4 posts tagged “ishikawa rika”

So the trip is coming down to the home stretch.  I could seriously live here.  Obviously I am on vacation, and if I was living and working here instead it would be a different experience.  But Tokyo is such a great city!  It has really encouraged me to "step up" my Japanese lessons!

The Fate of the Elder Club

We have already seen some examples of what the Elders are going to be doing.  Melon Kinenbi will still perform, Yuko and Nacchi are continuing to act.  And of course I got an idea when I saw Ayaya perfprming at a jazz club the first night I was here.  The hotel I am staying at is huge, and it has many amenities, including a theater.  And who is on the bill this December?

Wow!!!  Yossie, Charmy and Sotoda Mai doing a Christmas dinner show.  And judging by the outfits, I don't think they will be doing any Hangry & Angry material!  Oh wait, someone else is doing a Christmas dinner show the next evening...

Oh, god, Ayaya is love!!!  Now before you even start thinking that I am going to plan a trip here in seven weeks, my vacation time for 2008 is all used up.  And my wallet needs a little rest before I head back over here again.  Those dinner shows ain't cheap!  $260 per person for Charmy and the gang, and $300 for Matsuura Aya...sheesh!!!

 

A Quick AKB48 Note

I got all of those for free from other AKB48 fans last night.  Two copies of the Theater Version of Oogoe Diamond, and a bunch of older photos, including three of the lovely Meetan!  I have Cancel Machi #61 for Team B matinee today.  If I get in, that will mean I got to see all three teams perform while I was here!  There are a bunch of crazy goings on with AKB48 this week.  And had I known about them this trip would've looked a bit different.  But I will explain that on a future post.  Suffice it to say, many more reasons to love AKB48!!!

New H!P Releases!!!

 

So while I have been here a bunch of new H!P releases have hit the shelves.  And sadly, a bunch more come out right after I leave.  As much as I like Milky Way, I don't love Tan Tan Taan, so I am skipping that one.  I'm torn on the Manoeri indie release.  Not because I like the song, but because the Tower Records version comes with a LE bonus photo!  I am definitely going to buy Berryz "Five" before I leave.  And the new ones from Berryz Kobo and Buono!  which sadly come out after I go home :(.  I absolutely love the song and PV for Madayade, and Rottara Rottara is growing on me with each listen!  I was really hoping Berryz played their new single when I saw them yesterday...

Berryz Kobo Live in the Shadow of Mt. Fuji!!!

Going to see Berryz Kobo in Shin-Fuji was a totally different experience.  It was my first concert here that took place outside of the general Tokyo area.  Fuji is about 100 miles south of Tokyo, and about a 70 minute ride on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train).  BTW, thank heavens for my Japan Rail Pass.  It made travel much easier here.  And the Shinkansen trips are pricey.  So it was well worth it!  From the JR Shinkansen stop it was about a mile and a half to the venue.  But I couldn't figure out the bus lines, so I decided to walk it.  I needed the excercise anyway.

I know the setlist from Wiki.theppn, and I was most excited about Suhada Pichipichi, Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun, and 21ji Made no Cinderella.  But I was also hoping that they would play their latest single, although they hadn't done as of yet on the tour, and this was the last stop!  I went in about 40 minutes before showtime.  I know a lot of people like to rush in right as the doors open.  But I don't see the reason for it.  I think everyone is afraid their favorite merchandise is going to sell out or something.  But when I went in there was only one sold out photo set, and everything else was available.  So I stocked up on my Maasa supplies!

T-shirt set and keychain, cool!  They also have this cool thing where you can buy a picture really cheap.  the only catch is you don't know which pic you are getting.  My favorite members in Berryz are Maasa, Captain, and Chinami.  My least favorites are Yurina and Risako.  So who did I get???

LOL, I think Yurina is meant to be my favorite because she ALSO was the one who did my birthday on that Berryz "Calendar" DVD!  Onto the show...

The other thing I was anticipating are the songs from the new CD.  To tell you the truth, I haven't really given them a good listen yet.  They opened with HAPPY! Stand Up, which is a nice upbeat number to open the show.  But the second song, Kono Yubi Tomare! was awesome!!!  I'll tell you right now that might be one of my favorite Berryz songs ever!  I also enjoyed CLAP and Yumi wo Hitotsubu...

The MC segments were great!  In the intro segment, Chinami and Miya got into a playful spat, with Chinami ultimately pointing at Miyabi and pouting.  Then Miyabi told Chinami she could sit on her knee, huh?  The MC with Chinami and Yurina just before "Cinderella" was also cute, with Chinami showing off her new manicure with little green studs around her cuticles to match her dress.  But the best was the little skit.  And Maasa again was the star of it.  This is why Maasa is my favorite member.  Not only is she adorable, but she is obviously their best actress!

After Yuujou, they left the stage.  But I already knew that BE and Special Generation (regular version, not the remix) were coming.  Finally the lights went dark, and the screen came on...

05/11/2008...

New Single...

Here We Go...

OMFG, My heart stopped, MADAYADE!!!  The first performance ever!!!  I loved it!  And no, they didn't sing it in the costumes from the PV, sorry.  But that would have been cool.  Overall it was a great show!  All of the girls did a great job.  there was some pitchiness here and there by a couple of people.  But that can be forgiven.  No one is perfect, and they all did their best.  So it was a great time for all!

Next Up, Morning Musume tonight!  I can't wait...

CK in California (or Tokyo)

(Berryz Performance Pics from Hello! Online)

 

If you know my last name, you will get that joke.

 

We all should have been clued in when it was announced the 2009 Elder Club tour was titled Thank you for your LOVE!  The big announcement has been made.  The announcement that I have been "expecting" for a long time now.  The entire Hello! Project Elder Club will be graduating in March 2009.  Not to say I told you so, but I did "sort of" predict this back in April of this year... "Trusting The Hello! Process" 

In that post I said that H!P and UFA would most likely be doing a lot of "pruning away" of the elders in order to stay contemporary and profitable.  Specifically, I predicited the extinction of the Elder concept, and the graduation of most of the Elder members before the year end.  I didn't think it would be everyone, but the obvious move has been in the air for a long time now.  This is most likely going to be "the end" for many idols, though obviously not for all.  For some this is merely the long overdue next step in their careers...

 

Abe Natsumi, Nakazawa Yuko, and Yaguchi Mari have already been doing a lot of acting and television outside of H!P.  That will obviously continue.  And I'm sure we will see some singing in their futures as well.

 

Maeda Yuki always been a "fringe" H!P member at best anyway.  Will her enka career continue?  Probably.  I don't think the H!P banner helps or hurts her career either way.  As for Iida Kaori and Sugiura "Tsuji" Nozomi, they have already moved on to parenthood.

 

Matsuura Aya is beyond H!P, and has been for a while now.  I doubt her career will skip a beat!

 

Yoshizawa Hitomi and Ishikawa Rika.  We just got a glimpse of what's next for them, Hangry & Angry.  So obviously their careers are moving forward.  And I am sure this new unit won't be their swan song.

 

Fujimoto Miki has already moved on in a way, judging by the style and promotion of her most recent single.  Then again, that single didn't take the J-pop world by storm...

 

As far as the H!P Eggs that are also members of Ongaku Gatas, my guess is they will continue to be Eggs.  I would be really surprised to find out that Noto Arisa is part of the graduating class.  I know all of the reports are saying "all of Ongaku Gatas", but I still hold out hope since the Eggs weren't mentioned.

As for the rest, this may possibly be the last time we see many of them in a performance medium.  That's not to say all of their performance careers are over.  I am just saying that there is nothing presently on the horizon for any of them.  But I really don't know.  Only time will tell.

It's a sad and happy moment at the same time.  Now if I can be selfish for a minute...Now I am in a quandry about the Jan/Feb concert at Yokohama Arena.  As many of you know I will be in Japan next week to see Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo and Matsuura Aya.  And I was seriously considering returning for H!P Winter 2009.  This announcement definitely makes me want to go.  But now the tickets will be hard as hell to get a hold of!  What to do?

Only time will tell...

CK in California 

I'm finally getting an opportunity to do the next episode in this series.

I really love watching all of the Hello! Project related films and doramas.  It's great to see how talented many of the artists are.  And to be honest, most of the movies they do are pretty damn good!  The two selections I will be speaking about today, LAST PRESENT and 17Sai Tabidachi no Futari, I would never had discovered had it not been for Andra.  This is one of my favorite things about International Wota and all of my fellow J-music bloggers.  If it weren't for them I probably would never got to find out about the history and great goings-on in the J-music world.  So a big Arigatou Gozaimasu to all of you.

By the way, my trusty feline friend Dexter was very unhappy that I reviewed VICTORY! Futto Girls no Seishun without him, and made it a point to watch these features.

１７才～旅立ちのふたり (2003)

17sai~Tabidachi no Futari ~ was a theatrically released film in the fall of 2003.  It starred Ishikawa Rika and Fujimoto Miki .  Kawamura Maiko (Rika) is one of five foster children who live with their adoptive parents in a "less than" glamourous part of Tokyo.  She is soon to be eighteen, and she is an aspiring artist and writer.  Also living with her is "Kota", a precocious and angry young boy with a habit of running away.  Through Kota, Maiko meets Izumi Risa (Mikitty), a pretty but lonely girl who helps her single mother run a small cafe.

Now at this point we have met the characters, but far into the story I was still waiting for some kind of plot to develop.  For more than half of the film we are seeing these characters experiencing life.  I kept asking myself "Where are they going with this?  This is only about an hour long, get with it!"

Ultimately it is about our two soon-to-be adults growing up and making important life decisions.  When Maiko's father returns to Japan after 13 years, she needs to decide what kind of relationship she is willing to have with him.  As for Risa, she is troubled by her mother's promiscuity and angered by all of the men who take advantage of her.

It's not that I didn't like the movie.  In fact, all of the performances were top notch.  The scene where Maiko finally meets her father is very powerful.  And I couldn't help get emotionally invested into the foster families' lives.  On the other hand, the story about Risa and her mother is less developed, and as a result less interesting.  Even with the surprising attempted rape scene.  I am always astounded by some of the subject matter that pops up in H!P films.  This is the same company that writes those "virginal clauses" in the girls' contracts, right?  But you have to see the entire movie to really appreciate it's message.  It wasn't until it ended that I really started to like it at all.

2 1/2 of five stars for me.  Dexter really liked Mikitty and Charmy, but felt the child who played the "Kato" character was pretty scary.  The kind of kid that would hold him against his will and stroke his fur backwards!  2/5 for him...

 

ラストプレセント (2003)

LAST PRESENT ~ In my last review I declared VICTORY! Futto Girls no Seishun to be my favorite H!P film of all time.  But this one comes pretty close.  It premiered on the NHK Television Network on Christmas Eve 2003.  It tells the story of Kyoko (Abe Natsumi) a young woman who works for the postal service.  It is the Winter holidays, and her boyfriend Yoshiro wants her to spend Christmas Eve with him in his hometown of Hokkaido.  Since it is the busy season at the post office she refuses, sparking a petty argument.  Fast forward to Yoshiro's wake!  It seems that he has been killed in an accident.  And his brother meets Kyoko in a cafe to give her a videotape he left for her before his death.  The trouble is there were two Kyoko's in Yoshiro's phonebook.  And the second Kyoko (Ishikawa Rika) shows up and claims it is her that Yoshiro loved, and the tape is for her.

Together the two Kyoko's watch the tape.  After it offers no clues as to who it was for, the girls individually decide to go to Hokkaido and hopefully find the truth about Yoshiro's "last present".  The rest of the story is about the girls' experience traveling to Hokkaido, and the truths they ultimately uncover.

 

First off, this is a beautifully shot movie.  The location shots in Hokkaido will have you wanting to jump on the next plane for a visit.  I really like a lot of the H!P films' cinematography.  Koinu Dan no Monogatari and Pinch Runner were shot in amazing locales as well.  Second, Nacchi and especially Charmy show why they are the two biggest powerhouse actresses in H!P.  Rika's Kyoko is a barrel of emotion.  She's an artist and a total primadonna.  She can shift from sweet to angry on a dime.  It's really fun to watch her in this.  Nacchi plays her usual level-headed character.  But she has some great acting moments late in the story as she comes to terms with her own anger and sadness.

It's just a really cute film and a total joy to watch.  And it's super sweet ending makes it a perfect Christmas movie.  I highly recommend it.  5/5 stars.  For Dexter, there was even a cat in the film for him to relate to.  As Robert Mitchum once suggested in the movie Scrooged, "Programming...for cats!"  Dexter thinks Robert Mitchum is a genius!

 

Both of these films were translated by DJ_Waffles, and have recently been uploaded to You Tube (in 10 minute segments).  But who knows how long that will last.  You can also download them both on the Veoh TV player.

 

Now after watching all of these movies I have concluded that Ishikawa Rika is the greatest actress in Hello! Project.  I haven't counted, but it seems like she is in more films than anyone else.  And the range of characters she plays is impressive.  The characters she played here were completely different.  When you also consider her performances in Tokkaekko and Sukeban Deka, Wow!  And don't get me started on how much I liked her in Ribbon no Kishi.  And she is just so incredibly cute!  Everytime I watch her I wonder why I don't consider her one of my favorite Hello! Project members.  If it weren't for her rumored "bad attitude" about the fans, she probably would be!

 

Abe Natsumi has probably played just as many major parts.  But she seems to usually play more level-headed characters.  I'm not saying I don't love her acting, I really do!  But I would love to see if she has the acting range that Charmy has.

I don't know if there will be a future episode in this series or not.  It will depend on what else I can find.  But hopefully the days of Hello! Project and UFA making movies aren't over!

And thanks to Dexter for all of his help.  Now I think he wants me to feed him!

CK in California

I still have a lot to learn about the land of Hello! Project, and that's a good thing!

When I first set out to review the H!P films, I only knew of six features, which I reviewed here and here.  I figured I would review these films in two posts, and possibly throw in a "Yo-Yo Girl Cop" post later on.  And that would be it unless H!P decided to do more movies.  But thanks to Andra, I discovered there are quite a few more films in the Hello! Project catalog.  I still haven't seen them all.  But I have really liked the three new films I have seen, especially this one...

 VICTORY!～フットガールズの青春 (2003)

 

VICTORY! Futto Girls no Seishun was a Made-For-TV movie shown on the Fuji Television Network in 2003.  It stars Matsuura Aya, and features supporting roles from Kago Ai, Ishikawa Rika, Ogawa Makoto, and Takahashi Ai.  The movie also doubles as a full-length promotional video for Morning Musume's hit single Go Girl! ~Koi no Victory~.  Ayaya plays the role of Shuko Ashida, the most clutzy member of the cheerleading squad at Tameeda Academy.  The school girls' futsal team (The Tameeda Angels) are the worst team in the league!  It's the usual result for the Angels, they are getting thoroughly beaten by the opposing team and making serious tactical mistakes, which are all metaphors for their individual personalities.  After a member of their rival team insults Shuko's cheers and their school itself, she angrily kicks the ball with such "out of this world" power, their coach in convinced he has a new "secret weapon" and invites Shuko to become the newest member of the team.  The new acquisition is met with mediocre enthusiasm by her new teammates, who are played by various teen idol/actresses.  Most notably 1/2 Japanese 1/2 British Becky as the goalkeeper and daughter of the school principal.  And the nerdy girl is portrayed by actress/gravure idol Suenaga Haruka.  Who is of course a total babe!

  

The basic story is about the futsal team coming together as a cohesive unit, told through the trials and tribulations of each individual member.  Each member needs to confront their personal life issues, and in turn become a better futsal player.  The most memorable story is of Tobiko (Kagami Saki), the team's best scorer.  Tobiko's mother is an alcoholic and bar owner.  She makes the acquaintance of many shady men, one of which wants to recruit Tobiko to be an underage call girl!  And of course, the entire future existence of the school hedges on whether or not the Angels can win their next game!

The main subplot of the movie involves the cheerleading squad holding auditions for a new member to replace Shuko.  These scenes are mainly for comic relief, and to showcase the members of Morning Musume.  There are also a few cameos in the film.  Dandy Sakano, better known as the "Get's Guy" uses his signature routine to help Anko (Becky) become a better goalkeeper.  Brazilian-Japanese footballer Ruy Ramos also plays himself as the rival teams' coach.

BTW, thank you to HarimaKenji for revealing Dandy Sakano's name! (I only ever knew him as the "Get's Guy from the Mechaike Bakajo Special"  Was his entire act the "Get's" line?  He's like the "Gallagher" of Japan, One joke career!

Ayaya is adorable in this film!  Her character is the polar opposite of the one she portrayed in "Sukeban Deka"  She's cute, bubbly, and a total nerd!  This is accentuated by her cute little way of saying "Yoroshiku" (Yoroshi-kyuuuuuuu)  To me the stangest and funniest scene is when Shuko's father castigates her for wanting to quit playing when she is obviously badly-injured, and tells her she should be ashamed of herself!

The movie overall is great fun!  It is a very nice story inter-laced with some hysterical moments, and it reminded me of how much I love the song "Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~.  The closing credits of the film are a lot like "Bend It Like Beckham", with the entire cast singing and dancing to the tune!  I haven't found a DVD version of it available yet, but you can download it on Veoh TV or watch it in ten parts on You Tube, starting with part one.  And here is the Veoh link...

 

In the next episode of CK's H!P Film Festival, I will be reviewing "Last Present", a TV Movie starring Charmy and Nacchi and 17sai Tabidachi no Futari, starring Charmy and Mikitty!  Thank You to Veoh user "Justin4keys" for all of the great uploads!!!

CK in California