Well, this took longer than I thought (so much going on this week), but it's finally done!! And so without further ado, my top 14 Morning Musume singles!! :D
14. Sakura Manaki - Sakura Gumi
The longest song of all H!P releases (excluding remixes). This song is so pretty, vocally, instrumentally and PV-ally. XD I adore Sakura Gumi beacuse most of my favourite MM members of all time are within this group, and definitely my favourite members vocally (Takahashi, Hitomi, Risa and Kago - I love her voice when she sings seriously over cutesy). Although I'm not normally a fan of pink, I can accept it for this PV. I mean, Sakura blossoms are pink, so it's fitting. Their kimonos are beautiful and I love the fan dance. :)
13. Osaka Koi no Uta
Rika (official) and Mari's (unofficial) final single. The one thing that really stands out for me regarding this single is the PV. I love the effect during the dance shot of their bows (I call them wings) fading in and out as the red lights come in and out. It's a very dramatic sounding song, and I find the PV matches it very well. I like the vocals here, as most members get a line (though Takahashi gets most). I can deal with all the Rika lines even though her vocal quality isn't the greatest, simply because this is her final single. Not surprising she'd be showcased more. However, it's sad thar Mari only got one line in her final song. Then again, her leaving the group wasn't planned, so who would have guessed that this single was going to be her last?
12. Ai no Sono ~Touch My Heart!~ - Otome Gumi
I just love the drum line in this single. It's crisp and the transitions between the sections of the song are really brought together through the drums. The vocals are strong from all involved in this single as well. You really get to hear Mako-chan's
voice here and she does a splended job. Even Rika and Sayu, whose voices aren't very strong, fit in well with the parts that. And I must mention that I love watching Kaori do this dance (well, really, I love watching Kaori do any dance... She always looks so awkward, it just really gives me the giggles).
11. Ai Araba It's All Right
This is such a happy-go-lucky song. It never fails to put a smile on my face. It's so catchy. Every time I hear it, no matter what I'm doing, I always have to tilt my head right before the chorus (like my head's a bell). I also get the urge to point and sway my hips. LOL :)
10. Souda! We're Alive
This is one of Morning's more rocking songs. I love the guitar riffs in this song. This was the second single with the gokkies, and all of them got solo lines except Konkon. It was with this song that I fell in love with Takahashi's voice. I didn't notice it so much in the recorded version, but during one of their Music Station live performances, I was absolutely wowed by how she sang her "hontou no kimochi wa kitto tsutawaru hazu" line. Risa on the other hand... Her performance in this back in the day was kind of painful. However, I am glad to say that Risa has improved over 100-fold in the 6 years (interesting... It's almost 6 years to the day that Souda! We're ALIVE released [02.20.2002]. Has it really been that long?) since this single. This song is very high energy. Similarly to Ai Araba, Souda! always has me pumping my fist. Doesn't matter if I'm at home, at the mall, or in the car. My fist starts pumping during "Doryoku mirai A BEAUTIFUL STAR".
9. Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~
This song always puts a smile on my face, just like Ai Araba. It always makes me want to dance as well. I love the dance in this song. I just adore this PV so much. Vocally, there's nothing spectacular (not that I'm saying the vocals are bad). No solo lines here, it's all group work. Basically, the energy (and dance) in this song is what ranks this one so high. It never fails to brighten my mood when I hear it.
8. The Manpower!
This song has so much going for it. First off, can you say Takahashi and Yossy for the win?! Their tag team solo lines are absolultely fabulous. The beat in this song is perfect. It always gets my head bobbing. I love the dance in this song. The hip
thrusts are fabulous, and the costumes are one of my favourites (quite possibly my favourite) from any Morning Musume PVs.
7. Shabondama
The rokkies (well, Reina at least) had a very nice welcome into Morning Musume with this single. 4th gen were in the background with their debut single Happy Summer Wedding. Same with the gokkies and Mr. Moonlight. It was 6th gen that started the trend of actually putting new members to use with their debut single. This single had a very different sound compared to the singles which had been released to it, and I found it very refreshing. I remember reading an interview with the members saying they were surprised at the anger in the song, and they were worried at how the new members would cope with the song. This song is so intense, particularly with the hard, rolled "R"s. This is one of my favourite Morning songs to sing along with because of its intensity.
6. Kanashimi Twilight
Yossy (official) and Miki's (unofficial) final Morning single. I thought this was a great way for Yossy to bow out of Morning. This song is another one of those distinctive Morning songs, due to the edgier sound (much like Shabondama). The vocals were solid in this single (seeing as it's mainly Miki, Yossy and Takahashi, who at that point were the strongest vocalists in the group - some of the strongest vocalists [arguably the strongest overall] in the entirety of Morning Musume's history). The guitar in this single is just so sexy. It gives the song such attitude, and add that in with emotion you hear in the girls voices and then hotness that is
the PV for this single, and it just stands out as a great release for Morning.
5. Iroppoi Jirettai
I love the Spanish feel to this song. The trumpets are amazing (not that trumpets are particularly Spanish) and I just adore the castanets. This was Koha's debut single, and she was alright. She wasn't too in your face at this point (and other than the
whispering at the start, only got one line, so nothing was butchered too badly... I don't mind Koha getting camera time, 'cause I don't argue with the fact that she's quite attractive. Just please, don't make me listen to her sing too much >_<)... So maybe I should say that she wasn't too in your ear at this point.
4. Roman! ~My Dear Boy~
Another song with great guitars. Anyone noticing a trend with the guitars? I love the guitar solo in the middle of this song. The vocals are strong in this single (again, mainly Miki and Takahashi). I remember watching this PV the first time and thinking "what the heck is up with the non-Japanese people here?" Again, it's all part of my amazement anytime a non-H!P related person is seen within an H!P PV (like Memory Seishun no Hikari). This is another song where I just love the dance. I learned the dance during the chorus for this one, but I find that listening to it again, I need to brush up on the movements.
3. Do It! Now
Another one of the edgier Morning songs. I mean, it's got a rap in the middle! :) This single followed the release of Souda! We're Alive, and this song further confirmed my love of Takahashi's voice. Another song in which I loved the dance. Another song which I love to sing along with. I loved most of the outfits in this PV (though I know, and will never forget, that I abhor - notice the present tense, for it hasn't stopped - Aibon's outfit here. It makes her look so frumpy. I don't know why, but I feel like their stylists hated Aibon. She almost always seemed to get the ugly clothes).
2. I Wish
Another feel good Morning song. This is the one and only song in my top 10 that doesn't feature Takahashi Ai. I don't know what it is about this song, but it blows all the other happy and joyful Morning songs out of the water for me. It's hard to explain this in words. The tempo stays consistent throughout the song, but the intro and outro are "slower" than the body of the song. I guess the best way to describe it would be that the intro and outro are more focused on the vocals. There isn't much in terms of background instruments or sounds. Just a little bit of keyboards, followed by organ, slowly building up into the more energetic part of the song. There's also a part after the instrumental that doesn't have much background sound, but it has a slightly different effect due to more than one person singing. It's the contrast of intensity in this song that really catches my attention. It's hopeful and dream-like, as well as energetic and genki. I find it quite fitting, since if I'm remembering correctly, it was out during the 2000 Olympics and was kind of Japan's theme song. Aibon and Maki were great in this single, and this single is best with the original
line-up. It really was a toss up between this song and the #1 song on my list. But by far, this song is my favourite Morning Musume song of all time (with all members together - excluding the subgroups).
1.Hare Ame Nochi Suki - Sakura Gumi
Like I said, it was nearly impossible for me to choose between this song and I Wish for my number one song. This is such a beautiful song, and the PV is fits perfectly with it. Takahashi and Aibon absolutely pwn this song!! Takahashi's last line, the
high note "SUKI" is fabulous. I love all the vocals in this one. Looking at the lyrics on PROJECThello, I just realized that every line in this song is a solo line. This song is so soothing yet powerful, I could listen to it forever with no complaints (much like Aya's Zutto Suki De Ii Desu Ka). I'd say that this song will always be best sung by Takahashi and Aibon (much like I Wish with Aibon and Maki), but I do have to mention that I was highly impressed with Miyabi's performance of this song at the Winter 2007 Wonderful Hearts Otome Gokoro concert. I thought she sang it beautifully, and this was actually the performance that really brought Miya to my attention. Maimi was impressive here as well.
Well, there you have it! My top 14 Morning Musume singles, thus finishing off my ranking of all Morning singles released from 1997 to the end of 2007. It's amazing that it's been 10 years since MM came into existence (and almost 7 years since I was first introduced into the world of Morning Musume, and thus Hello! Project).
An explanation of my rankings: basically, my what places a song higher on my list is how often I can listen to it without getting tired of it. I have fully memorized 6 out of my top 7 songs. I don't understand much Japanese (though I'm trying to remedy that situation). When I work on memorizing a song, I listen to it constantly. The fact that I'm not few up with it by the end of learning the song is testament to my love for the song. This is why amazing songs such as Mr. Moonlight and Renai Revolution are further down my list. I simply cannot have those songs on endless repeat without getting bored. Obviously, it's all a matter of personal taste. :)
What I've learned from my rankings:
- This isn't quite new information, but rather it just consolidates my previous mention of Takahashi being my favourite Morning Musume member in terms of vocal quality. From this top 14, she is heavily featured in every song except for I Wish (she wasn't part of MM yet), Go Girl (there are no solo lines in that song), and Touch My Heart! (she wasn't in Otome Gumi).
- Singles leaning towards the rock genre (or rather, the edgier songs) rank highly on my list. These are the songs with prominent guitar and drums, where you could picture a band (as in a rock band) standing behind the girls playing live, and not having half the sound of the song gone (ie. less synth and cutesy sounds, and filled with strong, classic instruments).
- Vocals are my number 1 criteria for song favourites. The instrumentals are next. I was surprised to find that the dance for a single really helps keep my interest in a song. And funnily enough, costumes in a PV can raise my interest in a song (probably because I like to picture the PV as I listen to the song, simply because the costumes are pretty).
There we go! All done! Hope you all enjoyed my reasonings, and congratulations for surviving all my rambling! :)
Showing posts with label Morning Musume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morning Musume. Show all posts
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
MM, Berryz and C-ute rankings from Hello!Blog
I'm still working on my final installment of my Morning Musume singles ranking, but in the interim, I thought I'd join the ranks of blogs posting their results from the poll on Hello!Blog.
First up, C-ute!
Not much has changed since my last C-ute member ranking, except Erika is no longer at the bottom of my list. The more I hear of NakaSaki's voice, the more I shudder. It pains me to great degrees that she gets solo lines in singles while Chisato, who has such an amazing voice, gets zero, zip, zilch, nil, nada, etc.
Next up, Morning Musume!
Again, no real changes from my original MM ranking, except that the ties are no longer ties. I still adore both Ai-chan and Risa (and watching Ribon no Kishi just increased my love for them both). Eri beat out Reina due to the fact that I like Eri's voice more than Reina's and Eri was just so win in the MouTube vids she did with Risa. ^_^ Junjun is my top 8th gen member because I like her voice best, and Linlin is my bottom 8th gen member because I like her voice least, which leaves Aika in the middle. And the bottom two... Well, I established my reasons for not favouring them in my original post.
And finally, Berryz Koubou!
Now here we have some crazy changes going on in compared to my original Berryz ranking.
1. No change in the number 1 spot, with Miya still taking home the gold!! :) I think my layout speaks for itself in that regard.
2. Risako has been bumped out of spot #2, which will be explained when I get to her. Yurina has moved up one spot due to Risako's drop. Yurina edged out Chinami mainly due to her being featured more.
3. Chinami has also moved up one spot due to the drop.
4. Risako's moving down on my list, but I'm having a hard time placing her below Momoko, so she sits here in spot #4. Basically, I starting to fall a little bit into the "Risako is overrated" club. I still like her in general, but as I watch more recent lives and whatnot, she isn't as amusing or interesting as she initially was for me.
5. Ahh!! Momoko's moving up the ladder! I'm telling you, it's all Buono!'s fault! However, she still bothers me as a member of Berryz, I don't know what it is. Maybe the punk-rock style of Buono! just suits her better, and the songs Buono! sings allow her to use a more mature voice, compared to Berryz singles which call upon her high-pictched squeak. That high-pitched squeak is unfortunately stopping her from climbing my Berryz Koubou ladder.
6. Maasa beat out Captain for 6th spot. Exact reasoning, I'm not sure... Possibly due to the previously mentioned funny character she played in their stage play "Geki Haro "Edo kara Chakushin!? ~Timeslip to Kengai!~".
7. I'm sorry Captain, but someone has to go to the bottom of the list. But that doesn't take away from her awesome dancing abilities. :)
I had some family visiting from California over the weekend, so I didn't have much time with my computer. Thus the lack of my top 14 MM singles. Hopefully that will be up within the next few days. Until then! ^_^
First up, C-ute!
Not much has changed since my last C-ute member ranking, except Erika is no longer at the bottom of my list. The more I hear of NakaSaki's voice, the more I shudder. It pains me to great degrees that she gets solo lines in singles while Chisato, who has such an amazing voice, gets zero, zip, zilch, nil, nada, etc.
Next up, Morning Musume!
Again, no real changes from my original MM ranking, except that the ties are no longer ties. I still adore both Ai-chan and Risa (and watching Ribon no Kishi just increased my love for them both). Eri beat out Reina due to the fact that I like Eri's voice more than Reina's and Eri was just so win in the MouTube vids she did with Risa. ^_^ Junjun is my top 8th gen member because I like her voice best, and Linlin is my bottom 8th gen member because I like her voice least, which leaves Aika in the middle. And the bottom two... Well, I established my reasons for not favouring them in my original post.
And finally, Berryz Koubou!
Now here we have some crazy changes going on in compared to my original Berryz ranking.
1. No change in the number 1 spot, with Miya still taking home the gold!! :) I think my layout speaks for itself in that regard.
2. Risako has been bumped out of spot #2, which will be explained when I get to her. Yurina has moved up one spot due to Risako's drop. Yurina edged out Chinami mainly due to her being featured more.
3. Chinami has also moved up one spot due to the drop.
4. Risako's moving down on my list, but I'm having a hard time placing her below Momoko, so she sits here in spot #4. Basically, I starting to fall a little bit into the "Risako is overrated" club. I still like her in general, but as I watch more recent lives and whatnot, she isn't as amusing or interesting as she initially was for me.
5. Ahh!! Momoko's moving up the ladder! I'm telling you, it's all Buono!'s fault! However, she still bothers me as a member of Berryz, I don't know what it is. Maybe the punk-rock style of Buono! just suits her better, and the songs Buono! sings allow her to use a more mature voice, compared to Berryz singles which call upon her high-pictched squeak. That high-pitched squeak is unfortunately stopping her from climbing my Berryz Koubou ladder.
6. Maasa beat out Captain for 6th spot. Exact reasoning, I'm not sure... Possibly due to the previously mentioned funny character she played in their stage play "Geki Haro "Edo kara Chakushin!? ~Timeslip to Kengai!~".
7. I'm sorry Captain, but someone has to go to the bottom of the list. But that doesn't take away from her awesome dancing abilities. :)
I had some family visiting from California over the weekend, so I didn't have much time with my computer. Thus the lack of my top 14 MM singles. Hopefully that will be up within the next few days. Until then! ^_^
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
All Morning Musume singles ranking - Part 2 of 3
On to part 2 of my singles ranking. Here I shall list Morning Musumes singles from #28 up to #15.
I've come to realize that it's hard to think of ways to describe what you like about a single without being completely repetitive, or just copping out and saying "I just like it. I can't explain it..." I'm doing my darndest to keep my reasoning and writing varied so as not to get too boring (which is why I'm adding my little stories along the way, 'cause those are all individual to the singles :D).
So, to continue trudging along, here are my MM singles #28-15!
28. Daite Hold On Me!
I love the "Shake it Do it Do it"'s. I love the chorus. And for some reason, I really love the dance during the chorus. It really isn't much of anything. I think my love of the chorus and dance is due to the girls singing and dancing to it during one of the Hello! Morning karaoke episodes.
27. Love Machine
And here is where MM singles started getting more energetic. My favourite Ishiguro Aya moment is within this PV. Who doesn't love the "Nice Body" moment? XD The song and dance is catchy and fun. If I don't fully get up and dance along when I'm watching an H!P or MM concert, I at least raise my arms and do the movements along with them.
26. Happy Summer Wedding
I used to be absolutely obsessed with this song. I think this was the first MM song that I fully memorized the lyrics to. It's cute, it's fun, and man can it ever get stuck in your head. However, I remember when I watched a live performance of this single (this was a little after I had gotten into MM, and was going back to see things released before I started listening), there was one girl who I just couldn't identify. My brother exasperatedly told me that it was Hitomi... >_< In my defense, I say she looked so different back in those early days just after joining MM.
25. Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~ - Otome Gumi
This is definitely a song that can get stuck in your head. It's a very energetic song that I can't help but sing along to. However, there are too many Sayu and Rika lines, and too few Miki and Mako lines.
24. Renai Revolution 21
This was either the first or second MM PV I saw (which also means the first or second single I heard - I can't actually remember if it was this or The Peace!). I actually got into MM just around the time of 5th gen joining, but this and The Peace! were the first PVs my brother got a hold of. The Golden Age of MM is definitely the way to be introduced to MM and H!P. The PV is great, I love the dance, the outfits, and the song is just so much fun. Unfortunately, I think the reason this song is so far down on my list is that I listened to it too much, and eventually I hit my Love Revolution limit.
23. Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~
Ahh... Yossy's breakout song. I really love this song mainly because this was where you first get to hear the wonderful quality that Hitomi's voice possesses. I also like how it's not your normal H!P song in that it's of the swing genre, which was a contrast to what MM had been releasing the past few singles prior to this one. The one downfall for me was that this was the Gokkies debut single, and only one of them gets a solo line (Risa in the official single, and then varied depending on which live you watched). Otherwise, 5th gen was really just in the background.
22. The Peace!
I used to dance to this song all the time. During my first year of university, my dorm mates would come into my room and see me doing the dance, and dubbed "The Peace!" "The Happy Hitler Song" due to the arm movements during "HO~ hora yukouze". >_< Anyway, this was Rika's breakout song, and part of the reason why I love her so much. IMO, she had the coolest hat in the PV, and she was just so cute in the talk break, I loved her getting attacked by the other members. :) However, much like Renai Revolution, I think it got a bit overplayed and thus is lower in my overall ranking.
21. As For One Day
I love the instrumental in this song. The piano in the intro is very dramatic. Through the song, I like the sound of the the twangy-sounding stringed instrument (I'm not sure what it is). The line distribution is nice. We finally got to hear some quality solo lines from the Gokkies in this single (I don't count the lines from Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima as their normal voices - it's a weird sounding song). I also like the strong beat in this single. At moments, I get the feel of an old-school Ace of Base single.
20. Morning Coffee
Morning Coffee is a very simple song. It's got a simple melody, very simplistic drum line and very light guitar and piano. This is another example of my loving the harmonies. Now that I think about it though, I may have unfairly ranked Furusato because I do have to say that I'm not a big fan of the vocal quality in the original release of this single. Seeing as this was MM's first official release, you can hear that the girls' vocal control isn't quite there yet. I actually really enjoy the 2002 version of this song, which was the c/w for Souda! We're Alive. And I must say it's a freaking boring PV.
19. Koi no Dance Site
I find almost everything absolutely fantastic about this song. It's fun, the dance is enjoyable, it can easily get stuck in your head, and best of all: "SEXY BEAM!!!" Mari is gold in this single.
18. Mikan
This is a nice, upbeat, feel good song. I like the mix of instruments and the beat in this single. No story to go with this single. The baby pics in the PV are cute, but otherwise, nothing spectacular in the PV. It's simply a great song that can bring up your mood, because "Life is one time!"
17. Ambitious! Tashitenki de Ii Jan
"HEY HEY! Happy no mainichi!" Another fun, upbeat song. This one gets me bouncing in my seat every time. For some reason, I somehow missed the release of this single much like Hyokkori Hyoutanjima, but I obviously didn't have the same reaction to it once I became aware of its existence. I always forget that Mako-chan and Konkon were still part of MM in this single, but I think that's mainly because I discovered this single sometime after Aruiteru was released. For some reason, I'm very tickled by the 16th note high hat interspersed throughout the song.
16. Onna ni Sachi Are
Upon re-listening to this single, I was reminded that I actually enjoy Junjun's voice from what I can gather thus far. Linlin on the other hand... Not so much.
15. Koko ni Iruzee!
Hmm... this section (#19-17 and #15) seems to be filled with the high-energy, bouncy, head-bobbing, dancey songs. The girls definitely rock it out in the PV in their plaid blazers and rough it out in their fatigues, dirt on their faces and all. This is the first single post-Maki, and I find it amusing that on PROJECThello.com (where I usually get my romanji lyrics), Takahashi's colour coded lyrics get switched from her original orange to Maki's red. XD Coincidence? I think not!
Well there you have it! The top 14 are left... You can figure out by process of elimination what my top 14 are, but can you guess the order? :)
I've come to realize that it's hard to think of ways to describe what you like about a single without being completely repetitive, or just copping out and saying "I just like it. I can't explain it..." I'm doing my darndest to keep my reasoning and writing varied so as not to get too boring (which is why I'm adding my little stories along the way, 'cause those are all individual to the singles :D).
So, to continue trudging along, here are my MM singles #28-15!
28. Daite Hold On Me!
I love the "Shake it Do it Do it"'s. I love the chorus. And for some reason, I really love the dance during the chorus. It really isn't much of anything. I think my love of the chorus and dance is due to the girls singing and dancing to it during one of the Hello! Morning karaoke episodes.
27. Love Machine
And here is where MM singles started getting more energetic. My favourite Ishiguro Aya moment is within this PV. Who doesn't love the "Nice Body" moment? XD The song and dance is catchy and fun. If I don't fully get up and dance along when I'm watching an H!P or MM concert, I at least raise my arms and do the movements along with them.
26. Happy Summer Wedding
I used to be absolutely obsessed with this song. I think this was the first MM song that I fully memorized the lyrics to. It's cute, it's fun, and man can it ever get stuck in your head. However, I remember when I watched a live performance of this single (this was a little after I had gotten into MM, and was going back to see things released before I started listening), there was one girl who I just couldn't identify. My brother exasperatedly told me that it was Hitomi... >_< In my defense, I say she looked so different back in those early days just after joining MM.
25. Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~ - Otome Gumi
This is definitely a song that can get stuck in your head. It's a very energetic song that I can't help but sing along to. However, there are too many Sayu and Rika lines, and too few Miki and Mako lines.
24. Renai Revolution 21
This was either the first or second MM PV I saw (which also means the first or second single I heard - I can't actually remember if it was this or The Peace!). I actually got into MM just around the time of 5th gen joining, but this and The Peace! were the first PVs my brother got a hold of. The Golden Age of MM is definitely the way to be introduced to MM and H!P. The PV is great, I love the dance, the outfits, and the song is just so much fun. Unfortunately, I think the reason this song is so far down on my list is that I listened to it too much, and eventually I hit my Love Revolution limit.
23. Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~
Ahh... Yossy's breakout song. I really love this song mainly because this was where you first get to hear the wonderful quality that Hitomi's voice possesses. I also like how it's not your normal H!P song in that it's of the swing genre, which was a contrast to what MM had been releasing the past few singles prior to this one. The one downfall for me was that this was the Gokkies debut single, and only one of them gets a solo line (Risa in the official single, and then varied depending on which live you watched). Otherwise, 5th gen was really just in the background.
22. The Peace!
I used to dance to this song all the time. During my first year of university, my dorm mates would come into my room and see me doing the dance, and dubbed "The Peace!" "The Happy Hitler Song" due to the arm movements during "HO~ hora yukouze". >_< Anyway, this was Rika's breakout song, and part of the reason why I love her so much. IMO, she had the coolest hat in the PV, and she was just so cute in the talk break, I loved her getting attacked by the other members. :) However, much like Renai Revolution, I think it got a bit overplayed and thus is lower in my overall ranking.
21. As For One Day
I love the instrumental in this song. The piano in the intro is very dramatic. Through the song, I like the sound of the the twangy-sounding stringed instrument (I'm not sure what it is). The line distribution is nice. We finally got to hear some quality solo lines from the Gokkies in this single (I don't count the lines from Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima as their normal voices - it's a weird sounding song). I also like the strong beat in this single. At moments, I get the feel of an old-school Ace of Base single.
20. Morning Coffee
Morning Coffee is a very simple song. It's got a simple melody, very simplistic drum line and very light guitar and piano. This is another example of my loving the harmonies. Now that I think about it though, I may have unfairly ranked Furusato because I do have to say that I'm not a big fan of the vocal quality in the original release of this single. Seeing as this was MM's first official release, you can hear that the girls' vocal control isn't quite there yet. I actually really enjoy the 2002 version of this song, which was the c/w for Souda! We're Alive. And I must say it's a freaking boring PV.
19. Koi no Dance Site
I find almost everything absolutely fantastic about this song. It's fun, the dance is enjoyable, it can easily get stuck in your head, and best of all: "SEXY BEAM!!!" Mari is gold in this single.
18. Mikan
This is a nice, upbeat, feel good song. I like the mix of instruments and the beat in this single. No story to go with this single. The baby pics in the PV are cute, but otherwise, nothing spectacular in the PV. It's simply a great song that can bring up your mood, because "Life is one time!"
17. Ambitious! Tashitenki de Ii Jan
"HEY HEY! Happy no mainichi!" Another fun, upbeat song. This one gets me bouncing in my seat every time. For some reason, I somehow missed the release of this single much like Hyokkori Hyoutanjima, but I obviously didn't have the same reaction to it once I became aware of its existence. I always forget that Mako-chan and Konkon were still part of MM in this single, but I think that's mainly because I discovered this single sometime after Aruiteru was released. For some reason, I'm very tickled by the 16th note high hat interspersed throughout the song.
16. Onna ni Sachi Are
Upon re-listening to this single, I was reminded that I actually enjoy Junjun's voice from what I can gather thus far. Linlin on the other hand... Not so much.
15. Koko ni Iruzee!
Hmm... this section (#19-17 and #15) seems to be filled with the high-energy, bouncy, head-bobbing, dancey songs. The girls definitely rock it out in the PV in their plaid blazers and rough it out in their fatigues, dirt on their faces and all. This is the first single post-Maki, and I find it amusing that on PROJECThello.com (where I usually get my romanji lyrics), Takahashi's colour coded lyrics get switched from her original orange to Maki's red. XD Coincidence? I think not!
Well there you have it! The top 14 are left... You can figure out by process of elimination what my top 14 are, but can you guess the order? :)
Sunday, February 03, 2008
All Morning Musume singles ranking - Part 1 of 3
And FINALLY, here comes my Morning Musume singles ranking!
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the H!P rankers on American Wota after reading a Morning Musume ranking entry on Infinite Seasons.
I've allowed these Wota Distractions to thoroughly distract me. :) This ranking includes the other MM singles (ie. The Gumi's and MM Tanjou 10nen Kinentai and the pre-MM single, Ai no Tane), a total of 42 singles.
I'm going to break this ranking into 3 parts (14 singles per part) simply due to the volume of songs. Some of these songs have stories which go along with the reasons for my liking or not liking the single, which makes my breakdown very lengthy. So here goes!
NOTE: If there's no clarification on the group, it was obviously a regular MM release.
42. Aruiteru
This is at the bottom of my list because of the very first line. When I first heard this song, I hadn't been following MM very closely. My brother got me to listen to it, and I cringed when I heard that first line. Some voices blend well together. Takahashi Ai and Kusumi Koharu's voice simply DO NOT! It was too painful for me and pretty much turned me off to the entire song. Don't get me started on live performances of this...
41. Ai no Tane
I took this ranking very seriously, because I really wondered my favourite order. In order to really figure out which singles ranked best for me, I went back and listened to the older songs that don't get on my playlist much. So, I was really surprised when I realized that I had actually never heard this song in my life... That was an eye-opener. In general, the song didn't really stand out to me, thus the low ranking. There was only minimal harmonizing in this song, which is one of my favourite things about the old school MM singles.
40. Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima
I can't quite explain it, but this song just never interested me. I somehow had originally missed its release and heard it at a concert. I thought they were promoting a new single or it was song random album song I'd never heard before, but my brother clarified that it had been out for some time. The PV was... interesting to say the least, and the song just wasn't musically stimulating for me.
39. Itoshiki Tomo e - Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai
I don't understand why Koharu is in this group. She brings down the vocals, and seeing as there are only 5 girls in this group, she gets a lot of solo lines. You'd figure for a 10th year anniversary group, you'd want some quality songs with some quality singers. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this group (as much as I love Risa). Nacchi, Maki and Kaori were never my favourite members of MM. I normally love ballads, but this song never got stuck in my head. If you asked me what it sounded like, I wouldn't be able to hum it off the top of my head.
38. Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia - Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai
Basically, the same reasons as #39. Too much Koha and not too interested in the other members of the group (minus Risa).
37. Furusato
The reason this single is so low is because I find it's not really a MM single so much as it's a Nacchi single. I mean, come on. There were 6 other girls in the group at this point in time. Massive Nacchi overload. I actually really enjoy this song on the fanclub releases (ex. I love Takahashi and Risa's versions of this song). People can talk about line whores all they like (ex. Takahashi, Suzuki Airi of C-ute) but they've got nothing on Natsumi in this single.
36. Namida ga Tomarani Houkago
As much as I love Konno, her voice isn't one of my favourites in the history of MM. With her, Rika and Sayumi taking many of the solo lines in this single, I couldn't bring myself to listen to it very often. It was did have a catchy tune though, and I often found myself humming it to myself.
35. Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~
Not too much to say on this one. Never listened to it much. The "souda souda souda mattaku" parts are catchy and have gotten stuck in my head once or twice. It's a weird song though, looking at the translation. >_<
34. Memory Seishun no Hikari
I don't know where the mp3s of the older songs went, so to refresh myself, I found the PVs. I realized that I had never actually seen this PV before. My inital reaction to the PV: THERE ARE BOYS!! :O I was completely shocked in a very amused way. I mean, there are never boys in MM PVs. But in general, I don't like the PV much. The dancing leaves much to be desired (which was the case in most of the old school MM singles). What I really like in this single is the harmonization. I don't understand why they don't utilize such a wonderful musical device in the current MM releases. It's not like the current members are lacking the ability or talent to harmonize.
33. Egao Yes Nude
And we get to my lowest ranking 8th gen song. It was kind of funny, because not only did I have to refresh myself on the older songs, but I also had to do it on the newer singles as well. Mikan is the only current MM single I've listen to on a regular basis. I've been more distracted with the H!P Kids groups recently. Anyway, when this single first came out, I was like o_O in regards to the title. I actually really like the vocals in this song, particularly due to the line distribution (lots of leader/subleader solo and duet lines in this song, both the current and former leader/subleader duos). I think what puts this song so low for me is the PV. I just didn't like it all that much (and really didn't enjoy the outfits).
32. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
When this single first came out, I was all over it. It's catchy and cute, and I enjoyed that much more when someone translated the PV (I mean, since it's little stories about each member, it's nice to know what they're telling you). However, I found the novelty wore off fairly soon, which is why this song is in the bottom half of my list. However, I really enjoyed this PV and dance.
31. Summer Night Town
Again, another song with harmonies that I just love. I don't care much for the PV (the oldest MM PV that I actually enjoyed, and basically when the PVs started getting more enjoyable overall, was LOVE Machine).
30. Sexy Boy ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~
I really enjoy the "SEXY ooh wa ooh wa"'s for some reason (both the singing and the dance). I really like the melody in this song as well. I like the vocals for the "Ippai kitai" lines. The PV just had a little bit too much white for me. The girls could fade into the walls.
29. Manatsu no Kousen
As I re-listened to this song, I noticed a very annoying guitar (I think) sound during the instrumental bits (like in the intro to the song). That's the only thing I can hear at those points in the song now. But it can't bring down the love I have for this song. It's such a happy, bright song (as it should be, since they're singing about an endless summer). And once again, enjoyable harmonies in this oldie.
There we go! My bottom 14 MM singles. It's sad to say, 'cause I definitely enjoy almost all of these songs, but something has to go at the bottom of the list, right?
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon the H!P rankers on American Wota after reading a Morning Musume ranking entry on Infinite Seasons.
I've allowed these Wota Distractions to thoroughly distract me. :) This ranking includes the other MM singles (ie. The Gumi's and MM Tanjou 10nen Kinentai and the pre-MM single, Ai no Tane), a total of 42 singles.
I'm going to break this ranking into 3 parts (14 singles per part) simply due to the volume of songs. Some of these songs have stories which go along with the reasons for my liking or not liking the single, which makes my breakdown very lengthy. So here goes!
NOTE: If there's no clarification on the group, it was obviously a regular MM release.
42. Aruiteru
This is at the bottom of my list because of the very first line. When I first heard this song, I hadn't been following MM very closely. My brother got me to listen to it, and I cringed when I heard that first line. Some voices blend well together. Takahashi Ai and Kusumi Koharu's voice simply DO NOT! It was too painful for me and pretty much turned me off to the entire song. Don't get me started on live performances of this...
41. Ai no Tane
I took this ranking very seriously, because I really wondered my favourite order. In order to really figure out which singles ranked best for me, I went back and listened to the older songs that don't get on my playlist much. So, I was really surprised when I realized that I had actually never heard this song in my life... That was an eye-opener. In general, the song didn't really stand out to me, thus the low ranking. There was only minimal harmonizing in this song, which is one of my favourite things about the old school MM singles.
40. Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima
I can't quite explain it, but this song just never interested me. I somehow had originally missed its release and heard it at a concert. I thought they were promoting a new single or it was song random album song I'd never heard before, but my brother clarified that it had been out for some time. The PV was... interesting to say the least, and the song just wasn't musically stimulating for me.
39. Itoshiki Tomo e - Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai
I don't understand why Koharu is in this group. She brings down the vocals, and seeing as there are only 5 girls in this group, she gets a lot of solo lines. You'd figure for a 10th year anniversary group, you'd want some quality songs with some quality singers. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this group (as much as I love Risa). Nacchi, Maki and Kaori were never my favourite members of MM. I normally love ballads, but this song never got stuck in my head. If you asked me what it sounded like, I wouldn't be able to hum it off the top of my head.
38. Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia - Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai
Basically, the same reasons as #39. Too much Koha and not too interested in the other members of the group (minus Risa).
37. Furusato
The reason this single is so low is because I find it's not really a MM single so much as it's a Nacchi single. I mean, come on. There were 6 other girls in the group at this point in time. Massive Nacchi overload. I actually really enjoy this song on the fanclub releases (ex. I love Takahashi and Risa's versions of this song). People can talk about line whores all they like (ex. Takahashi, Suzuki Airi of C-ute) but they've got nothing on Natsumi in this single.
36. Namida ga Tomarani Houkago
As much as I love Konno, her voice isn't one of my favourites in the history of MM. With her, Rika and Sayumi taking many of the solo lines in this single, I couldn't bring myself to listen to it very often. It was did have a catchy tune though, and I often found myself humming it to myself.
35. Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~
Not too much to say on this one. Never listened to it much. The "souda souda souda mattaku" parts are catchy and have gotten stuck in my head once or twice. It's a weird song though, looking at the translation. >_<
34. Memory Seishun no Hikari
I don't know where the mp3s of the older songs went, so to refresh myself, I found the PVs. I realized that I had never actually seen this PV before. My inital reaction to the PV: THERE ARE BOYS!! :O I was completely shocked in a very amused way. I mean, there are never boys in MM PVs. But in general, I don't like the PV much. The dancing leaves much to be desired (which was the case in most of the old school MM singles). What I really like in this single is the harmonization. I don't understand why they don't utilize such a wonderful musical device in the current MM releases. It's not like the current members are lacking the ability or talent to harmonize.
33. Egao Yes Nude
And we get to my lowest ranking 8th gen song. It was kind of funny, because not only did I have to refresh myself on the older songs, but I also had to do it on the newer singles as well. Mikan is the only current MM single I've listen to on a regular basis. I've been more distracted with the H!P Kids groups recently. Anyway, when this single first came out, I was like o_O in regards to the title. I actually really like the vocals in this song, particularly due to the line distribution (lots of leader/subleader solo and duet lines in this song, both the current and former leader/subleader duos). I think what puts this song so low for me is the PV. I just didn't like it all that much (and really didn't enjoy the outfits).
32. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
When this single first came out, I was all over it. It's catchy and cute, and I enjoyed that much more when someone translated the PV (I mean, since it's little stories about each member, it's nice to know what they're telling you). However, I found the novelty wore off fairly soon, which is why this song is in the bottom half of my list. However, I really enjoyed this PV and dance.
31. Summer Night Town
Again, another song with harmonies that I just love. I don't care much for the PV (the oldest MM PV that I actually enjoyed, and basically when the PVs started getting more enjoyable overall, was LOVE Machine).
30. Sexy Boy ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~
I really enjoy the "SEXY ooh wa ooh wa"'s for some reason (both the singing and the dance). I really like the melody in this song as well. I like the vocals for the "Ippai kitai" lines. The PV just had a little bit too much white for me. The girls could fade into the walls.
29. Manatsu no Kousen
As I re-listened to this song, I noticed a very annoying guitar (I think) sound during the instrumental bits (like in the intro to the song). That's the only thing I can hear at those points in the song now. But it can't bring down the love I have for this song. It's such a happy, bright song (as it should be, since they're singing about an endless summer). And once again, enjoyable harmonies in this oldie.
There we go! My bottom 14 MM singles. It's sad to say, 'cause I definitely enjoy almost all of these songs, but something has to go at the bottom of the list, right?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
New layout & Ribbon no Kishi Review
So, before I begin my review of Morning Musume and Biyuden's musical, Ribbon no Kishi, just a few words on my new layout. First off, well, it's new! (Kinda obvious, I realize...) My reason: As I mentioned in my review of Buono!'s new Renai Rider PV, Miyabi has such stunning eyes, and I just love that part of the PV, so I wanted to see it whenever I loaded up my blog. :) As for the other picture in my header, it was chosen once again because of Miyabi. I just absolutely love her in that set of official photos, and particuarly in that shot. Lots of Miya <3 can be found here! XD
It would have been nice to change the layout with the Buono! post, but layout changes take time (particularly for me 'cause CSS confuses the heck out of me, and I had to bother my brother frequently to get help as I started going cross-eyed sifting through the code). It's kinda funny to have a new layout change focused on Berryz/Miyabi (mainly Miya) and have a first post on the new layout regarding something Morning Musume related, but what can you do? So on with the review!
Ribbon no Kishi Review
I really had no pre-conceptions prior to watching this musical. I hadn't read any reviews or synopses regarding the musical, nor had I watched or heard or read anything about the anime or manga, so I didn't really know what to expect plot-wise. All I knew was that it featured Morning Musume and Ishikawa Rika (didn't realize Biyuden was in it until I started watching). That's generally enough for me to give something a try.
The story:
I found the premise of the story very intriguing. First, Ai-chan's character (at this point unnamed) being tricked into acquiring a second soul just prior to being born, and then finding out that the two souls are of opposite genders. Watching the struggles that her character, Sapphire, goes through in trying to juggle these conflicting facets of her nature allow you to connect with the character and come to care about what happens next. Being born a girl, her feminine side is ovbiously more prominent, but as she has to pretend to be a boy to maintain the legacy of her kingdom, she is able to fulfill that role with ease due to her dual nature (regardless that she is unaware of this dual nature).
The dilemma of dual and opposite souls is used very cleverly as a tool to develop further plotlines, past the usual and often used "must pretend to be a boy so that the kingdom doesn't fall into the hands of corrpt, evil people" plot. I won't say any more in regards to this so as not to spoil the twists and turns of the story for those who haven't had the pleasure of watching this musical and are planning to at some point in the future.
The performances:
First, I have to give mad props to Ai-chan for this one. I thought she was outstanding in this musical. Her singing was superb, her dancing was fantastic and her acting was very moving. I love her voice, and she was very strong vocally through the entire performance. We all know that Ai-chan has had formal dance training, and I find she's one of the best, if not the best dancer in H!P. She didn't dance much in this musical, but she did have that one scene with Rika when their characters first met. I'd never seen Ai-chan do ballroom before, but I thought she pulled it off very well here. Her posture was good and she looked so graceful in all of her movements. Overall, she was absolutely amazing in this performance.
Onto the second lead, Ishikawa Rika. I thought Rika did fairly well in the musical. However, very early into the musical, you could see the lopsided-ness in the strengths of the leads. I find that Rika is a pretty good actress. She was very convincing in her role in Sukeban Deka with Matsuura Aya. But When you put her head to head against Takahashi Ai in the categories of singing and dancing, well... Really, it's just cruel. No one can argue that Rika is not very strong vocally. She doesn't have the greatest control over her voice, and the quality of it isn't really suited to holding elongated notes. As for dancing, if you watch the scene I mentioned in my review of Ai, you can see that her posture is much more casual that Ai-chan's, which is not a good thing, seeing as the male has to lead in ballroom dancing. I realize she's not actually a guy, but her posture was very poor. Overall, I though Rika did a good job, but there's really no comparison to Ai-chan.
I was very impressed with Risa. She didn't have many solo lines, playing 2 minor roles, but her solo in 戦いのとき (Tatakai no Toki) was very well done. In particular, she held her final note very well, unlike Kamei, who was a little flat on her final note during her own solo.
Another person who really impressed me here was Miki. I know she can sing. Although she's never been one of my favourite Morning members, I've never denied taht this girl has a lot of talent. I'm not sure what exactly it was in this performance, but I was just totally moved by Miki. The power of her voice (particularly in 大臣の願い ～ 魔女 (Daijin no Chikai ~ Majo) which she sang with Hitomi) absolutely floored me (in a very good way). She played her character very well, moving beyond just singing phenomenally. Her character had many dimensions and she was able to convey all the emotions beautifully. Her performance in this musical alone moves her up in my overall Morning member rankings.
Hitomi performed very well in this musical as well. I thought it was interesting to see that her human self was sneaky and backhanded like her pre-birth self. Her vocals and acting were solid. However, unlike Miki's character, Hitomi's was pretty one dimensional (not that it's her fault or that she played it badly, it's simply a fact). Basically, she had one goal in mind, and set about achieving it by whatever means possible. Her goal was a very simple one, unlike Miki's, and thus didn't have many varying emotions to play off of in her attempts to reach her goal.
Surprisingly, I wasn't overly annoyed by either Sayumi or Koharu in this musical. Koharu's voice is still not my cup of tea in the slightest. However, her solo song (where she lists the food prices and promotes herself) was cutesy so it was okay for her voice type (except for her last line, which was kind of painful). As for Sayu, she actually sang fairly well with Reina during their search to find Koharu a bride. I actually really enjoyed the harmony in that song.
A note on Mako-chan. The song she sang with Koharu was well performed, but I thought it was a terrible ending line for her. It's a strong line, which should be belted out. Unfortunately, it's completely out of her range and she had to go into falsetto, which took all the strength out of her voice. It was a disappointing ending to that song, IMO. However, her singing otherwise was well done and I really liked her character, and the obvious loyalty she had for Hitomi (even though Hitomi's character's motives left much to be desired).
Not too much to say in regards to the other members of Biyuden. They played pretty small roles. They did well in their song as the jailers, and the friendship between their characters was really cute.
Random points:
I was so amused with the randomness inserted throughout the play. In particular, when Sayu and Reina find Ai-chan. Their friendly little "kids, don't go off with strangers" message was absolutely fabulous!
I really did not like Ai-chan's eye make-up. It annoyed the heck out of me.
Miki's got some muscular arms.
Overall impressions:
Everyone involved had pretty strong individual performances, taking into account their varying strengths and weaknesses, making this a very enjoyable musical to watch. The acting was well done, and the vocals were solid all-around. And though I didn't elaborate on their performances due to the fact that they're not part of H!P, the Takarazuka veterans, Ebira Kaoru and Marcia, were amazing as well. The duets between Ai-chan and Marcia were particularly moving.
If you're on the fence about watching this musical, I would definitely recommend it. The strong performances in addition to a very interesting storyline with multiple plot twists make it very enjoyable.
Up next, I'm looking to do a ranking of my favourite Morning Musume singles from the American Wota: Wota Distractions (but I need to refresh myself on some of their older works before I can do that properly). My brother [johpan] beat me to listing his singles ranking, but if you notice the start of his post, he mentions that I led him to the Wota Distractions page. Evil brother for stealing post topics. After that, I think I may do a breakdown of Berryz singles as well.
It would have been nice to change the layout with the Buono! post, but layout changes take time (particularly for me 'cause CSS confuses the heck out of me, and I had to bother my brother frequently to get help as I started going cross-eyed sifting through the code). It's kinda funny to have a new layout change focused on Berryz/Miyabi (mainly Miya) and have a first post on the new layout regarding something Morning Musume related, but what can you do? So on with the review!
Ribbon no Kishi Review
I really had no pre-conceptions prior to watching this musical. I hadn't read any reviews or synopses regarding the musical, nor had I watched or heard or read anything about the anime or manga, so I didn't really know what to expect plot-wise. All I knew was that it featured Morning Musume and Ishikawa Rika (didn't realize Biyuden was in it until I started watching). That's generally enough for me to give something a try.The story:
I found the premise of the story very intriguing. First, Ai-chan's character (at this point unnamed) being tricked into acquiring a second soul just prior to being born, and then finding out that the two souls are of opposite genders. Watching the struggles that her character, Sapphire, goes through in trying to juggle these conflicting facets of her nature allow you to connect with the character and come to care about what happens next. Being born a girl, her feminine side is ovbiously more prominent, but as she has to pretend to be a boy to maintain the legacy of her kingdom, she is able to fulfill that role with ease due to her dual nature (regardless that she is unaware of this dual nature).
The dilemma of dual and opposite souls is used very cleverly as a tool to develop further plotlines, past the usual and often used "must pretend to be a boy so that the kingdom doesn't fall into the hands of corrpt, evil people" plot. I won't say any more in regards to this so as not to spoil the twists and turns of the story for those who haven't had the pleasure of watching this musical and are planning to at some point in the future.
The performances:
First, I have to give mad props to Ai-chan for this one. I thought she was outstanding in this musical. Her singing was superb, her dancing was fantastic and her acting was very moving. I love her voice, and she was very strong vocally through the entire performance. We all know that Ai-chan has had formal dance training, and I find she's one of the best, if not the best dancer in H!P. She didn't dance much in this musical, but she did have that one scene with Rika when their characters first met. I'd never seen Ai-chan do ballroom before, but I thought she pulled it off very well here. Her posture was good and she looked so graceful in all of her movements. Overall, she was absolutely amazing in this performance.
Onto the second lead, Ishikawa Rika. I thought Rika did fairly well in the musical. However, very early into the musical, you could see the lopsided-ness in the strengths of the leads. I find that Rika is a pretty good actress. She was very convincing in her role in Sukeban Deka with Matsuura Aya. But When you put her head to head against Takahashi Ai in the categories of singing and dancing, well... Really, it's just cruel. No one can argue that Rika is not very strong vocally. She doesn't have the greatest control over her voice, and the quality of it isn't really suited to holding elongated notes. As for dancing, if you watch the scene I mentioned in my review of Ai, you can see that her posture is much more casual that Ai-chan's, which is not a good thing, seeing as the male has to lead in ballroom dancing. I realize she's not actually a guy, but her posture was very poor. Overall, I though Rika did a good job, but there's really no comparison to Ai-chan.
I was very impressed with Risa. She didn't have many solo lines, playing 2 minor roles, but her solo in 戦いのとき (Tatakai no Toki) was very well done. In particular, she held her final note very well, unlike Kamei, who was a little flat on her final note during her own solo.
Another person who really impressed me here was Miki. I know she can sing. Although she's never been one of my favourite Morning members, I've never denied taht this girl has a lot of talent. I'm not sure what exactly it was in this performance, but I was just totally moved by Miki. The power of her voice (particularly in 大臣の願い ～ 魔女 (Daijin no Chikai ~ Majo) which she sang with Hitomi) absolutely floored me (in a very good way). She played her character very well, moving beyond just singing phenomenally. Her character had many dimensions and she was able to convey all the emotions beautifully. Her performance in this musical alone moves her up in my overall Morning member rankings.
Hitomi performed very well in this musical as well. I thought it was interesting to see that her human self was sneaky and backhanded like her pre-birth self. Her vocals and acting were solid. However, unlike Miki's character, Hitomi's was pretty one dimensional (not that it's her fault or that she played it badly, it's simply a fact). Basically, she had one goal in mind, and set about achieving it by whatever means possible. Her goal was a very simple one, unlike Miki's, and thus didn't have many varying emotions to play off of in her attempts to reach her goal.
Surprisingly, I wasn't overly annoyed by either Sayumi or Koharu in this musical. Koharu's voice is still not my cup of tea in the slightest. However, her solo song (where she lists the food prices and promotes herself) was cutesy so it was okay for her voice type (except for her last line, which was kind of painful). As for Sayu, she actually sang fairly well with Reina during their search to find Koharu a bride. I actually really enjoyed the harmony in that song.
A note on Mako-chan. The song she sang with Koharu was well performed, but I thought it was a terrible ending line for her. It's a strong line, which should be belted out. Unfortunately, it's completely out of her range and she had to go into falsetto, which took all the strength out of her voice. It was a disappointing ending to that song, IMO. However, her singing otherwise was well done and I really liked her character, and the obvious loyalty she had for Hitomi (even though Hitomi's character's motives left much to be desired).
Not too much to say in regards to the other members of Biyuden. They played pretty small roles. They did well in their song as the jailers, and the friendship between their characters was really cute.
Random points:
I was so amused with the randomness inserted throughout the play. In particular, when Sayu and Reina find Ai-chan. Their friendly little "kids, don't go off with strangers" message was absolutely fabulous!
I really did not like Ai-chan's eye make-up. It annoyed the heck out of me.
Miki's got some muscular arms.
Overall impressions:
Everyone involved had pretty strong individual performances, taking into account their varying strengths and weaknesses, making this a very enjoyable musical to watch. The acting was well done, and the vocals were solid all-around. And though I didn't elaborate on their performances due to the fact that they're not part of H!P, the Takarazuka veterans, Ebira Kaoru and Marcia, were amazing as well. The duets between Ai-chan and Marcia were particularly moving.
If you're on the fence about watching this musical, I would definitely recommend it. The strong performances in addition to a very interesting storyline with multiple plot twists make it very enjoyable.
Up next, I'm looking to do a ranking of my favourite Morning Musume singles from the American Wota: Wota Distractions (but I need to refresh myself on some of their older works before I can do that properly). My brother [johpan] beat me to listing his singles ranking, but if you notice the start of his post, he mentions that I led him to the Wota Distractions page. Evil brother for stealing post topics. After that, I think I may do a breakdown of Berryz singles as well.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
C-ute's mini album; C-ute vs Berryz
Just recently got around to listening to C-ute's mini album （２）mini～生きるという力～ (after watching a live performance of Bokura no Kagayaki, and realizing I could hear some quality Chisato on this album).
Listening to this album definitely solidified my top 3 C-ute members. There really is a big gap between my affection for my top 3 and the other 4 girls in this group.
The opening song "That's the POWER" has a really carnivale feel to it. It's bouncy and upbeat, but I don't think it will get too many plays on my list.
The 3rd track "Disco Queen", unsurprisingly, isn't quite my fancy, seeing as it features Mai and Saki, neither of whom quite have the quality of voice that I enjoy.
Airi's song, "Tsuugaku Vector", is okay. Not much to rave about on my part, surprisingly. I definitely still <3 her (one song won't change that), but this song won't go down as one of my favourites.
I really enjoy Maimi's solo song "Natsu DOKI Lipstick". I really need to see this song live and see how well Maimi pulls it off. The chorus is so catchy, and I just love the high note that she hits at the end of each chorus (except the 2nd last one). I don't know if it's just me and my bad memory, but I feel like most H!P songs don't have a key change within a song. I think because of that, the key change within this song really stood out to me. It makes the end of the song much more potent (not quite the word I'm looking for in this situation, but I like the sound of it XD). I really like the quality of Maimi's voice. She's definitely the most mature sounding of C-ute at the moment.
*EDIT*: My brother tells me I do have a very bad memory and that many H!P songs do actually have a key change (ex. Koko ni Iruzee!). Hmm... seems I need to brush up on my old school H!P songs.
However, I'd have to say my favourite song on this album would have to be "Bokura no Kagayki" which features Chistao, Erika and Kanna. Can you guess which of the 3 I'm particularly enjoying in this song? In the live I saw, Chisato was definitely the strongest performer, IMO. I love the guitar in this song. It's not overly complicated... Makes me want to figure out the chords... Hmm... there's an idea. I also enjoy the drum pattern in this song. It makes me want to go out and play this song on Drum Mania (if it were on Drum Mania, that is... Unfortunately I can only play fake video game drums. My coordination isn't good enough to handle different beats between my hands and feet).
To go off on a tangent, I've been think a lot recently about the C-ute vs. Berryz debate and who's better. Thought I'd get my two cents in.
Berryz has been getting put down a lot from what I've been reading. While everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I don't think it's quite fair to compare C-ute at this stage to Berryz when they were at the equivalent stage in thier careers.
First, when Berryz released their 3rd major single "Piriri to Yukou!", the members were at an average age of roughly 11.75. Compared to C-ute's 3rd major single "Tokaikko Junjou", C-ute's average age is almost 2 years older, at roughly 13.57. C-ute also had 4 indie singles prior to their major releases, so they had the chance to build up a fanbase, as well as get more comfortable with their position/roles as idols than Berryz did initially.
As for the most recent releases, most people have either loved or hated Berryz newest, while many seemed to thoroughly enjoy C-ute's latest. Well, can't do much there. It's not Berryz choice on what song they're given, or the choreography that comes with it. But at the same time, I think people need to give Berryz more credit (though it's so ironic that with the bashing of "Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi" before it's release, it ended up outselling all of the most recent H!P releases, with the exception of Buono!'s "Honto no Jibun").
*EDIT #2*: Someone pointed out that "Tsukiatteru" outsold in first week sales, and not total sales. That's what I mean to say, it just didn't occur to me to specify that when I originally posted.
Look at what Berryz has done in the 3 (almost 4) years they've been a group. They are currently on their 15th single (almost 1 year earlier than Morning Musume in regards to time from 1st single release to 15th single release). In addition to the singles, Berryz has also released 4 albums (albeit one was a mini album), just like MM had released by their 15th single. MM did 3 movies, 2 musicals and 6 concerts, while Berryz did 2 stage plays (I think it's 2... They just completed one recently, if I'm thinking correctly) and 9 concerts. Keep in mind that Berryz got to this point 1 year faster than MM. I think that's just mind boggling.
I'm not saying this to bash on C-ute in anyway, 'cause I definitely love C-ute as well. Call me non-confrontational (heck, I'll be the first to admit that I'm non-confrontational), but I just don't get why we need to bash on one group to raise up our favourites. They're 2 different groups with 2 different sets of girls. C-ute's gotten off to a good start, but just because they got the supposedly better song (once again, I say different groups, different sounds), you can't totally throw out all that Berryz has accomplished over the years.
And finally, forget a tangent... I'm gonna take a complete 180, and return from Japan back to Toronto and make my first real mention of the Toronto Raptors in my blog.
Watched the game tonight against the Hawks. This was our first game back at full strength since having injury problems with Bargnani, Bosh and Ford starting Nov. 20. So what happens in this game? First Jason Kapono goes out with a wrist injury. Initial X-rays came up negative for damage, but no futher info. Then just before the start of the 4th, Jose Calderon goes to the locker room for what seemed to be a dislocated finger. Luckily, he was back on court within a few minutes.
But the major kicker happened with about 1:30 left in the 4th. TJ Ford made a steal, and as he's running down the floor going for a layup, Atlanta's Al Horford went for a block, but instead pulled on TJ's head. It took TJ off balance and he crashed into the ground, his head bouncing hard off the floor. He lay completely limp. It was terrifying to watch. A few years ago, Ford suffered an injury that required neck surgery and kept him off court for a year. It could very well have been a career ending injury. Since then, he's had a pretty sensitive neck/back and has suffered a few stingers from hard fouls. Tonight just left me with a terrible feeling inside, wondering how bad this injury is.
It was like watching the game against Boston last season where Jorge Garbajosa went to block a shot, but when he landed he broke his ankle (as in his food was 90 degrees/perpendicular to it's usual angle, with the bone sticking out). He has since come back to play, but ironically, he just had a second surgery on that ankle, I think it was tonight.... And then Ford gets this injury...
Listening to this album definitely solidified my top 3 C-ute members. There really is a big gap between my affection for my top 3 and the other 4 girls in this group.
The opening song "That's the POWER" has a really carnivale feel to it. It's bouncy and upbeat, but I don't think it will get too many plays on my list.
The 3rd track "Disco Queen", unsurprisingly, isn't quite my fancy, seeing as it features Mai and Saki, neither of whom quite have the quality of voice that I enjoy.
Airi's song, "Tsuugaku Vector", is okay. Not much to rave about on my part, surprisingly. I definitely still <3 her (one song won't change that), but this song won't go down as one of my favourites.
I really enjoy Maimi's solo song "Natsu DOKI Lipstick". I really need to see this song live and see how well Maimi pulls it off. The chorus is so catchy, and I just love the high note that she hits at the end of each chorus (except the 2nd last one). I don't know if it's just me and my bad memory, but I feel like most H!P songs don't have a key change within a song. I think because of that, the key change within this song really stood out to me. It makes the end of the song much more potent (not quite the word I'm looking for in this situation, but I like the sound of it XD). I really like the quality of Maimi's voice. She's definitely the most mature sounding of C-ute at the moment.
*EDIT*: My brother tells me I do have a very bad memory and that many H!P songs do actually have a key change (ex. Koko ni Iruzee!). Hmm... seems I need to brush up on my old school H!P songs.
However, I'd have to say my favourite song on this album would have to be "Bokura no Kagayki" which features Chistao, Erika and Kanna. Can you guess which of the 3 I'm particularly enjoying in this song? In the live I saw, Chisato was definitely the strongest performer, IMO. I love the guitar in this song. It's not overly complicated... Makes me want to figure out the chords... Hmm... there's an idea. I also enjoy the drum pattern in this song. It makes me want to go out and play this song on Drum Mania (if it were on Drum Mania, that is... Unfortunately I can only play fake video game drums. My coordination isn't good enough to handle different beats between my hands and feet).
To go off on a tangent, I've been think a lot recently about the C-ute vs. Berryz debate and who's better. Thought I'd get my two cents in.
Berryz has been getting put down a lot from what I've been reading. While everyone's entitled to their own opinion, I don't think it's quite fair to compare C-ute at this stage to Berryz when they were at the equivalent stage in thier careers.
First, when Berryz released their 3rd major single "Piriri to Yukou!", the members were at an average age of roughly 11.75. Compared to C-ute's 3rd major single "Tokaikko Junjou", C-ute's average age is almost 2 years older, at roughly 13.57. C-ute also had 4 indie singles prior to their major releases, so they had the chance to build up a fanbase, as well as get more comfortable with their position/roles as idols than Berryz did initially.
As for the most recent releases, most people have either loved or hated Berryz newest, while many seemed to thoroughly enjoy C-ute's latest. Well, can't do much there. It's not Berryz choice on what song they're given, or the choreography that comes with it. But at the same time, I think people need to give Berryz more credit (though it's so ironic that with the bashing of "Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi" before it's release, it ended up outselling all of the most recent H!P releases, with the exception of Buono!'s "Honto no Jibun").
*EDIT #2*: Someone pointed out that "Tsukiatteru" outsold in first week sales, and not total sales. That's what I mean to say, it just didn't occur to me to specify that when I originally posted.
Look at what Berryz has done in the 3 (almost 4) years they've been a group. They are currently on their 15th single (almost 1 year earlier than Morning Musume in regards to time from 1st single release to 15th single release). In addition to the singles, Berryz has also released 4 albums (albeit one was a mini album), just like MM had released by their 15th single. MM did 3 movies, 2 musicals and 6 concerts, while Berryz did 2 stage plays (I think it's 2... They just completed one recently, if I'm thinking correctly) and 9 concerts. Keep in mind that Berryz got to this point 1 year faster than MM. I think that's just mind boggling.
I'm not saying this to bash on C-ute in anyway, 'cause I definitely love C-ute as well. Call me non-confrontational (heck, I'll be the first to admit that I'm non-confrontational), but I just don't get why we need to bash on one group to raise up our favourites. They're 2 different groups with 2 different sets of girls. C-ute's gotten off to a good start, but just because they got the supposedly better song (once again, I say different groups, different sounds), you can't totally throw out all that Berryz has accomplished over the years.
And finally, forget a tangent... I'm gonna take a complete 180, and return from Japan back to Toronto and make my first real mention of the Toronto Raptors in my blog.
Watched the game tonight against the Hawks. This was our first game back at full strength since having injury problems with Bargnani, Bosh and Ford starting Nov. 20. So what happens in this game? First Jason Kapono goes out with a wrist injury. Initial X-rays came up negative for damage, but no futher info. Then just before the start of the 4th, Jose Calderon goes to the locker room for what seemed to be a dislocated finger. Luckily, he was back on court within a few minutes.
But the major kicker happened with about 1:30 left in the 4th. TJ Ford made a steal, and as he's running down the floor going for a layup, Atlanta's Al Horford went for a block, but instead pulled on TJ's head. It took TJ off balance and he crashed into the ground, his head bouncing hard off the floor. He lay completely limp. It was terrifying to watch. A few years ago, Ford suffered an injury that required neck surgery and kept him off court for a year. It could very well have been a career ending injury. Since then, he's had a pretty sensitive neck/back and has suffered a few stingers from hard fouls. Tonight just left me with a terrible feeling inside, wondering how bad this injury is.
It was like watching the game against Boston last season where Jorge Garbajosa went to block a shot, but when he landed he broke his ankle (as in his food was 90 degrees/perpendicular to it's usual angle, with the bone sticking out). He has since come back to play, but ironically, he just had a second surgery on that ankle, I think it was tonight.... And then Ford gets this injury...
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
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!!
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!!
Friday, November 16, 2007
H!P Members Ranking - Morning Musume
Here's my Morning Musume section of member ranking. I have to admit that I haven't been following MM as closely as I used to. Particularly because most of my favourite members have graduated and I haven't taken the time to familiarize myself with the new members.
So, rankings of the current line-up:
1. Takahashi Ai
She is absolutely fabulous. She has one of the best voices in H!P in my opinion and this girl can dance. I found she looked a little awkward when she first joined MM (but then again, the entire 5th gen did), but from her first solo line in "Souda! We're ALIVE" I was just wowed by her voice. Even in live performances, she sang it well (if you compare her singing her line in that song to Risa singing hers in live performances... well, there's just no comparison). So many people say that she has no personality, but I've always found her to be an interesting character to watch. I don't understand much Japanese (I'm working on fixing that) but while she's definitely not the most outspoken member, she definitely has her funny moments. And much like my reason for having Miyabi as my favourite Berryz member, Takahashi's consistency and talent just make her hands down my favourite MM member.
2. Niigaki Risa
This girl has definitely grown up from the 12 year old kid who joined in 2001. She wasn't one of my favourites back then because she was really inconsistent live. And she was awkward in interviews (as was Takahashi, but she was such a consistent performer, that I could overlook the interviewing awkwardness). However, she has developed both as a singer (I find she's pretty consistent during performances now, and her voice has matured into a nice quality than it had been initially), and in regards to her persona within the group. She exudes this energy all the time that just puts a smile on your face. She's definitely an interesting character.
3./4. Tanaka Reina and Kamei Eri
Not sure which one I like more from these 2. Reina obviously gets more lines, but I don't know whose voice I like more. However, I found both of them absolutely hilarious in one of the Hello! Morning episodes a few years back when they had a guy come in and teach them English. Reina with her "angry" story involving "people people people" on the elevator:
5./6./7. Mitsui Aika, Jun Jun and Lin Lin
8th gen... I dunno much about them, 'cause as I mentioned, I haven't been following MM very much recently. I see watch the PVs, but I haven't really watched interviews and I haven't been keeping up with Haro Moni. I can't remember off the top of my head which one it is, but from what I've seen, I'm not a big fan on either Jun Jun or Lin Lin's voice.
8. Michishige Sayumi
This girl just gets on my nerves. No offense to those who full out <3 the girl, but she can't sing and her cutesy image absolutely rubs me the wrong way. For some reason, this section of my post (and the start of #9) keeps disappearing, so I'm tired of re-writing this... I'm forgetting what I wrote already. Let's just say I find her cute image irritating rather than endearing.
9. Kusumi Koharu
Now I just don't understand the hype surrounding this girl. How Tsunku chose her as the "ace"/"miracle" girl will forever boggle my mind. She can't sing for the life of her and she's so prominent right now. Theppn mentioned she was the top selling H!P soloist for 2006. How in the world did that happen? >_< Unless, she was the one with the most releases... Seeing as Ayaya has been kinda AWOL in the music scene (though I'd take a break too if I was diagnosed with temporomandibular joint disorder). But then again, flat out cuteness does seem to sell over singing talent. It really bothers me 'cause she's terrible live. And when she's solo, I don't think I've actually heard her live (I only see her live in the H!P concerts, and it all sounds very lip synced to me). Another point from theppn: She said she prefers the "cool" personas over the "cute" personas, with Hitomi and Miki being the MM members she admired the most (back when they were members) and yet her mentor figure is Michishige?... How does that work? Unless she didn't choose her mentor... But yea... She wouldn't bother me so much if she wasn't singled out for her fabulousness (which I simply don't see). One thing she's got is that she's pretty. I'll give her that. And I fully believe that this girl is going to grow up to be gorgeous. Some pictures I've seen of her have absolutely wowed me. However, the quality of her voice is not good... Maybe she'll surprise me in the future and develop much like Risa did. But for the moment, I don't see the "ace" that Tsunku does.
A mix including former MM members:
1. Ishikawa Rika
The quality of her voice is definitely not the greatest, but her ability to ham it up has just always fascinated me. She is able to play off a cute persona without annoying the heck out of me. And her ability to laugh at herself and accept teasing from the other members has made her very endearing to me. She was the first MM member that caught my eye (keep in mind that the first MM PV I saw was "The Peace"), and something about her has just kept her in my favourites list. My love for Rika is irrational, but what can you do? I <3 Charmy!
2. Takahashi Ai
For the reasons above
3. Yoshizawa Hitomi
Her gruff/boyish character has always been a joy to watch. All of her characters in the Haro Moni skits were fabulous. I particularly love her old man character (where Rika played her wife). And Yossie has a fabulous voice as well. Her consistency to very good now, and definitely improved compared to back in the day. I remember watching some of The Peace! live performances and cringing at some of her lines (as well as some of Nacchi's). But once they released Mr. Moonlight, I was wowed by her voice. It's very distinct within H!P. I would be able to pick her out anytime (just as I could with Takahashi and Fujimoto).
4. Niigaki Risa
For the reasons above.
5. Ogawa Makoto
I thought she needed a bit more screen time in general. Her constantly "genki" attitude was always entertaining to watch. And I loved all of her skit characters. I enjoyed her voice as well, but unfortunately she never got many lines.
6. Konno Asami
As the smartest member of MM, as evidenced by the Mechaike Bakajo Kimatsu Test, Konkon grew on me. I didn't like her much when she first joined. Her singing voice is definitely not spectacular, but something about her is just so endearing.
7. Yaguchi Mari
SEXY BEAM!! MINI MONI! Enough said.
8. Tsuji Nozomi
Tsuji (partnered with Kago) has always been an amusing character. But I really started to pay attention to her after I watched the concert where they performed songs from the 4th album, 4th Ikimasshoi! Prior to that, she was always using her cutesy voice, but in that particular concert, there was a particular line that she had in "Ikimasshoi!" and I was just like... :O That was Tsuji?!? I was surprised and impressed by the quality of her voice when it wasn't cute and high pitched. So, while she's enjoyable with the cute voice, I really like it when Tsuji belts it out.
I'll just list the rest. No more accompanying paragraphs.
9. Kago Ai (4th gen comes in second).
10. Yasuda Kei - Enjoyed her English lessons with Ayaka.
11. Iida Kaori - Such fun to watch the dancing... XD
12. Nakazawa Yuko
13/14. Tanaka Reina/Kamei Eri
15. Abe Natsumi - Was never one of my faves, though I also enjoyed her English lessons.
16. Goto Maki - Another who was never one of my faves. But highly enjoyed GoMaki Penguin on Hello! Morning.
17. Fujimoto Miki - Very distinct voice, but was never a big Miki fan, even pre-MM Miki.
18/19/20. Mitsui Aika, Jun Jun, Lin Lin
21. Michishige Sayumi
22. Kusumi Koharu
* Note: Ishiguro Aya, Fukuda Asuka and Ichii Sayaka were graduated by the time I got into MM, so no particular thoughts on them, though was always amused by the "Nice body, body body" of Aya's in "Love Machine"
So, rankings of the current line-up:
1. Takahashi Ai
She is absolutely fabulous. She has one of the best voices in H!P in my opinion and this girl can dance. I found she looked a little awkward when she first joined MM (but then again, the entire 5th gen did), but from her first solo line in "Souda! We're ALIVE" I was just wowed by her voice. Even in live performances, she sang it well (if you compare her singing her line in that song to Risa singing hers in live performances... well, there's just no comparison). So many people say that she has no personality, but I've always found her to be an interesting character to watch. I don't understand much Japanese (I'm working on fixing that) but while she's definitely not the most outspoken member, she definitely has her funny moments. And much like my reason for having Miyabi as my favourite Berryz member, Takahashi's consistency and talent just make her hands down my favourite MM member.
2. Niigaki Risa
This girl has definitely grown up from the 12 year old kid who joined in 2001. She wasn't one of my favourites back then because she was really inconsistent live. And she was awkward in interviews (as was Takahashi, but she was such a consistent performer, that I could overlook the interviewing awkwardness). However, she has developed both as a singer (I find she's pretty consistent during performances now, and her voice has matured into a nice quality than it had been initially), and in regards to her persona within the group. She exudes this energy all the time that just puts a smile on your face. She's definitely an interesting character.
3./4. Tanaka Reina and Kamei Eri
Not sure which one I like more from these 2. Reina obviously gets more lines, but I don't know whose voice I like more. However, I found both of them absolutely hilarious in one of the Hello! Morning episodes a few years back when they had a guy come in and teach them English. Reina with her "angry" story involving "people people people" on the elevator:
- Tanaka was in a full elevator, but even though it was full, people kept stuffing themselves in.
- "Reina! イっパイ elevator... man power? 人 ヒト! ヒ~ト! ジン! people? People イッパイ... マア イッパイ... walk walk walk.... Elevator people people people people.... Reina ポッ~ン... Wow! People people..... Wow wow wow party party. hungry?"
- http://wiki.theppn.org/Hello%21_Morning_Episode_265
- Kamei ate some cheese in the refrigerator before finding out that it was meant to be dog food.
- "Cheese Box Cool. Cool box. Refrigerator in cheese. Cheese in refrigita. Cheese in refri... gerator. My hand cheese hand in hand in. Hand in cheese? Cheese in hand. I eat cheese in refrigerator. But mother talk dog food. "dog cheese". My shock."
5./6./7. Mitsui Aika, Jun Jun and Lin Lin
8th gen... I dunno much about them, 'cause as I mentioned, I haven't been following MM very much recently. I see watch the PVs, but I haven't really watched interviews and I haven't been keeping up with Haro Moni. I can't remember off the top of my head which one it is, but from what I've seen, I'm not a big fan on either Jun Jun or Lin Lin's voice.
8. Michishige Sayumi
This girl just gets on my nerves. No offense to those who full out <3 the girl, but she can't sing and her cutesy image absolutely rubs me the wrong way. For some reason, this section of my post (and the start of #9) keeps disappearing, so I'm tired of re-writing this... I'm forgetting what I wrote already. Let's just say I find her cute image irritating rather than endearing.
9. Kusumi Koharu
Now I just don't understand the hype surrounding this girl. How Tsunku chose her as the "ace"/"miracle" girl will forever boggle my mind. She can't sing for the life of her and she's so prominent right now. Theppn mentioned she was the top selling H!P soloist for 2006. How in the world did that happen? >_< Unless, she was the one with the most releases... Seeing as Ayaya has been kinda AWOL in the music scene (though I'd take a break too if I was diagnosed with temporomandibular joint disorder). But then again, flat out cuteness does seem to sell over singing talent. It really bothers me 'cause she's terrible live. And when she's solo, I don't think I've actually heard her live (I only see her live in the H!P concerts, and it all sounds very lip synced to me). Another point from theppn: She said she prefers the "cool" personas over the "cute" personas, with Hitomi and Miki being the MM members she admired the most (back when they were members) and yet her mentor figure is Michishige?... How does that work? Unless she didn't choose her mentor... But yea... She wouldn't bother me so much if she wasn't singled out for her fabulousness (which I simply don't see). One thing she's got is that she's pretty. I'll give her that. And I fully believe that this girl is going to grow up to be gorgeous. Some pictures I've seen of her have absolutely wowed me. However, the quality of her voice is not good... Maybe she'll surprise me in the future and develop much like Risa did. But for the moment, I don't see the "ace" that Tsunku does.
A mix including former MM members:
1. Ishikawa Rika
The quality of her voice is definitely not the greatest, but her ability to ham it up has just always fascinated me. She is able to play off a cute persona without annoying the heck out of me. And her ability to laugh at herself and accept teasing from the other members has made her very endearing to me. She was the first MM member that caught my eye (keep in mind that the first MM PV I saw was "The Peace"), and something about her has just kept her in my favourites list. My love for Rika is irrational, but what can you do? I <3 Charmy!
2. Takahashi Ai
For the reasons above
3. Yoshizawa Hitomi
Her gruff/boyish character has always been a joy to watch. All of her characters in the Haro Moni skits were fabulous. I particularly love her old man character (where Rika played her wife). And Yossie has a fabulous voice as well. Her consistency to very good now, and definitely improved compared to back in the day. I remember watching some of The Peace! live performances and cringing at some of her lines (as well as some of Nacchi's). But once they released Mr. Moonlight, I was wowed by her voice. It's very distinct within H!P. I would be able to pick her out anytime (just as I could with Takahashi and Fujimoto).
4. Niigaki Risa
For the reasons above.
5. Ogawa Makoto
I thought she needed a bit more screen time in general. Her constantly "genki" attitude was always entertaining to watch. And I loved all of her skit characters. I enjoyed her voice as well, but unfortunately she never got many lines.
6. Konno Asami
As the smartest member of MM, as evidenced by the Mechaike Bakajo Kimatsu Test, Konkon grew on me. I didn't like her much when she first joined. Her singing voice is definitely not spectacular, but something about her is just so endearing.
7. Yaguchi Mari
SEXY BEAM!! MINI MONI! Enough said.
8. Tsuji Nozomi
Tsuji (partnered with Kago) has always been an amusing character. But I really started to pay attention to her after I watched the concert where they performed songs from the 4th album, 4th Ikimasshoi! Prior to that, she was always using her cutesy voice, but in that particular concert, there was a particular line that she had in "Ikimasshoi!" and I was just like... :O That was Tsuji?!? I was surprised and impressed by the quality of her voice when it wasn't cute and high pitched. So, while she's enjoyable with the cute voice, I really like it when Tsuji belts it out.
I'll just list the rest. No more accompanying paragraphs.
9. Kago Ai (4th gen comes in second).
10. Yasuda Kei - Enjoyed her English lessons with Ayaka.
11. Iida Kaori - Such fun to watch the dancing... XD
12. Nakazawa Yuko
13/14. Tanaka Reina/Kamei Eri
15. Abe Natsumi - Was never one of my faves, though I also enjoyed her English lessons.
16. Goto Maki - Another who was never one of my faves. But highly enjoyed GoMaki Penguin on Hello! Morning.
17. Fujimoto Miki - Very distinct voice, but was never a big Miki fan, even pre-MM Miki.
18/19/20. Mitsui Aika, Jun Jun, Lin Lin
21. Michishige Sayumi
22. Kusumi Koharu
* Note: Ishiguro Aya, Fukuda Asuka and Ichii Sayaka were graduated by the time I got into MM, so no particular thoughts on them, though was always amused by the "Nice body, body body" of Aya's in "Love Machine"
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
My personal H!P members ranking - Berryz Koubou
I've recently been wandering around on other blogs and forums, and have seen many lists of favourite H!P members or rankings for favourite members within the various groups, so I thought I'd get my say in.
Let's start with Berryz Koubou...
1. If you can't tell from my layout, the #1 spot goes to Natsuyaki Miyabi! I have just gotten into Berryz fairly recently (not that I haven't listen to their stuff before. I was a huge fan of "Piriri to Yukou!", "Special Generation", "Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW?" and "Munasawagi Scarlet", but I didn't take the time to get to learn who the girls were until maybe 2 months ago). However, Miyabi was the first girl I had noticed from a concert that I watched a long time ago. I asked my brother back then who she was, and I haven't forgotten the name or face of Miyabi since. She caught my eye because I found that she was the most consistent during the live performance that I was watching. Since then, I find that she is still the most consistent of Berryz, and I'd say one of the most consistent in H!P overall. The quality of her voice doesn't vary from performance to performance. You can always count on Miyabi to produce! I also find her to be a pretty good and energetic dancer. Judging from the behind the scenes stuff I've watched, she's funny and easy going, and a good friend to the other members in the group. You can particularly see how she looks out for the others in the Hello Days FC extra DVD at the amusement park, first with riding alone on the rollercoaster since Momoko was obiously having a heart attack just at the thought of riding it, and then comforting Risako when they went up on the Ferris wheel (though I totally can totally relate to Risako in that scenario 'cause I hate heights and ferris wheels). And she has the coolest ability to produce a spark between her fingers just by spinning her hands around each other, as seen on their Music Fighter interview promoting the release of Munasawagi Scarlet.
2. Up next would be Sugaya Risako. She was the second Berryz member that I remembered the name of simply because she's so gosh darn cute! I don't find that she has the strongest vocals in the group. She's fine in the singles, but come live performances, she definitely a hit or miss kind of person. I like her voice better when she's not trying to belt it out. The quality sounds nicer when it's softer (unlike Miyabi who could be whispering or at full volume and she always sounds fabulous). A good example of her quieter voice would be from the song she sings with Momoko in the 4th album, "Watashi ga Suru Koto nai Hodo Zenbu Shite Kureru Kare". I also find that she's not the strongest dancer. It's not that she's bad, but definitely has her lazy dancing moments when she doesn't fully extend her arms and just looks kind of sluggish. But she's my #2 because she's such an amusing/cute character. I loved Berryz first live performance on Music Station for their first album. All the members introduced themselves. Risako was last, and she lost the rhythm of the intros, darting her eyes around for a few seconds trying to figure out if she should start talking. She was so adorably uncertain. Unfortunately, she also had a crazy out of tune line at the end of the performance, but tied in with her funny intro and her mike bouncing all over the place as she moved around, it wasn't too disconcerting. And she's a beast at PuyoPuyo. :D
3/4. I have a tie for 3rd and 4th between Kumai Yurina and Tokunaga Chinami. My reasoning behind this is not quite defined. Yurina's fairly constant in live performances, and she's just so freaking tall, I find that so cool. (Seeing as she was the tallest member of H!P from the age of like 13, I think...) Chinami's so cute, always so energetic and bubbly. Although I have to say I much prefer her hair shorter. When I go back and watch old PVs and performances, I can never recognize her, always wondering "Who was that?" when she flashes on screen. One particular note: I thought Chinami should have gotten lines in "Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba" simply because everyone else got a line. To balance the song out, I feel she should have gotten Momoko's lines from the 2nd verse.
5/6. Tied for 5th and 6th are Shimizu Saki and Sudou Maasa. I really enjoy how the audience calls Saki "Captain" at the concerts... I can't call to mind a recent one where I've heard a chant of "SAKI!" I should go back and check old concerts. When I first saw Saki, I thought she was the youngest, simply because she was the smallest. Imagine my surprise when I found out she was the oldest Berryz. However, I wasn't a big fan of Saki when she was in ZYX. As for Maasa, I enjoyed her funny character in their stage play "Geki Haro "Edo kara Chakushin!? ~Timeslip to Kengai!~". These two are futher down in my list because I don't find anything particularly outstanding in the qualities of their voices and they also don't get much coverage in general since they're not lead singers.
7. My least favourite Berryz, by process of elimination if you've been keeping count, is Tsugunaga Momoko. This is purely my personal preference. Her voice is really not my cup of tea. That's basically the main jist of it. I find her amusing to watch when she's not singing, but singing wise, it's just far too cutesy for me. It's a very different kind of cutesy in comparison to someone like Ishikawa Rika, who I have always found to be very endearing when she sings, even though the quality of her voice isn't the best. I would lump Momoko's voice more into the same category of Michishige Sayumi's voice, which I also do not enjoy. However, I will give Momoko credit in that she is another fairly consistent singer in live performances.
In general, I enjoy the group of Berryz immensely. They're currently my favourite H!P group. I started paying attention to H!P back in the summer of 2001, around the time of Nakazawa Yuuko's graduation, just before the addition of the 5th gen. But with almost all of my favourite Morning members gone, and not being particularly WOWed by the 8th gen (and definitely not Koharu) my MM enthusiasm has diminished somewhat.
My next post will go over my MM thoughts, and my overall favourite H!P performer. :)
Let's start with Berryz Koubou...
1. If you can't tell from my layout, the #1 spot goes to Natsuyaki Miyabi! I have just gotten into Berryz fairly recently (not that I haven't listen to their stuff before. I was a huge fan of "Piriri to Yukou!", "Special Generation", "Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW?" and "Munasawagi Scarlet", but I didn't take the time to get to learn who the girls were until maybe 2 months ago). However, Miyabi was the first girl I had noticed from a concert that I watched a long time ago. I asked my brother back then who she was, and I haven't forgotten the name or face of Miyabi since. She caught my eye because I found that she was the most consistent during the live performance that I was watching. Since then, I find that she is still the most consistent of Berryz, and I'd say one of the most consistent in H!P overall. The quality of her voice doesn't vary from performance to performance. You can always count on Miyabi to produce! I also find her to be a pretty good and energetic dancer. Judging from the behind the scenes stuff I've watched, she's funny and easy going, and a good friend to the other members in the group. You can particularly see how she looks out for the others in the Hello Days FC extra DVD at the amusement park, first with riding alone on the rollercoaster since Momoko was obiously having a heart attack just at the thought of riding it, and then comforting Risako when they went up on the Ferris wheel (though I totally can totally relate to Risako in that scenario 'cause I hate heights and ferris wheels). And she has the coolest ability to produce a spark between her fingers just by spinning her hands around each other, as seen on their Music Fighter interview promoting the release of Munasawagi Scarlet.
2. Up next would be Sugaya Risako. She was the second Berryz member that I remembered the name of simply because she's so gosh darn cute! I don't find that she has the strongest vocals in the group. She's fine in the singles, but come live performances, she definitely a hit or miss kind of person. I like her voice better when she's not trying to belt it out. The quality sounds nicer when it's softer (unlike Miyabi who could be whispering or at full volume and she always sounds fabulous). A good example of her quieter voice would be from the song she sings with Momoko in the 4th album, "Watashi ga Suru Koto nai Hodo Zenbu Shite Kureru Kare". I also find that she's not the strongest dancer. It's not that she's bad, but definitely has her lazy dancing moments when she doesn't fully extend her arms and just looks kind of sluggish. But she's my #2 because she's such an amusing/cute character. I loved Berryz first live performance on Music Station for their first album. All the members introduced themselves. Risako was last, and she lost the rhythm of the intros, darting her eyes around for a few seconds trying to figure out if she should start talking. She was so adorably uncertain. Unfortunately, she also had a crazy out of tune line at the end of the performance, but tied in with her funny intro and her mike bouncing all over the place as she moved around, it wasn't too disconcerting. And she's a beast at PuyoPuyo. :D
3/4. I have a tie for 3rd and 4th between Kumai Yurina and Tokunaga Chinami. My reasoning behind this is not quite defined. Yurina's fairly constant in live performances, and she's just so freaking tall, I find that so cool. (Seeing as she was the tallest member of H!P from the age of like 13, I think...) Chinami's so cute, always so energetic and bubbly. Although I have to say I much prefer her hair shorter. When I go back and watch old PVs and performances, I can never recognize her, always wondering "Who was that?" when she flashes on screen. One particular note: I thought Chinami should have gotten lines in "Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba" simply because everyone else got a line. To balance the song out, I feel she should have gotten Momoko's lines from the 2nd verse.
5/6. Tied for 5th and 6th are Shimizu Saki and Sudou Maasa. I really enjoy how the audience calls Saki "Captain" at the concerts... I can't call to mind a recent one where I've heard a chant of "SAKI!" I should go back and check old concerts. When I first saw Saki, I thought she was the youngest, simply because she was the smallest. Imagine my surprise when I found out she was the oldest Berryz. However, I wasn't a big fan of Saki when she was in ZYX. As for Maasa, I enjoyed her funny character in their stage play "Geki Haro "Edo kara Chakushin!? ~Timeslip to Kengai!~". These two are futher down in my list because I don't find anything particularly outstanding in the qualities of their voices and they also don't get much coverage in general since they're not lead singers.
7. My least favourite Berryz, by process of elimination if you've been keeping count, is Tsugunaga Momoko. This is purely my personal preference. Her voice is really not my cup of tea. That's basically the main jist of it. I find her amusing to watch when she's not singing, but singing wise, it's just far too cutesy for me. It's a very different kind of cutesy in comparison to someone like Ishikawa Rika, who I have always found to be very endearing when she sings, even though the quality of her voice isn't the best. I would lump Momoko's voice more into the same category of Michishige Sayumi's voice, which I also do not enjoy. However, I will give Momoko credit in that she is another fairly consistent singer in live performances.
In general, I enjoy the group of Berryz immensely. They're currently my favourite H!P group. I started paying attention to H!P back in the summer of 2001, around the time of Nakazawa Yuuko's graduation, just before the addition of the 5th gen. But with almost all of my favourite Morning members gone, and not being particularly WOWed by the 8th gen (and definitely not Koharu) my MM enthusiasm has diminished somewhat.
My next post will go over my MM thoughts, and my overall favourite H!P performer. :)
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