Uh yeah...SYMBOLISM! Or... um... yeah, I've got nothing. If one of you lovely, intellectual readers has any sort of explanation for the PV for Umbrella, please please please enlighten me. I'd really truly love to hear it.

For the record, I'm talking about the disbandment of idol groups, not... well, the other kind of plug being pulled. But neither one is particularly cheerful.


This month K-pop idol Nicole Jung left Kara after her contract with DSP expired. Shortly after, Kang Jiyoung announced that she too would be leaving Kara once her contract expired in April. Despite the loss of two members of a very stable idol group, DSP announced that Kara would continue on as a three-member unit. Now as much as three is my favorite number of idols to have in a group, I'm not so sure if this is the best move for Kara. They're not exactly as famous as they used to be in South Korea, and even in Japan their relevance has been slowly fading away. Honestly, keeping Kara around as a trio feels like a very desperate move from DSP to keep juicing some kind of profit from the group. I don't know how successful DSP is as an agency, but I can't think they're quite as well-known as the big K-pop agencies like SM and JYP and YG. Those are the agencies that generate the most profit, right? Anyways, those are the three agencies I always hear about the most, and DSP is not among them. So is Kara one of their biggest moneymakers? I've got to think they are, especially in their earlier days of releasing Lupin and Step and Pandora. Now, I know they released Damaged Lady, but I also heard that single pretty much flopped, along with the album it came from. And now with the departure of Nicole and soon-to-be departure of Jiyoung, I honestly don't see why DSP just doesn't disband Kara and allow the girls to pursue solo activities. That way they still have a (somewhat) profitable career outlet. Besides, wasn't Kara one of the K-pop groups known for its stability? So much for that. I can't think that they'll have that much success as a trio. It's sad, really, but it just makes me think that DSP really needs to disband Kara while they're still somewhat relevant and before they're barely scraping by trying to maintain momentum only to have it slowly keep slipping away. But nope, from the looks of it, that is exactly what is going to happen.

So why do I bring all this up? Well, it's not because I'm a die-hard fan of Kara, though I do find some of their Japanese songs enjoyable (and even a few of their K-pop songs). But the lineup changes to Kara did get me thinking: when is the best time to disband an idol group anyways? Should it be at their peak, when they have the most fans and most successful numbers? Or when their fame has dwindled, and not many people are left supporting them? Or somewhere in-between those two? I know no one wants to talk about the disbandment of a group, and I especially don't. Disbandment is the only thing worse than a graduation to happen to an idol group. At least with a member graduating, the group can still release music and remain on the market. But a disbandment is the end. Finito. No more music, no more group, just a bunch of memories and archives to browse through. However, I still think that the disbandment of a group is a necessary evil. Because you know what the alternative is? A group sticking around forever and none of the members getting to move on and pursue something else. I'd think that after awhile, that would get very monotonous. Of course, there are always exceptions like Smap and Arashi. Between you and me, I think those two groups are never going to disband. Actually, I've noticed male idol groups tend to have better longevity than female idol groups. Is it because the demographic for male idol groups tends to be wider? I don't know; that's another subject for another article. Back to what I was saying, I think there is an appropriate time for an idol group to disband. The question is figuring out what that time is. Is there a certain point where an idol group reaches their peak and there's nothing left for them? And can that point be applied to every idol group? I don't think a general time can be figured out because of all the differing variables, but I still think there are certain factors that indicate when an idol group is slipping past their prime.


One of those I already mentioned, and that is lineup changes! Now this doesn't apply to all idol groups, mainly the groups known for frequently changing lineups like AKB48, Morning Musume, and even BiS. Although I'm not sure if the member changes for BiS are intentional. I'm referring to idol groups that maintain a stable lineup for a very long time, particularly the time in which they are successful. Like with Perfume, they're about as stable as group gets despite the loss of Kawayuka a very, very long time ago. Like they weren't even signed onto a label with Kawayuka. A lot of the stable groups I'm thinking of are the ones with small numbers like Tokyo Girls' Style and Scandal. This can also refer to groups that lost a member before achieving a larger amount of recognition like Momoiro Clover Z, C-ute, and 9nine. As of April, Kara, a group known for its lack of a frequently changing lineup, will become a trio. Now this isn't the first time Kara has a lost a member, but their last change in lineup was in 2008, when Kim Sung Hee departed. And even then, she left before the group really started to pick up attention. For six years Kara has maintained its five-member lineup, and those five members are the faces the public recognizes. And I think once a group has established itself, there's a certain image their casual fanbase associates with them. Sort of a... chemical compound composed of elements that perfectly balance each other out into an equation. And one member graduating is kind of like removing one element from that equation; all the other chemicals are still there, but with the equation out of balance, the chemical compound is gone. Like if Perfume were to lose a member now, they would basically be screwed. Everyone knows them as A-chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka. With such a small number too, they can't afford to lose anyone. Look at S/mileage. After losing two popular members then adding four more, it took them two years to finally stabilize again and start getting better sales. Zone also starting dropping in sales after original member Takayo's departure.

But lineup changes aren't the end-all be-all for a group's disbandment. There are too many exceptions to that rule, and plenty of idol groups are still able to maintain a fanbase despite the loss of a member. A more deciding factor is financial gain, especially for major label idol groups. Look, everything about the idol industry exists to make money. That may not be the sole reason for its existence, but that is the main reason. Hell, that can honestly apply to most forms of mainstream entertainment. Now there are also indie idol groups, but that's veering into a different topic. Major label idol groups exist to make money. And usually, there's a time when every idol group has their "peak" in success. Take Morning Musume. As of now they've reached another peak of sorts (but nowhere near as high as their first peak). AKB48 is still riding on their peak that started way back in 2009. And Momoiro Clover Z is also right in their peak right now. So what happens when a group starts to fall off that peak? Well, there are two options and agency can take: roll with it and just cater to a smaller audience or disband the group while they're still riding high on the waves of money and success. I feel like most idol agencies go with the latter option for their groups, especially smaller idol groups that aren't juggernauts like AKB48. Speaking of said juggernaut, I think when AKB48 stops making money, Aki-P will disband the group. They're just that kind of group, and I honestly don't think Aki-P cares about anything other than keeping that million streak going for as long as he can and milking as much out of the girls of AKB48 as possible. Look, I could write all the livelong day about the multiple bones I have to pick with AKS and Aki-P so I'll stop right there. Even though money is a big factor in how an idol group is produced, I still don't think that is the ultimate decider to disband a group. After all, there are many idol groups that don't make much money but still deliver consistent songs and music videos. In fact, there are many idol groups that I actually like better than the more popular ones!

So what then? If lineups and finances aren't sole determining factors to disband an idol group, what is?

In my opinion, I think the one of the best times to disband an idol group is when the quality starts declining. The reason I bring this reason up last is because sometimes a group's decline in quality correlates with member losses or a decline in sales and overall relevance. For example, S/mileage's songs were crap after Yuuka and Saki left, along with their overall image. Luckily, they're finally starting to sound decent again, but the chemistry of original S/mileage is long gone. Whether that's for better or worse is up to you. But I honestly don't care how much an idol group makes as long as the music remains good. And really all an idol group has to do for that is not bore me. This is again, why I wouldn't give a shit if AKB48 disbanded right now. Their music has been sucking for the past two years and doesn't show any signs of stopping as long as AKS makes the moneys. If Perfume starts to decline in sales, I'll be bummed, but as long as their music is still good, I'll keep wanting to see them around. However, there is one more time I think is a good time for disbandment: longevity. When an idol group is around for a long time, I think they've earned the right to disband if they want to. The girls of Perfume have talked about disbanding in the next five years or so, and that makes perfect sense. Sure, I will probably cry when that happens, but if that's what the girls want, then who am I to interfere with their wishes solely on the basis that I like their music? Honestly, I'm amazed that Perfume's manage to remain relevant for so long in the industry, and they keep coming up with new ideas and new goals to aim toward. I'd like to think that when Perfume disbands, they'll leave with an impact. So overall, I wouldn't want an idol group to disband like SweetS did, with such little time together as a group and nowhere near their prime. But I also wouldn't want them to disband the way Kara's heading, with a chunk of the members gone and well past their prime either. Like many things in idol music, there needs to be a balance that correlates to the best time for disbandment.


And that brings me back to Kara. I think Kara should disband for a number of reasons: lineup changes, loss of relevance, decline in musical quality, and longevity. The group has had a seven year run, which is a lot in idol years. I think the members of Kara have earned the right to move on to greater things, if they want to. I'm 95% certain that won't happen though; DSP will probably milk three-member Kara dry until they've squeezed absolutely every penny out of them. I feel like that's what happens with a lot of idol groups, and I'm not even talking about J-pop. I think no one wants to let go of their idol groups, and for perfectly good reasons. But every group has to disband someday, and I don't think a group should disband in the state I feel Kara's going to. It just isn't... honorable. I know honorable's not a word you'd use to describe the idol industry, but I think a group's disbandment should be handled with honor and dignity for the girls who worked so hard in it. As for now, let us gaze upon Kara as a five-member group one last time. Personally, I probably won't blog much of Kara anymore after Jiyoung's left. Already their current Japanese releases aren't grabbing me, and I have a few other idols that are. I wish all the best of luck to Kara as a trio though. Lord knows they're going to need it.

Nope. Still not calling them Morning Musume '14. You can't make me.


What's this? Nia's reviewing a Morning Musume PV? After all her complaining about the excessive double A-sides and how they're such a pain to review? Well, yes. I am. The best solution to a problem is usually the easiest one. And I'll be honest, reviewing these double/triple A-sides is hard. Luckily, I've finally come up with a solution to my little dilemma about the excess A-side's Tsunku's been cranking out lately. Really, I should have done this awhile ago, but I was distracted by other more interesting idol PVs. What I'm going to do is review the song and PV that I can talk about the most. Not necessarily the best one, just the one that has the most material for me to write on. I may mention the other A-side once or twice, but unless I have the spare time (which I probably won't), I'm just reviewing the one A-side song and PV. Which of the Morning Musume PVs from their latest A-side interested me the most then?Was it the electropop song? Or the other electropop song? Or the other electropop song? It's... the electropop song!!! To be more specific, it's Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa. But in case you're wondering where the other two A-sides stand in my eyes, here are nutshell reviews of the two:

• For an Olympics song, Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai sure doesn't have much to do with Japan. Neither does the PV. But I think that's more laziness on UFP's part.
• What is Love? remains a good song. There is literally nothing I have to say about the PV.

We good? Good! Now let's talk about Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa! This is the main A-side of Morning Musume's first single of 2014. Yes... the triple A-side single of 2014. Ugh. Anyways, Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa/Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai/What is Love? follows in the vein of Momusu's recent singles with all three A-sides being electropop. As you might have suspected, this has not gone over well with the fans. Okay, nothing goes over well with all the fans but still. As I predicted, the ever-fickle fanbase of Hello! Project has started growing tired of Morning Musume's electropop songs churned out one after another, complaining that the songs all sound like rehashes of one another, the genre's overdone, etc. etc. What I find ironic about a lot of these complaints is that a lot of people have started waxing poetic about the Platinum Era, an era I thought mostly everyone was sick of in the Momusu fanbase. Oh well, a pair of rose-tinted shades does wonders for looking back on the past. To be fair, I do think there are some legitimate criticisms somewhere in the wave of complaints. Tsunku has been relying on electropop for Momusu's recent singles, and yes, there are a few songs that sound suspiciously similar when you play them back to back. Seriously, do that with Wakuteka Take a chance and Brainstorming. I think what Morning Musume needed was a song that relied a little less on the Autotune and bleeps and bloops dominating their recent A-sides. I'm not saying a re-reinvention of their image and musical style, just a breath of fresh air maybe. Like a happier song would be nice! The songs of this era haven't been depressing, but they've mostly been intense-sounding dance tracks. I'm talking about a more happier song along the lines of something old S/mileage would release. And perhaps a song that simply featured more natural vocals and less vocal editing. It would be really nice to hear the girls sounding less robotic. And while we're at it, how about a song with less solos? Yes, I think that's the kind of song that could truly show off Morning Musume as a whole.

The good news: that song is Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa! The bad news: that song is Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa.

Hoo boy. There's a reason I've taken so long to review this song and not just because the subtitles-less music video was leaked so recently. I'm serious, this song has been out for over a month, and I still have no idea what to make of it. Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa is a song that is both refreshing and annoying, sometimes at different times. However, I will say that it is different for the current Morning Musume. Noticed how I just said current Morning Musume though. Because Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa isn't some groundbreaking genre-busting song... well, it does kind of branch across two genres. In a way. When I first played Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, the opening bit with the pounding We Will Rock You drumbeat over the usual dance-electropop instrumentals made me think this was going to be another energetic dance song with a little bit of a twist to it. And then... the rest of the song happened. Do you guys remember Tokyo Girls' Style's Rock you? Well, probably not, since I'm one of five people who cares about TGS, but my point is, Rock you! did the same thing that Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa does. Both songs open with a loud, thumping beat that make an awkward, abrupt transition into a lighter, happier sound. I was not a fan of the transition in Rock you! and I'm very fond of the one in Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa either. It feels like mood whiplash. In fact, I think that's the term I can use to describe this song overall. I don't know what Tsunku was on when writing this song, but Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa feels like it wants to be two different things. During the instrumental breaks, the song defaults to Morning Musume's current electropop sound, but then the vocal arrangement sounds like a bubblegum pop song devoid of any electropop. This could work if you combine the two styles together (in fact, there are plenty of great songs like this!), but with Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, they feel like separate parts crudely sewed together with the skill of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

And yet I don't want to completely bash Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, because it is a little different from all the electropop songs Morning Musume's been releasing lately. However, different does not always mean good. Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa reminds me of Seishun Collection not only in sound but in the time it was released. Both Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa and Seishun Collection are happy songs, but happy in a laid-back kind of way. You wouldn't jump up and down to either song. Despite the fact that the PV for Seishun Collection featured the girls jumping on trampolines. But anyways, Seishun Collection was also released during Morning Musume's Platinum Era, a time when they were releasing so many moody, emotionally dark songs that even Robert Smith would probably say, "Lighten up!" So when Seishun Collection came along as this happy-go-lucky, if slightly generic song, it was simultaneously a breath of fresh air and mood whiplash. While Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa doesn't fall quite as hard to this as Seishun Collection did, there's something that's still so... off about it. In theory, I should like this song. It's happy, trying something a little different from Momusu's current song formula, and there's a lot of even vocal distribution to boot! But the execution of Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa I found to be lackluster. Dare I say even bland? Yep, I think I have to bring about the dreaded B-word for Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, because honestly, it's kind of a boring song. The verses drag out way too long, and every time I think the chorus is going to come in, there's just another verse. Maybe if half of each verse section had been cut, the song would have had a better pace. And maybe if the instrumental and vocals matched in tone better. See, things like that make me think that somewhere in Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa is a good song. In its current state though, I don't think this is a very interesting song, and definitely my least favorite A-side off the single. But hey, I guess every Morning Musume era has to have their own Seishun Collection.

Besides, just because Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa is a lackluster song doesn't mean the PV has to be the same way! Or does it? With UFP, it could probably go either way. So I ask you all to lower your standards and brace yourselves because we're screencapping a Morning Musume PV! Let me guess: it features a really basic set and some green screens?


The PV starts with all of them in cat pose! Does the rest of the PV have them doing yoga poses?


The outfits are decent, although very, very white.


They're like sparklier versions of the ones from Atarashii Watashi ni Nare!


And then we're transported to Green Screen Land where nothing is real and everything is green!


Admittedly, these effects are actually kind of cool.


The way they interact with the choreography just looks really nice.


Which is good because when you take those effects away, this dance shot is about as generic as it gets.


The close-ups fortunately look decent, and everyone looks very nice.


Here they are rising up to feed some of their life force to Sayu so that she may maintain her youthfulness!


They all look like they're about to yank each other's heads in this dance move.


I think these shots are cute. And it's nice seeing the girls in clothes that aren't so costume-y.


The Ai no Gundan kicks make a comeback!


So is there any reason Eripon and Haruna are the only ones wearing pants?


A triangle! IT'S THE ILLUMINATI!


You know, I'd actually be down with Ayumin being center more constantly.


If you watch this PV and pause it each second, you actually do see some pretty neat effects.


No, it's not Rhizomatics technology, but for a Momusu PV, this is about as close to effort as their PVs get.


By the power of GREEN SCREEN!


You know what's refreshing? Everyone looks really nice and cheerful in this PV!


Normally they all look so serious and never get a real chance to interact with each other in a more friendly and natural manner.


Even if the song is weird, seeing everyone so happy is nice!


It's a good thing Riho knows how to work the camera, because her voice is still... eh.


Everyone actually looks really pretty in this PV. No awkward hairstyles or costumes, it's quite a relief!


Again, these close-ups aren't exactly groundbreaking, but they're still visually appealing!


Aw, look at them getting all chummy with each other!


But enough of that! Time for an edgy dance break!


Again, Ayumin center! Look at that. Doesn't that seem like a good idea?


Formations, formations, so many formations.


The shining sun from Kono Chikyuu yo Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! makes a return to show the new dawn of Morning Musume!


And now it's time for the Idol Smackdown nobody asked for! Messiah!Riho...


...versus Messiah!Paruru!!! Which Messiah will reign supreme? It's up to YOU to decide!


As for now, I've got a PV to review!

Is this... effort I see? Honest-to-god effort!? Stop the presses, alert the neighborhood, effort has been put into a Morning Musume PV!!! Well... kind of. It always amazes me how good Hello! Project PVs look when I lower my standards. I should start doing that with regular PVs... I actually do like the PV for Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, and I feel like of the three PVs on the single, it's the only one that has any real effort put into it. Now keep in mind this is not some artistic work of art with an elaborate plotline and a variety of shots and locations. This is still your standard Hello! Project PV with a dance shot, close-ups, and one other miscellaneous shot to keep the PV from being completely formulaic. But it's the styling that makes Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa such a nice PV to look at. Unlike last year, this PV kicks off 2014 with some decent outfits and a set that isn't overblown by a tacky looking green screen. Of course, there is still a green screen, but what they did with it is pretty cool. Remember the green screen techniques in C-ute's PV for Tokai no Hitorigurashi? That's pretty much the same thing utilized in Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, except the visuals aren't as bright and cute and are a little more sleek and polished. In fact, I noticed there are a lot of images of the earth/forest incorporated into the patterns in the green screen. I'm not sure why, just something I noticed. Maybe something in the lyrics indicates toward that. The visual effects may not relate at all to the lyrics of Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, but that doesn't mean they aren't cool! I think what helps with the green screen is that everything else about the PV is so white, making the background essentially a blank slate. I think the vastness of the dance area also helps, so there are a lot of shots from farther away alongside closer ones. While the green screen technology in Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa isn't that mind-blowing, it is still very engaging. Having the girls "interact" with the green screen effects just keeps my attention. Sure, the the technique's been done better and to a larger scope, but for what they are, the effects in Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa entertained me at least and looked sleek and smooth while doing that!

If you are looking for a Morning Musume PV that defies the formula H!P's stuck to like glue, then Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa is not that. Sure, it may look like it on the surface, but when you take away all those slick special effects, this is still a standard H!P PV. But it's a standard H!P PV with a little bit more taste. If you know what you're in for when watching Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa, then you might be pleasantly surprised. I was at least! Sure, this will by no means be my favorite PV ever, but I don't really mind that it's so minimalistic. Because it still looks very clean and polished. And the girls all look great! The costumes in the dance shot aren't that original, but hey, Momusu's gotten a lot worse. In fact, I feel like ever since Reina left, she took all the tackiness with her, and Morning Musume's recent costumes have been pretty tasteful. And the styling's gotten better! Everyone in this PV, even fashion victims Eripon, Haruka and Zukki, get really nice hairstyles and lighting and makeup! They all look very natural, and I think having a PV where they can be happy and cheerful is nice. That's another reason why even though Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa isn't that great of a song, I'm glad it exists so we can see the girls actually smile and act happy in PV instead of trying to be tough and badass dance queens. Okay, that's not a terrible thing either, but it's nice having both, you know? That's why I love the group shots of everyone together! It's the first Colorful Era PV where we get to see some real interaction between the girls beyond just dancing. And honestly, that's really refreshing. I love powerful dances as much as any idol fan, but I also love seeing the more natural side of idols. I think that shows in the PV for Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa. And it helps with the song, or at least it makes the song sound just a teensy bit better. Still not a great song, but better than listening to the song alone. So yes, maybe there isn't much that's different about this PV when you stack it up against all of Morning Musume's other recent PVs, but there are just enough quirks and trimmings to make this PV stand out.


Collectively, I'll give Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa three apples. It's not the strongest song to kick off 2014 for Morning Musume, but it's tolerable. The song is a little too cheerfully hollow for my tastes, and the arrangement could be tightened up. The PV for Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa is entertaining, and compared to some of Momusu's recent PVs, it's actually quite good. Just know what you're in for when watching any H!P PV, and I think you can find some enjoyment in it!

So it's February. Yay. On the plus side, that's great because February is when the releases start coming back in at full force, and I have stuff to actually review! But... ugh, it's February. This is my least favorite month of the year for a number of reasons. Mainly because it's still winter and everything is cold and dead. Also February is always the slowest month of the year for me. School isn't going to be over for several more months, and February is the agonizing month before my spring break. But when spring break does come in March, oh, what bliss that will be! Until then, I'm just gonna have to drudge through February. But hey, now I know what college I'm going to! Which is totally awesome because now I can get to registering and applying for dorms and scholarships and all that college-y stuff! Honestly, I'd prefer to just graduate right now, but I can't slack off this last semester, so I just keep telling myself, "I just need this last class to graduate, I just need this last class to graduate..." But enough of my personal life, how are things going for the Wonderland this month? Hopefully better than the last. Last month's was one of my slower months thanks to adjusting to new classes, rehearsals, and... yeah, pretty much classes and rehearsals! Also there wasn't much I could review in January. I did start writing some editorials and list posts which hopefully I'll be able to finish before March! And fortunately, there are more idol releases for me to talk about this month! So here's all the posts I've planned to start working on in February!

For the record, I'm not doing Sexy PV Week this year. Actually, that was probably just a one-time thing. It was a fun one-time thing though!

Count Zero/Runners High Single Review
- I may write this. I'm not sure really since it is a collaboration single between Scandal and TM Revolution. Then again, the songs I've heard from TM Revolution are pretty cool, and the guy's got a great voice. I thought about reviewing the PV for Runners High, but it's a concert PV. It looks nice, but there's not much I can say about it. I also thought about writing a post about why Scandal's Runners High PV works better than Morning Musume's What is Love? PV, but again, I'm not sure how much I could write about that before sounding redundant. As of now, I'm still not sure. I may wind up not doing either post idea!

Front Girls I am Still Okay With
- This one is from last month's State of the Wonderland, and all I can really say is that I'm still diligently working on it! Thing is, I have a lot more front girls in this post that I did the original one! Ironic considering some of the front girls in that post have graduated since then! But there are still some familiar faces from the last post on this one! I should say that I don't plan on doing a Front Girls I am Still Not Okay With post. The only front girls I'm not really okay with are Sayashi Riho and Watanabe Miyuki, so yeah, not much material to write a post with.

Mae Shika Mukanee PV Review
- I may as well review AKB48's latest music video. It's not like I have anything better to do. Well, actually I do. But still, maybe AKS will step up their game and create an actually interesting music video! Surely for Yuko's last single with AKB48 they would, right? I can only hope so. Even if not, I'm reviewing this PV because this is the last time I'll get to screencap Yuko in an AKB48 PV. I think given her impact on AKB48, reviewing her last Senbatsu PV is the honorable thing to do. And... and... I kind of like the song. You did not read that. And even if you did, that doesn't get AKB48 out of the hate corner. Yes, I have a hate corner. No, it isn't real.

My Top 10 Perfume Music Videos
- In honor of Perfume's first DVD collection of music videos being released this month, I figured the best thing to do was write a list of my personal favorite PVs the lovely technopop trio has released over the years! And I've got some great music videos to pick from; narrowing down a top 10 from the thirty-four PVs Perfume has released since their debut definitely won't be an easy task! But part of the fun of Perfume is that they've released some really great music videos ranging from robotic and futuristic to quirky and artistic! I think I pretty much know which Perfume PV is my favorite: Omajinai★Perori! I'm joking, of course. You'll have to wait for the list to find out!

Partition Love PV Review
- I will go ahead and say I hate the music video for Partition Love. I absolutely hate it. Now why do I say this now and spoil the review? Because my reasons for hating it are very specific and personal. The song is different, but since more than half this review deals with the PV, I just think you should all know that as of now, what I have written of this review is incoherent, passive-aggressive ranting. If you liked the music video for Partition Love, then that is perfectly okay. I however, do not like it, but I still feel compelled to talk about why I do not like it. It's just one of those music videos filled with so much rant-bait. Is that even a thing?

Second Spring EP Single Review
- Truth be told, I probably won't be able to review this single until after March 19, its release date, but still!! I'm so excited! Another Curumi Chronicle release! I'll admit, I probably could have reviewed White Sweet Cake, but I was distracted by Christmas and year-end posts. Still, that was a quality song and just the techno Christmas song I was craving! It gives me hope that Curumi's next single is going to be every bit as delightful as her debut album was! I just wish the release date for this EP wasn't so far away... I'll probably have to spend all of February with no new technopop to review save for Kyarypamyupamyu. I can wait though! I'm sure I can!

Unconventional Idols Editorial
- I'll admit, writing this editorial just sort of... happened. I think it started with me getting into Togawa Jun, and from there, the idea just kept blooming. I think as a fan of more unconventional idols, I've wanted to explore their appeal and why I like them for quite some time. I guess this editorial is less and analysis and more of a... justification of why unconventional idols keep popping up in Japanese idol culture. And more importantly, why this archetype still keeps getting fans. I feel like unconventional idols sometimes get a bad rap, so I guess this post is more-or-less a defense of why this type of idol exists and why I personally like it.

With You/With Me PV Review
- I made a promise last year to review something by 9nine, and I intend to hold on that promise! Actually, I've got to peruse through quite a bunch of 9nine's music considering they're performing with Perfume in May! But a good starting point is reviewing their upcoming song. Whether I'll review the single or PV for With You/With Me, I'm not sure yet. At the moment, I'm leaning more toward the PV. But who knows? Maybe the B-side for With You/With Me will be so astounding I'll end up reviewing the single! I do hope the PV's released this month though; I'd think it would be around mid-to-late February since the release date's March 12.

Yume no Hajima Ring Ring PV Review
- Welp, Perfume doesn't look to be releasing a single any time soon, so it's time to turn to Kyarypamyupamyu and see what latest insanity she's dabbling in! Said insanity will very likely consist of the music video for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. Even though the PV has not been released yet, I can pretty much expect by now that it will feature some degree of adorably creepy weirdness found in every Kyarypamyupamyu music video. After the thoroughly enjoyable PV for Mottai Night Land, I do wonder what direction her next music video will go. Hopefully the PV will maintain the same quality and budget Mottai Night Land's had though!

I may as well just put all this recent AKB48 news into one hodgepodge post. None of them warrant individual posts, and all are upcoming events that I may or may not write further upon in the future.


So let's start with the biggest news: Team 8! Yes, Aki-P has finally decided to complete AKB48 by adding a Team 8. Not only that, this Team 8 will consist of one girl from each of the 47 prefectures in Japan, making it the biggest team in the group. Team 8 will also be sponsored by Toyota, the first team to do so. As with any big AKB48 announcement, this one has been met with mixed opinions. I am honestly not that surprised about Team 8, not as much as I was for Team 4. Besides, didn't Aki-P imply at some point that he had plans to make a Team 8? I think that was before the original Team 4 folded, but I can't remember specifics. But so much has happened since the first formation of Team 4, no wonder I've forgotten about the possibility of Team 8. But now it's coming, and hopefully Team 8 will actually last this time, along with Team 4. Like with Team 4, reactions to creation of a Team 8 have been thoroughly mixed. Honestly, I don't care that much about Team 8. The problem with AKB48 is that anytime they add new members, it's not a big deal the same way it is in smaller groups. Because we're probably gonna hear about only two of the forty-something girls being added to Team 8, because there is no way in hell every single one of those team members is making it to Senbatsu. In a weird way, AKB48's size is both its defining trait and its weakness, because they'll always be seen as a giant product, never really for the individual members that make up the group. Or maybe that's just me being partial to smaller groups. Either way, I could care less about the new Team 8 or the girls who get into it. What I do think is kind of strange is having a company sponsor the team. Like will Team 8's songs have blatant product placement in them or...? I don't know, very likely the partnership with Toyota is for one thing: MONEY! Money, money, money, it is the reason we exist and the reason Aki-P is going to keep milking every penny (or should I say yen?) out of AKB48 until the general public is absolutely sick of them! Toyota will make money, Team 8 will make money, AKS will make money, wotas will spend more money, everybody wins!

Speaking of lineup changes AKB48 is having another team shuffle later this month, their third one overall. The group's last team shuffle was in August of 2012, putting over a year between that one and the upcoming one. Admittedly, the last one took me by surprise; I wasn't a fan around the time of the 2009 shuffle so the 2012 shuffle was my first. And I recall not being very happy about it, mainly because of the entire surreality of the event. This time though, I am actually... looking forward to the shuffle. I guess because so many members have left that I'm legitimately curious to see who's going to what team. Like will the captains remain the same or will new girls be promoted? Yui was promoted to Team A captain fairly recently, and it seems odd to shove her out of that position so quickly. Same goes for Miichan in Team 4. Then again, Yuko's leaving so Team K will need a captain to fill her void. Actually, AKS might need more than just a captain to fill the void Yuko's leaving behind, but we'll see. Team K does need more Senbatsu members; Yuko's pretty much the only member representing Team K in Senbatsu as of now. Every other popular member either transferred or graduated; it's kind of sad. I think the lack of recognizable faces in Team K is one of the reasons for this team shuffle. After all, it's much easier for AKS to put already popular members in Team K than actually, pfft, promote members of Team K. That would be way too much effort! But yeah, I think most of the team shuffle is going to be conveniently switching all the popular girls out into different teams to even the Senbatsu representation out. Team A and Team B are getting a little crowded... Even that is the case, I'm still looking forward to the shuffle. Because I'm bored with AKB48. So very bored. And the team shuffle will provide for a blissful distraction from the group's bland music and excessive graduations. Maybe the shuffle will even freshen AKB48 up a bit! It'll at least be interesting to see different members performing the team songs and being in different team PVs.


And then there's Oshima Yuko. The news of Yuko's graduation is old news by now, but AKB48's upcoming Sakura single has been revealed as Yuko's last. Furthermore, she will graduate on March 30 at AKB48's concert in the National Olympic Stadium. Seems pretty appropriate for Yuko. I always expected her to graduate with a bang, and the National Olympic Stadium is just about as banging as an idol concert can get. Mae Shika Mukanee, Yuko's graduation song, also has a decent amount of bang to it, much more than So Long! did at least. In fact, this is the first AKB48 song I've actually enjoyed in... awhile. It isn't amazing, oh no, there are many parts of this song that still need fixing. Like the awkward male background vocals and the subdued chorus, just to name a few. But Mae Shika Mukanee still feels like a song where a little more effort was put into than AKB48's past few A-sides. At least it's energetic! I'll talk more about the song when I actually write a review for the PV. Anyways, I wouldn't have liked to see Yuko go out on a downer of a song; it just wouldn't fit the image she had in AKB48. To me, Yuko's signature song will always be Heavy Rotation, but Mae Shika Mukanee still suits her nicely. In fact, it has a pretty similar sound to Heavy Rotation; both songs teeter on bland, but have enough spark and energy to avoid boring me. A PV preview has also been released for Mae Shika Mukanee, but who knows when the full PV will actually be released. At least we know it's before the end of the month! From the forty-five second preview on AKB48's Youtube channel, I am not impressed with this PV so far. The background looks way too dark for such a bright, peppy song, and why does it look like a dumpster? It doesn't help the the girls are wearing outfits that look like they were constructed out of Capri Sun juice pouches. I guess they look kind of cool, but I still hope there's more to the PV than just the dance. Preferably not a cliched drama storyline about graduation either. I always wonder why anyone can't get a graduation single like Acchan did for Manatsu no Sounds good! How cool would that be?

So in summary, a graduation is happening, a single is getting released, and a group is getting shuffled. You know, nothing new for AKB48. Or is it? I don't know why, but I get the feeling that this is the year that AKB48 is finally going to start declining. I know I probably said that last year, but something about this year makes me think that it really is going to start happening. By no means do I think their sales will plummet overnight or anything, but I think after Yuko leaves, the fall of AKB48 is going to be a slow one. It'll be slow, subtle, and no one will realize for quite some time that it's happening. And then one day we'll all wake up, as if from a dream, and see that AKB48 is no more. Won't that be surreal? I've never really thought about what the idol industry will be like when AKB48 is no longer around. I haven't thought about that much for any idol groups I follow actually... After all, things can't last forever. There will be a time when all the groups I blog about will be gone. Eugh, what a bleak thought. This was just supposed to be a little news post about random AKB48 stuff, not an existential revelation about the necessity for things to come to an end. Eh... what was I talking about again? Ah yes! Graduations! Singles! Idols! Yeah! Clearly, I need sleep...

Look at that. They're holding paper clips. Actual paper clips. How am I supposed to make any puns when Perfume already made one too perfect for me to top?


This week, technopop trio Perfume is releasing their first music video collection on DVD, aptly titled Perfume Clips. This will make many people happy, myself included. Okay, that's an understatement, I'm ecstatic about the release of Perfume Clips. The DVD features 22 high-definition Perfume PVs from Linear Motor Girl onwards, including alternate version of PVs such as Macaroni, I still love U, and Kasuka na Kaori. The fact that this is the first time Perfume's releasing a DVD consisting solely of music videos excites me so much. Even if I probably won't be able to buy the DVD, just knowing high definition Perfume music videos will exist is enough to make me happy. The release of Perfume Clips naturally got me thinking, "What are my favorite Perfume music videos anyways?" One of the many things I love about Perfume are there music videos. Ranging from cold and robotic to raw and expressive, their music videos are always a spectacle to watch. They've had some great concepts, some killer choreography, and some wonderful costumes. Picking my favorites is one hell of a challenge! But it is one I was willing to take! Besides, I haven't written a Perfume-themed list in awhile, and my top ten Perfume music videos is one that I think is long overdue! Why top ten? Because as of February 2014, Perfume has released thirty-five music videos (not including concert videos like the Butterfly and Handy Man interludes or the 575 Tokyo Dome Special Video Clip). I think ten of thirty-five is just the right number to include in this list! But I do have some honorable mentions. Five to be exact. So I'll just give my abridged opinions about them:

- Nee: The dance was the highlight of this music video, mainly the effect of showing multiple Perfumes in one shot. Special mention also goes to the kickass foot dance.
- Polyrhythm: Dinosaurs, apples, and plants, what do they all have in common? I'm not sure. But they are all in the music video for Polyrhythm! I think this PV's adorable.
- Spice: Interesting plotline, albeit a little hard to get into at first. The transition from faded pastels to more vibrant colors was also neat to watch. And there was table dancing!
- Spending all my time: I had such a hard time figuring out this video, but I don't think I was supposed to. Even then, watching the girls Perfume move objects with their minds was cool!
- Magic of Love: This video was so, so close to making it into the top ten. Magic of Love is spectacularly colorful and vibrant,and another great artsy Perfume music video.

10. Natural ni Koishite


Why can't all advertisements about shopping look like this? Actually, it's probably good that they don't, otherwise I'd be constantly broke. Anyways, Natural ni Koishite is one of the coolest advertisements for clothing that I have ever seen, and it's a three-minute music video.!The entire PV takes place on one set, but that one set is utilized to its fullest. Like a giant, stylishly decorated treadmill, the sidewalk moves with the girls dancing on it, one of the coolest parts about the PV. There are a bunch of other nice little effects too, mainly through some nice editing and clean cuts. The dance is also adorable, and I like how it correlates with the moving sidewalk. And beyond that, who doesn't love a music video about shopping? I think what I love most about Natural ni Koishite is how utterly fun it is. Not many of Perfume's PVs give the girls a chance to act more naturally (see what I did there?), instead opting for more serious, intricate dances and concepts. But in Natural ni Koishite, the girls look so carefree and relaxed. Even when they're dancing in high heels! My favorite part is the very end when the girls all grab their shopping bags and start running down the sidewalk. The camera pans away to reveal the entire set and surrounding studio. Then the girls run off out of the set laughing the entire way. It's this weirdly touching moment to watch and the perfect way to end this PV.

9. Macaroni


Macaroni is probably Perfume's most different music video. There's no dance, no elaborate set or special effects, just a grainy video of the girls wandering around Japan. It's a lot less boring than I'm making it sound. Kasuka na Kaori kind of did the same thing that Macaroni did, but Kasuka na Kaori was much cleaner and lighter, whereas Macaroni has a very gritty, nostalgic feel to it. I think it's mainly because of the camera filters; sure, now they look a little overused what with the rise of Instagram, but I still like the look they give the music video. Like I say, the feel of Macaroni makes me feel like I'm looking into the past, and in a way, I guess I am. This video is six years old now, and the Perfume of the Game era is no the Perfume of today. But that's not the sole reason why I love the music video for Macaroni. I just love the happy, carefree way in which the girls wander around, smiling and running and laughing. The colors and the way the girls act in this PV make Macaroni feel very warm, almost like a bowl of freshly cooked macaroni... I think the sweetest part is when the girls all come together at the very end in that field. And everything before that where they're wandering around individually is also really nice too. What makes Macaroni such a great PV for me is that it's such a stark, refreshing contrast to the polished sleekness of many Perfume PVs. It's wonderfully simple.

8. Electro World


Ah, a PV from the CGI era. For the record, that's not an actual era in Perfume's career; I'm just referring to the three PVs they released around the end of the Complete Best era and beginning of the Game era. Those three PVs being Linear Motor Girl, Electro World, and Twinkle snow Powdery snow. Of those three, my favorite has always been Electro World, partially because of the song. Electro World is about the end of the world (or at least a world after the end of the world). That concept alone practically gift-wraps ideas for a cool music video. While the music video for Electro World doesn't touch on apocalyptic concepts quite as clearly as I thought it would, the PV is still very impressive. What works so well in Electro World's PV is there's this wide scope of emptiness in the PV's environment. Despite the fact that mostly everything is probably green screen, the girls still look very small and dwarfed by this large, hollow shell of an "electro world." In hindsight, I like that this music video didn't blatantly shove down your throats the fact that this PV was about a dead dystopia. And for a PV from Perfume's more obscure days, the PV for Electro World is amazing. Sure, it's all CGI, but there are still some spectacular visuals in this PV, and a variety of green screens and imagery. Electro World remains my favorite music video from Perfume's Complete Best era and the oldest PV on this list!

7. One Room Disco


This is the most fun one room disco I've ever seen! Come to think of it, it's the only one room disco I've ever seen... Still, watching this PV makes me think there should be more of them! This is a fun PV, a really fun PV that perfectly matches the tone of the song. Like Natural ni Koishite, One Room Disco incorporated the use of only one set, but boy, does this PV use it to the fullest extent. The PV for One Room Disco has so many different shots, so many different special effects, but I like that it's all contained in one set. I think that nicely reflects the feeling of isolation in the song! One Room Disco is a very fun PV, this weird hybrid of one-person dance party and mind-screw special effects. The dance for One Room Disco is one of my favorites, and the first Perfume dance that stood out in my mind. That opening dance intro is such fun, and the rest of the dance keeps adding on to that fun! I also loved the special effects in this music video, mainly the changes in size depending on which room the girls were in. I have no idea how that was done, but it looks really cool. Like the apple of many sizes! Yes, the best part about One Room Disco was no doubt the apple. Well... okay, I'm joking (as far as you know). One Room Disco is always one of the first PVs I recommend to newcomers of Perfume, because it encompasses the fun sides of Perfume's songs and PVs so well.

6. Laser Beam


When I say Laser Beam, I'm referring to the full version found on the LE copies of JPN. Not that the shorter version isn't a nice PV to watch, it's just... the last minute of Laser Beam is the best part of this PV. Don't get me wrong, seeing the girls walking around in badass black heels pursuing a mysterious man with a briefcase is extremely cool. I mean, the concept of Laser Beam was female spies, which adds to the coolness factors. And "laser beams" incorporated into the dance shot again pump up the coolness levels. But my favorite part of this PV is the confrontation between Perfume and the masked man. It's ridiculous and insane, but in the most hilarious way possible. It all starts with Kashiyuka firing a laser beam (big shocker, huh?) at the masked. He falls to the ground, and Nocchi grabs the briefcase. But all is not over yet, and while her back is turned, the man gets up and turns into... actually, you know what? I'm not gonna tell you what happens in case you haven't watched the music video. Just... watch the music video all the way through. I swear it's worth it. If you've seen the full music video, you know full well what I'm specifically talking about. The last minute of Laser Beam is over-the-top fun, veering into cheesy 1960s spy drama territory. Of course, the time before that is also pretty awesome to watch, just a little more serious and sultry. Overall though, this PV is awesome.

5. love the world



Yep, Perfume's only black-and-white PV until Mirai no Museum! Personally, I find love the world to be an immensely more interesting music video than Mirai no Museum. Like with One Room Disco, there is a lot going on in this PV, and it's all very fast-paced. I had to watch the PV for love the world several times to catch all the little effects put into this PV. And believe me, there are many! This is another one of Perfume's artistic music videos that relies heavily on visual editing and special effects. What works so well with love the world is the level to which those effects are taken. You've got the girls spinning in rubix cubes, sitting on each others shoulders, crumpling each others faces in paper. It's easier to watch than explain the effects put into this PV. I noticed there's a lot of panning outward and panning inward in this PV. You know, that same effect in Magic of Love only taken to a farther extreme. It's actually very mesmerizing to watch since the effect is repeated so many times. The music video for love the world never goes too far with all the artsy visuals though; there's always this air of fun, especially from the girls. Love the world is a happy song, so why shouldn't the music video be equally happy? I always smile when I watch this music video; there's so many interesting, fun shots in it. I almost wish the effects in love the world actually worked in real life! Especially that rubix cube...

4. Spring of Life


The most recent PV on this list, Spring of Life brings back the robotic/futuristic feel of some of Perfume's older music videos like Linear Motor Girl and Electro World. Personally, I like this. As much as I love Perfume doing artsy videos, I also love when they embrace sci-fi concepts too. And androids is a concept deeply rooted in sci-fi. In the music video for Spring of Life, the girls are androids learning how to function (and possibly love?). Their fate however is a sad one though, as they finally develop the capacity to love, they unplug themselves from their power strips. Little do they know that doing so more-or-less ends their lives. It's probably the bleakest ending for a Perfume music video, even if their fate was revisited in the music video for Mirai no Museum. In my opinion though, that's a pretty lame way to include the dark and ambiguous storyline in Spring of Life. I don't know if this was supposed to be a statement about Perfume's standing as entertainers and how they act as robots trained to sing and dance. Probably not. But they've always been criticized for their overly processed, sometimes robotic vocals. It makes sense to make a music video having them play androids. That's what's so great about Spring of Life's music video; there is so much left open for interpretation, and whether you can take everything in it at face value or not! Me though, I love theorizing about Spring of Life.

3. Fushizen na Girl


Another PV that employs visual trickery! Honestly, I could watch Perfume's artsier PVs all day; they're very entrancing! The most entrancing of them is definitely Fushizen na Girl. This entire PV is a series of clever transitions through the use of shapes and other geographical figures. What I think is amazing about Fushizen na Girl is how fast the transitions flow! They just glide right on top of each other so effortlessly. There's never a dull moment in this music video, but the imagery is never overwhelming. It's just this perfect balance of creative visual effects and dancing. I'd love to see what kind of editing went into making this music video. I think it was also really cool that this PV had backup dancers; it's so rare Perfume PVs have other people in them, especially as many as Fushizen na Girl does! The dancing in this music video overall is just top-notch, both the backup dancer's and Perfume's choreographies. It looks so complicated, but I'm saying that as a person with zero dancing skills. I really love the colors in Fushizen na Girl to. They're all very bright, rich colors that pop against the black background. There's no real plotline to Fushizen na Girl, just artsiness with style. I feel like all the Natural Beauty Basic music videos were really artsy and visually engaging. Even Nee was, even though it didn't make it to the list. Maybe Perfume should do a tie-in for them again!

2. Voice


It's amazing how far apart my love for Voice the song and Voice the PV are. Voice is one of my least favorite Perfume songs; it's not terrible, but I still think it's dull, especially compared to the B-side 575. The music video on the other hand... how do I count the ways in which I love this video? The dance is great, the editing is great, the story is great, the visuals are great, everything about this PV is just great. I was blown out of the water when I first watched the PV for Voice. This music video takes the concept of visual trickery and turns it up to eleven in the cutest, happiest way possible. Every time I think I'm watching one thing, it turns out to be something different thanks to the way the viewer's perception is played with in this PV. But it never goes too far, nor does it ever get annoying. You just kind of sit there thinking, "Wow, I can't believe I thought X was Y, when it's really Z!" The best part is the very end, when that giant set starts to fall forward, and you think for a split-second it's going to land on the girls. But they end up passing through three holes blended into the backdrop! It's a moment that's both frightening and hilarious! And the dance is one of my favorite parts in Voice. I love the way the girls seamlessly pass through each moving set, and the way it's done is so neat to look at. Perfume has involved a lot of visual trickery in their PVs, but for me, Voice is the PV that does it best.

1. Secret Secret


I knew before I even created the draft for this post that Secret Secret would be my #1 music video. It's just... perfect. There isn't a thing I would change about this music video. Sometimes I forget that the music video for Secret Secret was created to be an endorsement for Pino Chocolate. Unlike Natural ni Koishite, which just advertised a brand, Secret Secret goes beyond that, weaving a symbolic story within the promotion of chocolate. Chocolate and symbolism, who doesn't love that!? Secret Secret is an abstract retelling of Perfume's rise to fame, only with a lot more chocolate. The Perfume in this video are mannequins only brought to life by chocolate to perform on television. As time goes on, the costumes get fancier, the sets get bigger, and the group's fame grows. But the price of that fame is the loss of their own identities. Throughout the PV, the girls are shown escaping to a public place where they wander around in normal clothes. The last time they're out in public, they're all wearing shades trying to hide. They've finally achieved success, yet in their last "TV performance" they come off as very wistful, almost sad. Maybe I'm just overly interpreting this music video, but Secret Secret always came off as a visualization of both the joy and sadness Perfume found when they finally became famous. Joy at the achievement of their dreams but also sadness at the price such fame has.

And there you have it! My top 10 Perfume videos as of February 2014! Who knows? Maybe in the future I'll have a few more I'd want to put on this list. But for now, what are your favorite Perfume music videos? Any on this list? None? I made a little poll listing all of Perfume's music videos (both on and off Perfume Clips) so go ahead and vote away!

A Romance Trilogy? Eugh.


Well, today is Valentine's Day, so I could probably write something about idol love songs. At least half of idol music consists of love songs so believe me, finding some would not be that hard. After all, who doesn't love love? Romantic love, platonic love, familial love... and then there's forbidden love. Not only has that been the plot of every YA novel since Twilight, it's also the concept for the first single in Tokyo Girls' Style's Romance Trilogy. Yes, apparently TGS is releasing a Romance Trilogy of three singles all revolving around love. A little silly when they've already released several songs about love but oh well. Personally, I am not a very romantic person. Nothing against romance, I'm simply one of those people who doesn't get warm, sparkly butterflies over the concept of romance. To find that the new three TGS singles revolve around romance was less-than exciting news for me. What was exciting was finding out that the first of these singles was going to be Partition Love! Partition Love was released as a digital single back in September along with a series of teaser clips from what appeared to be a drama. I liked the song much better than Chiisana Kiseki and expressed a desire for the song to be released as a full single, covers and PV and all that jazz that comes with full singles. And either Avex had been planning on releasing Partition Love as a single or they happened to find my blog and exclaimed, "We must release this song as a single for this poor, American blogger who has no impact whatsoever! We must!" I think it was definitely the latter. What I did not plan on was Partition Love being part of a silly little Romance Trilogy. But it is, and I'll review it either way. As I said before, Partition Love is supposed to represent the forbidden love aspect of romance, you know, two people who for whatever reason cannot be together. That can be a really strong idea what done right, so I was open to the idea. Even the Merriam-Webster definition for partition is, "to divide into parts or shares," so with that in mind, Partition Love makes sense as a forbidden love type of song.

The sound of Partition Love is nothing new if you're a longtime listener of Tokyo Girls' Style. Avex has been using their funky 90s jam sound for TGS since Himawari to Hoshizuku; I don't think they have any plans on letting up anytime soon. After the lighter and more generic sound of Chiisana Kiseki and the pop rock sound of Get the Star, Partition Love is a refreshing return to form for TGS. Not that I'm against branching out into different sounds. It's just after the lackluster Chiisana Kiseki, Partition Love goes back to the sound TGS is strong in. And how it returns with full force. Partition Love has synths, bases, all that funktastic goodness I expect from the typical TGS song. I'm really surprised that I haven't grown tired of the sound TGS has been pulling for awhile. But then again, I'm pretty lenient when it comes to artists sticking to one style, as long as the songs continue to be good. And branching out from that one style is always welcome. So don't expect anything new going into Partition Love. Well, one new thing is that the song is produced by a band called Base Ball Bear! I had never heard of this band until now, but they sound pretty cool. I can hear a bit of rock woven into Partition Love, a result of production from a band, I suspect. It's nice. It adds a little bit of spice to Partition Love. Vocally, the girls of Tokyo Girls' Style sound consistently good. But that's to be expected from them. I noticed I heard a lot of Yuri in this song. I guess with Ayano's voice getting increasingly unstable, Avex if reeling in Yuri for vocal tag team with Hitomi. What is going on with Ayano's voice anyways? I heard her live and she sounded awful. Is she just straining her voice too much? That's what it sounds like. Whatever it is, I hope she doesn't end up shooting her vocals chords; she has too good of a voice. Anyways, I like Partition Love. Is it my favorite TGS song? No, but it is still very good and sticks to the strengths of Tokyo Girls' Style. Maybe not the ideal song to listen to on Valentine's Day though, unless you're pining away for someone you can't have!

Now you can skip this next part if you want to and go straight to the apple rating. Because the rest of this review just me getting increasingly angry at a music video and the rant that ensued afterward. It's quite ugly to read. But if you must read on, then I recommend you proceed with caution, for I was not a happy Nia while screencapping this PV. You'll see why if you dare to read the rest of the review. Still want to press on? All right. I can't stop you.


Well, the PV opens with a very familiar shot of Hitomi and Mr. Teacher staring off into space.


Then Hitomi says via voice-over, "Hey, teacher, tell me why this wall exists here." I'm not sure why, because the only thing existing in this scene is a tree.


And then the real story begins in a cliche class room...



...with a cliche attractive male teacher that one member of TGS will inevitably get the hots for.


To prevent this PV from completely focusing on Hitomi, there are some moody close-up shots.


But most of the PV is focused on the story, which centers around Hitomi.


So if you were looking forward to say, a PV with lots of Miyu in it... too bad!


We do get to see the teacher play basketball. Because... he's also a basketball coach? I don't know, it just gives the girls a chance to ogle him.


We also get to see dubious and awkward teacher-student romantic tension! Yay! Because that's always such a joy to watch!


Three of these English sentences seem like legit phrases Japanese students would be learning but... I have never ever ever heard an English-speaking person use, "The heart is about to burst."


Oh god, please don't tell me this PV also features Ayano competing for the teacher's affections.


She is, isn't she? And Hitomi's going to get jealous, and stupid catty passive-agressive teenage girl bullshit is going to occur, isn't it? Isn't it?



And why isn't the teacher cluing into any of this? Surely he realizes that a student making lunch for him is more than just a friendly gesture.


Really? You really wanna go this route, PV? Are you fucking kidding-

I'm sorry, I gotta stop the screencap for a moment. I know I don't really do this, but I can't keep going through this without addressing a few things in this PV. Like how much I hate this storyline. Not even just the competing for affections part, where this entire PV is headed. From what I can tell, Partition Love is about Hitomi and Ayano competing for a teacher's affections despite the fact that neither one can actually have them because this entire scenario is veering toward fifty shades of illegal. At least in the US it would be. Maybe that's why I take such issue with this PV. The man (notice I said man not boy) both girls are pining away for is a fully grown man, probably at least ten years older than them, and definitely not within their age group. Ayano is 16, Hitomi is 15. They're both teenagers. I know that teenagers have crushes; I should know, I am one! But there is a line that this PV is inching over between okay and creepy. I hate the teacher-student romance trope. I think it's disgusting and uncomfortable to watch, because I know that there is no possible way that this can work out without one of both parties getting hurt. And to add on to that is the trope of two girls fighting over a guy, a trope that I flat-out hate. I've seen it play out so many times in so many cliched ways, and I think it sets a bad precedent that girls have to "compete" for a guy's attention. This isn't cute, this isn't sympathetic, this is wrong. Watching this makes me want to stick my head into my computer screen and talk some sense into both Hitomi and Ayano. Actually, I just want to yell at whoever thought this PV would be a good idea. Because there is simply no point in having two girls fight over someone who they can't even be with due to moral standards. And the fact that they don't get that and that the teacher isn't cluing in is driving me up the wall. In the end, this conflict is pointless, and could have been completely avoided if both girls had just realized what they were doing was manipulative and idiotic. Great! I can't wait to watch the rest of this PV!

Okay. I'm cool now. Maybe. Whatever, back to the screencap.


All right, where was I? Ah, yes, a beautiful screencap of Mei being lovely.


Oh yeah, and Hitomi was faking an injury to spend more time with Mr. Teacher. Is this seriously- you know, what I'm just going to let it go.


Actually no, I'm not. HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY THINK THIS IS A GOOD IDEA!?


I honestly don't know who to be more disgusted with: Hitomi for keeping this behavior up or the teacher for not realizing he needs to be responsible and stop said behavior before it escalates.


Whoops, too late! IT'S ESCALATING.


So in a stroke of sheer genius, Hitomi decides to write Mr. Teacher a love letter.


No, Hitomi, he cannot look at you as a sweetheart because it's illegal and will make him lose his job.


Don't mind me, just banging my head against my desk.


How about now, Mr. Teacher? Is this obvious enough for you to realize something's up?


Thankfully, yes, and he lays down the law with Hitomi.


Look at Miyu, judging those two with those eyes...


In fact, I'd like to think of all these close-ups as Hitomi's inner conscience trying to persuade her to back off and realize the situation.


I think that tree's the only thing that hasn't pissed me off in this PV.


The best thing Hitomi can do is just get over this. It may not be easy, but no one gets hurt.


So of course, she goes to his fucking house.


How could this possibly in any way turn out well- you know what, I'm done. I am done with this PV.

...I really hate this music video. You all probably realized that, but I still feel compelled to write that thought down. I hate it so very much. And technically speaking, this isn't even the worst PV I've ever reviewed. The camera work is decent, there's nothing cheap-looking in the PV, and there is a storyline. Only problem is that storyline is trash. No worse, it's the raccoon eating the trash. When I first watched the PV for Partition Love, I felt... wrong watching it. I wasn't repulsed or shocked, I was just overcome with this feeling that there was something very wrong about this PV. And as each second passed by, that feeling of wrongness grew. Then came the final shot with a drenched Hitomi staring at the teacher and... oh god, I can't believe they left it at that. I can't believe anyone thought this entire PV was a good idea. I know the teacher-student romance trope is a popular one, but personally, I do not like it. And it's mostly my personal preferences that make me loathe this PV so much. I just want to reiterate that: it is my moral views that make me loathe this PV and very likely mine alone. I do not want to come off as thinking that anyone who likes this PV is a horrible person. Because that's probably not true. I, however, as a person, take personal issue with this PV. And I do not think the subject of underage romance, even if it's ambiguous in Partition Love and carried out moreso by the student than the teacher, is something you can take lightly. I believe that is a teacher's job to teach students, not get involved with them, especially if they're underage. Do you have any idea how much that could fuck up a child, or more specifically, a teenage girl with too many hormones and not enough brain cells to know what to do with them? I can't watch a PV like this and just blindly ignore the implications of portraying this subject matter in the light that it did. And maybe the PV was supposed to do that, but that doesn't mean I can enjoy this PV. If anything, that makes it worse, because then I know that this music video was intentionally made to look sleazy and pandering.

"But Nia!" you cry out in indignation (or I assume so) "How it is you're okay with PVs like Heavy Rotation and Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru and not Partition Love!?" Well, reader... to tell you true, I do not know. I don't know what it is about Partition Love that sets me off. I think what it may be is that with PVs like Heavy Rotation, Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru, etc. you know that what you're watching is not morally or visually correct. Heavy Rotation is so over-the-top and obvious in all the fanservice it shows that it's practically tongue-in-cheek. And in Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru, the music video about underage prostitution, none of the girls look very happy prowling the streets of Tokyo for clients. Acchan's face in the last shot looks terrified and numb. When I watch PVs like that, I get the message that what I'm seeing is not okay and I shouldn't think that it's okay. Partition Love is a PV that fails to show the consequences of pursuing someone who is not in the position to be with you. When you're tackling a sticky subject like the blurred boundaries between a teacher and a student, you have to show that there are consequences. I don't care if Avex just did this PV to pander to wotas, somewhere out there someone's going to watch this and think "Teacher-student relationships are perfectly okay and normal and with no unfortunate moral implications whatsoever!" All throughout this PV, Hitomi is going after her teacher with no one, no friends or even external parental figures to deter her from this pursuit of hers. The other members of TGS could easily have at least tried to say, "Hey, Hitomi, as your friends we don't think it's smart for you to seriously pursue our teacher." But no, they don't. I think it's the fact that absolutely no attempts were made to show that behavior like this is not a good idea, for either party, that makes me hate this PV so much. I know I'm probably the only person who feels this way but... god. I don't think I've ever felt so angry at a music video. Which sounds ridiculous, but oh well, I guess there are just certain buttons you can press to set me off and this music video's become one of them.

That brings me to another thing. The "love" in this PV isn't love. It's infatuation. How can I tell? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of love is, "a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person." Whereas the definition of infatuation is, "a foolish or extravagant love or admiration." When I watch this PV, I don't see two people in love. I don't even see one person in love. I see a teenage girl thinking she's in love too blind to realize she's merely projected an ideal image of her teacher and fallen in love with that. It is completely normal to idolize adult figures such as teachers as long as it doesn't go any further than that. But in this PV, Hitomi's constantly trying to push things further and no one is around to tell her that hey, she might just want to lay off. And the teacher doesn't clue in either, despite some very obvious signs that Hitomi has more than just a childish admiration toward him. It's his job to teach these students, and to not do anything about this infatuation Hitomi's developing toward him is extremely unprofessional and sends a lot of mixed signals towards Hitomi. What I'm trying to say is both parties are at fault, both are idiots, and I hate this PV. Again, I cannot stand the teacher-student romance trope, even if that romance is unrequited. Maybe it's just the culture I was raised in not being a strong advocate for teacher-student romance, especially the underage kind. Maybe the intention of the PV for Partition Love was to piss off its viewers in the way it pissed me off. If so, it succeeded. Spectacularly. But just because you succeed at something does not make that something a good thing. Partition Love may be attention-grabbing, but in the same way BiS is attention grabbing, only without the self-awareness. I have no idea what in the hell Avex has got planned for Tokyo Girls' Style's next single in their Romance Trilogy, but I pray that it's not as sleazy, pandering, and awful as this PV was. If you liked the PV for Partition Love, that is fine. But I never want to watch this music video again.


Partition Love gets two very generous apples from me. I'd give the PV zero, but luckily, the song itself is good. I hate the PV for Partition Love. I just... hate it. Happy Valentine's Day.

Man guys, I feel simultaneously lazy and busy. Lazy because I haven't posted much to the Wonderland these past two months. But also busy because I have been really busy and haven't had time to post anything to the Wonderland! I couldn't even post my usual State of the Wonderland on time! The reason I didn't post it on the first as per usual is because I was very, very busy yesterday. I didn't even get home until one in the morning due to a party and by then, I was too tired to do anything other than fall into bed! I do have many, many legitimate excuses though. Mainly being school. And senior stuff. Which involves school. Did I mention I have the suckiest final semester of high school a high schooler can have? I was also in a play and rehearsals were a little more frequent, especially in the past two weeks. So when I was't doing homework or running through scenes, I was too tired to do much on the Wonderland. I did conduct a nice little poll though for favorite Perfume PVs! Spring of Life won! Its prize is... well, nothing except being the gif on this month's State of the Wonderland. I have several February posts that are still going up that I just need to finish, and I also have some stuff in March I want to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish both and post a little more this month! They're not listed under here, but just know that they're coming at some point! Here are the other March posts I'm working on:

Hadaka no Hadaka no Hadaka no Kiss PV Review
- I did not review anything from Juice=Juice's last single because it was another goddamn double A-side. But since I now have a new policy of reviewing the most interesting A-side should there be two, that one so far looks like it's going to be Hadaka no Hadaka no Hadaka no Kiss. I can't even remember what the title of the other A-side is. But it's probably going to be really generic, because that's the current Hello! Project double A-side formula. I'm not sure if I'll review just this PV or end up reviewing this in single form. I can probably do a PV review out of Hadaka no Hadaka no Hadaka no Kiss, but the PV does border on the generic UFP music video format.

Kokoro no Sakebi wo Uta ni Shitemita PV Review
- While I'm not sure about Juice=Juice, I definitely want to review C-ute's latest PV. I'll say that I'm probably not going to review the other A-side (Seriously? Another double A-side? We're practically drowning in them!). Love Take It All is just a generic dance song and the PV's your run-of-the-mill Hello! Project PV! Whereas Kokoro no Sakebi wa Uta ni Shitemita has some more effort put into it! Pity that neither song features a PV involving abandoned buildings... I should mention I also planned to review the Berryz Diet Song (does the actual title even matter?), but I don't think I'm gonna have the time or effort to write that. So I'm moving on to C-ute!

Perfect Sky PV Review
- After Passpo's narrow veer from crashing and burning (somewhere in that phrase was an airplane pun I swear), I've been waiting to see what they'd release next. Jejejejet!! convinced me they were a group still worth looking into, so Perfect Sky has quite the bar to raise. What does intrigue me about Perfect Sky is that this is the first single where the girls will be playing as a band. Or some of them at least. I'm not quite sure how it's supposed to work. But it's a fun concept that could work! I doubt the members will be a Scandal-level band, but there's no way they could possibly be as much of a failure as the "band" from AKB48. Right? Right!?

Second Spring EP Single Review
- Oh yes, Curumi Chronicle!! I'm so happy she's releasing something else! I always get that nagging fear that an idol's going to drop off the face of the planet after one release. But Curumi appears not to be one of those idols, since she's releasing a single on March 19! One of the songs off the single is titled Prismic Step; there's a preview floating around on Tumblr. I like the song a lot, and I'm totally looking forward to hearing all the other songs on the single! I just hope information about the single comes out in a timely manner; I don't like following indie idols because sometimes it's so difficult to find information about their releases...

Who Killed Idol? Album Review
- Of course I'm gonna review BiS's possibly-last album ever. Okay, I'm sure they'll release a compilation album, but that isn't the same. I enjoyed the hell out of Idol is Dead, so I'm hoping I equally enjoy Who Killed Idol? Even if I don't, at least I know it won't be boring! I will try my best not to be biased in reviewing this album, because I feel like with it being a last-hurrah album, my judgement might be a little more lenient. And it probably helps that I'm a fan of BiS. So the reviewer side of me is going in critical, but the fan side of me is really excited about this album. But that still doesn't soothe the crushing news that BiS is disbanding.

Man, guys, sorry again about peacing out and not reviewing stuff. Especially since in my time of not blogging, I've gotten tons of requests, nearly fifty. I've just been so in demand to review things, it's difficult to leaf through all these requests in a timely manner! But with this review of Babymetal's album, I'll finally be catching up to this utter boatload of requests I've gotten. Boy, it's hard being such a popular idol blogger.

Okay good, my time outside of blogging has not affected my sarcasm levels. But I did seriously get a request to review something by Babymetal.


I should also mention that I got a Prizmmy request, but since they haven't released anything recently, it's Babymetal that I'll be reviewing today! Some of you may already be familiar with this idol trio but for the rest of you, a brief history: Babymetal is a subgroup of junior high idol group Sakura Gakuin. Apparently, Sakura Gakuin does this thing where they create a bunch of subgroups with varying images and themes. Like they have a science group, a baton group, a tennis group, a newspaper group, you know, school-themed groups! Maybe one day they'll have a celibacy group! Anyways Babymetal was conceptualized as a "fusion of metal and idol" which is exactly what you think it is: metal and cutesy idol pop. The group was lead by Su-Metal aka Nakamoto Suzuka and backed by Yuimetal and Moametal who provide the "screams." After Suzuka graduated from Sakura Gakuin due to being old, Babymetal looked to be disbanding. However, due to popularity, management decided that Babymetal would continue on as a unit independent from Sakura Gakuin. And so here we are. I will be honest, I knew of Babymetal before I got a request to review something from them, but I never really followed them. I'm not a metalhead, so I never had much interest in reviewing a metal idol group. But the few songs I've heard from Babymetal are decent so hey, maybe they're a cool group! I figure the best way to find out is by reviewing their eponymous debut album! So I hope you've got a neck brace because we're about to do some serious headbanging! Or I assume so. Do metalheads actually headbang or is that just a cliche?

1. Babymetal Death

So the first song opens with some ethereal choir chants that wouldn't be out of place in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It reminds me of Momoiro Clover Z's Neo Stargate, although maybe not as bombastic. The chanting is kind of calming, which only makes me believe that at some point the song is going to go absolutely crazy. And what do you know? It does! The guitar comes in and then there's guttural screaming spelling out the group's name! The guttural screaming continues throughout Babymetal Death, moreso than the girls' actual vocals. Actually, Babymetal Death serves more as an introduction song to the album, albeit a very long one. I probably could have done with the song being cut down a bit, because it starts to drag a little over halfway through. Not to mention you don't really get to hear the girls sing at all in this song. We do get to hear some crazy guy scream and chant though! Which is kind of creepy. I guess if I liked metal more, this song would be kind of cool?

My Rating:


2. Megitsune

Now I have heard Megitsune. The beginning reminds me of Mizuki Nana's Etsuraku Camellia; I guess because both songs start with a semi-traditional sound. But then Megitsune goes into metal mode and the guitars and synthesizers come in at full swing! And thankfully we get to hear the girls sing! I'd like to take this moment to say that I really love Su-Metal's voice. Like even before I reviewed this album, I've always liked her voice. It sounds very clear and powerful. Maybe not the best voice for a metal singer, but for an idol singer, her voice rocks. And in Megitsune, I think Su-Metal's voice is utilized to the fullest! There are long, drawn-out notes and crescendos. The music itself is also very neat. I always love to hear to genres of music blended together, especially two very different genres. The blend of traditional and rock in Megitsune gives the song a lot of punch. I'm kind of surprised I didn't pay more attention to this song in 2013.

My Rating:


3. Gimme Choko!!

A song called Gimme Chocolate? Well, I can get behind that! Gimme Choko!! does sound like the deranged ramblings of someone desperate for chocolate... Which is not exactly a good thing. Gimme Choko!! has the same problem that BiS's StupiG had in that it's really disjointed. I think that may have been intentional, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it. There are parts where Gimme Choko!! goes into Autotuned electropop, hard rock, pop, and none of those musical styles blend together the way they did in Megitsune. I feel like I'm listening to several different songs. If Gimme Choko!! wanted to go all the way with the crazy for chocolate concept, musically, they should have taken it farther. In its current state, Gimme Choko!! is kind of a mess. A mess that can be cleaned up with time and effort but still a mess. There are parts of Gimme Choko!! where it's more fun, mainly in the chorus so I wouldn't say the song is an irredeemable wreck. It's just... very disjointed.

My Rating:


4. Ii ne!

Um... I am still not sure what I listened to. I guess Ii ne!'s kind of electropop... ish? But then it's also metal? Like the middle of the song has this very calm rapping and then... more metal? Ii ne! is this really weird combination of cute and perky and hardcore and brutal and robotic and... many other things. Look, I don't get this song at all. I really don't. It's trying to be fifty different things over the span of several minutes. And nothing works together. There are a few nice parts but they're quickly overshadowed by all the different vocals and sounds clamoring for attention in this song. I guess Ii ne! shares the same problem that Gimme Choko!! had in that it's really disjointed. But hell, Ii ne! makes Gimme Choko!! look absolutely cohesive! I mean, I get that Babymetal supposed to be a fusion of idol and metal, but Ii ne! fails to properly fuse them together. Instead we get... whatever this is. I don't know, I had to lie down after listening to Ii ne!

My Rating:


5. Benitsuki -Akatsuki-

So after Ii ne! is more of a straight-up death metal song. It starts with some pretty pianos then the drums and guitars come banging in. Admittedly, Benitsuki -Akatsuki- is one of my favorite tracks on this album. I think what really sells the song are the vocals. Suzuka's voice works really well in a song like this, where the instrumentals aren't overwhelming her vocals. And she sounds so good. There's also a lot less screaming in this song. In fact, I don't think there's any at all. Are Moametal and Yuimetal even vocalists on this track? It sounds like it's all Suzuka. Maybe they do some of the backing melodies? As much as I hate to say, I would actually be 100% okay is Suzuka just went solo, especially if she got more songs like this one. No offense meant to Moametal and Yuimetal; I'm just not a huge fan of screaming in music. There's such power behind the vocals and the instrumental of Benitsuki -Akatsuki-. I definitely recommend this one!

My Rating:


6. DoKi・DoKi☆Morning

Ah, here's the single that started it all. DoKi・DoKi☆Morning was the first taste the world experienced of Babymetal, and it definitely sounds like it. Unlike the later singles from Babymetal, DoKi・DoKi☆Morning has a much more idol-y sound. There's a lot of idol chanting, the melodies are very idol-friendly, the chorus is about as perky as I've heard metal get, and it just... sounds like idol music. As a metal song, this is probably not a very good song. The instrumental does throw in some metal, but the vocal arrangement is primarily idol pop. I don't really mind; I review idol pop all the time, and idol pop with some metal mixed into it is at least an interesting musical choice. DoKi・DoKi☆Morning is catchy in the way that so many idol songs are catchy, but ironically, it's doesn't leave a very strong impression with me. It's an all right song, I suppose, but probably not my favorite Babymetal A-side I've listened to.

My Rating:


7. Onedari Daisakusen

Bringing back the semi-traditional sound of Megitsune is Onedari Daisakusen... but nowhere near as good as Megitsune did it. I have no idea what's going on in this song. It's like someone took the vocals from a really cute idol song and put them over a really hardcore metal backing track. That can work, but for me, it does not work in Onedari Daisakusen. I just can't get into this song; I'm not completely sure why either. I don't know, I feel like every time this song finishes playing, it doesn't leave a huge impression on me despite being incredibly weird. I think it's one of the songs on the album that features only Moametal and Yuimetal? I don't know what it is about idols talking in songs, but it very rarely works for me. It does not work in Onedari Daisakusen at all. It all sounds so awkward and weird and... Okay, I know it's probably supposed to be weird, but this is too weird for me. Like I have a line between enjoyable weird and awkwardly weird, and Onedari Daisakusen crossed it.

My Rating:


8. 4 no Uta

Next up Babymetal goes into reggae! Man, first Furikaeru to Iru yo, now this? Next thing I know Hello! Project will be bringing back 7nin Matsuri! The thing I've noticed about idol music and reggae together in one song is that it either works really well or... doesn't. In 4 no Uta, I'm not sure. I feel like the reggae bits are too choppily separated from the metal parts. I kind of have the same problem with 4 no Uta that I did with Gimme Choko!! and Ii ne! It's really disjointed. That and is Suzuka even featured on this song? It just sounds like Moametal and Yuimetal. I mean, I guess they can get a song on the album to but... I just really like Suzuka's voice better. Oh well, a song featuring only Moametal and Yuimetal could have been so much worse. 4 no Uta does balance the line between cute and metal pretty decently. I think it just depends on how much you personally like reggae and how much you can get into this song. For me, 4 no Uta was okay.

My Rating:


9. U.ki.U.ki★Midnight

All right, this is gonna sound weird, but U.ki.U.ki★Midnight sounds like a Momoiro Clover Z song. Okay, maybe if MomoClo turned into a metal idol group but still! I could hear this song on 5th Dimension, couldn't you guys? Is it just me? Oh well, there are parts of U.ki.U.ki★Midnight that I like and others I don't like. I'm not digging the backing vocals that much, but that's probably because, again, I am not a metalhead. Have I mentioned that enough yet? I feel like I've said that fifty times by now. Also, what's up with the electronic breakdown in the middle of this song? It's really... I don't know, uncalled for? I think U.ki.U.ki★Midnight would have sounded fine without it. Because all the other parts of this song sound great. They're really upbeat and energetic; the chorus is the best part! I don't want to completely discredit U.ki.U.ki★Midnight; I feel like it has the chance to grow on me over time. For now, I think it's an all right song, but not exactly geared to my tastes.

My Rating:


10. Catch me if you can

You know when you're listening to a song, and you know that it's good but you're still like, "Yeah, this is not for me..." Not only can that apply to my entire feelings toward Dempagumi.inc, but it also applies to Catch me if you can. In another dimension, if Nia were a metalhead, she could probably get into this song. She'd probably enjoy this song a lot for combining metal and idol pop into one song. But this dimension's Nia does not feel the same way. Switching back to first person, I like the pop-ier parts of Catch me if you can, but I could do without all the hardcore metal bits. In fact, this probably isn't even hardcore metal, but to my innocent ears, it sounds hardcore. The fun parts of Catch me if you can are really fun, but they're drowned out by all this screaming and chanting. It's just too much for me. I know, I'm quite the wimp, aren't I? Well, I can be a wimp and still not like Catch me if you can! It's really just not something I personally don't want to listen to...

My Rating:


11. Akumu no Rinbukyoku

So this song's got a really cool song title! It translates to Nightmare's Rondo and sounds like something out of The Addams Family! This is also another Suzuka solo, or at least I think it is. I can't hear Yuimetal or Moametal in the song, so even if they're just backing vocals, Akumu no Rinbukyoku is primarily driven by Suzuka's vocals. And once again, she sounds great! I'm noticing she sounds very consistent in all the Babymetal songs. Like even if I don't like a song, Suzuka still sounds good. Akumu no Rinbukyoku is appropriately nightmarish-sounding for a song titled Nightmare's Rondo. I assume the piano backing the song is a rondo, but it's hard to tell with all the other instruments layered over it. Even if it's not a rondo, the rest of Akumu no Rinbukyoku is very enjoyable to my ears. And after finding the last few songs on the album to be not my cup of tea, Akumu no Rinbukyoku is a breath of fresh air. Definitely another one of my favorite tracks!

My Rating:


12. Headbanger!!

Oh hai, song I've actually listened to! I am no stranger to Headbanger!! nor the music video and all its neck-brace wearing goodness. I think this was actually the first Babymetal song I'd ever listened to. At first, I didn't know what to make of it. Metal is not my preferred genre of music so to my ears, so Headbanger!! sounded insane. Like BiS levels of insane with a dash of Momoiro Clover Z insane. Giving it a re-listen, Headbanger!! is just as crazy as it was back in 2012. But it's crazy awesome. There's so much energy ricocheting around in this song; my favorite part is the chorus! And yet again, Suzuka's vocals are so strong. I don't even mind Moametal and Yuimetal's backing vocals; in some of these songs they feel kind of unnecessary. But in Headbanger!!, they give the song this strangely adorable edge. I don't quite know how to explain it. Overall, Headbanger!! is loud, explosive, slightly demented, and a totally fun listen all the way through.

My Rating:


13. Ijime, Dame, Zettai

And closing out Babymetal is one other song of theirs I'd heard beforehand, Ijime, Dame, Zettai, which roughly translates to No more bullying. A pretty good song topic in my opinion, especially for an idol group. The piano intro to this song is actually really pretty, and the repetition of that melody in the chorus is even stronger. So Ijime, Dame, Zettai is naturally about bullying, but I will admit the lyrics are vaguer than I thought they would be regarding the subject. Still, I think the subject is broached pretty well for an idol metal song (who'd a thunk I'd ever use that phrase in a sentence?). And the overall structure of Ijime, Dame, Zettai is really well-done. The song is about six minutes long, but it's paced perfectly. I think Ijime, Dame, Zettai ends the album on an extremely high note. Between this and Headbanger!!, both songs are probably my favorite Babymetal songs. Maybe it's not Keibetsu Shiteita Ajiou, but Ijime, Dame, Zettai stands strong as its own metal-fused take on bullying.

My Rating:


The Verdict

You know that feeling when you're showing your friend something really cool like a movie or a TV show? But then about halfway through showing them, you realize they're nowhere near into as much as you are? Well, I would be that friend if someone was playing this album for me. As I have said a bajillion gazillion trillion times by now, I. Am not. A metalhead. I have never been able to get into that genre of music, it's too abrasive, the vocals are too harsh, etc. etc. So an album consisting of metal and idol pop fused together already would be playing against my tastes. Now don't get out your pitchforks yet, I'm not gonna slam this album! Personally, I was not able to get into this album. However, I can still take a step back and appreciate Babymetal for what they are trying to do. I always like seeing idol groups push the boundaries of idol music, like BiS and Bellring Shoujo Heart do. But Babymetal pushes it into a genre that is I am simply not a fan of. However, the album wasn't a complete waste for me! There were several songs I liked! All the A-sides featured on Babymetal I enjoyed tons, except maybe for DoKi・DoKi☆Morning. I especially think the last third of the album (which included two A-sides and Akumu no Rinbukyoku) was really strong. But when the pop got washed out in favor of the metal, that was when I couldn't really get into this album. Most of the songs in the middle of Babymetal I will probably not listen to again, unless they magically show up in a playlist someday. But that doesn't mean they're bad songs! I'm certain metalheads out there looking for a strange bridge between pop and metal can really get into songs like Catch me if you can and Ii ne! Even if Babymetal isn't my favorite album ever, I do at least think Suzuka is a really good singer, especially for her age! I think her voice is ultimately what prevented some of these songs from being outright terrible for me. So in the end, I wouldn't say this album got me into Babymetal, but I can at least respect them for trying to do something different. Speaking of unconventional idols... I'm pretty sure I have a BiS album to start typing up now...

I will give Babymetal's debut album Babymetal three and half out of five apples. If you're a fan of idols and metal, then you should definitely check this album out. If you're not, then I'd recommend just a few tracks off this album. Either way, Babymetal definitely has a very different sound that'll at least draw in a lot of attention! I wish the group all the best in spreading idol and metal all over the world.

I am really not sure what AKS is trying to do.

The way they're handling AKB48 right now is such an enigma to me. Almost as much of an enigma as UFP. But no idol agency will ever boggle my mind as much as UFP does. But I don't get what at all is running through the minds of the executives running AKS and managing AKB48. For the past few years, AKB48 has been the top idol group, constantly selling hundreds of thousands of singles and being just about everywhere in Japan. However, after going up, there's only one more direction an idol group can go, and everyone has been anticipating the time when AKB48 will start to decline. Will it be this year? Next year? In ten years? Hopefully no that last one, but with more and more members graduating the group, I wouldn't be surprised if AKB48 starts to lose relevance in the next two or three years. As the lovely writers of New School Kaidanexplained much better than I ever could, AKS's reliance on a handful of members of AKB48 for popularity is the equivalent of shooting themselves in the foot. Because once all those popular, established members graduate, AKS will be left with scrambling to promote new faces and other less popular members that could have been more popular with the right promotion. But without the same level of interest in these new faces, less fans will buy things, less money will be made, and very slowly will AKB48 start to fall. In theory at least. Going by the sales of Mae Shika Mukanee, that obviously hasn't happened yet. Still, it's obvious that AKS is trying to hold on to the momentum of AKB48 and all the sister groups despite numerous members jumping ship, including Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko. The gimmicks are flying out left and right, the singles are selling like hotcakes, and as of now, it feels like there's this collective breath being held waiting for AKB48 to slip up and fall. It's inevitable of course. But I get the feeling AKS would rather ignore that inevitable decline and squeeze as much cash out of AKB48 while they still can.

So what's the solution to this member-graduation conundrum? If you said put more promotion into newer, younger members... well, you're right. But AKS can also take the easy way out and just throw popular members from AKB48's sister groups into AKB48. In other words... shuffle time!!!


That is more-or-less what happened in the recent 2014 team shuffle. AKS plucked popular members from the sisters group and gave them concurrent positions in AKB48. Obviously, this did not rest well with many people. Truthfully, I probably should have written about this sooner, but I feel like doing it now will allow me to fully assess the situation. Besides, the shuffle probably won't affect the groups' singles until the summer singles roll around. As I'm sure you all know, AKB48 had a team shuffle that ended up being more of a... every '48 group (and Nogizaka46 shuffle). You know what, I'm not gonna bother listing all the teams and transferred members. It's fairly old news anyways, and you can find a full list on just about any other idol news website. Like Tokyo Girls' Update! Here:

The Great Shuffle of AKB48

Boom. There's the whole list. Go crazy. Run down the streets. Break windows. While you do that, I'm gonna write about the good, okay, bad, and downright ugly decisions made for this shuffle. Or I'm just gonna do bullet points because I don't really follow enough members to care about anything more than a fraction of these transfers and promotions.

The "These Are Actually Decent Decisions"

- Takahashi Minami's return to Team A captain. Who else would fit that position?
- Keeping Minegishi Minami as Team 4 captain. Again, it fits.
- Watanabe Mayu and Kashiwagi Yuki being back in Team B together. Mayuyu did not fit in Team A.
- Promoting Oba Mina fully to SKE48 and making her vice captain of Team KII. She wasn't getting very far in AKB48.
- Giving members a chance to accept or deny their new positions. At least they have a choice and aren't just forced into new teams without any say in the matter.

The "Life Will Go On"

- Umeda Ayaka's transfer to NMB48's Team BII. She wasn't getting anything out of AKB48 anymore so why not?
- Yamada Nana's promotion to Team M captain. I didn't even know who Shimada Rena was.
- Induction of a vice captain system. I don't know if the team captains do much, but I doubt having vice captains will change much.

The "What the Hell Were You Smoking"

- Miyazawa Sae's promotion to captain of SKE48's Team S. What happened to her being in SNH48? How is she supposed to perform in China and Japan?
- A Nogizaka46 member transferring to AKB48. So much for rivalry I suppose!
- Same for an Matsui Rena member transferring to Nogizaka46. Again, very intense rivalry.
- Kojima Mako's transfer to Team K. Wasn't she supposed to be Team 4's ace? I guess not.
- Keeping Matsui Jurina as a concurrent member/ace. Seriously, the girl needs a break and concurrency is not going to help.

The "Blonde Chicks in Horror Movies Make Better Decisions than You"

- Team K is still a mess and adding popular members from other groups didn't fix that.
- Gratuitous. Concurrency. Actually, let's talk more about this one.

Concurrency has always been kind of this weird thing that's been sparingly used in AKB48. It started simply with Matsui Jurina and Matsui Rena appearing in AKB48 singles. Then Yamamoto Sayaka and Watanabe Miyuki also starting appearing in AKB48 singles as well. Then the concurrency system was established, with a few members, including Matsui Jurina, sharing positions in two different XXX48 groups. This shuffle was the equivalent of a little kid going to a candy store and picking out all his favorite candies and throwing them into a bucket. And then splitting some of those candies in half and putting them in other buckets. Are my metaphors making sense? As of the 2014 shuffle, there are over twenty concurrent members spread across the '48 groups now. AKB48 is a mess. SKE48 is a mess. I think the only groups that don't look like a complete clusterfuck right now are Nogizaka46 and JKT48. And that's probably because one of them is across the ocean. How in the hell are Senbatsus going to work? Are the AKB48 members now completely transferred to different groups going to appear in their respective Senbatsus? Because I noticed that was kind of a pattern with Ichikawa Miori, Nakagawa Haruka, and Oba Mina. All three of those members were barely in Senbatsu, if at all, in AKB48 singles. But in the sister groups, they were all automatically put into Senbatsu. Is that what's going to happen to Sato Sumire, Umeda Ayaka, Fujie Reina, and all the other AKB48 members who transferred to sister groups? Because... that's kind of unfair. I mean, I don't expect fair from an idol agency as massive as AKS, but still. And the use of so many concurrent positions just feels like a very desperate and lazy attempt to cash in on already popular members than actually putting effort into promoting new girls. Everything in AKB48 is such a tangled mess right now, and I have absolutely no idea what AKS's game plan is.

What I do think is that this shuffle is a temporary solution to a bigger problem that's too late to be solved. That problem of course being the agency's over-reliance on popular members who are now graduating. But it's their problem, not mine. It's just watching them scramble to solve said problem is this weird kind of entrancing. Kind of like watching a train run closer and closer to a broken-off track. You know the wreck is going to occur eventually, you just can't help but wonder how and what actions the conductors may or may not take to prevent it.

Good god, is Kyary already releasing another single after Yume no Hajima Ring Ring? I think you might need to slow down, Nakata and get to releasing another Perfume single. Well, I'd better get to Yume no Hajima Ring Ring before Family Party sneaks up on me!


I've probably been too dismissive of Kyarypamyupamyu, at least her music anyways. I feel like I have this very weird relationship regarding Kyary as a performer and Kyary as a person. As a person, she seems really cool with a very nonsensical but sweet way of looking at the world. She also has very interesting ideas about expression and artistry. Hell, if we spoke the same language, she'd probably be one of those cool people I could totally hang out with and do weird things like crossbreed rocks or something! And then as a performer... it's a little bit more complicated. I want to like Kyary's music. She's produced by Nakata, that should be enough for me to get into her music. But I feel like Nakata's constantly pigeonholing her into these catchy and adorable/kawaii technopop songs that sound like commercial jingles. Sure, she has her breakout songs like Fashion Monster and Ninjari Bang Bang, but her stereotypically cute songs very much outweigh her other songs that don't fall into that mold. Same thing goes for her music videos.

Back in 2011, PonPonPon was just about the strangest thing my eyes laid upon from J-pop (and I'd seen Milky Way's Tan Tan Taan! PV). Now, two years later, her music videos feel like more-or-less the same formula: some slightly creepy Harajuku Kawaii concept with funnily-dressed backup dancers and a quirky mascot running around. That doesn't mean Kyary hasn't had some good music videos, it's just that I know what to expect every time she releases a single. And maybe if I was into the more Harajuku Kawaii culture, I would be more okay with how formulaic her music and image has grown. But I'm not, and that's why I can only ever remain a casual fan of Kyarypamyupamyu (and also why I can deal with Perfume being formulaic). I think Kyary has some great ideas and a solid, dynamic musical relationship with Nakata, but at this point, I feel like I've seen everything that she has to offer. As long as she stays in the little box Nakata's crafted for her, I don't think she has much of a chance to expand musically or artistically.

But... perhaps that may change this year.

According to Kyary herself, in 2014 she hopes to focus her career more towards "evolution." Now I'm not sure how she intends to evolve what with not writing her own music but oh well. I don't know if anything will come of it. Starting off Kyary's year of "evolution" is Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, a sweet little song about graduation and growing up- hey, wait a minute, wasn't that the whole point of Furisodation last year? Oh well, I think Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is focused less on adulthood and more on the act of graduation. The lyrics spend a lot of time reflecting on graduation and departing from old friends and all the sadness that comes with that. You know, typical graduation song lyrics. And how does this song about graduation sound? Well, it's a happy, cutesy little technopop number! Surprise!

Seriously, this is why I can never get into Kyary's music. That can describe like 90% of her discography. And maybe if I was more into that genre of music, I could get into her music more but again, I'm not. If I want to listen to a solo technopop singer, I gravitate more toward Curumi Chronicle, because musically, she's a lot more interesting and diverse, even if she doesn't rely on visuals to sell as much. Her music can be sweet and adorable or it can be darker and edgier, or anywhere in between because she doesn't have to have her music revolve around a certain image. By the way, you should all check out and (if able) buy her upcoming single Second Spring EP, because she has some really great technopop music and needs more love. Now... where was I before that shameless plugin? Oh right, Kyarypamyupamyu! My point is do not go into Yume no Hajima Ring Ring expecting this really different, boundary-pushing sound. It's just the same-old, same-old from Kyarypamyupamyu, and if you like that, then you'll like this. If this was meant to be a song showing evolution, I am not impressed.

But... for some unfathomable reason, I like Yume no Hajima Ring Ring a lot.

I don't know what it is about Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, but I really like this song. Sure, it's not gonna make me run down the streets screaming how great it is, but something I can't explain makes me like this song. I guess what I like about it is that it's not as... catchy? It's much more toned down than Mottai Night Land was and even Invader Invader and Ninjari Bang Bang. It's probably her calmest A-side since Candy Candy. And honestly, I've been gravitating toward happy songs in general lately. I've kind of been going through some rough stuff, and happy music's been one of the few things keeping me going. When I listen to this song, it always calms me down, which is nice when you feel like you're about to break down. Yume no Hajima Ring Ring also reminds me of Sweet Refrain, only without all the gratuitous dubstep. It's a cute song that doesn't try to be anything else.

So is it a great song? Nope. Is it good at showing evolution for Kyarypamyupamyu? Not really. But despite all its flaws and lack of creativity, I still like Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. I'm not planning to review the entire single, so I just wanna bring up the B-side for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring really fast. You know how I said Yume no Hajima Ring Ring wasn't anything new for Kyary? Well, Slow-mo, the B-side is. I almost wish Slo-mo was the A-side, even if it would have been a radically different A-side for Kyarypamyupamyu. It's such a cool song, like something I'd hear from Capsule or Meg instead of Kyary! Only gripe I have are Kyary's weak vocals, but that can't really be helped. Slow-mo is a better display of evolution than Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is! But nonetheless, I like both songs a lot more than I thought I would! Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is nothing very special, and if you're not a hardcore Kyary fan, it's probably not going to sell you. But it is still a very pleasant song that grabbed me a lot more than I thought it would. Maybe 2014 really is going to be an evolutionary year for Kyarypamyupamyu- oh right. Family Party exists. So much for evolution.

Oh well! Let's look at a Kyarypamyupamyu PV! Even if I know what to expect, I can at least hope to be entertained by some fun visual effects and general weirdness! Besides, the quirky mascot this time around is a polar bear!


...is that the polar bear from Laser Beam?


It must be the nicer, softer, and less threatening cousin of the polar bear from Laser Beam.


Aw, here's little-ish Kyary on her way to school with Papa Polar Bear!


Oh wait, that would be student!Kyary on her way to school!


I wish school uniforms could look that colorful.


A tear? Well, she is going to school...


After Mottai Night Land, I like the more tangible set in lieu of mostly green screen.


Of course a Kyary PV wouldn't be complete without her strangely-dressed backup dancers!


Ooh, retro TV!! Cute!


When Kyary's not being creepy and weird, she can be really adorable!


Oh hai, reference to a previous Kyary single!


Ah, the PonPonPon outfit. That was a crazy time in the idolsphere. A very crazy time.


And so Kyary graduates from student to mega-kawaii superstar. Not a bad tradeoff!


But obviously, the transition still carries a tinge of sadness for Kyary.


A polar bear playing an electric guitar... it's strangely awesome.


Magic toast! Yum!


Stalking people? Isn't that a little rude, Mr. Polar Bear?


The onion from Candy Candy!! Still my favorite mascot from a Kyary PV.


Now some passing references to Furisodation and Ninjari Bang Bang.


And if you look in the background, you'll see another reference to the Candy Candy PV!


Time for another transition from one iconic outfit to another!


But still another tear... starting to see a pattern?


But hey, at least we get to revisit the kickass instruments from the Fashion Monster PV!


Wow. This is actually... kind of pretty. And... toned down. Am I screencapping the right PV?


Ah, there's the quirky Kyary PV I was screencapping!


Poof! Another new outfit! A very adorable furisode at that.


I love the cute little special effects referencing the lyrics. It's simple but sweet!


Look! A callback to PonPonPon! See what I did there?


Should I make that pun again? 'Cause I totally will. Just say the word. And I'll do it.


Well, off Kyary goes to more releases this year whilst Nakata ignores Perfume! Meanwhile, I assume the polar bear will go back to the South Pole.


Aw, poor polar bear. I'll get out my invisible violin.

A serious PV for Kyarypamyupamyu? Is that what Yume no Hajima Ring Ring qualifies as? I... think it does. Okay, it's not Schindler's List, but the PV for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring still has a very clear storyline much less nonsensical than most plotlines in Kyary's other PVs. Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is essentially a chronicle of Kyary's life, from her time as a child to her current career. Of course, a Kyary PV wouldn't be complete without some quirkiness so the story is told accompanied by faceless backup dancers and a giant guitar-playing polar bear. Despite the usual Kyary motifs being present in the PV for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, it's still slightly different from what I'm used to as someone who reviews her material. I'm not saying that Kyary's other PVs aren't as good as Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, but this PV is just different from what I normally expect from her. I mean, I was going into Yume no Hajima Ring Ring expecting the usual weird special effects, strange costumes, and quirky mascot character. And okay, Yume no Hajima Ring Ring has all three of those, but they're combined with a somewhat emotional storyline.

What I do find a little bit surprising is the theme of graduation tied into Yume no Hajima Ring Ring. I mean, didn't she kind of do that last year with Furisodation? Well... okay, that PV was more or less Kyary getting increasingly hammered, so I guess Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is a different take on graduation and moving on in general. And while this PV does partially delve into Kyary's own graduation from student to singer, most of the PV is about her moving on from each era in her career to a new one. Honestly, the concept of exploring past songs and eras in an artist's career is one of my favorites. There's something about journeying through all these different music eras with a newfound retrospective and nostalgia. It allows for a lot of emotion for both the artist and the fans. So in theory, the PV for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring should be a music video that I am completely and 100% down with.

But... I don't find this PV quite as poignant as I think I was supposed to.

The music video for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring would have been more poignant if Kyary Pamyu Pamyu had a longer musical career. Guys, she's only been active since 2011. That's a little over two years. Sure, she's released a handful of singles in that time, but that doesn't change the fact that it's only been two years. She's not a seasoned artist with a long, expansive career. So while that does make showing her entire singles discography in one video very easy, it doesn't give off as much emotion as I think the producers wanted it to. Now if someone like Utada Hikaru or Namie Amuro, or even Perfume, released a music video like Yume no Hajima Ring Ring, that would be much more sentimental, especially to fans. That's because those artists have very long histories with a lot of high points, low points, successes, failures, and all that can be chronicled into a music video.

While it is still heartwarming to see Kyary return to some of her iconic images, the short timespan doesn't give a lot of emotional tug, or not as much as it would if she were a more seasoned artist. Not to mention that from very nearly the start of her musical career, Kyary has had nothing but success. PonPonPon was a memetic social phenomenon that catapulted her into recognition internationally, all her singles have sold well digitally, her albums have sold extremely well on Oricon, and she's already performed at Kohaku Uta Gassen twice. She's never really had to struggle for the musical success she's achieved. I'm not saying Kyary should have gone through years of irrelevance, but... I'd be lying if I didn't say that would have helped. Does that detract from Yume no Hajima Ring Ring? Not at all. It's still a very good music video, but with the tears and the theme of growing, I feel like this was supposed to be a more emotional music video that's lacking because of Kyary's short career. Or maybe it's because I'm a casual fan of Kyarypamyupamyu. Or both could be factors.

But (starting to see a pattern here?)... this PV does show the concept of evolution very well.

While Yume no Hajima Ring Ring doesn't tug at my heartstrings, it does very smoothly show how Kyary has changed since the start of her career. And in terms of screen time, it helps that she's only released a smaller amount of singles. That way a motif from each single can be clearly displayed before transitioning to the next. Not every single got obvious references, like Ninjari Bang Bang and Mottai Night Land getting only passing references. But part of the fun of Yume on Hajima Ring Ring is going back and picking out some of those smaller references. It took me several views and even looking on the Wikipedia page for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring to spot the reference to Tsukema Tsukeru! And the production for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is very nice too! The PV has a much more subdued look than Mottai Night Land, regarding the colors and lighting at least. Calling a Kyary PV subdued is a bit of a reach, but Yume no Hajima Ring Ring isn't as... garish? The colors and general atmosphere remind me very much of the PV for Candy Candy.

Yume no Hajima Ring Ring feels like a much more mature PV. If Kyary wants to evolve this year, then I think Yume no Hajima Ring Ring is the right way to start off that evolution. It feels like her way of acknowledging all her past successes and also stepping into the future with a bit of wistfulness and nostalgia from leaving those successes in the past. Although maybe I wasn't quite as pulled in as some fans of Kyary's music, I can at least commend the PV for Yume no Hajima Ring Ring for trying something more emotional. One of my criticisms of Kyary's songs and PVs has always been that she's been pigeonholed into one certain kind of music and type of music video. Yume no Hajima Ring Ring isn't a nosedive into dark and edgy territory, but it doesn't have the "weirdness for the sake of weirdness" present in many of her other PVs. However, the final result is a refreshingly different PV for Kyarypamyupamyu that I think is a great way to start her year of "evolution."


So because Kyary's all about evolution this year, I thought I'd join in and evolve my Apple Rating System! The lovely Kioku of Love's Spell (an idol blog you should all check out if you haven't done so) made this adorable new Apple Rating System for me. And so my first rating using this new system is to give Yume no Hajima Ring Ring four out of five apples! The song isn't amazing but personally appeals to me for reasons I cannot fully explain. I also enjoyed the concept for the PV and the general idea that this year Kyarypamyupamyu is all about evolution! But Family Party is kind of a step-back if she's going for "evolution."

A very long time ago (well, not very long but in blogging time still long), a young, bright-eyed Nia wrote a little post called Front Girls I am Okay With. She pretty much had no idea what she was doing and just really wanted to write about front girls.

A few years later, she decided to write a sequel post.


And several other things happened, but you don't need to hear about that stuff. The time in which I first started blogging was a strange, exhilarating time when I was just starting to figure out my own strengths and weaknesses as a writer. As such, my earlier blog posts on the Wonderland tend to be a little... embarrassing. I'm not ashamed one bit of my earlier posts, but you know that pang of regret when you realize you could do something with much more skill than you had earlier? There are a few posts like that from my earlier blogging days that I wish I could write over again. But doing that would be pointless; I've already written about it, even if the quality of writing isn't where I want it to be. Still, there was one particular subject that I wanted to touch on again: front girls. I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about. Those idols that are the "faces" of their respective groups. The ones that receive the biggest push from management alongside a great amount of reception from fans too. The position of a front girl is a coveted one, but the price for achieving such a position is the inevitable backlash.

Front girls tend to be the most divisive idols, especially in the international fanbase. I myself have had my fair share of front girls I'd rather be way in the back. But as of now, I've surprisingly mellowed out regarding front girls. I can only name like one or two that I actually wish weren't front girls, and I don't dwell much one any of those girls in general. I think that may be because as I have immersed myself into the sticky, often divisive world of idols, I've realized that life is much easier when you don't devote time to complaining about a front girl you don't like. Instead... blame the management! We all know the idols in idol groups have zero say about who gets what role in the group, especially the center position. So why should I waste time criticizing a girl in the front when I can use that energy to criticize management for making a shitty decisions and putting that girl in the front? The only time I start getting irritated with a front girl is when she's constantly in center but fails to own up to that center position and not improve over time. Honestly, if an idol can hold a tune and look like she's not about to pass out in a music video, you can stick her in the front, in the back, in a box, anywhere for all I care. Doing so has made my blogging time so much easier and relaxed so now I have time to stress about other things both idol and non-idol related! What fun!

If you're someone who doesn't like center girls because they're center girls, then you are going to have a very hard time being an idol fan. Unless you follow solo idols. Or a group like Arashi or Smap or Perfume where there is no "center." If so, I highly recommend the third option I listed. Personally, I don't always understand why management feels the need to make one girl the "face" of an idol group, especially in smaller groups like trios or quartets or even quintets. With a group like AKB48, I understand because there are so many girls in the group that it'd be hard to promote all of them. But in a group like Perfume or Momoiro Clover Z, I see no reason that all the members can't get equal promotion. Obviously, that doesn't always happen. So why does management favor one girl over others sometimes? Well, reasons are often arbitrary and alien to outsiders, so unless one of you has sat in on a meeting with an idol agency, we will never know fully why. But I think it mainly has to do with making money. Surprise! What else would it be? I'm serious, front girls are usually picked because of their marketability i.e. being pretty but not too pretty, talented but no too talented, etc. Sayashi Riho practically embodies this characteristic, so much that she's a Potato Idol. Read the article to see what I'm talking about.

I guess you could say front girls are kind of like the SAT. They aren't exactly necessary, but as long as the College Board still exists, they will always be around. Wait... I was going somewhere with this metaphor but I'm not sure where. Oh well! As I was saying, two years ago, I wrote about front girls I'm okay with being centers/front girls of their respective groups. It isn't my favorite post I've written, but it has gotten a lot of views. Not quite as many as the flip side, Front Girls I am Not Okay With, but still a substantial amount. As I've blogged more and discovered more idols, I have a few more front girls I want to add to the list. That and I feel like my writing is a little bit more improved from way back in early 2012! I can articulate better what I'm trying to say along with having more of a voice! Also some of those front girls like Maeda Atsuko and Takahashi Ai have already graduated so I do need an updated list. The girls all on this list are (as of March 2014) still in their respective groups. If I'd dared to take on the challenge of getting all the graduated front girls I'm okay with into this list, I'd go crazy! So yes, you might recognize some familiar faces on this list along with a few new ones! Either way, these are the front girls that I am still okay with! You may not be okay with them. In fact, I'd be surprised if you were, considering how polarizing front girls can be. However, all these girls can stay at the front, and I will be perfectly content.

Arai Hitomi


When I first got into Tokyo Girls' Style, my favorite member was Konishi Ayano. In fact, she's still my favorite member, but that's beside the point. As I was getting into TGS, I noticed that Ayano had a pretty decent vocal push, but visually and vocally Avex pushed Arai Hitomi. At the time, I was a little iffy on that. It's not that I thought Hitomi was a bad singer... well, actually yeah, she kind of wasn't the best singer. She had quite the squeak, maybe not so much as Yamabe Miyu, but moreso than Ayano or even Mei. But the best part about following Tokyo Girls' Style is that you can really see how much each of the girls has grown. They've changed quite drastically from this sweet little idol group to a darker, more serious version of SweetS that puts huge emphasis on the vocals and the dancing. And luckily, Hitomi has improved so much since the early days of TGS. I first noticed Hitomi's voice in Bad Flower, when she had this big, dramatic solo, and she nailed it. Her voice still has a squeak, but her control is much better along with her resonance. So yes, because Hitomi can sing now, I'm okay with her being center. Frankly, I'm okay with any of the TGS girls being center, but if Avex wants to stick with Hitomi, I'm okay with that. I think she's really grown up with the group, despite being the youngest. Even if I hated the Partition Love PV, I can't deny Hitomi pulled off her role startlingly well.

Ishida Ayumi


Okay, so maybe Ishida Ayumi isn't the front girl of Morning Musume, but she still has a very prominent position as both a singer and dancer! When Ayumi first joined the group, I didn't think much of her. Sure, she was a really good dancer, but it looked like UFP was just building her up to be Riho #2. She had that creepy shark-toothed smile in all her pictures too! But as the years have gone by, and Momusu's lineup has changed, Ayumi has slowly moved toward the front, and I've found myself surprisingly okay with this. You'd think I'd be against it considering my not-fondness toward's UFP's excessive vocal and visual push of Riho. But honestly, I think I'd be much more cool with Ayumi being the center of Morning Musume than Riho. I think she's a really good dancer, and her position in the group isn't just being in the shadow of Riho. She has her own personality and even her own way of dancing that's equally skilled to Riho's! Maybe even better, but I'm not a dancing expert. Vocally, I will admit Ayumi's kind of weak, but she's tolerable because UFP doesn't force her to hit notes that her voice can't hit (unlike some front girls in the group). And like many of the other members of Morning Musume, Ayumi's progressively looked better and more confident than she did when the debuted in the group. It helped that she finally figured out how to smile in a less creepy, shark-toothed way!

Matsui Jurina & Matsui Rena


I may as well put these two under the same slot since both girls are from the same group, and I'm okay with both for similar reasons. I feel kind of bad for SKE48. Not because of any real reason, just that I have absolutely no idea who anyone is in that group other than Jurina and Rena. It's weird because I know more faces in HKT48 and NMB48 and even Nogizaka46 than SKE48. Not sure why SKE48 girls get the least of my attention, but that may be because I know that no one else other than Jurina and Rena are going to be centers of the group until one or both of them graduates. And I am completely okay with that. Admittedly, neither Jurina or Rena is my favorite XXX48 idol, but neither one of them irritates me either. I think both of them do a decent job at performing, and they don't ever look awkward as centers. Well, okay, Rena's dead-eyed stare can be a tad creepy at times, but in certain music videos, it works! Like all the serious Akagumi's videos with her in them are always very intriguing. And then Jurina seems to get the happier music videos with Shirogumi. I think the two of them have this very nice dynamic and play off each other well in SKE48's songs. I should clarify though that while I like Jurina as center of SKE48, I'm a little more iffy on her potential center positions in AKB48. The girl needs a break, and SKE48 needs a center more than AKB48 does at this time.

Miyamoto Karin


It was to be expected that Karin would front whatever group she debuted with. As a Kenshuusei, Karin was already one of the more popular members, and a lot of fans (both foreign and domestic) were pushing for her to debut. And so she did in Juice=Juice alongside five other girls. Those six girls became five after their major debut, but in both Juice=Juice's indies and major label eras, Karin has retained her position as the main front girl of the group. I remember back in 2011 when the S/mileage auditions were happening and Karin auditioned. She was easily the favorite amongst the other girls auditioning because of her good voice and decent performance skills. After not getting into S/mileage (to the shock of fans I might add), Karin just kept growing in popularity. And with that, so did her backlash. I know a common complaint about Karin is that she was so overhyped, but that's never stopped me from liking her as a performer. I still think she has a very nice voice, and I was overjoyed when she was announced as a member of Juice=Juice. At first, she looked really awkward in the front of the group (actually, she kind of looked like a monkey), but over the past year, I think Karin has really come into her own as center of the group. When she's dancing, she exudes confidence, and her voice is still just as enjoyable as I remember it being when I first listened to Carina Notte.

Momota Kanako


At first, Kanako of Momoiro Clover Z kind of frightened me. In fact, she still kind of frightens me. Something about that psychotic smile of hers can be a little unnerving at times. But despite that, I still like Kanako as (more or less) the "face" of Momoiro Clover Z. I know the other four girls aren't exactly shafted, but I still feel like Kanako gets a little more emphasis visually and vocally. She's even the group's leader! But Kanako works very well as the front girl of MomoClo; she's wacky and wild just like all her fellow band members. She's got that crazy jump she does, adorable dimples, and an extremely outgoing stage personality. But all that isn't the reason why I'm okay with Kanako as a front girl. The reason I like Kanako as a front girl is because of how genuinely happy she always looks. I mean, look at that smile in the above picture! She's practically radiating happiness. Even if she doesn't have the best voice, every time I've seen MomoClo perform, she looks overjoyed to be standing on stage with her fellow group members. In fact, I like just about any idol who genuinely and visibly enjoys what she's doing. They always seem to have this... glow about them. Not a real one, otherwise I'd be calling some health professionals, but like this aura of enthusiasm. I don't really know how to explain it, but Momota Kanako is positively shining at the front of Momoiro Clover Z.

Negishi Ai


To tell you the truth, I don't follow the members of Passpo very closely, not outside of their music videos at least. Sure, I've watched a few live performances and other miscellaneous videos, but most of my opinions of Passpo's members stem from mainly their music videos. And honestly, I still haven't memorized the names of all the Passpo members yet. But of the three or four members I do recognize, one of them is Negishi Ai, the leader! I also recognize the cutie pie that is Masui Mio; she almost made it to the list, but I don't think she's quite as much a front girl as Ai is. Not vocally at least! So one of the reasons I like Negishi Ai as a front girl is actually a little silly. See, I Found out that Ai is a fan of Mizuki Nana, one of my favorite J-pop artists. And then I found this video of her singing along to Tenkuu no Canaria, one of Mizuki Nana's songs. It was during some kind of karaoke session, and all the other members of Passpo had picked idol songs like The Peace by Morning Musume and Hatsukoi Cider by Buono! Everyone else had been fooling around and having fun, but when Ai started singing, she looked so serious and into it! It wasn't even a very good cover, but watching her sing with such focus was strangely endearing. That and Ai's always seemed very poised and confident in Passpo's music videos and performances. So yeah, I guess that's why I like Ai as a front girl!

Pour Lui


It's really hard to peg down a front girl in BiS, considering... well, it's BiS. They switch out members faster than a carousel spins. But the girl who has been there since the beginning is Pour Lui. In fact, it was her idea to create BiS! So without Pour Lui, BiS would never have existed, and there would be no unconventional idol group to terrorize the market! Which depending on who you ask, may be a good thing. As sad as I am that BiS is disbanding so soon, I'm happy that they got this far and that Pour Lui got to see her little group evolve from the four-member indie idol group to what they are today. Naturally, as the founder of BiS, Pour Lui has been more-or-less the face of the group along with being the leader. And I have this sort of respect for her for having the confidence to go through with creating an idol group that she probably knew from the very start wouldn't receive a lot of positive press. I don't know how much creative control Pour Lui has now over BiS's music and image, but the fact that she still had the idea for an unconventional idol group is still pretty cool in my opinion. And she has a pretty great voice for an idol; it's very distinctive, and I can always recognize it in any of the BiS songs. Pour Lui's done a lot for BiS, and I wish all the best for her once BiS disbands. I'll definitely be following her new band, Lui◇Frontic◆Matsukuma Japan!

Suzuki Airi


Oh yeah, Airi's on the list. I like everyone in C-ute, Airi included! I guess I could have also included Maimi on the list, but she sometimes switches out with Chissa as a front girl. However, the girl that's been up and center since the very beginnings of C-ute has always been Airi. I'll admit, she's one of the better received front girls I've seen, but she does have fans who aren't fond of her constantly getting the most solos, promotions, screen time, photobooks, etc. There's no denying that Airi is very popular, not just in C-ute, but in Hello! Project as a whole. When I first got into the H!P groups, I couldn't really figure out why. I mean, I thought she was a decent singer but so what? Then I started going through H!P's archives and noticed how consistent Airi's been. I mean, she was nine when she did First Kiss with Aa! and she hit notes in that song that would have made 9-year old Nia cry. The girl has a really nice voice, both in recordings and live. She just has very nice vocal control. And beyond just her talent, Airi's always seemed like a very nice, pleasant person. Every article I've read about someone meeting her has always emphasized how genuinely nice and sweet she was. Airi's actually one of the few idols I wouldn't mind meeting in person, even if it was just to say hello. Like I said, I like everyone in C-ute, but I can see why Airi's the one that's the most promoted.

Watanabe Mayu


If I recall... two years ago, didn't I have Watanabe Mayu listed under Front Girls I am Not Okay With? Going back and checking, I did! Of course, I wasn't okay with her being the sole promoted girl of Watarirouka Hashiritai 7, and now since that group is kaput... So Long! See what I did there? The quality of the song matches the quality of that pun! While I was never okay with Warota 7 really being Mayu + 6, I've never had much of a problem with Mayuyu being front girl of AKB48, even center. Sure, she had quite the creeper smile in her younger days, but she's grown out of that! The position of center is a strange one, with Maeda Atsuko graduated and Oshima Yuko following soon, but if I had to pick one girl I could see as (plausibly) being center, I'd go with Mayu. Or at least, she'd be the center I'd be most okay with. I like Shimazaki Haruka but no way as center, although I wouldn't mind a Yokoyama Yui-centered single... I feel like AKS wants either Mayuyu, Paruru, or Jurina as AKB48's new center. I like Mayuyu because she's quirky enough to give the center position some life, but she also has enough onscreen charisma and confidence. I do admit, I kind of miss Mayuyu's Creeper Smile; it's part of what made her so entertaining to watch in PVs! With or without the Creeper Smile, Watanabe Mayu can still be the Fantastic Creeper of AKB48! Or should I say Fantastic Center?

Yamamoto Sayaka


From the very beginning of NMB48's formation, Yamamoto Sayaka has been center of the group, along with captain of Team N. When I didn't follow NMB48 quite as closely, I had a pretty neutral opinion of Sayaka. But now? Having Yamamoto Sayaka as center of NMB48 just feels right. Honestly, I think Sayanee may be just one of my favorite '48 idols in general. Funny how all the Sayakas seem to get on my good side, isn't it? To me, Sayanee's always seemed very cool. A cool haircut, a cool voice, hell, she even played in a band before joining NMB48! I think what one me over with Sayanee was her performance of Yume no Dead Body, with a guitar I might add! First of all, that song is awesome. Second of all, it was incredibly awesome watching Sayaka such an awesome song with a guitar. So maybe she wasn't Ogawa Tomomi levels of skilled onstage, but the effort was enough to impress me! And beyond her performance skills, I feel like Sayanee's very aware of how fleeting success can be. Awhile back Sayanee wrote a letter to a KKS member leaving NMB48 because she felt like management was neglecting her. In the letter, she acknowledged that no, the idol industry isn't fair, and that success often comes to girls who just happen to be in the right place at the right time. I think that's very mature of her to realize that, and it really made me appreciate Sayanee as both an idol and a front girl.

So there you have it, the front girls I am still okay with! Any front girls on my list that you're okay with? Any that aren't on the list? Any front girls you're not okay with? While you figure that out I'm going to bug an idol agency's meeting room work on reviews featuring some of the very front girls on this list! Work! Yeah!

God, Bellring Shoujo Heart is such a cool name for an idol group. It just sounds to creepy and weird and psychedelic. I think of decaying mansions and abandoned theatres and foggy mornings in a graveyard and bats and all this other spooky shit when I hear the name Bellring Shoujo Heart!


Guys, meet Bellring Shoujo Heart. They're one of the many "unconventional" idol groups that's emerged since BiS got popular. But what separates them from all the BiS/Babymetal wannabes? Well, Bellring Shoujo Heart's music is inspired by the psychedelic rock bands of the 60s like The Velvet Underground. Their songs are cool, retro, and have endearingly terrible production quality. Seriously, the vocal mixing on some of Bellring Shoujo Heart's songs sounds intentionally bad. I think for some of them it is, but the production quality does add to that genuine 60s rock sound. Bellring Shoujo Heart can also be a rather creepy idol group. A lot of their songs range from psychedelic and dreamy to discordant and nightmarish, and I've heard their lives are pretty unsettling too. As I said, of all the BiS-wannabe groups that have emerged into the idol market, I think Bellring Shoujo Heart is the most promising. They're not trying to copy BiS' sound, but they still maintain a very distinct, unconventional image of their own. Their Bedhead album is awesome if you can dig unconventional idol music. I wish I'd reviewed it! To make up for not reviewing Bedhead though, I've moved on to their first single of 2014, titled Untouchable EP. It'll be strange, it'll be moody, and probably very, very retro. So put on your heart-shaped sunglasses and grab some magic mushrooms (Please do not, that was a joke and I do not want to be responsible for encouraging drug use) and let's dive in!

Covers/Outfits

There's not too much to say about the cover for Untouchable EP. It's cool. The girls are all chilling on their grungy couch with their shoes off. Maybe they're watching television! And then there's a bunch of retro filtering done over the picture so that the picture looks like it was dropped in a lake, fished out, and blow-dried. I think it's a decent cover; nothing iconic, but it fits with the look and feel of Bellring Shoujo Heart. Same for the outfits. It's hard to see them anyways, but I wager it's the black uniform I keep seeing in group pictures of Bellring Shoujo Heart. Said uniform consists of a black school uniform along with crow wings. It's pretty creepy, but again, it works for the group. Okay, I'm bored, moving on to the first song!

Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita

So starting off Untouchable EP is Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita, a title so long I copied and pasted it! Well, nothing can beat Suzukake Nanchara but that bland single of blandness is behind us. Now here's the not-bland, super-60s Bellring Shoujo Heart song with a long title! I guess Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita is the leading track off the EP but...? I'm not sure, it maybe c.a.n.d.y. since that song got a PV, although I couldn't find a HQ version of the PV anyways... Oh well, Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita is a mostly-familiar trek into the weird, trippy rock music of the 60s with a few twists. What immediately grabbed me about Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita was the opening. Was that 1920s swing music I heard? It sounded quite old and I almost thought Bellring Shoujo Heart was going to do explore a music period even older than the 60s! But after that, Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita went into the style of music prevalent on the group's Bedhead album. So if you dug Bedhead (as I did), then you can definitely get into Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita. However, the song doesn't bring anything new to the table for Bellring Shoujo Heart, even if it is an enjoyable song to listen to.

It depends on how much you like the retro sound of Bellring Shoujo Heart. If you were sick of it after Bedhead, Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita may seem as a retread of everything on that album. If you were completely entranced by the 60s sound of the album and are craving more, then this song is a nice continuation of it. Personally, I am more than okay with Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita. It does have its really nice moments. Again, the sampling at the very beginning of the song was really cool. And there's a small instrumental break in the middle that sounds like someone's playing a music box. It's enchanting in a very, very creepy way. I think that's the best way to describe Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita: delightfully creepy. It's a perky song but perky in the way that Kyarypamyupamyu is perky: served with a side dish of unsettling strangeness. Honestly, I think that's why I've taken to Bellring Shoujo Heart; because they don't just do solely dark, loud, scary stuff. Their music is a quieter, uncannier kind of scary. And Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita perfectly embodies that sound, even if the song may not showcase anything too new for Bellring Shoujo Heart.



I think I'll give Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita four and half apples with my handy-dandy shiny new Apple Rating System (again, thanks to Kioku). The song is a delightful trip back into the 60s that thankfully doesn't require hallucinogenic drugs.

c.a.n.d.y.

Veering from the 60s and going into the 90s is c.a.n.d.y. a grunge-rock song inspired by Nirvana! Ah, I remember my own grunge phase. It was about 20 years too late from the 90s grunge era, but still. Fond times those were indeed (although I mainly just listened to Garbage and The Cardigans on repeat). I actually haven't listened to much Nirvana, other than the expected songs like Smells Like Teen Spirit, Come As You Are, All Apologies, etc. But I like c.a.n.d.y. a lot! It's a short song (less than three minutes) but it was probably my favorite song off the single! I love how it starts with this music box-like opening, then the guitar starts, and then the song explodes. The riff is great and I love how it keeps building and building as the song progresses. Honestly, I feel like the instrumental is more emphasized in c.a.n.d.y. than the vocals are. The vocals are pretty minimal for such a short song. It still keeps the verse-chorus structure, but it's all very fast and quickly segues back into the grungy instrumental. I mean, I'm perfectly okay with that; that was just an observation. If anything, that adds to the 90s grunge feel of the song! Man, I wonder what the idol market would have been like back in the 90s if all the groups were emulating Nirvana... pretty surreal, I'd imagine.

Personally, when it comes to idols and rock, I always like when idols stray more towards grunge and alternative than metal music. I guess because those are the genres of music I've liked for a really long time, and neither one is quite as abrasive as metal is. C.a.n.d.y. has a fantastically grunge-rock feel to it, which is probably why I like the song so much. I don't even mind the song's short length because it works so well. I do wonder if Bellring Shoujo Heart will do another song like c.a.n.d.y. or if this was just a one-time experiment. I kind of hope it isn't. I love the group's 60s sound, but I am all for experimentation into other decades of music. Maybe they'll explore other eras like 70s rock or the 50s rock! Maybe even jazz... or just more grunge! I'd love to hear more grunge-rock in idol music in general. Well, if this was just a one-time thing, I think Bellring Shoujo Heart pulled it off very well! As someone who jams to grunge, c.a.n.d.y. plays straight to my musical tastes and will do the same for any other idol fan into grunge-rock! It's definitely the highlight off Untouchable EP for me despite being such a short song.



So yeah, c.a.n.d.y. totally gets five apples from me. I wouldn't change a thing about the song. It's got a lot of energy, explores grunge-rock well while still maintaining the creepier sound of Bellring Shoujo Heart. Also, did I mention the mixing is slightly better? Not much, but at least a little bit better than Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita's.

Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix)

The final track on Untouchable EP is a remix of a song from Bedhead, the group's first album. It's done by some guy named Sange, and the original song can be found as track #6 on Bedhead. Admittedly, Rice to Tuning was one of my least favorite tracks on Bedhead. Now I use the term "least" subjectively, because I liked most of the songs on Bedhead quite a lot. Rice to Tuning is a good song, but in comparison to many of the other songs on Bedhead, it doesn't stand as my favorite. Still, the original was a pretty fun song. The deadpan rapping was kind of quirky, even though I'm not a huge fan of rapping in general. It was a fun song, but I never would have been begging for the song to be remixed. So what does the Sange Mix change in Rice to Tuning? Well, the song is much shorter and faster. At first, I thought it was kind of cool... but then the male backing vocals kicked in. I assume that's Sange's voice I keep hearing in the background? Whomever's voice it is, I don't like it. If I want to hear gratuitous male backing vocals, I'll just go listen to a Morning Musume song. In Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix) they just sound really annoying. I guess I just don't like the vocal distance between the girls' voices and these really deep gravelly guy voices.

There's also the tempo of the song; it's much faster than the original. What made the original Rice to Tuning an interesting song was the nonchalantness of the Mizuho's rapping combined with the laidback sound. The song sped up a bit during the chorus, but for the most part, Rice to Tuning is pretty chill compared to the Sange Mix. In contrast, Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix) is practically bouncing off the walls. The sped-up tempo gives the song a lot more energy, but in my opinion, it's too much energy. There are a few parts where the faster-paced beat of the song works (like in the very beginning, the song sounded awesome until the chorus ended). It does make the song sound perkier, but perky in the way a three-year old child is perky at six at night when you're trying to get them to go to bed. The original Rice to Tuning wasn't a huge hit with me, so the Sange Mix of Rice to Tuning won't be a song I constantly replay on my iPod. In fact, it's probably my least favorite track on Untouchable EP, and I could have done without it. I just don't like the changes made to it. I guess in a weird way though the changes made me appreciate the original more! Gosh, I'll never get why artists feel the need to remix songs, especially songs that are good enough that they don't need a remix.



Rice to Tuning would have been perfectly fine without a remix, and the Sange Mix is far from my favorite remix. I do like the idea of speeding up the song, but the extra male vocals were unnecessary. I'm afraid I can only give Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix) two and half apples. In comparison, I would have given the original song four apples had I reviewed the album...

The Verdict

I think I'm going to like reviewing Bellring Shoujo Heart. Yes, they are becoming a staple on my Idol Whitelist (opposite of Idol Blacklist, you do the math) as long as I can get my hands on their singles and they continue releasing music. Bellring Shoujo Heart is an indie group, and I'm not a huge fan of following indie groups. My problem is that it's difficult to follow them since they usually have smaller fanbases. Still, I'll do my best because the group's music is worth it. Untouchable EP proves that! And so does Bedhead. Did I mention you should all listen to that album? I just love the sound of Bellring Shoujo Heart; I like their aesthetic and how it's still unconventional but without trying to be like BiS. Who knows? Maybe Bellring Shoujo Heart can fill the void that BiS is going to rip out of my heart when they disband. As long as they keep releasing stuff like Untouchable EP, I think they will! The two new songs on Untouchable EP are both awesome. Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita plays to the strengths of the group's musical style, and c.a.n.d.y. is a well-done grunge-rock song that I can absolutely jam to. Together, both songs are great. This single is great- oh wait, Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix) is still on this single, isn't it?

Right... Untouchable EP would be great. If Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix) wasn't on it.

Yep, of the three songs on Untouchable EP, the one that I could have done without was Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix). I'm not completely against remixes, but most of the ones I find in idol music end up being kind of unnecessary and not as good as the original song. That isn't more obvious than it is with Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix). The original Rice to Tuning was a good song (maybe not my favorite, but still a good song), and while I do acknowledge the mixer for trying a different direction with the remix, it doesn't work for me. It's too fast, sporadic, and the extra vocals don't mix well with the original vocals. And I should mention that like Bedhead, Untouchable EP's production quality is... kind of bad. The girls still sound like they recorded their voices with a potato and sloppily mixed them with the instrumentals. The production's a little bit better with c.a.n.d.y. than Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita. Still, the production quality can be a little jarring when you first listen to Untouchable EP. However, over time it kind of works, especially with the more 60s-oriented Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita. If you can look past that though, Untouchable EP is a single with two really good songs and one not-so-good remix that I'll just pretend doesn't exist. Well, except for averaging out the Apple Rating for Untouchable Ep.


In total, Untouchable EP gets four apples from me. The only thing I would change about the single is removing Rice to Tuning (Sange Mix), but the other two songs on the single are great. Tsuki no Mashita de Ookami-san ni Tazunemashita is delightfully trippy and strange, and c.a.n.d.y. is a nice foray into a later genre of music for Bellring Shoujo Heart. In short, give this single a listen if you're craving something darker and grungier from an idol group!

It's baaaaack!!!


Hear ye, hear ye, the 12th Generation auditions for Morning Musume '14 have returned! Of course no longer are they the Mirai Shoujo Auditions; they're the Golden Auditions! Ah yes, I can see the glitter now. Did you know that this is the last audition that I'll be young enough to audition for? I know, very sad. It's so sad that I'm playing a very small, sad violin right now. Let us all have a moment of silence for Nia getting old. Okay, moment of silence is over. I got news to comment upon that I should have commented upon several days ago. But things happen. The same rules apply from previous auditions: girls must be 10-17 years old to audition, and the auditions are looking for some generic archetype of a girl that can apply to just about every teenage girl on the planet. Oh wait, what was the profile description again? Ah, yes: "A girl who loves singing, and who strongly believes in her own future. And even though she’s not so certain about her confidence, she still wants to try." So yeah, just your basic teenage girl. Deadline for the application is May 11. The girls who make 12th Gen. won't immediately join the group but spend the rest of the year taking performance lessons and debut in 2015. Any finalists have the option to join the H!P Kenshuusei and never be heard of again. Let's see, anything else? Oh yeah, Kenshuusei can audition if they want.

Well, we all knew that Morning Musume would hold auditions again, very likely to make up for the lack of a 12th Generation from last time and the bullshit reason that went along with that. I guess it's time for an audition? I don't know, I really don't care much for Morning Musume auditions anymore. It's always the same thing. A few girls get shown on television, everyone gets super hyped, only two-four of those girl get in, and then everyone throws an uproar about the results before moving on. It gets kind of monotonous after awhile, and I've never found watching auditions to be a very pleasant experience. I don't mean to be a party pooper, but I've just never found auditions to be that exciting to watch. You see all these girls with hopes and dreams practically plastered across their faces giving everything ounce of effort they have. And all while, you internally know that only a fraction of them will be able to achieve said hopes and dreams for reasons beyond their control and... it's just kind of depressing. I mean, you just know that hundreds of girls are about to get their hopes crushed when they walk into that audition room, and it just... yeah, you get what I'm saying.

I guess auditions keep hype around Morning Musume circulating; they were a really big even in the group's older days. I think the only auditions I've really gotten into though were the 9th Generation auditions, and that's probably because they were my first auditions to watch. Not to mention that was when Morning Musume needed new members. The triple-graduation of Eri, Linlin, and Junjun had left Momusu as a five-member group. The 9th Generation brought younger, fresher faces. Then Ai graduated, and even a 10th Generation felt kind of necessary. Then 11th Generation and Sakura's lovely voice came along, and I could at least understand that. But why 12th Generations now? Nobody's usurping Riho's center position nor Sakura, Mizuki, Sayumi, Masaki, or Ayumi's front girl positions. Those new girls will probably just get pushed to the back alongside Eripon and Zukki save for maybe one girl who management decides to get a major push. It happens every time. And that's even when those girls do perform with the group. First they have to through "training." Probably because Tsunku is obsessed with creating this polished, perfect image for Morning Musume. But even then, is that necessary? I mean, part of the fun I found with auditions was the after part of seeing the girls first debut and then watching them grow from there.

With this auditioning system, we won't see that growth; we'll just get the final product. And personally, I think that's kind of boring. I mean, I love hearing nice singing and good dancing, but watching someone go from a certain skill level to a higher one makes that even more appealing. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic. There is that Cuca girl who's really popular, right? Maybe she'll audition. The one thing I do expect from this audition announcement is that Sayumi's going to graduate soon. No, probably not this year but some time next year, around mid-2015. She's had the longest tenure of any Morning Musume member, and she's been leader for quite awhile. The girl will be 25 this year; I think Mizuki and Haruna can handle leading the group just fine without her. It's not that I really want Sayu to graduate, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did. If she does, I expect she'll go out big. By then, it'll be interesting to see what Momusu will be like with no members older than the 9th Generation! I suspect it'll seem pretty surreal at first, but maybe these 12th Gen. girls can fill in the gap left by Sayu's graduation. If it happens. This is all purely speculation, and Sayu doesn't look like she's budging from the group any time soon.

Also, how is Tsunku going to hold auditions if he's getting treatment for laryngeal cancer? He's on hiatus right now so... where do auditions fit into that hiatus? Is someone else going to run the auditions and just show the recordings to Tsunku and let him pick? How is this supposed to work? I know the cancer was thankfully caught in an early stage, so hopefully the treatment will be quick but still. I mean, he is getting surgery for the cancer. Lord knows if he'll be able to use his voice after that. As of now, there aren't any definitive dates for when he'll be back off hiatus. So will UFP hire other producers and composers while he's out, or just have the H!P groups not release anything new until he's back? I know the idea seems a little blasphemous, but I could go for other songwriters producing stuff for Morning Musume, Berryz, C-ute, S/mileage, and Juice=Juice. It may be different, but different is always interesting in my opinion! Maybe not always good... but interesting! I know things are very rough for Tsunku right now so I wish him all the best in a speedy recovery that will hopefully not mess with his judgement so that he can pick girls that will fit in with Morning Musume!

Oh yeah, still not calling them Morning Musume '14. I remain unswayed. Anyways, I'll see you all at auditions where we can all collectively speculate, rage, and watch over the many girls who will try out for the second 12th Generation. Hopefully, there will be winners this time!

Uh... um... so... AKB48's songs have been really bland... how about that... yeah... eh... there's no way their latest A-side could be good... not at all... no way...

OH FORGET IT I REALLY LIKE MAE SHIKA MUKANEE.


There. I said it. And I don't regret it. After two years, two years of absolutely forgettable A-sides, AKB48 has finally crawled out of its snake pit of mediocrity and released a decent A-side. No, it isn't amazing, no it's isn't their best song ever, but praise the almighty glowstick, it is a good song. That is all I've been asking from AKB48. Not a great song, not the rebirth of The Magic Flute, just a song that sounds like the producers were trying when they created it. And maybe they were! After all, Mae Shika Mukanee is Oshima Yuko's final single before graduating AKB48. I know, I know, Yuko gets her own graduation song, but Mae Shika Mukanee is still the last A-side with her in Senbatsu. And I was hoping that AKS would get their shit together for once and send Yuko out on a high note. Well... not a literal high note, because the vocal ranges of the AKB girls suck. But just a song that didn't sound as half-assed as everything they've been producing since 2012. I mean, Yuko's a top member of AKB48, so surely AKS could muster together something of quality for her last single, right? And by some convoluted miracle that probably involved a pact with Lord Kyary Goddess of the Underworld they did it! I don't know whether to be surprised or relieved or both.

Because it could have absolutely gone the other way into abysmal blandness. It's always been kind of a mixed bag with Yuko-centered songs. Heavy Rotation, the first song she centered was generic, but generic with enough energy and spirit (and catchiness!) to be a fun, memorable song. Kaze wa Fuiteiru, a double center with AKB48's previous ace Maeda Atsuko, was divisive with fans, but I personally thought that song was very pretty. And then Yuko solo-centered Gingham Check, a song I ripped to shreds because of how bland it was (fortunately, it was saved by one of my favorite idol PVs to ever have the pleasure of reviewing). After that was UZA, also a dull song saved by a glorious PV. She also kinda-sorta-not-really centered Sayonara Crawl, but let's not dwell on that styrofoam disguised as music. She's also centered several coupling songs and Team K songs that have ranged from really awesome to really boring. Yuko centering Mae Shika Mukanee didn't really matter. I've pretty much been expecting the worst when it comes to AKB48's music lately, so believe me, I had the bar set to zero regarding Mae Shika Mukanee.

But it's not! It's really not! Mae Shika Mukanee is... an alright song!!!

I may be making too much of a ruckus over such an alright song, but I shall continue to make a ruckus anyways! I'm an optimistic pessimist at heart and believe that even the smallest joys deserve celebration when overshadowed by terrible things. Also, their summer song is probably going to suck, so I have every right to enjoy this while it lasts! However, I can't emphasize enough that Mae Shika Mukanee is far from a great song. It's not going to win you over to AKB48 if you can't get into their music already, it's just a vaguely generic song that has enough going on to prevent it from sounding completely forgettable. The weirdest thing I found about Mae Shika Mukanee were the backing vocals. Did Aki-P pull a Tsunku and insert his vocals into the song? Some clearly male voices are chanting the "Wow wows" between the chorus and verses, kind of like how every AKB48 concert must sound. In fact, I got a very call-and-response vibe from Mae Shika Mukanee. Like it was written solely to be a crowd-pleasing song. You get one what I'm saying? It's probably one of those songs that gets the crowd pumped during performances. That doesn't mean the producers had to make it obvious by adding the vocals the audience is supposed to echo into the song though... The male vocals are the weirdest thing about Mae Shika Mukanee; everything else is pretty standard for AKB48.

But standard does not always mean bad. Okay, most of the time when I use the word it correlates with the term but not with Mae Shika Mukanee! While the song doesn't offer anything new for AKB48, it embraces its generic-ness and actually sounds like effort was put into making the song. Mae Shika Mukanee reminds me most of a Buono! song, maybe from the more pop-rock side of Buono!'s discography. Actually, you know what Mae Shika Mukanee sounds like the most? Hatsukoi Cider! It even starts with one sole person singing the chorus! Of course, those two people singing have vastly different levels of vocal talent... It makes sense to have Yuko open Mae Shika Mukanee alone, and throughout the song she has one or two small solos. I'm normally not a huge fan of solos in AKB48 songs (it kind of takes away from the whole "group singing" vibe), but I'm strangely okay with it. Maybe because I enjoy the song! Mae Shika Mukanee is such a happy song, but doesn't fall into the pitfall of sounding boringly happy! The energy levels in the song are great, especially (again) for a live concert. Mae Shika Mukanee won't win any awards for song production, but it's a song that's at least slightly less bland than AKB48's recent songs, so I'll take it.

You win this round, AKB48. But I'll be watching. And listening. And waiting for Aki-P to slip up and give you another bland song. Well, I'd prefer that not to happen, but you know! Always gotta keep my expectations lowered lest I want them crushed! Speaking of crushed expectations, let's check out the PV for Mae Shika Mukanee!


Yep. There's a set. And it kind of looks like a landfill...


Oh look, they're even dancing in outfits that looked like recycled juice boxes.


Actually, that's pretty much all they do in this PV. Sing and dance.


...are you guys bored? Because I'm bored.


Mmkay, I don't think there's anything else worth screencapping so... eh... fin!

Well, wasn't that pleasant and quality. Mae Shika Mukanee's PV might be a great contender for my favorite AKB48 music video ever made ever. Maybe even my favorite music video in general. It was truly that groundbreaking a PV. I feel as though I've been enlightened- oh forget it, even I cant try maintaining my sarcasm. That PV was boring. I have sat through some boring PVs, but Mae Shika Mukanee has got to be the most boring AKB48 PV I've reviewed. I mean, what a pile of nothingness. Is there anything worth of note in this PV!? It's basically a glorified dance shot! Hell, I've seen PVs from Hello! Project that had more effort put into them. And at least in some of H!P's more recent PVs, the dances have been cool to watch. I could do the dance for Mae Shika Mukanee. All the girls do is wave their arms up and down to engage the audience that we don't even see clearly. I know AKB48's PVs haven't been exactly stellar these past two years, but come on. Is this really the best that AKS could muster up, with all their loads of money and people from their creativity department? I have nothing else to say about this music video. It's boring and a complete waste of my time. Okay, I'll just average out the apple ratings and get this over with-

What's that? There's a drama version? Oh, you mean a two-hour long melodrama with bad acting and the same generic plot AKB48 uses for all of their drama PVs? Yeah, I'm sure that'll really bring some life into Mae Shika Mukanee. I'm not going to bother reviewing a 22-minute PV involving some mundane, everyday situation-


Oh my. Is that... Mayuyu carrying a gun?


Well, Paruru doesn't give a shit either way.


So is this like... the apocalypse? Did zombies kill all the other Senbatsu members?


Holy shit. Am I watching the right video?


I mean, are you sure this isn't... an episode of the Japanese Walking Dead?


And in the back you will see Paruru demonstrating a fine example of acting!


Seriously though, what happened!? Was it zombies!? Aliens!? The flying spaghetti monster!?


Oh god, that's disgusting.


Jurina, people are dead. No need to get that excited about scavenging through their stuff.


I keep feeling like something's gonna jump out at me.


So I think they're deciding on whether or not to pull a Scooby-Doo and split up.


What a pretty shot this is! The colors are so vibrant.


And the role of antagonist-required-in-every-drama-PV is... JURINA! What a surprise.


The Walking AKB48... it has a nice ring to it!


Now they're splitting up because- actually, why are they doing that? What about safety in numbers!?


I guess they changed it to safety in firearms.


Oh look, three-quarters of Not yet are in the group!


Are we in Spooky Idol Hell?


I'm not seeing any zombies yet... maybe this was a natural disaster?


More walking. It's like the PV for Aruiteiru if it were the apocalypse!


All right, they finally found shelter! And I'm sure nothing sketchy at all lies beyond that padlocked gate!


A shelter filled with food and provisions? Awesome! Except for one thing...


...who left all these supplies, hrm? HRM?


We'll just assume whoever left that goldmine of supplies is... not home. If you know what I mean.


Trouble arises when a static-filled distress call comes from the other group.


Good news! They're still alive.


Bad news! Jurina and Mayuyu are missing! (I'll bet they stole her sassy bandana and ran away!)


You know, it may be a little more poignant to show whathappened to Jurina and Mayuyu.


Poor Yuko. I do enjoy her acting though.


Uh... did Yuko stumble into a deleted scene from Pan's Labyrinth?


The tree of keys is kind pretty. Kind of creepy, but pretty.


Note how the key Yuko picks up says 35 in Roman numerals (that's important!).


Is this place like a hotel? War bunker? Brothel? Theatre?


A-ha! A match! But should some doors stay locked?


What lays beyond the door of Room 35?


A... gateway to heaven? I'm getting serious heaven vibes from this shot.


OH. So that's how the junky dance set ties in to the PV!!!


And the entire song is just Yuko's imagination, isn't it!?


Along with the audience! I like this! I really, really like this!!!


It all makes sense now.


Oh, and Jurina and Mayuyu made it to Yuko's imaginary concert! Yay!


So yeah, you know what happens from here. They sing, they dance, watch the short PV.


And we finally see the rest of the Senbatsu!


While Yuko's ascending to a higher plane of existence, Yui and Paruru find the tree of keys!


And yes, that key says 36. As in 36th single. You do the math.

Damn. And I thought the song was surprising. The full PV for Mae Shika Mukanee was... wow. Definitely didn't expect that. I mean I was honestly expecting a generic drama PV with a really cliche story that somehow ties in with performing the song. You know, every other drama PV AKB48 has released. But Mae Shika Mukanee's drama PV is dark. Hell, it's post-apocalyptic! Is this going to be a trend from now on that popular members graduating go out with apocalyptic music videos? First Acchan graduated with Manatsu no Sounds good! a cheerful song with a dark PV and now Yuko's doing the same with Mae Shika Mukanee! Of course, Mae Shika Mukanee's drama PV isn't anywhere near as violent as the PV for Manatsu no Sounds good! On the plus side, there are no gratuitous bikini shots in Mae Shika Mukanee! Actually, I was really surprised at how well the tone was kept in this PV. I thought there was going to be an awkward segway into the song part, but everything transitioned very well! And now the recycled outfits and dump of a dance set make sense! Because it was all in Yuko's imagination! The cheering crowd, all the other Senbatsu members, all of it was just a daydream created to get away from the brutality of surviving in an post-apocalyptic wasteland with only a few friends left. Very cheerful, I know.

Let's talk a little more about the Senbatsu in Mae Shika Mukanee. In the drama PV, only half the girls are in it; the rest are just in the song portion. Even then, the main focus of the drama PV is Yuko. It's also focused a bit on Jurina and Mayuyu (and Paruru and Yui at the end), but still, mostly Yuko. At first, I was kind of miffed that only half the Senbatsu appeared in the drama PV, but on rewatch, it makes sense. Having only a small number of girls in this PV adds to that feeling of emptiness as they wander through the environment. Having all the Senbatsu appear would just take away from that isolation. And I like the decision to center the PV on Yuko, and not just because it's her last A-side in AKB48. I think a story like this one needs to be carried by someone who can show a decent emotional range, and of all the members present, I think Yuko's the most capable. I've always thought Yuko to be a pretty decent actress by idol standards, and she's very captivating to watch, especially when she's alone. You can see exactly what emotions she's feeling by just looking at her face and body language. I think if someone like Paruru had been given the role Yuko played, the story of the drama PV wouldn't have as much of an impact.

Speaking of Paruru, I wouldn't be surprised if she centered AKB48's next single. Why? Not counting indie singles, Mae Shika Mukanee is AKB48's 35th single. This is why the key Yuko grabbed said 35 in Roman numerals. She then centered the song in her little fantasy that I'll get into in a moment. Paruru on the other hand grabbed the key that had 36 on it, which would be the number of AKB48's summer single. Thus it implies that Paruru is centering AKB48's next single. I mean, you don't really need a symbolic music video to deduce that, but I still thought it was a nice little touch! AKS adores Paruru (despite numerous protests from everyone else), and I think she'll do fine centering AKB48's next single. I do wonder why they also included Yui in that scene though. She's also shown picking up a key, but I couldn't see the number. Is she centering the fall single maybe? I think Yui and Paruru were meant to represent the next generation that AKS is trying to push as all the older members graduate. Kind of like what they did in Manatsu no Sounds good! only with less fanservice. I liked the way they showed that shift with the mystical tree and all the keys dangling from it. It was very... ethereal!

In general, I got a very ethereal feeling from the drama PV the moment Yuko found that tree. With the glowing lights, the fact that a tree full of keys on it exists, and then Yuko entering that stage area. What I took away from this part was Yuko essentially dying in the PV's storyline. Why else would there be so much light? The entire hallway was dimly lit, so why such a bright light in that doorway? Because it symbolizes Yuko leaving AKB48 in the hands of a younger generation (aka Yui and Paruru and all those other whipper-snappers) and ascending to whatever awaits her beyond AKB48. In the drama PV alone, I still see it as her dying. I also think that Jurina and Mayuyu joining her in the end also implied that they died in whatever happened outside (it's times like these I regret the language barrier). And together they're all going to a place where they can sing and dance to their heart's content without having to struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. That also explains why in the dance part of the PV all three of them dance individually without the rest of the Senbatsu. Again, I love the way that ties into the dance PV. It's so much fun having all those pieces click into place, and it makes me appreciate the original PV much more now!

The one thing that I'm unclear on is what exactly happened. I know that the world this PV takes place in is post-apocalyptic, but how did it come to be that way? Was it a pandemic? A natural disaster? Aliens? I don't think the context really applies to the story, but there are parts when I wish the drama PV expanded on what happened. Especially when Yuko gets that distress call. Until that point, I could pretty easily follow the PV despite the language barrier. But from there, it was difficult piecing together the story, and I'm still not sure I have the correct narrative. And apocalyptic stories are interesting. Much more interesting than a one-hour drama about a ballerina school and a cassette tape. I think this is one of the few drama PVs where I wish it had been longer. I loved seeing the girls explore around both rural and urban areas devoid of human life. They could have just been doing that for an hour, and I probably would have watched the whole thing. Unlike all these mundane stories reliant on dialogue, this drama PV is carried by its environment. I just wish that they had taken a little bit more time to delve further into that environment. Then again, with a PV like Mae Shika Mukanee, you can always fill in the pieces yourself as to what happened to the world. My theory is zombies.

Overall, I am very, very, very, very happy I didn't pass up on the drama version of Mae Shika Mukanee. In fact, you shouldn't pass up on it either, so here. Watch it. The drama PV is exponentially better than the original PV, adding depth and drama to what was originally a generic dance shot. The PV gives these wonderful layers and creates an interesting story about ascension and passing the torch on to the next generation. The nice thing about the drama PV for Mae Shika Mukanee is that it relies on a storyline that isn't dialogue-heavy, so if you're foreign like me, it's (for the most part) easy to follow. And it's a compelling story. The environments used in this PV range from grainy and dim to bright and colorful. One possible drawback is if you like seeing all the Senbatsu members, you don't in this PV, but I personally didn't mind. I think this PV delivered a good story with a good background and a satisfying conclusion. And best of all, it was a creative, even poignant way of saying farewell to Yuko. It's like taking all the best ideas of Manatsu no Sounds good! and ditching the bikini shots! The final result? My favorite AKB48 I've reviewed since UZA. But the question is... do I rate the original PV or the drama PV? I mean, technically this isn't the official PV so...


Oh what the hell, I'll use the drama PV! So collectively, I give Mae Shika Mukanee four apples! The song is a pleasant listen from AKB48 and so much better than their recent A-sides. It's still not amazing, but good is a level of quality I'll take from AKB48 right now. Watch the drama PV for Mae Shika Mukanee; it's got a more complex story than the original PV and serves as a great sendoff for Yuko.

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day. And you know what I was thinking? Wouldn't it be simultaneously the best and worst thing if BiS got to the day of their disbandment and revealed that it was just a joke? And that they were still continuing on as a group? Yeah. I could totally see them doing that. But I can also see them disbanding. Sigh.


Why is BiS disbanding? Actually, I know why they're disbanding; that's just a question I'm asking more to the cosmic forces of the future. I knew for awhile that BiS's days were numbered, but I kept thinking they'd put disbandment off. They're on of my favorite idol groups. I loved Idol is Dead. To this day, it's one of my favorite idol albums! So I was obviously going to review their third album, Who Killed Idol? Funny how those two sound like follow-up sentences at a crime scene investigation... Anyways, I freaking loved Idol is Dead. So Who Killed Idol? had quite the standard to live up to. Not only that, but this is BiS's last album. Their swan song. Their last complete album before they disappear forever and I have to find a new group that's just as interesting and not-bland as they are. BiS had an interesting mix of A-side leading up to Who Killed Idol? and the artists who contributed to the album is pretty impressive. So is the bar set high? Hell yes. Can BiS reach up to it? Hell maybe. Let's dive in and see if we can figure out who did kill idol, all right?

1. Primal.2

Opening the album is a sequel song to Primal., one of BiS's best songs. Okay, I'm a little biased, but I really love that song. So Primal.2 has quite the bar to reach if it wants to strive as the sequel to Primal. And in some ways, it succeeds. Unlike Primal., which was a loud, raw song crammed with emotion, Primal.2 is a ballad that sounds like the calm aftermath of Primal. I do like that Primal.2 isn't just a rehash of Primal. but... it's just a ballad. Part of what made Primal. such a great song was that it went to these uncomfortably levels of energy and music and emotion. Primal.2 is much more tame and restrained, except for maybe at the end when the key change happens. I think maybe the song could have been a little bit... louder? It's missing something. However, Primal.2 is still a very pretty song, and by no means is it a dull ballad. The chorus is beautiful and the guitar player, Hisashi, does a great job. As a continuation to Primal. though, Primal.2 falls short.

My Rating:


2. DiE

After the slow ballad, Who Killed Idol? kicks into high gear with DiE! I really like this song, and I like the music video that went along with it. Even if it was a little bit unnerving. What's always struck me about DiE is how similar in style it sounds to Primal. Both sound very post-rock and both are loud with a bunch of emotion pouring from the vocals. The vocals are both my favorite and least favorite part of DiE. Structurally and lyrically, they're great. Notes-wise? Not so much. The weakest aspect of DiE is the vocal range. There are some high notes in DiE and not every member of the group hits them... gracefully. I'm not expecting vocal perfection though, so it doesn't really bother me. But it was quite jarring the first time I listened to DiE! Now it doesn't really deter my enjoyment of listening to DiE, and the song is still one of my favorite singles of this era. That and the amazing B-side which we will get to in a few tracks...

My Rating:


3. StupiG

To the left here we have the most recent A-side! And their next-to-last A-side. Sigh. Well, I'm a little glad BiS isn't going out with StupiG, because this song is weird. And I listen to some pretty effing weird music, so I mean that. The song starts out so abrasively, with screaming and a headphones-breaking instrumental. But then the chorus comes in, and it's so melodic. Then more electronic-cyberpunk grunge madness! It takes a few listens to enjoy StupiG, and even then I have problems with the song. The biggest being how disjointed it is. Nothing flows well, the chorus and verses sound like different songs. Each has its own merits (the harmonizing in the verses being one of them), but StupiG sounds like such a scattered, insane song, and not enjoyably insane. It strikes me as a song that probably works better in concerts. But if I want to listen to electro-grunge (is that even a genre) than I'll just stick with Ash from Idol is Dead.

My Rating:


4. No regret

So No regret kind of sounds like merry-go-round music. Deranged, BiS merry-go-round music. It's kind of cool starting out in the beginning. Reminds me of a Shiina Ringo song. And the verses all sound very lilting and weird; again, it's kind of cool. After the loud, energetic DiE and StupiG, No regret serves as a nice cool-down song. Or... it does until the chorus. No regret suffers to a lesser degree what StupiG does in that the chorus and verse do not fit well together. It's like jamming two puzzle pieces from different puzzles together. But the transitions in No regret are a teensy bit better. But when the loud, abrasive chorus comes back in, it's still jarring. I guess I got used to it after awhile, but I wish No regret could have kept with the more relaxed, carnival-esque sound. Overall, I enjoyed the song. The riff in the instrumental is insanely catchy (just like carnival music!). No regret isn't my favorite album song but... I don't regret it being on there. HA!

My Rating:


5. Magumato

Nerve 2.0? That's pretty much what you could call Magumato. Although it doesn't have that catchy opening that makes Nerve so memorable... Still, I like Magumato (more than I liked No regret). It's one of the calmer songs on Who Killed Idol? or as calm as BiS can get. Honestly, I get major 80s vibes from Magumato. I blame the synthesizer. There's a synthesizer melody prevalent throughout the entire song. It makes me feel like I should be watching a cheesy music video with Magumato playing in the background! I'm a fan of 80s music (or at least the good 80s music) so hey, Magumato's cool with me. I guess you could call the Magumato new wave? It sounds like new wave to my ears, which again, I am totally 100% cool with. I just like how chill Magumato sounds. No one's sing-screaming, and it's nowhere near as packed with instrumentals as the previous three songs. Magumato's not my favorite new song, but it's still pretty neat.

My Rating:


6. Get You

You know, I'm really bummed that neither one of the B-sides from Get You made it to the album. I mean, Sayonara Demo would have fit perfectly! At least Get You did, the oddest of collaborations BiS dabbled in. The song resulted from a collaboration with Dorothy Little Happy, the idol group trying to usurp Super Girls from its position as blandest idol group on the block. The results were... interesting. In a good way! Part of the fun of this collaboration was having literally no idea what it would sound like, and Get You turned out to be one of the lighter BiS songs. But it still fits nicely into Who Killed Idol? without sounding out of place. The song is untouched and keeps the Dorothy Little Happy vocals in (along with Wacky, Yufu, and Mitchel's). Get You is actually a pretty cool song, and it's nice hearing BiS veer into straight-up pop every once in awhile. There are a few parts that are a little iffy (that talking) but for the most part, I think Get You is great!

My Rating:


7. Mura-Mura

Skaaaaaaaa!!! Not Maji Desu ka Ska, skaaaaaaaa!!! I will never understand why ska declined after the 90s. It's such a happy genre of music, how could people just dump it so easily!? I particularly love all the brass instrumentals in ska music and they are wonderfully present in BiS's take on ska, Mura-Mura. Songs like Mura-Mura are when I really appreciate BiS going across multiple genres of music and not sticking into one that's "unconventional" compared to idol pop like metal or rock. Mura-Mura is such a perky song, as many ska songs are. So if you don't like ska, then you're out of luck. But I like ska, so I like Mura-Mura. Actually, Mura-Mura is one of my favorite BiS B-sides in general. Maybe I love the fact that BiS experimented in a genre like ska. I don't know how as a ska song Mura-Mura holds up, but as a BiS song, I think Mura-Mura has all the energy and fun that I like about BiS. I mean I love when they're being menacing, but them being perky is just fun!

My Rating:


8. MMGK

What does MMGK even stand for? Is it like PPCC and that initials make perfect sense in Japanese? Whatever MMGK stands for, the song is awesome. Even the opening is awesome; it's this explosion of electronica that perfectly sets the tone of MMGK. I really like the vocals of this song, and I have no idea why. Vocals are never exactly the strongest part of BiS (not compared to the instrumentation), but I really like what the producer did with the vocals in MMGK. I almost want to say MMGK is electronic, but it's very loosely electronic. It's like... electro-rock? Not Fruits Clipper electro-rock, more like rock with some synthesizer and other electronic effects mixed into the song. The end result is one of the most memorable songs on Who Killed Idol? There's just such a great amount of energy in the song; it leaves quite the punch. MMGK left the strongest impression with me when I first listened to the album, and it's one of my favorite songs on Who Killed Idol?

My Rating:


9. BiSimulation

Another one of the many A-sides featured on Who Killed Idol? and also Wacky's last. Nice to see that they kept her vocals in the track and didn't re-record the song! Unfortunately, I am not a huge fan of BiSimulation. Oh, it isn't a horrible song. BiSimulation is... kind of just there. It's a shorter song that suffers from lack of a clear structure. Well, on the first listen it's hard to pick out the song structure. On further listens, it gets easier. But BiSimulation still feels very unstructured. Like all the vocals were just strung together one after the other without any discernible break between either the verses or the chorus. It's kind of cool, but not super-cool. BiSimulation is also about as close to the hard rock sound BiS embraced in Idol is Dead and Idol. I'm glad it doesn't go into full-out metal, but for such a loud song, BiSimulation still underwhelms me. I can't fault the energy of the song, but compared to the other A-sides on Who Killed Idol? BiSimulation isn't one of my favorites.

My Rating:


10. Error

So after the very loud BiSimulation is the very loud Error. But at least Error is more cohesive than BiSimulation. Error is another song that's more heavy on the electronica. In fact... there's a Dubstep break in the bridge of Error. Why do I keep running into those in idol songs I review!? Sweet Refrain, Invader Invader, why does it keep showing up like an uninvited guest in my house!? It's weird because other than that, Error remains relatively rock-ish. Or electronic rock-ish. But then it's like, bam! Random Dubstep breakdown! I don't understand it one bit. Then again, maybe I'm not supposed to. Admittedly, the Dubstep break is the thing that sticks out most with Error. Everything else is pretty much your typical BiS sound, very loud and abrasive. I mean, I enjoyed the song, but it wasn't like I was screaming for joy at the wonders in the song. Error is by no means an error! And honestly, I just really wanted to make that pun.

My Rating:


11. Nasty face

Nasty face? Isn't that what angry elementary-school kids call each other? Oh well, how does the song hold up? Nasty face starts out with such a sinister sound; I thought it was going to be similar to BiSimulation. But Nasty face turned out to be... I don't want to say happier, but more upbeat. Actually, Nasty face is one of my favorite album songs. I think there's such an awesome amount of energy in the song, and all the different parts work surprisingly well together! Nasty face sounds like something BiS might have released in their later indie era or maybe even their Idol Is Dead era to me. There's so much going on in this song, but it doesn't sound overcrowded the way StupiG did. All the instruments in this song end up sounding like this giant hodgepodge of noise that still somehow has a melody in it somewhere. Nasty face is scattered in a good way, and it has all the bite that makes BiS such an enjoyable idol group to listen to.

My Rating:


12. Fly

It just dawned on me how many A-side BiS had to cram into Who Killed Idol? I mean, I guess they had to, but damn, it makes the album long. Well, at least Fly is an awesome song! And it was also Mitchel's farewell song, so she gets a nice little solo between the second and last chorus. But what else sticks out with Fly? I said it in my single review and I'll say it again: Fly sounds so much like a Paramore song. Early Paramore, not the current Paramore; I have no idea what the hell current Paramore is doing with their music. As a middle-school fan of Paramore, I am 100% okay with BiS sounding like Paramore! Ah, it takes me back. Even though I enjoy Fly a lot, I always feel like I can never say much about the song. I think it's structured nicely, and the chorus serves as a great high note along with Mitchel's (surprisingly poignant) solo. It's just generic BiS, but since it's generic BiS, I am totally okay with that.

My Rating:


13. Hi

Back to back with Fly is the other A-side from that single and admittedly my least favorite. Well, it's between that and BiSimulation. I don't think either song is terrible, and Hi does have its strong points. It's a pretty energetic electro-rock song. But there are parts where Hi gets very annoying. Mainly just the chorus which consists of repeated background vocals over the main vocals. It's not the most annoying thing I've ever heard in idol music. I guess Hi just weirds me out as a song. Hi isn't something abnormal for BiS, but it sounds so... peppy. But not normal-idol peppy. Like being-on-drugs peppy. Whatever that feels like. And Hi is so short, the shortest song on the album! It starts and ends so quickly that every time it pops up on my shuffle, I'm not sure what I just listened to. I don't know, Hi is a fun song, but it doesn't grab me the way some of BiS's other A-sides have. So yeah. My opinion hasn't changed much from when I reviewed the single, huh?

My Rating:


14. Hide out cut (Who Killed Idol Ver.)

I am so happy Hide out cut made it to Who Killed Idol? Well... a version of Hide out cut made it to the album. Hide out cut (Who Killed Idol Ver.) is the same song with vocals from the new members. They basically did to Hide out cut what they did to Primal, My Ixxx, Idol, and Nerve on Idol is Dead. And I'm not completely sure I'm okay with that. Look, I love Hide out cut. Even with its really poorly written English lyrics, I still think it's a wonderful song. The piano is gorgeous, the chorus has the right level of emotion, and even the English lyrics grew endearing after awhile. And I listened to the original version so much that Hide out cut (Who Killed Idol Ver.) is a little jarring. The original B-side is better, but this album version of Hide out cut isn't horrid. There still are parts where I think I should be hearing Wacky or Yufu's voice and instead hear Uika's or Tenten's. The new vocals don't destroy the song, but if I had final say, I would have stuck with the original version.

My Rating:


15. Primal

No, don't confuse this with the Primal. from Idol is Dead! Or Primal.2. This Primal is actually a cover of The Yellow Monkey's song. I hadn't listened to the original version until after I'd listened to the BiS cover. My initial reactions before listening to the original was that BiS's Primal is a pretty cool rock song that sounds like a very appropriate sendoff for Who Killed Idol? My impressions after listening to the original? The original song is pretty great! I like The Yellow Monkey; I may listen to more of their stuff. Okay, okay, back to the BiS cover. Honestly, both songs are pretty much the same; the only difference is who's singing. And I think BiS's vocals fit with Primal. The song sounds like a farewell single, and it was for The Yellow Monkey. I guess it fits then for BiS to have Primal be their last song on their last album before disbanding and leaving us forever. Sigh. I think Primal may have tugged more at my heartstrings than the other Primal...

My Rating:


The Verdict

Listening to Idol is Dead was an experience for me that I don't think I properly emphasized. I was listening to previews on iTunes Japan for nearly a month because I couldn't find the album anywhere else. That was how pumped the album got me. And then when I listened to the full album? It blew my freaking mind! Keep in mind this was 2012 and I still had a long way to go in discovering idols. Idol is Dead was such a superb collection of sounds that, save for two songs I didn't care for, was quality on every single track. So Who Killed Idol? had a very high standard to reach. I didn't anticipate Who Killed Idol? with the same zeal I did Idol is Dead. I acknowledged the album was coming and was excited, but I wasn't clamoring to listen to the album. And after listening to Who Killed Idol? the first time, I didn't get the same feelings of euphoric bliss that I got from Idol is Dead. Is it because I'm used to BiS's music now? Part of me thinks that's what happened. And I also think that's also because this album was long. Fifteen total tracks, eight new is a lot of songs to pack into one album, and I think a few of them like Hi and BiSimulation could have been cut. Despite being A-sides. I love BiS, but Who Killed Idol? didn't leave as much of an impact with me as Idol is Dead did.

But what about as a stand-alone album? I always feel like a bit of a cheat when I go solely to the ol'"Compared to X, Y isn't as good!" complaint. Can Who Killed Idol? be a good album at least? Fortunately, yes. It just took me a few listens to get to that point. Who Killed Idol? is an album that you will either not care for or tolerate for the first few listens then reach a point of enjoyment. I think BiS tried their hardest to get as many different artists and sounds into the album, but there are parts where Who Killed Idol? sounds like an absolute clusterfuck. A train running onto a broken off track, if you get what I mean. The album still has some great songs on it though like MMGK, Nasty face and Primal. And even the weaker songs on Who Killed Idol? are still listenable. I can't fault BiS for trying, and Who Killed Idol? sounds so ambitious. Like BiS really wanted to go out on their last album with a huge, grand farewell. A lot of the songs on the album sounded like farewell songs, and overall, the album has this aura of... saying goodbye. Maybe that's just me thinking about their upcoming disbandment again. The last song on the album was the perfect track to close it out. Who Killed Idol? has its high points, its slightly-lower points, but overall, it still maintains all the weirdness that makes BiS such an interesting group to follow.


For those reasons, I give Who Killed Idol? four apples. BiS may not have killed idols, but they tried to, just like they tried to make Who Killed Idol? their ultimate farewell. While they may have tried a little too hard on some songs, the album overall still has an interesting mix of odd sounds and styles you don't find in many current idol groups. If you like BiS, then I'm sure you'll like this album. I did, even if I don't find it quite as good as Idol is Dead. Either way, I'm definitely going to miss BiS.

Sigh.

Guys, I'm tired.

No, I'm not tired of blogging. I'm just... tired. My classes are exhausting, my extracurricular stuff is exhausting, and yes, even blogging is exhausting. I'm at this weird point in my life where I feel stuck. Like I can't do anything but continue this monotonous pattern of functions. I don't know if it's because I'm graduating soon and just want to get the hell out of town or not. Actually, it probably is. And I'm incredibly stressed all the time. I don't think I've been truly relaxed since... last summer. Usually I'm able to deal with all the stress that comes with school, but this semester, it's really been getting to me. Worst of all, it's been getting to my writing. You all probably noticed I didn't write much in January and February, and I didn't even get through all my posts planned for March. I tried to, I really did, but I'm just really run-down. I feel like some of the groups I review are more out of obligation than genuine enthusiasm to talk about their stuff. What I need is a change. I need a change of environment, a change of activity. And I can't do that until I'm out of high school and in a completely different. But you know what I can change? I can change what I review on the Wonderland.

So I've decided that I'm going to start reviewing boy bands.


Relax, I'm just trying it out! I was thinking how April is pretty much the start of a new season, so why not start a new set of groups to review on the Wonderland? I feel like I've really neglected male J-pop groups on the Wonderland. All the groups and idols I review are female, despite there being some very popular male idol groups. Like Arashi! And Smap! And actually any Johnny's Entertainment group come to think of it... So yeah, I'll start reviewing all the JE groups like Kat-Tun, Hey! Say! Jump, Sexy Zone, News, and that other new group that recently debuted. I can't remember their name at the moment... but I'll be reviewing them! What does this mean for the current groups I'll review? Obviously, I'll keep reviewing Perfume, but probably just their singles and albums. As for all the other groups... it depends on how much I want to review their stuff. I'll try my best to balance both the male and female groups, but my main priority is going to the male groups. So groups like BiS, Tokyo Girls' Style, Morning Musume, and all the other regulars on my group may get more infrequent reviews. And then after a month or so of reviewing male idol groups, I may or may not switch back to female groups. But who knows? I may actually get into these group and add them to my White List!

Why am I doing this? Well, I just want a change. And since I can't change anything about my external situation, then at least I can make a change to the Wonderland. I've never reviewed any male idol groups before; I've barely even listened to any male idol songs. I know that a lot of these groups are really popular, so surely there must be a reason for it! This'll be like getting into idols all over again! I want to ask all you lovely readers though; are there any good male idol groups I should review? As I said before, I only have a narrow scope of the number of male idol groups out there. I know the JE groups are insanely popular, so I'll definitely start with all of them. But what about smaller male idol groups? Is the male idol market dominated solely by JE or do non-JE idol groups have a niche as well? See, it's finding out stuff like this that makes me so excited about the prospect of reviewing male idol groups. And there's also the fact that male idols appeal to my demographic: teenage girls! Now I can feel like slightly less of a weirdo and review idol groups that don't have fan bases dominated by middle-aged men! It's gonna be so cool. Maybe I'll even meet other male idol fans! I know several bloggers who blog about male idol groups; maybe they can help me in my conquest!

So here's to the next month of blogging about male idols. As for all the other groups, I had several reviews planned, but I've decided to postpone them. Or just cancel writing them entirely. It depends on how much time I have. But it's time for this Wonderland to have a change, and I am totally excited. I hope everyone else is too. I'll post a State of the Wonderland tomorrow listing all the male idol releases I plan on reviewing! I may start with that Arashi single. What was it called again? Guts? Sounds cool!

I'm back! Now who's ready to review some boy bands? Ha, you all know I'm joking! I hope you all enjoyed my little April Fools' post! As many of you probably figured, I will not be reviewing male groups any time soon. Nothing against them, they're just not something I have much interest in. Besides, I've got too many groups I already follow that need my attention! Most of the posts I've got planned for this month are just reviews. PV reviews, single review, maybe an album review (but I can't think of any idol albums coming out this month...), reviews, reviews, reviews! And possibly an editorial or two if I have the time and desire to work seriously on one. And I don't even know if I'll have time to do everything on this list. I have a lot more reviews than I'd care to admit that I need to do, and not anywhere near enough spare time to do them. I wasn't completely lying when I said I was tired in my April Fools' post. I am tired. My classes are horrid, but I can't slip up in them because my future depends on passing those classes at the moment. The things I'm doing outside of class are simultaneously relieving and time-consuming. Basically, I'm on an all-carb diet of stress and fatigue. And that doesn't leave as much time as I'd like for blogging. And then my Easter break got cut in half... Guys, I just need to graduate already. I am so ready by now, and high school is just about to drive me even crazier than it already has. Still, I will do my best to at least get out a few reviews and maybe do the rest in early May. Anyways, here's everything I want to write about and hopefully will be able to do so!

Bitter & Sweet Single Review
- Sometimes I forget UFP has groups outside of Hello! Project. And that the Satoyama thing is still... well, a thing! One of the units that's come from UFP is called Bitter & Sweet featuring Mano Erina's spiritual successor Tasaki Asahi and Hasegawa Moemi. I know Asahi from her solo singles under the Satoyama movement, but the other girl I do not. However, I came upon their single via Chiima, and surprisingly enough, there's more to talk about the songs on this single than the other Satoyama singles! The PVs aren't too bad either, but not enough for me to write two different PV reviews for Bitter & Sweet and Install.

Hatred Editorial
- I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to title this as so this is a very generic title. I know I seem like a fountain of cleverness and puns, but titling some of my blog posts is more challenging than you think! I have to maintain my wit after all! Or what little bit of it I have... What is this editorial about? There isn't really much to deduce from the title. I'm not even sure yet; I'm only in very rough drafts right now. But it has to do with hatred! Eh... you probably figured that out though... I guess it's about both the unhealthy and healthy forms of hatred? And how hating something can get very exhausting? I hope the topic will be more clear in the actual editorial...

Hold Your Hand PV Review/Single Review/Stuff in General
- At some point in time Perfume is going to release a single. Unless the unthinkable happens, but let's not think about that. Somewhere out there is the full version of Hold Your Hand, a song created for J-drama Silent Poor. So surely that means a single announcement is coming soon, right? I keep thinking there is going to be; it's been over four months since Perfume released Sweet Refrain. Maybe they'll announce the single after Perfume Fes? Since everything surrounding Hold Your Hand is speculative as of now, anything about it will (unfortunately) not come until probably late April or early May. Right now I'm betting on May.

Kizuitara Kataomoi PV Review
- I've had like two different people ask me if I'm going to review Nogizaka46's latest PV and the answer is yes! I wanted to review this PV in March, but I didn't have enough time. There were also several other PVs I really needed to review (-cough- Mae Shika Mukanee). But don't worry, Kizuitara Kataomoi is #2 on my "PVs You Need to Review NOW" list! The music video is in my possession; all I have to do is get to writing the review! You know, it's harder to do PV reviews with my new computer. The print-screen option is more complicated than it was on my old computer. Oh well, it's nothing I can't work though!

Perfect Sky PV Review
- So Passpo finally became a band; that's worth talking about! I'm just not sure if the music video is worth delving into. It's pretty basic, but it does show Passpo playing as a band. The concept alone is enough for me to talk about. Maybe I'll just do a semi-editorial about idol bands and weave my opinions of Perfect Sky into said editorial. I really would like to review Perfect Sky though, or at least talk about Passpo playing as a band! It's just one of those reviews I'm so on the fence about. Maybe if there was more to the PV I'd be more down with reviewing Perfect Sky's PV... Should I just review the single? Or try an editorial? I'll figure it out at some point.

Second Spring EP Review
- I'm not sure if this counts as a single review or an album review. Technically, I think Second Spring EP counts as a mini-album but...? Who knows? I don't! I think the hardest part about following Curumi Chronicle is that she's an indie artist so I never really get to listen to any of her songs (let alone know information about the release) until after the single's already been released. I didn't actually listen to Second Spring EP until March was almost over, and I had several other things I needed to review. My review of Second Spring EP may take a bit to finish since it's five tracks long, but I am working on it! Besides, it's Curumi Chronicle; how could I not want to review it?

Takane no Ringo PV Review
- I keep telling myself I'm going to review this PV, but then when I sit down to make a post for it, I'm just like "...I'll work on this later." I feel like I've been doing a really good job with reviewing NMB48's stuff though, and I don't want to break my streak now! But I feel like there's nothing I can really say about Takane no Ringo. Maybe I need to re-watch the music video. I haven't listened to Takane no Ringo as much as I should to write a proper review, so I may do that and see if that spurs my desire to get to working on this review. I have several other music videos I'd also like to review, and I'm not sure where Takane no Ringo stands among them.

Ten More K-pop Songs I Actually Listen To
- So you guys remember how last year (also in April!) I posted 10 K-pop songs I like to listen to? Well, guess what? I have ten more! Gee, before I know it I'm gonna wake up and find out my music library's been infested with K-pop! For now, K-pop remains a leisurely genre of music I only occasionally like to really explore, but I guess over the year I culminate a few songs that I just really like. I guess what's interesting about K-pop is that visually it's different from J-pop, but musically, both genres can get very similar at times? I mean, some of the songs on this list sound like they could be J-pop songs. And then others don't. And both are songs I enjoy!

Toki wo Koe Sora wo Koe PV Review
- Is it just me or is Hello! Project constantly releasing stuff? I think it's just me; every time I turn around, it's like every group has released something new! And Morning Musume's latest is another double A-side (thanks, Tsunku). I know I said that I was just going to focus on one A-side from now on to solve the stress of reviewing a double A-side, and that's what I've planned to do with Toki wo Koe Sora wo Koe. But I also feel like I could do a PV review of Password is 0... Right now, I'm not sure; the former is definitely on my list to review. I think if I have time, I'll review Password is 0. But methinks that I'll just have to do a one-word review of that PV...

Tomorrow World Single Review
- Weather Girls is still alive! I've known that for about a month, but I figured you all should know it too. And they've released a new single! I'd planned to review Tomorrow World for March, but I ended up not having enough time to finish the review. But I have most of it written out. I just need to write about the B-side and then my overall opinion of the single. My aim is to have this review out by this weekend. Maybe on Sunday? I always get a little fidgety giving dates to the stuff I write, since I have an irritating tendency to pass over those dates. Just know that I am working hard on the review when I'm not working hard on everything else!

So... Weather Girls lost a member? When did that happen!? Yep, apparently Dara (the red one) was fired from Ritz Productions due to abandonment of work. The chick who replaced her is named Ria. It rhymes with Mia. And Nia. Maybe they can form a trio!


Or they can just release a new single. Ever since Koi no Tenki Yohou, Weather Girls have embarked on a strange pattern of songs. Some of their stuff? Great! Most of their stuff? It ranges from good to okay to weird to forgettable. None of their singles have really topped their debut single in terms of quality, and I didn't even get to their last single Hey Boy ~Wei Shen Me~ out of boredom and distraction from other moreinteresting idols. But I didn't want to drop Weather Girls from my review list! I still think they're a pretty fun group and just about the closest thing to Kara that I review (probably even closer now that Kara is sans two members). Right now though, it's like management doesn't really know what to do with them. Do they want them to be a cute, slightly quirky J-pop group? Or a more mature-looking, sexier K-pop group? Their last single gave me more K-pop vibes than J-pop, particularly the music video. I've been waiting for something else by them to grab me again. So I thought maybe I could find that in their latest single, Tomorrow World! After all, the title sounds pretty cool, and so does the B-side. Does Tomorrow World reach the insanely catchy fun heights set by Koi no Tenki Yohou? Only one way to find out! I've got my apples at the ready and my headphones in my ears so let's check out the forecast of Tomorrow World!

...okay, I'm sorry, that pun was really forced. I'll try harder next time.

Covers/Outfits

As far as covers go, the ones for Tomorrow World are very simple. Just a white background with the girls posing in front of it and the title in hot pink letters. I swear that's been the cover of like ten different J-pop singles. But simple doesn't always mean bad! The covers aren't tacky, and the colorful outfits the girls wear make them stand out against the plain white background. Speaking of the outfits, do these outfits remind anyone else of the outfits Kara used for Mister? Okay, obviously the color schemes are different, but the pants and crop top style are used for both singles! Well, if you had to pick an outfit style to imitate, Mister's a pretty good pick! I do like the little variations on each girl's outfit, like the collars and white motifs. So yeah, not much to say about the covers or the outfits, but both are decent as far as covers and outfits go. I mean, I've seen some shit costumes so these are blissfully normal.

Tomorrow World

Tomorrow World? That sounds like a theme park. A very 1960s retro-future theme park. Like something inspired by The Jetsons... I was talking about a song, right? Anyways, Tomorrow World is a happy little pop song that fits right in with Weather Girls' image. There isn't really that much I can say about it. The vocals sound nice, the instrumental is pretty safe, the arrangement isn't taking any huge risks, overall Tomorrow World just sounds pleasant. It's the kind of song that would play over a montage of squeaky clean teenagers having fun doing mundane teenager activities (besides drugs). Which isn't bad, but it doesn't give me a lot to talk about with Tomorrow World. I mean, I guess musically it isn't doing anything too experimental, but it's an idol group so I wouldn't ever expect that. Honestly, I was expecting something a little more futuristic from a song called Tomorrow World. But I suppose Weather Girls isn't the type of group to deviate to far from idol pop, so I'm not sure why I thought that. I think I really need to stop judging songs by just their titles because then I get all these weird preconceived notions as to how the song should sound.

Had Tomorrow World been released at any other time, my opinion of the song would probably be different from the one I have right now. Despite being a rather ordinary idol song, I actually like Tomorrow World a lot. Maybe not for being musically innovative or emotionally gripping but because... I just need a happy song right now. I've been gravitating to a lot of happy songs lately; they just put me in a more optimistic mood and make me feel like I can get things done. And when I listen to Tomorrow World, it's like all the stress I'm dealing with right now goes away for three minutes and thirty-one seconds. I don't want to say it's like calming music but it's... stress-leveling music. I think it's important to have songs like Tomorrow World that serve as outlets for stress. Even then, there's something about Tomorrow World that's so unabashedly happy. How could I bring myself to dislike this song? The vocals have this very sweet, optimistic tone to them, like you can hear the smile in the girls' voices. Tomorrow World definitely won't be a song that appeals to everyone, but if you're looking for a song to make you feel better, I'd give Tomorrow World a listen. It's the musical equivalent of a happy little puppy that may-or-may-not have chewed up your shoes but is still happy and jumping around.

The music video doesn't have the cheap tackiness that some of Weather Girls' music videos have fallen plague to, but it is a little mundane. Most of the music video is shot outside in a city. The girls are either walking around the city or dancing below skyscrapers a la Everyday Zekkouchou. I do like music videos that are shot outside of a studio. One of my favorite music videos is Perfume's Macaroni, and that just shows the girls wandering around a city! But there isn't much to talk about with the music video for Tomorrow World (which is why I didn't review the music video). The girls all look very nice, and they're smiling and happy, but that's pretty much it. They dance, they walk around, they put their arms around each other, if you've seen an outdoor idol PV, then you can get the gist of what Tomorrow World consists of. They do go inside to a restaurant! So I guess that's new? Again, I was kind of expecting something futuristic due to judging the title before anything else. Even then, there's just not that much that sticks out with Tomorrow World. Even the girls themselves don't add much to the music video which is weird because Weather Girls usually does a pretty good job at adding some charm and quirkiness to their music videos. Oh well, if you're a die-hard fan of Tomorrow World, it's a video worth watching! Me though, I've seen better music videos from Weather Girls.



I'll give Tomorrow World 3.5 apples. It doesn't beat Koi no Tenki Yohou (or even Koi Tokimeki Chuuihou), but the calm pleasantness of Tomorrow World appeals to me. It's a happy pop song, and it doesn't try to be anything else. Take it or leave it!

Talk Talk Talk

Now this song sounds like a K-pop song. Or at least the K-pop I've dabbled into. Not that I've listened to a lot of K-pop. How do I explain this properly... so from the handful of K-pop songs I've listened to, I've noticed a lot of their cuter songs sound very... sassy. Like when I listen to cute J-pop songs, most of them are cute in a very sweet, adorable. But with K-pop there's this prevalence of sass that I get from the vocals and the arrangement. Like I always hear sing-talking and/or rapping in K-pop songs, and it always sounds very, very sassy. I never really hear that sassy kind of sing-talking in J-pop music. Not to say that J-pop can't be sassy, there's just a different kind of sass that I hear in K-pop music. And I also hear a bit of that sass in Talk Talk Talk. Even the title sounds little sassy! Talk Talk Talk wouldn't be the first time Weather Girls has leaned more toward K-pop toward J-pop, but within my first listen, I thought Talk Talk Talk sounded more like K-pop. Which isn't a bad thing! I'm no K-pop connoisseur, so Talk Talk Talk sounds pretty cool to me. It probably sounds really cliched and unoriginal to someone who's an active listener of K-pop though. To my ears though, Talk Talk Talk is a nice contrast from the more straight forward J-pop song that is Tomorrow World.

There's actually quite a lot of stuff going on in Talk Talk Talk. You know that sing-talking I mentioned before in K-pop songs? There's a lot of that in Talk Talk Talk. Which... in hindsight makes sense, considering the title of the song. What I really love about Talk Talk Talk are all the little embellishments in the song. At one point, there's a really smooth, kinda jazzy piano playing in the background, and then in another part there's some kind of brass instrumentation. I think it may be a trumpet, but do not take my word for it. Overall, I really just love the fun feel of Talk Talk Talk. It's such a bouncy, upbeat, catchy song. But it's not super catchy to the point where I can't get it out of my head, which is a relief! I guess objectively speaking, I like Talk Talk Talk better than Tomorrow World. Musically, there's a lot more going on with Talk Talk Talk, and the arrangement is a little less predictable than Tomorrow World. But what I do like about Tomorrow World is that the song is easy listening; Talk Talk Talk is not. However, I like all the quirks that are in Talk Talk Talk that make me remember the song so easily. So... final verdict is the B-side is better than the A-side? I think so!



And so Talk Talk Talk gets 4.5 apples! Like Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, what I like about Talk Talk Talk is that the sound is a little different for Weather Girls without completely deviating from their happy-go-lucky pop sound. Of course, Talk Talk Talk sounds very K-pop oriented. Weather or not you like that sort of thing is up to you!

The Verdict

Well... Tomorrow World is better than Hey Boy ~Wei Shen Me~. So there's that! I'm not sure what my final opinion of Tomorrow World is. I mean, parts of the single are kind of underwhelming compared to some of their earlier stuff. But then there are other aspects of Tomorrow World that make it a pretty good single! I think it's just really hard for me to talk in detail about Tomorrow World, especially when it comes to the A-side. Tomorrow World the A-side is just a very nice sounding song, and that's pretty much all you have to say about it. It's Japanese idol pop at its idol poppiest. I suppose that's a pretty big achievement for Weather Girls considering they're all Taiwanese, but they've always handled J-pop pretty well. And Tomorrow World is lacking that... spark that some of their previous A-sides have had. It doesn't grab my attention the way Koi no Tenki Yohou or Koi no Tokimeki Chuuihou did. Now personally, I still enjoy the song, but that's more for my own reasons. Speaking from a more objective standpoint, there isn't much new offered in Tomorrow World. It follows the sounds of J-pop like a guidebook, and if you're cool with that, then Tomorrow World is a pretty good song. Again though, it isn't a great song, nor does it strive to be one.

If you're more into K-pop, then Talk Talk Talk, the B-side is a little bit more interesting. Talk Talk Talk strays from J-pop and fuses more with the cuter side of K-pop. Actually, isn't there a word for that in K-pop? I think it's called aegyo? Am I spelling it right? Okay, I just looked it up on Wikipedia and yes, that is how it's spelled! And the term means "behaving in a coquette-ish manner" so with that in mind, Talk Talk Talk is like... aegyo J-pop! All right, I am making zero sense, all I'm trying to say is that Talk Talk Talk is the more interesting song of the two on this single. Together though, I do like that Tomorrow World and Talk Talk Talk sound different from each other. Both are upbeat pop songs, but one is more laidback and calm while the other is sassier and quirkier. Having a B-side that doesn't sound like a rehash of the A-side is always a nice thing. I guess my overall opinion is that while Tomorrow World doesn't impress me, it's an okay single. It's not like I'm going to stop reviewing Weather Girls out of sheer rage. But I do wish they'd release something I could talk about more thoroughly. This Tomorrow World I feel like I'm repeating the same things about both songs and the single overall...


My final rating is four apples, not bad for Weather Girls considering I didn't even want to put in the effort to review their last single! Tomorrow World firmly rests in decent territory; there's nothing too groundbreaking about the single but it is a solid release from Weather Girls. If you're looking for a happy pop song to cheer you up on a gloomy day or a J-pop song sounding like a K-pop song in disguise, then I'd check this single out! Meanwhile, I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping whatever Weather Girls' next single is, it'll really grab me!

Out there in this big, giant world are people who have been to Perfume Fes!! I am not one of those people. There are also people who have performed onstage with Perfume at Perfume Fes!! I am also not one of those people. But the five members of 9nine are!


Of the multitude of artists Perfume's been jamming with at Perfume Fes!! this year, 9nine performed with Perfume on March 20. I'm certain it was truly a site to see: Perfume, the lovely technopop trio, performing together with 9nine, the idol group that does all the anime songs. Now why would Perfume perform with an idol group like 9nine? Probably because Nishiwaki Sayaka, a member of 9nine, just so happens to be A-chan's younger sister! Small world, huh? And I think they really utilized that fact at the concert. Sayaka performed Spice with Nocchi and Kashiyuka, and in turn, A-chan performed Shining Star with the members of 9nine. The two sisters even switched outfits! I'm sure it was quite the amazing experience and I am completely envious of anyone who was able to see it I'm so happy for anyone who was able to see it! For those of you who didn't a bunch of lovely pictures can be found here of 9nine's performance with Perfume. Watching the brief clips of Perfume Fes!! made me once again think to myself, "Gee, I should really put more effort into reviewing 9nine's music." I mean, I liked Evolution No. 9, and even though I didn't get to reviewing Re: I thought that was a good song, even if it fell very much into the category of generic anime opening. The PV was so cheap though...

But enough mucking around! I feel it is my duty as a Perfume fan to review 9nine's latest release, cheap music video or not! And not just because A-chan's sister is in the group, but also because they have some pretty decent music and even some good music videos! Sure, 9nine also has some forgettable songs and some music videos that aren't worth mention, but I think the good outweighs the bad! Besides, vocally, I think they always sound like such a great group. Their voices all resonate nicely in every song I've heard by them, especially in some of their later releases. Speaking of which, 9nine's most recent single is With You / With Me, which I actually thought was a double A-side when I first read the title. I blame all the Hello! Project double A-sides. Anyways, like many of 9nine's other songs, With You / With Me is tied in to an anime! Yes, With You / With Me is the second ending song to the an anime called Magi: The Kingdom of Magic. I have not watched this anime, but I think I can safely assume that the anime is about magic. And kingdoms. According to the Wikipedia summary, it's about Aladdin and there's some kind of magical life force mumbo jumbo, it's magic!

But let's talk about anime songs. Now I am not an avid watcher of anime, but I have listened to a handful of songs written for anime. Some of them are wonderful; Connect by ClariS, opening for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, is one of my favorite idol songs. And 9nine's own song Shining Star was the opening for Star Driver, and that's also a song I really like! And did I mention Shunkan Sentimental and Shoujo S by Scandal, both used for anime openings/endings? Also wonderful songs that you should check out. But then on the opposite end of the spectrum there are also anime songs that sound... well, pretty much just like anime songs. They serve as nice filler music to go over an opening or ending, but beyond that, they don't leave much of an impact when you listen to them again without watching the anime it goes with. They aren't necessarily bad songs; a lot of them even make for very pleasant listens. But they don't have much substance beyond "generic anime opening/ending." They just sound like they were written solely for an anime and nothing else.

Unfortunately, that is what With You / With Me sounds like to my ears. Isn't this like the seventh A-side 9nine's released for an anime? Let's see, Cross Over, Shining Star, Shoujo Traveler, White Wishes, Colorful, Re:, yep, With You / With Me! This song just sounds like a rearranged version of Re: without the high notes. And Re: was a better song! I guess it isn't a terrible song. It sounds like I've heard this sound before. Multiple times in different songs, as though the cosmic forces of the idol industry reincarnated and redistributed it to the world. Which makes sense taking into consideration how anime songs tend to do that thing where they all start sounding similar if you binge-listen to them. I mean, With You / With Me is upbeat, hopeful, and makes you want to run out of your house and save the world. Which is... actually pretty good, the more I think about it, but energy wise, 9nine has songs that invoke those same emotions to a much higher degree. With With You / With Me (eugh, the grammar of that preposition makes me question the English language yet again), the song just kind of... happens. And then it's over, and I think, "I guess that was a nice song?" then get distracted by Perfume.

It's like... watching a generic action movie. Some of the locations are cool, and the fight scenes are fast paced, and the plot is decent, but at the end of the day, did I need to watch that movie? No. Did I need to listen to With You / With Me to get fulfillment out of life? No. I guess on the upside... With You / With Me could have sounded a lot worse? I really don't dislike this song, but I can't find a lot about the song that I like either. The strongest part is once again how all the girls of 9nine sound. I noticed that Sayaka has a lot of solos in this song, along with Kanae. I guess those two are the main singers? It's nice hearing Sayaka sing; clearly she and A-chan both inherited some pipes! And I really like Kanae's voice. And everyone else's voices. They all sound so smooth and harmonious. Maybe the only other thing I can note about With You / With Me is there's a brief technopop break before the last chorus and key change. It's a little bit random, but not completely out of place. It's the only slight deviation from the generic anime song formula. As an anime song, With You / With Me works fine and does its job as an ending. As an idol song in general, it's my favorite from 9nine. Kind of a bummer that this is the second thing I've reviewed from 9nine but oh well.

Maybe the PV's better! Just because Re: was a cheap PV doesn't mean With You / With Me will be! Maybe it'll be like Evolution No. 9 and have a style-over-substance storyline!


Or maybe it'll have pink. Lots... and lots... of pink.


Here the five members of 9nine are all gathered around to summon the forces of darkness- I dance!


Ooh, cute shoes! A little too pastel for my tastes but still cute!


More cute shoes!


And the outfits are pretty cute too. Again, very girly and pink.


Oh look, it's like they're balancing imaginary trays!


If all of 9nine's choreography is like this, I'm sure A-chan had no problem dancing with them.


Hrm... idols staring listlessly at nothing in a fancy pink room...


...haven't I seen this concept before?


In SPICE?


Wow, I found more than just Sayaka to relate back to Perfume in this video!


Seriously, just have them dancing on tables and going to an alternate dimension, and the videos will be parallel!


Damn, I think I'm starting to get a Kanae bias. Has she done anything interesting?


Here they all are pushing Sayaka into Perfume!


New theory! The doors behind them lead into the room from Spice!


That's the famous actress in the group, right? Kawashima Umika?


And that's the Arai Hitomi lookalike, correct? (she looks less like Hitomi than the last time I saw her)


I wish they'd show more of this room beyond close-ups. It looks pretty cool!


More saluting to something off in the distance. Probably Perfume.


Whoa there, are we... entering the sphere??


WHY HELLO BRIGHT LIGHTS OF PINKNESS MY WHAT A SURPRISE YOU ARE.


Am I watching a different music video!? What happened to the light, delicate pink set!?


Not that it's bad, it's just so... bright.


Like Weather Girls' Koi no Tenki Yohou. Only brighter. And pinker.


Come to think of it, Re: also had a similar dance break in its dance shot...


Name drop! Blink and you'll miss it!


Back to the pale pink dimension, thank goodness.


Can you imagine how similar Sayaka and A-chan would look if Sayaka wore her hair like A-chan's?


I'm not sure if I find this dance move cute or weird.


The Hitomi lookalike is kind of adorable. Her name's Hirona, right?


Okay, everyone's smiling now, did I miss something?


Did the bubblegum-tinted dance break make everyone feel better?


Away they ascend to a higher plane of existence! Or I assume that's where they're going.

I think I'm gonna have to take an oath to stop relating 9nine back to Perfume on the sole basis that Sayaka and A-chan are sisters. So I will. I solemnly swear to stop talking about Perfume in any further 9nine reviews I write. But for this review, I'm talking about Perfume. Because honestly, the set used in With You / With Me reminds me a lot of Spice. It's like With You / With Me is the refurbished, clean version of the Spice set and the set from Spice is the dingy set of With You / With Me abandoned and left to the elements. That must be why the food all looked expired! And the door at the very end of With You / With Me probably led to that alternate dimension with the fish in it from Spice! And then... somehow over time they shrunk the door and left pieces of delicious candy behind for the girls of Perfume to find. Makes, perfect sense, right? I just love being able to make little connections between various PVs I've watched even if they make absolutely zero sense sometimes. But I seriously do get huge Spice vibes from the main sets used in With You / With Me. The pale pink aesthetic, the girlish details, it all reminds me of Spice. But Spice is one of the best Perfume music videos (or in my opinion it is), so I am completely okay if 9nine wants to use that same style for one of their music videos!

The aesthetic of With You / With Me is the biggest thing the PV has going for itself. Because like the song, there isn't much else to talk about with this PV. I do wish that more shots were spent lingering on the set the girls sit around in, because it is a very nicely dressed set. I think more footage of that set could have made the music video more interesting. It looked like there was a lot of cool stuff in that set to look at, but I didn't have the time too because the PV kept cutting back to the dance shot. And I suppose the dance was okay. Unless it's Perfume (and even then, that's not always the case), I never really have much to say about idol dances. Except for the weird ones. I have lots to say about the weird ones. The dance for With You / With Me is simple but graceful, and just about any teenage girl with a video camera and a Youtube account can duplicate it. I felt like for such a simple dance though, the PV spent too much time focusing on it. I'll admit the set for the dance was very pretty and elegant but so was the set used in those close-ups! Seriously, they could have had the girls doing something else on that close-up set besides staring off into space.

Also, while I'm meandering off-topic, what was up with the teeth in the covers for this single? Were they meant to represent the Big Bad Wolf's teeth? The girls were wearing hooded capes in some of the covers. And if that's true, then why was that incorporated into this single. At what point did the producers think, "You know what this single needs? Fairy tale motifs!!!" I mean, I love fairy tale motifs, but you've gotta do something with them! Speaking of weird things about this single, let's talk about the dance break in the music video. What in the hell was going on in that? It's like 9nine went from dancing in this very sweet, demure little set to something that looks like it came from a Spice Girls music video. It's just so... pink. A different shade of pink, bright pink! That entire green-screened dance break was so bright and didn't match with any of the rest of the PV! And after it's done, they never go back to it! Did the producers just have some extra money that they didn't know what to do with!? Were they sitting in Idol Producers Inc. and saying to themselves:

"You think this music video's too boring?"
"What? The music video's fine, wotas will eat it up-"
"I KNOW! Let's add a hot pink green-screened dance break!"
"I'm not sure that's the best-"
"THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!"

I don't believe these questions will ever be answered, nor do I really need them to be answered. I'm only nitpicking into With You / With Me's PV so much because there's not much else I can say about it. It's not the ugliest or cheapest music video I've ever reviewed, but neither is it the most detailed and elaborate. It rests firmly in middle ground, much like the song. I suppose my final verdict is... mixed to positive? If you're a die-hard 9nine fan, then you've already watched this video. And bought the single. And watched the video several more times. Personally, it does not match up to Perfume, but I wasn't expecting it to. I think there are some nice visual elements to the video for With You / With Me, like the pale pink color palette until the PV takes a plunge into Candyland Hell. The dance is also nice, and all the girls in the group look very pretty and mature. But compared to the last single I reviewed by 9nine, With You / With Me doesn't grab me the same way. The song is all right, and the music video is all right, but neither one is great. Better luck next time I suppose.


And so I bestow upon 9nine three apples, one for each member of Perfume. I definitely want to continue looking at 9nine's future material, but With You / With Me did not impress me that much. The song was a generic anime song, which is the best kind of generic you can find but still generic. And the music video was pretty basic and had several unexplored ideas. And a weird dance break. That is all.