Koda Kumi

secret (CD + DVD)

Review By: Mimi P.

Genre: J-Pop

Company: Rhythm Zone / Avex Trax (Japan)

CD Length: approximately 66 minutes

DVD Length: approximately 37 minutes

Rated: R (mature themes, profanity)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Prepare to “Shake It” with Koda Kumi’s fourth album titled “Secret”. From the addicting theme song to the live action “Cutey Honey” movie to the hopping “Trust You”, Koda leaves plenty of room for you to get your groove on. If you’re ever in need of slowing down, don’t forget soothing ballads like “Kiseki” and “Hands”. Koda definitely mixes it up, and gives a little something for everyone.

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: For the most part, the video quality is very good. Some videos were shot differently compared to others, and that could be taken into account for quality.

SOUND: The sound is excellent with the use of PCM Stereo. Koda’s voice comes through crisp and clear along with the background music.

EXTRAS: Unfortunately, there are no extras with the DVD. You only get the music videos associated with the album, and that’s all. Okay, maybe there’s one extra. It’s the “Trust you” music video, which was previously unreleased. Personally, I don’t consider it to be.

STYLE: The music videos for the “secret” album are different from the Koda Kumi videos that I’ve seen in the past. She seems to be trying to push the envelope with this set of videos. She’s put a whole lot more sex appeal in these videos. You could almost compare her to the likes of Britney Spears just along the lines of video shock value.

FAN SERVICE: Most of the fan service that you’ll see is geared towards the guys. I can’t say there is any for the girls. Guys will love Koda crawling around in the woods making “sexy” animal-like expressions to a scantily-dressed Koda licking a whip.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

With music flowing in her flood, it’s not surprising that Koda decided to become a singer. (Her sister, Misono, is lead singer of “day after tomorrow”) After breaking into the music scene with her first single, “Take Back”, Koda Kumi has been around the J-pop scene close to four years now. She’s managed to make a name for herself within those years. “Real Emotion”, the theme song to Final Fantasy X-2, shot her to the top. Koda has continued to release a slew of singles as well as having four albums including “Affection”, Grow into One”, “Feel My Mind”, and “Secret”. Since Koda’s fourth album has been released, I’ll give you a review and tell you if it’s really worth getting.

Best track

To tell you the truth, “Hands”, was my reason for getting back into Koda’s music. When I heard this single, I had to go and check out her other single. If given the right kind of ballad, Koda can do some amazing things with it. “Hands” is a perfect example of how talented Koda could be. I can also say that this is one of the few songs that I haven’t grown tired of yet. I can honestly list it as my favorite track on the album.

Worst Track

It is “24”. Here is a prime example of how you can ruin a song. It starts out rather nicely, then ends very badly. I’m not a big fan of Koda’s English. If she had sung the entire track in Japanese, it would have been a great track. The minute that she started spewing out nonstop English for the rest of the track, it was ruined for me.

Perfect for Fans of:

Suzuki Ami, Ayumi Hamasaki, Double, Rihanna, and other Hip/Hop inspired female artists.

FINAL EXAM

Picture a night club type atmosphere. Then add Koda Kumi along with a jazz band. What do you get? You get the “Cutey Honey” video. For most of the video, you’ll get to see a pink Koda dancing and singing in front of a microphone. There are a few breaks from the scene including footage from the live action movie and a sexy, bar-dancing Koda intermission. In my opinion, Koda should have stuck with being “cute”, and not trying to be “sexy” as well on top of it. “Cutey Honey”, in my opinion, is one of those feel good, bouncy numbers that doesn’t need all of that. Despite the fact that I think the bar scene threw off the video a bit, it’s still a decent video overall.

“Chase” is the next video on the list. Take a caretaker/housekeeper and a mysterious guest, and place them in the same hotel. You’re in for a lot of trouble. Outer appearances can be deceiving so don’t take your eyes off of them for one split second. You’ll be sure to regret it. You’ll have to watch the video if you really want to find out what happens though. “Chase” is one of the more fun videos to watch in this collection since it has a story running around it in the background. The only negative is that I still find the peeping tom hiding in the bathroom to be very creepy.

“Kiseki” is the third video in the collection. This was one of the videos that I hadn’t seen prior to getting the album. I must say, I was thrown off by the video. I love the ballad, but the music video spoiled the song for me. The video goes between two scenes of Koda. One shows a Koda, dawned in a black evening gown, laying on a white love seat. While the other shows a rather confused looking Koda somewhere out in the wilderness. I say “confused” since Koda looks like something between a dominatrix and a peacock. She’s also doing all of these “sexy”, animal-like poses throughout the video. The guys will love it, but I wasn’t feeling any of it at all. In all honesty, I love the song but I hate the video.

Watch out! Koda might be out for your blood next in “Selfish”. Yes, you got that right. Koda is a vampire in this one. The video basically switches between two kinds of Koda. The first Koda is decked out in black and surrounded with topless, muscled men slowly moving (dancing) in the same room. The second Koda, dressed a little bit like a slayer, is dancing around in the same building. Most will enjoy this video, but I didn’t find it that good.

A guy wanders into a mysterious tent, and finds a group of beautiful dancers. That’s pretty much the basis for “Shake It”, the next video in the collection. For most of the video, you get to see Koda and her troop belly dancing. Wait a second, some of those moves don’t look like dancing to me. They look more like dry humping. To be frank with you, I couldn’t watch this video. It was a bit too much for me. The only cool scene would be the middle break, where you see a black-leathered Koda dancing around. I got an Amuro Namie vibe from it, not that I would compare the two with each other. Again, this is one of those music videos I can definitely live without. I don’t like it at all.

“24” shows Koda in another light. For once, you get to see an all-natural Koda. The video pretty much shows her sitting around or goofing around in her room on her bed. There’s not much going on compared to her other videos, but I can honestly say that this video is better than half of them.

“Hand” is the next ballad single made into video. A special album version of this music video was placed in the video. The only difference between the two is that scenes are switched around, and some Koda shots will get more screen time than others. This was one of the videos that I had seen prior to getting the album. I actually enjoy it more than the others. Koda doesn’t try too hard to be sexy in video as the others. Well, an exception would probably be the break in the middle where she’s dancing in the restroom. Since this is one of my favorite tracks on the album, it was a plus to actually enjoy the video.

“Trust You” is the last video in the collection, it was previously unreleased. You’ve got three guys who decided to spend some time watching some simulations. What are these simulations you ask? Well, it’s Koda and her two dancing buddies. Pretty much, the video surrounds the guys watching, enjoying, and switching through different simulations of these girls. Well, that’s up until the girls decide to take the guys into the simulation with them. Overall, it’s an okay video but nothing that I would go out of my way to have.

“Secret” is one of those albums that hit or miss. There are the good tracks, and there are the really bad tracks. I found myself liking most of the ballads on this album, while being mixed on the more upbeat numbers. I also found myself getting really tired of the songs just after a couple of listens. To me, it doesn’t seem like this is an album that can stand the test of time. It’ll be shelf decoration two years from now. In addition, I did not really enjoy many of her music videos for this album either.

If you’re into music videos with lots of sex appeal, the videos might be something you’d consider getting. I think this set of videos was really intended for male viewers. Personally, I consider her second album “Grow into One” to be her best effort. If you’re new to Koda Kumi, I suggest you check out that album before this one. For those who really want to dish out for the CD+DVD version “Secret”, I suggest you wait for the April re-release of the album. It will have the remix to “Hot Stuff” as well as the music video for it.

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