Unlimited (stylized as UNLIMITED) is the debut[a] studio album of Shouta Aoi and his second overall. The album was released on April 22, 2015.
| Unlimited | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Regular edition cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 22, 2015 | |||
| Genre | J-pop | |||
| Length | 53:36 | |||
| Label | B-Green | |||
| Producer | Elements Garden | |||
| Shouta Aoi chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Unlimited | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Unlimited" on YouTube | ||||
Background and release
Unlimited is Shouta Aoi's debut studio album and the first under his voice acting stage name.[a] The album compiles songs from his previous singles, "Virginal", "True Hearts", and "Himitsu no Kuchizuke", as well as his work in the stage play Margarita: Sengoku no Tenshi-tachi, along with seven new original songs.[3] The album was released on April 22, 2015 under the B-green label.[4] The album was also released in two different limited edition versions with alternate covers and DVD exclusives.[5][6] The limited edition A version's DVD exclusive contains the music video for "Unlimited" and making-of footage, while the limited edition B's version includes a short documentary and a dance lesson for the choreography featured in "Unlimited."[3]
Music
Aoi called the album his "crystal" and created it with an image of a "jewelry box", where each song was a "jewelry hunt", with listeners finding something new with every song.[3] He worked with Elements Garden and requested them to produce songs where "multicolored gems would pop out when opened."[3]
The album's title track, "Unlimited", was produced by Junpei Fujita and is a "digital-ic" dance tune that represents the key to Aoi's future activities.[3] Aoi described the song as a duet with himself, where one side of him looks towards important events in the future while the other side of him looks at himself with a lack of self-confidence.[3] The music video was shot over the course of two days and used four back-up dancers, two of whom previously appeared in the music video for "True Hearts."[3] In the video, Aoi wore a costume he requested to contain the meaning of his past and future self.[3] The dual concept also carried over to the CD cover shooting, where he is pictured "slowly removing" himself from his "past days."[3]
Aside from seven new original songs, Unlimited also contained Aoi's singles previously released in 2014, including "Virginal", the ending theme song for Break Out;[7] "True Hearts"; and "Himitsu no Kuchizuke."[8] The album also contains Aoi's work in the stage play Margarita: Sengoku no Tenshi-tachi, with "Tenshi no Inori" was featured as the theme song as well as a CD version of the song "Sora wa Tomei na Chikai."[3]
Reception
The album debuted at #7 in the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and Billboard Japan Top Album Sales, charting for 5 weeks.[1][9]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Elements Garden
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unlimited" | Rucca | Junpei Fujita (Elements Garden) | Junpei Fujita (Elements Garden) | 4:28 |
| 2. | "Virginal" | Noriyasu Agematsu (Elements Garden) | Noriyasu Agematsu (Elements Garden) | Junpei Fujita (Elements Garden) | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Himitsu no Kuchizuke" | Noriyasu Agematsu (Elements Garden) | Noriyasu Agematsu (Elements Garden) | Seima Iwahashi (Elements Garden) | 4:50 |
| 4. | "Sora wa Tomei na Chikai (空は透明な誓い)" | Aki Hata | Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden) | Tomohiro Kita (Elements Garden) | 4:30 |
| 5. | "Setsuna Drop" | Rucca | Ryutaro Fujinaga (Elements Garden) | Ryutaro Fujinaga (Elements Garden) | 5:13 |
| 6. | "Split Memories" | Yoshikazu Kuwashima | Haruki Mori (Elements Garden) | Haruki Mori (Elements Garden) | 4:36 |
| 7. | "Heaven!" | Rucca | Seima Iwahashi (Elements Garden) | Seima Iwahashi (Elements Garden) | 3:30 |
| 8. | "Touch See Take Toriko (タッチ ツー テイク トリコ)" | Rucca | Tomohiro Kita (Elements Garden) | Tomohiro Kita (Elements Garden) | 5:07 |
| 9. | "True Hearts" | Rucca | Noriyasu Agematsu (Elements Garden) | Daisuke Kikuta (Elements Garden) | 4:53 |
| 10. | "No Weak, Yes Week" (stylized as "NO WEAK⇔YES WEEK") | Rucca | Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden) | Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden) | 3:44 |
| 11. | "Tenshi no Inori (天使の祈り)" | Ayane Katsuki | Evan Call (Elements Garden) | Evan Call (Elements Garden) | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Melodia" | Shouta Aoi | Shouta Aoi | Hitoshi Fujima (Elements Garden) | 4:38 |
| Total length: | 53:36 | ||||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unlimited" (Music Video) | |
| 2. | "Making of" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Shouta Aoi's True Face Documentary (蒼井翔太の素顔がみえるドキュメンタリー映像)" | |
| 2. | "Choreography lecture (振付レクチャー)" |
Charts
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales[9] | 7 |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart[1] | 7 |