Best & Worst of 2008 – Part 3: PV’s

Now we’re onto my favorite section: The PV’s. This may or may not include some Western ones, but I’m not a huge fan American PV’s, so who knows. However, a few sections WILL contain PV’s from 2007 when mentioned.

Best Single PV

5. PRECIOUS – MEG

It’s a budget magic show full of “moving plates”, “magic floating drinking glasses” and a bunch of guys in black spandex moving everything. Oh, and cats. Dancing cats. I think that’s good enough.

4. Romantic – Rie fu

That first outfit she wears doesn’t really look too great on her at all, but apart from that, I like the whole theme the PV has, as well as the feeling it and the song give you when you’re watching it. It’s sort of hard to understand if you don’t know what the song is about, though.

3. still doll – Kanon Wakeshima

Well, it’s another simple PV, but when you take in the whole atmosphere of the video, it’ll really help you think differently about the song. Whether it’s because of the shots Kanon in a semi-bondaged state, the cello scenes, or that creepy old pervert you see looking through that hole/window.

2. China Discotica – Aira Mitsuki

With a title that makes no sense, why not apply a PV that makes no sense? It’s so bright, colorful and animated that you can’t help but giggle as you see Aira fly past gliding on an animated cloud or standing in front of a changing background while her lipstick’s scrolling through all kinds of colors. And who doesn’t love stereotypical karate men?

1. love the world – Perfume

Perfume PV’s can be pretty hit or miss sometimes, and I’m sure everyone knows what I mean. love the world, however, is pretty much just as random as China Discotica was, but for different reasons. Instead of disorienting you with colors and animation, love the world does it with high-grade special effects and a lack of color. It could use a bit more choreography, since you see them dance for about three seconds tops, but that can’t really be helped.

Worst Single PV

5. ROBOT HONEY – Aira Mitsuki

ROBOT HONEY was one of my favorite singles of 2008, but the PV could have been better. It’s not that it’s terrible, it’s just… Dissappointing. It has that whole unreal feeling to it, like all of her PV’s, but Aira herself just looks too… NORMAL. Plus, the animation thing here just looked kind of idiotic. TOO MANY CLOSE-UPS! Sorry, Aira, but in this case, you aren’t pretty enough to pull it off.

4. HEART STATION – Utada Hikaru

Again, this isn’t terrble, just a huge disappointment. After her great PV’s with Kiriya, you wouldn’t expect her to pull out something so… DULL! In comparison to “Kiss & Cry”, it’s good, but despite all the little secret “messages” in it, it’s just too bland, and Utada in all that white doesn’t look too flattering. Same to the haircut.

3. Dream Fighter – Perfume

Really, girls? REALLY?! I curse the man that thought to make the PV for this song a freaking choreography practice with special effects. Computer City pulled it off, but that song had a better sound for that kind of video. Dream Fighter should have been something like a mix between Secret Secret and Polyrhythm, but instead we get a full-length Coca-Cola ad.

2. That Ain’t Cool – Koda Kumi feat. Fergie

What the hell. Again, we’re treated to more Fergie here than we get of miss Kumi. The supposed main attraction of the song. Nothing they wear tends to look very flattering in this video, especially Fergie in that spandex outfit. And what does she think she is, a contortionist? Yeesh.

1. Eat You Up – BoA

Now, I’m not talking about the magnificent Korean PV. I’m talking about the crappy abandoned American one. I’m surprised at how horribly bland they made this video. Why would you make the focus a dance routine in the most BORING, UNAPPEALING landscape possible? And all those close-ups weren’t flattering for BoA at all. The choreography is kind of weird, too.

Best Album PV

5. Stars – SAWA

While, in all actuality, this is a rather bland PV when it comes to settings and such, the special effects are quite interesting to watch, and SAWA looks surprisingly cute in that outfit, in comparison to that ugly disco dress in ManyColors.

4. 360° – Otsuka Ai

(Unable to find PV, will update later)

It’s an elegant yet tripped out PV, with its obvious ties to the song. Which was really good to see, because sometimes PV’s can just get so random that I can’t even bear to watch them. Otsuka has some odd costume choices throughout, though, but they fit the theme, at the least. It’s a great PV.

3. Sunday Early Morning – Momoi Haruko

If GALAXY BOY is how a Techno PV should be done, then Sunday Early Morning is how a Techno-styled seiyuu’s PV should be. It’s an animated special effects wonderland, with about the only real thing in sight being Momoi. It’s lovably random, and it kind of fits Momoi’s style, too.

2. Secret Secret – Perfume

I guess this is what you could call one of the individual tracks on the album, but in all honesty, GAME is a lot more diverse than it gets credit for. It has a rather simple PV, based on dance shots and the fact that the girls are robots that run on Pino. That couldn’t sound much dirtier, but I love the dance numbers, and the whole theme of the PV, anyway.

1. GALAXY BOY – Aira Mitsuki

It pretty much carried all of the elements that a J-Techno PV should: It was futuristic, it was b-movie in its theme, it had questionably awesome special effects and it was a knock-off of a previous, less awesome video. The best part? Aira isn’t totally copying Perfume’s PV style.

Worst Album PV

5. WINTER GAME – GIRL NEXT DOOR

While it’s not necessarily BAD, it’s certainly an embarrassment. The questionable skiing scenes and the ad just make it seem rather cheap when you look at the bigger picture, despite the novelty value it carries. It’s funny, but it’s not good.

4. Do☆Positive – Otsuka Ai

(Unable to find PV, will update later)

This is another embarrassment, but in this case, it IS bad. All they did was put a bunch of people, Otsuka included, into afro wigs and made them do a garage band-style “live” performance. It’s a rather simple theme overall, and it came out horribly.

3. step into my world – Leah Dizon

As with WINTER GAME, my choice here rests mainly with the questionable effects they utilized. The whole PV just screams cheap, and the little animation snippets are just embarrassingly bad; nowhere even NEAR cute. None of it was.

2. ManyColors – SAWA

Well, the PV has its redeeming moments, and the idea of bowling witha  disco ball seems like an interesting idea, but the whole campy chicks filming SAWA during the video just seems… Odd. And the package overall could’ve been a lot better.

1. GINGER – Anna Tsuchiya feat. MONKEY MAJIK

It’s just a bit too simple for my liking… Anna looks great, but the rest of the PV itself is rather questionable. There’s also a slight advertisement vibe to it, but not quite to the level of Secret Secret with its Pino-happy atmosphere. But its simple nature just kills it when put together with that.

Yeah, this is a pretty short list, but at least I updated the blog. <3 Sorry it’s taken so long, I’ve had to go out a lot, and turning 18 yesterday ate up THAT day, but I should definitely be able to get the final Best & Worst post up either tomorrow or the day after.

Best & Worst of 2008 – Part 2: Albums

Time for part 2: Albums! I’ll be doing it the same way as the singles page. HOWEVER!

This time, I’ll be including Western artists, too, since they’re so big on albums. The fact that all their singles are recut meant I didn’t put them in the singles page, but they’re coming in here.

Anyway, here we go~

Best Title Track

5. HEART STATION – Utada Hikaru
 

Okay, Utada has had better title songs than this, but that doesn’t mean that this year’s was any worse. It wasn’t my favorite song on the album, and it could have had a better title track from the album, but at least it wasn’t one of the worse songs that got this spot.

4. Circus – Britney Spears

 
Okay, so I wasn’t a huge fan of this when I first heard it, but hearing it so often on the radio since it aired (plus the fact that I own the album and have listened to it a few times) has slowly made me appreciate the song more and more. So, I think it deserves a spot here now.

3. Sunday Early Morning – Momoi Haruko
 

Cute seiyuu Tek, without getting too annoying to actually listen to. It’s a nice, bright song with some insane lyrics that actually have meaning if you take the time to look into them enough.

2. GAME – Perfume

It was nice to hear Perfume sing a heavier song compared to most of the more popular, poppier songs. It was made even better by the fact that they actually made one damn good song of it. It was a slow burner, but it’ll hook anyone in soon enough.

 1. More! More! More! – capsule

After an album of heavy dance tracks and a lack of a vocalist (Hell, the title track didn’t even have vocals in it!), capsule really delivered when they gave us More! More! More!, which was considerably poppier and more Techno-influenced than their last album as a whole was, when you think about it. It tends to get a bit repetitious, but if you like that stuff, it’s great. JUMPER’s better, though. *cough*

Worst Title Track

5. RIOT GIRL – Aya Hirano

Okay, I love the girl, don’t get me wrong. She’s a great seiyuu, and some of the tracks she did for Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, plus some of the tracks on this album, were great. This, however, is a lame excuse for a title track. It’s pretty much a mess.

4. Don’t Stay – Nami Tamaki

Okay, fine, it was an instrumental track, I get it. That’s pretty much why I hate it. It was good, but it was too short to make it actually great, or even worth listening to.

3. Introduction for Kingdom – Koda Kumi

Okay, so, it’s not REALLY a title track, but I’m having trouble choosing these, so sue me. Again, this was a great SOUNDING track, but its shortness just made it such a tease that I can’t help but hate it.

2. GUILTY – Ayumi Hamasaki

I really don’t think rock works for Ayumi. Then again, I don’t think anything works for her, but GUILTY is the worst in her rock phase of music. I was never an Ayumi fan, and this is one good reason as to why.

1. ManyColors – SAWA

Okay, I’m bending the rules again, but this is close enough. This song is just a mess of horrible ear-splitting synths, and worse vocals from SAWA herself. I can’t even LISTEN to this song anymore. And to think I once liked it.

Best Accompanying Track (Including Singles)

 5. Shachihata – Otsuka Ai 

It’s nice to see Otsuka going out on a limb and trying something new. I’ll admit, scat singing was the last thing I expected Otsuka to experiment with, but I think it came out well, really. Really well, you could say. Excellently, even.

4. JUMPER – capsule

Techno seems to be one of my weaknesses when it comes to Japanese music, and JUMPER is one of the best songs when it comes to this genre. It’s long, repetitive and downright mindless when it comes to the lyrics. And yet I love every damn second of it.

3. Polyrhythm – Perfume

Do I need to explain this one? It has a great instrumental, the girls sound great with it, and the lyrics have a deeper meaning than love if you use some creativity with them. It’s helplessly addicting, and it’s the song that got me into Perfume. I’m sure it did it for many other fans, too.

2. GALAXY BOY – Aira Mitsuki

At first, GALAXY BOY wasn’t my favorite track. I liked it, but it wasn’t the best. Now, that’s all changed, and I absolutely love it to death. It’s become one of Aira’s best songs in my eyes, and I’m hoping we hear something that will rival it in either the “Sayonara TECHNOPOLiS” single, or her next album, because it was gold.

1. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) -  Beyoncé Knowles
 

Come on, anyone who talks to me on MSN shouldn’t be surprised by this. I quote this song left and right all the time. It’s just so damn catchy that I can’t get it out of my head, despite being rather simple at the same time. But in a way that helps it, not hinder it. 

Most Filleringest Filler Track (Excluding Singles)

 5. LoveGame – Lady Gaga

Okay, I’ll admit, this song is sort of catchy, but the lyrics are just so stupid that I can’t help but laugh at them. The production values aren’t too great, either. Although, it has started me telling people that “I wanna take a ride on your (their) disco stick”.

4. Take me Take me – Perfume

Repetition can be a good thing in the Techno industry, but after listening to this song, I must warn future producers of one thing: If it’s going to be repetitious, make sure the arrangement is actually GOOD before doing so.

3. High Bash (Original Version) – Aira Mitsuki

I was never a fan of this version of the song or the remix. Both sound like the production values are a bit too low, and Aira’s vocals are matching suit. She’s singing in the worst possible pitch, and the arrangement isn’t catchy enough to make up for it.

2. change my life – Ami Suzuki

It’s always compared to The WeekeND by listeners, but this song pales in comparison to the former. I don’t know what kind of sound they were going for, but they failed miserably in trying to hit that sound, because this song is just annoying. The one bad song off of Supreme Show.

1. 0 no Mahou to Hysteric Sniper – Saori@destiny

When a song ends up sounding like an exact copy of the song before it, you know something’s gone wrong with the album. This was an unfortunate blotch on Saori’s album, and the glaring similarities that are pleasant make it impossible for me to not call it a filler track.

Best Cover

5. Out of the Box – Jade Valerie

Okay, so this came out in 2007, but the Korean version came out in 2008, and that had the good cover, so I think this one counts. It’s not the most creative cover ever, but I do like what they’ve done with the colors and her overall posture and pose in the picture.

4. One Of The Boys – Katy Perry

While I don’t really think that Katy herself is hot, I do like the whole vintage kind of look they tried to get with this cover, what with the almost fading colors and that whole semi-70s style her outfit has. I rather like how it came out.

3. JAPANESE CHAOS – Saori@destiny

Now, this is just an awesome cover. It’s an explosion of color that helps it feel a bit chaotic, while Saori’s whole appearance is full-on traditional, with the kimono, hairstyle and even the make-up. I loved this cover from the moment I saw it.

2. GAME – Perfume
 

Another rather simple cover, but I do like the whole black theme it has going on, with the gleaming white strobe lights domination the scene and drawing your attention to the girls. Nocchi looks a bit like a masochistic S&M chick, but I do like the other two a lot more.

1. DOLCE – Ami Suzuki

I’m not a huge fan of pink, but Ami really pulls it off in this cover. She looks kind of young with the scruffy hair and childish posture and pose, but the whole mirror theme makes the cover about ten times more interesting.

Worst Cover

5. Circus – Britney Spears

Now, I don’t really think Britney is ugly on this cover or anything, but seriously, did they have to make it so BORING? I’ve looked at the back of the cover and thumber through the booklet. It’s full of a few bad pictures, and even more awesome shots of her. And yet we’re pinned with this cover. Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat.

4. LOVE LETTER – Otsuka Ai

While Otsuka looks absolutely perfect on the CD+DVD cover, this one is… The opposite. I’m not liking her face at all. Otherwise, there isn’t much to say, but the change was just astonishing between the two covers.

3. I Am… Sasha Fierce - Beyoncé Knowles

Now, the thing about this cover is, she’s just really ugly. She isn’t an ugly woman at all, but this cover is just not appealing at all, and she almost looks like an African American Mika Nakashima with that hair… Almost. Maybe not, whatever.

2. GIRL NEXT DOOR – GIRL NEXT DOOR
 

Tutu’s should be made illegal.

1. STEP – MEG

‘Nuff said. I don’t think there’s a cover less visually appealing than this. Not even Mika’s “VOICE” cover.

Best Album

GAME – Perfume
 

When it comes right down to it, there really wasn’t an album out there better than GAME this year. It did have its bad points, but the good points highly outweighed them, and really helped show Japan and the rest of the world what these girls were capable of, as well as what the Japanese Techno industry is capable of.

Worst Album

 COLORS – SAWA

This is probably the only album, mini or otherwise, in 2008 that I hated every single track on. This is LITERALLY one of the most horrible mini-albums I have ever heard. House, Techno… I don’t care what genre you call it. The vocals are just horrible, and the arrangements aren’t different enough to make each song worth listening to. Thank GOD it was a one time thing.

Best Album Discovered in 2008

Riot! – Paramore

Despite not being a huge fan of punk or any sub-genres of punk in the past, I can safely say that Paramore is a huge exception to that. They have some really catchy songs, and that’s saying something for me when it relates to punk. I must say, I really thank Twilight for introducing me to them. xD;;

Worst Album Discovered in 2008

COLORS – SAWA

Yep, it got the two big “Worst” sections. It deserves it.

(NOTE: The “Album Discovered in 08″ section does not mean they are the best albums. It just means they’re the best and worst albums out of the ones that introduced me to the artist in particular. Most artists were discovered through PV’s or singles, so most of them aren’t really applicable.)

Now, there’ll be one more Best Of post tomorrow, before the end of it. Then, it’ll be the first reviews of 2009~

Best & Worst of 2008 – Part 1: Singles

First of all…

HAPPY NEW YEAR, READERS~!!!

And now we come to Vitamin Drop’s first ever “Best & Worst” feature, and its first time experiencing the new year. Not to say that it’s a year old yet, since I didn’t make the site on New Years Eve.

However, putting when I made it aside, the releases of 2008 are what are being brought into question here, and I’ll be going through the different singles in different categories relating to what I thought of them personally. This is only the first of four parts: Singles, Albums, PV’s and Artists. Some of them may have to be done in the early days of 2009, because I’ve been extremely lazy in updating my blog in any sense. Anyway, let’s kick this thing off.

Best A-Side

5. Romantic – Rie fu

 

Turns out, Rie’s really good outside of her comfort zone. Her first ever dance song sounds brilliant instrumentally, and she sounds confident in the new sound. The classic fu elements, such as the piano, really help it sound like one of her normal songs, too.

4. love the world – Perfume

 

love the world was a flawed a-side, and I’ll openly admit that in front of any number of rabid Perfume fanboys. It was definitely a great song, and I still love it, but there were a few transitions that weren’t as strong as they could have been, which dragged it down. However, the vocals and the rest of the instrumental were great.

3. Ashita Saku Hana – Oku Hanako

Despite sounding rather cheesy at times, it’s a nice uplifting song that really helps givyou the feeling that spring is in the air, no matter what the actual season is at the time. Oku gives a brilliant vocal performance, too, which makes it even better.

2. can’t stop the DISCO - Ami Suzuki

 

It wasn’t her best Nakata song upon release, when you think about it. Nothing beats SUPER MUSIC MAKER (Or FREE FREE… I guess…) when it comes to that. However, when it comes to Nakata songs for 2008, cstD is definitely one of my real favorites. Ami definitely knows how to pull off a digitized club song, because this was just perfect. It was made even better with the techno beats they put into it.

1. ROBOT HONEY – Aira Mitsuki

 

Aira has some great songs, and a lot of those are a-sides, too. However, as great as the others are, I have to say that ROBOT HONEY takes the cake for me. It’s a cute, poppy song that contrasts all the heavier, more technological songs we heard in her C.O.P.Y. era. Not to say that those songs were horrible, they were HOT. But it was nice to hear something cuter from Aira. Definitely my favorite a-side in ‘08.

Best B-Side

5. BREEEEEZIN!!!!!!! – Yuna ItoIt’s a flashback to the 50’s with its catchy beach sound, while still being kept interesting with a few modern twists being thrown in. The title’s horrible, but the song’s great. We need more of this, not that horrible latin dance crap she’s pulling out.

4. Always – Koda Kumi

 

TABOO was the hot dance song of the single. Always was the cute pop song that dragged us back into Koda’s cuter side. While I’m not always a fan of these songs from Kuu, Always is one of the exceptions. The bright, cheerful arrangement and slightly higher vocals give it a happy, joyous sound, while the arrangement also keeps it from being downright boring.

3. SAZAE FUNKADELiC – Aira Mitsuki

 

ROBOT HONEY was a great singles, and the two non-ballad b-sides were great. SAZAE FUNKADELiC was the standout of these two. It features a traditional oriental sound to it, while keeping the heavy synth that would be considered more reminiscent of  “Swallowtail D.A.N.C.E.” than any of her other songs. It could have been an a-side in its own right, it was so good. It was probably even better than the a-side of the very same single.

2. skip turn step – Kanon Wakeshima

Despite Kanon being a real gothic kind of girl, I was quite surprised to hear her pull out a pop-influenced, Baroque-era ballroom song for a b-side. Its cute sound and bright atmosphere was a welcome change from the rest of her discography up to this point, since the majority of it was darker and creepier.

1. Sayonara Revival – Saori@destiny

Hands down, this was the best song on any of the singles in her JAPANESE CHAOS era. My Boy was pretty much lacklustre all around, and sakura was a great a-side, but Sayonara Revival beat it down easily, with its catchy repetitious synth arrangement and the robotic vocals blending with the sound to give it a more consistent appeal.

 Best Cover Art (Formats Not Included)

5. PRECIOUS – MEG

It was quirky, it was odd, and it had disturbing men in black skin-tight spandex. What more can you ask for?

4. Suna no Oshiro – Kanon Wakeshima

Something about the colors and setting made this cover really appealing to me. the only problem is Kanon’s face, which I always find to be a little off, but the pose helps.

3. China Discotica – Aira Mitsuki

Random brightness at its best. it’s a quirky cover that fits Aira’s style in a manner that’s only second to what is shown in the GALAXY BOY PV and C.O.P.Y. album covers. She may not be the most visually appealing girl, but she works well with what she has. She does tend to hide herself too much, though.

2. love the world – Perfume

The “Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil” theme going on here seems a bit out of place at first, but when you think of it… The song’s called “love the world”, and if the cover’s telling you to ignore all that evil, then it’s basically telling you to love the world at the same time. Clever and pretty.

1. PAPERMOON – Tommy heavenly6

Featured or not, I’m including this. I just love this close-up cover.

Worst A-Sides

5. STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER – Aira Mitsuki

I just don’t see anything appealing in this song. Simple as that.

4. Dream Fighter – Perfume

This one was a surprise. I loved the song when I first heard it, but as time went by, it started sounding really grating. The vocals had quite a few flaws that could have been worked out even with slight digital enhancement, and the instrumental came off as something that could have been a lot better, despite not really being that awful to begin with.

3. JUMPER – capsule

We all remember how I overreacted about the changes to the analog version of this, right? Well, screw my corrections. They shouldn’t have messed with a good thing, and I still really hate this version. At least the album used the PV version.

2. HEART – MEG

Overrated crap. Everyone seems to love this single, but when it comes to MEG, I would seriously call this her worst a-side to date. The vocals were just atrocious, and the arrangement was annoying at best.

1. Vanilla – Leah Dizon

Two words: Hot mess. This song was absolutely terrible. Too many things were thrown together in the instrumental, and the backing vocals were nothing more than a joke. Leah’s flimsy voice didn’t help this problem at all, either. I’d recommend skipping this.

Worst B-Side

5. Kuroi Torikago – Kanon Wakeshima

Compared to still doll, this was just a mess. I’ve never been a real fan of this song, and thankfully, Kanon’s proved that she can do much, much, MUCH better than this. It was a bit too techno-ish for Kanon’s overall musical style, which was the main reason it was such a disappointment.

4. MIRACLE – MEG

 

Okay, so now that I have my singles right, the a-side to this single was actually one of my favorite tracks from the era, but this b-side was just awful in comparison. And, once again, the biggest flaw was MEG herself.

3. That Ain’t Cool – Koda Kumi feat. Fergie

Fergie feat. Koda Kumi. This may as well have just been purged of any Koda influences and made a Fergie song, because it’s about three quarters of the way there already. It still wouldn’t be good in that case, though. It’s just a joke of a song in any sense. The highlight has to be Koda’s horrible English, though. And yes, I count this as a b-side.

2. DISCOTHEQUE – Nana Mizuki

It had all the potential in the world to be what a good version of Vanilla by Leah Dizon would sound like. However, some horrible arrangement choices and similarly horrible back-up vocals made it suffer the same fate as Leah’s horrible mess of a song. Nana also has that higher voice going for her, which would sound good here if the arrangement was improved and the back-up vocals were taken out.

1. the Time is Now – capsule

Good god, this song is just awful. I don’t even want to THINK about it. Horrible rapping, a disjointend arrangement and a lack of Toshiko as a vocalist just made this song one of my least favorite capsule songs ever.

Worst Covers (Formats Not Included)

5. Days/GREEN – Ayumi Hamasaki

Fish-face. It pretty much ruined what could be a great cover for me.

4. JUMPER – capsule

I’ve never been a fan of most of capsule’s covers, and JUMPER is no exception, due to its bland design and overly to-the-point design. Tek artists should be a bit more creative, like Aira is.

3. Virgin Cat – Anna Tsuchiya

…’Nuff said.

2. ONE – Crystal Kay

GIRL, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!

1. Darling Wondering Staring / STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER – Aira Mitsuki

It’s horribly plain, and I can barely see any meaning in the cover at all. What’s worse is, this seems to be her staple limited release cover, since her upcoming limited release single, “Valentine STEP”, has the same cover with a red background. Damn, Aira, that’s just lazy…

Worst Overall Singles

5. Sora Uta – alan

Both songs on this single just sounded horribly plain and messy, which wasn’t good at all. I’m not a huge alan fan to begin with, and this didn’t help.

4. Darling Wondering Staring / STAR FRUITS SURF RIDER – Aira Mitsuki

Both songs were, once again, just really bad. I wasn’t a real fan of them at all, with the ethereal nature being the main high point. Maybe even the only high point.

3. Vanilla – Leah Dizon

LOVE SWEET CANDY was an alright track, but the a-side was just so awful that I can’t help but stick it here. That was just a crime against humanity.

 

2. JUMPER – capsule

Laugh at me for overreacting, I don’t care. The changes to the a-side were absolutely atrocious, and the b-side is just plain bad.

1. HEART – MEG

Okay, I had the wrong b-side in mind when writing this. But I still stand by this placing, it was just a bad single when it came to both the a-side AND the remixes.

Best Overall Singles

5. PRECIOUS – MEG
 

 

 

 

Definitely her most enjoyable single. The b-side wasn’t the best, but hey, what b-side actually is?

4. Suna no Oshiro – Kanon Wakeshima

 

Both the a-side and b-side were great, bringing together two different sounds tied together with Kanon’s individual style to make a brilliant all-around single, as well as the first single by Kanon to feature a good b-side.

3. TABOO – Koda Kumi

A slutty comeback dance song (in the best possible sense, I assure you) and a touching pop song. The two are extremely different ends of the spectrum, but this is still Koda’s best recent single, and easily the most enjoyable of the era.

 

2. ROBOT HONEY – Aira Mitsuki 

Okay, so the ballad b-side and the remixes were bad. The remixes don’t count, so I can easily call this my favorite overall Aira single of the year. Not to say China Discotica is bad, though. It just had a boring b-side.

1. love the world – Perfume

Despite the a-side having its flaws, absolutely every song on this single was enjoyable, including the instrumental for the a-side. Perfume gave us another dark, mature song, and the a-side was upbeat, cheerful and just overall fun. You can’t get much better than that.

Now, I wonder how many people I’ve annoyed with this…

Oh, well, we’re about to find out~