Risako Loves Fantasy…

Our Yorosen! reviewer of the week is Shirow!  He feels that the recent week of the program, the one with Risako dressed as a witch has turned the show to a better direction.  He focuses mostly on the antics of Risako herself, and on the subtle messages on everyone’s shoes.  Which I hadn’t noticed until he posted it.

Ya know, I have always considered Risako one of my lesser favorite idols.  I don’t hate her, but I’ve just never gotten excited about her.  However, I must admit she looks rather fetching in that outfit she wore on the show.  And Shirow found some very cute expressions on her face to screencap.  Some nice eyecandy included.

Little Photoshop of Horrors

This isn’t a costume hall of shame post. Instead, what Celestia is showing us how the girls of H!P often look less than spectacular regardless of a bad costume. Celestia’s got Eri, Kanna and Risako twice in here… Though, I had to say that Risako totally got the short end of the stick in the photos.

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 …”

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

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!

Rii, is everything all right?

Many of you may have noted Sugaya Risako’s sudden preference for very baggy clothes. Zush is concerned that her recent weight gain may be a reflection of deeper problems, like the stress of being the most focal member of Berryz Kobou getting to her. Of course, we can’t really know what’s going on in an idol’s head, but Zush’s theory doesn’t seem unlikely.

Berryz Art - Dance to the music
Shake, Rattle and Roll !

More Berryz Koubou art brought to you by Zush, and this time around Saki and Maasa are given the topic “Dance”. The pictures are so boring however, that I’m struggling to pull out a witty comment. Next!

An earlier entry has picture of the week for BKI, and its Risako in another curious costume from the ever-crazy H!P wardrobe.

[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.

Berryz Koubou & C-ute Battle Concert!
Niigaki Risa as Prince Charming

Tricia received the Berryz Koubou & °C-ute Battle Concert and quickly goes over it. Tricia notes that Sudou Maasa and Arihara Kanna get a lot of attention. Tricia also says that she likes Sugaya Risako but not as a lead, which a stance that could be expaneed upon I guess.

In another post, Tricia shares some photos of Niigaki Risa; there is one photo as regular ole Risa and a bunch of her as Prince Charming from the Cinderella musical.

Risako gets dirty

Recommended viewing. Shirow of Wotaku Now! shows us the surprising twist in Risako’s version of “Memorable Summer Experience” performed recently on Berikyuu. I’m sure the experience she explained in the song was very memorable for her. Shirow shows us the lyrics and a subbed version of her performance, and the mature aspects of the song will definitely shock you, considering Risako’s age and idol image. Hopefully this is foreshadowing a potential scandal…

Berryz Koubou 5th Album Setlist

Sakura Ichigo has the tracklisting for Berryz Koubou’s 5th album, “5 (FIVE)”, which is due to be released next month.  She also provides commentary on the tracks, both old and new.  It looks pretty promising, except that Risako gets a solo.  Durn.

Risako

Slasha talks about Risako’s position within his H!P fandom, and how she reached both ends of the spectrum in terms of likeability. She’s currently back on Slasha’s “like” list, and after listing reasons he sees other people post for hating Risako, he falls back on what first drew him to her… “She’s too cute to hate”.

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)!

Something Strange is Happening to Me…

Bri seems troubled by a recent “changing of the guard” in her Hello! Project fandom.  She notes how she is becoming annoyed with some of her past favorite members, but surprises herself with a new appreciation for members she never really liked before.  The biggest surprise being a new found affection for a certain H!P Kid with a questionable singing voice and attitude.

Just about everyone goes through crisis’ like this at some point in their lives.  Personally I have flip-flopped many times about the members I watch closely and the one’s I don’t pay much attention to.  So let’s all support Bri during these troubling times!

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!

Saki, you sexy beast!

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

Umberllas, hearts and Cherry Stick

Our zush has received new UFA photos, and Miyabi is looking quite wonderful in them. I’m particularly loving Miya in the white shirt with red hearts. He’s also got a few Risako photos in this shipment…

I’ve seen the H!P Kid umbrella photos before, but I’m just noticing now that the black umbrella that Risako’s holding is a downer in her photos, while the red of Miya’s umbrella really brings her photos to life. However, Risako’s not letting her bleak looking umbrella get her down! She’s got a smile that could light up any room to offset the darkness.

~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!

Berryz Koubou & °C-ute Nakayoshi Battle Concert Review

First of those Berryz Kobo’s & C-ute’s battle concert tour DVDs is now out and ready for heavy watching. Well, at least I speak for myself and our very own maiZe. In fact she has already been watching this C-ute’s edition of DVD more often than I what surprises me a bit.

In her very detailed review maiZe goes through the whole entertaining package. Not a surprise that Miya gets lot of kudos from her while Risako ruins almost all she touches. For example: maiZe thinks that Rii completely destroys Very Beauty, the song she sings with Airi.

“She (Rii) looks a little drunk as walks unsteadily down the steps at the start of the song. I’ve read other reviews saying that Risako has improved, but really, I find her voice just isn’t stable enough for this song. Her vocal control is horrible for the sustained notes.”

In spite of Rii’s bad appearance maiZe finds this concert DVD quite satisfying & entertaining. By the way, BK’s edition of this double DVD is goiing to be released on July 16.

Berikyuu! Idol Week 3 results show. ^-^

MorningBerryz is back with the results for week 3 of Berikyuu! Idol. This week’s elimination brings it down to the final 2 girls fighting for the title of Berikyuu! Idol. Who was able to hold on and make it to the final battle? Read on to find out!

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?

Some Berry ♥ C-ute visual screens!…and a gift from Ohta. ^-^
It’s Aloha Friday! Hello! Project Style!…(hmm just how well does your favorite H!P girl flirt?!)

Recommended reading/ogling. First up, MorningBerryz has received a shipment from Ohta and man, oh man, MB got some C-ute and Berryz Koubou visual screens. I’m partial to the Maimi one, but 4 visual screens is impressive. He can have a mini H!P Kids party. In addition to the screens, Ohta also sent along a few UFA photos as a gift.

In the second post, MorningBerryz takes us back to the summer of 2002 and the Morning Musume Hawaiian releases. The Hawaiian versions of Morning Musume songs are so summery and so relaxing that reading this article makes me want to pull them out and really get into the mood of summer with some Hawaiian-flavoured sounds. MB closes out the post with screencaps from the Morning Musume Single Medley~Hawaiian~ pv. Which H!P girl has the best flirting ability? Who can sweep the ukelele playing Boo Takagi off his feet?

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.

It was four years from now

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…

C-ute, Berryz, and MoMusu rankings

Slasha discovered Hello!Blog’s H!P poll and gets to ranking the girls of H!P’s 3 most successful groups. The reasoning behind the rankings aren’t very detailed, but there are some highly amusing quips which made this a fun read. I particularly enjoyed the write ups for Morning Musume’s Sayumi, and C-ute’s Hagiwara Mai.

And ha! No Miyabi chin jokes here!

I, unlike others, think that her long chin makes her prettier.

Berryz Koubou in Kindai

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!!

“That sucks!”

Recommended reading and lulzing. This is a (generally) fun and lighthearted read about the “occupational hazards” of being a member of the Hello! Project.

Usa-chan has a pointy remark directed at C-ute’s Maimi, talk of curses, Linlin (really now… this joke has been embraced by so many people… XD), and a few more pitfalls in regards to beings part of the H!P empire. However, I must say, the number one hazard has them all beat (which is probably why it’s #1). It definitely had me cracking up. Definitely not to be missed!

Berryz工房　ジンギスかンTシャツセット

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…

Berikyuu! Idol The Final Six “Idol heads back to the stage.”

Recommended reading/viewing. MorningBerryz is back with the next round of Berikyuu idol competition. The top 6 girls show off their stuff, and the competition is getting stiff.

As with the previous installments of this series, the judges all have something to say. Randy and Paula are spouting their love, while Simon is… well, Simon. XD I could say more on the individual performances chosen, but I don’t want to influence votes… So come check it out and have your say on who the first Berikyuu idol winner will be!

Rii making faces
Rii’s making great progress

zush looks to brighten the day with some Risako media. In the first post, we get some screencaps of an adorably young Rii from the making of ‘Nanchuu Koi Wo Yatteruu You Know?’. I miss this old Risako who was endearingly awkward with  her funny teeth.

In the second post, zush has some audio clips of Risako from her solo event this month. While I would say Risako’s singing has improved some from when she was younger, I can’t quite agree with zush.

If you still say Rii can’t sing then you must be deaf.

I think I’m deaf… XD However, I am also slightly biased because one of her event songs was Ayaya’s ‘Zutto Suki De Ii Desu Ka’, and in my mind, NO ONE can live up to Ayaya’s delivery of that song (okay… maybe I’m more that just SLIGHTLY biased). So really, Rii was put at an unfair disadvantage in terms of bringing her status up in my eyes with this performance.

Nozomi Tsuji (07)
Risako Sugaya

Will has some more Nono pictures - much appreciated by me - in his lastest post, whilst an earlier one has some Risako. Nono’s dealing with a big cake and a little dog. As for Risako, shes about ready to break out into ballet, and stuff.

Recommending reading. ºAbsol-ute ºC-ute is a new H!P blog by Amimi. She started it less than a week ago and already there’s a nice mix of news stories with commentary, a review on C-ute’s ‘Namida no Iro’ and an eyecandy post featuring Buono!.

Her latest entry is on Buono!’s  fourth single and I agree with Amimi in wishing for something along the lines of ‘Janakya Mottainai’.

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.