2 YesAsia shipments in and a Café Buono! Review

Today, the package I've been waiting for from YesAsia finally arrived! The estimated date of arrival was originally given as this past Friday, but alas, I was not lucky enough to receive it in time for the weekend.... But it's here now!



That's Buono!'s Café Buono! (LE) and A&R's Shouri no Big Wave (Photobook LE).

2 weeks ago, I also got another shipment in, which I hadn't posted here, so now's as good a time as any:



That has Buono!'s Renai Rider (LE), Yajima Maimi & Natsumi Abe's 16sai no Koinante (Photobook LE), and 2 oldschool Berryz singles (Koi no Jubaku and Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai).

Reasons for my purchases:
Café Buono!: I love Buono! Of course I was gonna get it! XD
A&R: Saw a photobook LE available, and I needed something to get me free shipping with YesAsia, so since I love Risa and Chisato, I added that onto my order.
Renai Rider: See comment for Café Buono! XD
16sai no Koinante: Another Photobook LE, and since I love Maimi, had to get that as well...
Koi no Jubaku: I LOVE that single. The end.
Anata Nashi de was Ikite Yukenai: I definitely like this single, but my real reason for getting this release was for the B-side Berry Fields. I don't know what it is about that song, but the weird sound to it completely wins me over!

Now, onto a review of Buono!'s new album, Café BUono!



I'd have to agree with Kawaiirrhea and say that this is one of the few albums I've listened to where I have enjoyed every single track. Prior to listening to this album, there had actually been only one for me, and that was Hanson's The Walk (2007). Since hearing Café Buono! I have another album to add to that: bury the bully's Life Death & Wonder (2007) [Didn't listen to it until just after listening to Café BUono!]. That's 3 albums in a lifetime (mind you, I'm not all that old, but 20+ years and only 3 albums... Then again, before last year, I was 20+ years with no albums...).

Anyway, onto a track by track review, along with scans from the album (since I haven't seen them on other blogs yet).



1. Café Buono!
This song is a nice start to the CD. It's got a feel-good, bouncy aspect, while also having a rock flavour, mainly due to the strong distorted guitar.

2. 泣き虫少年 (Nakimushi Shounen)
I think I'd have to say that this is my favourite song on the album. While Café Buono! had a slight rock flavour to it, this track really rocks it out, particularly in the chorus. I love the guitars and the drums. This would be a fun song for something like drum mania/guitar freaks or Rock Band... Well, maybe more drum mania. There's no amazing guitar solo in this one, but I just love the distortion.

3. 恋愛♥ライダー (Renai ♥ Rider)
I've commented on this song in my Renai Rider PV review. To paraphrase: I love this song. The contrasting styles which come in through different sections of the song (the ukelele, the acoustic guitar, etc.) give the song an interesting dimension that I really enjoy. I've almost got the dance down for this song... Pretty much just need to figure out the dance break.

4. ホントのじぶん (Honto no Jibun)
Buono!'s first single. This song is more mellow than their second single. I love the cheerful, upbeat melody of this song. Unlike Renai Rider, which I always want to start air guitaring to (or actually pulling out my guitar and rocking along), Honto no Jibun is a song that puts a smile on my face and I simply can't help but sing along with it.

5. バケツの水 (Baketsu no Mizu)
This track has a nice, feel-good melody and a catchy beat that makes me bob my head along to the music. The girls utilize their "cutesy" voices for this track, and it works well with the overall vibe of the song.

6. ガラクタノユメ (Garakuta no Yume)
I'm liking the bass and the filtered drum sound on this song. I also really like the vocals after the instrumental (would this be the bridge of the song?). It's already a mellow song, but this portion brings it to almost acapella with Miyabi (not really, but the instruments are softer, so you get my drift).

7. Internet Cupid
I was surprised to find that all lines are solo lines in this track. I don't know if I didn't listen to this song closely enough before, or if the voice manipulation in this song just threw me off a little bit. But I do highly enjoy this song. I love the old-school video game feel of it, but then again, I'm a gamer to a certain extent in addition to being an H!P fangirl. This song makes me picture bad graphics and linear side-scrolling VGA goodness. XD

8. Last Forever
I love the melody in this song. This may possibly be my second favourite song on the album... Still haven't quite sorted that out. For some reason, I'm having the hardest time articulating what it is about this melody that I love so much... So for now, I'll have to leave it at that, and hopefully clarify it when it becomes more clear to me.

9. こころのたまご (Kokoro no Tamago)
The B-side to Honto no Jibun, and opening theme to Shugo Chara! Initially I wasn't too keen on this song. But after a few listens, it definitely grew on me. I love the "Hop Step Jump, Drew Draw Drawn, Chips Syrup Hoippu" bits. Much like Honto no Jibun, it's another feel-good song, and it works really well as the anime's opening theme (and yes, I do watch Shugo Chara! I'm on episode 17).

10. 星の羊たち (Hoshi no Hitsuji Tachi)
Can I just simply say that I love the melody to pretty much every single song on this album? I like the stringed instrument used in the second verse (I have no idea what instrument it is). This one is another track completely filled with solo lines, but since the girls voices haven't put through some filter, it's more obvious.

11. ロックの神様 (Rock no Kamisama)
Like Last Forever, this track has a nice intro line, mainly vocal with only very light instruments in the background. This song gets into rock vibe once again. Not quite to the same caliber as Nakimushi Shounen, but still fun to listen to.

12. 君がいれば (Kimi ga Ireba)
This ballad has a simple and sweet melody. It starts with acoustic guitar and piano, with some bass added in halfway through the verse. Come the chorus, strings are added which then continue on throughout the song. I particularly love the strings at the start of the second verse.



So, like I said earlier, I simply LOVE this album. The girls are all amazing here. I can't even find fault with Momoko.



I realize Momoko is a lead in Berryz Koubou, but I don't think she is used to her full potential in that group. Mainly, I say it's because she has to put on too much of her "cutesy squeaky" voice in those singles, while in Buono!, her voice comes down to a pitch within the range of frequencies comfortable for human ears... XD Her voice is still distinctly Momoko, but it doesn't leave me with the urge to try and protect my ears from bleeding (okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but I think I'm getting my general point across).



Miyabi was fabulous, no surprise for me there. I think Miya really shines in Buono! She seems the most confident and comfortable with the image that the group is trying to pull off. She dances with the most ease in the videos - She makes it look effortless, but not in a such a way that it seems like she's not trying. And of course, I loved her vocals. :D



As for Airi, I thought her vocals were wonderfully fabulous. Her dancing... Well, let's just say with only 3 girls to watch in the dance shot versions and a stationary camera, you can see who the weakest dancer in the group is. I'm not saying she's terrible, but compared to Momoko who puts a lot of energy into her dancing, and Miyabi who looks so fluid and effortless, Airi looks a little bit awkward.





I did a quick tabulation of solo lines on this album, and the breakdown was as follows (n=212):
Suzuki Airi: 32% (68 solo lines)
Natsuyaki Miyabi: 32% (68 solo lines)
Tsugunaga Momoko: 36% (76 solo lines)

The leader takes it home, just inching out her two group members! Kinda makes you think of Renai Rider... Though to be true to the PV, Miyabi would have needed a line or two less than Airi.

And that just goes to show another reason why I love Buono! so much. All members get equal time to show their stuff. But then again, when you put 3 front liners like these girls into the same group, you can't really go about ignoring one of them, can you? Not utilizing such talent would be a sin, wouldn't it? *cough*CHISATO*cough* (Completely unrelated to Buono!, but was that subtle enough? XD)

To close this post out, a few more pics from the album:


The inside of the back cover.


The back cover.


One side of the trading card.


The other side of the trading card.

Buono!'s Renai Rider PV is here!!

Buono!'s 2nd single PV, Renai Rider, is up on Dohhh UP! finally! I've been waiting impatiently to see how this PV looks for some time now. When the A&R Seishun LOVE Lunch PV came up, I thought Buono!'s would be up soon too, seeing as Renai Rider releases on 02/06, while Seishun LOVE Lunch comes out 02/14. Apparently I was mistaken.

But it's up now, and I'm very tickled by the PV. It's a cheesy PV with mini motorbikes, a tricycle (poor Momoko) and animated backgrounds, but what can I say? I LOVE CHEESE! :D

The outfits:
- I'm sorry Airi, but I'm afraid your outfit goes to the bottom of my list for this release. Not a big fan of polka dots, and skirts over shorts for me anyday.
- Momoko's outfit is great. I love the skirt, and do I see "Suicide" in red letters on her jacket?
- Miyabi gets 1st place in the outfit department for me due to her double belt and leather jacket.

The dance:
- Not quite sure about it yet. I want to see the dance version. Gotta wait for the LE 1st album for that. However, I definitely enjoy the dance break in the middle of the song. In addition to taking a break from singing, it also pauses on the cuteness of the PV and gives the PV a bit of edge to it.
- Not quite part of the dance, but during the dance break, I highly enjoy the closeups of the eyes/faces. I love the reflection of a heart in their eyes. IMO, Miya definitely has the most striking eyes in this group. Maybe it's due to the little mole right next to her left eye, but I just love her eyes.
- I'd have to say that I enjoy the dance of Honto no Jibun more, though.

The song:
- I only listened to the radio preview once, sorta. I was really waiting for the PV to come out to really listen to the entire song (I've head the cut version for the ending theme of Shugo Chara). I really like this song. The contrasting sounds through different parts of the song are very enjoyable and give the song a unique spin to it.
- The second verse where the guitars are taken out, giving a quiter background sound is nice as it puts more emphasis on the girls' voices, and Momoko playing the ukelele is just so cute. :)
- I also really like the change to acoustic guitar in the last pre-chours, right after the dance break. And this is totally biased on my part, but Miyabi FTW!! XD
- It is no secret that I adore both Miya and Airi to death, but I'm surprised to say that I highly enjoyed Momoko in this PV too. I didn't mind her too much in Honto no Jibun either. What is it about Buono!'s songs that makes her voice more bearable to my ears? And why is it that her lines in Berryz releases pain me so? If someone can explain the logic to me, I'd be greatly appreciative.

Overall:
I love this PV. It's cute and fun, while still having a bit of an edgy feel (particularly at the dance break). What I love so much about Buono! is how well balanced the screen time and lines are between the girls. No line hogs in this group!

I wonder how it is for Airi being in this group with 2 Berryz girls. At least in Honto no Jibun, she had reinforcements with the cameos of Maimi and Chisato (how I love that PV which has my top 4 H!P Kids). It's just interesting to think of the dynamics, because I remember watching a translated video of Hello Pro Hour episode 12, where Goto Maki and Matsuura Aya were discussing their time as Gomattou, and Maki saying that she felt like an outsider in the company of Aya and Fujimoto Miki (who we all know are best friends).

I don't know how to embed videos, so here's a link to the PV:
Renai Rider PV

And some screenshots (click on the pics for bigger versions):









Finally got around to watching Ribbon no Kishi recently, so am hoping to get a review of that up soon.

New scarves for the new year!

I just got home (yesterday) from a 2 week long trip to California to attend my cousin's wedding (where I was her maid of honour).

While I was in sunny California, one of my best friend's went to Japan for Christmas break (*jealous*). But she went with a big request from me... Please find me Miyabi and Chisato's 2008 H!P scarves!! I originally saw these scarves from a post Ray linked to from Hello!Blog on International Wota. I immediately wanted both Chisato & Miyabi's scarves, but I couldn't figure out the Hello Shop site (other than that the scarves were 2000 yen each) and Ohta's store was pretty expensive...

So, I implored my friend to get me these scarves when she went to visit. I gave her detailed instructions (and back up purchases in case she couldn't find an H!P store). But my friend pulled through! She was able to get directions to a store near her hotel from the internet (with picture landmarks... I was kinda worried, b/c my friend is notorious for having no sense of direction), and when she got to the store, she just pulled out my instructions and asked the sales lady where *points to description of the scarves in Japanese* these were and voila!




My friend who got these for me doesn't follow H!P, but when she bought the scarves, she also got a free pic. When she told me this, I asked her of who and she said:
"I had to draw some straws and she told me I could pick something from a bunch of different girls, and I was like....hmmm...they all look the same. so after 30 sec of looking totally confused, the saleslady pointed to one and pointed to the scarf i had just got. so i think it's one of the girls you like"
(Don't mind the punctuation. It's taken from our MSN chat).

LOL... My friend is so funny... The free pic she got was:

Yay! I'm so happy to have my scarves! And I got both of them for the price of one on Ohta's store.

So, while I was gone, I watched C-ute's fall concert (℃-ute ライブツアー2007秋　～放課後のエッセンス～ / C-ute Live Tour 2007 Aki ~Houkago no Essence~). The following are my thoughts on the concert, by member.

The set list:
1. 都会っ子 純情 (Tokaikko Junjou)
2. めぐる恋の季節 (Meguru Koi no Kisetsu)
3. MC 1
4. 桜チラリ (Sakura Chirari)
5. ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More~ (C-ute Ver)
6. タイムカプセル (Time Capsule) - Yajima Maimi & Nakajima Saki
7. MC 3 - Buono!
8. ホントのじぶん (Honto no Jibun) - Buono!
9. MC 2~ Sketch - Yajima Maimi & Hagiwara Mai
10. 通学ベクトル (Tsuugaku Vector) - Umeda Erika & Arihara Kanna
11. EVERYDAY　YEAH! 片想い (EVERYDAY YEAH! Kataomoi)
12. ディスコ　クイーン (Disco Queen)
13. 美少女心理 (Bishoujo Shinri)
14. まっさらブルージーンズ (Massara Blue Jeans)
15. ふたりはNS (Futari wa NS) - Okai Chisato & Hagiwara Mai
16. 夏ＤＯＫＩ リップスティック (Natsu DOKI Lipstick) - Yajima Maimi
17. MC 4 - Umeda Erika, Nakajima Saki, Okai Chisato & Arihara Kanna
18. That's the POWER
19. As ONE
20. YES! しあわせ (YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.))
21. 僕らの輝き (Bokura no Kagayaki)
22. JUMP

Encore

24. 大きな愛でもてなして (Ooki na Ai de Motenashite)
25. MC5
26. わっきゃない(Z) (Wakkyanai (Z))

*Note: The setlist is taken from wiki.theppn.org; Where'd #23 go?


Umeda Erika
Watching this concert confirmed that I'm not a big fan of the quality of her voice. Listening to her sing Tsuugaku Vector did absolutely nothing for me. I particularly didn't like her "woah woah"s. Don't really have that much to say about Erika for this concert, actually. She didn't really stand out to me.

Yajima Maimi
I thought she was a little bit off timing wise (a split second late) while singing her solo lines at the start of Tokaikko Junjou, but she picked it back up in Meguru Koi no Kisetsu. One thing to mention... She dances very well, but man does she sweat out there. She reminds me of Takahashi Ai in that respect. These two girls put so much energy into their dancing. You can see that they're not holding back on their performances. Maimi was strong through the rest of the concert, and I must say that she definitely did not disappoint in her performance of Natsu DOKI Lipstick. She hit her high notes well, and not in falsetto, as I thought she might. That was definitely some dance solo... That split kick on the ground definitely raised my eyebrows. And the expression on her face when she and Chisato pecked on the lips during YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.) was priceless. XD

Nakajima Saki
Saki was a little shaky at the start. She had a lot of energy and was very into the dance for Tokaikko, but come her solo lines... Woah.. had to take a step back (and not in a good way). Her singing improved after the opening number, but she definitely had shaky moments throughout the concert. I got this strange feeling that she wasn't really into the concert as it progressed. She went through the motions, but many times, her facial expression didn't match the mood of the songs. She definitely didn't keep the same energy level that she started the concert with. She wasn't outstanding in this concert.

Suzuki Airi
From the opening number, Airi shows what she can do. This girl so amazingly consistent, it boggles my mind. What can I say about her? She's a decent dancer, and she's a great singer. Not quite as high energy as Maimi or Chisato (then again, she sings so many solo lines, that she does a lot of the "muted" dance moves), but still fabulous.

Okai Chisato
Chisato definitely did not get enough solo lines in this concert. But the solo lines she did get were pretty awesome. I'd list all of them, but that'd get pretty repetitive. I highly enjoyed her lines in Bishoujo Shinri, and I really liked her performance in Futari wa NS with Mai. However, I was very upset with the changes made to Bokura no Kagayaki. Why in the world did Erika get to keep her lines, but Chisa didn't get one solo line in that song?!? I was very disgruntled watching that performance (no offense to Airi, who had Chisato's lines). However, even with only a limited number of solo lines, Chisato kept the energy level high throughout the concert.

Hagiwara Mai
Was very pleased with how Mai opened the concert. Where she usually is a little off tempo on her "Demo ne..." in Tokaikko, she was fairly well timed. She was pretty consistent throughout the concert, but still am not the biggest fan of her voice. Though I'd rank her voice higher than Erika's on my favourite list. She also had some lazy dance moments, not fully extending on movements (ex. Disco Queen).

Arihara Kanna
Kanna impressed me this concert. I thought she did very well performing Tsuugaku Vector. However, I don't think her voice blends well with Erika at all. She didn't look too awkward in this concert, which I enjoyed. This concert has definitely changed my C-ute favourites list. Her dancing was okay, but again, not quite reaching the level and energy of Maimi and Chisato.

Buono!
Yay for Buono performing at the concert! Momoko certainly wasn't in a bowing mood that night, though. She didn't bow when she introduced herself and she didn't bow when she did her ending speech. Though she did bow before they left the stage. The actual performance of Honto no Jibun was pretty good. Someone was going a little sharp at points during the chorus. But then again, it's a pretty bouncy dance, and with only the 3 of them in the group, it doesn't leave much room to cover up when someone's voice goes a little off. I have to say that it wasn't Miyabi's best performance. Her voice sounded a shaky for some reason. Definitely not normal for Miya. It was a little evident in Momoko as well. Maybe they didn't warm up enough piror to the performance (while Airi had already had 4 songs to really get her voice going). I highly enjoyed Miya and Momoko coming out at Ooki na Ai de Motenashite and doing some backup dancing. It was very cute. :D

So to end this post, I think I'll add my current C-ute favourite member list, for as I said, it has changed from my original list.

7. Umeda Erika
6. Nakajima Saki
5. Hagiwara Mai
4. Arihana Kanna
3. Sukuki Airi
2. Yajima Maimi
1. Okai Chisato

*GASP!* That's right, Airin has been dethroned by the ball of energy that is Chisa. I can't pick between Airi and Maimi right now.

EDIT: Okay, I won't cop out... No sharing spots... I still absolutely <3 Airi, but right now, I'm completely fascinated by Maimi (though not enough for her to take over Chisato). Never thought this would happen... Was so sure that Airi would stay my favourite C-ute member forever. I feel like my top 3 will be shifting possibly single to single or concert to concert. They're all very close to each other in my rankings.

I actually wrote up an appreciation post for Chisato (as well as Takahashi Ai and Ishimura Maiha) on the JPHiP forum. To salute Chisato moving to the #1 spot on my list, here's the link to the post (as well as Ai-chan and Maiha's).
NOTE: These links have lots of pics to load (other member appreciation posts are there too). If you load one of them, my 2 other posts are actually on the same page. [In order, Takahashi's closest to the top of the page, immediately followed by Maiha, and then the 9th one under Maiha is Chisato's post].

Okai Chisato appreciation post
Takahashi Ai appreciation post
Ishimura Maiha appreciation post

Wow... This turned into a freakin' long post.

Hanson concert!

A proper H!P update should be coming soon, since I'm fully expecting my yesasia shipment in any day now (I actually thought it'd be in on Monday, but it seems I was sorely mistaken)...

Anyway, I thought I'd post about the Hanson concert I went to this weekend, since I did mention that there would be random posts interspersed in this blog unrelated to H!P. Hanson wins in this regard! :) (Raptors posts will eventually come, as interesting things happen during the season.)

For those who still picture them with long hair from their Mmmbop days, a current photo.

L-R: Issac, Zac, Taylor.

So, Hanson was in town this past Sunday and their concert was superb (as per usual). Pre-concert, they did the 1 mile walk that they've done at every tour stop to raise awareness for poverty and AIDS in Africa (today's show in Ottawa was the first stop with no walk, due to extremely cold weather conditions).

The devotion these guys have put into raising awareness for this cause that is so dear to them is truly inspirational. They have donated all sales of their single "The Great Divide" from iTunes to a hospital in South Africa that works with kids who are born with HIV/AIDS.

They also just recently returned from a trip to South Africa, joining up with TOMS shoes to do a shoe drop (more on that later). On their website, they recently posted a video showing them with their photographer giving a check for $15,000 to a local school. Their photographer posted on his blog the idea to sell some shirts he had recently ordered for $30 each, and any purchases would go to the school. He was hoping to raise a few hundred dollars, if anything. In 14 hours, he had raised $2000. So, they decided to see how much they could raise during the few days (I think it was 3 or 4) they had left in Africa. To help out, Hanson allowed their photographer to take a picture of them in one of the classrooms, and sell 10 limited editions of this photo (framed and matted, with the guys signing the back) for I think it was $750 each. They had a goal of $10,000 in mind, and surpassed it beyond their wildest imaginations with the $15,000 they raised.

At their concerts, along with their regular merchandise, they've been selling TOMS shoes. Basically, for every pair of TOMS that is purchased, another pair will go to a child in need. That was the reason for their recent trip to South Africa. They met up with TOMS to help give out some of the shoes to the children (this current shoe drop is giving 50,000 pairs to kids in Africa). So, of course, I had to get myself some TOMS (since I unfortunately had been unable to join them on the walk, though I really, really wanted to). Also got myself some other goodies:


They're finally selling V-neck shirts, and I love the design, so I had to get one.

The performance was fabulous, as I've come to expect from Hanson. They're always energetic and entertaining. You can see on their faces that they have a passion for what they're doing. Zac on the drums is just soooo HAWTTTT, and Taylor on the piano...*melt* And Ike plays one mean guitar.

Only down sides: I was really hoping they would play "Georgia", but alas, my dream was denied. Also was hoping for a repeat of "Yearbook" live, but a no go to that as well. Oh well, at least I was able to make it to their previous acousitc show, where they played "Yearbook". I waited 10 years to hear that song live, and I wasn't disappointed! Oh... A few more down sides, but not Hanson-related so much as crowd related. 1. Someone FARTED!! It's a normal body function, but man, it's not nice in such close quarters when it's that ... shall we say fragrant, to put it nicely? >_< 2. A couple next to me kept making out. I mean, come on! OMG! Get a friggin room. No one needs to be seeing that.

Thus ends my Hanson post.

One final thought, H!P related: Berryz Koubou's new single wins!! After all the talk of C-ute's Tokaikko Junjou outselling all Berryz single sales ever, Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi goes and beats, Tokaikko, Mikan and all previous Berryz singles in it's first week! (well, not total sales of Tokaikko and Mikan in the first week, but it beat those two singles first week sales). So go Berryz!!! Omedeto Berryz!! :D However, it did fail to beat Buono!'s first week sales, but Buono!'s fabulous!!

First H!P shipment in!

I have gone an H!P ordering spree (more like Berryz Koubou/related spree) on yesasia and CDJapan. My first order, (which arrived yesterday!!!) was for Buono!'s "Honto no Jibun" and Berryz 4th album.



I was able to get a first press limited edition of "Honto no Jibun" with the DVD. Yay for the first press trading card! I just love the energy of this song. And it doesn't hurt that it features Miyabi and Suzuki Airi from C-ute. I was a huge fan of the subgroup Aa! (though Miyabi definitely did not get enough lines). Airi was such a baby in that PV, when I saw her more recently ('cause I didn't really follow much of C-ute until their newest PV) I simply could not believe that she had grown so much. She was so short back in the Aa! days. :) And I enjoy the dance of this song. I'm very glad that the DVD has the dance shot version on it. I have learned the dance for the song. It's quite enjoyable to do. ^_^




I absolutely love Berryz's 4th album. I liked all 4 of the singles released from this album (particularly "VERY BEAUTY" and "Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba"... Which many people seem to not have enjoyed due to their more ballad-like feel). For the album songs, I really enjoyed "Sayonara Hageshiki Koi". It's a good high energy, intense song... And I just saw that it means "Goodbye Intense Love", so it's good that it's an intense song. :) This was also the limited edition with DVD, but not first press (no trading card).



Am waiting on the "Kokuhaku no Funsui no Hiroba" single from CDJapan, and then a shipment with Berryz new single "Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi" first press limited edition with DVD, "VERY BEAUTY" with limited edition photobook, and C-ute's "Tokkaiko Junjo (Don't stop Junjo)" regulard edition from yesasia.