Jpop: Suiyoubi no Campanella - Diablo (ディアブロ)

While the progressive japanese trio Suiyoubi no Campanella took their music to a slightly new area with their recent "Napoleon", the new video "Diablo" is slightly more conventional musically. But the video, oh, the video! I think I have never seen so many and diverse cultural references in a Japanese music video. From the naive pink monkeys to the burlesque acting from singer Koumai, computer game parody to old style wood block paintings, it is all depicted in a furious tempo and mixture. I just love it!

• Suiyoubi no Campanella - Diablo (ディアブロ)

Jpop: Top 20 of the first quarter of 2015

For the first time since I started making lists of eastern asian music, I have more music videos that I want to share from Japan than Korea, but that isn't really that surprising. In the long run Japan has a bigger variation and depth than Korea has shown so far. It is not really a negative critque of anything, just a natural effect of me being exposed to so much nice music from Korea that I have come to crave a little more variation and oddness. And is it something Japan has, it is that. ;-)

20. Ringo Shiina - Ketteiteki Sanpunkan. Arguably the coolest woman in jpop music industry has a given place on my top lists. This is actually a live video too.

19. Cupitron - Battery. Using electric light dresses and using the Robot restuarant in Tokyo as a backdrop is enough for being worth noticing, I think. ;-)

18. Molice - Rainbow. Music that makes you wanna jump! Yep, indeed.

17. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Mondai Girl. The emo girl look is quite new for the queen of japanese kitsch, and the video is really great. Kyary has the problem of being expected to excel every time, but Mondai Girl is just perfect her.

16. Suiyoubi no Campanella - Jeanne d'Arc. SnC continues to give us charming and odd pieces of soft rap and electronic cozyness.

15. One Ok Rock - Cry Out. I loved Mighty Long Fall. Cry Out is not on the same level for sure, but it is still better and more "International" than most jrock I hear.

14. Wagakki Band - Ikusa. The historical cos-players of WB gives a new song on the theme of war.

13. Frederic - Oddloop. Airy sounds makes this indie music very likable.

12. LiSA - Shirushi. Having seen Sword Art Online II, I confess to being extra weak for this song...

11. Nogizaka46 - Life is Beautiful. Some darkness almost always makes idol jpop more interesting, and so it is for the self proclaimed rivals of AKB48.

10. Kira - Nadeshiko Soul. Reggea meets Japanese pop? It actually works quite well.

9. Daichi Miura - Unlock. The man really got style and character, and a voice that suits his dance moves well.

8. Especia - We are Especia ~Nakinagara Dancing~. The best idol retro act from Japan that I know of.

7. Berryz Kodo - Love together. A nostalgic piece from the group that is supposingly disbanding now.

6. Hanae - S-T-A-R-S. I loved the Kamisama Kiss songs but the new S-T-A-R-S is fine too.

5. Root Five - Love Ninja. The super charming boys does a uptempo hit song that makes me smile every time I hear it.

4. Momoiro Clover Z vs. KISS - Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mina. This wholly unexpected cooperation somehow was the final sign after Babymetalsthat jpop and metal can make a beautiful combination

3. Predia - Beautiful Lonely People. I can't for the life of me understand why the Japanese idol industry has such a fixation on extreme youth. Predia is an excellent example of why this should be amended (and then we are still talking women younger than 30 with a margin...)

2. Asakura Saya. The very charming young lady has made her fame based on singing in the local Yamagata dialect, and she does it with a inner nerve given to few.

1. Tofubeats - Stakeholder. Finally we got a new song from tofubeats that manages to balance style and hit potential. Love it.

Ukrainian pop: Vitaly Kozlovsky (Виталий Козловский)

Vitaly is actually a journalist, but it is as a singer he has been known. From the videos it is obvious he has a nice body and is more than willing to show it off, thereby nicely continuing a tradition often and mostly upheld by women in music videos from the russian language cultural sphere. What makes him worth noticing a little extra is the twisted irony of the new "Spending", which makes fun of the effects of spending money without caution.

• Vitaly Kozlovsky - Spending (Трачу)
• Vitaly Kozlovsky - Be Strong (Будь сильнее)
• Vitaly Kozlovsky and Julia Dumanskaya - Mystery (Тайна)
• Vitaly Kozlovsky & Varda - Do not leave me (Не оставляй меня)
• Vitaly Kozlovsky and Varda - Dance (Потанцуй)

Jpop: Momoiro Clover Z - Z no Chikai (『Z』の誓い)

Following up on their fantastic video with Heavy Metal legends KISS, Momoiro Clover Z theme for the next visual treat is Dragon Ball! The song "Z no Chikai", which means "The oath of Z, is the theme song for the new 2015 Dragon Ball movie, and in it they party away in their usual enthusiastic and very colorful videos. The music is honestly not that important, instead it is the playful animations and cosplaying that has always been the center of interest for MCZ, and so it is here.

• Momoiro Clover Z - Z no Chikai (『Z』の誓い)