I don’t know how many of you at Ningin have actually listened to this single yet. Well, for my first review, I wanted to do a review on one of the things I’m most knowledgeable on, music. 

Tracklist:

1. “Truth”

2. “Kaze no Mukou e”

3. “Smile”

Then for the rest, there are karaoke versions. Well, the first thing that got me was that “Truth” was on the top of the Oricon charts, and is still on, by the way. As an Arashi fan, I definitely had to check it out. I started out with the title track, “Truth.” My first reaction was, “This is not a happy song!” Many people who are Arashi fans know that many of their songs tend to be very upbeat. The song reminded me of first opening to the anime “Vampire Knight,” which is “Futatsu no Kodou to Akai Tsumi” by ON/OFF. The music video has a dark feel with all of the Arashi members wearing red and black. I still thought it was too typical for them to wear red and black and try to be emo. But I must say, I did like the violins in there. For such a dark video, the boys of Arashi still manage to keep some sort of catchy song but not lose their feel. The music video still had their same corny dancing style and such. It was definitely a change in style but I still liked it. When I listen to Arashi, I always think they could’ve harmonized a bit better or something is just a bit too lacking with their vocals. Even on the karaoke track, the harmony part is way too low to even hear. They could at least make them slightly louder. If one were to sing with it, you wouldn’t be able to hear it anyway. With the amount of members they have, you would think they could do wonders with their voices. But nonetheless, Arashi still has me. Maybe it’s just their style I’ve become accustomed with. By the way, this song was made for the Japanese drama, Maou. It stars Arashi’s Satoshi Ohno so of course, Arashi would sing the opening. It was made to match up with the drama’s feel.  Well, when you watch the opening, it actually does. The other thing that got me was the Engrish. “You take my life forever, I take your life forever.” That made me laugh. Engrish is always adorable.

Then we get to the next track “Kaze no Mukou e.” Here’s the Arashi I’m used to! Their happy songs are what keep me happy. It’s one of those songs that tend to just cheer you up. The music video is very blinding though. They’re in a round room with lights on the wall along with them in the center wearing white. That’s great. Basically, it’s just about life and about how much they fail, they’ll keep on going and will never give up. How sappy, I know. But hey, this is one of those perfect songs to be cheered up by. But please Arashi, when you make a music video, don’t BLIND us and make us dizzy all at the same time. The camera kept on rotating around each of the members really fast. I honestly hate that effect. Luckily, I don’t get too dizzy easily but it just got really annoying. The song also has acoustic guitar, which I am a sucker for. Not too bad, Arashi. But it’s hilarious to know the Japanese used this song for their Olympic coverage to try and inspire the athletes into doing better. When I hear training, I’m thinking “Eye of the Tiger” or something. But I would laugh way too much if I saw Olympic athletes training to this. 

Now onto the last track, “Smile.” I believe this is the only track without a music video. Once again, it’s another happy and catchy song. It’s just not as good as “Kaze no Mukou e”… at all. It’s ANOTHER “stop being sad and cheer up” song.  I mean, how many different ways can you actually sing about the same thing, Arashi? This time it’s smile, use your imagination and your heart to finally see the person you want to see. I mean, what can you really expect from Arashi. They’re known to be adorable people with happy songs. But in all honesty, I didn’t really like this song much. The intro to the song kind of reminded me of the music from the Gamecube game, Animal Crossing. But then they started singing and I just couldn’t really listen much anymore. 

Overall, it’s an okay single based on Arashi’s usual stuff. An easy way to put this is this single is Arashi with a hint of lime. It’s just that extra kick that makes it slightly different. “Truth” definitely was a step in a good direction for them. I didn’t feel like it was a ridiculously different style for them to pick. It’s not like it was all that original though. But for Arashi, it was still okay.

The ONE thing that pisses me off about this single so far is that I can’t manage to find a performance with them actually singing instead of lipsyncing. I mean, with practice, I’m sure they could pull it off. But, there are some people/groups who aren’t meant to sing live very well and should stick to lipsyncing (COUGHWONDERGIRLSCOUGH).

Tags: arashi, jpop, kaze no mukou e, review, single, smile, truth