The type A version includes a bonus DVD which contains a music clip medley that covers their complete pv discography. What I was originally hoping for was this medley to be a seamless mix that blended from song to song and I was a bit disappointed that instead of a mix, the pvs are just edited versions with pauses between them. It still makes for an enjoyable watch but may perhaps be better suited for a new fan as it will present for them a nice taste of each song while moving quickly through their complete pv discography. The complete running time of the DVD is approximately 69 minutes and just over 32 minutes of it is dedicated to its second feature, a nicely presented walk through the history of Tackey & Tsubasa from their debut in September 2002 all the way up to the present. The footage is an attractively edited program which includes special fan events, concert clips, previously unreleased making of pv footage, etc. It's a very enjoyable look at T&T through the past 5 years and a nice surprise was some footage of them commenting on some album tracks. After covering their latest release "Samurai" the program ends with a pretty extensive new interview which covers their feelings on their unit, the future, favorite pv, and much more. Tackey & Tsubasa are such a charismatic team and are always so much fun to watch making them one of my favorite J-Pop duos out there!
Type B's enticing extra is its inclusion of a second disc which contains 10 tracks giving fans their earlier solo works as well as joint efforts. That familiar Tackey & Tsubasa sound and style is heavily evident in these songs and I find the tracks "Koiyo" and "Nagareboshi" to be standouts among them. Both have a distinctly different style from the others and the vocals and songwriting just seem to be superior with these 2 tracks. From a song standpoint type B appears to be the most essential of the 3 versions as having 10 extra songs is quite substantial and necessary for any T&T fan out there!
The real "genius" though is including an exclusive track on the regular edition and if that's not enough then add in a 14 page photo booklet just to make sure. The writing talents of Fujii Fumiya are at work here as he co-wrote the bonus track "Daydreamer." Fujii Fumiya, a very well established singer/songwriter adds a nice touch here and the song doesn't disappoint!! It's quite a departure from T&T's most recent single "Samurai" which had a heavy rock edge to it. "Daydreamer" like its title has a lovely soaring melody and Tackey & Tsubasa's vocals are as smooth as silk as their ever developing vocals lend themselves to this beautiful song. Mid tempo ballads just don't get much better than this!
The 14 page photo booklet also adds a lot to this version's value for fans as the photo shoot is nice artistic one with T&T at their best.
The booklets included with type A & B releases are primarily filled with the songs' lyrics while they do include 2 & 4 single page photos respectfully. The regular edition includes a separate fold out sheet containing each song's lyrics. Looks like Tsubasa has shed his long locks!
While watching the music video medley I've been pondering over what my favorite Tackey & Tsubasa pvs are. Of course a lot of this has to do with the actual songs themselves and here are my top 7:
7. "X~Dame~"
6. "True Heart"
5. "Kiseki"
4. "Crazy Rainbow"
3. "Samurai"
2. "Venus"
1. "Ho! Summer"
"Ho! Summer" will always remain special to me as it's the first Tackey & Tsubasa song that I heard after my friend zdorama suggested that I check them out. And the pv's shot in such a fun way that it's impossible for me to ever get tired of it.
Being that I was so late becoming a fan of theirs I was fortunate to be able to get some of their earlier releases including some first pressings along the way. And while I and probably most others already do own the standard 15 tracks on these 5th anniversary collections, they are nicely presented sets and by getting all 3, the total of 11 "new" songs along with the DVD and photo booklet make nice additions to anyone's T&T collection.
![～Mr.Children [(an imitation) blood orange]](https://morningberryz48.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/blood-orange_thumb.jpg?resize=40%2C40){kind=small}
Wow, I was going to say how I've downloaded a bunch of Arashi music but still haven't got around to listen to it*, and don't have anything from Johnny's other than that, but I know these two!!! Looking at your top 7, I got this X~Dame~ in an Oricon TOP 30 torrent I downloaded a long time ago. I thought it was a decent song, not really special though… Seeing you put it in 7th place, I watnt to hear the others… Well, Arashi first… (HarimaKenji is a Matsumoto Jun fan, from doramas)*actually, I have listened to their "Wish" and "Love so sweet", since they were opening themes to HYD season 1 and 2….
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HarimaKenji start off with "Ho! Summer"!! At last another potential T&T fan! 😀 The charm of "X~Dame~" is really their pv as I agree with you that the song is just okay. But the pv is hilarious. I crack up every time I watch it. Tackey is such a character. 🙂 It's great that they used Arashi songs for "Hana yori dango." Both songs very much favorites of mine too. I hope you get around to listening to Arashi soon! Matsujun is wonderful and I hear that a lot of Arashi fans first heard of them through seeing him in a drama! He's a fan collector! 🙂 Their "Arashi Around Asia + in dome" DVD is incredible! I have my Arashi favorite member ranking posted here somewhere…hmm it's been updated once so far but Nino remains my #1.
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