Gyaruru - Boom Boom Meccha Macho!

Gyaruru was launched in 2007 as a sort of para para supergroup made up of Gal Sone (Sonene), Tokito Ami (Amimi) and Tsuji Nozomi (Tsujiji), the latter being a member of the fourth generation Morning Musume. They were later joined by Abe Asami (Abebe) after the departure of Tsujiji, and with a little help from sifow they were ready to go. The group seemed to be based on two basic themes: para para and gyaru culture. All the members were dressed up in full gyaru garb and performed para para dances to their songs.

The single opens full-force with the song Boom Boom Meccha Macho. The song is a fairly typically eurobeat song with plenty of keyboards and random sound effects thrown in for good measure. The vocals aren’t the best, but it doesn’t seem to matter as the song is infinitely catchy and most of the vocals are lost in the mix with all the other sounds. The chorus is sung in Japanese, but it's so nonsensical that it doesn’t really matter and makes it so that pretty much anyone is able to sing along with relative ease. The song’s rhythm and general catchiness makes it is easy to tell that this song was designed for para para. Overall, the song is an enjoyable slice of Japanese eurobeat and definitely has its moments.

The second song on the single is Onna no Ultra. The song has a more playful style than Boom Boom Meccha Macho and is less overtly eurobeat, but still carries a eurobeat keyboard part in the background. This gets lost with all the xylophone and whizzing sound effects over the top. The vocals are of a similar standard to the first track and prove that these girls are strongest when harmonizing rather than singing solo parts. This song is not as strong as its predecessor, but is enjoyable nonetheless.

The rest of the single is made up of the instrumental versions of these two songs.

While hints of talent do show through in the songs, this is probably due to the songwriters rather than the girls themselves. You can’t help but feel that although the enthusiasm is clearly there, the girls were chosen based on their image and looks rather than their vocal abilities. The single as a whole is decent and definitely worth a listen, but at the same time it’s not really a surprise that this was the only release to ever surface from the group.