[Review] [Music Video] Flower – Sakura Regret

• Concept
• Visuals
• Flow

I’ve been a fan of EXILE for a while now, and my appreciation for their style has translated to enjoying the girl groups associated with them, primarily because they are all unique Japanese idol pop acts where the people involved actually have this…uh…talent thing.

While Flower‘s “Sakura Regret” is a solid showcase for the group’s talent level, it wasn’t a music video without flaws.

While the dancing is superb as always, it always irks me how they are forced to sing these slow, melancholy songs but are still seen dancing aggressively. The problem is not with them, obviously, but it’s rather a question of why they aren’t allowed to perform uptempo tracks for their music videos, since that would actually allow them to fit in with their concept.

I dunno the reasoning behind the lack of swag in their music, but a few of the members in the water dance sequence are fucking dropping it like it’s hot, and it’s awesome as hell, but it’s just weird to watch when you have this emo ballad tune over it instead of some bumping club beat or something.

I just don’t get it.

E-Girls made it work a bit with “Celebration“, but there was a joyful, uptempo sound to it where everything seemed to fit, yet when they breakdown into their individual groups, as Flower has here, it always seems as if they’re singing a slow or mid tempo track that doesn’t quite mesh with their dance talents.

Regardless, my complaints are primarily about the concept of the music video, because the rest of it is well executed. Except for one of the singers whose nose is awkward as hell to look at, the rest are easy on the eyes and the sets are all well done. Furthermore, they are clearly skilled in dance and show no hesitation in showing off that fact.

As I said at the start, it’s an enjoyable music video, but the concept part is distracting for me. I know it’s part of the style to use pop songs and not club tracks, but if they could just meld the tempo of the music into their dancing better, it would be a significant improvement.