An Emotional Time Capsule | Thoughts on M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON's Second Albums

Last month -- on the 6th and and the 27th respectively -- EBiDAN Next High groups M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON released their second albums. M!LK's is titled "Time Capsule" and marks their second release since the member change (Original member Yamazaki Haruki left the group last year and new members Ryubi, Sono Shunta, and Yamanaka Juutaro were then added from BATTLE BOYS), while SUPER★DRAGON's is titled "2nd Emotion". Let's take a look at all of the songs on these albums (both new and old) and the albums as a whole.


Time Capsule


M!LK's second album "Time Capsule" features 14 tracks including 9 new songs and 5 previously-released ones (one of which is a re-recorded version). It was released in two versions; the regular CD-only edition and the limited edition that comes with a Blu-ray that features clips from a concert the group held back in November at Toyosu PIT. The album is also available to purchase on iTunes and listen to on Spotify along with all of M!LK's previous releases. Up until recently, only "Bokura Nari Revolution" was available to us international fans so thank you for thinking of us EBiDAN!

Let's start off with the previously-released songs. The only previously-released song that received a re-recording for this album was "Bokura Nari Revolution" as this one was originally recorded prior to the group's member change. The rest are all just the same as they appeared on the "Over The Storm" single. Even though I wasn't too keen on EBiDAN's decision to add the three new members to M!LK I actually ended up really liking "Over The Storm". The music video isn't much to write home about but the song itself is really catchy and I like the choreography and outfits.

Next we have this album's main song, "My Treasure". I wasn't very fond of this one when the music video came out; I thought it was kinda boring if I'm honest. But its cuteness did kind of grow on me though it still isn't my all-time favourite song or video by them. "Goin' Down" didn't really stand out to me much but it's cute. I got a similar vibe from "It's only LOVE".


Now "Thoroughbred Onzoushi City Boy". That title's a fun one to type out. The first time I heard this one was when they performed it at MEN'S PANIC, a male idol festival in Japan I attended last year. I had no idea what it was called at the time but fell in love with it instantly and was full-on dancing in the audience, haha. I think it's probably my favourite out of the new songs from this album. "Jungle Rhythm" is very catchy and fun and is another one of my favourites.
"Joushou Shikou Climber" has an interesting feel to it. There seems to be a mix of a few different genres almost in this one which I like a lot. "Around The World" I can't think of the right words for. It's almost uplifting to listen to? I'm not sure but I really like it anyway. "Kousaten, Shingou, Kimi to Boku" is another one that didn't really do much for me however "Ai to Aizu" is really cute and fun.

To me, most of the songs on this album sounded similar. Not that that's really a bad thing -- every artist has their particular style -- but I thought a lot of the songs were kind of boring compared to previous releases. Honestly, I've been getting pretty bored of M!LK's songs lately anyway, which is part of the reason why SUPER★DRAGON overtook them as my favourite group last year. That and the fact that Haruki who was my favourite member left. I guess M!LK are going in a new direction that isn't really my style so much but I'll still support them no matter what. I don't like this album nearly as much as their first one "Ousama no Gyuunyuu" but it's still great to see them growing and progressing as a group.




2nd Emotion


"2nd Emotion" features a total of 21 tracks, including 18 "new" songs (some aren't technically new as the group have performed them several times at live events) and 3 that are remixed versions of previously-released songs. The album was released in two versions; the regular CD-only version with 15 tracks and the limited box version that comes with a bonus disc with 5 extra songs performed by specific units plus lots of other physical goods such as trading cards and a photo booklet. As always the full album is available to purchase on iTunes and listen to on Spotify.

Again, we'll start off with the previously-released songs. "2nd Emotion" features new remixed versions of the main songs from the group's second, third, and fourth singles "Wacha-Gacha!", "Monster!", and "SWEET DEVIL" respectively. Maybe it's because I'm so used to the original versions but I'm not particularly fond of the style of the remixes. Despite this, I do think it was a pretty cool idea to include remixes of all of the old songs instead of just re-releasing the exact same tracks again. "Monster!" is probably my favourite out of the three.

Now we'll move onto the new songs. We'll start off with "WARNING", the main song from the album. I remember when the music video for this one first came out and I hadn't been expecting it at all as I thought "Untouchable MAX" would be the only song from this album to get a music video. EBiDAN out here spoiling us. They even surprised us further with a dance version of "WARNING" which I can't get enough of. I was a bit iffy about "WARNING" at first but now I think it's incredibly catchy and have had it stuck in my head for days. I also feel the need to mention how cool Jean's hair looks in the music video.


Next is "Untouchable MAX", the only other song from this album to get a music video. I fell in love with this one instantly. Watching the music video just makes me think of how much SUPER★DRAGON have improved over the years and how they seem to get cooler and more enjoyable to watch with every release.


"LRL -Left Right Left-" was one of two songs that was released digitally as a single a couple of days before the album's full release (the other being "WARNING") so I listened to it on Spotify out of curiosity and I liked it straight away. It's a pretty fun and catchy song that will easily get stuck in your head.

"Rimakaburo!" is sung by THUNDER DRAGON -- the younger of the two sub-units -- and they've performed it at several of the groups live events. It's a pretty fun song so I'm happy to finally have a studio recording of it.

"Set It Off" has a really Kpop-ish feel to me, though that can be said for a lot of SUPER★DRAGON's songs. "Bring Back" is really nice and gentle and is one of my favourites. "Song For You" is even more gentle and has a more ballad-like feel to it. "BADASS" is just really SUPER★DRAGON all over; mainly just Jean being extra and reminding everyone of how much of a 'bad boy' he is, haha. "Get Lite!" (performed by FIRE DRAGON, the older sub-group) is absolutely lit (pun intended) and is another one of my favourites.

"BLOODY LOVE" is...interesting. It's a catchy song and it's really cool that the lyrics are completely in English but I, like many other international fans have questioned the somewhat erotic nature of the lyrics and whether that's really age-appropriate for the members. "What a day" isn't the most outstanding song but it's a nice one to start to wind-down the album with.

The last song on the album (not counting the songs on the bonus disc), I'm sure long-time Supadora fans all know "PAYAPAYA" and are glad to finally have a studio recording of it. Another song that brings back memories of MEN'S PANIC for me, it's such a cute and fun song for them to perform at lives.

I won't go into too much detail about the songs on the bonus disc but I will say that many fans seemed to have noticed the probably intended similarities between the song "Endless Dance" and the M!LK song "Goin' Down" and have created mixes of the two. I love that EBiDAN have created this little "easter egg" for those of us who like both groups, haha. Here's hoping for a proper SUPER★DRAGON and M!LK collab in the future.


"2nd Emotion" is definitely my favourite out of the two albums, needless to say. Hard to believe that SUPER★DRAGON was one of the only EBiDAN groups that I wasn't keen on at first (due to their kind of forced 'bad boy' image) yet now they're my absolute favourite group and I don't think there's a single song by them I dislike. Aside from all of the songs being absolute jams, I love how much EBiDAN have spoiled us with this album; for example all of the cool extras that come with the limited edition and "WARNING" actually getting a dance video. What a time to be a SUPER★DRAGON fan honestly.







Though the placing has changed somewhat over the years, M!LK and SUPER★DRAGON have always been two of my favourite groups. They're both on pretty opposite ends of the 'male idol group spectrum' -- M!LK being a more cutesy, boy next door kind of group, while SUPER★DRAGON have the more cool, bad boy kind of image -- yet I found myself drawn to both groups. One of my most treasured memories was when I got to see both of them at MEN'S PANIC last year. Despite their differences in style, I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks a SUPER★DRAGON and M!LK collab would be awesome! Afterall, they're both groups under the same agency who have experienced a similar kind of growth. Please get it on it, EBiDAN!

What do you think of these albums? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!

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