Songs to make you feel like you’re always super special
zzeroparticle recently panned the ED theme of Chaos;Head, “Super Special” by Seira Kagami, in a review he posted on the Anime Instrumentality Blog. Now I can understand why he gave it a bad rating, he outlined a reasonable enough justification based on the bizarre, nonsensical lyrics and some rather noticeable technical shortcomings, but, while I can see where he’s coming from, I can’t help but find the song charming and fun to listen to. Arguably my attachment to the song is totally irrational, and I’d have a tough time formally reviewing it, since I just couldn’t put it at arm’s length and reason my way through it in a way required for a good review (add to that the fact that I just don’t have the knowledge to confidently write music reviews).
But I do find it interesting that I can have that irrational fanboy-ish reaction to music. After years of writing anime reviews, it’s extremely rare for me to have an irrational fanboy-ish reaction to anime because there’s always the chance that I could end up formally reviewing it. I almost always approach anime with the intent of understanding it enough that I can express a rational, reasoned set of opinions that I can defend. It’s particularly challenging, because anime, like all art, is more about interpretation than observations, so I need to have confidence in my own interpretations, and if I don’t, that means going back and thinking about things for longer.
But I don’t want to give the impression that I no longer have spontaneous, visceral reactions to anime. I wouldn’t watch (and enjoy) anime like Rosario + Vampire if I didn’t. Nonetheless, just as zzeroparticle wouldn’t give a positive review to “Super Special”, I sure as hell would never afford R+V any genuine critical acclaim. But, in anime, I tend to quickly attempt to rationalize any visceral reaction I have. My immediate reaction to Allison & Lillia might be “Allison is moe”, but I’ll quickly follow that up with the question “hang on, why do I find Allison moe? Is it because she’s voiced by Mizuki Nana? Is it because she’s a strong-willed tsundere with a hidden vulnerable side? I guess it’s a bit of both.” I think a lot of reviewing is just that. It’s an attempt to rationalize one’s reaction and express them in a way that’s considered and reasoned.
Now, I don’t think that’s a bad way to watch anime, and I wouldn’t say that it impedes enjoyment as people unfamiliar with this approach to watching anime might possibly think. I certainly don’t lament that I can’t turn off the critical, ultra-rational approach to anime and just “enjoy it for what it is” (which I seem to hear from some AnimeSuki Forum denizens more often than I’d like), partly because I haven’t (as some seem to think) become so bitter and cynical that I can’t enjoy mediocre, meaningless anime with no ambition past twenty minutes a week of mindless fun, but, moreso because I genuinely think that the desire to understand something at a deeper level, which inherently goes along with writing about it, leads to a greater appreciation of it, whether that be its subtleties, messages, symbolisms, dilemmas, depth, etc, etc. I don’t want people to think that I’m faulting an anime that doesn’t have these things when I slap it with an “Above Average” rating and end my review with a “enjoyable, but ultimately shallow/meaningless” conclusion. Instead, I’m trying to put the anime that do have these things, and do them well, on a pedestal.
“Super Special” does make for an interesting analogy to point out some tendencies in taste across critics (in all honesty, this isn’t a label I’m totally comfortable with, since it carries an inherent elitism, but for now it serves the purpose of highlighting what group I’m talking about… in anime circles, that’s probably people who write at length about anime in a… err… critical fashion). While this probably isn’t the intention behind the song, one could almost see “Super Special” as a rather direct attempt to make the listener feel like they’re… err… super special. The problem with this is obvious, it’s much too blatant. By telling you outright that “you’re always super special”, it’s trying to force its sentiment upon you rather than guiding you to the desired emotional state, which is more likely achieved with a more gradual, subtle approach, which makes it harder to be genuinely taken in by what the song is trying to achieve (if we assume that the song is in fact trying to make you feel “super special”). The anime that tend to be critically panned are often guilty of the same thing: forced emotions. It’s much easier to be absorbed by an anime, to the point of being genuinely moved, if there’s a more subdued approach to delivering emotions. People may disagree with me, but I think ARIA is a great example of that.
Not that there are circumstances where forced emotions aren’t a bad thing. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is one such example of that. The intention behind the series is blatant and there’s very little in it I could credibly call “subtle”. Arguably a comedy can get away with being forced moreso than a drama (but I could easily call on Seto no Hanayome as a counterargument to that). Arguably an ambitious and unique title can get away with being forced a little easier as well. It’s hard to rationalize, but then again, I’ve never maintained that my reaction to ZSZS was a rational one. Even in my review of the title, I put in a “fanboy” disclaimer and, relatively speaking, it’s one of the reviews I’d be less surprised about if it wasn’t taken credibly by the wider community.
Titles like ZSZS challenge a rational response, and I think strong arguments could be made that a rational response isn’t the type the series intended. Hell, if I were more egotistical, I’d suggest that ZSZS‘s creators see an irrational response from otherwise critically minded, rational commentators as a triumph of sorts, as if they broke down a wall of analytical stand-off-ishness and incited a visceral, spontaneous, unexplainable reaction which would have otherwise been unlikely (I don’t out-and-out state this, because in all honesty I don’t think Shinbo‘s crew give two-shits about what pretentious anime nerds like me, posting crap on the internet, think. You should, though 
)
Maybe “Super Special” is the same type of thing. Perhaps its intention all along is an irrational, visceral response, which works because its campy upbeat style makes for such a gaping juxtaposition compared with the dark, paranoid feeling of Chaos;Head itself, and the two very different moods side-by-side makes for a unique and ambitious mix. Or maybe “Super Special” is a crap song and it’s all a matter of taste.
Anyway, to prevent the post title from being a complete misleading lie, here’s some themes from the current season that make me feel super special.
I disapprove of the lack of Kannagi’s OP from this list. >_>
You know, I also like Super Special. It’s funny, I was just listening to it when I began to read your article. It’s a beautiful song. I’ve long grown used to nonsensical lyrics, so I don’t really mind; the music itself, though, is way too catchy for me not to like. I think that’s probably why you like Super Special so much; it’s ridiculously easy to dance to it. The beat is pounding, the melody is flowing, it’s just awesome.
RC and I often comment about how ridiculously inappropriate the song is for a show like Chaos;Head, though. I don’t know if I agree with you that it’s supposed to challenge an irrational response. Seldom do anime OPs and EDs have anything to do with the actual show.
Though, if we want to talk about nonsensical lyrics, Toradora’s “PURASU PURASU DAKEDO MAINASU” takes the cake for that one. <_<;
I do like all of the songs here; I actually listened to Discotheque on repeat at least 50 times last night. Irrationality is good, I think. Sometimes you just happen to like a show, no matter how crappy it is.
I also think you’re reading way too deeply into Super Special. It’s just a great song, and attaching any more feeling than, “Oh, I like it” and dancing along is probably not what the creators intended.
I like the song. Other than that typically weird engrish lyrics, I don’t see why it’s such a horrible song. But I agree with Akira about Super Special challening, um, irrational response. I personally don’t see what’s so super special about the ED that it’s harder to rationalise one’s reaction to it compared to billion other songs.
Akira: I thought about putting Kannagi’s OP on the list, and while it’s a good song, it just doesn’t make me feel super special.
The whole idea of bringing up “Super Special” in this article (other than my irrational attachment to it), was as an analogy for talking about watching and reviewing anime. If we assume that zzeroparticle is right and “Super Special” isn’t worthy of critical acclaim, then it becomes harder to reason just what it is about the song that I like. I guess the analogy isn’t a great one, since, in music, most of what people like isn’t rational anyway. But I suppose my final point is that, while it’s ok to like something for irrational reasons, it’s much harder to review it fairly and “objectively” if you do so, and back up why you like it with reasons that other people can share and understand.
On my end, that’s the major stumbling point that I come across when writing music reviews. When talking about an anime series, you could always say things like “shallow characters,” “plot holes,” and “terrible dialogue” and people will know what you’re talking about. With music reviews, you might say things like “excellent counterpoint” and unless you’ve taken a music course or something, that sentence on its own is completely meaningless without a music clip to illustrate what I’m talking about.
So a lot of how my reviews strive to be as objective as possible by analyzing the music as well as my overall reactions. If people can see where I’m coming from even if they don’t agree with me, I think I’ve succeeded. :p
That’s why writing a music review is harder than writing an anime review to me; there’s nothing much to write about unless it’s at least an album. I don’t watch Chaos;Head but after listening to Super Special, erm…
I don’t really hate it, but strangely I don’t like it either. The rhythm’s nice and Seira’s voice is great, but it’s just lacking something that makes it listenable to my ears. Perhaps it lacks the lyrical coherence but I’m saying this only for this piece of music. I have nothing against music with nonsensical lyrics (I kinda like Hellsing’s Logos Naki World). Rosario’s Discotheque is pure gold and I believe SK can’t disagree with that
As far as the debate on reviewing something objectively to reviewing something on a personal level goes, whichever style one chooses, he/she must be able to reason it out in a comprehensive and persuasive manner. I tend to review something from a neutral standpoint and channel the personal praises or ranting to another place i.e. the forum. For instance, R+V is a series where I would give a low grade if I were to review it but judging from the posts I make in its thread, it’s apparent that it’s a guilty pleasure to me.
[...] I didn’t pick this because it makes some people feel super special, but like the post I linked, there’s just something about this song that’s enjoyable, [...]