Looks like Nogizaka isn’t the only 46 group trying their hands at a solo B-side this time around. When I learned that Hirate Yurina was going to have a solo song on this single, I was pretty excited. It may be easy to miss as I mostly focus on my overall favorite Watanabe Rika, but make no mistake, Hirate is my favorite performer in Keyakizaka46 currently. I find her voice exceptionally good, she’s fairly gorgeous, and her stage presence is on point. Her stare is my favorite attribute. This bias aside, is this release good? Well, yeah. Very.
Guess what? No beaches for once. Instead, we get a very stylized PV that’s in love with the color red. A majority of the filming takes place in a smaller-sized studio with some stairs and a catwalk for our dapper dressed young lady to strut down. I can’t help but wonder if she leased some of this studio from a previous Muto Ayami PV. Luckily, this PV doesn’t stay completely dark and makes generous use of on again, off again lighting and spotlights that highlight this wonderful performer doing her thing. The set for this one is pretty slick.
What’s slicker looking though is Hirate Yurina herself. She is dressed to kill, man. The primary outfit for this one is a velvety-red suit. There’s no real idol twist or pointless decoration to make it kawaii. We’re not playing around in this PV. This is some serious silky business, bro. I’m also a big fan of her hair in this PV. I love how her bangs are down low and the sides are closing in on her face a little closer than usual. It really accents her eyes which as I said above are what I find to be one of her best features. In relatively few other shots, we find Hirate outside next to a “PARCO” labeled building in seifuku that looks like it’s from Nogizaka’s “Seifuku no Mannequin” storage box. She looks nice enough, but I’m glad a vast majority of this PV is painted in red. Seriously, she looks brilliant.
The choreography of this PV is a winner too in that the choreography and camera work largely rely on more subtle moves that pop into action only when the pace of the song demands it. This is definitely a performance PV. Dance elements are so sparse as to be more or less nonexistent. Instead, we get plenty of traversing the set and striking poses. It’s all presented very well, and the camera seems to always be in the perfect spot. I’m all for a performance PV if it’s shot well. There’s really no excuse for it to not be, right? Well, this one is practically perfect in its execution. Another big plus of this PV is the post production compliments what’s going on very well. The outdoor shots are a bit dulled out, but it makes the transitions back into the main scenes even more gorgeous. Overall, this PV just nails it.
As for the song, I said before I was hoping for something on the B-side of this single to have more kick. Well, here it is, folks. The instrumentals for this one are really, really good. The dramatic pop elements are executed very well, the tempo is super pleasing, and Hirate’s vocals are damn near exemplary. Considering how young she is as a performer, and how young she is period, I can’t believe she puts on such a superb performance. Very well done, young lady.
Keyakizaka46’s new single drops August 10th.
Watch: YouTube (Official) | DailyMotion (UNOFFICIAL)
Buy on Amazon JP: Regular Edition
| Type A [CD+DVD]
| Type B [CD+DVD]
| Type C [CD+DVD]
Buy on CDJapan: Regular Edition | Type A [CD+DVD] | Type B [CD+DVD] | Type C [CD+DVD]
