Are You a Good Flower, or a Bad Flower?

What? Is a Wizard of Oz reference too cliche for the title of a single review? Whatever, I'm a fan of the elegantly stylish Tokyo Girls' Style and I wanted to take a look at their latest single. The last time we'd heard from TGS, they had released the bland and mostly forgettable Tsuioku and then they'd taken off to train some more to prepare for their first concert at the Budokan. So did all that hard work and training pay off for the TGS girls? We're about to find out. With my ever faithful sidekick, the Apple Rating System, I will give each of the three different songs on this single (I'm not looking at the Bad Flower remix) a certain amount of apples, the most being five and the least being zero. 

Covers/Outfits

When I saw the outfits in the Bad Flower PV, I really loved them. The sheer black fabric looked so pretty when the girls danced and I liked how they were incorporated into the dance itself. The effect made the girls look very ethereal and ghostlike, like little spirits that happen to be really good dancers. However... I think I don't like them quite as much on the covers for the single. The problem with these outfits is that they look much better in motion than when they're still. On the overs, the beautiful black skirts more like awkward curtains and the badass leather jackets don't really match up with the flowy and soft skirts they wear. They're like... Gothic bikers from hell or something! I guess that works since it is Halloween but I don't think that's what Avex was going for with these outfits. I like them better than the outfits for Tsuioku and Rock you! but they're not at the Kodou no Himitsu or Limited Addiction level of good. Of the actual jacket covers, I like the diversity each one has and they all have a consistent dark look; my favorite is probably Type B (the one at the top of this post). What I love about this cover is the intricate background filled with elegantly Gothic mirrors and chandeliers; it almost makes the TGS girls look like they're sitting in some strange old antique shop. Speaking of the girls, I like how they're all positioned here too since this is the cover where the outfits look the least awkward. The CD Only version pretty much looks like Type B, just a closer shot of the girls in that same intricate setting. I don't like Type A so much because the weird lighting effects they shopped onto the girls look more tacky than surreal and it clashes with the outfits. Overall the covers are far from bad

Bad Flower

Already Bad Flower is an improvement from Tsuioku; I can actually remember this song! My first impression of Bad Flower was how much darker it sounded compared the previous discography TGS has released. Sure, they had songs like Limited Addiction and Liar but they're not anywhere near as dark as Bad Flower sounds. I think it's because Bad Flower incorporates the frequent use of the guitar and other harder, more rock instrumentals. I wouldn't say the song is hardcore because compared to other songs, it's really not but for TGS it's pretty hardcore. Everything just sounds very deliberate, like the vocals and instrumentals are being slammed into your head. Hrm, that sounded much more painful than it did in my head... Speaking of vocals, the vocal highlight of the song is most definitely Hitomi, and oh my god, does she sound good. Before, I'd always been kind of on the fence with her voice since it wasn't terrible but still wasn't the best in the group. Clearly that extra training paid off, because this is the best I've heard of her voice! Her voice sounds incredibly powerful and strong, almost as good as Ayano sounded in Limited Addiction. In fact... I think Bad Flower did  for Hitomi what Limited Addiction did for Ayano. Everyone else also sounds nice but vocals have never really been a huge problem for TGS! The one problem I have with this song is that it's a teensy bit too long for me; I guess that's kind of ironic since edge (⊿-mix) is almost 9 minutes and that's one of my favorite songs ever. But Bad Flower gets a little monotonous by the end; still, I like the song a lot and I like the dark direction Avex decided to take for this song!

The PV itself also matches the dark tone of the song perfectly! I've done a lengthier review here but I think I like the PV just a little bit better than I did when writing that review! My main problem with the PV is that there isn't really much going on but even then that's not a terribly big problem. The PV is essentially a dance PV with some fairly interesting close-ups but you can tell there's a lot of emphasis on the dance. That training really did pay off because the dance of Bad Flower is probably the strongest I've seen from TGS! I'm no expert but if it looks complicated, then it looks pretty awesome to me! There are lot of different formations and borderline-seductive moves and they really make good use of those flowy skirts. I love the way the outfits look in the PV! Why couldn't they have looked this awesome on the covers!? There are some other close-up shots in the PV like the ones that feature TGS as playing cards; I thought that was a rather cool effect! And then about mid-way through the PV the camera shows the girls lying down and doing some strange floor formations that make them look like bats that can't fly... Still, it's a pretty creepy-cool shot! The PV isn't as creepy as say, Limited Addiction, but visually it's still very dark! The PV definitely isn't groundbreaking or new material for TGS but nonetheless it's still a very tastefully shot PV with a strong dance from the girls! 

Bad Flower gets four and a half apples out of five for being almost perfect. It's a little too long for me and the style isn't new for them but nevertheless, it's still a strong leading track for their return, showcasing vastly improved vocals and an even stronger dance!

Lolita Strawberry in Summer

Well, hello there, SweetS cover! So I think the big question for this song is who sang it better? SweetS or TGS? Well, for the record I've never listened to SweetS. With that in mind, I've now given both the original and TGS' cover listens, one right after the other. And of the two... I think I like the SweetS version better. It's mainly because I think the instrumentals for that group worked better and it felt like the song flowed better. The cover isn't bad but it doesn't work for TGS the way it worked for SweetS; I felt like it didn't flow as well and I'm not a fan of the arrangement. What I noticed about this song is that it's really long, over 6 minutes. I feel like the lengthiness of the song was unnecessary especially since the original song is only around 4 minutes and that really made it drag in my opinion. To be fair, I think Avex was trying to rework the song to fit the style TGS has but in my opinion, it doesn't have as much punch as the SweetS version. I will say I like the vocals better in TGS; from what I heard, everyone in SweetS sounds really squeaky, except for one of them (I'm not sure who). I've always been a fan of TGS for their deep, powerful vocals and those definitely show in the song. Mei got a lot of solos in this cover which is awesome in my opinion! I love it when other girls besides Hitomi and Ayano (great as they are) get to lead! Overall, the song isn't terribly bad since the original song covered was pretty good in the first place but I it's probably my least favorite track on the song.

I can sum up the PV in two words: it sucks. I probably should explain why it sucks because it really sucks. And not in the entertaining way in which I can fun of it like with PyokoPyoko Ultra. Usually, I try to keep my mind open when it comes to animated PVs because there are a few interesting ones (like Kikkawa Yuu's Koko Kara Hajimarunda). The problem with taking on an animated PV is that it takes a lot of time and effort so it won't enter the Uncanny Valley (look it up on TV Tropes). When I think of CGI, I think of Pixar/Dreamworks. This PV... is not either one of those. It has terrible CGI animation, the movements aren't fluid, and panty shots? Really? How old are the animators, twelve? I will admit some of the background scenes are cool and this PV probably would have looked much better if it were shot in live action. Instead I feel like I'm watching five Barbie dolls stare into my soul. These animated girls look nothing like the real TGS! Not to mention the dance looks jilted and awkward instead of fluid like the live performance. If you're going to do animation, you can't half-ass it the way it was done in this PV. Look, as a person who enjoys high quality animation I just have a lot of problems with this PV that I could go on all day about. It's frightening and not in the Halloween-y way that I enjoy.

I'll give Lolita three apples out of five because while it's not the best cover in the world, SweetS is always a pretty safe group to cover especially for a group like TGS. For the record, the PV would get one apple but I try not to take PVs into consideration when rating.

Discord


Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks of this Discord when I hear that word. Hello? I can't be the only one! Well anyways... you have no idea how much of a pain it was trying to find the audio for this song; everywhere I went I could find the Limited B version of the single which only had Bad Flower and Lolita on it. No Discord. It was quite... discording! HA! When I finally did find the song, I was thinking to myself that this song had better be pretty freaking good considering all the trouble I had to go through to obtain it. Luckily, the song didn't disappoint. Discord is probably my favorite track on the song and it's in the same dark style Bad Flower had except with more electronics and vocal effects. And no, it's not Perfume-level vocal effects though it's pretty obvious the vocal editing is there to enhance the song. It's got this kinda Japanese funk from the future vibe! Oh wait, Perfume's Monochrome Effect was called that too... well, maybe this is like a Perfume song! Discord is pretty much carrying on the dark edginess that Bad Flower had but it does let up a little on the hard instrumentals. I don't have much to say about this song other than I really enjoy it and it's probably my favorite track on the song! Which is really good because if this song hadn't been worth all the trouble I would have been so pissed.

Five apples. Discord totally gets five apples. That is all.

The Verdict

Bad Flower is probably the strongest single Tokyo Girls' Style has released this year. Each track stands out on its own yet they all have the same cohesive theme. It's definitely one of the group's edgier releases with a variety of different instrumentals. Other than the mostly pointless SweetS cover, each track stands out in its own special way to me! Bad Flower had the edgy guitar-fused sound, Discord had an electronic tinge to it, and Lolita... well, you can't go too far off track with a SweetS cover!

So I'll give it 4.5 apples. It's a pretty awesome single so go check it out or never return to the Wonderland again!

Going Batty for TGS!

So this is what TGS has been doing for all these months! I was wondering where they'd gone! I really need to start keeping up with the news... I guess with all the other new releases and the lack of activity from them I just forgot! My reaction to Tsuioku was so lukewarm I decided to divert my attention to other more interesting song and return to TGS when they did something that would catch my eye again! Then I found out they were going on a kinda-sorta-but-not-really hiatus where they would spend time working and improving their vocals, dance skills, and other stuff idols work on. A few months went by before I found out that the reason behind all this preparation was that TGS was going to perform at Budokan! I don't know much about Budokan, other than it's pretty big so I assume this must be a rather large achievement for the group! To commemorate this feat, they're releasing a single titled Road to 12.22 Budokan in October! And that was pretty much all the info I got about them. I knew they performed a SweetS song but other than that I didn't hear much about them until now! I discovered the PV Bad Flower, one of the tracks on this Budokan single, had just been released! Now this was a happy surprise for me as it was the first new thing I'd heard from TGS in awhile. So how do they sound after all that mystical training they did in the far-off land of Avex? Did all that training have an effect on their performance and talent level at all?

Hell yeah! It totally paid off!

They sound so much better and I didn't even think that was possible! The biggest improvement I noticed was Hitomi. She'd always been one of the main singers for TGS and I've always thought her voice was decent but Ayano's and Mei's far better in comparison. My main problem was at times she sounded just a little too squeaky (then again, she's what? Thirteen, fourteen?). But oh my god, it's like aliens stole her voice box and replaced it with someone else's! Hitomi's voice is much deeper in this song and she has a ton of power behind the notes, almost as much as Ayano does! Speaking of Ayano, once  again her voice rocks in this PV but she doesn't get as much time to shine as Hitomi does. Hitomi was definitely lead for this song with Ayano minoring and some solos from Yuri and Mei thrown around in the song! Poor Miyu, I think she got like one solo in this entire song... but at least she got some duets! The deep, powerful vocals work extremely well with the song! Like the title suggests, Bad Flower is pretty Badass. It's one of the more rockish and darker songs from TGS, still maintaining that Avex style they have. There's a lot of guitar and percussion in it, giving the song a lot of volume and a lot of punch! It's not full-on hard rock, or even rock, but it's still one of the most hardcore songs I've heard from TGS! It makes me excited to hear what other songs are going to be on this Budokan single! It's definitely a step-up from Tsuioku and I'm glad TGS is back to bless us with more dark and edgy music!

So is the PV more interesting than Tsuioku? I hope so!

What a lovely background to begin this lovely PV!

BWAH! Don't scare me like that TGS! I thought you were the Grim Reaper times five!

Is that the I Dream of Jeannie dance?

I can't tell if I think this dance move is cool or kind of silly.

Ooh, cards! Are we playing Crazy 8s? Because that's the only card game I know...

I guess we're playing the TGS card game! So how does that exactly work?

Am I in hell already?

How old is Hitomi again? I feel awkward saying she looks somewhat... physically attractive in this PV.

Awww, they look like they're giving hugs to invisible people! Do you guys want hugs?

I guess they don't want hugs after all...

TGS always has some of the coolest formations; I could screencap them all day!

I can't tell if Yuri looks adorable or scared out of her mind in this shot...

Well, at least I can tell Mei looks possessed in this shot!

I think this is what Batman would look like if turned into a ballet

By the way, cool set for the close-ups! The old "empty dangling frames" cliche never gets old for me!

Hey look! A title drop!

This is like the sexually repressed version of that move in C-ute's new PV where Nakky gropes Maimi!

Cool, the pictures move! Wait a minute... are we in the Harry Potter universe now?

Geez, who stabbed picture!Ayano? It was you, wasn't it, Hitomi?

Hello, gratuitous fanservice. At least I can see their cute little boots now!

Just call them Dracula's Little Helpers!

The eyes... it's like they're staring into my soul O_O

I know Fairies is the Avex group known for its dancing but holy shit TGS are awesome dancers.

I'm all for a ring-around-the-Ayano!

I feel like I barely see Miyu in this PV...

Wow, someone's sure got it out for TGS! Maybe it's Fairies

Those sure are some snazzy leather jackets! But they don't really match up with those flowy skirts...

More eyes!? Stop it! You're creeping me out!

If you need me, I'll be hiding under my bed.

I wonder if they stole curtains from Party City to make those skirts...

So after watching the entire PV, I have just one question: why the hell was this not released in October?

I mean, it's a perfect Halloween PV. It's got dark lighting, dark costumes, dark everything! Why would Avex release it in August, the hottest and most unpleasantly summery month of the year? I think I'd like this PV more if it were released during a time where I'm not sweating and cursing the sun. That and I really want Halloween to get here soon... go away summer! But wow this PV was dark. I mean that literally speaking, I can barely see their faces in the dance shot! It's not surprising to see TGS maintaining their more serious, mature style but this PV was still a much darker, almost Gothic PV for them. If you're not a fan of this darker, more serious style of imagery then you're probably not going to like this (or most of TGS's recent discography). For me, I enjoyed the music video! There's nothing particularly new or innovative about it but as someone who often enjoys this sort of PV, naturally I enjoyed this one too! What really sold me on the PV was the dance; it's one of the best I've seen from TGS with a lot of formations, the frequent use of costumes, and the dance suitably matching up with the song. When I first saw the outfits I was a little on the fence about if they'd work for the PV what with the leather jackets and flowy black skirts not exactly going together but when in motion they look amazing. The skirts are especially used a lot in the PV with the dance moves making the girls looks like bats! Very pretty bats who happen to be idols... There are also a few random images thrown around in the PV like the random eye shots that were slightly creepy and the card close-ups that don't add much to the PV except some more dark imagery.

However, it's a little boring. Granted the shots we do see are very well done but the PV itself is nothing more than a dance shot, a few interesting close-ups, and some playing cards. There's no storyline or hidden symbolism just TGS being kinda creepy. The problem with dark PVs like this one is they give little opportunity for the girls to rely on their personalities to keep the video entertaining. That's often what saves most idol PVs from being a complete bore so how does TGS hold up without that advantage? I admit, the dark imagery gets a little repetitive after awhile and I wish they could something else in the PV besides stand around looking Gothic and pretty. Then again, I'm sure some of their creepier fans will be very... entertained by the physical attractiveness of the girls in the PV... if you know what I mean. Okay, this is getting awkward, ANYWAYS. There may be some hidden meaning behind the cards and the empty frames but whatever that is got lost on me. I'm probably asking too much considering most idol groups don't exactly have captivating and intricate plots to go with their music videos. I guess I've been too spoiled by all those AKB48 PVs! Storyline of no storyline, if you're a fan of the group, I think you'll enjoy this PV. It's not exactly mind-blowingly new from a group like TGS but the rockish song and the PV's dark vibes make it visually interesting, if somewhat lacking in terms of substance. The girls look amazing, the dance is one of the best I've seen this year, and I can't wait to hear the other songs on this Road to Budokan single!

But seriously, I want October to get here. NOW.