 When Country Girls formed last year I was confused by many aspects of the group. Are they a revival of Country Musume? Are they going to be performing that group's back catalog? Will their releases be as sporadic? What exactly is Momoko's role in the group? Well, their first single dropped a couple weeks ago and I am glad to say that while very few of those questions were answered, Country Girls did pull off an awesome debut release! You may recall that this single was originally going to be an indies release. That was of course changed and Country Girls get to kick off their career with a major debut. The group's talent is clear in this single as well as the fact that this single sold an impressive 45,000 copies its first week (Putting it in the #3 spot on the Oricon Chart). I admit that I always assume the worse of the younger Hello! Project members. I always assume they're vocals are going to be off-putting and their talent questionable. Well, Juice=Juice proved me wrong a couple years back and Country Girls do it again here. Before I continue let me state here that new Hello! Project lyricist, Kodama Ameko, has been doing an amazing job partially filling in for Tsuku's absence. This twenty-one year old woman has talent! The two Country Girls songs she penned are pretty amazing and let's not forget that she was also behind ANGERME's "Otome no Gyakushuu". While I lament Hello! Project's loss of Tsunku I am glad that people like her and Takui Nakajima are able to so effectively carry on the Hello! Project legacy.  Let's jump right into the single now. First up is "Itooshikutte Gomen ne" ("I'm Sorry For Being So Adorable"). I normally don't care much for songs like this, It's cutesy and has a tinge of that forgettable generic vibe to it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing if this is where your tastes lie, it's just that these type of songs come up a lot in the course of idol groups and they can sometimes start to blend together. Let me stop there and mention that this song does not totally fall into that category, the chorus and retro-style melody save it in my opinion. It reminds me of some of the songs the old Country Musume line-up put out and also had me initially wondering if Takui Nakajima had a hand in its writing (He did not). The English parts are a nice touch too and the production quality itself is what you'd expect from a major Hello! Project release. I do not recommend this song for those that can't stomach the sugary sweet side of Hello! Project though especially when one watches the video! Then again is there really a fan of Hello! Project who can not at least tolerate the cuter side of things? That being said, I am pleased to note that Momoko isn't hamming up her Momochi personality in Country Girls. I know that that wasn't the purpose of having her in this group, but I initially feared that she would attempt to act in a fashion similar to the other girls who are much younger than her. This brings me to a question I asked earlier: What is Momoko's role in the group? She's their leader of sorts and performs too, but she operates in a strange position apart from the rest of the girls. I at first assumed she'd act like a borrowed member like Rika Ishikawa and Konno Asami/Miki Fujimoto did in the past. That doesn't seem to be the case as she's not only much more involved than they were, but she also has no other group to return to outside of Country Girls. I wonder if this is just a way to stall her graduation for another year. Anyhow, the song is catchy and the video is very cheerful without being too distractingly cute. The outfits in the video scream classic S/mileage to me for some reason though and I can't help but have that thought run in my mind whenever I watch the PV. There are worse things to compare a group to though aren't there?  The other A-Side to this single (Remember when Hello! Project actually had proper B-sides?) is "Koi Dorobou" ("Love Thief"). Remember how I mentioned the other video not being cute, but not too cute? Well this one throws that concept out the window and mixes in some pink. LOTS of pink. That was honestly all I took away from the video the first time. The fact that every aspect of it was tinged pink. PV aside, I actually like this song a bit more than "Itooshikutte Gomen ne". It has the same catchy vibe present in the original, but has a stronger driving beat complete with a catchy chorus and playful lyrics courtesy of the aforementioned Kodama Ameko. Gotta love the use of "love me do" in the song too, something that Tsunku used to add to several of his Hello! Project songs. I can't help but wonder if this was an homage to him. I might have to look that up. Back to the song, the song moves fast and this one also had me checking the writing credits to see if Takui Nakajima had a hand in it. He didn't, but the song is still really catchy. Try to not sing along if you can! If there is one song from this single that I'll probably still be listening to later on in the year, it's this one. Gotta love that "Oh my god!" at the end! I mentioned that the other song's outfits reminded me of S/mileage, well the ones here are reminiscent of something Juice=Juice would be outfitted in. There you have it. Country Girls are apparently here to stay and this is not a bad thing! Hello! Project was sorely lacking in new groups and these girls fill that void very well. Being the first group to not have Tsunku-produced material did not keep them from surpassing not only this fan's expectations, but probably all those who didn't believe that a debut Hello! Project group could still command such impressive first-week sales. Be sure to pick up the single if you haven't already and check out the PVs I so graciously provide in this review!
Country Girls Are: ◆ Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子) (Play Manager) ◆ Yamaki Risa (山木梨沙) ◆ Inaba Manaka (稲場愛香) ◆ Morito Chisaki (森戸知沙希) ◆ Shimamura Uta (島村嬉唄) ◆ Ozeki Mai (小関舞)
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 Hello! Project Station Episode #103 Contents MC: Nakanishi Kana, Aikawa Maho ◆ Hello! Project - I Know ◆ Hello! Project - Rival ◆ ANGERME - Otome no Gyakushuu Live ◆ 4 Kanji phrase 大器小用 ◆ Discussion: Yajima Maimi & Shimizu Saki ◆ Q&A Corner ◆ Inaba Manaka (Country Girls) Hair Arrange Episode 103 opens with two of the big Hello! Project performance from the recent concert tour. First up we get Aya Matsuura's "I Know" which was a song I never really cared for around the time of its release. It's a bit more interesting here performed by Hello! Project at large, but just as forgettable as before as far as I am concerned. Thankfully this wasn't the only song presented, we next get Berryz Koubou's "Rival". This was a song that I liked when it was released but never really listened to after that. It was the double A-side to "Seishun Bus Guide" and, for me at least, that song got the most attention. That being said, it was refreshing to hear it again and of course fitting to use a Berryz Koubou song as the group performance as this is their final Hello! Project tour. With that in mind, I must say that I think there are far better songs in Berryz' catalog to perform as an ensemble, but there are also far worse ones too.... Anyhow, watch and enjoy and wait the long wait until they release these Hello! Project concerts on DVD/Blu-ray  The hosts for this episode of Hello! Project Station are both from ANGERME, we get second gen member, Nakanishi Kana and recent addition Aikawa Maho. They make for a very interesting pairing and there is lots of friendly banter between the two. We hear of Kana's Osakan accent slowly reappearing thanks to new Hello! Project members who also hail from Osaka and we also get a glimpse at Maho's deep love for classical balet and karaage! There is some talk of the pairings within ANGERME and perhaps we'll see more of the Aihara/Nakanishi duo in the future? Some interesting talk about the ANGERME single release show, especially regarding the performance of S/mileage songs with the new nine-member line-up. I can't wait to see these performances properly when they are eventually released. After this, we move into yet more ANGERME promotion. Not that I am really complaining as I feel that this is a group that should get far more recognition/support than S/mileage received.  The next segment is a live clip of "Otome no Gyakushuu" from the recent Hello! Project concerts. I've said it countless times, but I love the song and I love this new line-up. This live only confirms the fact that the re-branding is just the sort of change that S/mileage needed to remain relevant. While we're on the topic, I was always more than a little confused as to why the powers that be waited so long to add a third generation to the group. Returning to the performance, the girls are all in top form when it comes to the dance and their vocal talent is present even in this slightly low-quality clip. There is a bit during the chorus where everyone just sounds a little too loud, but it can be forgiven by the rest of the performance. Check it out and the single itself if you haven't already! Be a tree!  Next up is the 4-Kanji corner, a segment that I do not usually care for. This one is a little more entertaining as we get some good dialogue between Morning Musume 15 sub-leader, Iikubo Haruna and Country Girls' member Inaba Manaka. For one we learn that Manaka shares Haruna's love for anime and manga which leads to some nice asides. Just like most of these segments, Manaka knows little about the phrase itself. She's not alone though as I found this phrase especially confusing to me even with the explanation... It closes with Haruna asking Manaka to sing. She breaks into an impromptu "Taikibansei" and I can't help but wonder if Haruna was just trolling her not thinking she'd actually comply. Anyhow, I found this segment far more entertaining than I usually do, so I suggest you don't skip it this time around!  Next we have a very interesting segment, a talk between Hello! Project/C-ute leader, Yajima Maimi and Berryz Koubou Captain, Shimizu Saki. This is a very informative retrospective discussion that goes all the way back to their days as members of Hello! Project Kids. They talk about the audition process, their first roles in acting and the early days of being back dancers for the established Hello! Project artists both in PVs and in lives. They both talk about their feelings that their dancing skills were not up to par which is interesting as many fans consider these two amongst the strongest dancers in Hello! Project. The talk then moves along to the formation of the groups "ZYX" and their first single "Iku ZYX Fly High!". What I found most interesting about this segment is the revelation that the girls wore butt pads to make themselves look more mature! I was not aware that UP FRONT and H!P would go to these lengths to push a group and it makes me wonder if there are any other similar stories in H!P's history.... This discussion is not complete though and is to be continued in the next episode.  A somewhat quick Q&A corner follows some discussion about the recording of "Taikibansei". Aikawa Maho apparently is a Nakanishi Kana fan! Even though this segment moves really fast, it was also really entertaining. These two interact well and I guess that is for the best as they will be spending a lot of the Idol careers in each other's company. Kana basically steals the closing speech and goes in depth on the the meaning of ANGERME. Good way to wrap up this episode....but wait, there's more!  This episode closes with a hair arrange by Inaba Manaka from Country Girls. I usually don't care too much for these segments since they seem like fluff, but I watched most of this one for a change. Basically curled twintails with some high braiding. If you want to mimic this look, the instructions are there! Some interesting anecdotes from her, but I still don't know too much about her so perhaps these segments will have more of an impact once the new members settle in.  Hello! Pro Station Episode #102 Contents MC: Katsuta Rina & Natsuyaki Miyabi ◆ ANGERME - Otome no Gyakushuu (Dance Shot) PV ◆ Country Girls Major Debut Announcement ◆ Hamaura Ayano Interview Part 2 ◆ ANGERME - Taikibansei Dance Lesson ◆ Q&A Corner ◆ Nakajima Saki Hair Arrange The 102nd episode of Hello! Pro Station kicks off with the Dance Shot PV for ANGERME's song, "Otome no Gyakushuu". I love this song and I love this PV, but I've talked about this many times elsewhere, so I'll just skip the usual praise here. The dance is great and the choreography is rather unique for Hello! Project. Many fans notice that there is dance recycling in a lot of PVs (For all Hello! Project groups too, not just ANGERME/S/mileage) but there is little of that here. The dance matches the song and video well and the break in the bridge (Which is unfortunately where this video cuts) is a unique touch. Also, I wrote this after I saw the episode so I know now what the Thriller-esque hand poses I mention in other posts are supposed to represent... well.... more on that later. I like this Dance Shot PV more than Taikibansei's as it shows more of the dance proper without typical PV-style editing and cuts. Taikibansei's was edited much like the normal promotion version, but without the close-ups. This one is pure dance without too much fancy editing which is what a proper dance shot should be.  Our hosts for this episode are Natsuyaki Miyabi of Berryz Koubou and ANGERME's Katsuta Rina. They are an interesting pairing and I can't help but comment on Miyabi's sweater which is pretty cool with its wax seal design. It apparently is a topic worth discussing as the two do mention it and clothes in general. Lots to talk about here, Miyabi is a fan of "Otome no Gyakushuu" (aren't we all?) and Rina mentions that the dance moves are meant to be tree stances, that's right, tree stances. I would never had thought trees, I thought monster/zombie/whatever and I'm fairly certain a lot of other people did too. I guess that can be forgiven, but they are meant to be trees apparently! Anyhow, this is Miyabi's last hosting on Hello! Pro Station, so get the most out of it! Only mere days left as of this posting till Berryz Koubou ceases operations...  Next we have the Country Girls major debut announcement. Momoko reads a message from Satoda Mai and messes up a couple times along the way! This was probably the best part, especially the first time as she re-reads the whole message assuming probably that the mistake would be edited out; no such luck! Well, to the details of the announcement, Country Girls will have their major debut on March 25th and their previously announced indie debut has been cancelled in favor of the major one. Everyone seemed really shocked, not the least of which were the fans, and quite a bit of tears flowed.  We get the second half of the interview with Hamaura Ayano. More of her time with the Kenkyuusei and her experiences recording and training with them. There is some interesting insights here and more than a few funny/interesting anecdotes, but I personally don't feel too much regarding her personality. Perhaps when the unnamed group debuts I'll revisit this to see an early side of her character, for now though, I'll just move along....  This is all followed by.....Taikibansei dance lessons led by Wada Ayaka! It's in interesting segment and feature's Morning Musume 15's Sayashi Riho, Ishida Ayumi and the 12th Generation members. This is worth noting as there has been so little Morning Musume present in recent Hello! Project stations. Other than that little novelty, I don't think this segment was really all that necessary. Then again, it seems to have replaced the kanji lesson this week so I can't really complain... Everyone catches onto the dance really quickly and the new members are very skilled if I do say so myself. Hope we see more from them in the coming weeks!  The Q&A segment follows, but I found this one not as interesting as most. Maybe this is just me. Our hosts did a good job though and sadly this will be the last time we'll ever see Miyabi host Hello! Pro Station. More promotion for the new ANGERME single (out as of this posting) and we get a final goodbye to Miyabi and move onto the final segment....  A hair arrange from Nakajima Saki! Yeah, I actually don't care too much for these segments. The last time we say Saki though she teased her hair in a crazy fashion that made the 80s jealous! This time is just a little more boring, but perhaps you wanted to mimic one of her braids, I don't know. Anyhow, watch and enjoy!   In a surprise announcement last week, it was revealed that Morning Musume '15's first single with the new name and new line-up will be the theme song for the upcoming Precure movie 'Eiga Precure All Stars Haru no Carnival"! This comes as a big surprise to many fans as it is a departure from not only their normal style, but also from writer/producer Tsunku. Owing to Tsunku's battles with his health this comes as no surprise, but this author is more than a little sad that all the Hello! Project groups are taking outside penned songs for this round of singles. The new song, "Ima Koko Kara" will join a very small list of songs that are performed by the group, but written by outside producers. That said, this song will be a huge opportunity for Morning Musume to reach a wider audience, both within Japan and abroad. In addition to this news was the announcement that Morning Musume '15 members Iikubo Haruna, Oda Sakura and Ishida Ayumi will be voicing characters in the movie itself! The age of Helllo! Project's presence in anime might be returning in force! These big announcements come at the end of a long drought of proper Morning Musume news and it turns out the wait was worth it! A preview for the song can be found below, but it must be noted that this version of the song is not performed by Morning Musume '15. Stay tuned for more news and updates!  Hello! Pro Station Episode #101 Contents MC: Ishida Ayumi & Kumai Yurina ◆ ANGERME - Otome no Gyakushuu PV ◆ ANGERME - Taikibansei (Dance Shot) PV ◆ 4-Kanji Phrase : 一蓮托生 ◆ Hamaura Ayano Interview ◆ Berryz Selection ◆ Q&A Corner ◆ Juice=Juice "School For Girls" Information The 101st episode of Hello! Project Station begins with the Promotion Edit of ANGERME's new PV "Otome no Gyakushuu". I have a separate post about this song so I won't say too much about it here. I will say that this song is probably my early pick for idol song of the year and that I am extremely excited to hear new material from ANGERME. While I am a little torn over the fact that Tsunku isn't writing for them anymore, I am glad to say that this change in sound and style is a welcome one!  This week's hosts are Morning Musume 15's Ishida Ayumi and Berryz Koubou's Kumai Yurina. They do a great job together and there is a surprising amount of fun banter here. Kumai Yurina is about as random as you expect her to be and Ayumi is sporting a new shorter hairstyle. Some discussions about Ayumi turning 18 recently. This means that she'll finally be able to perform in the later segments of the Hello! Countdown concerts! Also, gotta love Kumai Yurina's description of the new ANGERME PV.  Next we see the dance shot version of ANGERME's "Taikibansei". I mentioned this before, but this song really made me take back all the negative things I was saying about S/mileage's re-branding as ANGERME. The song is catchy, amazing and the dance/outfits are a perfect fit. This dance shot version is a little more stylized than we are probably used to seeing, but it's a fun version nonetheless and a good excuse to listen to the song again!  Next up, we have the 4-kanji phrase segment! Everyone knows how I feel about this segment so I'll just jump into the specifics. This week's phrase is "一蓮托生" which means something along the lines of "being in the same boat". A weird segment that is hosted by Morning Musume 15's Iikubo Haruna with the guest being Country Girls' Inaba Manaka. Back with our hosts, we get some karaoke talk. Let's hope we see a segment of these two doing karaoke together soon!  Next we have an interview with Hamaura Ayano who is a member of the yet-to-be-named new Hello! Project group! She talks a lot about her time being in the the Kenkyuusei/Hello! Pro Eggs and some talk about not being chosen to be in Juice=Juice. It ends in tears and there is some interesting information here if you plan to follow the new unit from the get-go.  We follow this up with a Berryz Selection segment. These are all the more sad now that we now that our time with Berryz Koubou is so short. The clip is from the 2013 concert and features Berryz members Saki Shimizu (Captain), Sugaya Risako and Morning Musume 15 leader, Fukumura Mizuki. Saki Shimizu has to gently prod Mizuki for fogetting to point out that she is now Morning Musume's leader which is interesting as I too realize that it's a little hard to accept even at this point. The song is not one of my favorites, but it is very nostalgic and there are some nice stories shared by the trio and a promise for next week's Berryz Selection being from the Berryz Koubou x Juice=Juice concert tour.  The Q&A corner is interesting as they usually are. Ayumi sees Riho as a rival which is not really too surprising. There is some height talk since we must remember that Kumai Yurina is extremely tall, especially amongst the other Hello! Project members. Kumai Yurina's struggles with her height are real! We close the episode with some announcements regarding the new Berryz Koubou greatest hits album and the start date for the new Morning Musume 15 Spring Tour.  That might have been the official end, but we actually close with some information regarding Juice=Juice's "School For Girls" event. I could talk a bit about what is said, but it's short and not too interesting. What is interesting here is Tomoko's "FRORIDA" shirt! Everyone should get one! Watch and enjoy!   ANGERME's second A-side "Otome no Gyakushuu" Promotion Edit PV is out now! ANGERME won me over completely on "Taikibansei" and this song just blew me away even though I thought nothing was going to top their debut effort. It is definitely the best Hello! Project song I've heard over the past year and is front runner for idol song of the year so far. Any other song that comes out down the road will be hard pressed to top this one as far as I'm concerned! Those who have read my previous blog posts, both here and on other sites, know that I am not a big fan of S/mileage. I never was and I always thought that at best I'd be a casual fan of a particular song/single/etc. I didn't think anything of the ANGERME name change either. In fact I thought it was a mark that the end was near for them. They were going through a complete identity change and Tsunku was no longer going to write for them. I predicted they'd last a year or two at most. Well, I was right in that they were getting an identity change, but completely wrong in thinking that this was the beginning of the end! If anything this is clearly a new start for them and Hello! Project is making sure that they make the best of it! This image change was definitely needed and I'm sure I'm not the only fan who is completely accepting of it! This song has a somewhat dark, playful feel in its melody and is something that you would never really hear in a S/mileage song. That being said, it stays completely catchy throughout and I defy anyone to not be humming along by the end. The beat drives the track forward and it becomes readily apparent that ANGERME is shaping up to be one of the better dance-friendly H!P units. Speaking of the dance, I rarely point them out, but this one is great. There is the usual borrowing from past dances from other groups (I can only imagine this because they share the same choreographer) but all the girls show off their dancing skill in good form, even the new arrivals. About those new arrivals, I have to say that I think I prefer them over the second generation of S/mileage. They just seemed to smoothly integrate better than the Second Generation did. It also helps that the song is more evenly split up in terms of solos and screen time than one usually sees in a Hello! Project video. Also, I'm not big on picking favorites in idol groups (I know that this is a huge part of the fandom, but rarely am I able to pick a favorite) but I think that Rikako is slowly becoming a favorite of mine both in the group and amongst the new additions. I also can't forget to mention Meimi in this context either since she stated in the recent Hello! Pro Station that she's a fellow Takarazuka fan!  Onto the video itself. It's clear that this video has the bigger share of production values over "Taikibansei". The location is beautiful and the video does a great job playing on the contrast of light and dark throughout. I am unsure if this location is a set or an actual existing building, but it's a nice setting for this video nonetheless. To complement the great location, the videography is perfect, complete with timely cuts, sweeping angles and clever shots/focus pulls/etc. What this means in non-technical terms is that the video is gorgeous! The playful dance break also is something that was all-but nonexistent in H!P before and is yet another breath of fresh air in the somewhat aging collective. Returning to the darkness that seeps through the song, at points it's strong in the PV as well both literally and figuratively. That said, dark or not, it never hurts the songs appeal nor detracts from the overall enjoyment. Did I mention how great everything looks at the end when the set lights up? Well, it does! The single "Taikibansei/Otome no Gyakushuu" drops on February 4th and I suggest everyone go out and buy it like I will! It'll be available through the usual online outlets and import shops. Be sure to watch the video and check out ANGERME if you haven't already as they are shaping up to be the future face of Hello! Project! ANGERME Are: ◆ Wada Ayaka ◆ Fukuda Kanon ◆ Nakanishi Kana ◆ Takeuchi Akari ◆ Katsuta Rina ◆ Tamura Meimi ◆ Murota Mizuki ◆ Aikawa Maho ◆ Sasaki Rikako  Hello! Pro Station Episode #100 Contents MC: Tamura Meimi & Miyamoto Karin ◆ ANGERME - Taikibansei PV ◆ ANGERME Name Choosing ◆ 4-Kanji Phrase : 水魚の交 ◆ New Hello! Project Unit Announcement Part 2 ◆ Q&A Corner ◆ Murota Mizuki Hair Arrangement The 100th episode of Hello! Pro Station went up last week and it was full of all the new Hello! Project groups that we're going to see lots of this year! The episode starts with a clip of the ANGERME's new PV "Taikibansei". The song and video are amazing. I had heard this song previously in previews/rips/etc, but hearing it in its proper form allows one to hear just what a great song this is! It's catchy with a nice beat and melody and the girls, new and old, shine here! This single is coming out soon and the full version of the PV (and it's other A-side) are actually already out at the time of this writing. Check them out whether you were a fan of S/mileage or not!  We move to our hosts who for this episode are Tamura Meimi of ANGERME and Miyamoto Karin of Juice=Juice. Meimi just might become a favorite of mine since she mentions that she loves Takarazuka! This was something I never knew about her. Has she stated this before? If anyone can pinpoint clips that refer to her love of Takarazuka I'd love to see them. Drop me a comment or message if you can. Anyhow, we have some fun banter with our hosts and then move into a clip that shows how the name "ANGERME" was decided upon.  There were some good name choices there. I can't remember what mine was, but I submitted one too and I was hoping that they'd mention it here. They didn't. Did anyone's submission get mentioned? Anyhow, they clearly decide on ANGERME and I still think it's a little unfair since it came from a member's idea and makes the whole contest thing moot. Moving on, after this clip we move into what I'm sure is everyone's favorite segment (sarcasm present) the 4-Kanji Phrase!  Ikubo Haruna (Morning Musume '15 sub-leader) introduces this one to Inaba Manaka from Country Girls. This week's phrase is "水魚の交" which refers to close friendship. I am not sure as to the point of this segment or if anyone truly enjoys these, but they are here and I watch them! I guess it helps with some of the quirks of the Japanese language if one is a student. It's a bit too esoteric though for the casual student/learner though I think. Inaba Manaka surely didn't know this week's phrase... After this we move into the second half of the new Hello! Project Unit's announcement.  Expect more tears from the former Kenshuusei as they are told about their new status in Hello! Project. After this little bit we get Maimi's assessment of the girls. She wishes them the best in the future career as do we all!  This week's Q&A corner is dominated by Meimi's thumb! I can't get over what her thumb can do and I don't think Karin could either! Check it out. Our hosts do a good job keeping everyone interested which I was actually surprised by since neither of them are anywhere on my favorite member lists. I still can't get over Meimi's new hair by the way though I'm sure in a couple weeks I won't notice anymore.  The episode closes with a hair arrange by Murota Mizuki of ANGERME. Another segment that I don't really care for though I can see its appeal to others. That said, I don't think I've seen her hair arranged like this in any clips/segments. All in all this was a really good episode of the usual format and if you haven't watched it yet, watch it now! Be sure to check out all of ANGERME's new PVs too!   The first PV from ANGERME dropped a couple days ago and it is one of the best Hello! Project songs in recent memory! This is the first single to be released under the new name (For those that don't know, they were formerly known as "S/mileage") and the first to feature the new members Murota Mizuki, Aikawa Maho, and Sasaki Rikako. I honestly didn't know what to expect from their new sound, but I wasn't expecting too much. Basically I was figuring this name change was going to be the beginning of the end for S/mileage as they're sales were steadily dropping the past few years. I am glad to say that I was wrong to think that the changes in Hello! Project (name changes, group disbandment, new group formations, Tsunku's sickness) were going to make every aspect, from music to promotion, take a turn for the worse. The song "Taikibansei", which is the first A-side from the single "Taikibansei/Otome no Gyakushuu" is a departure from the material that S/mileage has released before. That isn't necessarily a bad thing as there are some songs in their earlier catalog that I simply can not stand. For years there seemed to be an identity crisis at the Up-Front offices when it came to how to promote S/mileage. They were either super cutesy and upbeat ("Dot Bikini" and "Yattaruchan") or they were mature, both in sound and content ("Mystery Night!" and "Aa Susukino"). This song is the perfect mix of the two ideas. It is upbeat and catchy but does not have that unspecified quality that might turn off certain listeners with too much over-the-top antics and cutesy-ness. The video isn't going to win any awards, but it's well-edited and put together and the girls all look great here. That being said am I the only one who still can't get used to Meimi's new haircut? It seems to have gotten shorter. The song is where everything really shines though. The arrangement is amazing with one of the best mixes I've ever heard from Hello! Project. The song drives forward with a powerful beat and catchy chorus. I guarantee you that it will be stuck in your head long after you're done listening to it! The lyrical content is typical idol fare I will admit, but nothing too distracting. I'm looking your way, "Mystery Night!".... Everyone gets a chance to show off their vocal talent here too and this is refreshing as some of the bigger groups heavily favor only certain members. Have I mentioned that I have always thought that S/mileage/ANGERME has the best vocal talent in Hello! Project? I'll admit that I am not a fan of Wada Ayaka, but Takeuchi Akari, Fukuda Kanon and Tamura Meimei have amazing voices and the new girls seem to be living up well to the legacy. I am glad to see that their talents are not being squandered in this new single. All this said, I can't wait for the single to come out on February 4, and I encourage all you to check out the video and to mark your calendars for the eventual release date! ANGERME Are: ◆ Wada Ayaka ◆ Fukuda Kanon ◆ Nakanishi Kana ◆ Takeuchi Akari ◆ Katsuta Rina ◆ Tamura Meimi ◆ Murota Mizuki ◆ Aikawa Maho ◆ Sasaki Rikako |
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