Friday 23 December 2011

Buono! PVs for Hastukoi Cider and DEEP MIND

Hatsukoi Cider


We start off with an Airi solo. While her voice is technically good I feel it lacks warmth, if that makes sense. (She could do with some more vibrato). There at lot of things in this that remind me of other music videos. For example, the set reminds me of Perfumes 'Nee', the section from 1.00-1.10 is reminiscent of The Ting Ting's 'Shut up and let me go' and there and 'see through floor' bits that make me think of Renai Revolution 21. The colour contrast between the pink outfits and the monochrome set make this PV simple and effective. Thumbs up!

DEEP MIND


The video for DEEP MIND is very simple and the girls basically just stand and sing. However the lighting and camerawork is infact very very good for a H!P music video. I much prefer this song to Hatsukoi Cider. There is something about the song that is very intruiging. While I'm listening all I can really think is "where are they going with this?" that is similar to what I thought when I heard songs like Morning Musume's 'THE Manpower' and Tanpopo's 'Motto' for the first time. Interestingly there doesn't seem to be any form of guitar solo, which is unusual for a Buono song. There is however, a section with a great use of autotune which acts as a great replacement for an intsrumental solo. Overall, two thumbs up!!

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Hello! Project - 2011 in Review

With many new members, the debut of monster unit Mobekimasu and releases full of something called creativity, 2011 has been a year of change for Hello! Project.


Best Group - Morning Musume


   2011 has been an exciting year for Momusu. 3 singles, I album, 2 concert tours, 1 graduation and no less than 8 new members. Morning Musume really have been hurtling forward at full speed this year. I find it odd to think that just last year every single member of the group was older than me but now 7 out of 12 are younger than me! The Kyuukies were a breath of fresh air at the beginning of the year, bringing a whole new wave of talent and energy. Their first single, while not exactly my cup of tea, had an element of fun and silliness that had been missing in the more recent singles.

   The 30th of September brought the much dreaded, in my case, graduation of leader Takahashi Ai. And what a great way to go. A concert held at Budokan, while plagued by old fashioned green lasers, really was something special. One of the most perfect setlists in years (in my opinion) also helped. During Ai's years as leader the group seemed to become much more tightly knit, with the senpai/kouhai system being less of a barrier. Morning Musume also became a bit of a performing machine, with choreography more in time than it had ever been. Ai seemed to really care about the group, as do Gaki, Sayu, Reina and Aika. Although the chances of it happening are practically nil, I would love to see all 4 of them become leaders one day.

   The 10th generation members, or Juukies, were announced on the 29th of September, just a day before Ai's graduation. I've got to admit that I was fairly surprised when the 10th generation auditions were announced. Even once I had come to terms with this I was only expecting one or two new members, not another four. That said, there was a lot of potential between all of the finalists and I am sure the four picked in the end will prove themselves to be great idols. My personal favourite of the four is Masaki but I am looking forward to seeing all 4 of the girls grow as idols.

   As far as musical output goes, this year Morning Musume have released 3 singles; 'Maji desu ka Ska!' (not half bad), 'Only you' (fantastic) and the double A side 'Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!/ Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!' (very good indeed) and 1 album, '12 Smart' which was a huge step up from the slightly lacklustre 'Fantasy Juuichi'.

  I think we can conclude that 2011 has been a great year to be a Momusu fan. Here's to 2012!

Top 10 H!P Songs

10. Uchouten LOVE
Insanely catchy high energy fun!
9. Kiss me Aishiteru
Great when it was released in February, still great now.
8. Midnight Temptation
That guitar solo . . . . . Great chorus as well.
7. OK YEAH!
It's madness! The good kind of course.
6. Runaway Train
The best song on the Zassou no Uta single. Great lyrics too.
5. Aa Yo ga Akeru
Loved this from the moment I heard it. A great style for the Berryz. 
4. Suki da na Kimi ga
While some may say it was a Perfume rip-off, this style was new for H!P and that's what made the song so interesting.
3. Heroine ni Narou ka
Brilliant from start to finish. Stuck in my head almost constantly.
2. Silver no Udedokei
I love it when Momusu does r&b. I love it when Gaki raps. I love it when Reina sings with some kind of emotion. I love this song.
1. Only You
A powerful chorus, an odd yet effective rhythm in the verses, great use of vocoder, nice vocals. What more could you want?

Top Members of 2011




Takahashi Ai
Ai had a certain fire about her this year. It's like she wanted to give her all before graduation and it really showed. With her role in Dance of the Vampire she has shown us that she will have that "fire" for many years to come.



Michishige Sayumi
Another great year for Sayu. She really represents Morning Musume on tv now and I have to admire her for her ability to always come up with jokes and things to say right off the top of her head. She is far from stupid this girl. Her photobook 'Sayuminglandoll' really broke the mould and showed us that the bikini formula is not the way to go. Her involvement in the photobook really shows, I hope H!P girls can get more involved in things like this, it seems to work.



Ikuta Erina
When she first joined Eripon was the girl no-one was really sure about. Many people doubted her capabilities. She proved us wrong and over the course of the year has become a great entertainer and is a quickly improving performer.



Tsugunaga Momoko
Although some find her "kawaii" character very irritating it really has worked for her this year. Momo is to Berryz what Sayu is to Momusu.



Mano Erina
Manoeri is another who has really come into her own this year. Her voice is improving, 'My Days for You' showed us what kind of music she should be doing more of, and everyone noticed how attractive she is.

Bonus Awards!

Confusing hair of the year - Takahashi Ai
Nice vibrato of the year - Tanaka Reina
Growler of the year - Sugaya Risako
Cavity inducing sweetness of the year - S/mileage
Worst instrumentation of the year - Kono Ai wo Kasanete
Bad-ass idol rappers of the year - Niigaki Risa and Mitsui Aika
Successful annoyance of the year - Yurushite nyan!, Cinderella Revolution
Fashionista of the year - Hagiwara Mai
Insect impersonator of the year - Suzuki Kanon
Pervy Sayu of the year - Michishige Sayumi    (it's a given)
Legs of the year - Yajima Maimi

Sunday 4 December 2011

Have Idols changed the way I live my life?

 First of all I apologise for my absense. . . . Sorry folks. For the past couple of weeks the prelim exams have been killing me slowly but surely. Anyway, while I was "revising" my mind kept drifting off to other topics, one of which was how idols (H!P in particular) had changed my life. It is amazing what I will do to avoid studying. My house has never been more hoovered. XD

Like many people in the fandom anime was my way into Japanese pop culture. It was when I watched the series 'Clannad' that my outlook on life change. I learnt to appreciate what I had, and I began to value all the things that I had been taking for granted: the jokes I made with my friends and family, the great oppurtunity I had been given in the form of a piano, the town where I live. I guess you could say 'Clannad' made me more optimistic, even if I do still have that cynical sense of humour. Hello! Project took what 'Clannad' had given me and raised it up a few notches. From the moment I saw Kusumi Koharu's 'Koi Kana' back in 2008 I was amazed at how infectious and bouncy the song was and how happy it made me feel. Despite this I never really got into the whole thing at that stage and it wasn't until 2009, shortly after the release of 'Nanchatte Renai', that I really became a fan. It wasn't long before I watched 'Ayaka's Surprise English Lessons'. I remember thinking, "these must be some of the funniest girls on the planet". I wanted to have that same spark that the girls had and decided to try and be more "genki", for lack of a better word. Seeing all these girls who work so hard but always seem to be smiling made me feel like I was taking my easy life for granted. Their individuality made me feel that I didn't need to hide. I started to find talking to people, and socialising much easier and managed to find a great circle of friends.

There are so many idols that I have to thank.
Nacchi : Someone who worked hard to improve herself (singing mostly) and has inspired me to do the same.

Kago : She bounced back after things went wrong and showed herself as someone who has learned from her mistakes.

Tsuji : Managed to turn what was originally a slightly dodgy teenage pregnancy into a career. She's not as stupid as we were lead to believe. She makes me want to succeed.

Aichan : She lets me feel that it's okay to be shy at times and bold at others. Also it's nice to know that idols can be geeky too. XD

Sayumi : Showed me that you don't always have to be perfect, and that your own talents will shine through.

Koharu : My first idol and the idol with the magnificant smile. Thanks for cheering me up! ^__^