Bikkuri Project

Might as well announce it here first… my new laptop arrived today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Super duper thanks to my wonderful father.

That means that I can finally get back to regular updates here. Expect something soon, probably in the next couple days.

In the meantime, a few ultra-brief comments on recent happenings.

H!p has a redone their website- Have you noticed this? It’s quite spiffy.

Buono’s New PV- OMG plot! I love that Momoko is still “the special one”. Love the twist ending.

MM’s New PV- Only low quality, but loving it already. Much better song than Naichau Kamo, IMHO. Probably not as good as Resonant Blue, but with one major improvement, multiple solo lines for everyone 6th gen and above.

Cute’s Bye Bye Bye PV- The song is… okay. The PV? The suckiest piece of suck that every sucked. Seriously, what happened there? Was Kanna the one funding C-ute’s PVs or something?

New Egg Unit- Shugo Chara Egg-Akari+ Sakkity huh? Well, Sakkity and Kanon are two of the best singing eggs, and Yuuka and Dawa are two of the cutest. It makes sense. I guess Akari had her chance in Shugo Chara Egg, but she didn’t prove charismatic enough. Still sad for her though. Personally, I’m really hoping for a major H!p debut for these girls (not TNX). The last egg to do that was who? Kanna? LinLin doesn’t count.

Tsuji Nozomi- Saw her on TV the other day, along with a really cheesy dramatization of her life. Poor little angel Nono was just admiring the other Morning Musume’s costumes when big bad Yuko came and yelled at her!! Lol. We all know she was a little terror back then, and it did not go down quite like that. Even Tsuji herself admits it later in the interview.

Big Ol’ Graduation Concert- I plan to do something with the DVD later, so we’ll save commentary on that.

Apostraphe Key- Is in a totally different place on Japanese keyboards, which I’ve been using for some while now. I’m so confused!

Morning Musume Concerts- Going at least twice, probably three times. Nya nya.

Got to get to bed now. So glad to be back.

Tadaima!

~Celestia~

X posted on both my blogs

Around December, my laptop started to develop a crack in the corner where the screen meets the keyboard, around the hinge. Probably my fault, because I may have picked it up by the screen a time or two. Well, that crack has slowly expanded, and recently I began to have problems with the screen working. More and more often it`s been turning blank or becoming covered with delightful colored stripes at random, and it`s now gotten to the point that my computer is pretty much non-functional. I still have internet access via the computer at work, but it`s pretty limited. I can`t use it very long at a time or view most images or watch any streaming video, so I`m afraid that updates here may be a bit few and far between for a while.

I promise I`ll try my best!!! Please don`t give up on this blog. I`ll get back to regular updates as soon as I get a new laptop.

So sorry!

~Celestia~

Don’t worry. I’m talking about h!p concerts, not cocaine or anything. Lol.

But seriously, I’ve actually be craving concerts lately. I check the internet to see what tickets are available on a daily basis, I dream about them regularly…I need to go to a concert, preferably a Morning Musume concert, RIGHT NOW. Ug. I sound full of crazies, huh?

Maybe discussing some recent h!p events would be a good distraction.

Mano Erina- This girl is getting promoted hard core. She’s all over the place on magazines, radio shows, etc. Well, I guess with the elder club graduation and Koharu’s vocal suckitude, h!p really needs to produce a viable soloist right now. Mano has got the looks, there can be absolutely no doubt about that. I also find her inclusion in dramas very very promising. I’ve long been saying that h!p needs to utalize dramas more as a vehicle to get their stars’ names out there, and if Mano is being pushed in that direction, which it looks like she might be, it could be a very good thing for her and even h!p as a whole. She seems to be a promising little actress too. I’ve heard a lot of criticism of her vocals, which I admit are a little flat, and her songs, which I admit are a little boring, but at the same time, I can of understand the direction they’re taking with her. Erina isn’t being marketed as another cutesy hyper idol, they’re giving her an image of simple beauty, purity, and above all, freshness. Her songs and singing style really reflect that image. With her debut coming up shortly, we’ll soon see how well that image resonates with the public.

Maasa gets a photobook- And everyone suddenly understands why she’s lost weight recently. I do kind of wonder if the weight loss was her choice, in preparation for the book, or if it was more like they told her “Look, we want to give you a photobook, but you’ve got to lose a few kilos first…” Anyway, I’m not a huge Maasa fan, but I’m really hoping and praying that this is a sign of a new wave of photobooks for other girls who haven’t had one yet. Please, oh please, oh please!

Really young kids- First the new (not h!p but nicegirl, so related) group, Nice Girl Mu, which appears to be all u-10. Then, we hear that Francis and Aiko, the little girls from the Taiwan auditions have been officially made into a unit as well. Here’s the thing: from the point of view of these little girls and their well being, they are far too young to be idols. A six year old doesn’t know what she wants. She might like dancing around on stage and having everyone pay attention to her and cheer for her, but she won’t realize what she sacrificed for that until she gets older and it’s too late. I fully blame the mothers for this. At the same time, from a business standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. Idols peak at a young age, late teens or so, and like any sport/industry where the participants peak at a young age, the younger you start them, the better. Look at gymnasts or figure skaters. I used to take skating lessons casually, and I can’t tell you how many 5 or 6 year olds were having private figure skating lessons on a daily basis. You could practically see the olympic medals gleaming in their mother’s eyes. If you recruit a girl at a more reasonable age, say 14, you’ve only got about 6-8 years, maybe a few more if she’s popular. She’ll need training at first to become comfortable on stage and develop an image, so that’s a few more precious years wasted. It’s not a good return on your investment. Recruit and start training when she’s still a little kid, and by the time she hits her early teens you’ve got an experienced and confident idol with a fanbase already in place. This strategy worked very well with the h!p kids, so it’s no surprise that they’re trying it again.

Almost 2 more months….

~Celestia~

I’m watching the Resonant Live DVD, and I’m more excited than usual because I WAS THERE! At that exact concert. In that DVD, somewhere in the audience near front and center on the second floor is a gaijin girl waving a Gaki-san green glowstick, and her cheering is part of the crowd noise. It’s really really stupid, but I somehow feel like I just became a tiny itty-bitty part of Morning Musume history.

~Celestia~

Is it too late for a “Favorite of 2008″ type post? It is? Well, I’m doing it anyway. I decided to follow Raid’s example and keep it simple and categoryless. So, here are my 10 favorite h!p songs of 2008.

10. Wasuretakunai Natsu- C-ute: A surprisingly good B-side. Bonus points for the long Chisato solo part.

9. Koi no Dial 6700- Momusu: Won me over with LinLin on the Rinrin’s.

8. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance- Berryz: Kind of a guilty pleasure. I might like more because I tend to associate it with my amazing visit to the monkey part in Kyoto (I couldn’t stop singing it the entire time I was hiking up there). What? There were lots of baby monkeys!!

7. Gachinko de Ikou- Buono: Was my favorite Buono song until Rottara dethroned it. Still good though.

6. Ah! Merry go Round- Berryz (Momoko/Captain): My favorite song from the only h!p album that I really liked this year.

5. Pepper Keibu- Momusu: I don’t love the fact that it’s a cover, but I do love the musical interlude, and the song has a way of sticking with you.

4. Namida no Iro- C-ute: It’s been steadily growing on me since it came out. I seem to like it more every time I hear it.

3. Rottara Rottata- Buono: The very bestest Buono song with the very worstest Buono PV.

2. Cinderella Complex- High King: Best 1-shot unit in recent memory. I love the unusual beat, I love the Yuuka, and I really really love the dance.

1. Resonant Blue- Momusu: Yeah, I now that only 3 girls actually sing, but when it comes down to it, this is the song of 2008 that I most often want to listen to.

Lastly, a small personal dilemma I’m having. Should, or shouldn’t I try to get tickets to the first concert of Morning Musume’s 2009 Spring concert tour?? I was thinking that it’d be really cool to be at the first one when no one has any idea yet what songs, costumes, etc. to expect. Not to mention that I’d get to see the concert a month earlier than I would otherwise. The main problem with this is that it’s in Chiba, a good two hours away by train. Four hours really, because I’ll need to get back home afterwords too. It’s not like this is my only chance to catch the concert…just my only chance to be among the first to catch the concert.

At any rate, I will definitely definitely be going to a couple of the Tokyo concerts (May 2nd/3rd) . I’m an expert at finding the Nakano Sun Plaza now! Anyway, it’s a bit early to be thinking about this, but if anyone is positive that they will be in Tokyo then, well, it’s pretty easy for me to get a pair of tickets, and I always appreciate having someone who speaks English to talk to! *nudge nudge*

Happy New Year!

~Celestia~

No, the answer is not “Chicken Butt”.

I got a ticket to tomorrow’s Wonderful Hearts concert!!!!!!!!!!! It turns out that I only have to work until noon tomorrow, so I can go! Yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!

I arrived in Japan late last night, got a hotel room by the airport, and slept for like 12 hours. Then, this morning, I spent over two hours on one bus and three different trains with all of my heavy luggage to get back to my apartment. Then after a couple hours of recuperation, I set out again with a new mission: find a ticket to tomorrow’s concert.

It wasn’t easy. I had a rough map of how to find a reputable second hand ticket store in Shinjuku, but getting there involved another hour of trains followed by a lot of confused wandering around. It’s a crazy hectic area, and I swear they couldn’t have built a city more easy to get lost in than Tokyo if they tried. I only found the place because I noted that it was next to McDonalds on the map, and I happened across some guy advertising for McDonalds with a sign pointing in the right direction. Then, when I got inside the store, I could only find tickets to the (too far to travel to) shows next week! Feeling sure I was defeated, I tried asking at the counter. Much to my joyous surprise, one of the clerks directed me the the showcase outside where there were three tickets to tomorrow night’s show! It was risky of me to try to buy them so close to the show day (there weren’t any tickets to the afternoon show left), but the good thing about that is that since it was the last minute, they were marked down to almost face value! I payed a fraction of what my ticket would have cost if I had bought it a week or two ago, judging by the price of next week’s tickets.

I’m so excited now! It was pretty iffy that I would be able to go to this concert, but it looks like everything is working out. I get to see my beloved Momusu again and see Berryz and C-ute for the first time! Can’t wait until tomorrow. I’ll be sure to publish a full report once I get back.

Good fortune,

~Celestia~

Just got back from Florida! We’ll continue with the Eggs next time (only two more installments to go!), but before I forget the details, I want to tell you about a really weird h!p-related dream I just had.

So, I was going to a Morning Musume concert…in America! In fact, on my way in I ran into my grandparents and some of my cousins who were coming back from the afternoon show. They said it was really good.

The thing is, because it was America, there were different non-Japanese singers doing the opening act for each concert. For this concert, it was Celine Dion, but since Celine Dion is such a big star, she actually got the entire first half of the concert and the Morning Musume set-list had to be shortened. I was a little bit upset about that, but I had tickets to another show, so it was okay. I was running a little late, so I didn’t have time to buy anything before the concert started. I just rushed to my seat and watched Celine Dion.

Then, at intermission, I went out to try to buy some concert goods, but almost everything was already sold out! All that was left were some really bad photos that looked like they had been taken with cell phones, and a set of Koharu doing her bitch face. Dejected, I just bought one of the commemorative Christmas dresses that all the Japanese girls in attendance were wearing. It was this red and gold thing with lots of bows and a big black Santa belt that you slipped on over your clothes. I thought I was really cool because I was wearing mine with sunglasses.

I got back inside the concert hall, but then I realized that I had forgotten to buy glowsticks! OH NO!! Frantically, I rushed back out to the shop. They had two sizes of glowstick: giant lightsaber glowsticks, or tiny, 1-inch glowsticks. Worried about hitting someone, I went with the tiny glowstick, even though it was kind of pathetic.

When I got back, the intro music was starting and all the wota were beginning to wave their itty bitty glowsticks in unison, but for some reason, I couldn’t find my seat. The security guard yelled at me for standing in the aisle, but my ticket had become an unreadable mess. I tried to get a Japanese person to help me read it, but they couldn’t figure it out either. Then, just as the Momusu were beginning to take the stage…I woke up.

I have a very strange mind, don’t I? Lol. Just makes me realize how much I really really want to see another Morning Musume concert, in Japan, with proper glowsticks, and no Celine Dion.

My heart will go on,

~Celestia~

Just got back! I had a BLAST, and I can’t wait to write all about it BUT….

I’m not going to write about it right now. You see, CK (who is a really nice guy in person, btw) has been kind enough to trade me one of my tickets for tonight’s show for one of his tickets for tomorrow night’s show, so I’ll be writing about both concert experiences tomorrow night or day after tomorrow morning. Sorry!

One thing I do want to comment on now is not the concert itself, but the wota in attendance. First of all, it is true fact that not only wota attend Morning Musume concerts. I witnessed quite a few girls as well as parents with kids. Well, some of the girls were probably female wota, at least judging by the girl in the Aika T-shirt with matching giant sequined purple hairbow, but whatever. Much feared, often disdained, I myself was a bit unsure about encountering mass numbers of wota.

I’ve got to say, my opinion of them has improved  after this concert experience. I was standing next to a couple of guys who were dancing quite enthusiastically, but not once did a stray elbow fling my way or a hand obscure my view. The Sayumi fan on the other side of us noticed that we had nothing to wave and kindly gave us a pair of his pink glowsticks. I did not hear anything resembling disrespect for any of the girls performing (something that sadly is all too common among Johnny’s fangirls). Really, everyone behaved themselves perfectly and seemed to have a great time. I’m sure there are some “bad” wota out there, but as a group they just aren’t the frightening and pathetic creatures they are often portrayed as.

There was almost a sense of brotherhood, or at least a sort of team bond among the wota. We were working for a common cause (to support the Musume). After the concert was over, I got the sense that a we had just finished a big sporting event. Everyone slapping each other on the back, chanting “we’re number 1!”, telling each other “good game”. Of course, instead of “we’re number 1!” it was actually “Momusu saikou!” and instead of “good game!” it was “Otsuka-Reina!”. We left just as the “Oya-Sayumi”s kicked in.

I’ve learned that in Japan, a lot of people are really really into their hobbies. Maybe it’s pottery or flower arranging or basketball. In these guy’s case, that hobby is Morning Musume. I say, they picked a damn fun hobby to devote themselves to!

Otsuka-Reina,

~Celestia~

PS: Both ManoEri (singing her new song) and the eggs from Milky Way performed at the show tonight. What a nice bonus!

Morning Musume concert tickets were delivered today. Yayay! Sunday can’t come soon enough! Fortunately, I’m teaching elementary school all week and my Junior High’s choir festival is on Saturday, so I’ll be pretty busy up until then.

~Celestia~

I’m having computer troubles AGAIN. This time, my power cable is on the fritz. I have to hold it in place at a certain angle just to get my laptop’s battery to charge, and who knows how long it’ll be until it goes out completaly. So, until my dad sends me a new one, I’m using my computer sparingly, which probably means no big updates here for a while. So sorry. Believe me. This hurts me more than it hurts you.

~Celestia~