[Single Review] Trip -innocent of D- by Larval Stage Planning

Trip -innocent of D- is the 2nd single of the considerably new I've Sound unit Larval Stage Planning, a vocal trio consisting of Airi Kirishima, Nami Maisaki, and Rin Asami. The song was used as the opening theme of the anime Highschool DxD, and was released as a single on January 25,2012 under the label Lantis.

As a fairly new group, LSP is yet to prove their worth. With this second attempt on bashing into the anison industry, a lot of things need to be done to show that their group is one to be reckoned with. Was it good enough?

Tracklist:
01. Trip -innocent of D-
02. Chapter.5
03. Trip -innocent of D- (instrumental)
04. Chapter.5 (instrumental)

Trip -innocent of D-

Vocals: Larval Stage Planning
Lyrics: Kirishima Airi
Composition: C.G. Mix
Arrangement: C.G. Mix,  Ozaki Takeshi

A C.G. Mix-produced song. A bad move. His works as a song producer have always been pretty consistent. Being consistent is a good thing, isn't it? I don't think so, particularly if it gets consistently mediocre.

Trip -innocent of D- was not an exception. The song composition suffered from  such mediocrity and being generic. Nothing new, nothing groundbreaking. If it wasn't for the much needed participation of the better producer Ozaki Takeshi, the song would have surely fell straight into the pit of hell. The guitar riffs were catchy but that's pretty much the only good thing about the song's composition.

For anyone new to I've Sound stuffs, this may well be a great song. But for an I've fan, not quite. C.G. Mix should have experimented more and got out of his usual self. A fine example of him going out of his comfort zone is reflected on KOTOKO's Hayate no Gotoku OP theme Shichitenhakki Shijou Shugi!

The vocals were not that promising either. Definitely not the type of song that shows off the group's full capabilities. Nonetheless, LSP sang it well enough. The interesting mix of Airi's high-pitched voice, Nami's low and deep voice, and Rin's voice which is pretty much in between made it enjoyable. It is of note, however, that Rin has the weakest vocals of the three.

Boring, anti-climactic. The song may be enjoyable while you're at it but not in the long run. No significantly strong points anywhere. Just plainly generic.

Rating: 6.1/10

Chapter.5

Vocals: Larval Stage Planning

Lyrics: Airi Kirishima

Composition: Kazuya Takase

Arrangement: Kazuya Takase, Kenji Arai

Fortunately, the B-side was not a drag down. It's even better than its A-side, actually. The composition by Takase was fresh and something new for the group, not like Trip -innocent of D- which played it safe.

A darkly techno/pop song that shows how well their voices can blend together. Nami's voice was deeper than ever, and while it was a huge deviation to the group's denpa roots, it was still well appreciated. It gave much more flavor to the song compared to just having Rin and Airi sing it. 

Chapter.5 spawned it's A-side just like what Dreamroid did to its A-side and Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! OP theme Kimi + Nazo + Watashi de JUMP!!

Chapter.5 may well be LSP's best song by far, with Dreamroid coming in close at second. Their other songs can only be considered average at best.

Rating: 8.0/10

As a single, Trip -innocent of D- is a slight, if not at all, improvement over LSP's first single. It is proof that the group can pull off songs that don't sound cutesy. However, I've Sound need to utilize this unit more, experiment more on style, take risks, gamble. 

The single debuted at #26 on the dailies and #32 on the weeklies. Not bad for a single with a lame A-side. This is solid proof however, that there are lots of room for improvement. More needs to be done on the vocals and song styles alike.

On vocals, this single showed positive development on the group as a trio. Asami Rin needs to catch up though. Her vocals are very weak, unstable, and only serves as support. Kirishima Airi had the most experience, but the other two girls definitely need more exposure too. It would be bad if only one of them is good, isn't it? If that'd be the case, LSP would seem to have only one vocalist with two back-up singers. Personally though, I love Nami's vocals the most.

Trip -innocent of D- was a nice try to bash into the anison industry, but still not quite. It seems I've Sound is having a hard time producing more artists that would rise to popularity like KOTOKO and Kawada Mami did. Despite having said that though, LSP certainly has the potential. I don't think they would be better off as individual artists. But who knows? If the losing streak continues on, that just might happen. Just like as they are when performing eroge themes.