It has been a long time coming, but I am absolutely in love with a Morning Musume song once again!! When Naichau Kamo came out in February, I was so excited for it was Morning Musume’s first release that I had gotten really excited about since Kanashimi Twilight back in 2007. When their 39th single was announced, I was hoping for another good one, particularly since this was likely going to be their last release before they came to LA for Anime Expo, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to get this release.

The girls look gorgeous on this cover! I totally got this LE version (was it A or B? I can’t remember XD) for it.

Let me tell you exactly how much I love this song. Back in February of 2008, I did a Morning Musume singles ranking – taking the 42 singles of Morning Musume including Ai no Tane, the Gumi’s and the anniversary group (Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai) [this was up to Mikan]. In my top 10 from that time, the newest single was Kanashimi Twilight, ranked at #6. Looking over my ranking again, I’d have to put Shouganai into the 5th position of my all time favourite Morning Musume singles (#4 of the current 39 Morning Musume singles). [Check the original rankings here Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.]

This couldn’t have come at a better time, as I am definitely going to be at Anime Expo for Morning Musume’s continental US debut, and having two awesome releases in a row has definitely gotten me psyched up. But more on Anime Expo later… First let’s get down to reviewing this wonderful song.

The song
Everything about this song is absolute win for me. The driving beat keeps the energy up, but the strings a strong dramatic feeling to the song. Add in the high range piano popping in and out throught the verses, tickling you at the start pre-chorus and then highlighting the body of the chorus gives you this really dreamy quality that leaves me feeling like I’m floating on a puffy white, if not slightly downtrodden (would that make this more gray?) cloud. It’s not a ballad, but the melancholy mood keeps it mellow for me, despite the strong drum beat.

As for the vocals, it’s a nice line distribution and I love all of Aichan and Risa’s lines. I need more Risa voice in my life, and this song, as well as Yowamushi (Naichau Kamo’s b-side) have been giving me at least a little more of that. ^_^ The melody is beautiful, and adds to the melancholy feel.

The b-side
This is a fun b-side! It’s funky and playful, and everytime it comes on, I want to start dancing. This song is the official theme song for anime expo! I’m sure you all know about the OPV contest for this song. I wanted to submit an entry, but I know didly squat about video editing… I get too frustrated when things don’t work the way I want them to right away. XD Also, I don’t have the time to work on it, seeing as I’m going on vacation for a week to Florid (I leave in about 5 hours) and the OPVs are due on the 19th.

I love the instrumental in this song with the synthetic video game-ish sounds in the background. Am I a geek for having the “Ahhh… ahhh… ahhh.. ahhh.. AHHHHHHH!” part as my favourite vocal section of the song? XD I just LOVE singing that part.

I really need to get to sleep, so I won’t go into the PV for this release, but I will say the dance shot is quite pretty and the “storyline” bits are good too. I love Risa’s outfit… I love ties. XD

Morning Musume made their way back to #1 on the weekly Oricon chart with this single, and again I find that to be perfect timing. It really puts them in a good karmic boost as they get ready to do their first North American (non-FC related) performance. And with that being said, please check out this post on IW. That’s right! I may get the chance to interview Morning Musume for International Wota, and we’re looking for IW readers to submit any questions they might have for the girls (or Tsunku).

It’s time for bed to get ready for 2 days of driving! I’ll be back in a week!