15 posts tagged “buono!”

He~ello!

I LOVE BUONO TO DEATH!!!!!!

Can I say more? And their new PV is finally out. This will be quick since I'd like to save the insanely long posts for when I decide to write up this year's Haro!Pro awards/graduation bananza.

Anyways, here's the PV:

 

I LOVE THIS!!!

Everything is going right here! There's extras in an H!P PV, and the budget is awesome! two high-quality costumes and a great set. There's even a plot! They're getting more that Morning Musume is!!! Buono is moving up in the world! And they deserve it! The music is much better than Co.No.Mi.Chi, it fits Buono more. I really hope that Buono continues, even after Shugo Chara ends. They're so awesome~! I also love how the plot is Ninja!Buono sneaking into a building to steal the most heavily guarded cake I've ever seen.

Anyways, this new PV has led me to come up with my own ideas for how H!P should run without money flowing to the elders:

If this is the way that H!P is going now that there's not any extra money going to the elders club, who did nothing, I'm really excited. H!P may get a new, longer TV show, and better PVs, and maybe even more TV appearences. Now all they have to do is wipe that idol image off of them, and they're set! It's no secret that AKB48's sales have shot up since they started making dramas and created their own variety show for TV. It's also to be noted that the more interesting a PV is, the more likely people are to buy it. There was one song that came out a few months ago in Japan, which had cross-dressing men singing something like disco music. It's certantly interesting and eyecatching, and it's been selling extremely well. Other popular singers such as Koda Kumi or Ayumi Hamasaki have cool, eyecatching PVs, and they sell well. As for why Johnnys selling so extraordinarily well, it might not only be that they've been around so damn long, but also because right now, male singers are simply selling way better.

While the idol image is popular with the fans, and while the H!P parents may like it, anyone could tell you that no matter where you are, you can't make it into the entertainment world without scandals and publicity stunts. Scandals or relationships in J-pop may tick off the most creepy fans, but they don't ruin your carrer, they help it. How many wota seriously care if their girl is a virgin? I've already watched the winter concert, and I can testify to the fact that Nono and Kaorin got just as many cheers as any of the others even though they're married women. Also, how many celebrities have gotten famous because of who they marry or date. Not only in the U.S., but it also happens elsewhere. Has anyone else noticed that Nono's husband seems to have gotten all of these jobs since their relationship has started, and Nono herself has gotten many new oppourtunites from her relationship, weather it's the being a mother part, or just getting married. You'll often find that scandals can also raise publicity and intrest. When H!P was at its height, a scandal wouldn't get someone suspended, and in fact, it raised the publicity and intrest in H!P, which probably helped H!P stay popular. The second that they stopped tolerating scandals and were more conscious of what their girls did dating-wise, H!P stopped getting that publicity, and their sales dropped drastically.

So, scandals are good, and the more money they spend on getting the girls out and promoted, the better. This PV is certainly a step towards getting the PVs to get interesting so people will watch them, not just girls running around.

-Midori

HEY!

I know this is really late, but I've been insanely busy with life in general.

For this post, I'm going to go back to the original post, and re-list what I like & don't like about H!P members & groups.

Here it is, so you can see how my opinions have changed.

Okay! Now on to the post!

Morning Musume has, and I think will always be, my favorite H!P group. While Buono! is tied with them, because Buono's awesome, I think that Momusu just can't be beat in their history and their style. I love all the Morning Musume girls from the 1st to 8th generation, and I think that each girl can and has made an impact on the fans, weather it be Gocchin, who skyrocketted Momusu into J-pop history, or Asuka, who was only a member for only a little while. I really like all of the current line-up, but Ai is a definate standout. All of the girls have their own special place in my fandom, including Koharu, no matter how much I bash her. Everything Momusu does helps dictate what H!P does. I think that they could still choose much better singers in the future, and release more mainstream, mature, and sexy music to get back into the mainstream, but they probably won't do that for a while. Also, I would do them a world of good if they started appearing to talk/perform/bust in on heaps of variety, quiz, and music shows. AKB48 had a drama and has a variety show, and look at how well they're doing.

Berryz Koubou- The kids group that I really don't like at the moment. The only Berryz stuff that I like at the moment is their older stuff. Their new stuff is annoying, too idolish, and getting increasingly farther from mainstream. The decision makers of UFA really need to tap into these girls' individual talents. Saki can dance REALLY well, and if they did a hip-hop or a more mainstream release, she could be the lead dancer and the center of the single. Miyabi & Momoko (but only if she uses her more mature voice) should be the lead singers, and Risako should be left without ANY solo singing time, but still being the center of stuff because of her popularity. I think that Berryz could be successful if they made some major changes in their line distribution, and changed their music style like Momusu.

C-ute- They really need to take the mature route. I love them when they sing their mature songs, and I love how consistant they are live. C-ute could be amazing if they just ditched everything C-ute about them and went to full-time B-adass. Really though, I love all their mature stuff, but the second they turn cutesy, I want to plug my ears and run. Their voices are suited to the mature stuff, and I love how connected they seem to it. They seem almost in pain when they try to act cute, and it's completely natural when they act mature. Airi of course is my favorite C-ute girl because of her singing and maturity, and who can not love Maimi's dancing? Chisato also has an amazing voice, and Erika could be a really great asset to the group if they got her out and on TV more.

Buono!- What's to hate about this group? While I hate their recent shift towards the more pop side of pop rock, they all really do well with what they're doing, and when they're on stage, they make magic. Buono does really well as an anime group, but if they broke into the mainstream with more TV appearences, radio shows, and pop-rock singles and albums, they could potentially be amazingly popular in Japan, and they already have a sizeable international fanbase. Miyabi has the consistant and awesome voice to carry the songs and is good on stage and on TV, and Momo is a good leader for the group. Airi's mature and very strong voice fits great with Buono's music. Airi also seems to speak a little english, which may be good if they do decide to sing for more animes. The back-up band is also really fun and unique for H!P, so I love it! Particularly since it's an all-female back-up band!

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So, my opinions of H!P have changed. Maybe only a little, but they have.

-Midori

Hello!

Wut? H!P revolution? And to think I just had a 1-hour lecture about the Russian Revolution today.

1. Resonant Blue - all- YES!!! My wish came true! I really liked how the other girls really were back-up, but they complemented the song nicely with the dance during the dance break. The leads sound great as usual.
2. LALALA Shiawase no Uta - all except Shugo Chara Egg- This is always 100x more fun the more people that do it, so it was fun, but really, I'm sick of this song already. Why did they mention that SCE wasn't joining in? I didn't notice the eggs at all in either of these songs...
3. Minna no Tamago - Shugo Chara Egg- NOOOOOOO! They all sound like 2-year-olds! NEXT!!!
4. Happy☆Happy Sunday - What? I listened to this and Koharu was live and my ears didn't bleed? Wo0T! This shows that if she tries to sing like the 16-year-old she is, and not the 3-year-old she wants to be, she may have something there, no matter how small.
5. Tan Tan Taan! - Milky Way- YAY MILKY WAY!!! Too bad they're not going to be around much longer. Again, the other two totally outshine Koha.
6. FOREVER LOVE - ºC-ute- This. Was. Intense. My god does C-ute need to get more exposure.

7. Meguru Koi no Kisetsu - ºC-ute, Tanaka Reina and Mitsui Aika- Okay, I'm sorry, but I really don't like this combo. It sucked.
8. MADAYADE - Berryz koubou- They sounded feirce, but I couldn't stand to look at them, so it really wasn't a stand-out perfromance for me.
9. Koi no Jubaku - This was actually a nice combo, but I still think that it could've been better.
10. Lalala Sososo - Mano Erina- I skipped it, and on the one line I did hear, she sounded as young as Koha usually does, which isn't good. At all.
11. Rottara Rottara - Buono!- BUONO ROX MY MULTI-COLORED TOE SOCKS!!!
12. Naichau Kamo - Morning Musume- I like this live, and they all sounded amazing, so I don't really have any comments.
13. Mikan - Niigaki Risa, Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi, Kusumi Koharu, Mitsui Aika, Junjun, Linlin, Yajima Maimi, Sugaya Risako- I really didn't care about this performance. It didn't stand out, Risako somehow managed to get so many lines that so many other girls could've sung so much better, etc.
14. Jingisukan - All- Umm... this wasn't fun or exciting for me, and this song has never really been my favorite, so...
15. Shiroi TOKYO - Nigaki Risa, Yajima Maimi, Tokunaga Chinami, Nakajima Saki, Hagiwara Mai, Mano Erina- This was actually much better than I thought it would be. Besides the fact that it had a really nasally and as young as the original group.

16. Natsu Doki Lip Stick - Yajima Maimi, Kikkawa Yuu, Maeda Yuuka, Fukada Kanon, Sekine Azusa, Ogawa Saki- This was all Maimi, no eggs. Maimi just owns this song. I'm sorry eggs, but Maimi owns everyone in every way everytime she sings this.
17. Baka Ni Shinaide - Shimizu Saki, Natsuyaki Miyabi, Kumai Yurina, Sugaya Risako- This was feirce. I didn't like the dance for the music, but it was actually fun to watch. A good follow up song to Natsu Doki Lip Stick.
18. Mr.Moonlight Ai no Big band - Takahashi Ai, Umeda Erika, Tokunaga Chinami, Nakajima Saki, Okai Chisato, Arihara Kanna, Saho Akari, Sekine Azusa- There's only one thing to say: Ai-chan is pimpn'.
19. Soku Dakishimede - ℃-ute- This has vastly improved since C-ute first sang it. Again, these girls need a lot more credit than they get.

20. Gyagu 100kai bun Aishite Kudasai - Berryz Koubou- The sad part about this, is while I like how it was sung, it really pisses me off that they don't sound at all different or improved in any way, and this shows just that.
21. Darling I LOVE YOU - Berryz Koubou, ・℃-ute- The one at the battle concert was better. Hands down.
22. Take off is now! - Takahashi Ai, Nigaki Risa, Tanaka Reina- I LOVE THIS SONG LIVE! It's so much fiercer live and it's just so much better all around live. It's always exciting to watch, and that dance is just kickass at the beginning and end.
23. Renai Revolution 21 - Morning Musume- I just skipped this I was so sick of it.
24. Guru Guru JUMP - All- I LOVE JUNJUN AND LINLIN!!! THEY OWN MY WOTA'D OUT SOUL!!! They just own this! They're really moving up in the world, with solos at a major concert! YAY!!!
25. Ame no Furanai Hoshi dewa Aisenai darou - All- The JunLin bits sound great, but if all the really good singers got solos, why did Risako get one instead of say, Miyabi, Momoko, Captian, or some other Berryz girl? (Not meant to offend Risako fans, but she sucks compared to Miyabi and Momoko in singing. I must say though that she has a great stage presence.)
26. Go Girl Koi no victory - All- I skipped this. Why do I hate this song? I don't know, but I do.

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Overall: 8/10

-Midori

Hello!

I said that I'd do a crack album review a month or so ago, and here it is! (Or a warm-up for another one. Can you guess?) A crack review of Buono!2, since I was too lazy to do a real one. I'll summarize my actual opinions here:

Overall, Buono!2 is great. At first I didn't really like it too much, but now I'm adicted. In fact this, was my wake-up music on the day that we won our choir competition~! WOOT! The vast amount of single songs made me wonder if they were just being cheap, or if the rest was just really good. It turned out to be the latter. All of the songs except Early Bird are great, and I really like the way that this album tries out so many different forms of rock. While GOAL does remind me of Viva La Vida, that's definately not a bad thing. Over The Rainbow and You're My Friend aren't my favorties, but they're still pretty good. I NEED YOU and Kirakira are easily my favorites for the original album songs, and both are really fun to dance or air guitar to. Shoushitsuten ~Vanishing Point~ is pretty good, and it reminds me of some anime songs from the '90's for some reason.

Anyways, on with the crack review~! I'm only doing the album original songs, and since Platinum 9 Disc is coming out soon anyways, I'm saving the extreme crack such as comparing it with tickle-me-elmos, pieces of clothing, or something else completely out of the ballpark for that. This is more of me and my love for musicals showing.

(Done in song-by-song format to piss off some of the IW staff for no particular reason. Actually, it's because crack reviews don't need flow to them. <insert evil laugh here> Don't hate me!)

 

 

Early Bird- Kiss Me from Sweeney Todd. They both involve yelling and what would seem to be talking. Also, they both seem to work in a point in a musical that you could randomly edit out, and no one would really care. (Except those that are devout fans.) Also, they're both uncharacteristically cheerful for the mood of the rest of whatever they're in.

Kirakira- Memory from Cats. Why? They both seem to be the selling point of the album/musical. This is the best album original song, and it's towards the beginning, so it's obviously the selling point, while Memory is famous enough that the song sells tickets by itself. Also, They both seem oddly out of place where they are. Memory seems like it wouldn't come from Cats because of the melody, while Kirakira's style feels like it belongs on Buono's first album, not this one.

Shoushitsuten ~Vanishing Point~- Phantom of the Opera from Phantom of the Opera. It seems oddly out of place where it is. Not even oddly out of place. Really out of Place. Just like Phantom of the Opera has a hard-rock instrumental and an opratic melody (I suppose to go with the opera theme) to go with it that just doesn't match the rest of the musical, this song sounds like it's from a different decade in Japanese music altogether, so while it fits the theme, it doesn't match.

I NEED YOU- It's like America from Westside Story. When I first heard both of them, I was thinking, wtf? But, as the song went on, I started to like the way they were written. Now this is the highlight of the album, while during WsS I always look forward to this wacky song. Also, the songs seem to be added in at awkward places, but still fit the whole theme.

You're My Friend- Cell Block Tango from Chicago- These songs both really caught my eye at first. They both have bad yet good interpretations of a foriegn language. ("I Love you day by day" sounds awkward, and the foriegn verse is supposedly sang with such a heavy Hungarian accent that it's hard to understand.) Also, both are more appealing when seen with the dance/a picture to go with them for some reason.

OVER THE RAINBOW- Knights of the Round Table from Spamalot. These songs both have names from movie songs, and the one from Spamalot is the same, but in both cases, the other versions intrigue me.

Goal- Defying Gravity from Wicked. These songs both end something, weather it be an album or an act. Both are also songs that can be loved or hated depending on where you hear it. Defying Gravity is sung differently live from the album track, so depending on which you hear, you have a good chance of hating the other. Goal, if heard after Viva la Vida, can be taken as a bad copy of it, or a good song inspired by it.

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-Midori

Hi!

Just had to take so many pictures of my new CDs to test out the new camera, which led to this: Pictospam of CDs...

^^'

 

 

The two new CDs: Buono2 and Naichau Kamo

 

Buono 2's original cover, before I flipped the cover, and the CD! It's so cute!

 

The back with the Momo card it came with.

 

The NaichauKamo inside cover and CD. Originally, the CD was upside down so you could see the pattern on it out the back, which I thought looked awesome!

 

The cover and a mysterious little ticket that was inside... I wonder what it says.

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Expect some reviews coming soon!

-Midori

Hello!

I got sick on my trip to LA, so staying at home and completely bored, I decided to write a post.

This is inspired by Morning Musume's appearence at AX, because I couldn't think of what else to write.

Which Morning Musume members fit which anime according to me? Here we go~!

By the way, Buono will be included too, just for kicks.

Morning Musume

Ai Takahashi- She's now the oldest member of H!P, so I've decided to choose an older anime for her. How about Neon Genesis Evangelion? She's either loved or hated by fans of Morning Musume, just like NGE in the land of otaku. She also fits this anime somehow naturally. They were both great by default, but somehow are underappreciated by those who aren't fans of anime or Morning Musume. NGE is created by Gainax, which has created some of the most popular anime among otaku, and is still extremely popular, but if you don't pay attention to anything but what's fresh and new, you will probably say it sucks compared to the more recent stuff. Ai is an amazing singer and actress, but if you're not a fan of her, or take time to listen to her, you hate her by default simply because she's considered an idol.

 

 

Risa Niigaki- She's a very "genki" and an older girl. Also, she just seems to fit Sailor Moon. I don't know where in hell I got this, but she just really seems to fit it. I think it's the way that she is so happy and young like the main character, Usagi, but as her carrer goes on, just like Usagi's as a transforming superhero, she seems to get more mature and ladylike. She also wore some hairstyles that looked like Usagi's trademark odango when she first joined, so that might have helped too.

 

 

Reina Tanaka- She really fits the series Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch. The series seems really cutesy, even from just the title, and infact, the anime is all cutesy and happy. The only catch is that the manga is extremely dark and mature. Reina seems really hyper and girly on the outside, particularly recently, but I'm pretty convinced, mainly by her early yankee behavior and her rebelliousness that she's acutally a mature and tough girl. Also, her singing follows this bi-polarness. She usually sings very cutesy, which isn't that good to me (just like the anime version of MMPPP), but when she sings in that mature voice with a darker tone to it, she's up there with Ai.

 

 

Sayumi Michishige- Naruto. Just Naruto. She's very popular, but frankly she's not that good. While she has been improving like Naruto reportedly did, I've never really cared about either too much. Neither was good enough in the first place to capture my imagination or my interest.

 

Eri Kamei- Kuroshitsuji would fit this bill quite nicely. I think this connection would be related to her character on HaroMoni news, and her roles in the two musicals. She looks very good in victorian fashion such as the stuff in Kuroshitsuji. Also, just like Kuroshitsuji, there's just something about her. I don't know what it is, but Eri sometimes really pisses me off like the Kuroshitsuji anime's endless stupidity of the adaption, and sometime she just amazeses me like the Kuroshitsuji manga's circus arc.

Koharu Kusumi- I believe that I've paralleled her to Kirarin Revolution enough for you to get the point.

 

Aika Mitsui- She hits me as being similar to Azumanga Daioh. I can't explain why, but she does.

 

 

Linlin- She reminds me of Nabari No Ou in the way that I became a fan. Nabari was recommended to me, just like Linlin was recommened for Morning Musume by one of Tsunku's friends. Then, after ignoring both of them for who knows how long, there was a kick-ass plot twist in Nabari, and Linlin had her amazing solo in Ame no Furanai, and I just fell in love with both of them. Now, I only have certain things from both of them that I love. Linlin's solos, and those few episodes with the plot twist.

Junjun- Axis Powers Hetalia would be good to relate to a panda. They both deal with international relations to a point, in Hetalia's case, spoofing wars and historical events, and Junjun and Linlin are just part of H!P's goal of taking over asia's girl group scene. Also, the APH anime was protested in Korea for it's portrayal of Korea (who doesn't even show up in the anime), and Junjun's blog was stormed with angry comments regarding her membership in Morning Musume. Anyone see where I'm coming from here? Also, they're both really funny, and I love them both, so that could also count towards it.

 

 

Buono

Miyabi Natsuyaki- She could fit Skip Beat. While she's very talented, like Skip Beat's main character, Kyoko, and they're both very popular, we all know that there's some sort of drama going on behind the scenes in her life from the non-scandals, just like there is in Kyoko's. A similarity can also be made in that one of the non-scandals involved her dating a Johnny's boy. In Skip Beat, Kyoko is dating another guy in showbiz, just like Miya was rumored to have been. Also, while both girls appear to be sweet and nice on the outside, Kyoko is definately a bitch in some cases, and we can definately wonder about Miyabi.

 

Airi Suzuki- She reminds me of Vampire Knight. While I may be the only one to see this connection, at first, I really didn't see this myself. Airi really didn't impress me at all, and while I knew that she was an extremely popular kid, she never caught my eye in particular. In fact, for a while, I thought that Maimi was Airi, which I suppose contributed to my initial apathetic attitude towards her. In Vampire Knight's case, a lot of people were fussing about it, and I read it so I knew what the fuss was about, but I really didn't care about it. Then, slowly, Airi started to strike me as talented just like Vampire Knight had gotten slowly better.

Momoko Tsugunaga- When I think Momo, I think Buono!, and then I think of Shugo Chara. Why? I don't know. But, thinking about her, Shugo Chara really fits her. From her personality and voice/tone quality in Berryz, to the one she uses in Buono!, it seems that she does a Chara-change herself. She and Amu also both seem to be fans of Nakayoshi, the shoujo manga magazine that Shugo Chara is serialized in. They both have the girly personality that Momo has in Berryz, which is Momo's more prevelant in Berryz, but Amu's hidden personality. Their other personality, the tough, mature, and indepenent one, is Momo's Buono! chara-change, and Amu's normal personality.

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That's it for today!

I think I'll do a Musicals/Showtunes comparison someday.

-Midori

Hello!

I saw the music video for Koda Kumi's "Showgirl," which I thought was great, and I was hit with the inspiration I needed to post.:

Why is this PV so good, but Hello!Project PVs so bad?

To answer this, I'll go into the plots/concepts of a few recent H!P PVs, one from Ayu, and "Showgirl" from Koda Kumi.

Nai Chau Kamo-

This PV is a danceshot with the girls looking all sad and dejected in the rain. That's about it.

Co.No.Mi.Chi-

This PV is a danceshot with Buono walking around infront of cheap CG-ed backgrounds. There's also minimal close-up shots added in here and there.

 

Madayade-

A danceshot and the Berryz working in an office along with danceshot closeups.

 

FOREVER LOVE-

C-ute watching their own danceshot with a few close-ups thrown in.

 

Marionette-

Ayumi is asleep in a creepy old room, all alone. She dreams of being held on a delapidated carosel, and being manipulated like a marionette. In the end, she wakes up and goes over to a mini, delapidated carosel like the one that she and a few other puppets were on, and sees that no one is there. As a bonus, at the concerts, they showed extra footage from it where the real Ayu actually was being manipulated like a Marionette by the men who were trapped on the carosel with her.

 

Showgirl-

Koda is dumped by her boyfriend, and decides to get back at him by becoming famous. She goes into a theatre and sees a dance troop. When she finds a poster that says that the group is holding auditions, Koda tries out and gets in. In fact, the judges like her so much that she's placed front and center in the group. After a great 1st performance, she talks to the dazzled fans and media. Her old boyfriend comes up to her, trying to woo her, but she promptly turns him down. It also shows her and the other dancers, who are very jealous of her, backstage after the show, where she shows them an expensive necklace she got from an admirer.

 

So, do we see the difference now?

Hello!Project PV's are just... bland. They have no story, no engaging theme, and not a hint of symbolism. I mean, while you could interperet the fact that Ayu is manipulated like a Marionette to mean that maybe she feels like some people are manipulating her in her real life, or that she feels too restricted by her carrer. Showgirl implies that Kumi has fun being a star and that she can take is all in stride.

What does NaiChau Kamo mean, the girls sometimes get sad? Do the sparkles placed by the girls in the Madayade PV mean that they're pretty?

And why do we care about that? While we may not know the deeper meanings that Ayumi's PV implies, I'm sure that we all knew that idols get sad and that they're pretty or cute.

The plot also makes a huge difference in this. While there doesn't need to be symbolism in a PV to make it good, there should at least be a plot. As I've written above, Kumi's PV has a story to it, and it's fun to watch and see what happens. It's kind of like a short little movie to watch while you're listening to the song. The stories can be engaging, sad, or funny. They aren't just "girls watching themselves dance" or "girls walking through bad representations of real places," they have a good story to them that you actually have to watch the PV to get.

While the girls' cuteness may draw wotas to them, and the pop music may draw the little girls straight that way, how are you supposed to draw teenage girls, who are some of the best patrons in most music markets, with a PV that doesn't interest them. If you had never heard of either H!P or Avex trax, and you had to watch both music videos, would you rather pay attention to the one that draws you in with a plot, or the one that just has cute girls walking around?

Furthermore, some may argue that you'd need a budget to do PVs with stories, but, there are ways you could turn these around with minimal extra money:

NaiChau Kamo- Show a guy, whose face you don't even need to show, dumping one of the girls, then spend time on having that girl talk and/or bitch to her friends (aka the rest of Morning Musume) about how stupid that guy was and have the other girls try to cheer her up one-by-one.

-Downsides: Bitching fans because one of the girls would get substantially more screentime than the rest. And possible angry extreme-wotas who are offended by even the thought of their favorite girl having a bf.

-Extra things needed: A random guy (hell, you could even just pull one off of the streets and pay him minimum wage if you don't show his face), a few chairs or couches and maybe a rug(which you could borrow), some games for the girls to play(the games you could probably borrow too), and a plain and simple room to put the stuff in. (which could probably just be a simple 2-white walls set-up.

Co.No.Mi.Chi- This has some of a plot already, but you could have the girls planning where to go and then finding themselves lost and trying to find their way back. (Yes that's a lame plot, but there are several movies like this, so why can't it work?)

-Downsides: It might be a little more expensive, but considering how well it's selling, that shouldn't be a problem.

-Extra things needed: A room for the girls to start and end in, and a tour around Tokyo with a camera. (or maybe just better CG)

Madayade- The girls just got hired at a foreign company, and they can't find ways to commuinicate with their bosses who only speak english. They proceed to study english with eachother until their boss finds them doing so and yells at them for slacking off or something.

-Downsides: This might be hard to get if you miss the parts of the PV with the girls and their english textbooks.

-Extra things needed: English textbooks or Japanese-English dictionaries

FOREVER LOVE- The girls are working a security center, and see some girls (Maimi and Erika dressed as robbers) running through the halls, and proceed to try and catch them. Regular Maimi and Erika guide the girls with their cellphones to robber Maimi and robber Erika, who keep evading them. At the end, the younger C-ute girls catch them right before they reach the exit.

-Downsides: There would be no room for a danceshot.

-Extra things needed: two robber costumes, a hall set with a turn and an exit (it can be reused for multiple shots from different angles), and fake cell phones (the chasing girls) and headmics (for regular Maimi and Erika)

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That's pretty much it...

-Midori

Ni hao!

I'm in the mood to speak Chinese to everyone I come in contact with for no particular reason!

Anyway, I saw this survey, and as many know, (or not) I'm a HUGE sucker for surveys and polls, and this is a quick and easy way to get my best of 2008 out of the way, so here we go!

Best of 2008:

• Best Group Single: Umm... Since Buono totally screws up this category since I love all of their singles equally this year for the number one spot, I can say all of Buono's singles can be here, but since I can only have one, I'll say Resonant Blue. While I wasn't too fond of the B-side track, I still love Resonant Blue, the awesome PVs, the cool sound, only the good vocalists getting the majority of the lines, etc.. I just love the A-side enough to where this is one of my favorite H!P songs since Koha joined MM.
• Best Soloist Single: I don't pay that much attention to the soloists, but I really like Kizuna. It's not my favorite soloist single of all time, but frankly the soloists didn't do too much this year. At all.
• Best Group Album: This is probably a predictable answer for me, but Cafe Buono is just made of win.
• Best Soloist Album: Were there any? If there were, I don't seem to remember them.
• Best PV: Resonant Blue (Another Version) plain and simple. It was just uncalled for in its awesomeness. (and budget)
• [PV] Morning Musume - Resonant Blue (another ver.)
• Group With Best Overall Releases: Buono! Who else released 4 singles and an album which were all top quality?
• Best New Group: Milkyway. I'm surprised I'm saying this considering how much I hate Koharu's grating voice, but I really like both of their singles, and the competition isn't too stiff. *cough*ShugoCharaEgg*coughcough* High King was also amazing, and I loved both of their songs, but they were a unit, so I don't consider them to be a group. If I didn't consider them a unit, they'd own this.
• Best New Soloist: ManoEri, because she's the only soloist who debuted this year. As far as I know.
• Best Established Group: Morning Musume. While I love Buono! to death, and Morning Musume didn't release nearly as much as they did, Morning Musume's vocals have improved so much compared to this time last year, and they've been doing so much in the way of concerts, the Cinderella Musical, and promotions in China, Taiwan, and Korea, that they just have owned this category with their hard work alone.
• Best Established Soloist: Aya Matsuura didn't do too much this year, but somehow she was still the most active soloist, and she was the only one that I was shocked about leaving H!P.
• Best Photobook: Since I'm only into the musical aspect of H!P, I'll just say... umm... Momo's because she's in Buono.
• Hottest Idol of 2008: I'm straight, so I can't judge attractiveness, but lots of the guy bloggers have been all over Tanaka Reina, so I guess I'll make her the winner.
• Cutest/Most loved & adored idol/most anticipated debut: Noa Sugiura! I know she's not officialy an idol or a member of H!P, but the pictures of her and her stuff on Taiyou's blog just melts my heart. I LOVE Noa and her insane adorableness!

Worst of 2008 (Some are my own, not from the survey)

• Worst Group Single: No matter how much I love Biyuuden's earlier singles, I absolutely hated the fact that their last single ever was a cover of an old Morning Musume album song. Can they get any cheaper than Nani mo Iwazu ni I LOVE YOU?
• Worst Soloist Single: I hate the fact that Koharu is a soloist. No, I loathe that fact, so Panpancake is an automatic shoe-in for this.
• Worst PV: While there were many horrid PVs this year, I'd have to say that the worst was Pepper Keibu. Not only was UFA giving their flagship group a COVER that had already been covered three times before, but they also made the PV a glorified dance shot. And the "other versions" were 3-person at a time close-ups. Wouldn't they at least make a close-up for each individual girl?
• Worst Group Album: Cover You. Again: What's with giving your best-selling group any covers, let alone a whole album of them?
• Worst Soloist Album: Koha's Christmas mini-album. I haven't heard anything from it, but considering how annoying her voice is, I probably couldn't stand to hear one song.
• Worst New Group: Shugo Chara Egg. While I like the fact that they're cosplaying, there were MUCH more talented eggs that they could've chosen for the group.
• Worst New Soloist: Again, since ManoEri is the only new soloist according to my horrible memory, she has to win into this category.
• Worst Established Group: Athena & Robikerottsu. While I like all the girls, the single they were given for 2008 was just... Blah.
• Worst Established Soloist: Can anyone guess? Answer: Koharu Kusumi/Kirari
• Worst Vocalist: While I loathe Koharu's annoying tone of voice that's just so incredibly grating, she has been getting less and less lines lately, and she at least lipsyncs instead of attempting to sing live. Many of the eggs could top this category VERY easily, but I don't know them by name. So, by eliminating most of the eggs and Koharu, my winner in this category can only be: Risako! Sure, people think she's cute, but she can't sing for her life, and for some reason, when she's singing group lines, her voice sounds so incredibly grating next to the other girls'.
• Least Attractive Girl: Again, I'm not a good judge of this, so I won't even bother.

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Happy new year!!!

-Midori

Hello again!

Yes, now for the Buono PV review!

 

The amazing:

• The song- It's really good, and it was love at first listen. I also really like the full version. All the extra guitar and rock sound makes it a ton better. And, as usual, it's simply amazing overall.
• Everything Buono!- The dancing and singing was impecable, the girls were cute, everything involving Buono in this was pure win!

The... not so amazing:

AKA: I can't believe I'd bash anything Buono, but I can blame those who made the PV, right?

• The PV- So this is where Berryz got their new found huge budget, huh? It's a glorifed dance-shot until about the 2nd verse when it becomes a glorified dance-shot/close-up.
• The costumes- they're too cutesy for Buono. I understand that this song is cutesier than any of Buono's other A-sides, but they could've made an effort to at least make them look badass. Seriously, making the most badass H!P kids group dress like 5-year-olds? And, to make it worse, the boots don't even match the costumes. If you're going to have an out-of-place costume, at least have shoes to match it!
• The dance- I don't know why, but this dance could've been harder and more badass too. Buono has good dancers, and they shouldn't have a dance made for the eggs. The dance break had it's great moments, but even it had moments way to easy for Buono.
• The stupid PV idea- I think what the director was channeling at the moment he came up with the concept was a low-budget dance-shot, that if you were drunk enough, could seem like it was a decent PV with more than a dance shot. Unfortunately, I'm under legal drinking age, and with all the drunk driving accidents involving people my age, I would rather not break that law. I guess this is supposed to be them being cutesy and appearing on a 60's TV show with costumes and a song completely out of the era? The only hint you have that they're supposed to be on a TV show is the cheesey 60's background and about 3 or 4 shots of TV cameras around the "set."
• The stupid, fake clapping at the beginning and end- seriously, if you want people to clap for a PV, you don't add these stupid clapping effects.

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Overall, this terror of a PV was just... bad. Hopefully they'll have another version on the single V.

-Midori

Hello!

I made a Buono! Wallpaper for the sake of my fandom. It sucks as it's my first attempt at a wallpaper, but I did my best.

I might make more wallpapers if I get insanely bored again.

Please note in advance: This is 1024x768. I'll make all wallpapers in this unless I'm asked otherwise.

 

The background pic is a UFA for Cafe Buono, the rest, starting from the top left and going counter-clockwise are:

-Honto no Jibun screenshot (PV)

-Renai Rider live event official picture

-Cafe Buono album picture

-Kiss Kiss Kiss screenshot (PV)

-Gachinko de Ikou official picture.

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-Midori