So Momusu has released a FULL dance rehearsal for their NEW SINGLE, Wakuteka Take a Chance.
DUDE. THIS IS LIKE INSTAREPLAY.
First of all, the song is just super catchy. It has the electro-pop motif we've been hearing with all of their recent stuff, as well as the heavy auto-tune, which fits the girls well. The line distribution of this is also done well. Even though most of the main solos are given to the aces Riho and Reina, Sayu and Fukuhime do play a large supporting role in vocals, and have some cute speaking parts. Daishi also has quite a few solos, and the rest of the girls have some solos sprinkled in as well, which is nice to hear.
What really gets me excited though, is the choreography!!! DAT ROTATING LINE, UNF. I'm a sucker for perfect moving formations. This stuff is even better than SNSD syncronization! Seriously. It's all done so precisely. There's also a move where the girls ripple from one side of the room to the other, switching places. That was cool.
As for the girls I watched the most, it was a bit different this time. For One Two Three, my eyes were glued to Daishi and Reina. For this song, Riho and Kanon were the stand outs. Kanon was placed in front a lot, which was surprising, but it was great to see how much her dancing has improved, and how much energy she has. For Riho, I could tell she LOVED this song. She seemed like she was having a lot of fun, which made her more fun to watch. Eripon also had a few stand out moments here and there, so it's good to see she's gaining some stage presence as well.
Anyway, I'm SUPER excited for this single to come out, even if we do have to wait until OCTOBER, and I'm really happy that H!P put out another full track for us to listen to and watch.
The song is so standard AKB48, we've all heard it before, so I don't understand why I'm not tired of it yet...
I guess it's because the girls do it so well. It's the kind of sound they've been trained to sing, so it makes sense that they do it well. I don't know.
I guess I was just expecting something different since it was the new senbatsu single. Since we know the girls can do stuff like "RIVER" and "Beginner," I wanted to see them explore another new style of music.
CAN YOU TELL I'M CONFLICTED!?
I guess I'll just shut up and enjoy the song and not worry about it.
Moving on to the video...which I cannot post here since the full version I watched got taken down.
But here's a quick preview from YouTube:
I feel like the director of this video took every single Japanese pop culture reference he could find (as well as a few American ones) and smooshed it into one video. The result?
EPIC DERPINESS.
For those of you who know me personally, you know I love me some derp. Any kind of derp. IT MAKES ME REALLY FREAKING HAPPY, OKAY?
So I find that I enjoy this video A LOT. Motor girls, Car girls, the ring, 1960's garb, cops, romance, sexy robbers (fuck yeah Mariko), and terrible acting.
Sure, it may be random, and yeah, it doesn't make sense.
But we're talking about JPOP here. And IDOL MUSIC specifically. It doesn't have to make sense! Ahhh the beauty of idol videos.
This might be my favorite AKB48 PV actually, since it is so derpalicious.
I never thought I would find a PV that I liked more than Heavy Rotation...but you win Gingham Check, you win.
Remind me to do a top 5 AKB48 PV list soon...
I hope you enjoyed my rambling, and a new post about some different kind of music will be coming soon!
I'm just gonna do a quick review of each, since there's a lot! First I'm gonna start off with:
Berryz Koubou's "Loving You Too Much."
This video is some of the best eye candy H!P has put out in my opinion! THE FASHION IN THIS VIDEO OMG. All of the bright colors and different textures in their outfits make this video really fun to watch. I also like the mix of settings. Shopping Malls, restaurants, parks, a city street at night...the variety is nice. It feels like this is a combination of an MV and an image DVD. The shots with each individual girl are shot in such a way that the concept is like being on a date with the members, but it's not as boring as an image DVD since they're singing to you. The dance in this video is simple, yet cute and energetic, so it fits the song well. Next, we're moving on to:
S/mileage's "Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki"
First of all, this song sounds like something out of Momusu's Platium Era, and I LOOOOOOOVE the Platinum Era. So my reaction to the song was "AFNIDOA NFDKLAN FDISOAFJNDKLAF DNIJFOANSD KLF DSIOA F." ...well, maybe not exactly that, but you know what I mean. Anywho, the video is really pretty. I like the shiny room they dance in, and their costumes are great, but they don't go together. The room looks like it would fit better with Dorimusu's Shining Butterfly. I think if they wanted to go with this mature route, the costumes should have been done differently. The short skirts could still be applied, but the colors I think would've been better more neutral. The standouts in this MV for me were Meimi and Kanana. I was actually surprised by how well Meimei could sex it up, but I'm glad it wasn't so much that she made me uncomfortable. Kanana surprised me during the dance shot by actually pulling off the slinky choreography, since she is the self-proclaimed worst dancer of the group. My only disappointment was Rina. She sounded AMAZING, but throughout the MV she still had the dead fish eyes. You're almost there girl! Keep trying!
Now it's time for:
Buono's "Never Gonna Stop"
A quick note about the song: I'm impressed that H!P didn't perfectly tune the girls here. They sound SLIIIIGHTLY under pitch at some points, but that adds to the rock feel of the song. I like that they took a bit more of a grungy turn with the vocals here. They also sound somewhat shouty, and the harmonies in the background make the song sound fuller. I really like what I'm hearing. On to the video, this video is like a montage of Buono's whole career. They do have the standard close up and individual shots, but there are allusions to the past weaved into it. The most obvious allusion being the photos and footage from their Paris trip and concert. The other more obvious one is the girls eating pizza, alluding to their running CMs with Pizza La! That's all I'm gonna give away, so see how many more you can find! ;)
Let's go with:
Cute's "Aitai Aitai Aitai na"
WELL HEY THERE SEXY. I think this is H!P's sexiest dance since Goto Maki's "Some Boys Touch!" And groping the other members!? That hasn't happened since GAM's "Melodies!" Woah there Nakky, take it easy! But in all seriousness, this is a great video. The storyline reminds me in a way of Momusu's "Shouganai Yume Oibito" in the way that they're checking their phones and sitting alone in a melancholy like way. And besides, being sexy, this choreography is high energy, very precise, and well executed! Oh! A note on the song. ORGANS!? YES PLZ. I never would've expected organs to be added into an H!P song, but dammit I was happy when I heard them. And that choir during the dance break was super cool too!
Lastly, we have:
Cat's Eye 7's "Cat's Eye"
Sexy Dancing on a roof, what more can you ask for? XD First off, the helicopter with the search lights at the beginning and end of the video is a really cool touch. This dance is also really well done, and each time you watch the video, you find something new and interesting about it. OH! And I'm not sure what the splashes of water in the video are, but it gives me sort of a call to action vibe, or something like a transformation. Very interesting. On the song, the sirens throughout are pretty bad ass, but CAPTAIN'S RAPPING IS THE ULTIMATE BAD-ASSERY. The autotune is done well, and it sounds especially good on Maimai. BOY DID SHE SURPRISE ME. I never thought she'd be sexy, and then she comes out in this video like BAM! I'm quite impressed.
Anywho, those are my opinions on the latest H!P videos! 8D
Please watch all of them, and let me know what you think!
I'm so happy that Chii-chan is getting an e-Hello DVD! She's been getting great promotion with "cha cha SING," and moar Chinami is always good in my book! 8D
Here's the digest!
Chii-chan is all smiles in this, and I LOVE it! Smiley Chii-chan is the best Chii-chan. ^--^
Here are some of my favorite shots:
She has such a unique look, and they're showing it off very well with the colors of her wardrobe and the beautiful scenery. Even though the DVD is full of the typical bikini shots and home scenes, it doesn't feel too typical itself because of what Chii-chan brings to it.
If you're a Chinami fan, I highly suggest getting a copy!
Chicken curry is one of my favorite foods, and it's super easy to make! In this tutorial, I'll be making the Japanese style curry using curry blocks.
For this recipe you'll need:
A package of ground chicken (or beef, pork, whatever you like)
About half of a large onion
Garlic Powder (or minced garlic, which I prefer, but didn't have at the time)
One package of curry blocks. I love the S&B mild sauce. It's so super delicious!
You'll also need rice, salt, and pepper.
First, make your rice according to the directions on the package:
While your rice is going, chop your onion into small pieces. If you like your curry chunkier, bigger pieces is fine. Smaller pieces cook faster though.
Next, put a little over a teaspoon of olive or vegetable oil in a large skillet.
Swirl the pan to coat.
Now throw in your onions!
And add your minced garlic or garlic powder to the mix. I add a lot because I love garlic!
Now you need to saute this for 10 to 15 minutes over medium-high heat until the onions become somewhat translucent. I know, it's a long time to push onions around in oil, but it's so worth it! It allows the flavor to be absorbed by the meat and the curry better.
DON'T FORGET TO TURN OFF YOUR RICE WHEN TIME IS UP. Leave the lid on until the curry is ready.
When your onions look something like this, it's time to add in the chicken!
Whee!
Break up the chicken into very small pieces as it cooks.
When almost all of the pink is gone from your chicken:
Like this
Add about two cups of water to the pan, and turn the heat to medium-low.
Take out your curry blocks
And chop 'em up!
When the water in the pan has reduced, and it starts to boil around the edges like this:
Add in the curry blocks and melt them into the mixture
Let the mixture simmer, some more, and stir constantly, you don't want the curry to burn! When it is thick and shiny like this:
It's ready!
Lay out some of your rice in a bowl
And pour some of your curry on top of it
Dig in y'all!
I hope y'all enjoyed this cooking adventure, and if there are any other recipes y'all want to see, let me know!
