Single Sakurazaka 5th Single [Sakuratsuki] (2023/02/15)

Soo... Ozono will be the 5th single coupling song's center!

 

very happy with Rei as the coupling center

 

Covers:
https://sakurazaka46.com/s/s46/news/detail/R00190?ima=1151
https://twitter.com/sakuzakacentral/status/1615523746156277761

[oversize image]

 

Nice covers.

I'm def buying TypeA, Rena cover deserves it, but I like Normal Edition too.

I love how Miichan's dress suits her somehow, would have loved a solo cover for her with that pose.
But I can't stand that thing on Karin's head... I dunno, I think she'd look better without (and Rei is kind of stunning, but that is nothing new)

 

Ozono looks smashing on her covers.

Fuuchan's pic looks odd, that angle and pose makes her look kinda old and... big (Fuu's not a skinny girl, but no need to emphasize that). Something similar with Akipo, I wish their pics would have been retaken.

 

Well, it's not the first time that management does wrong to certain members: Fuyuka, Akiho, Rikopi, Oda, Naako etc. etc. They did that so very subtly, even to unconscious levels (such as intentionally bad photo angles, lighting, shorter camera times and so on). I'll never forget an old MV (if I'm not mistaken it may be SilentMaj) where it starts with the original 21 shown at rapid succession. In that Fuu-chan is simply missing...

So, although I haven't seen the picture @Jsprite is referring to, I have to say that nothing surprises me... I'm sure that now management is eagerlty waiting for the time that some girls take the decision to (...)

 

I think J is talking about the pic in this page, with all the CD covers.... watching better, Akiho too isn't exactly "fairy" in that dress

Fuuchan is the second in Silent Majority MV if I'm not wrong

 

Well, maybe, if you watch the MV at 0,10x speed or something... If you managed to catch a glimpse of her in this rapid shot (in which there are other "invisible" girls as well) than I'm awed with your eyesight.

 

You're right of course.
The only reason I know she's there, even if I'm not sure about her position, is that like many Keyaki fans I have watched that MV so many times in so many different speed to take every reference I could for my fanart that I still remember it well. On normal speed I may miss a lot lol

 

Yes, I was talking about the photos in the 5th single CD covers. I think each member's photo is taken individually and then put together in Photoshop. Both Akipo and Fuu's big flowing dresses make them look like they have huge breasts (bra-less, no less). They don't go together with the slender look of the rest of the members. Don't they have editors before the CD covers are finalized and approved? Sorry, but that just bothers me.

 

2nd round sales~


https://twitter.com/sakuzakacentral/status/1615747604671004672

If you remove graduates from the 4th single's chart, there were 6 members sold out by round two. With the 5th single, by round two there are 9 members sold out.

If we continue to follow Samidare yo's 3rd and 4th rounds, Koike and Yuipon will probably sell out by round 3, followed by Matsuri and Chukemon, hopefully Inori and Uemu will sell out by the end of the sounds.. This will most likely be the last single for the remaining backs members' fans to show their strength for their oshi's before 3ki join and steal the spotlight.

 

if the video does not show watch the video here　tomorrow at 12:00 JST, the mv of Sakurazuki will finally come out.


https://twitter.com/sakuzakacentral/status/1610939163552976898?s=20 there are also plans for streaming goals and streaming parties by Sakuzaka central so we can give the single all the hype it deserves

 

I like the song. Rena really nailed it.

Cheers!

 

Spoiler

 

4/10 not bad, too nogish, I've already forgotten the sound of this song. I also don't like clips shot in boxes like k-pop MV

 

OK, I'll try to be polite:

Rena was very good as center. She proves to be a strong selection for the position and she has also stunning visuals (petite and extremely pretty, with a romantic and gentle aura vs the dynamism of Runrun, the freshness of Ten and the femininity of Tamura).

And of course we need to make a short break from a series of breathtaking songs like (2) Ban (3) Nagaredama and (4) Masatsukeisu. (5) Needs to slow girls down a bit...

And the positives stop here...

Are there any negatives? No, not really... There are only hues of grey - blandness. The song is indeed Nogizakura46 and more specifically one of the mellow - shallow Nogizaka... The melody is definitely not strong. Of course it is intended to be a romantic/mellow song in contrast with the previous three singles BUT we've seen better examples of this during the 1st and 2nd single accompanying songs. The strongest part is the (typical by now) rap part in the song (lyrics sung as prose). Also the choreo: Is this really a choreo by Takahiro Sensei? The setting and costumes? The girls dressed like "Botticelli's Primavera" - pls google it to check the painting and you'll see what I mean - in a shadowy/darkish background that gets claustrophobic towards the end (although there IS actually the presence of warm light-rays that give the whole picture a hint of life). In a few words:

THERE IS NO PUNCH!!!

I'm listening to the Masatsukeisu right now just to get my blood run faster in my veins and my mind getting dopped for the start of the day.

I'll stop here and pretend nothing happened, with the belief that this single is specifically made not to scare 3rd gens with the complexity, chaos, dynamism and mania of what this groups is 110% able to convey...

P.S. Not that they (the 3rd gen) will finally escape songs like Masatsukeisu...

 

I agree with @Trinu in part.
The first part of the song left me quite dubious and overall it's not an unforgettable one, but in the second part of the MV pick itself up a bit and it's enjoyable enough. It will grown on me... hopefully.

Anyway, Sakura deserves more than an enough song though.
Rena too.
I still think Bluemoon kiss would have been perfect for her and I hoped it would at least get near that... now I'll wait for the next songs.

The MV is also good and bad for me.
There're really good parts, with strong good choices, starting from the moment Rena and Pon mirror each other, then Koike, then the sequence pushing the walls... or the choice to make the start of the mv the end in reverse, for exaple. (and others I can't really recall now, but that I found interesting)
At the same time there're parts that seems really disconnected; members starting the movement when the camera is already on them, movements too fast for the song... I don't know... it's not clicking in some parts and this puzzles me, because no matter how much or how little I liked a song, usually the MVs are perfect.

I'm surely going to rewatch it tonight, but so far these are my first thoughts about our 5th main song.

@Philosophy Senpai I agree with you too, but frankly, I don't understand why there's a rap part... It doesn't suit the song at all for me.

 

Which is the entirety of the MV?
I thought "Perhaps, they could have shot some scenes outdoor." before I realized "Whoops. This is not the season. It has been winter, no cherry blossom." Then, I questioned "Why now? Why release it now? Why could not you wait until spring?"

Generally speaking, don't 48/46 songs have weak melody (kind of monotonous)?

Rap part is the strongest? There is no flow, no rhythm. i can't tell if there is the rhyme as I can't hear where each line starts and ends. If my ears function right, they have 2 members rapping at once? That is a way to ruin the rap part. It should not be done by more than 1 person at a time regardless how many members the group has. If you want more than 1 member rap, let them rap different lines.

I don't think there is enough material to judge the actual choreography. We only see bits of it here and there and, the execution is blatantly asynchronous. This shows they barely learnt the choreo before the shooting. Plausibly, not even the whole choreography had been finished.

I did google Botticelli's Primavera and found that "primavera" meant "spring" the very season the sakura bloomed. Coincident? Yes. I don't think the costume was inspired by Botticelli. Multiple designers' brands have sold such multi-layered dresses.

You forgot to comment on the cliche/un-original lyric. I believe any Japanese citizen must have listened to dozens of songs on the fall of sakura blossom.

How the end of the MV is the beginning is very meaningful. The song is cherry blossom season, right? The season is circular. It comes and goes repeatedly.

Whenever I hear out-of-place rapping, I'm recalled of K-pop. This is a signature of K-pop. It might have suited other parts of the song better had it been executed better.

 

Gosh I didn't realize that "nogi-like" automatically means it's boring and bland. Or is it just too boring for you all if sakurazaka has a few calming songs that fit the time of year and the center?

I cannot stress this enough, if we have back to back upbeat songs with complex choreography, the girls WILL burn out and the group will go back to Keyaki 2018-9 era where it was dramatic and devastating. I respect that a lot of you enjoy the cooler darker more upbeat songs however it's completely fine for the group to have calm relaxing songs too. We need songs that give moments where the girls can still perform without feeling exhausted. We need music video's with chill choreography and nice visuals to show how beautiful the members and the group are. We need relaxing songs like this which can be used in a store or a commercial for more promotion for the group.

The song itself has a calm melody perfect for the mood of a love song during the transition through winter to spring. Rena carries an aura that represents this feeling well, and allows for the girls with stronger and cooler aura's to mellow out and show their elegance and beauty more too. In general, the vibe reminds me of Flower which i've said before is a group who left a bit of a void in jpop idol songs like that, so it's nice to see Sakurazaka using this elegant concept so well. The outfit is controversial on twitter it seems but I enjoy the look very much! I think the variations we'll have for this costume throughout the year will be stunning! For me personally, the lyrics captures the groups identity well in this current moment. Wanting to move forward and blossom despite the "falling petals" (grad members?), wishing for love even if they aren't yet fully bloomed. This to me is truly Sakurazaka46 right now. It's not perfect but it's beautiful and I want to continue supporting them and watch them bloom.

I'm excited to see Rei's center song, and find out who the other center will be. Rei really looks fitting of a Sakura8 member now, however the energy Habu gave off was extremely Saku8 vibes too, despite not being in that position for this single. She's definitely a pillar to overcome if any of the other backs members want to find themselves in the Saku8.

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Sakuzakacentral haven't translated the 3rd round meguri yet but I had a look at the jp results and as expected, Koike and Pon sold out this round! Not surprising but the 3rd generation members will now join meguri for a few days but in group slots, so If you want to say hello to the new members please check them out!

 

I could not disagree with people in this thread more on basically everything. Love the song, love the MV, love the choreo. Everything about this song feels very Sakurazaka to me.

I expected this to be a love song, I mean... it's a Renaa center and the album will be released around valentines day. And while I adore the girl, I can't help but feeling that this song would've been better as a Karin or a Ten-chan center. Ten-chan because all throughout the music video she was really giving it her all in the choreo and it looked absolutely stunning. Karin because she already has a good track record with love songs in Sakurazaka. Maybe Renaa will develop her center aura or something like that more as the promotions go on. Also the solo singing part from Rena... I hope she's gonna be able to sing that live....

The music video I adore. It's done by the same woman who did Boku no dilemma and I can absolutely see it. This MV is honestly my favorite Sakurazaka A-side MV. The lighting is stunning, I adore the costumes (especially the blue one) and the sets are beautiful. It has a sense of mystery and longing to it that I love.

The choreo while not well polished yet in the MV, looks stunning from what was shown. It seemed dynamic, emotional and elegant at some points, powerful in others. In other words imo perfect for Sakurazaka. I far prefer it to the choreo of Samidare Yo for example.

As for the song itself!
If we're talking about songs with MVs.... this would be in my TOP 5. If we're talking A-side tracks.... TOP 2, alongside BAN. The lyrics are more or less throwaway for me, but the same goes for almost all love songs. I do think the lyrics match the vibe of the song in general though, which is all that I ask for. The song feels melancholy and regretful, but also hopeful. A beautiful mix of emotions. In the instrumental the piano especially stands out for me well, reminds me of how a falling petal would look like. The rap part could have been executed better, but overall it makes the song feel like a sakurazaka song for me.

Overall I'd give this a strong 8/10 for now, with a lot of potential to go higher with live performances.

EDIT: Also while I do say that I think smbdy else could've been a better choice for Center.... Renaa did still do a wonderful job and suits the song very well. This has more to do with the strength of other members and not Renaa's performance being unsatisfactory.

Also I really love Sakurazaka taking the route of also having more slower and mellow songs. It feels right for the group and their image.