I have to admit that ever since Koda Kumi released her 9th studio album, Dejavu, I had been very uninspired by her releases. I really enjoyed the album for a while, but despite the tracks being very good, the album itself lacked a good concept that would bring such diverse songs together. Ever since secret, Kumi appears to never have focused on herself as a concept, causing a huge contrast between that first stage of her career and the second one (which we are currently experiencing), and I would love to have heard an album that shows us more of Kumi’s personal and raw side like the ones she made before. ETERNITY ～Love & Songs～ definitely followed down that personal path because it compiled covers of songs Kumi kept close to her heart, but I definitely miss an original album with that Kumi flair we all know and love. The singles she was coming out with this year were definitely enjoyable, but when she introduced us to the album’s concept and all its different versions, it really felt like a milestone in her career, so my curiosity was restored 100% and I was on full-anxiety mode! Even though JAPONESQUE‘s sound is not as Japanese as the concept makes it seem to be, the material is full of quality, style and a strong showcase of personality and identity from Kumi! I’m still deciding wether it lived up to my expectations or not, but I’m definitely enjoying the record.

Introduction ～JAPONESQUE～ is gorgeous! Following a traditional japanese route with some contemporary charm, Kumi plays role of an oiran welcoming you into her world. This song also has some arabesque charm, but it’s a gorgeous introduction that really makes you curious to dig deeper into the album. The allure of orian Kumi is very seductive!

So Nice is by far one of my favorites on the album! I’ve been waiting for another Arab-inspired Kumi song since forever and I’m so glad she came out with this absolutely sexy number! So Nice is a midtempo covered in sexuality and seductiveness and a delicious display of Kumi’s vocal range. I love it how this track’s intro opens up the album because it really takes care of that curiosity evoked by the introduction. Oiran Kumi truly shows us what she’s all about with this contagiously smooth and sexy track!

I was really worried when I read one of the songs from JAPONESQUE would be called Boom Boom Boys since I wasn’t a fan of the title at all. When I got to listen to the preview, though, I became really excited to listen to it in full! This song is a very intense hybrid between rock and electronic music with a very feminine touch that’s very aggressive and empowering. I think this is the first time Kumi explores this type of mixture and it really became a unique song and I hope she does more mixing and matching like it in the future! Definitely a strong track.

The version of V.I.P. present on JAPONESQUE features T-Pain ruining the song  rapping to the song. I personally really enjoyed the original song, though I admit it’s a bit messy (even if that’s mostly its charm), and T-Pain just elevated that hot mess quality to a whole new level of terrible… or borderline dangerous. I get the image of Kumi recording the song and T-Pain wanting to be funny, coming in, taking her microphone from her and recording a terrible rap over her and running off before security catches him. Kumi has had an unfortunate sequence of collaborations with western artists and T-Pain takes the cake as the worst one by far. At least it’s short enough to become ignorable.

The album then goes on to show us how a truly successful collaboration works with Slow, featuring Omarion. This song is one of my favorites because it sounds like a 2.0 version of Passing By (which was one of the tracks I most enjoyed from Dejavu!), though slightly more synthesized and heavier-sounding. I love Kumi’s autotuned vocals (there’s just something about the amazing mixture of autotune and Kumi’s voice that works magic) and Omarion’s as well! Their chemistry shows in the song and it really feels like Omarion participated in the song, ad-libbing through the song when he isn’t rapping. An emotional, delicious track that’s very refreshing!

Brave was my greatest surprise from the album. Judging by the preview that came out a while before the release of the album, I thought it would be a generic ballad  with boring and artificial instrumentals that could barely stand its own as one of the album’s few ballads… but it’s really quite gorgeous! Obviously it’s not on the same level as 好きで、好きで、好きで。 and あなただけが, but considering it’s an album track, it’s quite gorgeous! The instrumentals mix R&B elements with organic instrumentation, Kumi’s beautiful range and a gorgeous instrumental break. I was really surprised by how much I loved this song!

Everyday is a very adorable and happy R&B track. I really like it when Kumi comes out with songs like these because they just feel like innocently precious jewels within the album, with no intention to overshadow any other tracks but still not sounding like filler. Everyday is a sweet song that positions itself as kind of a modern-day 恋の魔法 in the album, but because there is only one other cute track on JAPONESQUE, it’s a lot more refreshing. I really enjoy listening to this song simply because it’s so lovely.

IN THE AIR is the refreshing afternoon-themed love song we were introduced to through her summer maxi. This song is also very unique because of its sweet composition sprinkled with rock-ish elements. I guess this very essence is what brings forth the afternoon feel, in between the energy of day and delicacy of the night. I think this is a very interesting song that stands out among the other ones on the record and never grows old!

You are not alone (Acoustic Version) sounds so much better than the previous version we got to hear! This version replaces the cute, cheap-sounding instrumentals with some simple acoustic instruments that make a world of difference. Though I feel the instrumentals are very simple and I would like a little bit more of an inspiring melody, I really enjoy how Kumi took a risk that really worked (since I hear some instruments in this song she doesn’t use very often). The backing vocals sound great too and overall the song is a sweet addition.

Interlude ～JAPONESQUE～ is definitely not a smooth transition from the previous song, and it starts off with an intense feudal Japan sound that is soon replaced by pulsating electronic beats which are interrupted by Kumi’s gorgeous adlibbing and a mixture of everything at once (except for Kumi’s voice), which ends the interlude on a really weird note… I like it though, the beginning is quite gorgeous and the confusion of it sounds interesting.

I don’t like the beginning of ESCALATE with Kumi’s lazy voice, which is a pity since overall it’s a really hot dance track. I really like the strong beat that graces the song with an incredibly solid dance foundation. The chorus is really strong, and really makes up for the many parts of the song where Kumi sounds lazy. Some parts are pure autotune goodness and Kumi sounds fantastic when she isn’t busy sounding lazy! This is definitely a huge club track that escalates itself into that climatic chorus.

Love Me Back, though an amazing song, feels a bit out of place on the album… it’s basically the only song of its kind and with so many electronic dance tracks it just loses all its sexy shine. This is a real pity since it’s a great song that was executed fantastically. Regardless, the track is still fun and playful as always and definitely worth a listen!

No Man’s Land, like Brave really impressed me because even though Kumi sounds pretty lazy here again, the instrumentals really make up for it! This is a powerful song that sounds like a battlefield, and it’s impressive how it was able to carry this impression forth without requiring crazy belting or booming instrumentals, rather it’s a very melodic song with deep, enjoyable vocals (despite the laziness!) and instrumentation that I really grew to love! This is Kumi’s first rock song in this style, I believe, and it sounds amazing!

I wish 愛を止めないで hadn’t been released as a single previously because it would have impressed me so much if it had been an album track! This song is gorgeous and I love it to death, though I’m not sure it was truly single material… it’s one of those songs that are way too strong to be a b-side but not career-defining enough to be an a-side, and that’s why it would have been so much more appealing if it had remained an album track. Regardless of its status as a single or not, I continue to love this one to death.

KO-SO-KO-SO is another song, like Love Me Back, that sounds out of place among the other tracks. Maybe if it had been included after So Nice it would sound more in its element, but because this song was so impacting last year it feels like it deserved more of a spotlight by being a part of a setlist that would enhance its contagious sexuality. KO-SO-KO-SO kind of falls a bit flat being among so many dance sexy songs but still remains enjoyable and a great addition to familiarize new listeners to the sexy artist that is Koda Kumi!

I like the placement of Lay Down because the beginning of the song kind of feeds off the raw sexuality of KO-SO-KO-SO and translates it into a dance atmosphere. I really love Kumi’s English on this song, she sounds absolutely fierce (though I hear

take you, rape you, make you mine

in the hook of the song and I really don’t think that’s correct) and this song is pure energy! Definitely one to look forward to if you’re into a really hot electronic song.

Oh my, Love Technique has got to be her best cute song yet! It’s catchy, absolutely sweet, fun, playful and so enjoyable! She sounds amazing and quite natural in all her adorable charms. Unlike many other of her cute songs, it’s not noisy or diabetes-inducing, and it sounds like the instrumentals work in perfect synthetic unison with her cute voice. Amazing and refreshing!

I kind of grew fonder of Poppin’ love cocktail after giving it some time to grow on me. It’s still not very enjoyable to me, but I think I understand it a bit more… I think the thing about it is its summer fun, though noisy and messy, and it feels like it would be the type of song someone would blast on the way to the beach, so Kumi and TEEDA are forgiven (besides, TEEDA’s rapping is really cute so I have to give him props)!

All for you is one of the highlights of the album because I never heard another song like it. Kumi dedicates this one to her fans and in order to capture all the feeling she wanted to convey, this was entirely done in one take with no editing (as you will notice through its quality) and it’s so beautiful she would do something so different and gorgeous for us! I love this song because it leaves me speechless and so glad to be her fan. It truly wouldn’t be the same if it had been covered in production… there’s just something about that rawness in her voice that is absolutely moving.

Overall, I really love JAPONESQUE! It feels like an improved version of Kingdom because of everything it involves; the great packaging, the super well-done music videos, as well as the great production and concept that ties everything up in a fantastic experience!

It feels like this is a very special album for Kumi not only because her now-husband aided her in its composition (possibly why this album has a lot of rock in it) but also because it really feels like she released this to her fans! The traditional Japanese motif really speaks out to international and Japanese fans alike and I’m sure it’s a huge reason for Japanese culture fanatics to fall in love with it already (the photography is gorgeous!), but the contents of the album are really solid and entertaining. I just miss the inclusion of some really gorgeous ballads or some traditional-inspired songs to really carry out the Japanese theme entirely, but that’s forgivable because I’m still in love with it!

This album makes me happy I’m a Kuu fan!

Final Score:

99 / 100

倖田來未 – So Nice

I’m still trying to trace back my steps this morning to make sure I never did anything different that would possibly result in me going back to a time when censorship and xenophobia were rampant and respected for being extreme forms of restraint and nationalism.

With the world becoming aware of the SOPA and PIPA bills and people all over the web engaging in protests against the proposals, I was already really shocked, and would rather not opine too much on this topic since I’m not sure I’m the best spokesperson, not having read  too much about it, and I don’t want to be responsible for the shaping of opinions without being sure of everything. All I know is that both of them are very well-intentioned projects but projects that propose absurd methods in order to achieve their goal of fighting piracy.

Honestly, I’m all for fighting piracy but using methods such as censorship over social networks and socialization hubs in the U.S. all over the internet is an absurd way of fighting this evil. I don’t even think our society is even ready for this.

The plan of these bills really remind me of a certain importation reinforcement policy that has been put to action here in Brazil, where the president is now having every order of imported goods unpacked and analyzed to make sure they rarely miss any package that should be taxed (taxes here may go as far up as 60% of the product’s original price + shipping). This policy made no sense at all to me because by importing something, not only is it more likely you are buying original goods (and not supporting the intense level of piracy within the country), but in my case, I import goods from other countries because Brazil does not own any sort of Asian music distribution facility, so they’re goods we don’t have anywhere else! If the purpose of such policy is to enhance the circulation of money within Brazil, then shouldn’t there be a Brazilian shop for everything in the world? It’s a policy that’s clearly an easy solution (also very well-intentioned) to a problem that goes way beyond wanting to escape taxes. That’s how I feel about the two bills; it’s an easy solution to an extremely complicated problem.

Anyway, I decided to write this post after I was reading up on some Japanese pop news at aramatheydidnt about how DC, one of the world’s greatest comic book companies, is motivating its consumers to trade in their Japanese manga for American comics:

When I see this I think that it’s a terrible response to the popularity of some manga that have been receiving special re-issues in America and becoming very popular among comic book fans. Sailor Moon, for instance, made it to #1 on the New York Times and the publisher ran out of copies for the first pressing. Dark Horse Comics has also added powerful manga titles to their roster of comics, like Cardcaptor Sakura and Chobits, so maybe this is DC’s way of getting rid of (non-American) competition.

Regardless of the reason behind this, I’m completely floored by this absurd advertisement. I honestly feel like I was taken to World War II and I’m having to watch out for any Japanese product I own because American products are that much better. I really hope this project fails completely because its premise is mind-bogglingly shameful.

I really don’t understand what DC would get out of collecting a bunch of manga, but nothing justifies their slogan of

Robama wants you to buy American!

The world is really beginning to scare me. I always took the idea of history repeating itself for granted, I thought evolution was a concept that would interfere in that terrible cycle, but it really feels like history is never history, there’s always a need for prejudice and repression looming about, it just sleeps in between generations… So much for the beauty and respect of globalization.

I couldn’t possibly let Plastic Candy’s J-Urban week go by without reviewing a single Namie Amuro release! As I’ve written before, Namie has had a significance influence in Japanese urban culture not only through her music, which has constantly been molding the genre, but also because of her style.

Namie has been a huge name in the Japanese music industry for a long time now, and she keeps bringing it! LOVE ENHANCED♥ single collection is a classic of hers not only because it’s a singles compilation, but also because it’s entirely composed of self-covers, having the songs remixed with different instrumentals or different vocals, but she brought it! Even if the songs weren’t exactly J-Urban originally, they received a delicious coating of it that made me fall in love with this album at first listen!

The compilation kicks off with Say The Word, which went through a new arrangement treatment. I really like the song, it’s a very enjoyable pop/R&B number with a lot of J-Urban flavor that makes it a very pleasant listen. The chorus is very strong, Namie sounds amazing throughout the entire piece and it’s a very pleasant listen!

RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE got itself a new mix and I gotta say, I love it! It starts very sweet and melodic until the chorus kicks in and completely call your attention because it’s quite striking. I love Namie’s voice here and the instrumentals are really playful and enjoyable. Though the chorus is quite pop, the song has a very relaxing J-Urban that always seem to be reaching the climax that is the chorus. Definitely one to look out for, I love it!

NEVER END, in turn, got some new vocals. I really like the smoothness of this song, it’s not agitated like the previous ones and the chorus is very delicate but still calls your attention. I love midtempos like this, that sound quite unpromising and then take you away in their delicious instrumentation and vocals. This song is one that may become overlooked, but indulging in its delicious J-Urban simplicity is very relaxing!

LOVE2000 got a new mix just like RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE. I’m not sure how I feel about this one, though. Namie’s soft voice sounds off against the aggressive instrumentals and it almost feels like it’s suffocating her. It would definitely be a more enjoyable song if the instrumentals were softened a bit more in order to blend in with Namie’s beautifully strong voice, but I guess these instrumentals have a lot of power to them. It definitely stands out within the album for its unusual intensity.

PLEASE SMILE AGAIN makes it sound like you just stepped out of Japan and went into some European medieval court, but thankfully it doesn’t take too long for synth to kick in and make the song more cohesive with the album. This song also went through a new mix treatment and I have to say it’s not one of my favorites. I don’t understand much of it, it feels a bit all over the place and the strength of the instrumentals doesn’t help much.

think of me is so amazingly sad and sweet at the same time. There’s something about Namie’s youthful somewhat innocent-sounding voice and the slowness in which she’s using it against the R&B ballad instrumentals that works magic! I love this one because 2/3 into the song Namie really lets go and delivers it! Her vocals are flawless here and the emotion conveyed by them are nothing sort on perfection. Very sweet and heartfelt new vocal mix.

SOMETHING ‘BOUT THE KISS sounds very pleasant, though it’s not a big highlight of the album for me. This one also got a brand new vocal treatment but the song itself isn’t interesting enough, it’s definitely sweet and enjoyable, but nothing too involving, I guess it’s because despite the lovely vocals and instrumentals, the melody is very continuous and it becomes monotonous.

lovin’ it is one of my favorites on the album! It’s very J-Urban and I really don’t mind VERBAL, he’s one of the only rappers I’m actually able to enjoy in a song. This is a mellow song with a strong beat, some very interesting vocals and backing vocals as well as an interesting melody. I really enjoy the emotion and strength Namie invests in her voice. This one is definitely catchy but very refreshing and lovely too!

I HAVE NEVER SEEN is exactly my type of midtempo, and naturally, my favorite! This instrumental is now absolute J-Urban heaven: it’s slow, smooth, and simply breathtakingly gorgeous. The instrumentals contrast perfectly with Namie’s soft voice and it’s sung in such a relaxing way that really takes me away. The original was already amazing, but this version with new arrangements blows my mind! Definitely a song to look out for!

HimAWAri is another lovely track that got new vocals. The piano keys that initiate the song are quite striking and beautiful and Namie’s voice just gets better throughout the song. Overall this is a very pleasant song that flows perfectly and sounds like a little bit of a more upbeat version of the original I HAVE NEVER SEEN. Definitely very sweet and one of my favorites!

no more tears sounds very J-Urban from the start and I really like it for that, I’m guessing it’s from the new mix treatment it when through (since I haven’t heard the original). I really like the chorus because it sounds very playful and enjoyable despite the sober and mature sound of the rest of the song. A very soft, whimsical song very refreshing to listen to!

I will ends the album on a very gorgeous note. It’s the only song in the album that consists of an orchestra gracing its instrumentals and it sounds absolute breathtaking! A beautiful way to end such a wonderful record, because it sounds extremely grand and Namie keeps nailing the notes with a lot of emotion, it’s very very gorgeous and quite hard to describe, you have to listen to it!

LOVE ENHANCED♥ single collection is a fantastic greatest hits compilation that adds a fresh new twist to Namie classics and truly enhances their perfection!

Final Score:

100 / A+

安室奈美恵 – I will

I hope you all enjoyed Plastic Candy’s J-Urban week special! I know I did and I had so much fun writing up all the posts and looking into Japanese culture even further! I learned a lot and cleared out many of my own doubts about some fashion movements, so I hope I was able to write up interesting and informative pieces! Thank you for sticking with me and I hope you had fun! ♥

Harajuku (原宿) is an extremely fashion-forward neighborhood in Japan known for being an urban fashion hub. In Harajuku, people of countless fashion movements come to show off their original style as well as see that of others and shop for more interesting items they might find around in shops.

I decided to end Plastic Candy’s J-Urban week with a post on Harajuku because I wanted to introduce some more fashion movements briefly to give this project a bit of closure (I had so much fun with it, I hope you did too!) and talk a little bit about Harajuku itself and possibly answer a few questions people may have about it. The first thing I have to clear up though is that Harajuku is often times used as a general term because the location of Harajuku is sprinkled with all sorts of fashion, so sometimes people can be part of the Harajuku lifestyle and not be following any trend specifically, just dressing up in eccentric, colorful clothes and make-up! I think the most common misunderstanding is that Harajuku is actually a fashion movement by the true definition of the expression, when it really is a mixture of countless other Japanese styles, some of which I’ve already mentioned like the Lolita and Gyaru. Some styles have actually generated from the mix present within the Harajuku culture, though.

Harajuku District

The Harajuku culture began as World War II was coming to an end. U.S. soldiers and government civilians set a neighborhood for themselves named Washington Heights, which would later be recognized as Harajuku. The American neighborhood became a center of curiosity and some years later, central apartments were built in the area, which were populated by fashion designers, models and photographers. The accelerated development of the area was further explored when Japan hosted the 1964 Olympics and this was when Harajuku culture truly started to manifest.

The term Harajuku-zoku (or Harajuku tribe) was becoming more and more popular in order to describe the young Japanese fashionistas that frequented the area and still do.

(Some) Styles of Harajuku

Like I mentioned previously, the Harajuku district is known for its multiple influences and that’s what makes it so unique. It’s basically a meeting place for countless styles that sometimes even come together in order to make something completely different, which is the case for one of the fashion statements I’m going to introduce! This time I would just like to write a little about some other cultures that are quite significant to the Harajuku fashion scene (and consequently, the Japanese fashion scene), and they may even turn into full features of Plastic Candy’s new Harajuku Poupées section!

Cosplay (コスプレ)

Cosplay is a HUGE movement in Japan. The term comes from a fusion of the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’, so I’m not sure whether it’s correct to call it a fashion movement since it’s almost entirely independent of the fashion scene, though it can influence other styles in Harajuku. Because anime and manga are such an integral part of Japanese entertainment and culture, it’s only natural that some die-hard fans of such medium would dress up like their favorite characters every once in a while, though it’s a lot more than mere influence! A lot of money can be spent as adherents look for the perfect material to make their costumes look the closest to reality as possible (most Cosplay costumes are created custom-made by the actual user/performer), and sometimes they look flawless!

Because of the fascination for roleplaying cosplayers have, cosplaying is very often associated to performances where contestants dispute among themselves who has the best costume and who can act the most like their character. This sort of competition has spread worldwide and in some competitions, the winner is sponsored to fly to Japan and represent his/her country in a world tournament!

Cyberpunk

(The picture above, as pointed out by the lovely Sonia, is not exactly of a Cyberpunk model, but of Mana from Malice Mazer, an adherent of Gothic Lolita and Visual Kei fashion. I feel like he presents many characteristics similar to Cyberpunk that would be easy to illustrate, though!)

Cyberpunk may not be as popular as some of other styles within Harajuku, but it is extremely interesting because it’s a style that originated in Harajuku. Adherents of the style emerged from the blending of the punk culture with the bright, flashy Harajuku lifestyle and even though they sport a very punk appearance, they’re covered in neon bright colors that have a lot of different elements to it. Cyberpunks usually want to achieve a cold look that may be quite aggressive to some, but it’s very intricate as to not let the bright colors outshine the true roots of the fashion movement.

Kawaii (可愛い)

The Kawaii movement is very much what its title means. It’s not a specific type of cute; over-the-top, princess-y, or any other type, it’s just a cute-inspired style… be it exaggerated or just an overall cute look. This is definitely one of the most influential looks because of its flexibility in terms of its appearance and the fact that there are many other movements that incorporate cute accessories to their looks. The Japanese love for cuteness can even be dated back to the Edo Period because of the popularity of Netsuke, which were miniature sculptures used as pockets. Because of the wide-spreading reach of cuteness in varying degrees, it was only a matter of time until it spawned its own fashion with a lot of flexibility in intensity.

Visual Kei (ヴィジュアル系)

Visual Kei originated to represent a visual form of music, and that’s why it even generated its own musical genre: a mixture of glam rock, punk rock and heavy metal of the same name. Visual Kei is recognized as an androgynous, colorful style with a lot of make-up involved. Visual Kei is a musical style with multiple sub-genres which consist of some variations of characteristics, depending on their purpose. When it comes to this fashion movement, music and fashion are reflections of each other, so the outfits and make-up change if the sub-genre changes as well. This is a very prominent style in Japan because it’s pretty much connected to many forms of performance.

These are just brief descriptions of some other really important fashion movements in Japan that all have an influence on the crazy, whimsical wonderland that is Harajuku! I would love to keep Harajuku Poupées as a recurring section of Plastic Candy, so if you would like to learn more about any of these movements, let me know!

Sometimes I may focus on an artist’s fashion, sometimes on a movement, just like I’ve been doing for the J-Urban week, or maybe I’ll work on some other type of fashion-related topic that may come to mind!

I hope you enjoyed Plastic Candy’s new segment as well as the J-Urban week!

Putting the ‘poupée’ in Harajuku Poupées are the beautiful girls of the Agejo fashion movement!

It’s very common to confuse the girls from the Agejo movement with Himegyaru girls because they are both known to sport a more glamorous look and the fact that they have a signature pale complexion and big hair, but they have several differences that are striking enough to tell them apart.

The Himegyaru, for example, are known for their huge beehive style hair and their style also tends to be a lot less sexualized and somewhat more child-like, because they want to achieve a princess look. The Agejo are a lot more mature, and even though their face and hair can be slightly inclined to the cute side, they tend to go for a desirable look and use more model-like clothes that are shorter and sometimes more casual, depending on the occasion, but always stylish as the Himegyaru are sometimes more phantasmagoric about their look. The Agejo also don’t tend to sport the Himegyaru’s beehive signature hair, though it may be case sometimes, it definitely isn’t a characteristic of the Agejo.

Agejo Culture

The Agejo movement is fairly recent, and that’s what caught my attention the most! The Agejo culture is inspired by a magazine entitled Koakuma-Ageha (小悪魔ageha), or Small Devilish Butterflies. The magazine is under the ownership of a former hostess and it teaches young girls many fashion tips, like how to place many layers of fake lashes on or how to apply eyeliner in order to create many effects. The models of Koakuma-Ageha, which sports the slogan

You can never be too pretty

tend to flaunt beautifully large eyes with huge eyelashes as well as flawless skin, glossy lipstick and blond or brown hair, very doll-like and somewhat similar to Gyaru, just not tan and a bit more natural-looking. The magazine is very successful, and ever since its debut in 2005, it’s been selling around 300,000 copies a month. Below you can see an example of a small guide used in order to achieve the look of the girl on the banner above, found in a magazine geared towards the Agejo audience:

The Agejo movement is also a little more spread out through Japan, there’s a strong Agejo following located in Osaka, for example, so it’s definitely more wide-spreading than the Gyaru movement, for instance, which is mostly located in Shibuya because of the shopping options there. The Agejo culture seems to be easier to spread through Japan because Agejo magazines really help its adherents when it comes to achieving certain looks through their walkthroughs.

Hostess Involvement

Because the creator of the biggest Agejo magazine is a former hostess, the movement definitely receives a lot of influence from the hostess community, and vice versa.

The hostesses in Japan serve as somewhat of a 21st century take on teahouses of the past, hosted by geisha. Hostesses don’t go through the rigorous training that geisha go through, but they definitely dress up to entertain. Just like geisha, hostesses also suffer some prejudice from people who think they are involved with prostitution, but just like geisha, they are bound by contract and do not go out with clients that way.

Hostesses get paid very well in order to entertain and drink with their clients, they tend to dress very well (even though sometimes they are instructed to wear very tacky prom gowns) and are very beautiful. Hostess clubs are located in many areas around Japan and some hostesses are usually placed outside the club in order to lure young boys and men into the club and have a good time with them.

Since the hostess community and the Agejo subculture both have very similar interests, they definitely enhance each others’ style and grow in unison, but just because a girl is Agejo, it doesn’t mean she is a hostess. Girls who work as hostesses also complain about having to drink excessively (sometimes hosts and hostesses go through serious drinking problems) and even about the expensive visits they have to make to hairdressers and grooming salons in order to achieve their flawless looks.

Silhouette

As I’ve mentioned before, the girls adhering to the Agejo movement like to keep their skin looking very natural, enhancing their eyes, dying their hair, and dressing up provocatively with some hints of cuteness. This group is recognized for looking at beauty in a more natural and mature way, it’s not any sort of counterculture, just a movement based on the desire to beautify oneself in a certain way. Some people like to consider it the new Gyaru, and considering the decline in adherents to Gyaru fashion, it may be true, though I think Gyaru are too unique to be compared to any other subculture anywhere in the world.

The style of the girls are also inspired by hostesses, tending to be a mixture between girly youth and mature elegance (hence the occasional prom dresses of questionable taste). Colored lens and false lashes are also very significant and popular among adherents.

The Agejo are definitely a rising subculture that may one day become just as classic or popular as some others like the Lolita or Gyaru, but it’s definitely amazing to observe a new fashion trend forming! Unlike the other fashion groups, the Agejo still don’t have any subgroups or branches due to its current blooming stage, perhaps we’ll get to see some variations in the future.

If you’re interesting in becoming Agejo, because of the community’s enjoyment in reading/watching walkthroughs about make-up, you can definitely find some around the internet, even on YouTube, to help you achieve the look!

Emi Hinouchi really caught my attention a year ago, when I came across her cover of the gorgeous song 粉雪 (you may recognize it from 1 Litre of Tears) and fell in love with her voice instantly. Emi is quite an underrated J-Urban artist that couldn’t miss out on Plastic Candy’s J-Urban week simply because not many people know her work and she’s too amazing!

She has worked with m-flo in the past, even going on to write songs such as Namie Amuro‘s Luvotomy and Koda Kumi‘s Simple & Lovely (two of my favorite m-flo collabs of all time!) and most people get to know her from such collaborations, but her second album, ME… is a true masterpiece of J-Urban music not only for the quality invested in it, but also because she stepped out of the box and made an incredible record very varied in style and one that also blends acoustic instrumentation with that J-Urban sound we all know and love by now! This is an incredibly sweet, uplifting record full of delicious material that you can’t miss out on!

The album opens with one of my favorites, O’Kay. This track is the first piece of evidence you get that Emi will be mixing organic instruments with her uplifting J-Urban sound. As the song opens you get some very clear, beautiful guitar strings and it slowly becomes an incredibly happy upbeat song that’s so catchy and enjoyable! Emi sounds adorable and melodic and this song is such a mood booster! Fantastic!

Music Of Love has a very bossa nova catch to it, it’s very soft until the rapper kicks in, but overall it sounds quite Brazilian, with some refinement, and Emi sounds amazing, especially when she hits higher notes. The song has a bit of a marching rhythm to it, which is very lovely with the bossa nova catch. Even though the instrumentals have a certain delicacy to them, it’s quite fast-paced. Did I mention Emi sounds amazing?

片想い is a fun J-Urban song that’s very cute. It stands out while you’re listening to the album because it isn’t as organic as some of the others, making it a lot more J-Urban, but it’s still really enjoyable. Though it has this refreshing cuteness to it, Emi’s voice doesn’t sound as happy as in the other songs, which is quite interesting and brings a uniqueness to the song. Very sweet addition.

恋はリルラリ sounds so lovely straight off the bat! When Emi’s soft vocals kick in everything is made so much better though, and she sounds stellar! You know how some albums have that simple yet extremely well executed track that has a very unique punch to it that you want to listen to every once in a while in order to have your ears refreshed? It’s this song! It’s quite special in its own simple, J-Urban upbeatsy way!

chocolate is my favorite track on the album! It sounds really different, very heavy on its powerful mix of synthesizers and organic instruments, and Emi’s voice is also charged with theatrics that enhance the power of the song. She lets her voice go sometimes which is quite delicious, but I love the melody of this song even when she’s not improvising… Perfect and refreshing!

夏恋 brings back a little bit of the bossa nova influence but in a more cohesive way with Emi’s signature sound. This is a duet as well, but this time I love the featuring artist, his voice is a little raspy, young and charming, so it works really well with Emi’s delicate range and the song’s softness and sweetness. Every now and then we get some pretty amazing percussion too, which I love! The chorus is powerful and catchy, one of my favorites!

GOODIE MEMORIES kicks off with a very strong J-Urban sound, a retro-sounding sample that works really well with the sound of the song. This is a lovely track that’s sprinkled with the sample that opens the song, giving the intricate urban instrumentation a very sweet retro feel that’s impossible not to fall in love with! Emi sounds fantastic as always but that sample showing up every now and then as she sings just steals my heart. A lovely lovely song worth the listen!

Emi sounds so adorable in Get up!, and just like you would imagine from the title of the song, it’s a very upbeat track! I think that Emi just nails that happy sound of hers, it’s so fresh, so involving and so adorable. I think the focus here mostly goes off to Emi’s voice, it’s very flexible, and here it’s in its happy-go-lucky mood, which works amazingly well! This one’s very uptempo and mood-lifting!

ファーストデート keeps the cute but loses the upbeat energy of the previous track. This feels like a very sweet midtempo love song with very simple arrangements that work very well with the honesty conveyed by Emi’s sweet voice, sometimes I feel like she’s smiling while she’s singing and there’s a gentleness to this song that makes it very special!

I Love You goes all out in acoustic instrumentation. I really pay attention to songs with this title because it’s something people may perceive as corny or overused, but I think there’s such power to this expression, it’s very hard to convey simple love in a song the proper way, but I think Emi really does it. This is a stripped-down acoustic song with hints of R&B every now and then but one that still sounds extremely vulnerable and beautiful.

Heart feels vacances works a little bit off the mood set by I Love You, it sounds like it would be some sort of a classic acoustic ballad of the past because of its acoustic richness. Emi sounds breathy in the chorus and I find the sha la la la las very endearing. It’s not a big highlight for me, but it’s definitely a sweet song.

愛だけが is really a show of what Emi can do with her voice. She sounds absolutely flawless! At the beginning of the song I thought it was going to be a bit boring since the melody was quite simple, but I was soon taken away by the emotion of it. Emi’s voice just steals the show (especially since this is almost acapella) and it just brings the song to another level. Around half-way through the song instrumentals begin to slowly join her and it’s so beyond gorgeous. A really special song, so incredible.

interlude ～in my dream～ is an interlude that consists of Emi’s dramatically beautiful adlibbing and some breathtaking piano keys, beyond gorgeous.

Grow is another slow song played in the piano as Emi sings in her breathtakingly gorgeous and sentimental voice. I really like her vibrato here and it sounds like a very special song even if the listener don’t like it that much… there’s something about the feeling that Emi invests here that is so really precious. The chorus is also beyond gorgeous and the melody is very interesting. So breathtakingly beautiful!

E・S・C・A・P・E ends the string of ballads before the listeners falls to tears, and it does a great job at that! It’s not as happy as some of the other songs, but it has a very pleasing upbeat J-Urban quality to it that Emi simply nails. A very enjoyable and catchy typical J-Urban song that I love!

TWINKLE STAR (SHINE ON ME ver.) has some elements of lounge music added to its urban-electronic mix, which is what I love about it. It isn’t a very explosive song, but it’s extremely enjoyable because of the refreshing sweetness that the mixture of lounge influences and Emi’s J-Urban sound bring. A very enjoyable track to end the album with.

ME… is absolutely flawless, it’s so refreshing and different but so enjoyable! If you ever have a chance to pick it up and take a listen, do it! I’m sure there’s something here for everyone to enjoy! Unfortunately this album wasn’t promotionally successful and Emi was dropped from her label after it didn’t reach expectations. She’s currently under an indie label now and released a new mini-album July 2011.

Final Score:

100 / A+

日之内エミ - 片想い

J-Urban goddess Miliyah Kato has enjoyed a very healthy and successful singing career ever since she debuted back in 2005 and made it to #2 on the ORICON weekly charts. For the promotions of Diamond Princess, Miliyah went all-out on the Gyaru look and the urban sound in order to compose an album that is one of the touchstones of the J-Urban genre!

Diamond Princess features a delicious set of songs that sound ready for a summer afternoon. One of my favorite aspects of the album is how regardless of whether Miliyah is singing to a gorgeous ballad or a strong dance track, the quality remains constant, and that’s why this album holds some of my favorite Miliyah tracks of all time!

The first song, Diamond, is a very short intro song that introduces the intensity and beauty of the album with its gorgeous and intense use of trumpets as well as the striking R&B elements of the instrumentals. I like how this introduction is so well done that it makes it sound longer than it really is (just 6 seconds over 1 minute). A great way to kick off the album with class and quality!

I love Eyes on You because it sounds so girly and has a little bit of broadway in it that is so easy to fall in love with it. Miliyah sounds amazing, her adlibbing for this song is fantastic and her voice sounds really strong! At the end an electric guitar kicks in to add to the sunset broadway-esque feel of the song and I love just how happy it is! So sweet.

Last Summer is slightly more of a fast-paced refreshing song whose instrumentals are so involving that they take you away. This is a very fun song, maybe not as involving and endearing as the previous one, but definitely equal in quality and entertainment. Very charming in all its J-Urban upbeat midtempo goodness!

このままずっと朝まで is a weird song for me… even though it sounds a bit cruise karaoke-like, I know it’s not because of its quality, which is really good, maybe it’s just the overall feel of the reggae influence that makes it sound a bit cruise-y. It’s not a big highlight in the album because it’s not very climatic, but Miliyah sounds amazing and fun, especially when she speaks in English. A pretty decent tropical track to have some good beach time to!

LuvSong is a mellow midtempo track that isn’t very climatic as well, except it doesn’t have many other elements working for it like このままずっと朝まで in order for it to become as interesting. I like the instrumentals, they have a very J-Urban feel to them, but vocally Miliyah doesn’t work it as much. It’s still a very enjoyable song with very good production, just not as interesting as some others on Diamond Princess.

FAMILY begins on a really promising note with brass instruments introducing this gorgeous song and it really lives up to expectations! Miliyah sounds beautiful, her range is smooth and it’s just an extremely sweet song she sings to her family! No wonder it’s so festive, the beautiful piano is dramatic but is really softened by the R&B happiness that this song flaunts. This is definitely a highlight of the album!

Caught up is so much fun! It’s got a little bit of sexy to it because of the power in the fast-paced instrumentals that constantly boom up in a mix of trumpets, cymbals and a bunch of R&B goodness. Miliyah sounds super fierce especially when she really puts her voice into it! It’s fun and powerful but still follows the concept of the record very well!

My Soul sounds a bit different from the other songs at first and it really is quite unique. Miliyah sounds amazing here, the chorus is very interesting and strong, her voice has a hint of sexy in it that doesn’t overwhelm the song and it’s quite powerful overall, which I think is the point of the song! It sounds very cohesive with the album too, which is always a bonus.

Cry no more is one of my favorites because of how unique it is not only when comparing it to Miliyah’s material but also music in general. I’m not even sure which instruments compose this beautiful tropical-sounding ballad because it’s so different, but incredibly refreshing and Miliyah sounds incredible! This is definitely a song to look out for in the album because it’s truly special, sentimental and a breath of fresh, exotic J-Urban air!

I WILL is the first official slow song of the record, and a great one at that! It may sound like it’s going to be a boring ballad at first because it’s quite simple, but as you hear more and more of it you’ll start becoming infatuated by Miliyah’s beautifully romantic voice. The chorus is very striking and beautiful, which is very important in a ballad, and everything works for it! It’s simple but beautiful and the spotlight is on Miliyah’s gorgeous voice and the way it conveys feelings so easily, which only enhances this ballad’s sentimentality.

ソツギョウ is so delicious because it sounds like it’ll be a slow song at first until the instrumentals build up to the song’s true rich midtempo soul. I really like how Miliyah sings at a higher range for the chorus and the rest is all about her natural singing voice, but when she really goes for it at certain parts of the song she sounds incredible! At the end she adds a delicious amount of tension to her voice that works wonderfully. Definitely a highlight!

忘れないから is that gorgeous song you don’t expect from an album but every once in a while you find as a little jewel standing among the other songs. It’s a ballad dressed in midtempo attire and it’s very soothing, Miliyah just takes you away in her voice and that gorgeous R&B arrangement with beautiful piano keys. The whole song is simply precious, like much of the album itself!

I’m not sure how I feel about the chipmunk voice that insists on singing throughout So Special… it’s not a very interesting song, but it doesn’t bother me… it’s just there, ironically, since the title is So Special. The song does get better around 2/3 into the song, but it isn’t enough to make it stand out too much for me. Maybe it’s a grower but I still haven’t been able to get into it despite the gorgeous instrumentals. I think the chipmunk and the rapping kill it a little and don’t make room for the beauty of the instrumentals.

Paradise, oh my, Paradise… it really takes you there. This song has a very mellow, chill vibe to it, it really feels like you’re resting in a tropical paradise as the sun sets. Miliyah’s layered vocals and adlibbing bring the feel of fantasy while the J-Urban instrumentals take care of the paradisiacal image you get in your head from the song. The romantic feel of the song is also very eminent and everything is simply flawless. This is THE song you need to listen to in the record! Genius.

Wonderful is a typical J-Urban song that feels like some sort of a celebration of the genre as well as the end of the album. It’s simpler than the other song in its composition, but it’s still got some style to it that is very endearing. It’s a happy song that feels just right to end the album, though it’s not a very strong song in itself.

Diamond Princess is one of my favorite Miliyah Kato albums because of the strong urban flavor that it carries. It really feels like a trip into the Gyaru culture because of the visual style of the album and the way the songs were worked out, and that’s what I love most about it! It doesn’t feel like a forgettable album with a corny title, you end up forgetting the title and considering it a very unique work of art. A very interesting release by Ms. Kato!

Final Score:

98 / A

Gyaru (ギャル) girls are in many ways opposites of the Lolitas. Known for always being very trendy and cool, sometimes even bad girls, Gyaru are girls that follow a very glamorous lifestyle, which contrasts heavily against the modesty of Lolitas. Gyaru are also very common in popular Japanese media, having very famous followers (that I’ve also featured here for Plastic Candy’s J-Urban week), such as Miliyah Kato and Koda Kumi early in their careers and Namie Amuro as well!

Girls that represent the Gyaru fashion movement may vary in look. Because it’s a fashion movement that is mostly connected to lifestyle and not a signature outfit choice, there are many aspects to it that are expanded in different ways for each branch of Gyaru; while some girls like to spray tan themselves heavily, others might prefer the designer accessories and leave their skins paler and so forth, but all of them are connected by their distinctive dyed hair and sexy clothes.

Silhouette

The Gyaru movement originated in the 70s, arguably reaching its peak in 80s, and it was mostly created as a form of rebellion against a conservative Japanese culture, whose standards of beauty were the extremely white complexion. With flashy outfits and accessories as well as attention-grabbing fake tans (that are somewhat uncommon to be reached naturally in Japanese skin, so any tan really stands out) that are emphasized by their white make-up, the Gyaru used their love for a materialistic culture in order to create a counterculture -made-subculture. The look of Gyarus vary depending on which branch of the movement they adhere to the most and their personal taste, but they are mostly more revealing than other styles across Japan and take advantage of very long, heavily decorated nails, spray tans and eye contacts.

Gyaru Culture

The name for the Gyaru movement came from a brand of jeans that was rising at around the same time as the movement was originating, called gals. The slogan of the brand was

I can’t live without men

and it’s probably what affected the style of the girls the most, since they tend to follow a very sexualized type of fashion.

Nowadays there are many outlets for Gyaru culture, including famous magazines such as EGG, Happie Nuts and Sweet as well as many Gyaru-geared shops around Japan (now the market has even expanded to rural areas). A very famous habit of Gyaru girls is that of organizing Gal Circle get-togethers. This activity consists of a group of Gyaru meeting up in order to promote their style, music, and dance. The types of Gal Circles vary, but they mostly serve the purpose of promotion and celebration of the Gyaru lifestyle!

Styles of Gyaru

Kogals (コギャル)

Kogals are easily recognized as Japan’s version of California beach girls, and mostly come from affluent families that can afford to pay for their extravagant lifestyles that usually consist of dying hair, a lot of make-up and tanning, the latest cellphones and designer items of the best brands. Kogals that are more mature tend to expose a lot of skin, like beach girls, while those who are still in school wear their uniforms with very loose, long socks that look like this:

Something I picked up on while reading about Gyaru, and mostly Kogal, fashion is how much prejudice is geared towards this movement. This is definitely a product of the style’s counter-culturual roots, and may appear a bit offensive to most traditional Japanese citizens, but I find them extremely exotic and interesting for the amount of work and time they put into their daily lives in order to achieve their signature looks.

Another very common practice within the Kogal culture is how they often subject themselves to lives as prostitutes in order to pay for their expensive tastes and also appear a lot in Japanese adult movies… This is due to the fact that the contents of the magazines geared towards the Kogal audience often times would bring up sexual themes and guides about how to do things properly in bed and other things, like how to have sex while wearing a kimono. Girls adhering to the Kogal movement also tend to speak in a dialect that is a mixture of English and Japanese. The Gothic Lolita look is believed to be a reaction to the exposure that identifies the Kogal style.

Many people believe the Kogal style is actually that of the Japanese schoolgirls, but it’s not, since Japanese schoolgirls are what they are because of their school uniforms, it’s not exactly a fashion movement. Kogals, however, change the uniform a little by making their skirts smaller and wearing their signature loose socks.

Ganguro (ガングロギャル)

Ganguro girls tend to be a lot more aggressive with their looks because of their over-the-top tans that often times make their complexion look very dark brown and they’re also known to emphasize their tanned skin with a lot of white make-up, from eyeshadow to lipstick. Their make-up and level of tanning are also very significant since they can indicate what fashion movement they adhere to, for the Manba and Yamanba movements share similar characteristics as that of the Ganguro but their make-up patterns are different and more attention-grabbing.

Girls from the Ganguro movement don’t focus as much on the fashion aspect of Gyaru as many other branches do, focusing mostly on their wigs or flasy hair and dark skin and make-up. Their fashion tends to be cheaper, but a lot more unusual and outrageous, which enhances their interesting aesthetics. They also have the impression of being bad girls for their unusual looks, but most times they just like dressing that way, and it doesn’t reflect behavioral traits.

Himegyaru

The Himegyaru, or Princess Gyaru, are quite different from other types of Gyaru because rather than focusing on the movement’s signature tan, they prefer to take more advantage of extravagant hair and princess-like fashion, like a hybrid between sweet lolita and gyaru. They’re known for their puffy, beehive hairstyles that are often times achieved through the use of wigs or dyed hair. This branch of Gyaru is a lot less about sexuality, and mostly about cuteness and girly charm.

There are more types of Gyaru I could talk about, but because it’s more of a lifestyle than a striking fashion characteristic, it’s harder to pinpoint each of its branches, so I just picked the most dramatic ones!

I really love the Gyaru fashion movement because it’s so unique even though it’s a mix between a materialistic culture and a fascination for an American style pursued by Asian girls! It’s very interesting to see how this counterculture draws attention without needing any sort of aggressive behavior and it really conveys its message of breaking free from a traditional Japanese culture effectively.

If you would like to know more about the fantastic culture of Gyaru and really indulge a little bit in their looks and culture, feel free to take a look at the show below! It’s really informative, just ignore the Japanese-accented translations they added to the special.

Nowadays the Gyaru movement has been severely changing, though. There isn’t as strong a cultural influence from them as there was around 10 years ago. Famous Gyaru stores like Alba Rosa and Gilfy have been suffering with their change of market and Gyaru girls simply aren’t found coloring the streets of Shibuya as much as they have in the past. Even though the trend is declining in Japan, it seems to be gaining popularity overseas in places like New York and China, so perhaps not all is lost for the lovely Gyaru!

I really hope this flashy trend doesn’t die out.

Very early in Koda Kumi‘s career, before she became an official queen of J-Pop, she had really strong J-Urban influences, though her take on the genre was more organic than the contemporary material we hear a lot nowadays.

feel my mind is the album that solidified Koda Kumi’s image as that of a sexy siren and consequently, it became the platform she utilized in order to promote her own fashion movement, that of ero-kawaii/ero-kakkoi. This album is a bit underrated among her records, but it’s one of my favorites simply because of the delicious and timeless J-Urban material we get from it! We get everything from raunchy dance tunes to refreshing, sentimental ballads in styles that sound very natural to Kumi’s voice and personality.

Break it down is not a favorite of mine in the album. It’s definitely enjoyable because it just sounds like a dirty midtempo, an effect pretty difficult to create, but there’s something about the slowness of the song, that doesn’t feel very pleasing for me… it makes it sound somewhat sloppy, and even though it contributes to the dirty feel, it isn’t very pleasing to me. It’s definitely an interesting song, just not my cup of J-Urban tea.

Crazy 4 U is amazing because of its catchy, somehow disco-like arrangement! Kumi’s strong vocals make the song really enjoyable as well as the fact that even though it’s a very funky R&B/Pop dance track, it doesn’t confine itself within the limitations of a dance track, it has its own charm and appeal and this individuality is what I love about it. That dance break is pretty precious too. Catchy, sexy and fun, what else could a Kumi fan wish for?

Rock Your Body continues with the album’s string of sexy tracks. I really find this a lot more pleasing than Break it down, being more uptempo and having a stronger beat that sounds somewhat ethnic. It has some delicious R&B elements to it that gives this song its J-Urban punch and it’s very fun overall. Kumi sounds very raw but she can hit her notes and make it sound really good!

I really like Rain because it’s very classic Kumi. In the beginning of her career, Kumi strikes me as being a diamond in the rough. Her voice is somewhat raspy and raw, her range isn’t as flexible as it is nowadays, which makes for some extra, unpolished feeling that I really love when it comes to the styles she covered. Rain is true evidence of that raw Kumi I love so much, she can hit high notes just as well as nowadays, but there’s something extra in that ballad that really manifests into an amazing, sentimental song that I really like.

Without Your Love is pure instrumental fun, catchiness, and Kumi vocal goodness. I like the playfulness of the repetitive, remix-sounding instrumentals against Kumi’s soft, high-pitched adlibbing. I also like the mix of police car sounds added to the mix making Kumi sound dangerous while emphasizing that she truly will be getting crazy without love. A very fun song and one of my favorites for sounding like it really tells us a story and sounds really good doing it!

Talk To You is the album at its sweet spot! I really like this type of Kumi cuteness over the over-the-top cute songs she’s been doing for years now… Talk To You is sweet, but not diabetes-inducing, and it has a very refreshing, young yet mature feel to it that I really like as well. This song is definitely more honest-sounding than Kumi’s most recent cute songs and I like the personal touch that it has. Its girly R&B sound with the touch of Kumi’s laughter really is music to my ears!

華 is a really really precious Kumi ballad that I can’t get tired of ever since I started listening to her material back in ’08. There’s something about the strings and the arrangement of the song that make it sound like some sort of expressionist piece molded after the emotion in Kumi’s voice. It’s very liquid, smooth and R&B at first, but the chorus is impacting and strong and Kumi’s voice is equally as striking and beautiful. A Gorgeous ballad.

Get Out The Way is interesting because it follows somewhat of the same patterns as Crazy 4 U and Without Your Love, only not as heavy on the dance parts. It’s a really fun track that may turn out a bit unnoticed because the others are a lot more popular, but it’s equally as good and contains all that good classic Kumi elements we love!

Sweet Love… is one of my favorites on the album. I really like the sweetness of the piano keys and the fact that the song really lives up to its title! It feels like a fantastic trip to a young heart in love, all wrapped in delicious J-Urban packaging that does not overwhelm the feeling conveyed by Kumi’s voice or by the playful instrumentals. The chorus is also very strong in its own delicate way and I love everything about this song, it’s a really special one definitely worth a listen!

Gentle Words doesn’t speak out to me as much after I’ve listened to Sweet Love…. It’s very sweet and it’s definitely a great song with a strong chorus and Kumi sounds beautiful exercising her range, but standing among such strong tracks as Sweet Love… or 華, the beauty of it gets a bit stifled for me. Refreshing to enjoy every once in a while, but definitely not the most beautiful on the album.

magic is my absolute favorite song on this record. I don’t know what it is about this particular song, but I don’t really need to hear anything else after the first second in order to get chills and feel the song entirely. This one is completely atemporal, with gorgeous piano keys, R&B elements that sing with and envelop Kumi’s voice, the backing vocals are fantastic, everything simply works to make this song one of Kumi’s most magical! I really can’t stop listening to it once I start and it’s my absolute favorite on the album and one of my all-time Kumi favorites. Magic.

COME WITH ME is 100% fun! It takes all the little bits of disco elements spread out through the album and concentrates it into an extremely enjoyable summer track! It’s impossible not to feel the spirit of this song with so many trumpets playing joyfully to the fast-paced instrumentals, the backing vocals celebrating the summer and Kumi following everything with the sweetness of her deep voice. This is a Kumi classic I really love!

feel my mind is one of my absolute favorite Koda Kumi albums! It’s really solid and it’s very clear how much influence J-Urban had over it! Its R&B roots definitely became one with Kumi’s Japanese music background in order to create an extremely fun and enjoyable album that is very timless. I feel like this is also one of Kumi’s most honest records, since the tracks don’t seem forced at all, but very natural and mature! An album full of style, amazing influences and a singer full of raw soul and energy… flawless.

Final Score:

98 / A

倖田來未 – COME WITH ME

This is the first installment of Plastic Candy’s brand new fashion-dedicated segment, Harajuku Poupées! Since this week the blog is entirely dedicated to Japanese urban culture, the spotlight is turned to the beautiful boys and girls who work so hard to reach their fabulous looks and flaunt them around Japanese streets. Today the Lolita fashion movement takes the stage!

Lolita, or Rorīta (ロリータ), is one of my favorite fashion movements because it’s such a unique, time-defying style that modernizes looks of the past by adding a bit of 21st century flair and Japanese extravagance to them. This movement specifically is very complex because of its numerous subcategories and I love how it appeals to various age groups as well (sometimes it even varies in gender, as some men also like to dress up in Lolita attire).

Even though the movement was created in Japan, it has heavier influences from European culture, most specifically from the Rococo (time period recognized as ‘late Baroque’, where the emotion and sentimentality of the Baroque era were channeled into more graceful forms of art) and Victorian (time period where fashion was marked by extremely elegant yet conservative garments. The popularization of lace also caused an effect on female fashion) eras. Nowadays, however, the movement has stretched far beyond these time periods and currently receives influences from other sources as well, including Japanese culture itself.

The popularization of the style has been taking place over time ever since it debuted, in the 70s, as famous Japanese fashion stores like Pink House, Milk and Angelic Pretty (as seen below) began selling garments that would be seen as Lolita.

Lolita fashion reached more momentum with time, and some idols also adhered to the movement, which helped it even further. An example of this would be the extravagant looks of some J-Rock bands such as Versailles (a group where one of its members, HIZAKI, is dressed up in female Lolita attire). Fangirls wanted to achieve the highly elaborate look of their idols, so they adhered to the movement as well. Nowadays, the access to Lolita fashion is a lot easier and can be located even in department stores within Japan.

The message behind this fashion movement serves as a bit of a protest. Most Lolita adhere to the movement so they don’t have to expose much skin and be pursued as sexy, but as elegant or cute. By dressing up modestly, they automatically serve as somewhat of a counterculture against nowadays’ sexualized culture.

Silhouette

Initially, the Lolita look was achieved by wearing modest yet elegant dresses that featured knee-high, puffy skirts supported by petticoats. The fabric and aesthetic quality were very important too since the elegant, vintage look Lolitas aimed for were hardly ever reached if the fabric wasn’t of appropriate quality. With time, however, this classic Lolita look became more flexible, and girls who aimed to become Lolita had more wiggle room when adhering to the movement, longer skirts (that sometimes go down to the floor), for instance, were incorporated within the Lolita wardrobe. Now it’s also very common to associate Lolitas to extravagant hats and bows, knee-high socks or stockings and blouses. Lolita fashion has spread itself through the globe, though the greatest number of supporters is still in Japan.

Styles of Lolita

Gothic and Lolita clothing are a maiden’s armor, which even a knight’s armor cannot compare to. A maiden’s lace is her steel. Her ribbons are chains. Her dress hat is her helmet, and she surreptitiously changes the blood that flows from her wounds into true rose petals. Thus, the maiden fights. After all, to live is to fight, and to become beautiful is to become stronger.

- Arika Takarano

There are so many styles of Lolita because it’s such a richly dense subculture that I could go on for days about, but I selected a few styles I know of and would like to try my best in describing them!

Gothic Lolita or GothLoli (ゴスロリ)

One of the most popular subcategories of Lolita, the gothic Lolita, is all about achieving a porcelain doll-like look with a little bit of a goth twist. Not to be confused with the Punk Lolita, which is a lot heavier on the rock n’ roll elements of plaid, chains and etc., Gothic Lolita are a romantic, somehow more Baroque take on Lolita fashion, characterized by their darker, smokier make-up and lipstick that varies between purple, black and red hues. Motifs such as crosses, bats and other gothic elements are very common among adherents of this style. In terms of pallet, they tend to be a lot more modest, mostly relying on black and white.

Sweet Lolita or ama-loli (甘ロリ)

Sweet Lolita are the adorable princess-like dolls that grace the Lolita fashion scene with their pink, girly fashionable selves. They are one of my favorite subtypes of Lolita simply because they’re so adorable, I feel like I would break them if I attempted to touch them. They really love anything that’s cute, often mixing mascots like Hello Kitty with their outfits and accessories. Very often Sweet Lolita will be sporting wavy or curly hair to enhance their cute porcelain doll look and strut down the streets of Japan with their dangling cellphone accessories and extravagant looks. This branch of Lolita focuses mostly on child-like motifs (flowers, fruit, cute animals) and represent the phantasmagorical side of Lolitas!

Classic Lolita

This branch of Lolita is a little bit more serious than the others, in a way. The word ‘classic’ may indicate a number of things, but in this case it means a type of Lolita that is more focused on a formal take of the fashion movement. With dresses that are simpler and mostly stripped of the abundant ruffles and decoration of the other branches, Classic Lolita is all about dressing elegantly and being ready for your daily life while still keeping that Lolita class and poise. Its sophistication allows it to work more with a sober pallet, some plaid, brown, or black, keeping itself basic and elegant, yet stylish.

Wa Lolita (和ロリ)

Wa Lolitas are an adorable hybrid between your well-known and loved Lolitas with a bit of Japanese flavor. The European-style dresses are replaced with a Lolita-like kimono or hakama. Mostly, what is preserved from the original Lolita garment are the petticoats, since the usual platform shoes are also often replaced for traditional Japanese geta, okobo or zori sandals. To add a touch of Asian delicacy, some girls like to add kanzashi flowers to their hair as well. This is an adorable branch of Lolita that doesn’t look as foreign to Japan as some of the others… I really like it when the garment is covered in Japanese-style print rather than something cute, but Wa Lolita offers more freedom in this aspect.

Kodona / Prince

The Kodona is mostly for the girls who feel uncomfortable in Lolita wardrobe and prefer wearing something more masculine. It’s one of the most striking branches of Lolita because it has a lot of different elements. For example, the girls adhering to it wear pants instead of skirts and other boyish accessories (such as vests, ties or suspenders) that are still coherent with the same time periods that inspire the Lolita movement. It’s a unisex style of Lolita, but it’s mostly worn by women.

It’s definitely pretty difficult to sum up a fashion movement, especially one as special as Lolita, since everyone can experiment with a lot of things and come up with a style of Lolita that may not fit into a single category but is still Lolita, but I hope I did a good job in this overview of this fabulous fashion statement!

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Harajuku Poupées, if you would like to request any more Japanese fashion movements, let me know!