Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Ya Boy Kongming!
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Zhou-BR
Posts: 1422 |
|
|||
Yeah, I'm pretty sick of "I'm Still Alive Today", too. The thing that irks me about English lyrics by Japanese songwriters is that even when they're grammatically correct, they're almost completely devoid of rhymes. Also, I actually prefer Eiko's previous rendition of the song to the new one, which struck me as oversung. |
||||
|
||||
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
|
|||
|
I don't mind the lack of rhymes. What grates on my ears is overuse of musical beats hitting on syllables that aren't accented normally when spoken (I say overuse, as that can be an asset when used sparingly for emphasis). It feels like the singer is either off the beat or is trying to cram in the wrong number of syllables. Even native speakers often do that when they try to write parodies of lyrics or poems. It usually sounds clumsy no matter how good the singer is.
I do appreciate that they've recorded several renditions to show the evolution of the song, but it seems weird for Eiko to go through all that for a cover song rather than her own work. Like, if she tries to release that for the contest (which I expect will be the case), won't they have to get permission and pay extra royalties for the song? Are they in a financial position to do that? |
||||
|
||||
|
Regalli
Posts: 108 |
|
|||
|
Nah, I’m pretty sure her plan for the contest is the Udon Shop song she’s been workshopping - I’m Still Alive Today was her warmup for Kido, and then became a thing between her and Nanami the last few episodes. But at this rate I wouldn’t be shocked if we only get it in Episode 12 when X-Day finally arrives. (Though it could be we get one episode on Nanami refining it with Kido now that she finally makes the grade, one episode with Kabetaijin’s rap battle with Sekitoba as the centerpiece, and then Episode 12 does something with them together, who knows.)
|
||||
|
||||
wolf10
 Posts: 905 |
|
|||
|
Agreed. The song she'll get 100,000 likes for is (probably) the full, professionally arranged version of "Roppongi Udon Shop," which will likely become an EIKO feat. Kabetaijin collab, if last week was any indicator. I think Kongming's plan involves getting those two to put out a collab video right after Kabe's rematch against Sekitoba, capitalizing on the combined liking-power of their individual fanbases. As it is, we have so many emotional beats left to hit to end on a satisfying note, I'm hoping this one goes to 13 episodes. (It's only listed with 12, but still.)
|
||||
|
||||
chrisb
 Subscriber Posts: 617 Location: USA |
|
|||
|
Episode 9 was one of the few times in anime that I’ve seen fanservice used in a “disturbing” way. I’ve seen other shows try it before but it usually still comes across as fanservice. The way the new outfits are introduced and the dancing scene mixed with the heavy/sad music really hit me. It’s sad to know a lot of girls are told to give up their bodies to make it in entertainment.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Uchay
Posts: 77 |
|
|||
Seriously, I actually felt something crawling under my skin during that scene, and I can stomach some really distasteful stuff after years of watching/reading shitty harem shows and light novels. Karasawa's face got 200% more punchable, if that's even possible. |
||||
|
||||
|
Regalli
Posts: 108 |
|
|||
|
Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to see the show actually critique the idol industry like that.
|
||||
|
||||
dm
Subscriber Posts: 1359 |
|
|||
|
Episode 10
I laughed when spoiler[Eiko starts to sing her Big Song and it cuts to a quiet Kongming reverie. I guess they're holding onto that for the finale.] The flashback was interesting, and prompts me to wonder (little that I know about the Three Kingdoms) what historical character Karasawa will come to be an analogy for. |
||||
|
||||
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
|
|||
|
It's always weird to hear your own voice recorded, but I could really relate to Eiko's amazement at hearing what a studio could do for her song. I'm no great singer, but a long time ago I wrote a song that some friends put on a fan compilation tape. One of those friends had some professional mixing gear and experience and when I heard how he'd transformed my stupid little song and my cringey performance, I was every bit as stunned as Eiko. Like, holy cow, this almost sounds like a real song!
 Sound engineers are the unsung magicians of the music industry, for sure.
|
||||
|
||||
|
DiscordMod
Posts: 14 |
|
|||
|
I understand Kongming's first step regarding his scheme in this episode may come off scammy, but I think it was necessary for the true end goal, which is the face-off between Nanami and Eiko. Let me explain. Kurasawa said in this episode that he had planned for Azalea to get well over 100k likes with this surprise concert. IIRC, he reached around 98k before the likes capped. If Kongming hadn't taken away a significant amount of these likes beforehand by making Eiko and Kabe pretend to be Azalea, the battle would already be lost. Thus, this step was imperative in the grand scheme of things and if the next episode proceeds how I imagine it, both Eiko AND Nanami will be benefited from it at the end.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Electric Wooloo
Posts: 310 |
|
|||
|
I personally really liked the episode. Tying into "Borrowing 100,000 arrows" by borrowing Azalea's hype machine, Eiko showing her "own voice" that she found singing with Nanami by singing an Azalea song, and Azalea explicitly being shown tuning their instruments setting up what I believe Kongming's "help" for the enemy will be next week. That being them performing their own songs with their own skills again and still being popular for it.
I'm just surprised "Shibuya 109" was named as is and didn't get the "WcDonalds" treatment. |
||||
|
||||
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
|
|||
|
As far as I can tell, there's nothing stopping both of them from getting 100K Likes and going to Summer Sonia. When the producer offered her the choice, he said only one group had succeeded in the last 5 years, but he never said she had to be the first to get 100K or that only one artist/group could go.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Electric Wooloo
Posts: 310 |
|
|||
Check the start of Episode 7 When explaining "X Day" Kongming mentions "The first one to get 100,000 like will earn a spot at Summer Sonia" It's definitely possible that both will end up getting a slot, but as presented right now only 1 can win |
||||
|
||||
|
Regalli
Posts: 108 |
|
|||
|
I’d assume it’d only invite both through the project if it’s impossible to tell who hit 100,000 first. And admittedly I want Azalea to lose enough Karasawa dumps them but they get offered a deal with a manager who’s not pushing them into idoldom, proving they CAN play their music professionally.
This episode’s clearly Part One of a two-part finale, and I agree that it doesn’t really work without that resolution. Not so much a cliffhanger as ‘time for the episode to end.’ But next week looks like it should be a fun finale. |
||||
|
||||
|
Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11352 |
|
|||
Ok, but if Kongming is right, then the producer changed the terms of the deal after they accepted. Because that is not the deal they were offered (at least not in the anime subs) when making their choice. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group