Okies, so it's official. Happy! Style's a new unit, not a clothing line. Still, the idea did have merit, no?



Anyways, they'll be performing live performances of famous idol and anime songs...kinda like a cover group, I guess. Their first one will be on May 6th, called Happy! Style Communication Circuit.



The members:
Noto Arisa (group leader) from Hello! Pro Egg
Abe Asami (no relation to Abe Natsumi), Nakayama Nana, Iwashima Manami and Suma Ai from Hello! Pro Kansai
Aoi and Yui, the 2 rookie trainees

No clue whether they'll be part of H!P. Still, it's a pretty good start for these young talents, especially for newcomers Aoi and Yui.

Source: Official Site

This is REALLY starting to get on my nerves. First they show a bunch of a silhouettes, then they start adding faces to them, then they added yet MORE silhouettes and faces. Now there's 6 of them and we still don't know who they are for sure or what this whole Happy! Style thing is about. Grrr....~_~

The popular speculation is that they're H!P Eggs. Hm...maybe..

But the way they're slowly introducing the silhouettes and faces though, makes it look almost as though they're a new unit, rather than a new clothing line.

Meh, guess we'll just have to wait and see. ^^;

Limited Edition A


Limited Edition B

Normal Edition

I personally like B, just because you get a closer view of the girls. A's the only one you actually get to see those sexy fishnet stockings on Reina, Ai, Aika and Linlin though. And the normal edition's not bad either, having some of the girls in pretty sweet poses.

Content-wise, A will have Another Version of the PV, whereas B will have the Lesson Studio Version. Your guess is as good as mine what they mean by 'lesson studio', though I'm guessing it could be that first PV of Resonant Blue we've already seen (I mean the setting does sorta look like an empty studio..).

Amethyst-chan crashing in with something mysterious afoot at UP-FRONT STYLE.



Naturally, we'd assume it's something to do with Hello! Project...but the question remains...WHAT IS IT?????

The popular theory: a new clothing line - If that is who I think it is in the blue picture (Reina =D), then this would be a kick-ass idea! If there's one thing I like about Reina in particular, it's her sense of style.~<3

But then looking at the company profile, UP-FRONT STYLE seems to be involved in stuff like:
-artists, talent, voice actors in the development, management and promote business and casting
-music, video production and sale of software project
-cartoons, movies such as production, sales
-Live, concerts, and events, planning and production
-other business overall production

So maybe a new unit/sub-unit? I don't think so. Not with Milky Way and Manoeri graduating soon.

And then there's this older image...



What's the deal with 'SAVE THE IDOL POPS' anyway???? If it were a clothing line, yeah that's a real snazzy tagline. Save the idol pops, buy our clothes!! XDXD

Okay, so my other theories:
1. Movie!! Save the Idol Pops does sound more fitting for a movie, or at least a TV series anyway, yes?^^
2. Reality TV show. This is taking the Save the Idol Pops thing literally. Maybe it's gonna be a reality TV show ala _______ Idol, where viewers get to vote the girls off the show. I can imagine it being a hit with whatever wota fans left in Japan...

But then, going back to the 'Enjoy your Happy "Live" Style!!!'. That sounds more like a clothing line, and actually I think so too. But I think my other theories are pretty fun if they were true, don't you agree? ^^

Sources:
JpopMusic Forums
Happy-Style-
UP-FRONT STYLE

Rift here. Amethyst is asleep I think. In any case, when I discovered that the PV for Resonant Blue was already out, I fully expected an influx of reactions to it after all the hype around the song last time, so I lost no time in starting a review post. And boy, do I have a lot to say! As for Amethyst, screw her. I'm doing the review this time! XD

Watch the PV:
Dohhh UP!
YouTube
[Note: I notice how whenever Amethyst embedded a YouTube vid in her post, it kept messing up the formatting of the text after. So till I figure out how to get around it, we'll be just posting up links to the videos if needed.]

On first impressions, I loved it. The outfits were similar to how I imagined it would be, something cool and stylish to go with the song. The blue lighting was a nice touch. Coupled with the girls' dark outfits, it really gave the video a sensual and almost mysterious feel.

Speaking of the girls, there's no better word to describe my lovely Reina here other than simply drop-dead gorgeous!



All right, those were my first impressions. But then as I continued to watch the video, three things dawned on me:
1. There's no scenery. Nada. Zip. Nil.
2. This should be a dance shot vid. Seriously!
3. Some girls were clearly given more focus than others.

Background issues
This isn't anything new in Morning Musume really. There've been a few PVs before which had no real scenery in the background, eg. Iroppoi Jirettai and Osaka Koi no Uta. Other times, they just use some blue screens, like in Mikan. And let's not forget the empty white room of SEXY BOY and cheap studio of Kanashimi Twilight.

Okay, so maybe I'm just bitter that this video didn't have the girls strutting down a cold, moonlit street in the deep blanket of the night, cue shots of them lounging on benches and around lamp posts, looking all cool and deadly. Hey, a fan can dream, right?;P


I guess you could say that the background is a good example of a minimalist approach. Lots of static space to give more emphasis to the girls. And I do actually like that bit of reflection of them on the polished floors.

Dance shot anyone?
I really thought it was a dance shot, the way they did it. I mean, they didn't even bother doing close-ups for every girl on the team or some scenes where they're NOT dancing, like all their other previous PVs. Now if it turns out that Tsunku was just plain being evil and crazy (as he so often does) by releasing this PV first just to throw us off, and it turns out that it IS the dance shot, well it's really not bad at all. Highly unlikely though.

My point though is that despite my complaints, the dancing here is top-notch. Nothing short of awesome work. It's definitely a step above the previous ones. The dance actually looks a lot more choreographed and a lot less random flailing and steps.

Which is your favourite?
If it's Reina, Ai-chan or God forbid Koharu (just kidding!), then you're in luck. Because just as we've heard from the song, they're just as heavily centered in the PV. Notably AiReina moreso. Now Reina's my most faved, so on a personal level, there's no problems with me here. However, I'm also a fan of Sayu and to some extent, Gaki.


Did I mention how gorgeous Reina is?

If I didn't know any better, I'd have almost thought that all those girls in full black were backup dancers. Yes, I know how hurtful that sounds. But seriously though. The only times the camera was truly centered on a girl was either with Reina, Ai or Koharu. Oh sure, there were a couple of times when Gaki-Kamei came together in the center, and the camera did veer to the sides showing the other girls occasionally. But whatever happened to the infamous so-close-I-just-wanna-stare-into-those-pretty-eyes individual shots?


Take a good, long look at the 8th gen girls here at the beginning of the PV. Because chances are, you're probably not gonna be able to spot them well enough for the next five or so minutes.

Overall
Still, don't get me wrong. It's not that I HATE this PV. True, I wish it could have been something more. I also wish I could marry Reina and we'd live happily in my luxurious mansion with our 3 kids.

It might have suffered from cheap-ass production, but working with what they had, the girls really did shine with their striking good looks and well presented dance moves.


And besides, I can't really say no to Sayumi when she goes "Help me!" here.

False alarm, people! Sorry! But really, when you look at her in the picture, doesn't she remind you of a younger Gocchin? XD The resemblance sure struck me when I first looked up the latest H!P sensation that is Mano Erina.

Obligatory Profile Thingy
Name: Mano Erina (真野恵里菜)
Nickname: Manoeri (まのえり)
Birth date: 11/4/1991
Birthplace: Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Blood Type: B
Hello! Project Groups: Hello! Pro Egg (2006–2008)
Ongaku Gatas (2007–2008)
Concert Units: Elder Club (2008–)
Other: Gatas Brilhantes H.P. (2007–)

She recently graduated from Ongaku Gatas on 2/3/2008 and will graduate from Hello! Pro Eggs on the 29th this month - my birthday! ...what? Imaginary friends can't have birthdays now? Well hmph.XP Anyways, back to Manoeri...

Okie, so I'll admit I'm taken in by the fact she reminds me so much of Gocchin lol.^^; I hope she sounds just as good. Never actually listened to any Ongaku Gatas songs before, so just now I gave Yatterezou a try. Pretty cool song actually ~! But Manoeri's lines didn't really impress me all THAT much. =(

I kinda doubt Tsunku would risk taking a H!P Egg member and train her to be a soloist unless he knew what he was doing. Then again, maybe he's banking on the fact she actually resembles Gocchin? I knew it! Tsunku misses Gocchin just as much as we do! XD Well in my opinion, you can't replace Gocchin!

Then again, I only listened to ONE song where Manoeri only had like what...2-3 lines? So I'm not really one to judge. Maybe with some training, she can make it. Well, we'll see in times to come I guess.

For now, all we can do is check her out in action in past Ongaku Gatas releases and this lovely collection of high-res pics. I've already went through them and saved a few faves, so I'll just be checking out the Ongaku Gatas stuff now.^^

Amethyst crashing out!

Oh, and Manoeri has a message for you...



=D

CRASH!! I'm back again. After nearly a whole month too. Well that's the trouble really. Being an imaginary friend, you tend to fade off once in a while lol.;P But this was one release I just couldn't ignore!=D

Resonant Blue
Release: 16/4/2008

Limited Edition A(CD+DVD)
Limited Edition B(CD+DVD)
Normal Edition(CD only)

Covers: Resonant Blue Covers

Preview:
Resonant Blue.mp3 (Full version PV rip)
Resonant Blue.mp3 (Tanaka Reina's FIVE STARS radio rip)
Resonant Blue.mp3 (Gaki-Kame radio rip) [full version minus intro]

PV + Review by Rift:
Analyzing: Resonant Blue PV

Well this is one case where we actually get to hear a preview of the song before even getting the covers. On Reina's radio show too, haha! Well it figures really, I mean she got a whole lot of lines in this new single.XD

Their covers these days rarely if ever reflect the outfits or even tone of the single. Remember Aruiteru? Or Kanashimi Twilight? Or Onna ni Sachi Are? Mikan's cover was kinda related I guess, I mean...mikan = orange --> new year --> festive feel. So I'm gonna guess that the cover for Resonant Blue would be something umm...kick-ass since the song kicks ass! (but not necessarily blue)

And this song is a really long time coming for Morning Musume. I mean, I loved their previous singles - you Mikan-haters can shut up, that was a super genki song! - but they lack errr...I'm struggling for a word here. A timeless quality?

So major plus points of Resonant Blue:
1. Genki, but not excessively so
2. Catchy, upbeat feel!
3. It feels less 'generic' than the recent singles before, comparatively!

Okies, but I know a lot of fans despite all that, are unhappy about the line distributions. Fortunately for me though, I'm not one of them...my faves vocally are Reina, Ai and Gaki anyway. XD But yeah, I can see their point. And I think Tsunku had better pay attention if he doesn't want to start losing those fans (notably Eri, since I think she has one of the larger fanbases).

So um yeah, can't wait for the real thing. MORNING MUSUME FOREVER! ~<3

Crash! Hihi! Been a while since I posted, but I see Rift started his Reina Revolution thingy here already...<_< I wonder when he's gonna get round to continuing that PV review series of his.

Neways, I got to listening to Buono's latest single, so here's my 2 cents on it.

Review
Renai ♥ Rider
The song is so hyper-genki! I mean, compared to their first single, this song has a way faster beat. But still, I don't quite like it. o_o I dunno why really. I mean, hey, I'm all for the hyper-genki goodness, but this song simply did not hit home with me. In fact, at some point I actually felt that Renai Rider was a little too...umm..noisy. XD

Janakya Mottainai
When I first listened to this, I nearly thought I wasn't listening to a H!P song. I mean heck...that's way too rockish for H!P. o_O; Don't get me wrong though. Rockish can be good. Like Roman~My Dear Boy~. Gotta love that song!~<3 But in this case though, it was still a little disappointing. Cuz while Renai Rider sounded like these girls were force-fed with ten gallons of concentrated glucose, Janakya Mottainai ends up sounding comparatively flat.=( I still like the beat though.

Overall
Mm well...like, what can I say? I definitely preferred the first single over this one. Both Honto no Jibun and Kokoro no Tamago were catchy, and had this feel-good thing going on for them - especially Kokoro no Tamago if you know the real meaning behind the lyrics.^^

On the other hand, both the songs on this new single weren't as catchy and didn't leave as much of an impact on me.

So yeah, frankly I think this single sucks and sounds like some boring generic anime soundtrack.

Hm? Oh right...Rift said I should give some sort of rating when I do a review..umm let's see.

I give 2 berries out of 5.

Tsuiteru Ne Notteru Ne



Aisha Loan De



Kira Kira Fuyu no Shiny G

This is my tribute post to the ever lovely Tanaka Reina of Morning Musume.

I first got to know about Morning Musume after discovering Goto Maki. Well, that's not entirely true, but it was only then that I actually tried listening to their music and started to like them. And out of the lot at the time, Reina stood out the most for me.

I think it was the eyes. Those cute wonky eyes of hers. But it was more than just that. Her sense of style was another plus point. She's the best-dressed Musume girl in my honest opinion. And I think she's got potential. She's got that almost similar star-like quality that I noticed in Gocchin. Very fitting I believe since Reina sorta looked up to Gocchin as her idol (or rival as she once puts it lol).

There was this one period of time on the Reina thread at Hello!Online that a bunch of us got really caught up in Reina fever...that we created our own army.XD Well sorta. The thread started growing rapidly with chitchat. Nearly got out of hand. But yeah, good times.

I coined the term Reina Revolution 07. It was a play on the words Renai Revolution. And 07 was well, Reina's associated number. We started making all sorts of things. Some of the stuff I made were...


A Reina flag



Reina Revolution 07 banner



Some Reina-related Magic: The Gathering cards


Yeah...I was a little nuts then. So remember.

Hweeeeel, Gocchin's been nominated for the Most Photogenic Artiste in the Yahoo!Music Awards 2007! XDXD

ALL YOU FANS OUT THERE, MAKE SURE YOU VOTE FOR HER NOWWWWWW!

Vote for Gocchin!!!

Remember, voting ends on February 18. SO VOTE NOW!!!

To quote Rift, 'Gold Goddess Gocchin Goodness!' ~<3

Credits to Cassandra at Hello!Online for bringing it to my attention.^^

Online Videos by Veoh.com

I think this is the best PV they ever made. Enjoy! ~<3

Right on the heels of Morning Musume's single delay comes the unexpected announcement that Viyuuden will be disbanded.

Yeah I know...say WHAT!? O_O As if we hadn't enough bad news already.

I haven't really been keeping up with them other than a few songs now and then, but I'm sure gonna miss them.;_; I still remember my first time seeing them in action, when Rift got hold of the Hello! Project concert with Goto Maki as the captain kouen. Issai Gassai Anata ni Ageru ~<3

It's official. Tsunku's gone nuts.

Rika will still be in Ongaku Gataas, but as for Erika and Yui...who knows?

They'll have their last concert tour then disband in June.

I wonder if they'll release one last Best Hits album or something...

Source: Hello! Project Official Site

I saw people talking about the delay for a while now, but I wasn't sure whether it was true, so I like didn't bother posting about it. But Rift did some checking up, and now I'm pretty sure it's true. Morning Musume's 36th single has been delayed...;_;

YesAsia.com
cdjapan
JBOOK
Shinseido Shopping Site

ALL OF THEM states the new release date as being 16/4/2008. (Amazon.co.jp still says it's 5/3/2008 though.:/)

That's like...more than A MONTH later! I'm starting to wonder whether they're having some problems, or maybe they're trying to avoid competing with other releases on that day...

Let's see what else is there:
1. SMAP - Sonomama (single)
2. Japan Game Soundtrack, Hirano Aya - Hamatte Sabotte Oh My Ga! / Nantettatte Densetsu
3. Orange Range - Title to be determined (single)
4. ayaka - Te wo Tsunago (single)
5. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - World World World (album)
6. AAA - Attack All Around (greatest hits album)
7. Every Little Thing - Title to be determined (album)

These are the ones I noticed, you can find more here.

Ugh, quite a few competitive releases on that day. SMAP, Orange Range, Asian Kung-fu Generation, AAA... Then we've got the ever popular Aya Hirano..<< I'm still addicted to Hare Hare Yukai and Motteke! Sailorfuku.

Another reason, like I mentioned in my earlier post, could be cuz BOTH C-ute and Berryz Koubou are releasing stuff around the same time. And given their immense popularity spike nowadays, I guess Tsunku might not want them to affect Momusu's sales or anything.

But still, an entire month's delay? How better could it be in the middle of April? XD I dunno, cuz I can't find any info on releases that far ahead.

Well anyways, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.


It had better be damn worth the wait...<<

H!P unit Buono! has just announced the title of their new album! That's a lot of exclamation marks in that sentence isn't there? Lol. <<

Café Buono
Release: 20/2/2008


Limited Edition(CD+DVD)


Regular Edition(CD only)

CD tracklist
-Not disclosed yet

DVD tracklist
1. Kokoro no Tamago (Dance version)
2. Renai Rider (Dance version)
3. Making of cover photoshoot
4. Shugo Chara! promotional video

I'll update once I receive new info.;D

Source: Buono! Official Site

From their single:


I love the song.<3 But the PV's boooooooooooooring.:( Bleh!

Read my review!

Ooo, this one kinda slipped by me till I realized it's already out.<_<; Lol.

16sai no Koi Nante
Release: 16/1/2008
Release(Single V): 6/2/2008


Limited Edition CD


Regular Edition CD


Single V DVD

Tracklist
1. 16歳の恋なんて (16sai no Koi Nante)
2. 私の恋人なのに (Watashi no Koibito na no ni)
3. 16歳の恋なんて (Instrumental) (16sai no Koi Nante (Instrumental))
4. 私の恋人なのに (Instrumental) (Watashi no Koibito na no ni (Instrumental))

Watch the 16sai no Koi Nante PV

Review
16sai no Koi Nante
This is a very light and upbeat song! And catchy too.^^ An uplifting song that's not too hyper-genki like most of H!P's stuff. My preferred fave of the two songs on this single.

Watashi no Koibito na no ni
Another song that makes for easy listening. Compared to the first, the tone is more relaxed here. Suitable for listening to while driving back from work.

Overall
This collaboration by Abe Natsumi(former Morning Musume member and current soloist) and Yajima Maimi(from C-ute) marks the first H!P single of 2008! And I think it's a pretty good start for the new year.^^

The duo complement each other nicely. It's a very nice pairing!~<3 Both songs on the single represent two different moods, yet retain the light and easy feel. It's a good combination!=D

So yeah, I'm wondering whether there'll be anymore collaborations between these two girls.^^ Cuz I sure hope so!

Hi all! Here's a few untitled releases you can expect to see coming out soon!

-It's been a while since Aikawa Nanase last released an album. But that's soon gonna change! Release date's still unconfirmed, but we can expect to see her album out sometime this summer.

-OLIVIA too has been pretty busy, what with all her concerts going on. Her new album is apparently due out 20/2/2008. It's gonna be 'purty delicious', as Livi-chan would put it, hehe.;D

-Popular female idol group Morning Musume will also be releasing their 36th single on 5/3/2008. With both Berryz Koubou and C-ute also releasing singles around the same time period, many fans are expecting a heated battle between the Hello!Project units. I'll be rooting for Momusu, of course!^^

-Utada Hikaru will also be releasing a new album on 19/3/2008. Still no further details.:(

That's for all now. Stay tuned for more berrylicious updates!

Amethyst crashing out! ;D

Yay Buono!<3 I love this group! They're actually a sub-unit created under Hello! Project to sing both the opening and ending theme songs for Shugo Chara! (one of my fave animes X3)

The song Renai ♥ Rider on their upcoming single is also the second ending theme song for Shugo Chara!

Renai ♥ Rider
Release: 6/2/2008

Limited Edition (CD+DVD)


Regular Edition (CD only)

CD
1. Renai ♥ Rider
2. Janakya Mottainai!
3. Renai ♥ Rider (Instrumental)
4. Janakya Mottainai! (Instrumental)

DVD
1. Honto no Jibun (Live at Yokohama BLITZ 30.09.07)