Juice=Juice - "Romance no Tochuu / Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT) / Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT)" Single Review

Oh my gosh that single title is way too long.

Earlier this year Hello! Project introduced their new Hello! Pro Kenshuusei indies group, Juice=Juice, featuring five trainees as well as one other member, Miyazaki Yuka. Now, seven months later and one member short, Juice=Juice is making their major debut with five members: Miyazaki Yuka (leader), Kanazawa Tomoko (sub-leader), Miyamoto Karin, Takagi Sayuki, and Uemura Akari.

Their debut single is a triple A-side, titled "Romance no Tochuu / Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT) / Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT)". The first song is brand new, while the latter two are remixes and re-recordings of Juice=Juice's first two indies singles. This single was released on September 11, 2013, and on it's first day sold 23,997 copies!

The single's tracklist consists of the three A-side songs as well as instrumentals for all of them. The limited edition copies contain bonus DVDs with music videos, dance shots, and close-ups.

Prepare yourself for Shayna's super spectacular track-by-track debut review!

1. Romance no Tochuu

This is a really really really great debut song! I think Tsunku has a solid concept in mind for this group's music and he is sticking to it very well.

The song starts out with a slow and cool intro and then all of a sudden bursts into a fun, jazzy dance song. There are some really interesting rhythms in the background music, and the use of real instruments is probably appreciated by people who aren't crazy about H!P's recent move towards electronic music. Still, the instrumental does use plenty of electronic sounds, but they blend really well and aren't over-the-top.

The melody and vocals in this song are really the best part. You cannot just hear this song and not want to sing to it. The harmonies are absolutely wonderful, especially the high one behind "Everybody clap your hands, everybody dance" (which is already the best line in the song). The low ones during "hajimaru ze" are a nice contrast, and when they combine both into the chorus, it's like magic.

The song is led by Karin, Sayuki, and Tomoko, who really get almost all the lines. I have no problem with this, as all are really exceptional singers, and deliver this song with such power and passion. You should also hear them perform this live; it's amazing how flawless they are for being a rookie group.

The dance isn't necessarily special, but I think it's very easy and memorable and just a blast to try dancing along to even if you don't know all the individual steps. The girls, especially Karin, look like they're having fun as well.

The music video is nice. The set for the dance shot is fairly simple but also elegant. I also love the round chairs they sit in for some of the close-ups. I really like the variety of outfits, from the beautiful white dresses, to the cool houndstooth gear, and finally the sporty caps and sneakers. It all combines to make the video fun, but pretty. The girls all look beautiful by themselves, anyway; they all have very different looks, but that's what makes them so unique and cool.

This is really a perfect song for a debut, and I actually wish it was a single A-side, but I suppose there's nothing I can do about that. Most people just refer to the single as "Romance no Tochuu" anyway because the rest is too long.

2.  Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT)

This song, as previously mentioned, is a remix of Juice=Juice's first indies single. Therefore, my opinions will really only be on the remix itself, not the original song (as I might review that individually at a later time).

Thank goodness there wasn't too much different done to the song. I was honestly a bit scared when I saw these songs would be re-edited; I mean, they just came out, why should we need a remix now? There was an additional part in the intro, which added a few cool moves to the dance, but then it goes right into the original song. There are a few tweaks to the instrumental, but it's nothing too radical, so fans of the original shouldn't have to worry. I also really love the changes they made to the dance break.

Because of Otsuka Aina's departure from the group, some lines were re-arranged, and I think several (if not all, I can't really tell) lines had to be re-recorded. They still managed to pull it off and make it sound complete; nothing feels like it's missing.

I was quite surprised that these remixes got music videos. They're pretty cheap music videos, but still music videos. The backgrounds are really, really basic. However, I did like the outfits, which had lots of floral patterns, and also brought back the members colors/fruits which were absent from "Romance no Tochuu". I didn't like the obviously fake tear drops, though; as soon as I saw them I hated them. Blah.

3. Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT)

Here we have the remix of Juice=Juice's second indies single!

Like "Watashi ga Iu…", this one had a short intro before going back to the start of the original song. Also like "Watashi ga Iu…", this one had a few tweaks to the instrumental that didn't make it sound like a completely different song. I really enjoyed a few of the vocal effects (not autotune, I swear) and extra beats that were added to the remix. I found that most of the edits to this one improved it, making it less monotonous and giving it a much cooler sound.

The music video for this song was pretty good. I thought the bright red gloves to their outfits were a nice touch. The silhouette trumpet players were a bit odd, though; I found them quite unnecessary. But the black backgrounds and spotlights looked really cool.

I'd say this is definitely my favorite of the two remixes, even though I find both of them pretty useless. It's still pretty fun to listen to them and "spot the differences".

In summary, this is definitely a single worth buying, even though the memorial edits were totally useless. I would definitely recommend purchasing this, especially if you're into something a little different from many idol groups today. I predict that Juice=Juice will go far in the future!