AKB48 – Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono (Type-S) (a J!-ENT World Groove CD Single Review)

1. 鈴懸の木の道で「君の微笑みを夢に見る」と言ってしまったら僕たちの関係はどう変わってしまうのか、僕なりに何日か考えた上でのやや気恥ずかしい結論のようなもの
2. Mosh & Dive – AKB48
3. Escape – SKE48
4. 鈴懸の木の道で「君の微笑みを夢に見る」と言ってしまったら僕たちの関係はどう変わってしまうのか、僕なりに何日か考えた上でのやや気恥ずかしい結論のようなもの off vocal ver.
5. Mosh & Dive off vocal ver.
6. Escape – off vocal ver.

DVD INFO: 16:9 LB, Region 2, Duration: 1:11:14

1. 鈴懸の木の道で「君の微笑みを夢に見る」と言ってしまったら僕たちの関係はどう変わってしまうのか、僕なりに何日か考えた上でのやや気恥ずかしい結論のようなもの – Music Video – Short Film ver.-
2. 鈴懸の木の道で「君の微笑みを夢に見る」と言ってしまったら僕たちの関係はどう変わってしまうのか、僕なりに何日か考えた上でのやや気恥ずかしい結論のようなもの – Music Video
3. Mosh & Dive Music Video
4. Escape Music Video
5. AKB48 34thシングル 選抜じゃんけん大会 メイキング 裏側10選!

As with most AKB48 end of the year singles, their 34th single titled “Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono” (which translates to “Sort of a little bit embarrassing conclusion I came up to after thinking for days about how our relationship would change if while walking along a road of plane trees I said to you, ‘I dream of your smile'”) is a janken single and the longest title for a Japanese CD single release.

Back in September, the fourth AKB48 Janken Taikai (rock-paper-scissors tournament) took place and in the end, SKE48 and AKB48 member, Jurina Matsui won the tournament and became the next center for the 34th single. Beating NMB48’s Emika Kamieda but also giving other AKBG girls a chance to shine, such as Rina Hirata, Mina Oba, Wakana Natori, Ayaka Kikuchi, Yuuka Tano, Maria Abe, Nao Furuhata, Rie Kitahara, Mizuki Tsuchiyasu, Reina Fujie, Yukari Sasaki, Ami Yumoto and Shizuka Oya.

And with this 34th single which continued AKB48’s streak of over a million copies sold (1,033,336 copies were sold in its first week), following the tradition set with “Heart Ereki”, there will be a total of four CD+DVD releases and one theater release.

The version I will be reviewing is Type-S featuring a photo of various members on four blocks (Jurina Matsui, Furuhata Nao on the upper left corner, Reina Fujie on the bottom right corner) and comes with a 12-page booklet which includes lyrics, production credits and photos of each member in group or solo.

It’s important to note that this single is important for those who want to get the AKB48 34th single Janken Taikai Making video.  So, if you want to watch the matchups, Type-S is the version to get.

The single kicks off with “Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono”.

My first impressions of the song is that it’s one of the more catchier janken songs, much better than “Eien Pressure” and “Chance no Junban” and love the catchy arrangement and vocals for this track!  The song is about dreaming of one’s smile and wondering why you can’t stop thinking about that person’s smile.  And knowing that person while you were very young and how that person was like a little sister, but now that the person has grown up, you see them much differently.

The second track is “Mosh & Dive”, an upbeat dance track from AKB48 and is a very catch song and one that could have easily been a single and would have done that well.  It’s that good!  The song  is about liking a superstar and that star is surrounded by groupies.  And 1! 2! 3! the person will mosh and dive, to get closer and let that person know you love them.

The third track is titled “Escape” by SKE48 and is an awesome, catchy, upbeat dance track.  Definitely one of the rare beat-driven dance tracks to hear from SKE48, but the song is about falling in love, disregarding an age gap and just wanting to kiss that person, breaking curfew and not wanting to go back home.  Escape from reality and be with the person you love.  Not caring if you die now, at least you die in the arms of someone you love.

The remaining three tracks are the instrumental versions of the first three vocal tracks.

As for the DVD, the DVD begins with the short film version of “Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono”.

The film version begins with a group of students burying a time capsule and then everyone reuniting for their reunion.  But some people are uncomfortable as their lives have not taken off like they have hoped and some just waiting for that special opportunity.  But for everyone to reunite, everyone has a chance to discuss their lives and then Jurina trying to break the tension, starts singing a song which everyone joins in.  And then the music video kicks off with the girls dancing to the song and we see the pop version of the group and their teenage high school version singing and learning to dance to the song.

The second video is the music video for “Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono” and removes the dramatic portion of the film version.

The third music video is for “Mosh & Dive”, an awesome upbeat dance track with AKB48 sporting vinyl, singing and dancing and for the most part, what I enjoyed about this video is seeing many of the members of the various teams together for this one track.  All sporting red and black vinyl.  It’s a cute and sexy music video!

The fourth music video is for “Escape” performed by SKE48.  The upbeat, dance track by SKE48 is perhaps one of the more fast, upbeat dance tracks from SKE48 and it’s a pretty awesome song.  The music video features the group in a tunnel and are seen dancing and singing to the song.

The fifth video track is the 34th single Janken Taikai making video.   The video is a 35 minute behind-the-scenes video with interviews with the participants in the Janken (rock-paper-scissors) tournament and footage of how Jurina Matsui became the winner but also interviews and behind-the-scenes emotions during the tournament.

It’s important to note that this is a region 2 DVD and will not play on a region 1 player (unless you have a non-region DVD player) but can be played on a MAC or PC using free video playing software such as VLC or Daum PotPlayer.

Overall, “Suzukake no Ki no Michi de ‘Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru’ to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono (Type-S)” is a pretty awesome single.

While I do enjoy the janken singles especially the DVD release because I can see the matchups, I do miss the annual AKB48 Christmas song that was usually included.  But this time around, for the end-of-the year single, we are getting a track from the sister groups which is cool. And in this case, “Escape” was one of the coolest, upbeat dance tracks from SKE48.

But as I enjoyed “Suzukake”, as I feel it’s one of the better janken singles, the other coupling tracks were also awesome.  But of the four types, one will probably want Type-S primarily for the fact that it’s the only type that contains the behind-the-scenes of the Janken tournament footage.  For those want to see the events leading up to the tournament such as the pre-tournament competitions to see who will represent each team in the final tournament will want to purchase Type-N.  Also, if you are an SKE48 fan and want the “Escape” track and music video.

An awesome CD+DVD janken single from AKB48 worth recommending!