Spinning: Tomatsu Haruka’s Rainbow Road
With 5 singles released over a one-and-a-half year period, Tomatsu Haruka’s debut album Rainbow Road finally arrives. Not sure that anybody’s really paying attention apart from the hardcore fans (such as yours truly) though, since her popularity within the Music Ray’n circle probably ranks second to that of the K-ON!-crest-of-wave-riding Toyosaki Aki.
Anyhow. In some ways the video content on the DVD is a bit of a cop-out for fans that have followed Haru-chan from the start; I was rather annoyed to learn that all the single PVs would be repackaged with Rainbow Road. Liek hello wtf Sony, why did I shell out for the Girls, Be Ambitious. CD+DVD release again? It didn’t even have the legs that the cover of the CD only version featured…
Now that I’ve mentioned Sony, I’ll go into Haru’s musical direction a bit more. Her solo career is handled by her agency/management (the Sony-owned Music Ray’n), while her group Sphere is signed to the Glory Heaven sub-division of Lantis Records. This immediately draws a line in between the two musical endeavours, marking Sphere as anisong-orientated whilst her own music is tailored more for the mainstream market, although not quite a million miles away from her seiyuu idol status. She shares a lot of writers with Mizuki Nana, who is signed to Sony imprint King Records. Mainly the people who pen her less conventional songs like Promise on Christmas, Naked Feels and Etsuraku Camellia so no, it’s not really possible to draw parallels between them.
Before the review begins, let’s get this out of the way – Tomatsu Haruka cannot sing. If you were to ask me to rate her singing ability it’d be like:
Kiyoura Natsumi >>>>>>>>> Tomatsu Haruka = Nakagawa Shoko > Ogura Yuko
Borrowing the words of certain American Idol judges, she is ‘kinda pitchy, dawg’ and occasionally ’sounds like a cat falling off the top of the Empire State Building’. Not quite ‘cabaret’ but a bit like a ‘drunk uncle singing at a wedding’. Nevertheless, the mark of a good producer is to find a way to work around the vocal limitations and and we’ll see how that theory pans out on Rainbow Road.
Shall we begin?
1. Jikochu Otoko (自己中男)
Lyrics, Composition & Arrangement: Furukawa Takahiro
How odd is it to start an album with a song titled Egocentric Guy? Lyrically it’s a nice fit for the feisty Tomatsu, but the song’s half-blues, half-galpop anthem-like melody feels like a miserable mess. Gives me a headache, just like how I imagine tsundere girls would do.
2. motto☆Hade ni ne! (motto☆派手にね!)
Lyrics: 辛矢凡 (Yamamoto Yutaka pen-name), Composition & Arrangement: Kosaki Satoru
The knowledge that Rainbow Road would be anchored by some of the best anime themes in the last 2-3 years (this being one of them) provided a nice little piece of comfort, just in case the rest of the album completely bombs. Kosaki’s funky bassline (borrowed from Nakayama Miho’s Hade!!) and Yamakan’s cheeky lyrics remain as fun as they did the first time I heard them.
3. Circle
Lyrics: emmy Composition & Arrangement: Tanaka Masato
A very energetic and fresh slice of girly guitar-pop, a style that fits Tomatsu so very well. Rather unfortunate to have come sandwiched in between two of the album’s best tracks, which makes it seem less impressive tracks than it actually is.
4. Nanairo Michishirube (七色みちしるべ)
Lyrics: Furuya Shin Composition: Tomatsu Haruka Arrangement: Onishi Shogo
Haru-chan sounded rather sheepish when discussing the song on radio – it’s her first composition ever but let’s not look into that too much since all she did was hum the tune into a Dictaphone. She did take great pains to praise the arrangement and rightly so – without Onishi’s classy, slightly bluesy big-band working, the sweet melody line may could have sunk without a trace. Everything works in harmony here; the music, the instruments, Furuya’s cheery lyrics and yes, even the vocals, all meld together to form a song that is close to pop perfection. Totally loving this one.
5. Girls, Be Ambitious.
Lyrics: Isogai Yoshie Composition & Arrangement: Higure Kazuhiro
Ska isn’t something you’ll hear too often in anisong, which makes GBA stand out almost immediately. Ex-OZWORLD member Higure’s punchy arrangement is complemented perfectly by small-time songwriter Isogai’s fun Aijou! Yuujou! (Love! Friendship!) lyrics, even if Tomatsu’s vocals aren’t quite up to scratch. The song structure is fairly interesting too, the little break after the second chorus part (starting around 2:12) delightful. Muramasa☆ this ain’t, but it is quite enjoyable and a nice change from your typical run-of-the-mill anime theme song.
6. REWIND
Lyrics & Composition: Kawakami Naoko Arrangement: Okumura Masuo
*facepalm* was the overwhelming reaction when saw that REWIND would be included on RR. To me it was the weakest track on the naissance single, with a weird almost autotune-like quality to the vocal that did little to improve an already dire melody line. I almost wish they’d vocodered Haru’s singing as they did for the backing vocal, it would at least break up the monotony a bit.
7. Kioku no Keshiki (記憶の風景)
Lyrics: Furuya Shin Composition: Ishimatsu Ryohei Arrangement: Onishi Shogo
Another surprising but not unwelcome c/w song inclusion (this was on the Musuhi no Toki single). It carries on the breezy pop feel that dominates much of RR and is really, just a sweet little love song that is extremely pleasing to the ears.
8. Musuhi no Toki (産巣日の時)
Lyrics: 辛矢凡, Composition & Arrangement: Kosaki Satoru
Literally a 神曲 (godly song), if you’ve watched Kannagi and look at this song from the viewpoint of Nagi-sama. The involvement of Kalafina member Wakana on the track (providing glorious backing vocals) makes the deal even sweeter. God knows how Kosaki managed to coax that fine vocal out of Tomatsu though, two thumbs up.
9. naissance
Lyrics: Noguchi Kei Composition: Tanaka Masato Arrangement: Baba Kazuyoshi
Ruh-roh. Tomatsu announced her debut on the seiyuu idol scene with this low-key single, which also served as the theme song for the Koko wa Greenwood live-action dorama she was involved in. It’s coffee-table music, gliding along inoffensively but ultimately not something that’s going to stick in your mind for long after the last note has faded away.
10. Rainbow
Lyrics, Composition and Arrangement: Onishi Shogo
Almost a title-track, you’d expect this to be the centerpiece of the album but 10 seconds in you can tell it’s anything but. Starts off all neo Shibuya-kei (and rather the Indigo-like) before…going absolutely nowhere. The chorus parts are extremely weak and Tomatsu is squawking like a chicken on this, it makes for extremely excrutiating listening.
11. Counter Attack
Lyrics: Furuya Shin Composition: Wakabayashi Mitsuru Arrangement: Takahashi Koichiro
Quite possibly the only track on RR that screams ‘obvious anisong’. Between them, Wakabayashi and Takahashi have written ray of change, Mr.Bunny and Take a Chance for Mizuki Nana, but Counter Attack isn’t really like any of those songs – it’s more like a Saito Shinya number really. I’m wavering between liking and not liking this, it’s actually quite catchy but that painful-sounding yelp Tomatsu does at the start of the song turns it into a bit of a comedy.
12. Miraidokei (みらいどけい)
Lyrics: Furuya Shin Composition: Kawabata Yoshimasa Arrangement: Baba Kazuyoshi
This was the c/w track on the GBA single – the song is definitely good enough to be an album cut but still perplexing for it to be included here when it’s not even a month since it first got released. A moody ballad that mourns love lost but at the same time has a message of hope looking forward, probably the ‘oldest’-sounding track on the album. Haruka’s terribly shouty on this one though
13. Star☆Tripper
Lyrics: Furuya Shin Composition: KOUTAPAI Arrangement: Suzuki Hiroto
For a song that is 100% an attempt to appeal to Perfume/Nakata Yasutaka fans, it’s a terrific effort. All that it’s missing is an autotuned vocal and a decent mix (turn up the bass, someone).
14. Koi no Uta (こいのうた)
Lyrics & Composition: Aramaki Naohisa Arrangement: Saito Shinya
Oh lordy, no matter how much I force myself to listen to this I can never get beyond the horrid ‘lalala’ refrain. Really not my cup of tea, I would probably have preferred this to be left off the album entirely.
In short:
+Polished pop album, made for the mainstream.
+”Current”, “contemporary” and “relevant”. Fits right in on the charts.
-Not the sort of pop music that appeals to anisong fans, who will likely find it overly bland and generic.
-Vocals are bordering on painful when she tries to push the big or high notes.
Verdict: This is a gem of a pop album that somewhat soothes the pain caused by the rubbish heard on Sphere’s debut long-player A.T.M.O.S.P.H.E.R.E. A couple of stinkers are to be expected, but the high points more than make up for the little missteps along the way. Kudos to Sony for getting the song choices and lyrical content spot-on – it actually feels fresh and fitting for someone of Haru-chan’s 20 years to be singing. And unlike other recent albums *cough* Minorin *cough* that seemed rudderless and confused, Rainbow Road has a clear idea of what it wants to be and does it well. And indeed the quality of material is strong enough to carry the lack of vocal talent – not many idol albums succeed at that. Still, I’m sure someone will shit on RR for its 50:50 ratio of previously released tracks to new tunes but honestly, as long as the songs are decent I don’t have issues with the lack of new material.
Um yeah, go listen to it. I’m trying hard not to tsun for Haru-chan like I do for Minorin you know.
DVD contents
This is the part where I’m supposed to grumble about the fact that I shelled out for 5 CD+DVD edition singles only to get trolled by them all being included on the album release, but there’s a bit of extra footage that’s just about enough to keep me happy – the Road to Rainbow Road documentary!
It’s really just 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage split between the making of the Girls, Be Ambitious. PV and the photoshoot for the album jacket and promo material. The PV shoot was done in early November and it was terribly cold, as Haru-chan repeats over and over again. At least she didn’t have to get up at 5am to prepare like the camera crew did.
Turns out that the PV director told the three girls to shout SHIGA, BAKAYARO!! during the scene you see above, harhar. Guess they shot the video in freezing cold Shiga then.
The footage is just standard stuff, so you’ve got Haru-chan going around making random comments while sucking on a lollipop. I’m sure we all need to see her sucking on a lollipop.
…standing out looking pretty for the photoshoots. There’s 15 different outfits for the jacket shoot, but only 7 of them were used in the special promo posters. Figures that they had to pick some of the uglier shots for the posters…
…and dancing around like an arse to motto☆Hade ni ne! It is rather amusing, I’m sure Haruka’s practising her moves in preparation for her solo live at JCB Hall next month.
…at least it’s not “I need a tongue bath!” I suppose. Oh and look at all those retarded wigs – that big, brown afro thingy did make it onto the CD sleeve uggghh.
The third part of the DVD is inexplicably Ura naissance, which was already on the single’s DVD. I yawned.
And finally, a look at the packaging (click for larger view):
Slipcase, with special 36-page booklet (very nicely done and good paper quality, not crappy glossy pages) and some of the brightest-coloured CDs you’ll see this side of the moon. Packaging is as slick as the music.
I busted my own camera a few weeks ago and I’m totally not used to using the new one so I’m afraid the only thing you’ll see clearly in the picture above is my grimy fingernail.
The poster that came with RR if you bought it at HMV or CDJapan, dunno if Amazon carries it.
Themocracy
I must admit I love her PVs then her singing, and out of the PVs, there’s only one I’m actually honestly interested in. (And did I ever thank you for that one night in which I was looping it and fapping endlessly till I exhaust all energy to even lift my finger to press the ‘Stop’ button?)
LOL, I’m sure we need no reminder of how fail a certain dekobitch’s dressing was too.
Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeegs! Get the rainbow stockings out of the way!!! Would love to see her doing that impromptu “motto☆Hade ni ne!” dance though!
Oh lol I still remember that night where I force-fed Sphere and Tomatsu PVs down a certain someone’s throat. It was hilarious XD
> I’m sure we all need to see her sucking on a lollipop
In before all the “she can suck my lollipop anytime” jokes. *ducks*
You wouldn’t happen to have bought High Touch already would you?
I’ve got it on order but Amazon was slow in getting it up for sale so I’m only expecting my copy to come in early next week. Review will be done when it does
“Not sure that anybody’s really paying attention apart from the hardcore fans (such as yours truly) though”
it IS her first album after all….. ;_;
Hahahaha I’m so glad I picked up I think Megami or Animedia and saw the album release announcement. My friend told me to shut up in the train when I become too over-joyous =-=”
I swear in GBA PV Haru-chan looks completely different in the wind-hair-blowing scenes!
“Oh and look at all those retarded wigs – that big, brown afro thingy did make it onto the CD sleeve uggghh.”
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD8!!!!!!!!
Is it worth the money to purchase?
It’s worth buying if you haven’t got the singles already for sure. And it’s definitely a nice easy-listening album imho so YESSSS buy it if you can spare the cash ^_^
>>coffee-table song.
Awesome, now I have a perfect term to describe about 85% of my 1TB of music!
lol, you’re that into muzak then ^^;
>> Kiyoura Natsumi
Thank for reminding me
that I need to cover Tabi no Tochuuof the nosebleeds. And then I got more nosebleeds ’cause of Haruka’s legs. And now I’m looking at the kimono thing from seiyuu animedia and light-headed now, ahhh.I’ll maybe look at the album as a sort of punishment game for if I don’t go to school. Was thinking of doing that with Hocchan’s budokan concert whenever it comes out. “If I don’t go to school, I’ll listen/watch two songs without moving out of my seat.”
My biggest question is WHEN IS THE LEFTY GETTING A SINGLE/ALBUM/I WANT MORE MINACHAN. ;-;
hey! is it true that Yu-tan is gonna realese a new album or what?
http://ameblo.jp/yu-no-jiyu-cho/image-10459906968-10416023111.html
Strangely enough, I thought the last part of the title read “Rainbow Rod”, and when i looked at those stockings, well…..
Well, as much as I remain almost undecided if i should like her singing or not, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if she tried singing like Kobayashi Yu. Just imagine Haru-chan singing something like her song from Zetsubou Sensei filled with gorilla-like overtones……*head explodes*
I loved Haruka as Nagi in the Kannagi anime, she’s a really awesome seiyu and pretty too ♥ I just wish I knew about the album release sooner. But thanks for the great review ^___^
Now I just need to find the cash for this album >_<
Nice dress she’s wearing for album jacket.