(instrumental version of the opening credits)
A few years back, I was enjoying the nutso comedy in the 2012 anime "Joshiraku"（じょしらく）along with both opening and ending themes. The ending theme, "Nippon Egao Hyakkei"（ニッポン笑顔百景）, was especially something that got batted beyond the outfield wall with Momoiro Clover Z（ももいろクローバーZ）as the girls sang the lyrics at something like the speed of sound. It was the first time that I had ever heard of the group and I felt like bowing in respect at how they handled it.
Earlier in the same year, there was another anime that got released but didn't get shown to me until much later in 2012 at about the same time that I got to see "Joshiraku". Once again, I got to hear Momoiro Clover Z rip through the opening theme like The Flash and with some shredding rock guitar accompaniment by former Megadeth guitarist and current tarento Marty Friedman. With the amazingly epic title of "Mōretsu Uchū Kōkyōkyoku Dai 7 Gakushō "Mugen no Ai"" (Bodacious Space Symphony's Movement VII 'Infinite Love'), the theme song welcomed all to the world of "Moretsu Space Pirates"（モーレツ宇宙海賊...Bodacious Space Pirates）, the adventures of Captain Marika Kato and the mighty crew of the Bentenmaru. I enjoyed the series although some of the unsubtitled episodes dealing with the nitty-gritty of space yacht training had me dozing off sometimes....but that's why we have Crunchyroll, isn't it?
Got to see the official music video for "Mugen no Ai", and neither does it skimp on the excitement either. Cute girls in pirate costumes, somewhat dated special effects and tributes to a key scene from "E.T."...it's all good. Plus the whole song itself comes off as a mighty battle hymn given "Les Miserables" heights of epicness. Captain Kato would have been proud...or knowing her modest personality, perhaps a bit bashful. And I rather muse if the late Freddie Mercury had ever gotten his hands on the song. :)
Written and composed by Kenichi Maeyamada（前山田健一）, Momoclo's 7th single was released in March 2012, and did very well for an anison, peaking at No. 5 on Oricon. and ending up as the 95th-ranked song of the year. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed that the group didn't perform this particular tune at the Kohaku Utagassen.
Hi, J-Canuck.
ReplyDelete"Mouretsu..." (let's call it just that) is one of the highlights in Momoclo's career. It's very over the top and dramatic at times, but also incredible. I enjoy when Momoclo performs it with a full live band. It makes the song even stronger.
It's a pity they abandoned this style and started recording more down to earth pop songs. I guess they became "too mainstream" to handle songs like "Mouretsu...". At the same time, it's strange, because this was their first proper hit.
I read somewhere that "Mouretsu..." was the aidoru equivalent to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", but I still think Dempagumi.inc's "WWDII" deserves this title... well, "Mouretsu..." was released a year before, so maybe, just maybe, they owned here.
It seems like an eternity since Momoclo had that distinctive and provocative sound.
Hi, Marcos. Good to hear from you again.
DeleteI think Momoclo has been on the Kohaku for the past few years now, but I'm always going to think of "Mouretsu" when it comes to them. It's an interesting comparison with Queen's magnum opus. I had been wondering if, considering the high-speed delivery of the vocals and melody, "Mouretsu" would be considered a form of denpa song. But I wasn't confident enough to make that declaration. What do you think?
Well, denpa is not a very specific music genre, but, as far as I know, it's associated with otaku subcultures. I remember when Momoiro Clover started getting some attention, a couple of years before "Mouretsu" came over, and they were an aidoru group with a geek/otaku gimmick. So yes, not only "Mouretsu", but the majority of Momoclo's efforts can be called denpa (the high-speed vocals and melody you mentioned are very characteristics of denpa).
DeleteHowever, like I said in the above post, they are not really doing this kind of extreme sound anymore. Personally, nowadays I see them just as an aidoru group with very poor vocalists trying to sing more serious stuff. It's a pity, because they were the top geek/otaku aidoru group before Dempagumi.inc.
Let's just say Momoclo is now with the big ones of the J-Pop world, or, in other words, too mainstream to sing "wacky" songs.
I hope Momoclo recovers from this uninspired phase they are having, but I doubt they will. Their collaboration with American band KISS was a step in the right direction, but, one month after, they released their least interesting single to date, a spring ballad called "Seishunfu". Do you imagine Momoclo singing a spring ballad? The song may be well written/composed/arranged, but Momoiro Clover Z wasn't created to sing this type of song. It's was just plain boring...
I think my favorite Momoclo moment of recent times was their collaboration with Masayuki Suzuki on last year's FNS special.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Hd5oqZ5yk
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