August 2009

10 Results Found

Everyday Zekkocho!! Full PV

Monday, 31st August 2009 22:14 | 37 Comments

It's time for me to start welling up and hold back those tears, with EVERYDAY Zekkouchou! being Erika's last single release with C-ute what else am I supposed to do apart from make sure I have a box of tissues ready when ever I watch it.

Another reason those tissues may come in useful is with how amazing Erika look XD I have to say that I'm so happy to see that Erika is looking mouthwatering sexy and that's the perfect image she wants to have if her career in modelling is going to be a success. Personally I can't see how it's not, she's just amazing to look at and I've already said that her looks are really similar to those of Leilani, whose a model in the UK, although chances are Erika won't be going down her modelling career path.
To be fair the everyone is looking just as great, it's nosebleed central and with the news that C-ute will have a Alo-Hello release out next month they'll be more due. The thought of Chisato and Nakki potentially being in bikinis....

The real shame with this PV is that although everything from the lines to who features most feels really balanced, it isn't really. Well, not towards Erika at least and considering this is her last single to me that's what I want to see, I've been an Erika fan for as long as I've been into C-ute and she's never really had any luck when it comes to PVs. Generally always at the back and on one of the far sides she's quite often either obscured from view or just cut out because the camera doesn't quite go that far. When I first watched this on :::Dohhh Up!::: I was really excited about it, and a little disturbed that it reminded me of a Backstreet Boys video XD
As I've already said Erika looks gorgeous and I think I may have lost myself in her looks during my first views. As when I watch it back now, I just want more of her. In the back right hand corner she's a blurry beauty that is annoyingly obscured by Maimi and Airi on a far to regular basis and cut out of shots by the camera even more often. But that being said the bits that we do get to see her she's great, can I say how amazing she looks again?

The PV lacks any of the extra footage that the previous release had and is essentially just a dance shot, but it does feature quite an interesting backdrop. Filmed on top of an office block (I'm guessing?) in Japan we get to see a great view of the surrounding city and all it's buildings. Originally I had thought that this wasn't exactly the best idea, I don't want to see traffic driving along the streets in the background it's just an ugly view, but watching it now it adds a bit of interest into the PV that I hadn't thought about, one of those pointless thoughts that just pops into your head, "what is everyone else doing in the background?". It's totally crap but at points I found myself looking at the buildings and the traffic and just wondering if anyone knew that on top of a building not far from them C-ute were dancing around on a highly polished black block and did any of them actually care? Plus a realisation of how different the girls lives as idols and singers are to the 'average' person. The girls within their own perfect little area on that roof top, with everything outside and around that area being bland and ordinary, plus I think very few people will ever dance on the top of an office block in their lives.

Unlike Morning Musumes's releases of late where I've found that I'm sitting around wondering whether I'll like the song straight away or if it will take me a few days of listening for it to grow on me, C-ute's singles are always spot on and I never have any doubt in my mind that I'll like them the first time i hear them, it's generally just a matter of how epic they are. And although this isn't at the top of that list it's still a really good listen, perhaps not the greatest song to say farewell to Erica too, a few solo lines for her would have been nice. But as ever with the majority units within Hello Project, they're more than just one person, even without certain members they'll continue to evolve and grow and with such a though it's perhaps best they continue as they mean to go on, pretty much as the Airi and Maimi show XD
I'm really curious to see if this change structure within the unit will change anything with the releases, with fewer members the distribution of lines should be easier and the screen time everyone should get should in theory increase. With Hagiity getting her debut PB release (so looking foward to this, I've been waiting ages for a non Airi/Maimi C-ute PB release) she'll gain some more attentions from the fans which will help be pushed more? I for one for really love that as her voice is one of my favourites within the group.




CD Release Date : 16 - 09 - 09    DVD Release Date : 30 - 09 - 09



C-ute - EVERYDAY Zekkouchou! (Regular Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

C-ute - EVERYDAY Zekkouchou! (Limited Edition with DVD)
CDJapan | YesAsia

C-ute - EVERYDAY Zekkouchou! (Single V)
CDJapan | YesAsia

TAGS [ C-ute Erika PV ]
Posted Monday, 31st August 2009 22:14 | 6066 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Hello!Blog 3rd Birthday

Thursday, 27th August 2009 11:38 | 47 Comments

*Puts on a party hat and hands out cake*

If you wondering what the parties for, it's becuase three years ago today I made my first blog post, An Unexpected Early Delivery and amazingly I'm still around writing them. To be honest I'm completely amazed that I'm still hear and still loving it, that's not to say that I thought I'd grow to dislike Hello! Project, far from it it's more that I enjoy a fad.
My whole life has pretty much been filled up with them, lasting months to years but generally they all die down to the point where I keep an interest but only in passing, the collections (and I do like to collect) slow down and get tucked away in the cupboards to make way for the next obsession, Pokemon is a really good example of this as my first few years in Uni my room was essentially a shrine to all things Pokemon; posters, toys, plushies, videos (yes, those ancient things), DVDs, manga, card games and obviously many versions of the games spread over all manor of Nintendo based consoles, and now unless you take a deeper look there's only the slightest hint that I was ever a fan, you'll find the odd game laying around, a couple of Pikachu toys in my car but apart from that you'd never know that I spent far too much on it and enjoyed it in all aspects. So the fact that I'm still here not only posting but still enjoying everything as much as I was when I started really surprises me, obviously in the best possible way!

This year for me has been the most interesting in a very long while, both personally and with regards to H!P.
For quite some time now I've been single, it must be coming on to 10 months now and it's really given me an opportunity to explore my H!P fandom to the max. Not that Kat ever really stopped me from doing this, she was always accepting of H!P and it would be hard for her not to considering what a large part of my life it takes up, but I look at my break up with her as one of the best things to happen to me this year, at the time this was far from how I felt but I know that if I was still with her there would be the chance that I wouldn't be in the situation I am now, and there's people I possibly wouldn't have met and situations I might not have been in and looking back at this year there's not a single thing I'd want to change...well that's a lie I can thing of one thing I'd like to change, but for the most part this year has been awesome.

December of this year I took the step from chatting to people online and met up with another H!P fan, Hexi. She quickly became one of my best friends and I think she summed up it all up in this post, Oh how happy i am we’re friends..., her comments below pretty much reflect how I felt as well;

"it was really nice being in the company of someone who is so like-minded as me as he is"...."we're so similar i'm surprised he couldn't guess what i was going to say."

Since then, I've had the pleasure of speaking to a ton of other H!P fans and it's this turning of the online community into an actual physical one that I've enjoyed so much about this year. There were people I chatted to on an almost daily basis through MSN like Gina and jyoru, but then with the announcement that both Buono! and Morning Musume would be playing outside of Asia the reality of meeting other fans really hit home.

I know that some of my friends think it a little strange that I talk to people online and was even willing to head to LA by myself and hangout with people I didn't 'really' know. But to me it was less of a worry, I'm not going to say it wasn't a worry because it was sharing a room with someone I've only ever chatted to online and in CDevil's case spoke to in an email once or twice, had me wondering whether we'd get along or would it be a week of putting with people. But going over to LA has opened my eyes to what a wonderful community we're all in and how friendly everyone is, turns out that both jyoru and CDevil (any everyone that I met out there) were great.
Being into what I'm (we're) into can be tough sometimes, with the power of the internet behind me I can log on and chat to any number of people about whatever I want and in this case that would be my interests with Asian culture be it Idols, Music, Film whatever I've got friends online who I can sit down with all night and chat happily with until the early hours of the morning BUT there's a big difference between online chatting and actually sitting down with someone and having a laugh and a chat. And I think what a lot of people didn't and quite possibly still don't understand is how few people I can actually sit down with and have a proper conversation about these interests. Luckily I have Chris, and although our interests in Japan aren't the same (we all know how he feels about H!P) it's nice having such a great friend as him who is willing to put up with all of my chat and my forcing to check out merchandise etc. But outside of Chris there isn't that many people who want to sit down and have a conversation about the latest Morning Musume or Berryz Koubou single and that's what was so good about LA.
I know I've already said all of this in my LA posts, but putting faces to bloggers and forum members was awesome and being able to hang out with them, have a drink, grab some food, queue for aaagggeeesss really was an amazing experience. I've walked away from the event with friends from all over the H!P communities and from all over the world, people from the JPH!P and Hello!Online forums and other bloggers. People I hope to stay in contact with and fingers crossed meet up with again in the future. For some of them; CDevil, Matt_D and Lampshade the wait to see them again isn't so long away, a week and half away in fact on the 5th of September for Super Kawaii Reina Saturday!.

The Expo was also a high point of the year for a couple of other reasons as well, the concert, meeting the girls through signings and the possibility (although it never actually happened) or meeting them through the press pass I obtained. I won't go into much detail as I've only recently put the whole Expo posts up and I'm sure you don't want to read through everything again.

Also, with this move to the West it's been so unbelievable that I've been involved (however slight) with it. Having received an email from JapanFiles asking if I'd like to help advise them on certain things H!P related it was something that I couldn't pass up. The excitement of seeing their music being sold outside of Japan albeit only to an American audience still excites me especially when looking to the future with the likes of HelloStoreUSA opening up soon. And I know I say this with almost every post where I mention JapanFiles, but I can't thank them enough as I'm sure without them the Morning Musume and (failed) Buono! concert probably wouldn't have happened.

There's been a couple of downs this year as well, as I say breaking up with my girlfriend was for a months on that list but I soon got over that, the Elder Club graduation, the cancellation of the Sweden Expo and Buono! appearance, that one thing I'd like to change and not getting that Morning Musume interview.

The Elder Club came as a total shock, but with most things I think UFA knew what they were doing. Certainly looking at it now, although a lot of the girls haven't done any releases since the graduation those that have have been totally amazing.
Hangry and Angry added a whole new side to both Yossie and Charmy that I thought I'd never see with any of the H!P girls, the images that they portray within this unit are amazing as are the songs.
Melon Kinenbi have also released some outstanding collaboration tracks (which I really need to write about) and it's so good seeing them moving in a direction that I think fits them perfectly, I'm hoping that their future releases will be on par with all of these collaboration tracks.
Mari's return to singing with a really emotional and heart warming performance. It's just a shame that I imagine she'll be following the TV personality path rather than a musical one.
And of course who can forget the return of Kago. Sure she's not within H!P and her releases are that little bit more risque but that for me only adds to her appeal, she's taken advantage of her current situation and is using to her advantage, good for her!

The cancellation of the Swedish Expo was a right bummer, having planned to go out there and catch it I can't tell you how disappointed I felt when I heard the news. But as sad as this was it pushed me to head out to LA. As they say "every cloud has a silver lining" and for the most part that's completely true!

Thinking that I wants going to have much to write about, how wrong was I, this post looks like it's going to be massive. I asked a couple of friends (thanks so much for writing these) to help out with the post and asked their views on my blog and how if anything my love of H!P has changed me in anyway. I was a little worried as to what they might say, as I said to them that they should feel that there's nothing they can't say, I basically wanted it as truthful as possible. I was really pleasantly surprised with their remarks, although the consensus is that I'm a little odd there's not really anything as bad as I thought...and to be honest, what's bad about like H!P anyway? So I'll leave this post with these comments, it may give you a little bit more of an insight into me...or make you think I'm a total perv, one of the two;



Having known Paul for a long time i believe i have the authority/knowledge to say he has always been slightly unusual. He grew like most normal teenagers into music and for a while passed as "normal". As the years have passed instead of growing into a man he has grown into something else, i dont know what the name of it is, but i like to call it his mid-life crisis. Without offending anyone (which i think is impossible), and without sounding ignorant (also impossible), i just dont understand it.
Maybe its a vanity thing - maybe he is obsessed with everything Japanese because he knows that he is taller than most people in Japan?
I don't even know how or when this all started, but im guessing it started with porn, after all this a guy that has porn in every room in his house! Maybe then he got into the music - but the older he gets and the more money he has to indulge himself, the more obsessed he is becoming.
Back when he was a normal person he used to do normal things like go on holiday with the guys, but now he goes on holidays at strange conventions where people dress up as cartoon characters, and seems to get some sort of sexual thrill out of looking at people dressed as blue penguins.
Every time i see him he seems to have gone one step further - i hear now that he will be dressing up as a cartoon soon......but how do you continue to push the boundaries further - what's next - having a sex change and becoming a Japanese schoolgirl?!
I do worry that he's been taken in by some sort of cult, and i will find out that he's hung himself dressed as a character from Pokemon.
He has no desire to grow up and has said that he wont be getting married until someone gets him a mail order bride from Japan. Part of me wants him to conform and live what is seen to be a normal life, but then if he did then I would have to find someone else to ridicule lol.
Dont go changing
Mwah
xxx

Maria



"He's off watching that weird Chinese shit," is what someone would say, we always just figured Paul as a bit of a freak. But at the same time, we were insanely jealous of him, because he would proudly state "I love *obscure Japanese Schoolgirl band*" without any hint of embarrassment, whereas if I so much as half-liked a Hanson song I had trouble admitting to it.

And this went on for years and years. Whilst everyone else was worrying about trends and fashions and being 'cool,' Paul was worried about his interests and passions.

But now, after many many years. I finally get it. Paul has got it right. You just need to take a look at the Hello!Blog to see what it's become, a haven of knowledge and opinions around something that thousands of other people are equally passionate about. And they're passionate about this stuff because it's amazing, and because they love it. As opposed to nearly everyone I know whose interests and hobbies are based or at least influenced by the society around them in some way.

When Paul went to L.A. this year it was the icing on the cake. Of course, we all got judgemental. "He's going to get bum raped by bloggers!," and "he's going to bum rape Japanese school girls!" -- but soon it became obvious that our rather unconscious, extremely silly views were born completely out of ignorance. Instead of bum rape, we saw Paul meet a bunch of interesting people. He got to hang out, make great friends, meet random people, listen to great music-- and basically just have a great time. And then we all felt a bit jealous. Because Paul had an experience the rest of us don't have. And why don't we? Because we're trapped in being cool, and in liking what we're meant too. Paul, through the music, through the crap he buys, through the blog and through you guys, his community, he has found something really important, he's found himself. It's taken me four years to realize it, but now I'm fully aware that the Hello!Blog is pretty fucking special.

Kid
http://kidinthefrontrow.blogspot.com



I met Paul quite a few years ago as we both worked in a supermarket, doing standard supermarket duties and from first impressions Paul was quite normal. I don’t remember the exact circumstances under which we started talking but I imagine from knowing Paul and myself that it was probably something to do with computers or computer games which started the conversation, I thought I had found a fellow geek but it soon became apparent that Paul’s 'interests' were slightly more... obscure than mine.
It began with the odd comment his friends would make about Chinese schoolgirls, I would join in with the jokes not fully understanding the gravity of the situation but with the constant remarks, journeys in his car with bizarre up-beat jpop soundtracks and other random clues as to his obsessions the picture started to become clearer.
The final piece of the puzzle was the launch of Hello! Blog. I didn’t have a clue who these singing schoolgirls were or how popular this site would become, my initial interest was in the flashiness of the site with its changing backgrounds and clever media player. I saw him post a few things and I kept looking for a while but, like previous blogs of Paul's, I imagined this one would slowly loose interest and end up rotting away in a dark corner of the internet somewhere.
But then something odd happened. People started commenting on posts, Paul would tell me the number of hits per day his site was receiving and it started to become apparent that maybe he did have an audience out there. I didn’t and still don’t have a clue why or where these people are coming from but it would appear that maybe Paul isn't as unique as we first imagined.
3 years later and Hello! Blog has taken him halfway around the world to meet his idols, given him an audience of unprecedented numbers and somewhere to vent his fixation with all things H!P Although we still tease him about it, none of us have taken something we love (no matter how disturbing) and taken it to the level of success that Paul has. Well done Paul.

Terry



You are a 30 year old man and you have a house full of photos of teenage Japanese girls.

Chris

TAGS [ Aibon Buono! Hangry and Angry Hello!Project JapanFiles Mari Melon Kinenbi Morning Musume Stuff ]
Posted Thursday, 27th August 2009 11:38 | 6983 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

School Days Full PV

Wednesday, 26th August 2009 01:09 | 38 Comments

I have to admit, since I heard about the announcement that Morning Musume were going to make on Crunchyroll I've barely left the website, I've even signed up for membership, the site has collared me. I've managed to sit down and start watching quite a few anime series, in particular Shugo Chara, which is quite useful considering this post. I did originally start to watch the series on and off ages ago but I'm lazy when it comes to hunting for episodes and the idea of watching it in parts on YouTube just gets on my nerves, so I resorted to just catching the odd episode if I was in Japan or it came on whilst I was watching streamed Japanese TV. As you can guess I haven't followed it at all up until now and obviously I'm no way near through it at the moment, I think I'm up to Episode 7, it's given me that little bit more of an insight into the music that the units for this anime release. And although I'm ages away from seeing an episode that features anything by Guardians 4 I can certainly see that it fits into the show extremely well.

So first a couple of observations that I'm sure I'm probably the last person to notice. First, the blue cloaks and general blueness of the outfits within the PV, that's the boys uniform right? Is there any reason why they're wearing them here or is it just to add a bit or variety to the outfits? It's a bit of a shame as they looked so much cuter in the red ones! Secondly, how much does Nakki look like Nadeshiko? Although, having a sneak read of the bios of the characters it looks like Nadeshiko is actually a guy called Nagihiko...oh dear, Nakki please don't have a penis. Perhaps that's why they're all wearing the blue boys outfits?

The style of the PV for School Days follows a similar vein to their previous release Omakase Guardian, with the opening pan showing a maze which like the stadium in Omakase Guardian clearly looks toy sized. The reasoning behind this is still a little unclear, perhaps they're meant to be the size of the Guardian characters? But whether it makes sense or not doesn't really matter, it gives across a really cute image which fits in so well with both the anime and the song. The song certainly has that cute pop sound to it that Omakase Guardian had but I don't think it's as instantly catchy, but after a few listens it does stick in your head.
Where as the previous PV was sports based, this seems to be based around the drinking (and the hunting) of tea with the dance shots done in a posh looking hall/room, so looking at this from the point of the anime the first PV would fit into the character traits of the Guardian Character Ran whilst this could be said to represent the traits of Su, which would then mean that the next PV from Guardians 4 will have a more atristic feel to it, picking up the traits from Miki.
The only poor part to the PV I'd say is the hunting around the maze sections, I don't really have a problem with them as they offer some great shots of the girls and some cute poses, it's just the lack of effort to find a different angle or section, it's clearly the same part the girls are running around and the same area that each of them run down and point. It's a tiny thing to moan about I know, but I had to find something right?
The funniest bit for me in the PV is about 1.53 in, being a huge Nakki fan and loving her facial expressions this little clip had me quite entertained, I think it's the first time I've ever seen someone smile and stick out their tongue whilst drinking tea. The other amusing bit is the end to this PV, where they all strike their pose and attempt to hold it, all of their attempts (especially Mittsi's) to stand still and hold the pose are amusingly bad and they wobble and shake all over the place, they may need to cut down on the caffine and sugar during shoots XD



CD Release Date : 02 - 09 - 09    DVD Release Date : 16 - 09 - 09


As much as I prefer the red outfits in the PVs, for the covers of the single I really prefer the blue. This might be simply because I really like the covers and if the red were used I don't think they'd look as good.

Guardians 4 - School Days (Regular Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Guardians 4 - School Days (Limited Edition with DVD)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Guardians 4 - School Days (Single V)
CDJapan | YesAsia

TAGS [ Guardians 4 PV ]
Posted Wednesday, 26th August 2009 01:09 | 23803 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Was The Special World Exclusive Announcement Special?

Friday, 21st August 2009 00:53 | 37 Comments

....and was there an actual announcement?

Now I know I'm not going to be the only one disappointed with the whole Chrunchyroll announcement, I guess...I was expected a little more?

I think the thing that got me was the wording of the press release email sent out with regards to the whole thing.

"HELLO! PROJECT AND CRUNCHYROLL TEAM UP TO BRING A SPECIAL WORLD EXCLUSIVE ONLINE VIDEO ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MORNING MUSUME"

"Within the last days of their live concert shows at the Nakano Sun Plaza, celebrated lead group of Hello! Project, MORNING MUSUME, will be sending out a special message to all their fans via the number one online destination for Anime and Asian Entertainment"

"Crunchyroll Kabushiki Kaisha president Mr. Vince Shortino states, "I am extremely pleased and honored to be working with Hello! Project. Morning Musume is an amazing band with a worldwide following. By utilizing Crunchyroll to communicate with fans, I truly feel that Crunchyroll can help bring the global fans of Morning Musume closer.""

Now, admittedly these quotes from the email don't give too much away and don't really indicate as to what was going on, it doesn't even really say that they'd be working together further than the announcement, the quote from the President of Crunchyroll suggests that they will, but nothing specific is mentioned.
So they weren't giving too much away in the email, they obviously want the hits and to build up an interest within the H!P community, so what was the huge world exclusive announcement? To be honest I'm not totally sure, was it just that Morning Musume like Anime? At no point in the video did I see an announcement, so I'm guessing the announcement was in the text? In which case the special world exclusive announcement was either that they got an interview, or that they were going to put the PV up for Nanchatte Renai?
I don't know, either the email was REALLY badly worded or I'm missing something? There's not even an indication if they're going to be adding more PVs, WTF!

With the site being streaming anime I guessed that the announcement would have something to do with the streaming content. But at no point did I think it would be PVs, because I can't really see the point, personally they'd have to do a lot to be a :::Dohhh Up!::: beater. I was personally hoping for streming concerts or something similar *shrugs*. I know looking at this I'm being totally selfish in my thinking, I'm presuming that all H!P are interested in doing are catering for the fans that already exist, but what about those potential fans out there that have yet to discover them and what better place to attract fans then on Crunchyroll, with the Anime tie-ins, it's bound to attract some attention.

It's still interesting to think that something might happen more than just the PVs, I don't know how the rights work for the Anime or if they do their own subtitling, but it would be cool to imagine more than just PVs on there, Haromoni@ episodes perhaps?

TAGS [ Morning Musume Stuff ]
Posted Friday, 21st August 2009 00:53 | 7317 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Super Kawaii Reina Saturday!

Tuesday, 18th August 2009 14:17 | 64 Comments

That's right Saturday 5th of September is to be now known as Super Kawaii Reina Saturday!
So, what does that actually mean? It's an excuse for a bunch of H!P fans to meet up in London have a wander around the shops, have something to eat and drink and just a general H!P filled Saturday.
With the Hello!Online Meet in London thread not really settling or following through on any date, a bunch of us have decided to take matters into our own hands, myself, CDevil, InsaneLampshade, Matt_D, Shirow (if he can get the day off work) and Tasukidaisuki will all be heading to down Central London on the 5th and this is an open invitation for anyone else who wants to come along.

It would seem that I've some how managed to get a reputation of being a alcoholic (I dunno you get drunk in front of a few H!P fans at AX and make a couple of drunken twitter messages and you get a reputation, lol) so not to disappoint anybodies expectations (that and the fact that everyone else coming enjoys a good drink) there will be drinking, lots of drinking! Obviously that then puts a limit on the age of those that come down, but I'd imagine that we can hold off of the drinking for a few hours.

So if you feel like coming along, leave a message or send an email and let us know. Put it in your diary and see you in a few weeks!

TAGS [ Hello!Project Stuff ]
Posted Tuesday, 18th August 2009 14:17 | 8464 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Anime Expo - Morning Musume Show Clips

Sunday, 16th August 2009 23:58 | 17 Comments

Weekends for me are slowly becoming days filled with work, for the most part weekends have always been busy but recently more so. There's always the welcome Saturday morning breakfast at Julie's tasty cafe and the occasional pop into london for a few hours to raid some shops, but after that it's working till the early of the morning, followed by a full day on Sunday of working. Last week was an extremely welcome break, as I met up with CDevil in London along with Chris and his friend Sun. It was a total day of geekness, everyone has their geeky side, mine and CDevil's is H!P, Chris and Sun's is arcade games, in particular Street Fighter. So the day was spent eating chicken feet and tripe (I totally recommend chicken feet!!), drinking strange but ever so tasty bubble milk, wandering around the shops, a little bit of arcade action in Casino and finally me and CDevil went to the Trocadero and had a few drinks and discussed AX and H!P in general. It was good catching up with CDevil and meeting up with another H!P fan outside of AX, it's felt like ages since I'd had the opportunity to sit down and have a proper chat with another H!P fan.

This weekend was meant to be another break, with me heading down to Brighton for a birthday party, unfortunately work reared it's head and I had to cancel it and just to add to the annoyance AyaCon was held this weekend as well. Matt_D and InsaneLampshade attended and have spent the week (well I say week, I mean since we've got back from LA) trying to get me to come along, I was hoping that although there was no way I could attend the full weekend I might of been able to pop up their today (Sunday) and catch the last day of it and hang out with them and the other H!P fans attending, but unfortunately work got in the way. I'm not sure how many fans attended, but on the forum there was a thread for H!P fans (H!P Fans?) and tasukidaisuki had a few things planned, so I'm guessing there must of been quite a few fans attending and much like the AX write ups I hope those who attended will let us know how the whole thing went.

So whilst I wait to find how the whole weekend went, the people over at AX have uploaded some clips from the event including some footage and interviews with fans before and after the concert (AXBackstage Media). Now those of you that didn't attend can witness the complete awfulness of the people that presented these video clips, it's not just me the clips and the presenters of these clips were extremely painful to watch.


What I find quite amusing/disappointing about the 'Post Show' clip is the people that they chose to interview, these are the people that left straight after the last song had finished. Admittedly after the last song was done and they'd walked off stage I left, but in my defence I was rushing to get to the Hangry signing. Now I'm not going to say that the people being interviewed aren't fans as that's clearly harsh, but surely it would have been better to include some of the fans that you can see in the background of this clip cheering "ENCORE!", these are the people we see at the start of the clips with their glow sticks showing so much enthusiasm, these are the people that are wanting to see more Morning Musume.
I have to say I LOL'd when the guy in this clip goes "And they know an encore is coming! I'd be surprised if one didn't!". It's also interesting to see as I missed the whole Encore bit and have only heard what people have told me. That cheer is loud and there's not just a few fans there, half the sodding hall is still full! What the hell were AX or UFA thinking when they didn't do an encore?



TAGS [ Morning Musume Stuff ]
Posted Sunday, 16th August 2009 23:58 | 5289 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Take It Easy Full PV

Sunday, 16th August 2009 20:29 | 28 Comments

So hands up who was secretly hoping that this was going to be a cover of the Eagles song of the same name? *raises hand*....just me then lol. I guess it would have been hard to explain why the Buono! girls have '7 women on their mind', that's a scandal if I ever heard one.
Now I don't know this is just me and my want for them to have done an Eagles cover but the intro to this sounds ever so slightly similar to the Eagles song of the same name, listen to the guitar at the start then listen to this Eagles - Take It Easy - LIVE, yeah I know I'm clutching at straws lol. To be honest I just wanted to link it in here and get some people to listen to it and hear the awesomeness of them ;p

The title of the song is actually quite apporiate, as the song itself is not the usual fast pace rock/pop sound that we usually here, dare I say that this could be classed within the same musical area as the Eagles song, as it's more country rock song with those banjos in the background...I'm still clutching those straws.
The song is a lot calmer than we're used to, but I don't think this affects from the quality or even comes as a surprise musically when listening to their previous releases as it's still got all of the elements that make Buono! 'Buono!', personally I'm finding the slower sound a really nice and interesting break.

And who can ever knock Buono! for their PVs (well I think I might of done Lotta Love Lotta Love, but then what do I know? That was an awesome PV!) Again the PV reflects the title of the song with the girls heading out on a bus to what looks like a coastal town, where presumably the plan is to 'Take It Easy'. Momo as always is the humour within the PV and we get to have a good giggle at her right from the start when she's leaves her bag on the bus, but as far as any more laughs go that's about it, it's still a really fun and enjoyable PV and we do get to see Momo munch the head off a grilled fish, so it's all good!
Anyone that's read my blog for awhile has probably picked up that the minute any of the girls from any of the units attempt to play guitar, whether it be air guitar or using a broom I go head over heels for it, I love it! Well in this PV we are treated to some of the worlds worst attempts at guitar playing ever, Miyabi wins for worlds poorest attempt at playing a guitar, she literally is just holding it making no attempt to even look like she knows what she's doing. Airi comes in at 2nd place, her attempt is pretty much just as bad as Miyabi's but at one point she looks at her hand and it looks likes she's thinking "hmm, perhaps I should change cords" but at the last minute she decides against it. And with only Momo left she's the winner! Again it's an awful attempt, but she does actually move her fingers albeit in a really unconvincing way. I just find it a little strange to give the girls a real guitar and then make no attempt to play this properly and not film it in a fun away, but although I guess it sounds like I'm moaning about it I assure you I'm not, I love these attempts at guitar playing!



CD Release Date : 26 - 08 - 09    DVD Release Date : 02 - 09 - 09



Buono! - Take It Easy (CD Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Buono! - Take It Easy (Limtied Edition CD + DVD Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Buono! - Take It Easy (Single V Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

TAGS [ Buono! PV ]
Posted Sunday, 16th August 2009 20:29 | 5128 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Some More Graduations

Tuesday, 11th August 2009 16:33 | 55 Comments

It's a curious time within Hello! Project at the moment. Who knows, it could all be total coincidence but another two members have left. Ongaku Gatas members Noto Arisa and Sawada Yuri are both set to graduate, fortunately Nocchi is only moving over to Up-Front Eggs and is still within Ongaku Gatas but unfortunately Sawachan isn't, she's "planning to focus her efforts on studying and attending university".

Much like the recent news of Kanna gradutaing C-ute this is yet another case of shrugging it off and it has me worrying, am I slowly drifting away from the H!P girls or is it just my attentions aren't focused so heavily on these members?
Certainly as a unit I love Ogaku Gatas and their singles have been some of my favourites, much like Buono! they haven't followed the regular H!P sound or PV style, well perhaps on some of the PVs, but generally I've found at least they've been a lot more interesting and amusing than the norm. But I have to admit it has been a case of the Yossie, Charmy, Konkon and Satoda show with the Eggs really not engaging that much with me. Obviously when the unit was first formed they had the Manoeri wow factor as well, but again since her departure from the unit I'm finding it more and more of a struggle to keep myself intrested in her releases.
So with the news that Nocchi will be remaining in this unit, it makes for at least one interesting assumption, that the unit isn't going to be put on hiatus with no releases to follow? It would seem a little strange to still be in a unit that does nothing right?...But then I guess H!P have a habit of doing that as well lol.

I'm also not really surprised with the news of their graduations as I've been half expecting something like this to happen and again wouldn't be surprised if we started to see more of the Eggs graduating to go on to different things, whether it be to study or moving around to do something else, joining up with Up-Front Eggs or TNX. Ever since the mass graduation of the Elder Club members there's been this need to get the Eggs more involved with releases. If the graduation of the Elder Club was more than just to give the girls the freedom they so deserve with their lives and more of a financial relief for H!P then surely the same would be done with the Eggs?
Admittedly I can't imagine it being done in the same way, these girls all have the potential to be big Idols in their own way as I'm sure UFA wouldn't have taken them on if they didn't, so is this the start of them needing to show potential?

Much like Erika's departure to become a model, Nocchi's graduation doesn't really come as a surprise when you think about where she's going and what she's going to do, plus there's also the wonder of is she actually going anywhere? She's still within Ongaku Gatas, she's just not the leader of the H!P Eggs any more. With her hosting of the DogaDoga7 Shows (well I'm presuming she does, I've only seen a few of them and they all seem to feature her) her move really makes a lot of sense.
Sawachan came as a bit of a shock as she's my current fave Egg within Ongaku Gatas...hmmm, now that I think about it, she was probably my fave Egg. I enjoyed her within Ongaku Gatas.

TAGS [ Nocchi Ongaku Gatas Sawachan ]
Posted Tuesday, 11th August 2009 16:33 | 6349 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

Nanchatte Renai Full PV

Monday, 3rd August 2009 16:06 | 35 Comments

If there's one thing that can be said with this release, it's that the distribution of both lines and screen time is better than in any single release I've seen in some time. The main focus is still very much Aichan, Reina and Koha based but almost everyone gets a decent share...well except for maybe Linlin who I only really noticed in the PV when it came to her close ups, but I'm sure she can be found a bit blurred and at the back of some of the other shots :( Damn, I probably wouldn't have minded if I hadn't turned into such a Linlin fan recently.

Much like their recent singles this release also goes for that more mature image and sound, unfortunately the initial listen really didn't do anything for me (this is one of the reasons why I've waited awhile to post about it) however it's grown on me a lot since then. How could I possibly not like a song which has Sayu singing more than usual? Lol, don't answer that XD
But seriously it's a really nice break to hear a song that isn't just Aichan and Reina with the odd bit of Koha thrown in. The rap parts are also another nice change, I think I've started growing a bit to accustom to them with my listening to KPop recently so it's good to see it raising it's head here.
I'm a little disappointed with the PV, it seemed that the all the units were turning towards a more than just a dance/close up affair with a little but more effort being put in, but certainly from this we can see that at least with Morning Musume they've returned back to the tried and tested. Although the dance isn't particularly exciting I do find the outfits and the black and white contrast to be great to watch. It's a shame that they didn't make Gaki more of a focus as she looks amazing, that haircut just makes her look stunning especially topped of with that cute little hat!



CD Release Date : 12 - 08 - 29


Having had a hunt around on both CDJapan and YesAsia and not coming across a Single V version of this release, I'm guessing you'll have to buy the upcoming The Morning Musume 5 ~Single M Clips~ to get this version of the PV.
I'm a little confused with how the single is being promoted, the whole push on the '40th Single Release' seems a little odd? Is it me or is it totally a random number to celebrate? 50 I'd understand, but 40. Don't' get me wrong I'm not complaining, I'm all up for any excuse for pushing a single that includes more than just a choice of crappy (I'm presuming, but they are usually crappy in my opinion) Limited DVDs. Ever since they've moved in that direction I've stopped buying two copies of their releases but with the 40th Commemorative Single version with it's inclusion of a different B-Side they've got my interest again, even if it is a random and slightly cheeky of them. And I'm always up for a H!P t shirt and the ones used to promote this look great and also come with a nice change. First there's the option for sizes, I know a lot of people always say that the concert shirts come up to big, well now here's the chance to get one that fits! Plus there's also a bit of variety with the colour selection, it doesn't just come in one colour there's a choice of three; black, white and pink. Personally if I can manage to get the cash together to buy one I'll be going with white, I don't have many white H!P shirts.

Morning Musume - Nanchatte Renai (CD Release)
CDJapan YesAsia

Morning Musume - Nanchatte Renai Limited Edition A (CD + DVD Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Morning Musume - Nanchatte Renai Limited Edition B (CD + DVD Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Morning Musume - Nanchatte Renai 40th Commemorative Edition (CD Release)
CDJapan | YesAsia

Morning Musume - Nanchatte Renai (Digital Download Including Both B-Sides)
JapanFiles

TAGS [ Morning Musume PV ]
Posted Monday, 3rd August 2009 16:06 | 6360 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment

It's Not Like Someone I Really Like, Like Nakki or Erika Are Leaving...

Saturday, 1st August 2009 15:38 | 30 Comments

Damn it! It just had to happen didn't it. Sod's f'ing law that I had to go and say something in my post about Kanna departure from C-ute (I Kanna Live Without You) "It's not like someone I really like, like Nakki or Erika are leaving, if they were it would be a totally different story. ".

So the plan for today was to do some work and at some point write a post about Morning Musume's single Nanchatte Renai, well the order of what I was going to do things in has changes, post first work later and also the post has changed, which you probably guessed by the first paragraph of this post.
First Kanna and now Erika, it's like UFA decided that the general "meh, and?" reaction to Kanna departure wasn't enough, lol. Well she's not graduated yet a couple of months left, so it's not all dreadful news at least I have some time to get my head around it. Graduations aren't the best of things, but there's nothing worse than those surprising unexpected departures.
There's been a constant battle in my mind as to who my favourite within C-ute was, Erika was my original favourite but quite some time Nakki has risen to an equal position, I guess the only plus side out of this is that I know Nakki is my favourite by default now? The bizarre thing with the whole Erika graduation is that with single releases at least I don't think I'm actually going to miss her, well that's a lie of course I'm going to miss her but because she rarely gets any decent lines and for the most part any decent screen time (has one girl ever spent that much time in the corners and edges of a PV?) is it going to be that noticeable? And I'm saying that being a huge Erika fan. Totally crap that I'm guessing we won't be getting an Erika PB now, but perhaps with her aims of becoming a fashion model it'll just be an excuse to start buying fashion mags of her modelling? MEh. To be honest I'm kinda all over the place on this.

And with C-ute soon to be down to 5 members, is it going to affect them in any way? Certainly it's not going to affect my love of the unit, any unit is more than one member even and with so many great members within the unit left there's still a lot to love. Again perhaps this means that more lines and screen for the remaining girls, apart from making it an Airi/Maimi fest? But then I just think to myself, why would this make any difference? Much like Kanna she's not really used that well in the single releases in my opinion and so I think her departure, much like Kanna's isn't going to make a major difference with the single releases. Concerts however are going to be a different all together, for me her parts within the C-ute concerts are always my favourites.
Damn it! I'm pleased she's able to follow her dream of becoming a fashion model, but what about me?

Just mentioned this to Chris whose sitting behind me playing Ghostbusters he chirped in with the comment :S
"There's a whole lot of fingering going on in C-ute!"

TAGS [ C-ute Erika ]
Posted Saturday, 1st August 2009 15:38 | 7258 Reads | 0 Tweet Count | Leave a Comment