Utada Hikaru

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I feel like she deserves her own thread...considering the impact of her work.Also wanted to hear some opinions on her two latest albums Fantome and Hatsukoi.

I feel like most will gravitate to Yunnagi on her latest album it’s so mesmerizing. And Chikai is absolute perfection. She never ceases to amaze me with her level of musical construction. I’m always a little sad that the OG Kalafina is now WHalafina but Utada returning to the scene has definitely helped ease the pain
 
She released a new album after Fantome? Well, I guess that shows how much I cared after her return... I'll check it out sometime.

Deep River x Ultra Blue still the best Utada for me.
 
@grunty
What’s your favorite songs from Ultra Blue? It had the best artwork for sure. Deep river is like quintessential JPOP goodness. I thought Fantome turned out really well esp for a late comeback.
 
If I had to pick one from Ultra Blue today, I'd probably go for This is Love but I actually like the whole album. Kairo would be one of my favorites if the synth strings weren't getting on my nerves.

On Fantome, I only really liked Kooya no Ookami, Manatsu (mostly thanks to the last 2 minutes or so) and Nijikan. Nijikan is that awkward moment when your featured guest is more interesting than you though... The rest is just ok, nothing that would get me hyped.

Edit: Forgot about Michi on Fantome. I liked that one, so I'm kind of surprised I forgot about it...?
 
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Finally checked Hatsukoi out and I really liked the last 3 tracks. Everything before that not so much but I guess those songs weren't for me since they felt like a continuation of where she was going with Fantome and even Heart Station.
 
grunty said:
Finally checked Hatsukoi out and I really liked the last 3 tracks. Everything before that not so much but I guess those songs weren't for me since they felt like a continuation of where she was going with Fantome and even Heart Station.
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True — I hadn’t even bought all of Fantôme and listen to all of my stuff on shuffle, so I’d thought Kouya no Ookami was on Hatsukoi while I was looking for it XD

But about Hatsukoi, I’m up for tracks 2 through 5 and 10 through 12. Can’t sit here and say I don’t like Anata or Forevermore even though they do have a Fantôme sound.
People have gone savage over Chikai but it’s not like it’s not good — I just think that old leak shouldn’t have been passed to the KH fans last year.
The title song is just fabulous to me, I can’t really describe it in much more personal detail.
 
Her Kingdom Hearts songs are my favs, followed by Colours, but i ve listened to most of her other albums and they are pretty good :)

I wonder when she is gonna do the song for KH3, i ve gotten tired of the first 2 getting reused on all the spin off games.
 
george1234 said:
I wonder when she is gonna do the song for KH3, i ve gotten tired of the first 2 getting reused on all the spin off games.
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Umm. The KH3 song is on this new album - Chikai (Don't think twice for the English version). Unless they end up using a newer song next year...
 
LOL i had no idea, thanks!! :D

Listened to it. I think it lacks beat, the previous 2 songs were pretty upbeat compared to that. But wait, she usually makes some mix of the song for the OP and uses it as it is as an ED. But its a good song overall!
 
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I don't think she actually composes them with Kingdom Hearts and "sound continuity" in mind. Hikari/Simple&Clean was reflective of her Distance-Deep River era, Passion/Sanctuary was reflective of her Deep River-Ultra Blue period and Chikai is definitely in line with where she seems to be at now as a singer/composer with Fantome&Hatsukoi. For better or worse to some listeners. :p
 
I consider the soft beat to be an interesting change that’s still enjoyable, instead of calling it ‘lacking’ — so many songs of hers keep the beats pumpin’ and then I find a nice departure in Heart Station or Ore no Kanojou, etc., and Chikai would fit easily into that.
 
^ Just saying its kinda too slow for a song for an action game :)

my fav song of Hatsukoi album is probably Forevermore!
 
I just listened to the "Deep River" album today and it's really good!! Hikari is the best song from that, but I'm biased bc I'm also a (budding) Kingdom Hearts fan so shrugs
 
grunty said:
If I had to pick one from Ultra Blue today, I'd probably go for This is Love but I actually like the whole album. Kairo would be one of my favorites if the synth strings weren't getting on my nerves.

On Fantome, I only really liked Kooya no Ookami, Manatsu (mostly thanks to the last 2 minutes or so) and Nijikan. Nijikan is that awkward moment when your featured guest is more interesting than you though... The rest is just ok, nothing that would get me hyped.

Edit: Forgot about Michi on Fantome. I liked that one, so I'm kind of surprised I forgot about it...?
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I'm surprised how similar our choices are! I really think that Kouya no Ookami is underrated.

The last 2 tracks in Hatsukoi are just amazing, Yuunagi and Jinsei. I love playing them in reverse order.

Hikki is one of my fav artists although I've never played a KH game lol. Whenever I want to listen to a ballad, I'd go to her works, Sakura Nagashi, Mananatsu, Final Distance,.... and now Yuunagi. Hopefully, I'll win a lottery for her upcoming tour as she rarely goes on tour :)
 
In Kooya no Ookami when that piano comes in during the first pre-chorus I'm always like WOOoooooo. And then after the chorus, instead of returning to the hard beat and almost shouting of the first verse, the whole track continues being softer... and I'm like WOOoooOOoooo. I really like how clean the arrangement is in that track.
 
grunty said:
In Kooya no Ookami when that piano comes in during the first pre-chorus I'm always like WOOoooooo. And then after the chorus, instead of returning to the hard beat and almost shouting of the first verse, the whole track continues being softer... and I'm like WOOoooOOoooo. I really like how clean the arrangement is in that track.
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Exactly my thought lol! When the piano kicks in, it never goes back. The arrangement and progression in this song are just amazing.
BTW what do you think of the last track in Hatsukoi?
 
I'm a little confused by the lyrics but the song is surefooooine. (Though my depressive ass would probably pick Yuunagi for the top spot from the last 3 tracks on the album.)

I wish the last refrain repeated one more time and maybe during it the strings could grow in intensity to the point they almost overpower her vocals at that last chord (4:32). Just a maybe - don't know if it would actually be better, maybe it would make it lose this sense of ?freedom?/?content? the finale has right now to me.
 
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Yuunagi was intended for fantome, but she could not finish it until Hatsukoi. In her latest documentary, she was reading book (I think inspiration for the song) while listening to the demo. I'm glad she didn't ditch it, and it turned to be this beautiful piece.

BTW, here is the documentary if someone is interested. It shows the last month of recordings. Although it's not sub, still interesting to see the process, and lots of the conversations are in English since it's mostly in London.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av27038031
 
That new Kingdom Hearts III song is cancer to my ears. I mean, starts okay-ish (the Japanese version at least) and then it just sticks a needle through my eardrums (regardless of the language version).
 
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