Tatsuya Kitani x Natori – Iranaimono (Chained)
The question was never if Tatsuya Kitani would get a SOTY nomination, it was only ever which song would get it. “Fatale”? “Preview Of Me?”? Anything of the “Roundabout” album?
“Chained” is necessarily better than any of those, but it’s what my ADHD brain decided to focus on. I had it on repeat since it released in November, and I think I like it more now than I did two months ago. Tatsuya Kitani’s and natori’s voices sound great together and the hand-off between them is very satisfying.
Queen Bee – Super Memorial
Every time Queen Bee makes it onto the shortlist I’m happy about it, because somehow they’re almost always one of the final cuts I make. Not this year. “Super Memorial” is too much of a banger. Avu-chan is a great producer, they wrote my SOTY pick too, but their day job is singing in a rock band that fucking slaps.
Nemo – The Code
Does it count if I only like a live version? No? Good. Then there’s no Eurovision song in my SOTY nominees, lucky me.
Kenshi Yonezu – Red Out
Consider this an apology for having missed “Shinigami” in 2021. That absolutely should’ve been up for SOTY. “Kick Back” too, come to think of it. I never really felt like I’d need to sing his praises because everyone else already was. But what does that matter, when the praise is so well deserved?
Winner: Ryugujo – Deep Wave
This is everything I could ever want from a JPop song.
Extremely catchy chorus? Check!
Vocal harmonies? Check!
Lush instrumental track? Check!
Puts a smile on my face every time I hear it? You bet it does!
“Deep Wave” really is the song I hoped but didn’t dare to expect to get out of Ryugujo so soon after their debut. They have other songs I liked a lot, but this was the first one I considered SOTY material immediately. In a better year it would be an honorable mention, but the more the year dragged on and one disappointing release after another dropped the more I wanted this to remain on top. Because this song brings exactly the energy that was sorely missing in KPop this year, and it brings it in an entire cargo train full of spades. Whenever I started to doubt that KPop could live up to my expectations I went back to this as a reminder that idol pop can be great. It can have energy, it can be creative, it can sound lush and intense and visceral and clean in all the right ways.
Ryugujo – Deep Wave
This being an EP is the only reason why it’s not winning. It’s much easier to make a great EP than a great album, and unlike last year I actually have full albums up for the title. That said, no other release this year is this strong this consistently. I still care for the worst song on this EP.
Tatsuya Kitani – Roundabout
“Scar” is his worst song. I will not accept questions at this time.
Apart from that though this is a strong album. What else did you expect, I’ve been praising this guy’s writing, singing, production, and composition skills at multiple points in this retrospective. He’s incredibly consistent. “Where Our Blue Is” may be the best song on this album, but it’s far from the only standout track.
Winner: Kenshi Yonezu – Lost Corner
The only problem with this album is that it’s too long. I wish I could write a proper review for it, see how it measures up to the other entries in my spreadsheet, but I can’t focus for twenty songs in a row. But it’s been a while since I heard a full album this consistently good.
Look guys my condition is “have at least two releases I like” and there’s exactly one artist who cleared that condition this year, so no honorable mentions, just:
Winner: Tatsuya Kitani
Like I said. This guy just doesn’t miss. He made three anime openings this year and they’re all great. His album slaps. Every single song he released this year is worth checking out. He’s credited for “Words & Music & Arrangement & All Instruments” on most of his songs because that is normal.
Top 10 B-sides (one entry per artist):
Kenshi Yonezu – Tomaremiyo
TripleS – Beyond The Beyond
Best Insert Song: Arcane – Ashes and Blood (any song from Arcane really)
Anime Of The Year: Dandadan
“Bling Blang Bang Born” is incredibly catchy, and the type of joke song that only gets funnier the more you hear it. It came out almost a year ago and I haven’t grown sick of it yet. I’m also partial towards openings that stylize their animation, and this one is super memorable for it.
“Fatale” isn’t my favorite Tatsuya Kitani song this year, but it’s still a Tatsuya Kitani song and the animation is great. The theatre framing was a perfect fit for this season. And as usual when this guy is involved the lyrics are a perfect fit too.
Finally, “The Eye” is a Link Click opening, and this show has a reputation to live up to. Every opening so far was great in different ways, and all by the same band too. And this one hurts. They dropped this on YouTube before the season even had a release date and the fandom has yet to recover from the emotional gut punch.
Ending Of The Year: Oshi No Ko ED 2
Movie Of The Year: Dune Part 2
