Berryz Kobo – 6th Otakebi Album
Prior to the release of this album, I considered Berryz Kobo to be on a roll with their single releases. But as the double a-sides kept on coming, they looked less attractive and more dull each time. Now that all seven a-sides are packaged together, one can see that their really not as great as they seemed.
I don’t want to say that just because of the huge amount of a-sides that the album is a failure, the majority of the a-sides I like. What disappointed me though were the new tracks. Only five new tracks, of which only two the entire group participates in, the rest undergoing the typical “shuffle” groupings.
Since their are so many a-sides, Tsunku had to be careful on how he spread them around. However, placing three a-sides at the very beginning of the album is not a very good idea. As great and catchy that songs like Otakebi Boy WAO! and Ryuusei Boy are, veteran Berryz fans will just want to skip through to the new material while the new listeners enjoy the great album opener.
When we do finally hit a new song, we’re greeted by the less than original duet by Momoko and Miyabi Ai ni wa Ai Desho which feels like some of the better generic b-side material Tsunku can put out. The same goes for the only other bland new track on the album Yakimochi wo Kudasai!.
That’s where my complaints on the album end however. The other three new tracks are great! First is Ground Demo Rouka Demo Medatsu Kimi. While I do love Maasa, I just can’t lie to myself that this song is a vocal disaster(thank you Yurina for talking throughout the entire song as always) but the melody and arrangement of this fun, synth song are a major plus. As typical of the recent H!P albums, there’s always a “slow/uber ballad” song. Kibou no Yoru is Berryz’s attempt at this. While I was concerned at first with the all acoustic instrumental, the girl’s deliver vocally(almost all lines are as a group) and the song is very sweet and calming. It would have been a great ending track, but Tsunku awkwardly placed Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama last, leaving listeners with a sudden end.
Now my favorite new track is easily Kimi no Tomodachi. What to me sounds like a We are Buono! + 10 MY ME song hybrid is actually a song very similar to the likes of Namidacchi and Urahara. It features heavenly, peaceful almost ethereal verses with a rushing and accelerated chorus. This combination makes it the most unique track on the album and a huge surprise to me.
Berryz’s latest effort had it’s downs, but it had even more ups. What I think weighed the album down was, as usual, the track ordering(Dakishimete Dakishimete after the ballad track?) and the lack of new material. Sure, the seven a-sides were all great, and only two of the new songs I didn’t enjoy, but this leaves me with only three new Berryz songs to enjoy. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see what Tsunku does this time and whether or not he’ll continue to spam double a-side singles.
♠Overall Rating♠
6th Otakebi Album is Berryz Kobo’s 6th studio album and it was released on March 31, 2010.
♠Tracklisting♠
1. Otakebi Boy WAO!♠♠♠♠
2. Rival
3. Ryuusei Boy♠♠♠♠♠
4. Ai ni wa Ai Desho / Tsugunaga Momoko, Natsuyaki Miyabi
5. Seishun Bus Guide♠
6. Kimi no Tomodachi♠♠
7. Grand Demo Rouka Demo Medatsu Kimi / Sudo Maasa, Kumai Yurina
8. Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!
9. Kibou no Yoru
10. Dakishimete Dakishimete♠♠♠
11. Yakimochi wo Kudasai! / Shimizu Saki, Tokunaga Chinami, Sugaya Risako
12. Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama
