Review by Torsten Behm

It is movies like this one, why I love Japanese cinema. Excellent storytelling and a great cast. I am very thankful Kinoshita released this with English subtitles, so international fans can enjoy the movie.

Amazing - that is what describes it best. Whether it is the songs, the arrangement, the voice of Fukase, Saori s piano, everbody in that band. There is so much love for detail in the amazing stage, great painting with color and light and everything captured by outstanding camera-work and editing way above usual concert-standard. This Blu-Ray is a work of art on every level. I love it so much that finally a band made use of the 21:9-ratio for such a concert (it is often done for PVs, but rarely for concerts). The Blu-ray has marvelous quality in sound and vision. If there is one thing left to be desired it would be English subtitles for all those foreign fans of Sekai no owari (and there are a lot of them), so even they could enjoy the lyrics to the fullest. I also like that the band also sings a few songs in English language - it shows their versatility and I really hope they will come to Europe and play Hamburg, Germany sometime in the future. The last 3 concert releases on DVD and Blu-Ray were a delight already, making you wonder how Sekai no owari might want to top it. But each time they succeeded. Cannot wait for the next one.

I really like HSJ and their music, but with this release I am heavily dissapointed - not so much with the performance of the boys - although I have seen more creative concerts of HSJ before (this concert looked a bit like put together in a hurry - they rely heavily on the LCD-screen in the back of the stage and its effects rather than on spectacular dance-arrangements. Yamada's Mystery virgin-dance however was nicely arranged (I did not like the PV-clip of that song, but this live-performance was a lot more enjoyable). But what JE-entertainment did to it's customers was not nice. To squeeze a 136 minutes concert onto one single disc, they compressed the sound to Dolby Digital Stereo. Hey, this is a CONCERT! A CONCERT-DVD should never feature only a compressed soundrack. It's like you buy a CD and get MP-3 instead. A concert like this, filmed in HD, should be released in HD pictures as well as sound. In Europe this would have beend released on Blu-ray and feature the LPCM Stereo-sound as well as a DTS-HD-Master Audio 5.1 sound remix, that would be the right choice to re-create a true concert-feeling. It appears strange to me that high-tec Japan does not honor it's customers and artist with such efforts. Highly regrettable. I will not buy a JE-DVD before an un-compressed Soudn-format is confirmed.

What a fabulous Single-CD, what a great band! I recently watched a 30-minutes show about SEKAI NO OWARI on J-Melo (NHK world) and loved the positive vibes and the energy of the band. Fukases voice is intriguing and gets through to my heart. I loved the lyrics that were subtitled in English on NHK (I wish the same service would be offered optional on DVD-releases) - this band really has a message. RPG was featured at the end of the show and I loved the tune. It is really catchy - and has wonderful lyrics. But the other two songs on this single are really good material as well. So this CD keeps spinning in my player since I received it. I hope SEKAI NO OWARI keeps their promise to tour the world as END OF THE WORLD and visits Hamburg in Germany, my hometown.

Before appreciating the concert itself, I have to give heartfelt thanks to Pony Canyon for having the dignity to release this wonderful concert on Blu-Ray in excellent high-definition quality, something that J-Storm or Johnnys Entertainment does not even grant their best selling acts, like for example Arashi. Summary for this Blu-ray: picture quality, colors and sound are brilliant - the only improvement possible would be an additional lossless 5.1 surround track, that would be best suited to create a realistic concert-atmosphere. In the US and Europe 5.1 is standard for most Concert-releases on DVD or Blu-ray. It is a secret to me why high-tech-Japan lacks behind so much in this regard. I already loved SEXY ZONEs first concert Blu-ray, which was together with D*Dates first concert, one of the best "first" J-pop-concerts I have seen. The concerts still have that excitement I am starting to miss in Arashis recent concerts. Sexy Zone is fully motivated. Nakajima-kun obviously loves to be on stage - in Germany we call such a person "Rampensau" , which is absolutely no offence, but a compliment. I love Sato-kun`s good looks, Matsushimas humor and Kikuchi-kuns excellent voice. His solo-performance was really great. He instinctively manages the art of being sexy and shy at the same time. And Yo-kun, I missed your "Danke schoen" this time - I loved to hear it in German at the end of the first concert. Why not bringing the boys to Hamburg, Germany sometime soon? If there is one thing to criticize: for my taste in concerts of Johnnys groups in general there is too much lip-synch and too little real live singing. I understand it is part of Johnnys concept to bring highly entertaining shows, with lot of physical stress for the artists, and he tries to make them perfect. The recent D*Date concert was simple in comparison, but good to very good songs throughout and the singing was mostly live - and that is what a live concert should be - otherwise we could listen to the CD. I wish Sexy Zone would do more real live performances, that differ from the recorded version every now and then. However, to watch this concert was a pleasure. That I watched it twice in one weekend is proof that it is really good. This group has a good chance to become really successful and stay in the business for a long time. Keep the records and concerts coming - and on Blu-ray, please.

It was an awful long wait from Yuma's first single AKUMA NO KOI until this second real solo-project. I already loved AKUMA NO KOI and was frustrated that for such a long time nothing new by Yuma was released. I enjoyed his appearances in NYC, but Yuma's really appealing singing voice always appeared to be a little subdued there. This new single reveals how good Yuma can really sing. And MISSING PIECE is not even the best track to proove that. I was especially fascinated by MIZU NO KAERU BASHO, in which Yuma beautifully plays with his voice. Regrettably for my taste the volume of his voice in the mix is a little low. However beautifully sung. The bonus track for the regular edition SAYONARA MERRY CHRISTMAS is another beautiful seasonal song. There is no waste-material on this CD, I can highly recommend. When hearing this CD one really hopes there will be a full album of Yuma-solo-songs very soon.

I was thrilled by D DATE's first three singles. I loved the hit-tunes but also found that the additional tracks on those CD's were of high quality. So I was excited when the first album-CD was announced. Then a little dissapointed when the track-list was revealed, since only three tracks of that album were new to those fans who already owned the singles. But after hearing the album in it's entirety I had to say it was the right decision to include all those beautiful b-tracks from the singles on the album since they were really strong songs in their own right. This way D DATE put together an album with absolutely no poor song on it. You can hear this album through without a dull moment and just love it. And I prefer to have less new, but good songs instead of hastily produced new ones, that are just average. For me there is no doubt about it - THIS is THE J-pop-album of 2012. Congratulation guys - I am looking forward to your new projects. Keep up this marvelous quality.

I was thrilled by D DATE's first three singles. I loved the hit-tunes but also found that the additional tracks on those CD's were of high quality. So I was excited when the first album-CD was announced. Then a little dissapointed when the track-list was revealed, since only three tracks of that album were new to those fans who already owned the singles. But after hearing the album in it's entirety I had to say it was the right decision to include all those beautiful b-tracks from the singles on the album since they were really strong songs in their own right. This way D DATE put together an album with absolutely no poor song on it. You can hear this album through without a dull moment and just love it. And I prefer to have less new, but good songs instead of hastily produced new ones, that are just average. For me there is no doubt about it - THIS is THE J-pop-album of 2012. Congratulation guys - I am looking forward to your new projects. Keep up this marvelous quality.

This one`s a real treasure! The only negative thing one could say about this mini-album is - it is too short! But then again: better short and real good rather than long and only mediocre! Here everything is perfect. The arrangement of these songs are superb. When in some earlier songs FT Island sometimes tend to drown the arrangement in too much e-guitar, this time the balances between all the instruments are perfect, arrangements are beautiful - and there are really lovely acoustic guitars aboard. Both singers deliver top-performances - these songs are like good paintings. No.1 is a real "earworm", refusing to leave my head ^-^. But not only the music itself leaves such a lasting impression - the packaging idea is creative and of high quality. The design and colors of the booklet as well as the included photos are very tasteful. And the audio quality from the mixing to the mastering is also great. The sound on this CD has really a good punch! Just one thing that could have made me even more happier - all those song on an extra PV-DVD ^-^! As I said - this one`s a real treasure! FT Island is getting better and better....

For years I have waited for one project from Warner Japan: a CD with all the 15 recordings Caterina Valente made in Japanese language during the sixties. I cannot understand why this never happened. I for example LOVE her jazzy big band-version of "Sakura", which is not included in this set. So Warner Japan - here is my request: "Caterina Valente in Japan" - and please in that beautiful quality that I found on this brilliant 4-CD-set. Did I already mention that I love Japanese sound engineers? I bet I did already, but I cannot repeat it often enough. Caterina Valente is the most unique and versatile artist that ever started it's career from Europe - during the 50's to the mid-60's she was the only European artist of world class-format. She sang in 10 languages, played several instruments, she hosted Germany's first personality show, made several movies and had TV-shows and acclaimed concert-tours all around the globe. She worked with stars like Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and many more. She is the most versatile artist I know and I was lucky enough to have seen her live several times. For a long time most of her recorded legacy was hard to get. Only thanks to the German Bear Family label many treasures have been brought to daylight on CD over the past 15 years or so. Bear Family already has very high quality standards, but when I listened to this Japanese edition of the "Telefunken-Jahre" , I was stunned. Not all songs sound top-notch (the first on CD 1 for example suffers some distortions from to high recording levels), but let's say 90% of those 101 songs never sounded better. Especially the CDs 2 and 3 are mastered brilliantly. In some songs I could hear details I never heard before so clear was the sound. A few of those recordings remain unreleased in Germany until today. Especially the Latin songs sound superb - and those with the Stanley Black orchestra must have been remixed and remastered from at least 3-track-tapes. The sound quality is that good, that I wish this would be released on SACD. So I have to send a huge ARIGATO GOZAIMASHITA to Warner Japan. I am so lucky I bought this edition I nearly overlooked, because it has the same cover as a German release from 2006 - luckily I noticed that the tracklist of the Japanese 4-CD-set is vastly different. This Set is a top-job that should not be missed by any Caterina Valente-fan worldwide.

When Europeans think about Jazz Japan probably would not come to mind first, but that perhaps is a mistake. Erena Terakubo' s album "Northbird" is a pleasure twice - artistically as well as technically. Erena and the band are really great, starting the album with a good number and get even better from track to track. The quality of the CD is - even for the high Japanese standard - superb! The sound is a pleasure to listen to. This album will surely be a favourite of mine for a long time to come! Cheers to girl from Hokkaido.

The northern part of Germany experienced the coldest and wettest July August in many years. So we hardly had any summer. But thanks to D Date I now can have 4 minutes of summer as often as I want to. DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song! A catchy melody, a fast and driving rock'n roll beat sung by very likeable guys. The PV (not incl. in this ed.) also radiates a lot of fun and good spirit and the boys are a pleasure to look at. I adore Koji Seto who is not only very handsome in a pleasantly natural way, but also so very talented as an actor (I monitor his career for quite some time now). I was surprised by him becoming part of a boy band, but found that he has an extremely sexy voice. He also shines when it comes to smooth dancing routines (check the PV of CHANGE MY LIFE). The other boys were completely new to me, but after 3 single-releases already became dear to me. D Date managed something that doesn't happen too often these days - 3 good releases in a row. ATO 1cm NO MIRAI was a really good start. I like the slightly dragging rhythm of that tune and the PV is nicely done. The second release managed to hold the quality level (in case of the PV even raise the level) by featuring a good song with CHANGE MY LIFE supported by a carefully produced PV that really has a story to offer - and in addition it featured nice dance routines. As I said before, DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song and together with NYC's YUMETAMAGO the best J-pop-release in 2011 so far for my taste. I wish D Date manages to keep on choosing such good song material and keeps on producing high-quality PV's. I am very curious if they also manage to have a superior first album release sometime soon. For that I would also love to have solo-songs of the members and more cool PV's. And since the boys are such a pleasure to look at...visual releases like a concert release would be fine. Perhaps D Date could be the first J-pop band to release a concert on Blu-Ray, a medium combining highest quality in picture AND sound (lossless surround sound is ideal for concerts and long used in the USA and Europe for such events). For reasons unknown and simply not comprehensible to me Blu-Ray is ignored in Japan even by bands like Arashi , who sell large numbers of their concert releases. But, despite all the pleasant D Date-experiences...Koji-kun, please continue making great movies and dramas ^_^ as well.

The northern part of Germany experienced the coldest and wettest July August in many years. So we hardly had any summer. But thanks to D Date I now can have 4 minutes of summer as often as I want to. DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song! A catchy melody, a fast and driving rock'n roll beat sung by very likeable guys. The PV also radiates a lot of fun and good spirit and the boys are a pleasure to look at. I adore Koji Seto who is not only very handsome in a pleasantly natural way, but also so very talented as an actor (I monitor his career for quite some time now). I was surprised by him becoming part of a boy band, but found that he has an extremely sexy voice. He also shines when it comes to smooth dancing routines (check the PV of CHANGE MY LIFE). The other boys were completely new to me, but after 3 single-releases already became dear to me. D Date managed something that doesn't happen too often these days - 3 good releases in a row. ATO 1cm NO MIRAI was a really good start. I like the slightly dragging rhythm of that tune and the PV is nicely done. The second release managed to hold the quality level (in case of the PV even raise the level) by featuring a good song with CHANGE MY LIFE supported by a carefully produced PV that really has a story to offer - and in addition it featured nice dance routines. As I said before, DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song and together with NYC's YUMETAMAGO the best J-pop-release in 2011 so far for my taste. I wish D Date manages to keep on choosing such good song material and keeps on producing high-quality PV's. I am very curious if they also manage to have a superior first album release sometime soon. For that I would also love to have solo-songs of the members and more cool PV's. And since the boys are such a pleasure to look at...visual releases like a concert release would be fine. Perhaps D Date could be the first J-pop band to release a concert on Blu-Ray, a medium combining highest quality in picture AND sound (lossless surround sound is ideal for concerts and long used in the USA and Europe for such events). For reasons unknown and simply not comprehensible to me Blu-Ray is ignored in Japan even by bands like Arashi , who sell large numbers of their concert releases. But, despite all the pleasant D Date-experiences...Koji-kun, please continue making great movies and dramas ^_^ as well.

The northern part of Germany experienced the coldest and wettest July August in many years. So we hardly had any summer. But thanks to D Date I now can have 4 minutes of summer as often as I want to. DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song! A catchy melody, a fast and driving rock'n roll beat sung by very likeable guys. The PV (not incl. in this ed.) also radiates a lot of fun and good spirit and the boys are a pleasure to look at. I adore Koji Seto who is not only very handsome in a pleasantly natural way, but also so very talented as an actor (I monitor his career for quite some time now). I was surprised by him becoming part of a boy band, but found that he has an extremely sexy voice. He also shines when it comes to smooth dancing routines (check the PV of CHANGE MY LIFE). The other boys were completely new to me, but after 3 single-releases already became dear to me. D Date managed something that doesn't happen too often these days - 3 good releases in a row. ATO 1cm NO MIRAI was a really good start. I like the slightly dragging rhythm of that tune and the PV is nicely done. The second release managed to hold the quality level (in case of the PV even raise the level) by featuring a good song with CHANGE MY LIFE supported by a carefully produced PV that really has a story to offer - and in addition it featured nice dance routines. As I said before, DAY BY DAY is the perfect summer song and together with NYC's YUMETAMAGO the best J-pop-release in 2011 so far for my taste. I wish D Date manages to keep on choosing such good song material and keeps on producing high-quality PV's. I am very curious if they also manage to have a superior first album release sometime soon. For that I would also love to have solo-songs of the members and more cool PV's. And since the boys are such a pleasure to look at...visual releases like a concert release would be fine. Perhaps D Date could be the first J-pop band to release a concert on Blu-Ray, a medium combining highest quality in picture AND sound (lossless surround sound is ideal for concerts and long used in the USA and Europe for such events). For reasons unknown and simply not comprehensible to me Blu-Ray is ignored in Japan even by bands like Arashi , who sell large numbers of their concert releases. But, despite all the pleasant D Date-experiences...Koji-kun, please continue making great movies and dramas ^_^ as well.

Wow! This is a real feel-good song. YUMETAMAGO became a real Ohrwurm (ear-worm), as we call it in Germany, for me these days. Nice melody, catchy rhythmn and a worthy topic, enthusiastically sung by NYC-love Chinens backing vocals on this one-very sexy! The PV to YUMETAMAGO is also something to enjoy. The lyrics of the song are very creatively transferred into pictures. I always prefer PVs that not just show a dance routine (although there are SOME that are also enjoyable if the choreography is exciting) but also tell a story. The PV of YUMETAMAGO is done with a lot of fantasy and creativity.

Wow! This is a real feel-good song. YUMETAMAGO became a real Ohrwurm (ear-worm), as we call it in Germany, for me these days. Nice melody, catchy rhythmn and a worthy topic, enthusiastically sung by NYC. I love Chinens backing vocals on this one-very sexy! KIMI TO ITSUMO is another good song with a strong and fast rhythmn, well sung-love the ending! SESHUN KIPPU isn`t bad either, but cannot live up to the previous songs. It suffers a bit from poor balance between vocals and music track within the first minute, some of the vocals get drowned in the music. The PV-NOT INCLUDED IN THIS REGULAR EDITION-to YUMETAMAGO is also something to enjoy. The lyrics of the song are very creatively transferred into pictures. I always prefer PVs that not just show a dance routine (although there are also SOME that are quite enjoyable if the choreography is exciting) but also tell a story. The PV of YUMETAMAGO is done with a lot of fantasy and creativity.

This is back to original Tegomasu - I was not too excited about the mini album featuring too many songs obvioulsy recorded to offer more uptempo song-material for the second concert-series. The result were mediocre pop-songs. But Tegomasus best quality is too be a bit different from the usual mainstream. This new single again offers the typical Tegomasu quality: a lovely melody and great harmony singing - something a bit off the mainstream again. The title track AOI BENCH comes in two versions on the regular edition - the first offering the usual heavy pop arrangement - but not bad either. The second - acoustic - versions is more sparsely arranged, revealing the true beauty of the melody. This arrangement is really done lovely, with quite some interesting guitars in it and a great finale! The third track is a nice song sung over only a piano track - making this a very versatile single-CD-release I truly enjoy. The PV on the limited edition is truly wonderfully filmed. I love the colors and the scenery chosen and the guys looks simply gorgeous. Tegomas as well as the film crew have brought the best out of this song.

This is back to original Tegomasu - I was not too excited about the mini album featuring too many songs obvioulsy recorded to offer more uptempo song-material for the second concert-series. The result were mediocre pop-songs. But Tegomasus best quality is too be a bit different from the usual mainstream. This new single again offers the typical Tegomasu quality: a lovely melody and great harmony singing - something a bit off the mainstream again. The title track AOI BENCH comes in two versions on the regular edition - the first offering the usual heavy pop arrangement - but not bad either. The second - acoustic - versions is more sparsely arranged, revealing the true beauty of the melody. This arrangement is really done lovely, with quite some interesting guitars in it and a great finale! The third track is a nice song sung over only a piano track - making this a very versatile single-CD-release I truly enjoy. The PV on the limited edition is truly wonderfully filmed. I love the colors and the scenery chosen and the guys looks simply gorgeous. Tegomas as well as the film crew have brought the best out of this song.

I can sum this up in very few words: beautiful melodies, wonderfully arranged and played by an superb orchestra. I love this 2-CD-set and already listened to it several times although it arrived here only about two weeks ago.

For all those Yuya Yagira-fans who wanted him back so badly and when it finally happened were so dissapointed to see him in 3-D-Shock-Labyrinth - even Yuya could not save that movie - HERE IS THE REAL DEAL. Under Mrs. Yamada sensitive direction Yuya carried on where he left us after Fumi zekka - Sugar and spice. It was a pleasure to see him in this excellent movie that found so well the balance between drama and humor, between serious topics, a girl on the quest for love and some slightly weird characters. All those characters do not simply remain some soon forgotten figures, but become alive on the screen. This movies will work you after you left the cinema. Eriko Sato like so many of those fine actors here did a good job. I love the scene in the restaurant when a waitress takes revenge on a child that terrorized her. Brilliant. I would not mind to see Yuya Yagira and Mrs. Akane Yamada team up again. This kind of movie is the turf where Yuya blossoms. And because this movie is such a fine film, it is even more regrettable that it again - like so many other interesting Japanese movies - gets a DVD-release without English subtitles. Nippon awake!!! There is a whole world outside of Japan that loves your culture, your music and movies and would like to take part, but does not have the chance to learn Japanese. It is so simple to add subtitles - here for this film they even already exist, for I was so lucky to be able seeing this movie English subbed on the Japanese film festival in Hamburg, Germany . Why are the subtitles not on the disc? Make us happy, add the subs and sell even more DVDs! And Yuya: great to have you back!