D:

BECAUSE H!P IS DEPRESSING, a list of elder club members that I'm REALLY going to miss (in order):

1. Konno Asami
2. Yaguchi Mari
3. Tsuji Nozomi
4. Yoshizawa Hitomi
5. Ogawa Makoto (She just got back, too ;__;)
6. Matsuura Aya
7. Maeda Yuki

I'll miss all of the other members too, but the members above are the ones that I'm going to BAWWWW over. Konno Asami is my favorite H!P member of all time. I was so sad when she left MoMusu and H!P, then RELIEVED when she rejoined H!P and joined Ongaku Gatas, and now I'm DEVASTATED that she's leaving again. My poor wota heart can't take it!

I mean...I'm not really worried about Marippe because she's been SO successful outside of H!P with her TV show and such. As for Ayaya and Maeda Yuki, I feel like H!P has been ignoring them for a long time anyway, and that their careers will blossom outside of H!P! I imagine that Ayaya will sign to a bigger label and will produce more music while Maeda Yuki will most likely sign to a label that exclusively deals with Enka music. I'm also not that worried about Yossie, simply because she's going to be in the new unit Hangry&Angry, which I assume will still be managed by Tsunku, just not under H!P, so she'll continue to work.

I AM worried about Konkon, Nono, and Mako though. I mean...they're idols, through and through. None of them have amazing voices or incredible looks. They became popular because of their personalities and extreme moe. I *doubt* that any of them will go on to be singers outside of H!P. I can see Mako going on to acting, but I don't think it's going to happen. Most likely, Konkon, Nono and Mako will fade in obscurity, which absoltuely BREAKS MY HEART, especially in regards to Konkon.

I realize that UpFront hasn't been giving most of the Elder Club any work for a long time now anyways, so graduation from H!P and UpFront presents great new opportunities for many of the girls. However, I absolutely believe that we'll never hear from some of them again. KONNNKOOONNNNNN! D:

Now, H!P can be free to be the shiny sparkly pre-pubescent money-maker that it's always longed to be. More 12 year olds, right Tsunku?! What's that Tsunku? Bikini photobooks for the younger EGGs? Why, that's a captial idea! How about a bikini themed group made up of a new generation of pre-EGGs...we'll call them InUtero!

D:

In happier H!P news: apparently Aibon will be releasing a mini-disc in the future! YAY! Kago's going to be making music again, and this time she'll be writing her own lyrics!

Not Angry ...but Hangry for more!

What life changing event has once again summoned me from my hiatus to blog about H!P? Hangry&Angry, of course. The H!P blogosphere is going to be over this unit like glitter on Reina's pig-tails. So, why not me too?



First off, I'm *thrilled* about the idea of this duo! It's absolutely unlike anything that H!P has ever done before! Their debut song, "Kill Me Kiss Me" (which is being released on November 19) is a true rock song! Yossie's voice suits the song (and rock-music in general) really well. I think that many of the songs that she sang while she was in Morning Musume held back the potential of her voice. She's truly able to unleash the true power of her voice in this type of rock-song. I was a little bit more worried about what Rika-chan's voice would sound like, but I was pleasantly surprised! Her voice actually really suits the song as well! And while I never really liked the dynamic between Yossie and Charmmy, I'm sure that they'll do well in this unit. I'm just happy that they're getting to do things outside of Ongaku Gatas!

And now...the STYLE! I like it. I'm not so much in love *with the outfits themselves*, but the concept is AMAZING and DIFFERENT. I mean, it's like, "Tsunku took a risk and did something completely different? Was that a pig that just flew past the window?!"

Just because it's not "typical H!P" doesn't mean that it can't be meaningful or good. I think that a lot of people will be changing their minds (for the better) once a PV is released and the girls get to perform live!

Edo no Temari Uta II

Is anyone else at a loss about °C-ute's new single, "Edo no Temari Uta II"? I'll start off by saying that I do enjoy their outfits and the PV.

I know that the outfits for this single have come under criticism, but I happen to like my H!P costumes colorful and cutesy and guady, so I was actually quite pleased when I first saw them. However, Maimi's giant puffy red costume is a bit too much even for me...you can barely see her underneath all of that fabric! I think that the costumes could have been even better had they shared more of a common design. I mean, they obviously all share a common theme, but design-wise, it was if someone couldn't make up their mind on cut, color, or fabric, so they went with everything.

The PV is cute if not a bit boring and formulaic (dance shot + close-ups). Does anyone else think that the faceless backup dancers are a bit creepy? Anyways, the close-up shots were my favorite parts of the PV. All of the girls look very cute and charismatic. Also, is anyone else reminded of a certain other H!P PV? The Japanese theme, low budget, weird cheap set remind me of Berryz Koubou's "Tsukiatteiru no ni Kataomoi" PV. Hm. I didn't really like that PV too much either. Why? Well, it was boring. At least "Edo no Temari Uta II" is colorful.

Now, let's get to the song itself! This is the first time that °C-ute is releasing a single not composed by Tsunku. "Edo no Temari Uta II" was composed by Uzaki Ryudo. I googled him and apparently he was in a band in the 1970s called the Downtown Boogie-Woogie Band. I think that this explains a lot about this new single. Listening to it, it's difficult to distinguish the chorus from the rest of the verses. It just kind of seems all over the place. The "Eh~ Eh~" parts are catchy, but that's really the only part of the song that is catchy. I mean...I've listened to the song about 10 times trying to get it to grow on me, and I still can't remember how it goes. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss the Tsunku-ness!

The Verdict?:
-Maimi's costume is puffy and gigantic and awful.
-Costumes should have a common design.
-PV could benefit from some kind of storyline (and a bigger budget).
-Song is all over the place.
-NEEDS MOAR TSUNKU?!

Going bananas for "Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance" (I couldn't help myself...)

What startingly important event has drawn me out of my H!P-blogging hybernation, you ask? What world-shaking catastrophe has inspired me to post?

Berryz Koubou's Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance!!! Yes, I know, it's terribly surprising that not even Koharu's latest caterwauling on "Pa Pancake" was enough to spark a bit of interest in blogging again. So...why "Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance" you ask? Well, watch for yourselves:



See? THEY'RE WEARING MONKEY SUITS! Um...yes, I probably could be more intelligent in describing the appeal of this music video, but, I kind of feel like that ruins the purpose. I mean, what more could you want in a H!P music video? Let's review the awesomeness factors of this music video:

-Girls looking and acting adorable whilst dressed in red monkey costumes.
-Risako totally rocking her solo lines (when did this begin?!).
-Even line and screen time distribution (I can see Saki and Maasa!).
-Awesome and catchy song.
-Cute and *original/creative* concept (Where did Tsunku pull this one out of?).
-Cute costumes (I'm really liking those shiny skirts).
-Great hair/makeup/closeups (The girls are all looking amazingly pretty).
-Cute/awesome dance.

Plus...did I mention that it has the girls dressed as MONKEYS? I did? Oh...well...there's also a GIANT BANANA in the background! FTW!

MONKEYYYYYYS!!!

Idolizing Our Idols

I haven't posted for what seems like a really long time, and I feel that I sort of owe anyone who reads this blog an explanation.

Yes, I've been sick, but that isn't really the reason why I haven't been blogging. The real reason is that my interest in H!P has begun to waver. I've been a H!P fan for over four years now, and in all honesty, this is the first time in those four years that I've ever truly lost interest in H!P.

How could this have happened? Well, to be blunt: Korean music. I have been listening to Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki), Big Bang, BoA, and Super Junior pretty much non-stop for the past two weeks. I'm incredibly impressed by not only the amazing vocal talents, but also the dancing ability, charisma, and personalities of the performers. I love H!P dearly, but in all reality, no matter how much we love the H!P girls, they're not the best singers in the world...actually, far from it. Most of them are average, quite a few are terrible, and only a few are above average. Then, when I listen to Korean music after listening to H!P, I'm just amazed at the difference of vocal quality.

Perhaps another reason that I now prefer Korean music to Hello!Project can be found in the nature of the two different cultures themeselves. Female singers in Korea do not seem to have to appear as "fake" as Japanese female singers in order to impress their male fans. As wota, we all know what that "high-squeaky-cute-idol-voice" is, and which idols use it (Kago and Tsuji, anyone?). In Korea, women can be fierce, even diva-esque...more similar to Koda Kumi than to anyone in H!P (with the exception of maybe Fujimoto Miki). I know that the image of Korean stars is still very tightly controlled, but it seems as if Korean media-culture is more open-minded and accepting of the fact that idols are people, too.

What first comes to mind when I write this is DBSK's various appearances on variety shows. From these appearances, we now know that Changmin likes to watch porn (a lot), YunHo has moobs, Micky had/has terrible family problems, JaeJoong is insecure about his popularity, etc. I mean...these qualities are very human, aren't they? But...what do we really know about the H!P girls? Yes, we know what foods they like, and maybe even what their personality is like (or at least the personality that they present to us), but do we really know anything about them as people?

However, all that I have previously written is not *really* the main purpose of this post. This is:

Last night, I was feeling very depressed and homesick. I was clicking through my ipod, trying to decide what to listen to, and nothing seemed more appropriate than Morning Musume. So, I decided on "Suki na Sempai" and began to listen. Instantly, I felt better...Morning Musume made me feel a bit closer to home, a bit warmer inside. All I had to do was picture KonKon's smiling face...the 5th gen's tears at KonKon's and Makoto's graduation concert, all singing "Suki na Sempai" laughing *and* crying... back then, it was if H!P meant something. It was more than just looking sexy, or trying to be funny, or desperately trying to avoid scandal...it was warm and represented friendship and happiness and real feelings.

I think that Up-Front would be pleasantly surprised if they actually let their idols be themselves. Yes, I know that we as wota are supposed to love idols for their "adorable and unique quirks" but really, how much do we really know? I think that Aibon is a great example of this. Even though it was acceptable for her to be imperfect and goofy, as soon as she slipped up and acted *human* and *flawed* she was dismissed.

Because "Suki na Sempai" has restored my faith in H!P a bit, I will continue to support H!P and pray for the success and well being of all of the girls. However, from now on, my outlook will be unapologetically changed.

Resonant Blue: Alternate Version

Tsunku, you scamp, you! You had me worried with that first release of the "Resonant Blue" PV! Silly, Tsunku!

I was SO happy when I saw this PV! I had posted in a reply to a comment on my previous "Resonant Blue" PV response that I hoped that the screen-time distrubution would help to even out the very uneven line distrubution. I was worried at first that the entire first half of the PV didn't have ANY appearances by the 8th gen. However, when the second half of the PV began, I was thrilled to see Mittsi and the Pandas get significant attention. I particurally liked the scene of LinLin and JunJun eating together at a Chinese restaurant. It was just such a natural and cute scene, and it makes me happy to think of them enjoying a little piece of home, even when they are in Japan.

Reina's cut-away scene shows her walking through a tunnel, working that sexy yankii fashion sense of hers...and seriously, she has an incredibly sexy vibe! I've always thought of Reina being more of a parody of what is sexy, but she truly works it in this PV!

I also thought that Mittsi looked adorable waiting for the train to come. I wasn't a fan of her new haircut at first, but after seeing her work it on HaroMoni and now in this PV, I have to say that it's *adorable* and that she really makes it look super cute. She looks so young and innocent in the PV, something that really makes me go, "Awwww!"

The scenes of them in the dance studio were also really great. It really pulled together the idea that, "Hey, this is what Morning Musume does when they're not in the public eye!" The shots of the girls hanging out, going places, doing interviews, practicing their dancing, etc. makes for a really endearing concept for the PV.

My only question now is why Tsunku didn't release THIS PV first, rather than having the Dance Shot be the "main" version of the PV. I mean, this "alternate version" of the PV is probably my favorite MoMusu PV since "Egao YES Nude".

To Kago, With Love...

It seems that Kago Ai is finally telling her side of the story to Ohmynews in a 6 part video series.

Sigh. Where to start? I was the biggest Aibon fan ever. She was the first girl that I really fell for in H!P, and she remained my constant favorite up until the time that she was finally fired from H!P. She dissapointed me in so many ways, and it still hurts to think about her sometimes.

I felt so betrayed by how seemingly carelessly she acted towards her fans. However, I can't really be mad. I mean, she is a human being with a life. Her fans shouldn't have to be her number one priority...she has to do what is right for her. Still, what hurt most about her scandal was that she would be taken away from her fans.

She's looking very grown up in the videos and pictures. Her hair has been cut short and is worn in a mature style. Her clothing is modest and simple and she appears soft spoken and gracious. She no longer seems like a child at all.

After reading the following: "My mother and father divorced on that day. At that time, when I was down, my boyfriend had gone far away. I'd known him for a while, and I was close to him. He lived nearby, in Kusatsu (prefecture). I said I wanted to go, but since there was so much snow, going by car would be dangerous. So we went and stayed at the Japanese inn." (taken from hello-online.org), I couldn't help but feel compassion for Aibon. I can't even imagine what she must have been feeling after the second scandal exploded.

In all honesty, I could care less about what my idols do in their personal lives. They're people just like the rest of us. They have their imperfections...they seek comfort when they feel pain, and they don't always do what is best for their image, not because they want to spite us, but because it's what they have to do for themselves.

So, although it makes my heart hurt a bit watching her all grown up, I will continue to support her as an actress, because even through it all, she's still very dear to my heart.