Hello, Arama! Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw Morning Musume ’15 top Nishino Kana and Hoshino Gen. Gen is back again this week, along with 2 newcomers. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

Oricon #1: BOYS AND MEN – BOYMEN NINJA (not in the Recochoku top 50 / not in the iTunes top 50)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL3Xj-C63YY

Ronald: Is this group this year’s Kamen Joshi? As in a random idol group that nobody had heard of before that got #1 and then disappeared? I think so. Like Kamen Joshi’s song, this one is crap. It’s like a weeaboo’s fantasy of Japanese music. I don’t like the incorporation of the traditional music in this. It feels so forced, like a cheap ploy to sound extra Japanese. It’s tacky. I don’t like it when Wagakki Band does it, but at least there is some genuineness when they do it. I don’t get that from this group. The rest of the song sounds like something that would be the background music for some random video game I played in the 90s, in the worst way possible. Ughh, this reminds of a Kanjani8 song at times, but they could never be this bad. 0/10

________________________

Recochoku #1: AKB48 – 365 Nichi no Kamihikouki (Oricon #9 / Recochoku #5)

Ronald: This is pleasant. It’s nothing too cute, but then it’s not something really amazing. It’s just kind of there, but not in a bad way though. It reminds me a lot of one of Nishino Kana’s less interesting singles from a few years ago. Like I’ll listen to if it randomly comes on, but I’m not going to seek it out. 5/10

____________________________

iTunes #1: Hoshino Gen – SUN (Oricon #59 / Recochoku #5)

Ronald: Same review as before – Feel good songs are a specialty of Gen’s, and “SUN” is no exception. It’s bright and cheery like you think it would be given its name. This song is bright and cheery, but not cheesy, which is often the case with songs like this one. It capitalizes on 2 trends that are a growing influence in Japanese music currently, the 70s and funk. I enjoy these element and I’m glad to see them here. 8/10

______________________

Ronald Rank:

1. iTunes #1: Hoshino Gen – SUN

2. Recochoku #1: AKB48 – 365 Nichi no Kamihikouki

3. Oricon #1: BOYS AND MEN – BOYMEN NINJA

______________________