A little bit of fan worship . . .

[dagas_isa]

Hey, I just found something from a while ago explaining my Hekiru obsession. Scary how much the philosophy within this rant explains.

From how I first met her to why I like her so much, this is my story of Hekiru.

How I met Hekiru I first heard of Hekiru from the anime series Magic Knights Rayearth when I was in eigth grade. She played Hikaru, the leader of the Magic Knights. To tell the truth, I've never seen the anime, so I don't know how well she performed the role (I'm sure she did great though). I did listen to the music, however. Though Hekiru was the worst singer of the bunch, something about her voice stood out from those of the other two Magic Knights. While the other two had much more singing talent, they were similar and lacked personality. Hekiru had (and still has) a very distinctive voice. I couldn't stand her solo song, but I enjoyed her parts when she sang with the others.

The next time I heard Hekiru's voice, I wasn't even sure it was her. The song was called Dame yo! Dame yo! Dame yo!!, and I absoultely adored it (and still do). The voice bothered me however; it sounded so much like Hikaru except that the singing was much better. I didn't know who it was though, and I quickly grew obsessed with finding out whether the singer was Hekiru. Since it was summer vacation, I had nothing better to do than to listen to all the songs I had with Hekiru singing (which was two, plus those group songs). That was my first Hekiru obsession.

Yes, I found out eventually that Dame yo! Dame yo! Dame yo!! was sung by Hekiru, and I did get over that first obsession. I do remember thinking that Hekiru did have a good voice for slow songs when I first heard her sing Seiya no Tenshi-tachi, the MKR Christmas Carol.

It was that January when I finally stopped equating Hekiru with Hikaru. I bought an Anime Best CD, and I found out Shiina Hekiru had a song on there, kono yo de ichiban taisetsuna mono or "kono yo". It was hyper, rockish, and the singing was well done. I quickly became addicted, and realized that the way she had sung as Hikaru was not the way she sang for anything else. This artist was worth a chance.

My first J-pop CD order was placed during the early summer of 2000. When I was thinking of artists to buy, Hekiru came up as an afterthought. Some of my artists weren't sold on my site, and I thought I would try Hekiru. Because I loved "kono yo," and I needed a romanization, I decided to buy Face to Face. I figured that even if the rest of the CD was bad, I would finally be able to do a romanization on that song.

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<p>Hey, I just found something from a while ago explaining my Hekiru obsession. Scary how much the philosophy within this rant explains. <p>From how I first met her to why I like her so much, this is my story of Hekiru. <p><center>How I met Hekiru</center> I first heard of Hekiru from the anime series Magic Knights Rayearth when I was in eigth grade. She played Hikaru, the leader of the Magic Knights. To tell the truth, I've never seen the anime, so I don't know how well she performed the role (I'm sure she did great though). I did listen to the music, however. Though Hekiru was the worst singer of the bunch, something about her voice stood out from those of the other two Magic Knights. While the other two had much more singing talent, they were similar and lacked personality. Hekiru had (and still has) a very distinctive voice. I couldn't stand her solo song, but I enjoyed her parts when she sang with the others. <p>The next time I heard Hekiru's voice, I wasn't even sure it was her. The song was called Dame yo! Dame yo! Dame yo!!, and I absoultely adored it (and still do). The voice bothered me however; it sounded so much like Hikaru except that the singing was much better. I didn't know who it was though, and I quickly grew obsessed with finding out whether the singer was Hekiru. Since it was summer vacation, I had nothing better to do than to listen to all the songs I had with Hekiru singing (which was two, plus those group songs). That was my first Hekiru obsession. <p>Yes, I found out eventually that Dame yo! Dame yo! Dame yo!! was sung by Hekiru, and I did get over that first obsession. I do remember thinking that Hekiru did have a good voice for slow songs when I first heard her sing Seiya no Tenshi-tachi, the MKR Christmas Carol. <p>It was that January when I finally stopped equating Hekiru with Hikaru. I bought an Anime Best CD, and I found out Shiina Hekiru had a song on there, <i>kono yo de ichiban taisetsuna mono</i> or "kono yo". It was hyper, rockish, and the singing was well done. I quickly became addicted, and realized that the way she had sung as Hikaru was not the way she sang for anything else. This artist was worth a chance. <p>My first J-pop CD order was placed during the early summer of 2000. When I was thinking of artists to buy, Hekiru came up as an afterthought. Some of my artists weren't sold on my site, and I thought I would try Hekiru. Because I loved "kono yo," and I needed a romanization, I decided to buy Face to Face. I figured that even if the rest of the CD was bad, I would finally be able to do a romanization on that song. <p.Face to Face arrived and I put in my player, not really expecting much from it. The first song was not my favorite on the album, and I thought I had made a mistake. However, as I listened on, Hekiru proved that she could make a high quality album with a variety of styles intermixed. It was (and still is) wonderful. <p>It took off from there, and I've been having periodic Hekiru obsessions ever since. It was a longer journey for me to become a Hekiru fan that it did with other artists, but in the end, she definitely arrived. <p><center>Why I like Hekiru</center> <p>Hekiru does not make a good first impression, and yet, in the end, she can make a devoted fan out of just about any skeptic. Why? I can't speak for anyone else, but I can give my answer. <p>First, Hekiru represents something that's attainable. Her voice (after Hikaru) is great with a real unique quality, but it's also of a quality that anyone with a good amount of practice can attain. Her song zutto from Face to Face was the first song I can acutally remember singing well. She's also pretty, but again, she's not a supermodel. I like her because she's does seem to be an ordinary person, where as other singers are either super-gifted or super-beautiful in a way that a big deal could be made about it. By the way, I'll say it now, I deeply resent anyone who calls Hekiru an idol singer. <p>Second, Hekiru has personality. Most singers might have personalities, but Hekiru is the one who stands out. After reading about the aspects of her personality, including the more peculiar ones, I know I liked Hekiru much more. Her music always reflects a certain determined, hopeful tone regardless of what style she's singing. I don't know if that's a stage persona, or her real self, but I do know that it's something to like. <p>Third, Hekiru is versatile. Just about every song she sings is distinctive, and I've almost never thought "here we go again when I listen to new releases". Whatever style I want, whatever tone I want, there's probably a Hekiru song in my collection that fits it somehow. <p>Fourth, Hekiru's voice and song express something about my own personality. Sometimes, when I hear her singing, I can picture myself sitting down and writing those words and singing them myself. So many of her songs, I can relate to on a personal level, that it's scary. Of all these, that's probably the most important, the fact that there's a personal connection to the artist. <p>So that's my personal view on Hekiru, how I met her and why I like her so much. <p>Over and out.