Killing with Sparkles!

With Perfume dropping the 3rd World Tour bomb (which by the way, I got my tickets!), I'd pretty much forgotten that Kyarypamyupamyu is releasing an album very soon. And also that Kira Kira Killer exists. Well... better late than never!

Kira Kira Killer, a song that feels like it's been around for months now, is a curious little single. Because only 7,777 copies were printed. The single also includes one B-side in lieu of two: an extended mix of Kira Kira Killer.  People who bought this single also enrolled in this cute little raffle where they could win a hair tie, a t-shirt, a mask, or one of Kyary's personal items. I myself did not buy this single but did see the packaging for it. I'm sure it was a pretty cool get for Kyary fans!Honestly, the release of Kira Kira Killer seems a little rushed, but then again, Pikapika Fantajin is coming out soon. When else were they gonna be able to release it? Besides, I kind of like having Kira Kira Killer be the final single of this era instead of Family Party. Because as of now, I still am not a huge fan of Family Party. Or Mottai Night Land. In fact, the only singles I liked this era were Yume no Hajima Ring Ring and Kira Kira Killer. The other A-sides were either annoying commercial jingles or just annoying. Nanda Collection was kind of an annoyingly cute album, so I wonder how Pikapika Fantajin will fare. Oh well, that contemplation is for a future review. I'm here to talk about Kira Kira Killer!

So yes, Kira Kira Killer. What to say about Kira Kira Killer... I like it! I like it just about as much as I liked Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. But I do think Kira Kira Killer has a lot more flair then Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. The song was used in one of fifty thousands Kyary commercials so naturally, it's a very catchy song that will get stuck in your head whether you like it or not. And yeah, the song sounds like what you'd expect in a commercial jingle. Which isn't a bad thing! I mean, if it were Family Party or Mottai Night Land, (and weren't those also commercial songs?), then yes, that would be unfortunate. But it's less unfortunate with Kira Kira Killer. There are still parts of the song that I'm not a huge fan of though. Like I think it has a very weak opening. Kyary's chanting L-U-C-K but at times it sounds like that L is an F instead. Then again, that alternative spelling would make one very... interesting song! Kyary's voice is also hit-or-miss in Kira Kira Killer. Her attempts to hit high notes bring about varied success. If you're able to tolerate Kyary's voice by now, then you should get along with Kira Kira Killer just fine. The song does have its fun parts. And the chorus is pretty cute, catchy too! I guess as far as Kyary singles go, Kira Kira Killer is decent.

So yeah... um... what else can I say... Kira Kira Killer is very cute. And technopop. And... ah fuck, you guys have heard this whole spiel before.

I am so happy that Kyarypamyupamyu is holding two tours that will last until November. Because that means she won't have time to release anything. Or at least I hope not. It's not that I strongly dislike all her music (she has some cool stuff), but I am so burnt out on reviewing her music. After Pikapika Fantajin, it'll be nice having a break from reviewing Kyarypamyupamyu. While I like Kira Kira Killer, I don't love it, especially not enough to type out an enthusiastic review. That's how I've felt about all of Kyary's singles I've reviewed this year. Because I feel like I'm just reviewing the same thing over and over again with a slightly tweaked sound. I think NyNy said it best: Kyary's last good single was Ninjari Bang Bang. Everything since then has ranged from decent to grating. And reviewing all these singles, even the better ones, feels so redundant. Maybe there will be some cooler material on Pikapika Fantajin, but honestly, I'm not keeping any high expectations. Kira Kira Killer is what you'd expect from Kyarypamyupamyu by now just like Pikapika Fantajin is exactly what I'm gonna expect from her as well. If you like her saccharine, high-energy songs, then you'll enjoy Kira Kira Killer. I'm starting to feel like a kid that ate too much candy though.

Overall, Kira Kira Killer is a fine song, but give me Perfume and Curumi Chronicle's singles already. Hell, I wouldn't even mind listening to Cupitron's new single. I need a break from cutesy, high-pitched technopop. Nonetheless, I still have a PV to get through. At least Kyary's PVs are always pretty entertaining! So let's see what weird, green-screened PV with a quirky mascot Kira Kira Killer has in store for us!

The PV starts with the breaking news that Sailor Moon has taken up archery!

Wow, she was shot in the heart by a heart.

That's both a painful and ironic way to go!

I guess now the only option is to haunt Nakata for more singles.

So when I die, do I get an outfit made of couch pillows too?

Wow, the world of the dead looks pretty cool. And monochrome.

Actually, I really like the green screen in this PV. It's weird but different from the weird I see in Kyary PVs.

Of course, this PV isn't too different. We still have our token quirky mascot.

This quirky mascot must be God of the underworld or something.

On the subject of that, are we in Heaven or Hell? Or Limbo? Or Purgatory?

I was wondering if this PV would try and work in brighter colors...

Now for a sick guitar solo! Wait... does this song even have guitars in it?

Oh! That's... the thing from Gounn!

This thing! The Buddhist thing!

The fruit of temptation... also the fruit of the Apple Rating System...

Since this PV already has apples, I guess I won't have to give it any!

Death by giant undead snake! Now that's a way to go!

But I guess in the underworld getting eaten by a snake is more like riding a water slide...

Mustache!Kyary is my favorite part of this PV!

So Kyarypamyupamyu came up with the E=mc^2 theory! I knew that Einstein guy was a quack.

Who needs a magic carpet when you've got a hoverboard?

See? Instant fun!

I almost forget that 95% of everything in this is green-screen. Almost.

Gather round the Kyary and sing the Kyary song!

Formerly Kyary the Grey, she has now transformed into Kyary the White!

Holy shit. an army of Kyarypamyupamyus.

Also, can we talk about the clusterfuck of stuff in this world!?

I kind of miss the creepy black-and-white setting...

The flowers are cool! They're like big floral elevators out of the underworld!

Kyary rose from the grave! Does that make her a zombie now?

Her next PV will be a revenge quest on the person who shot her with an arrow!

Well, that was fun! More fun than reviewing the song at least. So I take it that the "Kira Kira Killer" in this PV is... whoever shot the arrow? Who did that? Toshiko? I love the concept for this music video. I mean, anything to do with heaven/hell or the afterlife or whatever you wanna call it is just interesting to me. I don't know what that says about me as a person, but it was cool seeing Kyary explore her version of the afterlife! And in true Kyary fashion, her afterlife has bright colors, trippy visuals and a quirky mascot to guide her along the way! There are many facets to this PV that you can find in other Kyary PVs, but I like the aesthetic of Kira Kira Killer. I especially like it at the beginning where mostly everything is in black and white. The contrast was really nice, especially since many of Kyary's PVs rely on bright colors. Kira Kira Killer felt more subdued... until about halfway through. Then the PV started getting more and more colorful. I guess that was supposed to symbolize how Kyary was close to getting out of the underworld. Whatever it was meant to be, switching to brighter more Kyary-ish colors did make the PV lose that distinctive weird/creepy look in the beginning. I can only see so many pastels before they all start to blend together.

Like any Kyary PV there were a multitude of quirky moments. As I mentioned before, there is the token mascot in this PV. I guess this one's all right, I like the polar bear in Yume no Hajima Ring Ring better. And my favorite Kyary mascot is still the googly-eyed onion from Candy Candy (I don't think any mascot will ever top that one). I felt like there wasn't really that much presence in this mascot. He/she/it was kind of just there. I mean, they did Kyary a hoverboard, which was very thoughtful. Other than that, they just kind of followed Kyary around and danced and changed sizes occasionally. Beyond the mascot, there's the multitude of strange settings and scenarios from the giant snake to Kyary with a mustache. I don't know why but seeing Kyary in that mustache was my favorite part of the whole PV. It was so absurd and mundane at the same time. And while I'm not as big of a fan of Kyary's excessively green-screened PVs, there was something really neat about the scope of the green-screening in Kira Kira Killer. Like Kyary looked teeny in some of these shots. Even though, yes, it's all computer-generated, there's something very incredible about far green-screens can go these days.

Although all that green screen did get a little tiring after awhile. Between Kyary riding the hoverboard and transforming to Kyary the White was when I started to lose interest. I think because Kyary was doing more in the first part of Kira Kira Killer? The PV opens with Kyary being murdered for one thing, and then the next part has her exploring. She's doing all these weird things in the first half like meeting the quirky mascot and sliding down the belly of a snake. And then in the second part of Kira Kira Killer, she's just... dancing while the camera spins around like a drunkard. Remember what I said earlier about how the setting started to blur together after the halfway point? There's so much stuff going on in this last part of Kira Kira Killer that it's hard to really focus on anything. And again, everything is green-screened, so there's only so much detail to focus on. And then the camera's moving everywhere so even if I could focus on the details, everything's passing by too quickly! I don't mean to sound old-fashioned, but so much of Kira Kira Killer feels intangible and unreal. Because... well, it's not. That awareness just doesn't start kicking in until the second half.

The PV for Kira Kira Killer isn't without flaws, but overall, there's enough about this PV to keep me interested. I think it's better than Family Party! Then again, everything about Kira Kira Killer is better than Family Party. Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is still probably my favorite Kyary PV of this era, but I think I'd tie Kira Kira Killer with Mottai Night Land. Both are pretty similar, except Kira Kira Killer has more of a morbid concept and no skeleton-heads wearing bikinis. As the final PV for the Pikapika Fantajin era, Kira Kira Killer is a pretty fitting PV. Kyary's said that the concept for Pikapika Fantajin is "fantasy" and the PV for Kira Kira Killer definitely does have a fantastical air to it. It takes on death and the afterlife in a fun, weird manner. And there are plenty of fun moments, a few twisted moments, and a few dull moments, but overall, the PV for Kira Kira Killer feels like something Kyary would do without feeling like too much of a retread on her other PVs. So if you're looking to get into Kyarypamyupamyu, maybe wait on Kira Kira Killer. But if you're already a fan, you know what you're getting into. The PV for Kira Kira Killer doesn't bring anything new for Kyary, but it's an entertaining tale of death, the afterlife, and resurrection. And pastel.

So I'll give Kira Kira three and half apples. The song isn't fantastic, but I think Kira Kira Killer is enjoyable enough. It's a fun little Kyary song. The PV also isn't without its flaws (mainly a lackluster second half), but like the song, it's also enjoyable. Besides, Kyary rises from the dead! That's a cool concept alone! Still, after Pikapika Fantajin, it'll be nice to have a break from the onslaught of Kyary songs this year. Now watch her release another single in August.