The Hello!Blog Poll

 

Wow. This was a very difficult ranking, actually, but I enjoyed it a lot because I’ll miss the elder club like crazy and I’m glad I could vote for them. After they are gone, my H!P fandom will be greatly decreased, I think. Which I also find funny, because when ranking the members there was no doubt in my mind that Wonderful Hearts would take the first spots, and the Elder Club’s releases I don’t really like that much at all to begin with, so why do I feel like when they leave I’ll be a sad wota? I don’t really know, but that’s maybe a question for a different entry. Right now I’m going to do a brief analysis on why each girl holds the position they are in.

10. Suzuki Airi: Airi reminds me a lot of AKB’s Watanabe Mayu, and since Mayu has grown on me a lot, I think Airi has done so too XD I still don’t like C-ute, and I don’t think I ever will, but Airi is simply adorable. She’s a great performer and she’s super cute. Buono also helped A LOT for her to pop up in my top 10, despite my dislike of her unit.

9. Michishige Sayumi: Words can’t express how much I adore Sayu. She’s all I’d like to be if I were an idol (minus a good voice XD) I love how she’s vain and egocentric but still manages to be caring and helpful to the other members, I love her honesty and most of all, I love her sense of humor. She’s just hilarious when she makes jokes about herself, proving that she doesn’t really take it all that seriously and that she’s a great sport. Eri should be sharing this spot with her XD They’re inseparable in my mind.

8. Matsuura Aya: Say what you may, I hate Ayaya’s new releases as much as anyone else, but she’s a freaking STAR and you can’t deny it. She’s got an amazing voice with great range and control, she’s a great performer and she’s also the best MC of H!P’s history. Ayaya is truly one of a kind when it comes to idols, and in my mind she was the image of what H!P always was about. Not anymore, of course, but still, her talent is overwhelming.

7. Fujimoto Miki: I’m not all “Miki-sama punish me” like a lot of other people, but I love my Mikitty very much! She’s a perfect Tsundere, and while my favorite moments of her involved Aya, she was incredible as an idol in her own right. I’m guessing that after she gets married she’ll just quit show business, but I enjoyed her a lot while she was at it. Also, I’d loved if she had never been part of Momusu but grown as a soloist instead, and she would’ve enjoyed it much more as well But now it’s not the right time to mourn about such thing. CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR WEDDING MIKITTY!!! Everyone is getting married… I’m feeling old lately because of this XD

6. Tsuji Nozomi: LOL I was never a fan of Nono when she was part of H!P, I thought that she was cute and funny, but I honestly saw her always as the lesser half of Aibon, whom I adored. But after she left and married Ultraman and started that blog, I fell in love with her, so to speak. I read all of her entries, I want to cheer for her and send her all my love, and I’m really happy to see that she’s happy with the life she has now. I wish I could become a pretty bride too, but that’s a stupid dream I know So she’s my hero right now XD

5. Yaguchi Mari: Mari was always my favorite MM member, when she was kicked out I freaked out majorly. I don’t get giddy over her blog as I do with Nono’s but she’s still a very fun person to read and interesting too. She’s proven to be more entertaining than almost all of the Wonderful Hearts line up together, and that’s very important. Also, she’s a hard worker, and I admire her for that.

4. Shibata Ayumi: Ayu <3 She’s my melon of choice. I adore her group with all my heart, and even though everyone says that she doesn’t fit in with their cool image and that her voice isn’t as good as Masae’s, I have a soft spot for her. First of all, I find her the most beautiful girl in H!P, I love her chipmunk teeth (see, Oshima Yuko, my favorite AKB girl has chipmunk teeth too. It’s a fetish!) and I love her carefree and clueless attitude. That Hello Pro Hour episode with her and Sayu is still my favorite ever. 

3. Natsuyaki Miyabi: I have no idea of how Miya ended up this high, as I’m not particularly fond of her or anything, but I just think that she has lots of style and a great voice. And that largely makes an idol for me. Sure, having a big flamboyant personality helps a lot, but when it comes down to performing, that’s what they should excel at. That’s why I don’t hate on Aichan either BTW. Buono skyrocketed Miya to the top 3.

2. Kumai Yurina: My Yurina. I adore this girl, you have no idea. She has the power of making me happy instantly whenever I see her, and that’s why I’ll never stop adoring her. You can say that she’s an airheaded bad singer but I don’t care at all, she’s the most amazing kid ever in my eyes, and that will never change.

1. Niigaki Risa: I’m not as crazy about Risa as I used to be, but I still look for her avidly in any H!P concert. She never disappoints and always puts up a great show. I also love how she’s become a gorgeous girl and the driving force behind MM when she started out as that awkward pig tailed kid. Gaki is my favorite because she represents that dreams can actually come true, and that you can live them too, if you work hard for them. 

That was interesting! With that out of my system, I have to say that I want a new Yurina PB. Her PB was the best H!P has ever produced, and I won’t be told otherwise!

Why OH Why??!!!

When my dear beloved Yurina finally gets a subunit… She has to share it with Mitsui and Nakajima???? WTH is wrong with the world???????

 

Seriously. Why. 

 

Risako is fine by me, even though she’ll probably do all the singing while the others just backdance stupidly, but Mitsui? Mitsui can’t sing! At all! (and this comes from a Sayumi fan) they should just stop pushing her and give the pandas a solo release! Nobody is going to become a fan of hers just because they shove her in our faces all the time!

And then… Nakajima????? Oh dear… Her voice makes me cringe. And her smile scares me. 

WHY WHY WHY????

Platinum 9 Disco Review

Hi people! To be honest, it’s been a while since I’e cared about MM’s music, but I felt curious and listened to their latest album.

Here’s the cover:

Tiny pic is tiny. But yeah, just to get the point across… I’ll do this review by writing my thoughts as I listen to each song, so it won’t make a whole lot of sense, but it’ll be an honest first impression and I think it should be fun

Also, keep in mind my Momusu member ranking:

Takahashi Ai: Like. If not overexposed.

Niigaki Risa: Adore.

Kamei Eri: Love

Tanaka Reina: Like. If not overexposed.

Michishige Sayumi: Adore

Kusumi Koharu: Like. If she doesn’t open her mouth.

Mitsui Aika: Not really.

JunJun: Meh

LinLin: Like.

Ok, so now, without further ado, let’s review!

1. SONGS: Stupid title. Oh look, a boring ballad -_-  Oh wait, here comes the cheap keyboard! And then the hip hop… Ok, I don’t get this song. I only hear Aichan.. And there’s Reina too. Lots of Reina. This song has multiple personalities, but I can hear Risa and Eri so I’m happy. I guess that this should be interesting to watch live, with all the dance moves and stuff, but right now it’s just a ReinAi fest. The distorted vocals are funny, but I really don’t understand this song at all. Ok, so they get points for singing something upbeat and a little bit edgy and not just sugar pop. I feel that the music is pretty good on its own, but there’s too much going on with the arrangement of it, so it sounds weird.

Rating: 3 out of 5

2. Resonant Blue: If this song hadn’t been sung entirely by Reina and Ai alone with Koharu butting in at times, it would’ve been my favorite Morning Musume single. What a shame.

Rating: 4 out of 5

3. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai no Darou: I remember hearing this song before, and EVERYBODY was hyping so much about it! It didn’t really stand out to me… Maybe I’m used to the choir concept because I’m an AKB fan, but it didn’t really impress me all that much on the first listen. Now that I’m listening to it again, I have to admit that it’s a very well made ballad. The instrumentation is very nice, especially the piano and strings. It’s the best ballad in recent H!P history, but I don’t really like ballads. Sorry! They get special brownie points for letting Junjun and Linlin sing at last. That’s the best part of the song, even if I don’t understand a single word XD

Rating: 4 out of 5

4. Take off is now! (Takahashi, Niigaki, Tanaka): The title reminds me of Ambitious! This would be an instant skip for me (I like both Reina and Ai but I’m sick of seeing them get all the lines in every song) but my Risa is in there <3 Weird intro! But I’m loving this song! It tries to be hip hop and tropical in a very cheaply instrumented kind of way XD But it still sounds fun! I also think that this will be better with the choreography that goes with it. Ok, wait I just checked out a performance of the song and the dance is disappointing as hell… They just stand there and shake their heads during all the verses D:

Rating: 3,5 out of 5

5. Naichau Kamo: I really love this song <3 It’s dramatic and cool and has some rock thrown in it! Everyone looked great in the PV and all! I really really like this a lot! I hope that MM keeps up a string of cool songs!

Rating: 5 out of 5

6. Watashi no Miryokuni Kizukanai Donkan na Hito: Long ass title. Mittsi is my least favorite MM member, and I really don’t understand why she got a solo instead of Risa D: And it’s techno too? Aika needs to improve her vocals, especially because this song would’ve sounded great if Eri or Reina sang it… But Mitsui struggles too much, doesn’t hit all the notes, and just sounds flat sometimes. Argh. I’ve gotta give it to her though, the girl knows how to appear on stage and pump up the crowd. And she also doesn’t sound worst live than on studio, which is a good thing. I’m sure that if she keeps working on her voice, she will get better and better.

Rating: 2 out of 5

7. Guruguru Jump (Kusumi, JunJun, LinLin): Hyper! This song I really like! Which is weird because I usually can’t stand Koharu’s voice, but here it doesn’t sound extremely screechy or high pitched so I like it! I’m also loving the hyper music and even though I wish that this 3 girls would get something different in style in order for them to prove themselves as vocalists, they fit perfectly with the mood of this ultra happy song! Instant favorite (and first non-single song that I like in this album so far…) See, this is what I meant when I said that Koharu CAN sing whenever she wants to <3

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

8. Mikan: I must be the only one, but I love this song, and I also really like how it goes after Guruguru Jump, to keep the happy mood going on for a bit longer. I’m still bitter over the fact that one of my favorite recent MM singles was the one that sold the worst

Rating: 5 out of 5

9. Jounetsu no Kiss wo Hitotsu (Takahashi, Niigaki, Tanaka): RnB sound, and it sounds very sultry with the spanish guitar in the background! I really like this one, it’s a great step up from Take off is now, and how cheap it sounded XD. This one sounds like something Gocchin would’ve released as a single when she was still in her H!P heyday. GO Risa!! Her voice is so perfect for this song!

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

10. It’s You (Michishige): Oh Sayu! How I love you! I might also be the only one who likes her voice, not because it’s beautiful, but because it’s the biggest improvement in the history of MM for sure. I also love how she didn’t get a ballad, but a ridiculous sounding 80s song. Her speaking voice at the beginning is so fail that it ends up being WIN. Is anyone seeing a new Ishikawa Rika here? I LOVE how corny this song is! I hope that Sayu gets to perform it in a shiny miniskirt and do some sexy poses while she’s at it XD

Rating: 3,5 out of 5 (although the LOL value is like 100 out of 5)

11. Onna ni Sachi Are: I loved this single too! Great dance music! Even though the golden outfits and yellow feathers weren’t exactly pleasant on the eyes…

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

12. Kataomoi no Owari ni (Kamei): It’s so typical of Eri to get a ballad <3 And it’s so typical of me to love it to death even if I usually hate slow songs… Oh wait OMG I’M IN LOVE THIS IS JUST OMG ERI I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MARRY ME NOW! /end fangirl attack. This isn’t really a ballad, but it’s still on the slow side. Eri’s voice is so sweet and lovely! And this kind of song brings me back to the original idols of the 80s with their beautiful voices, and puffy dresses and cute little dances… <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 x 1000. This CD is so worth buying only for this song!

Rating: 100000 out of 5 ok, not really, 5 out of 5 then

13. Kanashimi Twilight: It’s been a LONG while since I heard this song for the last time. It’s still as awesome as ever! I think that MM needs to add more members whoa re a bit more aggressive and have powerful vocals, or else, their all going to end up sounding the same! Here’s the last of Mikitty as a badass, before she became an old lady who sings only for old people XD

Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Wow! I seriously didn’t think it’d rate that high!

Highlights: All of the singles included here are great! Also, Jounetsu no Kiss wo Hitotsu and  Guruguru Jump are very good songs! Kataomoi no Owari ni and Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai no Darou are the ebst songs quality wise IMO, and while there were some WTF moments (Sayu solo LOLOLOL) and some not so good vocals (Mitsui) it’s quite a good album overall!

BUY BUY BUY!!! Ok, see you next time!

It’s been a while XD

I know it’s been a LOOOONG while, but my real life has been hell, so I can finally have some time to update this poor neglected little blog! I’m sorry for the wait :X

Ok, so the Perfume Superlive in Budokan DVD is finally going to be released! Yay!! It means, of course, that we finally get to see Edge, Plastic Smile, Jenny wa Gokigen Naname and some more songs! And wow, for those of you who could watch the TV special, the stage was just… AMAZING! And all of the lasers and special effects were absolutely superb! This one is definitely on my MUST BUY list! And it should be in yours too

So, in order to tease you all and make you buy the DVD, here are a few of the amazing Budokaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Superlive performances

PLAY THE GAME!!!

Dream Fighter!!! *_*

Puppy Love!! Tsunderetion FTW! I adore this song, and the choreography is absolutely cute and awesome, like everything related to Perfume!

Wonder2… ONe of my favorite songs, and the most emotional performance. Also, comments of all the girls about the experience of performing in Budoukan :3 Very cute. I love A-chan!

Ok people, so you know how it goes, order the DVD, enjoy it, watch it a 1000 times and keep supporting Perfume because they are amazing!!

Sakamoto Maaya – Kazeyomi Review

Hello! I couldn’t resist myself after listening to this beautiful CD, I just HAD to review it! Absolutely.

First, a small introduction, Sakamoto Maaya is a singer born in 1980, who first debuted in 1996 as the voice actress for the character of Hitomi in Tenkuu no Escaflowne, and also sung the opening theme of said anime, the very famous (back in my day, hey, I’m old school, baby!) “Yakusoku wa Iranai” after the relative success of both the song and the anime she continued to sing many theme songs for it, and also recorded her first albums, with the aid of famous composer Kanno Youko. Recently, the Sakamoto – Kanno partnership broke, and Maaya went on to work with different people. Her latest full album, “Kazeyomi” or Wind-reading, is a beautiful return to her old sound, and it was highly expected by all of her fans (such as myself).

Sakamoto’s voice can be best described as sweet and soft. She sings in a high range, and most of her songs are pop but influenced with very interesting elements that can give the songs an ethereal or surreal feel. I’ve been a fan of Maaya ever since around 1999 or so, and she’s still one of my absolutely favorite singers, hands down. I’m not into anime anymore, but even so, I always manage to trace all of her releases, because I absolutely love her original style.

Ok, so with that intro, let’s get into the album!

First of all, I LOVE the cover! It’s absolutely beautiful, and dreamlike, even, with that weathercock in her hand, which isn’t even a cock but a beautiful golden dove with a star in its beak. Also, the road climbing up the hill, is very surreal, and I like it.

Ok, so let’s start with the songs, finally!

1. Vento: I don’t have a clue of what language this is in, but it’s reminiscent of Maaya’s old anime work in a way, because its sound is so ethereal and peculiar that it doesn’t really fit too well in Jpop, but it’s still a beautiful song in its own right. At first, I thought that it was an instrumental intro, like the one in her Lucy album, with beautiful strings and a subtle piano, but around halfway, her soft dreamy voice starts singing in a language unknown to me XD I guess it might be portuguese or something like that. This is a very beautiful song indeed, and a great opener that gives us a taste of what we’ll find in this album.

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

2. Triangler: It’s not that I’m crazy about Kanno, really, but I was very excited to listen to this song when it was first announced! I wanted to hear Maaya’s classic sound, that I’d fallen in love with, but Triangler is none of that XD Actually, most Maaya fans HATE this song to death, but I frankly don’t understand why, I think that it’s a wonderful song, very powerful and beautiful. I also love how Maaya pushed her range a lot, it sounds quite difficult to sing, but she still manages to get it right! Well, click on the song’s title, watch the Pv and listen to the song and you’ll get your own opinion about this one…

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

3. Kazemachi jet – Kazeyomi Edition-: The second single included in this album, is Maaya’s title song for the “Tsubasa” anime, Kazemachi jet. This song, unlike Triangler, which was left just as is, was completely rearranged for the album, and it sounds even better than the original! It starts with a capella lines, which make me melt, and then the guitar and the fiddle kick in, and they sound beautiful! The difference from the original are largely this instruments, and the bridge with the fiddle solo is lovely! This version sounds more laid back and personal, which works great for it, without losing any of its fun. Kudos for making an amazing song even better!

Rating: 5 out of 5

4. Remedy: I love this song! It’s the second original after Vento, and it sounds very much like the old Maaya we learned to love. It’s simple, guitar driven and sweet. But that works so well for it! Definitely a song that can bring a smile to your face, no matter what. I’m glad to hear this kind of songs again on a Maaya album, after missing them from her 2 previous ones.

Rating: 4 out of 5

5. Ame ga Furu: Maaya’s latest single. I really like this song, because it sounds very nostalgic, just like the rain. The PV is also very pretty and kind of dark. This song starts with a beautiful harp and a haunting feel to it, but it builds in the chorus, when it sounds a little angry. I like the totally random electric guitar bridge XD This song is all over the place, music wise, but in a great way! It’s like it needed all those elements anyway, so it sounds very good.

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

6. Get no Satisfaction!: This song begins very upbeat, reminding me of some of her perky works from the “Shounen Alice” album, it retains that atmosphere, but it lacks something, IMO. It’s the only song so far that I’ve found sounding generic. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, only I wish it had a bit more spirit. It sounds like an anime opening XD

Rating: 3,5 out of 5

 7. Ao no Ether: This song is a cover. Maaya wrote the lyrics and the song was originally performed by Nakajima Megumi, but Maaya still said that she had put so much work in those that she wanted to make her own rendition. Here’s the original for you to compare click me! , Nakajima has a beautiful super sweet voice, but she lacks a bit of emotion at times. Maaya’s version sounds very raw and emotional, instead, the minimal instrumental also adds to the overall feel of the song. One of my favorites of the album, despite is ballad nature.

Rating: 5 out of 5

8. Shitsuren Cafe: I love this song! I’ll probably skip it to death on a daily basis because it’s not the type of music I listen to anymore, but it’s so much fun! If you’ve heard her song “Paprika” from Yuunagi Loop, this sounds a lot like that, only even more upbeat and danceable! It has lots of latin elements, and I love the tambourine <3. This makes me want to stand up and dance, without a doubt!

Rating: 4 out of 5

9. SONIC BOOM: That sounds like the title of a KOTOKO song, right? Anyway, here’s another kind of upbeat number, although it sounds remarkably less generic than Get no Satisfaction, this one has the pretty violins that help give it a somewhat different flavor. Apparently, it’s the theme song for the OAVs of the “Tsubasa” anime. All of the songs from said series sound kind of the same to a point. So yeah, it doesn’t really make me super excited, but the lyrics sound pretty, and the music overall doesn’t sound half bad… I’m not sure about this one, it might grow on me later, who knows?

Rating: 3,5 out of 5

10. Peanuts: This song begins with an amazing instrumental made of a clear music box kind of sound and pizzicatto strings. Then Maaya starts singing in a fast way, the song builds in the same adorable and quirky way, and it sounds very cute and cool. The chorus makes for normal happy pop, and then there’s clapping and the pizzicatto returns for the next verse <3. It’s a very dynamic song, and it also sounds very original! It’s definitely something you can’t get bored of!

Rating: 4 out of 5

11. Saigo no Kajitsu: Another Tsubasa song, and another Maaya single. I’m not a fan of this song, but it’s quite pretty. The guitar driven instrumental is accompanied by some dramatic strings here and there. And Maaya sounds very good and emotional. This is a sad little ballad that builds into a hopeful sounding chorus. But not my thing, sorry!

Rating: 3 out of 5

12. Colors: This song is the theme for a Planetarium program Maaya narrates. I love planetariums for some bizarre reason, so I was really looking forward to this song, and it didn’t disappoint at all! It’s the only english song in the album, and it brings me back memories of way back when all her albums included stuff in english. Maaya doesn’t have a perfect pronunciation, but she still sounds beautiful. And the “new age” sounding background works surprisingly well with both the vocals and the song’s overall feel. I love it.

Rating: 4,5 out of 5 

13. Kazamidori: Without a doubt, the most popular of the new Maaya songs, the pizzicato is back, but this time, to give the song a dreamy atmosphere. Then lovely strings join in, and Maaya sounds wonderful. There isn’t really much that can be said about this song, if anything, Maaya is the queen of “simple is better” musically wise, at least. Her less elaborate songs are the ones that tend to sound absolutely beautiful and give her a special sound.

Rating: 5 out of 5

14. Guitar Hiki ni Naritai Na: With a title like “I want to become a guitar player”, it’s very easy to guess what this song sounds like. Again, it’s soft, and absolutely beautiful. It’s largely defined as a medium paced song featuring only Maaya’s voice and a beautiful acoustic guitar accompanying her and driving the song. A great close to the album, and a very nice song to just listen to and relax for a bit!

Rating: 4,5 out of 5

OVERALL ALBUM RATING: 4,3 out of 5

Well, what can I say, this is an amazing album, and I’m really happy to hear Maaya doing great music again. Some songs in the album I found to be pretty forgettable, and, of course, I would’ve very much preferred having the lovely C/W to “Ame ga Furu”, Praline, over Saigo no Kajitsu, which I find to be a quite forgettable and unremarkable song, but yeah, things are what they are. I’ll probably review all of Maaya’s albums some day or even, all of her songs, because like I said, she’s one of my favorites ever since I was a kid, and she always encouraged me with her songs, or she made me dream with her music and I love her for that. If you haven’t heard her music yet, I highly recommend that you at least check out the samples I provided, don’t dismiss her because she’s “just another anime singer”, because she’s takes her music very seriously and writes beautiful lyrics that usually go with great music.

Ok, that’s all from me right now! Please remember to BUY the CD if you liked what you heard! And congratulations to Maaya for making it to the #2 spot of the Oricon ranking in the first week of sales of “Kazeyomi”!!!

Gocchin Love

Goto Maki was always my favorite Momusu member. I knew Momusu thorugh an anime magazine that had a little section about Jpop. They were REALLY big in Japan at the time, but I can’t quite place when this was, I’m guessing around the Mr. Moonlight single because that was the most recent single of their included in the media section of the magazine XD

So anyway, I was probably 12 or 13 at the time, and Goto Maki really caught my eye, I found her to be so unusual looking and different from the other girls. From then on, I didn’t really follow Momusu until somewhere around 2005. Gocchin had become a soloist and she was GORGEUS. I downloaded one of her concerts to see what she was up to and I was blown away. In my opinion, (which is kind of limites, as I haven’t sat through a whole Nacchi or Ayaya concert, but I’ve seen fragments of them, and that’s what I’m basing my opinions on XD) Gocchin was the best solo performer in the whole H!P. She was the best dancer, hands down, and she was also a very good singer, despite of not having the ultra powerful voice of some other girls. But what made her the best wasn’t that at all, but her incredibly powerful stage presence. Gocchin pwned the stage whenever she set foot on it, and in her concerts, which were filled with backdancers, magic tricks and all sort of almost cinematographic stuff, she still didn’t let them take HER spotlight, and shone more than everyone else.

This made me respect her even more. I don’t care that people were whining that she had become a slut (especially not when they were claiming this simultaneously to Biyuden releasing stuff like Jajauma Paradise, which is the raunchiest PV I’ve ever seen in my life) become I think that it’s stupid to pretend that a 22 year old keeps singing stuff a la “Te wo nigitte arukitai” but that’s entirely another story. 

The reason why I’m posting this is because Gocchin is finally making her debut in avex, which I’d ben epecting for soooo long! She has a brand new look to go with it, too! And she looks very stylish and pretty, as usual. She actually kind of reminds me of Nocchi. Also, I’ve always thought that short hair isn’t necessarily the best look for her, as back in the days when she released “Genshoku GAL wa hade ni yukube” she looked a bit… boyish maybe? And it didn’t suit her features all that well. But this type of short hair definitely looks amazing on her!

Picture taken from Hello!Online.

And even though I was quite frustrated that she didn’t ever release a single or a song in 2008, and I only saw her for the 1:30mins video of the avex concert, I didn’t lose my faith, and now, Gocchin  is finally releasing a single.

And not only that, but she’s releasing an awesome techno flavored song too! I love techno, so this is like a dream come true for me! I hope that she does really well and becomes famous and releases more techno stuff, because that would make me so happy

Plus, she works extra hard, so she deserves all the recognition she can get!

Here’s the video in her homepage, I believe. It shows a little bit of the AWESOME song!

 

I’m not dead XD Just really easily distracted… Oh look, it’s SweetS stuff!

Hi people! I’m in Tokyo right now, it’s a dream come true :3 But it’s also the reason why I haven’t updated in a million years… Sorry about that! I hope that all of you had a great New Years celebration, and of course, Happy New Year, everyone!!! I hope that you all can achieve all of your dreams this year and be really happy (and buy tons of Perfume CDs/DVDs as well )

So, people, what have I been up to here? Well, I’ve been hanging out in Akihabara every single day XD And as a result, I’ve been able to buy some really cool idol stuff that I wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise, probably! 

Particularly, I managed to buy SweetS first mini album! HUGE nostalgia trip! It’s been like 3 years already and I can’t freaking get over them. I just adore them. So, I’ve decided to introduce all of you to these amazing and defunct loli group… They deserved so much better than what they got u_u

So, first of all, the members!

Name: 柏木亜季子 (Akiko Kashiwagi)
Nick: Aki

Date of Birth: August 24 1990

Place of Birth: Osaka
Height: 150 cm

Aki was the leader of SweetS, and the girl who got the most lines other than the lead singers (it isn’t very significant either way, though 8D). Most people didn’t really like her all that much, I’ve actually never met anyone who had her as their favorite member… Poor Aki. She was an ok performer, not spectacular at dancing or anything, but she definitely wasn’t bad either! I like her voice, which is sweet and rather plain, but she was out of pitch quite a bit sometimes. What I liked the most about Aki was her dominant personality. She was a cam-whore 100%, especially on TV shows and the such. Since she wasn’t a lead singer, she didn’t get as much face time as other members, but whenever there was a talk segment she wouldn’t close her mouth AT ALL. She even repeated what other members said in order to simply be heard XD Pretty funny, IMO. Also, she was in charge of MCs and the such, and she was very good at it. Definitely a confident and sassy girl, perfect for the leader position.

Name: 吉村綾花 (Ayaka Yoshimura)
Nickname: Aya, Aya-neechan 

Date of Birth: September 22 1990
City: Osaka
Height: 159cm

Aya was my favorite member. For no particular reason at all, you see, I have a thing with some idols, like a connection, and once that weird thing happens, I can’t go back and like another girl. Like an idol radar of sorts XD. It doesn’t mean that there’s no reason to like her, on the contrary, being a lead singer, she got TONS of face time on PVs and performances, and her voice is just incredible. Seriously powerful and always on pitch, she’s an outstanding singer hands down. Not such a great dancer, but she wasn’t bad either! Plus, it must’ve been tiresome to belt all of those lines and keep up with the dance steps, so bear with her, dammit! Aya is one of those “quiet, shy and not so intersting” characters that seem to plague the idol world lately (like Aichan or Konno, to name just 2), but there was more to her than she let on! I remember a Tv show where she said that she had confessed her love to like 3 guys in a row or something like that That was funny, and unexpected too!

 

Name: 竹輪春奈 (Haruna Takewa)
Nickname: Haruna, Haruu~

Date of Birth: April 23 1991
City: Nagasaki
Height: 156 cm

 

 

Haruna was everybody’s favorite XD She’s one of those idols who *have it*. Like Gocchin, for example. You just know that there’s something special about them. Haruna was a multi tasker, she was a lead singer, with her clear powerful voice, that contrasted beautifully with Aya’s deep one. She was also one of the best dancers in the group, if not the best! Everyone talked about Mai being the best, but Haruna just made it all seem so easy, like it was natural for her to go into dancing frenzy and she enjoyed every minute of it. What makes it all the more impressive is the fact that she had only a slightly smaller number of songs than Aya, yet she pwned all the others at dancing. I really want to see Haru pop up somewhere else, she’s SUCH a talented idol, that kind of skill shouldn’t be wasted…

 

Name: 瀧本美織 (Miori Takimoto)
Nickname: Mii-chan

Date of Birth: October 16 1991
City: Tottori
Height: 153 cm

Miori… I just <3 her. She was my second favorite member, again, for no reason at all XD But with Miori it’s a bit different, she’s the type of girl that simply has a special secret charm that you can’t quite point out but makes you watch her in awe even if she’s just standing there looking uninterested or babbling or something. Like AKB’s Acchan or H!P’s Nacchi, for example. Miori was this type of idol, and she was just so lovely! She almost never got lines, but she was quite a good singer, and had the deepest voice of all of the girls. They should’ve let her sing some more X_X Anyhow, surprisingly enough, even in spite of her lack of lines, she’s probably the most famous post-SweetS girl. She did an advertising campaign for some sort of high school, appeared in the japancse playboy magazine (not in a bad way, of course) and was featured in the PV of a girl duo named Himori or something like that. Not bad at all! But I still want to see her sing!!! People were hating on her when SweetS broke up, even blaming her for it indirectly, because she was a succesful model when they disbanded and was so busy with that job that she didn’t attend their final live event. You know, w/e, the group was going to hell anyway, don’t blame Miichan, love her!

 

 

Name: 岩崎舞 (Mai Iwasaki)
Nickname: Mai!, Ganmai, Mai-tan

Date of Birth:  October 1st 1991
City: Nagasaki

Height: 150 cm

Mai is a cutie. She was always full of energy and all over the place, saying the most random stuff in interviews and smiling all the time! She was the worst singer of the group, her voice became raspy and flat after dancing a little, but that’s understandable, seeing how she was very energetic in all of her dance moves and stuff. I liked her, especially since she was very entertaining and endearing with her tomboyish, child like qualities. She got near to zero lines in songs, yet she was active after SweetS disbanded singing at some avex events or something. She’s got a great personality for TV, she should pursue that, maybe.

And now, the next point! The music!

SweetS music had various periods. Their first mini album was completely composed by BOUNCEBACK, which made for dramatic pop, very danceable and remarkably catchy. After the serious FAIL of the sales number for that album, BB called it quits and the girls started working with different material. This time, it was mostly typical idol pop, but with the advantage of having two great vocalists in Haruna and Aya, the songs have a different quality to them, they sound like “real” music XD.

Their PVs are also worth mentioning, since the group was very focused on being good performers (they trained for a year before their debut), their choreographies were very well executed and PVs focused on them most of the time. Also, their clothes were very important because they advertised a clothing company called “Pentys”. Those are some cute clothes! I don’t know if the brand still exists after their break up, but I guess it probably does.

Here are my picks of favorite 5 PVs so that you can check them out yourself

Love Raspberry Juice: With lyrics more fit for Koda Kumi than a bunch of pre teens, this song is a Jpop classic for me 8D It’s danceable, catchy and cute all at the same time. Also, the girls look tiny in the PV, it’s pretty cute!

Love like Candy Floss: Geez, I obsessed about this song for like a whole year, it was insane! It’s an incredibly good pop number, and features Haruna as the main vocalist, which gives the song a whole different vibe, but still, amazing.

Mienai Tsubasa: This is from their “second” era, after BOUNCEBACK left them. I love this song, it’s so uplifting without sounding too cliche or anything like that. There are like 1000 versions of this PV, but I’ll just link to this rather simple one that focuses on the choreography. If you want to look up the others, you are totally welcome to do so on Youtube 8D There’s a pretty cute one with only scenes of them at Hawaii having fun and being kids… Good stuff!

Grow Into Shinin’ Stars: This was SweetS highest ranked single ever, and that was like at position 250 at Oricon X_x I never quite understood why they were so unpopular with the japanese fans, but they’re already gone now, so what difference does it make… This is a fairly catchy number, and the PV is pretty cute, at the planetarium (I LOVE planetariums).

Color of Tears: This was their final single before they disbanded. I love this song, they all get lines (not anywhere near an even lie distribution, though LOL) and it just… feels right. It’s also quite impressive to compare them here and in their former PVs, where they are just little girls. This is a very good song, and it also has a nice, soothing PV. A great send-off.

Ok, so that’s all. Now go and do some research, and mourn them, because they are freaking gone D:

(Random fact #1: The MC that Miori did short after SweetS disbanded was for a cram school called Waseda Academy. That cram school is like 2 blocks away from the hotel I’m staying at O_O. It’s a sign! I must never get over them and keep whining about their awesomeness forever!!!)

Top Stuff of 2008

Hi people! I’m not going to be here for new years (because I’m going to Tokyo, baby! w00t!) so I decided I’d do a countdown of the best of 2008. AKB48 wins by default in all my categories XD but those ones are all  going to be in Aitakatta! and I’ll focus in the non-AKB stuff for now.

Top 3 LOLs of 2008

3. Sawajiri Erika is going to marry a guy who could be her dad…: Well, I don’t care about who marries who but its the controversy surrounding this one what really made me LOL. Apparently, she isn’t very convincing about her love for the guy, and thus people are in shock. Publicity stunt much? LOL

2. Koda Kumi’s MAJOR mess up: You know, some 6 months ago, Koda Kumi said that women shouldn’t have children after they’re 35 years old because their amniotic fluid is rotten or something along those lines O_o I don’t want to hate on Kumi, because I’m sure it was just a dumb thing she said, and she didn’t mean to insult so many women, but the way it came back to bite her in the a$$ was just hilarious! BTW, people should really advise her to keep her mouth shut about sensible stuff like this! I’m not a Koda Kumi fan, but I certainly enjoy her music, and I’m glad that she just brushed it off after a while and kept rocking. But yeah, LOL.

1. HANGRY & ANGRY: Come on! If this PV didn’t make you LOL nothing will. Now don’t get me wrong, I really admire Yossie and Rika is one of my favorite H!P girls because of her incredibly charismatic persona… But this is just ridiculous. An Ishiyoshi unit was always a dream, kind of like GAM, and then they dress them up in these really hardcore Gothloli dresses, with the awful hair and give them one of the cheapest PVs I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been a H!P fan for quite some time now, I should know about cheap PVs…) Yossie’s angry faces are too much, Rika just can’t feel comfortable dressed like that, and the spikey hair does no good for her. She is (for the first time in her long career) completely out of her element, and it shows. I like their songs, sure, butplease don’t ever give them guitars again. Especially not to Rika. XD  Well, let’s look at it on the bright side: LOL.

Top 5 Best PVs of 2008

5. Otsuka Ai – Kurage Nagareboshi: I’m a big fan of Ai-chin, although I very rarely fangirl her XD This was my favorite release of hers in 2008, especially because of the simplistic but hauntingly beautiful PV. The piano in the sea at night, and the loneliness that it conveys is touching. Loved it.BTW, you know that avex is a b*tch when it comes to copyright issues, so the only version I found was this with spanish subs XD But it works to give you an idea of what the wonderful PV looks like..

4. Perfume – Baby Cruising Love: This PV is amazing. It’s heart warming, cute, interesting and cool, all in one. I absolutely adore the outfits (especially A-chan’s <3) and the light bulb thing they do (you’ll understand if you’ve seen it XD) is both awesome and cute. Just like Perfume.

3.  Perfume – Secret Secret: I’m completely win over by this amazing PV. It has a classy aura, and a mysteirous feel to it, without losing the fun! Plus, Electro World outfits make a guest appearance <3. This was one of the best songs of the year too, you just never get tired of watching this PV.

2. Buono – Renai Rider: Renai Rider is Buono! at its best. It’s a great song with just enough elements of punk to make it sound cool without overdoing it. And the PV is both adorable and kickass at the same time! The outfits are cute, the dance is simple but works well, and Momo’s tricycle is EPIC. This remains my favorite Buono! song for now, and it probably won’t change anytime soon

1. Perfume – Dream Fighter: I ADORE this PV, I’m going to write a review about it at some point, but just now that I adore it! A-chan is my favorite Perfume member, but Nocchi was just FIERCE in this PV, and Kashiyuka was as awesome as she always is. The outfits are spot on, the simplicity of the PV makes it enjoyable to watch and contrasts nicely with the complex dance moves. It’s great to see Perfume just being their own selves, with not much else added. It has a charm of its own.

Top 3 Best Albums of 2008

3. C-ute -3rd Love Escalation-: Geez I’ve just discovered that I spent all of 2008 fangirling AKB and thus barely lstened to any of the albums released this year XD Anyway, I liked C-ute’s album, but I seem to be in a minority, since I read many reviews rating it as average. I’m not a C-ute fan, I just love Airi and Maimi, and like Kanna, Erika and Chisato. But I’m not going to rave on about hem for hours like I do for my favorite groups or singers. I found this album entertaining, and a good listen. I can’t remember some songs right off the bat by just looking at the tracklist, but I thought it was well balanced. My favorite track is Sweets —->live, which is amusing, because it’s one of the most bashed tracks in everyone’s reviews XD This album included Tokaikko Junjou which is C-ute’s best sigle ever (IMO) so it was good. And yeah, next year I’ll try to listen to more stuff so that I don’t end up babbling about an album I barely listened to XD

2. Berryz Koubou – Five: I <3 Berryz, and this album is amazing! I like the stronger sound they have here, and how well the girls sound, I’m proud of them! So, since I really loved the album (and because I only babbled nonsensically in the above album comment XD) I’ll do a mini review:

1. HAPPY! Stand up: I love this song. It’s high energy and kind of badass. I love Captain’s lines here, with a passion. And Miya’s too. If the song title didn’t have “Happy” in it, it would be SO much better though

2. Kono Yubi Tomare: Sounds like an old-school Ayaya song, and that is always a great thing <3 Also, Maasa and Chinami get some love, and they work really well with Momoko! Great song.

3. Baka ni Shinaide: My favorite song in the album hands down. It features my favorite member (Yurina) with strong voices Miiya and Captain and plus, Risako, whose voice I like This is a rock number, and it’s just BADASS! I didn’t believe that the girls had it in them to rock out, and it was a pleasant surprise!

4. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance: Eclectic album indeed. From the rocking Baka ni Shinaide we move to the silly and hyper Monkey Dance. I’ve always loved this song, it’s so much fun and so infectious. Plus, Chinami’s “Banzai” line is pure moe–

5. Ah Merry-go-Round: An RnB number sung by Momo and Captain. It sounds great, because they are both great singers, and there are lovely harmonies included as well <3! I’m not much of a fan of that style, nonetheless but yeah, enjoyable.

6. CLAP!: Yurina, Chinami and Miiya do an amazing song! Thank God the lyrics don’t say clap, or they could end up sounding like “crap” which would spoil it a bit for me XD Ok, bad jokes aside, I like this energetic and feel-good guitar driven song a lot! <3

7. REAL LOVE: This is the song people will hate on forever and ever just because it’s Rii’s XD I like it, musically it reminds me of the early Gocchin songs, and a bit of Gomattou which I loved. It’s kind of a slow-ish song, but I like it. Not LOVE it, though, especially not at the ridiculous lenght it has…

8. Yume no Hitotsubu -Berryz Kamen Ending Theme-: Now this song right here is the highlight of the album! It features Maasa at her best, and it has a funky background music that sounds typically spanish and flamenco like and then turns into something that sounds strangely russian during the chorus O_o I love it!

9. Dschingis Kahn: I like it. That’s all. With this song, you either love or hate, and I love it.

10. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi: I’m one of the few people in the world who actually enjoyed this single. Oh well.

11. BE: A ballad… ew. It sounds pretty, I guess. Who the hell are those kids? This sounds like Disney! It bores me to death though.

12. Special Generation Remix: Not needed. Whatever

1. Perfume – GAME: Ok, no GAME mini review, because I’ll do a real one later on This album had a lot to live up to, since Complete Best was so good, but it managed to surpass its predecessor and establish Perfume as the greatest technopop group ever (not that there are many out there, but still XD) There’s not a single dull moment when you listen to it (and yeah, Take me Take me isn’t boring, if you think it is then you aren’t imagining Kashiyuka doing the dance with the chair while you listen to it!). It has a great balance of happy songs, slightly more serious stuff and things that you can just headbang to. Awesomeness.

Ok, this is long as HELL. But I really felt like writing it Well, people, see you next time, maybe I’ll be able to squeeze an update in before I leave, but I don’t promise anything XD Have fun!

Meri Kuri!

Merry Christmas everybody!

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas full of happiness and presents! To celebrate, here’s a performance of Perfume’s awesome “Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow”! Enjoy!!!

Ok, see you later everybody!!

Super Jet Shoes!

Just a quick post to point out a funny fact I found out a while ago. Perfume has covered live in several occasions a song called “Super Jet Shoes” originally sung by Hiroshima born singer Peachy. This song is very cute and energetic, and the girls of Perfume, charismatic as always, give it a lot of heart and make it tons of fun!

Here’s a relatively recent performance of that song

That was awesome, right? Well, the funny thing is that “Peachy” is actually Ishii Rika, and while I’m not completely sure if it’s the same girl or not, there used to be an Ishii Rika signed with UFA and Hello!Project eons ago XD She performed a few songs in the “Douyou Pops” collection. I remember her voice particularly because it was what catched my ear first, she’s a great singer! Sadly, her version of Super Jet Shoes kinda fails miserably when compared to that of Perfume… Oh well! Here’s a live performance of the original version of Super Jet Shoes in HEY!HEY!HEY! Boy, she is a hyper girl, right?

This could add to the infamous “Are Perfume idols or not?” debate I guess