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#1
5th July 2006, 12:02 AM
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*4 hot wave* Thoughts and Reviews thread
SInce all the songs are out I thought it might be time to make such a thread. This is probably the most anticipated single release and thus I feel it may have it's own thread outside the artist thread. (If anyone disagrees please mesh this with the official artist thread. =) )
First of all I thought I start off giving a short summit on how I like koda now, before the single, to let you know how I stand. First of all I don't really find her voice that appealing. I'd probably like these songs more if ayamatsuura or hamasaki ayumi sung them, but I'll try not to focus on this in the review. Second of all I don't know much about her albums or music before this release. I've heard most of her single tracks, but can't recall most of them because I never thought they were good enough to keep listen to. So let's start the reviewing! Ningyo Hime is a pure rock track. It's definetly very catchy and raw. (especially for an artist normally in the pop - hip pop -hip hop genre). I like this song quite a lot, especially the chorus. Koda's voice gets a little emotional from time to time, but I think it would've been better if she let it a bit more through all of the time. I'm sure this song would be awesome live and she could put a bit more feeling to it too. I'll be there is quite a regular pop-song. The melody doesen't give any special impression and I don't think this song has any special personality at all. The singing also sounds plain. To me this is the weakest track of the single, and allthough it's not the worst song I've ever heard, it just passed by without giving anything to the listener. Album filler at best. The RnB track of this song is Juicy. It's got lot of "oh oh oh" and some moaning. The rytms and melody isen't anything special to me. It sounds like "any" Rnb song, it's not especially catchy and the instrumentation gets repetive to me by the end of the song. But I think I could dance to this in a club, if they only made the song a bit shorter. To me Koda has Hip Hop songs that are a LOT better than this. Average, but still ok. Then the song that surprised me the first time I heard it back when koi no tsubomi was released. I excpected a plain disco tune like koda usually releases, emotionless song that doesen't give off any feeling or is interesting in any way. But when with your smile started playing It really made me want to dance. And smile. Koda's voice really sounds "smiling" in this song. This is also one of the first koda songs I could hum to after I heard it. It really makes me glad hearing it. The main difference between this disco song and her older ones to me is that ability to put through that sweet emotion. Conclution: This single is obiously constructed to expand her fanbase, something for everyone to enjoy. The diversity of this single is the biggest I've ever heard. To me the best tracks by far are ningyo hime and with your smile. I eagerly expect her next release, because it seems that since she got "famous" =P her music may also be better. ningyo hime 4 / 5 I'll be there 1.9/5 Juicy 3/5 With your smile 4.5/5 I see no point in rating the entire single. It's awesome, not only because of the songs, but also because of amount of content and diversity. It's definetly something to get. Compared to other singles this is a 5/5 Last edited by *Petit*; 5th July 2006 at 12:07 AM. 
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#2
5th July 2006, 02:34 AM
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1. Ningyo-hime - 3.5/5
2. I'll Be There - 2.5/5 3. JUICY - 4.5/5 4. With Your Smile 4.5/5 overall : 3/5 i think it's a shame that there's no at least one ballads song in this single. Ningyo-hime is a good rock song but not that catchy in my ear. I'll be there seems to be so boring. I'll try to listen to it more so i might change the score in the future. JUICY sounds very cool. A lil' bit American RnB-ish. With Your Smile is another good pop songs. The beat is quite catchy
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#3
5th July 2006, 04:12 AM
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I'm in love with this single, and it seems that a lot of peeps are trying to shoot it down, but anyways Ningyo-Him great rock song for Kumi, it reminded me of the remix on her BestFT tour for Maze, I'll be there has to be my second fave. track on this single it's a great song and I fell in love with it, me an my mom danced to it earlier, JUICYJUICYJUICYJUICY I love JUICY and I love capitalizing it anyway great hip hop song best since Hot Stuff I love the beat and how it's introduced, With Your Smile:a lot of people are feeling this song while me on the other hand I can't stand it, I just have to see the pv for it to grow on me.
Ningyo Hime-4/5 I'll Be There-5/5 Juicy-5/5 With Your Smile-2/5 Total=16/20 for the whole single. Last edited by Celaphorce; 5th July 2006 at 05:10 AM.
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#4
5th July 2006, 04:23 AM
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^shouldn't it be out of 20?
I too am really liking this single. Although I really like ballads, I don't mind that this single is missing a ballad. This single shows the many types of songs that Kumi is able to sing. I think some of these songs have really good choruses, but lack good verses. My rating: Ningyo-hime: 8/10 JUICY: 8.5/10 I'll be there: 9/10 With your smile: 6.5/10 Overall: 32/40 (80%) Last edited by ayu_fan929; 5th July 2006 at 04:29 AM.
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#5
5th July 2006, 05:10 AM
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IMHO.. this single rocks
Ningyo-hime - as raw as you can get for a j pop singer(its like eating sashimi)...not like those patetic ayumi "rock" songs.. i love the chorus so much.. and .. well everything XD I'll be there - well its a nice song.. its not a sad song .. but its a nostalgic song tho... the melody of the chorus is really pretty.. i didnt like the whole "theme" of the song... but its really different song for Kumi... its like some weird mix between -Someday-feel-you- .. its really pretty Juicy - Oh my god.. this song.. has some mad beats.. really hard R&B track... i love how the spanish guitar sounds randomly in the song .. .. its really really amazin With your smile- erm... its a nice song.. its not my favorite.. but i guess some people like this song, its really funky pop.. haha its fun Overall 8.5/10 awesome single!
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#6
5th July 2006, 12:39 PM
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#7
5th July 2006, 05:18 AM
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Ningyo-hime - 4/5
I'll be there - 3/5 Juicy - 3/5 With your smile - 2/5 OVERALL - 12/20
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#8
5th July 2006, 05:24 AM
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Mermaid Princess 1/5
I'll be there 2/5 JUICY 1/5 With your smile 3/5 PURE CRAP
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#9
5th July 2006, 05:41 AM
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4 Hot Wave...
Ningyo-Hime: 3/10 Quote:
I don't think Kumi's voice goes well with this song at all, and the melody of the lyrics doesn't get me - they don't seem rock enough and seems like it could use more emotion - Ayu's rock songs (actually all of her songs) always have emotion oozing out of them. I think Kumi may be able to pull of a good rock tune with some practice and given more than a few weeks. I'll Be There: 9.5/10 I love, Love, LOVE this song! It seems many people don't like it but considering I also love Someday, WIND, and my favorite of the 12 singles - feel (people are comparing this song to these other songs), I love it. I think it is the best song on this single. JUICY: 4/10 I was expecting alot more of this track. I loved D.D.D. and grew to crave Candy, but this track seems unfinished. It seems it is missing a few beats and could have been an even better song if given a little more time. The sounds and beginning remind me of Namie and her songs on Queen of Hip Pop - if I didn't know this was Ku, I would think it was Namie at first. With Your Smile: 7/10 I do like this song with it's happy and upbeat chorus but I think it had the potential to be something even better. Not as good as Koi No Tsubomi but fun none-the-less Covers: 1/10 I did not like any of the covers Ku chose for her 12 single project but adored the covers to Koi No Tsubomi. I was hoping for something even better - hot and steamy. Maybe Ku in a sexy and fashionable bikini being engulfed by a huge wave with the hot sun hanging in the corner... These pictures don't do anything for me and aren't Hot at all... Needless to say I am dissapointed by the MAROC photobook cover... Overall: 4/10 I was expecting something more, but as mentioned above, this is meant to expand her fanbase with a variety of song styles while still keeping true to what her current fans came to love about her. Not really a HUGE hit on this single IMO, but 2 of the songs are fun even though they all seem they could have been better given a little more time and production.
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#10
5th July 2006, 05:44 AM
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i think you havent Cheers-
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AHS: Last edited by mishidabo; 5th July 2006 at 05:47 AM.
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#11
5th July 2006, 08:47 AM
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#12
7th July 2006, 02:13 PM
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 try cocco. best j-rock female singer out there, in my opinion... if you want someone less "hard", try amano tsukiko or shiina ringo (pre-tokyo jihen)... if you want j-rock everyone can get into (i.e. j-rock as pop), try aikawa nanase (her early songs are still the best)...
Last edited by shadow*puppet; 7th July 2006 at 02:20 PM.
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#13
7th July 2006, 01:59 PM
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aikawa nanase, cocco, that's raw. In my opinion, ayu's able to pull off rock-ish songs because her voice is perfect for the material... kumi is more r&b-friendly and should stick to that kind of music. sorry kumi fans, but i think it's "pathetic" for kumi to release a "rock" song in a major single when her musical style is clearly pop r&b and has always been heading in that direction. she should stay true to herself with stuff like "i'll be there" and "juicy" and quit the "rock" stuff... my review: ningyo-hime - If i heard this song and didn't know who sang it, then i probably would have liked it more. sorry, knowing that kumi koda sang this, i just can't reconcile the song with her image... this style is not for her, and the song doesn't come across as authentic, looking back at all the music she has released so far... I think she should have waited until her music progressed toward a more rock style to release this single and not just allow avex to dictate what kind of music she should release. you can't expect people to believe you're in charge of the direction your music takes if you go from the 12 weeks of xmas singles to koi no tsubomi to ningyo-hime. what the f...? score 2/5 (should be 4/5 but i subtracted for the above reasons...) i'll be there - perfect song for kumi. best song in the single, in my opinion... this is the kind of music kumi should be making. j-pop at its best. this song also has the best verse and arrangement in the single. the bit before the chorus with someone singing "i'll be there for you" in the background is the best piece of music kumi has ever made. score 5/5 juicy - sounds too much like candy to convince me... but this is the kind of music kumi does best... even though it's a music style i don't like. it is in these kinds of songs that she is able to use her voice the best...but as an R&B-type song, it's pretty generic. she has better R&B-type songs than this, like D.D.D. score 2.5/5 (trying to be as objective as possible) with your smile - a really fun, light-as-a-feather song, would have been more fun if not for the horrible "smile me" bit. this song has the best chorus in the single. and, like "i'll be there", this is the perfect style for kumi... score 5/5 overall, i hate the inclusion of ningyo-hime in this single... and it had to be the first song! unfortunately, it makes it seem as if kumi is just a puppet in the strings of avex, no offense. She should stay true to the kind of music she wants to make (she mentions how she's been heavily influenced by R&B), and not just allow avex to dictate how her career goes... this would have been an excellent single without ningyo-hime, and I might have begun to respect kumi more, but as it is... overall: 14.5/20 = C Last edited by shadow*puppet; 7th July 2006 at 02:36 PM.
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#14
7th July 2006, 06:50 PM
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#15
5th July 2006, 06:03 AM
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Well, IMHO, Ningyo no Hime isn't exactly real jrock, compared to Visual Kei bands and whatnot. Ayu's rock music (Because of You, Alterna, GAME, About You etc) are just as Rock as Ningyo no Hime, if not more (Because of You I think is the best example of rock there is, and is way more rock than Ningyo no Hime is).
Just wanted to interject that, I'm still trying to formulate a good opinion on this single. I love JUICY the best so far, but all the others kind of make me go :/ and feel disappointed. Let's hope that changes 
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#16
5th July 2006, 07:29 AM
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Anyway Ningyo-hime - 3.9/5 I guess its ok. I'll be there - 4/5 Yarrrrrrr, nice ballad Juicy - 0/5 DONT OFFEND MY EARS YOU **** With your smile - 5/5 Thank god the single has 1 ultra decent song Covers - 0/5 Kuu + camels = A sticky mess we dont wana see OVERALL - 12.9/25
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Last edited by micster; 5th July 2006 at 07:47 AM.
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#17
5th July 2006, 07:44 AM
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Mermaid Princess- 3/5 i love the rock but its just eh~
Ill Be There- 5/5 i love this song its something to be in my top 5 list JUICY- 3.5/5 i expected more from this song, its not catchy but its got a good BG music With Your Smile- 2.5/5 plain~ to generic COVERS- 3/5 i like the covers actually very unique Whole single-17/25 Koda Kumi is changing her style, its become alot more popish, i hope she doesnt become a plian pop singer like most of them. I love her RnB and Sex appeal.
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#18
5th July 2006, 08:10 AM
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Ningyo Hime - 4/5 - The chorus is amazing, but the other parts aren't that amazing. It sounds like a song that Ayu would sing.
with your smile - 5/5 - With your smile is really good. After listening to it over and over, I really appreciate it now I'll be there - 0/5 - It's really boring Juicy - 3/5 - It's a pretty nice song but I don't like the moaning bits XD The covers were pretty bad o_O so 0/5
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#19
5th July 2006, 08:35 AM
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Ningyo-Hime: 3.5/5 - the preview is so noisy and difficult to hear Ku's voice in there...I still like it nonetheless, its not wad she does everytime
I'l Be There: 3/5 - I would have to say i really didnt like this song when the CM first came out...But now its a bit better... JUICY: 4.5/5 - I really LOVE this song...the beats and tune and voice everything...But the chorus sounds like a separate identity to me sometimes...as in, if the chorus was alone, i think it still can make a nice song.. With your smile: 4/5 - Its a great song, happy and all..but can get a bit tired of it sometimes.. Overall: 15/20 - still acceptable for me... I think her next single will be a ballad with GO WAY!!(silly song) and the PVs might change our impression a whole lot who noes
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#20
5th July 2006, 01:33 PM
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"
Hybrid Mode
