Megumi Hayashibara -- Half and, Half

Being my first full album entry, I had to talk about Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ), as she is the artist I had listened the most in the past 10 years. Also, it's no mystery that her discography is the biggest treasure in my music collection (Yeah, I'm like a proud dad when it comes to my Megumi's CDs). But trying to pick one album from her big discography was kind of difficult for me. In the end, I chose “Half and, Half”, her debut album and, surprisingly, the one I find most cohesive (“SpHERE”, her fifth album, and “Fuwari” [ふわり], her ninth, are two close runner-ups).

Released in March 1991, “Half and, Half” is an interesting aidoru crafted album. Strange enough, besides Megumi being almost 23 years old when the album was released, the team responsible for the “artist image” decided to make her a kawaii aidoru. Based on that, we can take the “Why Don’t You Come Into My Heart?” question placed in red right below the album title as a warm invitation from a Japanese aidoru singer aiming at the public to follow her in this new path (not so new if we take in consideration that Megumi started recording some anime songs back in 1989). Talking about anime, it's worth note that "Half and, Half" is Megumi's only album to date with no anime-related songs placed in it. I only put the anime tag in this article because of Megumi's huge relation with the genre.

The aidoru approach per se is more than enough for we to conclude that “Half and, Half” is full of cute, dreamy, playful and saccharine songs, like “a Late Comer”, “Don’t Say ‘Wake Up Baby’” and “College Ring wo Kai ni Yukou” (カレッジリングを買いにゆこう). Of that bunch I selected just “A Late Comer” to talk about, as the other two are kind of too much for me in normal days. So, please, enjoy the “A Late Comer” video (sorry the video has been taken down) where Megumi acts like the typical innocent and girly aidoru.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/Half-%E6%9E%97%E5%8E%9F%E3%82%81%E3%81%90%E3%81%BF/dp/B00078XEOE

(excerpts only)

“a Late Comer” is the second song of the album and, although cute and silly, shows some interesting musical elements accompanying Megumi’s vocals. Maybe it’s too much, but “A Late Comer” is for me a “Nu jazz” song, where the traditional feel and sound of Jazz is mixed with other styles and instruments. If anything, it can also be called “aidoru Jazz” (if that means something at all). I don’t know how to categorize it, but I can hear some Jazz in it, and it’s a nice variation to the album, while not sounding too out of place.

On the other extreme, songs like “Kimi no Answer” (君のAnswer), “Nijiiro no Sneaker” (虹色のSneaker) and “Manatsu no Valentine” (真夏のバレンタイン) are perfect examples of the heavy “eurobeat-esque” synth-pop sound that was so used in Japanese aidoru songs during the late 80s/early 90s. These three are very nice songs, and just like “A Late Comer”, they have videos, so I recommend the reader/listener take some time to watch them while enjoying the songs. After all, who doesn’t like to have fun watching a young Megumi running and smiling to the camera? As for the other selected songs, they are just audio videos from YouTube.

Apparently, a video for “Kimi no Answer” exists as it was released in a Video Single Format back in the days. It’s nothing more than a compilation of scenes from her other videos of the era and some backing scenes as well. Quality is horrible, but this is a rare video. As for the song, aside being the album opener and a nice synth-pop tune, it has quite an story behind, as Megumi, in her “VINTAGE A” compilation liner notes, remembers that she was recording the song while the Operation Desert Storm was taking place in the Gulf War and somehow she connected the lyrics with that moment. As I know nothing about “Kimi no Answer” lyrics, I can’t share my own opinions about the subject, though.

“Nijiiro no Sneaker” is the mellow synth-pop aidoru song, which has also served as Megumi’s major label debut and lead single of “Half and, Half”, released a few weeks before the album. Also, the song was used as the theme song of Megumi’s “Heartful Station” radio program until 2003, when it was replaced by “Makenaide, Makenaide…” (負けないで、負けないで…), a beautiful Megumi song, more mature than the “Half and, Half” stuff. Back to “Nijiiro no Sneaker”, I find the guitar solo at the end quite nostalgic.

(Unfortunately the video has been taken down. Please refer to the Amazon link above.)

About “Manatsu no Valentine”, the summer tune about Valentine’s Day, I consider it one of the strongest songs of the whole bunch. It’s very bouncy and cute with the whole “in-your-face” aidoru vibe. As I’ve already talked in Megumi’s “Forever Dreamer” entry, “Manatsu no Valentine” serves as a good example of an eurobeat song with an aidoru approach, or vice-versa, which was a very common combination at the time.

“Ame no Hi no Shakespeare -TO FLY AWAY-” (雨の日のシェイクスピア-TO FLY AWAY-), is easily one of my favorites. It has a more serious vibe than the other songs presented until now. It also gives me an airy feeling when the song breaks for a bit and Megumi starts the “la la la” thing before the full arrangement moves it forward again. Also, Megumi’s vocals are very lovely in this song.

(Unfortunately the video has been taken down. Please refer to the Amazon link above.)

NOTE: The name of the song is mistaken in this video. The actual song is "Friends". As for "College Ring wo Kai ni Yukou", it's a song from "Half and, Half" that I chose not to feature in the article.

Right after “Ame no Hi no Shakespeare -TO FLY AWAY-”, “Friends”, one of the catchiest songs of “Half and, Half” and another personal favorite, sees Megumi using her deeper tone in the verses just to release her cute and child-like voice for the joyful chorus. Also worth of note is the very well put together arrangement of the song. It’s full of infectious guitar solos and sharp synth riffs that make me feel truly happy every time I hear it.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm28981697

(Miku Hatsune version)

With “Regret ga Naiteiru” (リクレットが泣いている), we’re facing one of the two ballads of the album. Megumi’s voice is very lovely in this beautiful song, probably making this her best deliver in the album. As a side note, “Regret ga Naiteiru” is another favorite of mine (Yeah, I really like this album).

(Sorry but the video has been taken down.)

Near the end, we have “EL WAKT”, your typical Latin inspired song that must appear in almost all pop albums. Megumi has a bunch of Latin songs in her discography, and this one was her first try. It’s an OK song that, unfortunately, kind of drags a bit because of the elongated notes. Also, I’d love to know what “EL WAKT” means.

The last song of the album is the classical inspired ballad “BECAUSE”. This one always makes me sad because I know the album is almost finishing, and the song itself is, in essence, well, …kind of sad. Megumi’s vocals are very angelic and vulnerable. As for the arrangement, the orchestra is just beautiful, which makes “BECAUSE” a great way to finish Megumi’s first album, “Half and, Half”.

All in all, “Half and, Half” is a very nostalgic album with a specific sound that throws the listener back to the mainstream dance-pop sound of the early 90s combined with the usual aidoru cuteness. It’s a very dated sound to today’s standards but, in my opinion, that just adds fun to the game. Also, it’s important to note that Megumi was a very raw singer at the time, which makes the whole “Half and, Half” album an interesting listen. This notable rawness was also something that, alongside the arrangements, added a naïve feeling to most of the songs. I remember reading in Megumi’s manga autobiography that she sounded awful during the recording sessions for the album, but her producer, then, said that the way she sang it was more important than the actual quality of the singing. And, to be honest, that’s probably the true essence of a Japanese aidoru. And for a registered nurse who turned into a seiyuu (voice actress), and then into a singer, Megumi did quite a good job in this album. Of course she got better with time, but that’s subject for future posts.

The album reached #45 on the Oricon chart, selling 20,180 copies. The edition I bought is a 2005 reissue that reached #288 and sold 763 copies.

And here are the names responsible for lyrics, music and arrangement of each song presented in this article.

Track 1 - "Kimi no Answer": lyrics by Yumi Yoshimoto (吉元由美), music and arrangement by Haruhiko Nishioka (西岡治彦).

Track 2 - "a Late Comer": lyrics by Keiko Kimoto (木本慶子), music by Masaya Ozeki (尾関昌也) and arrangement by Toshiyuki Omori (大森俊之).

Track 3 - "Nijiiro no Sneaker": lyrics and music by Midori Karashima (辛島美登里), and arrangement by Yasuhisa Murase (村瀬恭久).

Track 4 - "Manatsu no Valentine": lyrics by Yui Nishiwaki (西脇唯), music by Cozy Kubo and arrangement by Takashi Furukawa (古川貴司).

Track 6 - "Ame no Hi no Shakespeare -TO FLY AWAY-": lyrics by Miho Matsuba (松葉みほ), music and arrangement by Toro Okada (岡田徹).

Track 7 - "Friends": lyrics by Keiko Kimoto (木本慶子), music by Masaya Ozaki (尾関昌也) and arrangement by Toshiyuki Omori (大森俊之).

Track 9 - "Regret ga Naiteru": lyrics by Yumi Yoshimoto (吉元由美), music by Katsuki Yamaura (山浦克己) and arrangement by Norimasa Yamanaka (山中紀昌).

Track 11 - "EL WAKT": lyrics by Yui Nishiwaki (西脇唯), music by Katsuki Yamaura (山浦克己) and arrangement by Yasunori Nakamura (中村康就).

Track 12 - "BECAUSE": lyrics and music by Yui Nishiwaki (西脇唯), and arrangement by Tomoki Hasegawa (長谷川智樹).

To finish, here are some photos of my “Half and, Half”.

Cute Megumi with Hello Kitty in bed!

Megumi preparing some great food in the kitchen!

She surely eats a lot!

Cute Megumi with an old phone!

Early 90s fashion style!

The whole "Half and, Half" package!

CD back!