Nogizaka46 - Sing Out! Impression

Hello and welcome to another post (wow its been a while since i wrote that sentence). its been a while since i wrote anything here, but since i really want to talk about Nogizaka46's newest single, and because i have the time to do it, i might as well do it. for the reason of why i haven't update my blog for a long time, well its because of this, and this, and this. basically i'm doing youtube nowadays. but we're not talking about youtube today, we're talking about Nogizaka46's 23rd single, Sing Out! (with an exclamation mark). the long awaited single after Nishino Nanase's graduation. it came out on May 29th 2019. it came out a bit late for a spring single because of the release of their 4th album, Ima ga Omoide ni Naru Made (which i thought is a pretty solid album with pretty good songs). anyway, let's get on with the single. and by the way, this are all MY opinion on the single, if you have different opinion then just write below in the comment.

Sing Out! (Senbatsu)

The main song of the single, honestly, i think its very good. i like the acoustic sound of it, its simple, but then it builds up to a something much bigger, but it still maintain that acoustic sound. i really enjoy it. the lyrics are very good, very uplifting. its the type of songs that will make you feel better when you listen to it, and that is always a good thing.

The music video, it was directed by the same guy who did Synchronicity, so of course there's going to be similarities, and i am not denying that, its just the style of the director. but if the end product is good, then why should anybody complain?
Its a very good music video, very fluid camera movement, mix in well with the fluid choreography. and the fact that a lot of the shot were made with one continuous shots, that is when a scene is shot in a single take, makes it even more fluid, that is one of the things i like about this director. the entire 2nd verse is basically made with one continuous shots and it looks beautiful. its also very hard to do, because its not just the members that need to have to learn a choreography for the shot, but the cameraman and the lighting person are also choreograph to follow the action in the right order. and if anyone messed up, well its back to the beginning. that's why as a film maker myself, i really appreciate when directors do this more complicated and harder method, instead of opting for a more safer, easier and less time consuming method, because the end product is much better and much more satisfying to watch.
i also really like the editing in the video, especially the small detail they put in. one of the things i really like is how they put the blank space in between shots, that's a small detail but i think benefits the MV very much. as i always say, the difference between a good and a great Music Video is in the small details, and the MV for Sing Out! pretty much nailed it.

Kassouro (Under Member)

From a great song to something that is even better. the Under members never disappoint, this time with Terada Ranze as the center. the song just sounded sooo goooood...... i really enjoy the mid tempo, old school retro sound of it. its a great driving song, which is good for me because i drive a lot. its just soo nice on the ear, very catchy, and very very good. and it has a great bass line.

The music video is....well if i have to say, the best one in the single. the shots in this MV are some of the most beautiful shots i've seen in a while. the geometrical and architectural pattern all looks amazing, the concept of it looks great, and you can see that they put a lot of time and effort to make it happen and it also fits the song very well

and what i like more about it is that, all of it are real space, all of the shots are taken in a real place, with no studio and/or green screen shots. which is something i can appreciate more because, first of its much harder to do and to do it right. and secondly, they only have limited time to do it, because you only have a certain amount of time to make a certain shot, for instance you can't shoot a sunset at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, so the time constraint just make shooting on location just that little bit harder. another thing that i like about this MV is, or at least something to note, is that although these sort of geometrical and architectural pattern type of shots are basic technique in photography and also videography, its one of the hardest to do right because your going to need a very good eye to make the pattern looks good

and i've said it a million time but i say it again, the small detail in this MV is what makes it great. first detail i like is in the wardrobe the members are wearing, it makes the members stand out even though most of the shots are taken from a very long distance, especially those with Ranze in it

another detail that i like is that, a lot of the very long shots are taken from an asymmetrical angle, instead of just completely taken from the top down. it make the shot have more depth to it instead of just looking flat, even though it has shadows, if it were taken from a right angle from the floor, it will still look flat. but because they taken it from an asymmetrical angle, it give the shot depth and it looks better

last detail that i like is actually in the choreography, they stretch their arm at the beginning of the chorus, which looks like the wings of an airplane, its small, but its noticeable.

Heikousen (Ozono Momoko, Yoda Yuki, Kubo Shiori, Sakaguchi Tamami, Iwamoto Renka)

Next we have the unit of the little kids, its the 3rd gen unit song. the song is pretty good. a very typical J-pop/anime style song. it seems like its a trend for a 3rd gen unit song to make it sound like an anisong, which is not a bad thing.

The music video, well its definitely the most fun one to watch. its colorful, its cute, its funny, so what not to like? the concept is nice, the body swap between the members and the random guy on the street is pretty well done. i really like the acting on the male actors, they were really on it with the acting. not saying the members did bad, but just the male actor almost took over the show. but still, the members in all those different costume are just the cutest. and with the final dance scene on the beach, it feels like a debut of a new idol group. its amazing to think that the 3rd gen have been around for more than 2 years now, but they still feel very fresh.
but one thing that disappoint me from the MV is that we didn't get to see a dance scene of just the male actors wearing the members clothes. if that had happen, then it will be the best MV in the entire single, hell even the entire year.
also, in the youtube version of the MV, they seems to forget to put the Nogizaka46 LLC credit at the end of the MV.

No You na Sonzai (Shiraishi Mai, Saito Asuka)

After being left by Nanase, Maiyan found a new partner in the form of Saito Asuka. the song is nice, i think Maiyan and Asuka made a better pair than Nanase because Asuka and Maiyan have a similar vibe to them. the song fit them very well, i really like the vocal layering in it. i also like the choreography, the hand movement looks really good.

the MV, well i won't say i'm impressed. it looks nice and all but it doesn't really feel special. it just feel like another Maiyan MV, and not much else. the dance scene at the end looks nice though.

Yonbanme no Hikari (4th Generation)

The sequel to Sanbanbe no Kaze, we have the introduction song for the 4th gen. and yes even Kubo Shiori mistaken the title to Yonbanme no Kaze, so no shame in getting the title wrong. the center is Endo Sakura, as predicted by a lot of people. the song is pretty good, not as impactful as Sanbanme no Kaze, but still pretty nice. the lyrics is also very good, telling a story about wanting to be like their senior and perform in the same stage wearing the same uniform. its a nice story.

the MV took a different approach than the 3rd gen to introduce the 4th gen, instead of showing of the individuality of the members like in Sanbanme no Kaze, Yonbanme no Hikari introduce the 4th gen as the 4th gen, if that make sense. it shows them as a team, as a unit, as a whole generation of Nogizaka46, and not just as individuals that are part of the 4th gen. it has more of a story element to it, and it also feels cooler and calmer thanks to the more blueish color grading.

Am i Loving (Hori Miona, Hoshino Minami, Kitano Hinako, Watanabe Miria, Suzuki Ayane)
Now we go the the 'no music video' zone, first we have Am i Loving, a song with Hori Miona and her friends. seriously, i won't be surprise if in the live performance, suddenly Tashima Meru and Yumoto Ami appear on stage, because it is just the members that are close with Miona. and i think its a nice move by Nogizaka, to have them in one unit. the song itself, its pretty good, for some reason it kinda sounds like a One Direction song, which is fine, i guess. the vocal is not the best, Miria is probably the best vocalist out of all of them. but overall, i enjoy it.

Aimai (Ikuta Erika, Matsumura Sayuri)
Right, the Kaarage Shimai are back, and as always, their songs sounded weird. for some reason they ask Sayurin to dig very deep and sing in a very low tone. honestly i don't really invest a lot of time in this song so i cant really say much. all i can say is that, it sounded different.

and that's it, my impression of Nogizaka46 23rd single, Sing Out!. i know my opinion are different from other people so feel free to tell me what you think about the single.
as for my usual ranking on the song and MV its like this

Song
1. Kassouro
2. Sing Out
3. Am i Loving
4. Heikousen
5. Yonbanme no Hikari
6. No You na Sonzai
7. Aimai

Music Video
1. Kassouro
2. Heikousen
3. Sing Out!
4. Yonbanme no Hikari
5. No You na Sonzai

i just notice something, whenever Ranze centers an Under song, its usually my favorite song in the single, Buranko is my favorite Nogi song, Sono Hito is my favorite song from the under album and Kassouro is the best song from Sing Out!. and did you notice anything else? all of Ranze center under song title ends with an "O", Buranko, Sono Hito and Kassouro.
and i guess that's all from me




This is Delta from Sakamichi Squad Bandung
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