Nono is a Mama!

According to Hello!Online and their source Sanspo Tsuji gave birth to a baby girl at 12:45am on Monday, Japan Time. Tsuji and her husband decided to name the baby Noa (a pretty name, ne?).

Congratulations to the new parents and to Tsuji for a successful delivery! Here’s wishing them all the best in the future! ♥♥♥

Defending Ai

Poor, poor Ai-chan. She’s getting picked on so much recently in the English speaking H!P Blogging community. I keep seeing the same comments over and over, and before I leave for home this holiday (and no computer access) I’d like to point out a few of my own opinions.

Ai-chan is getting all the lines! Well DUH! For one, she’s one of the strongest singers in the group, two, she’s the current leader. Why wouldn’t she be getting put front and center? I understand people grumble when their favorite doesn’t get the recognition they feel the fave should get, but from a marketing perspective, if you’re a musical pop group, you want to sound good and thus sell more copies of your products.

Ai-chan is a camera hog! This is most likely not even her decision! It’s not like Ai-chan is sitting up in the editing booth commanding how the PVs get cut is it? The PVs get filmed how the director wants it to be done, and final approval definitely comes from people higher up than she.

Ai-chan is no Yossie! Now let’s be fair here. I love Yossie, I love Yossie to death. She and Ai-chan have two completely different personalities, hell, they’re two different people! Yossie has always been strong, a comedian, and full of energy. Yossie is a powerhouse. Ai-chan is more shy, graceful and introspective. She’s a ballerina. It’s really not fair to compare. They’re both talented in their own right. And don’t even compare her to Miki. It’s like apples and kiwis.

Ai-chan had the position of leader thrust on her probably a LOT sooner than she expected. She admitted she felt she wasn’t ready and it was probably an extremely stressful event for her. It’s true she wasn’t always one of the forefront girls, that’s probably why she was so nervous about being suddenly thrust into the limelight. Now everyone will be looking at her, scrutinizing her moves, answers and comments; not only the other members, but the media as well.

In conclusion I think all the negative attention Ai-chan is getting lately is really unfair, and that she may be a subconscious scapegoat for something else entirely.

Oh yeah, and Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans! (And a Happy November 22 for all my fellow bloggers who aren’t!)

Tsukiatte Iru no ni Kataomoi

Berryz new single PV is out! Tsukiatte Iru no ni Kataomoi. I’m going to do things a bit differently here. Let’s review the song first, then the PV, and then the two together. There’s a reason for this, I’ll get to it in the end.

First the song! Listening to the song I am immediately struck by the lack of techno beats that seem to pervade H!P releases as of late. This is hearkening back to their pure pop roots and the song is fun! Very upbeat! Lots of Whoa! Oh! Yeah! and Ah!s in there. An H!P trademark. It’s got a great synthesized beat, one that makes you really want to pump your first in the air, wave your hands and jump around. This would be great for a magical girl anime theme song.

THE PV! (Watched without sound) First off the set is gorgeous! Old style Japanese shoji screens softly lit with bamboo behind them, and a big huge crescent moon in the background. I should point out that I LOVE the moon, so anything that has it as a decoration gets automatic bonus points from me. Every single one of the girls looks amazing, truly beautiful. Their costumes are gorgeous, very flowing and airy. The dance is nice and energetic, not quite sure what the knee thing is going on there. That’s something you see kids who have no rhythm doing at the friday night dance in the junior high school gym.

And sorry to the Momoko lovers out there but she kind of scares me in this video. She looks like she’s 40 with that haircut, it’s creepy. Like I swear I worked at a bank with someone who looked like her  once upon a time. Don’t hit me, that’s only my opinion. Moving on!

The song and the PV! DO NOT GO TOGETHER AT ALL. Like NOT at all. The set looks like something that belongs in a ballad, especially the shots of (is that Risako?) standing bathed in “moonlight” and looking up wonderously as a veil falls and she catches it. (That YEAH! is totally out of place as well). Maybe this has it’s root in some japanese folk tale that I am unaware of. Oh and I apologize if that’s not Risako, I have no idea who any of the Berryz girls are save Momoko who is easy for me to pick out. Oh yeah, and that shot at the end…. TOTALLY CHEESETASTIC.

It’s a shame, but I think this is one of the first instances in an H!P song where the song alone is terrific but when coupled with the PV totally ruins at for me. I just can’t get over how much the two don’t mix. Like oil and water even! So I’ll take the song, but not the PV. Thank God I have that option.

Mikan!

The PV for Mikan is freaking awesome! Love, love, LOVE it! It actually looks like some money went into it for once in a long time. The outfits are cool, the pictures of the girls as kids are adorable (OMG! Aika! So damn cute!) Pardon me while I gush for a bit!

First off the video starts with Aika and Koharu front and center. A good choice as they are my two favorite girls. Koharu looks fantastic with that hairstyle. She really is up front and center here, she’s in almost every shot. Hell, everyone looks fantastic in this. It’s nice to see a video from Morning Musume again where they are pushing the “genki” factor and not so much the “sexy” one. I absolutely love the costumes. I’m a sucker for anything that looks remotely like a uniform and these are great. Love the knee high black boots. It just looks awesome.

The dance is great too and really fits the song. Lots of high energy movements, lots of rotation around the stage. I love the shot of the girls spread out over the earth. Can I get a poster of that? Lots of great CG. Can you tell I am really digging the look of this PV?

This is the PV that has endeared me to the new line up. As cool as Onna ni Sacchi Are was, Mikan is it. I am totally in love with Momusu again. This is the PV of the year for me. From the bright look to the incredibly upbeat and motivational lyrics…. I am just floored. It’s been a long time since a Momusu song moved me as much as Mikan has, and I am sold.

I read a rumor somewhere that the 9th Gen auditions were coming up but I seriously hope this is not the case. Let’s give some love to the current Momusu for a while!