The Adventure Called Love, Taught to Me by Ikimonogakari's 'Koisuru Otome'
When I heard that song, I felt as if time had stopped.
A girl standing in the sunset with a pink stuffed animal, reflected on a smartphone screen. In that captured moment, I felt as if all the memories of my own loves were condensed. And the moment I pressed play, Ikimonogakari's 'Koisuru Otome' stirred up emotions that had been sleeping deep within my heart.
Why does this song hit so hard right now?
Ikimonogakari, who took the 2010s by storm, left behind many masterpieces in the Japanese music scene. However, the song 'Koisuru Otome' is not just a hit; it possesses a certain 'universality of emotion'.
There are feelings that anyone who has ever been in love has experienced. The sound of a pounding heart, sleepless nights spent thinking about the other person, fixing your hair in the mirror over and over, the time that feels like an eternity while waiting for a reply to a message. These are the kinds of indescribable emotions that are difficult to explain in words.
'Koisuru Otome' perfectly translates that into sound.
Vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka's transparent singing voice expresses the fragile heart of a girl in love. It is not perfect; rather, the imperfection is beautiful. I believe that this imperfection is the reason it resonates with our hearts.
A one-of-a-kind worldview created by the band sound
The melody is accessible and somewhat nostalgic. Yet, it has an addictive quality that won't leave your head once you've heard it. The other members of the band also perfectly support the worldview of this song.
The guitar riffs have a gentle, enveloping warmth, the drum beat is as regular as a heartbeat, and the bass brings a sense of calm and stability. Only when all these elements come together is the work 'Koisuru Otome' completed.
In today's increasingly digitized music scene, this band sound feels like a kind of 'salvation'. Programming and synthesizers are not bad, but there is a warmth in sounds played by human hands that machines simply cannot produce.
Love is an adventure
To begin with, what is love?
Love is not a battle. Love is not a competition. Love is the ultimate adventure of entrusting your existence to another person.
The fear of telling someone your feelings, the possibility of being rejected, and the courage to take that step anyway. Everyone who is in love is attempting this adventure over and over again. Failing, getting hurt, but getting back up again.
'Koisuru Otome' gently embraces all of that adventure called love. The pain of heartbreak, the bitterness of unrequited love, and the joy of mutual love are all treated as equally precious emotions.
The value of 'real music' in the SNS era
We currently live in an era overflowing with information. 15-second videos on TikTok, a photogenic moment on Instagram, words spreading on Twitter. Everything is consumed in a short amount of time.
But it's different when listening to 'Koisuru Otome'. For 5 minutes and 12 seconds, we are forced to stay in the present, even if we don't want to. You can't skip it. You don't want to fast-forward it. You just surrender yourself to that time.
I think this experience is actually very valuable for modern people. The act of savoring something carefully, thoroughly, and to the very end. The importance of paying attention to what is happening in your own heart rather than spreading things on social media.
The reason it is loved across generations
'Koisuru Otome' hits home for teenage girls, adults in their 30s, and people in their 50s. Why is that?
It is because this song deals with the universal theme of 'love'. Even as times change and technology advances, the emotion of love that humans feel remains fundamentally the same.
In fact, perhaps it is precisely because we are in the SNS era that such 'honest feelings of love' feel even more precious. Music filled with real emotions, unprocessed and unfiltered.
What that photo means
The photo of the girl in the sunset with the pink stuffed animal mentioned at the beginning. This image expresses the innocence of a girl in love, while simultaneously representing a woman with eyes that are somewhat mature.
I think it symbolizes that love is not a childish emotion, nor is it a privilege reserved only for adults; it is an essential human emotion experienced by all generations.
In conclusion
If you are in love right now, please listen to this song. If you are not in love right now, listen to this song even more. Surely, the desire for the adventure called love that is sleeping somewhere in your heart will be quietly, yet certainly, awakened.
Ikimonogakari's 'Koisuru Otome'. It is not just music; it is a catalyst for facing our own hearts and the best partner to affirm the greatest adventure of our lives: love.
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