Stereopony - Namida no Mukou PV (Gundam 00 S2 OP2) January 22
Admittedly, I’ve always preferred female vocals over male ones, but it’s even better when it comes from an all-female rock band. Unconsciously, I tend to associate the ability to play an instrument with musical talent. Anyway, all-female rock bands aren’t something I recall seeing a lot of, with ZONE being one of the more popular ones off the top of my head. I don’t tend to follow “mainstream” Japanese music much nowadays with the constant influx of music from anime OP/ED singles though (some of which may be mainstream), so I’m far from being the most knowledgeable person in this area.
In any case, I’m really starting to like Stereopony’s music, which has already been featured in Bleach as the 17th ending theme prior to Gundam 00. For those following Bleach, “Hitohira no Hanabira” 「ヒトヒラのハナビラ」 was their first single and did fairly well on the Oricon Weekly Charts, peaking at 25th. For those unfamiliar with the song, please see the video below for the TV size version:
With their second single, “Namida no Mukou” 「泪のムコウ」 (Beyond the Tears), Stereopony seems to be really establishing themselves now that their music has been featured in yet another mainstream anime. While I doubt they were thinking anything remotely close to anime when they wrote their music, it’s not a bad way for a new group to get noticed by any means. (Hey, it worked on me.) Formed only last year, the Okinawa-based band is comprised of three members — Aimi (lead guitar/lead vocals), Nohana (bass guitar), and Shiho (drums) — and has an average age of 18 years old. Despite the fair bit of eye candy in the second Gundam 00 S2 opening sequence (below), it was this song that caught my attention more. In fact, I think I like “Namida no Mukou” more than “Ash Like Snow” from season one already. As for the PV itself, it’s pretty simple but inline with most rock band PVs in Japan. I think it showcases the girls well, which is all I really wanted to see anyway.
What do you think about Stereopony’s music, their “Namida no Mukou” PV, and the new Gundam 00 OP? Let me know!
-divine
…is really starting to feel old with all these new young artists.
iNCO at 5:54 pm on January 22nd, 2009
i think the new song rocks, but still find OP1 better..
Lance at 6:03 pm on January 22nd, 2009
I think they are great!
Skilled all female rock bands are almost never seen.
The lead singer has a very pretty face as well.
It’s weird though, i kind of like Hitohira no Hanabira a bit more sometimes, but at other times i prefer Namida no Mukou, like right now Namida no Mukou is winning.
But i think they feel kind of separated, it almost feels like the Gundam opening is a different artist, maybe it’s because it seems to have higher pitched vocals.
Who knows.
:) at 6:15 pm on January 22nd, 2009
omg so goood :p
Sensei-kun at 6:23 pm on January 22nd, 2009
the new Gundam OO OP song is a nice catchy song that does the job (getting my attention) it’s also a song that I’ll probably put on reply for a long time.
I also like Namida no Mukou more then Hitohira no Hanabira.
Nathan at 6:32 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Geez, you need to check out Shonen Knife approximately right now.
Zeukran at 6:55 pm on January 22nd, 2009
I’m enjoying Stereopony right now, and am probably going to follow them from release to release as long as they are around. I myself do prefer female vocals as well, and another all-female band that I am enjoying is Chatmonchy.
divine at 7:30 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Nathan:
Judging from the way you started your comment, I want to say “sound the elitism alarm”, but I’ll try to respond in a more productive way.
As stated above, I don’t tend to follow mainstream Japanese music nowadays, and even less so before (i.e. I didn’t at all). In fact, I don’t even recall much western 80s music because I was just a kid then. I purposely pointed out that I’m not the most knowledgeable person in this area, so if you have something to share with me and everyone else, feel free to. I just ask that you don’t do it in such an insinuating manner like the existence of Shounen Knife is supposed to be common knowledge or something.
“Hmm, you should check out Shounen Knife. They’re an all-female band that’s been around for a while.”
comes off drastically different than,
“Geez, you need to check out Shonen Knife approximately right now.”
sealouse at 7:42 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Man Ash Like Snow was the best opening of a Gundam Series period.
Exia at 9:06 pm on January 22nd, 2009
i like this op. I think it fits nicely with whats happening in gundam00 atm.
haru at 9:25 pm on January 22nd, 2009
To be honest, I really love this song! Another interesting point is that Shiho has the exact same birthday date as me, hehe.
Anyway, I found the pv pretty interesting ’cause it had a mix of grunge and pop-art (which I absolutely love!). Apart from that, I thought it was better than most J-rock music videos.
As for the Gundam opening - AWESOME! When it first came out, I kept watching the OP until I fell asleep… Ho ho ho.
Oh, and hi Divine! =)
Kanako at 9:26 pm on January 22nd, 2009
ya ash like snow was badass when it first came out
same with Friends ED
pierce at 9:28 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Haha, I am somewhat like you, Divine. I became aware of Stereopony after watching the last Bleach ED. “Namida no Mukou” is good, but I would not say it is better than “Ash Like Snow.”
As for the new Gundam 00 OP, the only complain I have is that when 00 was attacking Louise’s suit, they immediately switch to the scene of Saji and Louise (the pace has gone from fast to slow). I think that cut a lot of momentum that was built from the attack of 00, and when they finally show Seravee and the others, it didn’t feel exciting. I also didn’t like the scene of 00 charging head-on against Mr. Bushido’s Masurao because this is how the first OP of season 2 ended. So it wasn’t very creative of them to duplicate that scene just because Mr. Bushido got a new suit.
Dragonite88 at 9:29 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Thanks Divine for you link. I like the bleach ending the song goes well wit the ending im not so sure about the gundam 00 but i get how the pv connects with the gundam 00 outline.
Again that divine.
Deadlyrain at 9:31 pm on January 22nd, 2009
The lead singer has really pretty eyes. That is about all I can really say…
And of coarse she is hot also…
paulrenzo at 10:14 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Still prefer the 1st OP. Didn’t like the 2nd OP song when I first listened to it, but the opening credits animation made it sound a bit better.
That Bleach ED song however…nice.
Kaioshin Sama at 10:15 pm on January 22nd, 2009
Namida no Mukou is kind of like the opposite of Ash Like Snow to me. Whereas Ash Like Snow was a rock song that was horribly mixed but had a great opening video, Namida no Mukou is a rock song that is nice to listen to on regular occassions, but has a medicore and rather cliche opening video.
Supreme at 10:22 pm on January 22nd, 2009
They are cute, i give them that. the song is also nice. If they keep it up, they’ll have a successful future ahead of them.
Q at 11:33 pm on January 22nd, 2009
I’m still not used to this song as a Gundam OP >_<
Proud at 11:36 pm on January 22nd, 2009
They have a lot of spunk in them, and the lead singer is very pretty
The song is fun to listen to, and thats really all I feel at the moment
Kenshin Br at 11:46 pm on January 22nd, 2009
She is a good singer but this song is just generic.
I prefer Gundam themes like those on Gundam Seed and Gundam Wing.