Rule / Sparkle [CD+DVD / Jacket A]

Ayu's new release featuring the international theme song for the movie 'Dragonball Evolution', 'Rule'. And the up-beat track 'Rule' really fits that movie perfectly. The second a-side, 'Sparkle', is also up-beat though somewhat more mellow in its pace. Moreover, this version includes two remix versions of 'Rule', both of which are very nice to listen to. The +DVD edition includes with music videos for both tracks (of which I recommened 'Sparkle' the most).

I just do not like RULE at all. It looks too much like a marketing product than anything else to me. Considering that the movie Dragon Ball Evolution has been named as the worse movie of the year at least ( by professional critics in my country), totally denaturing the dragon ball saga, I am not sure that it helped Ayumi Hamasaki into participating. But she could not know. I think this is not her style at all. And the soft part is okay, but too cliche. Then, I actually like Sparkle, because the song is energetic, and makes you wanting to move and dance. I do not know why, but I tend to compare this single, and the album, as Madonna's like. That is to say, albums that have nothing to last, but everything to make good hits now, and that you will forget by the end of next year. Worse, I am a fitness adept, and we use the single version of Madonna songs, as well as those of Ayu ( Sparkle, Energy..) in that single, without any modification...which is really bad news.

TRACK 1: "Rule" -- The hard-rock/pop style Hamasaki has become known for is in full effect with "Rule". The guitars and drums pound harder than they have before with her music, but fade out as you would expect for the breakdown elements of the song. These breakdown elements are unfortunately far too cliche; were something slightly more original thrown in to mix up the song, it probably could have delivered a much more eye-popping product in the end. At the end of the day, we are given a moderately well-produced, well-performed, and dynamically interesting song. Sure, it may not fit in with the style of DragonBall we are used to, but if you consider Evolution its own entity, the song works very well. TRACK 2: "Sparkle" -- The song starts out in what feels like an out-of-place Daft Punk song, but quickly evolves into a classic Hamasaki track with hints of rock, albeit much more in the background. The clashing of the electronic and rock sounds works very well for the song, though I can understand why it might be used in a television commercial: I lose interest after 30-second spurts. At the same time, there is a very catchy element to it, and it has a much more unique sound than even "Rule" does. "Sparkle" ends up being every much of an "A-side" single as "Rule" is. FINAL THOUGHTS -- With the extra remix tracks being such expendable nonsense, the real question you should ask yourself is whether or not you are interested enough to just go ahead and pick up Hamasaki's latest album, Next Level. The new album contains both "Rule" and "Sparkle", and also has an alternate version with a bonus DVD that contains the music videos for both songs, what appears to be the same "Making Of" clip for "Rule" from this package, and so much more. Would you rather spend ~$18 for the single + DVD (~$10 for just the single), or go all-out and get the new album and DVD for ~$38 (~$30 for just the album)...? The answer to that question is going to be all your own. If you are just a DragonBall fan looking to get DragonBall music, the single is the way to go. If you are a fan of J-Pop at large, the new Hamasaki album as a whole is probably the route you will want to go. When you consider that "Rule" does not make an appearance on the official soundtrack for DragonBall Evolution, casual fans will have to be picky with their Japanese CD purchase in this case.