Vai! Ya! Vai! by JUNNA (Album Review) ▸ J-Music Exchange/Rate
Coincidental anison theme with this month's artist pair 😋
Hello and welcome back to yet another J-Music Exchange/Rate review! In case you're not sure what this is about: this is a segment that I do alongside with my good friend/fellow Japanese music fan Leap250 where each month, we both pick out an album from our libraries, exchange + listen to them, and later review 'em on our respective blogs. This has been a fun thing that Leap and I have been doing for three years now, and 80(!) total reviews in... we're still going strong. And while this has been an opportunity to give each other some new music to listen to, we hope that all of you also happen to find some sick new discoveries as well.
And as always, each month Leap and I settle on a specific theme to base our album choices on. It was his turn for the month of August and he thought it would be cool to pick out albums from artists we wish would've listened to sooner. A lot of times, and I think I can speak for us both, we end up discovering a cool artist from a popular song of theirs and kinda just leave it at that, when in reality, the rest of their discography is well worth checking out. Obviously it's no big deal if we end up diving deeper into an artist's music later on (at least, in my opinion), but it's hard not to miss out on an opportunity to listen to some fantastic stuff. So that's what we'll be focusing on today.
That said, here are our choices: Leap went ahead and tossed over Vai! Ya! Vai! by singer/Walküre member JUNNA, while I gave him POWER from the rap duo chelmico.
Let's jump right in!
JUNNA (境純菜, Sakai Junna) is a Japanese singer from Nagoya. She developed a great interest in singing when she was in the sixth grade, as she loved to do karaoke and enter singing competitions. In 2015, JUNNA decided to pursue singing professionally and auditioned for a part in Walküre, the idol group from the Macross Delta series. She ended up passing and later became the unit's lead vocalist, Mikumo Guynemer, and made her official debut when Walküre released their debut digital single in 2015, titled Ikenai Borderline.
In addition to her involvement in the Macross franchise, JUNNA would go on to make her solo debut in June of 2017, with the release of her first mini-album Vai! Ya! Vai!. Along the way, she would most notably provide many opening/ending themes for various anime such as the Mahoutsukai no Yome series, Kakegurui and Sabikui Bisco.
As of when this post is published, JUNNA has released three full albums, one mini album and nine singles.
Tracklist
Vai! Ya! Vai!
JINXXX
Catch Me
Hiasobi (火遊び)
Otona wa Wakattekurenai (大人は判ってくれない)
Shooting Star
Released: 2017.06.21
When JUNNA made her artist debut (at just 14 years old mind you), it was for Macross Delta, a series part of the much beloved Macross franchise. Now, while I was already well into watching anime at the time it came out, Mecha in particular wasn't particularly a genre I picked up a whole lot so the odds of me choosing to watch the show was already fairly low to begin with, coupled with the fact that it belongs to an already-establish and long-running franchise which made it that much more daunting to get into. As such, despite being made aware of JUNNA's near-immediate notoriety as a young talent through her performances as the singing voice of the character Mikumo Guynemer, I would never really know what the hubbub about her was all about until not too long ago when I decided to listen to her Vai! Ya! Vai! on a whim... Boy I missed out.
In the times you've heard me talk about debut releases here on the Exchange/Rate, especially ones coming from anison/anison-adjacent acts (i.e. seiyuus, idols), I've used the term "grab-bag" to describe the tendency of having these release be made up of songs from different genres, which in turn ends up being a display of versatility on the singers' part. However, when you have a songstress of the caliber of JUNNA be the one doing it, that assortment of styles just becomes an absolute vocal showcase of the highest order. The title track Vai! Ya! Vai! and Catch Me shows off her patented power in her voice, what she can do with slower Rock Ballad type songs like Hiasobi and Otona wa Wakattekurenai, and you also see a playful side to her singing in JINXXX. And buried underneath all that is an absolute gem of a Bossa-esque track in Shooting Star.
1 ▸ junna's amazing vocals (understatement)
Similar to the artist I gave Leap for this month's theme, I first heard about JUNNA when I watched an anime; more specifically, the 2017 fantasy drama Mahoutsukai no Yome, as she provided the opening theme for its first season. At the time, my initial thoughts were that JUNNA had an incredible voice and the song itself was a fitting for a show like Mahoyome. But that was kinda the extent of me listening to JUNNA's music, other than really enjoying her performance in "Ikenai Borderline" when I randomly stumbled upon that song one day. So similar to other artists/albums I've reviewed in the past such as CHIAKI SATO or more closely related, the peggies, my approach for this review was to learn more about JUNNA and the kind of music she has created, apart from the ones that have some ties to an anime and such. And I think Vai! Ya! Vai! is actually a really good mini-album to start with when it comes to that, as this is JUNNA's first ever release under her solo music career.
If you're familiar with the album reviews I write, you would know that I tend to break down each element of an album into individual sections, from the compositions to the lyrics to other related things. However for this JUNNA album, I found it a little difficult to apply that specific organized format due to me believing that everything within it is so intertwined with each other. While I'm not sure what the full background and context was when it came to creating this record, it feels as though that a lot of these compositions were centered around and created to emphasize one thing: JUNNA's vocals.
Obviously you gotta take that with a grain of salt; according to an interview she did with Ongaku Natalie, JUNNA had some input regarding the various music styles and genres that she enjoys herself or prefers to sing in. But that being said: boy oh boy, JUNNA's voice is legitimately phenomenal to listen to. It's so powerful, her deeper vocal register is insane and you can immediately understand what I'm talking about with the first couple songs on this album. The titular track, "Vai! Ya! Vai!", shows her start off with a lower toned voice and once it speeds up towards the chorus, she displays her ability to sing at a bit of a higher pitch to match the intensity. "JINXXX" on the other hand, arguably my favorite song in the record, takes on a more unique, Western-inspired sound and her vocals just fit really, really well with all the various instruments heard throughout.
And I did like how this album also included a couple slower-sounding songs, with them almost being a sort of 'break' or quick breather in between certain tracks. Not only was it a pretty good and well-executed contrast from the louder rock tracks, but I'm sure it was a way to show that JUNNA also has the skills to sing a more somber and emotional ballad, like in "Hiasobi".
And the craziest part about all the things I just discussed... considering she was born in November of 2000 and with Vai! Ya! Vai! releasing in June of 2017, that means that JUNNA was only 16 when she recorded all of these songs... 🤯 A sixteen-year-old sounding this good and having this deep of a voice at that age is wild to me, and I feel like the producers she worked with on this album really did a great job making the most out of her unique singing abilities (one good comparison I, and Leap to that extent, would make when it comes to younger-yet-skilled vocalists is ao, whom I reviewed an album from earlier this year).
2 ▸ a cool mix of rock and pop
In that aforementioned interview, the writer mentions how Vai! Ya! Vai! is somewhat of an expression of "kayo rock", a music genre within the Japanese scene that takes the pop music style and adds rock elements into it. I'm not gonna really go into the details of this specific genre, simply because I'm not that knowledgeable about it, but in the instance of this JUNNA album, I would kinda agree with that assessment.
As I listened to this record over and over, it most certainly is rock-oriented but you can easily tell that there are many different sounds and styles that complement that overall theme. "Vai! Ya! Vai!" is very reminiscent to the music you'd hear in the Macross Delta series and Walküre's discography, with that fast-paced and hype EDM/pop style (this is also thanks to the song's composer, Komorita Minoru, who has also created many of Walküre's songs); and honestly, "JINXXX" did remind me a lot of songs and/or a style that's heard more in the West, as it takes on a more Latin-ish vibe with the trumpets/sax, percussion and overall melody (I apologize if that comparison is way off base lmao).
The last track on this album, "Shooting Star", is another great example of that kayo rock concept, where it's a much, much more low-key poppy song, with the rock guitar riffs and strumming being more of a nice addition rather than them being the main focus. I really do love this song, as it has a more comfy feeling with the easy-going percussion, light keyboard work and the shimmering sound effects give it a nice and fitting touch. And while I was a little skeptical about it when I first listened to this track, JUNNA's all-English performance was actually really solid. Apart from a few questionable-sounding lyrics, her pronunciation was great and super enjoyable to listen to (and on a personal note, it was a good addition to the other multilingual/all-English sung Japanese songs I've been listening to lately, such as the stuff from Ono Misato and Wez Atlas).
With all that being said, I wanted to reiterate my opinion that it really did feel like these songs were made specifically to cater to and pair well with JUNNA's superb voice. Sure, her voice by itself is incredible to listen to, but when you combine it with fast paced and high energy rock songs like a "Vai! Ya! Vai!" or a "JINXXX", I think they help emphasize JUNNA's deep and profound vocals exceptionally well and allow them to truly shine, similar to what the Walküre fans are already used to with the music from Macross Delta.
Additionally, the unique styles or genres that were heard in a few of these songs, while it may not be too noticeable, felt really fresh to listen to, especially coming from a Japanese artist. And for a debut album at the young age of 16... this is one hell of a start to a solo music career.
Rating: 9/10
Aaaand that's all I got for you today!
This review felt a little short, but I guess it made sense since this album is only six songs. And just like Leap, JUNNA is someone I've never really gotten the chance to properly listen to, so I'm glad I was also able to experience the kind of music she's put out.
Well, now that you're finished with this post, definitely go check out the album/artist I made Leap talk about: POWER from the rap duo chelmico (whom most will probably know as the ones who performed "Easy Breezy", the opening theme to the Eizouken anime)! Click here to read it!
Thanks for reading!! :D
-al