I’M MOVING! (But not too far.)
Posted by: superhappygenki on: April 25, 2009
- In: other
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Having gotten tired of the lack of customization available with the wordpress.com blog, I’m moving. Where to?
http://www.superhappygenki.com/blog
Now, you may be questioning why I went to a hosted site rather than just paying for better WordPress stuff. The answer? Because my hosting and domain name registration is free for 2 years, thanks to a dinky little geocities account I used to have.
Geocities is going out of business. DreamHost is therefore giving the first 1000 people who put the words “I’m off to DreamHost!” on their existing Geocities site 2 free years of domain name registration and site hosting with unlimited file storage and bandwidth. Yeah… I couldn’t say no. (Find more info here at the bottom of the page.)
So, I’m moving. And, while I’m at it, I may build up the rest of the site into something. I’m sorely tempted to do an H!P scandal/bash wiki. That way, everyone who comes to my site to find out about “fat risako stomach” and “arihara kanna and johnny’s guy” will actually find what they’re looking for.
All new posts will be at the new blog starting… soon. I have an idea for my next big post, but it’ll take a bit of time in order to get it all together. ^_^
H!P News Round-up
Posted by: superhappygenki on: April 23, 2009
So… it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted. ;_; I’ve been busy. I should be cleaning my apartment right now instead of posting, but I need the break!
Not a whole lot has really been happening in the H!P world. We’ve got a few new PVs, but that’s about it. Still, I’ll talk about the few things that have been going on.
As we all know, Buono! was supposed to be in Stockholm, Sweden, next month… only that’s been cancelled. Well, the event they were supposed to be at was cancelled. A lot of people are trying to campaign for Buono! to still show up since so many people have non-refundable flights and have rooms booked and everything. miyavi was also supposed to show at the event. So far, no information has really surfaced regarding the decision except that it was done because of the economy. The fact that someone just started this convention and had enough clout to get both Buono! and miyavi to perform leads me to believe that there may be some other underlying cause here that hasn’t yet been addressed.
Speaking of Buono!, though… how about that new PV for “MY BOY”?
This is a fun little romp into the spy-genre. This feels like the kind of thing that °C-ute’s “FOREVER LOVE” should have been, but Buono! does it better. Momoko continues her little girl role, despite being the oldest. She is fail in this PV. She’s the one who nearly gets the group “caught” while Airi looks kind of awesome crawling under lasers (I would have preferred a bit more moving around there) and Miyabi looks incredibly awesome with her jumping in windows and down stairs. Although, is it just me, or do the girls thighs all look a little large in the dance shot portions just because of the super-short shorts/skirt and the thigh-highs?
Then… there’s the new Morning Musume PV.
I saw the incredibly LQ version of this PV where someone had ripped the version that was available to H!P fanclub members for their cell phones, but that was practically painful to watch. It took another week or so before the actual PV was released, and it’s kind of wonderful. H!P is showing that they’re going to be putting more thought into the PVs from now on. The girls are playing collee students, and doing a decent job. Notice how they’re barely going to classes? ^_^ I think I like the scenes best where they’re focusing on one girl and you can see another girl in the background or coming into the scene and interacting with them. They don’t feel forced! I am amazed. Additionally, the girls all look amazing. I even don’t terribly mind looking at Aika and Linlin.
And then there’s the fact that the c/w track will be the theme song for Anime Expo 2009. As in, written specifically for an American audience by Tsunku! I’ve only heard a little preview of the song, and it sounded a bit all-over-the-place to me, but I’m still looking forward to a full version.
Also… in Berryz news… it looks as though they *will* have a double A-side release with their next single. There’s been nothing really confirmed, however there are going to be 2 seperate Single-Vs for this release. One is listed as “Seishun Bus Guide” and the other is listed as “Rival”. I am looking forward to PVs.
Yaguchi Mari is giving in to her gaming roots! She’s done two commercials for Wii (CM1, CM2), and she’s also writing a column for a gaming magazine now. That’s our Gooch, huh? ^_^
Also? °C-ute’s new single has been announced. No one knows yet whether Kanna will be back to participate in it. I can only hope, though!
Tsunku Crossing?, and more!
Posted by: superhappygenki on: April 2, 2009
This is a link to a video of an Animal Crossing video. However… This is a link to the preview of Morning Musume’s “Jounetsu no Kiss wo Hitotsu” from Platinum 9 DISC. (It seems no one has bothered to up the song without the introduction monologue.) But, listen to the beginning of the music. It is *very* similar to the style that has been used for the Animal Crossing games, and it really amuses me… especially since it’s a song about adultery.
A few days ago, Elder Club officially left the H!P roster. I’ve written about this before, so I won’t bother shedding tears. The ones we won’t see anymore are the ones we haven’t seen in a while anyway. The others? Well, as fans, we’ll still have to track down what they do, so it won’t be too terribly different from when they were in H!P, except that the info won’t be on the same websites. Those in the M-Line fanclub will probably keep the rest of us posted. ^_~
In a few days, we should have previews of the new Buono! song, as well as the Guardians 4 song. I’m really beginning to hope that Risako is lead on it. Having watched a lot of Berryz concert footage recently, I’m realizing that in the right circumstances, the girl *can* sing. Although, far be it from H!P to give her many of said circumstances in songs. There’s a particular quality to her voice I don’t like, but it’s better than Mitsui’s, and better than Nakki’s, and having just watched the Berikore concert? Well, Yurina sounded like she was trying to gargle a cat who was gargling a frog who was gargling a fly. She continues to not impress me.
I may attempt podcasting soon! Keep an eye out. I have the means. Now I just need something I can talk about for more than 30 seconds with interest. Do something interesting, H!P!!!
My H!P(-ish) Top 10!
Go vote in Paul’s poll to make your own H!P(-ish) Top 10!
5000 miles down, and more to go
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 30, 2009
- In: hello! project | other
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Well, here we are… just over 7.5 months since I started this blog (with gaps in release here and there and everywhere), and I finally hit my first big “milestone” by passing 5000 hits. So, I figured I’d do a rundown of some stuff on my blog. ^_^
First off, thank you to International Wota for pimping out like half of my posts, without which I’d probably have given up a while ago because as much as this blog is “for me”, there’s really no fun in writing something that no one will read.
Thanks, too, to the people who have blogrolled me or otherwise linked on over.
This actually also marks my 40th post (yeah… I should probably post more, but I don’t tend to post strict news or that many reviews, so…), and it’s interesting to see which posts have had the most hits. At the top of the list is Let’s Talk About Sex, my look into Kago’s newest photobook and why people were reacting the way they were. Next is my Alo-Hello!3 post, which is understandable. But third on the list is H!P Blogs, Eating Disorders, and Hamtaro, which seems a little strange. Yes, it got put up on IW, but it’s such a strange post… Perhaps I should investigate further?
Ah, and there we go. Looking into the search terms that led to my blog, it’s easy to see why the Kago post is do high on the list. Number one? “Bondage”. All because of that one little picture where she was tied up! Number two? “Wet”. So, okay, this probably led to a lot of the Alo-Hello!3 posts, as did numbers three and four, “junjun” and “alo hello 3″. Four, five and six are “kago ai adultism”, “adultism” and “kago ai”. This is followed by “junjun musume”, and then by the inexplicable “genki sex”. Seriously? Sex that is both sex *and* genki? Should I feel honored? Also pretty far up on the list (as I start to skip past some of the boring ones) is “fat lady”. Um… okay… “Naked with bed” is another. “Super lady”, “fat stomach”, “boobs1″, “sakura bondage”, “”thighs”" (yes, in quotations), and “half nude wet girls” all got more than a handful of hits. What’s really hilarious are the ones that only got a hit of two, but still managed to lead to *MY* blog… “day after tomorrow hello,every”… “hot babes show their boobs nakedly”… “the ºc-ute fanged one”… “cute eating banana”… “chicken momo vector”… “naked girls peeing in a cup”… “pant hagiwara mai”… “”up yours” grandma”… “sex mongolian”… “girl’s mirror image reaches through to g”… and this is without looking up some of the particularly strange ones. I remember seeing a few about members of H!P licking each others fat… one about Risako’s pants ripping… not the mention about Nakki being a cannibal. I recall one about “babies stuck in nakajima saki’s teeth” or something like that. It was all rather ridiculous.
So, yeah… one of my goals this year was to post more interesting content, more often. I don’t know if I’ve done it yet or not, but I’m trying. Although, if there’s anything you guys want to see me rant about, just say it. I don’t keep my opinions to myself very well.
To commemorate this special occasion, here’s a PV for you to watch: Rie Fu’s “5000 Miles”. It is epic in its strangeness, perhaps quite like me. ^_^
Tsuki Suki, now!
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 29, 2009
Up until about 2 days ago, I didn’t like one particular Berryz single… “Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi”. I don’t know what it was about it (probably the fact that it was the first Berryz single to be released as I became a fan of H!P, but there was such a mismatch between the song and the image)… I seriously just avoided it as much as I could. But, it seems that a few years of Berryz appreciation and the recognition that Berryz is probably my single favorite musical group right now and my being on Youtube looking up concert clips two nights ago just all came together. I was glancing at dance shots for a moment, came across the “Tsukiatteru” one… and the song and dance have been in my head since. I barely know the song, but I was singing it something fierce at work yesterday… much to my co-workers’ dismay. I had thought it a little too strange, but as the Berryz I got “used to” was the Berryz who did “Dschinghis Khan” and “Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance”, now “Tsukiatteru” just don’t feel out of place, which is nice. That one song being not-a-favorite felt weird, so I’m glad I’ve finally conquered my preconceptions.
Also… the 2009 Winter Wonderful Hearts concert? Wow, all of those girls knocked it out of the park. I was very impressed. Although, favorite performance had to be “Mr. Moonlight” which surprised me because that’s pretty low on my list of Momusu songs, let alone singles.
5:40am. It’s time for me to go to work. ;_; Cry, cry, dono kurai… but… naichau kamo!
Dance Dance Shot Version!
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 27, 2009
One of my favorite things about H!P? The dance shot. I don’t know why, really. All I know is that watching formations of attractive girls dance to the music I love with few or no cuts… totally makes me happy. It’s probably also why H!P PVs don’t often disappoint me. As they tend to be little more than dance shots with some mixed in close-ups, it’s right up my alley.
So, without further ado… my Top 20 favorite H!P dance shots.
1. Berryz Koubou – Special Generation
It was this video that started my love for Berryz, and especially for Captain. I saw that little girl dancing her heart out… make the mistake like most people thinking she was the youngest (because DAMN was she tiny!), and just… fell in love with this dance. Watching these girls move like that in those boots? It’s impressive. I can watch this one again and again and again… and I certainly have. I pretty much learned the girls’ personalities from this PV. Except Maasa. But, I love her now, so… ^_^
2. Morning Musume – Iroppoi Jirettai
“New image” aside, I think this is Mosumu’s sexiest dance, and perhaps also one of the most playful. The girls are seriously smokin’ hot throughout, but you get glimpses beyond like, like with the little “tag, you’re it” move. Just… watch those hips. They’re magical. This might have been one of my favorite incarnations of Momusu… They’re coordinated, but not overly so.
3. Goto Maki – Some Boys! Touch
Only Goto Maki could do this… show up in an ensemble pulled from both a cavewoman and a cowgirl and dance in front of two Hard Gay imitators and make me LOVE IT. This is perhaps one of those ones that is kind of lovely because it is ridiculous, but at the same time? Watch the Sansa SanDisk commercial. It’s really just Goto Maki moving to this music, which does show me maybe it’s not just the LOL factor or the “Gomaki… drool” factor.
4. Milky Way – Anataboshi
I distinctly remember hearing this song the first time and thinking something was wrong with the audio file. It’s hard to believe I love this song so much now, but half of it is the OMG COLORS of the PV. I love that Kikkawa Yuu is always kind of slightly-behind or slightly-ahead with her dancing. The use of the tambourines is great. Granted… I severely dislike Sayaka’s outfit, but what can you do, right? This raises my heart rate *every time*.
5. W – Koi no Fuga
This was the first W song I ever heard. I was searching around on Veoh for something (probably Momusu or MiniMoni) and saw a link to a live performance of this. I loved the outfits, and the girls, and searched around. First, wow is it difficult to search for a group whose name is a letter, and whose other name (Double U) is the name of another artist. As it is… this is where my Kago love truly sprang into action. She’s so damn cute in this, but with just a hint of sexiness. I love the kind of incesty-twin thing they’ve got going on, plus the outfits, plus the song itself… I’ve seen the regular version PV for this maybe 3 times because I always watch the dance shot.
6. Morning Musume – The MANPOWER!
I cannot be the only one confused at first about the fact that this was the regular edition PV. Here it is the dance itself that got me at first. (Although, my first introduction to it was a 2005 Music Station performance where they’re in baseball uniforms.) The only thing I don’t like in this is the move where Yossie looks really bored as she ducks down across the front, and *then* delivers an awesome “Yeah~!” I have actually learned this dance… along with about 3 others on this list (which I’ll list as I come to them) and 2 other easy ones (Momusu’s “Hyokkori Hyoutan-jima” and Mini Moni’s “Strawberry Pie”). It’s just… fun.
7. Berryz Koubou – Jiriri Kiteru
First off, I love the lighting and the energy in this dance. One of Berryz’ more complicated dances, they handle it well. I also cannot ignore the looks the girls give as they’re touching each other up. It’s awesome. I mean, granted, for a girl, I’m a huge H!P perv, but still! The coordination is awesome here, and the girls really seem to be feeling it, so it’s great. And who doesn’t love the ending pose?
8. Buono! – Gachinko de Ikou
Yes, for all that Buono! are great dancers, they’re barely in the top 10, and it’s all Momo’s fault. If I wanted to see her stick her ass out, I’d look at one of her PBs. Still, hot girls in heels are a total YES. I’m impressed with the jumping in those heels, too, although less so with Momo because she isn’t wearing a stiletto like the other girls, despite being the oldest. But, like the music… the dance is quirky and fun, so it’s at least this much win. ^_^
9. W – Miss Love Tantei
This is such a FUN dance. There are so many lame pseudo hip-hop moments, and “detective” moments… There is a handful of hot girl-on-girl touching, and hip shaking, and Kago having no idea what to do with her legs, and it’s awesome. I must really love W in white in front of orange-ish backgrounds. ^_^ I just really like watching it.
10. Viyuuden – Ajisai Ai Ai Monogatari
Rounding out the top 10, my favorite Viyuuden song, which is the fault of this PV. The girls are all dressed super-different, which almost makes it feel as though this was a practice run. This is another H!P dance that I’ve actually learned, and well! I swear I can watch this just for how Rika’s skirt shakes. This dance is Awkward!Love for me. I mean, how lame is the part where they lock arms? But, I love it. (Granted, I had to up it to Youtube since the only dance shot versions I could find there were a flipped one and a few groupdub ones.)
11. Goto Maki – Glass no Pumps
I wish the super-slutty-looking bg dancers were not there, but Goto Maki’s breasts and legs are the stars here. I absolutely love the energy of this dance, as well as that little rotating crouch move. It’s sexy, but not as overtly so as “Some Boys! TOUCH”.
12. W – Ai no Imi wo Oshiete
I have tried, for years now, to figure out what the hell the girls’ skirts are made of, and I think I’ve just given up. So, okay, this dance is absolutely ridiculous. It looks more Mini Moni than W, and that might be why I love it. The girls look really happy throughout the PV, and the fun part is that at the end of it, you get to see Tsuji retrieving something (A hair? A string?) from her outfit that had obviously been bothering her throughout the filming. Yeah… cause the dangling ribbons didn’t tickle enough.
13. Berryz Koubou – Dschinghis Khan
I couldn’t decide between the versions of this. The first version has happy galavanting children and flashing lights, but not really enough actual DANCE. The second has (2 sets of) weird costumes (3 if you think the original costumes are), but more dance, which is fun. This is another H!P dance that I actually know… probably because it’s not too difficult. I would have ranked this higher, but it really doesn’t deserve it. It’s good, but not better-than-the-regular-PV good, and with such a simple, repetitive dance? I’m amazed I ranked it this high.
14. Morning Musume – Kanashimi Twilight
From the first moment, this PV POPS. Various somewhat-punky schoolgirl outfits rule, and Ai’s high-kicks? DROOL. Yossie during her solo? ALSO DROOL. I kind of know this dance, but only because I know where to jump, and toss my head pretty much. This was the first Momusu dance shot to come out after I got into H!P, so it’s probably just part od that “special place in my heart” thing, but I love it. It’s simple, but well-executed.
15. Kusumi Koharu – Koi Kana
This is the one Koharu PV where I don’t think her legs look impossibly gangly. Also, her air-star drawing? Awesome. This is spastic Koharu before it went into overkill mode, and I appreciate it for all that it is.
16. Morning Musume – Resonant Blue
This one also has 2 (well, 3 counting the original) dance shot versions. The original is good and all, but I prefer these two. In the one shot dance version, it’s just impressive to watch the way the dance comes together. The Lesson Studio version, though, is awesome. You get to see the backs and fronts of the girls at the same time. Because of the angle, Linlin and Aika are hardly seen. And Junjun, Eri, and Sayumi (especially Eri) are pretty irresistable throughout. It’s also neat to see the girls dancing in what is supposedly the clothing they like to practice in the most. (Although, seriously, Gaki? Because of the lack of lighting, you look like you’ve wet your pants in some shots. And Reina’s pants are just ridiculous for trying to move in.)
17. Viyuuden – Aisu Cream to my Purin
Another 2 shot-er! First up, the Elegant Dance Version. Everyone’s boobs look huge in those costumes, although Rika looks disturbingly like she’s trying to channel Marilyn Monroe. This is the better version of the video for not looking awkward, really, but for pure drool factor, it’s got to be the Pretty Dance Version. The girls in bunny suits never fails to impress, even if Rika’s nails are super-awkward at some points because of everything hanging from them. This is seriously the video I show to all guys that I think could get interested in H!P.
18. Buono! – Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
Once again, Momo’s ass is everywhere and she has the easiest heels to dance in. What’s really impressive here is how well the girls can jump in place. Also, I really like the costumes here. Sadly, I think the dance is a little convoluted (with all of the posing and jumping) or else this would be significantly higher.
19. Mini Moni – CRAZY ABOUT YOU
Mini Moni didn’t do a whole lot of dance shots, and this is probably on here for sheer camp value. The song is really good, even if it never really feels like Mini Moni. The dance is cute hip-pop all the way, and it is all about trying too hard. The outfits are ridiculous, but that’s probably 1/3 of the fun right there. Mika, like always, looks really out of place and kind of fat, but it’s not as noticeable here as it is in some things. She actually blends pretty well into the singing because she doesn’t have as much accent, and that helps blend her into the PV better, too.
20. Berryz Koubou – Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
This also gets two dance versions (kind of). First up is the actual dance shot which, really, was one of the reasons I did this post at all. I was watching it and going, “You know, I really like parts of this. The two outfit colors are used in such a way that there’s usually not a person of one color off by herself (as happens in Momusu’s “Naichau Kamo” and °C-ute’s “LA LA LA Shiawase no Uta”), also? Repetitive bum-touching combined with hip rolls!” However, having just fallen in love with this dance shot, it places low on my list… but still places! The Monkey Version, while not having much of the actual dance… has fun, and lots of it. The girls show PERSONALITY, and that’s why we all love H!P, right?
There are a few honorable mentions here…
I love Koharu’s Balalaika, but her legs look soooo gawky and gangly and chicken-y that I just can’t quite get over it, even if she looks otherwise great. Also, I really wish the bear was there in the dance shot, too. ^_^
Also, there is a °C-ute song that might have made it on there if it had an actual dance shot: Massara Blue Jeans (hip thrusting and chearleading uniforms for the win). W’s “Koi no Vacance” would be 21 for sure, but a lot of it is the costumes and how they look being danced in, sadly. And, really, I can’t forget Momusu’s “Onna ni Sachi Are”, or the fun that is Berryz’ “Gag no 100kaibun Ashite Kudasai”. Both are all over the place in different, but wonderful ways.
news! and stuff
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 27, 2009
First up in the H!P world? Fujimoto Miki is getting MARRIED! Read more. She’s totally marrying the dude she had her scandal with two years ago, and I’m glad to see it. She has totally pulled the wool over the eyes of her fans and the tabloids alike, and that’s great because it gives us hope that the girls we know and love might not actually be quite so lonely as it might seem.
Next up? New Shugo Chara unit! Read more. The unit is called Guardians 4, and will consist of Mitsui Aika from Momusu, Nakajima Saki from °C-ute, and Sugaya Risako and Kumai Yurina from Berryz. They’ll be doing the next opening. I am… so not impressed. While it draws fun Buono! parallels from the fact that it is once again 2 members from Berryz, yet only 1 from °C-ute, the entire unit is pretty much a “My least favorite H!P members” unit. While I don’t terribly mind Socko and The Tall One, and Nakajima has grown on me just a little, little bit, the inclusion of Mittsui makes me gag. I couldn’t even get through her solo song on Platinum 9 because I hate her voice so much, and I even put it on random the first time I listened so as to try to take out as much bias as I could. Didn’t work. So, yeah… I will give this group a listen, but I will likely mock it relentlessly.
For you lovers on Youtube-ing the H!P concerts, by the way, it seems the 2 Winter 2009 concerts are up. I watched almost all of the Elder Club concert last night (though the graduation concert itself doesn’t release until April 15th, so that’ll be a bit longer, obviously) and I will probably devote a section of today to watching the Wonderful Hearts version. I’ve already watched a handful of the songs… Takitty’s interpretation of “Mr. Moonlight” is amazing, and Berryz killed everything I’ve watched so far, too.
Oh… happy LATE 2nd birthday to International Wota. I have been following along for almost all of that time, although I always thought they’d been around longer than I had… but that’s not so! I’ve been in H!P fandom strongly for only a few more months than IW has been around.
Later today I’m doing an EPIC POST. Keep an eye out! ^_~
Will °C-ute stay 6-nin?
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 9, 2009
Most H!P fans will know by now that Arihara Kanna, the only non-H!P-Kids member of °C-ute, is currently on a pretty big hiatus for… bunions.
Now, before this incident, I had only a very slight idea what bunions were or how they were treated, but now I’ve researched. (This is a pretty informative site.) Now… I question whether Kanna will really come back.
°C-ute is releasing another single soon… one without Kanna. They’ll tour… without Kanna. There will likely be no new Kanna merchandise, no Kanna looking lovely in the PV, or being spastic in the making-of… And, really? Maybe she’s better off this way.
Both Berryz and °C-ute started as 8-nin groups. I argue that Berryz got better after losing Maiha, but °C-ute got worse. They are the leftovers from when Berryz were culled from the H!P Kids, and though the original intention was for the girls to rotate in and out? Berryz were good enough like they were that Tsunku left them alone, and went about making the rest of the girls into °C-ute… but not without deciding that they’d be better off 8-strong. Kanna fit the bill, it seems, and her Egg cracked so she could become one of the big girls. We all know I love Kanna best of all the °C-ute girls, but maybe I just see what Tsunku saw… a girl who is grateful for anything she gets… an idol who shows the full spectrum of her personality from surly to sad to happy to Airi-loving…
But, this is not supposed to be a Kanna-love post, so let’s get back on topic.
Fact: in the idol business, you will be on your feet a lot.
Fact: in the idol business, you may be required to wear shoes that are not the best for your feet.
Fact: in the idol business, if you’re not there, you’re forgotten.
Yet, after bunion surgery, Kanna will need to be careful of how much time she spends on her feet, let along doing things like dancing and exercising. She’ll have shoe restrictions for the rest of her life. She’ll have lovely scars on her feet. She’s already the least popular member of the group, and not being there for a single *and* a tour? That’s practically a death sentence to her popularity.
So, Kanna will likely come back… but I expect the group to have closed off to her a bit in her absence, and while she may get some more fans from this, I’m sure that a lot of the ones who were only haphazardly fans of hers will move on to the girls who *are* there. I don’t expect her coming back to work well at all. In fact, I expect her to graduate from the group eventually (as in… relatively soon thereafter).
What I expect her to do after that, I don’t know. I’d like to see her as a soloist. She’s got the looks, and I think she’s a lot more charming than Matsuura Aya or Manoeri… and maybe if she’s not surrounded by other girls that she’s more than willing to let shine instead of her, some kind of competitive streak will form in her that will allow her to get out there and make a name for herself. I have faith that she can, though I know the soloist thing isn’t her choice to make.
I want the best for everyone involved here, and Kanna does not deserve to be the least loved of °C-ute. She deserves to be better-loved than Manoeri… especially since Kanna is cuter, and can actually sing. (This goes for Ayaya as well. Fake cute is not that cute!)
And to prove, in a way, that Kanna has the potential to grow to become a great soloist?
Here’s Kanna on Hello Pro Hour singing “I WISH”:
And here it is again a few years later at a solo FC event:
Note the marked difference? More confidence, more cute expressions (that are sometimes sexy), and her voice had improved drastically. Now? Go back and listen to “4 Akogare My Star” and notice how Kanna starts off several of the songs. That’s her in the title track as well as “SHINES”, and the only worthwhile lines in “Aishiteru Aishiteru” are her’s to command. Left to wallow in the Maimi/Airi show with only the occasional glimmer of her own limelight, I don’t see Kanna flourishing as an idol, despite the fact that she’s gotten prettier. Given time and space and H!P backing her as more than a glorified back-up singer/dancer… I can see Kanna doing wonderful things.
Yes, this jumped from “Hey, Kanna has bunions!” to “Kanna should be a soloist!”.
…
…
…
Deal.
My H!P Rankings
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 7, 2009
I realized that I’ve never posted my personal rankings on here before… though you guys probably know my favorites from comments here and there, and least favorites from the hate I have been known to babble on about, but want to know how it all actually falls? Well, here we go. (Psst… I put my specially made ranking pictures after the explanations in order to save some surprises!)
MORNING MUSUME
1. Junjun – I really don’t know why I love her so much. She is not all that beautiful, really, but there’s something about her. From “Onna ni Sachi Are”, I knew she was my preferred panda, and each clip I’ve seen of her, and every note I can hear her sing, just brings her up another notch. She has this grating irritating throat voice she uses sometimes (like during certain points of Alo-Hello 3), and I’ve grown to love that too. She’s quirky, and not perfect, but she’s just so natural that I adore it.
2. Takahashi Ai – I’ve always been fond of people who can do just about anything, and Takitty is that in a nutshell. She is the overall package, and I think I find her more interesting for that than if she had a loud personality, as well. She’s satisfied being the talent of the group rather than the overall focus, and I’m okay with that too.
3. Kamei Eri – I like fanged girls in the first place, and I like idols with good thighs as well, and then you add in her bubbly, weird personality and awesome dancing abilities? If I liked her singing more, she’s probably top Takitty.
4. Michishige Sayumi – Imagine my surprise to see one of the most “untalented” girls rank up here, but Sayumi is intelligent, plus beautiful, and that’s sexy to me. I don’t care if she acts like a 7 year old studying physics. I LIKE that in a girl. And she is much-improved.
5. Kusumi Koharu – The other “untalented” one, right? No. Not quite. Koharu is a force to be reckoned with. She’s not a consistent singer in the slightest, and may not have a lot of vocal power, or dancing prowess, but when she really tries? It’s there. The miracle does happen.
6. Niigaki Risa – I am surprised I ranked Mame this high, actually. I don’t think she’s that pretty, or that talented, though I’ll give her genki. Still, her whole personality seems forced. Actually, I think she’s only here because of Cinderella. Risa’s man-voice is good, but once she gets into her upper register? It kills it for me.
7. Tanaka Reina – I used to love Reina. She was my end-all, be-all fantasy girl. But, then I got well-versed enough in H!P to realize that she’s such a one-trick pony. She’s got some talent there, it’s true, but it’s inconsistent. And with as long as she’s been around? She should know better.
8. Linlin – You guys all expected me to put her at the bottom, didn’t you? Well, she *is* close. But, I do sometimes think that Linlin is not that horrible… unless she’s singing. I really hate her voice. If it hadn’t been for the cooking portion of Alo-Hello 3, she’d probably be dead last.
9. Mitsui Aika – But Aika’s last instead! I don’t like her voice, I think she’s annoying, she’s too cutesy to be anything I actually want to look at… I could go on, but I just don’t care. If she wasn’t in a PV, I don’t think I’d notice at all.
BERRYZ KOUBOU
1. Shimizu Saki – Okay, say what you guys will about Captain… but take the time to get to know her as an idol and you’ll probably love her, too. Yes, she does not photograph beautifully. She always has the cheesy poses and grins and all of that. But, watch her in videos. Watch making-ofs and DVD magazines and specials. She is fascinating. She blushes about being a leader, but she takes charge of it. She dances divinely with a more nuanced performance than anyone could expect from someone her age, and her singing isn’t the best, but is still serviceable and then some. She does amazing harmonies. And, oh yeah? She’s super-hot now.
2. Natsuyaki Miyabi – I’ve always been kind of fond of Miyabi, though much like Takitty, she’s up here for talent. Plus, her shyness that comes out now and again is adorable.
3. Tokunaga Chinami – To a point, I feel like I’ve hopped on the Chinami bandwagon… but I feel like I discovered her in different ways than a lot of her bandwagon fans. Because of everyone pointing her out suddenly, I took special notice of her while really getting into Berryz and watching PVs and making-ofs and specials, etc., and found that the hype was validated. Her voice isn’t great, but it is charming.
4. Sudou Maasa – Maasa is a force to be reckoned with, and I didn’t even realize how much until recently. Her vocals are kind of awesome. Her voice is similar to Saki’s, but smoother. Her lips are awesome. And, now we know she looks good in a bikini.
5. Kumai Yurina – I have no strong feelings about Yurina one way or another. She’s kind of water in the bottom of a pot to me. It’s there, it has the potential to be useful, but it’s not exciting in the slightest.
6. Sugaya Risako – Socko may be way down my list, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like her. I don’t think her fame is deserved, and most of what I have against her is her popularity versus her talent. She’s not that good, and often doesn’t even try that hard, so I wonder why she is consistently the front girl. She’s much-loved by fans, but that just seems to perpetuate a vicious cycle in which all of the other girls get shafted, except maybe Momoko and Miyabi, and they’re both in Buono! as well. Risako is getting there slowly with her talent, and I have faith in her, but her spot on this list comes mostly because of how I hate the fans who fawn over her every performance, especially the ones where she is quite horrible.
7. Tsugunaga Momoko – Momoko, I swear, is the bane of my ears’ existence. She squeaks, she shrieks, and she does so with a tone I would kill a piece of electronic equipment for making. In 5 years, she’s gotten a bit taller and filled out a tiny bit, and her voice has dropped a few notes and strengthened a bit… but she is otherwise exactly the same as she was. She’s been in the business longer than Reina, and has changed even less. Also, I don’t find her attractive. And her personality? I find it even less attractive. Yet, I wouldn’t have Berryz without her somehow.
°C-UTE
1. Arihara Kanna – Kanna, of the currently-not-in-°C-ute-and-wasn’t-there-in-the-beginning-either is my favorite. She’s always last place in the H!P store sales rankings for some reason, despite the face that she’s beautiful. Yeah, the teeth on the right side of her mouth are shorter than the teeth on the left side, but it’s interesting looking. Kanna is also strange in that she is often photographed using un-idol-like behavior. Kanna can look downright surly! It’s hilarious! Plus, her love for Airi… her cute voice… I would love to see her do something I could stand to watch her in, since I don’t like °C-ute. You may ask then why I’m bothering to rank them. Well, I tried. Being an H!P fan, it’s hard to just avoid a group altogether… and I did try with °C-ute, a lot… so I have gotten to know the girls, though not as well as I know Berryz and Momusu. Continuing on!
2. Suzuki Airi – Airi’s voice does leave a little something to be desired… there’s a quality to it that is a little rough, but she’s still a good vocalist. She’s the domineering force in °C-ute, and the laid-back one in Buono!, and I love her for it. She is also praticularly attractive, though H!P tends to like to make her hair bigger than her head… which doesn’t work much for anyone.
3. Hagiwara Mai – Mai has the occasional bit of surly to her as well. Add in the attractiveness, and the fact that she’s a better vocalist than Risako “for her age” and add in the huge sunglasses that were her youth? Mai’s pretty cool, and really the last of the girls of °C-ute that I claim to like.
4. Umeda Erika – Erika is kind of like Yurina for me, only she’s not as attractive, and they like to give her hair like Airi’s with it being bigger than her head. I think she looks awkward and doesn’t sound all that great and is rather blah. Also, she has chipmunk teeth without the chipmunk face needed to pull it off.
5. Nakajima Saki – This Saki does not impress me much. I don’t like her look, her smile frankly makes me wet myself, though I can see that she does try hard. That gives her points, at least. She’s also a pretty decent dancer, though not nearly as good as better!Saki.
6. Okai Chisato – You all expected Chisato last, didn’t you? I give the girl enough grief, don’t I? But, Chisato has improved slightly. She is not an eyesore anymore, though I still can not stand her voice. Her tonal quality is wretched.
7. Yajima Maimi – When I originally wrote this out, I has Maimi at number 5, but as I started writing these little explanations, I realized… there is no excusing Maimi. She may be much-loved, and such a forever-front-girl, but she can’t sing, she dances awkwardly, and while her face can be attractive? It bothers me just how little she has in her bra. It’s as awkward-looking as her dancing. Her thighs may be the milk and honey of the gods, but I still think her voice sounds like she’s singing through a stoma.
Now, to rank the current H!P groups/soloists.
1. Berryz Koubou
1.5. Morning Musume
3. Buono!
4. Kusumi Koharu
5. Shugo Chara Egg!
6. °C-ute
7. Mano Erina
My notation for Berryz and Momusu? It means that I’ve come to terms with the fact that I slightly prefer Berryz at the moment. They’re making better songs, and they’re being more consistent… and I like consistency. However, Morning Musume is still way up there… only very slightly behind, and they’ve got a lot more history, so they’re still number 1, just not as much. I know that’s lame, but they’re just that far in my heart. (That’s also lame, I know.)
Did I forget anyone? I figure Elder Club is technically gone at the end of the month, so I don’t need to rank them, and these are the only girls left in H!P other than the Eggs. (Though if I included them as a group, they’d be at number 6 instead.) Mano has potential, but her voice is kind of, um, bad. In a way, it’s worse than Koharu. At least Miss Crack-tastic always puts her all into it.
Buono! Gets Stockholm Syndrome, and H!P Takes Over the World
Posted by: superhappygenki on: March 6, 2009
Just announced? Buono… of the Berryz and °C-ute Buono’s… will be appearing at the Stockholm Japan Expo coming up May 24th. Yes, that’s right… before Morning Musume hits up Anime Expo in Los Angeles for the 4th of July, and not too terribly long after HANGRY & ANGRY appear at Sakuracon in Washington state with Smile.dk and girugamesh in mid-April.
Suddenly, the girls of H!P (and associated acts) are winging their way around the world. Sure, Berryz went to Korea for an award not that long ago, and Momusu went to Taiwan, but H!P previously seemed to be pretty content just staying in Japan. But, it seems that somewhere along the way, someone in UFA realized that people from all across the world are willing to drop major bucks to watch underage girls prance around in ways that only safety pants save from indecency.
I don’t know what all of the girls think of this. I’m pretty sure Buono! thinks “Well, we do anime songs, so an anime convention kind of works,” even though Stockholm Japan Expo is also a musical artists smorgasbord or something. HANGRY & ANGRY had their mini-album released in America as well as Japan, so they probably understand too. Morning Musume is obviously kind of miffed, though. Ai and Reina have both commented publicly that they don’t think people will recognize them. Reina sounds much more excited about the potential for good shopping in LA. They have no idea that there are people in the US who care at all, except a handful of wacky gaijin who show up at their concerts in Japan.
Now, I live in the US. Only, I live on the other side of the country from LA. I’m in North Carolina. You can get further away, but not by a significant amount. I’m still trying to find a way to afford to go see my girls. (If anyone wants to finance my trip, I will attempt to make out with the Morning Musume member of your choice and film it. I’m completely serious here. If I hadn’t broken my ankle in November, I’d have money now, instead of debts. So, in order to go, I either need to clear all debts and then stockpile money, or someone needs to pay for me to drool for a few days in July. Living paycheck to paycheck does not give me the $500+ I’d need to comfortably book a flight, a hotel, buy the con badge, the concert ticket upgrade, the miscellaneous expenses, loathe though I am to think about it.)
What does this mean to the world of H!P fans, though? Well, obviously the ones who live where these groups are going are ecstatic. The ones a bit further away, but still within reasonable travelling distance? They’re still very much so excited. Those of us who are far away, but are finding it much easier to contemplate a trip across the country (where our language is still the common one) instead of across the world are still almost peeing our pants.
I mentioned in my 2008 in review post (or some post around that time) that Tsunku had said in his blog that he had plans for 2009 that involved a lot more promotion. And, here we go. We’re 3 months and change into the year and we have what is almost an H!P World Tour compared to the past years of never hopping a flight past the other Japanese islands except to go to Hawaii for the fan club tour.
Morning Musume may not get it yet, but American wota money spends just as well as Japanese wota money, and there are just as many people who could be willing to part with their dollars if they could get H!P items without ridiculous markup and shipping fees. The concert hall that Morning Musume will play in holds 7000 people. They are guests of honor at the convention, and while the ticket upgrade costs money, a ticket to the convention itself is enough to get you in the door, I believe. That means that the hall will likely be full. 7000 people is more than appear at a lot of Morning Musume concerts in Japan. Yet, the girls are confused about why they’re going to America.
Tsunku knows his audience here. Wota are not always so far removed from the otaku they derive their name from. There are those of us who are just fascinated with Japanese pop culture in all of its forms. There are a certain number of them who can rightfully be called weeaboo, but for me? My interest in Japan came primarily from a video I watched in my high school World Geography class about the cultural traditions of Japan. I watched about indigo dying, and sword making, and shamisen playing, etc. The whole while, I drooled over the gorgeous oufits (KIMONO!) and the classical music, and the shrines, and the language (The start of my love for subtitles!). Then, I did a play where I played a daimyo and we sang the classic Japanese folk song, Sakura at the end. I fell hard for the traditional stuff several years before I learned what anime was. Granted, I’d seen some Voltron and Speed Racer and all of that as a kid, but I just recognized it as some fun, old-fashioned cartooning. Yet, as soon as I started to get into Japanese pop culture, my interest ballooned. This is not to say that I lost my love of the traditional, though. After I’d read “Memoirs of a Geisha” a dozen times, I picked up “Geisha: A Life” (or, the true story behind Memoirs…) and fell in love with kimono and dance and even more traditional Japanese arts.
Yet, above all of that, I adore H!P. I love loving the things I love, and I love hating the things I hate, and I love being indifferent about the things I’m indifferent about. If people threw money my way, it would go toward H!P. I’d buy every single… even the ones I don’t like. Every photobook would be mine, even if just to pull out to show people what I mean when I say that Konno Asami’s super-square jaw used to really bother me, as did the shape of Yasuda Kei’s eyes.
I feel like I’ve gone wayyyyyy off-topic here, so I’ll put myself back on track. Tsunku made this decision. And, honestly, the man is gold. It’s seemed like he hasn’t cared for the past 2 years or so, but now he does again, and it’s showing. We’re getting strong singles, and we’re spreading the love and the wealth.
I’m very much so looking forward to this year to see what else is in store. Where else will H!P tour to? If these events do go well, then where will they go next year? I feel more excited as an H!P fan now than I ever have before because it finally feels like there are possibilities.
