Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Album Review(s): Monster Musume VP CDs

Surprise, and Happy Valentine’s Day fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Well, today’s the day of love. The day where those who are together go out, any enjoy each other time & company. A day of joviality, and even a day of embrace as it were. For many other, it’s National Single’s Day. A day where many of us keep to ourselves, and often do stuff to distract ourselves from how sickeningly sweet everything is. Manga & anime are great distractions, as is music. In fact, I could wait to show you all of these, as I waited for a long time for these to come in the mail. What selection of music could I not wait to talk about? Why, Monster Musume music of course!

Yes, it’s time for another glimpse into the world of monster girls. I make no secret how much of a dork I am for this franchise. From hesitation to full-blown love, Monster Musume & it’s cast of ladies has charmed not only me, but apparently many fans across the world! It’s amazing that such a goofy, dirty, silly anime & manga has captivated a surprisingly large audience around the world, and it’s popularity has only increased overtime. Even the world of music isn’t safe from the wiles of these monstrous ladies, as the voice actors took to the airways, and put out CDs that are right in tone with the characters they represent.

So, on this sickeningly-sweet day, I thought it was only appropriate to look at all of them. Yes, all of them! All 9 of the CDs that I ordered (Along with 1 I downloaded) I will be look at here. I’ll be doing things a little differently than normal: with the amount of music I’ll be looking at, I’ll be shrinking the size of them, and doing more of a micro review for each of them.

I should make mention that these were not easy to get. I ordered them late December last year, and it took about a month for them to arrive (Ironically, they came a day early before their projected arrival). I was somewhat panicked, but luckily it had tracking, so I could follow it’s movement. Also, these CDs go by rather quickly, with most of them taking nearly 20 minutes to just over 20 minutes to play through. They’re structured strangely as well: the first 3 tracks are that of the voice actor singing (2 original songs & the opening sung by the VP), and the two opening tracks but without vocals. I can only assume (Rightfully) that they were included for karaoke, as it would be weird for repeating tracks.

Miia
And here we start with one of my favorite girls from the main cast, if not my personal favorite. I stated in my review that the Japanese cast did a fantastic job with their respective characters, and Sora Amamiya, the voice of Miia, does a damn find job. She really brings out the Lamia’s playfulness, naughtiness, love, and strange form of devotion to her darling. This is really reflective in her songs: they’re all about her love for darling, with the first song coming across as playful & silly, and the second song coming across as a little more sensual & serious. Miia’s rendition of the intro is easily one of my favorite, as it’s bright and cheery, almost as if you were in the room listening to her sing. This was one of my favorite of the CDs, but strangely not my most favorite. 9 out of 10.

Kiss Me Darling

My Sweet Feelings

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Miia Version)

Papi
Happiness defines this second CD, as it’s befitting the nature of Papi. Easily the cheeriest of the girls (More so than Miia), Ari Ozawa embodies this blue-feathered girl’s love of life & constant enjoyment of the nice things in life. It is literately impossible to not smile as you listen to the CD. There’s positive energy bursting from each & every single note of this, whether it’s the instrumentation or vocal work, and it almost got me to move around a little. Trust me, I can’t dance worth squat, and this music almost got me to! 10 out of 10, just through the sheer “Smile” factor.

PAPISM

Papi Dance

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Papi Version)

Centorea
Now we get to something a little more serious.

If there’s one character that has some common sense among the girls, it would be the noble Centorea. Voiced by Natsuki Aikawa, she embraces the stoic & serious nature that a knightly centaur embodies, but has a vulnerable & sweet side that comes out at some of the more embarrassing/adorable moments. Musically, Centorea’s album does away with the techo pop/rock stylings, and instead goes for a more Heavy Metal/Hard Rock. Her first song almost comes across as Power Metal, and given the fact that Cerea is a warrior who’s quest is to protect her charge, it’s not hard to see why I think this. 8 to 9 out of 10.

Nobility

Monster Rock!

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Centorea Version)

Suu
This one. Out of all the character CDs that I bought, somehow this one is my most favorite. It’s ironic that Suu’s CD is my absolute favorite, as she’s not really one of my favorite characters. I’ve never understood why people liked her (Much less slime girls), and she’s always been a background character in my view. That being said, Suu does have a strange kind of charm to her, and it shows through the music. Voiced & sung by Mayuka Nomura, the first track sounds like a rainy day: Nice, gentle, and with a healthy drop of light-hearted melancholy. The second song comes across as a little more heavy: not metallic by any stretch, but maybe more along the lines of a rain shower picking up intensity. If you have the money, and the patience to wait, grab this CD. 10 out of 10.

Amagasa no Uta

Hana no Uta

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Suu Version)

Mero
Mero is certainly a character. When she goes into her “Tragic Romance” mode, it can be cringe-worthy or facepalm inducing. On the other hand, she is a loving & devoted mermaid, and has a levelheaded nature that rivals Centorea. Mero’s voice actor, Haruka Yamazaki, really does bring out the character’s nature, as the songs are something of a hybrid. They have the loving nature that Miia’s CD had, but with an aura of maturity that was on Centorea’s album. The second song in particular has a hint of Papi’s vibrant energy to it, and as such it almost got me to get out of my seat. Mero’s CD trails a few inches behind Suu’s, and is definitely one of my favorites to listen to. 9 out of 10.

Moon and Mermaid

Frothy Love

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Mero Version)

Rachnera
If there was ever an obvious character, it would be Rachnera. Voiced by Sakura Nakamura, she positively oozes sexuality, domination, vulnerability, and a kinky kind of playfulness. It’s ironic that I’m giving the resident Arachne this much of a complement, especially since I’ve always been conflicted about her. Half the time I like her, and the other half of the time I can’t stand her. Regardless, Rachnera’s CD is quite befitting of her nature: both tracks practically embody her nature, with the first song going for a “Slow & Kinky” vibe, and the second song going for something more frantic & sexual. Not one of my favorites, but not bad by any stretch! 8.5 out of 10.

Rachnera Arachnera

Belle Sadique

OP "Saikousoku Fall in Love" (Rachnera Version)

Hey! Smith!!
And here is perhaps my least favorite of the CDs. Whereas all the others focused on one character, this one focuses on the group of ladies that are sent out when Liminals are causing problems. M.O.N Squad is a collection of girls: Ms Smith the coordinator (Yu Kobayashi), Manako the sniper (Momo Asakura), Zombina the team leader (Rei Mochizuki), Tionisia the heavy-hitter (Yurika Kubo), and Doppel the infiltrator (Saori Onishi). The first track happens to be Monster Musume’s closing track, and it’s actually one I like. Everybody has time to sing, and nobody ever overwhelms the others. For some reason, I’m really not a big fan of the second track. I don’t know if it’s me, but I find the chorus to be rather annoying. If that chorus wasn’t in the song, then I’d probably like this CD more than I did. Easily the least essential, unless you’re a collector. 6 to 7 out of 10.

Hey! Sumisu!!

M.O.N no Theme

Saikōsoku Fall in Love ****
Now we're talking!

From my least favorite CDs, to one of my absolute favorites. Much like the last one, this focuses on a group instead of an individual, and as you can tell by the cover, it's the main cast this time. This one was a lot of fun to listen you: from the full version of the show's opening, to a track where the girls are just having fun, it obvious that this is the more energetic release in comparison to the M.O.N. themed record. 10 out of 10 for sure!

Saikōsoku (Fall In Love)

Da-Da-Dash!

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou Original Soundtrack ****
Out of all the Monster Musume CDs, this is by far the oddest & strangest. Unlike previous albums, there's no vocal work on any of the music (Apart from 2 tracks that were sung by the in-universe monster idol group ANM48). Instead, all of the songs are the tunes that are used in the various scenes of the show. It's really weird to here them outside of their respective moments, but not necessarily unwelcome. However, I felt that this was the cashgrab CD out of the bunch, which is slightly ironic given how I'll describe the next release. So on a fun factor, easily an 8 out of 10. On a more personal level, a 5 out of 10 because of the cashgrab vibe.

ANM48 (Everyday Kemomimi/Ebruidei Ke Mo Mi Mi)

ANM48 (I Wanted To Hunt You/Kari Takatta)

Soundtrack

Everyday Life With Monster Girls Best Album ****
Front Cover
Back Cover

Kinda like the last one, this is a pretty strange album. Unlike the last one, I don't think it's that much of a cashgrab, and I enjoy it way more. In fact, if you happen to be on a budget, this one might actually be worth purchasing! All of the music I looked at before this one, minus the background music of the previous CD, happens to be on here in this 2-CD set. The only tracks that aren't on here are the karaoke songs from the previous 8 release. In fact, there are actually 4 new songs recorded for this album. Once again we've got the M.O.N. girls singing for us, but this time around it's each character individually. All of the voice actor for M.O.N. once again do an incredible job in embodying their respective characters, and really bring out each of their little quirks. If you don't have much money, but still want some great music, then this is your best bet. 10 out of 10 for sure!


Manako (Aim)

Tio (Maiden's Mind Ogre Chick)

Zombina (Stand Up!)

Doppel (Saikōsoku Doppel-Chan)

So there you have it. My look at the Monster Musume CDs. I had a lot of fun listening & review these, and while I'm still missing 2 of theme physically, I’ll grab the both of them eventually. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this surprise post, but Proguary marches on!****




***
If you’re wondering how I got most of these (Except for 2 of these), look no further than Amazon! There are plenty of Japanese sellers when you can get these, but be warned as they can be expensive. Fortunately, they all cost about 12 to 15 each when I bought them (If I remember correctly). Someone on Facebook said they saw pricing start at 20 dollars, and went up to a whopping 80. The total order, however, was just over 100 dollars. Even with the Christmas money I had, I still had to pay close to 41 dollars out of my pocket! If I didn’t grab one other record, I definitely wouldn’t have to take as much money out of my wallet as I did.

****
Updated on January the 27th, 2018 (12:42 PM Eastern Standard Time)

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