Promo wise , Ryu was chosen as the theme song to promote the movie Shin Kaishaku Bakumatsu-den .
On 1st listen , Ryu is a very edgy & extremely memorable song . It reminds me of Seiiki a lot & I like how just how much fun Ryu sounds especially with it having such a great melody .
Ryu is the 4th new song Fukuyama released digitally this year & it's a great song to conclude 2025 .
Hopefully Fukuyama's next new music release will be a new album as frankly it's long overdue for him to release 1 .
This's a self cover of SPYAIR's 19th single . RAGE OF DUST -New Version- digital release is to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans anime which back then RAGE OF DUST was used as the 1st opening theme song to promote the anime's 2nd season .
RAGE OF DUST is 1 of SPYAIR's most memorable and prominent songs they have provided anime wise so it's not surprises that sooner or later they would release a new version of it featuring their new vocalist YOSUKE .
Personally RAGE OF DUST -New Version- doesn't stray so much from the original take of the song but nonetheless this's a nice way to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans anime .
CD
CD + Blu-ray A
CD + Blu-ray B
AKIHIDE's last album release was last Dec's Fortune .
MOON SIDE STORY serves as the 3rd final chapter from 2023's Three Stars & last year's Fortune .
Songs in MOON SIDE STORY which featured AKIHIDE singing in them :
- MOON SIDE STORY
- Rurou no Tori
- Chocolate
- COLOURS
- One Day
A video was made for MOON SIDE STORY (the song) while the CD only version includes a bonus track , MOON SIDE STORY -LOOP version- .
MOON SIDE STORY felt like a full circle moment for AKIHIDE because some of the audio and visual elements of the album were created by him years ago & for AKIHIDE to be able to utilise them and incorporated them in his new album after such a long time , I think it's a different level of feeling only AKIHIDE himself gets .
Music wise , with MOON SIDE STORY being the final album chapter trilogy after Three Stars & Fortune , it's not a surprise the songs in AKIHIDE's latest album felt like an extension from the previous 2 releases .
That said just like AKIHIDE's previous album releases , I enjoy MOON SIDE STORY tremendously . AKIHIDE has an unlimited amount of creativity & for every album he released , I appreciate the care & thoughtfulness that went into each release of his .
I look forward to see what AKIHIDE will release next & I'm sure MOON SIDE STORY will not be the last thing he will come up with .
This song was released digitally together with V6's entire discography inclusive of their 2 sub unit group's songs ie. 20th Century & Coming Century .
Even though V6 has already disbanded it's still nonetheless touching that they still chose to commonerate their debut anniversary & this year marks 30 years since their debut .
Egao ga Suki is an unreleased song that has never been included in any of V6's physical releases until now . V6 could have let 1st Nov come & go but for them to do 1 last thing for their longtime fans , I think that says it all .
Promo wise , If you come was used to promote Fuji TV's drama Shin Tokyo Suijo Keisatsu .
If you come is the last new song Aqua Timez created before they're set to disband again year end . It's a bittersweet feeling but at least they're leaving on a high note .
Before the year concludes , Aqua Timez will release 2 more new releases :
- 9th album Umi Ippai ni Furishikiru Hoshi will be released on 10th Dec & if you come will be included in the album
- Aqua Timez 20th Thanksgiving Live [Sora Ippai ni Kanaderu Inori] DVD + Blu-ray will be released on Christmas Eve
On that note I want to say thank you to Aqua Timez for temporarily reforming last July to celebrate their 20th anniversary this year & for releasing 5 wonderful new songs inclusive of If you come .
And I hope Aqua Timez will reunite again next time to celebrate their future 25th anniversary in the business .
CD
CD + Blu-ray
1) Kioku no Umi
2) shout
3) Akusyumi
4) 0.5 Byou no Koi
SID's last mini album release was 2018's Ichiban Sukina Basho EP .
Dark side EP was released before SID TOUR 2025 ~Dark side~ started this month to next month .
The 4 songs in Dark side EP represent the dark side of SID .
0.5 Byou no Koi is the lead EP track which was released digitally on 6th Aug . A video was made for the song but it's not included in the physical release of the mini album .
Mini album credits wise , all 4 songs in Dark side EP were written by vocalist Mao while a different SID member composes each song as follows :
1) Kioku no Umi ; composed by drummer Yuya
2) shout ; composed by guitarist Shinji
3) Aku Shumi ; composed by Yuya
4) 0.5 Byou no Koi ; composed by bassist Aki
Dark side EP is a compact release put out by SID . For their latest release , each of the 4 songs in the mini album explores the different dark sides of the band .
Not surprisingly , Dark side EP is a musical departure from Ichiban Sukina Basho EP but this did not stop me from enjoying SID's new mini album .
In recent years SID have not been as musically active as once before but nonetheless I appreciate them still releasing new material periodically .
CD
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray A
CD + DVD A & CD + Blu-ray B
1) The beginning of the world
2) Thriller City
3) Datenshi no Uta
4) Hotel Mirage
5) Night & Bye
6) Winner
7) More & More
8) Velvet Disguise
9) Rhythm of Love
10) rose
11) Satisfy
12) Paradise of Lullaby
13) Because of you
CD only version
14) MOVE ON
15) I
Koichi's last album release was 2021's PLAYFUL .
The theme of RAISE is based on to raise one's spirit , to liven up . Koichi's new album was created with the concept of "A new step forward" .
RAISE's lead album promo track is The beginning of the world & it has a video made . Before the album was released physically , The beginning of the world was released digitally on 1st Sept .
The CD only version of RAISE includes 2 bonus tracks :
MOVE ON ; from the Endless SHOCK stageplay which Koichi directed & starred in
I ; self cover , Koichi wrote & composed the song himself
Domoto Koichi's long awaited album RAISE is finally here ! RAISE encompasses various meanings including raising spirits , raising excitement & raising up others . This album was created with the theme of "new step forward" . RAISE features stirring songs led by the opening number The beginning of the world .
Koichi's previous album PLAYFUL to me was underwhelming despite it having a great concept & covers . So before hearing RAISE , I kept my expectations low on purpose but RAISE overall blew me away after I heard the material in it .
To me RAISE showcases Koichi's musical stageplay side significantly which I thought it's great as quite a lot of the new songs in RAISE elevates this side of Koichi that not a lot know he's really good in .
The beginning of the world no doubt deserves to have a video made as it sets the tone on what to expect in RAISE . And the entire album flows very well from start until finish .
The only song in RAISE that I'm not quite a fan of is Satisfy while some such as Thriller City & especially Paradise of Lullaby deserve to have videos made and not just The beginning of the world only as I'm sure the video concepts for those songs I singled out would have been very entertaining to watch .
It's always a pleasure to listen to albums that have little if not no filler songs in them . And the fact that no singles preceded RAISE that's an even taller order for Koichi but for me to enjoy RAISE tremendously , that says a lot .
RAISE is definitely worth the wait & an album highly worth checking out before 2025 concludes .
