I wouldn't say it was hated so much as it underwhelmed. It was OK, but didn't really do anything to separate itself as a great song. It was just kind of one note and didn't take any exciting twists or turns. Izawa's playing in the chorus was my favorite part of the song.

From what I'm reading this is probably going to be the unpopular opinion, but I'm going to agree with gekokujyo in that I liked Sports better.

Sports felt....easier to listen to imo. Dai hakken, feels a bit dark and gloomy. I dunno. I like the album though, more than Variety lol. My favorites so far are Track 6 and Track 9.

^ yea exactly, easier to listen to was exactly how I felt about Sports. I could really bop to a lot of the stuff on Sports, but for this record, while there's a lot of good stuff going on, I don't have the same intense visceral feeling I got with songs like ikiru and 3min.

On Sora, I agree that the verse-chorus structure was pretty standard, but it was a really solid song I felt. Like when I feel like I want to listen to a well-executed pop rock song, thats the song I've been going to for the past month, and then 3min immediately after that. Is izawa's playing the fuzzy strumming that serves as the rhythmic backdrop for the whole song? If so that's probably one of my favorite bits of the song as well.

1. Tengoku e Youkoso For the Disc - This is the definitive version of the song, and a great opener. Percussion fits the "discovery" aesthetic. 4/5
2. Zettaichi tai Soutaichi - Unexceptional, but I can't hold anything against it. 3/5
3. Atarashii Bunmei-kaika - A solid track (but, for me, the composition is superior to the arrangement). 4/5
4. Denki no Nai Toshi - One of the strongest tracks on the album, but a bit oddly placed for being Daihakken's version of Tegami/Yume no Ato. I might as well have listened to the album on shuffle. 4/5
5. Kaitei ni Sukuu Otoko - Yeah, I guess. I don't mind TJ slipping into straight J-rock, but straight rock is a bit jarring. 2/5
6. Kinjirareta Asobi - A pleasant surprise (seeing as how I can't disassociate the name from Rozen Maiden :P). Love how the chorus rises from nothing, like Omatsuri Sawagi. 4/5
7. Dopamint! BPM103 - So much improved. (On my first listen I timed it at BPM207. Silly me :D) 4/5
8. Osorubeki Otona-tachi - Easy listening. I think I like Shiina's English on this track more than any other (in her entire career, not just on Daihakken). 4/5
9. 21-seiki Uchuu no Kou - I should say that I have a softspot for Toumei Ningen...I don't necessarily think this is a good track, but I happen to like it (and these are the only two Kameda arrangements I care for). 3/5
10. Katsute wa Otoko to Onna - This may grow on me in the same way that Boutomin did, but for now... 2/5
11. Sora ga Natteiru - Didn't like it before, don't like it now. Just typical Kameda. 1/5
12. Kaze ni Ayakatte Yuke -- Very forgettable, being the shortest track on the album and caught between an A-side and B-side. 1/5
13. Onna no Ko wa Daredemo -- As someone who listened to this as a single before first hearing Sanmon Gossip two days ago, and now listening to it trying to close out an album...I'm a bit confused. I love Shiina singing showtunes, but this is Tokyo Jihen, not Shiina Ringo. 2/5
--
14. Tengoku e Youkoso For the Tube - As an extra track, I like it. If it's intended to end the album as a mirror to its more fittingly-arranged brother, then I hate it. The weakest ending track on a SR/TJ studio album -- even Metro worked well as a coda to Killer Tune. 2/5

I think I'll place it on the same level as Variety and Sports. There are some great individual tracks here, but it just doesn't have the balance or cohesion of either Variety or Sports.

EDIT: I just noticed, mr. Pillow... our reviews are scarily similar :blink:

Haha, I was just noticing that and when I read your comment at the end I started laughing. :lol: Yay for thinking alike!

There seems to be a lot of [dislike] for Katsute wa Otoko to Onna (here and on Last.fm), but I find it to be one of the easiest tracks to listen to. The rest of the album is so high-energy that it's nice to have a break. I was disappointed with it at first since it's nothing super creative, but after listening through the album a few times I find it to be really refreshing when I reach it.

Oh my... 12. 風に肖って行け GO WITH THE WIND - My fav ! only 2'36...

I'm just passing by to say that I won't be around these days that I'm listening to Daihakken. :lol:

And that Kameda really glows in track 5.
The rest I'll say next week, maybe.

But I already love it.
Hope you guys have an awesome discovery ;)
(I'm full of love after hearing this album:wub:)

No, that isn't him. Izawa plays the other parts in the song. Ukigumo's parts should come out of the left speaker while Izawa/Ringo are the right speaker in most songs. There are a few exceptions such as Pinocchio in which Ukigumo plays both guitar parts in the recording.

Ukigumo is the weakest part of the song for me. His part sounds really, really good during the intro, but it gets more and more grating as the song goes on. He needed to play more variations during the song (like he did around 2:14 and early into the first verse) to keep things interesting. He didn't and it left me with the feeling that the song could have been better.

I must say, though, that the song has a much bigger impact when played on the album. I did not like Katsute wa Otoko to Onna at all. It was putting me to sleep and then Sora ga woke me right the heck up. Very good song placement there.

I'm not going to give my full review yet. I want to listen to it a couple more times and digest it a little more before then. I must say that my biggest disappointment is in the production of the album and not the songs on the album. Way too many times is Hata relegated to background noise. I had to really focus in to try to enjoy Hata's playing here. It's not fair to him.

Does anyone else WTF at 2:30 of track 2? WTF.

Also, I've read people comparing Tengoku for the disc to Sourtesu. A bit generous maybe but it's great to hear a song that I didn't see coming from Jihen.