THE IDOLM@STER MASTERPIECE 02 9:02pm

Two albums this time, Masterpiece 02 and 03! The first is with the unit ACM (Azusa, Chihaya, and Makoto) singing Azusa's image song '9:02pm' together, then 'THE IDOLM@STER', followed by a few game-sized versions of the other's image songs. Again, I will just be reviewing the 2 full-sized songs from this album, the other songs will be coming soon on the next albums. Then same deal for the second album, just this time with the unit IYAM (Iori, Yayoi, Ami, and Mami), singing the twin's image song 'Positive!' and 'THE IDOLM@STER', before a few game-sized versions of the other's image songs.

A quick note, "image songs" are songs written for that specific idol to show off their personality and individual style, but in the arcade game, any of the girls can be made to perform each other's image songs. These different singer versions make up these songs sung as a unit, but the individual tracks are also sometimes released whenever the franchise feels like.

9:02pm

This is simply a very very very beautiful song. The intro instrumentals are a nice mood setter, almost like a band warming up before a set, and they continue to be stellar through the rest of the song. I love the extended instrumental bit that carries that last dramatic note of the first chorus into a more mellow sound that eases back into the second verse. I love the crescendo of sound that happens right before the soft guitar music starts, too.

The tone of it all does a really good job of making Azusa stand out against all the less-mature idols. The notes she sings on her own during the chorus really show off the charms of her voice, sweet and smooth. Her line in the second chorus of “Mo-tto-kokoro ga” is a highlight of this song for me. Makoto’s voice is a good deep balance to hers; they all sound really good together, as well. Chihaya does a good job as well, but I feel like in a few solo lines her voice comes off maybe a bit too harsh(? powerful? forceful?) for a song that’s suppose to be a gentle and delicate as this one.

The lyrics are very short and to the point, the singer is all alone at night (presumably at 9:02pm), just waiting for that phone call or text from that one special person, but unfortunately, the next time she sees them will be in her dreams that night… (dreamy sigh).

THE IDOLM@STER (ACM VERSION)

TI already covered the lyrics to this song in the last post, but I do wanna shout out how well these 3 sound singing this song together. They have a deeper range than HYR, making the whole song feel a bit more serious and mature. Chihaya’s solo during the bridge with the very light backup vocals sounds very nice. Azusa’s bell-chime voice at certain parts is also very nice. And Makoto is always very very nice to listen to. Aaaahhh, ACM is such a good vocal line up. The deeper range they have makes the whole song feel a bit more serious and mature, highlighting lines like,

“I have no interest in drinking or smoking
But on the inside, I'm already an adult
So treat me kindly as you would a lady
Please allow me a nightlife”

THE IDOLM@STER MASTERPIECE 03 Positive!

ポジティブ！- Positive!

I’ll be honest, I’ve listened to this song for years, but it’s only now that I’ve bothered to read the lyrics. I’ve always liked the song and thought it was a fun, Positive one, but not really much more? After reading the lyrics though I like this song a whole lot more now ^^

For a song called 'Positive', there is quite a lot of description of the negative stress and strains on the average high schooler, gotta wake up early, ur home life is a mess, ur teachers won’t get off ur back, ur just dying to hang out with friends after school, ect ect. So you do what any normal Japanese teen would do to break away from the stress, text your friends, go to karaoke, blog about your life, go shopping, ect ect.

I also really like all the references to the internet and phones and how they are just a normal part of teenage life, calling friends, texting/emailing them, blogging and googling, it all seems very modern and (again, like the feelings in 'Mahou o Kakete!') hightly relatable to all the teens and young adults who would've been the main audience for the Idolmaster arcade game.

The chorus give some points of advice on what to do when you are frustrated with life, almost as a soothing message that things will be okay, and that you have to let yourself deal with the stress somehow someway.

“When you feel down,
just let everything out and you’ll be restored!
But if that does no good,
take a shower and just flop into bed!”

But it doesn’t really end there, there are some struggles that just won’t go away after a fun time with friends, or feelings that stay with you even after you’ve done all you can to forget them.

“One mustn't live alone,
living by supporting each other is better.
You mustn't live by abandoning yourself,
doing so is like running away from reality”

Look to your friends and family for help, but in the end, its really all up to you to get that Positive outlook back and move your life forward. The conversation between all the idols before that last chorus is so so so cute, the "S-sou desu yo nee~" especially. I love the overall message of this song to stay strong, to believe in yourself, and to take all the challenges in life head on.

THE IDOLMASTER (IYAM) -

Just hitting on this song one last time before letting it rest for a while (we’ll come back for Kotori’s solo version and for all the remixes that happen later). IYAM has a higher range than HYR and ACM, the sound of the three of them together works very well. This is obviously an acquired taste, but I really do enjoy the sound of high-pitch-anime-girl-voice-singing, its a style of singing that I think can be done well or not, just like any other. All their singing is very cute, but I think Asami Shimoda does a very good job voicing both Ami and Mami especially. Their voices change the mood in the song to be more playful and teasing, highlighting parts like,

“Just a few words were enough to hurt me
But eating some sweets lifted me back up
Getting dragged along by me must be awful
I do feel bad but I just can't stop”