HANABIE - REBORN SUPERSTAR ALBUM REVIEW

Reborn Superstar! is the second studio album by Hanabie, released on July 26, 2023. It is their first album to be released under Epic Records Japan.

In Germany, the album was released on August 26, 2023 via Century Media

All lyrics are written by Yukina, Matsuri; all music is composed by Matsuri, Yukina

The album reach number 34 in Oricon Album Chart

Reborn Superstar! track listing

1. "Blast Off"

2. "Hyperdimension Galaxy" (超次元ギャラクシー)

3. "Neet Game"

4. "This Is the Year to Be a Gal" (Early Summer version; 今年こそギャル～初夏 ver.～)

5. "Tales of Villain"

6. "Warning!!"

7. Me, the Ultimate Invader of the Universe

8. "Run Away" (Tousou) 2:51

9. "Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu" (お先に失礼します。; Pardon Me, I Have to Go Now.) 3:10

10. "Today's Good Day & So Epic" 2:37

Top faves

1. "Warning"

This is heaviest track in the album. Yukina’s screams all out. She’s like a cat hissing to someone. Cute and aggressive that’s what I could describe on the track. Matsuri’s guitar plays shows off the metalcore sound that you will tempt to hardcore dancing or headbanging on the pit. It’s amazing and I do appreciate it. The band brings all out the fierceness on the song.

2. Osaki ni Shitsurei Shimasu This is my most favorite track in the album. The song offered different sound comparing on the other tracks. The inclusion of FOLK instrument makes the song unique. It is fresh and cool. Hanabie made a good incorporating new influence in the song. The growls of Yukina shows the harshness and rage while Matsuri’s clean singing, shows gentleness and pacifies the rage of Yukina. It’s a perfect combination on the song.

3. Neet Game

This song has similarities with LCG mixed FALILV. The delivery is good and has a satisfying sound. The MVP here is the drum plays; it is heavy and punches my ear very much. During the release of NEET GAME, Sae was in charge of drum play so I could give the credit on her on the drum plays. It’s clean and you will hear the drum kit clearly.

Honorable Mentions

4. This Is the Year to Be a GalThis track is the carrier single of the album. It’s excellent it shows the creativity of the band. It’s heavy mixed with a party song. I love Yukina’s growls it’s perfect and satisfying to listen. I do like as well when she says “What the F*ck”! it made me laugh. The melody it’s like hypnotizing you would like to mosh and dance at the same time.

Least Faves

5. Me, the Ultimate Invader of the Universe The reason why I don’t like the track since this is the track that doesn’t fit in between the heavy tracks . It is just a pure party track that doesn’t make sense to fill in. There are good filler track but this one doesn’t please me.

6. Today's Good Day & So Epic –

This is a Messy track, I don’t know where the direction of the band. I don’t like the speedy /rapping growls then transition to clean vocals. The transition is inconsistent and unpredictable and boring at the same time. For me, they should not include this track in the album, it messes up the perfection of the album.

The album is good, Hanabie is consistent to make good music and it never failed me. The band continues to formulate unique sound against on their contemporaries and it did. They incorporate METAL, HARDCORE, ELECTRONIC, a bit HIPHOP and FOLK. MIXING ALL OF THESE INFLUENCES we have REBORN SUPERSTAR Album. The mix of cute and aggressiveness is there as well. It satisfies me to listen the entire album.

The MVP’s in this Album are YUKINA and MATSURI they displayed their talents in each song. For me these two are the pillars of the band and without them, the band would not prosper. Hettsu’s bass plays played well, her bass plays adds the flavor of heaviness in the band.

Overall, the album is fun to listen. Hanabie has starting to lay down their iconic sound and I am sure that they gather more fans as the days goes by. Looking forward for another album in the future.

Verdict 3.75 /5