6 posts tagged “project”
Today is the first anniversary of a web site that I hold very dear to my heart. Ray's International Wota at www.intlwota.com Although I didn't bring a cake to the party (seems like there is a healthy supply anyway), I do have a few words of appreciation...
I don't remember the exact date, but it has also been approximately one year since I discovered Hello! Project and the J-pop phenomenon. I remember the first time I saw the PV of Kago and Tsuji's Robokiss. To this day, I can hardly believe the transitions, discoveries and experiences that have happened in my life all because of that ONE MOMENT. I remember the excitement I felt, and still feel every day finding new things in the J-pop world. I remember the first time I received a package of J-pop CD's (MiniMoni Best 1 and 2) in the mail. Making friends on YouTube that shared my love of this musical genre. Reading Hello!Blog, Hello!Online, and Some Boy's Blog for the first time. And ofcourse I'll never forget my trip to Japan and experiencing Hello! Project and AKB48 up close. Yes, they are all wonderful memories. But there was one thing missing...
That was a place to truly share my feelings about this amazing world. Most of my friends do not share this fascination. And frankly, most of them find it incredibly strange that I do. Quite often I find I have to defend myself for being a fan. And it is no fun to have to keep quiet about something you are so passionate about.
I forget at what point I began reading International Wota. But I know for the longest time I had been a quiet lurker, enjoying the articles and opinions. I never fancied myself as much of a writer. So as much as I wanted to. I never tried to contribute to the sight. I didn't think I could be eloquent enough. That all changed when I returned from Japan.
As TLS alluded to on his birthday greeting, I get an incredible feeling when I see Ray has published one of my articles. More than ever before, I feel like I am part of something bigger than we all even realize. I love it when I read something from one of the other contributors that inspires me to comment, or even expand on with my own blog. Now every day I come home to see what has been happening on IW, even before checking any other sites. To me, IW is the forerunner of J-pop and J-rock news. It is my source of discovery of such amazing new things. And it's a wonderful source for getting to know some amazing people!!!
Ray, Congratulations, Happy First Anniversary, and most importantly Thank You
CK in California
I woke up early today after an evening of experiencing the new sensation that is Morning Musume's Resonant Blue PV, and quickly resolved that I need to switch to watching something new and different, or the alternative......
Blow my friggin' brains out.
I was aimlessly surfing YouTube (again) and noticed one of my "favorite" uploaders had added an "old" video by The Possible. Now before I continue with this story I shall digress. What did I know about The Possible...
~ I've seen them twice in Hello! Project concerts. First at H!P Winter 2007, where they performed their first single "Young Days" which I thought was utterly forgettable. And second at H!P Summer 2007, with a slightly cooler performance of "Kaze no Uwasa".
~ The only girl I knew the name of was Okada Robin Shouko. The only reason I knew that was because according to Wikipedia, she is a "chowderhead" from Boston, MA. I used to date a chinese girl from Boston, and let me tell you there is nothing more amazing than listening to a cute asian girl talk like a member of the Kennedy clan! Not that Robin talks like that, I really have no idea. But I can dream!
~ As for the rest of the girls, they had the cute, chubby-cheeked girl in glasses (Hashimoto Aina), the girl who looked like Okada Yui from the neck down (Morozuka Kinami), the girl I deemed my favorite only because I thought she had the cutest picture on Wiki (Ohse Kaede). The other two (Goto Yuki & Akiyama Yurika) I hadn't noticed at all.
~ Once I heard that Tsunku had "graduated" The Possible away from H!P and over to TNX and NICE GIRL Project, my reaction was..."Whatever". Anyhow, back to the story...
The video that this person had downloaded was "Shushoko=GOHAN no Uta", their third single. The video was cute, nothing too special. But I thought the song itself was really catchy. It is very much like Berryz Koubou's "Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND" and it's 50's "Sha Na Na" sound. I liked it alot. It intrigued me enough to click on...
To quote the genius that is Kawaiirrhea, HOLY FLYING PANCAKES!!!
Are you kidding me, this is flippin' awesome! What a great song! Now I'm still learning this group so I'm guessing that's Robin on lead vocals? The way she holds the mike, the way she handles the stage are all great. In fact, all of them look adorable here. This is the The Possible's newest single, and if you've already watched the above video you'll know what's coming...Ohse Kaede on drums??? That chick can really play!!! I don't think she's actually drumming on the recording...but...oh my god! That is sooooo friggin' hot! I need to go back to Ray's American Wota ranker, because she just shot up about 50 places! Okay, I've caught my breath. Let's "click" on...
I am at a loss for words. Have I died and gone to "Josie and the Pussycats" heaven? How did I not notice this group? These two videos are great! And they really look amazing pretending to play the instruments, with the exception of Ohse, who again is INCREDIBLE on the skins! Ohse looks like Tommy Lee up there, except she isn't topless. :-( And I love the feedback in the intro, straight out of Neil Young's "Arc"! If I thought "Love Message" was an aberration, "Happy 15" has now sold me...I am a fan!
So now I have watched all of the PV's I'll admit some of them are better than others. Obviously I liked the first three I mentioned. But as far as the others, I recommend "Natsu no Tropical Musume" ~ cute song with a low budget beach video. "TAWAWA Natsu Bikini" w/ Tokito Ami, which is an okay song with a great PV, if you like watching cute, scantily clad girls frolicking in the surf!
Now what I want to know is...What the hell is up with TNX and NICE GIRL Project? I'm not being "snarky" here either. So Tsunku goes off and creates this other organization, but is still heavily involved with Hello! Project as well. What is the significance? Was he seeking more creative control? Now I read at Wiki that "NGP" will begin "full time activites" April 2008. What happens in April 2008?
Maybe I am just in time for that bandwagon after all...CK in California
Some previews to the Hello! Project Winter DVD Box are up at the various video stream sites. You could say I am "fairly" excited about this...
Who am I kidding? First we have the Elders Club...
I was wondering what an Elder Club version of Joshi Kashimashi Monogotari would be like. Love the maid outfits. And I was really hoping Ayaka would sing her line in English. But could they have given her a lamer line? It even sounded like she hated singing it. The underappreciated Melon Kinenbi was my favorite of the bunch. Yuko a close second.
Then we have Wonderful Hearts...
I've always found this song hauntingly pretty. I'm looking for Paul from Hello! Blog. They did this song at Haru Pro Award at Yokohama too. I was down on the floor "Whoo-ing" with the rest of the Wotas. What a feeling! The outfits are a bit much, but I like the Eggs' costumes. Very cute!
Speaking of C-ute, this is from Haru Pro Award 2008...
Someone must have an advance copy of 3rd ~LOVE Escalation~! Finally a scene from the show I went to. I was sitting next to Radicalpatriot. 14th Row, 12 seats to the right of the center runway (if you're facing the stage). Like Paul, I get butterflies in my stomach just watching this. Some of my souvenirs from the trip...
It's fair to say I am counting the days until this DVD is released.
CK in California
I enjoy reading "Aitakatta! an AKB48 Blog". Even though quite often the many screencaps jam my computer. What's up with that? Or better yet, what's up with my computer? Anyhow, I didn't know they were rereleasing this single until I saw it on International Wota. I really love this PV. It's well acted, and it's well produced. It also feels like the right way to rerelease an indie single. Only three PV's have ever gotten me teary-eyed. The long version of I WISH, W's Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro, and now this one. All of this got me thinking (uh oh)...
Quite often I get bummed out when I read negative reviews of Hello! Project singles, PV's, concerts, Haromoni@, etc. I only discovered the J-pop and idol phenomenon a year ago, so it's all fresh to me. It has impacted my life and my heart so profoundly in that one year that I take any mention that they are stale, passe', or producing uninspired material personally. Jeez, I flew to Japan for cryin' out loud!
But maybe it is because the truth hurts.
Let's start with the video above. How many videos in the past, I dunno, two years have Hello! Project put out that have the production value of Hanabiratachi? I can't think of any...maybe Tokaikko Junjou comes close. Then I find this on You Tube...
Is this an AKB48 television program? I didn't even know one existed. As True Life Seek says on his Haromoni@ reviews, this is the kind of stuff Morning Musume should be doing, and I believe once did. I love when our idols are the butt of the jokes, and it gives us an opportunity to get to know them without having to buy a DVD Magazine. Appearances in films like Pinch Runner, Ayaka's Surprise English Lessons, Utaban, and especially Meccha Meccha Iketeru are what had me fall in love with Morning Musume in the first place. We want to know these girls intimately. And as much as I enjoy haromoni@, watching MouTube videos just doesn't get it done.
I remember a recent post (forgive me but I don't remember who it was) who said that you can't judge the group's success based on album and single sales, and the whole female J-pop genre is in a slump. That may be true. But it troubles me to see Morning Musume performing at Tokyo Welfare Meeting Hall which seats...I dunno, five thousand people. When not long ago they were booking Saitama Super Arena, a much bigger venue. Even the concerts last month in Yokohama, Sunday night was definitely sold out, but Saturday night had quite a few empty seats.
My point is this...When I was in Japan, I got a chance to see a lot of Japanese TV. How many mentions of AKB48 did I see? Three. All on the morning shows, with live shots of the concert at Shibuya AX and even an interview with Atsuko Maeda. How many of Hello! Project? NONE! I only saw the Yattarouze PV on a video show (at 5am!), Uta Doki Pop Classics (late at night) and haromoni@. The producers of AKB48 seem to be doing all the right things to promote this group and build a fan base. While the producers of Hello! Project seem to be comparably limping along. And it isn't the fault of any of the performers. Maybe it's time for the folks at UFA to add some fresh blood to the creativity department. I want to see Momusu, Berryz, C-ute, Gatas, ALL OF H!P enjoy great success so WE can enjoy them for a long time.
Now I've only known any of these groups for a year now, so I don't consider myself an expert by any means. It's just something I noticed.
Congratulations to AKB48 for what I think is a stellar promotional video! I'm so happy that I got to see them at Shibuya AX, I just wish I hadn't been so jetlagged at the time! I'll leave you with a video from my favorite AKB48 member, the adorably funny Ohe Tomomi.
OH-YAY!!!
Now that I've started this blog, what the heck am I going to do with it. Ranking members? Covered. All-Time favorite songs? Not too original. Then I remembered my new toy!
I had been thinking of buying an all-region DVD player for a long time now. After the concert in January, there was no way I was going to wait for a Hong Kong bootleg of Haru Pro Award '08 to cross my path, so I made the purchase. Now I have a plethora of old Morning Musume/Aya/Hello! Project/Berryz DVD's with more on the way, including Bonkyu Bomb. Why don't I start a "Classic Review" series? So without further adieu...
Hello! Project 2002 ~Kotoshi mo Sugoizo!~
The opening begins with english subtitles. Starting in space? I thought I had put in my Densha Otoko DVD in by mistake! One by one they introduce all of the participants in a montage reminiscent of the celebrity gag portion of "Dick and Ed's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" I didn't smell the 70's theme coming until they introduced Atsuko wearing a disco-era Donna Summer wig.
Cute opening with the newest members, Ishii Rika, Fujimoto Miki and Sotoda Mai "looking" for Atsuko. Atsuko makes her appearance and does a pretty good 70's disco club-dj impression. If you translate her monologue, it must have been something like "10-4 good buddy, 10nin Matsuri delivering a whole convoy of sexy!"
First set, 2001 summer shuffles. Summer Reggae Rainbow! is much better live than on CD, but my favorite thing here was the crowd reaction. The moment 7nin Matsuri finished the wotas went crazy because they knew what was coming...Chu! Natsu Party. Someone once said that half of the audience leaves to "go to the bathroom" after 3nin Matsuri...funny.
On every concert, there as at least one part I would classify as "special". For me the next song, "Hana" was that moment...
The beginning when they warm up their voices is cut off, but you get the idea. I thought this was fabulous.
Next up is Heike and Yuki. Yuki's usual enka material. But I've never given Michiyo-san a good listen before. I like "Propose", and she's cute too. I discovered it on "Morning Cop", and again on (The soon to be reviewed) Aya Matsuura 2002 "First Date" DVD. Great (sigh), more to add the the "CD want" list. Onto Country Musume...
I've never mentioned it, but I think Country Musume is the cutest H!P group ever, and I'm secretly in love with Kimura Asami. I like every performance I've ever seen, and have worn out my Daizenshuu 2 CD. I'm sorry I missed them. Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan w/Charmy, great.
You could tell Maki was early in her solo career, she didn't have the confidence I've seen more recently. I love MiniMoni, just not Hinamatsuri. The Rika/Miki/Mai/Atsuko tune was kind of like "Hana" above, I wish I had found this video. Very cute...liked it alot. At this point I'm thinking Atsuko is a great MC! Why can't we "ix-ne" "akoto-me" and have Atsuko co-host the big shows with Mari? It would give Atsuko more to do.
Fujimoto does her B-side, but I can see why Tsunku thought she could go straight to soloist like Ayaya, she has a great voice, with great control. Yuko next, wota nap-time. The Coconuts answer the question "Why don't I have any Coconuts CD's?" I jest, the song is alright. Then two strong performances Pucchimoni "Pittari Shitai X'mas!" and Tanpopo "Ouijisama" The next MC is very cute, sort of like "school time" and Atsuko is the teacher.
Now one of the biggest reasons I bought this DVD was because of MK's, or rather Hello! Project's performance of "This is Unmei" on 05' Selection! Collection! I like Melon Kinenbi. Pretty good, but this song can kick some serious butt, and this performance came up a little short. In all fairness, 2005 was a chorus version, but I like it a lot more...
We finish the show with an Ayaya medley. She's incredible...as usual. And I don't think she was even 15 yet...even more incredible. Then about 15 minutes of Morning Musume classics. All good, but nothing we haven't seen before. Although this "Mr. Moonlight" is Gaki-san's favorite peformance on "All-Singles Complete".
What caught my attention throughout the show were the "gokkies". Risa seemed to be the most confident, KonKon looked thrilled to be there, Ogawa....well she had the same expression on her face as always, so I don't know. But Ai-chan looked so "lost" out there. I swear you almost never saw her throughout the show, until she almost ran over the cameraman at the very end. She should try that for Mou Tube!
Overall I would recommend this concert as one of the better choices of this period. One DVD extra, Yuko and Morning Musume thanking me for purchasing their DVD, and introducing the backstage footage. Cool backstage stuff, the highlight being Country Musume "barking" at the camera. See what I mean? Cute!
"Someone told me there are girls out there with love in their eyes and flowers in their hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane, never let them tell you that they're all the same." ~ Led Zep
This is my second ever blog attempt. I am inspired by the many excellent writers over at International Wota. My favorites are...
1. MiniMoniMania, aka Kawaiirrhea. Everything MMM has done so far has been a masterpiece to me. I like the style for the same reason I love Dennis Miller's "The Rants". My favorite humor is material very few get, even I don't get a lot of it, but I'm still laughing.
2. True Life Seek. Broomhead's Haromoni@ reviews...comedy. For me, it's a total "buy".
3. Hello! Blog. One of the first H!P blogs I ever read. I love that Paul lets the reader into his life a lot more than many other J-pop bloggers.
This is a (not so) brief report on my trip to Japan. One caveat, composition was never my strongest subject (I'm a math guy), so I will never compare to the writing abilities of the above mentioned people. That being said, I am treating these posts as an audition of sorts. I hope they are at the very least slightly enjoyable.
As stated in my previous post, I had decided that it was my life mission to attend a Hello! Project or Morning Musume concert last summer. My first intention was to go to the Bonkyu Bomb concert in October, but my vacation schedule wasn't working out. I love the H!P 2007 Winter Box, so the 2008 version was the next logical choice. Here are some tips as a first time visitor of Japan.
Although I studied Japanese steadily for the 6 months leading up to the trip, I forgot most of it when I arrived. This made the trip alot more challenging as I was by myself for the first three days I was there. The more Japanese you know, the better off you'll be. Either that, or hire a guide. The Japanese I remembered was extremely helpful...Duh!
The JR line is very convenient, and easy to use. It didn't take me long to figure it out. The station agents are very helpful. Just tell them the stop you want and they will get you on the correct train, even with very limited English. I highly recommend downloading a JR line map. I carried my local neighborhood maps and JR line map everywhere I went (all printed from the web). Made things a lot easier.
Food was not nearly as expensive as I thought it would be. Every ramen shop has a special, and most sushi was about half the price of what I pay in California. The hardest part was ordering as you can't count on the waiter to know any English, so I stuck to restaurants with pictures. BTW, the vending machines (located everywhere) were a godsend.
I highly recommend obtaining your show tickets before you get to Japan, just one less thing to worry about. I did locate the ticket reseller on Takeshita Dori I had heard good things about. It is upstairs in the LOVX building, with an H!P store nearby.
OK, now the review...
The doors opened about 45 minutes before the show, and most people jammed the entrance. The seating is reserved, so there is no reason to rush in. I went in with about 20 minutes to showtime each time. I spent those 20 minutes entranced by the stage (sort of a Barbie Dream Castle theme), and frozen with anticipation that within minutes I will be within mere feet of these young ladies whom I've built up in my mind as legendary.
Lights do down, and there are Makoto and Yaguchi...OMG! YAGUCHI! IN PERSON! I am in awe, although I am surprised by the "cold" start to the show. Don't they usually show up after the first couple of songs? This is different.
The lights slowly come up on the stage as Love Machine begins, ofcourse it's the Eggs. Now I know everyone is sick of the endless Love Machine performances, especially after Kouhaku. But this is my first H!P concert ever. Even if it was The Manpower (my least favorite Momusu single), I still would've been ecstatic. Just get me to the second verse! Second verse, here they come...Maid outfits? AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Second song: Aozora ga Itsumademo. They seem to do this song alot at the big shows as it has an "anthemy" quality to it. Pretty song, standard big-scale H!P performance.
The format of the show was Haru Pro Award 2008. Basically that meant they would introduce the next artists to come in each set, and some accomplishment they had recently achieved (i.e. C-ute best new artist award, Berryz the youngest to perform at Saitama). Here is a rundown by group (I'm saving the best for last)
Morning Musume: Best song, Bonkyu Bonkyu Bomb Girl...great live. In fact all three songs they lead on were uptempo. Love & Peace was great as well, two high energy songs in a row for them, cool!
H!P Kids: Renai Rider was great. I was slightly disappointed by Seishun Love Lunch as it seemed to be slightly lacking in energy (and was lipsynced, I think) I liked LALALA as the song is fun and energetic, and really got the crowd going early in the show. Berryz recreated the Kataomoi video, and pleased the crowd with Special Generation. But the winner here was Wonderful Hearts - Yuujou Kokoro no Busu, which I thought was even better than last year's performance of Berryz' "Oh Seishun", and I love that performance.
Elders: Yuko, Nacchi and Yuki did their "latest" songs, fine. Gives the crowd a chance to rest. Although Ai Ai Daiko is a beautiful song. I was surprised most of the Wotas knew the lyrics. Great song choice for Ayaka, Atsuko et.al. "Renoir" is very sexy and very catchy. The winner here was Kei-chan and Yaguchi's Otome no Shinrigaku. It's one of those songs I had forgotten I liked. Another sexy performance. BTW, Nacchi's fans have got to be the most rabid in the arena!
Melon Kinenbi: Onegai Miwaku no Target, a real crowd-pleaser. I thought it was great in 2007, and it was great here too. I don't know why they seem to be so ignored. They are a great group with a great catalogue, and the crowd seems to like them. So what's the problem?
v-u-den: Jaja Uma Paradise was fine. With the knowledge of their break-up coming, Koisuru Angel Heart was a fun and (for me) touching performance. Even though they shared the singing with Morning Musume. Charmy looked great, as usual! BTW, on Sunday v-u-den's break up announcement came after Jaja Uma Paradise. Only on Saturday night did they do it before the final number, All For One & One For All. I guess they (correctly) felt that ending the show on a "downer" wasn't the best idea, so they switched it.
Gatas/Kirarin/Abe-Maimi: Gatas were fine, I love Noto Arisa. Nacchi and Maimi were adorable on stage together, even if I don't love the song. I wish Koharu was a better singer, I am always let down by her lip-synching. She is cute up there on her own, and the costume change mid song was great! (the same as the Bonkyu version)
Aya Matsuura: I was so worried. I love Ayaya so much, but don't care much for her recent stuff. I figured I'd be hearing two songs from Double Rainbow. I was so happy to hear "I Know" begin, it's my favorite song of hers. I loved when the microphone fell apart in her hand on Saturday night. I wish that made it to the DVD! If that wasn't enough, Yeah! Meccha Holiday later on. Two classics! I'm in heaven. Ayaya is amazing live (uh oh, my next quest, an Aya Matsuura concert). To me, she was the highlight of the show!
This was an experience I'll treasure for the rest of my life. I sat in different spots for each show. My 14th row floor seats Sunday night were the best. The energy down there is quite different from the energy further up. Being that close, and being caucasian, I caught the eyes of alot of the girls. What a feeling to know that for 30 seconds someone like Reina Tanaka knows I exist! The show was absolutely amazing. I cannot wait for the DVD. If you are a fan, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO! SOON! Before your favorites graduate! I am making this a personal annual event. Hope to see you there!
CK in California (Chris)
P.S. My next challenge in the blogosphere is to learn how to add screencaps, wish me luck!
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