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? :)
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
C-ute: LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA (x4)
Just before I post part 2 of my All Morning Musume Singles Ranking, my thoughts on C-ute's new PV.
So, the PV for C-ute's new single "LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta" is up on Dohhh UP! and I'm sad to say that I am nowhere near as enthusiastic about this PV as I was after watching Buono!'s "Renai Rider" for the first time.
It's an okay song. It's not terrible. I like Maimi in this single. But I find I'm not liking Airi's voice so much in this release. I feel like she's c-ute-syfing her voice too much. She's not singing badly per se, but I don't like the quality of her voice when she manipulates it in the way she does in this release.
The girls all look C-ute in this PV, though I could definitely do without all that fur... But hey, it's an H!P PV, and sometimes you just have to wonder what the stylist was thinking. >_< I thought Maimai stood out from the girls - and I'm thinking it was due to her hairstyle. I just really liked it here.
I was highly disappointed with the lack of Chisato solo lines. It's absolutely ridiculous how Chisa hasn't had one solo line in the 4 official singles released by C-ute, and only 1 solo line from the 4 indie singles. That's 1 line 8 singles. Erika and Kanna tie for the 2nd and 3rd least number of solo lines at 3, while Nakajima's had 6 lines and Maimai has had 8. I won't bother counting Airi and Maimi. We know who the leads are... All I can say is "Wow..." and "GIVE ME SOME CHISA!!!!"
Moving on... Do you notice the title for this entry? That's 31 "LA"s. Notice the (x4). 31 x 4 = 124. That's how many times the girls sing the word "LA" in the last 50 or so seconds of the song (starting at around the 3:24 mark in the PV). I just thought all those "LA"s really dragged on... and on... and on... It felt like the song would never end.
So, while I don't hate this song, I don't love it either. It's energetic and happy, but I think it's longer than it has to be. I won't be able to bring myself to buy this single, no matter how much I love C-ute. Therefore, I'll just sit back and hope their next release is more to my taste.
PV: C-ute - LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta
*EDIT: I'm sitting at work, and the LA LA LA's are running through my head... I can't recall the melody of the verses for the life of me, but can't forget the LA LA LA's. If this keeps getting stuck in my head like this, I think this song may drive me to insanity... Or rather, even deeper into the insanity that is my psyche.
So, the PV for C-ute's new single "LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta" is up on Dohhh UP! and I'm sad to say that I am nowhere near as enthusiastic about this PV as I was after watching Buono!'s "Renai Rider" for the first time.
It's an okay song. It's not terrible. I like Maimi in this single. But I find I'm not liking Airi's voice so much in this release. I feel like she's c-ute-syfing her voice too much. She's not singing badly per se, but I don't like the quality of her voice when she manipulates it in the way she does in this release.
The girls all look C-ute in this PV, though I could definitely do without all that fur... But hey, it's an H!P PV, and sometimes you just have to wonder what the stylist was thinking. >_< I thought Maimai stood out from the girls - and I'm thinking it was due to her hairstyle. I just really liked it here.
I was highly disappointed with the lack of Chisato solo lines. It's absolutely ridiculous how Chisa hasn't had one solo line in the 4 official singles released by C-ute, and only 1 solo line from the 4 indie singles. That's 1 line 8 singles. Erika and Kanna tie for the 2nd and 3rd least number of solo lines at 3, while Nakajima's had 6 lines and Maimai has had 8. I won't bother counting Airi and Maimi. We know who the leads are... All I can say is "Wow..." and "GIVE ME SOME CHISA!!!!"
Moving on... Do you notice the title for this entry? That's 31 "LA"s. Notice the (x4). 31 x 4 = 124. That's how many times the girls sing the word "LA" in the last 50 or so seconds of the song (starting at around the 3:24 mark in the PV). I just thought all those "LA"s really dragged on... and on... and on... It felt like the song would never end.
So, while I don't hate this song, I don't love it either. It's energetic and happy, but I think it's longer than it has to be. I won't be able to bring myself to buy this single, no matter how much I love C-ute. Therefore, I'll just sit back and hope their next release is more to my taste.
PV: C-ute - LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta
*EDIT: I'm sitting at work, and the LA LA LA's are running through my head... I can't recall the melody of the verses for the life of me, but can't forget the LA LA LA's. If this keeps getting stuck in my head like this, I think this song may drive me to insanity... Or rather, even deeper into the insanity that is my psyche.
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?
Another H!P purchase...
Before I get into my MM singles ranking, I just want to share my most recent H!P purchase. A few weeks ago, Cutie Party's Misa posted that she got Sukeban Deka at PMall, a mall which I frequent on a semi-regular basis. There used to be a store that sold H!P releases at PMall, but quite some time ago, they stopped stocking the H!P stuff, so I stopped buying. I asked Misa where this store was in the mall, and voila! I finally got down to PMall today, and here's what I got:
I am now currently in the process of listening to GAM's 1st album (had never listened to it prior to this). I was compelled to buy it when I saw it because I absolutely adore Ayaya (as explained in a previous post), and have come to develop a newfound love for Miki ever since watching Ribbon no Kishi.
The 2 singles and the album are all limited editions (CD + DVD). I must say that it's ridiculous how much more affordable the Taiwan/Hong Kong releases are than the Japanese ones. Can anyone explain to me why this is the case?
Misa is absolutely fabulous for pointing me towards this new store! :D
I am now currently in the process of listening to GAM's 1st album (had never listened to it prior to this). I was compelled to buy it when I saw it because I absolutely adore Ayaya (as explained in a previous post), and have come to develop a newfound love for Miki ever since watching Ribbon no Kishi.
The 2 singles and the album are all limited editions (CD + DVD). I must say that it's ridiculous how much more affordable the Taiwan/Hong Kong releases are than the Japanese ones. Can anyone explain to me why this is the case?
Misa is absolutely fabulous for pointing me towards this new store! :D
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.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Buono!'s Renai Rider PV is here!!
Buono!'s 2nd single PV, Renai Rider, is up on Dohhh UP! finally! I've been waiting impatiently to see how this PV looks for some time now. When the A&R Seishun LOVE Lunch PV came up, I thought Buono!'s would be up soon too, seeing as Renai Rider releases on 02/06, while Seishun LOVE Lunch comes out 02/14. Apparently I was mistaken.
But it's up now, and I'm very tickled by the PV. It's a cheesy PV with mini motorbikes, a tricycle (poor Momoko) and animated backgrounds, but what can I say? I LOVE CHEESE! :D
The outfits:
- I'm sorry Airi, but I'm afraid your outfit goes to the bottom of my list for this release. Not a big fan of polka dots, and skirts over shorts for me anyday.
- Momoko's outfit is great. I love the skirt, and do I see "Suicide" in red letters on her jacket?
- Miyabi gets 1st place in the outfit department for me due to her double belt and leather jacket.
The dance:
- Not quite sure about it yet. I want to see the dance version. Gotta wait for the LE 1st album for that. However, I definitely enjoy the dance break in the middle of the song. In addition to taking a break from singing, it also pauses on the cuteness of the PV and gives the PV a bit of edge to it.
- Not quite part of the dance, but during the dance break, I highly enjoy the closeups of the eyes/faces. I love the reflection of a heart in their eyes. IMO, Miya definitely has the most striking eyes in this group. Maybe it's due to the little mole right next to her left eye, but I just love her eyes.
- I'd have to say that I enjoy the dance of Honto no Jibun more, though.
The song:
- I only listened to the radio preview once, sorta. I was really waiting for the PV to come out to really listen to the entire song (I've head the cut version for the ending theme of Shugo Chara). I really like this song. The contrasting sounds through different parts of the song are very enjoyable and give the song a unique spin to it.
- The second verse where the guitars are taken out, giving a quiter background sound is nice as it puts more emphasis on the girls' voices, and Momoko playing the ukelele is just so cute. :)
- I also really like the change to acoustic guitar in the last pre-chours, right after the dance break. And this is totally biased on my part, but Miyabi FTW!! XD
- It is no secret that I adore both Miya and Airi to death, but I'm surprised to say that I highly enjoyed Momoko in this PV too. I didn't mind her too much in Honto no Jibun either. What is it about Buono!'s songs that makes her voice more bearable to my ears? And why is it that her lines in Berryz releases pain me so? If someone can explain the logic to me, I'd be greatly appreciative.
Overall:
I love this PV. It's cute and fun, while still having a bit of an edgy feel (particularly at the dance break). What I love so much about Buono! is how well balanced the screen time and lines are between the girls. No line hogs in this group!
I wonder how it is for Airi being in this group with 2 Berryz girls. At least in Honto no Jibun, she had reinforcements with the cameos of Maimi and Chisato (how I love that PV which has my top 4 H!P Kids). It's just interesting to think of the dynamics, because I remember watching a translated video of Hello Pro Hour episode 12, where Goto Maki and Matsuura Aya were discussing their time as Gomattou, and Maki saying that she felt like an outsider in the company of Aya and Fujimoto Miki (who we all know are best friends).
I don't know how to embed videos, so here's a link to the PV:
Renai Rider PV
And some screenshots (click on the pics for bigger versions):
Finally got around to watching Ribbon no Kishi recently, so am hoping to get a review of that up soon.
But it's up now, and I'm very tickled by the PV. It's a cheesy PV with mini motorbikes, a tricycle (poor Momoko) and animated backgrounds, but what can I say? I LOVE CHEESE! :D
The outfits:
- I'm sorry Airi, but I'm afraid your outfit goes to the bottom of my list for this release. Not a big fan of polka dots, and skirts over shorts for me anyday.
- Momoko's outfit is great. I love the skirt, and do I see "Suicide" in red letters on her jacket?
- Miyabi gets 1st place in the outfit department for me due to her double belt and leather jacket.
The dance:
- Not quite sure about it yet. I want to see the dance version. Gotta wait for the LE 1st album for that. However, I definitely enjoy the dance break in the middle of the song. In addition to taking a break from singing, it also pauses on the cuteness of the PV and gives the PV a bit of edge to it.
- Not quite part of the dance, but during the dance break, I highly enjoy the closeups of the eyes/faces. I love the reflection of a heart in their eyes. IMO, Miya definitely has the most striking eyes in this group. Maybe it's due to the little mole right next to her left eye, but I just love her eyes.
- I'd have to say that I enjoy the dance of Honto no Jibun more, though.
The song:
- I only listened to the radio preview once, sorta. I was really waiting for the PV to come out to really listen to the entire song (I've head the cut version for the ending theme of Shugo Chara). I really like this song. The contrasting sounds through different parts of the song are very enjoyable and give the song a unique spin to it.
- The second verse where the guitars are taken out, giving a quiter background sound is nice as it puts more emphasis on the girls' voices, and Momoko playing the ukelele is just so cute. :)
- I also really like the change to acoustic guitar in the last pre-chours, right after the dance break. And this is totally biased on my part, but Miyabi FTW!! XD
- It is no secret that I adore both Miya and Airi to death, but I'm surprised to say that I highly enjoyed Momoko in this PV too. I didn't mind her too much in Honto no Jibun either. What is it about Buono!'s songs that makes her voice more bearable to my ears? And why is it that her lines in Berryz releases pain me so? If someone can explain the logic to me, I'd be greatly appreciative.
Overall:
I love this PV. It's cute and fun, while still having a bit of an edgy feel (particularly at the dance break). What I love so much about Buono! is how well balanced the screen time and lines are between the girls. No line hogs in this group!
I wonder how it is for Airi being in this group with 2 Berryz girls. At least in Honto no Jibun, she had reinforcements with the cameos of Maimi and Chisato (how I love that PV which has my top 4 H!P Kids). It's just interesting to think of the dynamics, because I remember watching a translated video of Hello Pro Hour episode 12, where Goto Maki and Matsuura Aya were discussing their time as Gomattou, and Maki saying that she felt like an outsider in the company of Aya and Fujimoto Miki (who we all know are best friends).
I don't know how to embed videos, so here's a link to the PV:
Renai Rider PV
And some screenshots (click on the pics for bigger versions):
Finally got around to watching Ribbon no Kishi recently, so am hoping to get a review of that up soon.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
New scarves for the new year!
I just got home (yesterday) from a 2 week long trip to California to attend my cousin's wedding (where I was her maid of honour).
While I was in sunny California, one of my best friend's went to Japan for Christmas break (*jealous*). But she went with a big request from me... Please find me Miyabi and Chisato's 2008 H!P scarves!! I originally saw these scarves from a post Ray linked to from Hello!Blog on International Wota. I immediately wanted both Chisato & Miyabi's scarves, but I couldn't figure out the Hello Shop site (other than that the scarves were 2000 yen each) and Ohta's store was pretty expensive...
So, I implored my friend to get me these scarves when she went to visit. I gave her detailed instructions (and back up purchases in case she couldn't find an H!P store). But my friend pulled through! She was able to get directions to a store near her hotel from the internet (with picture landmarks... I was kinda worried, b/c my friend is notorious for having no sense of direction), and when she got to the store, she just pulled out my instructions and asked the sales lady where *points to description of the scarves in Japanese* these were and voila!
My friend who got these for me doesn't follow H!P, but when she bought the scarves, she also got a free pic. When she told me this, I asked her of who and she said:
"I had to draw some straws and she told me I could pick something from a bunch of different girls, and I was like....hmmm...they all look the same. so after 30 sec of looking totally confused, the saleslady pointed to one and pointed to the scarf i had just got. so i think it's one of the girls you like"
(Don't mind the punctuation. It's taken from our MSN chat).
LOL... My friend is so funny... The free pic she got was:
Yay! I'm so happy to have my scarves! And I got both of them for the price of one on Ohta's store.
So, while I was gone, I watched C-ute's fall concert (℃-ute ライブツアー2007秋 ～放課後のエッセンス～ / C-ute Live Tour 2007 Aki ~Houkago no Essence~). The following are my thoughts on the concert, by member.
The set list:
1. 都会っ子 純情 (Tokaikko Junjou)
2. めぐる恋の季節 (Meguru Koi no Kisetsu)
3. MC 1
4. 桜チラリ (Sakura Chirari)
5. ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More~ (C-ute Ver)
6. タイムカプセル (Time Capsule) - Yajima Maimi & Nakajima Saki
7. MC 3 - Buono!
8. ホントのじぶん (Honto no Jibun) - Buono!
9. MC 2~ Sketch - Yajima Maimi & Hagiwara Mai
10. 通学ベクトル (Tsuugaku Vector) - Umeda Erika & Arihara Kanna
11. EVERYDAY YEAH! 片想い (EVERYDAY YEAH! Kataomoi)
12. ディスコ クイーン (Disco Queen)
13. 美少女心理 (Bishoujo Shinri)
14. まっさらブルージーンズ (Massara Blue Jeans)
15. ふたりはNS (Futari wa NS) - Okai Chisato & Hagiwara Mai
16. 夏ＤＯＫＩ リップスティック (Natsu DOKI Lipstick) - Yajima Maimi
17. MC 4 - Umeda Erika, Nakajima Saki, Okai Chisato & Arihara Kanna
18. That's the POWER
19. As ONE
20. YES! しあわせ (YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.))
21. 僕らの輝き (Bokura no Kagayaki)
22. JUMP
Encore
24. 大きな愛でもてなして (Ooki na Ai de Motenashite)
25. MC5
26. わっきゃない(Z) (Wakkyanai (Z))
*Note: The setlist is taken from wiki.theppn.org; Where'd #23 go?
Umeda Erika
Watching this concert confirmed that I'm not a big fan of the quality of her voice. Listening to her sing Tsuugaku Vector did absolutely nothing for me. I particularly didn't like her "woah woah"s. Don't really have that much to say about Erika for this concert, actually. She didn't really stand out to me.
Yajima Maimi
I thought she was a little bit off timing wise (a split second late) while singing her solo lines at the start of Tokaikko Junjou, but she picked it back up in Meguru Koi no Kisetsu. One thing to mention... She dances very well, but man does she sweat out there. She reminds me of Takahashi Ai in that respect. These two girls put so much energy into their dancing. You can see that they're not holding back on their performances. Maimi was strong through the rest of the concert, and I must say that she definitely did not disappoint in her performance of Natsu DOKI Lipstick. She hit her high notes well, and not in falsetto, as I thought she might. That was definitely some dance solo... That split kick on the ground definitely raised my eyebrows. And the expression on her face when she and Chisato pecked on the lips during YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.) was priceless. XD
Nakajima Saki
Saki was a little shaky at the start. She had a lot of energy and was very into the dance for Tokaikko, but come her solo lines... Woah.. had to take a step back (and not in a good way). Her singing improved after the opening number, but she definitely had shaky moments throughout the concert. I got this strange feeling that she wasn't really into the concert as it progressed. She went through the motions, but many times, her facial expression didn't match the mood of the songs. She definitely didn't keep the same energy level that she started the concert with. She wasn't outstanding in this concert.
Suzuki Airi
From the opening number, Airi shows what she can do. This girl so amazingly consistent, it boggles my mind. What can I say about her? She's a decent dancer, and she's a great singer. Not quite as high energy as Maimi or Chisato (then again, she sings so many solo lines, that she does a lot of the "muted" dance moves), but still fabulous.
Okai Chisato
Chisato definitely did not get enough solo lines in this concert. But the solo lines she did get were pretty awesome. I'd list all of them, but that'd get pretty repetitive. I highly enjoyed her lines in Bishoujo Shinri, and I really liked her performance in Futari wa NS with Mai. However, I was very upset with the changes made to Bokura no Kagayaki. Why in the world did Erika get to keep her lines, but Chisa didn't get one solo line in that song?!? I was very disgruntled watching that performance (no offense to Airi, who had Chisato's lines). However, even with only a limited number of solo lines, Chisato kept the energy level high throughout the concert.
Hagiwara Mai
Was very pleased with how Mai opened the concert. Where she usually is a little off tempo on her "Demo ne..." in Tokaikko, she was fairly well timed. She was pretty consistent throughout the concert, but still am not the biggest fan of her voice. Though I'd rank her voice higher than Erika's on my favourite list. She also had some lazy dance moments, not fully extending on movements (ex. Disco Queen).
Arihara Kanna
Kanna impressed me this concert. I thought she did very well performing Tsuugaku Vector. However, I don't think her voice blends well with Erika at all. She didn't look too awkward in this concert, which I enjoyed. This concert has definitely changed my C-ute favourites list. Her dancing was okay, but again, not quite reaching the level and energy of Maimi and Chisato.
Buono!
Yay for Buono performing at the concert! Momoko certainly wasn't in a bowing mood that night, though. She didn't bow when she introduced herself and she didn't bow when she did her ending speech. Though she did bow before they left the stage. The actual performance of Honto no Jibun was pretty good. Someone was going a little sharp at points during the chorus. But then again, it's a pretty bouncy dance, and with only the 3 of them in the group, it doesn't leave much room to cover up when someone's voice goes a little off. I have to say that it wasn't Miyabi's best performance. Her voice sounded a shaky for some reason. Definitely not normal for Miya. It was a little evident in Momoko as well. Maybe they didn't warm up enough piror to the performance (while Airi had already had 4 songs to really get her voice going). I highly enjoyed Miya and Momoko coming out at Ooki na Ai de Motenashite and doing some backup dancing. It was very cute. :D
So to end this post, I think I'll add my current C-ute favourite member list, for as I said, it has changed from my original list.
7. Umeda Erika
6. Nakajima Saki
5. Hagiwara Mai
4. Arihana Kanna
3. Sukuki Airi
2. Yajima Maimi
1. Okai Chisato
*GASP!* That's right, Airin has been dethroned by the ball of energy that is Chisa. I can't pick between Airi and Maimi right now.
EDIT: Okay, I won't cop out... No sharing spots... I still absolutely <3 Airi, but right now, I'm completely fascinated by Maimi (though not enough for her to take over Chisato). Never thought this would happen... Was so sure that Airi would stay my favourite C-ute member forever. I feel like my top 3 will be shifting possibly single to single or concert to concert. They're all very close to each other in my rankings.
I actually wrote up an appreciation post for Chisato (as well as Takahashi Ai and Ishimura Maiha) on the JPHiP forum. To salute Chisato moving to the #1 spot on my list, here's the link to the post (as well as Ai-chan and Maiha's).
NOTE: These links have lots of pics to load (other member appreciation posts are there too). If you load one of them, my 2 other posts are actually on the same page. [In order, Takahashi's closest to the top of the page, immediately followed by Maiha, and then the 9th one under Maiha is Chisato's post].
Okai Chisato appreciation post
Takahashi Ai appreciation post
Ishimura Maiha appreciation post
Wow... This turned into a freakin' long post.
While I was in sunny California, one of my best friend's went to Japan for Christmas break (*jealous*). But she went with a big request from me... Please find me Miyabi and Chisato's 2008 H!P scarves!! I originally saw these scarves from a post Ray linked to from Hello!Blog on International Wota. I immediately wanted both Chisato & Miyabi's scarves, but I couldn't figure out the Hello Shop site (other than that the scarves were 2000 yen each) and Ohta's store was pretty expensive...
So, I implored my friend to get me these scarves when she went to visit. I gave her detailed instructions (and back up purchases in case she couldn't find an H!P store). But my friend pulled through! She was able to get directions to a store near her hotel from the internet (with picture landmarks... I was kinda worried, b/c my friend is notorious for having no sense of direction), and when she got to the store, she just pulled out my instructions and asked the sales lady where *points to description of the scarves in Japanese* these were and voila!
My friend who got these for me doesn't follow H!P, but when she bought the scarves, she also got a free pic. When she told me this, I asked her of who and she said:
"I had to draw some straws and she told me I could pick something from a bunch of different girls, and I was like....hmmm...they all look the same. so after 30 sec of looking totally confused, the saleslady pointed to one and pointed to the scarf i had just got. so i think it's one of the girls you like"
(Don't mind the punctuation. It's taken from our MSN chat).
LOL... My friend is so funny... The free pic she got was:
Yay! I'm so happy to have my scarves! And I got both of them for the price of one on Ohta's store.
So, while I was gone, I watched C-ute's fall concert (℃-ute ライブツアー2007秋 ～放課後のエッセンス～ / C-ute Live Tour 2007 Aki ~Houkago no Essence~). The following are my thoughts on the concert, by member.
The set list:
1. 都会っ子 純情 (Tokaikko Junjou)
2. めぐる恋の季節 (Meguru Koi no Kisetsu)
3. MC 1
4. 桜チラリ (Sakura Chirari)
5. ENDLESS LOVE ~I Love You More~ (C-ute Ver)
6. タイムカプセル (Time Capsule) - Yajima Maimi & Nakajima Saki
7. MC 3 - Buono!
8. ホントのじぶん (Honto no Jibun) - Buono!
9. MC 2~ Sketch - Yajima Maimi & Hagiwara Mai
10. 通学ベクトル (Tsuugaku Vector) - Umeda Erika & Arihara Kanna
11. EVERYDAY YEAH! 片想い (EVERYDAY YEAH! Kataomoi)
12. ディスコ クイーン (Disco Queen)
13. 美少女心理 (Bishoujo Shinri)
14. まっさらブルージーンズ (Massara Blue Jeans)
15. ふたりはNS (Futari wa NS) - Okai Chisato & Hagiwara Mai
16. 夏ＤＯＫＩ リップスティック (Natsu DOKI Lipstick) - Yajima Maimi
17. MC 4 - Umeda Erika, Nakajima Saki, Okai Chisato & Arihara Kanna
18. That's the POWER
19. As ONE
20. YES! しあわせ (YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.))
21. 僕らの輝き (Bokura no Kagayaki)
22. JUMP
Encore
24. 大きな愛でもてなして (Ooki na Ai de Motenashite)
25. MC5
26. わっきゃない(Z) (Wakkyanai (Z))
*Note: The setlist is taken from wiki.theppn.org; Where'd #23 go?
Umeda Erika
Watching this concert confirmed that I'm not a big fan of the quality of her voice. Listening to her sing Tsuugaku Vector did absolutely nothing for me. I particularly didn't like her "woah woah"s. Don't really have that much to say about Erika for this concert, actually. She didn't really stand out to me.
Yajima Maimi
I thought she was a little bit off timing wise (a split second late) while singing her solo lines at the start of Tokaikko Junjou, but she picked it back up in Meguru Koi no Kisetsu. One thing to mention... She dances very well, but man does she sweat out there. She reminds me of Takahashi Ai in that respect. These two girls put so much energy into their dancing. You can see that they're not holding back on their performances. Maimi was strong through the rest of the concert, and I must say that she definitely did not disappoint in her performance of Natsu DOKI Lipstick. She hit her high notes well, and not in falsetto, as I thought she might. That was definitely some dance solo... That split kick on the ground definitely raised my eyebrows. And the expression on her face when she and Chisato pecked on the lips during YES! Shiawase (C-ute Ver.) was priceless. XD
Nakajima Saki
Saki was a little shaky at the start. She had a lot of energy and was very into the dance for Tokaikko, but come her solo lines... Woah.. had to take a step back (and not in a good way). Her singing improved after the opening number, but she definitely had shaky moments throughout the concert. I got this strange feeling that she wasn't really into the concert as it progressed. She went through the motions, but many times, her facial expression didn't match the mood of the songs. She definitely didn't keep the same energy level that she started the concert with. She wasn't outstanding in this concert.
Suzuki Airi
From the opening number, Airi shows what she can do. This girl so amazingly consistent, it boggles my mind. What can I say about her? She's a decent dancer, and she's a great singer. Not quite as high energy as Maimi or Chisato (then again, she sings so many solo lines, that she does a lot of the "muted" dance moves), but still fabulous.
Okai Chisato
Chisato definitely did not get enough solo lines in this concert. But the solo lines she did get were pretty awesome. I'd list all of them, but that'd get pretty repetitive. I highly enjoyed her lines in Bishoujo Shinri, and I really liked her performance in Futari wa NS with Mai. However, I was very upset with the changes made to Bokura no Kagayaki. Why in the world did Erika get to keep her lines, but Chisa didn't get one solo line in that song?!? I was very disgruntled watching that performance (no offense to Airi, who had Chisato's lines). However, even with only a limited number of solo lines, Chisato kept the energy level high throughout the concert.
Hagiwara Mai
Was very pleased with how Mai opened the concert. Where she usually is a little off tempo on her "Demo ne..." in Tokaikko, she was fairly well timed. She was pretty consistent throughout the concert, but still am not the biggest fan of her voice. Though I'd rank her voice higher than Erika's on my favourite list. She also had some lazy dance moments, not fully extending on movements (ex. Disco Queen).
Arihara Kanna
Kanna impressed me this concert. I thought she did very well performing Tsuugaku Vector. However, I don't think her voice blends well with Erika at all. She didn't look too awkward in this concert, which I enjoyed. This concert has definitely changed my C-ute favourites list. Her dancing was okay, but again, not quite reaching the level and energy of Maimi and Chisato.
Buono!
Yay for Buono performing at the concert! Momoko certainly wasn't in a bowing mood that night, though. She didn't bow when she introduced herself and she didn't bow when she did her ending speech. Though she did bow before they left the stage. The actual performance of Honto no Jibun was pretty good. Someone was going a little sharp at points during the chorus. But then again, it's a pretty bouncy dance, and with only the 3 of them in the group, it doesn't leave much room to cover up when someone's voice goes a little off. I have to say that it wasn't Miyabi's best performance. Her voice sounded a shaky for some reason. Definitely not normal for Miya. It was a little evident in Momoko as well. Maybe they didn't warm up enough piror to the performance (while Airi had already had 4 songs to really get her voice going). I highly enjoyed Miya and Momoko coming out at Ooki na Ai de Motenashite and doing some backup dancing. It was very cute. :D
So to end this post, I think I'll add my current C-ute favourite member list, for as I said, it has changed from my original list.
7. Umeda Erika
6. Nakajima Saki
5. Hagiwara Mai
4. Arihana Kanna
3. Sukuki Airi
2. Yajima Maimi
1. Okai Chisato
*GASP!* That's right, Airin has been dethroned by the ball of energy that is Chisa. I can't pick between Airi and Maimi right now.
EDIT: Okay, I won't cop out... No sharing spots... I still absolutely <3 Airi, but right now, I'm completely fascinated by Maimi (though not enough for her to take over Chisato). Never thought this would happen... Was so sure that Airi would stay my favourite C-ute member forever. I feel like my top 3 will be shifting possibly single to single or concert to concert. They're all very close to each other in my rankings.
I actually wrote up an appreciation post for Chisato (as well as Takahashi Ai and Ishimura Maiha) on the JPHiP forum. To salute Chisato moving to the #1 spot on my list, here's the link to the post (as well as Ai-chan and Maiha's).
NOTE: These links have lots of pics to load (other member appreciation posts are there too). If you load one of them, my 2 other posts are actually on the same page. [In order, Takahashi's closest to the top of the page, immediately followed by Maiha, and then the 9th one under Maiha is Chisato's post].
Okai Chisato appreciation post
Takahashi Ai appreciation post
Ishimura Maiha appreciation post
Wow... This turned into a freakin' long post.
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