Taiki Bansei
5
By Alyssa D Hubbard
“Taiki Bansei” (A Late Bloomer) is the first a-side of the new single by Japanese idol group ANGERME (pronounced Anjurumu), which is set to release on February 4th. It’s the eighteenth single for the group as a whole but their first since their name change from S/mileage and the addition of three new members.
S/mileage was announced in 2009 as a four-member unit under the idol project known as the Hello! Project. After releasing four Indies singles, they made their major debut with Yume Miru 15 in May of 2010. In 2011 the group held auditions for new members. The auditions resulted in five girls joining the group.
Shortly after the additions, Saki Ogawa, one of the group’s original members, graduated from S/mileage. By the end of the year, second generation member Fuyuka Kosuga and the fan-favorite first generation member Yuuka Maede had also left the group. Since then, the group has been plagued with relatively stagnant sales and low popularity. “Taiki Bansei” is an important single for the group as it marks their new start.
Clocking in at around four and a half minutes, “Taiki Bansei” is an up-beat and funky song with a repetitive chorus that is sure to get caught in your head. It is a song that feels like it was made to energize listeners and I can see it easily becoming a concert favorite in the future.
“Taiki Bansei” carries a sense of balance and unity through the song. It is clear and cohesive, elements which some of the group’s previous singles such as “Koi no Booing Buu!” And “Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki” lacked.
Overall the music video, which they recently released on their official channel, follows the standard Hello! Project music video template of individual member close-ups and dance shot scenes. It’s a simplistic video, but it gets the job done.
The music video differs slightly from the preview which was released on Hello! Station, a weekly Hello! Project YouTube series. The new version of the music video features cleaner editing and discarded scenes that featured the members posing while covered in a cartoonish cellphone-like filter.
However, I feel like the music video could be further improved by discarding the blueish filter from the dance shot scenes. It darkens the music video and feels out of place when paired with the energetic song. The filter also clashes with the brightly lit and colorful individual member scenes. Multi-colored lighting could have been added to the dance shot to tie the scenes together.
Even with the filter, though, the dance shots were some of the best scenes in the music video. The dance is energetic, fast-paced and full of life and fits perfectly with the song. The dance shot scenes do a great job of highlighting the dance’s energy.
While “Taiki Bansei” isn’t a revolutionary song, it’s a solid song that is pure pop and pure fun. It has an 80’s funk vibe, a catchy chorus, and flows smoothly for easy listening. All of these elements paired with a fun dance routine cements “Taiki Bansei” as one of the group’s best releases. It’s a great start for the group’s new chapter as ANGERME, and I’m excited to see what ANGERME will release next.
If you like “Taiki Bansei,” I suggest checking out the group’s other releases as S/mileage such as “Eighteen Emotion,” “Chikyuu wa Kyou mo Ai wo Hagukumu,”and “Uchouten Love.” You may also enjoy Tokyo Girls’ Style, another idol group with a funky and mature sound.
I also recommend these tracks:
“Koisuru Fortune Cookie,” “Heart Ereki,” and “Flying Get” by AKB48
“Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo” and “Romance no Tochuu” by Juice=Juice
“Love Machine,” “The Matenrou Show,” and “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa Wo Honki de Negatterun Dayo” by Morning Musume
