Bikkuri Project

I am officially leaving for Japan in one week. One week!!! I’m having trouble sleeping at night because I’m just too excited. I figured that it would be a good idea to write down some goals for my time there. If I post them here I might be held slightly more accountable, you see.

-Sing Hello Project/Other Japanese songs at Karaoke. No wussing out and singing only American songs!!

-On that same note (lol), try to go to Karaoke as much as possible. It’s fun, and a good bonding experience

-Use Japanese. For reals. No falling back on English unless I absolutely must, and no keeping silent instead of saying something that I want to because I’m not entirely sure I’ve got all the grammar right. (this might be the most difficult goal)

-Never be late for work. Ever. They really don’t like that, and I’ve gotten used to sleeping in over here. That’s gotta stop.

-Save some money. Don’t blow it all on Jpop stuff. (this one pains me, but it must be done)

-Go to as many concerts as possible (has been my stated intention all along. may be at odds with that last one though…)

-Meet up with Yohei, Eri, Marumi, Yuka, Sayaka, and Mayu and other Japanese friends at least once

-Locate and visit a h!p store

-Go to hot springs at least once, soak nakedly and without shame

-Try every new food. Just one bite to see if I like it.

-Find a way to exercise regularly

-Remember to call home once in a while so Mom doesn’t think I’m dead

Likely I will think of more later, but this seems like a good start.

Resolutely,

~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~

When Morning Musume’s Bonkyu concert was going on I wrote THIS, and I’d like to do something similar here for Haru Single Daizenshuu. The focus is on the sets where every girl is wearing something similar but different, because, inevitably, some girls are going to end up with something a lot nicer than others. So, who has pissed off the costume designers today? I’ll get to that in a minute. First, a quick review of the costumes that are too much the same to declare a winner and loser. Oh, and just so there isn’t any confusion, this entry is not meant to be part of the hall of shame series. In fact, I’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that I’m not a heartless bitch who hates every costume ever. Plus, it’s a good excuse to post a whole bunch of Momusu eye-candy.

These are pretty!! Since they’re being used for a flamenco-ish song (Iroppoi Jirettai), I don’t even mind all the ruffles.

I’m very “meh” about the warrior princess costumes.

These are probably my least favorite from this concert. I think they all might be a little different, but it just looks like a big zebra-like mesh of fake flowers and breeches to me (breeches not shown in this picture, but who really wants to look at breeches anyway?), so I’m not going to try to discern which ones are the best.

Oh yes. Sayu the smexy school-girl. My one gripe is that Ai-chan looks kind of ridiculous in this. She’s really too old to be dressed as a schoolgirl anymore.

Technically these are different for each girl because the sash is in each girl’s designated color, but other than that they are the same. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that rainbow fabric somewhere before…(hint: purple feathers). If you don’t remember their colors: Ai-chan=yellow, Risa=green, Eri=orange, Sayu=pink, Reina=light blue, Koha=red, Mittsi=purple, JunJun=dark blue, and LinLin=turquoise. This becomes important later.

Peace! Peace!

Encore costumes are blue or pink t-shirts with their names on them, denim bottoms, and…feathery bustles. This is another example of a costume that was so close to being cute. I should “hall of shame” them for the bustle infraction, but I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll let it slide this time.

And now for the fun part! These dresses aren’t all that different, so we’ll start with this set. First, the “also rans”

They’re cute, right? The only problem is that I couldn’t find a picture of Koha’s. Sorry about that.

And now! The worst costume in this set is……

It’s not horrible, but she’s the only one with sleeves, and I just don’t think it works with the dress. I don’t know why, but I’m somehow reminded of Star Trek.

That means the winner is….

The horizontal stripes with the chevron shape are flattering. I also like the see-through collar.

Now for the “Mr. Moonlight” set. The girls are all wearing “their” color again. See? I told you it would become important later.

“Also rans!”

And this time the costume designers hate….

JunJun! Is it just me, or does she not match the others very well? They’ve all got patterned fabric and lace and frills everywhere, so her costume looks downright plain and (were the skirt longer) school marm-ish. The high collar in particular is almost severe. To be fair, Reina’s almost took this spot for going too far in the opposite direction.

Who slipped those designers a crisp $100 bill?

Gaki-san is wearing a costume that I would be happy to wear in public as a dress. That might be a Morning Musume first! Just look at how cute this is!

For the last set, I’d like to do something a little bit different. The current poll has been up for a long while, so I think it’s time for a change! This time, you can play the fashion police and help determine the winners and losers of this set! Here are the costumes:

So, is Sayu’s baby-doll dress the cutest of the bunch? Does Reina’s pirate-wench costume float your boat? Vote for best dressed in the handy poll on the left side!

L8r,

~Celestia~

PS. The winner of the “favorite egg” poll was Arisa Noto with Yuu Kikkawa in second and Sayaka Kitihara in third. The most surprising thing for me was that Minami Sengoku did not get a single vote. I thought she had some fans out there somewhere? *scratches head*

PPS. When is Morning Musume going to get a new single? Berrysz and C-ute are both on their third for the year plus an album, and MM has only had one single and no albums!! The one single they had has easily out-sold anything either of the kids groups has ever done, so why are the kids groups getting so many more releases? It’s injustice!! Injustice I tell you!!

Oh right. If I want people to answer my survey, I guess it’s only fair that I answer it myself. But… since I have two blogs, I’m going to answer it twice. Here’s the h!p version. The JE version will, of course, be in my other blog. Yeah, I’m cheating on my own survey, but I’ll make sure not to tell me so I don’t get mad at myself.

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for??? I had to put the hardest question first, didn’t I? Man I hate myself sometimes. Okay. I wish for Morning Musume’s next single to be a HUGE success and usher in a new era of high popularity for them.

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why? Koharu, Koharu, and especially Kirari. Her voice inspires me to violence, and I don’t think she even knows that there’s anything wrong with it.

3. Who do you think is the sexiest japanese singer out there? In h!p, Sayumi, but only in her photobooks.

4. How about the cutest? Momoko. Everything about her is tiny.

5. Best personality? Risa. She radiates sunbeams everywhere she goes (and Mayuge beams too)

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5? Assuming I’m interested in girls that way (I’m not), definitely Risa. Momoko’s too young and Sayu’s too high maintenance.

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them? I would ask the Momusu’s what they really plan to do with their lives after they graduate, if they could do it all again, would they? (they got asked that on Utaban but it was anonymous and we haven’t heard from 8th gen), whether or not they would be interested in writing their own songs or having input in their concerts (see creative input post), and what they think is the worst costume that they’ve ever had to wear. Most of that would probably never get published, but I’d still be interested to hear the answers.

8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad? If I’m wanting to wallow in sadness “Bye Bye Mata Ne” by Berryz. If I want to cheer myself up “I wish” or “Ai araba it’s all right”

9. When you’re really happy? “Koko ni Iruzee” while jumping around like crazy and totally belting out the “breaaaaaakthrough” lines. Guess what I did when I found out that I got a job teaching in Japan?

10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs? Oh yes, but not usually when anyone can hear me. Mostly in the car, which is why I really enjoy long driving trips by myself.

11. How about dance? Occasionally.

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it? Honestly, probably not, unless it was a ridiculous sum. Some of the reason I started this blog is that I was sick of forums where if you say anything the least bit uncomplimentary about someone’s favorite little idol you’d get bashed into the ground for being so “negative”. If h!p had any say in it, the only things written about the girls would be completely sterilized for our protection, and I wouldn’t be allowed to do fun things like make fun of their awful costumes.

In Truth,

~Celestia~ 

Surveys are fun, aren’t they? They give you something interesting to write about without having to pull material from nowhere. When I was doing my survey post, I started thinking about the kinds of questions I would want to ask other bloggers and J-Pop fans, things that I maybe didn’t know or hadn’t heard before. I would appreciate it oh so much if you would take the time to answer them, either in the comments section or your own blog if you have one.

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why?

3. Who do you think is the sexiest japanese singer out there?

4. How about the cutest?

5. Best personality?

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?

8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?

9. When you’re really happy?

10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs?

11. How about dance?

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offerrered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?

Eagerly Awaiting Responses,

~Celestia~

Aika picspam! Go!!!

Goofy Aika

Cute Aika

Sexy Aika?!

Why Hello Thar Mittsi,

~Celestia~

But first, Morning Musume’s Fall Concert tour has been announced. I plan to go to one of the Saturday Tokyo concerts (either November 1st or 8th), so would anyone be interested in coming with? It looks like I won’t be able to make the h!p Summer Concert due to conflicts with me meeting my supervisor and moving in to my new apartment for work (sigh), so this will be my first Morning Musume concert.

Now on with the surveys. First, Cutie Party’s.

1. What was the first Japanese song that you ever listened to? Okay, wait. I’m not sure about this one, but as far as I can remember, I think it was around when I was in Junior High. The internet was only just coming into wide-spread existence, so the only real access Westerners had to Japanese music was VIA anime theme songs. I had a friend who liked Magic Knights RayEarth, and she got me to watch a couple of episodes, so I think that theme song was the first Japanese song I ever listened to. I don’t even know what it was called. *looks up* Okay, it was called “Unyielding Wish” by Naomi Tamura.

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away? I liked the song, but I have no idea who Naomi Tamura is, and I didn’t even know her name until now, so it didn’t inspire me to like her, but it wasn’t exactly deterring either. Guess I just didn’t care much.

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time? So by that I assume you mean a Jpop song that I still listen to? Probably that SMAP song, Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana. That would be the first Jpop song to make it onto my playlists. I heard it at Karaoke when I went to Japan after graduating from high school, it got stuck in my head, and I ended up liking it a lot.

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest? Morning Musume.

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player? Uhm.. I’m stupid and I don’t know how to figure that out

6. Is that song your favorite? N/A

7. If not, what is? Depends on my mood, but probably “I Wish”

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who? No way. I’m far too picky for that.

9. What is your favorite agency? Up Front and Johnny’s. I love them both in different ways!

10. What is your favorite group/singer? Morning Musume

Hmm. I think my answers turned out to be kind of boring. Sorry about that. Now the “survey” from Unchained. The challenge is to write about songs that you have the strongest emotional attachment to and explain why. I’ll start early and work my way up. Sorry if it’s cheating, but most of my choices are not Jpop, because most of them are associated with important times in my life, and thus far, the most important times in my life haven’t been strongly associated with Jpop.

You Are My Sunshine- Children’s Song
Yeah, we’re going waaaay back. When I was a baby/toddler, I absolutely could not go to sleep unless one of my parents sat with me in our rocking chair, read me the book “Good Night Moon” and then sang me this song. I must have been such a joy to raise, huh?

I Hope You Dance- Leanne Womak
Let me get one thing straight. I do not like country. At all. This song, however, is a special exception. I was on dance team in high school, and this was one of our competition songs in the fall of my Freshman year. It was a moving and lovely lyrical number, and it felt really really good to dance it (not to mention that we took 1st place!). This song made me fall in love with dancing, and the lyrics are beautiful and inspiring as well.

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Life Goes On)- The Beatles
The summer after my junior year of high school I went on a trip to Europe with a group from my school. Our bus driver REALLY loved this song, so he’d play it a lot, particularly when we had reached a destination after a long drive, everyone was asleep or mostly asleep, and we needed something to energize us again. By the end of the trip we were all singing along. That trip was a significant time in my life. I met my current boyfriend there, and it also sparked my interest in travel and seeing other cultures.

Ai Araba It’s All Right- Morning Musume
That this song made the list should probably come as no surprise. It’s the first Morning Musume song I ever heard, and the song that was to begin my obsession with them. To this day, it never fails to cheer me up.

Defying Gravity- Wicked
I love musicals, and this is my absolute favorite song to come from a musical. It’s just so powerful. I don’t have an emotional attachment to this song because of a specific emotional memory so much as it stirs strong emotions in me of it’s own right. If you haven’t listened to this song before, I advise you do so. It’s simply amazing. The real song starts about 1 minute in (there’s kind of an introduction)

Out Loud- Dispatch
This song is special to me because of my college sorority. Every winter at recruitment (or rush or whatever you want to call it) on one of the nights we’d have a slide show of pictures of us and the girls who were the best singers would sing a song a’cappella or with a guitar accompaniment. This was the song used both my Freshman and Senior year, and so it represents both the beginning and end of my collegiate sorority experience for me and all the memories and friendships that came along with that. Hearing it makes me want to cry, but in a good way. I don’t have a recording of our girls singing it, but here is the original version.

I don’t want this list to get out of control, so I’m going to cut myself off here. I’d encourage others to write their own answers though. I like to see what kind of music touches people.

Natsukashii ne,

~Celestia~

I shall warn you now, this post makes mention of Johnny’s, for comparison’s sake.

Being a fan of both h!p and Johnny’s, I can’t help but notice that the differences between the two organizations stretch waaay beyond gender and level of popularity.  One major difference is that the Johnny’s groups, especially the more established groups, have lots of creative input in their work, and as far as I can tell, the h!p girls have next to none. Of the two groups that I am fans of, the majority of the members routinely write their own solo songs, as well as other songs for their group on occasion. The group rappers write their own raps, even for their major singles. Some members choreograph some dances, and they all seem to have a big say in what goes on in their concerts, from ideas for effects, staging, and props to selecting their own set-list (which I know that at least Arashi does). Arashi also named their last album themselves, and I know that KT at least had input as to which songs made the final cut for their last album. H!p concert MCs are usually completely scripted. The only words of their own choosing that come out of the girls mouths are their self-introductions and goodbyes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they have to run those by the management and get them approved ahead of time. Johnny’s MCs follow a much looser format. Often it’s just the members out there shooting the breeze, and if there are some specific topics or format that they’re supposed to use, it’s still usually nothing scripted.

I wonder why the management trusts the h!p girls so little. I think the fans would love to hear them making amusing conversation amongst themselves during the concert MCs instead of reciting jokes that sometimes fall flat. It’s much more personal that way, isn’t it? I’m sure some of them are capable of writing song lyrics. The Johnny’s  boys are no smarter than h!p’s girls, and I’d be really interested to see what they came up with. Even if it was just songs that were only performed in concert, it would be something. I’m also sure that all the groups have members who are capable of choreographing a simple dance routine for a concert performance, and I bet the more experienced members could come up with some good ideas for the concert set-up too. They’ve been doing this long enough. They should know what works and what doesn’t. Also, why shouldn’t they be allowed to pick their own set-list? They’re the ones who are going to be singing those songs, and I think that at least the group leader and sub-leader could be trusted with that responsibility. Maybe not for the younger groups, but certainly for Morning Musume and the Elder Club members. I think that maybe they’re sometimes allowed to select their own solo songs, but why not give them a chance to do more than that?

There are advantages and disadvantages to giving the members of h!p more creative input. There’s a possibility that they don’t even want it. Maybe they prefer just following instructions and not having to worry about being creative or coming up with ideas. It’s certainly easier for them, and if something doesn’t work, the blame will fall on their management, not on the girls themselves. Also, Tsunku seems to be very protective about no one else writing songs for his idols, so he might object to the competition even if it was from the idols themselves. On the other hand, maybe their work would be more fulfilling for them if they felt like they had a larger part in the decision making process. Also, they might just be able to be taken a tiny bit more seriously as artists rather than just as idols. I know that they will never in a million years escape the “idol” moniker, but if we could say that “Maimi Yanjima choreographed that dance!” or “Ai Takahashi wrote that song!”, then I think they would gain another level of credibility. Finally, I think that the fans would love to see even more of their favorite idol put into what they do, and even if something didn’t work quite as it should, they’d be a lot more forgiving if they knew that the girl they worship was in charge rather than some far off and faceless producer.

 So, wha’da you think?

~Celestia~ 

Congratulations to Kirarin☆Snow ☃ for successfully completing the contest!

Below are the answers as well as some brief explanations. Highlight to read them, or don’t if you still want to play for fun.

1 ai araba its all right, morning musume, window in pajama room

2 Oujisama to yuki no yoru, tanpopo, typewriter Rika’s working on

3 Ki ga tsukeba anata, Matsuura Aya, long close-up on daisies during musical interlude

4 Shiawase Kyouryuu Ondo, Odoru11, Bottom of screen about 1/3 of the way through

5 Pittari Shitai X-mas (close up), Pucchimoni, strange santa skull and crossbones on   wall

6 21 Ji made no Cinderella, Berryz, Momoko’s hat

7 Aa ii na, W, just one of the many scenes they march through

8 Meguru Koi no Kisetsu, C-ute, Maimi’s math homework (flashes up quickly during photo montage section)

9 Yuujou~Kokoro ni BUSU niwa Nara nee, Otomegumi, Sayumi’s earring

10 Romantic Ukare Mode, Fujimoto Miki, Her golf gloves

11 VUDen, Ice cream to my Purin, Rika’s nails

12 Love Machine (full version), Morning Musume, from the really long beginning part

13 Momoiro Kataomoi, Matsuura Aya, side of messed up can (cabbage)

14- Minimoni Hinamatsuri, Minimoni, Flowers Mari and Tsuji hold up near the beginning (you can also see a bit of Mari’s crown)

15 Kira Pika, Futari wa NS, MaiMai’s earring

16 Koibito wa kokoro no Ouendan, Country Musume, flyby cat

17- Hyokkori Hontonjima, Morning Musume, Kaori’s nose

18 Koi no Telephone Goal, Abe Natsumi, bad guys in turn a racecar into this walrus

19 Chance, Koharu, Kirari keeps duckies on her desk (very beginning)

20 Namida no Iro, C-ute, Maimi’s shoulder when she’s lying down

21 Full version of I Wish, Morning Musume, Mari’s feet in the storybook

22 Uwasa no Sexy Guy, Goto Maki, some of the city she flies over

23 The Stress, Abe Natsumi, a lock of Nacchi’s hair

24 Kiss Kiss Kiss, Buono, Airi’s bracelet

25 Otome Pasta ni Kandou, Tanpopo, The extremely tall shoes Mari and Kago wear to look like they’re near the same height as Kaori

26 Melodies, GAM, part of Ayaya and Miki’s highly platonic breakfast

27 Yaruki it’s easy, Goto Maki, Overhead view of her bed with Melon Kinenbi on it

28 Summer Raggae Rainbow, 7nin Matsuri, some of Lehau’s unfortunate hat

29 Robokiss, W, Sticker on Robot box

30 Fighting Pose wa Datte Ja Nai, Berryz, Magazine Miya holds by the pool w/rainbow effects

Till Next Game,

~Celestia~ 

There haven’t been many answers submitted for my game THIS POST which has me thinking that perhaps I made it a bit too difficult. To help you out, here are a bunch of helpful hints on the more difficult ones.

2. This is a typewriter

5. From a pucchimoni PV

6. A hat

8. This flashes up very quickly during a montage

11. Those are Rika’s nails

12/21. Both are only visible in the full version of the PV

14. What’s that in the lower right corner?

24. Comes from a 2008 PV

27. Pillows

Hope that helps! Remember, there is a prize, and most of these are pretty easy to spot if you’re watching the right PV.

~Celestia~