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So I was checking out the latest lot of tour merchandise on the H!P Website when I noticed something that caught my eye, towels for the latest Wonderful Hearts Tour. Nothing unusual about that you might think, but what caught my eye was the design, or rather the layout of the members of each unit on the towel. None of them follow the usual order of members within the groups, I'd imagine that this is a fairly common practice although I haven't checked on the previous Wonderful Hearts group towels. What really got me thinking is how similar they look to the last poll I did on the site and that in turn got me thinking that there must be some form of logic to the layout of the towels. They it hit me, now I might be clutching at staws here but the towels could be showing the girls in order of popularity within each unit. But if they appear to be in no order how can they possibly show that? Well take at look at the images below and I'll explain my thinking.


Right, here's my reasoning. Start at the center and then work your way out from left to right (I chose left to right as it's just the natural way I look at things like this), simple as that. And do you know what, with a couple of possible exceptions I think it might work!
So if we follow that order we can in theory, presuming that this is indeed in anyway accurate, compare the Japanese favourites against the Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute 2008 poll results done in February this year. To help compare them easier I've redone the towels in the polling system and generated images, the top images is the order taken from the towels the image below that is the image taken from the overall votes of the poll.

Morning Musume Towel Order
Morning Musume Poll Order
Already comparing the Morning Musume images I have some thoughts as to how accurate this is, mainly because of the super low position of our winner Gakisan, instead of being in her No.1 spot she's down in the bottom third at No.7, but on the plus side Koha has risen to No.3 \(^ ^)/

Berryz Koubou Towel Order
Berryz Koubou Poll Order
With the Berryz Koubou images there's no real drastic change and no major shifts like in Morning Musume's, members stay roughly in the same position shifting only a couple of positions either way. The ever popular top three of Berryz Koubou, Momo, Miyabi and Risako remain the in the top but in a slightly different order.

C-ute Towel Order
C-ute Poll Order
Much like Morning Musume's results there are a couple of major shifts when comparing C-ute's two images and that's with Erika and Nakki. Erika falls from third to last whilst Nakki rises from second from last to third. If this truly is the case that this shows the popularity of the girls among the fans, it looks like we'll be waiting quite sometime for an Erika PB, still fingers crossed this would mean that Nakki is due one soon and she's second on my list for members in H!P in need of a PB release.

Unfortunately I can't go into as much detail in this post as I would like to, I'll explain a little later into my reasons, but although I have a couple of niggling doubts as to the order of these images, but these are purely personal feeling that I have for some of the members who are ranking low, I'd have to say that they do look fairly accurate especially if you take into consideration PB releases and then when it doesn't exactly match up, their recent careers outside of their unit. Gakisan has the same amount released as Sayumi and obviously more than both Koharu and Mittsi, but if you then take into consideration Koha's solo career against Gakisan Athena & Robikerottsu the balance comes back into order, although that being said Mittsi should be beneath Gakisan. The Berryz Koubou results are pretty much flawless, and the PB theory holds out, with Miyabi raising above Yurina because of Buono!. C-ute, has Maimi but with Airi having more PB releases and more activity outside of C-ute (and her recent mini golf DVD) it's questionable that it should be the other way around. The real shocker is Erika being right at the very bottom, if this is anything to go by can it really be that she has the lowest fan base of C-ute in Japan??

I'm going to have to cut this post off short now, as I've got some last minute packing, tidying up and ironing to do (I'd love to know if anybody else has has such an exciting Saturday evening, as that's pretty much all I've been doing all night) as I'm off on holiday for a week. BUT to help try keep the site active whilst I'm away I've asked Chris if he wouldn't mind posting a blog post or two if can whilst I'm away, as yet I'm uncertain as to what he'll post about but I'm guessing the likelihood is one of two things, his love for Kamei or his pent up frustration of his continued forced participation in my H!P activities, whatever he posts (if he gets around to posting) it's bound to be interesting!

TAGS [ Berryz C-ute Chris Morning Musume ]

Piracy has always been something that I've always been on the fence about, having studied Computing at University pirated software is something that I've always used, I've even been known to buy films off of the dodgy looking guy that comes into the pub around the corner from my work. I know it's wrong but sometimes I think it can be justified, in Uni it was either fight over the PCs that had the software needed to do your coursework with the possibility of wasting a whole day and never actually doing any work, or grab a copy of the software needed install it at home and have no worries and with some of the software costing far too much to buy legally, copying become the norm, and then there's the age old argument that the company producing it isn't actually losing any money as I would never have the money to buy it in the first place so technically their not actaully losing out. I very rarely buy pirate DVDs and on the odd occasion I have it's because I can't wait to see a film, the last pirated film I bought was George Romero's Land of the Dead, I'm a huge fan of George Romero's films especially 'The Dead' series and although you might be thinking why if I'm a fan did I buy it on pirate it's because I just had to watch it I couldn't hold out. I ended up going to see it in the cinema and buying it on DVD as well.

Now moving away from films and software and onto something more related to the site, H!P.


In a recent post (3rd ~LOVE Escalation!~ Poster) Saria commented on what the "STOP! Illegal Copy!" was at the bottom of the poster, I too wondered this when I first saw the poster and from what I understand it's a campaign from RIAJ to promote the sale of music over copying/downloading. I've also seen the message appearing on some of the more recent H!P posters, certainly the High King poster I've order through Ohta features this on the bottom as well, as does the poster for Berryz Koubou latest single release. At the moment I'm a little unsure as to whether there's a difference between posters sold/given away at concerts/FC events and those given to shops to help promote the single. I'm wondering if the "STOP! Illegal Copy!" only features on the promotional versions of the poster? But as I don't know I can only assume that it features on all the posters and as I've never noticed this on any of the previous posters it got me thinking, are illegal copies of music/DVDs affecting H!P as a whole? If this message on the recent posters are anything to go by, does it indicate that it is?
There's the obvious answer that it must affect them quite a lot, if figures in the UK are anything to go by it seems everybody within the music industry is affected, but I've always thought to myself that H!P had a much firmer footing when it comes to things like this, I've always considered that the albums and singles produced by H!P to be of a much higher quality than those released elsewhere, there's always some added extra to help entice you into buying the latest release, whether it's a bonus DVD, cards, poster, booklet or stickers, there's that something that you can't have if you download it. But that aside the main incentive for me is showing my support for the groups and with things like PBs, DVDs and photos it's showing support for not just the groups but the individual members.

With H!P trying to push themselves to appeal to other Asian countries, I'm guessing their main concern is how many illegal copies of their products are floating around not only Japan but these areas as well, as these are their target audiences, but what about outside this area? It's quite a curious situation as without them I think the H!P community outside of these areas would be practically non-existent. Speaking from my own experience of getting into H!P, although I was introduced to them whilst in Japan it wasn't until I was back home and searching YouTube that I actually found out more about them, I was able to listen and watch their older releases and without this ability to watch and listen to these uploaded files chances are my interest in them would have died down and I wouldn't be the fan I am now. Unfortunately there's no radio station I can tune into or TV station that I can watch that will offer me the content that I'm after, with the :::Dohhh Up!::: website appearing it's now offering a great way to catch previews of upcoming releases and chance to listen to and watch PVs before they become available to buy, the only downside being that it takes an age to load in, but then that's a small complaint to make about such a great site.
The thing that really interests me though is that there are numerous Japanese fan sites that share video, music and photos and I've seen these come up and go down, I'm guessing because UFA have put a stop to them? But what I find interesting is that sites like Hello! Online and accounts such as mine on Veoh stay open and unaffected. With sites like Hello! Online, I'm guessing the main reason is because there are no actual downloads offered that are located on the site, the use of torrents and sites like MegaUpload and RapidShare get round the issues and the site remains unaffected as they are unable to control what users link to or share, but if you look at it a different way Hello! Online is so much more than a file sharing site, sure you can download all the latest releases, but the most important about the site is the community built around it. Sites like Veoh have a huge selection of H!P clips and as far as I can tell either UFA are unaware of the sites or there not particularly bothered about it, during my use of Veoh I've only ever received one message to take down a video and the video in question was a clip of Tanpopo on Utaban and I think it had more to do with it being a clip from Utaban then anything else as I've heard numerous people have had similar clips taken down.

I've also wondered as to how many people are actually buying the releases as opposed to downloading them, understandably it's an impossible task to buy all of H!P releases, with so many coming out on such a regular basis you'd need a never ending supply of money to keep up then there's the fact that a lot of the items are so difficult to get a hold of it's not like we're able to get copies of FC editions easily, but I'd love to know how much we all contribute to them compared to the Japanese fans I know it's going to be a tiny amount in comparison but it's something that really interests me. It's also something that I think could reflect how UFA treat us as a fan base, as I'm sure if sales from overseas were to pick up it would have to attract H!P attention. But it is a really awkward situation, without the file sharing that goes on there's no way we'd be able to see the full scope of H!P products and appearances, there's even the possibility that people who are fans now wouldn't be, but on the other side there's the fact that we all start shouting when singles don't sell so well. Financially I think UFA have little to worry about, they have so many avenues to make money from fans outside of the usual music and DVD releases; concerts, FC events, photobooks, photos and all manner of other merchandise that can't be shared like the scarves, calendars etc etc, and I've yet to meet a fan that doesn't want to buy H!P merchandise.

TAGS [ Stuff ]

I do enjoy a poster, if you've been reading my blog for awhile you'll probably have realised this (Daisuki Rakuten Eagles, H!P Posters, Kohachan Signed Poster and A Quick Look At Last Months Items). I've always had a thing for posters, and oddly it's only now that I find myself putting up posters of girls on my walls. Well that's not entierly true, my walls have been adorned with the odd piece of eye candy but it's never been the most obvious choices and it certainly hasn't ever been the main focal point, in my teens I was a huge B-Movie fan (I still am and even managed to finally watch Killer Tomatoes Eat France! last week...I still have to try and find a copy of Killer Tomatoes Strike Back) and the majority of my posters reflected this, Attack of the 50ft Woman, King Kong and THEM! were among the posters that stayed on my walls the longest, but the longest running poster which has appeared on numerous walls through the years is for the film Possession, I must have had it for about 10 years now and it's been hanging on my walls from the moment I bought it.
But as good as these other posters are I have to say that the H!P posters are by far my favourites, I don't think anything can quite beat the posters that UFA produce, the designs are always amazing and it's constant reminded of not only how great the idol's featured on it are but how good the releases are. Over the past few weeks I've managed to order a couple more posters, the first from HelloProLand eBay Store which I picked up from the post office yesterday, the poster is of C-ute's 3rd ~LOVE Escalation!~. I just couldn't resist getting this when I saw it, the costumes worn are one of my favourite outfits worn by any of the H!P members, the girls look amazing as I've probably already said in numerous posts and having them in these outfits in a larger form means I no longer have to flip through the album inlay to look at them. The other poster I've ordered is High Kings C/C (Cinderella Complex) which I'm just waiting to recieve from Ohta, again another poster where the costumes are great look at and I love the whole colour scheme of this poster, the gold background with the red and black outfits just looks amazing, fingers crossed the poster will turn up before I go away at the end of the week.



TAGS [ C-ute ]

I arrived home yesterday from work and found a package in my letterbox, oddly for a brief moment I forgot that I even ordered Manoeri's debut single Manopiano and thought it was the Airi photos I recently ordered (yep, I've taken to her that much recently that I went on an Airi only photo spree, admittedly it wasn't that many photos though but still it's a start) so when I opened up the packaging I was a little bit confused I really couldn't think what CD it could be and then when I opened it my mind clicked as I suddenly realised what it was.


I've been extremely curious and excited about this release. Ever since the debut single from Ongaku Gatas, Manoeri with a look so cute and such an adorable smile was the member that really caught my (and everybody else's for that matter) eye. So just the thought of a solo release from her was enough for me to put an order for this single without even hearing a preview, in fact this has to be one of the few H!P singles where I've actually held out from listening to any online previews, I think even if a PV was to have been put up on :::Dohhh Up!::: I would have still held out as this is something of a special release. And the reason this release is so special is because Manoeri doesn't just sing she plays the piano too, which as far as I know is a first for H!P. I'm really curious as to whether she'll be playing the piano in her upcoming live performances it would be amazing if she did as I've never witnessed an instrument on stage at a H!P concert before (I really should get around to getting some of Ayaya's concert DVDs) let alone being played by a member of H!P, but it's a strange one, I can't imagine that she would as wheeling out a piano and then wheeling it away when she's finished might break the flow of the concerts, but then again such a big deal has been made about it that you'd imagine it would be slightly pointless for her not to.


The packaging for this release is a no frills affair, but that being said the photos of Mano on the inlay are amazing and we're treated to some great shots of her and her smile, even better is the fact that these are all shots from the same shoot featured in UTB Vol.186 and inside we're treated to a similar shot to my favourite within this issue, I love Mano in those red boots!
Now onto the song. Well if I'm to be totally honest the song is nothing like I expected it to be, I was thinking it would be an upbeat lively type of song with some real funky piano playing, I thought that if you were to compare Ayaya's latest single releases to Manoeri's you'd see an instant difference. With Ayaya's getting more ballads lately I would have thought that Manoeri a younger soloist would in turn get the more lively release but it doesn't look that way. Manopiano is a slow and simple piece, but that doesn't stop it from actually being really good, on receiving it I spent a good hour with the CD on repeat and now I can't get enough of it, the tune just won't leave my head...I find I just suddenly start humming it without realising.
It's a safe bet to say that this won't be the last solo release from Manoeri and I'm really looking forward to see what she does next and if the piano playing will become a standard for her releases.
I've uploaded both the original version and the Instrumental version of the release into radio.blog player on the left, this has to be one of the few times that the instrumental version is just as important as the main track.

TAGS [ CD Manoeri ]

I've always wanted a Sayumi tshirt and without fail everytime Morning Musume release a set I always end up saying something along the lines of "I really want to get a Sayu shirt, but I'm not to sure about the colour pink" and as is always the case I end up getting somebody elses (lol, normaly Koha's) and say "Next time", well next time has finally come!!!
Much like Momo's shirt from the recent Berryz Kamen vs C-ute Ranger concert it looks like Sayu has been given the oppurnity to please those fans that think they might not be able to pull off the colour pink to well. Over at Ohta's eBay Store some shirts have been put up from the recent Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Haru ~Single Daizenshuu!!~ tour. Interestingly the shirts don't come in the individual colours as they usually do but come in either blue or pink, I was pleasently surprised to see that Sayumi's colour was blue...I have no excuse not to get this.



TAGS [ Morning Musume Ohta ]

The advantage of having put in a subscription for UTB is that I no longer worry about missing an issue, now however it seems I have a new problem, well not really a problem more of annoyance, with the redesign it would seem that when ever I ask for my subscription of Up to Boy I'm met with a confusing look as they flick throught the magazines and can't find it, mainly because the cover has now dropped the Up to Boy title in favour of UTB and oddly Ultimate Top of Beauty. Now I know this is a problem of my own causing, I could quite easily go in and ask for UTB, but after calling Up to Boy for such a long time I can't quite get used this name change. I'm still a little confused as to whether the magazine is still called Up to Boy or not, certainly the web site still has 'uptoboy' in the url, the Wani Books site also referred to it as both UTB and Up to Boy and the volume numbering is carrying on from previous issues, but the magazine has no reference to the old title. Hmmm, I guess I'll have to get used to the new title of UTB.
So, we're now onto the 2nd issue of the new redeisgn and it's taken on a more familiar look. With the last issue (Up to Boy Vol.185) being a full colour affair and not really promoting any products but rather the idols themselves I was curious as to how the next and subsequent issues would be. We've lost the DVD and it doesn't look like that the document carriers are making a come back either, in fact it doesn't look like anything extra is going to be included but what we do have is a magazine that has an amazing new look, just by looking at the cover you can see how great it looks and although no H!P members appear on the cover this has to be my favourite cover I've seen out of all the issues.
Interestingly, it would seem that (at least for this issue) that the focus has moved away from PB and associated idol DVD releases and is focusing more on music releases. Certainly the first half of the magazine is articles advertising single and album releases from various artists. This however isn't a bad thing as it means we get more H!P then we may have got otherwise, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, Buono, Milky Way and Manoeri all feature advertising there latest releases. The Manoeri section is something that I've been longing for, she's so amazingly cute, the last umbrella shot is by far my favourite photo in her set and it really gets me curious as to how long we'll have to wait for a PB release from her it's a fairly safe bet that if she was to release one it would sell extremely well, is there anyone out there that has fallen for her amazing looks and cuteness?
Towards the back half of the magazine we're treated to a preview of Kohachan's new PB release, sadly the images aren't in colour but it doesn't stop me from getting so very exciting about this release, Koha always looks amazing so I have no doubt in my mind that this will be one of the best PB releases this year, especially if these previews are anything to go by, just look at the larger of the images...WOW!
Finally, we're treated to some shots of Airi's recent PB release and I have to admit that I'm seeing her in a whole new light and I'm really very tempted to put an order for this PB and even her bikini shots, which have in the past put me off buying her releases, are more appealing it's great to see that she's getting a figure.



TAGS [ Airi Berryz Buono! C-ute Koharu Manoeri Milky Way Up to Boy ]

I don't understand Americans when it comes to their love of pancakes, I'm not saying I don't like them just that I think they should be reserved for just the one day a year. I went to New York a couple of years ago and I found a great little diner which I went to every morning, having worked my way through the wonders of the cereals that I see on American shows (Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms, mmm tasty) but have never managaed to eat in the UK, mainly because I refuse to pay £5 for a box of cereal, I branched out into the cooked breakfasts to see if any could beat the almighty Full English Fried Breakfast, the corned hash and eggs wasn't too bad but the pancakes really threw me. I was never too sure about the combination of pancake, bacon and maple syrup and after eating it I still wasn't convinced, it was certainly better than I thought but I'm still of the way of thinking that bacon shouldn't be mixed with either pancake or syrup...especially syrup.
Luckily I have no uncertantity about Koha's new single release Papancake, this is up there with all the rest of her solo releases. After seeing the previews scans of the covers a week or so back I felt a little bit wary of the outfit worn, but after seeing the Single V and seeing the couple of photos of her in the latest issue of Kindai I was relieved to see that not only is Koha looking as amazing as she usually does, but also that the outfit seems to have a taken step back to the original style worn in the Koi Kana and Balalika PVs, what can I say I'm a fan of Koha in short puffy dresses...love those legs. When I look at Koha in her dress it makes me think she looks like the fairy tale character, Snow White it's so brigthly coloured and shiny and with her winning smile what is there not to like? But much like the song I don't think the outfit beats the blue dess worn in Koi Kana, but then I don't think anything ever will. Aside from the outfit and Kohachan her self, the other elements that I love about her releases are all present, cute and brightly coloured background, leg stomping dancing and most importantly air guitar. We're also treated to a couple of kaleidoscope type moments where we're treated to shots her of Koha but obviously it makes it look likes there's more of her on the screen (does that make sense?) which is just a great idea, the more Koha the better. I'm not totally understanding the PV, the moments with the phone and the suitcase had me scratching my head to their relevance but who cares she looks too cute pushing that heavy suitcase.
Then there are the pancakes, I love her facial expressions when sitting in front of the pancakes and I have to admit they do look a lot more appealing with those strawberries on top rather than crispy bacon, but I feel that perhaps Koha shares my feeling towards pancakes and maple syrup as she plays with her food throughout and never actually tucks into it, perhaps that scene is saved for another version of the PV?
After seeing the SHIPS single release for Kirarin Revolution I find it really interesting that two totally different styles of music can come from the one show TOKYO FRIEND☆SHIPS, not having followed the show at all I'm guessing they reflect well difference between Koharu character in the show and the unit this song comes from, but I find it great that that two completely different styles of music can come from this one show.



CD Release Date : 16 - 07 - 08    DVD Release Date : 30 - 07 - 08


With the covers for this release it's all about the Single V release, we get to see the full outfit and in great pose. There's not much difference between the standard single release covers, I think the only thing pushing me towards the Limited version at the moment is the little card that comes with it.

Kusumi Koharu - Papancake (Regular Version CD)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

Kusumi Koharu - Papancake (Limited Version CD + Card)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

Kusumi Koharu - Papancake (Single V DVD)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

TAGS [ Koharu PV ]

These items have been on Ohta's eBay Store but I thought I'd post them up incase anyone hasn't seen them, white leather special edition key holders. As usual the choice of which one to get is almost impossible, with each member from Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou and C-ute getting their own with their own personal designs on it, it's not just a question of who you're favourite member is but which design catches your eye as well. Out of the Morning Musume designs, I would have to say that both JunJun and LinLin's would have to be my favourites, I'm still so impressed with the quality of their signatures, there not only really tidy for a signature but they look so good and on something like this it really adds to the design. Momo's would have to be my favourite out of the Berryz versions, infact it was the only one that really caught my eye out of the whole of them. But C-ute holds my favourite, Hagitty's. Take a look at Hagitty, see how cute she looks then think what could a sweet innocent young girl like herself draw on her one, you guessed it I ? ROCK, with a skull and crossbones with a heart shaped eye patch, Mai really does rock!
The only problem with all of this is with the amount of keys on my current key ring (6 in total) I don't think that I'd be able to put it to any use, it would be a shame spending that much money on it and then never using it. I'm going to have to keep my out for more of Hagitty's items as I'm dying to get something with her skull drawing on it.


Also in the store is some copies of Manoeri's debut single Mano Piano, I still haven't heard it yet, but I've placed my order and look forward to it arriving so I can see just what this song sounds like. And if you're unsure as to whether to buy it or not, then check out Manoeri promoting her single in the clip below, try and deny that cuteness ;p



TAGS [ Berryz C-ute Manoeri Morning Musume Ohta ]

Aside from the PVs for sub units like Buono and Athena & Robikerots it feels like I've been waiting ages for H!P to release a PV like this. We've had the odd Onegai Miwaku no Target, the sexy yet tongue in cheek Aisu Kuriimu to My Purin but it seems such a long time since we've had a catchy song backed up with cute and genuinely funny PV. I find that the majority of H!P PVs are really taking themselves so seriously lately, it's great to have a PV that is slightly different from the norm, it's all very refreshing. It's not quite up there with the greatness that is the PV for Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyotanjima but it's close and I imagine if we get a Monkey Version of the PV it could come very close!
It's also really good to see Berryz taking a step away from the path that both Morning Musume and C-ute seem to be going down, although the PVs for both units always come out tops for me (well except for one of the versions of the last Morning Musume release, but it looks like I'm more or less alone on my feeling on them) we don't really get to have fun with the girls in the way we do with this release, admittedly Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance doesn't really step away from the tried and tested format, much like the Dschinghis Khan release it allows the girls personalities to shine through more and if I'm honest although I enjoy the dance routines I would much rather see clips like the solo clips within Dschinghis Khan and the monkey clips in this release, it really looks like the girls are having a genuinely fun time. I'm really hoping that the same love and attention is going to be given to this release as it was with Dschinghis Khan, I'm looking forward to tons of short clips of the girls dressed up as monkeys doing the funniest things, I want myself a Berryz Monkey TShirt!!

What's not to like about this release? The song is extremely catchy and even had me drumming out the tune with my fingers and bopping along from my first watch, the line distribution is spot on. And interestingly much like the PV for their last single the likes of Risako, Momo and Miyabi aren't the ones you're going to be remembering when it's over. There's a couple of great Momo moments like when she almost knocks herself over by running straight into Saki's shoulder and when it looks like she actually does fall over around about 3:09. For me the most memorable members within this release have to be Chinami, Kumachan and Maasa and it's all based upon their monkey performances, if you were to take the normal costume version of the PV I'd say the only real stand out members are Momo and Chinami, because of some of their facial expressions throughout. For me I think Chinami has stolen her second PV in a row, her facial expressions and dances when dressed in the monkey outfit are second to none plus (if you can belive it) she looks good as a monkey! Soooo cute! Seriously everything gets turned up a notch when those monkey costumes come out!



CD RELEASE : 09 - 07 - 08    DVD Release Date : 23 - 07 - 08


Both covers for this release are amazing, and I think I'll be ordering both version of this release, there's no way I'm going to pass on the DVD I need to own a copy of this PV (I'm hoping that a version of the PV will feature on it) and I really want one of the Limtied Cards from the first pressing of the Regular version of the single. Then there's the Single V, this without question has to be bought, Making Of + Monkey Suits = :)

Berryz Koubou - Yuku Yuke Monkey Dance (Regular Version CD)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

Berryz Koubou - Yuku Yuke Monkey Dance (Limited Version CD + DVD)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

Berryz Koubou - Yuku Yuke Monkey Dance (Single V DVD)
Amazon | CDJapan | YesAsia

TAGS [ Berryz PV ]

A survey was posted up on Bikkuri Project and I thought I'd give it a whirl answering it, it's quite a fun selection set of questions.

1. You have found a magical J-pop genie who will grant you one J-pop related wish (so no wishing for a million dollars or world peace or anything like that). It can be virtually anything as long as it's directly related to J-pop, and don't worry, because this is the nice sort of genie, not the kind who will try to find a loop-hole and screw up your wish. So, what do you wish for???
This one is simple for me and it's something I always wish for whenever I hear that a new concerts are planned or I watch a concert on DVD, I wish that concerts were more easier to attend. Interestingly I'm not wishing that concerts were to be performed in countries that are closer to home but more I wish that the overall cost of attending concert was cheaper. When you take into consideration the costs of flying to Japan and then booking a hotel, those concerts tickets suddenly take on a whole new value. I guess what I'm saying is I wish flights to Japan were cheaper or perhaps that someone invented one of the Star Trek teleporters.

2. Is there any J-pop artist or group who seriously pisses you off? If yes, who, and why?
I guess the only unit that really pisses me off has to be Gyaruru, kind of an odd answer as I loved their single release, but this is the very reason why I've put them here. The unit was one that I've always been excited about, then when Nono got pregnant and had to leave the introduction of Asami was something that I totally didn't expect, but was overjoyed to hear. Outside of H!P Asami Abe was one of the few artists that I actually listen to and considering, as far as I could tell, she'd vanished off the face of the earth after her second album, her introduction into this unit got me even more excited.
Then the release came out, great song, great video and great members. Although at first Sonene did come across as a little scary, it turns out that she was amazing and just watching the making of for Boom Boom Meccha Maccho! really goes to show how funny, cute and hungry she really is. Then there was Amimi, this was the best release I'd seen her in, I've never really been keen on her looks but the whole style she was given in this release suited her perfectly, I was dying to see more. Then after selling more singles for TNX than any other release they were promptly rewarded with nothing, the unit went quiet, the blog stopped getting updated and then vanished, Asami once again is no longer singing (but at least I now have her blog link) and well that's it, although no official word has come out as to whether the unit is still active or not, I'm guessing by the looks of it, it isn't and even is it isn't does that mean that now Nono's back Asami is out? I'd hope that if the unit was to release a new single it would be upped to a 4 member unit.

3. Who do you think is the sexiest Japanese singer out there?
OK, sexy, hmmm. I would have to say either Ayaya or Sayumi. Ayaya's looks have always been something that have won me over, lol what am I saying, everything about Ayaya has won me over, she's such a great member of H!P. Then there's Sayu, she has the cuteness and sexiness and that's a combination that when combined I find really sexy. Gakisan, when you look through her PB releases and see the mix of her smile and those bikini shots....

4. How about the cutest?
Cutest, this is just too hard to decide. Without even putting any thought into it I can come up with an instant list. Sayumi, there's no denying the cuteness, she's still got it. Kohachan, seriously her cuteness overpowers me at times...and I love it! Nakki, look at that smile! Risako, ♥CUTE♥. Hagitty, even without them aviator glasses she's too cute. Erika, she's so cute she deserves a PB release NOW!!!

5. Best personality?
Another tough question, is there a member of H!P who doesn't have a great personality? Well, I'd have to say my favourites would have be the obvious choices for me, Sayumi, Kohachan and Ayaya. But then I'm really getting into both Momo's and Erika's alot lately as well. Gakisan's personality always makes me smile, she never fails to make me feel happy, her personality is so fun and happy that it just can't help rub off on you.

6. If given the opportunity, would you rather date person 3, person 4, or person 5?
I know no matter how I answer this question I'll get a whack from my girlfriend, lol. Well, as I've not actually chosen a single member for each of the last 3 questions I think the only fair way of doing it would be to say the person that featured the most in them and that would have to be Sayumi :)

7. You work for a Japanese music magazine, and you have the opportunity to interview your favourite artist or group. What are a couple of the questions you want to ask them?
Hmmm, questions that would really be a tough one. Because of their very nature we know so much about our favourite idols, within the interviews I've read the obvious questions of favourite this and that have already been asked. I guess the thing I'd really like to know is things that generally aren't asked, how do they feel about the no boyfriend rules, what do they really think of the fans, does everyone really get on as well as they appear too? Things like that.

8. What's the best (J-pop) song to listen to when you are really sad?
When I'm feeling sad I like to listen nice slow ballad type songs, off the top of my head I can't think of any (to be honest I can't remember when I was last in a sad mood) but it would be something like Egao or Kaze ni Makasete from Ayaya's Double Rainbow album.

9. When you're really happy?
I've been in quite a happy mood lately and I find there are quite a few songs that I've been listening too lately. Dancing! Natsu Matsuri, is a song I like to listen to when I'm happy but also at the start of a lunch break if I'm needing a quick way to relax, this song really gets all my frustrations out. Renai Revolution 21 (Cool remix), I'm not really a fan of remixes but I love this even so much as to say that I prefer it to the original, if you're in a good mood, the suns shining and you're in you car, wind down your window and put this on, it can't be beat! And last would be This is Unmei from Melon Kinenbi, another song that gets me in a very similar mood to the Renai Revolution 21 remix, I remember when I first heard this song and almost skipped it because of the intro I was quite surprised at how great it was. (All three can be found on the Pucchi Best 3 CD)

10. Do you often sing along to your favourite songs?
I wouldn't say often, very very occasionally, I tend to tap along.

11. How about dance?
Dancing is a big no no, I'm awful at it, I hate dancing and dancing hates me. The closest I've got to dancing along to H!P is grabbing my glow sticks and waving them in time, lol.

12. Artistic integrity question!! If someone offered to pay you for blogging, but they were allowed to censor some of your opinions or veto some of your blogging ideas, would you do it?
No chance, defeats the whole purpose of blogging, if you can't give your own honest opinion then what's the point.

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