Friday 14 December 2012

Kanashiki Heaven - ºC-ute Review



Here is my review on the B-side of C-ute's Aitai Aitai Aitai Na. When I first heard this song I instantly fell in love with it! I am a massive fan of acoustic songs so when the vocal harmonies kicked in with the simple guitar riffs I was hypnotised. Maimi is my favourite member of C-ute but I don't blame Tsunku for teaming Airi and Chisato together for this amazing epitome of music! They have blended well together in past C-ute singles, and I should have seen a duet like this coming.

When it comes to who sang which harmony I am happy that Airi was allocated with the lower harmonies because in recent lives she can belt out a good note in her lower register. So of course with powerful vocals needed in this song, Airi pulls it off perfectly with her low, rocky vocals. There was also a good reason for her to be placed in Buono! also!

Chisato, would be as I call it, C-ute's underdog. When C-ute first debuted she wasn't one of the main vocalists of the group but in recent singles she has slowly risen from the flames and bloomed in her own right. I never noticed her vocals until Sekaiichi Happy No Onna no ko which is a shame because I feel bad that I didn't notice her as much when I first discovered C-ute. The higher melodies that were given to her in this song allowed her to carry off this beautiful, sweet but strong vocal that blended well with Airi. I am also kind of glad that Chisato was more dominant in the recording of this song for my ears. Airi is very dominant in C-ute singles and even though she sounds fantastic in this I'm glad she didn't overdo her lower harmony to outshine Chisato.

Then the rest of the C-ute line up also add their vocals to the first lines of the chorus' which allows a more rich introduction to the main parts of the song. The chorus' of the song is what draws me in the most with the song and allows a good pace from the chorus to the music to introduce the next verse.

Then as soon as the rest of the instrumentation kicks in the vocals carry from this sweet melody to a full blown refrain about reminiscing a relationship and looking across the city. Then I also loved the middle 8 part of the song where an electric guitar riff allows for a perfect instrumentation for the rest of the C-ute members to dance to. I have seen parts of the dance that they do from the live performance and the MV and they are just amazing. No one can beat Morning Musume in the H!P groups, but C-ute are really starting to shine with their professional talents!

And the music video just made me love the song more! I loved the shots of the two girls in what appears to be a warehouse of some kind and it does remind me of the set of Morning Musume's Nanchatte Renai. I also adored the outfits and I'm glad this music video has a darker theme in terms of set and costume for this PV because it breaks away from the lighter shades that are usually used in C-ute music videos. Airi and Chisato both look like tasteful, sexy rock stars and I wasn't surprised to see Airi's midriff because to be honest she has a fit body (and I am a straight girl) and Chisato's curves were gorgeous in this PV too and her dramatic stars in the solo shots also made her look sophisticated sexy!

I also loved the shots that were used from the live to add variety to the music video but I just think this was a way for UFP to kill two birds with one stone and make two videos out of one set of shots. Despite that I think the edit between the two girls performing in the music video and the live performance along with the live choreography flowed well and made a fantastic music video. I do have to say it was one of the best H!P music videos I've seen this year!

RATING: 10/10

Thursday 6 December 2012

Berryz工房『WANT!』 Review

Sorry for the lack of activity on this blog, I started university a couple of months ago and it has kept me busy with the amount of work we do so I do apologise for not updating this blog. But hopefully in the next few weeks, I can update this blog with more music reviews because a few singles from my favourite J-Pop artists have been released and there are also a few releases in the future I am looking forward to!

Now one of the latest releases from H!P is Berryz Kobou's 30th single! Now a lot BK's fans were very excited for this single because this marked a memorable time in their career with hitting 30 singles, and I do admit I was also one of these fans who was also looking forward to this. Due to their last single, cha cha SING, sounding fantastic, of course I had high hopes for this single.



The first thing that caught me when I first listened to this song was the instrumentation. Due to the recent success of H!P latest releases being dance/techno (and with them charting fairly well compared to the in past such as C-ute's Aitai Aitai Aitai Na), I wasn't surprised that this single would also follow in those footsteps. The introduction of the song pulled me in and even though it was very memorable to begin with, after a few more listens I am addicted to this song. Of course, I did love cha cha SING so with the huge contrast from that single to this one it did throw me back when I heard the radio preview of this song.

One thing I'm also loving about BK at the moment is the fair use of line distribution in their singles, every member gets at least one line to make it fair but the lead singers (Risako, Miyabi, Momoko and Yurina) get given a bit of a bigger push so the single sounds good to the listeners ear. Every member in this song got their chances to shine and of course Risako impressed me (my BK oishii), she sung more with attitude than trying to force power out of her voice that she seems to lack control of sometimes. But this song allowed her to strut her stuff but also sound excellent.

I also love the variety in Miyabi's vocals. Of course she has a very mature voice but I loved how she switched it up between the chorus' and the verses so her voice blended in well with the rest of the girls. I don't really have anything else to say about Miyabi's vocals, she is a fantastic singer, but I have nothing to really criticise.

Other members that also stood out to me were Yurina because her voice is really starting to improve and impress me lately and I definitely see more potential with Captain! (It's just a shame she didn't get to rap in this single!) Her voice is definitely starting to sound mature!

One thing that does put me off from listening to the song a million times again and again is because of the structure of the song. It isn't bad, but I just feel that the verses sound separate from the bridge and the chorus, so it feels like Tsunku pieced two separate songs together and thought this would pass off as a good single. I also wished they'd shortened the length of the song too because the verses did seem to have the same line structure over and over again, repeated itself over and over and become tiring to listen to halfway through them. But I do adore the bridges and chorus', and even when I don't listen to this song I still hum to it all the time.

The costumes were very out there for me when I first caught sight of them so I thought they'd be doing a sexy song, but the lyrics of a song are about being in a serious relationship so I don't see the connection there. The outfits also don't match the PV apart from the dance shot. In the rotating sets shot I would have placed the girls into much more casual outfits so then they would have fit into their separate "rooms" better. However, despite the outfits not fitting in with the music video I think the girls do look stunning in these, especially Risako, Miyabi, Yurina and Saki!

I loved the black set with the white screen in the background for the dance shot, it was simple yet it still looked visually fantastic so it added composition to the dance but also didn't distract the viewers from the girls' movements. I also liked the coloured frame of the white background to represent all of the members colours, it added more to it so it wasn't a simple, cheap black and white background.

Then for the rotating rooms, I did like the idea but I felt like this could have been used as a separate idea for another single. I believe the use of sets and props for each seperate member was appropriate so it suited all of the individual members, (Momo's was also pretty obvious, the pretty-in-pink set promoted her Momochii character well, and I did prefer the use of this to those god awful ponytails she wore in cha cha SING). Also when the rooms rotated it forced you to keep a close eye on each member as they rotated round, and my attention was caught on each member. Of course, who else stood out to me more than Miyabi? She was placing herself into all different positions so she could definitely show a much more sexy side to her, but it was done in an appropriate way so she was seen as sexy and not trashy! Then when it came to the close up shots of the girls, Miyabi's wink really made me smile. Then Risako looked effortlessly beautiful with her doe-eye-stares, it made you intrigued to keep looking at her. Then even though Yurina didn't move around too much her eye contact with the camera really did pull you in and carried off a sexy innocence like Risako but in a different way.

And even though people did have issues with Risako's red shade of hair, I think she made the right move in changing it. The red shade suits her a lot better than the purple shade, even though I was growing to it. I think if she had kept the purple it would have blended in too much with the purple outfits and she wouldn't have stood out as much. I do hope she keeps the same red shade for the next few singles at least. However, I wished Saki could have least kept the shame lighter shade from cha cha SING for this single, because even though I do love her dark shade of hair now, I think there was too many dark shades in the costumes and the other members hair so Saki didn't stand out as much as I wished her too.

This single I believe was a very good choice for Berryz's 30th single release because it's catchy and memorable after a few more listens and the music video had a lot of simple creativity. It isn't as amazing as cha cha SING but it is a fantastic single, and apart from the little minor issues I do have, I can easily forgive and forget them and I can safely say that WANT! is one of my top H!P single releases this year!

RATING: 8/10

Saturday 21 July 2012

theGazettE - Derangment/Ibitsu Preview Reviews

A few days ago J-Rock/visual kei band theGazettE released two twenty second previews to what appears to be two singles releases (maybe) from their new upcoming album DIVISION which is due to be released on the 28th of August. Being a diehard fan of theGazettE when I saw these two video clips pop up onto my youtube home page a little fangirl in me squealed.

Ibitsu was the first clip I saw and to be honest even though it's only a small segment of the song I am very excited to hear the full thing. I love heavy instrumentation from theGazettE because it does make me pumped when I listen to songs of theirs that follow that pattern. I am also massive fan of Ruki's voice and because of the autotune that was heavily used in their last album TOXIC I was very happy to hear clean vocals in this song. The smoothness of the vocals and the simplicity of the effects used on the voice makes it simple and underrated when put together with the instrumentation so it sounds fantastic but it isn't too heavy for my little ears to bear. The music video does look simple in this with the use of the black and white and there are just clips of the band but then again this is only a small fragment of the music video so there may be a storyline that could also be showcased in this but who knows? We'll just have to wait and see. The use of the black and white does make the music video look sleek and clean, but this effect has been used in previous PVs before like Pledge and Remember The Urge so I hope there's something in this video that breaks it away from them other two singles.

I then listened to Derangment straight after Ibitsu and again I like this song as well but not as much as Ibitsu. This does sound like something you could hear from TOXIC so it does make me wonder whether they will be going with near enough the same sound for the DIVISION album. Again there is heavy instrumentation in this track yet again, but it seems more jagged whereas in Ibitsu the progression was much more clean cut for me. I do like the transition from Ibitsu to this though. I definitely see this as a single that will be released. The vocals aren't as clean on this due to some distortion and autotune on the vocals but it does add more layers to the song and allows it to be a very busy with the instrumentation. I really do like the cuts used in this video and how there are red filters on some shots of Ruki, and it does remind me of The Invisible Wall which was the first theGazettE song I heard so it's nice to remember those memories through this song. The storyline in this video seems to be centred around a male protagonist who is engaging in some sort of sexual activity with a female and for some reason he does remind me of the male protagonist from The Suicide Circus. Maybe it's the same guy? I am interested to see where the storyline goes. Again there are English lyrics in this song and I can hear it from Ruki's Engrish. I sometimes find it difficult to understand what Ruki is singing when he's singing in English but once I find the lyrics then I will be excited to hear what the song is about! They also seem to be maintaining the same simple style that they had from TOXIC so it is a shame that they have gone safe with their look because through their career they have been known to change it up to make it exciting but this time they've decided to keep it safe for their own reasons. Maybe it is to make fans concentrate on the music? Or maybe some other reason? Anyhow I do like this style even if some people may like their more extravagant styles that they have gone for in the past.

Both of these songs are amazing so it does make me as a fan get high expectations for the album. The title DIVISION sounds kick ass so I hope the album is too!

IBITSU: 10/10
DERANGMENT: 8/10

Mano Erina announces her graduation!

Today it has been announced that H!P's solo artist Mano Erina will be graduating from Hello!Project in February 2013. This announcement randomly came out of the blue and I guess it will be another emotional obstacle for die hard H!P fans to get over, especially after the double graduation of Risa Niigaki and Aika Mitsui a little while back.The dust had seemed to settle from the shock of Risa and Aika's graduation so with this new graduation announcement it will shake up the H!P fandom once again.

I've been a fan of Hello!Project for a few years now but I only started listening to Mano Erina a year ago when some dubbers I knew covered her songs and I thought they sounded very good. Recently, with her newest releases like Doki Doki Baby, My Days for You and especially Song For The Date I was really really starting to like her a lot. She has a fantastic voice and I do love her more mature style compared to her idol character earlier on in her career. Recently, with how mature she's starting to become and look I did think she was trying to break away from her typical idol image, and now with the graduation coming up in February I should have seen this coming really. I understand Mano Erina is in her twenties now and she wants to expand her horizons so she isn't always known as the soloist of H!P.

To be honest I am sad that she is graduating, but I'm not as sad as when I heard Takahashi Ai was graduating back in September last year. Mano is a singer I'm really starting to get close to as a fan, so it's a shame she's leaving as soon as I'm becoming a big fan of her music. She is a fantastic actress and she is graduating to pursue acting so I do think it would be good for her if she did graduate so she can create her own image and isn't anchored as a Hello!Project idol for the rest of her career.

Good luck Mano Erina for the future! :D

Monday 9 July 2012

cha cha SING - Berryz Kobou REVIEW


Today Berryz Kobou's 29th single cha cha SING's MV was released on youtube. When the sneak peek of the song was revealed a little while ago, despite it only being a 3 minute chunk of the song, I couldn't get the catchy melody and tune of the song out of my head. At random moment, I kept singing chachachachacha in my head for hours on end!

When I heard the title of the song before I heard the song properly, my first reaction was that it would be another upbeat, happy song like Be Genki was. I did love Be Genki but I was hoping that cha cha SING would be something completely different. When I heard the style of the song and it's Thai influences I was kind of shaken off the trails that my expectations had lead me to. I never really listen to Thai/Indian style music but I loved how cha cha SING converged the Thai genre and the classical H!P pop sound together to create a hybrid that follows the classic H!P fans expectations, but still allows them to discover a new genre of music that they wouldn't normally want to give a chance to in the first place. I think in the past H!P was very predictable with what the expectations were when it came to the fans. However, I am very optimistic about this new transitions of a new H!P with Morning Musume's success with One Two Three and now with Berryz Kobou venturing into new territories with their music!

The setting of the MV definitely reminded me of Happy Summer Wedding and Koko No Iruzee! The use of colours with the backdrop definitely reminded me of Koko No Iruzee and then the costume were like a modern update of the Happy Summer Wedding costumes. The song is very busy in terms of melodies and tune, and so I was very happy that the music video wasn't too complicated or over the top. The cuts throughout the music video were very clean and I loved how each member was showcased equally. The solo shots and the dance shot coincided with each other very well and each of the members looked like they were having a lot of fun in the dance and their solo shots, so it allowed a good pace throughout the final MV and it maintained their happy energy throughout it! Of course, to make smooth transitions I did notice one or two more serious, pouty shots and Risako's and Maasa's definitely stuck in my head the most! Captain also stood out for me a lot in this video as well, and even though she doesn't get many lines in comparison to Miyabi I think she definitely stood out in the music video with her contagious smile and facial expressions!

I was a big massive fan of the costumes, especially the head pieces. I knew it was meant to suit a Thai style but the first thing that came to my head was The Tudors with how large and royal the headpieces looked. Not many people may agree with me, but I did think of Tudor fashion when I first saw them, but that's just my interpretation. I also loved the colour co-ordination of the outfits with Risako, Miyabi and Momoko wearing red tops and then the rest were wearing blue. When I first saw the costumes I thought Yurina might have been wearing red because she does have a lot of lines so I thought the red would symbolise the main singers of the single, but now I've seen the dance shot it would look uneven if Yurina did wear red as well. I think the use of red and blue was very effective and it did show the girls in a royal light, and it co-ordinated well with the yellow so it didn't clash badly. They also looked very comfortable to dance in as well, so I was glad that it allowed the girls to dance spectacularly in this.

The dance routine does look very easy to follow and learn and I know a lot of J-Pop dancers on youtube (like myself) will be learning this dance and be uploading it within next week! I don't blame them, the dance looks very fun and easy to learn and I also loved how like the song the dance also used traditional moves that are also very easy for audience to recognise.

I was very happy that this song showcased all of the members of Berryz and I do think each member gets at least 2 solo lines, and I think it showcased all of them brilliantly because I cannot deny how talented every member of Berryz Kobou is. I am not the biggest fan of Momoko though but I cannot deny that she sounded very mature in this and this is what I've wanted to see/hear for a long time to come. I'm not a huge fan of her kiddy idol character and I have been wanting her to act more mature so I was happy that music video did make her look a little more grown up despite those awful pigtails. Risako Sugaya (my bias) once again blew me away with her amazing vocals and her vibrato used in this musical style does show that Risako is a very talented singer!!!!

RATING: 10/10

Sunday 10 June 2012

One•Two•Three/The Matenrou Show Review

One•Two•Three
123/The Mantenrou Show is Morning Musume's longly anticipated 50th single, which is a large mark in Morning Musume's history. This is the first single with after Risa Niigaki's graduation and is the debut single of Sayumi Michishige as the new leader of Morning Musume.

I first heard this song from a live performance they did at Girls Award 2012 and when I saw them perform this song I was very impressed with the song. It was another techno/pop song which I feel is going to be a new direction that this "new" Morning Musume is going to transition to. Because Renai Hunter was such a success with it's techno/dubstep sound, I think Morning Musume will use this new sound to their advantage and gain new fans and gain more popularity than they've had in the past few years. The live audio of 123 wasn't the best quality so there wasn't a lot a I couldn't hear from the overall song. I did like how the bass was very prominent in the song so it created a fuller sound. However, I was not a big fan of the use of autotune, because Morning Musume is such a talented group and their talents have been showcased in live performances so I was disappointed in the use of autotune because it wasn't needed.

Then when the dance shot came out a lot of people had different opinions on the song and I too did change my opinion on the song. In the cleaner studio version of 123 the bass is less prominent as well as the autotune which I was really happy about but the lack of the bass took away a lot of presence from the overall sound so it sounded a little less exciting than the performance version but it still maintained a positive energy that made me want to dance to the song. I have to say that this song makes a fantastic A-side to a single, but it didn't blow me away in terms of it being the 50th single, but I guess my expectations were a little too high for this single (and I know how fussy us Morning Musume fans are). However, I really do love 123 because it has the techno and mature sound that I love from Morning Musume, and it also has a catchy tune and lyrics that make the song memorable and hard to get out of your head after the first listen.

It isn't hard or surprising to hear Reina and Riho being dominant in this single. I really do like these two girls, Reina is a Morning Musume ace and will be until she graduates because she's one of the most talented girls in Morning Musume history. I guess with Riho being a new "ace" of Morning Musume I wasn't surprised for her to be a dominant member in this single, but I still haven't warmed up to her as a fan yet but I do think she has a good voice. I wasn't too happy that Reina and Riho were dominant in this single because this is the 50th single and with this being a mark in Morning Musume's history I thought that more members would be showcased but I guess that isn't the case. Tsunku has auditioned these new girls and with the addition of the 10th gen and soon to be 11th gen I feel like it's a waste of their talents for there to be a large member number when only one or two girls are going to be showcased. However, I do understand that for business purposes Reina and Riho are good for the leads in the song because they are popular members so they'll attract more attention to Morning Musume and their voices are good on records.

Apart from that I was really happy that my bias' did get some exposure in 123! Sayu did get some lines even though they were the end of sentences and I was glad that she shared the HA HA HA parts with Mizuki because they are really fantastic together! I just wish Sayu could have a bit more to sing because she is the leader, but I do understand that just because she is leader it doesn't mean she's suddenly going to get more lines, but I just feel like she's improved a lot and she would have sounded fantastic as a lead on this single. Mizuki and Sayu are my favourite members and I was glad they got some lines...but anyway fangirling aside! Even though I didn't feel like every member was showcased I'm happy that they all got a part at least, even if it was syllable, but I guess I should be happy with what I've been given.

In the dance shot, I was very impressed with the moves because they were very powerful and in synch so it made a very good dance in terms of visualising it all when seeing the girls performing it. Of course Reina and Riho are shown at the front due to them singing the song, but I also noticed Ayumi was also pushed to the front so I'm happy that her dancing skills are being showcased. I also noticed Mizuki and Erina a lot so I'm also happy that they're starting to shine in their own ways in Morning Musume. The only thing I was disappointed with was with the full group formations. I know some members, such as Haruna, aren't the best dancers, but I felt bad for these girls when they were hidden away to the back in the full group formations. Haruna and Kanon were hidden away especially, and I know they aren't the strongest dancers but it isn't really fair for them to be shunned at the back. If they couldn't stand out vocally in the song at least expose them a little in the video. I think maybe Reina's whispered parts could have been given to another member or maybe Sayu especially!

The backdrop of the dance shot was very interesting for me and I'm very curious with how it will look with the final PV. I really loved how they had pieces of fabric draped so they looked like curtains and it reminded me of Only You, but I'm not very keen on the use of a brown colour, I think they could have used a more eye-catching colour. However, I am happy that it doesn't distract from the outfits. The moves in the dance were very powerful, but not too sexy that it looked inappropriate for the younger members. I also know that it's going to be a very fun dance for people to cover on YouTube.
When I first saw the outfits for 123 I did like them but I thought they were more catered for stage outfits for a Morning Musume tour rather than them being used for a PV. However, after a little while I have started to really like them and there are some parts of the outfits that I love and some that I still haven't warmed up to yet. The top halves of their outfits are absolutely stunning with their lolita influences so it shows how Morning Musume are trying to reach out to a more modern, young audience due to lolita being a trend in Japanese youth. I like the use of bows because it makes the look more idol-ish and the use of member colours allows each member to shine in their own way and it symbolises how each individual member of Morning Musume has contributed to the group advancing to the present and continuing to do so in the future. I really did love how they used thigh high socks with a pair of colour co-ordinated boots because it added to the stylish elements to the outfits and I really do love that style.However, the only part of the outfits that I'm still 50/50 with are the skirts. When I first saw the skirts I didn't like them because I didn't like the use of horizontal and vertical stripes. I was trying to imagine the them without the stripes but then it would have made the outfits plain and I hate plain outfits, especially when MoMusu are concerned. However, as time has passed I have warmed up the stripes, I think it was because it was something that was out of the box and I didn't expect it so I may start to love it later on in time.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS:
Reina Tanaka - In her usual style Reina's hairstyle is her usual with a side ponytail, her fringe swept to the side and she is wearing a bow as big as her head. I really love the style and the earrings add another element to it so it's the typical Reina but she still looks as stunning as ever. I loved how she smiled in the performance of 123 as well because I'm used to her performance with a bored expression on her face, but it looks like she is enjoying performing this single so I hope she smiles more because she has a beautiful smile.

Sayumi Michishige - Sayu was styled into her traditional cute persona so she is still the same Sayu we recognise. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail with a small pink bow so she looks cute but I think it would have looked better with her hair down because I love it when her hair is down, and I would have loved it if it was curled like her ponytail but still styled down. It would have made her look really beautiful and maybe even more mature to make her look more like a leader. But she still looked very pretty and cute.

Ayumi Ishida - Even though she may be getting more of a push due to being the 10th generations dance ace I was glad Ayumi wasn't styled too much. Her long hair was plain and straightened down but it did look like some of hair was styled to create a bow on the top of her head and it reminds me of Lady Gaga when she first debuted. However, I think this style really suits Ayumi and she looks very stylish.

Erina Ikuta - I really loved Erina's style in this video. Her short hair was flicked out and was accessorised with a purple hairband so it made her look very sophisticated but I can't really describe it as sexy because she's still at a young age. I have a feeling Tsunku may style her to be a "sexy" member when she grows up in Morning Musume. She never really stood out for me with her style when she first debuted as a 9th gen member, but I'm really starting to notice her beauty now.

Sato Masaki - She hasn't made much of an impact with me yet, so for me she didn't stand out  in 123 even though she had the most paired lines out of the 10th gen in this single. Her hair was a simple short cut with a fringe and was accessorised with a green hairband, which I think was very plain compared to the rest of the members.

Likubo Haruna - She was the first person I looked at when I saw the costumes for the outfit for the first time. When I saw that her member colour was "chocolate" I didn't like it because it wasn't as eye-catching compared to the rest of the member colours, but seeing her dressed in brown has made me realise why she was given it now. With her being a model before she joined Morning Musume, I think Tsunku may use her as a member that is more stylish than talented because she isn't the best singer and her voice is still in it's early stages. I love her hairstyle with how it was styled into twisted bunches because it made her look sassy and stylish!

Kanon Suzuki - I really do love Kanon as a fun member and I do think she has a fantastic voice that could be amazing if she was pushed to the front a little more, but for me she's starting to fade away from me now. I feel like she's losing her infectious smile and you can see that with Kanon lately. I don't think she was happy with how she looked in this song either, because to be honest she looks ridiculous. When I first saw Kanon I thought it was just a bun so I thought it was just shoved up and it was done with. I now realise that it's now a sectioned ponytail and I really do not like it. In relation to the rest of the members she stands sorely, and not in a good way.

Kudo Haruka - Haruka is the youngest Morning Musume member at 11 years old but in 123 she looks old enough to be a senpai member. She really looks beautiful and sophisticated and goes well with the mature sound of this song, but I was happy that she didn't look too sexy, because I'd feel very weird if I called an eleven year old girl sexy. They were some issues from fans about how she looked to sexy for her age, and I do agree with it to some degree but I still think she looks beautiful.

Mizuki Fukumura - I've been so used to Mizuki having her styled down and starting to look a little plain so I was very surprised that she was styled in bunches for this song but I was surprised in a good way! With her being the oldest 9th generation member, I thought this look would have been used for Sato Masaki or some other 10th generation member, but Mizuki still managed to pull this off. If you look at her closely, her bunches look cute but they also look very sassy and her make-up distinguishes that even further, so she's cute but still looks beautiful. I think she's going to continue being even more beautiful in the next single!

Riho Sayashi - I was really happy that Riho didn't get too much styling with her outfit because she would have stood out on her own anyway. She has gorgeous long hair so I was happy that it wasn't tied back, but it's a shame that it's shoved to the side because it doesn't really do anything for her. I don't know what's happened with her fringe because it looks choppy and it doesn't look good on her.

The Matenrou Show
(The video cannot be embedded so to listen to the song please click on this link :))

The Mantenrou Show is the second A-side to 123 and when I heard it I was happy it wasn't another techno song because even though I know Morning Musume is going in that direction musically, I'm happy that this A-side sounded different and it didn't blur into 123. If it had a techno sound it wouldn't have contrasted much with 123 and it would have created a boring single. It does still have some aspects of techno but it's also fused with a sexy disco sound that is very catchy when you first listen to it. However, I do have some issues with the musicality of the song. Some parts of the song sound like it's been recycled from Busu Ni Naranai Tetsugaku which I am not fond of. Because this is the 50th single I thought Tsunku would have made more effort, but it just seems like he went the lazy route and re-used some sounds he wanted to use again to create a simple song.

Again this is a Reina/Riho dominant song which did annoy me to hell when I listened to The Mantenrou Show. However, I do understand that Reina and Riho are aces of Morning Musume at the moment, and for this song to be pleasant  listen mto, and for it to be radio friendly, the best singers are going to be shoved to the front so the song sounds good on radio. The only thing that I can think of for the other members not being showcased is that they still need time to develop their talents before they reach the talents of Reina. Sayu is leader and another senpai member so I was displeased that she didn't have much exposure because she is leader and her voice has improved lots! She sounded fantastic in the Ultra Smart but I guess maybe she still doesn't have the best voice to be the front of a single...but then again remember Kare Issho?! However, I am happy that the B-sides will showcase every generation!

Due to Matenrou meaning skyscraper in Japanese I, like a lot of other fans, imagined the music video being set on a skyscraper, but when I heard the song I can't imagine it being on a skyscraper now. I can imagine it being a glitzy MV but then again we haven't seen the outfits for this single yet so I can't really predict anything strongly yet. Dueto UFA spending a lot more money on MVs lately such as Mano Erina's Song for the Date, I do hope that there will be more effort for the 50th single in terms of the music videos because Morning Musume deserve it very much!

RATING:
1 2 3: 9/10
The Matenrou Show: 8/10