It’s been a weird week for me. Both my favorite K-pop group (Infinite) and my favorite J-pop group (Kis-My-Ft2) returned with new music, yet I found each of these singles to be among the week’s most underwhelming material. It’s seriously like Bizarro World.

To be honest, it’s been a difficult couple of years to be a Kisumai fan. After a steady, pre-pandemic release schedule, the frequency of the group’s singles has slowed to a crawl. And apart from this spring’s fantastic Sweet Melody (which still hasn’t seen an official release outside YouTube), almost all of these new tracks have been OST ballads. Making matters worst, eldest member Kitayama Hiromitsu announced his departure from the group at the end of this month. And rather than celebrate the good times with a fun piece of music, we have… another ballad.

I’ve been watching most of Japan’s summer music festivals and it’s so frustrating to see all the other idol groups having such fun, followed by Kis-My-Ft2’s glum, downbeat performance. I get that a milestone like this should be marked with the solemnity it deserves, but I’ve always disliked when groups go for the obvious mushy ballad route. To me, the best fan service would be seeing the guys do what they do best — enjoying the stage and pumping up the crowd.

With this long preamble out of the way, Tomoni is fine. If it hadn’t come on the heels of three other ballads/mid-tempos, I might find it more engaging. I don’t see myself playing the track much at all, mostly because it’s colored in a sense of sadness that doesn’t make for a very enjoyable listen. I’m gutted to see Kitayama go, but I hope the re-formed six-member configuration can find their footing again and head back to the boisterous, upbeat material they do best.

Grade: C+