Quote:
Originally Posted by Hayate Kurogane
The less-prurient question, though, is that now that successful marketing has gotten my attention, and acknowledging that a lukewarm opinion of one song is an insufficient sample size for passing judgment, should I really care about their other music so far? (Which, admittedly, isn't a very long list.) Should I start to pay more attention? Should I buy one of their two actual released albums, or a DVD, or something? Or is there nothing to see here except, well, something to look at briefly, and I should move on?
|
I first heard of Scandal when I went to Sakuracon in 2008. They were one of the musical guests (though not the main guest I was interested in) and they played a couple concerts. I didn't really have any expectations when I went in, and I was pleasantly surprised. Granted, their music is rather simplistic, but it's entertaining enough for me. Plus, they put on a really energetic and fun show. I don't know which songs are anime tie-ins, so I'm not sure what kind of impressions their OPs & EDs give. They're basically girly rock-pop music, with maybe a little bit of punk thrown in.
I kind of kept tabs on them until their first album, "Best Scandal", came out. I ended up getting the LE w/ DVD (there was also an LE w/ Photobook) and I think it was a pretty solid purchase. It's not that long (~50 minutes), but it's got a lot of up-tempo songs that I enjoy. The DVD is pretty solid as well. It's got seven music videos, a mini-tour digest movie, and two PV 'making-of's. Last year, they released a 2nd album, "Temptation Box", which I also picked up, but I don't like it quite as much as the first album. The DVD is also not quite as entertaining, although it does have some amusing moments.
They also put out their first live DVD last year, "Scandal First Live ~Best Scandal 2009~". It's okay, but not great. The show itself is fine, but the production quality is lower than I'm used to. To be fair, it's also 2,000-4,000 yen cheaper than every other concert I bought last year. It might be kind of unfair to compare their club show with a Nana/ Yukarin/ Minorin extravaganza, but I can't help but notice. Definitely a lotta legs in the video though.
They've got another live DVD coming out in March, I haven't decided if I'm going to get it or not. I much prefer BluRays these days, but it is pretty cheap (4,300 MSRP).
As far as getting a feel for whether you'll like them or not, I would definitely lean towards the first album rather than the second, but of course that's my personal preference. If you can track down a copy with the DVD, I think it's great for the added material. I never saw the photobook that came with the first CD, but I have the second one. It's not bad, but it didn't blow me away either. For individual songs, I would recommend "Shoujo S" (少女S), "Space Ranger" (スペースレンジャー), "DOLL", and "SAKURA Goodbye" (SAKURAグッバイ). There are clips at the
Neowing page for their first album.