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 wo Daisuki da (2019)

For Kisumai’s first single of 2019, we have a big rock ballad. This comes on the heels of 2018’s Home – a song in a very similar style. I’ve always felt Kimi wo Daisuki da suffers from this comparison, but it’s still a nice track on its own.

Kimi wo Daisuki da is all about sentimentality. This is a style J-pop tends to execute very well, throwing heaps of emotion at a song. The melody is robust and the instrumental is quite grand. I love the chanted nature of the chorus. It has a cathartic appeal, which is exactly what you want from a song of this style. Honestly, I don’t come back to Kimi wo Daisuki da all that often, but that’s not a knock on its quality. I just have to be in a certain mood to enjoy this genre.

Watching the music video, you probably won’t get much of a sense of the track itself. Even the edited YouTube version is over eight minutes long. The full, mini-movie version is longer still. Taken together, the song and video are quite affecting. I need to go back and watch the whole thing to see if my (very limited) Japanese has improved. I mean, I got the gist of the plot without subtitles, but understanding the dialogue would probably help!

I also want to note that the Kimi wo Daisuki da single is home to some great b-sides. Those who enjoy Kisumai’s anthemic rock sound will absolutely love Liar World!