Dancing Dolls -- monochrome

One of the anime that I caught on my usual biweekly viewing marathons at my friend's place a couple of years ago was "Soul Eater Not!"（ソウルイーターノット!）which my friend informed me was a prequel of sorts to the first "Soul Eater" that had been produced several years beforehand by the same studio, BONES. I also found out from him and online that there was quite a difference in style and genre in the animation between the two shows that may have caused some polarization among fans. Whereas the original "Soul Eater" was an action-adventure with a somewhat grungier look, "Soul Eater Not!" was much more in the slice-of-life vein with the characters looking slightly more plump and moe.

Although "Soul Eater Not!" never occupied a huge space in my heart after watching it, I sometimes still listen to the opening theme song since it has been placed on my hard drive of anison. "monochrome" by Dancing Dolls is a pleasant tune which is as cheerful as that laughing sun in the sky which helps starts the opening credits. Written by singer-songwriter meg rock and composed by Kz from the unit livetune, this was the 5th single by the female singing and dancing group released in May 2014.

I had never heard of Dancing Dolls before and for the longest time, I had assumed that "monochrome" had been sung by the main cast from "Soul Eater Not!" The group was first formed in 2012 and has released 6 singles up to now. "monochrome" went as high as No. 41 on the Oricon weeklies. I think another reason that the song has grown on me slowly over the past couple of years is that there is a part in the full version which almost strikes me as nostalgic. It's not just the synths that sound analog but there is the instrumental bridge whose arrangement sounded downright 70s for some reason. In any case, unlike the title, there is a nice colorful feel to the happy song.