Bikkuri Project

Not much of an entry, but I came across this picture, and I was so amused that I just had to share it.

Hehehehe, that cat wishes Nacchi dead!

Which caused me to casually scan through my files and some websites for other hilarious photos to come from official photobooks. Here are a few that I found. May they amuse you on this fine Friday.

More Nacchi torturing that poor kitty. You can clearly see the terror in its eyes.

I couldn’t not include something from the Aibon/Nono photobook, could I? This is just so utterly random.

I think there’s something unintentionally hilarious about Ai Takahashi double fisting gas pumps. Am I just weird?

I’m okay with the tiara and the princess dress and the fuzzy slippers, but the teddy bear??

Reina’s side job: chasing ducks out of empty swimming pools

Sorry there aren’t many, but I’m too busy with tests and papers to do a more thorough search.
C-ya,

~Celestia~

A recent blog entry by Kimitsu has really got me thinking on the subject of how well we do or do not know our idols. It’s something that bloggers touch on a lot, I know, but I’d like to put in my two cents on the matter. This paragraph in particular caught my attention.

“No matter how much we learn about their personalities, we can never completely tell how much is real and how much is just marketing. Of course, it’d be great to say that they’re all amazing actors if what we see is completely made up, but once we do get to know the actual person and know for certain that it is them, we’ve crossed the intangible line that separates a fan and friend. (You can be a friend and a fan; but not a fan and a friend, if that makes any sense.) But with the high level of exposure idols get doing what they do, it’s all to easy to imagine that we’ve crossed that line.”

True…. But I’d like to take a moment to argue the other side of things, since I’d say that the above is representative of the prevailing opinion in the blogosphere. I believe that we, the fans, do in fact “know” our idols better than their casual friends, and certainly better than their casual acquaintances. We’ve watched them for countless hours doing everything from playing stupid games on TV shows, to interacting with each other behind the scenes or even on hidden camera, to performing in concert in front of thousands of fans. We’ve seen them laugh and we’ve seen them cry. We’ve watched and read interviews, and seen them reveal countless little things about themselves through their answers to questions, anecdotes, personality quizzes, and how they react to things. We’ve heard their other group members tell stories about them. Picture your favorite idol. I’d reckon that you could easily write several pages on their likes and dislikes, background, personality quirks, and other traits. Now picture someone who you consider to be a casual friend. Could you do the same for them? I know I’d be struggling to finish an entire page.

I acknowledge that everything we see and hear about our favorite idols (expect for tabloid stuff) is carefully filtered, but do you reveal all of your darkest and innermost thoughts and feelings to your acquaintances and casual friends? No. The side of yourself that you present to them is just as filtered, if not more so, than what the idols present to us. We see idols in a huge variety of situations and expressing a huge variety of emotions, while the ways in which you see your casual friends are usually much more limited. So can we know, really know, an idol? Of course not. But how many people do you think really know you? Maybe your close family members and a couple of best friends? There are plenty of things we don’t know about our idols. Important things, no doubt. There are also plenty of important things we don’t know about those whom we consider to be our friends. Kimitsu writes that the line between fan and friend is, “[when] we get to know the actual person and know for sure that it is them”. I’d argue that even with “friends”, it is nearly impossible to know for certain that what you are seeing is “them”. What you are seeing is a certain side of themself that they are choosing to present to you, and that’s the same thing you are seeing from an idol.

One may argue that there is a difference between fandom and friendship in that the idol is essentially trying to sell themself to you while a friend is not. However, I still think that even though no money is exchanging hands in a friendship, the situation is essentially the same. Aren’t trying to make a good impression on a new acquaintance, not making a casual friend privy to all the gory details of your love life, or smiling at a someone, even if you are in a bad mood, all ways of “selling yourself” to that person? The only thing it comes down to is trying to make another person like you. Even if you claim to be someone who “doesn’t care what other people think of me”, I’d imagine that you don’t mention your darkest personal secrets to casual friends or acquaintances. I’d also imagine if you think about why that is you’ll find that it’s because you don’t want them, or other people who they might tell, to think badly of you. Therefore, I’d imagine that you are a liar when you say you don’t care what other people think about you. Everyone’s selling themself. Idols are just a lot more up-front about it.

There is, of course, a big difference between the idol-fan relationship and friendship, and that is that there is no reciprocity in the idol-fan relationship. The idol knows absolutely nothing about you and they don’t care about you, at least not on a personal level. Friendship is a two-way street, so it would be incorrect to consider your favorite idol to be your friend. However, if a fan cares about an idol and knows a fair amount about them, I’d say the one-way street from that person to the idol is qualitatively no different from friendship.

Thoughts? I’m so ready to debate this!

~Celestia~

Having already claimed the distinction of being the first to post the “Another Version” of the Resonant Blue PV, I figure I’ll attempt to be the first to write about it too. I suppose this is the sort of redundant thing the poll tells me I should try to avoid, but I’ve developed a weird sense of ownership for the PV, and a little occasional redundancy never hurt anyone.

*Let’s get the mandatory, “Why the hell isn’t this the regular version of the PV instead of that dance shot version?!?!?” whining out of the way. Expect to see much more of that coming from every direction. It’s a valid point. They shot all this great footage and then didn’t put it in the official PV…why? I wonder if Tsunku or someone will ever explain that one for us.

*Lots of Reina focus. Maybe it’s because she can pull off the ‘urban’ thing the best? She looks great, so I’m not complaining. There’s also a fair amount of Gaki. Again, not complaining

*Way to put the two Chinese girls in a Chinese restaurant. *rolls eyes*

*Love the studio shots, and looking forward to the studio version. It was a smart move for Risa to wear bright green. It makes her stand out.

*The best shots are the ones with each girl (or pair) staring at the camera angstily in front of her backdrop. Panting, sweaty, Ai-chan is especially hot

*Is anyone else reminded of AKB48’s prostitution song by the ‘Reina in a tunnel’ shots?

*I really love the part during the instrumental interlude where they’re doing a ripple and then it cuts to JunJun in the studio doing it

*LinLin has been doing the pigtail thing a lot. I think it’s the designated hair-do of the least popular member. First early Risa, now LinLin

*Koharu looks gorgeous, damn her.

Audios, Bye Bye, Chacha,

~Celestia~

Online Videos by Veoh.com
You’re welcome,

~Celestia~

Second comparison post! This one pokes fun at some of the differences between my two favorite idol franchises. Link is HERE

I think I’m going to do more cross-posting, and by that I mean writing things that apply to both Hello Projects and Johnny’s. Such entries will be posted in one blog and linked in the other. It may well be that only the 4 or so people who read my blogs and are fans of both will enjoy these kinds of posts, but I’ve just been itching to make them, so here we go. This is posted in Bikkuri because three out of my five choices come from h!p

Here we have the top 5 idol performances that make me cry. There are only 5 of them because I don’t cry from watching things very easily. Feel sad, sure, but rarely do I actually cry. These five performances are the exception to that rule. Why do people enjoy watching things that make us cry? Maybe because it’s kind of cathartic? I know that any music or video that really makes me feel something, good or bad, is an instant winner with me. Anyway, if you are in a crying sort of mood, then this is the post for you!

5. Jin, Care, TV performance

For the first half of the song I’m fine, but after he pushes up his sunglasses and you can see his eyes, he just looks so sad, and desperate, and really really beautiful. I think I’m overly sensitive to Jin looking sad, with his eyes all glistenly like that. Don’t be sad JinJin!!!! His singing also becomes more and more emotional as he goes, from almost flat affect to seriously struggling to keep it together. I know this song (which he has named as his favorite song to sing because it’s his song) means a lot to him.

4. Morning Musume, Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru, 24 hour Terebi

If you’re not familiar with the story, that guy’s daughter (the one in the pictures in the background) died in a traffic accident, and Dekkai Uchuu was her favorite song. The contrast between the happy, hopeful song and the crying father with all the cute pictures really tugs at the old heartstrings, even though the sadness isn’t focused on Morning Musume themselves. I don’t know how they stayed so composed while singing this.

3. 5^th gen, Sukina Sempai, Konno’s Graduation Concert

I already posted this one as my #1 most sad Morning Musume moment a while ago, so I’m not going to write a whole lot about it, but what do you know, it’s still really sad. It’s 5^th gen and it’s their song, they’re singing it together for the last time, and we all know that 5^th gen is full of cry babies anyway.

2. ByeBye Mata ne, Berryz, Maiha’s Graduation

Reminds me of every friend I’ve ever parted ways with. The Berryz suddenly stop looking like idols to me and start looking like exactly what they are, really sad, crying little girls who are saying goodbye to someone that they love. I want to hug all of them, give them cookies, and tell them it’ll all be okay.

1. Nino, Konseki, Iza Now tour

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Now this is damn sad, not to mention some of the best singing I’ve ever heard from dear Nino. I love it, but I kind of hate it at the same time, because I can’t stand to see Nino looking so pained. The translation can be found in the description of the youtube clip I embedded here, and I’ve retyped it up below. I’d highly recommend reading it because knowing what the lyrics mean makes it at least ten times more tear inducing. Combine pathetically touching lyrics with Nino’s fabulous emoting/acting skills, and I’m practically sobbing. He wrote it himself, and you can see lots of tears in his eyes when the song ends. It’s an unusual thing because Nino is not one of the crybabies of Arashi *coughaibacough*. Isn’t this just beautiful?

Lingering, Lingering

After the early summer rain, the undried remains of tears

Unerasable, Unerasable

My beloved’s shadow floats in the dark night

Walking along the banks at sunset with you together

We lead each other along with our smiles

What shall we have for dinner today?

Such a small and humble happiness

Though you have died, you live within my heart

I could love someone else, but there is no one but you

No matter how many seasons I struggle through

I’m afraid of letting go, of letting it dissapear

I gaze at violets

What a pretty flower

But I know that someday they will wilt

It is evening

If I think of the crimson waters, there remains the two of us on the liquid’s surface

Shadows heap on top of each other

I’m afraid of being alone

Realizing too late that there is only one person on the liquid’s surface

The seed planted in my heart that day

Buds sprouted after

In appearance and form it is different

But my love is unchanged, the gentle light

Sniffle,

~Celestia~

Back by popular demand, it’s the costume hall of shame, tackling yet another of the serious issues plaguing the h!p wardrobe department, an preponderance of misplaced ruffles. I’m not going to suggest banning all ruffles from h!p costumes. They are idols after all, so a certain amount of rufflage is expect, maybe even required. However, that’s no excuse to start flinging the ruffles around willy-nilly.

This is totally Kanna’s bitch face, and it’s easy to see why she’s making it right now. Ignoring for a moment the awful color-combination, look at the placement of the ruffles. I hope I’m not dating myself by bringing up the infamous ‘puffy shirt’ episode of Seinfeld, but this reminds me a lot of that. Poofy-sleeved swashbuckling, a little neckruffly clownyness, and a big ugly chunk of ruffle hanging down her thigh like some sort of tail.

“So C-ute thinks they can beat Berryz when it comes to tiered, boxy, figure swallowing, unflatteringly colored, ruffly dresses reminiscent of jellyfish?” Risako thinks to herself. (I’m not sure if this is her bitch face or not. It may just be her normal face)

“Well suck on this you ‘lalalala’-spouting harlots!!!”

Umm…so Morning Musume, Little Bo Peep called….

Here’s a costume that’s perfectly fine from the waist up, but awful from the waist down. I ask you, is there any occasion, any occasion at all, where it is a good idea to wear long pants on one of your legs and not the other? Half of them have strapped one of those unflattering tiered dresses to one leg (presumably these can be removed and used as costumes by one of the kids groups later) while some kind of awful yellow sheath made to look almost plaid by the clumsy application of various ruffly ribbons adorns one of the legs of the other half. Just take a moment with me now and imagine how much nicer this would have looked without the half-pants. For God’s sake, it looks like they’re trying to hide the fact that they’re all missing one leg!

Hope I wasn’t too rough on them,

~Celestia~

I have been having a bit of a dilemma lately, so I was hoping that some of you may give me your opinions. You probably already realize that there are A LOT of h!p blogs out there, and their numbers seem to be increasing exponentially. This is a very good thing, because more blogs means more people who are big enough fans to write, and it also means more attention being drawn to h!p within the English speaking world. So this is all well and good in a general sense, but on a selfish and personal level, I find myself feeling rather limited as to what I can write about. If there are 50 reviews of the Resonant Blue PV, for example, then what’s the point of my adding another one? If 50 people write up thoughtful reactions to the latest h!p scandal, is there anything the 51^st person can say that hasn’t already been written?

It brings to question who exactly it is that I’m writing for. If I’m writing for my own enjoyment, then I should just write whatever the hell I want and not worry about what others are writing. I know that I’m self indulgent on occasion, but I think that I am much more writing for you, the readers, and so I feel obligated to do my best to offer something that is unique and worth your time. I try to think about what kind of entries I would most enjoy reading and then write those. I certainly enjoy writing entries like that, but it does leave me with considerably less material to work with. Another concern with the way I’m doing things now is that anyone who comes across my blog who is not from our community will wonder what kind of crappy h!p blog doesn’t even review the new PV or bother to mention an important scandal.

Another problem is the issue of my other (Johnny’s) blog. I try to update both blogs fairly evenly because I don’t want people to get the idea that I’ve abandoned my h!p fandom in favor of Johnny’s (SO not true), but since there are far less Johnny’s blogs in this community, I have far more original material to work with and comment on there. Now, I know of many arashi and *that group I promised shall not be named here* blogs with translation, fanworks, and scans (less actual writing, but plenty of eyecandy), and as an International Wota contributor, I almost feel obligated to ask them if they would like to be included in the site. On the one hand, more Johnny’s recognition within the community, and likely more readers for me! On the other hand, more competition, less virgin territory to cover, and maybe there aren’t enough people interested anyway. Is it more selfish to contact them or to not contact them? I can’t decide.

But back to the issue at hand, this blog. I’ve posted a new poll so you can share your opinions, but I’m basically asking you to choose between two options: Only posting the updates that I feel address topics that haven’t already been covered by many blogs, meaning that updates aren’t quite as frequent, or post updates on the full spectrum of h!p goings on regardless of what the other blogs are doing, likely meaning updates on a daily basis.

Anyway, I hope I’m not offending any of the other h!p blogs or implying that my entries are somehow worth more than yours. That’s really not what I mean at all. The issue is arising more from my personal preference and reasons for blogging than anything.

Ready, set, vote!

~Celestia~

PS. 4th gen won the last poll!

Egg-watch here! I’m not going to write about the entire All H!P Winter concert (I’m too tired from doing the last review!) but I thought that this performance was worth our attention. It is the first time, to my knowledge, that h!p eggs have gotten solo lines in a song in a real h!p concert acting as h!p eggs (not as members of, say, Ongaku Gatas). With all the ‘Love Machine’ going around lately, the opening of this concert is quite unique in that respect. Also, the line thing they do at the beginning is so cool! The Eggs have definitely been sorted into a hierarchy of sorts in the last year or so. It’s pretty easy to tell who the favored eggs are by observing who gets which lines in this performance. Little Ogawa Saki leads the charge, Mori Saki does ‘the face’, ManoEri has the “disco” line, and then these three, along with Kitahara Sayaka sing the majority of the rest of the song. Sayaka is awesome, by the way, and if she doesn’t graduate from the eggs and into a permanent debuted position soon (I still say they should put her in Morning Musume) then I may have to personally hunt down Tsunku when I’m in Japan and hit him over the head with something. Just watch her sing ‘Akarui’. Awesome, no?

Other eggs who get lines (but not as many as those four) include Maeda Yuuka (2), Aoki Erina (1), and Saho Akari (1). I should note that Kikkawa Yuu wasn’t in this concert.

Personally, I’m really enjoying watching the eggs develop, especially now that I can recognize all of them. I enjoy cheering for these girls, because I know they’re all so close to being able to debut, but there’s always a good chance that they’ll never quite make it. They must want it so badly, don’t you think? Every time one of them manages to break out (Kanna or Erina for example) the rest of them must all start hoping and praying all the harder that they’ll be next. I’d say the smart money is on Yuu and Sayaka (since they’re already getting something with Milky Way and they both look and sound great in the PV) and perhaps Mori Saki too. There are a lot of notable very young eggs who have been getting a lot of attention (Maeda Yuuka, Fukada Kanon, and especially Ogawa Saki), and while I can almost guarantee you that h!p has plans for these girls, I wonder if those plans are to debut them together soon or to wait until they’re just a bit older first. I think it would be great to see them as unit aimed very specifically at little girls (no scary old men please) some time soon, but I worry that they would attract scary old men anyway, so maybe it’s better to let them stay relatively safe in their egg shells until they’re at least teenagers. On the other hand, both Ogawa and Maeda got solos in the last Egg concert, and if that’s not a sign that the management thinks they’re ready to hatch, I don’t know what is.

I’d like to note that Mittsi still got to keep the “Love Machine” ending line. I think the tradition of giving it the the youngest Musume is really cute, and that reminds me, this is sort of the one year anniversary of Mittsi’s debut concert! By that I mean, the all h!p winter concert last year was her first appearance. She’s become so much more confident since then, hasn’t she?

Go Eggs!

~Celestia~

Why didn’t anyone tell me that the Winter h!p concert DVD came out!?!? Actually, I’m glad I didn’t know or I would have spent my entire trip dying to make a break for our van so I could drive back to school and watch it immediately. Since I like doing concert reviews and I favor Wonderful Hearts, here’s a review of the Wonderful Hearts side of things. Just for fun, and because I like to make everything a contest, I’ve declared ‘winners’ of each song again.

Aozora ga Itsumademo, All- Their fairy costumes are awfully cute (only Momo could pull off a pink bow that huge). I am so tempted to line all of them up and rank them by how much I like their fairy costumes, but that would be a lot of work for a group this size, and I suspect that the results would be boring to most. As for the song, I’m a little bit ‘meh’ about it. I mean it’s fine, but not something I’d choose to pump up the crowd and open a concert.
Winner: Risako. She got the first close-up, she looked like she was about to cry for some reason, and it intrigued me. With this many girls on stage any of them who manages to catch my interest is a winner as far as I’m concerned.

Renai Revolution 21, All- As soon as the solo lines start, it is clear that they are not lip-syncing, thank God. I was so very disappointed when the entire summer concert was lip-synced. I love that Aika gets the “hoi!” line.
Winner: Risa. She is always super into the song no matter how many times it’s performed, as evidenced by the great facial expressions in her numerous close-ups.

LALALALA Shiawase no Uta, All- One or two listens and I’ve heard enough of this song to last me a lifetime. Not only that, but I REALLY hate the dance. The girls are trying to look enthusiastic about it, but whether it’s Cute or all of Wonderful Hearts, you can tell most of them are as bored as I am.
Winner: Momoko. She is one of the couple who didn’t look bored (the other being JunJun), and the mega-bow pulls her up to first place.

Tokkaiko Junjou, C-ute- Hehehehe, Tokkaiko Junjou in floofy fairy costumes. I love the idol world. Their dancing looks a little tired, which is sort of understandable since it’s a demanding dance and they’ve performed three songs in a row already. The singing is good though. Even Saki was hitting the right pitches.
Winner: Airi because it’s so hard to notice anyone else in this song. I think it’s one of her better performances of this singing-wise too. Her voice sounds a bit fuller and deeper than usual.

Various Kirari Crap- I mostly skipped through this. If you’ve seen one Koharu solo performance you’ve pretty much seen them all. Next.
Winner: The backdancing eggs. Surely you didn’t expect me to give it to Koharu?

Tsukatta ni Kataomoi, Berryz- You know, this song has grown on me a lot since I first heard it. It’ll never be my favorite, but I can see it showing up on my playlist on occasion. I don’t know if this was their best vocal performance though. A few of the solo lines sounded kind of rough.
Winner: Momoko! Yes she sounds unusually helium-tastic when singing this song, and I know that annoys some people, but I think it’s completely adorable.

Kohaku no Funsui Hiroba, Berryz- Love the song, but Risako’s singing almost ruined it for me. She sounds good singing peppy or angry songs, but on a slow ballad, the tone of her voice just isn’t right at all, and somehow it sounds especially out of place in this particular performance.
Winner: Miyabi. She looks elegant and sounds great (as usual). Of the leads, Momo is a bit too cute for a song like this, Yurina keeps smiling and ruining the mood, and Risako is too shouty, but Miyabi’s voice is just right.

Mikan, Morning Musume- I like the look of their little square formation spread out up the stairs at the beginning. You can see everyone, even the mysterious and elusive 8^th gen. Why the hell did Gaki and Kame lipsync in their TV performances again? They are more than capable of singing those ‘so short if you blink you might miss them’ solo lines.
Winner: Reina. “Oh yeah one TIME!!!”

Sexy Boy, MM- Hurray! It was quickly dropped from the BonKyu concert when they subbed in Mikan, so I’m glad that rehearsing Sexy Boy wasn’t a waste of time for them, even if all the somber pointing at the beginning is a bit odd. On the positive side, Sayumi’s high pigtails with the little bows combined with her costume makes for an almost lethal dose of cuxyness, and JunJun’s pose at the end was great. JunJun seems to be getting at least a tiny bit more camera time lately, and I highly approve.
Winner: Ai-chan. Her little, “A-ah” booty drop move always kills.

Odore Morning Curry, MM- What a silly song. It’s still fun, but just not the same without Yossie.
Winner: Sayumi and the butt-shaking/shimmy move around 2:15. What was I saying about dangerous levels of cuxyness?

Renai Rider, Buono- Love the song, but they’ve done much better performances of it. The group parts in the verses sound shrill. I believe this was the first debut of the song though, so they probably hadn’t had much practice with it yet.
Winner: Airi. She sang the best. Maybe you don’t like Airi, but there’s no denying that she’s consistent with her singing.

Seishun Love Lunch, Athena and Co.- I never thought I’d hear them sing live. Guess they proved me wrong. I love this group and everyone in it; I just wish they weren’t centered around such a lame anime.
Winner: Chisato. Chances to hear Chisato sing are few and far between, so let’s enjoy this moment.

Robokiss, Sayu/Risako- Good to see that W songs are no longer being held sacred. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the performance. Risako sang well, and Sayumi was really hamming it up with her wide-eyed innocent expressions and ‘dance moves’. She is truly the queen of exaggerated cuteness.
Winner: Sayumi!!! She’s absolutely perfect for this song.

Aa~in Dance no Uta, Eri/Lin/Jun/Maa- Okay, so they’re no MiniMoni, but no one can be MiniMoni but MiniMoni, and I’m just glad to see this song performed again.
Winner: LinLin. This is like the song version of LinLin. Spastic, bizarre, and yet somehow charming.

Chokkan 2, All- I just don’t like this song, so I’m not going to comment on it.
Winner: Eri. Her solo line took me by surprise. She’s become quite the singer in the last couple years, hasn’t she?

Everyday Everywhere, Ai/Reina- The world needs more Ai/Reina duets. Damn they both look hot and sound great. When compared with the rest of the concert, the song is in a whole ‘nother league of difficulty and vocal talent.
Winner: Reina. Not that Ai-chan wasn’t great too, but it’s rare to hear Reina drop the cutseyness and uses her big girl voice. Who knew she could hit notes like that?

Everyday Yeah Kataomoi, Saki S/Mai/Kanna- Whoa, it’s like VUDen Jr, with one girl in the middle singing most of the lines and wearing a different costume than the two girls flanking her. Is MaiMai the future Rika Ishikawa? More importantly, is Kanna the future Yui? Perhaps a swimsuit photobook would help test that theory? Aika first though.
Winner: Kanna. There’s just a certain hidden sassiness about her that comes out even in a song like this, and she’s become a much better singer than she’s given credit for.

Oujisama to Yuki no Yoru, Erika/Maimi/Yurina/Chinami- Great costumes for the song. I really enjoyed this.
Winner: Maimi, I wanted to give it to Erika, but Maimi sang better and she had the prettiest costume.

Renai Sentai Shitsu Ranger, Ai/Gaki/Eri/Sayu/Reina/Mittsi/Momo/Sako/Miya- Oh no! The costumes on Gaki, Mittsi, Momo, and especially Miyabi are AWFUL. The song is cute I guess. I’d almost forgotten that it existed.
Winner: Ai-chan. Her solo line towards the end is the only notable part of the performance.

Meguru Koi no Kisetsu, C-ute- A good energetic performance.
Winner: Maimi. She looks so happy that it makes me happy too.

Omoitattara Kichi desse, Berryz- This seems like an odd choice to include in the concert, but that aside, it’s cute, and I suppose it’s refreshing to hear a song that’s not performed very often. Many of the solo lines go to the three forgotten Berryz which is also a nice change of pace.
Winner: Momoko. She’s just too cute!!

Special Generation, Berryz/C-ute- I wonder, are Berryz just tired of performing this song by now? C-ute seemed much more enthused. Maybe they’re just mad that they have to share their song. Oh well. I still quite enjoyed the performance. Apparently Airi=Miyabi, Maimi=Risako, Nakki=Momoko, Mai=Yurina, Erika=Chinami, Chisato=Maasa, and Kanna=Saki, in case you were wondering.
Winner: Nakki. I think my eyes nearly popped out of my head during the close-up of her dancing at the beginning.

Bonkyu Bonkyu Bomb Girl, MM- Why do I like this song so much more now than when I saw it in the concert named after it? Maybe it’s because I’m not being distracted by huge gold dresses or awful yellow and green fluffiness?
Winner: Risa for her “Yow!” toward the beginning (she sounded like a cat) and the cool crescendoing “happyhappyhappy” part.

Go Girl Koi no Victory, MM- Weak performance. Come on girls, put a little more spirit into it!
Winner: Dunno. Didn’t really spot any stand-outs.

Handmade City, All- Still not a huge fan of this song because the verses are set too low, but it looks like it’s around to stay. That said, I think the vocals in this performance were better than the Bonkyu concert, and the scarf waving thing looks good with more people.
Winner: Eri. Again, she handles Miki’s lines confidently, and maybe even better than in the aforementioned Bonkyu concert. She can hit that low range without sounding manly unlike some girls. Hint: starts with an A and rhymes with ‘tailakabashi’

Nanimo Iwazu ni, I Love You, All- I love this song! I think it’s a great end to the concert, sappy and powerful without being sad, and good for evoking an emotional response. Also, it’s well suited to the large choral arrangement (I believe the original lineup actually performed it in semi-chorus robes one time). It is not well suited to the three buxom ladies of questionable vocal talent who make up VUDen, but that’s another issue for another time.
Winner: Ai-chan. Very nice introduction and harmonizations.

If I take it to the next level and try to figure out who ‘won’ the concert, it looks like a tie between Ai-chan and Momoko with three victories each.

Oh man. I still have so much to catch up with. There’s blog entries to read, two more concerts to watch, audio rips of MM’s spring concert to listen to, and half of a DVD magazine still to watch, and that’s just the bare minimum as far as this side of my fandom is concerned. That’s a long to-do list, albeit a very pleasant one.

Keep on keepin’ on,

~Celestia~