How I Became a Huge Girls’ Generation Fan (And Why They’re Legendary)

First Encounters with Girls Generation

Since Korean Pop is not often used as Japanese Pop in Japanese anime intros, K-Pop must be accessed by different forms of media such as through CD's or through YouTube. Being a 2000s kid/2010s teen, I was not as into Korean media such as Korean movies as much as I was into anime until I got a bit older. There is a memory I have, however, of being interested in creating a collection of Korean movies because of watching videos of people collecting them on YouTube. Therefore, coming across Girls Generation can be said to have occurred somewhat by accident.

The Impact of "Gee" on my K-Pop Interests

And let me tell you, I have no regret accidentally/unintentionally discovering them. It is through watching their music as a youngster that I learned more about my interests in Korean music that I never thought I had before. Their famous song, "Gee", is more than just a "sweet and energetic" song or a song that is made to appeal to a broader worldwide audience than Japanese Pop songs, it is a song with a creative music video and idea behind it (Girls Generation, 2009). The idea to film the music video in a clothing shop was so creative to me due to all of the vibrant eye-catching background colors (Girls Generation 2009, 0:00-0:25). What else stood out both with the song and music video was the dance moves which I have never seen such well rehearsed choreography before viewing the video.You might think that many music groups have dance moves like Girls Generation, but the dancing of these girls was unique because of how well they promoted their culture through their group effort (Girls Generation, 2009). Collectivism is something known to be central to East Asian cultures and through their song and music video, Girls Generation members illustrated what their culture was all about wonderfully.

Connections Between being a fan of both Girls Generation and Final Fantasy X

"Oh" (2010) was another song from Girls Generation that still impacts my music tastes today. Other than the energy from the song and the music video of them dressed up like cheerleaders, I found the music video to be iconic because it reminded me of a Final Fantasy X, which I started to play around the early 2010s era (Girls Generation 2010, 1:14) (Squaresoft/Kitase 2001). Not quite sure why, but maybe it was due to the coloring of the background and sets in the music video that sort of reminded me of Final Fantasy X. Whenever reading or watching videos online about Final Fantasy X, Girls Generation's song "Oh" seems to come to mind because I am the kind of person who tends to absorb media at later ages in life. In other words, I wish I would have known more about Final Fantasy and Girls Generation younger than 14 because it would have meant being a big fan of both for a longer period of my life. 

"Paparazzi" by Girls Generation

One last song of theirs that is quite memorable is "Paparazzi" (Girls Generation, 2012). The song generally has a more mature feel that the other two I mentioned due to the costumes and the deeper vocals. Therefore it it my favorite out of all the songs I discussed because it feels timeless and relatable at an older age. 

What is your experience with SNSD? Feel free to share in the comment section below. In the next post/episode, we will focus on specifics of K-Pop and J-Pop members themselves through commentary. Check back weekly for more surprises!

Why FLOW is One of the Best Japanese Pop Bands

One time around probably the early 2010s, the T.V. in my living room was tuned into Cartoon Network and I happened to view the first Naruto anime intro I have ever seen in my life. It was the eighth intro to the original Naruto anime (directed by Hayato Date) and the song was "Re:member" by FLOW (2006). The only exposure I had to Naruto at that time was when I viewed an episode of it in the mid 2000s through talk with people at school and a bit of exposure to it while playing an online MMO (one of my game friends had a name with Uchiha in it) (Date et al., 2006). When I viewed the eighth intro of Naruto, I was blown away by FLOW's engaging song. In a way, it got me more into FLOW and J-Pop in general than into the Naruto anime itself (even though I still like Naruto very much too).

The lyrics at the beginning were amazing because the song went along with Naruto running through the forest (Date et al., 2006). But that was not the most exhilarating experience of the song. 

The musical talent of the band members and the actual music video of the song itself prove why they are among the best of J-Pop bands. The music video contained many moments that demonstrated their skills such as their ability to be both great dancers in rhythm with the music and the drummer, Iwasaki Takeshi, happened to be one of the best performers because the song seemed to be heavily based on drums along with electric guitar (FLOW & Iwasaki, 2006). While I am not sure if loud percussion is everyone's taste, it surely is mine when it comes to this song of theirs.

"Re:member" is not the only song of theirs that I thought was great. FLOW's song ,"Colors", was also a great piece of music (2006). Instead of being used as an opening song for Naruto, this song was used as an opening for the anime, Code Geass (Studio Sunrise, 2006). The reason FLOW is such a great J-Pop band with this song is because unlike the focus on drums, bass, electric guitar and singing, this song had a lot of great background music along with a greater emphasis on vocals as it seems to be a louder song compared to "Re:member".

Finally, "Sign" by FLOW is another signature piece of music from group (2009). The reason why is because it seems to be a song that touches on more dramatic and serious topics compared to the other two. Even if one does not understand Japanese, the combined members of FLOW (Kohshi Asakawa, Tatsuya Fujinawa, Keigo Hayashi, Shinji Ochi and Takehiro Iwasaki) performance in this song was top notch due to the fact that the music told the story itself (FLOW et al., 2009). Even with my low Japanese skills and even if I did not watch the music video (which I have plenty of times), I would know what the song was about due to the bands sheer skills in musical storytelling (FLOW, Youtube, 2009). This fact along with all of FLOW's other songs just goes to show the immense talent that they have as a J-Pop band. 

Being that their music has affected me positively, they are not the only group that I have really enjoyed. Be sure to subscribe for new personal fandom related content about Flow and other J-Pop and K-Pop groups that I will provide commentary on in future posts.