Celestia takes a look at various Hello!Project news. The fact that yet another scandal or problem has occured with Celestia not around on the Interwebs is worrisome. She also found a neat picture in a bookshop while in Japan.
Morning Musume new single (Cutie Party!)
New H!P Releases!! (What Kio Says: Hello Project Much?)
[09/24] Morning Musume 37th single (JPH!P post by tiny)
[03/12] 「Jingisukan」 Berryz Koubou 16th single (preview p.3) (JPH!P post by tiny)
Morning Musume will getting another single this year. It will be released on September 24. Misa of Cutie Party has the news and also delivers some early hopes for the single. Kiokiou of What Kio Says has this news in addition to looking at other future releases for Hello!Project, including Berryz Koubou, Buono! and Ongaku Gatas. There is also a JPH!P post that has this news.
Regarding the Berryz Koubou Khan Remix, an earlier entry today at IW had stated the release date was going to be September 10. This appears to be be wrong and it looks like September 17 is the release date. The second post at JPH!P links to an official page that has September 17 as the release date. At least this remix will not infect the album
Little Tidbits of News: Berryz, C-ute, and Momusu march on.
DJ_MaiMai has a collection of a bunch of going-ons from the world of Hello!Project. If you feel as though you are out of the loop, this is a great place to start getting back in it.
C-ute - Namida No Iro [5th Major Single]
When blackmager decided to start reviewing Hello! Project on Stereo Love, I noticed that a few people had left comments to the tune of “Why?” Why would you review H!P when there is plenty of good music out there?
I don’t care what people review. I just like reading honest reviews.
In this review of Namida No Iro, blackmager is very honest, coming right out and saying that he does not like the way H!P girls are singing. It appears that blackmager is more frustrated with how the girls are instructed to sing rather than whether or not it is possible (at all) for any of them to sing. blackmager notes that the single may take some time getting used to. I’m assuming, based on the high rating for Namida no Iro, that this has happened for blackmager.
I like that IW covers both the rabid fans of H!P as well as those - while they may not explicity say so - who don’t care about H!P. I also like that there is a middle ground. And to speak on that, I think blackmager is in an interesting position. Basically, he can speak to both sides. The few reviews that blackmager has done on H!P have highlighted this. On the one hand, it is refreshing to see a H!P review that isn’t rooted in whether or not Sugaya Risako’s hair looks good (which is an important topic for discussion, so do not get discouraged if you have planned to write that review!). On the other, it is nice to see a non-H!P focused blogger putting H!P alongside other reviews of pop music.
Dschinghis Khan Tartar Remix Pushed Back (Hello!°C-ute)
Dschinghis Khan Tartar Remix Rescheduled! (Tricia’s H!P and TNX Blog)
The release date of Berryz Koubou’s, ugh, Dschinghis Khan Tartar Remix has been pushed from August 27 to September 10. Why couldn’t they just cancel it?
Die of GoldHikari has a very detailed review for Hamasaki Ayumi’s Secret album. I sort of feel weird summarizing the piece because it looks like Die put a lot of work and effort into it. Basically Die goes over why each track works and how the entire album is emotionally appealing. You should just read it though.
melody. - Love Story
melody. - READY TO GO!
The About page of Feel Like Dance says the author of the blog is “Melody.” But I see that they leave comments as “lynthia.” What to call them?
For now, I’m sticking with Melody. And Melody reviews … melody. … Ok, this is going to be confusing. Well, Melody reviews melody.’s (ahhh!) 2007 single Love Story as well as the 2007 album READY TO GO!. Both get lots of praise from Melody. It looks like there is a lot of love for “BoRn 2 luv U,” a b-side to Love Story.
C-ute - 江戸の手毬唄 II [6th Single]
Aira Mitsuki - チャイナ・ディスコティカ [2nd Single]
Ishida Yuko - Changes [2nd Single]
At Amai Wana, amaiyume reviews C-ute’s Edo no Temari Uta II, Aira Mitsuki’s China Discotica and Ishida Yuko’s Changes. All of them get amaiyume’s seal of approval.
One day after reading Amai Wana, I’m gonna be uttering the phrase “in order to promote the single, a PV for ____ was made” in my sleep.
Max goes over what he hopes for the upcoming Hello!Project summer concert. A lot of excitement in put forward in this entry.
oroitsme has a review of Aragaki Yui’s 2007 album Sora over at Channel-Ai. If you don’t know who Aragaki Yui is, oroitsme covers that before diving into the review. oroitsme notes that the album flows very well; possibily because it is without any singles to interrupt new tracks mixing with each other.
Kuma Korner
ayaka - Real voice
Tamaki Nami - Realize
Kuma Korner is a review blog that is run by taelin. It has been around for a few months now. The style is track-by-track reviews with and overall rating at the end. Some recent reviews are of ayaka and Tamaki Nami. Regarding Real voice, a 2006 single by ayaka. taelin is not satisfied with the single, calling it a “major letdown.”
Morningtime continues profiling the members of Hello!Project lately. This one focuses on Okada Yui. Morningtime tries to find that one word that best describes Yui. I think the right word was found…
Tommy☆angels - You’ll Be My Boy
SNoW - Hatsuyuki
Megumi of Lost Wing reviews both SNoW’s 2007 album Hatsuyuki and Tommy☆angels’s 2003 single, You’ll Be My Boy.
Tsukiki of Shanimuni Paradise is starting a new blog series dedicated to discussing her favorite groups and why she likes them. Her first group is NEWS of Johnny’s Entertainment. I know that JE fans would probably say, “how can you not tell the difference between them?” - or something to that effect. However, an entry like this is a good way to be able to learn who’s who in JE and the members of NEWS. The only thing that is unfair in tsukiki’s piece - and this has nothing to do with writing - is the shirtlessness of some NEWS members is more noticeable than the clothed members.
My Updated Idol List, Part Two
Charmy☆Renai has Part Two of her Idol List, which consists of her favorites. I remember that Inaba Atsuko took up Part One all by herself. Part Two has four Hello!Project members - Konno Asami, Yasuda Kei, Murata Megumi and Saito Hitomi - as well as Charmy☆Renai’s reasons for liking them.
Mars has reviews for J-music releases put out this week. She did this last week so hopefully it’ll be an ongoing feature. The materials reviewed are Mr.Children’s GIFT, Aladdin’s Hi wa, Mata Noboru, Remioromen’s Motto Tooku e / Orchestra, ALI PROJECT’s Waga Routashi Aku no Hana and, dubbed by Mars as the “Single of the Week,” Kalafina’s sprinter / ARIA.
The two sides of Tanimura Nana
pengie takes a look at If I’m not the one, the forthcoming single from Tanimura Nana. In looking over this single, pengie speaks on what I guess is the dichotomy of Tanimura Nana, her singing and her anatomy. That is to say, Tanimura Nana seems to be trying to appeal to different groups in two completely different ways - by showing off her vocals or by showing off her breasts. When it comes to flaunting Nana’s body, I guess it depends on what you think of “how much is too much?” I can see what pengie is trying to argue here, but I just wonder why Nana can’t do both?
Amy has a lot of eyecandy of Suzuki Airi. Her favorite picture in this bunch is the last one. My favorite is the one before the last one.
tranQuilla -the blog-
Is Mika Nakashima a rebellious whore?
Namie Amuro: BEST FICTION
tranQuilla -the blog- is a new blog that doesn’t appear to be just a J-music exclusive blog. I guess that is why there are entries on Big Brother and Usher. But tranQuilla does have two entries on Nakashima Mika and Amuro Namie.
tranQulla looks at the package that is MICA 3 CHU and is not buying it. In order to emphasize why MICA 3 CHU and the single I DON’T KNOW doesn’t work, tranQuilla first looks at what Mika has done correctly in the past. It makes the argument that Mika is “forcing” this new style work very well. Read this!
The next post is a review of Amuro Namie’s Best Fiction. tranQuilla’s review is a bit of a departure from the typical reviews that I see bloggers do. The descriptions of some songs use terms like “booty shaking.” I liked reading it, it is sort of refreshing to see a different style of reviews.
Aladdin - Hi wa, Mata Noboru
Lead - Sunny Day
Erhanz has some quick reviews and thoughts on Aladdin’s Hi wa, Mata Noboru as well as Lead’s Sunnyday.
The Glorious Return to Blogdom
Kuri is back to blogging! She goes over why she stopped blogging to begin the entry. Kuri then makes note of two new interests - Suzuki Ami and KAT-TUN - which make for an odd combination. Lastly, she quickly goes over some odds and ends of Hello!Project.
Vocal Training with Junjun & Linlin
Mars has some thoughts after watching a video of Junjun and Linlin doing a bit of vocal training. The video is embedded in the post. There is a lot of screeching early on. Watch it for yourself then disagree or agree with Mars’s description and opinions.
saplesweet is back to doing Hello!Project profiles. Member #26 is Tanaka Reina, who ends up being saplesweet’s favorite member.
I always find it interesting to see how fans will react to bad releases. Some of us ridicule what we feel is an inferior product. Others just ignore the release in the hopes that the next one will be better. In her latest entry, Kimitsu of Minna Star has decided to go straight at AAA’s “BEYOND~Karada no Kanata,” even though she seems incredibly disappointed by it.
This is a great read. Reviews should do more than just summarize a release. Everyone has access to the media these days; they can check it out if they want to. I love reading reviews that have some personality to it. I feel that Kimitsu has this down. There are strong opinions as to why certain - which is most in this case - parts of the release work and why certain parts fail. She can talk about hats and keep it interesting and relevant the entire piece. I’m not a follower of AAA and I found myself disappointed by this release after everything Kimitsu has said about it. Definitely recommended reading.
Ali of Keys To Everything has a review of Leah Dizon’s “Vanilla.” She makes an argument for Leah Dizon’s vocals in one of the b-sides (”Kanashimi to Egao no Naka de”) of this single and there are good reasons given.
Michishige Sayumi 5th Photobook (「☆☆☆」)
New Sayumi Michishige Photobook out 26th September (Morningtime)
Another Sayu photobook? Ok!
SI*NA & Happy! Style Rookies’ Sites
Mars has some news about the websites of SI☆NA and HAPPY! STYLE Rookies. If you are like me and often forget what the difference is between SI☆NA and HAPPY! STYLE, HAPPY! STYLE is the one with Noto Arisa. This entry also has a delightfully evil jab and photoshop of Suma Ai.
Before he gets to his review of “Polyrhythm,” josh012595 goes over his story of how he got introduced to Perfume, which was initially through Beyond The Sea and Stereo Love. I get kick out of how all the review blogs on wordpress.com end up tied up into each other. He then gives a very positive review to “Polyrhythm” - specifically the b-side “SEVENTH HEAVEN.
ONE for music, zero for that cover!
A nurse with instinct. (99%)
Perfume loves edgin’ the world.
I get the feeling that freehummingbird likes writing these headlines. Anyways, freehummingbird is back after a brief blogging hiatus. I’m glad he is back as I’m really partial to fhb’s reviews. He uses very technical terms to describe music, like “cheer-you-up songs.” Normally, such technical terminology would fly over my head, but somehow he can just explain to regular folk.
The reviews for Crystal Kay’s “ONE,” Shiina Ringo’s “Honnou” and Perfume’s “love the world” are all great reads. I joke about the “cheer-you-up song,” but fhb definitely knows what he is talking about. The reviews for Crystal Kay and Perfume do a good job of telling you what happens in the songs without boring you down with details. The Shiina Ringo piece is focused on the PV - and fittingly has plenty of screenshots to complement the writing. Recommened reading for all three.
Ikimono Gakari - KOI SURU OTOME
Maki Goto - SOME BOYS! TOUCH
Ami Suzuki joins Yasutaka Nakata - FREE FREE / SUPER MUSIC MAKER
It seems like Melody of Feel Like Dance has a new review every day. I’m really impressed by the sheer amount of blogging. The reviews are detailed and cover a wide range of music, as evidenced by the three here. We have the rock side in Ikimono Gakari, pop/R&B from Goto Maki and technopop from Suzuki Ami.
Who are the Tokyographers? I’m not sure myself, but it sounds like a band name. Tokyographers is a blog run by the owner of tokyograph.com. I don’t know exactly what types of entries Tokyographers will consist of. This entry has a lot of photos of Nakagawa Shoko from Anime Expo 2008. Lots of Shokotan is good.
Hey! Say! JUMP - Dreams come true [2nd Single]
Amaiyume has a positive review for this Hey! Say! JUMP single.
Lex takes a look at Suzuki Ami’s “ONE” and likes what he hears. Ami worked with Yasutaka Nakata on this one so it will certainly appeal to some people right away. Lex notes that the “rhythm never lets up” which is a great way to describe a lot of Nakata’s work.
aiwish472 talks about her plans to start comparing classic film actresses to Hello!Project members. I get the impression that these comparisons aren’t going to say anything like Reina Tanaka could have starred in Casablanca or Ingrid Bergman could “pretend” to be a prostitute in a music video. Rather, I get the feeling that the upcoming posts will just be going some similarities in roles/personalities in their respective mediums.
Also, it is a little bit absurd, but in a good way. Like if someone started comparing idols to gangster rappers.
Hello!Project 2008 Summer Wonderful Hearts : Concert Pictures !
Morning Musume : New Pictures Set !
Morning Musume : Another New Set
Nakane has a lot of recent photos of Morning Musume. There are pictures of Sayumi under “New Pictures Set.” She is very, very lovely.
Tsukiki has a video of a ridiculously tanned Nakayama Yuma performing on Shounen Club. Well, if this was his big moment, he picked the right time to get this tan. He is related to Nakayama Nana of SI☆NA. Tsukiki posts pictures of both and, well, something is wrong with the smiles in this family.
Shirow has posted a few preview images and video of Kusumi Koharu’s upcoming photobook. Shirow is very excited for this photobook. Err, maybe excited isn’t the best way to describe this… Or maybe it is the perfect word…
Making of Yuke Yuke part 1 - It’s Chii again!
Zush shares some eyecandy of Tokunaga Chinami from Berryz Koubou’s Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance Single V. I promise you that there are no pictures of her in monkey suits here. I wouldn’t classify that as “eyecandy.”
Komatani Hitomi aka. Hii-chan, Hii-pinku
Cat is back to the profiles! This profile is on Komatani Hitomi. It is a gigantic post and full of screencaps, which I guess I’ve come to accept as a typical Aitakatta! post. Cat does a good job of pointing out memorable tidbits of this Hitomi girl early on - that she like Morning Musume and Michishige Sayumi.
Charmy☆Renai shares a very dated photo of Osaka Performance Doll. It must be neat for her finding any media that she can get on this group. A comment left by a Nocutechi Yumi explains where the photo originated.
All I could think about when I saw this photo was that 1993 was a long time… I mean, look at the hair for the girl in the bottom right of the photo… 1993 was a VERY long time ago…
Kimberly of H!P Wonderland makes the transition from Vox to Wordpress. She also changes the name of her blog to “Losing Simplicity,” which is kind of ironic since her new blog looks more simplistic now (Vox has a very crowded layout). Her first post at Losing Simplicity is about Ito Yuna and Yuna’s 5th single “losin’.”
Gachinko de Ikou! Covers (「☆☆☆」)
New Single Covers for Gachinko de Ikou - Buono! (°Absol-ute °C-ute)
Gachinko de Ikou! Covers (Stardust)
Gachinko de Ikou! Covers (Strawberrie)
Gachinko de Ikou! Infozzzz (What Kio Says: Hello Project Much?)
The covers to Buono’s Gachinko de Ikou! are being passed around. The Limited Edition shows the girls playing strip poker and the Regular Edition has them playing strip Jenga.
Bri of 「☆☆☆」 thinks the Limited Edition is just “gross.” Her reasoning makes sense as the background is pretty ugly. However, they are playing strip poker, so all is forgiven. Also, is Bri’s blog now named “「☆☆☆」” officially? I could have sworn it was I WISH;; not too long ago…
Mars from Stardust has the images in a smaller resolution. The covers look significantly better when they aren’t blown up.
Strawberrie is another blogger who likes the Regular Edition better. But… but… strip poker!
Kiokiou of What Kio Says has the covers as well.
Amy of °Absol-ute °C-ute has the covers as well as an obnoxious conversation with a certain blogger. The two of them have way too much enthusiasm for Jenga… I like seeing someone post a chat log with CFB on the other end though. A little “turnabout is fair play” on his style of blogging.
Biyudensetsu (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)
Biyuden : Disbands (Hello!Musume)
Goodbye v-u-den (HNPH)
The End of v-u-den (I WISH;;)
V-u-den Disband (Let’s Laugh! Hello Project)
A sandwiched farewell to Biyuuden (OH NOES! Magi-Kat’s rambling again!) (Magi-Kat presents “Morning Meteora”)
Why I’m Missing Biyuuden (Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations)
Biyuuden- Nannimo iwazu ni I LOVE YOU pv (Morningtime)
Bye Bye V-U-DEN♥ (Nekocafe’s World!)
Never Forget (Shanimuni Paradise)
v-u-den disbanded over the weekend. There were lots of reactions and I apologize that they are so late on reaching IW. Some bloggers took it as an opportunity to revisit what they loved about the group; while others expressed frustration over the breakup. Most people showed concern about what the future holds for Miyoshi Erika and Okada Yui. Meanwhile, nearly everyone - some begrudgingly - are of the belief that Rika’s career will not be affected too dramatically by v-u-den breaking up.
Another survey!
Celestia has put together a survey that is a little different from the Cutie Party one floating around. What I mean is that the Cutie Party focused on the musical tastes and preferences of people. This survey goes into a different aspect of the entertainment and J-Pop world.
It is a survey asking your feelings about it and the acts within it, with questions along the lines of “who is the sexiest?” and “how often do you dance to your favorite songs?” It should get some interesting answers, and it just may say more about the personalities behind the bloggers than before.
J-music survey. (J-pop obsession)
Cutie Party survey?! (musical GAME)
I am a slowpoke when taking surveys, my apologies. (Hotaru’s blog)
J-Music Tastes - Cutie Party Survey Response (fields of maiZe and berryZ)
J-Music Survey from the Cutie Party Blog (-beats in my head-)
I got pretty behind on these. Here are the rest of the Cutie Party survey responses.
No idea what the blog title entry says but aiwish472 talks about losing her H!P fandom. Well, aiwish hasn’t given up on Hello!Project entirely, as of yet, so it makes for an interesting perspective.
There is a clear sense that one day, who knows when, aiwish knows she will no longer be a fan of Hello!Project. Even if she stays to the bitter end, Hello!Project itself won’t last forever. So really, this introspective look is applicable whether or not aiwish gives up on H!P or not.
I like this approach. It may be too late for aiwish to consider it this way, but I think it is easier to appreciate what you appreciate knowing that it won’t be around forever. Personally, I look at Perfume this way. I know that they will not remain popular or active forever, so it makes what they do all the more valuable to me.
aiwish isn’t ready to give up on all Japanese music yet though, finding interest in the music from AKB48 and Johnny’s.
Spring 2008 Momusu Costume Review
Midori is back and I am quickly becoming a fan of all the over-analyzing. There is nothing about fingernails here - instead it is a look at the costumes from the Spring 2008 Morning Musume concert. Midori goes through them and gives out a */5 Rating on the quality of the clothes as well as a “Alcohol Level” to determine how drunk the costume designers were when putting together the outfits. I would have just measured their blood alcohol level and used that as the rating for both cases. The drunker the costume designers are while making the outfits, the better.
Aira Mitsuki - Colorful Tokyo Sounds no9 / China Discotia
Millhouse from the OPV team takes a look at Aira Mitsuki and reviews two songs by her. If Millhouse is correct in saying that Aira Mitsuki is like Perfume, then I am very interested. Regardless of whether she is or isn’t, this is a nice overview that may interest people in learning more about her.
Lex takes a look at BoA’s latest triple A-side. Apparently, according to the comments, enjoying “Kissing You” isn’t prevalent view. I don’t really follow BoA communities, but that’s a little surprising to me. I listened to Vivid and figured “Kissing You” would be the favorite. Maybe it was that awful haircut she wore in the PV for it.
Baby, I can see someone else singing Like This.
Kimitsu shares a PV from Kuroki Meisa. Kimitsui is right on with the comparison to Amuro Namie because I am getting the vibe too. The entry comes along with a brief commentary about imitation within the Japanese pop industry that I found myself nodding my head to.
Recent Comments
jim in [Blogs] HALCALI day by day: Hints of New Material and Collab …it was neither “Janpanese”, nor “Japanese”. Japanese writer/director. Still.
jim in [Blogs] HALCALI day by day: Hints of New Material and Collab There’s no good way to put an edit in there: Long Kiss Goodbye was a
CJ Marsicano in [Blogs] MaiZe Remembers a Mari Moment and a Birthday Classic clip. I have that on a VCD or DVD-R somewhere :)
DJAeon in [Blogs] Channel-Ai with the latest Otsuka Ai single Thank you for the correction. I also apologize, my first comment was a lot more…
pengie in [Blogs] Channel-Ai with the latest Otsuka Ai single mistakes happen, DJ, as much as we try to prevent them. sometimes it’s a bit
oroitsme in [Blogs] Channel-Ai with the latest Otsuka Ai single Just a correction: this review is by DJAeon, not me this time. ^^;
DJAeon in [Blogs] Channel-Ai with the latest Otsuka Ai single Hi um… I wrote the article. It says DJAeon on the site not oritsme. It
SecondBlossoming in [News] Stuck In A Pagoda and the New Scandal CD Already preordered :D
CKHPblog in [News] Stuck In A Pagoda and the New Scandal CD Aaahh, W doing the Two Virgins Cover? Yum!
CJ Marsicano in [News] Stuck In A Pagoda and the New Scandal CD A Two Virgins emulation would have been a good cover for a W album ;)