Yes, It’s a Real Tattoo
Just for those who may be curious, I got this tattoo a year ago.
Chinami / Berryz Tattoo
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Otanjoubi House
I was in Japan May 9-25 and so had the opportunity to see Berryz Koubou in concert. Six times, no less. What can I say, the concerts were awesome. I really enjoyed seeing the girls again and to see the performances of the songs from their 6th album, I had a great time.
Otakebi Gear
As with my first trip to see them at their concert last fall, this one had a special significance as well. I got to see Chinami on her Birthday! What a very special experience to be in the front row for that one.
The concert on Chinami’s birthday, 5/22, before the encore, everyone was shouting Chinami’s name instead of the chant they normally do. For the afternoon concert, during the encore there were sunflowers again, like last year.
For the evening concert, since Chinami said she wanted to have a “COLORFUL” year, we made a rainbow out of our glow sticks for her. It was coordinated so that each column of about six seats would have a certain color, and the second and third floors would have white ones, representing the clouds. It turned out really well and you could tell that Chinami was really happy.
I’ve not much more to report, thought there were many more happenings, but I just wanted to say that I had the time of my life. I really can’t wait to see them again!
Tokyo Incidents ウルトラC
Tokyo Jihen Ultra C Live Tour 2010 (5/12 Tokyo)
I lucked out and was able to snag a decent ticket for their show on Thursday in Tokyo. It was an isle seat, close to the front and there was no one sitting directly in front of me so I had a great view. As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, Tokyo Jihen was one of the first Japanese groups I discovered back when; they remain one of my favorites to this day, I’m glad I had a chance to see them live.
Showing up to the concert venue, I didn’t know what to expect. I had only been to H!P concerts in the past, so obviously this one was going to be a different experience. First thing that stood out to me was the number of females attending the concert, outnumbered the males by at least two to one. The genre, and Shiina Ringo I guess, pulls a totally different audience for the most part.
Tokyo Jihen: Sports
One thing that really hadn’t crossed my mind was buying concert goods; they had a bunch to choose from. Some of the people there already had on their tracksuits and, t-shirts and flags. There were also things like socks, shoes, perfume, medals, stickers, &c. I decided to get a shirt and a couple flags, figured that I could wave it around as the concert went on (and kinda assumed that others would be doing the same).
So, on to the concert itself… the stage wasn’t too big, and really it didn’t have to be, it’s not like they would be running around and dancing and such, they’d be playing instruments which would kind of confine them to certain areas. The band comes out on stage and, what are they wearing, like some sort of caveman outfits or something with their hair all braided and one or two spiky braids just sticking out for good measure. Oh, and Shiina Ringo is blond. I was maybe expecting something sporty, to go along with the sports album and victory theme. They would wear the same stuff until the encore, where they would change into some more casual clothes.
The performances of the songs themselves were awesome. Much flag waving was had and a little bit of dancin’ thrown in too. A comment on the audience, I found it interesting how during some of the slower songs things would just stop. I mean, it’d become like silent and nobody would move a muscle, not even bob their heads. Even when the song happened to pick up the pace and instrumentals somewhere in the middle there, they’d still be stiff, until the next song came on. Now, I’m not one to get all enthused and excited really, but even I was like, come on guys, let’s wave our flags or something, heh.
I haven’t been keeping hard tabs on their releases this year, so there was a little from their latest album that I hadn’t heard before, but it was all good. The stand out performance for me had to be Killer Tune, one of my favorites, if not the favorite song of theirs. The audience really seemed happy when it came on as well. OSCA and Senko Shojo were also a couple of favorites that I really enjoyed seeing live. The band mostly stayed in their respective positions on stage, moving around a little, sometimes coming together to do a little group play thing. Of course Shiina was the most animated, from picking up the guitar, singing through a megaphone, tweeting a whistle, waving a flag, just doing her thing. She was great, but then, so was the rest of the group. I like the dynamics that the addition of the piano and guitarists voices adds to the sound of the group as well.
The lighting effects throughout the concert were pretty cool. There was a countdown timer, 3 minutes, for Noudouteki Sanpunkan, which was nifty too. They used the same screen to run some 8 bit like video game graphics during a couple songs which I thought added a interesting dimension to things, but not so much to be a distraction.
Overall, great show, great group. Admittedly, it’s probably not a concert that I would go to see over and over again, but I really did enjoy it.
Hello! Projectランキング
Paul over at Hello! Blog has setup this years Hello! Project poll. Some nifty giveaways are available to win this go around, as an added incentive to contribute your opinion to the pool.
As I did last year, I’ve got the details of the group rankings spread out through a couple of posts. This one was pretty simple to put together, with Elder Club gone and all and my opinion of each of the groups and girls pretty solidified.
Go over and check the poll when you’ve got a chance.
First up are links to my detailed thoughts on the individual girls themselves, followed by my overall rankings for 2010:
| Berryz Koubou | Morning Musume. | °C-ute |
Hello Project 2010 Group Ranking
Hello Project 2010 Ranking
Cake Day 3.0
Hi. I made a cake. Happy 3 Years International Wota.
Vanilla/Orange Chinami Cake
Wait, now how am I supposed to eat this. I didn’t really think that far… Hmm, well I guess I can eat it with a fork ( -_-) Oh, there’s a “3″ in there if you look hard enough.
Chinami Cake + Oranges
The big oranges make the cake look small. Anyway, thanks International Wota for continuing to spread Japanese music to the masses and working on connecting the community of bloggers out there. See ya next year.
Berryz工房ランキング
It should come as no surprise that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed everything put out by this group over the past year. Kicked off with Dakishimete Dakishimete, followed by the consecutive double A-sides, they have been some of my favorites. While still lacking some of the rockin’ sound of Buono!, the cool choreography of C-ute and the maturity of Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou never fails to come out on top.
 Berryz Koubou 2010 |
Berryz Koubou2010 Ranking |
℃-uteランキング
I’m one from the camp where the C-ute of now is just missing something. Indies C-ute had something special and lost it; for me, it was basically with Tokaikko Junjou. Anyway, old C-ute is gone, so there’s no point in dwelling on that, yeah. With Erika and Kanna gone as well, the distinction between old and new is even more apparent. That said, over the past year, the groups’ releases have been all right to my ears.
 °C-ute 2010 |
°C-ute2010 Ranking |
モーニング娘。ランキング
It’s that time of the year again. Rankin’ Time! Let’s jump right into it and get started with Morning Musume, shall we.
While I didn’t make it out to AX to see them last year, I was able to see them perform in Japan at the summer concert back in July. As I’ve heard a few other people say, and I agree, seeing them up close really does change your perception of the girls a bit. I’ve still not taken too much time to get to know the group really, but I guess I know them well enough that things have shuffled around a little. With Koharu’s departure my interest as a whole has dropped some. That said, current Musume has mostly just been about the music to me anyway, so that’s not indicative of much of a change.
 Morning Musume. 2010 |
Morning Musume.2010 Ranking |
30k+ iTunes Survey
It’s been a while since I did one of these, about a year actually. I generally listen to at least a few songs every day, driving to school or waiting between classes and what have you, tho some days are more packed than others, like when I’m working from home and such. About 10,000 songs in a year, average 28 songs per day, that’s alright.
Some new artists include Leona Lewis, PUFFY, BAReeeeeeeeeeN, Mr.Children, 4minute… I haven’t been keeping up with a lot of artists or seeking out anything too new as of late, but I hope to get back into exploring some more in the future.
I Want To Stand Out!!
So this video basically represents the reason why I went to Japan last November. I don’t think I need to elaborate… hmm.
Anyway, the point of this post is just to bring attention to the fact that you can see me in the video, yeah. The DVD isn’t out yet so I haven’t been able to go through it all, but from what I’ve seen so far, I can spot myself in some other places as well. I’m in the second row back from the stage… in this video, check 2:56, lower left hand corner.
It’s a bit corny to be grinning over seeing myself there, but still, it’s kinda cool. Next concert, I’m going to make more of an effort to stand out.
(video is still out there somewhere)
