[2023.10.11] Juice=Juice Best Selection Album "Juicetory"

[DonJuan]

Announced today, a best-of album with rerecorded songs.

Romance no Tochuu (2023)
Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (2023)
Ijiwaru Shinai de Dakishimete yo (2023)
Hajimete wo Keiken-chuu (2023)
Black Butterfly (2023) )
Wonderful World (2023)
CHOICE & CHANCE (2023)
Magic of Love (2023)
Karada Dake ga Otona ni Nattan ja nai (2023)
Never Never Surrender (2023)
Bitansan (2023)
"Hitori de Ikiraresou" tte Sore tte Nee, Homete Iru no? (2023)
Pop Music (2023)

And a new song, Bon Voyage ~Omoi no Kiseki~.
BluRay includes the February Budokan concert Juice=Juice CONCERT TOUR ~final: nouvelle vague~.



Announcement.

[Shoujo Q]

If they wanted to end Juice=Juice on this note and rebrand the group, now would be a great time to do it when Akari leaves.


Just sayin’

[JPope]

If they wanted to end Juice=Juice on this note and rebrand the group, now would be a great time to do it when Akari leaves.

What's crazy is that I could just as easily see them doing it as not doing it. I wouldn't hate it, and you're right, the time to do it is after Aarii leaves. We better not get Juice=Juice '24, though, or I'm gonna riot. J&J Bomber would be better than that shit.

[DonJuan]

Absolutely. I think Juice has suffered a lot from losing the avengers so quickly, two of them sooner than they had planned (Sayuki and Tomoko), but they've been working really well with what they got. I guess the worst part is that they're doing it silently, compared to Tsubaki who got a whole show when their new generation came in, or Anju who is loud in general and always doing their own thing.

I assume Ruru will become the new leader, with Rei as her subleader, so I don't expect a big makeover anytime soon - especially since Yume and Riai were also socialized with the avengers.

Anyways, I'm really looking forward to this album. Platonic Planet Ultimate Juice version was amazing, as was the new CHOICE&CHANCE from the last album.

[JPope]

Yeah, I'm pretty stoked for this album. I'd love it if at least a couple (if not more) of these songs are recorded with sub-units, too.

[JPope]

[JPope]

Pop Music (2023)

[Solarblade]

http://helloproject.com/release/detail/HKCN-50774/ - Art Covers and Tracklist!

1. Romance no Tochuu (2023 10th Juice Ver.)
2. Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (2023)
3. Ijiwaru Shinaide Dakishimete yo (2023)
4. Hajimete wo Keikenchuu (2023) / Arisawa, Irie, Ebata, Ishiyama, Endo, and Kawashima
5. Black Butterfly (2023) / Uemura, Dambara, Kudo, Matsunaga, Inoue
6. Wonderful World (2023 10th Juice Ver.)
7. CHOICE&CHANCE (2023)
8. Magic of Love (2023)
9. Karada Dake ga Otona ni Nattan ja nai (2023)
10. Never Never Surrender (2023)
11. Bitansan (2023)
12. "Hitori de Ikirare sou" tte Sore tte Nee, Homete Iru no? (2023)
13. Pop Music (2023)
14. Bon Voyage ~Omoi no Kiseki~(ボン・ヴォヤージュ～想いの軌跡～)


Curious about Romance no Tochuu and Wonderful World, it might be new arrangements? From the previews thus far, CHOICE&CHANCE and Pop Music arrangement-wise weren't touched it seems, just vocals.

[DonJuan]

Oh wow, those covers are basically the most basic they could have been. Not bad of course, but also super boring lol. I was almost certain I've seen these before.

I wonder if the 10th Juice Ver. could be something like the ultimate Juice version of Platonic Planet.

[Solarblade]

Oops forgot to add that Hajimete wo Keikenchuu and Black Butterfly are split units

4. Hajimete wo Keikenchuu (2023) / Arisawa, Irie, Ebata, Ishiyama, Endo, and Kawashima
5. Black Butterfly (2023) / Uemura, Dambara, Kudo, Matsunaga, Inoue

[JPope]

Oh wow, those covers are basically the most basic they could have been. Not bad of course, but also super boring lol. I was almost certain I've seen these before.

They're basically the last two MM album covers.

[DonJuan]

Right! Guess they already had the photographer and editor in house, so why not let him use the whole hour they paid him for, huh.

[JPope]

Oops forgot to add that Hajimete wo Keikenchuu and Black Butterfly are split units

4. Hajimete wo Keikenchuu (2023) / Arisawa, Irie, Ebata, Ishiyama, Endo, and Kawashima
5. Black Butterfly (2023) / Uemura, Dambara, Kudo, Matsunaga, Inoue

I was hoping they'd do a couple more with non-seniority based groupings, but H!P. It's weird seeing Yume and Riai in the big girls group.

[DonJuan]

The funniest part is that while Uemuu was center for Black Butterfly, I always felt like Hajimete wo Keikenchuu was HER song. So it's kinda weird seeing her not in that group haha.

[Solarblade]

Reviewing this is so hard because I'm not familiar with half of the members' vocals (the new members from Ichika to Mifu XD)

[DonJuan]

I was already complaining that I couldn't find the new Romance no Tochuu anywhere - and suddenly Up Front uploads a music video for it

[Shoujo Q]

It’s nice they gave spotlight to the instrumental team. They don’t get enough love. They are pretty amazing.

Mifu looks so stiff. You can feel the nerves oozing off her. I hope she can warm up by the next single release, if her ear issue can be resolved like Homaru’s.

[DonJuan]

Yeah, she's really stiff... her first year with Juice was also super unlucky. Let's hope 2024 will be kinder to her.

[JPope]

You've all thought about it, and I did it.

[DonJuan]

Very nice. While the new one is smoother and maybe more mature, I thought it missed the edge the original one had. Nice mix.

[JPope]

Very nice. While the new one is smoother and maybe more mature, I thought it missed the edge the original one had. Nice mix.

Absolutely. I was writing a post saying much the same thing, but in like 500 words, lol, so I saved it for a blog post. But yeah, the original has a harder edge and is way brighter overall, mainly due to the fact that, other than bass and guitar, it's all programmed. I really like this new organic arrangement a lot, but I wish the horns were just a touch more up front.

[DonJuan]

Very good point! Yeah, I would've loved a tiny bit more punch for the new one, but then again it's more or less a re-imagining so it's fine. Better this way than having it sound too alike.