Channel-Ai Community Blog - JPop reviews, articles

Promo Photo for Shinku

Artist: Hitomi Shimatani Product Code: AVCD-31285/6 Release Date: 2007.09.05 Debut Ranking: #6 First Press: A.C.E.3 Sticker Genre: Crossover, pop Label: avex trax

Hitomi Shimatani might no longer be one of the best sellers in the J-Pop industry but she still manages to stand out with her magnificent vocals and her enchanting aura. This has enabled Hitomi to get several interesting career opportunities. Approximately two years ago, Hitomi Shimatani released the powerful single, “Garnet Moon“, which managed to become a brilliant hit in Japan. Most of the credit is probably due to it’s tie in with the game “Another Century’s Episode” but it certainly did manage to attract the popularity of the younger audience with its’ fresh approach.

In early June, the summer single “Neva Eva” included a slip promising an upcoming “big project” which roused the curiosity of her fans. On the 29th June, avex announced that Hitomi would yet again release a single for “Another Century’s Episode“, this time for the third and final installment. This announced was met with excitement and a lot of anticipation. Furthermore this single was released a day after Hitomi’s 27th birthday.

The game was met with a lot of hype. A.C.E. updated their website frequently with exciting content, including promotional clips and a double poster featuring Hitomi in one. On the other hand, it’s pretty evident to see how avex barely bothered with the promotion. My impression is that they relied on A.C.E. to promote the single and did the bare minimum. The result was that the promotional campaign was relying solely on the fact that this was a tie-in with a game and nothing else.

While I watched the promotional campaign of this single, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Hitomi appeared in a few variety shows and magazines which seemed to be targeted towards adults and later on performed the song twice. The wardrobe choice seemed to be very limited and rather mediocre, considering that Hitomi’s fashion sense is usually trendy and appealing. She adopted some bizarre “hippie style” with oversized vests and gowns, which looked outdated and made her look older. Basically their target seemed to be gamers and adults.

On the packaging aspect, the single happens to be yet another standard release, with nothing special in particular apart from an A.C.E.3 sticker as a first press extra. “Shinku/Ai no Uta” would surprisingly debut at #6. Once avex noticed that this single was selling fairly well on the charts, they desperately tried to cover up their lackluster promotional campaign by announcing on a very short notice that Hitomi was having a handshaking event, along with signing the fans’ singles. Unfortunately this was not enough and Hitomi would once again fail to reach the top ten in the weeklies. It would rank at #14 on the first week and to date it has sold around 17,037 copies.

 

1. Shinku

“Shinku“, meaning “crimson” is the image song of A.C.E.3. It successfully carries the futuristic tradition in a different direction. In a few words, it blends in two genres that Hitomi has used in the past: techno and crossover. The result is an enticing hybrid; with the use strings combined with electronic synths, a regal and dramatic dance track was produced. Surprisingly this song has fit perfectly with the theme of the game, especially since it carries an epic and post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

The song immediately starts off with a mid-tempo and powerful tone, where both her vocals and the background instruments which are succeeded by a magnificent chorus. The chorus brings about a mixture of triumph and rush of energy. Needless to say Hitomi’s vocals hit each note perfectly with grace and ease, most particularly in the chorus. On the other hand, the verses still manage to contain a lot of quality and variety throughout the whole song.

The whole arrangement is particularly interesting, since the musical instruments seem to build onto each other to gradually create the dramatic atmosphere. Hitomi mentioned how they spent a lot of time to record this song. They redid the song over and over until they were satisfied with the result, since Hitomi wanted to produce a very strong song, with an extreme aura. Overall this song is a very strong and distinct track and I feel it’s her strongest since “Destiny - Taiyou no Hana“.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

The promotional video of this single was aired a few days before the release and happens to be one of those clips which promise a lot and lead nowhere. The promotional video was set in a manor in the woods, emanating the ethereal setting to reflect the song. Certain elements within the setting were quite appealing, most particularly the Gothic atmosphere, which was inserted with the decorations. I really loved the candles, which lit up the dark room, creating this mystical feeling. Most of the imagery focused on earth colors, while Hitomi wore a white gown and silver boots, giving the implication that Hitomi was some goddess or forest fairy.

Several scenes from the game were inserted, which contrasted strongly with the focus on the colour crimson. The most frustrating aspect was that this video had a lot potential but only managed to come out as mediocre and uneventful. There were many aspects which simply gave this video a low quality standard. The recycled camera angles, the repeated footages and the fact that there was one outfit only were terribly boring and showed an obvious lack of creativity. Furthermore the fact that they had a huge space to experiment with and only came out with a few scenes was truly a huge let down.

Rating:

 

2. Ai no Uta

“Ai no Uta“, meaning “Love Poem” is the ending track of A.C.E.3. It has certainly managed to create that sense of closure with an entirely peaceful atmosphere. Basically this song is a piano solo accompanying Hitomi’s vocals. With a slightly traditional oriental touch, this song is quite enticing for ballad lovers, who appreciate vocal quality.

Hitomi described it as “the ballad which heals after the fight” and would mention how hard it was to sing this song due to the fact she wanted to hit the notes perfectly and transmit her feelings at the same time. Compared to the title song, this track might feel to simplistic but I enjoyed how this simplicity managed to make the listener focus entirely on Hitomi’s beautiful vocals. What was a bit disappointing was the generic title and the fact that it offers nothing particularly new from her typical ballad B-sides, in her singles.

Rating:

 

3. Shinku (A.C.E.3 version)

This track can probably be referred to as a rearrangement. It is a shortened version of “Shinku” with certain changes. This version was used within the game. As if to make up for being so short, the song is quite intense. The track starts off with a short dramatic orchestral intro which blends in with the actual song. Throughout the song, the orchestral elements are rendered more intense, giving off a more obvious “crossover” vibe.

Rating:

 

Conclusion

“Shinku/Ai no Uta” seems to be a return to her crossover roots, which has been met with mixed feelings. In the last few months, Hitomi has been trying to regain a more mainstream fanbase but has been fairly unlucky with this task. It seems that this new single has been more successful on the charts and this probably means that Hitomi will release other crossover releases in the future. On a certain extent, this is good news, since this genre has produced several beautiful tracks.

Overall I would say that “Shinku/Ai no Uta” is a fairly solid release for Hitomi’s standards, with a few shortcomings. However I felt really let down and disappointed with this single, due to the fact that avex marketed this single with a lot of promises and the outcome had little substance. The claim of a “big project” is definitely an overstatement. This single had nothing particularly special apart from the tie-in and avex made sure it stayed that way. It is probable that the bulk of the promotional costs were on A.C.E.3 and avex tried to get away with it, by working on a very tight budget. The result was a bit tacky.

The promotional campaign was not really well organized and it showed. Most of the promotion of this single seemed random and lacking. The fact that only two live performances were scheduled was simply a shame, since performances tend to boost sales a little. Once again, this single seems to have suffered the fate of Ayumi’s “talkin’ 2 myself“, where the musical content was utterly fantastic but the rest left most disappointed. I’m a bit sorry for Hitomi since this single is by no means a bad release, but it had a lot of selling potential which was lost due to bad promotion and an outdated image. Let’s just hope this won’t become a trend for avex.

Overall Rating:

 

CD Version

CD+DVD Version

CD Tracklist

1. Shinku (Original Version)
2. Ai no Uta
3. Shinku (A.C.E.3 version)
4. Shinku (Instrumenta)
5. Ai no Uta (Instrumental)

DVD Tracklist

1. Shinku
2. Shinku (Offshot)

Purchase this item: YesAsia US | YesAsia Global