I ordered a bunch of CDs recently over the past couple months and they've all arrived. It's been a while since I have this many at once, so I thought I'd do a little write up. This isn't a review of the albums, more like an insight into why I bought them and a little info about the groups.
(Top Row L to R: EMPiRE, Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, and Beyooooonds)
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(Bottom Row L to R: Kodomo Dragon, Baby Kingdom, and Ladybaby)
First up is Ladybaby. I was aware the them, but didn't start following the group until their new lineup in 2018. Their MV for their first single as 4 members, "Hoshi no nai Sora", really got my attention. At the time, there were a bunch of pseudo metal Idol groups in Indie scene, but none of them really interested me. Ladybaby were exactly what I was looking for. There's definitely some Baby Metal influences here, but Ladybaby specifically label themselves as Kawaii Core, and I think they differentiated themselves enough from the former to create their own identity.
Unfortunately, things didn't turn out so well for them. In October 2019, they announced the group would be going on hiatus. Typically, Idol groups don't come back after taking a hiatus, so this might be the end for them. There were definitely problems behind the scenes. They most likely ran out of money and couldn't keep going. There was huge gap between the release of their first and second singles with the new lineup. Ladybaby released some digital singles to tide fans over, but it's difficult to generate money without something physical to sell. I believe the delay was due to looking for a new record label. They found one for the second single, but it was too little too late.
This compilation album, "Reburn", includes all their releases over the past two years. I never bought the singles, so I'm happy they put this out. Unfortunately, there's no DVD as a bonus. It would have been nice to include the MVs that weren't on the physical singles. They did do a good job on the booklet though. There's some nice pictures inside and it's on high quality paper.
EMPiRE is part of the WACK stable of groups which includes BiSH, GANG PARADE, and others. They debuted in December of 2017 and are a collaboration between WACK and Avex. They were meant to be kind of a little sister group to BiSH. I've always liked their sound which is a departure from most of the music their company releases. Their songs are almost entirely electronic and vary between dance and more melancholic vibes. I still really like their debut digital release in Dec. 2017.
EMPiRE has maintained the same design aesthetic with their costumes over the past two years, so they are instantly recognizable. Their overall concept is very artistic, but they occasionally veer into more traditional WACK-like territory with bizarre and disturbing imagery. Their MV for "Black to the dreamlight" was temporarily banned on television due to graphic imagery, so it had to be re-edited for broadcast. "The Great Journey" is their second full album and the first on CD. Their previous releases were on Cassette, so it's nice to finally get something a little more convenient to play!
Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, Ebichu for short, is part of Stardust Plant, the Idol Division of Stardust Entertainment. Together with with Momoiro Clover Z (aka Momoclo) and Team Shachi (formerly Team Syachihoko), they form the Stardust Sisters. The debuted in 2009, one year after Momoclo, so they celebrated their 10th Anniversary last year. "Music" was released with the Anniversary in mind.
Ebichu has been very consistent with their releases. They might be the most consistent of all the Stardust Planet groups. There's 12 of them, so that's saying something! I own two other Ebichu albums and handful of singles, so with this purchase, my collection is becoming substantial.
Beyooooonds is a new group from Hello Project. And yes, you write the letter "o" 5 times, lol. They're a combination of 3 smaller groups: Chika Tetsu, Ame no Mori Kawa Umi, and the 3 winners of H!P's "Only You" audition. Their concept is a bit hard to define as they mix theater into live performances. I took this directly from their page on the Hello Project Wiki to help explain:
"The name was chosen with hopes of the group growing freely towards the future, beyond their existing framework, with the group aiming for an ever-changing appearance similar to slime."
I didn't followed H!P that much last decade. Once my favorite members of Morning Musume left the group, I was no longer invested in the company. I started following the H!P again in 2017. Groups like Angerme and Juice=Juice caught my attention, but I hesitated to buy anything. After Beyooooonds released their debut single "Megane no Otoko no Ko", I couldn't hold out any longer. I enjoyed the song more than I expected and the MV was allot of fun. H!P really can't go wrong with putting a bunch of girls on a train.
Even though I liked their debut, I can't justify buying singles anymore. I do make exceptions (I bought a bunch of copies of C-ute's final single), but I typically wait for an album to be released. Thankfully, I didn't have long to wait. Idols mainly focus on singles nowadays, so Beyooooonds probably won't release another album anytime soon.
There's nothing particularly exciting about the packaging or the booklet for this version, but it came a with a sweet clear file as the bonus.
Now it's time to switch gears and talk about some Visual Kei. The glory days of this genre are long gone, but I've always had a soft spot for it. I don't follow the scene that much, but there's a handful of groups that I check in on from time to time. Both Kodomo Dragon and Baby Kingdom are on BP Records.
I Really liked Kodomo Dragon's first two albums, but when I heard the singles leading up to the Wolfman album, I felt like they had ran out of ideas. Wen I checked up on them again, I liked what I was hearing. It felt like they got their mojo back. I was really anticipating this album when it came out in March 2019, but I ended up not buying it until now. (The song below is an old favorite of mine)
Why did it take so long? Well, for a long time I ordered all my Japanese CDs from YesAsia. I've only had one bad experience with the site, so I kept using it. A couple years ago I discovered that CD Japan not only gives you points, but includes pre-order bonuses like posters, so I switched entirely over to them. When Kodomo's 4th album came out, I couldn't find it on CD Japan. This was unusual. I probably could have contacted them to see if they could add it, but I was lazy. I eventually went back to YesAsia, and low and behold, there it was. I'd also been getting into Baby Kingdom last year, and since shipping takes so long with YesAsia (It's based in Hong Kong), I thought I might as well add their album too.
There's nothing special about the packaging of "Tegura Magura" and the booklet just has the lyrics, but here's the photocards I got.
(Chamu - Drums & Yume - Guitar)
I wasn't sure about Baby Kingdom when I first listened to them. Their music was okay, but not particularly memorable. That was back when they were on a different label. Since signing with BP Records, they've grown a bit and I was impressed by some of the digest videos they uploaded from their concerts. Like I said, I added this to my order because shipping takes so long, but I like them enough that I probably would have bought the album eventually.
"Age + Plus" is their debut on BP Records. They offer a good counterpoint to Kodomo Dragon. Baby Kingdom has a fairly light rock sound, while Kodomo favors a darker and heavier sound.
The artwork on the discs of Baby Kingdom's album is worth noting.
(Monyo - Bass & Shiki - Guitar)
And that about does it. One of these days I should make a post showcasing all the photocards I've accumulated over the years. Maybe for the 2nd Anniversary of my blog. I could do several posts just on all the H!P cards I've got, so maybe a "best of" would suffice.
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