クルエラ (Cruella) is a relatively new band in the ヴィジュアル系 (Visual Kei) genre, born out of the temporary project 悪役〈C〉 (Akuyaku C) which was started in February of 2024, but the band made the change to クルエラ (Cruella) in September before releasing their very first digital single レミゼラブル (Remizeraburu) (or “Les Miserables”) in late November of the same year.
With the members formerly being in projects like SARIGIA and LABAISER (and other lesser known names like SIREN and YARENAI), the theme of クルエラ (Cruella) is unsurprisingly related to the メンヘラ系 (Menhera Kei) genre, but also has influences of the コテオサ系 (Koteosa Kei) and even the コテ系 (Kote Kei) genres in both their visuals and their sound.
レミゼラブル (Remizeraburu) is the first single of the group, and exists out of three tracks: “レミゼラブル“ (Remizeraburu), “KA[V]KA” and “曖昧ストロベリィ” (Aimai Sutoroberii), each telling their own story that adds to the theme suggested by the title of the single. This does mean that the single isn’t a consecutive story where each track builds on or adds to the previous, but each track has their own “story” of sorts.
Goodbye, my beloved
Starting off our slow descent into madness is “レミゼラブル” (Remizeraburu), which like I said a moment ago doesn’t have a real story hidden in it’s lyrics, but does give a very good impression on why クルエラ (Cruella) is very worthy of the メンヘラ系 (Menhera Kei) genre. Rather than a story we’re listening to vocalist 朱鳥 (Asuka) vocalizing a slow descent into madness where he throws away his laughter and can hear the bell of the end, supported by the slower, yet deeper sound of 凪斗 (Nagito) and 薫 (Kaworu)’s guitars, the more prominent bass lines of 椿 (Tsubaki) and the simple, yet fitting drums of 紫亜 (Shia).
All of these elements come together to create a very catchy rhythm that’s very easy to get into, and sticks in your mind for quite some time. By the time the song reaches the end and the instruments show one more time that they’re not just there for show, they also pave the way for the second track, which despite having a different sound and rhythm, really benefits from this buildup.
The music video shows the band on a large stage in what appears to be a theater based on the seats that are visible in some of the shots, but also features footage from circus performers in between shots of the band. In some parts of the music video there’s also a traditional projector, and the effects of older film return throughout the video as well, same for the color scheme dominantly being shades of orange and yellow, which is very fitting in combination with the circus theme and the cover art of the release itself.
Does the music video tell the story of the song? Not quite, but that is mostly because there isn’t an actual story in the lyrics themselves, but a short moment of movement instead. But since 悪役〈C〉 (Akuyaku C) has a song named “PIERROT”, the connection with the circus visuals isn’t too far off in my opinion. The music video is a nice bonus in addition to the rest of the single, but is not a requirement to get the full story.
The second track, “KA[V]KA”, is similar to the title track from a lyrical standpoint, in the sense that there is a theme present, but no real story or event is being told in detail. With a faster rhythm and a more prominent bassline “KA[V]KA” sounds more aggressive than it’s predecessor, but sports a rhythm that’s just as catchy while the lyrics are actually more on the sad side, building onto the already more unstable lyrics we heard earlier. “Collecting scattered fragments of memories. Painting an unstable tomorrow. “I want to touch you”.”
While “ レミゼラブル” (Remizeraburu) was sung entirely in Japanese, “KA[V]KA” actually mixes some English into it’s lyrics, which also adds to the theme by switching between a more stable and a more unstable version of the storyteller.
The last track on the single is “曖昧ストロベリィ” (Aimai Sutoroberii), or “ambiguous strawberry” in English. Not only is it the shortest song on the release, it’s also the most aggressive – even though it’s title might suggest otherwise. If you’ve seen my recent reviews of RAZOR’s “SAMURAIソードMAN” (Samurai Sword Man) and “エアレンデル” (Earendel) singles, you know exactly what I am hinting at with this statement.
Just like “KA[V]KA”, “曖昧ストロベリィ” (Aimai Sutoroberrii) mixes English and Japanese lyrics, where 朱鳥 (Asuka) is singing the Japanese parts of the song, but the supporting background vocals take care of the English parts. Despite both languages being used, they “speak” in the same style, meaning that they’re both on the same level of emotion rather than one being optimistic and the other being pessimistic, for example. But how exactly does “曖昧ストロベリィ” (Aimai Sutoroberrii) mix in with the other two tracks? Like I said in the introduction already, we’re not listening to a story, but rather to a theme. And based on that “曖昧ストロベリィ” (Aimai Sutoroberrii) fits with the other two songs perfectly, completing the single with a similar style of lyrics than the two songs before it.
Conclusion
As a whole the three tracks on “レミゼラブル” (Remizeraburu) mix very well with each other, and it’s a pretty good start for クルエラ (Cruella). While the theme can be divided in “sound” and “visuals”, there absolutely is a theme there. All three songs compliment each other rather than being three individual songs that only have their space on this single in common.
If you enjoyed the works of 悪役〈C〉 (Akuyaku C), you will enjoy the works of クルエラ (Cruella). And if you enjoyed 朱鳥 (Asuka)’s vocals in SARIGIA, you will absolutely enjoy them here too. Since his ‘sweet’ tone absolutely adds an extra layer to the madness of the lyrics.
The music video for the title song complimented the song enough to pull some of the sound you hear into a visual format you can see, and also highlights the band in a way you’d want to see, making the visual part (meaning: their outfits) matter rather than merely being materials the members wear.
“レミゼラブル” (Remizeraburu) is only available as a digital single at the moment of writing, so we’re more than happy to share the Spotify version of it with you:
More about クルエラ (Cruella)
 (Cruella)        |  (Asuka)  |  (Nagito) |  (Kaworu) |
 (Tsubaki) |  (Shia) |
雪 (Yuki) is the owner and driving force behind Arlequin.
She originally started the project in 2009 as a photographer under the name of Arlequin Photography, but developed an interest in journalism and translation ever since. Because of these interests interviews and reviews were added to the project, until it eventually hit the limits as a "photographer" in 2021, and Arlequin Magazine was added to the mix.
雪 (Yuki) is a native Dutch speaker with a graphic design degree, which means she is also the main person behind Arlequin Creations.
After all these years, she's still the one responsible for the interviews and most of the live photography you see here at Arlequin, but the majority of reviews and behind-the-scenes work is also done by her.
The reviews she writes are from the viewing point of an overseas fan, and thus written in English before being translated to Dutch, Spanish and Japanese. In the English versions she also tries to explain the meaning behind certain kanji or song titles to the readers, but what you don't see here is that these explanations are omitted in the Japanese versions in order to appeal to these readers more.
She speaks Dutch and English on a native level, but also understands Japanese and German.