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.
[Single] still doll
Now this is what I call authentic Japanese! XD Rin' is a group that blends elements of J-Pop with traditional Japanese instruments such as the koto, jushichi-gen, biwa, sangen and shakuhachi.
