Sakurazaka46 has their “aggrieved protagonist vents frustration through combative dance routines” format down pat, and its sense of empowerment feels more genuine than much of what passes as empowering in pop music. If you’re looking for catharsis in the form of a song, this is the group for you.
Start Over is an absolute beast, careening out of the gate with chunky bass and a militaristic stomp. Its instrumental is grand and cinematic, perfectly calibrated to house the group’s suite of vocalists. This sound grows more symphonic as the track goes on, introducing strings to glorious effect. Then, we get a brilliant, piano-led interlude that guides Start Over into its show-stopping finale. The song’s melody is par for the course for acts from the Sakamichi series — but when their formula works this well, why change it? This is spectacle with heart, and another notch on Sakurazaka46’s belt of stylistic, heart-racing hits.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is my first time hearing from this group and… Wow talk about impactful. There’s something so epic about the video and song combo. The vocals are good but I do wonder how a fuller tone would’ve transformed this. On one hand it could improve it but it also be way too indulgent
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I definitely recommend checking out some of their other songs, like Nagaredama and BAN 🙂
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I can see why this is liked. I swear Japanese girl group music hasn’t changed for decades. This sounds like something that came out of Morning Musume’s discography
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An old favourite of mine is “Nanchatte Renai” that I go back to every couple years
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“aggrieved protagonist vents frustration through combative dance routines”, god I love this quote.
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Yay happy to see Sakurazaka46 here. The new single/video is very much ‘them’ yet still refreshing.
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Stylish AF. A delightful shagginess.
Who needs hyper-sync dance moves when a touch of individual movement from everyone leads to an effective aggrieved protagonist vent of frustration through combative dance routines.
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