Kirari to Fuyu [w/ DVD, Limited Edition]

Koharu's first album, "Mitsuboshi," is still the best solo work she's ever done. The second, "Kirarin Land," was extremely painful to listen to (aside, that is, from the duets with C-ute's Mai Hagiwara). This third album, "Kirari to Fuyu," has some annoying tracks, but it doesn't make you feel totally stupid for being a Koharu fan. And some of those annoying tracks, like "Papancake," have begun to grow on me with each listen. (I'm still resistant, however, to the dog sounds Koharu makes in "Puppy Love.") The best tracks are the four Koharu does as part of the trio, Milky Way, in which she's joined by Sayaka Kitahara and Yuu Kikkawa, both of whom bring some welcome charm and vocal power to the album. Track 2, the fast-stepping "Anataboshi," is especially delightful. Milky Way is seen in four of the six videos included on the DVD that comes with the album. One of the videos offers a cartoon representation of the girls as seen on the anime show, "Kirarin Revolution," that uses their voices (and the source of most, if not all, of the songs included on Koharu's albums). However, Milky Way is not credited on the DVD case, other than in tiny letters on the track list. Nor do we see Sayaka or Yuu pictured anywhere, not even in the little booklet included with the CD. Only Koharu's pictures are seen. That's not cool. If I was managing Sayaka or Yuu, I'd be mighty angry. Koharu's best solo track on the album is #6: "Mass Colorful," which offers some interesting arrangments employing Spanish guitar. It's a haunting melody and should have been sung a little slower and less perky, but I still can't get it out of my head. And I believe Koharu is fully capable of singing it the way it should have been sung. She has much more of a vocal range than these songs allow her to show and I wish they'd let her grow up on these albums and perform like a real singer and the great talent she truly is.