Review: One of the people whose reviews I often read warned me to stay away from Myself; Yourself, but it didn’t stop me from giving the OP single a look simply because of how much I enjoyed watching the OP itself. It seems like the way to captivate viewers these days is through OP/EDs that feature catchy music and fun dance sequences and Myself; Yourself certainly succeeds in this department, especially with “Tears Infection,” which rivals “Hare Hare Yukai” in terms of sheer energy and enjoyability.

“Tears Infection” starts out with a fairly groovy motive which only hints at the great things to come before KAORI’s voice enters with a melancholy melody. But the melancholy mood transitions slowly as the song begins to become more upbeat all the way up until the 1:10 mark. At this point, the buildup gives way to the chorus which is the best part of the song because it’s packed with energy and excitement, all within a really catchy melody. KAORI’s voice works really well to create this upwelling feeling, especially when she belts it out during the chorus, and together with the background instruments (including a rather jamming guitar solo around 3:10), make this piece really fun to listen to.

The dreaded second track, “Day – Break” isn’t too bad this time around, but it flounders a bit as it tries to search for the mood it wants to convey. The intro is a bit more reserved than “Tears Infection” but then it cannot decide whether to be subtle and reserved or fire out energy. Furthermore, this song is not a great fit with KAORI’s talents. Her deep voice might make it appear as though she can aim for a mysterious mood, but when it comes down to it, her execution here is poor. She’s much better at belting it out than when she’s restrained. That’s not to say the song is terrible though since it is a few notches above most “second tracks,” but it does leave the listener with the feeling that the song itself is generic and therefore, completely forgettable. By failing to grab the listener’s attention at the start, this song just encourages the listener to drop their attention.

This album is highly recommended based on the first track alone as very few OP/ED themes can come close to matching its energy and excitement, making it worth multiple listens. “Day-Break” still suffers from the second track syndrome, but since it’s not terrible, I’m willing to give it a pass. Not that it matters since most people are going to get this album for “Tears Infection” anyways and with all that it brings to the listener, it’s not hard to hear why given how enjoyable it is.

Rating: Good