RIGHT?
Anyway, I'm doing my top 20, but feel free to include as many or as few as you like. I'm not the boss of you! I thought about doing a March Madness tournament for this, but there's like 5 of us who post here regularly, so, yeah.
I was gonna do mine in reverse order for the DRAMA, but I don't think there's likely to be much drama here in the top five or so for most of us. Or maybe there will be...1. 46okunen LOVE - I mean, it's the arguably the greatest example of the defining H!P disco/funk sound (it absolutely is for me). This is a lean beast of a track, with zero fat or extraneous sounds. Everything fits together like a flawless level of Tetris.
2. Aisubeki Beki Human Life - H!P has dabbled with Ska a few times, but none as successfully as this. This is pretty faithful to the Two-Tone sound of the 1980s, or at least as faithful as a J-idol arrangement can be, particularly the half-time B-section coming out of the instrumental break.
3. Tomo yo - I almost ranked this 2nd, and had it been a different day I might have. I don't know that idol rock gets any better, and songs like this are why I'm an unapologetic wota. 180 bpm (or whatever this is) burners shouldn't be this emotional.
4. Aisare Route A or B? - And speaking of no apologies, dropping a crazy 3/4 jump-swing chart like this is why I'm primarily a Haro-wota. This single was so good that the lead track is also in the top 20.
5. Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku - Remember how MM's One•Two•Three leaked via a performance clip, and it was like a bomb went off in the fandom? Same thing happened with Tsugitsugi, albeit on a smaller scale.
6. Uraha=Lover - I probably have this ranked way higher than most others, but I really fucking love it. That guitar riff is so mean, lol.
7. Mou Ippo - Arrangements this dense usually annoy me, but the rhythmic playfulness throughout keeps it interesting enough that the density never grates.
8. SHAKA SHAKA TO LOVE - Hoshibe can get a bit self indulgent with his theatrical stuff sometimes, but this Vegas revue arrangement is tighter than a marching snare.
9. I Musou Strong! - This is how a fucking album is supposed to open. The instrumental bridge on this is insanely good.
10. Akai Earphone - Man, Anju's 2nd album sure is great, isn't it? I always think of Rinnetenshou as a "dark" album, but it's really just this and two songs above (and one below!) that make me think that. It doesn't get any darker than Akai Earphone, though, despite being entirely catchy.
11. Nana Korobi Ya Oki (Ups & Downs)
12. Koi wa Accha Accha
13. Ai・Mashou
14. Namida Iro no Ketsui - I love me some prom ballads.
15. Jinsei, Sunawachi Panta Rhei -- This is basically government-cheese 46okunen LOVE, but having been poor enough to get government cheese as a kid, I can say with authority that it's pretty damned good.
16. Mirror Mirror
17. Bukkowashitai -- H!P Southern Rock was not a genre that I ever expected to exist, yet here we are.
18. Itoshi Itoshi to Say My Heart - I wonder if anyone else will include this darkish smooth-funk winner? J=J should do this at the next HinaFes Anju Premium.
19. Forever Friend
20. Piece of Peace ~Shiawase no Puzzle~ -- I'm almost positive that no one else will rank this so high, lol. This is gorgeous, and Take's solos at the end kill me every time.
HONORABLE MENTION
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Wasurete Ageru
Itoshima Distance
Nakenai ze・・・Kyoukan Sagi
Dondengaeshi
Ai no Tame Kyou Made Shinka Shite Kita Ningen Ai no Tame Subete Taika Shite Kita Ningen
Going through the songs for this is great reminder of how strong Anju's catalog is. I cut the honorable mentions off at five because I didn't want to be that guy who lists like 50 songs. But I could absolutely be that guy.
