A 'More-Mi' Newbie Encounters 'Motomeyo... Unmei no Tabibito-zan'

I have encountered another masterpiece. As the title suggests, I have become completely obsessed with BEYOOOOONDS's Motomeyo... Unmei no Tabibito-zan.

The journey to encountering 'Motomeyo... Unmei no Tabibito-zan'

I am what you might call a 'More-Mi' newbie, and I had been listening mainly to Juice=Juice. The process leading up to my discovery of this song is roughly as follows.

1. Becoming interested in BEYOOOOONDS, which is a hot topic due to Hana Kojima joining

It was a huge topic on both X and YouTube, so it naturally caught my eye. Hana Kojima is quite handsome, isn't she? (lol) I watched the announcement video of her joining over and over. I was also very impressed by the warm atmosphere, which made it feel like it wasn't a group that hadn't had new members for a long time. (Of course, I also checked out the video of Mano Otsubo joining!)

2. Listening to 'Ai ni Ikou'

As soon as I subscribed to the official BEYOOOOONDS YouTube channel, Raise Your Hand! High! Tension Takase Quiz appeared in my recommendations.

I love projects where you can get to know the members' personalities! I watched them all at once right then and there. At this point, I was already curious about the girl in the middle of the back row.

After finishing the Takase Quiz, the video recommended by YouTube's autoplay was Ai ni Ikou. At the time, I had no idea that an incredible encounter was waiting for me, so I just went with the flow and opened the video.

3. Honoka Kobayashi is so good at piano!

This song starts with a piano performance by a member, and I was surprised because the sound was just so beautiful! And the member playing it is super cute!

So, I checked the official website to see who it was. Using the green band attached to the microphone as a reference, I discovered Honoka Kobayashi. As it turned out, she was the same girl who had caught my eye the most in the 'Takase Quiz' video (lol).

4. Astonished by the performance of 'Watashi to Odorinasai!'

After learning that Honoka Kobayashi is a serious music college graduate, I searched for various piano performance videos on YouTube. And that's how I arrived at this video.

This was truly a shock. I was struck by the realization that such music existed in this world... I'm sure there are many other songs that sound a bit electronic like this one, but it sounded different from all of them. I can't explain it well, but I felt like I had encountered new music.

And above all, the sound Honoka plays is beautiful. It's a series of bouncing sounds, yet the contours feel rounded. Even though each individual note sounds like a large movement, as a whole, it doesn't become just intense music; it's shaped into something very pleasant to listen to. The smooth beauty of the sound I felt during Ai ni Ikou was reaffirmed in this video as being due to Honoka's incredible ability.

5. Watching the collaboration video with Yomi

I wanted to hear more of Honoka's piano, and with that single-minded focus, I found this video.

It was a collaboration project with the popular YouTuber 'Yomi'. I had seen Yomi's videos in the past and knew he was incredibly good at piano, so I opened the video thinking this project wouldn't disappoint, but... it exceeded my imagination...

It started with Yomi's Hello! Project medley, and the flow ended with a piano duet with Honoka performing a BEYOOOOONDS song. The melody of the duet was incredibly cool, and I was moved, thinking, 'This is amazing!'

At the end of the performance, I learned the song title was “Motomeyo... Unmei no Tabibito-zan”, and I went to listen to it immediately.

⑥ Encounter with destiny

And so, I encountered “Motomeyo... Unmei no Tabibito-zan”. When I listen to it, for some reason I can't explain, I naturally feel like crying. My emotions swell up all at once. It is a song that provides such a powerful emotional experience.

What I love about this song

Perhaps because my first encounter with the song was through a piano performance, I absolutely love the melody. It pierces deep into my heart. It has become so addictive that the melody suddenly pops into my head while I'm at work, and I almost end up crying if I let my guard down.

Also, the pitch in the chorus is the best!
You do the 'traveler's math' calculation, get the answer, and then charge straight into the chorus with that momentum, but at first, it's like,

It felt like the pitch at the end of each phrase was dropping, and I thought, 'Huh?', but then after that,

It hits you with a huge surge of excitement!
I can't get enough of the melody's structure that builds up the excitement in two stages.

I will surely be repeating this song like crazy.
These days, my life is so fulfilling thanks to my encounter with Hello! Project.