Track Listing
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Lost Time
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Toshiue no Kare
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Futari Kinenbi
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Cinderella
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Sayonara wo Iwanai Mama
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Shunshoku no Sora
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Kimi no Egao (album ver.)
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TAKOYAKI
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Kimi ni Arigatou
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Aishiteta
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Sotsugyou no Toki (Hikigatari ver.)
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GOOD BYE!
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Kanashimi Dake de Ikinai de
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Ashiato
1. Lost Time
Hanako’s album opens up with Lost Time and I thought it’d be an interesting song to open up the album but honestly, Lost Time is such a slow burner and lacked a lot of interest from me up (at least the until the chorus) at least that sounds rather nice but the other parts of the song are just disappointing for me.
2. Toshiue no Kare
I guess I can be happy that she put this song afterwards because this is actually a whole lot more interesting. I’ve always said that Hanako’s strengths are in her upbeat songs (and some of her ballads). Toshiue no Kare has this kind of cute/genki feel that oddly feels like You Kikkawa’s music haha. This is pretty good actually hmmm…
3. Futari Kinenbi
It’s nice they followed up with Futari Kinenbi since it tones down the energy that was in the previous song. Even though I still think Hanako’s vocals are very cutesy and pitchy, she doesn’t do too bad in this song really. Not bad and is still kind of catchy, especially the chorus here. Not bad!
4. Cinderella
Funny enough, the fourth song is actually the lone A-side to represent the era here. I thought this’d be the perfect to follow after “Toshiue no Kare” but somehow that didn’t happen here. It’s not bad and it’s better than a couple of the other A-side I’ve reviewed since adding her to the site. Quite passable!
5. Sayonara wa Iwanai Mama
Slowing down back to ballad land, Sayonara wa Iwanai Mama. It’s funny though since the song reminds me of “Kawaranai Mono” in some cases especially some of the chorus. It’s a memorable melody even though the arrangement is pretty sparse with only piano as the backing instrument. Basic, but it works.
6. Shunshoku no Sora
Another cute tune huh? There seems to be more of these than we had in “Utakata” it seems. It isn’t as upbeat like the other upbeat tracks I’ve reviewed so far, but this is breezy and pretty to listen to. It almost seems to suit her cute vocals. I thought it kind of worked for her once again and I thought it was endearing and just adorable!
7. Kimi no Egao (album ver.)
You might be wondering what this song is since it got tagged with an album version and all. Well, it’s actually one of the two new songs that were found on “Kimi no Egao -smile selection-” (her first best-of). To me, it seems like it was resung and the arrangement has added strings. It’s alright but there’s nothing extravagant to make it stand out.
8. TAKOYAKI
Eh? A song about takoyaki, the food? What?!? Yeah I don’t get it either it but this is actually pretty interesting of a song. Taking a few notes from “Shunshoku no Sora”, TAKOYAKI is also quite adorable and strangely enticing coming from her. It has this innocent flow to it and while Hanako has a little trouble emoting the song, it’s not bad and had quite a bit of charm.
9. Kimi ni Arigatou
As the album’s longest track at 6 minutes flat, I did guess that I was going to have a problem paying attention to this song as it’s a ballad. The melody of the chorus once again seems to be the song’s best quality but otherwise, it’s still mundane and comes off very boring.
10. Aishiteta
Adding acoustic guitar in the mix of things usually won’t save Hanako’s songs because they still come off as plain and not very exciting. In the case of Aishiteta it’s missing something to tie it all together in a nice bow and I think it’s maybe in the arrangement. I do feel that it’s relaxing and surprised that Hanako played as nice as she did but I think the drums didn’t add a lot of punch nor there wasn’t bass to make if full. It’s ok, but nothing memorable.
11. Sotsugyou no Toki (Hikigatari ver.)
As the B-side off of “Cinderella”, Sotsugyou no Toki got a new version on the album but it’s not very dramatic of one to be honest. All they did was take the strings out of the song and Hanako resang it and it kind of sounds live as well. I thought that they took off what made the original work so well and now it’s just a plain ole ballad, disappointed here!
12. GOOD BYE!
As the title track, I was happy that it was another upbeat song for her. It’s bouncy ad kind of has a great feeling throughout. She seems pretty comfortable there and her voice sounds pretty nice otherwise. I like this title track a lot but I don’t think it’s my favorite from the album.
13. Kanashimi Dake de Ikinai de
As we near the end of the album, we get two ballads to close things out. The first in Kanashimi Dake de Ikinai de is quite quiet here and even though a good portion is just her and the piano, strings to play a rather light role in the song. Like I’ve said about her other ballads on this album, they’re OK just nothing I’d really go back to.
14. Ashiato
Didn’t Gocchin end her album with “Ashiato” as well? XD. I can totally say the same that I did with the previous song as it doesn’t bring anything new to the table but it’s suitable as the album’s final song so I guess I’ll give that to her. I will say that oboe was a nice touch…or was that clarinet…hmmm.
Tracks Recommended
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Shunshoku no Sora
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TAKOYAKI
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Toshiue no Kare
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Cinderella
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GOOD BYE!
Song of Avoidance
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Sotsugyou no Toki (Hikigatari ver.)
I initially came into reviewing this album with a bleak look because of the boredom I felt with her last album, “Utakata”. However with good-bye I felt she kind of redeemed herself since this album wasn’t heavy with ballads this time around (which I still think is a weak point to her music at this point). At least the upbeat songs were pretty good for the most part, but I still think she’s a poor man’s Angela Aki. LOL