the men in their lives and of course, their friendship.

In order to get people who never watched the five episode OAV drama, and get them up to speed before the release of the film, a special “Navigation Edition” was released.

Included in this edition are four chapter tracks. The first is the navigation of Tokyo Friends, the second is a 90 minute digest version of drama episodes 1-5. The third is the making of “Tokyo Friends The Movie” and the fourth is the trailer for the film.

Of course, with the original episodes being 70-minutes long, with 25 minutes dedicated per episode, you don’t get too see too much into the women’s relationships with the men in their lives.

But the condensed stories are cutwell enough that you understand what is going on.

All in all, I found the navigation edition to be a great resource and primer to the film.

Having never watched the drama series, watching the digest version really kept me up-to-speed of what is going on in the series. So, the navigation edition accomplishes what it is supposed to be used for and now I want to watch “Tokyo Friends - The Movie”.

If you want to learn about the series before watching the film, definitely check out the navigation edition.

A — DENNIS A. AMITH

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