Sherlock - SHINee (샤이니) [MUSIC REVIEW]

Before reading this review, please watch the music video here: Sherlock - SHINee (Official MV)

(Left to Right: (Back) Onew, MinHo, JongHyun; (Front) Key, TaeMin)

After a year and a half of hiatus, the boys are finally back and this time with a new single that has all Shawols screaming out their names in those infamous fan chants. 

SHINee debuted in 2008 under SM Entertainment with their first single, Replay (Noona Neomu Yeppeo) and immediately got a good response from dongsaeng's and noona's alike. Even young boys have become fans of this ever growing boy band. They climbed the ladder of success with various singles such as Hello, Ring Ding Dong and Lucifer. They climbed to a top band in Korea and followed suit in Japan where they performed Japanese versions of their Korean singles and released two Japanese albums.

Now, after much time spent in Japan, SHINee is back in Korea with a hot new track!

The teaser images were very misleading, though they were very pleasing to the eye. Judging by the pictures, everyone was convinced that SHINee would be coming back with some sort of R&B, hippie-esque track. 

Take a look at them below: 

Key

MinHo

TaeMin

Onew

JongHyun

SM Entertainment released the teaser March 18, 2012, leaving many Shawols anxious for their music video. The teaser showed each member in a classy ensemble, dressed in stylish vests and made up in guy liner. The overall look they portrayed was one of mystery as they seemingly inspected the room as "detectives." SNSD's Jessica can be seen in the picture at a certain time in the video, as well. Besides the brand new sleek  look that SHINee adopted, the snippets of the song is what really caught my eye. It was classic SHINee, with their powerful vocals and on point dancing. On top of that, each member came back with a sharp new look that fans ogled over as they anxiously awaited the release of the song. 

Check out their transformations here: 

(Left to right: Onew, TaeMin, JongHyun, MinHo, Key)

The physical transformation was stunning to say the least, but the new angle SM was approaching the creation of their songs is what really caught some people. The concept of combining two songs to create one title track was not a new one to the music industry but a new thing for SM. Sherlock is a combination of Clue and Note, two other songs on SHINee's Sherlock album. In my opinion, it was not a very creative choice, and Sherlock would have stood out even without it having been a combination of the other two songs. Nonetheless, the teaser captured the essence of the song and concept well, though the teaser pictures were somewhat misleading.

The music video (link can be found at the top of the post), was one of the best I've seen from SHINee so far. Not only was the choreography spot on and interesting, but the song mingled well with the theme and there was a story to follow throughout the course of it. We'll brush aside the fact that the boys were more than stunning and try to focus on the decorative backdrops, mysterious gazes and adventures found in the video. The story that led the boys throughout the music video was an interesting one where they appeared to be searching for a lost girl and her jewels. 

The ending left you with a punch of high notes, splendid choreography and a airy conclusion to their case making it a satisfying video to all Shawols.

Later on, SM released a dance version and a dance practice video where we could truly see how sharp the choreography was and how much energy it demanded. Of course, we could also see this in their comeback stages as well. Check them out below:

SHINee - Stranger+Sherlock - Comeback Stage

Sherlock - SHINee (Live) Music Bank

SM also released a Japanese version of the song which you can check out here: Sherlock - SHINee (Japanese PV)

All in all, I give this song a 9/10. 

I award it this rating as SHINee's come back has been long overdue and this song was not disappointing as you can read above. However, though it was catchy and the choreography was admirable, it was a bit too SHINee. I would have liked to see them comeback with maybe a ballad song of some sort, or something a bit more out of their range. Sherlock is excellent, but you can't deny that it rings with typical SHINee, which is why I give it this less than perfect score. 

Below you can find the remaining pictures of SHINee's Sherlock teaser photos and some highlights from my favourite YouTube coverists.

The rest is coming soon...

Sukysho [ANIME REVIEW] Spoiler Alert

Full Name of Show: 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! (Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shōganai!!)

I recently just finished watching this anime which is a ten thirteen part series if you include the OVA. As far as my knowledge extends and through various sources I have learned that Sukysho is not only an anime but a light novel and was originally released as a game. I have less than a considerable amount of information on this, however, so this review will be based solely on the anime.

The story that developed throughout this anime was a heart wrenching one where plot twists popped out everywhere as well as side stories of romance. Relationships were built, lost and found and I was constantly on the edge of my seat with a box of tissues ready and a nail to bite on.

To say that this story is exciting is an understatement. Although it does limit itself to a certain audience by presenting itself as a Shonen-Ai style anime, it does not lack at all in character development, originality, quality of art and complexity of story.

The story itself is about two boys (Sora and Nao; Sora being the one with blue hair while Nao is the pink haired feller) who have essentially grown up with each other but an event caused them to separate for a long period of time. It starts at a school where Sora gets released from a hospital after falling from a fourth story window. He is presented with a new room mate (Nao) who is, in that time, in the mindset of Ran who is like the split personality of Nao. Both boys have alter personalities that present themselves at various times throughout the anime. While Nao has Ran (a quirky, hyper active, love struck, submissive character), Sora has Yoru who is a typical, dominant, "seme", partner  in love to Ran. 

It's an interesting aspect to the anime that always sent me careening with their appearance. At times it is a bit hard to follow because of the change being so sporadic but it is easy to adjust. I was always anxiously awaiting their appearances anyhow after their first time showing up since I favoured those personages... 

Following these two complicated boys, though, are a few highly important supporting characters that both contribute to the concept of the beginning of their friendship and the outcomes afterwards. These characters are, Matsuri (a charismatic classmate of the two boys with long blonde hair and a knack for messing in affairs that aren't his own, but with that huge heart that allows him to care for everyone), Nanami (an overly effeminate, school nurse who is also the adoptive parent to Sora), Minato (the attitude filled, protective, math teacher, partnered to Nanami and adoptive father to Sora), and of course, there is the antagonist of the anime, named Aizawa who is the reason behind the whole issue of the anime.

Together, this group of characters lets you explore in a world of love, friendship and heart ache as well as anger and much more. I'll let you ride the story waves yourself if you so choose to watch this anime (and I strongly recommend you do). There is just the right amount of suspense and comedy and fluffy romance to satisfy all those shonen-ai lovers. 

The art is very nice, there was nothing I disliked about it except for maybe the hair styles of the characters (especially Nao's) as I'm not a fan of rat tails on anyone, but other than that it was exceptional. The voice actors were superb and the creators of the anime took care with details. This anime kept me captivated throughout the whole series.

In all, I would rate this anime 8/10. 

Though it was a great story and I enjoyed it immensely, the ending was lacking. I was highly disappointed with how the whole story wrapped up. There was an unfinished business to the story that I am not particularly fond of. 

It is still great, however, and I strongly recommend it to anyone with a taste for drama and shonen-ai. 

Link to episodes can be found here: Sukysho Episodes (English Dubbed) Full Series