Top 9 AniSon Singles of January 2023
Highlighting the month's great anime songs from Akari Kito, Sumire Uesaka, Saori Hayami and more
This feature is part of This Side of Japan issue #62. You can return to the main newsletter here.
Let me break you down a bit of the process behind deciding which three singles to feature for these newsletters. I try not to have overlap in genre between the chosen songs for the sake of diversity, usually picking the best one out of pop, rock and electronic music, respectively. The See Also section helps so I don’t completely leave off runner-ups. But as you might imagine, even when the songs are divided into pools of a specific genre, it’s still difficult choosing a single best out of the running with so much new music being released.
Such was the case with new releases from the anison sphere of J-pop in January. An unusually great amount of new songs dropped from many of my favorite voice actresses in the span of a couple weeks. Anison music in the general is an even harder case in the selection process for this newsletter because much of it can admittedly be of an acquired taste. It often takes a lot of convincing for me to believe readers would find the songs in question worthwhile as I do in comparison to other non-anison pop songs. Not to mention that anison can be tough for me to write about.
And so this feature exists to cheat my own system. Instead of agonizing over which song to pick, or if said single is even worth writing about, I dedicated a special separate section to the great new anison released during the month of January. And if you’re not all that into anison? There’s the regular Singles Club to hopefully bring you more of what you’re looking for. Better this than a poorly made Twitter thread, or just not writing about these songs at all.
Here are 9 anison singles from January that I enjoyed.
“Loud Hailer” by Maaya Uchida [Pony Canyon]
Heavy rock guitars make a comeback in Maaya Uchida’s “Loud Hailer,” and the pop-metal sound goes even harder than her last rock number, “Never Ending Symphony” from her 2021 album Hikari. Out goes the musical-esque bubbliness familiar to her output last year in favor of a steely cool, and the voice actress utilizes the blast of music as a means of catharsis from an unnamed agony. “I want to celebrate this unique freedom / that shined from this exhausting day,” she sings in the chorus as the guitars crash and burn. She returns with edge as if she has never left.
Loud Hailer is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Campanula” by Eir Aoi
“Dear Doze Days” by Akari Kito [Pony Canyon]
Akari Kito initially seems to aim for a homely song in “Dear Doze Days” after indulging in some black-tie classiness in last year’s “Esquisse.” But while the accordion intro sets in a cozy scene, the sprightly brass-led arrangement quickly rolls the song wide awake. The voice actress, too, can’t hide her enthusiasm to spend time with you like she’s wagging her tail. “We met eye to eye, is this fate? / My lost Teddy boy, here, take my hand,” she begins the song, and she proceeds to be happy-go-lucky no matter how unpredictable the path ahead can get with whoever she has her eyes on. Her excitement spills into the rest of the song with the peppy music hardly ever quieting down.
Dear Doze Days is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Gift” by Miku Itou
“LOVE CRAZY” by Sumire Uesaka [King]
For her return to theme-song duty for the second season of Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagataro, Sumire Uesaka reaches again for blistering hard-rock riffage and clamors for your attention as incessantly as her previous contribution to the series. She’s eager to cut to the chase as if she knows you heard it all the first go, speeding her way to the cloying chorus: “Don’t run away / don’t be afraid / come catch me / with all your heart,” she sings without a breath to spare, not so much tugging your shirt than gripping you by the collar. What else did you expect from a song called “LOVE CRAZY”?
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Bokura Wa Genius” by Shuka Saito
“Love Trap Muchuu” by MAISONdes ft. asmi, Surii [Sony]
A call from the Urusei Yatsura franchise forced the minds behind MAISONdes to get out of their comfort zone. The production ensemble flipped its style from late-night R&B to jubilant synth-pop in order to suit the personality of the anime series, and the resulting songs displayed a surprising amount of colorful humor coming from a project that favors anonymity. The opening theme “Love Trap Muchuu” produced by Surii for the second season is no different, starting from its rubbery intro synth riff to its restless love-drunk chorus: “Pain, pain, go away / and leave me with only love,” guest singer asmi sings as she sinks deep into her obsession, and the music proceeds with a manic energy to match her all-consuming feelings.
Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “flower” by TrySail
“Shiko” by Saori Hayami [Warner Bros. Japan]
Saori Hayami’s hushed vocals have graced wide open, patiently paced ballads last year, and so the frantic pianos and buzzing guitars in “Shiko” bring a refreshing sense of momentum. The new arrangement drives urgency without losing heft nor drama familiar to Hayami’s previous material while the voice actress answers to the music with equal intensity. “Let’s escape / by pulling hope overflowing / from our fragile wounds,” she sings as she climbs the scales, the spiraling pianos further sending the melody skyward.
Listen to it on Spotify.
“Iden Teitei Meltdown” by Enako ft. Pmarusama [Pony Canyon]
The presence of guest Pmarusama—a self-proclaimed multi-entertainer who’s a Vtuber, voice actress, singer, among others—places “Iden Teitei Meltdown” a step above the rest of singles by Enako. She pulls the latter cosplayer more to her world, brightening the bubbly funk and speeding up the tempo so the music hues closer to the electro-pop in last year’s Love Holic. The two go back and forth trading bars full of fun word salads where the obnoxiousness of the lyrics seem more of the point than what’s actually said. If the sweetness of it all gets you feeling delirious, that’s all part of the experience.
Listen to it on Spotify.
“Drum-shiki Tansaki” by Azusa Tadokoro [Lantis]
Azusa Tadokoro continues to give a surrealist twist to contemporary pop in “Drum-shiki Tansaki.” While the cozy acoustic-guitar strums seems no different from recordings by other home-bound, guitar-clad singer-songwriters, the roundabout lyrics have fun warping the ordinary into something impressionistic. “With you, nothing’s nothing / round and round, machine and water / gently looking into a drum-shaped universe,” she sings—she just might be talking about doing laundry, though you’re never quite sure. And with her so engrossed in her own world in the chorus, it’s best not to disturb.
Listen to it on Spotify.
“Dramatic Ja Nakutemo” by Kana Hanazawa [Pony Canyon]
“Dramatic Ja Nakutemo” sees Kana Hanazawa expanding upon the quieter moments in last year’s Blossom hidden between blocky, fluorescent synth-pop. Her vocals settle into soft sighs over a flowery pop production in the vein of the late Shibuya-kei music made by arranger and frequent collaborator Katsutoshi Kitagawa during his early days as ROUND TABLE. The tenderness in the performance is all in service of the message assured in the titular chorus: “Even if it’s not like a drama, even if you lament that it’s exhausting / I’ll remember this day,” Hanazawa sings, with a little worry that their precious time shared might be gone at any moment.
Dramatic Ja Nakutemo is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
“My Own Story” by Minori Suzuki [Flying Dog]
The soaring string arrangement behind Minori Suzuki’s “My Own Story” blooms with a feeling of possibility reminiscent of personal favorites by the great Maaya Sakamoto, who also contributes lyrics for this track. The up-and-up sensation of the production dispels the bummer undertones behind the titular chorus, inspiring the voice actress to embrace optimism. “After I turn the pages over and over again / there will come a day I will understand it wasn’t all for nothing,” she sings with much clarity, and the majestic music guides her to reach self-certainty.
Fruitful Spring is out now. Listen to it on Spotify.
See also: “Toward the shining coin” by Kaori Maeda
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