Meika's Music for Thought #3

The third installment is here! XD I'd like to point out that VIC:CESS' PV is quite old of a PV, but I decided to review it because they're releasing a mini album soon, so this can sort of help with "deciphering" what they're all about before it's released. :P So let's get right to it!

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ne.ga.i.go.to - Negaigoto


Immediately when the song started, I started swaying along to the beat! XD The guitar adds a cool, edgy touch to the instrumental, and I like how the voices in the beginning are sung in a "fast" way. Uuugh, I can't explain it, but hopefully you get what I mean? Some of the instrumental reminds me a lot of Aki Urara by Morning Musume, which I don't mind at all since I'm in love with that song! The only part that distracts me about it is that some of the features of the music overpowers the other parts of it, like how the guitar and drums are louder than the other sounds. If those sounds were more balanced, I think I'd like the instrumental a lot more. The singing is well done (Or good at the least), but I can feel that there's emotion missing in their voices. I know that they can improve with that, as they keep on going, though! Also, some of the lines seem... "Choppy", if that's the right word. Like the transition to each syllable is "sudden" with each one and doesn't flow nicely. Which might be on purpose, but I just don't like that aspect of the song.
With the shots in the beginning, (That is, the shots with each girl in front of a white background), I kind of felt awkward watching most of them because their eyes didn't match the rest of their facial expressions. They'd look, to be blunt, lifeless. But somehow, for me, the group shots seemed like an improvement from that, especially the second group shot. Maybe because when people are with them, they can open up more? That's just what I'm guessing. ^.^ The intro shots (And later, just simply the coloured shots) with the names seemed SOOOO awesome! The lighting, the camera positioning, the colours, the text placement, their facial expressions; EVERYTHING during that part was so simple but brilliant! Plus, they matched the song perfectly!
The dance shots felt refreshing because it was like you could breathe in the fresh air that was lying in the scenery! So beautiful! <3 Now with the dance itself, I like watching it more than their close up shots. Reasons being that their facial expressions were genuine and natural, they seemed like they put in a lot of effort into their dancing, the choreography looks fun, the camera positioning had variation and wasn't the same throughout... And also, the fact that their outfits are suuuuper cute can help as well! :D The "wishing" shots at the end of the PV overlayed with the last shot of the dance looked sweet, and was a nice finish to the whole thing.

Overall, I give it 7.8/10; There were pros and cons to both the song and PV, but by this score, the pros outweighed the cons. ^.^

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Springbell feat.MIKA- Puchohenzappu~Kodomo Shitsu~


The beginning of the song is soooooo adorable! I like the techno/dancey/club sound of the song and although I wish that voice wasn't autotuned, I have to admit, it adds a great touch to the song when it's edited like at 0:16. The rapping reminds me a lot of Doki Doki Morning from Baby Metal. ^.^; But I like it! Their rapping is very good and the pitch of their high voices makes it extremely irrestible. The autotuned voice throughout makes me disappointed, again, because I'm not really a big fan of autotune. Maybe I would like it more if that girl sang over top of an autotuned voice, but anyways~, like I said before, I like it when it's edited to go more with the beat of the music. Speaking of which, the instrumental isn't entirely complex sounding (As in I don't hear a lot of sound effects or instruments added to it for the most part) and stays pretty much constant, but that's entirely okay for me since it sounds too funky to dislike!
So by the looks of the first 5 seconds, it looks like they are hanging out at an amusement park! It loooooks like it maaaaaay be a One Piece amusement park (Since I can see the characters and logos of it a lot), but maybe not... Uuuuugh, don't make fun of me if I'm wrong~! XDD I DON'T KNOW!!!! XD So besides that, the shots shown where they're simply just having fun is so simple, but enjoyable to watch! Especially when they're children since they can just go wild! :D And the grown ups might be even wilder than them. O.O But hey, all the better, right?
The shots with the unit in the army shirts and singing the song had the potential to be boring to watch. But luckily, with their charisma, personalities, energy, happiness, gestures etc., they were just as fun to watch as the amusement park shots! To add, the scenery behind them was gorgeous! I'd love to go visit that place one day... Once I figure out what it is. >.<

Overall, I give it a 7.6/10; The song is very catchy, but the shots may have been too simple and plain. However, their charisma totally made up for it!

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VIC:CESS - Daybreak


Hehe, I thought that the song was gonna start out slow, so I put the volume up, but then got surprised by the sudden opening. ^.^; Anyways, moving on~. Within the first second, I knew that it reminded
me of para para. I'm not really a big fan of that kind of style, and this song is no different. But for those that like this particular style, I think that the instrumental is well done and sticks to the style, so you probably won't be disappointed. The voices, however, are another story for me. I thought they saved the song for me! I couldn't hear any flaw in each voice that sang. They had power,
individuality, vibrato, emotion, and just a punch in general! And the composition is very awesome, as well. Sigh, I just wish that it had a different instrumental... Still am not a fan of para para. >.<
As the video started with the girls walking, I was somehow enticed by the shots because the camera placement was for each girl was brilliant and the scenery helped a lot. I actually wish that more of these scenes were shown in the video, but oh well.
The monochrome solo shots were pure awesomeness. I can't really describe why, because they were just good that they leave me speechless, but I'll try my best. I like how each girl's shot is "assigned"
their own colour throughout the music video, which can really help someone if they're learning about the girls and their names. But the part I like most about these was that you could see each girl's own flair and style that they carried. The girl that especially stood out to me was the one that I think was the lead singer; She had a patterned shirt, medium-length, wavy hair, black leggings, maaaybe gladiator sandals. She was just a STAR! All the others were fantastic, too, but man, I wouldn't mind if she went solo. :O
The black and white dance scenes were pretty, though the lack of colour depresses me a little. Luckily, the colour splash effect in those shots helped a little, but I still wish they were shot in full colour. :/ The choreography started off slowly, but alas, rejoice, for after that slow bit
the dance during the instrumental picks up and they show off their awesome dancing skills. They stay united in their dancing, they put the greatest effort into their dancing, their facial expressions match the song... And their outfits and looks also help. ;) Still, at some parts of the song, it was slow once again. I wish that they had better choreography, but this dance still looks good enough.

Overall, I give it an 8.9/10; The instrumental STILL ticks me off and the lack of a variety of shots made it lose some points. But seriously, these girls are multi-talented, and so their talent makes this video a win for me.

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Alice Juban - Skeleton Sky


Honestly, I was kind of shocked by the opening. I thought it'd be more of a metal-like song due to the title. It was more of a "pure rock" sound, which I didn't really like this time around, (probably because it was slow and sounded depressing) but the instruments were played well. The part when the vocals came in I enjoyed a lot because their voices were relaxing and could stand out against the simple background music. I was hoping the whole song would be like that, but theeeeen my wishes were put down, as they continued with the rock sound. Sigh, oh well. At least the voices still sound great and emotional throughout the song! ^.^b (Although they were still overpowered by the instruments for the most part, but let me stay in the moment~.)
I found it cute how the girls were fooling around in the beginning while they were working on their messages, pictures etc. Definitely shows off their personalities well and that they're fun-loving girls!
Then, when the music kicks in again, the shots where they're merely just standing or staying still, I loved a lot. What makes me love these shots is the placement of the girls, the lack of surrounding "props" and whatnot (Which makes them stand out), the scenery (Which look peaceful)... And once more, their pretty outfits! When they finally showed their pictures, it made me want to smile since you could really see their personalities shine one more time.
The group shots were interesting, as well, since the camera wasn't just standing still and moved around a little. Also, the placement of the girls HERE added to the enjoyment in this shot, as well as the girls themselves moving around a little aaaaaand their outfits' colour scheme matching each other and the setting. (If you haven't figured it out already, I love fashion. :O) The video ended in a cute way with all of them showing off their pictures in a straight line, therefore ending an overall cute video and song! YAY!

Overall, I give it an 8.3/10; The song, besides the vocals, still isn't catching on to me, but the video really made the girls shine without having to shoot a variety of shots.

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Like last time, these were all great videos and I wouldn't mind watching or listening to them again. Please share your own thoughts below and thanks for reading!