LOOK on PPGZ

Here's LOOK running over the end credits of Powerpuff Girls Z.



The credits cite Yusuke Tanaka as the composer, and Halcali for the lyrics. Tanaka also wrote Halcali's Eureka 7 song Tip Taps Tip.

Thoughts?

Tanaka's second Halcali song seems to share all the same problems with his first. It doesn't sound like Halcali. It doesn't particularly sound like anyone. It has that same flat, processed feel that 95% of modern pop music has. Neither here nor there, it starts, plods along predictably and eventually ends, leaving you shrugging your shoulders neither better or worse off than you were before you listened. It makes absolutely no attempt to make even basic use of fact that the group is comprised of two rappers to it's advantage- it only wastes talent in having the girls lamely double up throughout. Let's salvage something from it though. There's a moment around the one minute mark where a harder bass beat kicks in that's vaguely interesting, and could the chorus be a grower? Perhaps not. Perhaps this is me wanting myself to like it in some way, but that's something I'll probably have to wait for the full release for to find out.

There are some other things the song has going for it too. Although this preview is fairly dull overall, I don't think that it sound be taken as a reflection of what Halcali might have in store for us for album three. It is, after all, a song written with a specific goal in mind, that is to play unobtrusively over the end credits of an anime made for young teenage girls. While that might not excuse Tanaka for wasting two opportunities in a row (Tandem was also featured on an anime in a similar way remember), he was lumbered with the kind of baggage that Nakamura, Fantastic Plastic Machine and whoever else turns up to produce on the next album won't be.

So while I'm undoubtedly disappointed, I'm tentatively going to just shrug it off for now. This is simply Halcali paying their dues to Sony and fulfilling the requirements of their contract.
On a genuinely positive note though, it's good to see them taking a more creative role in that they wrote the lyrics to the song. Based on interviews where they talked about how much they enjoyed it in the past (they started writing with Wakakusa Dance), I think it's a trend that's going to continue.

All that said, I'm still going to pick it up on release day. These anime cash-ins tend to promote and sell themselves, but after the commercial disaster of Twinkle Star, I'll be interested to see how Sony handles this one.