Review by Sachiko

IMO, it is definitely one of her best live yet, if not the best. Tracks from Heart&Symphony that were missed out in the Live 2005 are performed in here, including her 1st two 2006 single tracks Destiny and Camellia, and more. As if her recorded tracks aren't beautiful already; Hitomi's vocals here are to the same expectation and better. Emotional and full of grace. This item is definitely a must-get if you're a fan of her Crossover and/or her H&S albums. The same magic you felt in those two albums can be experienced all over again here in this DVD.

This is a very lovely CD, packed with 2 image songs for Ed (both sung by Seki Tomokazu) and their instrumental versions, a mini-drama and talk, and of course the gorgeous cover. The very first song Boku ga Tsutsumikomu kara is a beautiful orchestral ballad, while the second song Jikan no Kawa is a more R&B track. The lyrics and the melody of the first song definitely reflect Ed in one way or another. The mini drama is his reflection on his best friend (audience "omae" is a bit unknown for me though), while the audience for the talk is you.

This is such a cute drama. There are two drama tracks and two seiryuu songs (from ep.7 and ep.16 in the TV). The first drama is as reviewed, and then the second drama has to do with them attacking these "monsters" that apparently resemble mice. They were about to, but Tenma suddenly got reluctant, because... well, no spoil, but it's just adorable. And some personal Yorihisa angst too in regards to Tenma. It definitely made me laugh so hard~ Other characters that make appearance are Akane, Shimon, and Inori.

I got to say, it is one of her best concerts yet. The album itself is touching and enlightening, but her live brought the album even more to life. She sings with joy, with gratitude, with longing, it's written not only on her face, but heard in her voice. Shimatani has beautiful costumes as well that suit her dancing songs and her ballads. All in all, it's a very good concert.

Despite the small quantity of tracks, Shimatani Hitomi has outdone herself in this album... it's conceptual, powerful, and serious. I really love how the imaginative titles of the songs, as well as the common orchestral compositions, really tie the album together and create this untouchable magical atmosphere to it. Every single song is worth listening to, and every track conveys a different emotion. They're all really visual too... as if each song brings me to a different part of the world and different time of the world. From Europe to Asia, from Renaissance to distant future, from nature to people. It has done all to me. If you are looking for an album with a beautiful voice and potential songs, you won't regret buying Heart and Symphony.

must say this is an improvement compare to My Story. Ayu's voice has grown much deeper ever since... I'd say, RAINBOW album. When her voice was still higher pitched in her early career, I actually thought her "happy cute" voice was totally fine, but I do not prefer her using the voice she uses in Honey now that it's gone deeper.. Her voice felt like it began to lose power in a sense, but she regained that power again in (miss)understood. Although her vibrato is less consistent than her 2001 - 2003 era, it is still better than what she had in 2004. That's another reason why I really liked her 2005 releases throughout, because the songs really suit her current voice. Overall, although it lacks a conceptual title, miss(understood) is an abundant album, mostly because of the strong singles.

Beautiful cover, beautiful songs. This single is like a great package to witness Shimatani's older music style and her current newer style. Harumachibito is a mellow pop song that isn't particularly catchy, but it slowly grows on you, and as I said, it resembles her older works. Camellia, on the other hand, is a really beautiful upbeat song that resembles her Crossover era (that's right, blends of classical musics and techno). The only downside is that Sky High is included even though it appeared in her H&S album already. In my opinion, it's pretty much a space filler and doesn't serve much purpose to the item. Sky High is still a wonderful song though. All in all, this is a must-buy single.