‘What can I do for you?’ Koda Kumi asks all the right questions for a song that’s probably as much as Throwback Thursday (or whatever day you’re reading this on) could get for some Final Fantasy gamers everywhere.
I mean, if that first line in the song doesn’t get you, then you are not truly a Final Fantasy gamer (I’ve really avoided the word ‘fan’, because as far as I can tell, most people hated X-2 upon first trial… unlike me).
“real Emotion” is a pop song that has its R&B tinges to it. However, it was released at a time when Kuu was just experimenting with her sound, and she was still merely a pop idol trying to make it to the big leagues. Let’s give it up for her, though: if it wasn’t for this song, she probably would have never released any of the material she made after this single.
The song is the opening theme song for the game, Final Fantasy X-2; the first scene is literally a J-pop concert (featuring ‘Koda Yuna’), albeit in some alternate universe with flying boards featuring guitarists, a levitating stage above some statue, and kick-ass barely-clothed ladies who slide down stair rails (I’m not even kidding). This song was translated to no end for the English version and performed by some random flop singer (sorry, Sweetbox), so we didn’t even get to bathe in the full Koda Kumi experience.
In fact, my foray into J-pop in my earlier years led me up to the point where I was so dumbstruck that this sexy Queen of J-R&B was the original singer of the song. I already loved Kumi for “Cutie Honey”, but this was amazing.
Anyways, getting back to the song, as I said: it is a pop-R&B song. The beat is a sensual beat that is instrumentally-complex. I could pick out some synth-like beats in the background, which make it sound futuristic (though, at this time, it’s more-so nostalgic). There’s a really funky guitar solo in the middle somewhere, and I mean, even in the English version of the song, you could hear this exact solo. It’s funky. It is loud and crazy, but damn, is it ever funky. The song continues its nice sensual beat for the rest of the song before ending in some weird techno-like nature.
Kuu sounds very sensual in the song, and the song doesn’t really require her to belt anything loudly. Her vocals are pretty decent, and they sound youthful.
Lyrically, the song carries this message of reliance: we’re not alone if we’re together. It’s pretty nice, and it doesn’t carry some explicit sexual nature like some of Koda Kumi’s songs (SHAKE IT, I’m looking at you). That being said, this song IS for a game that is rated T for Teen. Regardless, the lyrics are pretty deep… I mean, if you delve into it, it could apply to anything from friendships to lovers. It’s… nice.
As for the music video… there really isn’t much other than the fact that Yuna’s dance moves in the game are basically a graphic modeling of Kumi’s dance moves for the song itself… actually, that’s freakin’ cool. Props to Kumi for making Yuna look crazy good dancing, and damn, Kumi, those are some dance moves. The rest of the video is sort of alluding to the whole Yuna and Lenne storyline of the game, and it features little shots of the game’s cutscenes. Those were nice, but in the end, it just seemed tacky and filler-like. Still, I liked the allusions and the graphic modeling. Good job.
Rating: 8/10
Comment: I feel so much feels for this song. My nostalgia. I just wanna turn on my PS2 and insert that FFX-2 game to fulfill my feels. I wanna hear the song again. Well, I could just always use my iTunes for that, but you know, those feels. Anyways, this is a pretty good song, even now. It’s held its lustre, even after twelve years (that is a long time… I was 11). Sure, it’s not ‘omg’ amazing, but oh man, those feels.
* I’m now avoiding putting up any low quality forms of videos, and I’ll avoid putting up live versions. Official videos will be put up instead, but if you want to watch the PV for “real Emotion”, click this link.
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