In honor of Kis-My-Ft2’s complete videography being uploaded to YouTube (in edited form, of course…), I can’t resist writing about each single. To put this in context for Bias List readers, Kis-My-Ft2 (or Kisumai, as they’re often known) are my J-pop version of Infinite. That’s how much I love them and their discography.

Yet, I rarely write about them because finding online links to their music was so hard… until now!

Kimi to no Kiseki (2013)

Even ‘favorite’ groups must have a ‘least favorite’ single. Tanagokoro isn’t bad at all. I just don’t love ballads as much as up-tempo tracks. So, this song rarely visits my playlist.

The thing is, Kisumai actually have quite a few ballads in their arsenal. A handful of them are singles, and some are really good. For me, the group is at their best when they opt for anthemic over sentimental. I won’t be covering it here since it doesn’t have a music video, but their 2018 rock ballad Home hits all those stadium-ready marks that I crave. In contrast, Tanagokoro is pretty reserved and doesn’t have the killer melody to make up for its lack of dynamic arrangement. With that said, it’s pretty telling that my least-favorite Kisumai single is still ranked in the mid-7’s.

In fact, I’m not sure we can really call Tanagokoro a “single” at all! It’s not a double a-side with Kimi to no Kiseki — just a coupling song that happens to have an mv. And, the simplicity of the video points toward a lower budget. It feels more like a nice fan song than a proper moment in their discography.