"Ryōkiteki na Kiss o Watashi ni Shite" is a song by Japanese band Gesu no Kiwami Otome. Commissioned to be used as the opening theme song for the drama Arasā-chan Mushūsei, it was released as one of the A-sides of the band's first single in July and August 2014.
Background and development
Gesu no Kiwami Otome, after releasing two extended plays with independent labelSpace Shower Records, released their first major label release in April 2014: the extended playMinna Normal. The single was announced in June 2014. In late July, after the single artwork had already been produced, the single was quickly adapted into a double A-side single, due to the song "Asobi" being picked for a commercial tie-up with au's brand of Isai FL smartphones. As with the band's other releases, artist Nobumi Fukui created the cover artwork and the single's booklet. The artwork was revealed on July 20, and featured a girl kissing a mascot character created by Fukui dubbed "Gesu-kun".
Writing and production
The band were asked to produce the song by the drama producers, after seeing the band's name and feeling that such a name fit perfectly with the drama. The song was written by band vocalist Enon Kawatani, with the drama Arasā-chan Mushūsei in mind. He was inspired to write the song after reading the original comic strip for Arasā-chan, writing about the rude aspects of women from the perspective of a woman. He began the song by thinking of the keyword "Ryōkiteki na", feeling it fit well with Arasā-chan. He was inspired to write a poppy song to fit with the atmosphere of the original manga, mixed with painful lyrics inspired by the pathos of lead actressMitsu Dan.
Promotion and release
The drama Arasā-chan Mushūsei began airing in Japan on July 25, 2014. As the drama's opening theme song, it was used in promotional aspects such as commercials for the drama. On the same day, the song was released digitally to stores such as iTunes, and as a ringtone. The band made appearances at summer music festivals immediately after the release of the single, including at the Rock in Japan Festival, the Rising Sun Rock Festival, Monster Bash, Sky Jamboree, Space Shower Sweet Love Shower 2014 and Rush Ball. The band performed at Music Stationfor the first time on August 29, performing the song. In September, the band performed a two date series of concerts, Gesu na Party, held at Zepp Nagoya and Zepp Tokyo.
Music video
The music video for the song was released on July 30, 2014, and was directed by Hidenobu Tanabe. It featured a multi-angle setup, with a story centering on the break-up of a friendship over gyoza. The mascot character Gesu-kun also makes an appearance in the video, swooping around Kawatani. Kawatani felt that the comical music video subverted the impression of the song in a good way.
Reception
Critical reception
Compared to Gesu no Kiwami Otome's previous releases, critics focused more on the lyrics of "Ryōkiteki na Kiss o Watashi ni Shite", which CDJournal praised as combining together into a "mosaic of love" and the "sentimental, friendly melody". Nobuaki Onuki of What's In? felt the lyrics were of particular interest, and that they reflected the protagonists of Around Thirty well. Tomohiro Ogawa of Rockin' On noted the juxtaposition between Kawatani's "poppy" melody and danceable tune, and the "painful" lyrics. Ogawa felt the piano riff and looped beats created a feeling of never-ending despair and emptiness, while Onuki felt Kawatani's rap-style vocals "miraculously" matched with the melodious chorus, even though they were an unlikely mix.
Commercial reception
The physical single debuted at number nine on Oricon's singles charts after selling 13,000 copies, while rival sales tracking agency SoundScan Japan tracked 12,000 physical copies sold in the single's first week. Over the course of the eleven weeks that the physical single was in the top 200 releases, it managed to sell a total of 23,000 copies. The song performed well digitally, managing to sell over 100,000 digital downloads between its release and May 2015, when the Recording Industry Association of Japan certified the song gold digitally.
