If a picture is worth a thousand words, what more a music video?

Hello friends, and welcome back once again to the one and only J-Music Exchange/Rate! If you’re already acquainted with this series, you should know where to proceed from here. BUT, if you’re new to the blog and you’re not quite sure how this all works ー

The J-Music Exchange/Rate series is a monthly tandem album review project conducted between myself and my good friend Al (from Omunibasu), both of us avid fans of Japanese music. Each month, we choose a theme to guide our reviews and then select albums from our own libraries that align with it. We exchange these albums and dive into each other’s picks, offering our individual takes (hence the name “Exchange/Rate”). This project has helped us discover music outside of our comfort zones while also allowing us to see our favorite albums from a fresh perspective. We hope this series does the same for you, inspiring you to explore new artists or view one of your favorites in a new light.

Al and I take turns choosing the theme each month, and this time it was Al’s turn to set the tone for our review. He decided it would be fun for us to focus on albums that feature multiple memorable music videos. I’ve long believed that music videos have become something of a lost art in the Western world, especially as a medium for storytelling. However, Japanese music has remained one of the last strongholds for music videos—or PVs (“promotional videos”) as they’re known in Japan—which is why I consider them an essential part of the listening experience for songs that have them. PVs are also how many people, myself included, often first discover new songs and the artists behind them, making the connection even more special when those artists go on to become our favorites.

I’ve seen a lot of PVs over the years, and have discovered many a band and artist through them, so as such I do have a good couple that I find memorable for one reason or another. After some thought, I decided this would be a good chance to have Al enter Kamitsubaki City through the album Unmei by Virtual Witch Phenomenon, or V.W.P (catch his review over at Omunibasu!). I on the other hand will be going over an album by a band that’s no stranger to these parts.

And, action!

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Gesu no Kiwami Otome. (ゲスの極み乙女。) is a four-piece “Hip-Hop/Progressive” band, as they define themselves, led by Kawatani Enon. Best known as the vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for the band indigo la End, Kawatani formed “GesuKiwa” in 2012 as a side project, bringing together musicians he had played with at previous live house shows. The lineup includes Kyuujitsu Kachou on bass, Hona Ikoka on drums, and Chan Mari on keyboards. Over their more than decade-long career, the band has achieved significant success, producing two gold RIAJ-certified singles, a platinum RIAJ-certified single, and a gold RIAJ-certified album..

＜Ｓｕｋｉ　Ｎａｒａ　Ｔｏｗａｎａｉ (好きなら問わない)＞
(＊Spotify link to the full album)

CDJapan Affiliate Link(s):
Suki Nara Towanai [Regular Edition] / Gesu no Kiwami Otome.
Suki Nara Towanai [CD + DVD feat. MTV Unplugged / Limited Edition] / Gesu no Kiwami Otome.

＜T ｒａｃｋｌｉｓｔ＞

０１・オンナは変わる/onna wa kawaru
０２・はしゃぎすぎた街の中で僕は一人遠回りした/hashagi sugita machi no naka de boku wa hitori tomawari shita
０３・イメージセンリャク/image senryaku
０４・もう切ないとは言わせない/mou setsunai to wa iwasenai
０５・戦ってしまうよ/tatakatte shimauyo
０６・sad but sweet
０７・僕は芸能人じゃない/boku wa geinoujin janai
０８・颯爽と走るトネガワ君/sassou to hashiru tonegawa-kun
０９・ゲンゲ/genge
１０・私以外私じゃないの/watashi igai watashi janai no (Remix by PARKGOLF)
１１・招かれないからよ/manekarenai kara yo
１２・ホワイトワルツ/white waltz (adult ver.)
１３・アオミ/aomi

Ａｌ： I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I can confidently say that Gesu Kiwami no Otome’s “Mou Setsunai to wa Iwasenai” is one of the greatest Japanese songs I’ve ever listened to. While it is quite different than what most fans were used to hearing from this band, the sheer talent and emotion shown in each member’s instrumental performance (especially CHANMARI’s gorgeous piano playing and Kyujitsu Kacho’s expertise at bass being shown in full display), as well as Kawatani Enon’s heartfelt vocals; all made this a song that still gets me teary-eyed whenever I listen to it… it’s that good. And while there may be other interpretations of this song’s meaning and how it came to be, I think the most important thing to take away from it is that it’s a fantastic reflection/celebration of this band and their then-sixth anniversary, and how the combination of Kawatani, Hona Ikoka, CHANMARI and Kyujitsu has worked so well together.

While I could talk about that one song all day long, I do think that many of the other tracks (and their accompanying music videos) on Sukinaratowanai are great in their own right. The album’s opening song, “Onnawakawaru”, takes no time to display the band’s high-level skills with their own respective instruments, as you are immediately hit with Kawatani’s crazy guitar playing or that memorable melody from CHANMARI. “Hashagisugita Machi no Nakade Boku wa Hitori Toomawarishita” remains as one of my all-time favorite Gesu songs, simply because of that catchy and beautifully harmonized chorus. And while I do feel like this album is quite top-heavy, there are still a few tracks later on that are interesting to listen to, such as the fittingly titled “sad but sweet” and “White Waltz (Adult Version)” taking on a much more jazzy tone.

Additionally, I think Sukinaratowanai includes some fascinating music videos. Not only with the one I mentioned at the beginning, but seeing how “Image Senryaku” is a sort of satirical commentary on how quick the public image of celebrities can change and organizations like Bunshun, as well as “Tatakatte Shimauyo / Battling” still being one of the most memorable + creative Japanese music videos I’ve ever seen… to me, it’s simply a great album with a bunch of great songs, all performed by a great band.

＜Ｓｏｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　Ｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔ＞

０１・オンナは変わる/onna wa kawaru、０３・イメージセンリャク/image senryaku
In truth I had initially planned to skip over Onna wa Kawaru entirely for this review of Suki nara Towanai. A lot of that is because I already spent a fair amount of time talking about the song when it came out back in a previous Roundup and my feelings towards it for the most part haven’t really changed since then. This is Gesu no Kiwami Otome at their technical best on all musical fronts which, if anything else, is always going to be a treat to the ears. That being said, in as much as I still very much like this song, I was actually genuinely surprised to find out that this album has this as its opening track. I mean, to be fair “GesuKiwa” isn’t one to bury the lead when you think about the tracks they’ve historically used as album openers (for reference, Lusca in their Miryoku ga Sugoi yo album, and Ryouseibai de ii Janai for Ryouseibai as a couple of examples) so in that sense it’s par for the course. But, I dunno. I guess because of how immediately grandiose the band is already sounding right out of the gate with Onna wa Kawaru here. It’s like I never got a chance to settle in. Just feels like an odd placement. Not to mention, I was actually made to realize right away too that this album is what I’ve taken to calling “top heavy” over here on the Exchange/Rate, when I noticed that the A-side singles included in it are all packed in the first half.

Included among them is Image Senryaku which… is a song that I could’ve sworn I talked about before as well, but in checking my past writings it appears as though I had not. The reason I say that is because I do genuinely find this particular song of theirs to be fairly interesting for a couple of reasons. The first being that, despite it being performed by the GesuKiwa members, there are moments (specifically the pre-chorus leading up to the chorus proper) where the song itself sounds more like it was meant to be played by Kawatani’s other band indigo la End with how uncharacteristically melancholic it otherwise sounds for a GesuKiwa song. This ties in to the other reason why I’ve spent a fair amount of time musing about this song is because of how self-aware it, with how it depicts an actress being embroiled in a series of scandals much like Kawatani himself. In relation to that, I think it’s pertinent that we go over the circumstances surrounding the release of Suki nara Towanai as it relates to both Kawatani Enon’s proclivities over the years and how his activities directly affected Gesu no Kiwami Otome in those times. Doing so, in my opinion, might help us contextualize and subsequently have a better understanding of the themes present in the songs on the album, both narratively and auditorily.

０４・もう切ないとは言わせない/mou setsunai to wa iwasenai
It should be noted that Suki nara Towanai is the first album under Kawatani’s own WMJ subsidiary music label TACO RECORDS. Whether or not he and GesuKiwa had a falling out with their longtime record label unBORDE is not explicitly stated in reports and interviews. However, I would like to think it to be within the realm of possibility considering how Daruma Ringo, the band’s last release under their previous label got delayed for five months following an indefinite suspension of activities that resulted from the now infamous scandal of Kawatani being caught drinking with a minor. In an interview with The Japan Times, unBORDE founder Suzuki Ryoma kept it very brief in saying that the situation had just been “crazy” before proceeding to dispel any notion that the publicity that the scandal sparked brought more harm than good to their projected album sales. He talks about treating the ordeal as a learning experience, and that he would let everyone know in the future what it is exactly that he learned. Though mainly talking about himself in reference to the future of unBORDE as a label moving forward, perhaps Kawatani himself felt a similar sentiment by the time GesuKiwa resumed their activities, and that his decision to move the band over to his own label was meant to signify him wanting a fresh start.

Maturation as a response to past immaturity and indiscretion is, in my view, the central theme of Suki nara Towanai. This is best exemplified in the song Mou Setsunai to wa Iwasenai. Kawatani has often depicted his sense of persecution at the hands of the media and public, as we saw in Image Senryaku. However, we’ve never seen him directly address his bandmates as he does here. The song’s lyrics explore themes of acceptance, expressing a desire to be understood by those who grasp his way of thinking and his actions. The protagonist (presumably Kawatani) finds reassurance that in the company of these people (the band), he will no longer need to express sadness (“mou setsunai to wa iwasenai” literally translates to “[I] won’t let you say it’s sad anymore”). The music video, on the other hand, imagines a scenario where the band disbands following Kawatani’s scandal. It shows the band members settling down and leading normal, peaceful lives, while Kawatani is left racing into the night alone. Yet, it also portrays a moment of reconciliation, where the band members come together and affirm that the time they’ve spent together and the memories they share are what truly matter. In the end, the rest of GesuKiwa join Kawatani, riding together in unity once more. This symbolism reflects the deep bond the band has developed over the years, and how, despite everything, the members still have Kawatani’s back.

０９・ゲンゲ/genge
What’s also fascinating, as we move into the second half of Suki nara Towanai, is the sense of maturation you’ll start to feel from a tonal perspective as well. You can hear hints of this in the earlier tracks, and get a full taste of it in Hashagi Sugita Machi no Naka de Boku wa Hitori Tomawari Shita (which, in my opinion, is one of the album’s underrated standout tracks). There’s a noticeable “mellowing out” of GesuKiwa’s sound compared to their earlier years, which I find ties into this overarching theme of growth that we have. This shift is perhaps most apparent in Genge, where two key elements in particular stand out as being different from the typical GesuKiwa style.

The first notable change is the song’s slower tempo, which creates a calmer vibe that we’re not typically used to hearing from the band. GesuKiwa songs are often characterized by the hectic energy that they bring, for lack of a better term—whether through Kawatani’s intricate fingerstyle guitar, Hona Ikoka’s rapid drumming, Kyuujitsu Kachou’s complex bass lines, or Chan Mari’s exceptional keyboard work, or some combination of all these elements. But here in this track and the ones that follow it (with the exception of one which I’ll also talk to you guys about in just a bit), you don’t really hear a whole lot of that. The intensity is dialed back, allowing instead for an uncharacteristically more subdued, reflective sound as you’ll hear here. Which leads to the second new adaptation being implemented (at least as I perceive it); the deeper incorporation of jazz into their music. Now, granted, GesuKiwa have always sprinkled in a bit of jazz here and there in the past, but more often than not it’s the faster, more frenetic kind, and very rarely was it the sort of bluesy jazz that we get here. For what its worth, while it was a bit of a mood whiplash from the earlier half of Suki nara Towanai, it was a more than welcome one for myself personally. This second half was so refreshing to hear from the band, with Genge easily being my favorite from it.

１０・私以外私じゃないの/watashi igai watashi janai no (Remix by PARKGOLF)
Before I go over my overall thoughts on Suki nara Towanai, I wanted to very briefly go over this seemingly random inclusion of a remix version of Watashi Igai Watashi Janai no by PARKGOLF, as it does tie into what I think to be one of album’s shortcomings. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Historically on Exchange/Rate album reviews I’ve been known to not be too receptive to the inclusion of remixes in album. More often than not my stance on the matter has been that I would much rather that they keep original versions of songs in album releases, and that remixes should just be used as coupling tracks to a single. That being said, contrary to what you might think based on the precedent that I established for myself… I don’t actually hate this remix (lol). Of course, I don’t think it’s a replacement for the original, but by itself I think it’s able to stand on its own as just a track to vibe to credit in large part to PARKGOLF’s prod work.

This remix is unique for two reasons: (1) the original version of the song had already appeared on a previous album (Ryouseibai), and (2) PARKGOLF’s remix was already used as a B-side on a prior single (Anata ni Makenai). So naturally, it raises the question: why include it again on Suki nara Towanai? This brings me to one of the album’s shortcomings (a flaw it shares with Daruma Ringo, interestingly enough): the lack of standout, marquee singles. Let me explain. For comparison, Miryoku ga Sugoi yo boasts Ryoukiteki na Kiss wo Watashi ni Shite, while Ryouseibai features both Romance ga Ariamaru and the original version of Watashi Igai Watashi Janai no. But you might be wondering, what about Mou Setsunai to wa Iwasenai or Karamatte Shimau yo? While those tracks are indeed solid A-sides and get plenty of views and listens, they lack the same punch as the standout tracks I just mentioned. This, I believe, is why the remix is included here—it fills the void for that type of impactful song the album needed.

＜Ｗｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｔｈｉｎｋ　ｏｆ　Ｓｕｋｉ　Ｎａｒａ　Ｔｏｗａｎａｉ＞

I’m torn about Suki nara Towanai, and fittingly, my thoughts on the album are split between its two halves.. As I mentioned at the start of this review, I do find it to be particularly top heavy, which again is a term I use to refer to albums that for some reason or another have its A-sides bunched up altogether in its earlier half. Now, historically on the J-Music Exchange/Rate I never really mean that in a negative way, just that I find that it greatly influences how you listen to the album as a whole—especially if you’re like me who listens from the first track to the last. For me at least, it affects whether or not I can play through it in one sitting and not feel fatigued at any point. That said, the reasons for this feeling vary from album to album and are, of course, subjective to the listener.

While I didn’t feel drained after listening to the first half of Suki nara Towanai, I did find that the songs started to feel a bit overplayed. This is GesuKiwa’s fourth full album, and as I mentioned earlier, many of these tracks showcase the band at their technical peak. I even noted back when I first talked about Onna wa Kawaru that just when you think the band can’t get any better, they hit a new level of musicality. This speaks volumes about the immense talent of the band members and the growth they’ve shown over the years. However, this is largely a reflection of their technique. While they’ve undoubtedly refined their skills since their debut, this level of musicianship isn’t new for GesuKiwa—it’s been their signature from the beginning, being a band specifically known for their fast and complex melodies For them, it feels like just another day at the office. And honestly, that’s the energy I pick up on in the first few tracks; it feels like the band is simply going through the motions of what makes a typical Gesu no Kiwami Otome song. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but in essence it’s something I’ve heard from the band countless times before.

That’s why I found the latter half of the album so compelling—it reveals a side of the band we’ve never seen before. The music remains layered and complex, but this time, they dial back the speed that typically defines their sound, allowing them to lean more heavily into the jazz elements that have always been present in their music. The result, as heard in tracks like Genge and White Waltz (adult ver), is oddly cathartic, with a depth of expression that feels both refreshing and yet still powerful. I’d be lying if I said I would not at all be interesting hearing them do more of it.

＜Ｍｙ　Ｒａｔｉｎｇ＞


４.２５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ５

＆

８.５ ｏｕｔ ｏｆ １０

Ultimately, what feels most unfortunate about Suki nara Towanai is that it seems like an album caught in transition—specifically in Kawatani’s efforts to explore new directions with GesuKiwa’s sound, as he often does across al his many projects. It’s worth noting that after Kawatani’s scandal in 2016, GesuKiwa became less of a mainstream presence, fading somewhat from the J-Pop scene at their peak (this coincided with the rise of “faceless” acts like ZUTOMAYO and Yorushika, who came to prominence around the same time, which could very well be a contributing factor as well, but I digress). This lowered profile may have allowed Kawatani and the band more freedom to experiment, which is evident in their attempts to do just that on this album. For what it’s worth, the moments where they depart from their familiar sound are actually the most memorable, if at least for me personally. That said, I recognize this is also my perspective as a long-time fan who can pick up on these tonal shifts as they happen. Still, tracks like Onna wa Kawaru remain as monstrous as ever, Mou Setsunai to wa Iwasenai retains its iconic status, and Karamatte Shimau yo is undeniably catchy.

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What are your guys’ thoughts on Gesu no Kiwami Otome’s Suki nara Towanai? Let me know down in the comments section below! While you’re at it, let us know too, what are some of your favorite albums that feature multiple memorable music videos? We’d love to know!

Before I let you go, don’t forget to check out Al’s review of V.W.P’s Unmei if you haven’t yet already done so 😉

Happy Listening!