Gatas a dud

Ongaku Gatas's third single is being released September 10th. So of course the video for come together was released. Listening to the song I must admit I am less then impressed. The song is very boring and forgetful. I had to re listen to the song just to write my review cause I forgot what it sounded like. Nothing stands out. It sounds like every other Jpop song. There is one plus for the song, Kon Kon got three solo lines. Which isn't really a lot but it's certainly more than she got in Yattarouze. Perhaps if I knew what they were saying I'd like it more, but I kinda doubt that. I think Come Together should have been the B side because I like Aisaretai Aisaretai 100 times more. Even though it has a werid disco esque beat. I think it's catchy. But that's not really enough to make me a Gatas fan, maybe if they had more songs like Yattarouze. But H!P song doesn't always have to be happy, loud, and in your face to be a good song. But songs like that are the ones I like best. This is completely my opinion though. The quality of their songs and the videos makes me think they might have the lowest budget out of all the H!P groups. Which is kind of sad.
The video is following the song in the same plain sense. There is nothing spectacular about it. Their outfits are nice and Rika does look very pretty. But it looks more like it would be backstage footage from a concert than a video. The dance is pretty boring also. I feel weird not having anything positive to say about the video, but the song is kind of a disappointment to me. In the same respect there are probably more people out there that love the song then hate it.


But I never really liked the Gatas, so maybe I'm biased. But I do like Yattarouze, Narihajimeta Koi no Bell, and Kiss Shiyou by them. But I really only listen to Gatas once in a blue moon. The only reason I listen to their songs is for Konno Asami. When Gatas first single came out I didn't listen to their first single because I heard it was Yoshizawa Hitomi's new group. And I never really was a big fan of her. I kind of dislike her. I don't feel bad for saying that with all the hate there is against "other" H!P members.

Happy Bath Day to you!

NEWS will be releasing a new single entitled Happy Birthday on October 1st. It will be used in the promotion of Kose's bath products. The photo advertisement was apparently shot months ago. I wonder how long this was planned? Anyway, in the commercial there is a minute preview of their next single. It's more of a sweet ballad and completely different from their last single Summer Time. What I can hear of the song sounds good, so I am excited to see the video.

Now let's look at it through the fangirl side of me. When I watch the commercial the first thing that comes to mind is what happened to their hair. I hate when Yamapi's hair is styled like that. He's had that hair before and I personally don't like it. Also Shige is now a blonde. He looked much better as a brunette. They didn't really do much to Ryo's hair, it just looks like they cut it a little. But they styled it so it has this annoying flip thing on the side. I'm glad they didn't change Ryo's hair much. He just got over his ugly hair phase. XD As for the rest of NEWS their hair is pretty much the same. Except Keii's hair is styled slightly different.

The end of an era?

Haromoni@ will be ending after a September episode. There are split reactions to this news. Some fans are sad and will miss the show dearly but other are happy, feeling hello morning was a better show and maybe now Momusu will get a better show. But what if they don't? It's not always good to assume that they will be given a new show simply because of who they are. It's a big possibility that they just won't get a new one. Poor ratings point in that direction.

Which leads me to believe that the kids are doing better than Morning Musume. Berikyuu seems to be doing better than Haramoni@. Granted berikyuu is much shorter and Haraomoni@ was on TV Tokyo. Even so, the kids continue to get more popular. And the Berryz Kamen vs Cutie Rangers concert was really good. They also seem to be given better songs lately. I think Namida no Iro is the best C-ute single yet.

Which leads me to another conclusion. Is this the end of Morning Musume? There has been speculation for a while if Momusu would be coming to an end. Could declining single sales and the end of their weekly show finally put them over the edge? I like to believe that won't happen.

As for my take on all of this. I'm not really that upset about it ending. I never really watched Haromoni@ or Hello Morning because I can't speak Japanese. I'd watch random clips or episodes that had subs. Perhaps if I could speak Japanese it would be a different story. And I highly doubt the ending of their show will determine their fate. If no one watched the show anyway it was only bringing them down and they need to make way for a newer and better show.

So as for now we have to put the animal ears back on the shelf, unroll the sushi, and put the curtain down on Gaki-Kame theater. And hope for a better show with higher ratings for them.

 

 

In Rainbows

So Alice Nine's new single Rainbows was released like a week ago. And I must say it's my favorite A9 release since White Prayer. Hiroto and Saga are amazing in this. The song is really catchy and the chorus is almost unexpected. When I first listened to it I was a little shocked by the chorus. But in a good way of course. The song is very danceable and still has the Alice Nine rock style to it. And Shou's voice has improved so much. Compared to songs like yami ni chiru sakura, there really is no comparison. The lyrics are really pretty. Their lyrics always seem to be meaningful and descriptive. (Descriptive's not really the world I'm looking for) And I love the little lalaheeeeelaiai towards the end of the song.

The video itself isn't much. Pretty much the band and some transition effects. But Shou looks gorgeous in it so I can't really complain. (fangirlness) Plus he has shutter sunglasses. He pulls them off better than Kanye. His outfit is pretty amazing in general. And you'd think random treadmills would be out of place in a rock video, but they're actually pretty awesome. And Nao having to play a marching band drum on it makes me laugh. Alice Nine has become less VK over the years. Even more so with this song. But they never really were that VK to begin with. But regardless of music style A9 is a great band.

This song makes me even more excited for the PCS 10th Anniversary Concert then I was already. Cause Miyavi+Alice Nine+The Gazette+SuG=WIN!!

Leave Kanna alone!

You're lucky she'd even show up for you! >_<
This is probably old news for some, but I get too lazy to post things as soon as I find out about them. Kanna was snubbed at a recent C-ute handshake. When it was time to shake hands with Kanna, fans just walked right past her, causing her to cry. If this story is true I feel really bad for Kanna. I wish fans would support there idol no matter what. I bet they don't feel good about making a 15 year old cry. I hope things like this don't continue to happen to her.
In happier Kanna news, pictures from Kanna's magazine shoot made their way on the internet. I must say Kanna looks really cute/pretty/mature in the pictures. I think her shorter hairstyle really suits her. The pics in the yellow dress are my favorites. Yellow looks really nice on her she should wear it more often.

Buono! - Gachinko de Ikou

Buono!'s new PV was finally released, in what seemed like forever to come out. From the moment I heard the preview of this song I was in love with it. I think the effects of this song are cool, like the "sou" parts. It sounds like all of their other songs for the most part, but hey that's what sells for them. I hope they get to release another album cause the album songs were so different from the singles.

The outfits are a big step up from the Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! because Miyabi had the best outfits and the other ones were borderline ugly. So it's nice to see super cute clothes all around, though Momoko's is defiantly my favorite. On the topic of Momoko, looking at that picture Momo looks bigger compared to the other girls. In the same way with W. When Aibon stood next to Tsuji (especially noticeable in the Robo Kiss video) she looked bigger. Not fat by all means. But I think Aibon was chubbier back then and perhaps Momo is just built differently. But I don't really know if she always looked like that cause I usually don't pay attention to thing like that. Anyway, Miyabi is sporting a snazzy new dye job in this PV. It looks amazing. She should have changed it years ago. Though it would probably look weird on her when she was younger.

As far as the video goes, it's probably my favorite video from them. Because it's just so fun, but tough luck on them not winning better prizes. :P I thought the dance was really cute. Buono! always has pretty simple dances but in the same respect they are probably some of the best, in my opinion. The Edo no Temari Uta II dance just didn't cut it for me. And I'm not quite sure why you have to wear a suit to play jenga. I think when H!P members wear suits, for the most part, it looks awkward. Unless Risa is wearing it then it just looks awesome.

Ganbatte Lin Lin!

A few days ago I got the chance to watch Morning Musume's Spring 2008 concert Single Daizenshuu. I had to wait until it was put on a veoh as I don't have the means to buy a legal copy. XD I was surprised when Onna Ni Sachi Are was preformed. Lin Lin sounded a lot better. I was a little skeptical at first when Jun Jun and Lin Lin joined the group not so much because they were Chinese and Momusu might be compromising themselves just to branch out farther into Asia. Mostly because they didn't really sound up to par in Morning Musume. Jun Jun was always ok but Lin Lin in my opinion was terrible. When I first heard Onna Ni Sachi Are I had to rewind to her one solo line cause I didn't believe that's what her voice really sounded like. And let's be honest Jun Jun kind of out sang Lin Lin in song Suki Na Senpai preformed at the 2007 fall concert Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb. And sorry to all Lin Lin fans I may have just ofended that was my honest opinion, but I have nothing else but good things to say about her now. You can really tell in Hyokkori Hyoutan-Jima how much she really has improved. And, it's hard to tell just how long she has been noticeably better. Since she had 0 solo lines in Mikan and the "ranchi mo michi mo" line (from RB's b-side) isn't really good for judging singing ability.
She also didn't even sing in Resonant Blue. Because I don't count fu, wow, and ah as singing since they are usually lip synced during lives. Or maybe that's just Koharu? O_O Anyway, Lin Lin has shown huge improvements which shows what can happen with a little time to grow. Just look at Risa. :D Though it can be argued "some members" never improved, but that's another topic all together.

Since I really love doing reviews I have to review the spring concert. I'll start off by saying in the opening act my eyes were glued to Mittsi, and not in a good way. I noticed throughout the song she didn't smile once and it looked like she didn't even want to be there. But her expression changed entirely as soon as the next song played and she actually had a chance to sing. You can tell from Aika and Sayumi that the members, not just the fans, are angry about the unfair line distribution in Resonant Blue. I also didn't like that Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari was stuck into a medley. That was the song I was most excited for when I heard they were doing an every single concert. I really wanted to hear 8th gen verses instead of another Ai-chan one. I was very impressed with the solos though, especially Sayumi's, she really has come a long way. The holded mother note was amazing! Ai's Do It! Now was my second favorite. Even though I would have like to seen a trio do it or at least Risa also, it was still good. She kinda looked like a pimp with the hat and jacket combo. Haha. I think Ai Araba It's Allright is one of my favorite performances from this because it's one of my favorite MM single and everyone had a solo line in it. And it sounded almost as good as the original. I must admit I am starting to get sick of Love Machine as it is sung frequently in H!P concerts. But it was a good version so I can't complain. It was better than the one preformed at Sexy 8 Beat. Aruiteru was unexpectedly good as well. The harmonies were just amazing. Everyone really blends well together. This concert was a lot better than I expected it to be. It was better than Sexy 8 Beat and Rainbow Seven. But that's just my opinion of course. I think it would also be cool to see an every b-side concert, but that's very unlikely. It's more of something I would just like to see.