Naisho no Hanashi

"Naisho no Hanashi"
Single by ClariS
from the album Birthday
ReleasedFebruary 1, 2012
Recorded2012
GenreJ-pop
Length4:18
LabelSME
Songwriter(s)Ryo
ClariS singles chronology
"Nexus"
(2011)
"Naisho no Hanashi"
(2012)
"Wake Up"
(2012)
Audio sample
A 30-second sample from "Naisho no Hanashi", featuring ClariS singing the end the first verse and chorus.

"Naisho no Hanashi" (ナイショの話) is a pop song by the Japanese duo and idol unit ClariS, written by Ryo. It was released as the unit's fourth single on February 1, 2012, by SME Records. The song was used as the ending theme to the 2012 anime series Nisemonogatari.[1] A music video was produced for "Naisho no Hanashi", directed by Kazuaki Nakamura. The single peaked at No. 2 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart.

Composition

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"Naisho no Hanashi" is a J-pop song with instrumentation from electric and bass guitars and drums. According to a book of sheet music published by Shinko Music Entertainment, it is set in common time and moves at a tempo of 194 beats per minute.[2] Beginning in the A major key, the introduction starts with ClariS' vocals and adds drums and guitars to transition into the first verse followed by the chorus. After a short bridge, this pattern is repeated for the second verse and chorus featuring the same music with different lyrics. A break is used to transition into the chorus, immediately followed by another chorus as the outro in B-flat major. An instrumental coda is used to close the song.

Clara and Alice were already big fans of Ryo's music before singing the song and were very excited at the prospect of working with him.[3] Per Ryo's request, Clara and Alice were recorded doing the count at the beginning of the song five separate times: normally, playing innocent, using a hoarse voice, acting excited, and acting energetic. According to Alice, the lyrics express the feelings of irritation and anguish of a girl with a one-sided crush on someone. Alice thought about the girl's feelings as she sang it.[4] The cover artwork features a translucent ice pop with a bite taken out of it containing frozen fruit with "ClariS" printed on it. The art direction and design was handled by Motohiro Yamazaki.

Release and reception

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"Naisho no Hanashi" was released in a regular edition and two limited editions on February 1, 2012, as a CD by SME Records in Japan.[5][6][7] One of the limited edition versions was packaged with Nisemonogatari artwork and also contained a short version of "Naisho no Hanashi" instead of its instrumental version.[8] The other limited edition version came bundled with a DVD containing the music video for "Naisho no Hanashi".[9] The song peaked at No. 2 on Japan's weekly Oricon singles chart, selling over 35,000 copies in its first week of sales, and charted for 12 weeks.[10][11] "Naisho no Hanashi" debuted and peaked on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 at No. 6.[12]

Music video

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The music video is entirely animated and is directed by Kazuaki Nakamura. It begins with the illustrations of Clara and Alice by Akio Watanabe, which are shown throughout the video over various rapidly changing patterns. Animated silhouettes of the girls shown to be running are also seen throughout the video, either alongside the previous illustrations, now semi-animated, or simply overlaid on top of the patterns, some of which are kaleidoscopic in nature. Early 20th-century architecture, as well as a tram and a vintage car, also appear in the video. It concludes with Watanabe's illustration in an antique picture frame alongside an antique record player.

Track listing

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No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Naisho no Hanashi" (ナイショの話 Secret Conversation)RyoRyoRyo, Takuya4:18
2."I'm in love'"Mayuko MaruyamaMayuko MaruyamaMayuko Maruyama4:23
3."Hontō wa" (本当は The Truth is)Carlos K.Carlos K.Carlos K.4:19
4."Naisho no Hanashi (Instrumental)" (ナイショの話 Secret Conversation) RyoRyo, Takuya4:18
Total length:17:18
Nisemonogatari limited edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Naisho no Hanashi" (ナイショの話 Secret Conversation)RyoRyoRyo, Takuya4:18
2."I'm in love'"Mayuko MaruyamaMayuko MaruyamaMayuko Maruyama4:23
3."Hontō wa" (本当は The Truth is)Carlos K.Carlos K.Carlos K.4:19
4."Naisho no Hanashi (TV Mix)" (ナイショの話 Secret Conversation) RyoRyo, Takuya1:32
Total length:14:32
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Naisho no Hanashi" (Music Video)4:18

Personnel

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ClariS
  • Clara – vocals
  • Alice – vocals
Production
  • Shunroku Hitani – mixer
  • Takashi Koiwa – mixer
  • Yuji Chinone – mastering
  • Motohiro Yamazaki – art direction, design

Charts

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Chart (2012) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[12] 6
Japan Oricon Weekly Singles[11] 2

References

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  1. ^ "Nisemonogatari Anime's Ad with ClariS/Ryo Theme Posted". Anime News Network. November 26, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  2. ^ Band Score ClariS Single Collection (in Japanese). Shinko Music Entertainment. March 20, 2012. ISBN 978-4-401-35665-2.
  3. ^ "ClariS Exclusive 1st English Interview". The-O Network. August 8, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  4. ^ "ClariS「ナイショの話」インタビュー 1". Anican (in Japanese). AMS Corporation. February 8, 2012. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  5. ^ "SonyMusicShop" ナイショの話(通常盤) [Naisho no Hanashi (regular edition)] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  6. ^ "SonyMusicShop" ナイショの話【初回生産限定盤】 [Naisho no Hanashi (limited edition)] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  7. ^ "SonyMusicShop" ナイショの話【偽物語 盤/期間生産限定】 [Naisho no Hanashi (Nisemonogatari disc / limited production edition)] (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  8. ^ ナイショの話(期間生産限定盤) [Naisho no Hanashi (limited production edition)] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "ナイショの話 -TVアニメ「偽物語」EDテーマ 【初回生産限定盤:CD+DVD】" [Naisho no Hanashi -TV Anime Nisemonogatari ED Theme (limited edition: CD+DVD)] (in Japanese). HMV. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  10. ^ "ClariS、自己最高の初動売上3.9万枚で4位に" [A Self-record for ClariS with 39,000 Initially Sold at No. 4] (in Japanese). Oricon. October 17, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  11. ^ a b ナイショの話 [Naisho no Hanashi] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2012/02/13" (in Japanese). Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2014.