–

Single Number: 4

Song: Family ~Tabidachi no Asa~

Singer: THE Possible

As soon as I heard this song, I feel in love with it. It’s as simple as that. This is a rare song where you see two styles come together and one of them is not cute. It’s a rock/ballad infused song with one of the simpliest yet most beautiful PVs you’ll see released by a girl group of their style and with their budget. Go go go watch before you force me to post a link or something.

Considering this is a TNX group, chances are you’ve never heard of them so many I should do an introduction. After a a few members leaving, meet the new and improved (thats debatable) THE Possible. They began as Hello! Project Eggs but now have grown up to be strong singers and a great asset to TNX (in the fan’s eyes. They aren’t really raking in the sales). There most popular fan, especially to foreigners is Robin whose actually half-Japanese and has the voice more rocky than the other girls if you are trying to hear for her.

Hearing that history, you’ve probably already guessed what type of song.band this is but you couldn’t be more wrong. Screw all other girl groups and go find this single. I’m dead serious. Maybe even avoid other THE Possible songs because frankly, none can compare to this song vocally and musically. Their early work is actually very average if you ask me. Their fourth single although, is also a work of art, Shiawase no Katachi, so go find that.

Getting off track, lets return to the song. Again, I’m kind of everywhere as I try and review this. Haha. Listening as I type, when I first hear this song it sounds very calm and has a nice innocence to it. Also, maybe I’m just an obsessed fan but compared to many other groups, I can feel the emotion in the girls voices which literally makes me want to drool across my keyboard. This is the real shit folks.

Jumping to the chorus, it picks up speed and gains some guitars and becomes an uplifting, intense experience of a song. My heart races even when I hear it and again, their voices in this song are just making it so much better than average (L) Also, if you are a fan of idol music and even if your not, you will notice that a lot of times the girls will use a higher pitch voice to sing but this is very much not the case in this song. It’s got a very nice, natural kind of feel to it really.

And now, before I get carried away praising this song, I’m going to move on and look below to see the film clip for the song as you will not regret it.

–

Song: Sayonara Nante

Okay, this song begins with like a clock ticking or something and I was very fast to expect a shotty song but wow, I was blown away. It quickly gains pace and gains a kind of lounge feel then some trumpets come in, similar to something like SONGS or something and then it breaks out a dance beat before pulling it back in and going back to a more laid back song in the verses. Vocally, again this song delivers nicely and although it could use a bit more beat or something to make it a little more aggressive when it needed it, this song is amazingly good. Chances are you’ll never see them perform live but I can imagine this song would be very nice to hear live. Haha.

–

So now that I reviewed the songs have I tempted you yet (That reminds me, go listen to Yu.u.wa.ku by Nakazawa Yuko xD)? I’m not going to lie when I say for Tsunku, it has been a very good year. Although I’m not happy at all with C-ute’s releases after their average 4th album, this song gives me so much hope that THE Possible may one day get the recognision they now deserve. Although I’m a relatively new fan to them, not really getting their work when they were younger this single is amazingly good and considering I’m not a fan of there’s, that’s saying something good I guess. I may be going a bit extreme here but out of the way Seishun Bus Guide, I have a new favourite song for 2009 and that is Family ~Tabidachi no Asa~

I know some people are waiting for my part 2 of my Perfect Voice posts but I think I need to do this first. PLEASE, please please please please…. someone tell me if a worse songs exists with this much crazy energy! I must own them all. Don’t ask me why but Koharu, I’ve slowly come to respect you. You’ve got…. class. And in all seriousness, I don’t need any of that “I’m on a boat” shit or whatever to cheer me up when I’m in a bad mood as long as Koharu is willing to make this kind of music to make us realize “hey thing’s could be worse!” Koharu-chan~! You are no longer my least favourite member of MM. Back you go Reina, Koharu you’ve moved up so many places so quickly. I’m proud of you. I love the newer generations… (L) : D

She’s become my tobaco... you know it’s unhealthy and not good for you but you can’t help but that that addictive puff. But god, your voice isn’t improving. If you heard MM’s new song and think she’s better, you just have selective hearing… Wait… why am I hating on her in my love post. It  looks like my love/hate relationship restarts. *sigh*

*BEGIN RANT*

Unlike Mitsui. That’s all love. I swear to god, it annoys me how many people think she’s a bitch. She’s like… innocent. I don’t even get why someone as cute as that would be so hated. It’s like how people I’ve seen people call Linlin a troll. That annoys me heaps too. You try and join a group with as much history and prestige as MM. Go! I dare you. Pfft. Stop the hate and bring in the love. (I say this yet I can get mean on my less favourable members…) Oh welllllllll. All the members have their flaws. Junjun though doesn’t have much to hate on… I think she’s the silent all rounder whose actually quite lovable. But like I think I have at least one bad thing on all the members that could be I guess called hatin’ on em. Like the whole arguement with Takahashi being a good leader since she has no personality. And how Kamei used to look a lot like Kei which used to annoy me cause I love Kei so much and I used to not care for Kamei although I love her now so it doesn’t bother me. She seems so nice. Same with Niigaki. She is soo cool. She is like the attitude of MM. Watch a concert performance and lately she has just brought so much energy to that stage. Now I want to comment on the MM girls from their last concert which was magnificent. All of them really bought something different. Cept for Ai and Reina… they were about the same as they always have been. This post has lost all meaning…. again. I even cbf putting pictures up… wait. No, I don’t. xD

*END RANT*

Sexy American, towering over the city. ^_^ We hardily ever see that side of Yaguchi actually.

So cute although she never let go of that hat when she sung. Was adorable though. She is really the last innocent andcute girl of MM. Koharu is slowly looking more feminine and Sayumi is still cute but in a more made up idoly way. Aika just has a nice sweetness from her. Like a Mikan! ^_^

OK OK. No more random pictures. I’m tired. Time for tsukiakari to catch his zzzzzzzz’s. (I only uploaded two? lame…..)

I went on the quest of all quests.

It was with these thoughts in mind I travelled the wide plains of YouTube in order to find the perfect voice. Through the hoards of groupdubs, the island of indie singles and the odd talented vlogger in the road, I found my destination for the time being I had found the answer to my questions.

—–

Matsuura Aya, an old companion of mine, was easily the first choice on my travel to find the best voice. Listening to her long and hard, one song “Omoi Afurete” standing a high beakon of pure beauty from the rest of her songs, I found that despite her pure and beautiful voice, she had something that didn’t let me call her number one. Maybe it’s because she has been my favourite singer of all time or maybe it’s because I know it would be too controversial, but I could not dare call this singer number one just yet without tasting the flavours of the fruits surrounding her. How could I pick the greatest singer if I only sample the one?

A beautiful performance showcasing the beauty of Aya’s voice…

—–

I then moved passed that sea of cuteness mixed with stunning beauty, to the more raw and radiant Utada Hikaru: another woman whose songs have captivated many people’s hearts. Her song “First Love” is a testament of how well one woman can sing and the range that she can hit. It made a country cry listening to the heartfelt lyrics she was expressing yet the more I listened to her the more I could not give her this gracious title that belongs to a goddess. (Let me remind people at this point that I mainly listen to female singers. Haha.) I had to move on. I had to search more.

A simple performance of the song First Love…

—–

Next in my encounters was another big face of Jpop fandom who has a great forum dedicated in her honour: BoA. A girl who began so young, dancing her way to the top of many people’s hearts, she carried with her a voice that seems to have such a strong uniqueness to it that it’s hard not to notice her apart from the crowd. With her biggest hit Meri Kuri, we can see how great a singer this girl is but despite that, for a comment she made once saying how she lost the will to sing I could not give this title to her. The bump in her career that made me feel it was impossible to call her the best voice was what made me continue past this Korean princess.

Just beautiful to watch…

—–

Closing my eyes for a moment, I thought to myself that possibly the greatest singers are not those who can just sing well but get their full emotions across. That is when I stopped at an old friend, Miwako Okuda. Singing deep, depressing songs of the depths of love and death, this woman’s crying soul had a voice so clear it could make a grown man weep, feeling her pain and true feelings. One song in particular “Utau Riyuu” made my heart stop and for a moment think that this woman would have it all, but as the song finished as quick as it ended, leaving me thirsty for more I realized the perfect singer needed more songs that what this lady gave me. I needed someone with a bigger collection to dig my greedy, music hungry paws into.

Although I could find no live performance this film clip shows the beauty of this song and it’s power…

—–

Stopping for a moment to drink from a bottle of water, I thought to myself that it is possible that the best singers are ones who aren’t as popular as they should be. Maybe they aren’t all raking in money from going platinum with their latest hit and are gracefully singing with all their soul to reach the top. Maybe they were only shining for a moment, like a shard of glass in a desert, waiting to reflect into the eyes of all those who pass it.

That’s when I came to Hirahara Ayaka. Her voice is so unique, so beautiful, that it’s hard not to at least stop for a moment when you hear her. Although she is a singer you either love or hate, her voice definitely has a certain refine to it that is pleasing to the ear. She carries the soul of the human out with her voice and brings in listeners with her song’s strong messages. This women deserves to be a candidate for best voice. Yet, as I said, it is an aquired taste, and an aquired taste is not something that everyone will like. Even with her most famous song “Jupiter“, showing the range this woman seems to hit with ease and the beauty in her, I couldn’t, just couldn’t stop here yet.

Literally brings tears to anyone’s eyes who watches. The most beautiful performance I’ve ever seen…

—–

Letting out a sigh, I wiped the sweat off my brow and looked up into the glaring sun. Placing my ipod in both ears, I went through a list of artists, many I had never heard properly before wondering whether in this sea of names I had found my answer. It was at that point something stood out as I pressed the next button continuously at shuffle. How could I have not thought of her earlier. Otsuka Ai it was. This woman was the master of singing and probably one of the strongest candidates yet having a balance of adult, mature songs with the carefree, happy songs also shining through. This sweet, sweet voice could definitely not be something that could be missed! Yet again, my heart wavered for a moment. Listening to a song and seeing the PV filled with fireworks and the girl’s fruitless emotions “Kingyo Hanabi” sparked such strong emotions in me but I couldn’t help but feel something was deifinitely not there. Maybe the pitch of her voice, but I felt this girl could not connect with the entire audience out there and she was just short of having gold.

Ai-chin showing off her emotions in a beautiful, touching performance filled with elegance…

—–

As quickly as I had began my journey, I felt myself become dizzy and fall to the floor with a thud of sand and cement. The perfect singer was so, so close. But for now I must rest, and then, when I gather my strength. I will see the light that is:

THE PERFECT VOICE.

(Tell me your favourite singers so I can check them out and, who knows, they might be on the finale of this two part series. They could even end up winning.)

I am going to talk about Berryz Koubou. Lately, I’ve really been getting into them and have lost all appeal in C-ute sadly (actually on that note, I watched their new PV. It was okay I guess but nothing compared to Berryz single.) So back on topic, I bring the question, who hasn’t noticed these girls maturing into great performers and singers?

Unlike Morning Musume, I have to say this group really did begin very much as a ‘Kids’ group and nothing much else, but I think they finally have earned the rights of passage with their latest single. Although nothing has really changed for them and they have hardily skipped a beat on any single they release, something about Seishun Bus Guide and Rival bring this well-rounded feeling to my Berryz collection. I’ve yet to really like a Berryz album to any sort of extreme but either way, I have to say congratulations to these girls. Even Momoko seems to have jumped out of that kids mould which is good. They just seem to suddenly have this presence about them that I love.

The only fault in Berryz now is that it is really depending on half it’s members and I want to see more from the other girls. Sure Risako is my favourite along with Momoko so I don’t have much to complain about but that doesn’t mean the other girls should do backup vocals. The same things happen in C-ute and Morning Musume where they give the popular members all the lines but I want to see more change. I mean come on, Takahashi has done so many leads in songs they need to switch it to Kamei already or Gaki. Other members don’t really deserve leads considering they are still Kohai’s of some sort and lord knows I don’t want Reina there so Kamei/Gaki it is. Then again, any member would be good. Just some change. Please. Egao YES Nude is a great song and the spacing is good in that. I love that song.

…somehow this has turned into a Morning Musume rant…. Oh well. I’ll stop there with my rant but hope to those who read this that they realize the importance of different members getting leads. :p

I want a Morning Musume member to leave and one to come in now… *sigh* Some of us fans would like a little change. You listening Tsunku! >_<

… I swear I’ll stop the randomness but I finally got used to saying zicks for ZYX… kind of. I still struggle but today I was talking about them to someone and I actually said zicks. I felt so proud in myself to not say it how I will probably say it for the rest of my life. xD

I’m trying to think of a witty way to end this post but I’ve got nothing. =_= Screw this. *presses publish button*

(This picture explains my feelings right now. Pure randomness… Yupp…)

Well, I am very, very relieved to say the least. Berryz finally released their second PV for their 20th single and, even though I think I prefer Seishun Bus Guide to Rival, I have to say it is good stuff. After being overly disappointed with Dakishimete Dakishimete, I’m glad to see they are working their original cutesy-ness back into them. I can’t help but think though that whoever changed the green screen from Rival into a crappy wall and floor with zero creativity should be fired. Creativity was high outside that though so I’m not complaining.

If you do want to watch the PVs…. just YouTube them. (y)

If many people are not aware possibly, a lot has been happening with current and former members of Hello! Project this year and a lot of it for the better. Ignoring the fact that the Elder’s Club graduated, a sad and touching moment in Hello! Project’s pink frilled existance as idol creators, I think a lot of possitive for me has happened. I shall now reflect on the magic of this year.

• Aya released Chocolate Damashii, the long awaited cute song not failing to impress me in the slightest.
• She also released an amazing album that, while maybe not my favourite, is still better than half of the rest of the albums I’ve seen in a while.
• Maeda Yuki released a single… and an amazinngg one as well. Crazily good for me at least.
• MITSI has had lots going for her. Solo on album and now Guardian4 which looks to be epic.
• Yaguchi Mari single!!!!!!!!!!!
• Aibon single on the way.
• Melon Kinenbi I just read will release like 5 singles which is EPIC EPIC EPIC! *rages in happiness*
• Morning Musume pissed me off less… no… they are releasing an average sounding ballad (there I said it!) so I take that back.
• Aya again in an epic drama getting lots of publicity.
• Reading yaguchi Mari’s blog. (If you translate her blog and read this, know that I love you for it.)
• AMAZING Graduation concert by the Elder’s Club (Look for my lonngg review) which showcased so much talent.
• Ayaka from Coconuts Musume and English Lessons married someone I don’t know but she seems happy.

If that list isn’t enough then I don’t know what is. Next up is what i’m looking forward to in the future!

• Mitsi getting a photobook which is bound to happen this year or next.
• Panda’s finally being shown as two seperate people (it’s funny I want them seperated but still call them pandas) and get more well liked, along with Mitsi.
• A Morning Musume single released with the less popular members leading it.
  
• Aya releasing more than one single a year and being recognised as a proper singer rather than the idol who grew up.
• Seeing a group be dedicated to cute songs rather than the dancey stuff Tsunku keeps making destroying more groups images. Berryz cute aspect is gone. Two songs will soon have that dance feel to it. I hate it. I want more Waracchauyo Boyfriend or however you spell it. >_< I don’t know why I like that song so much.
• To see Buono continue after the anime ends. (Good luck!)

And I end my lists now because I am tired. I’m off to write a fanfiction of the graduated members releasing an album together. (LOL no thanks. I would only do that if there was some kind of public riot damanding it………. do Morning Musume fan fictions even exist. :S I should research…) Anyways, ba-ba-ba-ba-bye!!!!! *presses publish button*

By the way, even Aika agrees it’s been a good year. Yeah Aika?

Why does it seem now that everytime Morning Musume releases something other than an album, people start ranting on and on and on about how Morning Musume’s image is wrong and how they are forever cute and this mature thing does not work for them? I fail to see how no one seems to get the message that the new Morning Musume era has begun and it’s far too late to stop it now. I even do it, complaining how the image of them is wrong and all of that, but I mean it’s not a shock to see them release another mature song is it? At least the b-side is killer. Although, I’m still going to keep insulting Tsunku for making them release COVER YOU…. xD

I just love how when Morning Musume releases a song people say “but all the members are under 21″ but when people look back at like Aa!’s single and they ignore the lyrics of a girl crushed in a relationship being sung by a 9 year old (because she would know so much about love *cough*) and just comment on her amazing voice. My only complaints are how C-ute and Berryz seem to be following suit with Morning Musume going dancey and now the only groups supplying the happy are tied up with anime series meaning, once the anime stops, they go. I can’t stress enough how much I can’t actually wait to see that Guardian4 song to be released so I can finally put it on repeat for forever. I don’t even have hype for Buono’s MY BOY that is coming out in a few days as I wait to see Mitsui take the spotlight singing. ^_^

Talking about releases has anyone else noticed how people have stopped all the Mano Erina love. Maybe it’s because no one actually listens to her songs and they can’t always create pic spams but things have gone by slowly for her. I don’t even watch the PV anymore for her new song. And… I’ve forgotten the name. Well, I remember what happens in the PV and how cute she was… but yeah… Maybe I’m exaggerating about everyone forgetting but seriously, I’m already over it. I saw the PV. I don’t really need much else. It’s weird how they released it so early too.

Maybe she will be the first singer in HaroPuro to make a Single V sell more than the actual single? Somehow that wouldn’t suprise me. It would say a lot about her as a singer though. But a lot of that has already been said.

And of course that leaves us with the problem that HaroPuro doesn’t have a single strong soloist now that Elder’s have left us so we either have Koharu who, I admit, is growing on me slowly, or Mano Erina who is basically a cute face stuck onto a CD case (who cares about the CD).

Actually, Koharu isn’t releasing anything else is she? ….is she? I have zero idea on this stuff. I don’t keep up with animes very much and they did the ‘best of’ album so it’s probably the end of her career. I would have liked to see another crazy MilkyWay type song though. I still have Anataboshi on repeat.

Talking about soloists, I’m very happy with the amount of former Hello! Project members getting their songs out there. Yaguchi’s single was a success and Kago Ai (we’ve all forgotten about that scandal already) is releasing NO HESTITATION (Why is everything captials lately) so that is going to be interesting. The only thing I want to see now is another Ayaya single and actual promotion for it unlike Chocolate Damashii and then my dreams will come true.

Anyway, back to the HaroPuro stuff, that does cause quite a problem but I’m sure another overly pink anime will be released requiring a HaroPuro girl to provide some more cutesy pop to help promote it. (Is this what HaroPuro has been reduced to?) I think they need to hurry up and get auditions going to find HaroPuro’s next soloist already. I don’t really want an Egg to do it because they aren’t really ready no matter what you say about Maeda Yuuka and I definitely don’t want to see a member leave Berryz/C-ute.Morning Musume to become a soloist. I never thought I’d say this but I want Morning Musume to stay as it is for now. They can keep adding but I don’t want anyone I like to go. I’d be fine to say goodbye to Sayumi though.

This makes me start thinking, who is holding Morning Musume down and who is helping it and finally, who is doing neither. Definitely I am biased in saying Mitsui is the future of Morning Musume and I will stick by it. She is very old Morning Musume if you ask me. And I don’t know if anyone has said this but I really think Momusu is going so badly because of certain people (Sxaxyxu) and because they all sound boring. Look at Morning Musume in it’s peak and everyone had really unique voices. Now the people with the unique voices are the ones who fail to sing well (Szazyzu). But to quote Morning Musume’s new single: Shouganai ne~ *sigh*

Going a bit into that whole voice thing, I think Takahashi has it down being the strongest of Momusu but if someone gave me a recording of someone like Kamei I wouldn’t have a clue who it is. I remember when Abe, Yuko, Yaguchi, Maki ect. used to sing together. Together they were strong and when they did their own parts you knew who was singing because they all had their own unique sound. I don’t think I can say the same now. Although when Koharu does her solos you realize. Hahaha…. I think the last really unique voices of Morning Musume were Yoshizawa and Fujimoto *drool*

Like many of my posts here, this one lacks a point and is just my random thoughts being pasted down into words for a small community to see. Oh well, I always enjoy reading comments on what I say and I know I exaggerate so yeah…. don’t take me 100% literally. I was thinking of ending this with pictures but I don’t know what pictures to put up. *sigh* I’ll put double the amount of pictures in my next post? (Like that will happen) Actually I’ll add one picture in of Yaguchi. Hahaha… Yeah no meaning. =_=

Yaguchi with dark hair is so much win. I wish she would go back to it one day. ^_^

Anyway, now that the Elder’s Club finally graduated, I decided it was time to actually get into full swing with the new members and finally pick favourites and learn a bit more and went on a massive search through blogs and so forth, reading whatever I could find.

Back on topic, I remember when Koharu joined Morning Musume and I was like “she’s so cute” and much like all new members that come, I gave her slack on her voice cause, you know, new girl and nervous and whatever. But, unlike other members, her voice never really grew. Oh well.

She has a great fun personality and it just heaps of fun and you can see that in her and that’s what makes her so cool. It’s not the first time Morning Musume has had a bit of an air-head join that took on the role as the cute one and could never really sing.

Well, ever since the dreaded Kirarin Anime started, I have to put up with all this crap with people saying:

• ‘Koharu is using her Kirarin voice and that’s why it sucks.’
• ‘She can sing but she’s always putting on that Kirarin voice now. I wish she would stop.’
• ‘I love her but her Kirarin voice is annoying.’
• ‘You should hear how good she sounds when she uses her normal voice.’

You try and watch Koharu sing on YouTube and you’ll know exactly what I’m on about. Well, I’m here to pop your balloon and let you fall from your fantasy by saying: No, she just can’t sing.

When she first joined, our little Miracle Girl never could get those vocals right and her voice was just bad I think and unmemorable. So to fix that, around the same time as her anime they decided to make her go up a pitch and suddenly she became a bad singer WITH a high voice. Suddenly she can sell singles despite the quality of her voice and people began finally thinking ‘she sings so cute’ even as she broke our eardrums. To top it off then, the fans who are very good at ignoring little details (It’s a skill yeah? ^_^) decided to start blaming her below average singing on the new voice.

And thanks to that voice, every time I watch something like Naichau Kamo’s PV or something I can’t help but not take her seriously as she looks and is so much better singing Papancake or something. I love Koharu even with her flaws though. Even if I can’t really listen to her sing live I think she is plain awesome. I can bag her voice heaps but that doesn’t change the fact she is just so much fun. She’s constantly on crack and is just enjoying running around like a nutter. How cute yeah? Plus, she looks quite cute too…

I told you. Who knew such a young girl would become so pretty. Haha. ;D

Wow so I decided since I love this PV that much and is the cutest thing to come out of Hello! Project in a long time, soloist wise, sI’ll make a million screencaps of it and yeah. Here it is. Picture above is Mano Erina playing with a baby turtle. Cause you know… it’s completely normal to have fun watching it slowly walk across a table.

There is a dance. Yay. Also good to see Mano Erina move from the piano a little. And she’s even got cute littler girls to do backup. How can you go wrong.

Oh and that face. She has got to be the best thing ever. The song ain’t bad either.

And there it is. The piano. And weirdly enough, it’s not that much of a piano. Would have liked to have seen the big, white one from Otome no Inori. I mean like, come on. it’s a keyboard and it’s not plugged in. Are we supposed to believe she made this song using batteries or something. Pfft.

And the dance. Oh yeah. Mano Erina, busts a move.

Watering plants like a good girl.

Hanging up a… hankerchief? Well it’s not important….

But look at her face. Ah~ so beautiful.

Not there best pose but cute all the same. Are they birds?

Yeah just fix your hair in the middle of a PV. We don’t care as long as you do it cutely.

You’re lucky you’re Mano Erina cause if you were a random shining light in my eyes I would be pissed. ^_^

Another good move by Mano.The question is though… what are they all pointing at?

Yay… a beach thing. (I forget the name =_=) You suddenly look like you’ve gone back to your primary school days. Oh well.

Close up on face. Oh yeah! You pwn!

We’ll gladly take your cute, crappily computer made heart. You’re in our hearts.

Woah, calm down. Just get your water gun and squirt the camera man? I’m sure it was one of Tsunku’s goons and he loved every wet moment of it. *shakes head followed with thoughts of becoming a cameraman*

Yeah, we get it. You’re too cute to exist on planet Earth.

I think she’s trying to tell us something but what?! She looks like she is really deep in thought.

L for I LOVE ERINA~!

Okay, this is prime example of scary Mano. Look at that face. It looks like she’s about to attack someone. I can imagine her going godzilla on a unsuspecting Tokyo looking like that.

Cool, it’s a piano…. xD

Now a new side of Mano Erina. Here we see her intimate side, clutching a love pillow. I think she wants someone to sit next to her. *nosebleeds*

I don’t know what this pose is but she looks a little awkward. Keep up with those dancing lessons Mano. xD

Ah~! She kills me with that smile.

Armpits are disgusting but the rest of her makes up for it. So adorable.

I don’t think thats a real shell so putting your ear to it is quite pointless. Oh well, at least she’s having fun.

3, 2, JUMP!

AAAAAHHHHH~~~~~ *nosebleeds again*

Even I think this is just weird for Hello! Project for some reason. Just don’t spin around holding your shoes. It’s kinda weird. At least spinning seems fun for you. xD

Ah~ You can have my heart. >_<

Eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ;D

Best part of the whole PV. I’m a guy so don’t try and give those glasses to me. It’s a nice gesture though.

Aw Mano Erina and some Ichigo/Strawberry Syrup. I wonder what she plans to do with that?

If your answer was put it on her shaved ice you’re right.

Pretty…. except where is the fish? Oh wait….. there it is….. *fail*

Oh wait for it, wait for it……….

…..AHHHHHHHHHH SO CUTE *dies of happiness*

~!Setlist!~

1. I WISH / Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto, Fujimoto Miki

2. I Know / all
Opening Movie
MC
3. Juunen Ai / Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Yasuda Kei
4. Screen / Abe Natsumi
5. Koi no Telephone GOAL / Abe Natsumi
MC
6. Lalala•Sososo / Mano Erina
7. Give Me Up / Melon Kinenbi
8. Kenchana ~Daijoubu~ / Maeda Yuki
9. BABY! Koi ni KNOCK OUT! / Yasuda Kei, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ogawa Makoto
MC
10. 100kai no Kiss / Matsuura Aya
11. Yeah! Meccha Holiday / Matsuura Aya
12. Tanpopo (Single version) / Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa Rika, Shibata Ayumi, Konno Asami
13. Agekai ni Dakarete / Iida Kaori
14. This is Unmei / Melon Kinenbi
15. Ai ~Suite Room~ / Biyuuden
16. Boogie Train 03 / Fujimoto Miki
17. Kuyashi Namida Porori / Nakazawa Yuko
MC
18. Magic of Love / Inaba Atsuko, Maeda Yuki
19. Aoi Sports Car no Otoko / Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Inaba Atsuko, Melon Kinenbi, Miyoshi Erika, Okada Yui
20. Thanks! / GAM (Chorus dancers: Inaba, Maeda, Melon, Miyoshi, Okada)
21. Kizuna / Matsuura Aya (Chorus: Fujimoto, Inaba, Melon, Miyoshi, Okada)
MC
22. Come Together / Ongaku Gatas
23. Narihajimeta Koi no BELL / Ongaku Gatas
24. MM OG Medley:
• Morning Coffee / Nakazawa, Abe, Iida, Yasuda, Yaguchi
• Manatsu no Kousen / Nakazawa, Abe, Iida, Yasuda, Yaguchi
• Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT / MM OG
• The Peace! / MM OG
• LOVE Machine / MM OG
25. Koisuru Angel Heart / all, except Matsuura
MC
26. Never Forget / all
MC

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Let’s REVIEWWWWWWWWWW~

Before I start I just wanna say this was an amazing concert and since I’m reviewing something on such a big scale I dunno if I really ever want to do it again. xD I doubt I’ll do Wonderful Hearts because I can’t simply be bothered doing all this again. When I get my hands on Elder Club’s real last concert I might review that. How exciting! (As if I can be bothered though) Also this contains small spoilers (in a way) so just be careful if you wanna avoid then.

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~!Review!~

1. I WISH / Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa RIka, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto, Fujimoto Miki

Wow. Just wow. Great way to start. The red lights were cool and music smoothed well into the actual song. Everyone sounded good but I think the standouts were definitely Nakazawa Yuko (She shines throughout this whole concert mind you) and Yaguchi got to do the high part at the end which she did really well which I loved. Something else I noticed was the new and improved dance that went along with it was really good. Full of energy and really suited the song I think. Also, all the girls were looking good. Age has been good to them all. That’s always good. Haha. I have to say Ishikawa Rika was absolutely adorable. I used to really dislike her but after this concert… ah… her voice has gotten so much better as well. Anyway, onto the next song.

–

2. I Know / all

A good jump into this song, all the girls coming out onto the stage. Good to see that Aya did get a fair few solo lines which Hello! Project seems to forget to do sometimes at concerts when big groups sing a soloist songs. Everyone out there looked good and the outfits were cute without being overly cheesy, even with the big bows and all. Good energy by everyone. Aya stood up the top in the middle and did a good job despite the broken toe (They mention it later and the crowd gives a big “ehhhh?”) Good song, yayayay. Done.

–
MC

I know it’s just a MC but like…. I just have to say Mano Erina really shouldn’t have been then. She just seems so out of place. It really felt like they really were trying to push her in that spotlight. I don’t really like it.

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3. Juunen Ai / Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Yasuda Kei

I didn’t know what this song was when I first heard it. *hides in embrassment* It’s from “Bokura ga Ikiru MY ASIA” single by the Morning Musume Tanjo 10nen Kinentai. I never really listened to the b-sides from either of their two singles. (more embarassment for me). It was a really great performance and MUCH better than the original (I just listened to it on itunes). At first I felt why is Yasuda there, being the only one not from first generation, but they really did need her there. This song is very tantilizing if you ask me. All the girls are very seductive singing it. Yuko really stands out. Her voice is the best suited for this. She sounds a lot stronger in this concert can I just say. I’m really in a Yuko loving mood lately. Haha.

Extra Little Fact: When they showed the girls on the sides they really failed at trying to dance along. Their confused faces were very funny. Haha.

–
4. Screen / Abe Natsumi

Wow. Abe sings this so well. Even though I think as a solo performer Abe isn’t as good as in a group, but she still definitely has a strong presence. Her outfit is really good too. Screen is her latest single and it shows a really good side of Abe’s voice. I would have liked for her voice to be a bit different though. It sounds just like the actual single. That isn’t exactly a bad thing but when you watch a concert, a little change is always good. The crowd also seemed really into this.

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5. Koi no Telephone GOAL / Abe Natsumi

My god this takes me back. My favourite Abe Natsumi song. She sings this song better than Screen in my opinion and she’s having more fun too. The kick type thing was also cool. She’s flexible. ;D Haha. She also does good crowd involvement, getting the crowd to jump with her. Just was a really fun performance.

–
MC

Oh not again. Mano Erina has wormed her way into being interviewed next to Abe Natsumi by Makoto (he is lol). I don’t really like that. I like Mano Erina but I still can’t get over this whole “why is she there?” feeling. She’s cute… but this concert has got more than enough cute to go around if you ask me.

–
6. Lalala•Sososo / Mano Erina

This song is good. That’s about all there is to say though. I love the piano and Mano Erina looks as cute as ever but… that’s it. No flavour. Her voice is suprisingly similar to her single so it shows that her voice is quite better than I originally thought. It kind of has a very calm, sleepy effect to it though. I don’t like that at all. =_= Bad choice just after Koi no Telephone GOAL.

–
7. Give Me Up / Melon Kinenbi

When I first heard this song I was a little confused because it sounded so similar then it hit me like half way through the song this was a W song. After further investigation, it seems its on MEGA MELON which is their best-of album. To tell you the truth, this song gave me mixed views. I liked it but I thought the poles attached to the microphones were quite useless and it was a little on the repetitive side. Vocally, Melon Kinenbi is as stunning as ever. All the girls have really improved their voices and they are really amazingly talent, all four. I fail to see how this group can have such a small fanbase. I bet if you were to promote these girls properly and give them singles they would be going amazingly well as a girl group within Japan. It frustrates me how talented they are but how little they are used.

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8. Kenchana ~Daijoubu~ / Maeda Yuki

Okay, the talent is just overflowing. Currently my favourite song, there is absolutely nothing I can say that I dislike about this song. First two lines she seemed a little breathy but she pulls it in amazingly and from there onwards she just blew me away. Maeda Yuki has always been such a strong performer but this was just amazing. I love how this song is a ballad too and is different to her usual song with her more traditional enka voice being put away. It’s so great to see Maeda sing like this. It really holds so much emotion within it. I’m so glad to have watched this performance. Was definitely one of the highlights of the concert for me.

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9. BABY! Koi ni KNOCK OUT! / Yasuda Kei, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ogawa Makoto

Onto something completely different here from enka to hypo girls dancing about. All three of them looked so strong on that stage and their dancing was just amazing. Vocally they were all strong and it might be due to the distance between the last time I heard her but Makoto’s voice seems to have changed. I can’t put my finger on it but I could hear it. All of them were just perfect. And the crowd was eating it up. Makoto Ogawa was my favourite in this performance. ^_^ Yasuda was fun too and, of course, Yossie was so cool.

–
MC

A nice little “Natsukashii” or Memorable Moment was shown and was a nice little touch I thought. It didn’t seem scripted and the girl that popped up was Fujimoto Mikitty on that screen around her debut time. Mikitty’s getting married now… wow it shows how much she’s really grown up.

–
10. 100kai no Kiss / Matsuura Aya

Yay. This is the first song that Aya ever performed at a Hello! Project concert so it only seemed fitting to have her sing it here. She looks pretty but then I realized it’s a lepord print ballroom dress. She manages to pull it off suprisingly well without looking like a loser. This performance reminded me a lot of when she performed it at her Double Rainbow concert in 2007. Her voice is song and I absolutely love the hell out of this song. Also, for someone with a broken foot, she really didn’t look like she was in that much pain. Aya really knows how to bring such an amazing presence though even just standing in one spot. That my friends is… PURE SKILL.

–
11. Yeah! Meccha Holiday / Matsuura Aya

YEEEAA MECCHHAA HOOLLIDAAAYYY! That shor skirt under her ball gown is so cute. Even though I saw picture of it before it was so much more adorable watching it in action. She even had a fluffy tail. Great energy from Aya who, again, manages to perform this song in one stop. When it gets to the “zubato” part I like how they cut to the people sitting on the side (she couldn’t do it because of her foot.) But I think this song got the best message from the girls on the side out of the whole show. They were really into it. Yuko looked so happy too.

–
12. Tanpopo (Single version) / Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Ishikawa Rika, Shibata Ayumi, Konno Asami

Ah. Now this song really takes me back. I kind of wished it would only be Yaguchi and Iida but I guess it’s okay with the other girls there. This performance really is the so emotional for Iida and Yaguchi. When Yaguchi was singing at the start it really looked like she was about to let her tears flow out. What I think made this performance so important for me was Iida holding her stomach for the whole end. She even did it as she was walking. I really think she sung this to her child that recently passed away. It broke my heart just thinking about it.

–
13. Agekai ni Dakarete / Iida Kaori

One of the two singles that was released by Iida a fair while ago, this song is really sweet and I really do love it. She sung this song top notch. I remember watching her perform at other concerts and in that period between her last she really has become so much stronger. She sounded amazingly good through out this whole song and really was amazing. If you compare this performance to the CD it sounds so much more beautiful and heartfelt. It really was a great performance.

–
14. This is Unmei / Melon Kinenbi

The crowd just loves this song. They really get into this. Hitomi really has become fierce and I say that in a good way. Her long hair was cool too. I love her so much. xD She’s so much fun (Sorry getting off track.) Vocally I think this is their best performance of “This is Unmei” and that’s always a good thing. Megumi really stands out in this performance more than usual which is weird for me as she always been the girl I remember least. Overall amazing group, amazing performance, amazing song. Nothing to complain about at all.

–

15. Ai ~Suite Room~ / Biyuden

Okay, I don’t particularly like Biyuuden but I am always willing to try. Considering this isn’t a single, I actually hadn’t heard this song before. I love it. I really, really loved it. The performance had a good atmosphere and Ishikawa just shined. She really shined through this whole concert actually (Did I say that earlier?). Actually, all three girls shined. I’m willing to give Biyuuden a second chance now I think. This song really is so catchy. The blowing kisses to the audience thing they did was so cute too. This is a lot better than any of the singles I’ve seen by Biyuuden. Who knew they had it in them. xD

–

16. Boogie Train 03 / Fujimoto Miki

Oh god. The outfit was… interesting for this to say the least. This song oozes out happiness at every place possible and Fujimoto does a great job. She must have been really fit to move like that and sing so well. I have a new grown respect for this woman. Can I just say, there is like one move she does in this song, man she is flexible. I’m suprised she sung this and not Okitegami… although that song probably isn’t really what she’s best known for. Oh well. She didn’t seem to be shy though going back to her kiddy self though.

–

17. Kuyashi Namida Porori / Nakazawa Yuko

Nakazawa Yuko=Legend. This woman is truly the leader of Hello! Project and for all time will be the best. The amount of the respect you can have for someone can only reach a certain limit but I still manage to see her as even more and more of an amazing sensei to the whole of Hello! Project. She has a look of determination on her face while she sings this song and she just connects so well with the audience. The crowd was also particularly loud for this when they chanted out her name. I loved that. When she says “Arigatou” at the end about to cry you just know she was trying her hardest. Her tears were so emotional. I love this woman.

–

MC

Another Memorable Moment was shown this time and it was Ishikawa Rika. Her reaction is so adorable. The crowd went nuts when they showed a clip of her in 3 Nin Matsuri. I found that funny. Haha. Ishikawa showed a lot of personality here which is always great because she is full of it.. My god, she has grown to be an amazing performer and everything. From today onwards I love Ishikawa Rika.

–

18. Magic of Love / Inaba Atsuko, Maeda Yuki

I loved this song for a long time and these two singers singing it is just as amazing thing. You hardily will ever hear Maeda Yuki and an upbeat song like this come together unless she’s in a big group. Her voice suited it so well. Inaba Atsuko is someone who is kind of always in the background so it was great to truly hear her voice shine. Together these girls really should start a group. I’d pay to listen to something like that. Honestly… they are both so talented. This song really blew me away so much. I loved every part of it. Top notch voices and just mind blowing in many aspects, especially for Hello! Project Concert standards.

–

19. Aoi Sports Car no Otoko / Iida Kaori, Yaguchi Mari, Inaba Atsuko, Melon Kinenbi, Miyoshi Erika, Okada Yui

Everyone loves fake guitars and dancing on stage, right? Vocally it’s all very much group stuff so it was all very smooth. Yaguchi is adorable as ever jumping around and wins the prize for cutest performer for this song. Haha. Again Hitomi is just oozing cool. Her little wink is the best part of this entire song if you ask me. Melon Kinenbi is just gold. Can I just say though that Hitomi loves her hair was too much. Kept flicking it about. The two Biyuuden girls really didn’t seem to do anything though. I wanted to see them more.

–

20. Thanks! / GAM (Chorus dancers: Inaba, Maeda, Melon, Miyoshi, Okada)

Wow. This song sounds as good as ever. Aya and Miki both look at their best and vocally everything is working well for them. I think it was good having the other girls there. Just added to that presence on the stage. Plus with Aya not being able to move much it made sence to fill up the stage and give it a bit more life.

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21. Kizuna / Matsuura Aya (Chorus: Fujimoto, Inaba, Melon, Miyoshi, Okada)

Okay… I hope I never have to say this again but… here I go… I didn’t really like this performance. It was so out of place and just seemed boring there. I would have preferred Hyacinth or something. And also… the chorus thing wasn’t a smart choice. All those girls singing along sounded weird for the song.Well it seemed weird for me. I would have prefered just Aya. It is so good yet with this placing it really losing a lot of it’s effect. Aya sounds amazing though. Really, really amazing.

–

MC

Nothing to talk about here. Just talking. Ootani was as cool as ever. Biyuuden’s girl (I dunno her name and don’t want to look it up.. I think it’s Yui but I don’t wanna say it and make a fool if I’m wrong)… I didn’t really take much notice of her. She really was giving off a lot fan service to the men in that audience. Her dress was cut pretty low and she does have a fair bit to show off. Haha. Can never complain about that. ;D

–

22. Come Together / Ongaku Gatas

I love half the girls in Ongaku Gatas. The other half is meh. There is a lot of favourites in there… the biggest probably being Satoda Mai so I don’t have much bad things to say about this group. This song is actually my favourite Ongaku Gatas song so I’m glad they sung this song. Satoda is definitely my favourite there. Vocally she was amazing too even if it wasn’t exactly pushing her vocal chords. I would have liked to see her perform a Country Musume song. *Sigh* I can dream. Konkon wasn’t really shown much in this song. I thought that was weird. Focus was more on Yoshizawa, Ishikawa and Satoda.

–

23. Narihajimeta Koi no BELL / Ongaku Gatas

Okay I don’t have the same kind of love for this song as Come Together. Vocally all the girls sound as good as before. Something about this song doesn’t catch me though. I don’t really have much thoughts on this song.

–

24. MM OG Medley:

• Morning Coffee / Nakazawa, Abe, Iida, Yasuda, Yaguchi

• Manatsu no Kousen / Nakazawa, Abe, Iida, Yasuda, Yaguchi

• Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT / MM OG

• The Peace! / MM OG

• LOVE Machine / MM OG

Yay. Here it is Morning Musume Medley. When I saw this on the tracklist I was really excited. Straight into Morning Coffee they sound great. Yaguchi and Yuko sound great together. The crowd really loved this song too which is great. It suprised how popular this song was for the crowd. They really were flawess here though so I don’t blame them.

Manatsu no Kouen had a lot of energy in it and with their voices stronger now than before it sounded nicer too which I like. Yasuda hugging Abe was really cute. Yasuda has always been cool in a kind of weird way which is cool. Haha.

Now all the girls come out for a little Ai Araba It’s All Right. Apart of me wishes it was still just the 5 but they all deserve to be out there. Konkon sounds really good. This song somehow went from very happy to really thankful which I love. They really got a good feeling going in it.

The Peace was the first song that was so addictive to me when I started listening to Morning Musume so I loved that they sung this here. Yuko looked like she really was enjoying singing this song. They focused a lot more on the later generations though.

LOVE Machine was such a good way to end this medley. The song that made them famous. Iida’s face was so cute too when they zoomed in on it at the start. And then Yaguchi’s ending. Pure gold. Everything about this Medley just was so nice to hear.

–

25. Koisuru Angel Heart / all, except Matsuura

I don’t like this song so it broke my heart to see it here. It also seemed strange to place it here and it was the the second last song too. Half the lines where Ishikawa’s too. I thought it was a really weird song. It’s also from Biyuuden… I don’t know why this is here really. They didn’t sound bad but I don’t know… spoilt the mood for me a bit.

Getting passed that though, it’s so good seeing all the girls on that stage and vocally it’s all very good which has been consistant this entire concert. Makoto’s (MC man. Not Ogawa) “yeeeey” at the end I found to be quite funny.

–
MC

It was really sad seeing these names get called out and hearing the crowd cheer for them. Makoto really ruined it for me though. Only the girls on stage really cheered for him. Then when he said it was going to be the last song the faces of the girls just suddenly became so sad. And worst of all, he looked at the paper as he said “Never Forget”. Did he forget the song title. Talk about irony. *Sigh*

–

26. Never Forget / all
I will never ever, ever forget this group of performers. Even if after they graduate and we never see from them again,I know that I will never forget the memories. Through H!P, we’ve seen these girls grow and we’ve come to know each girl and been introduced to their personality. As I watched I felt myself get emotional saying goodbye to these girls. Thankyou for the memories. We’ll never forget you.

Nakazawa Yuko’s face at the beginning of this song says it all. This is the end of a long journey. Even Aya who was probably strongest at performing in this song looked upset. Abe and Miki kept it pretty serious which I thought was a good thing. If everyone was liek how Nakazawa looked it would have been the saddest performance yet probably best performance to ever his H!P. Yuko’s face at the end was really what took this performance to a whole new level. Again, Nakazawa Yuko, thankyou.

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~!Favourites!~

Favourite Performance: I WISH~ I really just love that song and I loved how well they sounded and looked. In close second is ‘Kenchama ~Daijoubu~’ and ‘Never Forget’

Most Emotional Song: For some reason I found Tanpopo (Single Version) to be really emotional. I think most likely it was because Iida was there. Although, obviously Never Forget wins.

Funnest Perfomance: Ai ~Suite Room~ by Biyuuden. Just was so good on so many levels.

Happiest/Most Hypo Performance: Boogie Train ’03. Ah that was fun. xD Good old Mikitty. BABY! Koi ni KNOCK OUT comes in second place.

Favourite Singer: Nakazawa Yuko definitely. Especially in like Juunen Ai, you can hear how good she sounds and being the mother of Hello! Project she really put so much into this concert.

Best Sounding Singer: Maeda Yuki. She sounded good in every song she was in. Magic of Love and Kenchama ~Daijoubu~ were two of the best sounding songs to ever hit a Hello! Pro concert.

Most Shocking (in a good way) Person: Ishikawa Rika completely shocked me at how good she sounded this entire concert so I think she wins most shocking thing. I wanna see her more in the future now for sure. She just needs to find a group like Satoda Mai did and promote off that and reclaim a strong idol fanbase.

Favourite Outfit: Aya’s cute outfit for Yeah! Meccha Holiday. The whole thing showed that her growing up doesn’t mean she can’t be as cute as ever.

Most Outragous Outfit: Fujimoto’s big fluffy thing for Boogie Train. That dress was hilarious.

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Okay this mega long post is finally finished. I was going to add lots of pictures but it’s long enough. Thanks if you read all this.

Posted in Abe Natsumi, Biyuuden, Elder's Club, Fujimoto Miki, Hello! Project, Iida Kaori, Inaba Atsuko, Ishikawa Rika, Maeda Yuki, Mano Erina, Matsuura Aya, Melon Kinenbi, Nakazawa Yuko, Ongaku Gatas, Pucchimoni, Reviews, Satoda Mai, Tanpopo, Yaguchi Mari, Yasuda Kei Tagged: concert, Elder's Club, never forget, review ]]> http://thisisunmei.wordpress.com/2009/04/05/winter-elder-club-koen-thank-you-for-your-love-review/feed/ 0 tsukiakari22 elder's club 2009 concert 1st and 2nd gen