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Berryz Koubou 2010

Berryz Koubou 2010 Ranking 2009 Ranking

My desire to follow the other H!P groups has dropped off, but Berryz have continued to draw me in deeper and deeper to the idol world. Or I guess to clarify, Berryz have always been number one for me and beyond that, in the sense of being a fan of Japanese idols, no one other group has really held that much importance to me. What can I say, I’m a Berryz wota through and through and I don’t think anything will change that any time soon.

Over the past year I’ve gotten to see Berryz live a few times and that strengthens my admiration and appreciation even further. It truly is an awesome experience seeing them dance and sing up close. Past that, watching their trip to Hawaii, their making-ofs, special events and what not might not provide the same type of experience as seeing them live, but they’re all just different paths that fortify my bond with the group even more. I know they won’t be around forever, but I might as well enjoy the group as much as I can while it lasts.

Favorite Songs

Rival
Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda

Other Favorites (Singles)

21Ji Made no Cinderella
Dakishimete Dakishimete
Dchinghis Khan
Gag 100 Kaibun Aishite Kudasai
MADAYADE
Otakebi Boy WAO!
Seishun Bus Guide
Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama
Ryuusei Boy
Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance

Honorable Mentions

Warera! Berryz Kamen
Special Generation (Eccentric Remix)
CLAP!
Kono Yume Tomare!

The Girls

Tokunaga Chinami

1. Chinami

For brevity’s sake, cause y’all know I could go on and on, I’m going to try and limit my thoughts a bit on this one. There is no one else in this world that I love more than this girl. There’s much more to say and clarify about that statement, but at the same time, I think it’s pretty clear, isn’t it? …

Congratulations to her on her first photobook last September. I was a little bit apprehensive about the idea of her getting one for a variety of reasons, but once I had it in my hands how could I not feel happy for her. A book of a thousand smiles, no matter where she is, or what she’s wearing, her smile always shines through.

Her solo in the Medachitai concert was absolutely amazing~! Alright I’ll admit that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but look at the source, you get what I’m sayin’. The guys I was sitting with during the concert had asked who my favorite member was before things had started; when it was time for Chinami’s solo they made sure I was ready for it. Their, encouragement I guess, made me feel a lil dopey and coy or whatever, but in the end, anyone there could tell that I was having a great time.

Keep smiling Chii~

Sudo Maasa

2. Maasa

All hail King Maasa! King? Why she’s King of Berryz Koubou of course, with all the poise, power and prestige that goes along with that. While she is more like fourth in line to the Berryz throne, you can’t ignore her commanding presence. Even with the “massive” moniker left far behind, she still holds an air of power and demanding of respect, she’s still that idol who will kick your butt if you cross her.

She may not be as genki as Chinami, or a good as a dancer as Captain, but darn if she ain’t close on both accounts. During their fall concert this girl gave it her all, she really did stand out.

Another Berryz get’s their first photobook! During one of the promo videos where she was talking with Momo about it, she looked so happy. I’m sure it made her feel great, she looks like she put a lot of effort into it. And not that she needed ay more awesome points, but she was diggin’ on some Taco Bell in some of the shots. Enough said.

Shimizu Saki

3. Captain

Saki has upped the cute factor over the past year methinks. She’s mixed in some cool and maturity as well. Not that she wasn’t one of the mature Berryz before, but I’ve really seen her as Captain more and more, rather than say, just the oldest Berryz. In general, she continues to dance circles around the other girls. On stage she pulls it off with a smile and apparent effortlessness, she really is a delight to watch.

Tsugunaga Momoko

4. Momoko

Oh Momo, that thing you do, those things you do, keep at it. Just watch her in Buono! and Berryz and you’ll be doused in cutesy, over exaggerated, sugar coated bubblegum, idol stuffs. It can be a bit much as I’ve seen Chinami and other’s point out a few times (either by stating it outright or by how they act around her). It’s all fun and games tho, and funny to see Chii, Maasa and Miya occasionally picking on her. I say she’s somewhat of a “perfect idol” and I still think the label fits. It’s kind of an act, but deep down you get a sense of who she really is despite all of that.

Sugaya Risako

5. Risako (+2)

Well, well, Risako, how in the world did you ever manage to climb up two spots on my list? That little squint and pout thing you do, it’s still irks me a bit. Your voice ain’t the best and you have a tendency to yell rather than sing. You dance a bit lazily sometimes. You seem to try and act mature somewhat inappropriately, like it’s some sort of front… Okay I’m done. From being an annoyance, all of those little traits I’ve come to accept as Risako just being herself, you know. It’s generally hard to bug me, or get on my nerves in the first place, so I’ve kinda just lightened up, opened up and seen more of Risako from a slightly different point of view; sparked by seeing her live during the summer and fall concerts.

Risako fits the sound of Zoku v-u-den’s ONLY YOU so well and her performance of the song was just splendid. She approached the song with tenacity and powah. During Medachitaii, she was having so much fun on stage and appeared to be feeding off the atmosphere of the audience. Oh, and she smiled and waved at me at one point… how can you not just melt under those circumstances.

They keep on pushing her hard and I’ll continue to say as I’ve said in the past, I hope she can keep up and continue to endure it.

Natsuyaki Miyabi

6. Miyabi (-1)

I still see her as the one in the group who is a little shy, timid, and wields an amazing voice; the one who’s a bit motherly and takes care of the Berryz when they’re feeling a little down. Over the year, I’ve also seen a lot more of the idoly side of Miya, both in Buono! and Berryz. She can switch from fun, to mature, to dimwitted, to playfully angry; truly talented and versatile.

Kumai Yurina

7. Kumai (-1)

Now it really is hard having someone at the bottom of the list, but alas, it has to happen. She’s lost the “boring” label I bestowed upon her last go round and has presented herself as someone fun and entertaining. Her voice might not match perfectly with some of the new groups she’s in, but she does stand out if nothing else.

The lemon vampire thing is in the back of my mind when thinking about Kumai, so is her wonky pose on the cover of one of their recent DVDs, oh and her crying when having to chomp on that tomato. More recently tho I’m reminded of her running on the treadmill thing during the Otakebi making of. Her style of running, which has been showcased before, is completely wonky, it’s adorable. Then she misplaces her gloves, a minor thing, but cute nonetheless. So cheesy and a little absent minded, just want to go over and give her a big ol’ bear hug.

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 2009 Ranking

Their releases over the past year have been pretty consistent for me. None of their recent singles have made it into my all time favorites for the group, but I though I’d point out that I’ve enjoyed a little something from all of them. Good in the end, but nothing really stands out. As I said I’d get around to doing last year, I’ve gone through and picked up a bunch of their music, old and new, so I generally have a wide selection of songs that I’ve listened to.

Favorite Songs

GuruGuru JUMP
3, 2, 1 BREAKIN’OUT!

Other Favorites (Singles)

Souda! We’re ALIVE

Honorable Mentions

Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~ (Mattaku Sono Toori Remix)
Tsuyoki de Yukouze!

The Girls

JunJun

1. JunJun

Holding on to the number one spot, nothing’s really changed here. I will say though, that she further solidified her position with the performance of ONLY YOU with v-u-den during the Champloo concert. Really, the DVD doesn’t do justice to how “wow” that performance was. Sure, she didn’t get to sing her solo part, but she got to rock, and she shined while doing so.

Niigaki Risa

2. Risa (-1)

Hmm, she dropped one, cause Koharu moved up… but since Koharu is no longer here, she sticks at 2. Short hair Gaki is cute for the most part (sometimes it looks a little off); I’ll always be comparing her to the tomboyish girl with pigtails that first caught my attention, so it’s an interesting change no mater what style she goes with.

Other than the hair change, there were a couple of other things over the last year that were memorable for me. First one, the konnichipa “incident.” As Koharu convinces the other members to belt out konnichipa while saying hi to the audience, Gaki kinda just rolls her eyes at the idea and moves on like it’s nothing. She finally gives in, but her reluctance to do so, her whole attitude about it was just great.

The second thing that caught me was her appearance in their latest PV, Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai. Not only did she look good dancing and walking the catwalk, but also in the make up chair, she is just all kinds of cute.

Hmm, I say she’s dropped down a spot, but really, she’s gunning for position number one. Even tho, like I said I don’t follow Morning Musume all that much, Risa is one to watch methinks.

Takahashi Ai

3. Ai

Yeah, umm… from my perspective, she’s still kinda boring. Her solo at the summer concert was sung well, but put me to sleep (not really, heh). She still has that great voice and great dance moves so it’s all good. I guess she gets some extra credit from her performances with High-King as well. I really enjoyed their cover of DIAMONDS and she really charged up the stage with Cinderella\Complex.

I watched a couple episodes of Q.E.D, the drama she starred in last year. I thought she did a pretty good job. I guess it showcases some personality, even tho it’s technically a little fake. She could probably move into some sort of drama/acting roles after her time in Morning Musume is over, and with her singing ability, she could still pursue that as well.

Tanaka Reina

4. Reina

Well, she still thinks she’s hot… which is okay I guess. Her Champloo solo, in contrast to Ai’s was a bit more memorable. The song was more upbeat maybe; it kept my interest in any case. Also keeping my interest, her weird eyes. Not in a stop, stare, point and laugh kind of way, but they’re just hypnotizing and add an interesting aspect to her overall character.

Her little anime character Kaito Reinya is kinda cute, how it matches her looks (and personality?). The show itself tho is missing something to keep me watching it past a couple episodes.

LinLin

5. LinLin (+3)

Bless her heart… this is probably the biggest jump of all my updated rankings. I’ve still not seen much of the number two panda, but I’ve seen enough for me to open up my opinion of her a bit. With GuruGuru JUMP and her performances with minimoni, her fun and genki side was revealed to me. Her solo on the Champloo album perhaps wasn’t my favorite, but it brought her vocal ability to my attention, and I like the overall sound.

Michishige Sayumi

6. Sayu (-1)

It seems she lost some of that squishiness. No biggie, but that was at least a little part of what made her stand out to me. Despite the questionable quality of her singing voice, I enjoyed her duet with Risa and her solo on Platinum 9 Disc. As the third in the new v-u-den, she rocks as well; mixing in some cute and rounding out the new group’s image.

On the whole, it seems like she isn’t being given the chance to be cute and idoly much anymore, tho that might just be my lack of exposure to the group in general, I’m just not seeing it.

Kamei Eri

7. Eri

Beautiful girl yeah, beautiful, just beautiful… but she still hasn’t managed to leave any sort of impression on me, outside of singing capability. Might be she’s not being given the chance to stand out, or like I hinted with Sayu, perhaps I’m just not paying attention. She’s supposedly a bit airheaded or somethin’, but I don’t see that either. I got nothin’.

Mitsui Aika

8. Aika (-2)

Her forehead is a bit intimidating… why do they always feel the need to pull her hair back. Anyway, she’s still cute or whatever, most of the time… maybe; on stage tho she’s like, not even there. Hmm, she’s also in Guardians 4 and the new Tanpopo… nope, still doesn’t stand out at all.

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In wota fashion, I was wearing orange shorts and had an assortment of orange glow sticks to support my dear Chinami. Not much, but gotta represent.

In the concert hall itself, at 3:00 my seat was all the way in the back. I thought this was going to be a problem, but even from there the view was great. With that said, at the 6:30 show, my seat was much closer and so I enjoyed it all the more. You’d be pretty hard pressed to get me excited about almost anything, but sit me down in front of a group of young laughing, dancing, singing Japanese girls and well, on my own, I’ll go crazy. And as wrong as that may sound, it is what it is, lol.

An interestingly mixed selection of H!P songs started the concert before the girls hit the stage. With the lights being put through their paces, the mix got you pumped for what was to come.

The opening song was my favorite from Morning Musume’s Platinum 9 DISC, Guru Guru JUMP, performed by the whole gang. When all of H!P is saying JUMP, how can one resist; much jumping did ensue. And with that done, sans S/milage, next up was Berryz Koubou’s Piriri to Yukou!. An oldie, but a goodie, and fun to dance to.

S/mileage was first after the Intro/MC with aMa no Jaku followed by Omakase Guardian by Guardians 4. These ones were a little bit harder to dance to, but still fun.

Minimoni Jankenpyon! Fun song and fun to dance to. I’ve not listened to a lot of minimoni but with this revamp, I’m really liking it. Jankenpyon is one I’ve heard before, but not really payed much attention to. Props to LinLin, and their outfits were pretty cool too.

On the first performance of Mano’s Sekai Wa Summer Party, I think Erina, messed up a little bit, but was alright on the second go round. There are a few points in the instrumental to this song that sounded a bit off, or maybe too strong. Anyway, with S/mileage dancing in the background, this was another that I could get into.

C-ute’s Shochuu Omimai Moshiagemasu, I wasn’t too much a fan of the song, nor the PV… but the live performance was great.

Seishun Bus Guide has a pretty cool dance, and so I feel pretty cool dancing along to Berryz Kobo’s latest single.

Nanchatte Renai and Shouganai Yume Oibito by Morning Musume; good stuff. With MM on the stage, I think I watched Koharu the most, she’s just fun and… I don’t know. One thing I did catch myself doing whenever Reina was on the big screen was checking out her eyes, they’re so captivating, or maybe amusing is a better word, haha. I don’t know, I like how they’re offset and crosseyed or whatever. Ehh…, LOL. I’m going to have to redo my MM rankings.

Aa! and Pucchimoni V’s new songs were great. In Aa!’s case, I’m definitely liking the sound after being disappointed by the on the Champloo album. In Pucchimoni V, Erina, I don’t know… I think she messes up again.

Moving on to Reina’s solo, she did a excellent job. She was followed Tanpopo#. Yurina seemed like she kinda didn’t fit with the sound of this group, dunno. My Boy was awesome, as is to be expected of Buono!. And then we get some more jumping with C-ute’s JUMP preformed by all.

Ai’s solo… I like the song, but… yawn? I would have liked to see LinLin do her thing, but whatever. Maybe the placement after JUMP and a MC made it seem dull. Again, I like the song and she has a great voice, it just didn’t fit.

v-u-den… Risako, Sayumi and JunJun carry out mic stands as they come onto the stage. There’s just something about their stage presence in this song that is so, bad… in a good way. Risako in her opening solo is really owning the mic and is very into it. Then when the additional instrumental comes in, you cannot help but be pumped. Later on you have JunJun on the ground doing some wicked air guitar, rushing back to the other side of the stage and jamming some more. This was my favorite song on the Champloo album and seeing it live is so much better. The first performance of the song, I could really tell that the crowd loved it, they were really into it.

ZYX-α and High-King do their thing, and then High-King comes on with Cinderella\Complex. That was a bit unexpected, but very much welcome. The dance is one you can really get into.

In the MC here, I just want to point out that Koharu is really fun to watch. Even if I have no idea what she’s saying, she is really playful in a very amusing way.

Special Generation plays and the crowd is really into it. Another Berryz oldie but a goodie. At the end here, Maimi steps out between the Berryz, decked out in white, saying her opening lines from Tokaikko Junjou. The contrast looks cool and is a great transition.

Resonant Blue finishes up the group songs and this one was again, really fun to dance to.

Ending things is Sono Bamen de Bibiccha Ikenai jan!, Koko ni Iruzee and after a quick MC, Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku Youna Mirai de Are! Tho I wasn’t familiar with the last song, it was a good end to an awesome concert.

So yeah, I definitely enjoyed doing the whole wota thing. Chants, claps, jumping, dancing, singing, the whole nine yards. Will really have to look into making this happen more often.

New Year’s Resolutions

If you were someone in the Japanese music industry who could influence a change, what would your New Year’s resolution be?

So over winter break I was having a good long chat with my buddy JMI. Jamie, as she likes to be called, is a big time player in the Japanese music industry, heck you could even say that she is the Japanese music industry, from a female pop vocalist’s perspective anyway. In any case, I rarely get to talk to her anymore since she’s becoming so popular over in Japan and around the world really, so I was glad that were able to both find a little down time to reflect on the past and coming years.

At one point in our reminiscing, Jamie and I switched gears and began rattling off a list of resolutions that we’d like to stick to for the coming year. You know, loose a little weight, kicking off an image change, looking to the future and blah blah blah. We had been batting around quite a few ideas but one of hers really stuck out for me. Jamie was somewhat disappointed with some of her performances over the last year or so. Specifically, she has been releasing a lot of cover songs lately and felt that she was lacking in originality, she wasn’t singing her own voice so to speak.

On that point, I countered by admitting that covers can be fun, but in the end realized that I too was ready to move on. While we must always remember where we started, we must also push forward with great innovation. If I were in Jamie’s shoes, I’d probably have the same feeling. I mean, the list of covers wasn’t too grandiose, but a lot of  other Japanese artists had released cover songs too.

WTF was that!?

Berryz Koubou – They released Dchingus Khan and then they had the nerve to offer up a crakafied remix. Well, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it and it was kinda unique turn in the H!PSphere at the time. One has to admit tho that covering an old German Pop band is a bit odd.

°C-ute – Edo no Temari Uta II didn’t feel too much like a cover really, but I guess it is what it is. Popifying an Enka song coud work I guess, but I didn’t really like the song too much.

GO!GO!7188 – Released a mini cover album, Tora no Ana 2, a sequel to Tora no Ana which they had released some time ago. There were a couple of songs that they totally made their own, while other songs were done a little bit of a disservice.

Anime songs desu.

Nakagawa Shouko – Another one with a mini album of nothing but covers. Released in late 2007, but it does kinda fit Shokotan’s style. Anime covers for a Seiyuu and otaku works.

Morning Musume – Pepper Keibu as a single, all right cool; it seems like Hello!Project was on a thing with each of the Wonderful Hearts releasing a cover song. Then they come out with an entire album devoted to covers… Morning Musume didn’t release a lot this year and what they did release was a bunch of covers. I’m not much of a MM fan anyway, and really wasn’t too impressed by it all. It may be an underappreciation of the source material, or rather a sort of ignorance.

We will remember you, always?

v-u-den – Their last song was a cover, for shame. I mean really, they should have gone out with something original, something that we would truly remember them by. Top top it off, it was a cover of a Morning Musume song, so nothing overly unique. Maybe there was some sort of significance in it all that just went over my head.

I’m sure there were a lot more out there. And again, while covers aren’t neccicarily a bad thing and can often produce entertaining results, Jamie and I both agreed that it’d be a good idea to cut back on them. We’ll see how things go, but I’m really rooting for Jamie to stick to her resolutions this year.