Sakurabito was Every Little Thing’s 34th single. It was released on February 13, 2008 and reached number 9 on the charts with 16,210 copies. So far this single has sold over 22,680+ copies. This was also the first single of 2008, as well as the last single in the Door Era.

Tracks:
1. Sakurabito
2. Ophelia_act1
3. Sakurabito (Instrumental)
4. Ophelia_act1 (Instrumental)

Review:
Sakurabito lit. Cherry Blossom Person. This song is by far one of the best songs that they’ve released for this era. Sakurabito is a ballad filled with traditional Japanese instruments along with powerful vocals. The song opens up with a keyboard, or a piano, but either way the opening is spectacular and filled with beautiful music. Shortly the vocals begin and Mochida’s voice sounds so great. Soon she sings the chorus, which is breathtaking, it’s so catchy but still beautiful and it plays slowly. But the best part is when she begins to sing the chorus, it seems like there was something added to make it better, if so it worked. Mochida then sings the other verses before coming to the next chorus, which is followed by the amazing guitar solo. The final chorus begins and shortly the music returns to the beginning music, how wonderful.

Ophelia_act1, the first word that comes to mind is Shakespeare. Most of it is because he was a playwright and that one of his characters was Ophelia. Anyway this is mostly an instrumental because the only word said is Ophelia, which is at the end. You can here Mochida singing la,la,la,la… The strings provide the music for this track. That’s all I can really say. But the last track on their new album is titled Ophelia_act2, so hopefully it’ll be better.

Overall Review: Sakurabito was such a beautiful single, that had an almost celestial aroma. The overall feel was so calming and peaceful. When I imagine this single, I immediately begin to think of cherry blossom trees blooming in full, kinda peachy but still. I thought that this ballad was well overdue and it was a great choice to release it. I don’t get the point of Ophelia_act1 but I guess it was just a filler. What a regal single.

Final Grade: 97A

Koi wo Shiteiru / Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo was Every Little Thing’s 33rd single. It was released on October 31, 2007 and reached 7 on the charts with 23,258 copies sold. In all this single has sold 34,394+ copies. Now despite this single being released in the fall, I consider it a winter single as the songs have the beautiful winter vibe to them.

1. Koi wo Shiteiru
2. Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki
3. Koi wo Shiteiru (Instrumental)
4. Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo (Instrumental)

Review:
Koi wo Shiteiru the first winter song. After a while I have found the translation, this song, Koi wo Shiteiru is literally I Love. The song begins with Mochida singing beautifully as always and then the instrumental orchestra begins. It’s quite the lovely song once you give it a try. The verses aren’t to catchy but the chorus is and it sounds beautiful. Especially how Mochida sings Koi wo Shiteiru. A wonderful winter ballad song.

Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo feat. Makihara Noriyuki the second, stronger song.  This song’s title translates into Winter Has Begun. It begins with the melody of the chorus and that seals it there. This song is my favorite song on the single. It’s really upbeat and sounds a lot happier than the previous song. And like the previous song this song too has a beautiful winter vibe. The chorus of this song is the best and pretty catchy. I have no clue what the featured artist is doing here but that’s okay, the song is still great as ever.

Overall Review: Koi wo Shiteiru / Fuyu ga Hajimaru yo is my favorite single from Every Little Thing. It’s the perfect balance of ballads and pop songs. While the two seem to contrast it makes the single better. Overall the perfect winter single.

Final Grade: 97A