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J-Pop: Eri Sasaki - Period (2017)

77 / 100
Period is an album best remembered for the quiet space it occupies in memory: nostalgia, pauses, and fleeting sadness.
Eri Sasaki is one of the few artists who managed to stay with me even as my interest in J-pop—especially anisong—gradually faded, thanks to two indie tracks that served as ending themes for Yuru Camp. Her album Period (2017) can even be considered the very first full-length J-pop album I ever tried, driven purely by curiosity and expectations toward this Fukuoka-born singer. Over time, I came to feel that Eri Sasaki is indeed better suited to gentle, relaxed songs, judging from her vocal character, which sounds more emotionally exposed than most others.

Listening back now brings a bit of nostalgia, even though nothing truly lingers. Considering the album’s release year—2017—and how "Hazel Eyes" happened to play while I was watching a motivational video uploaded by a friend recently, I paused for a moment and felt unexpectedly sad. Somehow, it blended perfectly with the moment. Meanwhile, slower tracks like "Prayer" fail to stir much emotion for me, though they might work well as lullabies. Still, the spoken words on the title track at the very end feel spot-on for melancholy.

One of Eri’s signature songs on this album is "Ring of Fortune", the ending theme of the famously dramatic anime Plastic Memories, so it makes sense that it appears early in the tracklist. Yet personally, I no longer feel any strong emotion toward it. The same goes for Gate of Steiner (acoustic version) from Steins;Gate, which oddly contains no acoustic guitar at all—just a ballad arrangement, in my view. Emotional resonance returns with "Be Clear", while "Recalling" feels perfectly titled, as it reminds me strongly of another song I still can’t quite recall. Together with "Otonani Naru", these two tracks have the most overtly pop textures, especially through their drum beats, though they remain fairly safe for my ears.

That said, several tracks here don’t sit quietly in the background, including "Pausing" and "Star Seed", which lean heavily into classic anisong-style J-pop. "Last Diary" seems more suitable for listeners who enjoy energetic pop—definitely not me. There’s also the oddly titled "Shampoo", which ventures into R&B territory and sounds rather club-oriented. Again, not my cup of tea, but still deserving of appreciation.

In the end, I’ve mentioned every track, and I can’t dismiss Period lightly. Choosing this album as my very first J-pop experiment back then doesn’t feel like a mistake. Eri Sasaki … oh, Eri Sasaki.

Will this become an essential J-pop album in my life? I’m still unsure. But at the very least, this woman’s voice has earned a place in my heart. I hope her future works continue to carry the same feeling.

Thank you, Eri Sasaki.
(Seriously, this almost made me cry.)
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