Something is Afoot at CK’s H!P Blog
Chuo Dori

Recommended reading. It looks as though another blogger has caught the wordpress bug, and this time it’s our very own CK. He is yet another blogger who has happily settled into the intlwota.com domain. Seeing as he’s currently unsure of what will happen with the future of CK’s H!P Blog on Vox, I’m not quite sure if I should call this a blog move (complete with title change), or the opening of a new blog called Chuo Dori.

The posts so far on Chuo Dori have all been AKB48 related, so it will be interesting to see if CK does keep his H!P fandom separate from him AKB48 fandom through two separate blogs.

CK’s Japan Tour, Fall 2008 Day 1 ~Hello Ayaya!~
CK’s Japan Tour, Fall 2008 Day 2 ~An Unexpected Trip to the Don Quixote Theater~

Recommended reading. CK is currently living it up in Japan, and in the midst of his hopping around from place to place, he’s giving us updates with a Japan Tour journal.

On Day 1, he had quite a hectic day, seeing as a few hours after landing he was off to see Matsuura Aya in concert. I have to say that I am absolutely jealous that he went to see Aya, and his description of the concert makes me really want to see some footage. The concert was at a Jazz club dinner theatre, which made for quite an intimate setting. Oh, how I wish I could go see Aya in concert like that…

On Day 2, it looks like CK’s settling into being in Japan quite quickly. He describes a stop by an official H!P store and took a photo of some of Berryz Koubou’s battle concert outfits in the store window. He then goes on to explain his quest to get in to see an AKB48 show… It’s definitely something else. I don’t think I’m a big fan of their system of getting in to the show. “Your ticket has a number on it, but then they call you into the theater randomly. So ticket #1 has the same chance as ticket #250 to be in the front row!” … How odd.

That’s Why They Call Me Kunostradamus (CK’s H!P Blog)
Life After Hello! Project: A Case-By-Case Assessment (American Wota)

Recommended reading. Here we have two very interesting reaction posts to the Elder Club graduating, where both bloggers do individual assessments on the girls who are graduating.

Up first, we have CK who saw this coming back in April. He does go over each girl, but he gives his thoughts on about half of them and his outlook on how their futures are looking. He’s also considering making the trek out to Japan to go see this epic concert… Oh, if I could take time off work and could justify paying the amount of money that I know it would cost to go see this concert, I so would… >_<

Next we have Ray of American Wota with a very thoughful post on the futures of all the girls graduating. Unlike CK, Ray was surprised by UFA’s move, “because it’s a common sense move and UFA does not have much of a track record in common sense business moves.” For each girl, he gives their pros, their cons, and their chances of continuing on in the entertainment industry. It’s a nice mix of Ray’s usual snark and insight from an old school H!P fan.

AKB48 Live at Shibuya AX, Nobody Told Me How Awesome This Would Be!

CK bought the massive Shibuya-AX DVD and goes over it. This entry really stands out because CK attended the 4th day of this show and mixes in anecdotes in with the actual review.

It bears repeating: the Shibuya-AX DVD is massive. Thus, this entry has a lot to cover. CK goes over each night and, to his credit, doesn’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of the material to review. CK is really a fan of AKB48 these days, even to the point where he is proclaiming that he enjoys it more than Hello! Project, so that probably made it easier to go over the entire concert. Not only does he do a good job of going over the performances, he has embedded media for you to watch it as well.

To Be Honest, I’ve Never Been Into Ongaku Gatas, But…

Like CK, the first thought that came into my mind when I heard Ongaku Gatas’ new single title was the Beatles song ‘Come Together’. Ongaku’s previous releases, both singles as well as their album, haven’t piqued CK’s interest, but this single has caught his eye/ear. It’s left such an impression on him that he’s got it down as “one of the best songs [he] has heard in 2008″. He relates this single to something from the 70s and embeds a video, as well as Ongaku’s PV to show the similarities.

Buono! And Their New Kick-Ass Single, Gachinko de Ikou!” (CK’s H!P Blog)
..::Is This the End of Buono!::.. (Eternal ~♥~)
Gachinko de Ikou! (Shanimuni Paradise)

Recommended reading. CK has noticed that recently, H!P PVs have been appearing much closer to the actual release date of the single than they had been earlier in the year. I had actually been wondering what was taking the PV so long to come out before it appeared on Dohhhup! CK wasn’t originally too taken to this PV, but after a few plays, it grew on him, though he definitely seems to enjoy the song itself much more than the PV.

amyrulez of Eternal ~♥~ is liking the single, though he is does miss the mellow interlude found in previous Buono! releases. He enjoys the PV quite a bit, loving the more serious side of Airi, the constant bubbly Momoko and the perfection that is Miya (got that right! XD). However, I must say that I’m quite jealous that amyrulez can’t remember the last time he was bitten by a moqsuito. I was bitten more than 5 times just yesterday…

Tsukiki of Shanimuni Paraside has a new favourite Buono! PV. She likes the games, the dance and that there’s an actual band in this one. I understand that in ‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ they were just pretending to play, the ‘Honto no Jibun’ PV had a live band… The live band has been mentioned in a few of these reviews, and it just seems like ‘Honto no Jibun’ just keeps being overlooked. Tsukiki goes on to compliment how amazing the girls look in this video and how Momoko is acceptable to her in this video. I’d have to agree with her and say that it is Berryz that is keeping Momoko filled with helium. I don’t quite understand why they won’t let her sing normally in Berryz releases.

The Good, The Bad, and Idoling!!!

Recommended reading. Our own CK opens his post by talking about Perfume’s cover of "Jenny wa Gokigen Naname," then switches gears to discuss various covers of a classic Jitterin’ Jinn track, "Natsumatsuri." A cover done by Morning Musume’s Niigaki Risa is received with enthusiasm, but the Idoling!!! version? Uh… girls, maybe you should quit your day job. Man, that is awful. Can we get Whiteberry back together to show them how it should be done?

They Shoot Saki’s, Don’t They? ~ The Nakayoshi Battle Concert

Recommended reading. CK’s copy of the battle concert has arrived and he quickly gets down to business, determining who won the battle. He breaks the concert down into rounds, tallying winners for each round. Leading into his review, he points out that though his favourite H!P Kid is from the C-ute camp, as a whole, he prefers Berryz Koubou over C-ute… How will this affect his judging throughout the concert?

One thing that CK mentions is the bashing that the youngest Berryz member, Risako, often gets.

“She gets bashed a lot on the posts. A lot more criticism than she deserves. Jeez, she’s just fourteen years old for cripes sake! Give her a break.”

I’m guilty of Risako bashing at times, but using her age as a factor to defend her shaky performances is a little bit weak, seeing as she performed “Very Beauty” with her good buddy Airi who just so happens to be the same age as little Risako, and as CK puts it, “Airi was just amazing on this song!!!”

Overall, this is a fun, enthusiastic and amusing review. Want to know who won the battle? You’ll just have to read on to find out!

W.T.F.G. 須藤茉麻!!! (CK’s H!P Blog)
Do the Saru! (Berryz Kobo International)
Berryz Koubou Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance PV (Mayuge Beam!)
Berryz Kobo - Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance! (Wotaku Now!)
Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance PV (Let’s Laugh! Hello Project)
Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance Full PV (Hello!Blog)
I like monkeys too, Berryz! But.. (70%) (musical GAME)

Recommended reading. Berryz Koubou’s latest PV continues to be a hot topic as more bloggers chime in with their thoughts.

Chris of CK’s H!P Blog is concerned with the direction that Berryz Koubou seems to be taking. He associates this latest release with something that Koharu could do… That’s a scary thought for me. However, he takes solace in the fact that there are a lot of Maasa sightings in the PV. Though, if I were a big fan of a less ‘in the spotlight’ member, I’d be a little disgruntled that the PV she gets more screen time is one where she’s dressed up on a monkey costume. However, Chris finds Maasa cute in the monkey outfit, so I guess it’s working for him.

Our zush clues us into the fact (for those of us who didn’t know) that Risako’s favourite animal is a monkey. Do you think she enjoyed the theme of this single? zush is not at all impressed with the outfits for this PV, but he’s quite taken with the song itself.

James of Mayuge Beam! likes almost everything about this single… The one exception is the monkey outfits. In his eyes, Maasa and Chinami steal the show for this PV.

Shirow of Wotaku Now! is on the same wavelength as James, and also sees Maasa and Chinami as the stars of this PV. However, he is not in agreement regarding the monkey suits, for he LOVES them: “The monkey suits multiply the awesomeness by a thousand”.

Beth of Let’s Laugh! Hello Project is another fan who is enjoying this release. We seem to have quite a few bloggers in this batch who peg Maasa and Chinami as the top Berryz in this PV. Captain also caught her eye, possibly because of her “un-captain like-ness”. I’m not quite sure if that is something that should be taken as a compliment or an insult towards Captain… It really depends on how you feel like reading it. XD

Tom of Hello!Blog is loving the funny, laid-back feel of ‘Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance’, for he feels that H!P releases have been a tad too serious lately. Berryz is bringing back the fun to H!P in his eyes. Again, Maasa and Chinami are two of the standout performers for Tom, but he also sees Yurina sharing the spotlight in this PV.

Our freehummingbird of musical GAME is not quite impressed with the single, but I don’t quite get how this could rank in with 70% if the “PV is a stink bag”. The grading here was a little confusing to me because while the analysis of certain sections were almost completely negative (ex. fashion sense and choreography), they still got 70-75% grades.

CK Goes to the Movies…H!P Style

This is the first in what promises to be a multi-part series of CK (and his cat) trying his hand (or paw) at being a movie critic., or, more specifically, a H!P movie critic. This installment features “silly” movies including Tokkaekko, Morning Cop, and the Minimoni movie. There need to be more h!p movies, don’t you think?

..::Turn Your Head, Recollect The Past◊J-music survey::.. (Eternal ~♥~)
Cutie Party Survey…And A Tribute to Kyu (CK’s H!P Blog)

Eternal ~♥~ and CK’s H!P Blog send their answers to Misa’s survey.

The Matsuura Aya Experience

Recommended reading. Like myself, CK is a huge fan of Matsuura Aya and this post is a wonderful read for those who know and appreicate Ayaya’s greatness, as well as those who may not be quite as well versed in that regard.

He gives a little rundown on the things that make Aya such an appealing idol, but what I really enjoy here are the 4 - that’s right! 4! - concert reviews he shares. He’s got clips of some memorable performances, and I must say the ‘Dokki Doki! Love Mail, Gospel version’ knocks my socks off. How have I not seen this performance before? I now must find and watch this concert…