Dancemania EX × Trance Paradise

Anim80s – Anime Hits in 80s Disco Style (Animeighties)
Release Date: 12/22/10
Price: 1886 yen

Anim…eighties? Rather than continuing the Wa Euro Best or Premier Euro series, EMI and DJ Yossy have instead decided to start a new series featuring 80s disco covers of popular anime themes. No, this isn’t a joke. Think “Cat’s Eye” done in the style of “Beat It” or “Eternal Blaze” redone like “Turn It Into Love.” This is either a very bad idea or a very very good one.

Many thanks to Heather of Disco NRG for translating the track list. Right now 30 tracks have been announced, which would be really surprising since it’s unlikely we’d get any repeats.

Via Para-Center.

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V.I.P. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop/Dance Trax VII
Release Date: 12/15/10
Price: 2171 yen

EMI’s long-running R&B compilation series returns in 2010 with a dance twist. Whereas previous releases focused only on R&B and Hip-Hop, 7 will also include dance tracks. Appearances will be made by Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga, among others.

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Luxury Love House
Release Date: 9/8/10
Price: 1500 yen

Digital release featuring full versions of songs from Love House Best Mix. Most of the tracks are extended versions, though they sadly used radio edits for some tracks.

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Love House Best Mix
Release Date: 8/25/10
Price: 2171 yen

This one’s for all you beautiful party people out there. There are a few new tracks, including Kylie’s latest hit, “All the Lovers,” and a new cover of Strike’s “Inspiration” featuring English and Japanese lyrics.

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Premier Euro ~Download Selectiont
Release Date: 7/21/10
Price: 1500 yen

Downloads for Premier Euro are now up for sale. Pay 1,500 yen for songs you already have! I grabbed “Du-Du Di-Da” for the time being, and it’s a pretty good remix by valle blanco.

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Premier Euro ~ Best of Wa Euro Best
Release Date: 7/21/10
Price: 2171 yen

The official Dancemania website has been updated with information on Premier Euro. The track list has changed slightly since last time, with “Cat’s Eye” being expelled in favor of “Shiny Summer.” Also, “Friends” is now being listed as a “9LoveJ Premier Mix.”

The album comes with a lyrics booklet and a limited edition “premium gold jacket.”

I’m still holding out hope that Premier Euro will become a new series. The title is less limiting, which would hopefully mean Western-produced eurobeat in addition to the J-Euro.

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Love House Best Mix
Release Date: 8/4/10
Price: 2171 yen

Love House only gets a release once a year, so it’s upsetting that EMI chose to make this year’s edition a nonstop, best-of compilation. There are a handful of tracks new to the series, but for the most part it’s the same old stuff.

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Wa Euro Premier Best
Release Date: 7/21/10
Price: 2171 yen

Uggh, you’ve got to be kidding me. 7 songs from Wa Euro Best, 6 from WEB 2, 6 from WEB 3, and 4 “new” songs. The first Wa Euro Best was already full of repeats, and now we have to be subjected to them again? Even worse is the fact that this best-of album is more expensive than normal.

The new songs aren’t really too new, either. “Cat’s Eye” and “Hoshizora no Okurimono” could just be the original versions with different vocals. The only song I’m looking forward to is the new remix “Du-Du Di-Da.” It better not be just a re-edit of the Red Monster mix….

I guess Natsu Monogatari is officially dead, then. 🙁

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Natsu Monogatari presents Wa Euro Best 3 -Download Selection-
Release Date: 4/21/10
Price: 1500 yen

No early release for the Download Selection this time around. Still, this one is recommended for one track alone: Summer Story!! The album price is a tad higher this time (1500 yen instead of 1200).

In the meantime enjoy the TV commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P09NfwPYs-Y

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Wa Euro Best 3
Release Date: 4/21/10
Price: 1886 yen

Wa Euro Best 3 offers up a mix of eurobeat J-Pop and Anime song covers.

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Wa Euro Best 3
Release Date: 4/21/10
Price: 1886 yen

The finalized track list is out for WEB 3. As with the previous releases, it’s mostly a mix of anime themes and J-Pop covers, though the balance seems to be in favor of the latter this time around.

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Wa Euro Best 3
Release Date: 4/1/10
Price: 1886 yen

Wa Euro Best 2 didn’t sell anywhere near as well as the first WEB, but apparently it was enough to warrant a third release. Expect more pachislot, anime, and J-Pop covers. They’re really running out of Misa songs to use, though. The LED remix of “So So” is decent, but I would’ve preferred a new remix of one of her other songs.

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Hime Trance 4 EP – DJ Sampler
Release Date: 2/3/10
Price: $10.32

First a sales update. Hime Trance 4 debuted at #71 on the Oricon charts, with 2,439 copies sold. By comparison, Hime Trance Anime*Mix! debuted at #24 with ~6,000 copies and Hime Trance Best moved 16,000 units in its first week. So, yeah, not that great. I’m thinking that those numbers are decent enough for at least one more release, but even then I’m not so sure.

Still no word on whether EMI will release a download selection, but in the meantime, Shohei Matsumoto has released an EP on iTunes featuring 3 of his original songs from Hime Trance 4. The best news is that it appears to be available worldwide! It’s $1.29 per track, and unfortunately there’s no discount for buying the whole EP, so it’s $10.32 total. Remember, you don’t need a credit card to buy from your local iTunes. Just walk on over to the nearest supermarket and grab an iTunes gift card. This is your chance to support Hime Trance! Now let’s hope he releases a Hime Trance 3 EP so we can finally get the full version of MA*GI*CA*.

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Hime Trance 4
Release Date: 1/27/10
Price: 1886 yen

It’s been a long 2+ years since Hime Trance 3. The wait was more than worth it, however. In addition to new songs from Hime Trance mainstays like Tsukasa, Kei, and Misa (who makes her return after being left off Anime*Mix), we also get brand new Saifam remixes and licensed songs from popular J-Pop artists. It all makes for an extremely satisfying CD that rivals Anime*Mix and perhaps even the first Hime Trance in terms of pure enjoyment.

The last entry in the main series, Hime Trance 3, was full of repeats and songs that weren’t trance. EMI have seemingly learned their lesson, as Hime Trance 4 contains only one true repeat (“Stay,” which was featured on Trance Paradise Best) and one non-trance song (“Miku Miku…”). Another problem with Hime Trance 3 was that it only had one Delaction song, and it was a repeat at that. Hime Trance 4 has four new Delaction songs, which automatically makes it the best album ever.

The bad news is that it’s not selling all that well at the moment. The last HT release, Anime*Mix!, debuted at number 24 on Oricon’s weekly sales chart, but it’s looking like HT4 won’t even break the top 30. Heck, right now Wa Euro Best 2 is outselling Hime Trance 4 on Amazon Japan. EMI actually put some effort into this release, so if you have any interest in seeing the series continue then do consider picking up a copy. It’s available at CDJapan, HMV, Amazon Japan, Yes Asia, and JPopHelp. No word yet on whether a Download Selection will be available, but I’m certainly hoping for it.

Full review after the jump.

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Hime Trance 4
Release Date: 1/27/10
Price: 1886 yen

Preview videos are up! The first video exclusively features a few of the album’s Japanese-language tracks and has some adorable “Jasmine” art. The second video showcases a few other songs, but the sound quality isn’t all that great.

“Miku Miku ni Shite Ageru [Shiteyanyo] (Hime Mix)” sounds a lot like the original mix, which makes me worry that “Boy” won’t really be remixed, either. But they have to remix “Coconut,” right? Right!?

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