Back Track; Solo Version [Part 2]

Writers~

Izumi [faraBANG] / Hikki [DisturbedStrawberry]
Belly [Rasubelly] / Kappa [xmikipinkux]
Ayu [ChiiAyu] / Aya [MiriuOniaya]

[Reviewed by Izumi] Aaah, here I am again! / Aruiteru by Kassia [industrialxstrength] / Before listening, I was really excited. I've worked with industrialxstrength quite a bit as of late since she's one of the members of IKPs newest generation, and I really love her voice. I also really love this song. Not many people like it because of the repetitiveness, but I think its a very uplifting song, and I feel happy when I listen to it! So lets get started! :3

I had a feeling that this would be a very strong dub because of my previous experience with Kassia, and she certainly did not disappoint! I love hearing dubbers with deeper, more mature voices. Its a great contrast to the higher-voiced original singers! In particular, I really love her vibrato here, it makes her sound incredibly mature. I especially loved her "negatte at 2:40. I could be a little biased because I love Kassia's voice, but I'm happy to hear her singing this song!

As far as specific lines go, I love all of her "na na na" bits at 1:29, 2:50 and 4:24. My favorite part of this dub HAD to be the bit right after the musical interlude, the "sha la la" bits at 3:28. The whole dub has a great amount of emotion that you can easily hear when you listen to it, but I think it REALLY showed right there.

The mixing here is pretty good to me! I REALLY love her echoes here! That was one of the first things I noticed when I heard this was that she took the time to echo all of those lines (especially the "aruiteru"s at the ends of the choruses)! The echoes give the dub depth. On the same vein, I'm not sure if she hand-recorded the harmonies or if she ripped them from the original, but they sound really good with her voice!

With some dubs I've seen, you can tell that the harmonies were ripped from the original, but I had to listen a little bit. And I'm STILL not sure if these are ripped or not! You blend really well with them either way! So good job for keeping me guessing, Kassia! The only thing I could say about the mixing here is that it seems like the vocals could be turned up a little bit. It seems like the instrumental overpowers her voice at times, but it doesn't distract me because I can still hear her strong vocals!

I really had a great time listening to this! She has such a strong voice that I truly enjoyed listening to. I'm really honored that her and I get to work together, and I hope we can do more together in the future! I'm happy that I chose this dub, and (if you read this) I hope my insight means something to you! Thank you for letting me hear!




World is Mine by Chii [Chiidoki] / Review by Hikki / Whoo! World is Mine, the first vocaloid song I ever listened to. So I'm excited to review this! Anyway, I have heard Chii's voice before and it's probably the cutest thing you'll ever hear on a planet. Right below a puppy's whimper. Ahaaa, I'll stop making lame jokes like this, and get right on to the review.

First thing anyone will notice is the amount of static, which is really unfortunate, because Chii has such an adorable voice, and the static tends to take away from her vocal ability. Anyway, you can hear her strain her voice at the long notes ("Kokoro ete.."), but I've personally attempted to sing this song, so I give her props for not cracking her voice.

Oh my gosh! This dub is oozing with kawaii-ness. And you know when I say 'cute' in japanese, it's cute! At 1:16 there seems to be a bit of a timing or pronunciation fumble, but it wasn't that obvious. Speaking of timing, there seems to be little timing and pronunciation problems throughout the dub, but that's only if you're really picky. The scream at 1:40 is adorable though. I really need to find different words for 'cute'. Let me get my thesaurus.

The video for this song, by the way, is so....delicious...? (What the hell, my thesaurus stinks.) [Aya: lol, I use the dictionary-tool thing from my word processor for it's thesaurus] I just want to know what happens after the kiss. DARNIT. SHOW ME MORE. Okay, let's get back to the dub, the "Ah, Hey Baby" at 3:48 is super sexy. And then one last cho cho kawaii scream!




*NOTE: This dub has been removed by the user, enjoy the
review anyways, lol* (Thanks to Buggy letting me know)

Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~ by Emily Lemons4Evryone / Review by Belly / This solo really made me regret that I've never listened to this song. Its so funky and peppy! And exactly that was her voice (Aya: exactly what Emily sounded like too). I really have no clue how the original sounds, but this one was totally fine with me. Her deep and mature voice suits this song just perfect. The only thing I would criticize is that she becomes silenter on some parts. So she could've controlled her volume a little bit more.

Aya: I agree with what Belly says *nodnod* Emily did a good job on putting the funky attitude into her singing, that's half of the fun of singing the song right there; getting to sing like Natsumi, Gomaki and Yossi sing it, lol. Funky. Her voice suits this song perfectly! She had a little strain on the opening higher solo, but the rest of the dub is really fun.




Weeeek by miyuki002 / Review by Kappa /YES YES YES I LOVE THIS SONG. I had to grab it up right away when I saw this was one of the solos Aya wanted us to review.

I love Miyuki's voice and she's got awesome emotion and personality in this dub, just like the song demands. It sounds like she had some trouble with the lowest notes and went pitchy on a couple before she raised the pitch on the second half of the lowest lines--I think she would have been better raising her pitch on the whole solo. But props for trying, and I do LOVE how she sounds when she brings the pitch up like at 2:02. My favorite part from here is 1:41-1:45--sooo cute, and that's such a hard solo to pull off because it's kind of half-spoken.

I would have loved to hear this with a real instrumental and without her voice being overlayed on the group parts, but nonetheless I super enjoyed this. Her harmonies were preeeettty. Right on. I am laskd;fjalsdf that someone did this song, you don't even know.




SHIROI KOKORO by Miya [Tokyostarx] / Reviewed by Ayu /This song gives me a sense of peace, and that’s why I think it needs a cute voice, with the ability of doing really high and long notes without sounding strained or forced. Miya’s voice is really sweet, she can go really high and sound peaceful at the same time; I am loving the way she mixes chest and head voice in some parts. She has good pitching overall, and I LOVE the audio-mix.

First "Yume ga" at 0:28 gives me chills. First high note at 0:39 is very powerful, but cute at the same time. 1:04-1:06 is very kawaii!! I love the way she sings that phrase, it is really high and it sounds very natural to me. The "dare ka no" parts (first one at 1:11) sound very catchy. Love the treatment of the voice mixing, sounds angel-heaven-like. My favorite part of the dub.

Again, from 2:26 to 2:28 she does that thing when she goes high, sounds so beautiful. And the final part, starting at 2:59, is very tranquil and precise with good pitching and a cute sound. I LOVED this a lot, it gives to me the desire to dub it myself XD *I would put it twice in my I-pod*




Suna no oshiro by MoA [moamelody] / Review by Aya / This is GORGEOUS! As I have mentioned before, I have a weakness for string instruments, including the cello. I've listened to Kanon Wakeshima before and that was one thing about her that I instantly loved. MoA sounds BRILLIANT on this song. First off, I have to admit that the cello parts in the beginning got me thinking positively right away. But even before that, I loaded the video already knowing that this was going to define spectacular. Because it's MoA.

I only stumbled across MoA's stuff a little bit ago, but she is CRAZY AMAZING. I love love love her covers to beautiful little bits. Her voice is stunning and she sings magnificently. Gosh, I can't even think up enough of the right words to describe everything. I've been listening to this dub repeatedly while working on this entry and I am so in love with it. The song is beyond beautiful, and MoA did such a fantastic job on it. I can't pick out what I liked the most, because I adore it all. And I certainly can't think of even one tiny thing I don't like about it. This is hauntingly beautiful.

"I love the gothic darkness of it and cello is probably my favorite instrument. It was super mega hard to sing the chorus, some very high notes, but I love to sing epic operaesque songs." I agree so much with her, and I give her kajillions of props for mastering the chorus. LOVE.

BonBon's latest [by Izumi]

Hi, everyone! Its Izumi again! I'm going to start off with BonBon Project's recent cover of Koi no Jubaku by Berryz Koubou. Early Berryz makes me happy, so I look forward to this! While Koi no Jubaku is not my favorite Berryz song, it is a catchy song and I do like it! ^^



The people who participated in this dub are as follows;
(in order of solo hearance)

ohmiyamoto / Miya
animeobsessed40 / Moka-chan
Lilacsilk28 / Sayuri
AmeUsoTsuki / Youshu
Liz9419 / Liz
MomoPhiy / Phiy
hitsugayahinamori / Michi
kakkoiko / Potatoeto
NykkiPoo / Nykki
Reevchan / Ren
pianopixels / Mikuu
ChiiAyu / ChiiAyu
nytefaerie / Fae
CocoNStorm / Coco

First thing I thought was WOW. Such a long list! I know several of the people here or am familiar with their voices through IKP auditions and such. While there are no color-coded lyrics provided in the drop-down box, the singers names are very conveniently placed on the video, making things easier. Lots of thanks to whoever thought to do this! (AYA: Homg, I love this too!)

First off, I want to say congrats to the mixer of this dub. This is a lot of people to mix into one dub and you did a GREAT job with the timing and volumes of this mix! I loved the blending of the final line. You made the differences in the mics not as noticeable, which is really good! It must help that these girls all blend so well together! Everyone sounds good with everyone! A great piece to listen to!

The dub is started off by Miya at 0:41. The mic seems to make Miya sound muffled, but she has a cute voice. Miya's second solo at 2:29 is just as cute as her first one, and the energy went up quite a bit. I really liked her watashi. The next solo is by Moka-chan. She has another cute voice, but could do best with a TAD bit more energy. I liked the 'Ah' at the end of her solo.

Next up is Sayuri! I don't think Ive ever heard her non-Airi voice. I like her natural voice, but I think that her "mamoru no yo" was a little choppy for my taste. I loved her 'Ah' especially! I love her deeper voice, especially with her second solo at 2:22! Ending the first four solos is Youshu, who seems to be one of the lower voices of the cast. I really am fond of her voice in both of her solos. I especially liked her "Koi no Jubaku" at 2:55 :3

Starting the second round of solos is Liz, who is debuting in this single. Congrats on getting into BonBon Project, Liz! She seems to be the lowest voice in this cast, and I really like her mature voice! Many people I've heard dub J-POP have higher voices, and I like her original voice! It sticks out in my mind, but not when she sings with others! Next is Phiy! She's another of the lower/medium voices in the cast, and I think she sounded a little shaky, but I love her voice.

Next off is Michi, who seems like she's trying to sound a little like Momo, but I feel like it works here because there are other higher voices in the cast, and it isn't a forced Momo-voice, so it works. After her is Potatoeto, who was probably one of my favorites to listen to in this dub! She has lots of emotion, and she just has a really good voice that fits this song. I also LOVE her "Koi no Jubaku" at 3:31. After Potatoeto's first solo, the chorus starts, which is primarily blending. I noticed that the group parts went by the colors of the names on the video. (AYA: This is cool too!)

The Blue Team (Nykki, Miya, Chiiayu, and Phiy) start off the chorus at 1:28. Right after them is the Pink and Purple Team (Coco, Michi, Moka-chan, and Fae) at 1:31. Then the Green Team (Ren, Potatoeto, and Sayuri) at 1:35 and The Red, Yellow, and Orange team (Youshu, Mikku, and Liz) at 1:40. I love how these people blend together. It seems almost flawless. Nykki ends the first chorus with her "Koi no Jubaku" at 1:44. She seems a little nasally, was she sick? She still has a sweet voice that I really enjoy hearing. If she was sick, then I applaud her for still being strong in her solo.

Starting the second verse is Ren at 1:52. I really like her voice, especially her "shinaide yo" and her quiet 'ah' at the end. Following her is Mikku at 1:58. She's probably tied with Liz for the lowest voice in this cast. I REALLY loved her "no ni." Her solo at 2:25 seems a little choppy for my taste, but I love her strong, deep voice.

After her is ChiiAyu singing at 2:05. I also think she was trying to sound like Momo, but I really like her "wasureru wa." The high pitch is a little shocking for me since I've heard her real voice, but I still liked her performance here. Finally is Coco, who I loved here. I love her medium-pitched voice, and she sang her one solo at 2:19. I like the way she solo sounds with the music, especially with her "deta no." That was pretty much it for solos!

The second chorus starts off again with the same groups as before, but in different order (Red/Orange/Yellow, then Blue, then Pink, and finally Green). These groups blended really well together! I'm not sure if they were based on blending or on color, but either way they all sound fantastic together! At the bridge, again, same teams, but different order (Green, Red/Yellow/Orange, Blue, and Pink/Purple) before Potatoeto finishes off the last full chorus with her great "koi no jubaku." Finally, at the end, two of the teams (Red/Yellow/Orange and Blue) sing the final bits of chorus before everyone joins in for one final "koi no jubaku" to end the song.

I really do love this dub! I had a great time listening to it! I love how all of these girls voices blend together especially. I loved everyones solos and all of the group parts as well as the AMAZING group line at the very end. Very good job on this dub, BonBon Project! Ill be subbing and keeping an eye on you guys :3

Izumi's BBD Debut ~

Oh hi, everyone! I'm Koharu Izumi (faraBANG on Youtube). I'm known for being into anime dubbing and such, but have gotten into Hello!Project and other J-POP groups through xxHelloSparkle and IroKokoroProject! My debut entry will be covering Kirei na Projects' May Solo!



Koi Hanabi with Meiko [HappyJunjou] as Kusumi Koharu / Lyrics / First off, I am really glad that Kirei na Project is starting to have Eggs do some solos now. I've seen a lot of projects have eggs and then never use them and it always makes me feel a little sad. So I'm happy that there is a project that is allowing their egg members some screentime :D

As for the dub, I had a really great time listening to this! I really enjoyed it, especially seeing as I am a big Koharu fan and I really like this song. I think that Meiko did an over-all good job here! The first thing that I noticed is her voice type. She has a really cute, higher-placed voice. It was a tad bit nasally at points, which I noticed but did not find distracting for the most part. She had really good pronunciation, I don't think I heard her mess up on the lyrics or the timing of the words once!

The starts of her verses are my favorite (the lines at 0:17 and 1:52, specifically) and I also really liked her "isshun de mo" at 4:11 - she handled that higher note really well. I think that Meikos voice suits higher songs, as I heard her struggle a tad with those lower notes, but this isn't a bad thing at all. Just something for scripters (or even Meiko herself) to take note of for future reference.

The only thing I could say that needs improvement, would be the energy levels. The host of Kirei na stated that Meiko should 'sing with a bit more emotion!' and I believe that she is 100% right! Meikos voice is well-suited for this type of soft song, but her emotion seems a little lacking, especially during the choruses.

As for mixing, this was a pretty good job on Saya's part! Everything appears to be timed really well! Only thing I would say is that at points the instrumental seems to be a bit too loud for Meikos voice, especially at the parts leading up to the choruses (specifically at around 0:51). This is something really minor, though, and something that can very easily be fixed! All in all, the mixing here is good! :D

I really enjoyed listening to this dub from Meiko and Kirei na Project! Congrats to Meiko for being chosen to be the soloist for May; I can tell that she deserved it, and I hope to hear more from her in the future !!


Notes from Aya: I agree with the majority of what Izumi says. Mieko sounds freaking adorable, but she could use a little more umph! Sing it out, girly! She had a lot of very lovely notes and was a pleasure to listen to. She has my congrats as well.
EGGS FTW~ lol