Bikkuri Project

Hi all! Just got back from my first viewing of Morning Musume’s spring concert tour!! Wai! I love these shows so much. <3

So, it was RAINY today. Not drizzling, not occasional storminess, but hard non-stop rain all day. Good thing it’s not an outdoor concert. Well, I can check off Omiya Sonic City as a great, easy-to-find concert venue. A straight shot, just a couple of blocks from the station. Of the three h!p concert venues I’ve been to, I’d say this is my favorite so far. An interesting feature is that usually there’s a bit of a buffer zone between the stage and the audience, but here the front row was standing right up against the stage. They could have grabbed the ankles of any girl who wandered too close to the edge! (No, no one did that). Anyway, I made my way to the goods table and requested a Gaki-san shirt. The girl at the counter told me that they only had size large left (and I am not a large person), but she radioed over to the upstairs goods table for me, and it turns out that they had one size small left. Hooray! I l finally have a Gaki-san Tshirt! I didn’t buy one of the Resonant Live shirts because I hated the design, but this tour’s are really cute.

Before I go any further, allow me to remind you once again that girls do in fact go to Morning Musume concerts. I tried counting them while I was milling around in the hall, but I got bored and went inside after about 10 minutes. I got to 30-something before I stopped though. There’s this one girl who I swear has been at every h!p concert I’ve been to. She always wears an Aika shirt and a big purple hairbow to match. I also saw a pair of really cute little girls joyfully receiving Gaki-san T-shirts from their mother. Yay for the kidde-wota! They made a good choice of favorite too. Usually, the kids seem to go for Koharu.

So, I got inside and found my seat. Pretty central, and a little over halfway back on the first floor. Not bad at all. I think that maybe I did manage to jinx myself a bit though. There was this really tall guy standing not right in front of me, but in front and to the side in such a way that he perfectly blocked my view of the center of the stage. Annoying, but what can ya do? It was a pretty full house. I could hardly see any empty seats on the first floor (couldn’t see the balcony). The stage set-up is a bit more elaborate than it was for Resonant Live. There was a sort of walkway around the back with a set of stairs that lit up leading up to it. Okay. From here on out I’ll break it down by song.

Songs- Was good, but I don’t remember anything specific.

Naichau Kamo- Eep. I need to learn more of the dance to this. The wota totally have it down.

VTR- Surprisingly funny. They showed pictures of each girl with a different flower, but one of them was always a goofy pose.

Mikan- Still very much a crowd favorite. The audience’s energy level just goes through the roof. Tension up, as the Japanese would say. Also, those blue and pink dresses have got to be one of the best costumes that h!p has every come up with. Vibrant, cute, flattering to the girls, they’re just perfect!

Egao yes Nude- Aw. I was hoping they would replace this with Shouganai Yume Oibito. Maybe they’ll debut it in Tokyo next week? They performed most of this on the rear walkway, and their jigging looked a little cautious. I think they were worried about falling off.

Jonetsu no Kiss- Really sultry. They used a chair as a prop, and the girls were all like, caressing it. One big difference between this show and Resonant Live is that it’s much sexier, at least the first half or so. Ai-chan’s vocalizations toward the end were amazing. She really sang well tonight.

Katamoi no Owari- Sorry, but this Eri solo bores me. Much like Eri herself often does. My apologies to her fans, because I know she has a lot of them, but sometimes I just don’t understand her appeal.

MC- The girls seem to be rotating who does this solo MC. Tonight it was Ai-chan. She talked about Takarazuku and their extreme stage make-up techniques.

Fine Emotion- Panda power! It was short, but fun.

Aika solo- JunLin were doing the robot! LOL. You know, when I heard Aika sing this on their last tour there were some questionable notes in there, but I didn’t hear any mistakes tonight. Also, for some odd reason, the wota has stopped calling Aika “Mittsi” and have switched to “Aika”. Last concert they definitely said “Mittsi”. I wonder why the switch? Also, is there a head wota who sends out mandate about these things? How do they all know???

Yowamushi- It’s not the best song ever, but I love Risa too much to care!

It’s You- Sexy! Ai and Eri were great as back-up dancers. There was one cool part where Sayumi stood in front of the screen, and it lit up in pink so you could only see her dancing silhouette. Then, she walked down the stairs and they lit up as she stepped on them.

MC- Koharu and JunJun fighting about something to do with JunJun taking pictures of LinLin’s lunch. They were talking pretty fast, so I didn’t quite catch it. They were playing the sound effect of a bell like they use in boxing in the background. Also, for some odd reason Koha and JunJun had costumes that they only wore for this MC and not for any of the songs. Odd.

Special Medley

Love Machine- Was surprisingly dull… Maybe it’s because they did it at the beginning, or maybe it’s because they only did a tiny bit of it. I dunno. I was expecting more from Momusu’s theme song.

Renai Revolution- Started to pick up the energy, but again, they only did a tiny bit of it.

Sexy Boy- Now we’re talking! Thanks to the para-para dance, this is one that the crowd can get into.

The Manpower- Great! I just wish they had done a bit more of it. This medley is killing me. It’s like a series of teasers.

Aozora ga Itsumademo- LinLin rocks my socks! Damn that girl can sing. I noticed that a few of the wota even managed to find teal glowsticks for her solo part. Not green or blue, but actual teal, which they don’t sell at the concerts. As a side note, it seemed like quite a few people brought glowsticks in multiple colors so they could wave the right color during member’s solo or small group songs.

MC- Eri, Sayu, and LinLin. Lin taught some Chinese, and then they went into a hilarious little skit where Eri was trying to kidnap Sayu, and “Super LinLin” saved the day.

Kousui- Surprisingly, both Koharu and JunJun did a really good job with this. I didn’t even once feel the urge to chuck something at Koha, and JunJun nailed those high notes at the end.

The Bigaku- Lots of Reina ass-slapping and air humping. Reina fans will not be disappointed.

MC- They set up a little radio booth for MC G.A.K.I on the stairs. At one point in the MC she accidentally referred herself as “Risa… oh wait no!” instead of MC G.A.K.I, and she started laughing so much she had to stop for a bit. The crowd was all laughing too, and calling “Risa!” at her.

Yume Kara Samete- Ai-chan was lovely as always. Pretty slow song, but it’s better than the one she sang at the last concert.

Take off is Now- Sexy, but pretty much the same as it’s been for the last two concert tours. It was interesting watching the audience changing color yellow to blue to green and so on, as each girl’s fans waved their glowsticks during her solo lines.

Guru Guru Jump- Quickly becoming a crowd favorite. Childish, yeah, but lots of fun!

How Do You Like Japan- I love it! They performed this in those leopard-print costumes with the cat ear hoods. They were like prowling animals out there. Rawr!

Resonant Blue- The performances of this are always getting better, much like Onna ni Sachi Are, though I still think they’ve done the song too often lately.

MC- Member bye-byes. You know, there never were any member intros. How odd. Anyway, the winner today is Eri who tried to make a mnemonic out of Omiya, which turned out completely ridiculous. Sayumi went next saying, “Boy, Eri sure tried hard with that one. I wouldn’t have the courage to say something that lame.”

Love and Peace- Probably my favorite song of the whole show! I love all the funny interaction that goes on between the members, and this song is just so high energy and HAPPY. Also, I can’t be sure, but I really think that Risa waved at me!! She was standing on my side, and then she looked directly at me and waved. I kind of pointed at myself and did a “who me?” face, and she nodded a bunch and waved some more. I could be mistaken… she might have been looking at someone else near me, but I don’t think so. I mean, I was wearing a green shirt and waving a green glowstick, and I am both female and  a foreigner, which I think makes me stand out.

Encore

Sono Bamen de- Koharu was wearing a HUGE sombrero. Unfortunately, everyone seemed kind of preoccupied with making sure their hats stayed on their heads.

Ame wo Furanai- Got rid of the hats. It probably would have set the wrong tone if they had left them on. Beautiful beautiful song. The new version is a bit slower that before, and the harmonies are very nice.

Whew. I’m exhausted now, but I have a bit of news before I wrap this up. You see, I made a side trip to a ticket reseller before going to the concert, and I decided to treat myself to a good seat for one of the Tokyo concerts next week. So, I’ll be sitting on ground level 11th row at the first show next Saturday!!! The lady at the store asked me if I was really sure like 3 times when I told her that I wanted to buy such an expensive ticket. But, I’m sure I’ll be able to see them really well, and they’ll probably be able to see me well too, so it’ll be worth it. Soooo excited!!

Momusu 4 Life,

~Celestia~

The tour started today, and here’s the set list! Since I’m fully planning on attending at least a couple of these shows, it’s of special interest to me. My thoughts in purple.

Morning Musume Concert Tour 2009 Spring ~ Platinum 9 DISCO ~ Setlist

01. SONGS- So, absolutely no surprise that they opened with this. I like the intro, and it should be just about right to set the mood.
02. Naichau Kamo- No surprise here either.  Seems like we’re getting the concert off to a bit of a melancholy start, doesn’t it?
VTR
03. Mikan- The emotional polar opposite of Naichau Kamo! I suspect that some people will be bemoaning the inclusion of Mikan in yet another concert set list. If I wasn’t planning on attending the concert, I probably would be too but, as I’ve said before, Mikan is a kick-ass song to see live. It gets a great crowd response, so I fully understand why they keep putting it in.
MC
04. Egao YES Nude- Okay, single I haven’t seen live yet, but not one that’s very high on my list (See list at end of post). So “yay!” but not “YAY!!!”
05. Jounetsu no Kiss o Hitotsu (Takhashi Ai, Niigaki Risa & Tanaka Reina)- It’s a nice song, but I can’t imagine it will be very exciting live. Here’s hoping they prove me wrong.
06. Kataomoi no Owari ni (Kamei Eri)- Sorry, but I’m afraid this is my least favorite song from the new album. It’s nothing against Eri’s singing. I just think the song’s boring.
MC (Tanaka Reina)- Solo MC? I wonder what she’ll talk about.
07. Fine Emotion (Junjun & Linlin)- Now here’s a “YAY!!”. Looking forward to this one for sure. Panda power!
08. Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito (Mitsui Aika solo, Junjun & Linlin as backup dancers)- I like the song, and more JunLin is always good. I just hope Mittsi has gotten a bit better at singing it.
09. Yowamushi (Niigaki Risa)- Lord knows Gaki-san could be singing my despised “Hyokkori Hontonjima” or whatever it’s called, and it would still be a high point of the concert for me.
10. It’s You (Michishige Sayumi solo, Takahashi Ai & Kamei Eri as backup dancers)- Now this interests me. Eri and Ai, perhaps MM’s best dancers, doing backup for a rather sexy song. I’m afraid they’re going to steal the show from Sayumi. Another one to look forward to.
MC (Kusumi Koharu & Junjun)
~ Special Medley ~
11. Love Machine- Not retired? Huh? Well, haven’t seen it yet, I guess. Maybe it’s just the intro though.
12. Renai Revolution 21- Good, good. Certainly wouldn’t mind watching this again.
13. SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~- !!! I’ve got to go figure out the rest of the hand dance!
14. THE Manpower!!!- Yes!! This was on my list of singles I really want to see live in concert.
15. Aozora ga Itsumade mo Tsuzuku You na Mirai de Are! (Linlin solo, then the rest of the members joined in)- Lin solo? Sweet!
~ End of Special Medley ~
MC (Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi & Linlin)
16. Kousui (Kusumi Koharu & Junjun)- JunJun=awesome. Kusumi= DOES NOT WANT. So, I guess this song breaks even??
17. The Bigaku (Tanaka Reina)- Ayaya song? How did you get into a Momusu concert? Well, it’s a pretty good song, and Reina is a good performer, so I’ll give it a thumbs up.
MC GAKI (Niigaki Risa)
18. Yume Kara Samete (Takahashi Ai)- Another slow ballad solo for Ai-chan. Sigh.
19. Take off is now! (Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa & Tanaka Reina)- They’ve performed this at the last two concerts now. Wonder how they’ll change it up.
20. Guru Guru JUMP (Kusumi Koharu, Junjun & Linlin)- Total fun, and they seem to be getting more and more into it with each rendition.
21. HOW DO YOU LIKE JAPAN? ~Nihon wa Donna Kanji Dekka?~- Hell yeah! I didn’t expect this to pop up again when I was still in Japan. Soooo very excited to see this live.
22. Resonant Blue- Don’t get me wrong, I really like this song, but I think it may be time to give it a rest for a bit. Kinda getting sick of it, to be honest.
MC
23. Love & Peace! Hero ga Yattekita- I love songs that give the girls a chance to be silly and interact with each other. I’m sure this will be a new and different performance at each and every show.
ENCORE

24. Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai jan!- Well there’s a surprise. Not that I object, mind you. It’s a really fun song.

MC
25. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou?- I suppose they’ll be doing the album version with harmonies and everything? Well, it’s certainly a beautiful song, though maybe getting a bit overused already. Since it’s on the album it kinda had to be here though.

Overall, this concert has a darker and more mature feel than Resonant Live. I mean, there’s some fun stuff, but right from the get-go the serious songs seem to far outnumber the silly ones. There’s a lot to look forward to here…but I really prefer the Resonant Live set list for a few reasons. 1: Not so many solos. I really prefer group songs. 2: Being a girl, I’m not as attracted to “sexy” songs as some guys might be. 3: Resonant Live had “Koko ni Iruzee” AND “Souda! We’re Alive”. That’s a combo that would be really tough for any concert to beat, as far as I’m concerned.

There are quite a few songs that I’m really wanting to hear Momusu sing in concert that haven’t come up yet. “I Wish”, “Do it Now”, “Shabondama”, “Kanashimi Twilight” and “As for One Day” to name a few. Ah well, guess there’s always the next concert.

I don’t want to end on a bad note. I’m super duper excited that concert time is drawing near! I can’t wait to get a hold of an audio rip!

~Celestia~

EDIT: One more thing. Morning Musume is due to have a new single released toward the end of this concert tour. Should we expect it to be added to the set list later on (or replace one of the existing songs?). I believe they added Mikan in the middle of a concert tour when it first came out.

Before I get to the review, can I just say that the lack of announcement of Morning Musume’s 9th album is absolutely driving me nuts?!!!!. We’ve got the title (Platinum 9 Disco), we’ve heard most of the new tracks already in concert (Ame Furanai, Guru Guru Jump, Take off is Now, and that Mittsi solo), in fact, we’ve heard several of them in two different concert tours. All we’re missing is a Sayu/Eri duet (by process of elimination. I’d bet money on it), and another group song and we’re set. We have everything…except for an official announcement. Why? I can only imagine that they are waiting because they’re going to announce something big at the same time (graduations? auditions? both? who knows??), which makes the suspense even worse. If they dare to start the concert tour named after the album without admitting to the existence of the album though… I just don’t know anymore. The clock is ticking.

Sorry, just needed to get that off my chest. Anyway, I’m only reviewing the new songs from C-ute’s album here, not the singles.

Akogare My Star- The title track has a very catchy hook…that gets old very fast. Still, not a bad song, and the high energy feel should make for a good concert number. Reminds me somehow of the music I used to listen to when I was a kid in the early 90’s. 4/5

One’s Life (Chisato/Mai/Erika)- What a surprisingly creative song! I’m more than a little miffed that Chisato (and Erika) don’t get any singing solo lines, but I really enjoy listening to this song. It makes me feel like chillin’ in a park somewhere on a summer day, maybe throwing a ball around or flying a kite or something. It’s like Tanpopo’s “Be Happy Koi no Yajirobee”, but better! 4.5/5

Yes! All my Family (Airi)- Hmm. Pretty darn generic, even for H!p. It doesn’t start off too badly, but the chorus is a letdown. Nothing against Airi or her voice, which I both love, but this song just does nothing for me. 2/5

Aishiteru Aishiteru (Nakki/Kanna)- Using that old fashioned “Waracchau Boyfriend”/”Shining Itoshiki Anata” sound again. It’s a nice sound, very soothing,  Maybe a little too soothing, getting into “boring” and “man, is this ever going to end?” territory in fact. Also, while Kanna sounds nice, I’m not sure how well Nakki’s voice matches the song. 2.5/5

Seishun Song (Maimi)- Man, Maimi always gets the best solos! First Natsu Doki Lipstick, then this, which has a very different feel but is still totally awesome! It’s a fist pumping, cutey idol anthem! I predict this to be a major crowd favorite when it’s concert performed. 5/5

Big Dreams- By far, my least favorite of the new full group songs. Total filler, and more generic than the discount cereal my mom used to make me eat even though I wanted real Frosted Flakes. And now, to top it all off, the song is pissing me off by making me relive bad childhood memories! Next please. 1/5

Shines- Woo! Immediately followed by my favorite of the new full group songs! Genki, but also pretty,  nice build up to the chorus, lines for everyone, and the whole thing makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside. 5/5

Yakusoku wa Toku ni Shinai wa- A genuine ballad for C-ute. I love Chisato’s voice so much! The song isn’t bad. I’ve heard better h!p ballads, but I’ve heard much much worse too.  Seem like it could use just a bit more interest. Maybe a key change toward the end would have been good? 3/5

Overall, this album is way WAY better than C-ute’s 3rd which was mostly just disappointing and forgettable. The cover art is nice too. I think I’ll buy it!

~Celestia~

I seem to have gotten in the habit of doing these little good vs bad reviews for Morning Musume PVs. I see no reason to stop that tradition now. I’ve even thrown in some screen-caps as a bonus. First, here’s the PV if you haven’t seen it yet. The quality will be better if you watch it from the dohhhup site though.

Since feel like ending on a positive not, let’s start with the bad.

BAD

-The song’s not as catchy as I would like. I mean, it’s not bad per say. I enjoy listening to it, but I don’t feel any need to put it on a constant loop right now. Song-wise, I like it better than Keibu but less than Resonant.

-The dance is also not as exciting as I could have hoped for. Again, not bad but not great. Too much of that clapping shuffling thing. I do like the little head snap at the beginning though.

-I wish, oh I wish for more 8th gen, especially JunJun.

-Not the silver streamers again! At least they weren’t hiding the girl’s faces like they were in the Egao Yes Nude PV

-Small detail, but I really prefer Gaki’s hair down

GOOD

-Waaaay less Koharu than usual, or at least way less of her voice. I have no objection to looking at her. In fact, I think she looked quite hot in her rain shots.

-There were 3, count-em, 3 different kinds of shots: dance, close-ups behind glass, and full body looking semi-transparent standing in the rain. Pepper Keibu had two types of shots (group dance and paired dance), while RB just had one (dance). We’re seeing a steady improvement here! Dare we hope for four different kind of shots in Momusu’s next PV????

-Eri wore her scarf around her neck, where it ought to be, instead of on her head like some wanna-be fortune teller.

-Ai-chan and especially Reina are good little actresses. They really look like they’re crying. They both get props for not being afraid to scrunch up their faces a little, like some one who is truly upset would. The rest of the girls didn’t seem to want to risk going beyond “forlorn” and into “distraught”.

-Sayumi’s close up shots. Damn she’s gorgeous.

-JunJun standing in the rain. Worth it’s own point. She looks very sad, but in an, “I’m about to kick the ass of the guy who did this to me” sort of way.

Overall, I’d say there’s a lot more to like here than dislike. I see this PV as a step in the right direction anyway. Probably the best PV (though not the best song) MM has released since, oh I dunno, at least Iroppoi. Maybe even The Manpower.

Warachau Kamo

~Celestia~

Just got back from the Wonderful Hearts concert! As expected, I had an awesome time (though not quite so great as the Momusu concerts. I’ll explain why near the end of this post). I spent most of the MCs jotting down notes by the light of my glowstick so I could write a good review for you. Am I really that obsessed with my blog? Why yes, yes I am.

Let’s jump right in with the story. Unlike the Shinjuku venue, Nakano Sun Plaza was extremely easy to find, only about a block away from the station. While I was looking around confusedly for the goods line, a pair of girls noticed my distress and asked me if I needed help. (all this conversation is in Japanese, but I’m translating). When I said I was looking to buy a T-shirt they personally escorted me over to the goods tables (I bought a Momusu T-shirt, and it came with a photo set of all the girls!). We chatted for a while about who we liked, where I was from, etc. The girls were Reina fans. They had been to the afternoon show and were looking for someone selling tickets to the evening show. I wished them luck before heading inside. They were really sweet and helpful to me! I hope they found tickets.

Security was tight! They not only searched our bags, we were actually patted down. The good news was that there had to be a separate line for girls (so we could be searched by female security employees), and of course, it was way shorter than the line for the guys. I do want to mention that I saw quite a few girls at this concert, more than I saw at the Momusu concerts. I’d estimate that there were at least a hundred. In fact, at the end, Makoto even commented that there seemed to be a lot of girls in the audience tonight. I’m proud to count myself as one of them!

I found my seat, on the first floor, but way in the back =( . I swear, next time I will shell out the cash to buy myself a good seat. A lot of the people around me spent much of the concert watching through binoculars. I don’t think we were that far away, but still. Okay, now for some song by song commentary.

Resonant Blue (All)- I really like this song…but I question the wisdom of opening a Wonderful Hearts concert with a song where only 3 girls really sing. It was cool watching everyone do the dance though. You know what would be amazing? An all h!p performance of Shabondama! Can you imagine that many girls thrashing about on stage?

Lalalala Shiawase no Uta (All)- No. Just no. Stop shoving this stupid song down our throats.

Minna no Tamago (Shugo Chara Egg)- They sang live! I was surprised at how good they sounded. Go Eggs!!

Happy Happy Sundae (Koharu)- You know I have a hate/hate relationship with Koharu’s voice, but I’ve got to admit that this song is catchy, and loads better than Pa pa pancake. I just wish she hadn’t tried to sing it partially live. *shudders*

Tan Tan Taaan (Milky Way)- Yuu and Sayaka are so pretty! I’m newly thankful to Koharu, because without her, Milky Way wouldn’t be.

Forever Love (C-ute)- Omg, C-ute looks HAWT in those suits. Seriously. Maimi especially. Also, I love Nakki for dancing her little butt off out there. The shyest and quietest of the H!p kids when she joined has become one of the fiercest performers. Oh, I should mention that Kanna was out sick today. Poor thing. Erika did her lines.

Meguru Koi no Kisetsu (C-ute minus Airi/Maimi +Aika/Reina)- Reina seemed to really enjoy this, and the audience did too. Total win!

Madayade (Berryz)- The dance to this is pretty fun, isn’t it? The HAHAHA parts especially.

Koi no Jubaku (Berryz minus Buono +Eri/Sayu)- This was the first song I’ve seen performed with a “L-o-v-e lovely so and so” chant. Yay! Not too sure about Sayu’s lines here though.

Lalala Sososo (ManoEri)- I’m sorry, but this is by far my least favorite of Erina’s indie singles. The words “hella boring” come to mind. Nothing against Erina, but I think the audience was half asleep by the time she finished.

Rottara Rottara (Buono)- And everyone wakes up! The sudden shift in energy was kind of ridiculous. This is my favorite Buono song, and it didn’t disappoint. Oh, for the record, I think Miya’s new haircut rocks.

Naichau Kamo (MM)- I feel lucky to be among the first to see this performed live. Good song, maybe not great. It was funny to watch the wota be so confused about what to do. It hasn’t been out long enough for them to learn the dance or when to shout member’s names and stuff, you see.

Mikan (MM minus Ai/Reina + Maimi/Risako)- I can’t believe how much fun this song is live. You really have to see it live to understand. In fact, it was one of the two songs (the other being RR21) to get the most enthusiastic reaction from the crowd. After a just a couple of concert performances I’ve gone from being kind of lukewarm about Mikan to “OMG I LOVE Mikan!!!”

Jinguisukan (All)- Not my favorite Berryz song. I do remember that Momo did a good job with her big solo line.

Shiroi Tokyo (Risa, Maimi, Chinami, Saki N., Mai, Mano)- One word: Gaki-saaaaaaaaaan!!!

Natsu Doki Lipstick (Maimi/some eggs)- Maimi is hot. I have never been so convinced of that fact.

Baka ni Shinaide (Risako, Saki S., Yurina, Miyabi)- Berryz album track, huh? The staging for this was pretty epic, especially the black and white thing they did with Risako’s face during the last line of her solo at the bridge. I was really impressed with Saki’s harmonization during the last chorus too.

Mr. Moonlight (Ai-chan w/ Erika, Chinami, Saki N., Chisato, Saho Akari, and Sekine Azusa)- Chinami did the opening line (not as well as Gaki-san does it, but that’s okay). Ai-chan makes a very charming guy, even in an awful yellow-plaid suit. The best part was her romancing Chisato during the monologue in the middle. I almost didn’t recognize Chisato with her longer hair acting all girly and shy! C-ute’s token little boy is starting to become a woman!

Soku Dakishimete (C-ute)- I was never a huge Megumi fan, but even I can recognize that this song just isn’t the same since she left.

Gag 100 whatever (Berryz)- Ug. Another one of my least favorite Berryz songs. Is this payback for costume hall of shaming them? Never realized what a Momo-fest this is. That helps me to like it just a bit better.

Darling I Love You (Berryz/C-ute)- Kinda boring if you ask me. Risako and Airi singing together was really cute though.

Take off is Now (Risa/Ai/Reina)- Liked it better at the Momusu concert (more fitting costumes), but it’s still hot!

Renai Revolution 21 (MM)- Yes! I’ve always wanted to see this live. It got a huge response from the crowd too.

Guru Guru Jump (All, but mostly JunJun, Koharu, and LinLin)- Jun, Lin, and Koha do all the vocals still, but it was a master stroke having the whole gang in the background doing the ridiculous dance. This one was really really fun.

Ame no Furanai (All)- Beautiful beautiful song. Still just as touching no matter how many times I hear it, though Risako’s completely out of tune solo line almost ruined it for me this time. I’m not a Risako-hater, but that was just BAD.

Go Girl Koi no Victory (All)- A great high-energy ender.  I’m glad I taught myself the dance a while back!

Now, for why I enjoyed the Momusu concert more. Basically, there quite a few people there who you could tell were primarily only fans of one group, and that sort of brought down the energy level of each individual performance. When only part of the audience is really cheering and jumping around with a song and quite a few people are not very familiar with it or not very into it, it’s just not as fun. In fact, there were a some fans (and I noticed them from all 3 main groups), who would sit down and look bored when their favorite group or members weren’t performing! I’m sorry, but I think that’s just plain rude. It’s not a Berryz or C-ute or Morning Musume concert. It’s all of their concert, and they all deserve at least the respect of you paying attention when they’re performing and cheering for them. It was a pretty small minority of people who were doing this, but enough that it was noticeable, and enough that it detracted from the atmosphere for me.

Okay. End rant. Don’t get me wrong. I had a great time! I wish I could go again right now, but I guess I just prefer concerts where everyone is more on the same page.

Going to bed now,

~Celestia~

It figures, right as I finish ranking C-ute’s PVs they just have to go and come out with a new one. I’ve barely started ranking PVs and it’s already out of date. Usual review style with good points and bad points. I’m considering the song too, BTW, not just the PV.

=) !Good! =)

-How hot is Nakki in this PV? I mean, when she has her usual side ponytail during the casual-wear, not so much, but in that suit with her hair down. Wowza. She’s sure grown up a lot in this past year or so.

-Speaking of Nakki, the dance is an ovbious win, and I’m not surprised that she’s placed center for it. She’s not even my favorite member of C-ute, but my eyes keep going right to her. It occurs to me that C-ute are probably the best dancers, on average, out of the 3 main Wonderful Hearts groups right now. Tokkaiko Junjou, Namida no Iro, and now Forever Love. They always seem to have the best and most challenging dance routines. Berryz, I’m afraid to say, tends to have the simplest.

-The suits in general are also very nice, especially with the wallet chains.

-OMG C-ute really loves using their assigned member colors. There were 2 costumes from the last concert featuring them, two from the last concert as well, and now check out the background colors in their closeup shots. Notice anything???? I put this in the positive because I’m so proud of myself for noticing.

-The intro to the song is rocking, and the verses aren’t bad but….

=( Bad =(

-the chorus is a huge letdown. The intro led me to expect something strong and rock-flavored. Instead I got sugary sweet “My darling!“ and “I love you“. No no no no! Does not match!! I wouldn’t hate the chorus so much if I didn’t feel so cheated.

-Whining about line distribution=bad and annoying, and yet, come on. The most popular singers get the most lines. I get that. I love Airi, and I’m fond of Maimi as well. On the other hand, would C-ute explode if instead of 20 solo lines each (yes I counted) they got like 15 each so the others could sing a bit more? Would even the most die-hard Airi/Maimi fans complain if the song had been arranged that way? I think not, and the fans of the other girls would be a hell of a lot happier.

-The outfits for the “casual wear” are a bit hit and miss. Kanna in particular is 100% miss. Who in their right mind thought that hat was a good idea? Who even out of their right mind would think that baggy, brown, plaid overalls were a good idea?

-Finally, the usual complaint you get with all the h!p PVs lately: there’s just not much going on. More variety in the types of scenes is and always will be appreciated.

~Celestia~

Pretty pictures next time. I’ve found some videos, and it’s time for egg watch!

The videos are clips of performances from the h!p eggs concert this June. I really enjoy watching our eggs progress, so these were of considerable interest to me.

I’ll say that the eggie-pies look considerably more polished and professional than they did when they started having their own concerts. Their vocals are better too….but still leave something to be desired for many of the girls. It also helps that they seem to be going to the trouble of making them some of their own costumes instead of just giving them hand-me-downs now.

Links First

Video 1: Pre-concert cheering, Koisuru Angel Heart

Video 2: clips of The Peace, Koi wo Shichaimashita, Shiawase desu ka?, Sukiyaki, Piriri to Yukou, Agenai Nagai Nichiyoubi, Anataboshi

Video 3: 3 new eggs introduction, clips of First Kiss, Sukina Sempai, Crazy About You, I Know, Anshinkan, Rai Rai Shinfuu!, Chokotto Love, Yeah Meccha Holiday

Video 4: Dreamin’

Huzzah! Now it’s itty-bitty concert review time. Which eggs stood out and which were a bit rotten? Read on to find out!

Koisuru Angel Heart (All): Who sang that first solo line? These videos have an unfortunate tendancy to not show the girl who’s currently singing a solo line, and I’m not good enough to identify the eggs by voice. Anyway, their costumes are waaay cute. I didn’t hear anything vocally horrible, which cannot be said about their first and only full concert DVD. Best solo line probably was Ogawa Saki, proving that even though she’s tiny, she fully deserves that front and center spot.

The Peace (All): Nice! The Eggs have really developed more stage presence. I’ve seen less enthusiastic “The Peace” performances from the Berryz/Cute contingents. Yuu and Enna both did quite well with their solo lines. One of my favorite parts of these videos.

Koi wo Shichaimashita (Maeda Yuuka, Wada Ayaka, Mori Saki, Noto Arisa) Hmm. Still really unimpressed with Wada Ayaka’s singing. Still unsure why she was put into a unit.

Shiawase Desuka? (Kitahara Sayaka, Furukawa Konatsu, Fukada Kanon, Sengoku Minami) From this short clip, I’d say all four of these ladies did an awesome job! Saaya is full of sexy confidence, and her solo lines were strong, so I’d give her the “standout” award.

Sukiyaki (Gatas eggs, Kikkawa Yuu, Komine Momoka, Ogawa Saki) Kinda bored. Not much to say.

Piriri to Yukou (Aoki Erina, Tanaka Anri, Saho Akari, Sainen Mia, Okai Asuna, Sekine Azusa, Maeda Irori, Arai Manami) Cute, but some of the groups sound a little “shouty” instead of “singy”.

Agenai Nagai Nichiyoubi (Maeda Yuuka solo) I don’t think Yuuka has the vocal stregnth to sing an entire solo song. At least she’s still cute as a button.

Anataboshi (Kikkawa Yuu, Kitahara Sayaka) Hey look, a Kirarin group singing live!! This must be a really hard song to sing live though. There’s not much room to breath, and they both sound pretty out of breath. Still much improved by the absence of Koharu though.

First Kiss (Ogawa Saki) She doesn’t quite hit the falsetto, but no one in h!p but Airi can really get that part right. The rest is solid. This girl’s got the star power.

Sukina Sempai (Sadawa Yuri, Tanaka Anri, Wada Ayaka, Saho Akari) Sigh. I really don’t want to dislike Ayaka, but I think she’s the worst singer out of the eggs who tend to get solo lines. Saho Akari did the best this time. I don’t think she’ll ever be fronting a group or singing solo, but I’m becoming quite fond of her somehow.

Crazy About You (Mori Saki, Sengoku Minami) Hmm. Not terrible, not great. I’ve noticed that Mori Saki has a tendancy to slip into the “man voice” sometimes. Sengoku Minami seems to be the better singer out of the pair. Probably her experience with Gatas has done her good.

I Know (Furukawa Konatsu, Both Sakis, Maeda Yuuka, Fukada Kanon, Komine Momoka, Wada Ayaka, Saho Akari) No complaints here.

Anshinkan (Fukada Kanon, Sekine Azusa) Sounds good. When did Kanon become Aibon’s younger sister? It’s spooky.

Rai Rai Shinfuu (Everyone not in the last 2 songs) Big group performance, so no real standouts.

Chokkoto Love (All) Hey, they’re trying to be like real cheerleaders or something! No spinning basket tosses out of those lifts though. C’mon! Those girls have got to weigh like 30 pounds. You should be able to throw them no problem!

Yeah Meccha Holiday (All) They still seemed “high tension” from their cheerleader routine. Love Yuu’s little glance at the camera during her “Ah”. Ogawa Saki shines on her solo line again.

Dreamin’ (All) Isn’t this supposed to be something to do with Ongaku Gatas? That makes it an odd choice for a closing song. I guess it has that “closing” feel to it though. Noto Arisa is seriously pumped about this one.

I notice that there are certain eggs who were not featured for a single solo line in these clips. Those being Sainen Mia, Komine Momoka, Maeda Irori, Okai Asuna, and Arai Manami. I guess it’s pretty easy to see who’s on the bottom of the basket right now. The last 3 can blame it on their being really young still, but I don’t know about the other two. I might just quit if I were them, because I’d put their odds of ever being in a unit as slim to none right now.

So in summary, it does show that these girls have had a lot more dance training than vocal training. Their dancing is right on, while their singing sometimes just isn’t. However, it also shows that they have finially been working on their live vocals through these concerts and their other singing events, and progress is evident.

This is Egg Watch signing off, for now.

~Celestia~

I seriously doubt I have anything new or interesting to say about Morning Musume’s new “Pepper Keibu” PV, but new Morning Musume PVs only come out so often, so I’m going to go ahead and comment anyway.

Sorting into positives and negatives seemed to work well last time, so I’ll be doing that again.

+ The girls all look hot. These are some of the best PV costumes MM has ever had.

+ The line distribution is even to the point of being methodically calculated. The best part of this is that for once I don’t have to read people’s complaints about the line distribution.

+Koharu doesn’t have any solo lines to ruin the song and Morning Musume’s credibility with. Yessssssssssss

+The dancing and music at the bridge is cool

+It’s also cool when the new dance beats kick in after the introduction

+There’s harmonizing! The part with JunJun and Risa harmonizing is easily my favorite part of the song and PV

-The dancing is kind of cheesy at parts. I realize that they’re doing the original choreography for a lot of it and it’s a sort of homage, but that doesn’t make it any less simple and cheesy, and I don’t think any of the girls really know what to do with that weird knee thing

-They stuck Koharu and Sayumi together for duet lines…why?

-Stating the ovbious: the PV is just a dance shot. They really couldn’t have thrown in a few closeup shots or something? I suppose another version of the PV with 5 different types of scenes will be released eventually, right?

-Who decided Mittsi should always wear her bangs pulled straight back? She looks much better with them down

-They paired the pandas for their duet section. It’s not that I don’t like them singing together, but it seems like they’re always paired together for this kind of thing. Why can’t they mix it up a little bit?

-The song is pretty repetitive, isn’t it?

Six pluses and six minuses. Guess I’m going to have to wait for some live performances before I can call this one for one side or the other.

See you,

~Celestia~

The Berryz Kamen vs Cutie Rangers concert promised to be spectacular, and it did not disappoint. I love the entire concept of this concert. I’ll say right up front that this is one of the best h!p concerts I’ve ever seen, and certainly the best since Momusu’s glory days. This concert also makes me happy, because setting up a “versus” concert like this means that C-ute are finally considered to be Berryz equals. I mean, Berryz will always have a bit higher status, but the fact that C-ute can be their legitimate rivals means that their days of being “the girls who didn’t get into Berryz” are really finally over. I wonder whether Berryz are happy for them or a bit miffed.

As usual, I’ve picked a “winner” for each performance just for fun.

Darling I Love You, All- Of course, the song that both Berryz and C-ute covered is a fitting way to start the concert since it belongs to neither group. These dresses are just superb. If the costume department is capable of designing costumes like this, then why are there so many making it into my costume hall of shame? Risako’s singing is a little shaky on her first line, but other than that it’s a good solid beginning for the concert.
Winner: Chinami. Hard one to pick since they seemed to be trying really hard to feature all of the girls equally, but she had the cutest expression during her singing close-up.

Special Generation, All- The addition of C-ute and the super-charged atmosphere brings new life to Special Generation! Sometimes it can fall a bit flat lately, probably because the Berryz could do it in their sleep by now, but everyone seemed really into it today. It’s weird watching C-ute members sing Berryz lines (and visa versa) but I guess I’ll have to get used to that with this concert.
Winner: Mai/Yurina. They’re doubled on Yurina’s lines in the chorus, and I never realized how good their voices sound together. MaiMai also did a good job with her solo line at the beginning.

I enjoyed this performance so much, I’ve embedded it.

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Ookina Ai de Motenashite, All- I think that all of their songs are better with both Berryz and C-ute performing them. This song is usually only Maimi and Airi, but now it’s also Momoko, Yurina, and Miyabi. Yay!
Winner: Momoko. She only has one short line, but I’m pretty sure she was born to sing this song.

If you ever watched Power Rangers or any of its spawn, you will get a kick out of the VTR. Their props are ridiculous, especially Risako looking so serious with her little toy bow and arrow. I like how they made Maasa and Kanna the leaders of their respective ranger groups as those two don’t tend to get much attention.

After the awesome VTR there are member introductions. They have nice “street clothes” style costumes. The fact that Berryz is in bright colors while C-ute has black and white with high boots just seems to emphasize that, despite being younger on average, C-ute ‘s music is really less “kiddie” than Berryz. The two groups are placed on opposite stages (great set-up) and each swearing not to lose…

Namida no Iro, Cute- Man. The girls are really on tonight. Perhaps this “rivalry” has motivated them. The dancing looks energetic, and the singing is great as well. The costumes are once again very nice, though I wish they didn’t always insist on dressing Chisato as a little boy.
Winner: Maimai. Someone so young should not be able to look that sassy. I guess she hasbeen trained to be an idol since the age of six. A full half of her life actually.

Munasawagi Scarlet, Berryz- My favorite Berryz song! The singing was good, but after C-ute’s performance I felt like the dancing was a bit lacking in energy. It was a good performance, but the bar has already been set so high on this concert that I’m being extra critical.
Winner: Risako. This is just one of those songs that’s in the perfect range for her, and those “oooh yes my love” lines get me every time.

Lalala Shiawase no Uta, C-ute- Oh great. My least favorite C-ute song. Guess it had to come up sometime. It does look better without the jellyfish dresses. I’ll give them that. When they were in their little can-can line it was humorously obvious how much shorter Chisato is than everyone else now.
Winner: Nakki. She didn’t screw up her line, and she looked the happiest out there. When you’re singing ‘lalalala’ over and over and over again, being able to continue smiling so genuinely throughout is an accomplishment.

Dschingis Khan, Berryz- Oh great. My second least favorite Berrryz song. Well, again, it had to come up sometime. I still think this is set in too high a key for them.
Winner: Chinami, because the only thing that really stood out to me was how great Chinami looked in her shorts. She really does have great legs, doesn’t she?

Tokkaiko Junjou, C-ute- I like how they’re sort of alternating and facing off in this section. It really adds to the “rivalry” theme. Also, the girls only have to perform one song between breaks, so they’re less tired for each song. This one was a GREAT performance of an already great song. I can’t say enough about how much I love that dance.
Winner: Airi. She doesn’t always get her lines perfectly with this song, but she nailed them this time.

Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi, Berryz- Ya know, this song has grown on me. Lots of pretty smiles in this performance. Maybe it’s grown on the Berryz too.
Winner: Captain. I noticed her bright smile in particular.

Very Beauty, Risako/Airi- Shuffled groups and it’s not even a Wonderful Hearts concert. Yay! Wish it had been Miyabi instead of Risako though. Oh well. I guess she wasn’t too bad. Her voice has become more powerful, but sometimes it gets shouty. I’d been wanting to see what Airi could do with this song, because she’s all about the falsetto thing.
Winner: Airi. Her voice was like a breath of fresh air after Risako. I was right. This song is perfect for her.

Bokura no Kagayaki, Kanna/Chisato/Maasa/Yurina/Chinami- Isn’t Erika supposed to be in this? I guess she gets her solo thing later though. Most of the lines were done in groups, but Chisa got to keep her solos (the ones that Airi stole from her at the last c-ute concert. I’m still not really over that).
Winner: Chisato! She really stole the show with her exuberance, and her solo lines are the best part of the song. Hearing it makes me start lamenting her lack of lines in their singles once again.

Sayonara Hageshiki Koi, Nakki/Captain/Momo/Miya/Maimi/Mai- Watch out Wotas. This song has a fast tempo, and your ‘L-O-V-E Lovely’ chants were a little off. I’m glad they chose to perform this song. It’s rapidly becoming one of my favorites from Berryz albums.
Winner: Captain. For her dancing and little coy looks at the camera.

That’s the POWER, All- I still like it better without all the towel waving, and I didn’t even like it that much then. Not my favorite part of this concert.
Winner: Nakki. Just like she was super-happy to sing “Lalala” she manages to look genuinely thrilled about telling people to wave towels.

Do Don ga Don Ondou, All ft.Erika- Silly silly song, but there’s something special about it that made this the only track from C-ute’s new album to make the cut.
Winner: It’s gotta be Erika, right? I’m glad she’s developing her comedic talent and standing out more. She’s full of confidence.

Honto no Jibun, Buono- Buono’s sure looking hot in their black leather costumes. It was a really really short version of the song though.
Winner: Miyabi. Goggles+Huge Ponytail=Win

Renai Rider, Buono- Started a little rough, but got it back by the end. Very spirited and adorable dancing.
Winner: Airi. Momo and Miyabi’s first solo lines both sounded weak, so Airi by default.

Natsu DOKI Lipstick, Maimi/Captain/Nakki- I see they’ve gathered the best dancers out of the h!p kids. Sweet! As a big fan of dancing, I approve. The Saki’s are both awesome.
Winner: Maimi. Despite the Saki’s exuberant dancing, it’s really Maimi’s song after all, and her own dancing is just as good.

Massara Blue Jeans, C-ute then All- Lol at Airi sounding kind of manly on the “warratte let’s go” line. Also Lol at all of the h!p kids (plus 1 kanna) air-humping together like total pro’s.
Winner: Risako. She took Maimi’s solo and did a nice job with it. Good for her. Her shouty singing works for this song.

Jiriri Kiteru, All- Still good, but they’re starting to look a little tired.
Winner: Momoko. I liked her singing

Jump, All- Love this song, and I think I love this version even more than when just c-ute performs it. It seems like it shows up at the end or encore of every C-ute concert nowadays. I have no problem with that. Interesting that they didn’t change the “jumpjumpjumpjump c-ute” line.
Winner: Kanna. Of the three girls who had solo lines (Kanna, Erika, and Nakki), I think Kanna did the best.

Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun, All- I’ve always thought of “Jump” as the “Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun” of C-ute, so it makes sense to me to put both of these back to back. On the other hand, both of these songs require huge amounts of energy from the girls, so it also makes sense that they did shortened versions. Looks like the girls are having fun.
Winner: Miya for being able to deliver her solo lines that well after all the jumping around.

I don’t usually review MCs, but the ‘Cutie Ranger and Berryz Kamen vs music stealing monster’ skit was great. It reminded me of those old Sailor Moon musicals, complete with flashing colored lights for “attacks”, making this one of the best thought-out h!p MCs. It was pretty darn funny too.

Warera! Berryz Kamen, All- Some of the “Berryz Kamen” lines were changed to “Cutie Rangers” so it wasn’t too weird seeing this performed with C-ute. Musical dance fighting! I’m being reminded of the Sailor Moon musicals again. I wonder if that song was written with this concert specifically in mind or if they decided to do a concert with a ranger theme after writing the song. Special props to Yurina for wearing very tight, shiny, vinyl, bright green capri pants. That takes courage, even if you are as skinny as she is.
Winner: Maasa. She had a very exposed solo there in the middle, and frankly, I was surprised at how well she sang. I wanted to slap her on the back and say, “Way to go Maasa!”

Sakura Chirari, All- Not the song I would pick to end a concert at all. Sakura Chirari is so… anticlimactic. The girls are cute, but the last song needs to be more energetic or more emotional or more something. Oh well. Guess they wanted to end it on a cute note.
Winner: Everybody! Thanks for a great concert girls!

I hope they do another joint concert while I’m in Japan. They’d have a tough time topping this one though. It still amazes me to look at how far these girls have come from when they first auditioned. In their first interviews they’re all whispering, fidgeting, and extremely camera-shy. Looking at them back then, I’d never think they’d amount to more than cute little novelty background dancers, and most or all of them would be “graduated” by the time they hit puberty. Today they’re confident, charismatic, and accomplished idols. I wonder if even Tsunku foresaw how far they would someday go.

Now, to tally the votes. Please enjoy this clip of Momoko spazzing while trying to help lost little Mai-chan find her mommy.

Online Videos by Veoh.com
The ballots have been counted, and the concert winner is…. Suzuki Airi with 3 wins! Congrats to Airi.

Henshin!

~Celestia~

Another cross-over post. You have been warned. There’s more h!p so it goes here.

I’ve got to admit, I’m kind of brutal with music. When I get a new album or single or whatever, the first thing I do is listen to all of the songs once or twice through and sort them into two categories. Either they go into the NEW section of the “My Music” folder or to the “Other” folder, which is a dumping ground for things I’m not sure I want to get rid of, but I’m not sure I want to keep either. The “My Music” songs in the new folder get listened to regularly until I’m no longer being obsessive about them at which point they are moved to the appropriate permanent folder, sorted by group, where they will still be listened to, but not as often. Songs that go to the “Other” folder are largely forgotten about until something prompts me to dig them up again. When I say I’m brutal about my sorting, I mean it. It’s not uncommon for entire albums to end up in the “other” folder, and even with my favorite groups, it’s rare that more than 3 or so songs on an album make the cut.

That’s not to say that I never change my mind. I will occasionally go back and give albums or songs another chance, just in case, and I usually find some songs that didn’t impress me much on the first listen, but are great on the second. Also, watching a good live performance of a song is often all it takes to change my mind about it. So, out of my more recent diggings through my reject folder, here are some of my “New” discoveries.

Koi Uranai Toori ni wa Naranaiwa- Ongaku Gatas Album
I’m ashamed to admit that I kind of blew off the entire 1^st Goodsal album when it came out. Something about Gatas and their music style just doesn’t sit right with me. It might have been Mutou Mika, I dunno, but interestingly enough, she’s the one who inspired me to give this song another listen. I noticed that it is the only song on the entire album where she has any sort of solo line (for a grand total of 5 words), and I wanted to hear what her voice sounded like. Not surprisingly, she’s no Ayaya, but surprisingly, I found myself liking the song. Not the best singing (it’s all the eggs), but it’s got a nice melody.

Fight All Night, KT-
I was resisting this song for a very long time for a very dumb reason; I think the title is stupid. There are several songs I have excluded from my files over the years because I’m embarrassed to listen to something with such a lame English title (MM’s ‘Nature is Good’ comes to mind). However, on reassessment, I’m forced to admit that the part in the beginning where they kind of computerize a few words of Jin and Kame’s voices is rather cool, and they don’t say “Fight all Night” that often, so I have begrudgingly promoted it to the My Music folder.

Dekiru Onna, MM (c/w to Ai Araba)-
B-sides are always at a big disadvantage when it comes to making the list, especially when they are the coupling for a single that I really like. I love Ai Araba so much that almost any coupling track would pale in comparison. So, I brushed off Dekiru Onna as being too slow and kind of strange and forgot about it….until the Sexy8Beat concert. The girls were all sweaty and lethargic, and somehow it was the sexiest performance of a concert with the word “sexy” right in the title! The last line where Rika (Aika in the concert) gets cut off is awesome. This isn’t standard MM, but it’s certainly worth more than one listen. 45 second performance clip! Short for easy viewing.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Rock You- Arashi, TIME album
What a deceptive title. There’s nothing “Rock” about this song at all. Without a doubt, it was the live performance from the TIME concert DVD that made me like it. Turns out that while I don’t care for the chorus much, I LOVE the verses. The song starts with the chorus, so I probably stopped paying atention at that point when I first heard it. I really hope that this is an Arashi album track that they’ll be bringing back sometime. Also, I like the little Ohmiya moment in this song. You can see better in the larger version, but I swear, Nino has a certain way of smiling that you only see around Oh-chan. Doesn’t he look downright proud? Anyway, this part of the song is really nice, isn’t it? 30 second clip!

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Sayonara Hageshiki Koi, Berryz-
It is a mystery to me why this song didn’t make it through the first time around. Did I accidentally skip it or something? I watched the “Welcome Berryz Kyuuden” concert and was like, “What is this song?? It rocks!” You know, it might even be my favorite Berryz album song now. I’ll have to think about that though…

I suppose the lesson here is that it might be worth your time to give songs a second chance. Something that didn’t really grab you at first may end up becoming one of your favorite songs!

Keep on Rockin’,

~Celestia~