On May 21st,
JA NAMIE released the follow-up to their
first single, and the release had a very specific purpose.
Miraiiro no Hana was created to help encourage people who had been displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster to return back
to the town of Namie, as the clean-up in the area had been finished. The song attempts to do this by reminding listeners of a local festival held in the region, and the tool the song uses to help push its message is one which
JA NAMIE is very familiar
with: nostalgia. However, it’s a different kind of nostalgia from the type present on their debut release
Namie no wa / Aruke Aruke.
Where the previous single had a general sense of nostalgia for Japanese pop of the early-to-mid 2010s,
Miraiiro no Hana calls back to a more specific sound: early 2010s idol pop. The song accomplishes this by utilizing synthesized strings,
flying, synth arpeggios, a sequenced four-on-the-floor drum beat and a light mix of electric and acoustic guitar, as well as the way the vocals sound in the mix with the instrumental. This is also aided by the quality of the performances, which don't seem to put
very much strain on the members' voices and don't utilize complicated techniques or ornamentation very often, if at all. All of this makes the song feel like it would not be out of place on a release like
AKB48's third album,
Koko ni Ita Koto.
While the members don't show off their chops much, the vocals are still the most impressive part of
Miraiiro no Hana. Thanks to the simplicity of the direction for the vocal performances and
the melody, we end up with one of the most appealing-sounding vocal performances an idol unit can produce. The talent present on the single helps, of course, and the end product demonstrates how great talented vocalists can sound when they are allowed
to sing in a less technically involved style. There is also a sense of timbral cohesion among the vocals thanks to this and, not only does it contribute to the 2010s idol sound, but it also gives the song a daydream-like feel.
While nearly every element of this song sounds like it could be an old, unreleased single from the early 2010s, that doesn’t mean it feels dated. Sections that seem tailor-made for “wotagei” in the songwriting, such as hits of percussion between
phrases during the chorus, help to add a current feel to the track.
Miraiiro
no Hana is a song that attempts to encourage people to begin anew by using familiar, some might say “classic”, idol pop sounds from the early 2010s. It manages to capture a feeling of nostalgia, but adds in just enough modern elements to still sound
contemporary. Only time will tell whether the song's mission will be accomplished, but in its execution, it is undeniably successful.
Miraiiro no Hana can be found digitally on streaming services like
Spotify and
Google Play, as well as many
other platforms. 
