GIRL NEXT DOOR: Guuzen no Kakuritsu

1. Guuzen no Kakuritsu

2. Breath

3. Red Ribbon – Unmei no Hito –

4. Guuzen no Kakuritsu (ice cream mix)

Guuzen no Kakuritsu is GIRL NEXT DOOR’s debut single, released on September 3rd, 2008. It reached #3 on Oricon and has sold 30 025 copies. That’s the highest rank for debut single since Ayaka’s “I Believe” (#3 equally) and Utada Hikaru’s “Automatic/Time Will Tell” (#1).

I’ve heard a lot of people already worship this band for this single, but oh! surprise! though luck, GIRL NEXT DOOR, I’ve got a few problems with your debut single. Not that it’s a bad single or anything; but Guuzen no Kakuritsu (probability of an accident) has two problems:

• The length; it’s a good song, but, being techno-based, it shouldn’t have been longer than 4:30; the song is five minutes and a half, which is an extra minute of boredom.
• The annoying vocals during the chorus; I don’t have a problem with her voice during the verses, but during the chorus it sounds like she’s whining.

Now to the good parts; I love that piano that that comes in a few times, and the steady beat is great. It’s just too bad the piano wasn’t used more. Oh well.

Our first B-Side, Breath, is a gentle ballad. At first I thought it was going to be some lame ballad with some hints of R&B in it, but it turned out it was a great ballad with a pretty catchy chorus. But the verses are still too lame. And Chisa’s voice really reminds me of Yuna Ito in this song. Whether that’s a good or bad thing, it’s up to you.

Red Ribbon – Unmei no Hito – (red ribbon – fated person -) is the half-way between A-Side and first B-Side sond; it’s sort of ballad-inspired but with injections of the energy found in Guuzen no Kakuritsu. Chisa’s voice is very nice in this song, even better than in Breath. Out of the two B-Side, I think Red Ribbon – Unmei no Hito – definitely stands out as the better.

The ice cream mix of Guuzen no Kakuritsu is “vanilla ice cream”: nothing special. In fact, it’s pretty bad. Guuzen no Kakuritsu was catchy, but it’s far less catchy in this version. The piano is there, but it’s different, and that was my favorite part of the song.