So I’m a bit late with the power ranking because of laziness. This month being the holiday season didn’t have nearly as many seasonal releases as I would have expected but still had a lot of releases, most of which didn’t grab me at all. Let’s take a look at what did.
| Rank | Group | Logo | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tokyo Girls' Style |  | I don't think I've gone on enough about "Say long goodbye" and just how much I love this song. That first note that Nakae Yuri hits at the start, while ear piercingly high, shows just how much training and improvement the girls have gone through. I remember when trying to hit such a note would have caused Yuri's voice to crack and loose her breath. Yamabe Miyu, who I would say is the weakest singer, previously would have had trouble staying on key and the long notes would have given her huge problems. Shoji Mei does a beautiful job harmonizing with Konishi Ayano and Arai Hitomi too. With the song being a ballad and the PV and title giving a melancholy feel, the verses somewhat add to that feeling, but the chorus makes the song have almost a happy feel to it at the same time. I don't know if it's the way the girls' voices harmonize or what exactly that gives me that feeling. This will be a very under-rated song for 2014. I look forward to how TGS will evolve in 2015 even if they do move away from the idol image which they have never really laid claim to in the first place. |
 | Team Syachihoko |  | "Shampoo Hat" was a song I wasn't sure about when I first heard it. After the second listen though it had me hooked, the first listen was to get over the weird PV and the drastic style change over previous singles. We'll have to wait and see if Syachihoko turns this into a trend but it feels like they are starting to stray from the crazy chaotic songs much quicker than Momoiro Clover Z did. This song feels like a serious attempt to make a good slower pop song and it succeeds in doing so. The instrumentals are varied and subtle in their execution, even stopping in certain spots letting the vocal rhythm and melodies carry it through. The vocal rhythm and melodies are were the song really shine, though they should just stick to Sakura Nao and Sakamoto Haruna doing the faster talking / almost rapping as the other girls tend to stumble with the speed of the delivery. But that is one small part that doesn't detract from the overall song. |
 | Shooting Star Girls |  | "Meririririririri Christmas" is a Christmas song done right. Though I couldn't even tell you if there was an original lyric or note in this song because it takes from so many different songs in both the instrumentals and vocal styling. Where this song comes together is taking the best parts from other Christmas songs and matching them with the right voices from the girls, and it's simply just fun. There is no bogging the song down, it's just pure fun. |
 | Rev. from DVL |  | I never thought I would be writing about Rev. from DVL but their latest single "REAL" is a real departure from their previous singles. "REAL" has a much heavier synth sound and gives a pretty dark feel to the music. For some reason there is a rap portion of the song which doesn't really seem to fit, something that a lot of groups are trending with lately, in this case it just distracts from the song. There is also a lot less focus directed on Hashimoto Kanna which I greatly appreciate as that has been my biggest problem with their management. If you haven't given Rev. from DVL a chance before now because of the Hashimoto hype, check out "REAL" for a bit of a different picture. |
 | Idol College |  | Idol College's latest single "True End Player" got last place for one simple reason. The techno dance break in the middle that didn't fall completely flat performance wise. It's not the greatest dancing in the world certainly, but it doesn't leave you feeling let down like so many so called dance breaks. The song itself is a solid but very standard idol song. |
So that brings us to the final power ranking of the year 2014. What will 2015 bring us? Will we see the fall of AKS? Will we see the fall of the idol world completely? Well I say here’s to an even better year ahead, with more idols and even better music.