Genki de SKA

ANGERME – “Aisubeki Beki Human Life”

The third and final track from ANGERME’s soon to be released 30th single is live on YouTube, and it’s genki as fuck. “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” is pure upbeat fun in a way Anju hasn’t been since 2018’s “46okunen LOVE.” Unlike “Koi wa Accha Accha” or “Hakkiri Shiyou ze” there’s no overarching theme here beyond FUN, and the result is one of those rare perfect marriages of music and visuals.

Shunsuke Suzuki’s ska arrangement is pretty faithful to the genre — even to the point of sounding positively Two-tone in the half-time B-melody that leads into the final chorus — while retaining more than enough idol mojo. Composer Kohei Dojima presents his H!P bona fides with the repeating “and you, and you, and you…” lyric that ends each chorus, which is the sort of word play (Anju, Anju, Anju…) that is un-cut Haro-wota catnip. The newer members really shine on this song, freed them from the more challenging and adult music they’ve been tasked with previously. The best part about Anju is how everyone gets a turn in the spotlight over the course of a single, and this one is no exception. Other H!P groups could learn from their example, specifically the Flagship.

The video presents Anju as a group of idols who genuinely enjoy each others company and have fun horsing around together, which has been their reputation for years. It also features a lot of superb natural styling throughout the clip — Shion’s and Kamiko’s dance-shot outfits are fantastic, and Hashi-Rin’s little offset ponytail is adorable. The dance (which includes an actual kick-line) is as fun as the music, and the mostly loose choreo allows for a lot of jumping around and mugging for the camera.

As much as I like “Ai・Mashou” — and I like it a lot — “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” is my clear favorite of this release because they got everything right. Idol music can be heavy, dark, serious or adult and still be great, but fun and frivolous is the foundation of the genre, and as such, it actually requires more care and attention to detail to rise to the level of greatness. “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” crosses every “T” and dots every “i” to create a pure package of genki idol perfection.