September 2022 was packed with exciting new releases and even a solo debut. Kent Ito took his first steps as a solo artist and impressed, Yuma Uchida celebrated his 30th anniversary with a special single, Loulou*di went darker and darker and more.
The 9th episode of the new video feature on The Hand That Feeds HQ’s YouTube channel is out!
As the name says, Monthly Review is a monthly feature in which I find yet another excuse to talk about male seiyuu music and 2D groups.
This is a feature in which I get on camera covering the most impressive/buzzworthy releases in any given month – and hidden gems that not many people may end up paying attention to -, counting on your participation as well in all 4 corners:
- Best of the month (3 best/buzzworthy/gems of every given month as picked by me + 3 suggested by THTFHQ readers
- Monthly Choice (3 CD suggestions by me – regardless of when the CDs were released – and 3 suggestions by THTFHQ readers)
- Music in the Horizon (a look at next month’s releases – it mixes my and your comments on upcoming releases)
- Ask Vanessa* (ask me anything about male seiyuu or 2D music)
*Title subject to change, if you have suggestions for a title for this section, do leave those in the comments
This month’s episode is all about the music released in September 2022.
September 2022 was a surprisingly good month filled with unexpected releases, the usual suspects, solo debuts and jaw dropping performances.
Let’s talk about the highlights of the month.
Yuma Uchida celebrated his 30th anniversary with the release of his 10th single “Congrats!!“.
This is a flawless entry in Uchida’s repertoire, bringing to the spotlight an energetic title track, a rock ballad and a citypop tune.
On top of those, Uchida made sure to impress with his performances while showcasing how much he has matured as an artist while nodding at his debut single “NEW WORLD”.
Fun and stylish, “Congrats!!” is one of the highlights in September 2022.
Kent Ito arrived with so much style and elegance in “Mayonaka no Love“.
Fully embracing a retro, 80s citypop sound with a hint of jazz, Ito delivers one of the best performances in September in a song that will, easily, join the end-year top features here at The Hand That Feeds HQ.
Masterful song, an outstanding performance in what is one of the best solo debuts by a male seiyuu in the past 2 years.
Loulou*di did the unthinkable with “MONO“: diving into pure darkness and loss.
In what is one of the darkest CD releases of the year and, easily, the darkest release by a 2D unit to date, “MONO” is filled with performances that will shake your core.
The talented trio went for deeply emotional performances on both tracks however “Abortive Flower” is the song that will deal a massive blow to you. Leave you empty as you watch the end of life unfolding in front of you.
I was not expecting Takeshi Hama to go this dark with the composition, much less a 2D group willingly going darker and darker, something that can alienate some fans (while attracting those fans of dark and complex music).
Gakuto Kajiwara released his 2nd mini-album “Road Movie” and left quite a good impression. The talented singer brought forward a comfortable set of semi-acoustic pop-rock tunes while adding a bit of jazz and funk to the mix.
Kajiwara took over the production side of this release, providing lyrics and compositions to two songs in this mini-album (coincidently, the best songs in this album alongside “otona”).
What you get is a “mature” sounding CD that arrives as quite surprising, especially if you notice just how comfortable in his own skin as solo artist Kajiwara is (and it hasn’t even been 2 years since his solo debut).
These and more thoughts/comments can be found in the almost 1-hour-ish episode that just dropped on the channel and that you can find in this article as well.
Please remember that these episodes are much more interesting with your insights, so do participate when the survey is open on social media. Although only 3 were chosen for each corner (less if there were fewer submissions from you), do know I’ve read them all. I read everything and keep being impressed by your musical sensibility!
THTFHQ’s community is filled with talented individuals, fans of music, and voice acting that geek as hard – or even more – about both things as I do!
Do you want to participate in MONTHLY REVIEW?
This show is a collaborative work between you and me, sharing our love for male seiyuu and 2D music projects so don’t be shy to participate.
And don’t worry about not having perfect English writing or the sort, we all make mistakes and even I am not a native speaker – and typos are really my bread and butter here on the website – so don’t let that stop you from participating, should you want to!
As always, in the 1st week of every month, the survey to participate in next month’s episode will be shared on THTFHQ’s social media (Facebook and Twitter) and on THTFHQ’s YouTube channel‘s community section (make sure to subscribe to not miss the notification, or lurk if you don’t want to subscribe).
You can participate as many times you want, I only ask that you avoid submitting the same answers in the various entries you make in this feature.
The goal is to feature as many CDs as possible, not to talk only about 1 or 2 CDs.
If the links are not working, CLICK HERE to check the video.
