Sad…

Sad… sad… very sad!

My parents and I… were going to go to California- to see Momusu!

But in the end, it didn’t work out. T_T.

I just feel bad- it’s like, Momusu made this huge effort to come all the way to America. I feel like I owe it to them to meet them halfway and make the effort to get to California. The fact that it’s at the exact opposite end of the country is only a tiny obstacle! Rawr!

…

Guys, those of you who are going to see them, enjoy it for me!

Hey-o, Miyavi’s got a new single!

Miyavi kinda has a new single out, after a yearlong drought of singles.

By “kinda” I mean that he has a demo of this new song out on his Myspace page, but no official release yet. It’s… a surprisingly good song.  Part of the reason I’ve been less interested in Miyavi lately is the fact that he seemed to have a lot of pretense to his latest singles. It was all bluff and effects and a thousand different instruments, and I couldn’t relate to any of it. However, Hi no Hikari Sae Todokanai Basho De (his last single before this new one) was a refreshing change. He hadn’t stripped away all of his sound effects or random odd background voices, but there was much more humanity and emotion in the song, and it made me feel like Miyavi might be onto something good.

Fast forward to this next single, and once again I was pleasantly surprised. Here’s a link to the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJoSVY6NfM4

PS: Whenever I hear Myv speak in English, he always sounds like this kid I knew in 3rd grade who would stuff marbles in his mouth and try to talk. It’s hard to take him seriously, so I just don’t. XD

The song, Super Hero, starts off in the annoyingly blustery style of  singles past, with Miyavi showing off the fact that he can actually speak English now, but then makes a very natural shift into a much more beautiful style. There’s very little pretense to the rest of the song- much like his last single, the song seems somehow vulnerable, despite its flaws.  The slower, softer parts at the very beginning and in between verses seem almost dreamlike, introspective and fragile. Then the speed begins to slowly pick up until suddenly the chorus arrives with a kind of wounded vengeance that is far more emotionally accessible than anything Myv has done lately.

In all, I was highly impressed with this song. It could be that his recent marriage and impending fatherhood has helped to calm Miyavi down a little bit.

PPS: While I was looking up info about this song, it hit me…
Miyavi is close to being 30 years old. Myu hu hu! He’ll be 28 this year! Creepy.

New Mini Moni, Old Mini Moni… oi!

Hi, everybody!

Well, let’s see! I haven’t blogged since Yossy’s birthday, I do believe. Why? Well, I have been mostly enjoying reading the blogs of others- you’re all amazing (yes, you). But something so momentous, so incredible, so unbelievable has happened that I have to come out of my semi-retirement to blog about it:

Tsunku may have actually had a good idea.

I’m sure that you’ve guessed that I’m talking about the revival of MiniMoni. I think that this move is risky but brilliant on the part of the T-man, and if he plays this right (IE composes it of all of the members I want ;3 ), it could be very successful. And if not, wellllll, it’ll at least be fun for the wota!

~~~

(I mean, seriously, look at this man. Ridiculous).

Now, there have been countless times in which Tsunku has appeared to be on drugs when coming up with a new idea involving H!P. Sometimes he seemed to have been on something very good- I’m thinking that this was the case when he came up with The Peace, decided to include children who could barely speak in his project and train them to be superidols bent on draining our wallets, not telling Niigaki Risa to take herself and her bean-shaped head the hell out of his auditions and including Tsuji into the fourth generation at the last minute. But more often the inventions of the insane man behind H!P’s inventions have been, well, insane.

~~

(I mean, seriously, look at this group. Ridiculous).

Take Coconuts Musume. CocoMusu were essentially a bunch of awkward, semi-talented Hawaiians who spoke little to no Japanese and looked gigantic next to the petite and supernaturally pretty MM members. They didn’t sell well, and the line-up bounced around enough to make even the best Wota’s eyes spin. And Tsunku was originally very excited about them. They’re not the only ones, though. Most of H!P has had to deal with Tsunku’s crackosity at one time or another: He treated Melon Kinenbi so badly that they quickly became a running joke amongst fans, and even Berryz fell prey to his lunacy (”HEEEEY! Heeey, man, let’s, like, dress ‘em up in MONKEY suits! And have ‘em sings songs! About MONKEYS!” “Dude, you’re, like, brilliant.”). So, I’ve learned to take most of what Tsunku says and look at it through a filter- a loving, incredulous but indulgent filter. “Oh, that’s just Tsunku being on ecstasy again, it’ll all turn out fine in a few days, no worries.”

(”TSUNKUUUUUU! I WILL DEVOUR YOUR LIVER!”)

~~

With all that, what makes me think that this revival of a classic group would ever be a good idea, when H!P is stagnant in its popularity and the economy looks like a Johnny’s member without make-up (According to Newsweek, Japan’s economy this year has taken the largest yearlong plunge in decades)?

For one, at least in the beginning, this group should get great publicity. It’s a revival of a group whose old fans are at the right age to look back nostalgically at- “Ah, Mini Moni were so great. I loved listening to their music after school!” In the idol industry, which is all about image, publicity is everything. When people see you, they’re more likely to buy.

Secondly, H!P is moving towards a more mature image. Yes, C-ute’s newest cover single sounds like it was sung by Airi and the Chipmunks, but the other groups are shifting towards a more mature style, Morning Musume especially. At the same time, there’s some holding back. Morning Musume has done dance-y and a little sad in their latest singles, and Dakishimete Dakishimete dabbled in sexiness, but nothing really sultry has come from H!P in a long, long time, whether it be in the form of a song or a group. In fact, the only sultry prodcut of H!P that comes to mind is the original  Tanpopo line-up, and that was back when Morning Musume members were allowed to be real, sexual beings. I feel that with a new Mini Moni to keep up H!P’s playful, childish side, Tsunku may feel more comfortable experimenting with the sultrier side of things. Put those awesome Korean H!P hopefuls to use!

So which H!P members do I think would make this new group a success? Well, that depends.

First, how many members does Tsunku want? Technically there was a time when MiniMoni had five members. I’d like to assume, though, that Tsunku will stick with four.

Will the group have the same theme? Well, we all seem to be assuming that this’ll be a bright, childish group, and that seems about right. If it’s not, then my post is mostly rendered moot. And I hate being made moot.

Second, will he stick with the 150 cm height rule? That seems unlikely, as very few non-Egg members of H!P match that rule. However, since this will be a children’s group (we hope), the members might still stay on the short side.

Third, what groups will the members be from? In my idealized world in which the only drugs Tsunku takes are the ones that he uses to help out in bed with his trophy wife, he’ll choose one girl from each group (BK, C-ute, the Eggs and MM).

The criteria are thus that  there’ll be one member from each group, that the height doesn’t matter but should be shortish, and that the group will be childlike and happy.

So taking that into consideration, here it is:

AOI♥USAGI’S PERFECT NEW MINIMONI FORMATION:

Of course Kanon is already in the group, but I would’ve chosen her anyways: She’s the perfect new Kago. She’s sweet, adorable as hell and has a good voice.

Please let Chisato into the group! She’s little, she’s spunky, and she’s simultaneously able to pull off Tsuji-like levels of mischevousness and Mikitty-like levels of singing ability. She needs to be C-ute’s representative in this group!

Momoko is insane and has a unique, powerful voice. Her personality takes second place to none and she can hold her own on variety shows. She’d be the Mari-figure that this group needs. Plus, she’s tiny! Yay!

Yay Linlin! Lin gets to be the crazy foreigner (IE Mika) of this group. She’s a fabulous singer, just like Mika, tiny, full of personality, and can teach us another language! Just please don’t make her wear the Chinese flag on her head in the form of an ugly bandanna, please.

So there you go Tsunku, get off your pills and read my blog. Or stay on your pills and read my blog, for all I care. Just read it!

Disclaimer: Of course, this is the T-man that we’re talking about. It’s completely likely that this group will end up containing Kumai Yurina, Junjun, Umeda Erika, and a half-dozen eggs chosen at random. C’est la vie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy birthday to dear Yossy! Today she’s twenty-four! Hurray!

I love this hairstyle on Yossy! Especially the color- I like her with darker blonde hair!

Some oldschool Yossy (And Goto and Kei) love!

My mom… is fifty today. Ah ha ha! Dont’ tell anyone that, though!

…Guardians… 4…?

A new H!P group for Shugo Chara, H!P’s anime BFF, has been announced! It’s called Guardians 4 and consists of Kumai Yurina, Sugaya Risako, Nakajima Saki and Mitsui Aika.

So my initial reaction to the new group was this:

“Is that a g-word I spy? G as in… GRADUATION?! OHMIGOD. KUMAI’S GRADUATING?!”

After more careful perusal, I figured out that the word was indeed “guardian,” and not “graduation.”

Although I love the idea of a new grouping of H!P girls, I’m none too pleased with this one. All I can say is that as of now, even Yurina cannot save this painful grouping of girls. None of them can sing a jot aside from Yurina, who’s hit-and-miss. I HATE Mittsi’s ugly hair-cut, and Risako cannot dance. What was the inspiration behind this group?! Perhaps it’s a similarity to the characters?

In Shugo Chara, the main character (Amu) is part of what is essentially a souped-up school-council called the School Guardians. The girls in Guardians 4 are wearing the School Guardians’ outfits. Let’s compare the girls to some of the anime/manga’s School Guardians, shall we?

Kumai Yurina:

Comparable School Guardian: Nadeshiko/Nagihiko.

Nadeshiko is the gentle, feminine and reserved best friend of the main character. She has long, black hair and is somewhat tall. She is also a boy. There’s a little side story about how it’s tradition for the boys in his family to be raised as girls until they reach a certain age, to supposedly learn how to play female roles in traditional Japanese dance. Nagihiko is his name as a boy.

Yurina actually fits this character well. Yurina has a very refined, gentle and ladylike aura to her, just like Nadeshiko/Nagihiko. She’s a very traditional Japanese beauty… And if she’s actually a cross-dresser, more power to her.

Nakajima Saki:

Comparable School Guardian: Yaya Yuiko or Nadeshiko/Nagihiko as well.

Yaya is the youngest Guardian. She’s determined to act like a baby (in order to get her parents’ attention back from her baby brother). She is hyper and likes cute things. I say that Saki fits this image because she is sort of tiny and scrappy and cutesy like that.

The only reason that I say that Nadeshiko might suit Nakki is the way that her hair is in the preview images- She’s got it tied back in a bow, which was Nadeshiko’s signature look.

Sugaya Risako

Comparable School Guardian: Mashiro Rima

Rima is the gorgeous but stuck-up and aloof new girl at the school, who eventually joins the Guardians when Nadeshiko leaves to go… er, go away and then return as Nagihiko.

She fits my idea of Sugaya perfectly. Risako exudes this over-confident, aloof aura- she knows people love her, and she thinks that she’s totally deserving of that love no matter what. Many also find her to be indescribably gorgeous. Similarly, Rima stands aloof and doesn’t even try to make friends when she joins the Guardians- she insists that all she needs are her love-struck male “slaves,” the boys in the class who, having a crush on her, will do anything for her. Kinda like wota.

Mitsui Aika:

Comparable School Guardian: Soma Kukai

Kukai is the sporty, jocky, gung-ho character that’s friends with everyone and totally in your face. He’s loud and bright and cheerful, which to me totally fits with the slightly more mischievous, genki side of Mittsi. However, Kukai leaves the Guardian’s early on. What does this say about Mittsi’s prescence within the group?

SO, IN ALL?

Striking as they may be, as far as I’m concerned, these similarities are no excuse for such a tossed-together group. Weren’t Mittsi and Saki together already in that Robby & Kerobby or whatever group? I dunno. This grouping just seems so random. Well, we’ll see. I just hope that they aren’t going to be replacing Buono!

RR2!

The second installment of my Rankingu Revolution shall deal with the Berryz- my first and still favorite group of singing-dancing J-pop hamsters!

Last year’s thoughts

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#7. Sugaya Risako

Former position: #7

Oooooooooooh C-ko, how I dislike thee! For all the standard reasons, of course; her hotter-than-thou persona, her refusal to sing like a civilized person, and her evident lack of effort when it comes to dancing.

Now, two of those three flaws also could apply to a certain Ishimura Maiha, adorable woodchuck Berry of my dreams (seriously, I love that girl), so what’s the difference, one wonders? Well, look at the difference in line distribution betwixt the two. See it? Good. Now go listen to Yume de Do Wop (Do up? Doo Wop? Uh… Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteru You Know’s b-side) and think about the Woodhchuck Berry, and sigh.

-

#6. Natsuyaki Miyabi

Former position (one wonders why I don’t say “former rank,” as this is a ranking…): #4

So at this point, rank doesn’t really matter any more. I love every single one of the non-Risako Berryz nearly equally. Where they rank just depends on how I’m feeling that day, or how they performed at the latest live.

So Miyabi gets ranked here, but there’s really very little change in how I feel about her from last year. She’s only getting more and more gorgeous, although lately I feel like she’s expressionless during live performances. I love her new haircut.

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#5. Tokunaga Chinami

Former Position: #3

I could say that China and Momo are tied for their position, but that would be boring, wouldn’t it? I basically think that Chinami’s the hottest thing that’s ever walked around on two legs. Especially her two legs… She’s also nearly as funny as Momoko.

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#4. Tsugunaga Momoko

Former Position: #5

I NAMED MY IPOD AFTER THIS MONKEYGIRL.

She’s entertaining and has the best singing ability (but not the best voice, that would be Miya) out of all of the Berryz. I absolutely adore her.

Also. What is with the Berryz looking like animals? Momoko is a strange monkeygirl, Miyabi is Seabiscuit, and Maiha was obviously descended from a long lineage of woodchucks. Kumai even has the word “bear” in her name! Hmm…

Idols genetically made to contain animal DNA…

It’s like a cross between Kirarin Revolution and Tokyo Mew Mew. OH GOD. THE SHOUJO. IT BURNS.

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#3. Kumai Yurina

Former Position: #2

After all this time, I still love Yurina. If I had to pick one Berryz member to meet, it would be Saki, and I’d fangirl all over her. But if I had to pick one Berryz member to call up when I was sad, it would be Yurina. Just looking at pictures of her calms me down, and watching her perform always has me sitting there with this stupid happy smile on my face. She exudes a sweet gentleness that always makes me glad to be around.

\

#2. Sudou Maasa

Former Position: #1

Before I say anything; Maasa is getting her first photobook! Can I get a Hellz Yeah?! Whoever at UFA made that decision has my eternal love and respect. Then again, that same person might have had the idea to give Rii three (or was it four now?) photobooks before O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN ever even got one, so… I revoke my respect.

I never download PBs- I’ve only done so on two occasions (That would be Kamei’s Maple and Yurina’s… whatever it’s called. Probably “Yurina” or something. First photobooks in H!P get the lamest titles), but I’m definitely going to find some way to download this one.

Maasa and Captain occasionally change places for first or second, depending on how I’m feeling that day. Maasa makes me laugh. I look at her, and I laugh. I can just feel that funny things are just around the corner. Maa has a strong personality, which is good when compared with such gentle creatures as as Kumai or Miyabi. She stands out. Plus she’s the only Berry who I think might be able to defend herself in a self-defense situation. Being the martial artist that I am, things like that matter to me.

#1. ShimiSaki- O Kyaputen, my Kyaputen!

Former Position: #6

ShimiSaki can be so cool at times that I get as giddy as a middle schooler at a HSM concert. It’s like Return of the Yoshizawa Only Shorter and As Of Yet Not Blond. So on days when I want to fangirl my brains out, I look up Captain. She just has this amazing ability to draw one into the performance and keep you there, just like Yossy was always able to do.

The reason she’s come up so far in my Wota ranking is almost entirely the BK vs. C-ute concert. She did amazing things there.

—

All in all? I love the Berryz. It’s been five years since they came into the J-poposphere, and while they haven’t really made Musume-levlr strides om said microcosm, for this one fangirl, that doesn’t matter.

PS: COMEBACKWOODCHUCK!

Ranking Revolution!

Just sneaking out of my self-imposed hiatus for a moment or two to babble a bit… And I do mean it- look at that title! I used alliteration! Clearly, I’m babbling.

About a year ago, I did my Hello Project Rankings for C-ute, Berryz and Momusu. To say that they’ve changed drastically since then is an understatement. So, one year later, I’ve decided to re-examine those rankings. Girls will be listed from least to most favorite. I’ll start with the Head Honchos…

Morning Musume:

(Last Year’s Thoughts:)

#9. Tanaka Reina

Former Postion: #9

So my opinion on Reina hasn’t changed. None, nary a wit, not at all. Stop winking, stop whining when you sing, dye your hair black again. Thanks.

(And yes. The only reason I saved that picture is because Linlin is being particularly awesome in the background).

#8. Mitsui Aika

Former Position: #3

And here’s where the drastic changes start.  How could she have fallen so far? Well… honestly, she hasn’t done much at all that I can tell since joining Momusu two-ish years ago. Her voice, if anything, has gotten worse over time, and without bangs she has a kinda scary face. Also, she seems to be hanging out with Reina more often, and that reflects negatively on her in my eyes. She is, however important in once respect:

For me, Mittsi kind of stands for all the disappointments that MM’s current members seem to be bringing. They all seem content to stay safely within the world of genki and kawaii, and Mitsui is the epitome of that. She lets her voice go to seed, putting to shame the amazing debut lines she got in Egao Yes Nude. However, there’s more to it than that. Mitsui doesn’t need to be just another boring Musume in a long line of future boring Musumes. I sense future greatness in her… in fact, here’s a little prophecy:

She’s come to provide salvation, and reconciliation with the general public for (the majority of) the MM girls’ sins of boringness and Way-Too-Cuteness. To do so, she’ll sacrifice herself: She’ll accept the punishment of falling in my wota rankings to clear the other girls of their sins…

Thousands of years from now, there’ll be a religion that’s all to do with Mittsi. There’ll be Mittsimas, to celebrate the day she joined MM, and there’ll be Sotsugyou, to commemorate the day she hung up her microphone, thus taking with her all of the evils that Momusu-kind had collected over the years. And, of course, there’ll be a seemingly random holiday about eggs and rabbits celebrating the day she was suddenly resurrected to be on some dull quiz show as a judge.

(And yes, that is a picture of Mittsi(’s butt). That’s Mitsui getting groped by  Sayumi on the big screen behind Koha and the others in that .gif).

#7. Kusumi Koharu

Former Position: #8

I respect Kusumi. She may be a Kirari-singing, scary-toothed crack fiend, but at least she’s confident about it. She has a lot more personality than, say, Aika or Junjun.

Then again… She’s also mildly terrifying, and her voice makes my brain crawl out my ears like so many gray slugs on more than one occasion.  Thus, she’s ranked down here. And yes, I chose that picture for a reason. I’m sure Koharu and Kanna would get along just fine…

#6. Junjun

Former Position: #2

So… yeah… Junjun… kinda like with Aika, I’ve seen little improvement in The Junster during her time in Momusu. I still like her because she’s abso-bloody-lutely gorgeous, but so are most of the other girls.

#5. Takitty

Former Position: #6

I just like Takitty lately. I don’t watch enough TV shows to say whether or not she’s gotten less boring when being interviewed, but during all of their concerts she’s got the most stage presence and best voice, and that’s what counts. Takitty has the ability to make old classics interesting again. Let’s face it: When you’re a fan of Morning Musume, you’re basically signed up to watch the girls perform the same songs over and over again in increasingly desperate outfits. Yet Takahashi always puts a new spin on whatever she’s singing, and that’s enough to keep my attention for an entire performance.

#4. GAKIIIIIIII

Former Position: #4

No opinion change here: I love Gaki, Gaki is great, when Gaki smiles, the whole world smiles along with her. And when she makes the “(°0°)” face, so does the rest of the world. I KNOW YOU’RE ALL MAKING THAT FACE WHILE YOU READ THIS.

#3. Sayumi~♥

Former Position: #5

I didn’t want this to happen, but it has: I just love Sayumi.

She’s too cute to be real.

#2. Kamei Eri

Former Position: #1

Uh-huh, I went there. I dropped the Turtley Musume down a place. I still love her and if she offered me a position as her adoring wota love-slave, I’d still drop everything and hop the next plane to Japan… I just love a certain Panda much more.

#1. Linlin

Former Position: #7

This is the real reason that I decided to re-do my rankings: Linlin has gone from being in my bottom three in MM to being not only my favorite Musume, but one of my favorite H!P members! It’s like Linlin just woke up one day and accidentally drank a glass of awesome for breakfast. Her voice stopped doing horrible squeaky things, and she started smiling comforably on camera. Plus, she says and does the oddest things. She’s what I feel Momusu is missing; Someone to play the Kemeko character to contrast all the sugary sweetness we’ve got with Gaki and Kamei and Sayumi and Reina and Junjun. Cuteness is great, but there need to be some girls willing to act like a fool to show the cute ones off. Linlin knows that.

…

And now, because it’s my blog and I can: LINLIN PICSPAM OF (not exactly) EPIC PROPORTIONS!

Also, for those of you who feel cheated out of their daily dosage of the Non-Panda 8th gen. girl, here’s a token picture of Mittsi:

This is just to say…

I am alive. I’m sorry for my severe lack of decent posting. Due to a fairly personal reason (I have mentioned it in this blog before, I know it), I just haven’t been able to pull up the energy to sit down and write a post that I feel good about.

That said, I have about a thousand drafts, including one for my (now passed) 1-year anniversary on this blog! I hope to finish that one before I have to call it my 1.5 year anniversary. But aside from that, I don’t know how often or to what extent I’ll be blogging in the upcoming weeks. My hope is that by writing this post, I’ll do that reverse-psychology bit to myself that works so well on those of us with small intellects, and antagonize myself into getting motivated!

So the short version of this already short post? I’m out for a little while, but I love H!P too much to be gone for good. You’re not rid of me yet!

As a reward for reading all of that, here’s some adorable Lin:

The Safari Begins!

In this post, I proclaimed my eternal terror for Mano Erina.

Now I see that I was only afraid of her hair.

I’m not kidding- this picture may be the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. If only Mano had actually cut her hair short, instead of just pulled it back. For some reason, she just seems so much less… menacing… when she does her hair like this!

Then again… maybe this look is all just a plot to fool those of us who, like myself, are still skeptical. Mano is, after all, a predator who is a master of camouflage and disguise, taking on the faces of her Idol victims in order to get closer to her next prey. In the above picture, one can clearly see her infamous routine at work, as she is showing the face of one of her earliest victims, a certain Morning Musume member whose name rhymes with Shichishige Mayumi.

This this tactic allows her to infiltrate even the most genki of dressing rooms, posing for seemingly “cute” and “harmless” pictures. The real reason behind that hug? She’s feeling up the amount of muscle on her next meal, of course.

Well I won’t be fooled, Miss Mano. This wota will continue to monitor your behavior as a predator amongst the unsuspecting gazelle… er… idols.

…And so, the safari begins!

{This may become a semi-regular series… sort of the opposite of a worship post, I suppose. And don’t worry- whilemy discomfort over ManoEri is completely real, my belief that she eats other Idols is merely harmless speculation.

}

I’d forgotten about you, Vanilla Mood!

When I first started getting into Japanese music, the three artists I consistently listened to were Miyavi, Utada Hikaru, and a little-known girl-group called Vanilla Mood. I’d forgotten completely about that last one on the list until today, when my cousin sent me a clip of them playing my favorite childhood song, “Puff the Magic Dragon” (Hush up with the insistence that there’s a drug reference there! Let me have my childhood memories!). So for those of you interested, here’s a bit about this group, and why I love them.

(L to R: The flautist, and my personal favorite, Waka, the cellist, Mariko, the violinist, Yui and the pianist/vocalist, Keiko)

Vanilla Mood are a four-member girl group who play all of their own music. Before you think to yourself, “SCANDAL?” let me assure you that the resemblance ends there. Vanilla Mood has a unique sound all their own, created by blending their talent at classical instruments with elements from more modern genres of music. Unlike most girl groups under the Avex label, these girls can not only play their own instruments, but they also produce and compose their own music.

A few examples of Vanilla Mood’s incredible range of musical styles:

Haku

This PV is beautiful, this song is beautiful, the girls are beautiful. What more does one need? I think that this song is also quintessentially them. it showcases what they’re really good at: Instruments. Often, the pianist, Keiko, provides vocals. While she is actually quite good, well… there are plenty of song-and-dance cute girl groups out there. But few groups can catch and hold our attention without any singing at all.

Day by Day

This song, on the other hand, has more of a generic pop sound. However, you do get to hear Keiko’s lovely vocals, and in the end, I love this song just as much as Haku.

When you compare acts like this with various Hello! Project acts, the gap is shocking. While it’s true that in both groups, girls are making a name for themselves based off of their strengths and talents, the way in which their management treats that talent is radically different. Avex was intelligent enough not to just leave these four as a bunch of somewhat cute girls singing pre-fabricated pop tunes, and allowed them to utilize what they already had. Many people have pointed out that H!P could and should do the same with their girls. Junjun and Captain Saki can play piano, and Kei is Teh Talented Granny when it comes to saxophone. I’m sure there are other talents within H!P that could be utilized to increase each group’s potential!

Thinking back… wasn’t there this one T&C Bomber concert where that… one… gymnast (gah, was it Ruru?) did a bunch of backflips and whatnot all over the stage? That’s the kind of thing that I mean. Although I doubt that Sayumi or Risako could do backflips even with a harness, it’d certainly be more interesting to watch them try that than to hear them sing ANOTHER duet (sorry, fans of that pairing. I love Sayu, but Rii ruins it for me).

As a final comparison:

UFO- Vanilla Mood

UFO- Morning Musume