Kyary Pamyu Pamyu -- Ninjya Re Bang Bang (にんじゃりばんばん)

I like Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ) very much. The main reason is that she is produced by Yasutaka Nakata (中田ヤスタカ), the man behind the Technopop aidoru group Perfume. Her songs are not for everyone, though. In general, they are hyper sugary pop tunes with some very catchy hooks splashed through them, which can make you feel saturated and confused very quickly. Her voice doesn’t help either, so be prepared if you try out her discography someday. Other than that, if you want to try something different, give her a chance. She might surprise you in a positive way.

As for “Ninjya Re Bang Bang” (にんじゃりばんばん), it’s cute and catchy, but not nearly as saccharine cute as her entire first full length album, “Pamyu Pamyu Revolution” (ぱみゅぱみゅレボリューション), released in May 2012. With “Ninjya Re Bang Bang”, her 5^th single, Kyary (and Nakata) invites the listener to feudal Japan with very stereotypical sounds and melodies that resembles traditional Japan. The concept, focused around Ninjas, is there to contribute to this feeling as well. But like every other inspired Nakata song, “Ninjya Re Bang Bang” is full of interesting twists as it mixes traditional elements with 8-bit video-game blips, making this a very interesting song. It also features some random sounds of Ninja swords which is cool too.

The catchiness of the chorus is just absurd, but my favorite part of the song is probably the bridge, when the chorus main hook is played by a fake flute (probably a synth as Nakata rarely uses real instruments in his music). This moment, for me, is pure gold. It could be a bit longer though.

And here's Kyary having fun with the SMAP guys while singing "Ninjya Re Bang Bang" and "Invader Invader" (インベーダーインベーダー), her alien song. I don't know if this video will be up for very long, but I enjoyed it. And sorry for the quality, it's kinda bad.(Nov. 28 2013: Unfortunately, the video has been taken down from YouTube, but I've managed to put in another video of the song.--J-Canuck)

“Ninjya Re Bang Bang” was released in March 2013 and reached #3 on the weekly Oricon chart. It’s Kyary’s best selling single to date, with 51,218 copies sold (source: generasia). It was also included in her second full lenght album, “Nanda Collection” (なんだこれくしょん), released in June 2013. Lyrics, music and arrangement were made by Yasutaka Nakata.