Shirow discovered a video clip featuring Tsugunaga Momoko and Kumai Yurina of Berryz Koubou. It’s definitely an amusing clip, but at the same time, it’s hard to believe that these girls would be so amused by a mighty mouse… Have they never seen a wireless mouse before? o_O
Yurina gets owned by a tomato
Berryz are bigger than Jesus
In an older post, Shirow takes a look an episode of Berikyuu where Berryz Koubou members Shimizu Saki and Kumai Yurina have to eat some food that they randomly choose out of a box. The Berryz Caption does quiet well with her challenge, but the gentle giant of Hello! Project doesn’t fair quite as well. I just have to say, I’m with Yurina on this one. Tomatoes do not sit well with me. I probably wouldn’t cry eating one, but I’d most likely be “recoil[ing] in pure disgust” like Yurina…
In this more recent post, Shirow posts photos and a video of Berryz Koubou arriving in Korea for the Asia Song Festival. I’ve watched a few videos of their arrival, and boy did they ever get a massive welcome from their Korean fans. The girls are all looking lovely, but Shirow singles one girl out, and I have to agree with him… “just LOOK how stunningly radiant Miyabi is looking …”
Kumai Yurina is featured in “Photo Technics” magazine. Full scans update.
Recommended ogling. Yurina is the cover girl for the latest “Photo Technics” magazine, and she’s looking quite stunning. I had to laugh a little at Sazaki’s quote:
At first I somehow didn’t recognize Yurina, because she is gorgeous here.
I’m not quite sure if this should be taken as a compliment or an insult. XD Though, he later updated this post with the rest of the scans from the magazine, saying that “Yurina is always very pretty”, so I guess it’s a compliment. Good job looking hotter than you usually do, Yurina!
Berryz Koubou - 5 (FIVE) [5th Studio Album] (Amai Wana)
[Album Review] Berryz Koubou - 5(Five) (Wings of my Heart)
Berryz Koubou 5th Album [5(Five)] review (Sazaki’s H!P Weblog)
Recommended reading. More blogs have their thoughts to share on Berryz Koubou’s 5th album and it looks like there’s a positive response going around.
amaiyume of Amai Wana is generally impressed with Berryz’s 5th album, finding only a few weak points. amaiyume goes through the entire album, giving a rundown the strengths and weakness of each song. Overall, amaiyume found that the girls gave strong vocal performances, however some of the instrumentals/melodies just weren’t memorable for amaiyume.
Julia of Wings of my Heart chimes in with her thoughts and surprises even herself with her desire to write a review on BK’s latest album. It looks like Berryz Koubou were able to bring themselves out of the rut they settled into in Julia’s H!P world - a rut caused by their recent string of childish releases. Julia takes a detailed look into the songs that have really caught her attention, with some passing thoughts on the rest of the album. Like amaiyume, Julia find that the vocals are pretty strong on the album. And Julia, I totally feel your pain…
…Okay, and I wish there was more Miya, once I start thinking about it. I really love her. I might just need some quality Buono! time right about now.
Sazaki is very impressed with this album. They go through each track and give a score out of 10. While not particularly in depth, you can feel Sazaki’s enthusiasm for the album. The one downer looks to be the Special Generation remix, which they find sounds like a fan-remix). While I agree with Sazaki that BK’s 5th album “overcame and surpassed C-ute’s album”, I can’t quite agree with their following conclusion:
I must say that this is the best Berryz Koubou album, if not best in all Hello!Project.
The best in all of Hello! Project? That’s 10+ years of material to go up against, with albums by Golden Age Momusu and Matsuura Aya in her prime… That’s definitely a bold statement to make. However, to each their own. XD
Zush makes the connection between Berryz Koubou’s Yurina and that old timer Mona Lisa. A collectors card is compared to the famous painting, and if you want to stretch the imagination a little, I can see where Zush is coming from. Actually, the more you look at both pictures, the more you see the similarities. It’s like comparing Koha with a donkey smoking a crack pipe. The more you think about it, the more it makes sense.
[Review] Oh, we have new Berryz covers?
Vee has a blast going inch by inch over each version of “5″, and no member is safe from the line of fire of Vee’s snark! Momo’s hair, Risako’s hat (or Balloon, not sure) and Yurina’s chest are some of the highlights. I’ve never seen an album cover put under the microscope quite like this!
And my favorite part is Chinami and Maasa’s missing legs on the regular edition. That is great! Isn’t anyone working in the “quality control” department at UFA? Recommended.
Memorable Snippets: Part 10 - Yaguchi Mari “Lower My Freakin’ Mic!!”
MaiZe shares a clip of a live performance of Morning Musume with Pink Lady. Or is it Pink Lady with Morning Musume? As they battle it out, someone forgets that Mari is so, so tiny. Or do they? (Do they…)
This leads to some pondering over height. She also wishes Yurina a happy birthday. Apparently Yurina is 5′10″ vs. Mari’s 4′9″(I thought Mari was 5 even…need to recalculate…something…). I think Yurina is closer to 5″9″, but this still makes her the tallest in H!P. I just looked up Kaori who I thought was taller, but she is only 5′6″! Also, watching this vid with that info, Pink Lady themselves can’t be over 5′10″, even in those crazy boots. I always thought of them as very tall. My mind is blown.
Anyway, Ai-chan getting shoved off her mic is also pretty funny. And the guy carefully adjusting Mari’s mic. So many fake real vs. real fake vs. real real moments in this clip, it’s great.
The looming tower Yurina Kumai
Shirow takes a look at Berryz Koubou member, Kumai Yurina, and explains what it is about her that has caught his attention. However, his opening line amused me to no end…
When I first got into berryz kobo Yurina was probably one of the last girls that I noticed which is quite a feat considering her looming height.
Unlike Shirow, Yurina was one of the first BK girls I noticed BECAUSE of her height. One of the first things I did after seeing Yurina was run over to theppn and check to see if she was taller than Kaori… She was. XD
Miya rehearsing for CM + One important reminder
Sporty Berries
Recommended ogling. Our zush has a lot of screencaps of Miyabi from the Hello! Project DVD Magazine Vol. 15. I love Miya in this outfit. That hat is so cute on her! I need to watch this at some point. I love silly Miya!
Up next, zush gets ready for the Olympics which start up in a few days by posting photos of the Berryz girls from the 2006 H!P Sports Festival. The girls look so young (and cute, of course)!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YURINA!!! (Obnoxious Wota)
15sai no Yurina (Slasha’s Tatami Mat)
Recommended ogling. Hello! Project’s resident giant (and I say that with the utmost love) turns 15 today, and CatchFiveBats of Obnoxious Wota and Slasha celebrate with some good old Yurina eyecandy. You can never go wrong with eyecandy. 
Recommended reading. J-Pop Storm is a new H!P blog that’s been around for a few days, and it’s already covered Kanna’s scandal, an Utaban episode review and birthday greets to Yurina. I particularly enjoyed the Utaban review, and I’m looking forward to more entries like that.
BTW, Happy birthday Yurina!
Berryz Art - Natsu Matsuri
Yuke Yuke poster
Zush has more Berryz art to share with us. Here, he’s got a drawing by Maasa to celebrate the summer festival season.
Up next, zush has received his Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance promotional poster. I really wonder why these outfits never made it to the PV, for I love these outfits 100 times better than either of the outfits the girls actually wear in the PV. zush also hands out some awards to the girls based on their presence (can’t really use the word performance here.. XD) in the poster.
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!
Recommended reading. Usa-chan has a track by track review of the H!P Kids battle concert, and if you couldn’t tell by the title of her post, she was loving the performance of “Natsu Doki Lipstick”. I’ve noticed that there seems to be a concensus on Chinami owning Dschinghis Khan, whether it be in the PV or in live performances.
What amused me in this review was her monitoring of Miyabi’s hairdo. As much as I love Miya, I have to agree with Usa-chan… Her hair was something else in this concert… The first time I saw her hair, I cringed. That couldn’t have been fun to comb out afterwards. XD
~Berryz Kamen vs Cutie Ranger~ Concert Review
Recommended reading. Our Celestia has watched the H!P Kids concert extravaganza and was not disappointed. She likes that the battle concert places the two groups on a level playing field, even though Berryz will always have seniority over C-ute simply because they debuted as a group a few years earlier.
Celestia makes a passing comment about whether the Berryz girls are truly happy for their H!P Kids group counterpart, and it’s a legitimate question… I’ve often wondered about that myself.
Celestia then goes over the concert track by track, giving the highs and lows of each number. And, as in her usual concert review fashion, she names a “winner” for each performance. Who comes out on top in this concert? You’ll have to read on to find out! 
Momoko’s On A Costume Hunt. . .
Our own maiZe has been giggling while browsing just released “2008 Spring Document Berryz Kobo” photo book. That’s the one which has lot of snaps taken in back stage situations during BK’s & C-ute’s battle concert tour. When you see Momo and Yurina next to each other you just start wondering is latter one still shooting up. Or is Momo shrinking?
Berryz Art - The real monkeys
Gettin’ hungry now?
zush has some Berryz art to show us. Now the monkeys he’s got here are monkeys that I can deal with. zush also gives a background into the Chinese horoscope sign that some Berryz members fall under - the Water Monkey.
Up next, zush has some photos from a new photobook which has just been released with backstage pictures from the Berryz vs. C-ute battle concert. There’s a C-ute sighting on BK International! And man, all that food looks really appetizing… What’s there to eat around here?
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.
Recommended viewing. Our zush has some adorable scans of Berryz Koubou from their debut year, back in 2004. I’m hesitant to recommend this as ogling, but it’s definitely some nice eye candy. You can see how much these girls have grown up in the past 4 years, even though their latest release may be trying to bring their personal growth back to the level which it was at when they first formed the group.
Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance, AKA the greatest video in existance. (Renai Revolution 21)
Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance PV (★ Morning Musume Again ☆)
Monkies Like This (Shanimuni Paradise)
It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times (True Life Seek)
Yuke Yuke Monkey Fail…I mean, Dance - Berryz Koubou (ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute)
Going bananas for “Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance” (I couldn’t help myself…) (Kira Kira Bomb)
Recommended reading. Here’s the next set of ‘Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance’ responses. Like the first batch, feelings regarding the PV are very mixed.
Wendy at Renai Revolution 21 is loving the PV and relates the silliness of the PV to golden age Morning Musume. While I can understand where she’s coming from, I don’t quite agree with what she’s saying there, but that’s an argument for elsewhere.
yanki07 at Morning Musume Again is not a huge Berryz Koubou fan. Well, this is certainly an interesting release to take notice of them with… I don’t know if this is a good thing or bad thing. yanki07 likes the song, but the PV…. Not so much.
Tsukiki of Shanimuni Paradise has 2 PV reviews in this post. First up, she watched Kuroki Meisa’s ‘Like This’ PV and she wasn’t impressed. While she’s sexy and can dance, it seems the singing is subpar, which is a huge turn off for Tsukiki. Following it up, she reviews Berryz’s ‘Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance’, and it doesn’t fare much better. Tsukiki likes the line distribution in that everyone gets to sing, but feels there’s too much Risako overall. I feel horrible, and I don’t actually want this to happen, but Tsukiki really amused me with one line in her review:
God, Risako, please get into some really horrible scandal and leave H!P forever. PLEASE.
broomhead of True Like Seek has a detailed review of the PV and why it has disappointed him so greatly. The roles of Maasa and Chinami within Berryz is highly frustrating for him, and he is the first person I’ve seen who mentions how bad the monkey costume is to poor Yurina. I thought the same thing when I watched this PV.
These costumes are horrendous to Yurina. She sticks out wearing a monkey costume in a group of people wearing monkey costumes. Wow.
Amimi of ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute is another fan who is not getting into this PV. She’s more of C-ute fan (obviously), but even she’s complaining of the unfairness of the releases being given to Berryz. Her review is pretty thorough, and she does her best to try and find positives for each aspect of the release that she comments on.
To round up this set of reviews, Valentine at Kira Kira Bomb sandwiches the negative responses with a positive one. Here is one blogger who is absolutely LOVING the monkey suits… And the giant banana in the background.
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…
Hello!°C-ute has scans of Berryz Koubou who have recently been featured in Kindai magazine. I’m assuming that they’re promoting their upcoming single, seeing as they’re all in their cover outfits. The quirky style of their outfits aren’t really my thing, but man… Some of their hats are hot!!
MorningBerryz, the continual collector of all things Hello! Project, has purchased and received Berryz Koubou’s Dschinghis Khan promotional shirts. When I first saw the black and white version of this shirt, I had dreams of running around yelling “Uu!! Haa!” while spinning to show off the proper side of the shirt.
MorningBerryz has pictures of the shirts as well as a photo set that came with the red/yellow shirt. He ends off the post with some very cute and entertaining Berryz promotional clips for Dschinghis Khan.
Morning Musume UFA New Set
Very Beauty, Or The French “Renaissance”
Recommended ogling and reading. First up, Nakane has a bunch of new Morning Musume UFA photo sets up, and the girls are looking quite cute. I am particularly enjoying the blue/yellow/pink outifts the girls are wearing. They’re simple, sleek, and it doesn’t look like anything exploded or regurgitated onto them (which is a problem many H!P concert outfits seem to have).
In the second post, Nakane takes an interesting look at Berryz Koubou’s ‘Very Beauty’ PV and finds French connections to it. It is definitely a beautiful PV, and Nakane does a nice job of sharing tidbits of the French renaissance that relate to this PV.
Basket full of berries
Kiss me! Kiss me! Kiss me!
Recommended ogling. First up, our zush has wonderful photos of the Berryz girls lounging and hanging out. Lots of peace signs to be found here.
In the second post, zush promotes Buono!’s ‘Kiss!Kiss!Kiss!’ Single V. He gets around to posting screencaps before I had the chance to even get screencaps… But if you’re a fan of either Momoko, Miyabi or Airi, this Single V may just be your cup of tea. I nearly died of a Miya overload as I watched through the 4 - yes, 4! (lol… what’s with the number 4 tonight?) - versions of the PV… Not that I could ever get enough of Miya…
Recommended ogling. It looks like a heat wave passed through broomhead’s nick of the woods, and in order to get his mind off the heat, he turns to the pools and beaches of H!P photobooks. It’s arguable that these pictures would cool someone down though… XD
The hair styles of Hello! Project
Up! Front Agency creates phsycopath
Two years of waiting for . . Ogawa Makoto
Actually Sakura Ichigo says she likes music from classical to heavy metal but in her blog there seem to be focus mostly on H!P artists. She has posted already three entries in June and they all are worth of checking.
I’ve never kept my eye on Hello! Project girls coiffure so it’s quite interesting to read SI’s remarks on those ever changing hair styles of various girls. Well, I must admit that there are TWO girls whose hair style changes I know very well and also those are mentioned in SI’s post.
In her second blog entry Sakura Ichigo talks about some evident things related to this so-called-Miya-scandal. SI is disappointed that those kissing scenes are even called as scandal. She makes a good point when saying:
“It is ethically wrong to fire a person because of their love interest. That kind of paragraph should be erased from their contract. It’s discrimination towards women. Girls should have basic human rights.”
Can’t agree more.
Lastly SI feels happy because Makoto is back to business and she wonders what kind of role H!P is offering for Mako now. Is Ongaku Gatas a good option? I think it could be. And I also hope that Makoto is going to be regular member in haromoni@ again.
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