Member rankings~ :) Morning Musume Edition

1. JunJun

This should come as no surprise to a lot of people who know me but for those who don’t – I’m a huge JunJun fangirl. She’s the only one I look for in PV’s and lucky for me there was a lot of her in the Nanchatte Renai PV I’m attempting to collect all her tour shirts so if anyone is trying to get rid of her Bon Kyu Bon Kyu BOMB shirt or her Singles Daizenshuu shirt then let me know

2. Kamei Eri

If JunJun wasn’t in MM then Eri would definitely be my favourite. It used to be close between them but after that Fujiwara show JunJun shot miles ahead of Kamei. Anyway, Eri is hot and is (in my opinion) one of the best singers in H!P. I think the only one who actually tops her would be Ai o.o She’s also a fantastic dancer!

3. Niigaki Risa

Risa is rather sexy to say the least, especially with her new hair – wow. I am a member of the Gaki Green Shoe Club which Lolli is the president of (and btw Lolli = win). So yeah. And she’s funny, with her constant “USO!”’s XD

4. Takahashi Ai

I used to think Ai was seriously overrated but after listening to Yume Kara Samete for a few days on constant repeat I changed my mind and ended up liking her a lot, and realising that not only does she deserve all her lines in singles, she deserves to be Morning Musume’s leader and deserves to lead in all singles

5. Mitsui Aika

For some reason Aika used to seriously piss me off. But that all changed when I realised she seriously puts a lot of effort into everything she does, and though she’s far from being the best singer in Morning Musume (or Hello! Project for that matter) and I still don’t understand why she was picked instead of Kikka, she really is improving.

6. Tanaka Reina

Like Aika, Reina used to piss me off a lot, and though I don’t like her as much as Ai she is also a really good singer and dancer. I also get what Tsunku meant when he said she was the closest to being a perfect Musume member, but I can’t help but wonder why her and not Ai? o.o

7. Kusumi Koharu

For some reason I seem to go through phases of liking and disliking Koharu, but this is neither. I’m actually pretty neutral towards Koha most of the time. The main thing about her is that her Kirarin singles (except for Chance! and Happy Happy Sunday!), her voice is incredibly irritating. But when she tries to sing properly she generally sounds awesome.

8. LinLin

While I like her almost the least in MM I do think she has a pretty awesome voice. She sounded great in Aozora whatever in Platinum 9 Disco, and she genuinely shined in that concert aswell, particularly in her duet with JunJun (Fine Emotion) and Guru Guru Jump, but I still can’t help the fact that JunJun shines more for me.

9. Michishige Sayumi

And last but not least is Sayu. The main reason she’s last is because of her… lack of vocal talent shall we say, but that’s not her fault. She really does try but I sometimes can’t stand listening to her voice. Apart from that, I do like Sayu a lot but that’s why she ranks below the other members for me. I actually felt really bad for her on London Hearts when Misono was laying into her, but Sayu can give as good as she gets it seems. She’d make an awesome tarento if she decided to leave MM.

A series of overdue PV reviews! 3rd; Ama no Jaku

So third in the series is Ama no Jaku! This weekend will be a double-A-side special (though SYO isn’t one) as I’ll be reviewing Seishun Bus Guide/Rival tomorow and Shouganai Yume Oibito/3,2,1 Breaking Out! on Sunday. It’s easier to do them in one post each if I’m honest XD Anyway, onto the review for Ama no Jaku…

• Whoever is writing ‘S/mileage’ at the start has very neat handwriting. Useless observation.
• Reminds me of Honto no Jibun with the school setting, haha.
• The dance is so cute, I love minihats
• The costumes are win.
• KANONNNN
• Err… linedancing?
• I like all the photos on the blackboard
• God, I love school uniforms. They’re adorable.
• Wow, a lot of photos of Yuuka…
• Saki is kind of… odd in this unit. Not sure if I like her in it.
• Kanon’s hair is teh awesomez
• Guitar solo? Out of place but rather good
  Haha, Ayacho pretending to draw.
• Pitch change? I like it.
• I really like the dance and how they all start sections at different times, it’s interesting.
• Oh god, what was with the Egg thing at the end? They’re not a Shugo Chara unit anymore.
• Did I say it reminds me of Honto no Jibun?

All in all I like it. It’s much better than any other indies PV I’ve watched

A series of overdue PV reviews! 2nd; Omakase Guardian

I really loved this song when I posted about the preview before, and that hasn’t changed at all. But I got lazy and never bothered to review the PV, so I’m going to now

Omakase Guardian - Guardians 4

• Aww, they all look really happy.
• Aika and Risako centre, no surprise there.
• Outfits = win
• Eeeee, cute dance!
• Like Shugo Chara Egg there are anime clips. I like ittt.
• Everyone looks uberly cute!
• I love Yurina…..
• Aika’s long line before the chorus is amazing.
• Lucky happy makasete ne… too catchy
• Cheerleaders!!!
• V-sainu! Too cute…
• Aika doesn’t annoy me at all in this song. At all.
• Risako’s long line before the chorus is also amazing.
• Ahh, I love the swaying with the big banner! It’s so cute.
• I like the boards they turn over when they sing a certain line!
• Guardians 4 are the best group ever.
• Yurina totally stands out. She’s so tall. And amazing.
• They’re all so cute when they’re doing peace signs at the end of the PV! Eee!

Yes, it’s not exactly the most high-budget PV. But it’s awesomely cute. Which is the best thing.

A series of overdue PV reviews! 1st; MY BOY

Since I said I’d post reviews of H!P PV’s when I got round to it, I’m going to review the PV’s I promised to post about (Omakase Guardian, MY BOY and Seishun Bus Guide), plus  some others (Shouganai Yume Oibito, 321 Breaking Out!, Rival, Ama no Jaku, Shochuu Omimai Mashiagemasu [or whatever] and Nanchatte Renai) so I’m finally caught up, lol. I’m going to go with my bullet-point method that I went with last time too, it’s so much easier than anything else to comment as I watch it lol. This also means I will have er… a lot of posts lol, so it’s a PV review post-spam! XD

MY BOY – Buono!

• Heart shaped box? Anyone else reminded of Nirvana? No?
• Security guards ooer
• …The dance doesn’t fit.
• Buono! are burglars
• They all sound epic as usual, but the dance is weird.
• I like the Engrish! RIDE ON
• Shit the outfits are awesome
• …Airi is hot. Wow.
• Wait, so’s Momoko.
• …. And Miyabi.
• Awesome socks and short shorts and skirts
• Momoko really is win.
• What is it with H!P and one earring? They aren’t Boy George or whatever.
• I really like this song, actually.
• Buono! really are a superunit
• Wow, awesome guitar solo after the second chorus. And an energised dance. Wow.
• IT’S SO NICE
• That is so Buono!. All that for a piece of cake. It looks nice but… you know.

First Kanna and now Erika?!

So I haven’t posted here in a few months, due to lack of effort and exams more than anything. I hate to admit I haven’t been all that bothered about Kanna leaving, deep down I had a suspicion that she’d left and that her bunion was an excuse which may or may not be true, but now Erika, my favourite member is leaving? I’m really starting to become wary about having another favourite in C-ute in case they leave, but then again it’s not that likely that Maimi would leave when her and Airi are the faces of the group… Either way, I have to admit I’m gutted. I do have to admit though that I’m glad that Erika is getting a graduation as she’s the first one to get one in the whole of C-ute (and hopefully nobody else has to have one because they don’t leave, lol). I do have to ask, what’s next for C-ute? Are they going to stick with 5-nin C -ute for a while, which I think is too small considering they’ve gone from 7-nin to 5-nin in a matter of months, or are they going to add some new Eggs so that they’re equal with Berryz once more? Either way, I hope for the latter as although it might seem to some that Kanna and Erika are being replaced, to me it just introduces more amazing personalities into an amazing group.

YesAsia vs. CD Japan

So even though I pre-ordered Morning Musume’s new single (both LE’s) and Guardians 4’s single (LE) from YesAsia the other day I realised I really wanted to get the RE of Guardians 4’s single aswell to get the first press feature. Since I’d already placed an order for pretty much everything I want at the moment from YesAsia I didn’t see the point in pre-ordering the RE of Omakase Guardian from YesAsia because the shipping would’ve made it pretty expensive. Now, the total cost including shipping from CD Japan was cheaper than the actual cost of the CD at YesAsia, so I made my first CD Japan order moments ago.

Then I thought of something interesting.

Why not have a little competition to see which one turns up first? A lot of people have told me that CD Japan is a lot quicker than YesAsia, but in the latter’s defence whenever I’ve preordered anything from there it’s always turned up in about a week, give or take. So what I’m going to do is see which one turns up first and then maybe either take my business from YesAsia to CD Japan or stick with YesAsia. I’ll post the result when the first item turns up… which won’t be for a while yet.

Hangry&Angry ‘Sadistic Dance’ Review

So I think it came as a surprise to a lot of people when Japanfiles put up a link to download Hangry&Angry’s new (and unfortunately) download-only single, which is pretty cooly called ‘Sadistic Dance’. You can listen to the preview of  it here;

I actually quite like the song, even though this is only my second listen. To me it sounds sort of more… trance than all their other songs. It also really, really reminds me of a tATu song, which may or may not be a bad thing. The ‘this is my vibe’ line at first sounded to me as ‘this is my life’, but a few people seem to have heard it as ‘this is my bike’ or in my dad’s case, ‘cheesy fried rice’. Say no more.

I look forwards to hearing the full song, and I’m glad that Hangry&Angry weren’t just a one-shot unit. I hope to hear more from them.

Omakase Guardian/My Boy/Seishun Bus Guide

I figured since all three songs that are for anime I’d review them all at once. I was highly anticipating listening to Omakase Guardian since it’s got two of my favourite H!P members in it – Yurina and Nakki. I’m fairly neutral towards Aika and Risako, but I knew Risako would sound awesome as usual. As for My Boy, I had high expectations due to Buono! having consistantly great releases. As for Seishun Bus Guide, I was wondering what Berryz Kobo were going to come out with next after Dakishimete Dakishimete, which in my opinion was awesome.

I love it. I absolutely and completely adore it. Everyone sounds awesome and Mittsi’s line before the ‘GO GO!’ is incredible, I never knew that she had that vocal capability. I’ve only heard the short preview from Shugo Chara but already it’s the most played song on my iTunes. It’s also really hard to get out of my head, not that I mind though. I constantly have the introduction playing over and over in my head.

Err.. what? Is that Buono!? It’s almost black metal! O.o well I can’t admit I was expecting it. As per usual of Buono!, it IS good but it’s probably my least favourite Buono! song so far. I always forget it after each time I hear it. The girls do sound awesome though, especially Momoko.

When I heard it was called Seishun Bus Guide I have to admit I was expecting it to be pretty immature. But bloody hell, that’s one of the most mature songs I’ve heard Berryz come out with. Strange mix, I like it though. I’m useless at telling the voices apart (Guardians 4 and Buono! are pretty easy) but everyone sounds awesome.

Expect a proper review once we’ve got the PV’s and stuff

Bye Bye Bye! PV Review

It’s been a while since this PV has been released but I couldn’t resist posting a review of it (partly because Paul said he would if I did but whatever).

I’ve decided to do something different with a PV review this time, and I’m going to comment on the PV as I watch it. I’ve watched the PV before but I couldn’t resist doing something new for once.

Here we go then;

• The flashing lights at the start are awesome.
• MAIMAI! She looks so old!
• Chisato looks pretty good.
• Maimi’s giving me a nosebleed.
• I don’t like the distortion on Nakki’s voice much but oh well.
• Airi sounds absolutely amazing :O
• I hate the dance at the chorus, a lot.
• I really like the background for the closeups.
• Never mind looking old, MaiMai looks awesome and sounds fantastic.
• Never mind the chorus, I don’t like the dance anyway.
• Duo closeups – awesome.
• ERIKA!!!!
• Odoremashou.
• The background for the closeups is actually pretty trippy. I like it.
• I do like the dance part for the ‘TAKE CONTROL’ line but taht’s probably the only time I do like it.
• The dance…. pretty simple.
• Nakki really does look great.
• I like Erika’s line, a lot. Dekiru darou…
• Maimi’s high notes are making me grin XD
• What is with the dance at the instrumental? It’s terrible.
• CRABS?! (3.02)
• That move after’s weird too. Looks like a rip-off of something but I can’t remember what…
• The Byex3 after the chorus rocks.
• …Then the dance comes back.
• I don’t like the stutter they put on MaiMai’s last line.
• The dance…. ugh.
• I like the flashy background a lot.

All in all, not a really good review of the PV aside from the girls. Let me explain. I’m used to low budget PVs when it comes to H!P but they’ve almost always had good dances, and the dance makes a lot of the song for me. IMO this dance was pretty terrible, there were some good parts but not many. The arm waves when they sung ‘Bye Bye Bye!’ were kind of strange, if I’m honest. I do prefer the close-ups, especially the duo close-ups so I hope they have this as a feature on the Event V or something if there is one. The girls look amazing as usual and I do really like the outfits I just feel really let down by the PV overall.

Maybe Kanna was the key to a decent PV? I mean look at it, IMO this one’s not very good and it’s the only single without Kanna… maybe to me she made the PV?

I do like the song though, quite a lot actually. I may rip the song from the PV so I don’t have to watch it but then again, it’s being released on Wednesday. Except a full single review.

Hello!Blog’s 2009 Poll

So it’s that time of year again where Paul puts up a poll. There’s a difference this year though, since you rank your Top 10 H!P members (inc. Eggs in a group) as opposed to just MoMusu, Berryz and C-ute. Lets get started

1. JunJun

Anyone who knows me will realise this isn’t much of a surprise. My favourite Morning Musume member and just overall my favourite H!P member, I love JunJun <3 I could spend all day talking about my JunJun adoration but I’m not going to.

2. Kamei Eri

I love Kame almost as much as JunJun. She’s an awesome singer and from what I can see of her photobooks she’s extremely photogenic (and hot)

3. Kumai Yurina

My favourite Berryz Kobo member. The gentle giant is awesome and I’m so glad she got into her first unit. I can’t wait to hear them and I may just pre-order the single anyway XD

4. Takahashi Ai

Recently, after listening to Yume Kara Samete non-stop for about a day I realised Ai-chan deserves to be the lead of MoMusu (Reina’s a different story XD). She’s amazing, she’s a great singer, dancer and actor. I’ve seriously grown to love Ai-chan recently and she doesn’t disappoint.

5. Nakajima Saki

Nakki! My favourite C-ute member. I’m also extremely happy she made it into another unit, she was great in A+R and so I can’t wait to see how she does in Guardians 4.

6. Yasuda Kei

This may sound strange but I LOVE Kemeko. She’s by far my favourite of the Elder Club. She’s gorgeous (if you disagree with me you’re wrong ) and a fantastic singer. How many people can still sound incredible when singing with Yossie? (2, Kemeko and Makoto lol).

7. PeiPei

Ice Creamusume need to release more stuff because then I can see more PeiPei because she frigging rocks. She makes me laugh really hard with the pretend family of her wife Youko and her daughter ReiRei (or should I say, Minnie and Miss Positive?). I can’t wait to hear more of her.

8. Ogawa Makoto

With Makoto around it makes it really difficult to decide who’s the voice of the 5th Gen. I always thought it was Ai-chan but after listening to her, Yossie and Kemeko doing Baby! Koi ni KNOCKOUT in the Elder Club concert I’m beginning to think she’s easily on par. Plus, she’s hot. Look at her.

9. Nakazawa Yuko

Frigging awesome. Yuko ROCKS. All I have to do is try and set her up with my brother, shouldn’t be too hard since she’s not much younger than him and oh yeah she’s extremely famous in Japan. I’ll have more luck in her giving me a tissue for sneezing haha.

10. Umeda Erika

Erika is awesome. She totally deserves a PB already (and which according to Tsunku, someone who hasn’t had one yet will have one :O) and I know for a fact that she’d look awesome in every shot.

I wanted to rank more people XD Honourable mentions to Sudou Maasa, Miyoshi Erika, Matsuura Aya, Konno Asami and Niigaki Risa.