Of Mizuki Nana’s Shin Ai

danie~ has totally worked up a hype for the release of this single with her various posts.  And thus, I was totally excited when it finally came out.

Mizuki Nana’s Shin Ai, aka the OP to White Album

Shin Ai still sounds awesome.  Especially now that I’ve got it in better quality… Agematsu Mika’s harp is beautiful, Nana’s vocals are as good as usual.  The PV was a bit boring, but both girls looked absolutely stunning.  In my personal opinion, I thought Mika actually looked better than Nana did… and her harp-playing skills are just heavenly.  One thing though: the ending sounds a little abrupt, would’ve been nicer if the ending was smoother.

Pride of Glory is the fast-paced song of the single.  Strangely, it sounds sort of like a cross of Astrogation, Trinity Cross and Dancing in the Velvet Moon to me… or maybe I’m just strange.  Actually, I am strange.  =_=

Gozen 0-ji no Baby Doll is the cutesy song of the single.  Even though I say cutesy, it’s not as tooth-decayingly sweet sounding as Cosmic Love, or even Discotheque.  Not much more to say… I didn’t particularly like it or hate it.

All in all, Shin Ai is the star of this single.  No doubt about it.  The song is so good that it alone makes this single worth listening to (and buying if you have spare cash, not to mention the fact that Nana looks totally awesome on the cover).  Pride of Glory sounded pretty good at first, but I found it slightly noisy after a little bit.  I personally think it pales against similar songs on Nana’s other singles.  Gozen o-ji no Baby Doll is well… a song with no other purpose but to take up the 3rd spot on this single.  I have no particular complaints though.  The single isn’t bad overall, but Shin Ai is TOTAL win.

[edit by Stappy]
Shin Ai is definitely total win on this single. The first time I heard it, I loved it right away. Mika’s harp is so graceful… it sounds so splendid. I hope the next live show would include Mika’s appearance again, as she appeared for Nana’s Heart-Shaped Chant for Live Formula.
Pride of Glory is a nice upbeat song, but Nana’s engrish doesn’t work at all. And I do hear the mix of Astrogation and Dancing of the Velvet Moon as OtaAgg said, as well as a little bit of Trinity Cross. I really like the instrumentals part beginning at the 2:46 mark.
Gozen 0-ji no Baby Doll is more geared toward the mainstream j-pop audience. It’s more toned down than Pride of Glory, and it’s an okay song, nothing bad or extremely outstanding about it. My personal favourite is still Shin Ai.
Ijou. [/edit]

Scans (thank you nipponsei!):