Rottara Rottara PV (Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations)
Lotta Love Lotta Love for Buono!’s Rottara Rottara (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
Lotta Love Lotta Love ! BUONO! Rock Way ! (hello!musume)
Lotta Love, Lotta Love Full PV (Hello!Blog)
Buono - Rottara Rottara video (Morningtime)
It’s Buono! … but not as we know it (Wotaku Now!)

Corny title, I know, but I HAD to do it… XD Anyway, the PV for Buono!’s upcoming single has been out for about a week now, and lots of reaction have already surfaced.

Midori goes over the amazing and the not so amazing. It looks like Midori’s a big fan of the song… The PV, not so much. She goes into quite the rant touching on various aspects of why this was a “terror of a PV”.

DJ_MaiMai of H!P Fangirling is a little confused with how to write out the song title, but that doesn’t stop her from loving the song. Though, like Midori, DJ_MaiMai has quite a few issues with the PV.

On the opposite end, Nakane of hello!musume loves the song, as well as the PV. She’s loving Miya’s hairstyle, and I have to agree! “That girl is so HAWT !”

Tom of Hello!Blog is a little disappointed in the low budget of the PV, but finds that the trio of Buono! can pretty much do no wrong. Being a hardcore Miyabi fan (obviously) I’m a little disappointed in her placing for his favourite for this PV, but if you’re going on a cute factor… Well, Miya’s hot in this PV (as mentioned by Nakane). Enough said. XD Tom mentions that he originally wasn’t that taken with this song, and I have to agree. But man, is this song ever addictive. Like Tom, I’m now in love with this single.

morningtime makes a comparison between Buono!’s pv and the new group Twe’lv’s PV for Seishun Oden. morningtime hopes for Buono!’s continued success in sales, for they like the way Buono! is able to pull off their style without looking like a “manga cartoon gone wrong or just a wota’s wet dream”. morningtime goes over why they think Buono!’s the best group in H!P at the moment, comparing their singles to the recent releases of other H!P groups… But I must ask - what happened to C-ute in these comparisons?

Shirow of Wotaku now is loving the new song, but is wondering where the edginess of Buono!’s style went with this PV. Unlike the other posts, who all just have the PV embedded, Shirow goes a step further and includes quite a few screen caps, showcasing how lovely the girls are looking in the PV.

So it looks like Buono!’s latest song it getting a lotta love, while the PV is evoking a little less enthusiasm.

[Epic News] H!P Wota Mass Suicide Planned for March 2009  (Pink Wota)
Unprecedented mass Hello! Project graduations to occur in March of 2009. :O  (Morning Berryz)
This is the end  (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
The End of The Golden Age  (Selective Hearing)
Entire H!P Elder Club Graduating in March 2009 (和菓子)

One more set, then it’s off to sleep…

Although Vee sees this as possibly a good thing, she can’t help but feel that the loss of these core members completely changes what H!P means to a lot of people.  Vee also gets the award for the funniest post title…I wouldn’t be surprised.

MB, who has been a fan since the early days has a well detailed post, going over the reasons for this happening at this point, how it affects the graduates, and how this could have a positive effect on Tsunku’s writing contributions.  And though MB notes H!P has had more “face lifts” than Joan Rivers, the loss of Abe Natsumi from “The House That Nacchi Built” is almost too much to take.

MaiMai felt the writing was on the wall with the announcement of the Mega Bests and Hangry & Angry, but she is still taking a wait and see approach.  She is another who is not sure Tsunku’s association with the graduates is over.

Greg was initially unsettled by this announcement, and saw H!P’s treatment of the Elders a total mismanagement of talent.  But after some thought sees this as an unlimited possibility.  We all were surprised by Hangry & Angry.  Who knows what else these ladies are capable of?

And Sakuramochi thinks this sounds more like a dismissal than a mutually agreed upon graduation.  But she is glad Yossie and Charmy have a new unit to immediately fall back on.

So what have we learned after 25+ posts?  a) The Elder Club is graduating in March 2009 and b) What will happen beyond that is anyone’s guess.  Enjoy the ride!

Taiwan audition winners  (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)
H!P Taiwan Audition Winners!!!  (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
NEW STAR Winners Chosen  (Stardust)

Lightbulb Wins!  Lightbulb Wins!  Lightbulb Rules!!!  That would be my post title.  And it seems Pengie agrees with me as she makes her pitch for Lightbulb to be the newest member of Morning Musume.  Wouldn’t that be great?  JunJun, LinLin, Lightbulb?

MaiMai wonders if the winners will be participating in any of the concerts in Japan. She also gives her thoughts on the winners.  Her favorite is Wu Si Auan, the 20-year old hottie that everyone (including myself) seems to have the “warmies” for.

Mars (and others apparently) are disappointed about the exclusion of Risafan, but like MaiMai he is also excited about the selection of Wu Si Auan.  Apparently the girls are going to record a single in Taiwan as a unit after training in Japan this Winter.  Beyond that, who knows what the future holds.

This is an exciting moment in the world of H!P.  I certainly hope Tsunku and the gang take advantage and make this something memorable.  It seems as if the girls chosen have a lot going for them.  I hope they are a success!

Tokunaga Chinami’s Cellphone Stolen D: (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
So, if any idols cell phone were to be stolen… (Cutie Party)
Amy is Going to Steal Risako’s Cellphone One Day (Merry Go Round)

DJ_MaiMai is bothered by the incident and hopes for some sort of punishment for the thief. Still, almost begrudgingly, DJ_MaiMai admits it is nice to see the girls acting normal.

Misa at Cutie Party and Amy at Merry Go Round respond to CFB. Shockingly, Misa chooses Yoshizawa Hitomi. But she has her reasons and explains them well. Shockingly, and that is a sincere one, Amy picked Sugaya Risako and not Suzuki Airi. Her reasoning is that Airi wouldn’t be taking pictures of herself. Uhhh, not sure about that one Amy!

5 (Five)  (Hello! Soli)
5 (FIVE)  (Keys to Eveything)
Hi 5 to the Berryz  (Sakuraichigo’s Weblog)
5 (FIVE) album review  (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)

Everyone seems to really like Berryz’ new CD.  What I found most entertaining about each review was their thoughts on the Special Generation Remix…

Soli loves the covers, and finds the CD “above average”.  She gives her thoughts on each track and also remarks how some of the songs are reminiscent of a couple of old H!P acts.  As for SGR, she sees it as a sort of “coming of age” for the group.

Ali wonders if this CD will restore Berryz to the #1 spot in her H!P pecking order, which is currently occupied by C-ute.  She grades each track, and most of the tracks fare well.  Except for SGR, which Ali describes as “painful”

Sakuraichigo also gives her thoughts on each track, comparing quite a few of the songs to past H!P works.  She also like SGR’s techno feel, but finds it somewhat odd that Maasa’s lines sound much more mature than the rest of the group.

DJ MaiMai goes over the new songs on the CD.  She is starting to get annoyed about Risako always being the center of attention, and suggests they might as well make her Captain instead of Saki.  As for SGR, MaiMai thinks it is the “best remix of an H!P song ever”.

What I find most remarkable is the consensus all love the Risako solo tune, even MaiMai!  The reviews are overall positive, so I guess I’ll put it in my purchase queue as well.

PEPPER~ Keibu! (Stardust)
Doctored Pepper (The J-Pex)
wtf Pink Lady (LOVE Tantei)
Pepper Keibu… huh? (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
Pepper Keibu and Cover You - Morning Musume (「☆☆☆」)
Pepper Keibu : Full single and Download (hello!musume)
Pepper Keibu and C-ute costume follow-up (Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations)

Recommended reading. A lot of blogs have something to say about Morning Musume’s 37th single announcement.

Mars at Stardust looks at the single’s covers and finds that Risa and Eri are the standouts on these awesome looking covers. Mars goes on to describe the upcoming single as well as announces the upcoming cover album. It looks like Mars is on the fence on whether or not to be excited about this release, but it seems this will not affect the selling power of the single.

Pex is not the slightest be discouraged over the fact that Morning Musume’s next single will be a cover. It looks like Pex is a fan of the original song, and feels that the Morning girls will be able to do it justice. What’s interesting here is that Pex gives us his ideas on how the PV should be.

On the opposite spectrum, chibon of LOVE Tantei is completely disappointed by the lack of originality in this upcoming release. Having thoroughly enjoyed Morning Musume’s latest endeavour, chibon wonders what is going on with UFA and why they can’t seem to release back-to-back releases of original and high-quality content.

DJ_MaiMai tries to look at the positive side by giving examples of previous H!P songs which have been covers. She also embeds a number of videos to further highlight her examples.

Bri of 「☆☆☆」 is disappointed at the announcement of this new single because she had a song in mind for Morning Musume’s 37th single. She’s also hoping that covering Pink Lady may shine some good publicity (eqaulling more sales) on Morning Musume.

Nakane of hello!musume has embedded audio files of Morning Musume’s 37th single - an instrumental and one with Morning’s vocals. Nakane has also added some colour-coded lyrics to the post, so you can sing some karaoke to the instrumental version, if you like!

Much like Bri, Midori is looking that the release of a cover as a possible sales booster for Morning Musume. Midori is looking forward to seeing the PV, and closes off the post following up on a costuming issue with Airi’s dress from C-ute’s latest PV. Though, in relation to the costume… Are we supposed to be looking at Makoto’s outfit? If so, I don’t quite see the resemblance.

5 (FIVE) Covers (Hello! C-ute)
5 (Five) Covers (「☆☆☆」)
Covers for 5 (FIVE) (Totally Hello! Project)
5(FIVE) (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)

Some low quality photos for Berryz upcoming 5th album have been released. Many people have been talking about BK’s new artist photos on the official H!P site, and the assumption that those outfits would be used on the new cover were correct. However, it looks like people are liking the covers even though the initial reaction to the outfits themselves were more negative.

Gachinko de Ikou! PV (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
Buono! - Gachinko de Ikou PV (Mayuge Beam!)
Gachinko de Ikou! Full PV by Buono! (Love マシーン)
Gachinko de Ikou! PV (「☆☆☆」)
I wasn’t gonna do this, but… (Aoi♥Usagi)
The Shifty World of ‘Buono!’ (itsumo genki)

Recommended reading. The PV for Buono!’s upcoming single has been up for a few days now, and many bloggers have something to say about it.

DJ_MaiMai at H!P Fangirling is absolutely loving the PV, though I got a little bit confused with the reference to a having non-H!P people being featured as a first… Has Buono!’s first single already been forgotten? XD As for a girl swooning when she sees a hot girl dress like a guy and pull it off, I had a male friend who was gay swoon over a female friend dressed as a male greaser… Opposite genders, but same principle. XD

James at Mayuge Beam! is worried about Buono! breaking up with the 1st season of Shugo Chara! coming to an end, but as mentioned in an earlier post here, Shugo Chara!’s going for a second season. He takes a look at the new arrangement of the girls in this PV (ie. Miya’s not in the middle here) and uses her role in previous PVs to explain her movement to front and centre, goes into a synopsis of the PV and takes a look at each of the girls. I was a little confused in his talk about Momoko… “She can NOT look cute EVER.” Is a word missing in this sentence? o_O And yes, Miya is totally hot in this PV…

markusantoine of Love マシーン has the PV embedded, and is amused by Momoko proclaiming herself as the leader of Buono! However, I have seen an interview with Buono! somewhere where Miyabi and Airi both said that Momoko was the leader (even though Airi jokingly [I think] said that Miya should really be the leader).

Bri of 「☆☆☆」 likes the mellow rock feel of the song, and proclaims it her new favourite Buono! single. She gives a list of what was written on the dart board and what each girl landed on during the dart throwing. I don’t quite see what she saw in regards to Miyabi’s attitude in the PV, but she’s loving Airi here (and in Buono! in general).

Usa-chan of Aoi♥Usagi feels obliged to review Buono!’s PV, for in the reviews she had read prior to her post, no one had mentioned a specific section that stood out to her. She looks at each of the girls and explains the role each girl plays to become the cohesive awesomeness that is Buono! She also goes over the dance and concept of the PV before giving us a screencap of why she wrote this review… I must say it’s a very cute screenshot.

isilwentari of itsumo genki loves the PV and the nonsensical pseudoplot. Buono! has not been a constant winner for isilwentari, but it looks like everything done in this release was done right. However, can you really blame them for mentioning “Kokoro no tamago” in multiple songs? If you’ve watched any Shugo Chara!, I don’t think anyone would question it. I mean, they’re a group that was made to sing for this anime… You need to make the references in the songs for it to stay relevant.

H!P 2008 Summer Eyecandy [Warning: This may kill your internet]

DJ_MaiMai has a load of H!P eyecandy taken from this summer’s H!P Wonderful Hearts Concert. It seems the post is still currently under construction (meaning that more pics will be coming). I’m hoping that means as least one piece of Miyabi eyecandy will find its way into this post. Also, DJ_MaiMai inserted a little birthday message to Yurina.

Little Tidbits of News: Berryz, C-ute, and Momusu march on.

DJ_MaiMai has a collection of a bunch of going-ons from the world of Hello!Project. If you feel as though you are out of the loop, this is a great place to start getting back in it.

Edo no Temari Uta II PV (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
Edo no Temari Uta II is Better Than the Title (°Absol-ute °C-ute)
Let’s play handball (Shiny Days)
Edo no Temari Uta II (Kira Kira Bomb)
..::Too Bad It’s Too Short::.. (Eternal ~♥~)

Recommended reading. More bloggers have something to say regarding C-ute’s latest PV!

DJ_MaiMai of H!P Fangirling feels that C-ute is showing off some of their best stuff in this PV. Personally, I don’t get the problem with Chisato’s shoulder things. I think they add character to her outfit. XD But, Berryz as C-ute’s backup dancers? At a concert, maybe… And they’d switch off for each other. But in a single’s PV? Berryz did that back in the day for W, but they have seniority over C-ute. If anyone’s going to be doing back-up dancing in a PV, C-ute would be doing it for Berryz.

Despite her worry over the title of the song, Amimi of Absol-ute C-ute was happy to have her fears unfounded with the release of this single. In addition to the customary thoughts on the outfits, dance, etc., Amimi has and interesting interpretation of what the line distribution could mean… COuld it possibly foreshadow future leads for C-ute?

Charmy of Shiny Days is liking both the song and PV, but is a little disappointed that a certain H!P member is not featured on the background vocals.

Valentine of Kira Kira Bomb has one of the few reviews that I’ve read that isn’t impressed with the single. That’s not to say that she hates it, but it definitely hasn’t left much of an impression with her. She gives her reasoning as well as a final verdict. My favourite line is the last line in her review… I love the uncertainty in her question/comment.

-NEEDS MOAR TSUNKU?!

amyrulez of Eternal ~♥~ has a lengthy and indepth review of the single. He enjoyed the PV so much it brought him to tears. All of the girls were able to impress him in this release, which he seemed throughly surprised by. And it looks like he’s one of the few who likes Chisato’s pointy shoulder bits on her kimono.

Monkeyz Koubou Dances (Shiny Days)
One, two, Monkey three … (LOVE Tantei)
Berryz Koubou - Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance (hello! girl)
OMG THEY REALLY DID WEAR MONKEY SUITS (I guess it really is Yuke Yuke…) (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
“Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance” initial reactions (Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations)
See No Tsunku, Hear No Tsunku (The J-Pex)

Recommended reading. The PV for Berryz Koubou’s upcoming single is up and a lot of blogs have piped in with their thoughts.

Charmy of Shiny days is highly amused by this PV, but wonders how this will affect Berryz’s credibility in the future.

Chibon of LOVE Tantei is surprised by how much they’re enjoying this PV. It’s interesting to note that the thing that Chibon found most annoying in Tsukiatteru’s PV is they are loving so much here.

hello! girl is not too impressed with the song or PV.

DJ_MaiMai of H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business is loving the latest release. I’m surprised with one line in this review, though: “I’ve never noticed how beautiful Chinami is <3333″. If you’ve watched Tsukiatteru or Dschinghis Khan, I don’t know how in the world that could be, because Chinami was stunning in both those PVs.

Midori likes the line distribution, but like hello! girl, is not too impressed with the song overall.

Pex finds it hard to concentrate on the song due to a number of reasons listed in the post. Pex also has an interesting theory on how Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance came to be.

More PV reactions to come in an upcoming write-up. There’s a lot to go through…

Finally! New Yaguchi Mari Artist Picture…& Kusumi Koharu. (Totally Hello! Project)
A new single for Mari? (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)

It looks like the official Hello! Project website has new artist photos for Mari and Koharu. TOtally Hello! Project has both photos up. It looks like Koharu’s been updated for her latest single.

On that vein, DJ_MaiMai wonders if the updating of Mari’s photo is indicative of an upcoming single for the H!P soloist. I don’t know how likely that is, but it’s an interesting thought, nonetheless.

New Berryz Releases (some boys! blog)
Two new Berryz releases! (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
Dschinghis Khan Onkochishin Remix (Hello!°C-ute)
Berryz Koubou’s 5th Album (Hello!°C-ute)
Berryz Koubou 5th Album & “New” Single (Totally Hello! Project)
New Berryz Releases (Strawberrie)

Berryz Koubou have 2 new upcoming releases and the news is being reported around our blogsphere. Berryz Koubou’s 5th album has been announced and is due to be released in September. Their 4th album was great, so they’ve got a lot to live up to. However, seeing the upcoming title for their 18th single worries me in that regard… Why would a remixed version of Dschinghis Khan need to be released? Is Tsunku running out of ideas or something? Is it time for his vacation, and Berryz Koubou is the group who can take a little pounding?

I was hoping this 18th single was a joke, but it seems it’s already listed on CDJapan. Is it silly of me to keep on hoping that it’s just a really random (and horribly late) April fools joke?

Cutie Party Survey thingmy (ROBOKUCCHI)
Misa’s J-Music survey (LOVE Tantei)
Cutie Party: A J-Music Survey (Solo Space)
Cutie Party Survey! (ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute)
Fun With Surveys (Bikkuri Project)
Ta-da! (Aitakatta!)
Cutie Party Survey (Shanimuni Paradise)
J-music Survey Response (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)

I’m glad that people love doing surveys and I am glad that people are responding to Misa’s. To reiterate, Misa has put together a 10 question survey in order to find new music. I can see lots of blogs benefiting from this though, as it sets up a nice profile for them to promote themselves to others. You could easily find blogs that you weren’t reading to have similar tastes.

Robokucchi, LOVE Tantei, Solo Space, ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute, Bikkuri Project [who also answered a question that pengie from unchained previously asked], Aitakatta!, Shanimuni Paradise and H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business all answered in this batch.

..::The Beauty is Echoing::.. (Eternal ~♥~)
Mano Piano (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
真野恵里菜　ファーストソロシングルリリース！！=) (MorningBerryz)
Tsunku shows us his cute pianist (Wotaku Now!)

amyrulez had never heard of Manoeri! How is that possible? Well, this problem has been solved and amyrulez looks towards her single.

Dj_MaiMai goes over the news.

When I saw the entry title for this MorningBerryz’s entry in my RSS Feeds, I really didn’t know what to expect. Well ok, I saw in the preview that it was going to be about Manoeri. But a part of me was hoping that I’d open it and see Jimmy Johnson in some sort of Engrish t-shirts. Instead, MorningBerryz has an enthusiastic entry about Manoeri’s future.

Meanwhile, Shirow’s entry title is sure to make all of us dirty minds giggle. But Shirow also wonders what route Manoeri is gonna take. Will she be more like Koharu or more like Risako? I always love bringing up the past, where the question that Shirow asked would have been “will she be more like Ayaya or Gocchin?” There’s also videos of Junjun in this entry. Hear that? Videos of Junjun, so go.

As you’d expect, there were plenty of reactions to Goto Maki joining Avex. I’ll be spreading out the reactions over the next few posts.

Goto Maki Signs with Avex! [Update: Official Website] (Totally Hello!Project)
Goto Maki signs with Avex! (Hello!Girl)
Is it Fate? (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
GomAvex! Goto Joins Avex (TokioZimmer’s Blog)
The “Go To” Gal (The J-Pex)

Totally Hello!Project reiterates the news.

Hello!Girl chastises Hello!Project. I feel it is an accurate point when the entry claims that Maki “seems to be the one person from Momusu everyone in Japan names immediately once you say you are a fan or Morning Musume.” I know that the story today is talking about what Maki could possibly do in Avex, but I still feel it is relevant to discuss her departure from H!P.

DJ_MaiMai has what appears to be translated stories on the story. It is really emphasizing that singing is something Maki wants to focus on from here on out. After reading this, it makes it ever the more apparent the difference between idol and non-idol. DJ_MaiMai also muses on the connection between Maki and Koda Kumi.

Ryou of TokioZimmer has the news and lots of pictures to boot.

JPex considers possible avenues for Gocchin. It is definitely interesting to see someone who doesn’t think Maki will turn into the next Koda Kumi. There is an implication in here that there are some people who would be against such a direction and, well, I’d like to meet these people. Pex has an interesting theory on what Maki could become instead of the Koda Kumi clone.