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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Monday, May 23, 2016

kukui -- Toumei Shelter (透明シェルター)


Just segueing a bit on Noelle's most recent article about how she usually spends her Sundays, I've got my own routine involving my biweekly meet-ups with my anime buddy for a good round of watching the latest anime and listening to anison interspersed with runs to restaurants and cafés. Yesterday was no different, and yep, the two of us engorged ourselves on a humongous amount of Chinese dumplings.

As for the listening to anison part, one song that has popped up often on the playlist has been "Toumei Shelter" (Transparent Shelter) from November 2004, the first ending theme to what I think was the first anime version of "Rozen Maiden"(ローゼンメイデン). My buddy was kind enough to supply me with the entire series of the latest anime adaptation from a couple of years ago but to be frank, I've yet to be sold on the latest series about goth-y dolls with attitude battling it out in front of a shut-in. But once I get through the higher-priority shows, I will give "Rozen Maiden" another go.

Anyways, I do like "Toumei Shelter" by the unit kukui since it has an interesting mix of atmospheric dreaminess and urban contemporary feeling. I have yet to see the original 2004 anime of "Rozen Maiden" but I've got a feeling that the song made for a cool match with the air of the series. The overall arrangement kinda hinted at the cooler R&B vibe that was going through Japanese pop in the early 2000s.

According to J-Wiki and Wiki, when kukui first released "Toumei Shelter", their debut single, the duo was originally known as refio + Haruka Shimotsuki(refio+霜月はるか). Shimotsuki was on vocals while keyboardist myu took care of words and music. It managed to rise up to No. 76 on Oricon.

2 comments:

  1. I really liked the song, thanks! And somehow its wistful tone combined with your description of such a pleasant way of passing a Sunday reminds me that I should spend more time with my friends...

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    Replies
    1. Good to hear from you again, Glove Slap.

      Not sure what the weather is like where you are, but it was a pretty glorious Sunday here in Toronto. Good day to spend for eating and chatting with friends. Hopefully, there will be a lot more of those days coming up this summer.

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