Kalafina 21st single "Hyakka Ryouran" (Katsugeki Touken Ranbu ED)

Thank you @Phantomus

Those B-sides are OK, my complains are for Hikaru's voice on kantan Katan and for Keiko's unusual way of singing in とんぼ. I guess she's trying to be cute, but she is not :(



Kantan Katan is very lovely. I love this kind of song. It's easy listening, not a heavy song with a lot of strings and flute and guitar on it.


Gladly, tonbo is different from another piano ballad kala songs. I love tonbo more than 真昼 and 春を待つ

Overall this single is more solid than into the world/märchen
 
Hyakka Ryouran (again): I believe I've said everything I could ever since that little unofficial version was graciously put together for us, but I will rehash that:
•In full, it comes off more enjoyable than its ancestor.
•Hikaru's mid-song addition might come off awkwardly to some, but I love it and enjoy that it comes off even more intensely since she came right after REMI's ethereality.
•The softer verse post-instrument-break and neo-suspenseful/cliffhanger ending are very appreciated song choices.

KanTanKatan in full: Primarily the same happy and chill feelings from the sample. I didn't expect a string opening but that was a bit ignorant of me. And I have no problem with it because it wasn't excessive.
THAT BRIDGE. I love the rhythm! I don't know if that was a slight key change entirely or what (I doubt), but I love it and that it was very smoothly reinserted (as opposed to re-enforced) into the ending, which was also gorgeous. That little, ah, "KeikoGate" I ignited those weeks ago does not change the fact that she is my favorite singer of the Kajiura girls, especially when hearing them in any group setting (tied with Miss Kaida). *I don't think this entire song had to be for her, because this song's key and arrangement are already extremely complementary to her harmonic placement, and when live, she will be taking charge of that bridge and it's revamp. However, this is coming from someone that likes the vocals.
A part of me wants to say that this song was borderline long, but any problem with that stopped after listening to the songs the third time through.
I would see this as the default favorite of most of us but that's me being prejudiced again. Honestly I like it so much that I could see it as a separate single.

Tonbo in full: I love the piano's primary melodic progression that we hear in the introduction and inserts.
I love that Hikaru sounds very intensely moody, and yet without being asked to use her shonen-aesthetic voice.
Members such as grunty that are also enormous fans seem to have no outward issues with this, but I feel a little bad that I am so moved by Tonbo and yet so unhappy with HwM. Both of them are all piano and solo-emphatic. But I'm brought back to grunty's example of HnS vs. neverending, and must remind myself that it's harmless. And I think that HwM needed something like that harmonic insert in the middle of Tonbo; I enjoy that the harmony was put onto 90% of Wakana's moment, because it drives me away from automatically thinking of Yuuka (and thus, being disappointed). Keiko needs no description, she was pretty damn perfect. I don't think she sounds unusual -- it reminds me of those first 8 lines of Nohara that she sings solo live (and I mean even before Miss Kaida comes in).

Okay I think I'm done.
 
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This may be the first time since Lacrimosa that I actually prefer the A-side over the B-side(s). That is not to say that Kantankatan and tonbo are bad. They're OK. It's just that the girls are laying it on too thick with the emotional delivery on both B-sides. It's a bit much.
Also, Wakana sounds especially shrill on these B-sides. Makes me sad... :cry:
 
Hyakka Ryouran is still good :goodjob:

カンタンカタン was really awesome. It's a really chill & relaxing song, like Natsu no Asa. Anyone else thinks it sounds like a slower version of FJY's "Hitomi no Kakera" without the flute?

とんぼ was more or less 真昼 version 3
 
@george1234 there's your violin solos in kantankatan :))

hmm I like kantankatan instrumental very much (if you focus in on the cello with the guitar it's great but ever so subtle then the violin, my favorite part, around 4th minute). and that keiko solo until hikaru and wakana come in :(

i can't connect with the rest of the single sorry:(

edit: uuu kantankatan has really nice beats to it too :))
 
Thanks phantomas!

I'll echo the sentiments on kantankatan. It's a very chill, down to earth sound we usually don't hear from kajiura, but the vocals, particularly Wakana, just sound a bit out of place. Actually, I could imagine the instrumental working as a bgm in its own right.

I'm not crazy about the other two songs, but I think they all work really well together as a single.
 
Just listened through it, don't have much time to report since I just got back from work and already need to be up in 6hrs for another 15hr day, but I'll give a quick rundown.

Hyakka Ryouran - Still really quite like it. After ItW/Marchen was decent I was kind of expecting it to be a fluke one-off in regards to decent a-sides, but I'd say they've pulled it off again. Can't wait to hear this live.

Kantankatan - Damn, this is legit great. The instrumental is fantastic, gives me kind of a nostalgic feel. It reminds me of something, but I'm not certain what. Not another Kalafina song either from what I can tell, for once.

Tonbo - Really quite pretty, although it's a pretty standard piano ballad. Will probably go on the same pile as songs like Mahiru that I enjoy and like, but won't necessarily go out of my way to listen to.
 
@grunty Lol, I get that :XD:. I listened to Hitomi no Kakera earlier today so it was fresh in my head

It really reminds me of something, too (other than HnK), but I can't place my finger on it.... maybe neverending? Or a different FJY song?

The way Keiko sings her solo in Katankatan... :hearts:

The instrumental for Kantankatan is also really nice, has a lot of strings :love:
 
Neverending maybe I guess? That said a friend of mine said it reminded him of something as well and he's never listened to FJ and only really heard FotW from Kalafina outside of me playing their earlier albums back when we were living together, and I doubt he was paying enough attention to remember what any of that sounded like.
 
Okay, I broke down and listened to the samples. I love katan like most. It sounds kind of folkish, but the slower songs, like Blackmore's Night's songs. Oooooh I can't wait to hear the strings and Keiko's part. Hikaru sounds lovely too. Tonbo is nice, but like season said will probably be like Mahiru and sapphire (even though I listened to them a lot because I covered them on violin heh) and won't listen to it regularly. But I haven't heard the full yet. Oh I hope mine comes tomorrow or Thurs (preferably tomorrow as I will have more time to listen!) I was thinking of Katan as being something more along the lines of Te to, which I would have loved too. But this is still nice. Same feeling as Samidare gave me, chills. :dote:
 
Ok, I finally could listen to them. I already liked hyakka ryouran. Kantankatan is great. The music, the melody... I don't quite like the way Hikaru sings in this one... There's something in the melody that makes me think of a folky tsuioku. That sounds weird but I don't know how to explain it better. Keiko is great here. I hope we could switch her part for Wakana's. It would have been better (even if Wakana is singing beautifully here). Anyway, I hope we get a live version of this. As for tonbo, I found it lovely. I like when Wakana first sings.
All in all, I do like this single. I have more hopes for whatever album that comes anytime soon.
 
Thanks @Phantomus!

KANTANKATAN - Didn't know Yuki was still composing for FictionJunction WAKANA. That discography is ever expanding.

Tonbo- Sounds like a mash up of "yasashii uta" and "Futari (FJY)" and "Mahiru". Nah I liked Mahiru more because of that third verse by WAKANA in Mahiru.
 
Hikaru brings both the b-sides down for me. her singing grates on my ears. it's like she can't control her dynamics and her pronounciation is weird and it just sounds BAD. I would love Tonbo 10x more if Hikaru was only in harmonies, because Keiko and Wakana kills this song, same with Katan.
 
Hyakka Ryouran: I really like it but not something I would repeat listening. 8.5/10
カンタンカタン is soo good. :love: The intro is BGM-like. It's Sandpiper x Forest x Neverending's la la la(only in Wakana's part, the filtered ones), but only in terms of atmosphere. The tone and delivery is unique. Lovely instrumental too! I think because of Wakana and Hikaru part that made Keiko's line amazing so no complaints for me. Though if I'm nitpicking, I feel like the song is done rushed that they don't bother smoothing out some rawness of their voices particularly on Wakana's segment. 9.5/10

Tombo: Definitely better than Haru wo Matsu. The Dare mo Inai Basho of Kalafina with only piano accompaniment and simple arrangement. What really stand out in this song is the lyrics. This piece will surely be on acoustic tour setlist. 8.0/10

Very satisfied with this single. :shy:
 
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