Hey!Say!JUMP – JUMPING C4R -RE- (4th Album) [First time listen- Review]

I know, I know. I haven’t posted here for a year. How unforgivable. LOL ..but I didn’t have time or was busy with lots of things. During that time, I recieved S3art, S3art DVD, Sexyzone’s SexyPower3 and a Sexyzone concert. Sumimasen! I haven’t posted anything about them because of my busy schedule at university and all the things. Now though! It’s summer! yaay~ Natsuyasumi desuu! I can post properly about this new album I recieved!

I finally recieved my copy on the 27th! Ah you might think “That’s a bit late.” Well for some reason some packages are very slow to arrive here . LOL

Note: Before I start I want to tell everyone that, I will just be writing the “first-listen” review for the new songs so old songs like [Weekender,#Chau,Asunoyell, and Kirakirahikare] which have been released earlier on won’t have reviews,and the area below them will be left blank]

• Introduction:

Hmm..this album made me have mixed feelings. Don’t get me wrong.It’s just not what I expected. I had huge expectations that it would be at least at the same level as S3art which is like my favorite album of theirs of all time. Till now , everytime I listen to it , it is like a first. However, JUMPing C4R was totally happy go lucky. It had no variation in songs whatsoever, instead it more like had a repetitive summer-feeling set of songs.Without comparing though,I think some of its parts were enjoyable. So here we go, with the first-time-listen review!

Tracklist

1.    Fantasist(Instrumental):

From a first listen, I can assume that the composer wanted us to feel as if we’re starting a journey alongside Hey!Say!JUMP inside a car. The music starts off with different mixed noises around that helps us visualize the surroundings without having to actually “be” there. Those noises stop as an engine sound intrudes. A sound which apparently is the mark that embarks the listener into an adventure. Due to the creepy music and gradual beats, you feel as if you are thrown into a world of mystery that finally gets summed up with a nice tune as you reach the destination -“The album’s start”.

2.    JUMPing CAR

This song totally gave me the “Video game” feel. It was as if someone placed me inside one of those car racing cute video games like “Mario-kart” or such. The beat was very playful and summery. It is totally a fresh start to this new album. It even had some Mario sound effects, or as to what I think I heard. I guess it is a song I’d definitely like to hear especially in summer.

3.    Walk

Walk? It is all like a harmonious hyper one to be honest! Hahaha. It again starts playful. The music shifts from it is being slow to a faster pace where all the members sing. It gives you the feeling of running/walking at your own pace with a group in summer, each of you carrying her/his bag along with water and needed things. Totally a summer feel again!

4.    SHen SHera SHen

It started of slow, I thought it would end up to be a medley, but I was wrong. Again! A summery song appears. Hey? Are all the songs going to end up like this now? I don’t know. Well this time it feels as if you’re going down a slide. It reminded me of a NeWs song since they tend to have lots of songs in which they repeat the same catch phrase like “Chankapana” or “Chumu chumu”. The beat before they say Shen shera Shen seemed like a video game yet again . To be honest, it contained a mixture of beats that can’t be properly explained. COCKTAILJUICE anyone? A good one though!

5.    Weekender

6.    Kira Kira Hikare

7.    Ai yo, Boku wo Michibiite Yuke

The beginning reminded me of “We’re the champions! We’re the champions! Of the worl-” .It is really kind of similar at the beginning but then drifts into a totally different direction. Also the guitar, gave it a salsa feeling. This song is different as it contains slow and a soft,light beat. It is sort of change to the previous ones. There are parts where it becomes faster but it still remains “mild”. It is a mix of slow and fast, with a good balance , I guess.

8.    Fever

It started off with a jazzy feeling and some English words.Then all that totally changes into a hyper song that is mixed with a jazzy feeling. Like some 90’s happy songs to be honest? I don’t know. But it wasn’t one of my favorite songs in this album or maybe the other songs kept ringing in my mind for it to actually “ring” something different.

9.    Boys Don’t Stop

This is sort of a cool song. It felt like those hip hop songs that you’d see someone head spinning in. I liked the techno transitions in the middle when they kept saying “Boys don’t stop”. Also when they played with words. It was really cool. A change to the full-on summer feeling before. Even if it isn’t one of the coolest I’ve heard from them before, it still has its own cool feel into it.

10.    Dangerous

The music in this song resounded “Mysterious” in my ears.It is as if you were placed in a dark place at the begging, not knowing where you are. Then it slowly builds up at the point where they say “Your love is dangerous”. After that it goes slow again, like you’re thrown back into that cave inside smoke before returning to its build up. It keeps going on in that pace, with techno/electro parts added to insure the dangerous/mysterious feel.

11.    Chau#

12.    Yowamushi★Shooter

Again a totally 90’s feel song. Especially the beginning. It slowly changes into a groovy slow beat. Throughout, the song kept mixing the feeling of “groovy” and “slow” . Some parts of it honestly reminded me of “Footloose”. I guess that is all I can say about this song.

13.    Ashita e no YELL

14.    Farewell

The name is totally misleading. It says “Farewell” You’d probably think it is some sad medley song. But no! It is totally different and fast/hyper again. It is like a rock band was so happy about summer and such they decided to make a song. Hahaha. Well it is hyper yet has this drum/ rock-ish feel. It is like walk,(the second song) in its as If you’re running feel except this time with a sort of “tension” feel. Like you SHOULD RUN and not just walk.

15.    Very Very Happy

Um. It starts off real slow. What? Shouldn’t the titles of this song and the song before been switched or something? I mean, this song’s name is Very Very Happy. However, it is clearly a sort of medley-ish song. It was a real surprise to be honest. Oh well , I guess they meant to send out the relaxing , very very happy feel rather than the hyper one. It was nice, but not the type of medley that’d get stuck in the mind for long especially for a fan of medleys like myself.

• Bonus tracks

Viva! 9’s Soul

It sounded like a total cheerleading song to be honest. I imagined heysayjump running around each of them introducing themselves. The beats kept changing. I guess this is a song not meant for just listening but more for a concert where they enter , holding huge flags that have HEYSAYJUMP printed right on them.

Puppy Boo

Again saxophone usage? A jazzy/groovy feel again I suppose. It is the sort of song which reminds you of the oldies. I can imagine Hey!Say!JUMP dancing to it while wearing black hats, and tuxedos. Totally a song that carries an old, classical feel to it that pulls you back in time.

• Conclusion:

I didn’t enjoy the randomness of this album. It was too random it got too repetitive until my ears begged for change. However, there are still some songs that came to my liking ofcourse. To Tobikkos, please listen to it and tell me your own opinions in a comment below~ Chau#. Hehe.

Hey!Say!JUMP Calendar 2014-2015 (Review)

Packaging of the Calendar

Yosh! So , I finally recieved my own copy of Hey!Say!JUMP’s 2014-2015 calendar , a few days ago! I loved it so much ,and got so excited over it that I decided to do a special review about it for the fellow Tobikkos out there~

• Cover : Front Side

A lovely cover page indeed. The way it was designed made it feel like a letter coming all the way from our JUMP. Really creative. I also loved that they wrote HSJ since 24/9/2007 , the precious date that marks their debut in a stamp like form.

• Cover: Back Side

Again that style of a fresh received mail from the mailbox is completed on the back side. Stamp like images are placed on the down-left section. It fits the theme perfectly.

• Inside:

As you open to the first page. This is what you see , full quality HD pictures of our precious members wearing formal clothing! Perfect to start a year! So since this calendar is from April 2014 till march 2015 , this side is for you to put while waiting for April to come. “We will guide you to a wonderful year!” is written in English on the black background too. Really wonderful way to start a wonderful calendar!

• April:

So the first days of April , marks “Spring” or in other words , the Sakura season in Japan. Their clothes in these pages reflect the cold yet cool feeling of Spring. It is not hot although the sun is finally shown after winter. It is a season of warmth which is depicted here by the warm sunlight gently casting their shadows onto the ground. It gives you that warm feeling when you look at each member.Then ,comes the bunch of pictures of that. “Brand New Season!” written bold and clear to indicate Spring , is the start of everything. The first page shows pictures of Daiki and Yamada ,sitting and bathing under the warm sun. The green and red they are wearing contrast, creating more of a spring feeling. The next picture of Hikaru and Yuto , still blends in the calm atmosphere due to the colors they are wearing and the green background which ends by chinen yuri’s section that mixes in the feeling of a sports as he is placed in a sort of a tennis playground setting. It overall gave a fresh feeling!

• May:

May introduces to us a set of cool pictures with a blend of an Adult feeling. Hey!Say!Best , the adults of Hey!Say!JUMP are shown in the first pages of May. The way they’re shot with formal clothes , either reading or just gazing while sitting on sofas gives you an Adult feeling overall.Then , it continues with a solo picture of Hikaru and a pair picture of yuto and Keito. Three of them , in full  formal wear! Truly adult-like! Finally it shows us a picture of Yabu and Takaki, and another of chinen and yamada , also reflecting that adult-image with different members.

• June:

Ok now, this gave me the feeling of the “kakkoi” month! They all look so cool here! A cool side of Hey!Say!JUMP is revealed to us in the first days of June by making them pose in a cool way and wear white and black while standing in frontof a white background to emphasize on that.As we continue further in June. We get to see a solo shot of Takaki acting all cool! How cool is that? I loved his natural cool poses and the arrangement of the pictures in such a cool way!A cool pair image then comes ! Inoo and Daiki pose in a cool attractive way while both wearing a blend of white and black! They look so cool and attractive is what I’ve thought! Then a solo picture of Yamada doing a sexy pose , along with two tiny pictures of him on the bottom right corner to complete the cool effect given.

• July:

So july usually marks what? The start of summer and holidays in Japan! This set of pictures is my favorite to be honest, because of their expressions and the way I can see splashes of water and all. It made me feel happy and fresh, just wanting to join them!The mix of the members and their shadows in solo shots made it seem so much like summer. It made me imagine the heat of the sun that always casts a shadow and also gave me a cool feeling of the beach. The last days of this month have a kakkoi picture of Inoo bathing in the sun followed by pictures of Yabu and Chinen cleaning the swimming pool. A typical thing to do in the summer! This whole set of pictures was fresh and cool!

• August:

In the first days of August Hikaru is seen on a boat enjoying his summer vacation from what it seems. The sky behind him is cloudless and blue , reflecting the summer season. The continuation of this month though, shows different members inside bathrooms in dorms apparently after taking a bath. After a whole hot season, they seem to be refreshing themselves with baths~ kind of an indication to the end of summer for me !

• September:

This month’s pictures gave me a “filming an old hollywood movie” feeling. The first pages reveal Daiki in an old fashioned black and white suit , with a bow. Also, on his side you can see a filming roll – like sequence of photos.Then the further more pictures, show us JUMP all in suits until it reaches the last set. The last set of this month ,shows us a solo picture of keito adjusting his tie which is followed by daiki, chinen and yamada with a camera-roll like picture sequeance under their picture.

• October:

This month gave off a more sporty , warm feeling. First set of pictures showed Yabu and Hikaru wearing long sleeved shirts and passing a soccer ball to each other by hand followed by a set of pictures with chinen,keito and inoo. Then, comes the solo shoot of Yamada Ryosuke with his green jacket that contrasts with the grass background. After that, the last set of pictures reveal a solo picture of Yuto covering his head with a hoodie cap followed by a mouth watering picture of Takaki and Daiki munching on hamburgers! This set made me feel active and hungry at the same time !

• November:

This set of pictures is more of like a continuation to the previous set from October. The theme is still the same as revealed from the first part of pictures , that shows all JUMP gathered as cheerleaders wearing sport clothes. Then , it continues with Inoo wearing a warm red color while posing for different positions next to a bowling area. It is then ended with random pictures of JUMP playing around in the grass field.

• December:

So, when December comes, we usually know it is the festive and cold season for Christmas! The beginning of this month’s pictures reveal the 4 members of Hey!Say!7 sitting beside a window while wearing warm knit clothes. Then a solo picture of Takaki  followed by Hey!Say!Best members , wearing different colors of knit clothes and sitting in a cozy warm looking background. This “warm” sensation is ended by solo pictures of yabu wearing a different set of knit clothes while posing. I think this set of pictures focused on the “warmth in the cold” to match the cold season of this month.

• January:

This set of photos show a more country-side feel to the “cold” season. In the first set of photos , Hey!Say!JUMP ; Hey!Say!7 and Hey!Say!Best , are shown wearing warm clothes which are obviously more warm than the knit ones in the previous shoot since they are covered by coats and all. The other shoots continue showing different members in front of that same car doing different poses which gives you an old country-side trip feeling due to the car’s look/model. It gives off a nice warm feeling of family and friends during winter!

• February:

This set of photos showed a more “classy” side of JUMP. It showed Hey!Say!Best standing next to a billiard table while wearing warm clothes. The billiard table continues on to Keito’s solo shoot in which he looks so manly and classy in. Then, it finishes off with solo shoots with Daiki in classy red , and Yamada,yuto and chinen each wearing contrasting colors. It gave off a feeling of a “classy” yet “warm” month.

• March:

The last set of pictures ,reflecting March still have a sense of cold due to the clothes that JUMP are wearing in the first shoot. Yet, the lighting of the room slowly enhances warmth indicating a sort of change in seasons as I suppose. Solo pictures of Yuto Nakajima that come after that, reveal him doing different cool pauses while wearing knit clothes.  At the end, pair pictures of Yamada and Inoo , Chinen and Yuto are shown respectively wearing knit clothes as well. This setting makes me feel a change of season out of the gloomy cold to a sort of “light” warm season.

• Collection of pictures , following months:

A random set of pictures at the end of the Calendar are put , for the satisfaction of Tobikkos like me , I suppose! *happiness*

• Closing picture:

This closing picture , has the same sporty feeling as two months in the calendar. I think it reveals the dominating theme in this calendar~! Sports! Lol! Well this image truly suits Hey!Say!JUMP in my opinion so..It was a success! I loved this Calendar overall! It just joined Classy, Sporty , and Cool JUMP all together in one place! Perfect!

• Closing message:

I loved this ! A perfect end for a great calendar! The fact that the messages were written with each members’ handwriting makes me feel like squealing! It almost feels like I’ve gotten an autograph from all members between my hands! What do I want more? This is really something to treasure forever! ~

• Extras: Premium Schedule Book:

Front Page

Back page

First page

First set of covers for the book

The other side of the covers for changing

This shows one of the months inside the schedule book. I liked the fact that each member wrote his favorite song to listen to in each month! (Circled by me in red) It made me really happy as a fan!