similar, resembling, reminding...

sometimes I know I want to listen to something similar to what I have already heard. sometimes 'tis possible, sometimes 'tis hard or just impossible. this post is aimed to fix what I consider similar for some reasons

• Noto Mamiko's 'ichinuke' reminded me of Rurutia. the primary reason lies in the song style, not in Mamiko's vocals
• Onmyouza - oh forgive me their fans - reminded me of Izumi You just a little. I know Onmyouza is a unique phenomenon and I am not saying they are similar, but Kuroneko's voice seems to be at least of the same type as Izumi's

to be updated...

links. Tudou Tsukigumi 'Takarazuka Oldies'

first is mamotte agetai by Manaki

this is like a new side of her to me. I loved her voice from the very beginning, but I thought she is always just a small cute girl and sings the same way. now I see I was wrong. she is sweet but not a luscious pretty-pretty. if she is like this, probably she will really be a strong musumeyaku of Moon Troupe...
you can easily see - or better to say, hear - that not any cover on a good song will be good... what I love in Takarazuka covers is that they never spoil the original even if the vocalist and arrangement is completely different
cover by some unknown to me cute girls

cover by Onitsuka Chihiro which I don't consider a very good one, but it shows respect to the original, and at the same time sounds like another song and has a lot of Onitsuka's style in it

original Yuumin's version

katte ni shiyagare by Ryuu
though her version is different from the original, I believe this was the right choice for Ryuu's voice. compare if you like 

Sawada Kenji's version

my humble opinion on HIMEKA

while having nothing to do with Japan in terms of her origin, she struggled and she was successful - she was able to sing a lot of songs from anime she loved and she became an anime song performer herself. however, I would separate these two sides of her

her own songs present on the 'himekanvas' album were great. this was the album I started with and I was fascinated. her pronunciation and her voice and her manner reminded me of the 2000s generation a lot, which is gradually fading away yielding to the overly cute songs of the late 00s and the 10s which we are living through

however, being so delighted with the fact that I found an almost 'classical' anime songs performer, I hoped too much that her covers would be good, too. I was mistaken. half of the songs she covered should be banished into oblivion (in her version of course)

'sayonara solitaire' - tasteless, vulgar, banal, trivial, just like millions of other singers on the Earth could perform it. even if I admit that Chiba-san is not a perfect singer herself, and this song could be covered by someone perfectly, HIMEKA was not an example of 'another version which has a right to exist'. oh no, too pops a voice, too plain an arrangement, simply terrible

'yuzurenai negai' - ohhh... and this song should be prohibited for being covered for_ever. yes. nobody, nobody ever should dare to sing this song. oh please, do not touch Tamura-sama's works. while 'sayonara solitaire' could be performed by someone else provided she (or even he) does not have an obviously pops sound, 'yuzurenai negai' should not be covered by anyone at all. never. no one.

'tamashii no refrain' - I admit I was a fool not to know that this song is from NGE - shame on me, thousand times. well, now I know - and what? I hate it sung by HIMEKA even though I should admit she sung it so-so, not bad... but ooh... I heard it covered by Takarazuka. I listened to it just now sung by Takahashi Youko-san. HIMEKA's voice cannot add any charm to it. moreover, this is a song from 90s. and such works should not be adapted into modern ones or covered by modern performers. they do not, they cannot understand the soul of 90s. well, they could - but I have met none so far, who would

'voices' - I should I admit I have forgotten who performed this song in the original. I guess it could be Arai Akino-san, but I am not sure. however that may be, HIMEKA spoiled the song as well. no voice trembling or shouting with all your might, no pops cheap tricks can make this song more beautiful than 'twas in the original. I wonder if HIMEKA knows the story of this song and its origin. HIMEKA's voice is completely wrong here, she does not create the image that was so necessary in the movie. oh, 'tis 'Macross +' if you wonder

'sore ga ai deshou' - I thought this song to be completely suitable for HIMEKA's voice, and suddenly... 'tis also contra-indicated to HIMEKA. though the voice of Shimokawa-san was also cute and smacks of pops, it was a bit more gentle and 'airy', as she did not put too much of a strength into singing
'Adesso e Fortuna' - I thought this to be a beautiful song of HIMEKA's own creation, but then I thought it sounds strange for her, as if something is wrong there, as if 'tis not for her... and what a coincidence, 'tis a cover. I should admit I liked it a lot in HIMEKA's performance, 'tis very expressive and strong but... when I listened to the original from 'Records of Lodoss War' I felt so nostalgic, despite the fact I have never watched the anime itself or heard the song. again, 'twas the 90s. 'twas a different time. 'twas another style. it cannot be transformed into something new and contemporary. though there are a lot of examples of successful reviving of something old, this particular strata of music should be left there where 'twas, forever

the other songs were perhaps ok, but I could not listen to them while realizing that they were perhaps completely different in the original version

summing up...

somehow, while having only one voice, HIMEKA seems to be split up into 2 people. one of them is a successful singer with a lot of nice songs, and the other one is a cheap sounding pop singer spoiling everything she reaches up to. this makes me respect her as a foreigner who bravely comes to Japan to fulfill her dream but I shall listen only to her own songs and ignore her cover album

well, compare for yourselves - 'sayonara solitaire'

finding links again! - this time about Zuka's '14 covers'

after telling my friend that the 'truth' is actually a song by Arashi I wondered if I know the others whose songs were covered on the album. and I do! not all of them, of course.

first, the 'taiyou to hokori no naka de' is a song by Chage&Aska. having heard their voices in 'on your mark' I already became fond of them, though not obsessed or something.

then, SPITZ. the SPITZ whose song was one of my favourite on the 'Nano-Mugen Compilation' by Asian Kung-Fu Generation. and what do they sing? oh yeah, the song covered by Mirio, 'cherry'! ^___^

and 'kanashimi ni sayonara' is a song by... Anzen Chitai. o____O wha? well, I feel this one was modified VERY much in the Zuka's version...

'tis all for now, as I am totally unaware of the other performers whose songs were covered, and I cannot even say I am ashamed...

my humble opinion: ’Love Potion -an aphrodisiac of love- II’ by Star Troupe (2011)

of course 'tis great! 'twas a show by Moon Troupe (I would kill for the Moon version with my beloved Suzukaze-sama as nibante >______<)

apart from jokes, the show is really nice. as for now, my theory about the musical-revue correlation proves to be quite true. let me repeat my humble opinion: the worse the musical, the better the revue. vice versa, the greatest of the musicals do not have any revues at all, as the revue is turned into a small ending, not a separate piece of art. well, there are cases of perfect perfection, of course, when both the musical and the revue are great.

considering this particular revue, what I would like to note is

the music

the 'ru puazon' theme is very impressive and seemeth to be quite as we would like the main theme to be, eh?

meanwhile, Star goeth on covering famous themes. well, they alll do this, but the ones I have heard up until now were the jazzy melodies, but what we see in Star performances doth not stop to surprise me

let me say a couple of words about the covers in this revue. and about dancing ^.^

considering the 'Tristan and Isolda' scene, if I am not mistaken (and I am quite sure I am not) Nene-chan sings a kind of a 'cover' on the famous Intermezzo  from 'Cavalleria Rusticana' by  Mascagni. 'tis a melody I would recognize whenever and wherever, though I am ashamed I heard it in 'Rurouni Kenshin' for the first time... but I've seen the opera as well!

the second remark on this particular song - I believe it to be one of the most successful of Nene-chan so far.

and the dance of the two I believe to be one of tha brightest and cutest ever. that is why I feel this bright and cute couple should not take any overly tragic scenarios. these feeling of lightness and smiling suit them much better.

the cover by Ouki-san is also quite nice, but I am a little at a loss that the original vid on the song actually had a humanitarian trend in it... well, the song I dare to speak of is 'Another Day in Paradise' by Phil Collins. however, most of you probably heard only the sampled part of it in the Supafly's 'Movin' Too Fast'
BTW, Ouki-san seemeth to have the best candies there... I mean, she maketh the most curious covers, doth she not?

the next dance makes me wonder if 'tis not a cover again, but this time I can say nothing concrete about the song. on the other hand I can say about the dance... meseems, 'tis the first time I see such a dance by Yuzuki-sama and Nene-chan combi. and 'tis quite interesting to see the new image of them. and 'tis very nice to see once again what a wonderful couple they are ^.^

as fas as I understand, the scene with Spanish guys (yeah, there is some deep meaning, of course... but I do not get it by simply watching the scene, so let them be just Spanish guys...) is the beginning of new part which distinguishes the Love Potion II from the first edition. unfortunately, we cannot even judge what is the contents, as the vocal was cut >___< can anybody explain me the reason? Zuka was short of money and they bought the copyright of the song only for the live performance without the right to put it on the DVD? I wonder, if such a case is possible... if not, then what? ^^`

conclusion

I sincerely regret about Ouki-san being transferred... is it the case when nibante was moving too fast and thus had to transfer to the Troupe with the one of the nearest possible Top Star retiring? well, I still regret about the collapse of the wonderful Yuzuki-sama-Ouki-san duo dances and trio ones with Nene-chan

my humble opinion and some thoughts in general: 'meet again' - 'Soul of Shiva' (2009) by Star Troupe

I was hoping to watch it for a while, since I watched the 'love scene ranking' and noticed the funny and at the same time funny moment from this performance.

_____

by the way, I never expressed my gratitude to the source of my everyday delight, so I feel a little ashamed. that is why I would like to thank all the contributors of the community and groups.

_____

let me proceed to the show itself.

voices

while the voice of Yuzuki-sama was already familiar to me (and I happen to like it), the voice of Nene singing was a thing covered in mystery.

the first impression was bad and I thought she is really a boring singer, but several minutes of listening to her have changed my mind. the situation seems to be quite the opposite and Nene-chan really has one of the most unique voices, I daresay. though she is obviously not destined to sing tender songs like an ethereal angel, it is not that we really asked her. the funny songs, as well as funny lines, are quite good, and meseems, she is good at being funny. however, the type of singing which will reveal her true nature, as I dare to suggest, is the traditional Japanese singing. I am already looking forward to watching a show based on a story about ancient Japan with her. too bad if she disappoints me then.

at the same time, her voice reminded me of that of Yuki-chan. actually, I believe their voiced to be of the same kind.

actually, I believe the Troupes to be quite alike. watching the revue 'soul of Shiva' made me think the abandoned hilarity of both performances was really similar to the one in the Moon shows. though, I cannot decide whether it is good or bad. well, as I can enjoy it now, I would prefer to count this as a good thing.

Ouki-san....... >____< never knew her voice would be that funny....... what's that, eh? I supposed her to be one of the 'brutal' kind, though different in the real life, but she is too cute, both as herself, and on the stage...... meseems, if only she becomes the Top of Cosmos, she would really save the Troupe for me... mehopes, not only for me, as it is obvious that Cosmos is boring, as for now. IMHO, as usual, as this opinion is based on almost nothing

well, a couple of words about the music

actually the story in 'saikai' is much more attractive than the music, as I did not like even a single song there, in terms of a song being a separate piece of art.

the revue was much better. the more I was smiling in respond to the cheerful singing and dancing in the beginning, the more shocking it was to see the scene of jealosy with such a touching singing.

the next song - sung by Ouki as far as I remember - seems quite familiar to me but unfortunately I have no idea what it could be, to say nothing of where and when I could have heard it. I should say it was really beautiful.

what came next was a real >________<

I knew they make covers on different songs in Zuka, from 'Puttin' on the Ritz' (which is quite expectable, as it suits the general style of a revue) up to Yuzu's song called ’虹’ (niji) - both of them are present in 'Dance Romanesque'.

BUT. who knew they would cover COLDPLAY?????????????

I cannot say I like the Zuka's version very much but the one thing which is inevitable every time I watch a revue - the shock and surprise, the delight and simple LOL as a result. if I could ever express my appreciation and respect to the directors of the shows....... they are so inventive and full of such brilliant ideas - covers of popular songs, orchestra versions of old hits, playing on words, sudden developments on the stage... OMG, how much I would like to thank them all.

it was only yesterday when I understood whay I love the most in a revue - apart from the parade which makes me cry almost every time. it is the standard otokoyaku dance, which is placed somewhere before the end of the revue, as fas as I can judge.

the accuracy and synchronicity of their movements is simply adorable. nothing odd, nothing out of tune, no awkward gestures... this perfection coupled with the music - which is resembling a march, but is not a march actually - makes me almost swoon, as it smells of the confidence and firmness which makes all the people on stage seem so reliable and strong...... T____T

I am pretty sure they are allmighty heroes. yes, certainly. all those siennas in Zuka.

thank you so much, minna.

_____

a small update

a one big LOL here

Which of these revue staples is your favorite?

the dance I mentioned is an undoubted LEADER

are not the fangirls over the world united in their preferences???

my favourite moment in the show is when Gerard is shouting offensive words and then pretending to have said nothing

'just tidying up, tidying up...'