DOLL$BOXX - TAKE MY CHANCE - Ryan Mear Reacts 2fer 

Love to contrast between GS and DOLL$BOXX, both visually and sonically. It's incredible that the same group of people can do both styles so well.

I think that the most amazing thing about all these female Japanese bands like band Maid, Lovebites, Gacharic Spin etc. is how well they can do it LIVE, they are just awesome !!!

DOLL$BOXX / Gacharic Spin = Sublime musical perfection. Hana's just one of the greatest living musicians, period. Tomo-zo, Koga and Oreo are world class on their respective instruments and can do anything and everything that's needed both instrumentally and vocally to support whatever is going on. Also worth noting that the chorus in Take My Chance is one of the most genius pieces of musical writing ever. They take the main chorus hook that they stated in unison harmony at the beginning of the song but every time it re-appears through the rest of the song Hana and Oreo are singing a counter-melody against it that is equally as catchy, that starts off totally different then weaves in and out against the main line which Fuki is singing. Tomo-zo is one of my favourite guitarists ever, up there with Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine, Alex Skolnick, etc. Especially her understanding of tasteful and imaginative part-writing across a huge number of styles and making sure she's leaving the sonic space for the bass and keyboards to do their thing. No ego either, she always writes the lead parts the song needs, and she always comes up with something melodic and creative, not just whatever she wants to show off her (very impressive) chops.

Fuki definitely changes her singing style between Doll$Boxx and Unlucky Morpheus. I should try listening to her earlier band Lightbringer (symphonic metal). The keyboardist in Ligntbringer was Mao Yamamoto who now helps Lovebites with their songs. Doll$Boxx was formed when Gacharic Spin was on hiatus while looking for a new lead vocalist after their original vocalist Armmy left for health reasons. Since Doll$Boxx was always a side project their output is very small. The story of Armmy (Ashitomi Takae) is sad, after leaving GS in 2012 she formed a band TAKAEITA in 2013 with EITA, GS's original guitarist, but she died in 2015. EITA is still around performing as a solo act. Hana and F. Chopper Koga are the remaining original members of Gacharic Spin.

Hana! Hana! Hana! You FINALLY got around to Doll$boxx! I remember suggesting this way back in the day. I knew you were gonna love this, but maybe waiting and delving deeper into the J-rock scene only increased your appreciation for Doll$boxx. They put out their first album in 2012, and then an EP in 2017. It's 2022 and we seem to get something from them every 5 years, so maybe a single next? Probably not, but I'm crossing my fingers anyway. 😁✌

Fuki's other bands and collabs: Unlucky Morpheus, "Dignity of Spirit": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x7W9DcUKY_U.html Fuki Commune: "La Voix Du Sang": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sAPK3WZrszU.html Light Bringer, "Hyperion": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GhAMXhQyx7s.html Plus collabs: Nozomu Wakai's Destinia, "Breaking The Fire": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SdvTQ7UvPAQ.html Shred Racer, "Gurenge": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FJFrfT3cD0k.html & SYU, "Reason": ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-958z1pk9_Ns.html 😉

GS and DB made a live show the way that each member has a chance to shine. And boy, they have a lot to show off!

TAKE MY CHANCE is one of a kind. DAmn I have watched that video lot of times. Great choice! From the bass lines, key work, pounding drums or Fuki's ascending magic, it's all perfect. And the three track performance is some of the best 14 minutes of live performance anywhere. Personal other favourites from DOLL$BOXX are Merrily High Go Round and Shout Down official videos.

I think the title of the second song is, SEKAI WA KITTO AI O SHITTERUN DA (I definitely love the the world).

The craziest strength of the musicians is how they seamlessly intertwine their complex performances without overshadowing each other. In some recent interviews they've said that while all four of them are composers, the person who brings in a composition is the one who writes the initial score for the others, then they work on their parts individually, and finally work as a group to hash out the final mix, with the originating composer having the final say on disagreements. They also copyright their work as "Gacharic Spin" so they share royalties equally.

Woah there is a lot going on… I like the harmony of the girls together.. harmonic wailing lol.. always good to see you smile

Damn that bass

'Loud Twin Stars' is a great video from the same era as this one. Video was recorded live but I believe the audio is the recorded track but it is a duet between Fuki and Hana and Hana can hold her own against Fuki. GC's next album was 'Music Battler' and their management blocked most everything on YT outside Asia other than early stuff with Armmy for years.

For quite some time I have preferred Doll$Boxx over Gacharic Spin because of Fuki's voice, something that is not so clear to me since Angelina 1/3 arrived. Fuki has a very varied voice range. If you are interested in hearing how she does it during the same song, you can listen to her in The Tower of Blood by Unlucky Morpheus. Good job! It is always a pleasure to listen to these ladies. Thank you.

I feel your pain, Ryan - Tomo ZO is really hard to pin down. That solo in the Take My Chance video is maybe one of longest. Here is a clip from a 2018 instrumental were Tomo ZO rocks out pretty hard ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VXAB83r0lbQ.html Since they got Angelina I don't 'think' they and Fuki will continue Doll$Boxx - but we're talking about women who do exactly what they want here - so who knows.

Finally! It’s been 84 years… I think I recommended DOLL$BOXX after the first couple of BAND-MAID reactions you’ve done. They are in my top 3 Japanese bands with BAND-MAID and MTH (you can include Gacharic Spin in it too). Thank you Home Gnome and I hope you give Ryan links to my two favorite DOLL$BOXX songs “Loud Twin Stars” and “Merrily High Go Round”. Thank you Ryan :) PS: I’ve always wanted to tell you to remove your mouse cursor from the RU-vid player’s “play/pause” 😅

Thanks dude - so pleased that you finally checked them out - and a 2fer no-less 😁. Was fairly certain that you would enjoy as it's the talent of GS but with a more guitar-driven sound and less of the wackiness (although I do feel from your recent reactions that maybe you're getting adjusted somewhat to a little more crazy...) I picked this track specifically as Fuki is fairly light on the vibrato as know that's an issue for you - but overall with DB it's definitely less full-on than when she's with Unlucky Morpheus - she's one of those singers like Floor who can turn it on and off depending on the style. I admit to being pretty similar to you in terms of being easily turned off by voices, including strong vibrato and overly harsh vocals, but getting more used to both in small measures! Sadly the catalogue is fairly limited and I guess the chances of a new EP are low with Angelina in place with GS, but you never know.

No worries brother, the choppiness made for some awesome still shots. It’s great how you are trekking back through the history of these amazing musicians and how they have evolved into where they are now. Anybody can watch a video and make faces, investing yourself in the genre is why we keep coming back. Most of us have already heard the songs and seen the videos.

This song is a total hoot. Surprised you just got to them. I'm not so into the techno aspects but I think this is really good and although I'm not so into Gacharic Spin their abilities impress me and their killer live. They're all great players on their individual instruments. Loads of talent.

This song is a must for any j-rock reactor. When I found your channel forever ago, I actually typed in the search, “Ryan mear doll$boxx”, because I had to see your reaction to them. I got all happy when I first saw that you did GS a bit ago. Very fun. Cool. Can’t wait to see reaction to Shout Down.

I know this very well this band in all its forms, Gacharic spn and more, in Japan, they play many concerts in various formations, when I went back and forth from Japan for work in my free time I went to see concerts, literally at random, so they were always beautiful and interesting, unfortunately, I never saw Band Maid in Japan, I can tell you that Koga as a bassist is really beyond what you can think, she is spectacular, and has a unique stage presence, she plays, divinely, in many styles, she is a slap master with crazy rhythms, she also sings very well, and dances and jumps throughout the concert like crazy. Koga is the only bass player who can rival Misa in my opinion. Misa can be much more melodic and original often, but Koga can literally take you away with devastating rhythms. In Japan in 2018 I went, by chance, to see a performance of Koga and Tomo-Zo alone with electronic drums, I can tell you that I am still shocked now, they did a performance of funky, and funky jazz, like never have I ever. most heard in my life, they played for 2 hours at impossible levels, it was an intertwining of bass and guitar solos to remove the skin from the bones, the two of them alone with electronic drums, incredible. Great reaction as usual🤣🤣💖💖😎😎👍👍❤❤

Arnie finds it hard to pick his fave between DOLL$BOXX & Gacharic Spin cos he's always shouting "GET TO DA CHOPPA" :)

Man the first time I watched Take my Chance, I was like what the fk, loved them ever since.

wow im surprised i honestly thought you already had heard dollsbox or i would have requested take my chance lol. great reaction as always

Apparently they did alive show at the Zep in 2019 and the videos from the live performances are great.

I hear you about buying a whammy pedal, messing around with it for a bit, and then never using it again. I was playing around with a bass synth pedal at a guitar shop and liked it.l I could afford it, too, but I knew I wasn't really going to use it and walked out without it. I'm glad I did, too. Fuki's sliding belt is great. I'll listen to anything she does. Gacharic Spin . . . man, what a fun and unique collection of skilled musicians.

I found GC and DB around the same time I found BANDMAID. Japan seems to have an untapped well of talent. It would be so cool to meet some of them but I can't complain... as I do have some great musical connections in Kyoto (just more unknown talent).

I found Band Maid back in 2018 and enjoyed watching you discover them. Now, you introduced me to Doll$box, thanks!

As you know this is a side project of Gacharic Spin and Fuki. Gacharic Spin had a tour some years ago, and at the time were having problems with the singer not turning up for practice, after she did not show up for the 1st few shows of the tour the band went on Japanese TV and said that if anyone knows the lyrics turn up and they can join them on stage. The next day they were contacted by Fuki who was a fan of there's and knew all the songs, so they asked Fuki to join them for the rest of the tour. Fuki did most of the tour, but had other commitments for some of it. They had both enjoyed working together so much they started Doll$boxx as a side project so they could work together now and again. So the band are still around, but like with most side project they can not get together that often. There was a show a few years ago which had all 3 bands play GS, DB and UM. If you want a song that how good Fuki and Hana work together try DOLL$BOXX - Loud Twin Stars (high $pec High Return (2018)) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Tl4QNXnE-XU.html

Thanks for getting to Doll$boxx and for admitting you listened to Hi Spec before doing this one (I get the impression most reactors would pretend this was a raw reaction). Anyway, I may have posted this before in connection with GS, but here is a backgrounder on GS and D$B: GS started in 2009, with a lead singer called Armmy (Takae Ashitomi). They did a sort of highly technical punk-pop, but crossed genres a lot. They started to have friction between Armmy and the rest of the band, and then in early 2012 she left, officially for health reasons. She died in 2015; their work with her is very much worth seeing-here is an early one: “Setsunaku” ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vfzIt20_xXg.html The girls were all just out of high school, and you can see they were already very technical. When Armmy left, GS had tours lined up in both Japan and abroad for 2012, and needed a lead singer. For the Japan tour various singers (including Fuki) filled in for different shows, but they couldn’t find someone good enough who could also commit to the band full time For their overseas tour Hana (who was doing drums and vocals and was effectively the co-leader of the band) took the lead vocals on herself. She also happens to play several other instruments. Here is a live performance of their track Across The Now from a tiny venue in France (filmed as part of their 2012 overseas tour-this was Hana's first test at taking lead vocals whilst drumming): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_LnVAgqlE8g.html GS had had great chemistry with Fuki when she filled in for them, so while they were figuring out what to do with GS they contacted Fuki about doing a more metal project. This became Doll$Boxx. They wrote and recorded their first album at the end of 2012, then picked up GS again full time in 2013. This remains their main focus, and Fuki is busy with many projects including her main band Unlucky Morpheus, but they occasionally continue to perform together when their schedules permit. So Doll$Boxx can be considered a special project of GS. Regarding the genre of Gacharic Spin, it's pretty much impossible to pin it down to any one thing, although by and large they'd probably fall very roughly in the "pop rock" genre although they really just do whatever they want at any given time. You'll find everything in their back catalogue from metal and punk to electro, dance, pop and ballads. Most of their recent work merges multiple genres. In recent years, Gacharic Spin have added more personnel (a drummer, allowing Hana to focus on guitar and vocals, and dancers who also sing). Core personnel (these are also the members of Doll$Boxx along with Fuki): Hana (Hana Sano): vocals, drums, guitar, keytar, other instruments Tomo-Zo (Tomoko Midorikawa): lead guitar F-Chopper Koga (Michiko Koga): bass Oreo Reona (Reona Suzuki): keyboards, vocals

Fuki é realmente incrível, mas sem dúvida quem rouba a cena na Doll$boxx é Hanna. Atuação brilhante com vocais perfeitos e o andamento da bateria é soberbo. Adoro essa banda, todas as meninas são musicistas que beiram a perfeição e ao vivo então, superb. Adorei a reação. Tks for this.

Ooooh been waiting for this one for a while!!! So iconic!!

Fuki🤘🏻🔥

F Chopper F Chopper F Chopper!

Doll$boxx/Gacharic Spin are an example of yet another female Japanese band, I don't have the time to follow. Others have left you plenty of information about them but it is frustrating when you can't listen and view all the wondrous bands Japan, has to offer musically. Mary's Blood, and Hanabie, are just two other examples 😄

If I were Fuki, I'd want to sing with GS once in a while - and if I were GS, I'd want Fuki to add her voice to ours once in a while, too. This is one case where the parts and the sum are all awesome!

The male fans in Take My Chance are wotas. A wota is a fan of an idol group, they are often members of organized fan clubs but don't have to be, they have a certain style and perform wotagei (chants/dances/cheering) at concerts.

The bassist Koga is a cute beast.

Doll$boxx are amazing! :) and you're absolutely right: Tomo-zo is a pretty damn insane and very creative guitarist. It's just not full on obvious in Gacharic Spin most of the time because their mixes don't have guitar very up front. Yes, PLEASE do "Shout Down"! It's great! The music video as well as the live recording. Actually there is a live-video of them that has 3 of their songs ("Shout Down", "Karakuri Town", " 世界はきっと愛を知ってるんだ") and it's just awesome! Oh hey, while you're at it: Here is some more awesomeness: - Saiseiga - "Ride On" - MergingMoon - "Greyen LIVE CLIP" I think none of these will be disappointing for you :)

Queensryche+the Clash+Flock of Seagulls = Doll$boxx

The power of the cursor !

DOLL$BOXX, right after Atarashii Gakko!. You’re hitting a lot of my favorites. : ) You might want to check out Wednesday Campanella at some point. Their new singer Utaha is killing it. I’d recommend ’Buckingham’ or ’Edison’.

I think the audience in the video represents an Idol audience. An idol audience may not be authentic in their response in that their movements can be somewhat choreographed, potentially occurring as much out of sense of obligation as actual enthusiasm (it's a Japanese thing, we in the west may have a hard time understanding it). This is shown in the beginning of the video with the less than enthusiastic response. The audience is expecting another less than stellar idol group, then the reaction of shock when what they find before them is an actual group of talented women performing serious music, progressing into real enthusiasm by the end. I believe this video is a satirical critic by Doll$Box on the world of Idol. There is yet another variation of these girls called Metallic Spin, which is basically their take on classic hair metal.

This is their joke about idol culture. This MV was announced before the formation of BAND-MAID, so MIKU may have come up with the concept of BAND-MAID after seeing this MV. Anyway, HANA is a monster. I haven't seen many female drummers who can do hi-hat work at this speed. And Tomo-zo is one of the best.

They really awe amazing.

Actually, the "dopey guys" in the video are a satire of Otaku (obsessive nerd) culture in Japan, and the girls in their frilly outfits are a satire of Kawaii imagery in Japanese music, which substitutes exaggerated cuteness for real personality. Falling rates of marriage and childbirth are a big issue in Japan, and some people blame it in part on young people being sucked into these subcultures which don't lead to real relationships. So this song has some serious undercurrents.

Love how you stress payng tribute to band directly by watching on their site, top class first rate reviewer you are :)

I like Unlucky Morpheus but not to the point of buying albums, but I loved there "QUADRATUM" all instrumental album without Fuki (I bought it). Gacharic Spin is to weird and crazy for my ears, and too popi and electronic sound, except some of there last songs with the new singer (I recognise it's good, but mostly not for me). But the fusion with Fuki and Gacharic Spin, it's just crazy good and perfect, both albums. It's as if Fuki channels there craziness music just a bit, and them liberate Fuki craziness just a bit too, all of that with an more heavy rock sound and create a F**kin damn perfect monster band call DOLL$BOXX. I really hope one day they are doing another album. And I think remembering recommend you in a comments this band will ago, so it's kind of a ThaldaRyan request :p. More seriously I'm glad you finally get them. Enjoy it. Take care. PS: try there song LOUD TWIN STAR next time :p

It appears that members of Doll$boxx are also members of Gacharic Spin

The video for the first song is an awesome and delightfully subversive send up of the typical Idol fan. In this case, the got a lot more than they bargained for.

There is a video for each song on the entire album Monopoly is the next in the series

what I am writing now has little to do with this video, but it is only to tell how complaining about the show and the musical show is different in Japan than in the West. A good friend of mine was lucky enough to see one of Band Maid's last concerts in Japan where he is currently at. He told me that when he arrived he found a huge mass of people and he couldn't understand how it would be possible to enter the theater, After a few minutes, he realized that there was some problem preventing the public from entering. After a few minutes, about fifty girls dressed as maids appeared with free drinks for all and making bows apologized for the technical delay, this could never happen in the West. Obviously, my friend came out of the concert in a daze as is usually the case with Band Maid.

Please check out Fuki's solo band Fuki Commune with Babymetal Kami band guitarist ISAO

There is a Gacharic spin video of TOMO-ZO performing and singing a medley of her songs called fantasy medley it's about 9 minutes long and you'll have a lot of fun watching it

I think that this was a tongue and cheek poke at BAND-MAID .... 😁

You should have watched the live show.

I like the vocal style Fuki using in Dollsboxx more then in UM, it's just to much of vibrato in UM songs, but I'm getting used to the style she uses, cuz there are songs where I like style that she uses like "Top of the M" or the new song "Welcome to Valhalla" which is a banger.

Yeah I like doll$boxx more than both Unlucky Morpheus or Gacharic Spin, but that seems to be what most people likes, even them to do it themselves.

Love th song delicious live concert was great but yeah not watching this to good of song there gose a reaction which is what I tune into see this is from apartment also fragrance was the best song on that album try that one and see if you can get it right

There are definitely not enough live videos from DOLL$BOXX here on RU-vid. Judging by their normal music videos, not a band for me. When I look at the few live videos here on RU-vid: I'm immediately a fan. The Japanese managers of the woman bands still prefer to build their careers on the beautiful looks of the ladies rather than on their musical skills. Unfortunately.

I won't watch reactors who don't pause to express themselves.

wave did band maid news u didnt slowly guy i guess they will come to u not me sadly

This video is so fast.... the freeze frames were cool especially on HANNAH 🤟🔥🤟🔥🐺🦧🍌🙏