When will it end?

[Lena-chan]

pinocchio isn't appa(or another izawa's band) cover?!

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by Nebularus

We get it. Give yourself a pat on the back.

he should. people go around here and just say whatever baseless shit they want and almost no one never bothers to question that stuff. Besides, now we have a location where we can look and double check for future reference.

I thought the post was worthwhile.

[frecklegirl]

I agree. It was worthwhile. Also, who are you anyway? 18 posts and you're attacking one of the members who makes this forum possible at all? Not that I'm saying he should be untouchable or anything, but come ON...

[Kasanagi]

Forum tooltips never lies....

[HEDOfloe]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

If anything I think the experience of having them write in her stead is just going to give the band a wide perspective and more things to draw/work from in the future.

I'm a bit late on this, but I just wanted to throw my two cents in. I agree with this ALOT. I'm really hoping that Ringo will create a solo album after Variety, but maybe thats a bit of a stretch. But I really think that this varied work and other members participating more will do the band a great favor in the long run because they can gauge each others talents better and should be able to put it to its maximum use in the future. I'm not saying that variety will be bad, i'm super anxious for it, but as the name implies, it will not be very focused. Or it doesn't seem that it will.

Originally Posted by golem09

2. I had that feeling in phase 1, too, so you can't count on that. Maybe Izawa and Uki see how god their stuff is, and so they decide to do solo work.

I doubt they will go solo because they have already been there and done that, and it seems that the other members make their compositions way better than they could do on their own or with some other members.

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

mTJ, on the other hand, seems to be featured in the light of the public's eye more and more with every release. You can look at sales figures and claim otherwise, but the fact remains they get huge displays in stores and exclusive promotions on channels like MTV. While I'm not claiming they are eclipsing Ringo, what I'm suggesting is that they are only continuing to climb the path to mainstream success and they will continue to do so. Ringo, while I don't feel is a good comparison at all, did the opposite. She came out with a bang then turned inside herself to produce more artistic work, and while still commercially successful, it turned some of her fan base away.

And the chemistry between P2 members and P1 members is completely different. HZM seemed kind of aloof and on his own most of the time while Hirata was obviously a team player (maybe too much so, sometimes he seemed like Kameda's little apprentice). The band in P2 seems more or less like what a band should to me, each people is a part of a great whole, but each manages to have their own star power and charisma, uniqueness when seperated from the group. And as of this album, the only member who we haven't seen write for the band has been Hata, who has contributed countless other aspects (a strong visual element to the band, notably during performances and in PVs)

I really like that TJ is a mainstream success . A lot of the groups I like from Japan are usually not so big so its harder to find about more about them since I don't know too much japanese. Fortunately, TJ is talented and a huge success so we have this forum, in english , and many other useful websites dedicated to the band. It is also great that they are so well known internationally, as this forum is proof of, and have brought together a wide variety of fans, critical ones, fanboys and girls, and casual fans who make our whole community full of VARIETY (I couldn't help it )

Originally Posted by ShadyNook

I think Ringo's current dilemma is that she's already touched on every popular genre of music in the past 100 years and might not know where to go next.

I don't think its a dilemma for her, but it is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. Variety seems like it will be a very experimental album and so I wonder what they will do next in a more focused album. I was thinking how awesome it would be if Uki would show us how nasty he really is and they make a more rock album similar to Kyouiku. But the more I think about it, I realize that even though variety is to be, well, varied it still sounds like the Phase 2 we know and love so I just think they will just continue making awesome music after Variety, but just more focused.