page_title: Documentaly
section_title: Critical reception
hierarchical_section_title: Documentaly / Reception / Critical reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Yellow Magic Orchestra after a 2008 concert in London England.
context_page_description: Documentaly is the fifth studio album by Japanese band Sakanaction, released on September 28, 2011. Written around a documentary theme, the band were inspired by personal and world events in 2011 to create material for the album.
  The band decided to release three singles prior to the album, as a way to alleviate the pressure that the band felt to release new music after the success of their previous album Kikuuiki, and as a way to show the album's development process. The first single "Identity", a song originally written during that album's recording sessions, was released three months after Kikuuiki. The band intended to release "Endless" as the album's second single, however as they were not fully satisfied with the song, released "Rookie" in its place in March 2011. Just prior to the single's physical release, Japan experienced the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, which made Yamaguchi re-evaluate the reasons why the band made music. Originally, the album's documentary concept focused on themselves as a band, but the disaster prompted Yamaguchi to take inspiration from world events such as the earthquake.
context_section_description: The album was well received by music critics in Japan. Yuya Shimizu of Rolling Stone Japan gave the album four out of five stars, praising how the album blended DFA Records-style dance rock and minimal techno with their Japanese pop sensibilities, and also noting Yamaguchi's oddness and lyrical sense. Kenta Eizumi of Vibe felt that Sakanaction expressed a strong sense of crisis happening in the contemporary Japanese music business on the album. By creating an album themed around documentaries, and giving the listener a chance to understand the entire creation process, Eizumi felt that Documentaly expressed the preciousness of music more so than other musical works. Looking at the album's central track "Endless", Shimizu felt that the song was an ambitious "compilation-like work", likening it to electronic musician Rei Harakami. CDJournal reviewers praised the "calm piano intro" that transitioned from the album's previous song "Ryūsen", and how the song progressed into "a Sakanaction-like electro and rock fusion sound". They praised Yamaguchi's lyrics, feeling they were "symbolic" and "like two recursive mirrors".
  Naohisa Matsunaga of Excite felt that the album showed "the unfolding of a peculiarly intelligent and pop world", noting the album's "profound" band sound that adopted danceable electronic elements, as well as the "catchy and thrilling" sound progression. CDJournal called the album a "must listen disc", praising the increased skill of the "literary world" of Yamaguchi's lyrics, and the album's "fantasy-like nostalgia". They described "Monochrome Tokyo" as an "impressive rock number created by synthesizer and bass guitar riffs", praising the band's skill at removing musical elements as well as Yamaguchi's "emotionally sung" and "sexy" vocals. For "Antares to Hari", the reviewers felt that a "stylish jazz funk aroma" was created by a "relaxed" bass line and guitar cutting, and praised the light atmosphere created by the deep synths, while "Ryūsen"'s "comfortable" acoustic guitar "paints a dramatic and grand scene." They felt that the song managed to develop and increase in "temperature" without becoming noisy, and pointed to this as well as the "abstract" lyric "ryūsen, arata ni ryūsen" (流線 新たに流線, "streamline, a new streamline") as creating a "mysterious atmosphere". The reviewers likened "Kamen to Machi" to Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra, and felt a sense of tension created by Yamaguchi's fast-tempo vocals and the changing background instrumental. They believed that the album's closing song "Document" was a condensation of the album's taste, and that the final lyric "ai no uta utatte mo ii kana tte omoihajimeteru" (愛の歌 歌ってもいいかなって想い始めてる, "I'm starting to think that it's okay to sing love songs") set to a "relaxed and hopeful sound" had a powerfully lingering impression.
  Reviewing the first single "Identity", CDJournal reviewers gave the single their star of approval, calling it the "highest [level of] pop music" and a future anthem for Sakanaction. They praised the "radical but considered electro sound" and the "danceable" four on the floor beat. They praised Yamaguchi's "unique" lyrical sense, as well as Yamaguchi's vocals at the start of the chorus as he sang the word dōshite, feeling it was "intense". Sumire Hanatsuka of Skream! felt that the song blended a Latin rhythm with the "spirits of a Japanese festival". For the song's B-side, featured as a bonus track on the album, reviewer Yuichi Hirayama described the song as "an electro tune demanding an escape from anguish", feeling that it had all of the "power" of "Identity" and the other band's singles. Reviewing the "Like a Live" remix found as the bonus track on Documentaly, CDJournal reviewers praised the song's "rhyme-like wordplay and exhilarating sound".
  Critics praised the second single "Rookie" for its new style, not seen in previous Sakanaction works. The third single, "Bach no Senritsu o Yoru ni Kiita Sei Desu", was praised for its "ecstatic beat" and "elegant piano", and "smart dance music" sense. Dai Onojima of Rockin' On Japan felt 
caption: CDJournal critics likened the song "Kamen no Machi" to Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra.
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