User blog:CureHibiki/Hibiki Reviews: Aikatsu Friends Insert Single 1 ~First Color: PINK~

And so Aikatsu Friends is back with its first ever insert song single!! I'mma just say this now: I find it ironic how it's called "PINK" but Aine, our pink idol of the season does not have a song on the single. Oh well, at least Karen is kinda here to save the day~!



As an insert song single, it must contain songs that have appeared in the season thus far in which it only consists of three songs and their respective instrumentals. I'm a little sad that we couldn't have been given more songs but I guess Bandai needs that precious cash so dividing each insert single with three songs each is their way of earning that sweet baby Jesus called money~

I must say that Aikatsu never goes wrong with their CD cover art. Whoever draws them better be earning a wop ton of cash cause they're just so pretty!!! Pastel colors are my weakness so Aikatsu CD cover art are something I would die to get my hands on!!! Anyway it's obvious I think this cover is absolutely stunning so I won't waste any time but I'll just quickly mention that I fricking love Karen's dress!!!! Time to hit the shops to find one that is similar~

Alright, onto the main course of this review!!!

The Scene Above 6cm
The Scene Above 6cm is Mio's solo song and it's average. From the moment I heard it, the song didn't jump out at me or have me saying "wow". It's just your average pop song. Granted it suits Mio which is a plus. The song is catchy but I wouldn't put it on repeat. If anything, I'd play it in the background as I clean up my room or something. It's just one of those songs that you don't pay a lot of attention to if that makes sense. My favourite part of the song has to be the part right before the final chorus as it really showed of Ibuki's vocals.

Which leads me to...Ibuki's vocals as Mio are splendid in this song. Sure it's not a hard song to sing. The vocal range throughout the song kinda drifts along in the same straight road until it reaches the bridge which I think is where the song and Ibuki's vocals really shine. With every listen, that section is what dragged me back into the song to pay attention. I personally thought that section was really well done. The "Chi Chick Chi Chi Chi Chick" parts are a fun add on as well as they're cute and catchy and help elevate the song a little bit.

I think the overall message from the song is very nice though. No clue if I am interpreting it right but Mio or some girl wants to be more stylish or adult like to see some sort of scenery. But whatever that scene is, good luck on growing up a bit more. I hope you reach your ideal height... unlike me... who is so short and can't grow anymore ;-;

Identity
Identity is Mirai's song and gosh did I have high expectations for this song after the brilliance that was its short version. In all honesty, I expected more. Don't get me wrong, it's one hell of a good song but... the short version technically showed us everything we needed to know about the song. The only surprise we pretty much got was the "fururi x3 Freedom" stanza that led us into the second half. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wanted to be surprised. That's my only negative point about this song. Everything about it is amazing, I just wish they didn't give all the fun parts away in the short version.

So I remember waaaay back in March/April when we got our first snippet of Aine, Mio, Karen and Mirai's vocals, people were complaining about how the quality in the vocals went down - saying stuff like STAR ANIS and AIKATSU STARS had better vocals and what not. Well, fun fact: Mirai's voice actress, Ayaka Ohashi is an idol. So is Karen's. And it shows. These two are on par with STAR ANIS and AIKATSU STARS, if not better. Anyway back to Ayaka's vocals. She sounds amazing. Her normal pitch is a lot higher than how she sings as Mirai so she does a splendid job singing in a more deeper tone.

Oh and I cannot talk about this song without mentioning the insane animation boost it got for its performance. I think it was pretty obvious Mirai is a fan favourite among the staff cause omg, the whole performance was eye catching right from the get go. Seriously, this song has everything going for it... minus the lack of surprises for the poor full version because they were given to us on a silver platter...for the TV version. I know this is about Identity but I can't help but hope Mirai gets another solo song because Identity is amazing but I wanna have a playlist of Mirai songs I have most of Ayaka's songs already on my phone/tablet but I need more Ayaka as Mirai as well!!! and if she is really a fan favourite...ehehe...onegai...Lantis, Bandai~? I'll do anything for more Mirai~

Overflowing with Love
Overflowing with Love is Karen's song and... well hello there! Did you not like me bashing you a few weeks ago~? Okay, I don't know how many of you pay attention to comments but my first impression of this song was negative. I found it boring and flat. And, for the fangirls of this song, if you're reading this, you can breathe, as I find the full version a hundred million times better than the short version. It's very pretty and different from all the average uptempo pop songs we've been getting from Aikatsu Friends at the moment. So Overflowing with Love really helped give the show some variety that it so desperately needed.

Even though, I like it a bit more now, I still have a minor nitpick about the song. It's a pretty stupid reason to be honest. I don't like the ending. I'm not a fan of a whisper singing... it makes me shiver and cringe. No matter how pretty it is, I still don't like it >.< But the weird thing is... I have "La La Love" stuck in my head. I'm literally humming it as I write. Ahhhh why did it have to be catchy???

Azusa's vocals are beautiful and fit really well with the song. Now call me crazy, as I know she shares her voice with Aoi, but I hear Aoi in her voice when she sings. And Azusa never sung as Aoi in Aikatsu, she just spoke as her. I'm so buffled by my ears that I can still hear Aoi when Azusa sings but when she speaks... I can't hear Aoi. I'm crazy okay. Anyway, I don't really know what to say about Azusa's performance as a whole cause there's nothing to nitpick or as any outstanding moments. She just overall... sung it amazingly well.

Oh and her anime performance, gosh Karen is gorgeous. Her dress she wore was so pretty I think I have an obsession with Karen's fashion sense and the whole stage looked amazing. It wasn't as crazy or as awesome as Mirai's staging but it was really nice to look at despite how simple it was. It really reflected Karen as a character. The song itself really reflects her as a character. I actually really wanna see Karen sing an uptempo crazy pop song while Mirai sings a slow ballad now. Oh gosh, that'll be a sight to behold!!!

Overall Thoughts!!!
Still find it funny that Aine wasn't not included even though the single is called "PINK". Okay okay okay okay. The single was fine. It's not the best insert single the Aikatsu franchise has released but that's not to say the songs are bad. Identity certainly isn't. The other two songs are nice as well but they're not songs that would call my name the second my eyes land on their title. Identity is a song I'd most likely put on repeat while The Scene Above 6cm and Overflowing with Love are songs I'll put on repeat for a day and then I'll forget about them. Harsh I know, cause they're not bad songs. They're just songs I'll listen to maybe 6 months down the track. The second the download link is online, I'm really only downloading the single cause of Identity and my dedication to the franchise, plus its not like I hate the other two songs. I could possibly get into the mood to listen to them now and again on the bus or train. Who knows.

Okay so next review will most likely be the second insert song single which will have Girls be ambitious, the song I have been waiting for my whole life. I expect the single will contain GBA, You x I and future Ema song? By the way, please feel free to comment below. I don't mind if you disagree with my comments. It's a lot of fun reading what everyone else thinks~

P.S. I started re-watching Aikatsu and I noticed how most of the performances are runway songs. The girls are mostly walking down the runway waving their arms around like they just don't care but not singing at all. Not a bad thing but it's funny how we went from that to now where you must SING as you perform. I kinda want Aikatsu Friends to do what Aikatsu did and show us idols who'd model but not sing as they do it. Granted it makes Aikatsu stand out more but it'll be nice to see a performance in Aikatsu Friends just be a runway show instead of an idol singing down the runway all the time. This would be perfect for Mio and Maika, Bandai. Do it!!!