44. The BEST of mihimaru GT (CD)

Album cover of BEST of mihimaru GT, no infringement intended.

Album Info:
Artist: mihimaru GT
Release Date: 5.2.07
Publisher: Universal Music Japan
Running Time: 66 min.

The BEST of mihimaru GT song list:

1. Ｔｈｅｍｅ　ｏｆ　ｍｉｈｉｍａＬＩＶＥ
2. Ｌｏｖｅ　ｉｓ．．．
3. ユルメのレイデ
4. いつまでも響くこのｍｅｌｏｄｙ
5. 気分上々↑↑
6. パンキッシュ☆
7. 恋する気持ち
8. ＹＥＳ
9. さよならのうた
10. Ｈ．Ｐ．Ｓ．Ｊ．－ｍｉｈｉｍａｒｕ　Ｂａｌｌ　ＭＩＸ－
11. ツヨクツヨク
12. マジカルスピーカー
13. かけがえのない詩
14. 願～ｎｅｇａｉ～
15. 帰ろう歌－ＴＡＫＥ０７－
16. 約束

Album Review:
Here it is.. mihimaru GT's "BEST of" album. Wait, have they released enough songs to do that? Little did you or I know, the duo member J-Pop group has been releasing music since 2003. To be honest, this is probably the second time I've heard their music, as they've never made it quite as big as they have it now. This album, in general features almost all the singles/songs the group has put into TV commercials and TV shows, but it works wonders --- mihimaru GT is now ranked #1 in the ORICON album charts.

What style is this group's music? as I have recently discovered, they do pop, funk, and a bit of hip-hop. The group's members, Hiroko (girl) and Miyake (guy), were originally separate artists, but they had little success. Anyway, mihimaru GT's combined sound is pretty fun, with Hiroko carrying a melody and Miyake busting some rap here and there. After listening to a few of their songs, I discovered some of their biggest flaws as musicians.

Hiroko's tone quality isn't the best of the Japanese pop stars, as she adds a layer of sandy feel to her voice, and sometimes presses it so she can sound like a croaking child (lil Romeo affect), her Japanese gets a penalty as a consequence. She doesn't sound like that always, though. If Miyake were to compliment her sound, it would also work wonders, but his random raps don't help as much as they should. Another thing of note is the inconsistency of their songs (even songs featured in this "BEST" album), some songs are catchy, fun, while maintaining the lyrical, musical parts, while other songs just get repetitive and annoying, going very much against their usual presented sound. Now, enough of the negatives, lemme tell you why this album is a pretty good listener! (for a few days at least)

The lyrics are not the best part of mihimaru GT's music, but for a J-pop group aiming at younger audiences, how much more can we expect? The group tries to add English into their songs, which sometimes make the songs hilarious. In the song Kibun Joujou, their first song to reach top 2 in the charts, at exactly 1:43, you hear Hiroko's unmistaking "yuusaku bouru", which is STILL Japanese but English listeners (like me) can hear a rather vulgar English phonenym.

Funnies aside, the album is a very light-hearted experience. Most of the songs are about love, and missing another person. Most of the songs have catchy tunes, which fulfills the "BEST of" part of the album. H.S.P.J. is a funky song (~everybody say hoooooooooo~), and so is Kaerouka (um.. track 15;;). I've noticed that they sampled some classical/operatic music into their intro or bridges, and that can be pretty cool.

Of course, those two songs are just two out of 16 possible favorites, the songs are all mixed awesomely, and just for that fact alone, this album, and mihimaru GT stands out among many Japanese music artists. Try the album: TORRENT HERE.

BEST of mihimaru GT Review Ratings:
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Popularity: [100% (ORICON #1)]
Musicality: [89%]
Production: [95%]
Lyrics: [88% (hilarity..)]
Fun: [91% (funky)]

Overal Feel: [92%]
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Review by SilentMic, with research from WikiPedia, JPSEEK.com, mihimaru GT. All ratings are for reference, and do not necessarily reflect professional values. No directly copied text whatsoever. Copyright 2007.