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.

Must Buy More Ayaya

With the announcement of the Elder Club graduation, Tom has realized something that I realized for my own blog a little while ago… There isn’t enough Aya coverage on his blog. He shares his discovery of Aya with us, and how one clip from Aya’s recent concert tour has convinced him to add to his small Aya concert DVD collection.

I’ve sung my praises on Aya’s concert DVD, and I hope Tom enjoys it as much as I did. I mean, how can you go wrong with Aya and a full length concert with a live band?

Review: Music Station 2008/09/05
…I am just about shitting myself here

Recommended reading (and viewing). I think Henkka’s about at the point where he should consider changing the name of his blog, because his content is slowly veering away from the area of Hello! Project. That’s not a bad thing, of course! Anyway, our favorite Finn reviews an episode of Music Station from early september, offering clips of each performance and making comments on all artists involved. This one is worth reading for the Suga Shikao clip alone. If you are ready to see something incredibly disturbing, watch that video. It’s horrifying… but in a gleeful way.

A later post has Henkka fanboying (no other term would be appropriate) over a performance between H!P soloist Matsuura Aya, ikimonogakari vocalist Kiyoe, and some random guy (whose name is actually Tokunaga Hideaki). Aya and Kiyoe perform “Sotsugyou Shashin” together, and I gotta say… I can see exactly why Henkka is so excited about this. It’s really an unexpected combination, but the duet is so, so sweet.

Hello! Project -Official Site-
Elder Club members to graduate from Hello! Project (Hello!Online)
Hello! Project’s Elder Club members to graduate (Tokyograph)

Wow.

As of March 31, 2009, all the members of the Hello! Project Elder Club–including popular soloists Matsuura Aya, Abe Natsumi, and Fujimoto Miki, as well as full groups like Melon Kinenbi and Ongaku Gatas–will graduate from the H!P umbrella. So if your favorite soloist isn’t in Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, or C-ute, or an H!P Egg, they’re probably leaving. H!O has a full translation of the list, Tokyograph brings the essentials to the table, and you can of course read the original announcement on the H!P website.

There’s no word yet on whether or not any of the graduating members will be moving to a new record label, TNX or otherwise, or even continuing their careers as idols. The lack of information is actually somewhat disheartening, and you have to wonder if this giant graduation is actually a giant firing. I’m certain that nearly everyone reading this has a favorite idol on this list, and you have to wonder what’s going to happen to them now that their future within H!P has gone from uncertain to … nonexistent. And even if you aren’t a fan of these idols… it is a sad day for them, not just their fans, and you have to wonder how they are taking it.

Take this whole thing as you will, but this is a startling announcement that leaves the future of many, many young women, as well as the entire body of Hello! Project, unclear. Obviously not all of these idols were getting a lot of attention, instead being constantly passed over in favor of the bigger flagship groups, but I don’t think many people really expected a mass departure like this to happen.

All I can say is wow. It’s a sad day for a lot of fans, and an even sadder day for a lot of idols.

Holy Shit. Chisato Just Upstaged Ayaya.

Now, when I say littlest, I don’t mean youngest. Tsukiki has been floored by the little ball of energy known as Okai Chisato. As most Hello! Project fans already know, the H!P Kids had solo fan club events this past summer and the DVDs featuring these events were just released a few weeks ago. In Chisato’s solo event, she sings Matsuura Aya’s “Suna wo Kamu You ni… NAMIDA”, and it looks like it was Tsukiki’s favourite performance.

I’ve been a hug fan of Chisato since I saw a clip of her doing a monomane of Fujimoto Miki back when I first got into C-ute. Her talent is definitely under used within H!P, and while I’m not quite sure if she’s the BEST singer among the H!P Kids, as Tsukiki feels, she’s definitely in the top 3.

AYA The Witch - Matsuura Aya 2008 Haru Concert Tour Review
Shine More

Recommended reading. Our own maiZe is focusing her attention towards one particular Hello! Project idol lately: Matsuura Aya. She kicks things off by reviewing Ayaya’s 2008 spring concert, which she calls “smoking!!” Her enthusiasm continues throughout the post as she makes notes on each song performed, adding the occasional picture and video along the way.

In a later post maiZe introduces Shine More, her brand new Ayaya “worship blog,” and I gotta say… yeah, why wasn’t there one before this? Anyway, maiZe starts the new blog off on the right foot with some pics of the singer in her younger days. That is… a huge teddy bear. Wow.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop dvd extras picspam

Morningtime is ecstatic about an H!P related product being released in the UK. So he has treated us to a whole bunch of stills from the DVD’s bonus features! I actually have a limited edition 2-disc version of this film, but mine doesn’t have any subtitles on the bonus features. From the looks of it, the UK versions’ extras are all subtitled. So this is probably the best version to be released to date.

Like Morningtime, I highly recommend this DVD. And if you can get the version with the bonus features (with or without subs) you are in for a real treat!

Aya Matsuura - Best 1

Greg has only recently started to give Matsuura Aya a chance, having been turned off to her newer, slower releases. However, he was intrigued after watching her perform ‘I Know’ at the 2008 Winter H!P concert. To test out her older material, he gave her Best 1 album a try and was not disappointed.

Being a huge Aya fan myself (even of her newer releases), it’s always fun for me to read about the development of new Aya fans.

Super Happy Genki Hyperforce Go!

Recommended reading. The blog’s name may seem daunting, but Super Happy Genki Hyperforce Go! is a promising looking new H!P blog. This blog has been around for about a month, and superhappygenki already has quite a few interesting posts.

There is the obligatory introductory post which outlines superhappygenki’s likes and dislikes within Hello! Project’s groups. It looks like she’s not too into the soloists.

She has also written up 2 posts highlighting specific members of Hello! Project. Up first was Berryz Koubou’s Captain, Shimizu Saki and with superhappygenki’s enthusiasm for Captain, I think she and SecondBlossoming would get along quite nicely. She follows that up with some musings on Morning Musume’s leader, Takahashi Ai, which definitely give you something to think about.

However, this is not solely a H!P blog, for superhappygenki also has a post on doramas. She also notes that some anime/manga posts may pop up every now and then. This is definitely a blog I’ll keep my eye on.

Hello! project 2009 calenders (Wotaku Now!)
2009 Calendar Covers (「☆☆☆」)
2009 H!P Calendars: WHICH ONE WILL CFB BUY!? (Obnoxious Wota)
2009 Calendars (Morningtime)

The time has come to choose your Calendar! The covers for the 2009 Morning Musumue, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, Matsuura Aya and Abe Natsumi calendars are up and ready to get you thinking about which calendar you want to buy for next year.

C-ute’s mish-mash of outfits leaves me intrigued to see what the heck will be within the calendar. Shirow of Wotaku Now! has some amusing commentary on that cover.

Bri at 「☆☆☆」 loves Momusu’s cover, is a little disgruntled at Berryz Koubou’s, and is not impressed with C-ute’s at all. She’s got a thumbs down for Nacchi and a thumbs up for Aya (go Aya!).

CatchFiveBats of Obnoxious Wota is torn between Berryz Koubou and Morning Musume’s calendars… He’s taking suggestions in his comments… I wonder if he needs a suggestion from me, or if my vote is predictable…

Morningtime just looks at Momusu’s and Nacchi’s covers… There is some amusing commentary on Morning’s, while Nacchi’s smile doesn’t seem to be up to snuff this time around.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop released on dvd in UK 22 September 2008

Morningtime has news for UK Hello! Project fans. Matsuura Aya’s (and Biyuuden’s) movie Sukeban Deka is going to be released in the UK this September. It’s been out in North America for a little while already, but I didn’t realize that until fairly recently… I have my North American copy, which I got for $10 from the local bookstore. Pretty awesome deal if you ask me.

Member #15  (Yoshizawa)

Member #16  (Matsuura)

Member #17  (Takahashi)

Member #18  (Konno)

Member #19  (Ogawa)

Member #20  (Okada Yui)

Member #21  (Jun Jun)

And when I say big guns, I am not just talking about Yui!

Maple GreanTea’s new Okesuna Blog has gotten off to a fast start with quite a few profiles of some of H!P’s top talent in this long-running series.  I was a little surprised to find out who Okesuna likes and dislikes.  But that’s all part of the fun!  There is a wonderful write-up of Takahashi Ai, who OB obviously likes.  And I’m glad there is love for the goddess Ayaya.  But then again, I’m yet to meet the person who doesn’t like her!  They are all nice profiles with some great eyecandy.  Recommended.

Countdown! The Top 100 H!P PV’s: 55-50.5

Every time I start to lose faith that Kirarin☆Snow has given up on her countdown, she proves me wrong again. This installment features more of her trademark crazy over-analysis of h!p PVs that’s sure to both amuse and confuse. Lots of Minimoni this time around.

Yo-Yo Girl Cop (Sukeban Deka) Movie Review

Recommended reading. Pex has a nicely detailed summary and analysis of Matsuura Aya’s movie, Sukeban Deka. Charmy recommended this movie, to Pex, and after an initial reluctance to watch it, Rika in fishnet stocking eventually tipped the scales.

I know that not everyone enjoyed this movie, but I have to agree with Pex’s overall breakdown. Aya and the Biyuuden girls were all pretty impressive to me in this movie, and I highly enjoyed it.

The Atsuura Maya Discography Adventure!

Recommended reading. Amimi has just recently taken on the task of listening to Matsuura Aya’s discography. As a huge fan of Aya, I like knowing when people give her a try, and I like it even more when people like what they hear.

Amimi goes through some of the songs that have stood out for her thus far. She explains that this is by no means a concrete list, for she’s going based on intial reactions to the songs. But it’s definitely interesting to see which ones caught her attention. She’s got a good mix of singles, b-sides and album songs, as well as energetic songs as well as ballads. It looks like we’ve got a new Ayaya fan in our midst! Yay!

Aya Matsuura “Double Rainbow” concert: Her best ever?

Recommended reading. Madara has another concert review for us, and this time he takes a look at Aya’s latest concert DVD, “Double Rainbow”. Madara really enjoyed this concert of Aya’s because in his eyes, Aya truly seemed to enjoy herself in the concert, rather than exaggerating cheeriness into every moment as he has felt she’s done to varying extents in previous concerts.

I just watched this concert for the first time recently, and like Madara, I highly enjoyed the live band which comes on stage for the second half of the concert.

Just a side note regarding the cover song that Aya did by Taiyo to Ciscomoon. I’m not sure if Madara knows this, but for clarification, Aya also recorded a cover to this song. It was the b-side to “Kiseki no Kaori Dance” which she sang with Inaba Atsuko, who was a member of Taiyo to Ciscomoon.

Shoko Tan X Ayaya X Megadeth

It’s something that features Shoko Nakagawa, Marty Friedman and Aya Matsuura all in one. What are you still waiting for?

CK’s H!P Film Festival Pt. 3 (My new favorite h!p movie)

In this installment of the h!p film festival, CK watches and reviews “VICTORY Futto Girls no Seishun”. It’s a soccer themed movie featuring Ayaya a cheerleader. Admittedly, I’d never heard of this one, but if it’s CK’s new favorite h!p movie, I’d better watch it. I can’t help but wonder what Dexter would have thought of it though…

Another great H!P Winter Concert!

Recommended reading. Madara has another H!P concert review, and he thoroughly enjoyed this one. Reading this review has made me want to go back and re-watch this concert. Through the entire setlist, Madara found only one major flaw, which really piques my interest. One thing that startled me was his mention of liking 3rd generation Tanpopo more than 2nd gen. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered someone with that preference. (And just a side note: 1st gen Tanpop was Kaori, Mari and Ishiguro Aya - before the 4th generation Morning Musume members joined up).

He makes note of the presence of the H!P Kids and how much they’ve grown in the past 5 years, before finishing it off with his reasoning for liking older H!P concerts over the more recent DVDs.

Latest Purchases

Paul Thomas goes over his thoughts on a few of his recent purchases, including photobooks from Niigaki Risa and Takahasi Ai and singles from Matsuura Aya, High-King and, yes, Wonder Girls.

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…

I’m So So So Hot Hot

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

Elder Club 2008 - The ladies are at their peak!

Recommended reading. Madara shares his own unique take on the Elder Club concert DVD from the four-disc set. I especially like how he takes issue with the opening number of “Joshi Kashimashi” in maid uniforms - he finds it beneath the ladies’ dignity. I’m left thinking, “Since when has being an idol had ANYTHING to do with dignity?”