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!

The Berryz Koubou Ranking

Hi! I planned to post more about Perfume today (I <3 them) ut I dreamt that my favorite Berryz member graduated! It disturbed me so much that I decided I’d post my ranking of Berryz members here to show my love!

Disclaimer: I LOVE all Berryz members, so even the bottom ranked ones I like waaaay more that I like most Momusu members XD

7. Sudou Maasa

Don’t get me wrong all of you Maasa rabid fans, I love this girl, I just happen to love the rest of them a tiny bit more than her I’ve never really been able to get in the Maasa bandwagon, but I like her a fair share because of her caring personality and how she always seems to be “in charge” of every situation. She gives a “big sister” vibe that is very nice and soothing for the other members, I think. This is a bit funny because Maasa isn’t the second oldest member (that would be Momoko) but she still has that subcaptain image that I like so much. Maasa’s voice is a bit in the lower range, and there isn’t anything particularly wowing about it,yet she has decent control and makes it work. The thing I like the most about Maasa, however, is how COOL she is. She is definitely the “cool” girl in Berryz, and I love that, because it makes her personality interesting having the contrast of cool yet caring.

6. Shimizu Saki

Captain! I like Saki, she’s adorable and badass all at the same time. I also like how she’s a bit of a tomboy, I like that kind of character, it’s nice to see it every now and then in the sea of cute idols out there. Saki seems like a very responsible person, and she should be too, because she’s the oldest member! She’s very reliable and also, a reallytalented girl! Everyone knows about Saki’s skills when it comes to dancing, and she also has a very nice low voice that is stable and pleasent to listen to.  What I like the most about Saki, though, is how much of a good sport she is when the members made jokes about her short height. XD

5. Tokunaga Chinami

Chinami is adorable, cute and funny. That makes her WIN. Also, she looks a lot like one of my cousins so I have a kind of “familiar” feeling whenever I see her (no bad pun intended XD). Chiichan is one of those idols that you couldn’t hate even if you tried hard. She’s soo energetic and hyper and happy without ever getting annoying that I just feel like going outside to play with her whenever I see her goofing off (I don’t usually play with 16 year old girls BTW, in fact, 16 year old girls rarely ever play outside anymore). Her voice is very sweet and high pitched, but she manages to be a good singer live and while she might not be the most technically amazing dancer, she puts so much energy in anything she does that it all looks a lot of fun!

4. Sugaya Risako

Risako is <3 so all of you haters can go and bash her somewhere else As much as I like her (and I really really like her) I hate it whenever she gets like 40% more lines than any of the other members, but that’s not her freaking fault so people should really stop hating her so much! I don’t even know where all the hatred came from, but one moment I suddenly found out blog posts saying that she was slutty, fat, a horrible singer, that she half-assed all of her dances and I was like I’ve taken it as a personal mission to defend her because she’s a nice girl and I like her (kinda like the Leave Britney Alone video in Youtube XD).

She’s not slutty, I mean come on, I don’t know how she’s like in her real life, but Airi’s PBs look a lot like Rii’s and I only hear people raving about Airi’s cuteness, but then whenever poor Rii wears a bikini everyone goes “OMG!! That’s gross she’s a slut” I wonder why is this? Is it because Rii has boobs and Airi doesn’t? (I love Airi BTW, before you flame me) Oh well, I guess I’ll never understand. And she’s not fat either (although I’ve made jokes about that before myself XD) or maybe she is, but what do YOU care?

And finally, the comments about how bad a performer she is. It’s harder to defend her in this aspect, because Rii admittedly has issues with her voice control, and it can go all over the place in a scream if she doesn’t watch out (this happens in every BK concert, actually) but she’s improving! And I’m not talking about the Kusumi Koharu kind of improvement which consists in not lip synching but singing live in an awful way, but the real improvement that makes me watch her performances instead of skipping them! She’s no Momoko, and she probably never will be, but she’s definitely the most improved member of BK vocals wise, give her some credit for that dammit! >:/ And about her half assed dancing, it’s just that she’s a bad dancer, that’s all XD I’ve seen almost all BK concerts analysing this, and I’ve noticed it. Rii just can’t keep up with the others dance wise, even when she’s smiling and having fun and being all energetic.

Ok, so now you won’t hate her for her bad attitude when dancing but because of her poor skills, but COME ON! Why don’t you go hate on Sayu who can’t dance much either? Geez…

Phew, that was long! I actually really like Risako’s voice Whenever she controls it, it has a beautiful distinctive quality about it that I enjoy a lot, but she shouldn’t get so many lines because it tires her out in concerts so she ends up sounding horrible, and she shouldn’t get songs that are WAY above her range (Dshingis Kahn comes to mind) or she’ll screech and stuff. I can’t dance much either, so I don’t hate anyone because of it. And plus, I love how dorky she is, her Yorosen episodes were definitely the most enjoyable and endearing to watch IMO.

3. Tsugunaga Momoko

Momo is her own character, and I love that. She has so many little mannerisms that make her interesting as an idol, and on top of all that she has AMAZING vocal skills! People joke about how she sounds like Minnie Mouse or like she swallowed a tank of helium, but they overlook the incredible control she has over her voice. She never hits a wrong note, falsetto or not, and even when she’s tired, she sounds really good. Plus, she’s grown up, so her voice has changed a bit and isn’t as high pitched now, hopefully this will allow people to start enjoying her voice more now.

2. Natsuyaki Miyabi

I love Miya, but there’s just something that I can’t get about her personality…She’s mature and quiet and lovely and all, but I like her the most when she’s goofing off and having fun with her Berryz friends <3 I think that Miyabi’s vocal talent needs no introduction, but still, she’s probably the most solid vocalist in Berryz (only rivaled by Momoko) her voice has a nasal quality to it, but it doesn’t make it annoying, only distinctive, that is always a great thing! She pwns whenever on stage, her vocal control is amazing! And she’s a good dancer too. I love Miya, she’s extremely talented.

1. Kumai Yurina

Yup, last night I dreamt that Yurina graduated and woke up with what sure felt like a heart attack XD I-ve always loved Yurina the most out of all BK members, and there’s not even a real reason of why. She’s not too special, admittedly (other than her height) she’s not the kind of girl who willingly steals the spotlight from the others. I love her voice, but she doesn’t sound very good live at times, and I can’t take my eyes off of her on stage, even though she isn’t the best dancer either. Her bright airheaded personality makes her absolutely irresistible for my wota side, I just ADORE her. Ever since she was the big headed kid with huge eyebrows, until now that she’s blossomed into a gorgeus and graceful lady. Yurina can do no wrong for me, and she especially won me over when I saw her live, her enthusiasm is infectious, she’s always smiling her heart out, even when she doesn’t get a single line, she’s just happy to be there. And I’m just happy that she’s there too. Please don’t ever graduate and leave me Yurinaaaaa! I wuv you <3