After releasing their first PV preview just yesterday, the full PV for NMB48's debut single, Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo has been released.
I know I complained a lot about this PV yesterday. Well, I tend to complain a lot in generally. I'm very critical, and full of opinions, when it comes to idol music. Hence why this blog exists in the first place. But anyway, in my post about the PV preview my only really fault about it was that it wasn't Japanese enough. Well, who ever directed this PV must be a dedicated reader of this blog, because the actual PV is everything I hoped it would be! The PV is bursting with Japanese references. Okay maybe bursting is an exaggeration, but there are quite a few. The opening of the PV starts off with one of the girls walking in front of a rice paper screen and shamisen music is playing. From then on out I knew the PV was going to have more Japanese elements. And I was pretty excited about it. However, most of the references are in the second half of the PV. Which isn't actually that big of a deal. It would have nice to have them more spread out through the entire PV. But that's a tiny flaw. The Japanese elements throughout are calligraphy, traditionally drinking tea, karate, using a katana, focusing on the girl's kanzashi, wearing kimonos, and even falling cherry blossom petals. I loved this PV from start to finish. I like how it wasn't an average PV with just close-up shots and dance scenes because it could have been. SKE48's and SDN48's debut PVs were basically just that. I love that it had a clear storyline, and stuck with it. Even if it was relatively simple, and nothing more than a few random shots edited together. People might brush this PV off as being too gimmicky, or a tad underwhelming. But I actually don't think it's either of those. There was a perfect balance of the standard PV formula and sticking to a theme. Besides, this is idol music there's a certain cheese factor in pretty much every release. I actually still would have liked to have seen a little more from the dance. But that's a tiny flaw as well.
To me this embodies Japan. It has that standard Japanese art feel to it.
Cheap effect but still pretty cool.
This effect is awesome too. It takes so little to impress me. XD
This dance move is a litte awkward, and would honestly only work for Passpo.
This girl is cute. Too bad I don't know any NMB48 members name. Expect for Nana of course.
The snake seriously? That move is so 90's. XD
The dance is just too easy to poke fun at.
It's a hair flip, it's whatever. Chris Crocker reference FTW? I'm suck a loser. XD
Nana looks really cute in this PV. However, I can't get a good cap of her.
This is a really beautiful kimono and kanzashi.
Ok, this is an adorable dance move.
GURIIN TII no otenami wo haiken shite~ That's Seriously the first thing I though of. XD Also, really pretty kimonos.
I've been paying attention to this girl throughout the PV. She's a cutie.
At fist I thought this said love. But I realized two things. It obviously doesn't and I can't read Japanese. XD
She's so pretty. *O*
Awesome.
Cool effect! XD
Apparently nothing's more Japanese than skimpy outfits. Lol.
I love the falling cherry blossom petals.
It reminds me of the Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game PV.
The girl on the right is super pretty.
Vogue, strike a pose.
This angle isn't really the most flattering. From this angle she looks like a young Kitagawa Keiko.
Adorable!
Am I the only one who thinks this girl looks a bit like Ogawa Saki?
Bowing was the absolute perfect way to end the PV.
Since you can't embed this video from vimeo you have to click here to watch the PV.
A PV preview for AKB48's sister group NMB48's debut single, Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo, was just released. It's yet another obnoxiously long PV preview that ruins the surprise. This one clocks in at nearly 2 minutes. Which is a little less then 2/3 of the PV.
Ever since I heard the radio rip I have been in love with this song. So, I was expeting a lot from this PV. However, those expectations weren't really met. Nearly the entire PV so far is nothing but the girls surronded by rice paper doors. The dance scene is filmed in front of one, the close-up shots are filmed in front of one, and a member is even shooting an arrow surrounded by 8 or so of them. I'm also pretty dissapointed with the dance itself. Not because, it's anawful dance or anything. The dance is find, it's pretty much a standard idol dance. But when the song was first announced they said the dance was supposed to incorporate Kabuki elements. Now maybe I'm just not familiar enough with Kabuki, but I didn't notice anything that remotely looked like Kabuki. The second half of the PV preview is significantly better than the firs thalf. It shows the girls wearing kimonos, which is always adorable. And we are also treated to a new dance scene. Where the girls are wearing pretty skimpy outfits dancing in front of a Japanes style painting. Which is a nice touch. Overall I'm a little dissapointed by the PV. Since it's a song about being proud of your black hair, and being Japanse (I assume) I really wish they would have added more Japanese customs/traditions they should b proud of. Like kendo, origami, ikebana,a tea ceremony, etc. I really would have liked them to take the Japanese theme and just go all out with it. At the end of the PV they seem tobe doing calligraphy so maybe, just maybe, we'll see more Japanese elements in the full version.
Recently I was laying in bed and I was thinking about Kamei Eri and her sister. (Yes, I lay in bed and think of idols. It's completely normal and not obsessive) I was thinking about how much different they look, even though they are related. And from there it just kind of snowballed. I then thought about Yamapi and his sister. And that made me think of how all idols compare to their siblings and other relatives. Now, I orginally wanted to make this post back when pictures of Kamei Eri's sister first surfaced. Because, to put it nicely, I didn't really see the family resemblance. And because I didn't think anyone really cared about an entire post about Kamei Eri's sister I never made that post. And that post was just going to just focus on Eri and Rina. This post will encompass all of the idol relations that I know of. I'm sure there are way more then what are included in this post. But I really only know of the relations within H!P and JE. So, I'm sorry for that.
I want to give fair warning now that this post is completely shallow. Well, I should say, it can be perceived as being shallow. I actually think this post is honest, blunt, and pretty much telling it like it is. Celebrities are fair game for my judgement. If they didn't want the spotlight, and all the judgement that comes along with it, they wouldn't have become celebrities in the first place. I just thought I'd put up that little disclamer, because I'm sure I'll get greif from this post. Comments saying I'm a horrible and shallow person. And people like me are what's wrong with the world. And I'm not much to look at myself. And many other variations of that. And maybe I am a little shallow. But come on, we're idol fans. We'd be lying if we didn't admit we were shallow to some extent.
I'm mostly making this post to see if the idol genes run in the family. Or does lighting truely only strike once? While the final decision is debatable and based soley on personal preferences and opinion, I'm starting to think it really does only strike once.
Tanaka Koki and Tanaka Juri.
I think right off the bat Juri was kind of doomed because of my obvious Koki bias. I think I've made my love for Tanaka Koki quite obvious on this blog. It's not even so much a physical thing. Even though I think Koki is pretty adorable. It's more of a mixture of looks and Koki being completely awesome. I've know for a while that Koki's younger brother was a Johnny's Junior, but I never really knew what he looked like until recently. Mostly because I don't follow Juniors at all. But after watching Yan Yan Jump, I have been seeing him a lot more lately. And I have to say, he is actually kind of cute. He has a completely different look then Koki. Juri seems to follow the male idol, pretty boy look. While Koki has spent practically his whole career trying to look the opposite. Obviously I'd have to say Koki is better looking. But Juri's not too far behind. Give him a couple years, and he may surpass his brother.
Kamei Eri and Kamei Rina.
Ah, the whole reason I made this post. First off, I want to say how absolutely gorgeous I think Eri is. She's like a perfect mixture of beauty and cuteness. I seriously think she was one of the most beautiful Musumes ever. Some tough shoes to fill right off the bat. After seeing pictures of Rina I actually find it hard to believe that they are related. It's not that Rina is ugly, because she's not really. She's more of average. It's just mind boggling that the same parents who made Eri also made Rina. You know the term "the ugly sister?" I think it's obvious who is who. Oh, is that too harsh?
Akanishi Jin and Akanishi Fuuta.
Ah, Akanishi Jin, quite arguably one of the most popular and most attractive idols in all of Johnny's. I personally find him incredibly attractive. Him and his boyish good looks. And his face that at the same time is innocent, adorable, and sexy. It's pretty cut and dry why he's so popular. And his brother Reio Fuuta actually looks almost exactly like Jin. I mean, just at first glance you can tell that they are related. However, the Akanishi features that work so perfectly for Jin, don't do Fuuta any favors. See, Jin has a huge chin farly large jaw. And the other features of his face somehow compensate for this. However, on Fuuta his jaw is pretty much all you notice. And the soft features that make Jin adorable/sexy make Fuuta look awkward and confused. He seriously looks like a deer sometimes.
Okai Chisato and Okai Asuna.
Am I seeing double here or is that really Chisa's sister and not Chisa herself? First off, I never really thought Chisato was really all that pretty. Until Bye Bye Bye she never stood out to me. Now, lately I do think she is looking very pretty. Probably the prettiest she has ever looked. Sometimes she looks very elegant and gorgeous. But in the grand scheme of idols, and the world, I still think Chisato is average looking. Perhaps slightly above average. But the type of person, if was walking down my street, I wouldn't give any more of a responce then, "Yeah, she's kinda pretty." That being said I feel pretty much the same way about Asuna. She's cute, but obviously less cute then Chisa. But I think both girls look pretty similar. Maybe about 50-60 percent the same. The type of girls you see and know right off the bat are sisters. They have the same nose, eyes, and mouth. They look a lot more similar then Jin and Fuuta. But Asuna's face is puffier and her teeth make her look more awkward.
Morimoto Ryutaro and Morimoto Shintaro.
Can I first point out how much their names make me laugh. Obviously their parents loved the whole taro name. It's pretty much the Japanese equivalent of having your kid's names rhyme. XD Overall the Morimoto brothers don't really do anything for me. Since I've been a Hey! Say! JUMP fan I never really paid attention to Ryutaro. And for the longest time I always thought it was because he was 3 years younger than me. But it's actually not that. I mean, he's made me laugh a few times. But looks wise I could care less. Shintaro does nothing for me either. Since he's both Ryutaro's brother and a popular Junior he gets a lot of pimping in concerts and TV shows. But he's never come off to me as anything more than strange. Sometimes he looks oddly similar to Ryutaro and others he looks so far from him. But Shintaro just has this strange blank stare in photos and sometimes on TV. That's pretty much a "I watch you while you sleep" sort of look.
Yajima Maimi and Takeuchi Akari.
Yes, I do realize that Maimi and Akari are only cousins. But relation, is relation. So, it still counts. And I wanted to include cousins anyway. Yet another set of huge shoes to fill. Maimi is hands down the prettiest member of H!P kids. I mean, she is drop dead gorgeous. Her beauty is absolutely breath taking. And all that jazz. But seriously she really is. She has this sort of effortless, airy, aura to her. Poor little Akari doesn't really match up to Maimi. Yes, I also realize she's only 13 and hasn't really grown into her face yet. But as of right now she's kind of lack luster. I think it's mostly because of her hair. That has to be one of the most unattractive hairstyles I have ever seen.
Nakajima Yuto and Nakajima Raiya.
Nakajima Yuto is my favorite member of Hey! Say! JUMP. I actually don't even think he's the most attractive member per se, but there's something about Yuto that attracts me to him. Probably because he's so absolutely innocent and adorable. Now, Yuto and Raiya are 6 years apart so they obviously can't look 100% the same. But their features are noticeably similar. They have the same nose and eyes. And Raiya even short of looks like Yuto did when he was younger. Obviously I'm not going to judge Raiya beyond that because he's, what, 12. I'm obviously not attracted to 12 year olds. Even judging 14 year old Shintaro was weird. XD
Abe Natsumi and Abe Asami.
I've never really understood the whole Nacchi hype. I always thought she was a little annyoing and her face always made her look older than she was. But I guess she is cute in a puppy dog sense. However, it is absolutely amazing and weird just how similar Nacchi and her sister look. I mean they are 80-90% similar. If you were in a dim lit room you might mistake Asami for Natsumi. Because of that I find Asami as pretty as I find Nacchi. Which isn't all that much.
Natsuyaki Miyabi and Fujie Rena.
Obviously since they are only cousins they don't look 100% similar. But I mean you can notice similarites. Personally, my mom tells me how I look more and more like my Aunt everyday. I think both girls are actually quite stunning. If you look closely you can see that Miyabi and Rena have very similar looking mouths and eyes. And I think both girls have very strong features. Rena has a little bit larger eyes than most people and Miyabi has a little bit larger chin then most people. Either way, there's a pretty good gene pool in that family.
Yamashita Tomohisa and Yamashita Rina.
Yamapi is a pretty standard pretty boy. One of the best looking in JE. Which I always appreciate. He's not really my favorite NEWS member because of his lack of personality and his dead fish eyes in pictures. But he's one of my favorite NEWS member to look at. XD Rina looks almost exactly like Yamapi. You would think that would be a good thing, but it's just not. She pretty much looks like Yamapi with longer hair. You would think Yamapi's soft features would transfer to his sister as well, but they don't. Rina even has slightly heavier features than Yamapi. It's actually kind of funny that the brother looks prettier and softer than the sister. Rina is a fromer gravure idol. She obviously did the smart thing and quit her day job.
Tanaka Koki and Tsukamoto Airi. It's a little hard to judge similarites between not onlycousins but between male and female cousins. I think I've already made it pretty obvious how I feel about Koki. Airi is actually a little pretty. But her makeup is so thick you can't really tell. I'm not really into her gyaru looking makeup. There is a small similarity between them. Their noses look almost identical. But other than that you'd never be able to tell they were related.
Nakayama Yuma and Yamada Nana.
It's incredible that Yuma and Nana look almost exactly the same. The only real difference is that one is a boy and one is a girl. Other than that they look the same. Same nose, same eyes, same eyebrows, and same face shape. However, Nana's lips are bigger, but that's to be expected since she's a girl. I think Nana is the better of the two. Even though the particular picture I chose of Nana is a little awkward, she does come off as really cute and bubbly in pictures. Where as Yuma comes off creepy in pictures, videos, and on TV. I think it mosty has to do with the color of his hair. When he has black hair he looks significantly better, sometimes down right adorable. But when he has lighter shades the terrifying features of his face become more apparent. So, was this a pointless post? You decide. And most of you reading this will probably say it is. But I mainly made this post for my own enjoyment. And I actually had a blast writing it, if you can believe that.
NMB48 was featured on a morning show recently to promote their debut sing, Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo. And during their breif segment they previewed about a minute of the song. Which is the first time fans get to hear it.
I have to say the song is completely different than the type of song I was expecting. I was expecting something similar to enka. But this song isn't even remotely close to enka. Which is actually a relief. The song itself is extremely laid back. The song has a very soft and soothing feel to it. Which makes it very pleasant to listen to, but doesn't really work as a debut song. You'd figure that since this is their debut single, that they would have a very elaborate song to draw attention and new fans to them. SKE48's and SDN48's debut singles both were attention grabbing. Tsuyokimono yo with it's heavy anime sounding instrumental, and GAGAGA with it's unique club sounding music. But I think ABK48 did the same thing. I always thought Aitakatta would have made a better first single, and for a while I actually thought it was their first single. Back when I was a bigger AKB48 noob then I am now. XD After a couple listens I am starting to find the song enjoyable and likeable, but I still think it's pretty lack luster for a debut single. Perhaps NMB48 will win me over with the PV.
It was announced at a concert recently that AKB48's newest sister group, NMB48, will be releasing their debut single. The single is entitled Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo and will be released on July 20th.
I was pretty much expecting their debut to be pretty soon. Since they've done 2 stages already and they just recently started performing their first original song Seishun no Rap. Which is being used as the B-side for this single. I'm actually looking forward to see NMB48's debut. I'm really excited to see what kind of a feel they will have compared to the other 48 groups. The song is said to be hard and danceable, which I'm excited for. I would love a song similar to Banzai Venus. But the song is also supposed to be about Japanese beauty and have kabuki elements in the dance. That makes me think that they song will have an enka feel to it. So, maybe a song like Odoru 11's Shiawase Kyouryuu Ondo or Kanjani8's Naniwa Iroha Bushi. I would actually kind of hate an enka inspired song. So, I really hope they don't go that route.
I'm also really looking forward to their debut because of Yamada Nana. She used to be an H!P member and she's Nakayama Yuma's older sister. Talk about fandoms colliding. So, she's really interesting indeed.
Akimoto Yasushi has been holding auditions for AKB48's lastest sister unit NMB48. I'm sure most idol fans out there have known about this for a while. And rightly so, because AKB48 first announced the new group at one of their concerts in July. But I am literally just hearing about this today.
As I've said several times before I don't follow AKB48, SKE48, and SDN48 as closely as I'd like to. Mostly because I'm super new to the fandom and there is a lot of girls, music, history, and general information to sift through. So much at times it feels like my head is going to explode. Right now I still can't remember all the girls names. From memory I still only know about half the AKB48 girls' names, no SKE48 girls (besides Matsui Jurina and Matsui Rena), and no SDN48 girls. Every time I start to really remember the girls something happens in H!P and JE that I focus all my attention on. It's a vicious cycle. But I'm ok with my AKB48 fandom for now. You can't imagine how hard it is to try and focus on every single Japanese idol group out there. But this is getting completely off subject now.
Since the auditions have been going on for a while now they are already on their secondary auditions. They narrowed 430 girls down to 106. And on September 20th they will be holding the third audition. Now I haven't watched any of the NMB48 audition videos. Mostly because I can't be bothered to search for streaming videos that could take hours to find. I'll only do that for Morning Musume's 9th generation auditions. But what I did watch is a video of the top 106 girls. Here's the video.
I gotta say a vast majority of the girls are pretty unattractive. Don't get me wrong there are a few cute girls. There are girls who reminded me of Kitagawa Keiko, Kusumi Koharu, and Ogawa Makoto. But most of them resemble horses. And I know that might sound harsh, but we're talking about idols here. Who are based on looks over talent, being added to an agency that lip sinks nearly every performance. Do you think wotas watching this are thinking "hmm she's ugly, but she might actually be a good singer," or "WTF? Keep this horse face out of my group,"?
Now because I overanalyze everything and am extremely H!P biased, my immediate reactions to these auditions are, "how is this going to effect Morning Musume's 9th gen auditions?"
I know Morning Musume, NMB48 seemingly unrelated. Except, not really. You have to factor in that these are the same girls that will most likely be auditioning for Morning Musume. The rejects of this audition will most likely audition for Morning Musume as well because the auditions are in close proximity of each other.
If a girl really wants to be an idol she'll pretty much settle for any group. Let's not forget AKB48 and SKE48 members have auditioned for Morning Musume before their respected groups. AKB48's Satou Sumire, Kashiwagi Yuki, and Umeda Ayaka as well as SKE48's Furukawa Airi and Momona Kitou.
I know some of you might not realize, or don't want to admit, but these auditions will have a big effect on Morning Musume's auditions. Wether the effect is a positive or a negative is up in the air.
There are two possible effects this could have on the Morning Musume auditions. Let's start with the positive. This could definitely boost the turn out for Morning Musume's auditions. I'm sure a lot of the heartbroken girls whose dreams have been crushed will most likely try their luck with the 9th gen Momusu auditions. Like I said before, an idol group is an idol group. If they really wanted to be an idol they wouldn't care what group they were in.
And now for the negative possibility. And the one I personally find more plausible. Some girls might brush off the rejection and wait for another AKB48 or sister unit audition, rather than audition for Morning Musume. AKB48 and it's sister units are extremely popular, a lot more popular than Morning Musume. They are pretty much the top idol groups in Japan right now. 7,256 girls auditioned for NMB48. I'm going to say that Morning Musume will be lucky if they get half of that.
I'd figure a lot of girls would want to be in an extremely popular group over a not so popular group. And would probably hold out for that. It seems like AKB48 takes new members frequently. AKB48 is on their 10th generation of Research Students. That's pretty mind blowing. Considering Morning Musume is only on 8th gen currently, and H!P doesn't take that many Eggs.
I don't know, I try to look at Morning Musume's future in an optimistic way. But honestly anymore it seems kinda dim.
