One thing I want to mention right off the bat: The costumes were all so super cute! I go into a Morning Musume concert expecting at least one complete disaster, but every single outfit was great!

-First order of business after arriving at the concert hall was buying my copy of Momusu’s 10th album. Buying CDs or DVDs at concerts is great because you always get to pick a free poster. I got the poster of the album cover. It’s gorgeous!

-There were people all over the lobby with cameras taking pictures for S/Mileage. They seemed to be getting quite a few takers too. Go S/Mileage!

-From my seat in the front row of the balcony, dead center, I had a great view of the stage. Sure, it’s more fun to jump and dance around, but after 8 hours on my feet at work today, plus the commute to Tokyo, I’m not sure I would have survived the whole concert. I’ll be back in the standing section for the next one for sure though.

-The show starts with a picture of a wolf silhouetted against a moon. Okay… kind of cheesy, but I guess it makes sense since the first song is-

Moonlight Night- Continuing the animal cosplay tradition, the girls appear on stage wearing bunny ears with pink and white loli-style dresses complete with garters and pink heart shaped wands. It’s like the whole group decided to be Rainbow Pink! It doesn’t sound like it would go with the song, but it really did. They were hopping around a lot, and I sort of imagined magical bunnies fending off wolves in the moonlit night with their heart shaped wands? Lol. The singing was awesome. Especially Gaki (yeah I’m biased) and Eri.

Kimagure Princess- Continues to be one of those songs that’s much better live than not.

Renai Revolution 21- Next outfits are black and white, stomach revealing, and a little bit flamenco maybe? Also very cute and stylish. I’m not sure about the placement of this song. It doesn’t feel right.

Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun- My second favorite performance of the night! The dance was really sexy. There was one particularly striking part where they were all dancing on the floor in their own individual spotlights. I’m glad they chose this as their random B-side inclusion.

Nanchatte Renai/ Shouganai Yumeoibito- I still don’t think these songs should be back to back. They’re too similar. I do like them both a lot though.

Ano hi ni Modoretai- Gaki-san and Ai-chan were looking pretty in long sundresses and jean jackets. They used umbrellas as props! Very touching performance.

Osaka Umainen- Sort of funky “normal” clothes. LinLin was really hamming it up, and even though I’m a girl, I must say, she fills out a tight T-shirt quite well. The girls were trying their hardest, but you can tell that the crowd just wasn’t feeling this song, and neither was I.

Ooki Hitomi- Hmm. I don’t remember what they were wearing, but I remember it wasn’t very costumey and it was really stylish. Everyone went crazy for this song! To me, the song itself is sort of forgettable, but the performance was good.

Resonant Blue- NO! Not again!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s almost getting to be funny, except instead of laughing, I’m just pissed off.

PV- Namida Tomaranai Houkago. All the girls leave the stage except for one. The lights go on, and we see that it’s Sayumi. Sudden tension fills the room. A surprise graduation announcement perhaps? Nah. Crisis averted. But seriously, showing a PV? If I wanted to watch PVs, I could have stayed home and gone on youtube. Worse, I don’t even like that song. I wonder if the PV shown will change every show. I get that the girls are changing costumes, but maybe they should take a page out of AKB’s book. Half the girls talk while the others change clothes, then switch places. It’s not that hard to figure out.

Medley- They had blue, short kimono-inspired costumes. Once again, really cute! I just wish the Kanashimi Twilight part of the medley wasn’t so short. I’ve really been wanting to hear that. Hey, here’s an idea. Put Resonant Blue in the medley and give me a full performance of Kanashimi Twilight! There was lots of audience interaction in the medley. They only did the call and response part of Koi no Dance site (Oh! Ha!), and they had the audience sing a chorus of the “Lonely boys and girls” part of Koko ni Iruzee by themselves. That was pretty fun. And Risa was totally bouncing off the walls and spazzing out during Koko ni Iruzee. I don’t even know what she was doing, but it’s sure fun to watch her dance. Overall though, this wasn’t one of their better medleys. The transitions between the songs were a little awkward.

Ame no Furanai- New costumes! White iridescent, very sparkly dresses over light blue with with floofy sleeves. Super pretty! Now, I love this song, but I love it a lot more in Japanese. I can’t sing along when it’s in Chinese *pouts*

Onna ga Mezatte Nande Ikenai- Okay I guess. I don’t like the song much.

3,2,1 Breakin Out- Always fun.

Mikan- I know some people won’t be happy about this, but I am pleased. I can’t say it enough: Mikan is a blast at a live show!

Genki Pika Pika- Lots of cute interactions between the girls and a simple dance that wota can easily follow along with.

Loving You Forever- This is just a really nice song. I know it’s not one of the standouts from the album, and we’re probably never going to hear it again, but I found it to be highly enjoyable tonight.

Encore

How do you Like Japan- The encore costumes are basically flannel shirts over T-shirts and Jeans, but with lots and lots of colorful accessories. Ai-chan in baggy overalls with a big bow in her hair looks like an overgrown toddler. She’s adorable! As for the song, I do feel like they’ve been overusing it lately, but this was probably their fiercest performance of “How do you Like Japan” ever. The use of stand mics took it to the next level.

During the closing MC, when Ai-chan stepped forward, she was crying. A silence fell across the crowd and those of us who were sitting simultaneously moved to the edge of our seats. The one thought on everyone’s mind, “Oh my god, oh my god, please don’t say the word “graduation” Ai-chan”. And she didn’t, and everyone started breathing again. Seems she was just emotional over it being the first performance, Koharu not being there, and the super enthusiastic crowd reaction.

Namidacchi- Hands down favorite performance of the night!!!! The part where they transition from the slow, arms around each other’s shoulders verses to the jumping and rocking out chorus is concert GOLD. The rap part is also excellent. I’m not really capable of describing how awesome this song was live. I predict that this will be one of those songs that keeps popping up in future concerts until everyone is sick of it.

So overall, great costumes, and some great performances, but the set list is a bit “meh”. Most of the songs that aren’t new album songs were performed on their last concert tour. During a MC, one of the girls said they didn’t have much rehearsal time for this concert. I think that with lack of time and needing to teach the album songs from scratch, they had to go with stuff that didn’t take much rehearsal time for the other songs AKA, songs they have performed recently.

Minna-san, goodnight!

~Celestia~

I’m super excited to see the first show of the tour! This is the first time that the whole setlist, the costumes, everything will be a total surprise for me going in to it! Well, maybe not a total surprise. There’s bound to be lots of songs from their new album in there. I’m happy with that though, because I quite like the new album. I was bracing myself for the worst after the dull bland disappointment that was C-ute’s latest album, but I like all of the new Momusu songs except for one. (that 8th gen song is just weird, and not in a good way).

I have yet to hear Shabondama, Ai Araba It’s all Right, or I Wish in concert, so if any of those are in there, I’ll be happy. If all of them are in there I’ll be ecstatic! Kanashimi Twilight would also be nice.

I wonder if S/Mileage will show up?

Of course, I’ll get a review out to you as soon as I get back.

BFN,

~Celestia~

I’m going to cut right to the video this time. Presenting, the top 20 h!p songs as voted by you, the fans! Don’t scroll down past the video yet if you don’t want spoilers!

And if anyone is upset by how Momusu-dominated this is, let me just say that I didn’t write the votes, I just collected them, and this is how it turned out. For all I hear people say they are sick of hearing “Love Machine”, just look where it ended up (and a good 9 votes ahead of #2).

The biggest surprise for me has to be Dakishimetex2 placing so highly. I mean, I think it’s a good song, but I had no idea it would come out as the most popular Berryz song, and by a long shot too! Biggest disappointment is “Ai Araba It’s All right” not making the top 40. I’m most happy that “Sukisugite Bakamitai” placed so well, because I didn’t expect it to. What’s the most surprising/disappointing/exciting for you?

So to recap the videos, your overall Top 40 looks like this. Color coding= Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Buono, S/Mileage, Other (anything that doesn’t fit one of these other categories), Matsuura Aya, Shuffles, Ex-Momusu Soloists, New Shuffles, Mano Erina, Kirari, Melon Kinenbi, “Moni’s/Tanpopo”, W, Country Musume

1. Love Machine
2. Shabondama
3. Sexy Boy
4. Nanchatte Renai
5. Do it! Now
6. Renai Revolution 21
7. Sakura Mankai
8. Dakishimete Dakishimete
9. The Peace!
10. Rottara Rottara
11. I Wish
12. My Boy
13. Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~
14. All for One & One for All
15. Koko ni Iruzee!
16. Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~
17. Tokaikko Junjou
18. Shouganai Yumeoibito
19. Roman ~My Dear Boy~
20. Say Yeah! ~Motto Miracle Night~
21. Furusato
22. Sukisugite Bakamitai
23. Special Generation
24. Aruiteru
25. As for one Day
26. Kanashimi Twilight
27. Genki+
28. Massara Blue Jeans
29. First Kiss
30. Koi ING
31. Osaka Koi no Uta
32. Yume to Genjitsu/Very Beauty
33. tie
34. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
35. Suki-chan
36. Kioku no Meiro
37. Ne~e?/ Mikan
38. tie
39. Gachinko de Ikou!
40. Iroppoi Jirettai

Now, I’ll continue the list, but be warned that the further down I go, the more ties there are, so it’s going to look pretty messy. There are a ton of songs that only got 1 or 2 votes.

• 41. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou?
• 42. Jiriri Kiteru/ 3,2,1 Breakin’ Out!/ Honto No Jibun
• 45. Renai Rider/ Baby Koi ni Knockout!/ Onna ni Sachi Are/ Gag 100Kaibun Aishite Kudasai
  
• 49. Piriri to Yukou!/ Ai Araba It’s All Right
• 51. Souda! We’re Alive
• 52. Happy Summer Wedding
• 53. This is Unmei/ Songs/ Only You
• 56. Namida no Iro
• 57. Morning Coffee
• 58. Ryuusei Boy/ Bravo Bravo/ Party Time/ Love&Peace! Hero ga Yattekita
• 62. Munasawagi Scarlet/ Rival/ Lucky Cha Cha Cha!/ Robokiss/ Resonant Blue/ Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku Youna Mirai de Are!
• 68. Cinderella Complex/ Ikimasshoi!/ The Manpower!!!/ Haru Beautiful Everyday
• 72. Summer Night Town
• 73. 100Kai no Kiss/ Goodbye Natsuo/ Sakura wa Raku Sa/ Bye Bye Bye!/ Romantic Ukare Mode/ Asu wa Deeto nanoni, Ima Sugu Koe ga Kikitai/ Last Kiss/ Tanpopo/ Ajisai Ai Ai Monogatari/ Naichau Kamo
  
• 83. Moshoku Toumeina Mama de/ Koisuru Angel Heart/ Forever Love/ Jump!/ Dschinghis Khan/ Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~/ Hare Ame Nochi Suki/ Shall We Love? / Miss Love Tantei
• 92. Ai no Sono ~Touch my Heart!~/ Yeah! Meccha Holiday/ Kiiroi Osora de Boom Boom Boom
• 95. Get Up! Rapper/ Ai no Imo wo Oshiete!
• 97. Ah Merry-go-round/ Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai/ Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!/ Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu/ Everyday Zekkouchou!!/ Seishun Song/ Lu Lu Lu/ Thanks!/ Crazy About You/ Pira! Otome no Negai/ Chu! Natsu Party/ Aa ii na!/Kuyashi Namida Porori/ How Do You Like Japan? ~Nihon wa Donna Kanji Dekka?~/ Kimagure Princess/ Pepper Keibu/ Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun
• 114.  Yume Kara Samete/ Take off is Now!/ Densha no Futari/ Koe/ Meguru Koi no Kisetsu/ Wakkyanai Z/ Ookina Ai de Motenashite/ Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba
• 122. MiniMoni Jankenpyon!/ MiniMoni Telephone! Rim Rin Rin/ Memory Seishun no Hikari/ Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima
• 126. The Bigaku/ Watarasebashi/ Kiseki no Kaori Dance/ Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama/ Nigiyakana Fuyu/ Seishun Bus Guide/ Koishiteru Toki wa Itsumo/ Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun/Rock no Kamisama/ co.no.mi.chi/ Take it Easy/ Our Songs/ Nakimushi Shounen/ Jonetsu Yuki Miraisen/ Uwaki na Honey Pie/ Zansho Omimai Moshiagemasu/ Natsu Doki Lipstick/ Sakura Chirari/ Amai Wana/ Homerare Nobiko no Theme Kyoku/ Bokura no Kagayaki/ Lucky Aura/ Omakase Guardian/ Genshoku GAL Hade ni Yukube/ Some Boys Touch/ Happy Happy Sunday/ Balalaika/ Mirakarurun Grand Purin/ Screen/ Destiny Love/ Iku ZYX! Fly High/ Seishun Love Lunch/ Inshouha Renoir no You ni/ Kowarenai Ai ga Hoshii no/ Kokoro no Tamago/ Ama no Jaku/ Koi wo Shichaimashita!/ Otome Pasta Kandou/ Everyday, Everywhere/ Katamoi no Owari ni/ Onna ga Mezatte Nande Ikenai?/ Shianimuni Paradise/ Odore Morning Curry/ Tsuyokide Ikouze/ Sukiyaki/ Aki Urara/ Yume no Naka
• 173. Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii jan/ Yoshite Yoshite/ Chokkan2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~/ Egao Yes Nude/ Koi no Vacance/ Shiroi iro wa Koibito no iro/ I&You&I&You&I/ Hey! Mirai/ Akai Nikkichou/ Summer Reggae! Rainbow/ Bishoujo Shinri/ Goal/ Be/ Natsu Remember You/ 21ji made no Cinderella/ Suhada Pichipichi/Tsukiatteru nanoni Kataomoi/ I Know/ Egao/ Love Namida Iro/ Akai Freesia/ Kousui/ Afurechau… Be in Love/ Daite yo! Please go on
• 197 (AKA Songs with only one vote). Hyacinth/ The Last Night/ Double Rainbow/ Sayonara Hageshii Koi/ Seishun Oodori/ Sono Subete no Ai ni/ Real Love/ Nachuu koi wo Yatteru You Know?/ Happy Stand Up/ Koi no Jubaku/ Baka ni Shinaide/ Sprinter/ Yume de doh up/ Yume wa Hitotsubu/ Otoko no ko/ Berry Nice Berry Fields/ Semi/Warp/ Winter Story/ Over the Rainbow/ I need You/ Jankya Mottainai!/ Kimi ga Ireba/ Cafe Buono/ My Love/ Hoshi no Hitsujitachi/ Koucha no Oishii Mise/ Shining Itoshiki Anata/ Kakumei Cheek Kiss/ Iroppoi Onna Sexy Baby/ Tsuugaku Vector/ Shock/ Soku Dakishimete/ Shines/ One’s Life/ Everyday Yeah! Kataomoi/ Akogare My Star/ Edo no Temari no Uta II/ Disco Queen/ Hajimete no Keiken/ Mano Piano/ Kono Mune wa Tokimeki/ Haru no Arashi/ Jasmine Tea/Aenai Nagai Nichiyoubi/ Boogie Train ‘03/ Namida Girl/ Okitegami/ Osananajimi/ Going On/ Itsuka Dokoka de/ Suppin to Namida/ Ai no Bakayarou/ Secret/ I Miss You/ Koi Kana/ Anataboshi/ Shiawase Clover/ Chance!/ Tan Tan Taan!/ Aegekai ni Dakara/ Arifureta Kiseki/ Oyaji no Kokoro Ni Tomotta/Unforgettable/ Chance of Love/ Denwa Matteimasu/ Kawaii Kare/ Nikutai wa Shoujiki na Eros/ Saa! Koibito ni Narou/ Mini Strawberry Pie/ Minihamzu no Kekkon Song/ Aisaretai Aisaretai/ Uchuu de lalala/ Love Like Crazy/ Narihajimete Koi no Bell/ Satoukibi Batake no Uta/ Bokura go Ikiru My Asia/ Daremo inai Umi/ Shiroi Tokyo/ Darling, I love you/ Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito/ Oh Be My Friend/ Arigato Ookiku Kansha/ Endless Love I Love You More/Matsu wa/ Dekoboko 17/ Friendship/ Koi no Fuga/ Samidare no Uta/ Danna Sama/ Sukina Sempai/ Lemon Iro to Milk Tea/ Purple Wind/Iikoto Aru Kinen no Shukan/ Guruguru Jump/ Handmade City/ Never Forget/ Tsugaku Ressha/ Bonkyu Bomb Girl/ For You/ Cosmos/ Ai no Tane/ Douno ni mo Tomaranai/ Be Positive/ Nature is Good/ Suggoi Nakama/ Sukida yo/ Manatsu no Kousen

So listen, this took A LOT of time, and if I get any complaints like “I can’t read the color-coding” or “Okay, but can you now list them all by group, and then in alphabetical order, and then by country, and then by gender, and then by year?” I might scream, and that wouldn’t be good for my throat.

Cheers! I think it will be a long long time before I attempt a project this big again.

~Celestia~

Nowvoting has come to an end, and I’m very pleased to show you Part 1 of the results. Don’t get too excited though. I’m saving the best for Part 2.

First, some info on the voters.

Total Number of Participants: 124 (and 1,240 votes)

Countries Represented: USA, Australia, Canada, Philippines, Switzerland, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Brazil, China, Peru, Denmark, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Lithuania, Mexico, Sweden, and Japan.

If you participated and you don’t see your country listed, it’s probably because you didn’t tell me what country you are from, but if you let me know, I’ll add it to the list.

Gender Breakdown: 55 Females, 31 Males, 38 Not Reported

% of Votes By Category: I tried to make a graph, but it looked too messy with so many categories.

• Morning Musume 45.9%
• Berryz Kobo 10.7%
• Buono 7.4%
• C-ute 6.9%
• Other (one-shot units, etc.) 3.3%
• Summer Shuffles 3.1%
• Matsuura Aya 3.0%
• Gumis (Sakura and Otome) 2.6%
• New Shuffles (revived groups and High King) 2.5%
• W 1.9%
• MiniMoni 1.7%
• Melon Kinenbi 1.4%
• Tanpopo 1.2%
• S/Mileage 1.2%
• Goto Maki 1.0%
• Guardians 4/Shugo Chara Egg 1.0%
• Kirari (and Milky Way) 0.8%
• Fujimoto Miki 0.7%
• VUDen 0.6%
• PucchiMoni 0.6%
• Mano Erina 0.6%
• GAM 0.5%
• Country Musume 0.5%
• Nakazawa Yuko 0.2%
• T&C Bomber 0.2%
• Coconuts Musume 0.2%
• Abe Natsumi 0.1%
• Iida Kaori 0.1%

As you can see, Morning Musume wins it by a large margin. However, keep in mind that those votes are spread out over a lot more songs than the other artists have.

For the song ranking, I have decided to make two videos showcasing the Top 40 songs. Where there were ties in pure number of votes, the song with more people voting for it (as opposed to less people using multiple votes) was ranked ahead. For a couple cases in the Top 40, two songs still had the same score, so I just left it as a tie.

So here is part 1 of the results! Numbers 40-21. I used different clips than I did in my own countdown. I’ll have the video for 20-1 as well as the full results in my next post. Enjoy!

What do you think?

~Celestia~

EDIT: Ack! I can’t believe it, but I made a small mistake in the numbering. Very Beauty and Yume to Genjitsu should be tied for #32.

I’ve been tabulating and spread sheeting (is that a term?) the results as they’ve come in, so I should be able to get them out to you fairly quickly. Right now, I’m taking a break from double checking all of my totals to write this. The only question is how to present the data… So many options. The fact that I’m excited about figuring out the best method of data presentation  just shows what a huge dork I am. I’m not sure what to do about all the songs that got only one or two votes. Should they be mentioned, or considered not statistically significant? Determining statistical significance was always me absolute least favorite part of writing lab reports. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Where should the cut-off be for “enough votes to be listed”? Hmm. Any opinions on that.

Anyway, it’s still not too late to vote if you haven’t yet! Voting will close at midnight Japan time tomorrow (February 28th).

So excited about this!

~Celestia~

What the hell??? Why Russian, and how do I make it stop?

It’s really starting to get on my nerves, if you can’t tell.

~Celestia~

Vote for your top 10 songs! It’ll make me feel much better!

CUTE-

Oh Cute. I used to like them so much. I still do, but lately I don’t like a single thing they’re putting out. “Bye Bye Bye” was okay for me. Not their best, and the PV sucked, but I enjoyed the early 90’s sound because it reminded me of the music I listened to growing up. Then came a cover song. Bleh. Then “Everyday Zekkouchou”, a total snooze fest. And then, “Shock” which officially surpasses “Lalala Shiawase no Uta” as my least favorite  C-ute song ever. It’s not the fact that it’s pretty much an Airi solo. It’s the weird and disjointed melodic lines. Not pleasing to the ear at all. And from the album previews so far, I’m hearing a bunch of boring mid tempo ballads. There’s nothing I like much except maybe Maimi’s solo.

If Cute keeps up with crappy song after crappy song, it’s going to be hard for me to like them anymore, no matter how adorable Airi is. And by the way, I hate Maimi’s haircut. Sorry, but it makes her look like she belongs in Johnny’s.

MORNING MUSUME-

Okay, first of all, I think “Onna ga Nande Mezatte Ikenai” is total fail on all levels. It’s not catchy, it’s not special, it’s not interesting. The costumes are dated, the PV involves my least favorite idol PV cliche (putting on makeup), and the B-side is totally forgettable. I kind of like the meaning of the lyrics, but that’s it. Frankly, I am not surprised that sales look weak so far. Morning Musume was on such a high with “Shougani” getting number 1 and “Nanchatte” achieving their best sales in years. Then there was “Kimagure”, which I personally liked, but I can understand why it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. At least it was different. At this point they could either hold off on a new single until Tsunku could come up with something fantastic, or they could quickly release a sub-par single and totally kill what was left of their momentum. Guess which they did? I just hope that the new album is good.

S/Mileage-

I’m totally behind this new group and their upcoming official debut. Recently I’ve been listening to “Suki-chan” all the time. If I hadn’t finished my countdown list before it came out, you can bet it’d be on there.

Berryz-

How is it that C-ute keeps getting such poor songs while Berryz is getting enough good material to put out a slew of double A sides? Not only that, but all of them have at least one really good song. ‘Rival’, ‘Watashi no Mirai no Danma-sama’, and now ‘Otakebi Boy WAO” all make my frequently played list, and the other songs aren’t bad either. No surprise that their sales are on the rise, while certain other groups are showing the opposite trend.

Also, I loved watching them do Special Generation dressed as fish, complete with flaily fish-like dancing.

Buono-

I am totally IN LOVE with Buono’s new album. There’s hardly a bad track on it. You know, I’ve heard people say that about their other albums, but somehow they never really clicked with me. This one though, I could listen to “Blue-sky-Blue” and “Koucha no Oishii mise” all day.

And that’s all for recent happenings.

!!!!!!!!!PLEASE SEND ME YOUR TOP 10 SONGS IF YOU HAVEN’T YET!!!!!!!

~Celestia~

If h!p fans voted for their top 100 songs of all time, what would the choose. Yes, I am more than a little inspired by akb’s annual top 100 concert, but despite that association, I really want to go ahead with this.

Here’s a video explaining everything.

And in case you can’t (or don’t want to) watch the video, here are the rules. Each person has 10 votes. You can vote for 10 different songs, 10 times for the same song, or any combination, just as long as you assign 10 votes. You can vote for any h!p song. Please send all votes, as well as your nationality and gender (optional), to celestia444@gmail.com. It’s an account I’ve created especially for this. EDIT: Or leave a comment in this blog. That works too. Voting ends February 28th, at which time I’ll start working on a video, or maybe several videos, with the results.

I’m really super-excited for this, and I’m hoping for a good turnout! Please vote!!! A poll in which only a handful of people vote is totally useless. I’ve put instructions in Japanese up with the youtube video, since over half of my youtube viewers (22,000+ views now!) seem to be from Japan.

EDIT!!! Actually, come to think of it, I guess leaving your votes as a comment on this blog would be okay too. I’ll just make sure they don’t show so the surprise isn’t ruined!

Thanks in advance!

~Celestia~

I just can’t type up the whole review again, but suffice it to say that this was my favorite of the “Wonderful Hearts” style concerts I’ve been to so far, though I still prefer straight up Morning Musume concerts.

-I liked alot of the costumes for this concert. The shorts/T-shirts combo everyone wore was simple, but cute, and all the individual shuffle unit costumes really fit each group’s character. Zoku VUDen in particular wore pretty conservitive costumes last concert, but they really whipped out the sexy this time. Yowza.

-Favorite Performances:

Aa!: Both of their songs were great. Miya and Airi are total pros, my two favorite h!p kids. Then there’s Saho Akari, who didn’t stand out much to me when she was just one of the eggs, but has really proven herself as a member of new Aa!. Vocally, she holds her own with the other two, and that’s really saying something. She just still needs more confidence on stage and she’ll have the whole package.

Love Like Crazy: So here’s a song that I barely remembered existed. I’m definetly going to have to give it a second look.

-Least Favorite Performances:

Pen Pen Kyoudai: I love Shin Minimoni, but this song is  annoying. Mini Strawberry Pie was really cute though, so I forgive them.

Destiny Love: I guess there had to be at least one ballad. This one is so thoroughly “blah” though. I don’t even find it to be particularly pretty. On the upside, Yuuka’s vocals were better than I expected.

And I think that’s all you get on that subject. I’m already making plans for the PikaPikaPikachuuu Morning Musume concerts! And I’m already feeling sad that it’ll be the last MM concert tour I can attend. They’d better make it a great one.

~Celestia~

So, provided my cat doesn’t do something stupid that requires an emergency trip to the vet again (don’t worry, he’s totally fine now), I will be at that concert tomorrow night, and I’m already giddy with excitement.

On another note, I seem to have acquired almost 20,000 video views as well as 21 subscribers. I know that’s not huge in youtube terms, but it’s pretty big in “me” terms. I feel like I ought to make other h!p related videos now, but I’m not sure what about…

~Celestia~