MAKOTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ogawa Makoto is coming back to H!P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!Online has all the info, so you can check it there. Or here at HNPH

Needless to say I am freaking ECSTATIC!

Even though Gatas is awesome, I demand Mako, Yossie and Konkon unit! And Tsuji too! Come back soon Tsuji!

Mitsui Aika winamp skin for you!

It’s been 3 and a half years since I last made a winamp skin, what with iPod being invented, mp3 players on your computer don’t really get used that often (by me at least). But I’ve been getting back in the habit and thought it might be fun to do a Momusu skin. I wanted to do something other than one of the girls against a white background, and when I saw this pic of Aika, it really jumped out at me. So here it is!

For Winamp Classic I guess.

Shuffle and repeat buttons are visible when turned on, EQ and Playlist buttons appear when turned off. The load button is in the vicinity of her left eyebrow. I left it out to try and not cover her face. I had to chuckle at myself when making it. Back in the day images 275 pixels were 1/2 of your monitor resolution, now-a-days that’s incredibly tiny!

I might be doing more of these.

Bromide Scans

Recently I acquired 2 packs of the 2002 Bromide trading cards. These cards are huge! Approximately 3″x5″, and very nicely made. The printing is really clear and sharp.

Here are scans of the cards for you! The actual scans are more than twice the size of the image or Mari above.

Click here to download. Approx. 3 megs.

Enjoy!

PS - I scrapped the review of the Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb concert as I was actually severely underwhelmed by it. Most of the song selection and placement was really kind of lackluster. Plus why the hell did Biyuden get so much stage time?!

Holy Hell it’s Resonant Blue!

Hello!Online has the PV up right now, via DohhhUP! My reaction after the first viewing is something along the lines of O_o

 Holy shit!

First the positive things:
- The outfits are really stellar looking, they make the girls all look way more mature. I feel like I should take them a hell of a lot more seriously when dressed like that.
- The dancing is FIERCE! Definitely one of the most complicated and awesome choreographies pulled off in a Momusu video to date.
- The setting of the video, concrete floor and huge puddle of water, gives the video a nice edge to it, while reflecting the girls movements and adding to the overall effect
- The cool wave effect thing they do in the middle of the instrumental = FREAKING AWESOME
- I cannot WAIT to see this performed in concert.

Now the not so positive things:
- I love all 3 girls, but when did this become the Ai, Reina and Koharu show?
- Aika, Junjun and Linlin looked freaking AWESOME in the 2 second opening shot they got, they definitely needed more screentime (Aika in particular)
- I’m hoping will end up being the dance shot version, close up shots would be appreciated
- The jump cuts off Risa and Eri when they are singing their parts are too abrupt!

I honestly can’t think of another Momusu video like this, save possibly the dark room dance shots in Shabondama. Overall, I think this is a wicked awesome START to the video. Add in some close up shots and it could be AMAZING.

Momusu Member Poll!

Paul at Hello!Blog is running another poll to gage the standing of H!P members with the fans. This time around he’s included C-ute and Berryz, but I optioned to skip this portion as I don’t know the members and feel it would be unfair to throw in a vote.

I can’t judge member standings now versus the first poll, as despite the fact that I participated, I didn’t save my results and don’t remember them 8 months on.

Please forgive the short write ups on why I feel each girl deserves what place. My idol fandom really goes by my heart and what I feel, and I’ve never been able to coherently put that into words.

1. Mitsui Aika - I don’t really know what to say save that I think she’s adorable. I’ve loved her from the moment she auditioned and was ecstatic when she won. One of the natural girls in the group. She always seems to be smiling and genuinely having a good time. Her smile is infectious. I just want to hug her.

2. Kusumi Koharu - Koharu and Aika should really be tied for first place. I love Koharu because she’s nuts. She’s bombastically cute. She gives everything her all and is never afraid to show off how insanely genki she is. She’s just so enthusiastic about everything. This part of her personality grates on some people’s nerves, but I love her for it.

3. Niigaki Risa - Gaki-san! She always seems to be smiling. She’s really grown on me lately. She’s another one of the natural girls. She’s got that girl next door sweetness going for her. She’s not trying too hard, she’s just being herself and having a good time.

4. Takahashi Ai - Ai-chan! I feel like she’s really beginning to blossom into her own now that she’s been given the leadership role. I’m envious of her ballerina skills. I wish I could move that gracefully. It’s an example of femininity that escapes me. Being one of the more quiet girls in the group I feel like I can identify with her a little bit more. Ai-chan, I’ll always support you!

5. Kamei Eri - Eri really caught my attention after her latest photo book was released. It was such a beautiful book. She has a natural and effortless beauty to her. Another girl next door. I should pay more attention to her, she’d probably rank a lot higher on my list.

6. Michishige Sayumi - Ah Sayumi. She’s really moved up my list. I’m almost positive that when I took this poll the first time that she ranked dead last. I can’t really say what she’s been doing that has suddenly jumped her up the rankings. Maybe I’m starting to see the real girl under the persona. Despite the cute act for cameras she seems really shy, which I can identify with. I read a quote attributed to her somewhere where she said something along the lines of “The computer used to be my friend, but now I go out properly.” My goodness, what a human thing to say. That was something very personal she admitted and I was really struck by it. I hope she continues to rise in my personal ranks.

7. Tanaka Reina - Reina! There really isn’t a reason she should be this far down on my list as I really like her! I’m kind of surprised she’s 3 from the last. She’s so confident and brazen. Maybe I should have put her farther up?

8 & 9. Junjun & Linlin - These two poor girls are only at the bottom of the list because I know next to nothing about them. I’m going to hit YouTube today and rectify that. We’ll see how they rank next time!

Across the Board

Several nights ago I had another H!P dream. It took place in feudal Japan and starred Takahashi Ai and Sean Bean ♥♥♥♥ Anyway all I remember is that Ai-chan lived in a house at the top of a really tall hill and there was a flight of wooden steps inlaid into the hillside. Sean Bean lived at the bottom of the hill and was like her bodyguard or something. Everyone was wearing traditional Japanese clothing too. Not really kimono, but the everyday man’s dress of the period. Pretty cool dream, kind of Blade of the Immortal-ish. But that’s not the reason for this post.

First bit of news! Morning Musume’s upcoming single title has been released, Resonant Blue. It doesn’t really strike me as a title for an energetic song. Blue is known to be a calming color, and for it to resonate calmness, my thoughts tend to stray towads the ballad category. Though really, title sometimes has nothing to do with the song itself, and Nanase Aikawa’s Midnight Blue is anything but calm.

The PV for C-ute’s Lalala Shiawase no Uta has been released. The song is really cute and energetic, the beat is great, a very happy song and something I’ll definitely listen to when I need cheering up. I like it! (Hey Mikey!) The costumes are cute, though I think they could do without the second layer of feathers. The lining at the top is enough, and what is with the putting on make up theme in the videos? I’m having flashbacks to Pretty Guardian Sailormoon and Luna always applying make-up when she wasn’t eating.

Buono’s latest PV, Renai Rider, is out, has been for a while. I’ve just been out of the loop for a bit. The song is really awesome, as has been commented on before by many others. The girls are all in top form, especially Momoko, who I have problems with in Berryz when they make her do that cute nasally thing with her voice. Here she just nails it and it’s awesome. (Does her jacket really say Suicide of Love?) Could the awesomeness be attributed to the fact that Tsunku had nothing to do with this track? Perish the thought.

Congratulations to Kaorin on the birth of her son!

Lastly for those of you currently going through the jaded phase of your H!P fandom, stick with it. This happens to everyone, especially after their favorite idols split their favorite group, are rocked by scandal, or idol fandom just suddenly seems ridiculous in the first place. You liked these girls at the first for something, for me it was the music, and after my own jaded period, (I would say late 2005 - late 2006) it was the music that drew me back in. Something will spark again and you’ll be pulled right back. Be patient. I won’t lie and say your fervor will be back to what it was in the beginning, but you’ll reach another level of fandom all together. One where the sun may not rise and set with your favorite idol, but the day will be brighter because of them.

Wait a minute…….

Let me set this up for you. I’m sitting at work, playing some Melon Kinenbi, which my Mom and I are both nodding along to. A familiar beat kicks in, at first I get a sense of deja vu…. doesn’t this sound familiar? A few bars in it hits me Morning Musume’s Onna ni sachi are sounds an awful lot like Melon Kinenbi’s Kawaii kare. They’re just a bit different but really, really damn similar. I can’t be the only one who noticed this am I? I mean, it’s blaringly obvious! Was H!P copying itself? Check the PVs. What say you?

Melon Kinenbi - Kawaii kare

Morning Musume - Onna ni sachi are

Momusu cards Update!

Just a heads up to let everyone who won a set know that I put everything together tonight and they should be in the mail tomorrow. Everyone got a little something extra, be it a foil card, a sticker, a group picture, or even an official photo card from H!P!

I was surprised at how far Momusu fandom stretches! Truly all over the world! Letters are going out tomorrow across the US, to Canada and the U.K. …. but also to Finland and New Zealand! Wow! But I’m glad to be spreading the Momusu love.

For those who missed out this time around never fear. I’m working on getting some more boxes (want to have the complete set you know!) and there will very well likely be a chance you can get some of your own in the future!

In other news I got a package from CDJapan this afternoon. Momusu’s complete PV DVD set, W’s one and only PV compilation DVD, Koharu’s latest solo album, Ongaku Gatas latest single w/DVD, and AKB48’s new best of album included! Oh, and the Mikan regular edition single. I got Sayumi’s card. Sorry for the shitty scan, I think my scanner is dying on me.

Morning Musume Amada Cards

They’ve all been claimed! Thanks for stopping by!

Returning home from a lackluster day at work, I found to my delight, a package awaiting me in the mailbox. Inside were 2 still sealed boxes of Morning Musume Amada trading cards dating to 2002. Amada makes really nice cards, I have a ton of their Sailormoon cards… but I digress. While I didn’t quite make a full set (and have since gone back to get 2 more boxes) I wanted to say these cards have some of the cutest pics I’ve seen yet. Truly adorable.

As I bought 2 boxes, you can imagine I have a nice pile of extras. I’ve since divided the cards into each member. If you want to lay claim to a set of your favorite member, feel free to do so! Some sets even contain extra foil cards, but I’m not telling which ones! I’ll also be sending these free of charge, just to get rid of the excess. You read that right, just claim them and they’re YOURS FOR FREE. Just put a comment in the comments section, with your email and the member you choose. I’ll then email you and get your address for mailing.

To be fair, please only ask for one set each. The cards are first come first serve. I’ll be crossing them off as they’re claimed. Sets that don’t have foil cards will be getting the extra group cards, distributed as I have them. And I must apologize, but all the extra Hitomi cards are mine. ♥♥♥

Because they’re all claimed, and because I was asked, I’ll post which ones contain foil cards! I have a couple other paper collectibles floating around though. So if you missed out on a foil card, you might just get one of those instead! Keep an eye on your mailboxes!

Member sets:
Iida Kaori  FOIL
Abe Natsumi  FOIL
Yaguchi Mari
Yasuda Kei  FOIL
Ishikawa Rika
Konno Asami
Goto Maki
Tsuji Nozomi
Kago Ai
Takahashi Ai
Ogawa Makoto
Niigaki Risa

Best of H!P 2007

So, we’ve reached the end of 2007 and are now barrelling  headlong into 2008. It’s was  quite a year wasn’t it? Last time I focused on the scandals and bad times that rocked H!P during the twelve months prior. This time around I decided to focus on something upbeat and present what are, in my opinion, the best single releases of H!P this year.

First off let’s start with the flagship group!

 Morning Musume.
They had several really awesome singles this year, and I can honestly say there wasn’t one among them that I didn’t like! They were all really, really good, and all really, really different! It’s hard to pick one as a favorite. On terms of personal playback Egao Yes Nude still gets the most airplay from me. It’s such a really fun song! Easy to dance to, easy to sing along to, I still love it! It was the first single for Aika and I think it really showed everyone she had a lot to bring to the table.

Honestly, this was a re-confidence builder in me for Momusu. I had been a little disappointed with the singles released in 2006 (time has since endeared me). I had been pretty disappointed with My Asia…. especially after 2005 brought about some of my favorite Momusu singles to date. So when Egao was released it was like the second coming. Here was the pop fun I was looking for, and the song had it in spades. So for those reasons, I will vote Egao Yes Nude as my personal favorite Momusu single release of 2007.

Kusumi Koharu (as Tsukishima Kirari)
I really don’t understand all the Koharu-chan hate. Personally I love with girl. She’s been an explosion of energy since the get go and has never slowed down. She released 2 singles last year, Happy! and Chance. (Not including KiraPika of course). Both songs are infectiously cute. And I mean virally so. I hate to choose between them, but Happy gets my vote as it’s the more rocking of the two.

Ongaku Gatas
Oh no! I refuse to choose between the 2 singles released by current favorite group in H!P. Ongaku Gatas are AWESOME. They are a powerhouse of AWESOME. Nari Hajimeta Koi no Bell and Yattaroze! are almost too good to be true. Love, love, love from me. I refuse to choose….. though I will admit that Narihajimeta is the one I find myself singing absent-mindedly more often than not.

C-ute
I will admit, right here and now, that I am a way bigger fan of C-ute than I am of Berryz. Stone me if you wish, but I just prefer them. C-ute had 3 stellar releases in 2007; Sakura Chirari, Meguru Koi no Kisetsu and Tokaikko Junjou. While I really loved each of these songs, the winner, hands down, is Tokaikko Junjou. Maybe the best release H!P put out this year. This is just one AWESOME song. From the beat, to the awesome moves in the PV, C-ute is on fire.

Berryz Koubou
Man. I hesitate to even write this. I don’t want to judge all Berryz singles on the awesomeness that is Munasawagi Scarlet, but they really had a bland year as far as singles go. Two of their singles were ballads, which are pretty and all, but I’m not much of a ballad person. And honestly, I had completely forgotten about one of them until I looked it up. If you ignore the PV I would have to say that Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi was one of their more fun releases. It really is a good song, again, if you absolutely totally ignore the PV. So that would get my vote.

Biyuden
Poor Biyuden. I hope they’re not going the way of Melon Kinenbi. They only had 2 singles released in 2007. Koisuru Angel Heart, which gets my vote, and Jaja Uma Paradise, which I abhore. (The cute thing with Rika’s voice makes me want to punch a wall). Anyway, Koisuru, is a really fun poppy-rocky song. Along with Melon, I’m just not sure Biyuden is marketing right. They’re both carrying some really amazing talent, but not performing the way they could be saleswise.

Melon Kinenbi
Man, Melon are so fantastic! I have no idea why they are the lowest group on the H!P radar! These girls have some serious talent, and they’re always overlooked. They only had one real single release in 2007, the awesome Unforgettable. (Onegai I don’t think really counts as it was a rerelease of an indie single. Melon needs more love. They rock!

Athena & Robikerottsu
Special mention has to go to Shouri no BIG WAVE!!! for being one of the cutest and most infectious releases by H!P this year. Just adorable!

Well there you have it! My personal favorite single releases by H!P this year. I realize other artists put out stuff, but these were the ones that registered on my radar. Hope you enjoyed reading it!