Mizuki Nana’s Etsuraku Camellia PV
So like Discotheque, the latest PV was leaked on the Internet again.
Unlike those crazy erojiji fangirls whom are suffering from dizzy-ness due to blood lost from the nose, let’s look at this PV and song objectively.
The first thing which strikes me about this song and PV is that feels like an act which a visual-kei J-rock band would do. With Nana’s continuing re-appearance at NHK’s Music Japan program (she’s going on for the third time in May) couple with the song that is veering away from the usual anisong image in the public’s mind, I think it’s fairly safe to say that she has set her sight firmly on the market outside her usual anime otaku fanbase and is testing waters with something that is a little more plateable on the mainstream scale (I don’t think it would be wrong for me to say that visual-kei J-rock is less on the extreme end of the mainstream spectrum than anisong). Who can blame her now that she is the indesputable top artist in the anisong sphere, there’s nowhere else for her to go except branching out as the otakusphere is only so big. That said, historically speaking, this sort of branching had all been fairly disastrous since technically speaking, mainstream and otaku taste simply don’t mix very well (which should be fairly obvious just by the very definition of these words alone), and catering to either one usually means the other will be alienated. So it remains to be seen how well Nana can balance her acts from now on.
As for the PV and song – Do I like it? It’s not bad, but I’m not quite as excited as the crazy erojiji fangirls. Does that mean my masculinity is in question? That or Nana is getting really good at turning girls gay.
April 29th, 2009 at 00:31
I would phrase it slightly differently in that I don’t think she’s going towards “visual-kei J-rock.” It just happens that a more mainstream, a harder edged sound and look that is heavy on the fancy aesthetics coincidentally matches the profile of visual-kei. But there’s nothing particularly visual-kei-ish about a fancily-dressed pretty-girl doing vocals for a rock song. In fact I don’t think this is really all that different than what she did before, as witnessed by the erojiji nosebleeding fangirls. If it was a true departure they wouldn’t be so soft about it.
April 29th, 2009 at 04:49
> omo
The difference between you and me is pretty much that I don’t think this style comes from the coincidence of making things slightly more edgy and “viola! Here it is!” (knowing how things work in Japan, they’ve had to have to pick a target to shot at). Plus I never said that it was a departure from what she’s done either – merely away from the image of anisong in the public’s mind (public here not refering to her already well trained fans). Visual-kei J-rockers and anisong aiming at anti-social otakus has opposing images in the public’s mind (shy boys can’t like or be like rockers DMC LOL), yet to those in the knowing said songs styles/singers had a long history of crossing paths (X Japan, Gackt, T.M Revolution etc). To us whom had been in touch with this stuff we know it is just a slight tweak of the nobs, but I’m positive this is planned to manipulate persception on the part of the target mainstream end viewer because to them these kind of stuff are night and day and it shakes off the anisong vibe that Nana’s been preceived with thus far. It really doesn’t help that everytime she’s been on TV she’s still mostly got the whole moe akiba idol vibe either with her clothing choice or the talks she’s been led into, thus again going for the “opposite” image of a visual-kei J-rocker she can switch that around (stereotypes be damned anyway, it’s not like Gackt and T.M Revolution aren’t big otakus themselves, but it’s never about what you are but how people look at you).
As for the fangirls (and boys), they’ve lost enough blood that they can’t make rational arguments anyway. And as said above, it’s not like us anime watchers had never been exposed to visual-kei J-rock and irrationally hate the stuff without question.
April 29th, 2009 at 04:55
I don’t know, some people do irrationally hate the stuff without question. One analog to this is all the Ali Project hate.
But it’s not like I disagree with you much. No doubt the edgier image is to fit the taste of more mainstream audience.
I just question your terminology. I mean VK is not exactly that mainstream either, if you want to talk about mainstream.
April 29th, 2009 at 05:10
It’s just one of those non-hardline definition things. Certainly there are really hardcore VK stuff out there with massive wigs and dress ups, but then, again, you have people like Gackt and T.M Rev. which is pretty softcore in comparison but people don’t nearly refer to them as pop much either and prefer to group them in the other. Afterall they really like their pigeon holes in Japan.
VK is more mainstream and readily accepted than anisong (thanks to the aforementioned names), that’s the important part. Plus it gives a clear image to aim for, it’s not like Nana hasn’t tried doing pop, it’s just that the result is not clean cut enough when she does such that it comes off more as anisong than pop and subsequentially they missed the target.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:22
Reading your post was interesting, you do have some good points in the new target this video is apparently aiming for…
On the other hand, this doesn’t sound too different when you consider songs like Trickster (loved it), Wild Eyes (loved it) and Bring it on (hated), and even then, the Trickster PV was already some kind of departure regarding more “amateurish” pvs such as mmmm, let’s say, Power Gate.
Since I don’t leave in Japan, I couldn’t care less about who they will alienate with this, but it’s true that it’s an important matter for the future of her career since cd, dvd and ticket sales are the only guarantee we have to say “she’ll continue to release new stuff”.
I always liked Nana, first and foremost, for her voice and her ability to challenge almost any kind of song, from cutesy (discotheque, which also features some very nice bass lines and overall arrangement) to electronic j-pop (astrogation), epic (eternal blaze) and pop rock (the ones I mentioned earlier, be ready!, etc). So if she continues to release such variety of quality music, I’ll always support her. To put it simply, my main concern is that her producers and management don’t lose focus of how versatile she can be.
Excuse me for the rant and I wish Nana continues to improve on her carrer like she’s been doing till now.
April 30th, 2009 at 21:31
uh. I think Nana Mizuki is good at turning girls into gay. o.o
Srsly. Visual Kei has a really bad image on my mind. But I don’t think they’re bad. But, J-pop this is. And J-rock is different. Mainstream artists like Hikki and KK, are RnB. So I consider Nana-san’s and Aaya’s music as Jpop, since for me, J-rock is to OR and FLOW. While Visual Kei is to Dir En Grey and Hizaki Grace Project.
Hmmm.. The song isn’t bad. Pretty Catchy. <33333333 Smexy <333, I just can’t wait for how awesome is her new concert, and her new concert with Aaya. XD
April 30th, 2009 at 22:09
As an add on to my previous comment.
Etsuraku Camellia rocks like Orchestral Fantasia. Truly by, Mizuki Nana-san. =D
I have a question though, I’m a newb fan. So, can I ask, when did Mizuki Nana-san’s father.. um, passed away? :)