RIIZE'S Japanese Debut Single - "Lucky" MV Review

2024 has been so far a very busy year for Riize – a bit more than a month ago on June 17, they released "Boom Boom Bass" (Review) alongside their first mini album Riizing, and now they have released their first Japanese single before embarking on their first Japan fan-con tour.

"Lucky"

At first, I was lowkey disappointed with this song until I noticed I had plugged my headphones wrong ^_^;;. For some reason, it sounded quite normal, but like it was missing something, so I thought that was just what the song was like, lol. 

The pre-chorus and chorus of "Lucky" are so good, especially the chorus, which I found very catchy. I like that "Lucky" continues with a similar funky rhythm and retro vibes that "Boom Boom Bass" has, although "Lucky" is more disco than funk (I have to admit that I slightly prefer BBS instrumental as "Lucky" is a bit more "soft.") 

The MV is great; I like the camera work, the editing, and the special effects the video uses. Some parts of the music video (like the one at 1:36) remind me of the "The Boys Locker Room" video edit (I could not find the OG poster version). 

I love the part where Sohee is inside a 3D version of the Windows XP wallpaper. I also love that they use their self-made nicknames (? at 1:53 as if they were characters from a game ﹘ how cute, lol.

The scene where (as seen on the gif below) Shotaro inserts a coin inside the arcade machine and the camera goes inside the machine looks fantastic.

Style-wise, I loved almost all of the outfits in this music video (the exception being Shotaro's leopard shorts that simply look bad 😅). I especially love Wonbin's outfits; in my opinion, they look fantastic (maybe is the Wonbin effect?). I have no major complaints. Aside from Wonbin's outfits, a favorite of mine is Sungchan's race jacket, which looks very cool. Shotaro's yellow/mustard shirt with the brown necktie and plaid pants reminds me of Spongebob, although that is not what Spongebob wears; the shirt and tie combo also reminds me of a fast food restaurant employee (this is not a complaint, by the way). I feel like I'm going crazy because I swear that McDonald's uniforms used to be mustard, but apparently, they never were; maybe it differs by country?

Rating

Song – 9/10

MV – 10/10

Choreography – 10/10

Style – 9/10 

Overall Rating – 10/10

Song Credits

Release Date: July 29, 2024.

Length: 2 min 47 sec.

Lyrics by: Takahashi Shiho.

Music by: Robert Habolin and Benjamin Ingrosso.

Arranged by: Robert Habolin.

MV Directed by: Cho Joon-Koo (AIMUS).

Photo source: SM Ent. 

By the way, I'm extremely confused: Is "Lucky" Riizes' Japanese debut or their Japanese debut was when they released the Japanese version of "Love 119" on January 24?????? Wikipedia marks their Japanese debut to be "Love 119," but in other places I have read it says that their debut is "Lucky" 😵💫