So, you guys all should know by now that I tend not to be very impressed by °C-ute. However, previews of their new song SHOCK have some out, and… I kind of like it? Then again, look at it. It doesn’t really sond like a °C-ute song, or not like anything they’ve done recently, and the lyrics are very predominantly sung by Airi and only Airi. When the other girls sing? They all seem to be trying to sing like Airi. Before the preview, there was an Airi mic rip of the song that showed up and most people thought there was something wrong with it because it seemed Airi was singing the entire song. Then the preview came out… and we know she pretty much is. This is probably why I like it. A lack of Maimi singing is always a plus for me. I also listened to the b-side… and I find it to be typical °C-ute and I don’t so much abhor it as I just don’t care to finish listening to the song once I’ve started.
Over at H!O on the forums, so many people are up in arms about this single and demanding that somehow another girl at least gets to dance in the center. Only, that wouldn’t work. When you have 5 girls in a group, whoever’s singing is going to be the one up front. If Airi’s always singing… Yeah. Back when the group was 7 or 8 members, it was easy to not really have a center. Berryz still manages it. One girl might be predominantly in the center, but they switch up enough that it’s really just taking turns. With 5 and only one member singing for most of the song, I just don’t see where they’re even going to try to manage something “even”.
Granted, none of the fans have any idea why Airi is getting such a push for this single. Previously, she and Maimi have been relatively even, but now Maimi is as much in the background as Chisato is. If this is going to be °C-ute from now on, I might be able to get into them at last. But, maybe this is a trial. After all, °C-ute’s sales have been down this past year. Only their cover song sold well enough to make it onto the Oricon Top 200 list, and even then it was just barely. Maybe Maimi asked to not be a lead this time because she’s trying to focus on school, or H!P is trying out Airi in a larger role to maybe start her down a solo career path. I’ve already called that I think the end of °C-ute is near unless they add new members. Is H!P preparing for that as well? No one is in the know on this matter at the moment, and regardless? Airi has the charisma and the voice and the look to be able to make it on her own, so why not try her as the sole lead? I don’t think Maimi could pull it off. Airi does not fade into the background. Maimi can. Then again, the Maimi fans probably don’t think so.
I am interested to see the PV for this. The song samples from the James Bond music, but the outfits from the single covers look more like they’re trying to be ringleaders. Fans who have already seen a live performance describe the dance as being very beautiful, but °C-ute generally does a good dance anyway, so I’m not too worried there. Also, my list of °C-ute preference have changed to allow Nakki into second place. I don’t like her voice all that much, but I like her dancing and her attitude, and her voice is acceptable. I’ve started to forget Mai is even in the group because I’m so “meh” about her. And I don’t like the other two, but they’re hardly a feature in the song, so we’ll see.
So, the Miracle Girl is graduating tonight. Kusumi Koharu will no longer be a member of Morning Musume. Yet, she won’t get to join that special group of the OG MMs. She is truly the first to be cast adrift on her own. Way before her time, it may seem, but let’s look at this a bit more closely.
Koharu was supposed to be the Miracle member to ignite Momusu again. She was almost immediately made a soloist as well. Her solo career outdid what Momusu was doing, really. So, Tsunku is looking back and realizing that maybe with Kirarin Revolution ended, he needs to bring her back as a soloist again, though maybe as a variety idol like Yaguchi who is doing very well these days. We haven’t really seen Koharu do much else other than dance and sing, but I think we should assume that the girl can act because you can’t keep up cute and cracktastic like she has without at least some of it being a very believeable act.
I think Tsunku also seems to have some intention of turning Momusu back toward being a female vocal group rather than an idol group. I say this merely because there’s a certain quality of voice that is coming out of the more recent singles with more harmonies interwoven in everything. Many of the members of the current Musume are actually talented singers, but I wouldn’t really count Koharu as one of them. But, it’s not that she can’t sing. It’s that her personality is easily able to outshine what talent she does have. She’s the last remaining BIG PERSONALITY of Momusu. Sayu is close, but Sayu also keeps it reigned in most of the time to help support the cause of cute. Koharu will be able to carry off whatever she goes to do because she can sell well on her own. Her most recent Hello! Store sales are on a level that no single member has reached since 2006.
I think we should assume that with this final break in the been-together-the-longest Musume, there are going to be some changes coming. More girls may leave before the end of 2010. More girls may finally arrive. UFA is hiding their hand at the moment, and I think this is a big bet to see whether they should fold.
Looking at things logically, there will eventually be a time to dissolve Morning Musume. But is that time now? No. Not at all. With other idol groups doing quite well lately, there’s just beginning to not be the room for Momusu in the place they’ve been holding in history, so maybe they should step up and get back to their roots.
But, back to Koharu. She’s a beautiful girl, and one of the things she’ll be doing is modeling. She certainly has the look for it, and for Japan I think her height will not be as large a barrier as it would be elsewhere. I think her focus wouldn’t really be on runway work, though. Not when she looks so stunning in print. I think I’ll just end this with some good ol’ picspam and best wishes fod Koharu in whatever she ends up doing.
I expect to see a lot more of you soon, Koharu. I’ll miss your presence in Momusu and your solo singles and the crack running through your veins… not to mention your hot pants.
I’m coming in pretty late on this, but happy birthday Shimizu Saki, the illustrious Captain of the Berryz ship.
In some ways, I think that Captain has really come into her own lately. She’s really begun to “own her body”, and not just when she’s dancing. She looks comfortable in her own skin even in front of the cameras and its translating to her taking better pictures. I’ve included a handful here so you can all see that Captain really did deserve a birthday PB as she is one of only 5 of the main H!P members to not currently have one.
So, agreed? Captain is looking pretty awesome lately.
Yet, in some ways, I feel as though she’s being allowed to sink into the scenery in Berryz. We know from numerous sources that Captain likes to put the other girls and Berryz in general ahead of herself, but I’d like to see Tsunku encourage her talent. Since her dance solo in Berryz first concert, Captain has become one of the girls who doesn’t always get a solo line despite having a stronger and more consistent voice than Yurina. She doesn’t get put center for dances despite being so obviously better than any of the other girls there. I know she’s content to speak for the group, but it seems like that hasn’t been happening as much lately either.
This is probably just be speaking as a Captain wota, but I want the girl front and center now that she’s 18. While that’s still an age of minority to a point in Japan, I think Captain is definitely able to own who she is and can take Berryz Koubou further than they have been previously. They’ve just broken 30k sales in the first week for their second time only. They’re the go-to group of the Kids groups for the one that celebrities know and the one that’s popular in other countries. Sometimes you have to sweat it out in the minor leagues until your big chance comes, and I think with Captain? That chance is possible.
My “proof”?
Yeah. Even Miya can’t take her eyes off of Captain.
I was going to try to sit down and write a post convincing you all to buy the new Berryz single. And, you know, you should. It’s two immensely wonderful tracks, 5 gloriously interesting girls, plus Momo and Yurina (:p), and there’s a certain amount of sexiness in the singing of Watashi no Mirari no Danna-sama that certainly didn’t appear in Morning Musume’s new song about boobs and rump shaking. Just sayin’.
So, instead I’ll ponder about why I got so heavily into female idols and yet rarely listen to male idols.
Yes, rarely. I do listen to NEWS and w~inds pretty regularly, with a good handful of ARASHI. Do Takki & Tsubasa count? I suppose…
See, maybe that’s part of it. I have a harder time identifying the “idols” from the other artists when it comes to the guys. Because, really, it comes down to the definition of an idol. Sure, you use the definition of just “idol” which is (according to dictionary.com): any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion. Suddenly, Gackt is an idol. B’z is an idol. Yet, we tend not to consider them so. Why? I tend to think it’s a matter of talent. These guys play instruments, and write their own songs. Does this suddenly mean that certain persons we identify as idols who can play instruments and write songs aren’t really idols but “artists”? Probably not.
If it seems as though your “artist” was “created” rather than simply developing, that’s “idol” right there. This doesn’t mean they aren’t talented… just that maybe that wasn’t the biggest reason they were signed to their agency.
Johnny’s is obviously the biggest name in bringing you male idols in Japan. I try to assume that every artist they represent is idol until proven otherwise. Yet, another part of being an idol seems to be selling your personality as well as selling your talent or lack thereof. Maybe I’m wrong because I don’t follow the guys much, but while certain groups seem to do this, it doesn’t seem they all do. Does that discount them as idols, or simply point to the fact that they have enough factors beyond their faces to promote as well?
I want to talk about some individual groups and why I like or dislike them. First up, SMAP. Arguably, these guys are one of the best and brightest for male idols. They’ve been around since 1991. Yes, that means they’re 18 and legal… always important with an idol. Yet, for all they’ve been around for 8 years longer, they’ve only released about the same number of singles as Morning Musume. Interestingly enough, they really were “created” in 1988 or so from a group of backup dancers for Hikaru Genji, but didn’t really hit their stride until 1993 or so. Almost everything they’ve released has hit #1. All of the members have profitable careers as actors and spokepeople. As it is, one of the members earlier this year was involved in druken public indecency and the repercussions were pretty large, which only tends to happen if you’re still big in the business. As far as I go, though, I just can’t get into SMAP. I have a friend who has tried. That’s not to say I don’t like the music, but it doesn’t have the spark to it that makes me really continue to listen.
ARASHI has been around their 10 years or so, and their story isn’t too different from SMAP’s, except that they were sucessful to start with, then it kind of declined for a while until in 2006 or so they had some spectacular hits. From then on, ARASHI has been a chart dominator. Their new singles are #1s, no question. I tend to like their music, but it isn’t something I’m ever really compelled to listen to. But, if I hear it, I get into it except for the rapping which it seems is all actually written and performed by… Sho? I don’t really know the members well enough to identify them by voice or anything and I can’t be bothered to actually check up on a lot of this stuff. Additionally, I can say one of my favorite doramas I’ve ever watched is Yamada Tarou Monogatari which stars I believe Nino and Sho from ARASHI in roles very different from how they actually are, or so I remember reading.
Next up… NEWS! I think for me, NEWS is the most idol-y of the guy groups just because they remind me so much of most of the Hello! Project groups. Sure, most of the time they’re cool… but sometimes they’re huge dorks. Additionally, I adore Tomohisa Yamashita. I was introduced to him through the dorama Nobuta wa Produce, and have watched most of the other doramas he’s been in. I’ve read up on him and feel the same kind of pull as I do toward Captain from Berryz and Junjun from Momusu. I can recognize that he isn’t the most talented vocalist of the group, but he certainly tries hard and that’s admirable in an idol. I couldn’t name off any of the other members of the group, but I can name off a handful of songs that I consider favorites and often do go searching out the music on my hard drive because I feel like listening. NEWS are pretty good sellers themselves. All 11 of their singles were weekly #1s and have all sold at least 150,000 copies in the first week. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that they release so rarely? Since their debut in… 2004? Yeah, only 11 singles. 3 albums. But, the guys all seem to stay busy in doramas and such.
I was also introduced to KAT-TUN through Nobuta wo Produce with Kamemashi Kazuya. KAT-TUN had their debut in 2006 or so. They’ve release 10 singles? And… 4 albums? I pretty sure I’m right there. And, for whatever reason, all of their singles have sold at least 250,000 copies in their first week. I don’t get it, but I don’t understand the appeal of Perfume either. I think I’m just perpetually turned off by this awkward hip-thrusting thing Kame did in NoWoPro and the vaguely blinged-out image the group seems to have most of the time.
My started male idol group, though? w~inds. With 8 albums and 27 singles, they’ve been around since 2001. Their early singles sold in the 200,000 copies range, but in the past few years, sales have dropped to the 40,000 copies range. Granted, I think that’s fair given that I like a lot more of their early work than I do their more recent singles. The idol feeling is there, especially in the fact that several of their songs are based on American boyband songs. They’re not with Johnny’s, and I like it that way. I don’t have any particular love for a specific member, but it is kind of nice to not be too much older than any of them.
Takki & Tsubasa is another group I guess I do kind of buy as idols. One element of being an idol is versatility, and these guys have it in spades. They go from a rather poppy double A-side with X~Dame/Crazy Rainbow Star to a rather rocky Samurai with ease. Then again, these guys debuted in 2002 or so. They seem to have T&T as kind of a side project almost as Takki also releases solo works and both also do solo concerts. Also, while they’re Johnny’s boys, they actually release through avex trax which is kind of fun. They tend to do in the 100,000 range of sales for first week copies, but I think their quality tends to be a bit higher than a lot of the other groups, and both members are branching out into writing and such.
I know I’m not even touching on a lot of the groups, but I wanted to kind of state my views on a handful there and do a bit of a comparison. It really seems like guy idol groups tend to release less often than girl idol groups. ARASHI has been around about as long as Momusu, but has like 14 less singles? Hell, SMAP barely has more singles out than Momusu and they’ve been around like 6 years longer. I like getting new releases often. It makes me a happy wota.
In a way, too, female idol groups are the underdog of late. Sure, AKB48 is doing well, but look at how much they had to put into it to get to that point. I like to root for the underdog, hence my above plea of “Buy your Berryz fresh!”.
Additionally, I like costumes. And, while guy groups do wear costumes, a lot of times they just look like bad clothing choices. It’s kind of sad. Instead of bling and tight pants, give me feather boas and safety pants. It’s more visually pleasing to me. Granted, I won’t deny there’s certain bits of fanservice that go on in Johnny’s concerts that I rather enjoy, but overall, I’d rather watch the girls have fun.
In the idol world, everyone has their own preference. You’d be incredibly hard-pressed to find someone else with exactly your idol views. As it is, even if you find someone else with identical favorite groups, then you have to have the same favorite members. On top of that, there’s having favorite songs, etc. So, in the long run, you’re kind of on your own in the idol-loving world except where you can find other people who do have certain commonalities and enjoy that for a bit until you move on because suddenly someone who loves your fave group but hates your fave member starts trying to befriend you, or you can just put a bit of a focus on all of your fave groups without getting too into any of it, or you can be like me and probably most wota and devote yourself whole-heartedly to a very few with a handful of others who you look in on from time to time. For me, Berryz Koubou and Morning Musume take the current cake, and until they do something to make me no longer want that cake, I’ve got both on my plate and NEWS and w~inds and ARASHI and a handful of other idols are there on the table, and a bunch of non-idol groups are in the fridge just waiting to be pulled out, and now, thanks to this cake metaphor, I’m hungry.
I keep having so much going on in my life at the moment that I’m not keeping up with stuff I should. (I need to hop on #wotachat, probably, and let everyone know I’m not actually dead… just lacking the significant amounts of time I had a while back. I don’t think I’ve posted anything to IW in… quite a while, now.)
So, I’m just going to do a quick little rundown of some of the recent things going on in the idol world.
First up… new PVs! Released last week, Morning Musume’s Kimagure Princess, and released a few days ago, Berryz Koubou’s Ryuusei Boy, and released a few minutes ago, Berryz Koubou’s Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama.
KIMAGURE PRINCESS
For their 41st single, Morning Musume did something… a little different. I could not stand this the first time I heard it, and it’s very slowly growing on me except for the “chipmunk” bits. However, I do have to applaud an overall lessening of Reina. If anything, Eri is the one who dominates this track. It’s nice to see her get a bit more screen time as she is better than Reina in every way to me (except maybe consistent strength of voice in concert, and that’s still a toss-up).
As for the PV, I’m really honestly glad that Morning Musume is paring down a bit. For all that the dynamic was interesting when it was a large group, I think the shafting of 8th gen needs to stop, and whatever needs to happen for that, needs to happen. I don’t like Aika as an idol, and have issues with Linlin (she has great control, but poor tone, and I don’t like her look), but give me Junjun, please! The girl is extremely entertaining and is old enough to do the sexy thing and not look silly. Watch her in her cage scenes. Hell, watch her in any scene! The girl has confidence now that she didn’t have before and she makes it WORK.
As far as the dance, I actually kind of like it. Bits of it bother me… like the butt shake. Everyone does it differently. Gaki and Reina barely seem to move their butts, so they look awkward. Junjun does a little Time-Warp-esque hip shake. Linlin does a hip grind, which I feel probably works the best of any of them. I like the Russian-inspired moves the best (it takes me back to Souda! WE’RE ALIVE! and Balalaika), but it feels strange to have that type of dance with those outfits. Why black and white again? Why cowgirl outfits? Why holes in the pants? I generally like Morning Musume outfits, even some of the wackier concert ones, but these just feel uninspired. Sure, this is like Momusu’s 50th PV or something (what with the extra ones they’re made here and there), but when the only real originality comes in the fact that no one else would wear those outfits? Ouch.
I’m hoping the straight dance shot version of this PV will let me love it more. As it is, I just can’t quite stay in the mood to watch it to always get through the PV.
RYUUSEI BOY
Now, onto Berryz! My favorite group is doing a double A-side release again as their 21st single, and I’m excited for this PV, though I do have a slight preference for Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama as a song. Still, Ryuusei Boy is fun and fresh and obviously DANCE MAN.
My biggest complaints for this PV? Captain’s lack of solo/duet lines (now, granted, maybe she’s doing a lot of the back-up vocals and such, but still!) and… Miya.
I don’t know why, but it feels like lately Miya has been pulling back on her vocals. In the beginning of the song, she has a somewhat strong voice. It’s not Risako strong (like her tonal quality or not, she can command her lines when necessary), but it’s not out of place. As the song progresses, though, it seems like Miya’s voice is trying to go from powerful to sultry, and is losing too much along the way. I’ve noticed this same thing in concerts for Miya lately. During the Gag a capella bit from the last Berryz concert, Miyabi just seems subdued. I’d rather hear her just go for it, and sharpness and flatness be damned. I think it’s even seeping into her Buono! work a bit. Miya is a great performer, but I wonder what’s going on with her at the moment.
As for the dance, it seems they brought in a new choreographer? At least, that’s what I’ve heard. It seems it’s someone who’s good at “young” choreography. Since this is the Inazuma Eleven theme, I guess that’s a good thing, and seeing it? Yeah. It’s good. Berryz really show a lot of personality when they dance (in my opinion, a lot moreso than the other H!P groups) so even a simple dance like this can be very effective. I think the two who shine the most in this dance? Captain and Risako. Captain obviously finds the dance very easy, which is why she is there smiling like an absolutely captivating maniac. As for Risako, when was the last time she was this engaged in a PV? Ever? Look at her during her close-ups. She’s so energetic, the camera guy is having a hard time keeping her in frame. She’s being what could only be called… fierce. It’s wonderful.
Most of the girls look pretty fabulous here, too. The dress is nearly identical for everyone, but the girls pull it off in different ways. Momo and Miya look cute. Yurina and Chinami look elegant. Risako, Maasa and Captain look gorgeous.
Look at that! That is confidence, allure… and, pardon me, I’m drooling. That pose, too, is killer. Captain makes that look straight out of a fashion magazine. Heck, I want that dress now.
The green screen effects are simple, but effective. They’re in space. As Ryuusei means meteor, it makes sense. They’re zooming around through space… and fertilize a random egg to make the Earth… Well, it’s no more weird than monkeys, so we’ll go with it.
As far as the dance, I love that it draws parallels so many places. When they go into a line at about 30 seconds in, that’s pretty disco. At 50 seconds in, that spinning? It reminds me a bit of Momusu’s Nanchatte Renai, but done better. Seriously, watch Captain spin. That’s straight out of Sound of Music. The bit at 1:56 or so where they’re leaned over toward one another? Hi, Iroppoi Jirettai. Although, obviously Captain and Miya are cutest at that moment. :p There are other little bits, too, but best of all? There’s a lot of movement. On top of that, the angle is changing a lot, so even though it’s primarily dance bits and close-ups like a typical H!P PV, it still draws your eye around so it isn’t boring. Though, look through the dance choreography and see if you don’t agree that Chinami is the one most often left to do as little as possible. During both the spins and the lean over, Chinami’s just kind of standing there and doing something simple with her arms.
This is a relatively short PV, coming it at only 3:30, and it feels like it’s even shorter because it does all capture my attention. Now, I know from reading other people’s responses that a lot of people just don’t like this PV. Then again, they were probably expecting a store. I just wanted cute girls dancing and looking good, and got that and then some.
WATASHI NO MIRAI NO DANNA-SAMA
This was actually posted as I was typing this entry up, so might as well go ahead and review it, too.
First impression? MOMO, GTFO! Still, it’s interesting to see Berryz do something a little “unusual” that isn’t their… usual unusual?
The outfits are, like last single, the ones from the non-Inazuma A-side. It’s interesting to see that, like Ryuusei Boy, there’s hardly any difference between the outfits. Maybe they’re attempting to highlight the differences in the girls themselves? After all, that seems to be Tsunku’s favorite part of Berryz.
As for the dance… I’m not loving it yet. It’s a little stilted in parts, though maybe I’ll find later that it goes with the song? I don’t know… there’s a part where some of the girls are doing moves out of the Bangles’ Walk Like An Egyptian video. There’s a syncopated part of the dance where they’re all kind of standing in a line and moving their bodies around at different intervals.
The key bit of the PV that I do adore? Unusual for me… but I adore the close-up bits the most. For once, it’s not just photos against a wall. It’s sitting in different chairs (of course Momo is “too short” to be able to actually put her legs down) and looking gorgeous, and then playing with feathers. Some girls interact with them. Captain kicks her feet a bit and looks up like it’s snowing.
Chinami, in particular, looks really good in this outfit. Granted, it looks like the costume was based on Old West saloon showgirl outfits, but that doesn’t seem to be a here or there issue. All of the girls are wearing some kind of head piece. From the cover preview (a rather small picture) it seemed like only Maasa was wearing a hat, but several others are as well. Yurina is wearing a rather close-fitting beret that matches her hair color quite closely… this looks rather odd in a lot of her shots.
There is a bit of a story to this PV, too. They are, literally, searching for their future husband… with what seems to be a branch of the CELEB or NOT? computer from Fighting Pose. It seems to be having each guy it comes across try on the “hat” of husband.
Regardless of the bits of this that I don’t like all that much (the disjointed dance, the waiting room look of the main room they’re in, Momo’s stiff legs, the strange costumes, the fact that the flower in Captain’s hair just look like a bizarro poof when viewing her face from the front), I like that they’re cutting up almost constantly. Every time they go over to look to see if their (?) husband has been found yet, they’re giggling and laughing and pushing each other gently. At the end, several of them look several disappointed that a husband has not yet been found.
Also? Captain gets a solo line! I didn’t actually listen to the full preview that became available because I had been told multiple times that Captain was denied again, but that’s not the case. Granted, then Momo steals her follow-up “ne~e”, but that barely makes me want to kill her as I find that I don’t mind her so much in this PV.
So, pretty much… I like it. I think I prefer the Ryuusei Boy dance by quite a bit, but it’s really hard to beat the feathers. (Keep an eye out for all of the stuffed animal dogs that are scattered throughout the video, too.)
ONTO OTHER THINGS!
First, what the hell Berryz! Momo got the flu… and has now passed it to 4 other members of Berryz. Miya, Chinami, Maasa, and Captain are all sick now. Therefore, concerts and events for this weekend are being rescheduled, so they’ll have under pretty much Halloween to get better. When it was just Momo sick, I had high hopes that Captain would get to do her solo of VERY BEAUTY during the concerts that were supposed to happen tomorrow. No luck, though. Hugs and drugs to Berryz, guys. Someone make them rice porridge! (And tell Momo not to “spread the love” so much next time.)
H!P calendars are coming out, and so far? The response has been very MEH… until Berryz pictures started leaking. It seems it’s being done in the vein of when Buono! did the comic-book pics. It’s very colorful.
Graduations are happening this month. Erika? Meh. She’ll probably do a lot better as a model. Koharu? I’ll just hope she’s back soon. I liked her a lot as a soloist, so I’m glad to see her back to it, and like I said before, maybe it’ll open everything up a bit more for 8th gen. The next single will almost definitely be with an 8-nin lineup unless they secretly snuck in an audition, or decided one of the eggs would join Momusu. But, we should probably expect an audition soon. I’m actually quite looking forward to it!
There’s not really a whole lot else going on in the world of H!P, so that’s it for now. Get well soon, 5/7 of Berryz!
She’ll go after the last concert of the current Momusu tour in December. It seems she’s set to go after some solo work… particularly modeling. It seems she’ll take some time off to take some classes and all of that. But, oddly enough? Like °C-ute’s Erika who also left to pursue modeling… she’s leaving at the age of 18.
I guess I can see where you’d want to cut ties with H!P when you do get that age if you feel like there’s more you could be doing. And, Koharu’s attractive enough in my mind (unlike Erika, to me) that I can see her doing particularly well in the modeling world, even if she isn’t quite tall enough by “world standards”.
I’ll be sad to see Koha go. The girl, if nothing else, had charisma bursting at the seams.
That said, seeing as how Koharu has been doing a lot of TV shows lately… I’m wondering if Sayumi will be the next to go as she turns to being a talento.
I’ve been out of the blogging loop for a while because of a case of real-life-sucks, but things are starting to come back together again, so instead of trying to go back and write intelligently about the various things which have happened with H!P recently, I’m just going to do what I do best and babble on about what comes to mind when I think of the current incarnation of H!P.
First and foremost, Morning Musume needs to have an audition. I don’t care if they don’t pick anyone again like they did with the original 7th audition. Just… shake it up a little. The group, for all that they are finally starting to do well again, is stagnating. I love the songs that are coming out of this period to a point (Nanchatte Renai is probably my favorite so far of the new songs) but they’re starting to sound the same regardless, and there’s a certain formula that’s being followed. Takitty and Reina are sharing top billing still, but Risa and Eri are getting more and more support, then Sayumi and Koharu are definitely getting their lines in there… and 8th gen are being shafted… still. This, despite the fact that Junjun has sales that are steadily creeping upward, Linlin had a solo on an ALL-H!P album, and Aika had a solo on the last MM album. Get some new blood in there who can be shafted and no one will care. Maybe that person/those people will be good enough that the, um, Momusu Golden Girls can move on to a slightly less demanding gig.
Next on my mind is Berryz Koubou. I was worried for a while there that they weren’t going to putting out another single this year after doing their Seishun Bus Guide/Rival double A-side. But, of course, how silly of me. They’re, instead, pampering me as a fan and putting out… another double A-side. I’d hate to be horrible and ask for an album before the end of the year, too, but I’m hopeful. There hasn’t been a proper Berryz album since about a year ago right now, and while it was wonderful? I want another one that’s as good or better and isn’t chock full of nothing but singles. Additionally, recently Yurina released her 2nd PB and I didn’t care because I don’t like Yurina as a “personality” though she is pretty. Momo released her 4th PB and I didn’t care because I want a pretty face and a butt of normal proportions on the girls I drool over. Chinami released her 1st PB and while I was excited? I’m saddened that the last Berryz member to have a PB will be my favorite: Captain. Granted, Captain is the type of person to say “I won’t do a PB until everyone else in BK gets to do one,” in which case I kind of expect one for her birthday. Captain has become so attractive lately that I can’t imagine her just not getting one.
In the realm of °C-ute… it seems to me the end is near. 3 years into their operation and they’re down 3 members (or will be in a few weeks, anyway). I thought Megumi was talented, but I wasn’t an H!P fan back when she left, so I can’t really care. Kanna being gone still grips at my chest when I think of it. And, Erika’s leaving to go be a model where she’ll get paid to do almost exactly what °C-ute had her doing… standing there doing almost nothing in fabulous clothing. On top of the girls leaving, I wonder if maybe the group is doing too much. They’re pushing singles out as fast as they can. They’ve nearly caught up with BK in terms of number of albums (if you count the two Berryz minis as a single full album) and they’re about halfway there with singles… moreso if you count the indie singles. Maimai is getting a PB, but there are still 2 of the 5 girls without one. Or, rather, she’ll be the 3rd of the original 8 to get a PB… 3 of whom left before doing one. I think Erika has the chance to do one once she goes to model, though. They’ve got an Alo-Hello scheduled to come out and I can imagine it being trite and boring with all of the girls trying too hard, though we’ll see. I just feel like the group is falling apart. Their recent songs have been bombs even to longtime fans, and it’s the do-or-die-Hail-Mary moment when we’ll see if they’ll sink or swim. I don’t foresee °C-ute in the even-somewhat-distant future of H!P unless it drastically changes. Maybe I’m the only one… but doesn’t it seem like their PV budget has been drastically reduced, and the “quality” just isn’t there? Even as someone who doesn’t like °C-ute, I can still say that certain of their songs and PVs are really good.
Manoeri continues to be a bit of a plague to me. Certainly, she’s charming and attractive. But, I just don’t like to listen to her. Yet, a certain subset of the Japanese people adore her beyond all other things. She’s releasing pretty often, too, and I think Tsunku, too, realizes that the Manoeri commodity does have a shelf life.
A lot of the H!P Eggs are graduating before actually… hatching? I don’t know a lot of the names, but I think the rest of the Ongaku Gatas girls. The S/mileage members seem to be focused on dancing for Manoeri and maybe getting close to their debut soon. The girls have been replaced in Shugo Chara Egg! where they’ll be joined by 2 rather unappealing-looking girls whose names I couldn’t be bother to learn, and an as-yet-unknown fourth member to be found through an… audition! I don’t know details, but I guess we’ll see. I really like the look of the original SCE! expect for Saho Akari… and so of course she’s the only one who gets to stay in it, right?
Elder Club isn’t doing much except being invited to a few performances with Momusu here and there. Yaguchi and Tsuji have been EVERYWHERE, it seems. They even performed with most of Momusu and all of Berryz Koubou in cheering on a marathon. (°C-ute were in Hawaii at the time.)
Oh, and then there are a few little offshoots to mention. Frances and Aiko for H!P Taiwan… are somewhat cute, but really freaky… and they’ll have an album coming out soon. The song title is ridiculous and the PV seems to be ever more so. DO NOT WANT. Additionally, Tsunku seems to have sold some temporary rights to avex for “Love Machine”. They have an artist named RIKI or something who remade the song (though its not much different from the original, really) and the PV is an utter brain spasm. Tsunku appears in it for a bit, though. I hope that’ll finance the Momusu audition I want.
Still, all told? I have hope for the future of H!P. My favorite group , BK, seems to be gaining significantly more fans. My 2nd favorite, Momusu, is experiencing the best sales they’ve had since Koharu’s first single. My least favorites are doing a lot, but seem to be wearing themselves away. The cream will rise to the top (though dirt can find it’s way to float on top of it).
Argh. It’s now 3 in the morning. I believe bed is in order. I’ll do my best to blog again soon!
I have seriously tried and tried to like Manoeri. And, yes, she’s as adorable as it is humanly possible to be, and she looks half of her age, if that. So, sell her to me as a gravure girl, or a model, or even an actress… but quit trying to sell her as a musical artist.
I am so sick of seeing a new release announced… and it’s ANOTHER boring Manoeri track… often with more talented girls as her backup dancers (granted, yes, Berryz used to back up W, but there’s really no excusing that, either)… and the girl just underperforms for me.
From what I’ve heard, there are a lot of people who are very charmed with her singing and piano-playing. To me, the piano bit is something quite a few girls in H!P can do, so she’s really no different there, and the girl sounds like a Vocaloid. Granted, with how popular Vocaloid is? I can’t deny that’s probably helped Manoeri’s sales. Also helping? How about the multiple versions of each and every single? If there was different content among editions, I could almost rationalize it. But, there’s a slightly different cover and not much else. The hardcore fans will go wild and have to buy their multiple copies of each version. So, really, it’s no wonder she sold pretty well on her first few singles.
Her new single to come? It was pretty much announced before the previous one had in a week’s worth of sales. However, those sales on the new single are looking kind of iffy. Only 11k or so thus far?
I have to wonder if H!P is intentionally flooding the market with Manoeri, realizing that she is the type of commodity that can sour for the public somewhat quickly. I did not like any of her indies singles, and while I’ve liked the songs she’s put out since debuting for the most part, I don’t find any bit that she’s particularly done to be the reason I like it. I like the background music, but it isn’t like she wrote it. I like the tune, but see the note on the BG music. I like the colors and outfits in the PVs, but she likely had no part there.
If H!P wanted an Egg to get behind and put out there as a soloist, there were others who were better. Heck, with the kind of promotion that Manoeri has gotten, you could put one of the newest Eggs, Miyamoto Karin out there as a soloist and make money. People will eat what is given to them if it is presented enough times as being “worthy”. Have them make the decision solely based on sampling, and their “choices” are often completely different.
So, yeah. Quit inundating me with the Manoeri. She is an idol with a shelf life, and for me? She’s way past expiration.
So, if you haven’t noticed I’m a Berryz Koubou fan… notice it now.
Lately, Berryz have been on-the-ball. They aren’t hitting any wrong notes for me (well, okay, maybe Yurina had a few in the recent concert) and are looking more amazing every day (except that Squeak Puppet looks perpetually 12, which I’m sure is part of her appeal). The girls are becoming better singers (why, hello, Socko and your amazing ability to always hit that high note in “Rival”, except how the hell would she be able to lip synch that one note only) and better dancers (Captain had a few times recently where she didn’t stand out as being noticeably better than the rest… because some of the other girls were performing at her level) and the fame is… well, it seems like it’s finally coming.
Berryz is doing some kind of break from singles at the moment, as a new one has not been announced yet. (°C-ute has a new one dropping in September, I think.) What this means? Well, there are a lot of us who are thinking that a new album is coming. If that *is* the case, I’m looking forward to it. Berryz’ FIVE album was awesome, and I think they can only get better from there.
The next Berryz Koubou concert series will have a title that is something having to do with standing out, so I have high hopes for it. Additionally, one of these concerts is going to be played at C.C. Lemon Hall. While it is not a large venue (it can only hold about 2084 people)… it is almost never used as a dance floor, but is said to have marvelous acoustics. It could be interesting to hear some of the recordings from there, although I believe it’s one of the first shows for that tour so it’s unlikely to get recorded for the DVD.
I still need to finish watching the new concert… it’s already made a few people in Berryz lovers, so I know it has to be awesome, but I wonder if it could bring my own love to even higher levels. We’ll see. I have to do dishes and laundry first!
Geez, guys! What is happening with the °C-ute girls lately, anyway?
Kanna is gone, and I’m still kind of devastated. But today’s news does, for whatever reason, make it better. It seems the tall girl of the group, Umeda Erika, will be getting a graduation concert in a few months here. Although, the fact that she’s going to study to become a fashion model… well, we’ll see. I know there are plenty of people who find her attractive enough (and probably even tall enough), but I do wonder what she needs to study for that.
We’ve seen how Berryz and °C-ute were developing for a while. Lately, especially, Berryz has been continuing to give the lesser known girls more and more lines. Now, most of the girls seem to have at least 2 solo lines per song, and the bit about who dances center doesn’t seem to stay as constant as their dances have had then moving around more and more. After 5 years, it seems like they’ve found what works, and with Berryz? That means just about everything does. They are turning into spectacular performers, and you can see that the girls are all happy to perform whenever they can… although I can see Chinami get frustrated sometimes because the dances are maybe a bit harder than she’s comfortable with, and she still often gets gypped in the line department.
Then, there’s °C-ute… which is often called the Maimi & Airi show. Sure, there are other girls in the group. But, the other girls don’t really get lines or focus. They’re just kind of there. And °C-ute’s been together for long enough, and the other girls are talented enough (even the ones I don’t like, myself) that everyone should be getting shown off at least a bit. But, they’re not. There are plenty of people who can name off Maimi and Airi, but have no idea who Nakki, Maimai and Chisato are. What does this mean to the future 5-nin °C-ute? I’m going to go ahead and call break-up. At this rate, if things continue as they have been, I don’t foresee °C-ute lasting another year. We’ve seen UFA be reluctant to “change their formula” before, and if they don’t do so here at least a bit… °C-ute will have no future. They had a meteoric rise, so in the entertainment industry… it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the whole thing go under. I think UFA and H!P could both move on from that, though, especially because of the talent present in the other groups.
I’m sure there are some people who are as devastated about Erika leaving as I was about Kanna. Many of you may try to hold out hope that °C-ute can make it past this. But, nearly half of the girls are gone! And look what’s been done with the group in the singles without Kanna. Have the other girls gotten more lines because of it? Well, Maimi and Airi have. That doesn’t exactly inspire growth within the group. It merely creates resentment.
We’ll see what happens, and if I’m right. For those of you who are big °C-ute fans, I hope I’m not… but I wouldn’t mind seeing some more love for Berryz come about if I’m right. We’ll wait. As fans of H!P at all, that’s all we can do.
