Here are my credentials: (one more time) pretty few. NiZiU, like WayV, aren’t talked about much in kpop spaces, so I actually first heard of them through Bang Chan and Felix’s radio show, where Chan recommended a song of theirs that I liked. They’ve been on my list since, and I thought, since they’re having a comeback soon, now would be a good time to give them a try. As you can see from the title, this is another review where I roped a friend or family member of mine into watching a bunch of music videos (for funzies), and this time it’s my friend Junie, who was very kind to spend a solid hour giving actual good commentary while I was indisposed with fits of giggles. So let’s get into it!

(Part One)(Part Two)

Single #7: Press Play

It’s a testament to the kind of k-pop stan I am that the first thing I said upon starting the video for Heartris is “OH MY GOD IT’S FELIX” to which Junie, naturally, started laughing. “For me, I’m over here being like, ‘of course there’s a school boy crush’”, they said, “and you’re…doing this.” Seriously though, Heartris is the only song I’d heard of NiZiU’s I’d heard before this review (I guess I now know why it was mentioned on the radio show), and also NiZiU’s official debut in Korean. It goes for a pretty classic J-pop sound, which is pretty funny since most of their Japanese output doesn’t. The hand-clap led beat is great too.

The song itself is even bubblier than usual, feeling like it right out of a video game, and the MV is a perfect combination for it. Not only does it incorporate animation in a way very reminiscent of a manga, but the choreo is meant to resemble Tetris too, with lots of 90 degree angle hand movements and footwork that’s supposed to look like characters. We genuinely got speechless at the twist—which I won’t spoil here because it’s funnier if you watch it for yourself—and laughed ourselves silly. “Well that wasn’t where I was expecting it to go,” I admitted. “It’s giving horror movie,” Junie agreed. It was one of both our favorites, which is again, pretty funny.

From the single, I enjoyed the fast-paced, incredibly poppy beat of Lucky Star.

Single #8: Sweet Nonfiction

Sweet Nonfiction marks a return to Japanese, and the kind of music videos and sound from NiZiU’s earlier career. It’s fast-paced and feels like it never takes a breath; the beat bounces around with seemingly endless energy, and their voices follow suit. The chorus is great too, deceptively simple but still catchy, and I enjoyed the “la-la-la-la-la-la” hook more than I normally enjoy a hook like this. “I think they have a lot of songs where the music video is better than the song,” Junie said. “It feels more like they’re modeling clothes with a song in the background rather than doing a song here.” I’m with them on this one; I’d put Sweet Nonfiction in the same category as Coconut, where I wouldn’t seek it out, but I wouldn’t throw a fit if it showed up on my shuffle.

EP #2: Rise Up

Rise Up takes a different route than NiZiU’s past singles, with a more “matured” sound, and both of us immediately said something along the lines of, “is this even the same group as before?” It’s not only that the music video is just generally much darker, embracing some sort of post-apocalyptic feeling, but the lyrics (“no hope left to dawn”) seem worlds away from songs like Take A Picture or Paradise. It keeps the great build-up and has a fairly solid chorus, all things considered. I liked the dramatic strings, a call back to the sound I liked back in Chopstick. This song honestly wasn’t for me, as many songs that are “in-between” like this are not. Personally, I feel like a song like this could work if its chorus went in a more cathartic, bombastic direction if it was going to make the same point.

Junie had a different opinion, and thus marks the end of our friendship—- No, obviously, I’m kidding. We just took a quick tea break (peach and wild blueberry this time, if you’re curious). “I think I actually really like this despite it being a different vibe,” they said. “Maybe because it reminds me of Billlie Eilish’s earlier songs, like with her Bad Guy era.” I’m with them on the Billlie comparison, but I think this one’s just not for me.

From the EP, I enjoyed the funky synth sound of Memories.

EP #3: Awake

“This is giving, ‘I married the wrong prince’” Junie said, as the MV for Yoake started, to which we had to pause it and giggle. Because we’re really mature, guys. Anyway, the song combines some of the more restrained aspects of Rise Up with a poppy underlying beat of their earlier music. “We’re back to shenanigans”, as Junie put it We were a bit confused with the music video, in general, unsure for most of it whether the song was supposed to be sad (as in, the friends left each other) or happy (as in, they came together again), because it was sending a lot of mixed messages. “WHAT IF THE GROUP IS BREAKING UP ANNA WOULDN’T THAT BE NUTS???” Junie asked, dramatically shaking my shoulders.

In the end, though, because this is NiZiU, all was well, which is both a relief and not necessarily that surprising. My personal favorite part of the whole song (and music video) is the short break in which Mayuka (I think?) is playing the piano and the others are singing live. It feels so raw and genuine, something that is marketedly different from the rest of their songs, and from most kpop music videos in general. It really struck both of us, though, and we replayed it a couple times just to relisten.

From the EP, besides the repackaged songs from past releases, I enjoyed Buddy Buddy and Life Is Beautiful.

Single #9: Love Line

Love Line is definitely a return to the sound of Heartris, their last Korean single; it’s video game poppy to the max, bopping along with a fairly strong beat that thankfully manages not to go to far into aegyo. “No Felix this time, a tragedy,” I faux-wailed to Junie, who promptly rolled their eyes. But what we do have this time is interesting, since it goes for a somewhat darker aesthetic in the music video, markedly different from NiZiU’s usually sunniness, though the song is still upbeat. And then, of course, it switches, and the whole thing is infused with bright blues and bubblegum pinks, like a clearer version of Yoake. “Magic of friendship returns!” Junie declared triumphantly.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! It was really interesting to look at a group that’s both a step outside of kpop and very much a kpop group, and I had a lot of fun comparing and contrasting. (Love me a Venn Diagram.) I also enjoyed learning about NiZiU as people too, like I always do. And, of course, this section wouldn’t be complete without thanking Junie for coming along on this little journey with me through K-pop / J-pop land; I hope they had even half as much fun as I did. Love you bestie <3!

My Top 5 songs were Chopstick, Paradise, 9 Colors, Heartris, and Memories, with Love & Like as an honorable mention. Junie was partial to Rise Up, Heartris, and Take A Picture. NiZiU gets an 8.75 out of 10 from me, which is much higher than I’d expected! In general, some of their songs fall into the “background music” category for me: songs that I wouldn’t search out but am not opposed to listening to, and I had some issues with their hooks or random sing-talk sections. But, on the whole, I had so much fun watching their music videos and seeing their dances, lyrics, and fun spirit. In the cases where they tried something new, or just really aced their core sound, they’ve make some excellent songs. I think that, with a few little tweaks, they could become a favorite group of mine.

Next time, we’re onto a very different girl group. Tschüss!