10 posts tagged “tanaka reina”
I just returned to my hotel from my last evening in Japan. Let me just say that my friend Hiro has been a true saint on this trip. And even before that. He has been instrumental in making sure I had a great time here. He introduced me to so many other fans., showed me some of the post-show wota hangouts. And all the while he has done a great deal to make sure Meetan knew I was her big California fan who had been sending her letters and gifts. So I really wanted to take him out for a big night of dinner and drinks before I left Japan. And then, just when I thought he could do no more to make my latest to Tokyo so awesome...
ZOMG!!! An autographed Uchiwa from none other than Hatakeyama Chisaki, complete with sweat stains from her futsal match that night! Accordine to Hiro, she even asked why I wasn't at her event. Awwwwww? I so wish I could have been there! Chaki is so awesome! If you ever get a chance to see SDN48 perform, you will know what I am talking about.
Okay, the big story for this post is obviously about Morning Musume. I had the opportunity to attend the last show of the weekend at Nakano Sunplaza. And it didn't dawn on me until I arrived that this was Reina's birthday show. ZOMG x2, another birthday show? And for my favorite member of H!P no less. This was surely going to be great. But before I get to that, i had another new experience in Japan. One that I have been wanting to do every time I have come here. And no, it isn't a visit to Kabukichō. It was...
The moment i passed through the gates and into the facility, I knew this place was special. Wow! What a beautiful park! Once again the Christmas decorations were already up, adding even more beauty to the occasion. I must have taken a hundred or so pictures of this place. Oh, and just about every female in the place was wearing minnie Mouse ears. I was dying, they were all so cute!
The rides...well, it is Disney. They focus more on themes and detail rather than thrills. And I felt myself getting very sentimental while I was there. The Christmas music played a big part of it. But I think a lot of it had to do with Disneyland being a big part of my youth. Couple that with this being my last day in Tokyo and I am surprised I didn't break down and cry.
Morning Musume "Nine Smile" Tour at Nakano Sunplaza...Tanaka Reina Birthday Special
After a full day of rest I headed over to Nakano. I wanted to get there early because the Tokyo shows have a tendency to run out of merchandise, and I wanted to make sure i didn't get stonewalled like last Spring. It turned out that all of Reina's tour shirts were sold out, as well as her 11/08/09 photo. Drats! But wait...There was a new shirt on the board, one that just came out for this weekend...
I have seen the birthday shirts before and always admired them. And now I have one! It is hard to believe that Reina is no longer a teenager. It seems like yesterday when she was a spry thirteen year old cutting her teeth with MoMusu. And look at her now, a gorgeous and sexy adult. Also, great Engrish! The front of the shirt says "This is my twentieth birthday and want to thank everybody!"
While I waited for Celestia I decided to take a walk around Nakano. There is a new restaurant that opened in the mall across the street. And for the grand opening these guys showed up...
I don't know about the Michael Jackson guy, but the Jack Sparrow was almost a dead ringer for Johnny Depp, albeit a little tall! That said, nobody was better, or hawter for that matter than this girl...
ZOMG x3!!! It is the famous Tanaka Reina cosplayer!!! She is soooooo adorable. Actually, when you get really close to her she looks less like Reina. But from 20 feet away? I could have sworn it was actually Reina! That girl is so awesome! The things I would do to spend a few minutes "quality time" with her! But alas, on with the show...
I met Celestia, and we headed in to the venue. This is the third time she and I have gotten together for a concert. Hi Celestia! It was awesome to see you again! There were also a few people there from JPH!P and Hello! Online in attendance. I got to meet Pete, who attended Eurowota 2009. It was his first time in Japan seeing Morning Musume, so he was having a blast! Our seats were in the 5th row, far left. There were advantages and disadvantages to this. Since the first two rows don't go to the sides we were actually in the third row. And whenever one of the girls danced to the far side, they were practically on top of us. that made it easier to get some one on one face-time with the girls. And since we were right next to the speakers, it made the show sound even more intense and loud! The disadvantage was that we watched much of the show in "semi-profile". But we could see 90% of the stage and the video screen, so all was cool.
The show opened op with 3,2,1 Breakin' Out into How Do You Like This Japan? and wow! The show was already off to a breakneck pace. The girls were wearing cowhide costumes, and Koharu and Gaki were immediately dancing over to our spot to rev us up. At one point Risa looked directly at us and waved, but I think that was more at Celestia, who was decked out in Risa-green!.
After a rockin' VTR, it was time for the new single. Kimagure Princess was alright, it was funny to watch them sing with the sped up voices, heheh! What was more impressive were trhe jeans and chaps the girls were wearing. And to make it even more fun, after the song the girls were talking about their outfits. And in the process there was plenty of turning around and showing it off from the rear! It was like "Look how cute my butt looks in these" That was great!
I loved Nanchatte Renai live! I think it may be my favorite single from this lineup. After that there was plenty of playacting for Genki+, a song I had totally forgotten about and really like. LinLin was near us for most of this song, and had a priceless look on her face the whole time. I am honestly bored of Ame on Furanai, so thankfully they did an abridged version. Sukiyaki is one of my favorite MM songs. Risa and Koharu did a duet on it in similar costumes to those worn for GuruGuru Jump last spring. I enjoyed it of course, but would have really loved if the entire group performed it.
The rest of the unit songs consisted of Eri/Aika on Haru Beautiful Everyday, which had the throngs of Eriwota in a frenzy. Ai and Reina performed the High-King B-side, which was fine. I enjoy any moment when Tanaka is onstage. Finally Sayumi came out and solo'd the first part of Aruiteru. I honestly don't care for that song, but for some reason I enjoyed it live. Sayu's voice was cracking through some of it, so I guess it was a good idea to have the rest of the group come out and "save" her for the rest! And poor Sayu! Under the bright lights you could really see how bad her skin is getting.
Celestia reminded me of how much she didn't like Aki Urara. And Shouganai Yumeoibito I had seen before. But I was really anticipating the Sakura/Otome Gumi set of Sakura Mankai and Yuujou ~Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!~ Those were my two favorite songs from those shuffles. And to me Yuujou was the best performance of the 2008 Winter show, the first live H!P concert I ever attended. I loved that the audience had their pink fans for the Sakura Gumi song so they could play along with the girls. And I thought it was even cooler that the Sakura Girls kept using the fans through the second song. It was really hawt, and on my shortlist of favorite performances of the night.
Dekai Ucchu ni Ai ga Aru never gets stale to me, and everyone had their "smileys" from the tour logo. At the end they perfectly formed the happy face logo at the center of the stage, so cool! The "Coupling Medley" was most of the recent B-sides. And the best part had to be during Gaki's solo in Bonkyu Bonkyu Bomb Girl, where she changed a line to yell "Happy Birthday" at Reina, much to her shock! By the way, when JunJun came over to our end of the stage I noticed her legs are even more impressive than Aichan's. I get so used to seeing skinny legs on idols (Hello Reina) So I find it sexy when they have such muscles in their thighs and calves.
Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari was great, and might have been my favorite performance. They did a new version of the song. And while I had trouble understanding any of it it was still cool to watch the rest of the groups' antics on stage when one of them was soloing. I also thought it was cool that the stage would turn the members' color when it was her turn. The main set ended with two songs I am getting bored of, Naichao Kamo and the neverending Resonant Blue. But now it was time for some real action...
The Reina encore chant commenced while the entire venue began to fill with blue light. Since the Reina Birthday Committee handed me blue glowsticks and mine were beginning to dim, i freshened up! It was quickly back to business as usual with Songs. I was waiting to see if Reina would react to the sea of blue, but she took it in stride and kept focused on the song. She of course thanked everyone during the closing MC's, and what would a MM show be without Love Machine? Fun version, mainly becasue it closed the show...
Or did it? The Reina encore chant resumed in full force. Celestia gave me a quizzical glance, and I responded "Hey, the doors aren't open yet" And after a couple of minutes out popped Reina. Hell yes, double encore!
She did a five minute solo MC talking about turning 20. I think deep down she is really sad that she technically isn't a lolli anymore. She said something to the affect that she hopes her fans don't abandon her because she is getting older. Awwww, Reina my dear that will NEVER happen as far as I am concerned! She also kept saying she wanted to perform one more song for us, but sadly that didn't happen. I guess they had nothing queued up in the DAT player! She thanked everyone one last time and that was it. I tried to get her attention as she went off stage right in front of me, but alas she didn't turn.
Celestia and I went out for a post show meal and reminisced about the show. It is so cool that she gets to live here and see so many shows, while I have to fly across the globe to get there. She laughed about that. "Geez, you are here often enough, are you sure you don't live here?" Hehe, maybe one day. After dinner we headed back home, separating at Shinjuku Station where we head in different directions. i always get a little sad when that happens. Awww, hopefully I will see you again this Spring Celestia! Heck, you know I'll be around!!!
This ends my reporting from Japan as my plane back to California is scheduled to leave this afternoon. But as always I will do one more summary post when I get home. It was another wonderful time spent here in Japan, one that I will never forget!
CK in Tokyo
I am guessing Sigmund Freud might have something to say about this too...
Everyone has their favorite idols. I certainly do. And I adore the girls I choose to fanboy over. Whenever I see a J-pop concert live, be it Morning Musume, AKB48 or any of my other fave acts, there is always one particular girl that I seem to fixate on. And that's the way it should be. At least that is what the Japanese fans tell me. You need to pick an idol and support her 100%.
There is a little joke that has gone around the idol chatrooms regarding my idols of choice. Believe me, it has never been lost on me that my girls all seem to share a similar persona. I have even hinted about it on my many blogs. But the way I see it, all idols need love. And that can especially be said about my little "Dream Team". Apparently I have an "eye" for a certain kind of personality. It is probably the same quality I subliminally look for in my girlfriends. That is the little joke going around wotachat. It makes me wonder...
What would a group comprised of all of my favorite idols be like? With that spirit in mind here is my dream lineup, comprised of my #1 favorite member from each of my favorite idol groups, and probably a good look into my own psyche.
In fact, that is a great idea! Since my good friend Ray Mescallado, founder of Cult of Pop, American Wota and International Wota has tirelessly poked fun at me for my choice of idol, why not have him analyze me? Let's see what he really thinks about my idol fandom. This should be right up his alley. That is coming up at the end of the post. But first I present...
BTW, I am not joking. If you have read this blog for the past 2 years you'll know that those ARE really my favorite idols. Oh, and the Dream Team is looking for a good group name. Some suggested names include "JAV48", "ATM48", "The Reverse Cowgirls"...Any other suggestions?
The AKB48 Theater will soon be presenting a new show called SDN48, which is being touted as an adult-oriented idol show. Needless to say I am looking forward to the debut, as the dream team would fit that bill perfectly. When I look at my favorite idol collective I have to laugh, but I am proud that these are my favorite girls. And I will unconditionally support them despite whatever scandal might befall them in the future.
The "real point of this article is what does this say about me as an idol fan? As I said earlier I have asked Ray for his "expert" opinion.
Oh Ray...
For CK...
CK thinks I've been teasing him for his ability to single out - and champion - the most emotionally vulnerable member of an idol group. In actuality, I am in awe of this incredible gift he possesses.
Spider-Man has his spider-senses which tingle when trouble is imminent. In Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, Humbert Humbert writes of how the true nymphophile is able to pick out the true nymphette in a group of girls, and not just the one adults find the prettiest. There is gaydar, which is when one is able to tell who is homosexual and who is not.
CK's gift falls along these lines, and should have a name of its own. I'm going to go with "preydar". (As opposed to praydar, which is in the urban dictionary as the ability to detect Bible thumpers.)
What does it say about CK that he possesses such gifts? Should we chase after him with pitchforks and rakes and declare him a foul creature of the night? Should we tie CK to a stake and beat him mercilessly in the groinal area until he moans for mercy, sweet sweet mercy, while we all stand and laugh and pass around the tire irons and lead pipes and vibrating plastic phallic toys?
Well, sure. For sport. But before we do that, we should also praise him for his unique generosity of spirit.
Look at it this way: when you boil her down to her core - metaphorically, that is, as opposed to disposing of a body with industrial-strength acid - a pop idol is nothing more than a young person wanting to be loved by as many strangers as possible. An idol wants to be worshiped, and on the flimsiest basis possible: the ability to look cute, the ability to sing half-decently, the ability to dance with a modicum of skill. In short, the pop idol wants to be loved for being charming, really, and little else.
But what if you're part of a pack of idols? And what if there are more charming girls in the pack, leaving you the runt of the litter? Or what if you're doing well enough as an idol but really really want more attention because you're a filthy attention whore who can't stop winking at the audience? Or what if you started at the top of the idol heap, only to plummet to the very dregs for placing certain objects in one's mouth and being caught by the tabloids for doing so?
Is it fair, then, to go ignored by the general wota crowd, who pine for the Nacchis and Acchans and Yuris of the idol world? Is it fair to be deemed "damaged goods" or lacking in idol skillz because you're at the bottom of the totem pole of idol hawtness and desirability?
Of course not! When placed in that position, a true idol - in spirit, if not in popularity - will over-extend herself in order to get noticed. She can allow herself to get slapped around (or at least pummeled by a dodgeball) and treated like a worthless bitch by the hosts of Utaban. She can die her hair a frightening blonde and cut it fugly short. She can offer to hug people who'll buy her solo recording - and in doing so, distill the whole idol-wota relationship to its purest, most creepy form yet. She can keep winking at the audience until people start wondering if she's a neurologically damaged cousin of Frankenhooker. She can get breast implants that make each boob the same size as her head. She can pose as a worthless whore in a poorly-lit poorly-shot poorly-posed photobook and hope nobody mistakes her as a real whore in the process.
What CK does is respect the effort of these poor, misbegotten creatures, these idols seeking attention and feeling they haven't gotten their fair share yet. CK is motivated, not just by a willingness to root for these girls, but to encourage these girls to continue doing what they do to try to earn extra attention. The triumph of the idol will in his selected dream team is stirring in that it crosses all hurdles of common sense and self-awareness in favor of blind adulation and the encouragement of predatory impulses.
One could even say that CK is willing to over-extend himself - or at least a part of his anatomy - for the sake of such idols, knowing full well that these idols would probably be more willing to accept this over-extensions than somebody with, you know, dignity and a conscience.
Oh, if only more of us were as strongly gifted with preydar as CK is. In such a world, the relationship between idol and wota would deepen - by inches upon inches - as the most desperate of idols will at least feel loved in the Sally Fields-ian sense of wonderment. They would show their appreciation with an intimacy and flagrancy that the current top idols would never dare attempt, and wota-dom would be richer for it.
CK in California
The PV for Morning Musume's new single, Naichau Kamo has dubuted on Dohhhup today. It has been a while since I have done any sort of review of a Hello! Project PV. Lately I really need to be inspired to do one...I have just been inspired!
I really like what Morning Musume has done here. The intense chorus and cute outfits really got my attention. But what I really enjoyed was watching the girls doing some emoting, which was a real breath of fresh air. And it is an emotional style we don't always see from them. These were some of my favorites...
It almost looked as if Sayumi was smiling during half of this PV. But it's just her style of singing. I finally found this great shot toward the end of the PV.
I wouldn't call it the greatest PV ever. But they are sticking to their new musical direction, and they tried a PV witha little more to it than a dance shot. It isn't unlike the video for Resonant Blue. I liked that one too. But truthfully I like this song more. So Kudos!
CK in California
I've never been one to do a lot of picspam, or worship posts for that matter. But out of all the idols I adore in the J-pop world, there is one whose birthday I would never miss celebrating...
Happy 19th Birthday Reina!!!
I am so happy that my place of employment closed for the day to celebrate this important date.
BTW, I know it is Veteran's day, and I mean no disrespect to the brave people that have defended our nation. And since it is Tanaka Reina's birthday as well, I will have NO JOKES about Reina and sailors!
And here are a few more pics of the "perfect idol"!
Happy Birthday Beautiful Wonky-girl!
CK in California
The flight back to the U.S. is always easier than the flight over to Japan. It is around two hours shorter, and it is overnight, so it's easier to sleep. But wouldn't you know it, the moment I get back from vacation I get sick. I hope this flu passes quickly because I'm sure the boss won't be too pleased if I call in sick tomorrow! I hadn't been back in the US for an hour, and already I am annoyed with being back here. Slow/bad train service, horrible drivers, general inefficiency as a whole. I wish I was going back to Tokyo tonight!
So I thought I would give a summary of what this trip generally cost me. I know a lot of people reading this would love to go on a holiday to Japan, and do a lot of the things I did. Obviously money is an issue for many people. And also obviously my spending isn't law. You can do this trip cheaper, or more expensively...
R/T Ticket from California: $940 Can it be done cheaper? Maybe if you are in Hawaii (hint hint MB). But from North America or Europe I don't think you will find much cheaper airfare than that these days.
Nine night stay at resort hotel: $1350. Can it be done cheaper? Absolutely. I know there are hotels out there for less than $100 per night. You also have hostels. If you wanted to be really frugal you could surely do it for less than $500. And if you have a friend with a couch? Even better!
J-pop Concert Tickets: $500 Mind you, that was SEVEN shows. AKB48 is the cheapest, $30 for males. I believe females get in cheaper. Could you do it cheaper, definitely. I paid what I did because I used a bidding service for most of my tickets. But you could come to Japan emptyhanded and try to buy tickets from a reseller. The face value of my concert tickets was $375. However, if you are a Johnny's fan you will probably pay a lot more as I hear those tickets are much more expensive than H!P Keep in mind the chances to have so many shows coincide with each other is remote. In January I went to four, and three of them were the same show! (H!P Winter)
Transportation Around Japan: $350 Can it be done cheaper. Yes, much cheaper!!! I sort of "bricked" here as i paid for a Japan Rail Pass (which was great) but didn't use it to maximum value. If you are going on multiple Shinkansen trips, it is definiely worth it. But if you are staying around Tokyo, you could probably keep your transportation expenses in the $100 range.
Food: Eating is actually really cheap here. I really don't know what I specifically spent on food, but you could easily spend less than $20 per day on all sorts of different goodies like Rice Balls, Tokoyaki, Bento Boxes. The cheap Japanese eats are endless. And there is plenty of booze flowing. I love Chu-hi!!! Why don't they export THAT to the US?
CDs/DVD's/PB's/Gifts: The total of all of my spending money, which included food was around $1200. Could you do it for less? Of course! But would you want to? It depends on how "wild" you want to go. I went to some nice dinners. I went clubbing one night. And I bought a lot of cool stuff from Tower, BookOff, Tsutaya and the AKB48 Theater. Time to summarize my "booty"...
My first purchase, Scandal's new CD/DVD "Doll" which came with a sticker, The Ohori Meshibe CD, card and Poster, and the H!P Winter DVD. This was my first purchase. By the way, I'm glad I got the LE Scandal CD when I did. It sold out very quickly in Japan.
Pornograffitti's new CD. This was a total impulse buy. I wanted to participate in the prize contest. Too bad I got the lamest prize. I still haven't listened to it yet. I'll put it in my car tomorrow.
Five used PB's from Book Off, including the new Reina and the new Nacchi. PB's were so cheap here. I could have bought tons of them. But that was the problem. I stuffed all of them in my suitcase and it barely made weight! I love that battle Royale Book too!
These were a great deal, again from Book Off. They don't have too much AKB48 stuff, and each of these two concert CD's were selling for $45 less than what I would have to pay for them from an online retailer. And I threw in a cheap copy of an old Momusu "Single Clips"
AKB48 Part 2. The calendar was a "First Press" edition, so it came with five photocards. And the H2 DVD is a theater only release! I cannot wait to return to Akihabara to rejoin all the fun going on at that theater!
AKB48 Part 3. Actually I got the two "Theater Version" Oogoe Diamond CD's and pics for free because the fans all have so many of them from buying them for handshake event tickets. It's a genius move, to go to the handshake event, all you need to do is buy a CD from the theater, limit 5 per person. They are having a third handshake event this weekend, which means the hardcore fans now have FIFTEEN copies of it!
The "Maasa" souvenir set from the Berryz show. I got the keychain and t-shirt set. (Bonus Yurina photo not pictured)
The "Tanaka" souvenir set from the Momusu shows with one extra picture. I also got four "surprise" pics (shown on my last post). They were only $5, and they have a message from the idol. The mystery is you don't know who you are getting!
I finally decided to buy Berryz' "Five" after watching them live. It's a really good album. I bought the Manoeri mainly for the Tower exclusive bonus photo. KissKissKiss was only $4 at Book Off (man that place is great!) and of course I had to buy Reina's DVD! She works in a sausage factory in it and handles a lot of sausage...Priceless!!! And finally...
Awww, Dexter was so happy to have me home! Yes, I managed to find a copy of "Madayade" the day before it came out, but I had to go to three places to find it. The ladies at Tsutaya opened the crate for me! And my last J-pop purchase of all, "Aya the Witch". I would never have forgiven myself if I had come home with Pornograffitti and no Ayaya!
So the total amount spent was somewhere between $4000-$4500. You could probably do the trip for close to $2000-$2500, but that would be on a tight budget. So I hope that helps.
Tokyo Fashion is Awesome!
It goes without saying that one of the things I will miss dearly about Japan is the endless parade of uber-cute girls in their hot fashions! The look of the moment seems to be short skirt with knee-high boots and/or socks, and on some occasion fishnet stockings. Jeez, half of the women in Japan look like they are straight out of a Tanaka Reina photobook. I must have said "Kawaii!" under my breath at least 500 times while I was there! That being said, I got an email from my little friend I met in Tokyo saying she wants to get skype so we can talk more often...Yatta!!!
See you again Ayaya!
So there ya go, my 8-part Japanese J-pop tour. It was easily the best vacation I have EVER taken. And I can't wait to make it back. I'll leave you with the brand new single from a band they were promoting yesterday at Tower Records in Shibuya. They are called Breakerz, and this is one track from their double A-side CD single...
Now back to work!!!
CK in California
It's a mere hours before I leave Japan to return to San Francisco, so I am sort of in a "come down" state. But I will do my best to stay enthusiastic and do this review. Anyhow, I still have a few things to do before I leave, like dash down to Shibuya to pick up Berryz Kobo's new single. By the way, is anybody thirsty?
Jeez! Seven shows in 10 days! It seems like "forever" ago that I was watching Matsuura Aya live at STB-139. Throw in three AKB48 shows, Berryz in Fuji and now Two Morning Musume concerts, it has been a whirlwind vacation. I am sad I am leaving, I could stay here forever!
Since I couldn't find any good pics from this show on the internet, should I pepper this post with pics of my concert goodies? Or should it be random pics from around Tokyo? Uhhh, how about a little of both...
Morning Musume ~Resonant Live~ 11/02/2008-11/03/2008 at Tokyo Koseinenkin Kaikan
I was really "pushing the envelope" by winning a ticket to see AKB48 Team B's matinee show on the same day. That meant I had mere minutes to literally run out of the AKB48 theater, grab the JR Chuo rapid train across Tokyo to Shinjuku, and meet Celestia so we could hit the concert. I got nervous for a minute because I didn't know she was lost wandering around JR Shinjuku station. Eventually we met up and made it over to the venue just fine.
When we arrived the front of the hall/hotel was just a sea of people. There were two lines, but neither seemed to be moving. Eventually we lined up on the left which led us behind the hotel where there were tons of people selling/trading merchandise. This turned out to be the line to actually get into the show. The weird thing was that they were actually selling the merchandise outside of the theater. So neither of us could buy and goods or glowsticks. It was a good thing we were both coming back the next day, lesson learned.
The stage setup itself was sort of non-descript, unlike the Wonderful Hearts stages, which are usually a lot more extravagant. It's easy to tell who is a fan of who because everyone prominently wears the colors of their favorite member. I only saw a few people with multiple colors represented. I think the idea is that you will get your favorite girl's attention that way. At the first show Celestia and I were surrounded by Sayumi Michishige fans. The second day I was in a sea of Kamei and Ai-chan fans. We also noticed a piano set in the middle of the stage. That could only mean one thing...Manoeri. Well, unless Koha has taken up the piano lately. And contrary to popular belief, there were many girls in the audience!
The lights went down, and Manoeri walked out to sing her new single, Lucky Aura. Now I have made it no secret that I am not a huge fans of Mano Erina's material, although I DID buy the single. But that was mainly because I wanted the bonus photo, and it was totally cheap too! I may not like her music, but I do think she is really cute. Anyhow, song was okay live. I like it a bit more than Manopiano. By the way, she did not perform at either of Monday's performances. So I am glad I had an opportunity to see her.
Oh boy, time for Momusu. The arena went dark again, and the girls come out in what looks like yellow rain slickers singing the B-side to Resonant Blue, Sone Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai Jan! I really like this song, and it is perfect to get the crowd going to start the show. And as usual, I was fixated on Reina during this performance. At Monday's show I had the opportunity to buy goods so I could represent, so I was decked out in Reina Blue! And WOW, the crowd was "shot out of a cannon" for the first few numbers. Mikan is a great song to see live. It is a lot of fun to dance to, and also really energetic. By the way, Takitty has amazing legs. Very muscular, you can totally tell she is a dancer. By comparison, most everyone elses legs look really skinny!
After the intros and opening VTR, we heard Pepper Keibu, which was done in the PV outfits, and a few other random songs. But the one I like the most in this set is TOP, from the fifth album. Hearing it reminded me of Kei-chan's graduation concert. I absolutely loved Lemon Iro Milk Tea, with Sayumi, Eri, and Reina. Now the cool thing was they rotated who the lead girl was on each performance. Sunday night was Eri, but Monday I heard Sayumi. It's a great song, and it was neat to hear each girls distinct interpretation of it. I loved Sayu's uber-cute version. But I am jealous of Celestia who got to hear Reina's version! No matter who did the lead, it's a great song.
After the next MC, which seemed to have Reina trying to teach Sayumi and Eri to speak French? With some great Reina pouting thrown in. It was time for Tan Tan Taan with ALL of Milky Way. Personally, I prefer Anataboshi. But the funny thing was the Ai-chan fan behind me was apparently a huge Kitahara Sayaka fan as well. When they came out he went absolutely berserk. Even his friends were laughing at him...SAYAAAAAAAAA, SAYAAAAAAAA, SAYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!
That led to a bunch of the new material, with a few solos thrown in. Mittsi looked cute , but I thought she was pitchy throughout Watashi no Miryoku ni Kizukano Donkan na Hito. Risa's solo was in the matinee, and Takitty's was in the evening. Of the two, I preferred Gaki-san's Indigo Blue Love. Then again, ballads are always a tough sell for me. But she looked smoking hot. That hairdo she is wearing is total win. And I loved the way she "spun" out of her dress to go immediately into Take Off is Now with Takitty and Reina. A very sexy song. I generally liked the outfits here, although I thought Risa had the lamest of the three (see my last post). Somewhere in this set there was a Risa/Ai MC segment. They were talking about birthdays, and all of a sudden Reina (b-day 11/11) ran out in the background of the set, flashed a peace sign, and ran off. Such a cute moment. But my favorite performances of the show were still to come...
GuruGuru Jump is not on the Aku Yuu tribute album, so this must be a preview of their 9th full length release? In any case, it is a cute, fun, and energetic song. JunLin and Koharu made a great team up there. This one got the crowd going again. And the following MC segment with the three of them and Aika was cute too. JunJun plays that ditzy card perfectly. She makes Koharu seem like the levelheaded one when they are together! But I still say Koharu's personality goes a long way in adding much needed personality to the group. My favorite song of the night by far was Koi no Dial 6700. Man, this is an awesome song. Having LinLin sing lead on it so she could do the "rin rin rin rin" parts while pointing to herself was genius! She looked so happy and cute up there. But the cutest thing was Sayumi dressed in the sweet loli clothes doing the "hello?" parts. That was unbelievable. You have to see it!
Next we get the standard Momusu selections. Souda! Were Alive, Koko ni Iruzee, Roman My Dear Boy are all good choices. Souda! really gets the crowd going too with the fist pumping part. At some point Reina waved to me here. At least I think she did. She was looking right toward me, and there were no one else in Blue in the immediate vicinity, AND I jumped around when she looked my way. So I am going to say she was waving at ME! Resonant Blue finished the set. That is an amazing dance!
I love the way they "chant" for encores at these shows. "encor-ee, encor-ee" on and on and on. They did it the same way at Berryz and AKB48. Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou? is that beautiful song from the Summer concert with the JunJun-LinLin chinese solos at the end. I love that LinLin got a lot of face time in this show. And JunJun was so cute when she pointed out everyone with bananas in the audience! The last song was the standard Auzora de Itsumademo Tsuzuke You na Mirai de Are!,, a song that I loved when I saw H!P winter. I really tried to savor this moment because I really don't know when I will next get the opportunity to see them. I watched Reina all the way off of the stage.
So there ya go! Quite a trip eh? I know we all like to critique the DVD's when they come out. But there is nothing like seeing these groups perform live. They are ALL consummate professionals, and fabulous at what they do. And I am so in love with Reina. She is the total package, a perfect Idol to me! I really felt sad after the show was over. Now all that is left is to pack to return to California and relive the memories through these posts, photos and personal experiences. I love it here so much. If I could I would move here for good. But for now I'll just have to plan my next trip over. Hopefully it will be fairly soon.
Goodnight
CK in Tokyo (for just a little bit longer)
Henkka is doing an H!P/Beatles Roundtable over at H!P Opinions of a Metalhead. My contribution was posted tonight. So check it out. The link is here. (CK's Post on Henkka's Blog) Actually, I have the same post hidden here just below this one. But I promised Henkka I wouldn't publish it until that one went up. So you can read it there, or wait a couple of days. (If you care to read it at all, I don't want to assume)
One thing I will say, Wordpress is a totally different experience when it comes to blogging. I have used it a little bit in my role for IW, but I had never done a full post there before. The photos look great, much better than here. But I had an awful time uploading You Tube videos to it, which is something I do a lot in my blogging. I guess there are pros and cons to each blogging engine.
In the meantime I'll preview a little piece of Tanaka Reina Eyecandy...
(Sigh) So Cute! Check out the article!!!
CK in California
Here is another survey from the IW Blogosphere. This is from Celestia of Bikkuri Project, who is lucky enough to be teaching English in Japan this year. I am green with envy! Well, here goes!
1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it’s directly related to J-pop, and don’t worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???
I would love to have the ability to attend every Hello! Project concert and event. Perhaps even work for H!P, maybe I could be their accountant!!!
2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why?
I can't think of anyone who "pisses me off". Granted, there are some artists I don't particularly care for, but that's as bad as it gets. Now if you asked me about American artists who annoy me, I'd need many pages for that list!
3. Who do you think is the sexiest japanese singer out there?
After watching those recent episodes of AKB０じ５９ふん, it has to be Team K's Ohori Megumi. Koda Kumi is pretty hot too, but I am not a big fan of her material, so Megumi wins!
4. How about the cutest?
Tanaka Reina with a bullet! And she almost wins the "sexy" category too!
5. Best personality?
Niigaki Risa, she has the most cheerful disposition! And she is another "sexy" candidate!
6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?
Total package-wise, if I could date any J-pop singer I would probably choose Abe Natsumi or Matsuura Aya. But of the three choices above, I would pick #3, Ohori Megumi from AKB48 because 1) she's the oldest of the three, and 2) With Megumi I would probably have the best chance of getting to "first base"! And yes, I am re-embedding the video from my last post because it was too damn sexy/funny!
7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favorite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?
I had almost abandoned the idea of going to Japan next month (for various reasons), then I read that Kago Ai is having some sort of interview/event in Osaka on August 10th! And the tickets are for sale to the public??? Wow, I could attend that!!! But Kago's life has been an open book lately, so I wouldn't know what to ask her that we don't seem to already know! But I guess I would ask any idol "If you had the chance to go back in time, would you do it all again?" "What would you do differently?" And "If your own daughter came to you and said that she wanted to try and become an idol, what would you say and do"?
8. What’s the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?
W's "Shiroi Iro wa Koibito no Iro" is so beautiful, and it reminds me of the passing of my mother.
9. When you’re really happy?
W sweeps the category with Ai no Imi wo Oshiete! Although ironically the first time I saw the PV and heard the song, I loved it so much I almost cried!
10. Do you often sing along to your favorite songs?
Sure, it helps me with my learning of the language!
11. How about dance?
If I am drinking while I am watching a DVD, I will practice my Wota-gei!!!
12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offerrered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?
That depends on who is asking, and how much they are paying me. If someone wanted to pay me as a writer, but wanted to have creative input on the content, I would probably do it. But it also depends on the extent of the control. Writing is a creative expression. If I felt I was being suppressed too much, I would probably abandon it!
And Celestia, I would be happy to see a show with you when I (eventually) get to Japan, and that might be in October/November.
CK in California
I'm still trying to figure out what the heck this song/PV have to do with Cinderella. But I'll let that go for now. When I first saw the lineup for High-King I was really excited. To know why all you have to do is revisit my rankings from Paul's Hello!Blog...
Not one of the "non-eggs" in this group ranked less than #2 on my survey! This should be a "dream group" for me, right? Right???
First you have Captain Saki, who in my opinion is one of the most underrated members of all three core groups. She's arguably the best dancer in H!P (Although you could make that argument for most everyone here). And I love her breathy singing voice. Takahashi, great singer, great dancer. The only criticism is that in some ways she seems to have outgrown Morning Musume. Maimi makes me wish I was sixteen again! If Tsunku hadn't made the quip about Reina being the "closest thing to a perfect Musume", he would surely say it about Maimi! And then there's Reina, who can do no wrong in my book, and the fact that she was placed in this group with the three leader/captains says a great deal about her popularity. The real wildcard here is Maeda Yuuka. Sure, she's cute! But she seems wildly misplaced with these four "heavyweights". And I have no idea how good she is vocally. So lets first watch the Zapruder-style PV that appeared on YouTube a few days ago (I originally posted this on Monday, so that's all I had to work with at the time)...
My first thought was that Kawaiirrhea is going to need to do another edit on his "LaLaLa Madness" mix! Then again, upon second listen they are saying NaNa and not LaLa. First we had the radio rips, now we have the PV recorded from someone's television set. I love this! It reminds me of the old days of buying pirated videocassettes of newly released movies on the streetcorner for three bucks!
H!P is really getting into the latin vibe lately, huh? They all look very cute! Yuuka is actually a very good singer too. She sounds a lot like Momoko! And she looks more mature in the PV than she does in the promotional photos. Kudos to Yuuka for "holding her own"! Obviously Takitty and Tanaka are the main focus. But in all fairness they have the strongest singing ability here. I'm sure there will be plenty of squawking about that on the blogs. Whatever...don't hate the playa', hate the game! Like Nacchi before her, Reina is fast becoming the face of Hello! Project...
Tanaka is the "poster girl" of H!P? I like the sound of that!
Okay, now it's one day later and the actual PV has debuted on Dohhhup. I really like this PV now that I can really see it. In my opinion, this is what the Resonant Blue PV could've and should've been. It has a great distribution of closeups and they really look great in those outfits! And most importantly, the color scheme makes everyone completely visible! When I saw the bootleg version, I didn't think Saki got much face time. But upon second look, she got quite a few solo shots. I like this song. I don't love it, but I like it, and it's growing on me with each listen! I'm sure I'll buy the CD at the very least for the pictures!
Although this is probably going to be a "one-shot" group, it's lineup has huge potential for long-term success! Oh well...
CK in California
AND...Why Tanaka Reina Is A Friggin' Genius!!!
Before I went to Japan, I was a casual watcher of the various Hello! Project television programs. I've always found the old episodes of Hello Morning to be at best "hit or miss". Granted, there have been some golden moments in the history of the program. But I have seen as many weak segments as good ones. And to be honest, I never found it worth my time to sift through all of the material to find the good stuff. I have relied on other people like Maize to isolate the classic moments for me to watch.
Since the debut of Haromoni@, the reviews around the blogosphere have been mediocre at best. I immediately wrote the show off as lame and never bothered to give it a good look. However, when I was in Japan I happened to accidentally run across the show in my hotel room shortly before the Sunday matinee of H!P Haru Pro Award 2008. I remember enjoying watching it, but it just may have been the fascination of seeing it on Japanese TV. In fact, the only segment I remember from that episode was GakiKame "building" the clay bust of....Julius Caesar??? But I enjoyed it enough to resolve to watch the show more regularly when I returned to the U.S.
That resolve, and the hilariously snarky reviews of the program from True Life Seek made me an immediate fan of the show! And it isn't because the show is all that funny. In fact, much of the time quite a bit of it is really dumb! I jumped on the bandwagon just in time for the four month Mou Tube marathon. But for some strange reason, every Sunday morning I look forward to waking up and downloading the latest episode from Veoh.com. Like Hello Morning, it is a mix of lame moments and the occasional "golden" moment. But it's those great bits which come around once in a while that keep me coming back. And I will also give the producers some credit for their continuous retooling of the show. It seems as if they at least occasionally listen to feedback. Here are five virtues of Haromoni@...
5) The Outfits ~ I still wonder if the producers of Haromoni@ pay attention to what we are saying in the West, as Broomhead has constantly suggested the girls vary their outfits from week to week. This makes perfect sense to me as a huge part of their appeal is the cute/sexy factor. If they aren't being sexy or cute, then why am I watching the show? Morning Musume is not Second City. Lo and behold, now they have new outfits every week! And they feature these outfits at the end of each episode too! The business suits and cheerleader costumes have been my favorites so far. And I absolutely love that no matter what they wear, they still have the ears and tails. Totally Hot!!!
4) Princess YY ~ Sayumi was my least favorite member when I ranked Momusu on Paul's Hello!Blog. But Princess YY, coupled with Sayu's sensational MC segment during the Bon Kyu Bomb concert have completely changed my opinion of her. It's not that her parlor tricks are all that fascinating. It's that stupid "Y Balance"!!! It gets me every time.
3) The Jun Jun/Lin Lin Game ~ This segment has always been pretty decent. That was until their reenactment of Super Mario made it great! Jun Jun stole the show with that silly expression on her face throughout the bit. And Gaki, Sayu, and Eri's reactions during the segment were totally hysterical. To me, an all time classic!!! Nani? Ting???
2) GakiKame ~ This is the most consistently funny bit on Haromoni@, hands down! First of all, Risa and Eri are adorable every time. Second, the music in the background is GREAT!!! I would love to know what it is. Every week I hope for a GakiKame segment. The best ever had to be the one from the march 30th episode, Eri should play for the New York Knicks...
And the number one virtue of Haromoni@...
1) Tanaka=Genius ~ Who is the one who always gets the answer right when the "King" quizzes the girls in the beginning? Tanaka. Who is the the one who figured out the Pandas Super Mario bit? Tanaka. Who figured out Mittsi's "snail maki"? Tanaka. Reina is constantly giving us snippets of her brain power on this show! I have always felt that she is amazingly smart and is extremely shrewd when it comes to marketing herself. My observations of this go all the way back to her debut with Morning Musume.
As far as I am aware, Reina is the only person to get into H!P after a second audition. And it is widely known that one of her big motivations was a desire to meet Izaki Hisato of FLAME. Like Ogori Shun, her reasons for getting into show business in the first place were pretty cool, like she wasn't primarily interested in even being an idol. Although when you watch the old 6th generation auditions with the "mean" trainer. It is obvious that she was the most naturally talented of the three Rokkies.
Then there was their first appearance on Utaban. What struck me was the vanity of Eri and Sayu and the "apparent" lack of vanity from Reina. "Did you become cute?" Now I'm sure Reina has always known that she is cute. But she acted so sweet and unassuming during that entire episode and completely separated herself from the other two.
Next is the Mechaike Okajo Sports Special. Okamura Takashi of "Ninety-Nine" is the funniest comedian to cross the path of Morning Musume. His humor could be described as "dry", not dissimilar to a Japanese Dennis Miller. If you watch the special, Reina is one of the few who consistently laughed at Takashi's jokes. And she seemed to be the only one who understood his "bit" about Devi Sukarno, Kobuhei, and Beat Kiyoshi. I love Reina's "laugh-clap".
Sometime around 2005, Reina seemed to alter her image to ultra lolita-sexy. It was around the time of "Chokkan 2". Her clothes became mega-stylish, and she began "seducing" the camera every chance she got. This is the image that she has consistently portrayed to this day. It is also evident in every sensational photobook she has released. One of my favorite things Reina has done is her AloHello! DVD. There is something about the way she speaks and carries herself that is very cool. Just watch the scene where she is picking out prizes for the buyers of the DVD.
Now while it seems that some have seen this as a betrayal to her original "Yankii" image, fanboys (like myself) have just lapped up every moment. I personally don't get the "backlash" to her current image, and believe her detractors are absolutely crazy! Make no mistake, Reina is no less "Yankii" than the first day she debuted with the group. She is merely marketing herself perfectly to her biggest fans.
So if you have a problem with all of the winking/pouting/posing for the camera, don't worry...
She isn't winking at YOU!
CK in California
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