RIVER! RIVER! RIVER!

So, there are now officially three PVs to the latest AKB48 single A-side and because I think that every one of them is special in its own way I will write what I liked best about them.
And yes, I know I didn’t write about the single but somehow I didn’t find it as necessary, you know? I only write about what I like to write about. And about what I promised to write about xD. So the Billboard Top 10 is definitely coming and so is the Chihiro Onitsuka DOROTHY review.

RIVER (Official PV)

I like how everything looks kind of dark what is at the moment a bit of a trend around idols but when it’s not in a warehouse I’m totally okay with it. The dance also looks really cool which is mostly because they are a lot of girls and it’s the different moves they make and how the cuts are very fast. That makes the dance look really kick-ass. The idea of the girls really “fighting” for what they want to achieve is a cool one especially if you have enough budget for the military helicopter. Team B looks the fiercest in this PV and I say this as a Team K supporter. The cherry on top are the very beautiful close-ups that I really like and of course Yuko’s extremly hot hairstyle. She can totally pull that off. The only things I didn’t really like were too much Jurina (and no, I’m not a hater but I think she gets too much screentime – screentime other AKB48 members would need) and the lack of a real plot. Getting to the flower isn’t what I would call plot but it seems you can only have one thing at a time. The plot or the cool helicopter…

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RIVER (Nemousu TV ORIGINAL PV – Directed by J.X.CARRERA)

I’m not sure but the Youtube video says that this is the official US Version of the River PV but it could be wrong. But what I know for sure is that this is the most creativ take on a PV for River. It’s simple, it’s colorful and it’s something different. I think it’s my favorite one out of the three. Sure, it’s a bit repetitive because the song is over 5 minutes long but there are little twists in the PV. What I found to be really well thought out is the little blue waterdrop in the middle, you know? Drop -> Water – > River? But maybe that’s just me~ The war paint is sometimes really cool and on other faces it’s a really weird looking paint war. Like white with green dots? Sae definitely got the best one. Simple and expressive. But at last another little thing I liked was the finger paint. It reminded me of MiChi’s Change the World (and no, I won’t look up how it should be written).

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RIVER (Nemousu TV ORIGINAL PV – Directed by MIKE FOX)

I really don’t know what I should think about this PV. At first it seems like you get a plot finally but there’s not much of a plot really. I think 85% is just dancing. The other 15% are following the hints that are on some postcards that they get from some kind of Johnny Depp doppelgänger (i’m German, I won’t search for the way you english speaking people write it xD I’m lazy…). And I don’t think you should ever do this if you don’t know the man. And even if there should be something better to do than just dancing in those places. The storyline isn’t too good so I have to talk about the dancing. Because it’s not as fast cutted as in the first PV you can really see that they dance not so synchronous all the time. That they aren’t as many and you can see every girl doesn’t make it better. But at the same time there was this shot that followed Takamina dancing while switching from one dancing scene to another and her movements blended really well into another.  That was cool because it wasn’t your typical shot from the front but different angles. Oh, and two more good things about this not so interesting PV are that this PV got the girls that are matching to the voices heard in the song. It was really weird seeing the other girls doing the start in the other PV when originally Takamina should have shouted it. And the end is surprising but I won’t spoil you :3

Charts Fight!!! [Oricon]

So, I decided to take a look at the current Oricon Top 10 and after that at the Billboard (Hot?) Top 10 and find out if I really follow the music that I like the most. Maybe I did it wrong for 7 years o.o! Even though I always kind of tried to keep up with everything.
(Um, seems like you can’t look at the official German Top10. Don’t know which site I could trust XD So, it’s still only Oricon and Billboard.)

I will only listen to the A-side because that’s what it’s mostly about when people buy the singles. I will start now with the help of Youtube. It’s the (Oricon)week beginning on the 4th November, I think:

#10 Nagareboshi by Mika Nakashima – It sounds like your typical Mika Nakashima song, I think. She’s known for her ballads and for me it’s like I already heard it. Also, with over 6 minutes it  feels like it’s too long. But at least it doesn’t depress me. It has a rather hopeful sound and I think that’s the only thing I really like about it. Now Nagareboshi and before Candy Girl… I’m curious how her next album is gonna sound. 7/10

#9 Shunkashuutou by Hilcrhyme - I’ve never heard of those two and I’m not really impressed. It’s that Japanese R’n'B style that I think works especially for Japanese people but for me it’s kind of boring and only backgroundmusic, if anything. The next thing is the voice. I’ve heard similar ones to this too often and am not too fond of them… It’s a nice song but nothing that would be at #9 in my charts. 5,5/10

#8 Tsukiakari no Michishirube by Stereopony – Those girls get better and better in my opinion. I listened to their first album but I wasn’t too impressed. But now with Smilife a while ago and this good song I think I’m going to follow them more closely. The song rocks, it’s melodic, the verses aren’t boring and AIMI has a good voice. (And damn, she’s beautiful. Not cute but beautiful <3) 8,5/10

#7 GHOST†HEART by LM.C – It’s been so long since I’ve listened to something from them. I lost interest before because I totally couldn’t stand his voice but maybe I remembered it wrongly or he changed. I don’t know. The song it nothing too special but I somehow really like it. The verses have some nice bits and this quiet bridge is a nice touch in the otherwise fast song. (And about the PV: when I want to see skeleton-suits I’d rather watch Hone Hone Waltz! (Just kidding~ I only wanted to mention AKB48 even here xD))  8/10

#6 Swan Song by KinKi Kids - I’ve listened to asian music for some years now and I constantly saw KinKi Kids in the charts but I was never interested in listening to some of their stuff. Maybe it’s because they are a Johnny’s Unit but I didn’t know about Johnny’s till some months ago, so that’s no reason. Well, now I’ve heard what Swan Song sounds like and my hopes got high in the beginning cause it sounded like it’s going to be epic but that was maybe the first second. Then it only was simple pop and I admit that the instrumentation still was pretty nice but not epic. And not even the voices helped in any way. No thanks. 5,5/10

#5 LOVE FIGHTER ~Koi no Battle~ by BREAKERZ – The label of these guys seems to keep their eyes open when it comes to YouTube etc. so the quality of the song I listened to wasn’t the best… The song is cool and I like the rock music combined with the vocoder but it’s just too repetetive and gets annoying especially since he sings “fighter” more like “fighta~a”. A big plus point is the PV. That was funny. Maybe you can find it over at JPS. 7,5/10

#4 Koi wo Kikasete by BIGBANG – This song is beautiful and the chorus got stuck in my head right away. I don’t know what to think about the whole rapping yet but it kind of fits. The voices work really well together which is nice because there are some really characteristic ones in the group. So, one of the best songs so far. And by accident I happen to know that I also like the B-side :3 8,5/10

#3 only my railgun by fripSide – It’s an anime opening and I think the first one so far but I haven’t payed too much attention. And it’s great ! I mean, we got the typical high japanese girl singing voice but the song is fast and reminded me a bit of the time when I first discovered Jpop and listened to Two-Mix. What a surprise that listen to the Top 10 would be worth it? And you should watch the PV. I recommend it! 9/10

#2 Ichou by Yusuke - So, now we got an actor turned singer but that’s not too important because the song doesn’t really need a singer. It’s this kind of R’n'B/Pop song that you rather expect while it’s summer so this is a nice change. You can just listen to it and it doesn’t get boring because of that energy you can hear. Good song but #2 might be too good for my taste. 7,5/10

#1 Kyu☆Jo☆Show!! by Kanjani8 - A JE group at the #1, what a surprise! No, but really, it is a good song. It might not deserve this position but a good one none the less. It has a big band which is always good and it is the group that doesn’t have to have good voices bedcause they are “the funny ones”. And it works! The song entertains you (and the PV even more) and I know why they are one of the few Jonny’s groups I kind of follow. 8,5/10

So, this week would get an average rating of 7,6/10 and if you know how seldom I give full points and that mostly there aren’t any songs with ratings worse than 5 it’s normal. Not too god, not too bad. But I didn’t expected the taste of the Japanese masses to reflect mine anyway XD (So, to make it clear: this is just for fun. I won’t change my fandom because of some chart ratings xD)

I still am curious to find out what I’ll think about the Billboard songs o.o

UP TO YOU Review

UP TO YOU Tracklist:

1. MadNesS vol. 1
2. PROMiSE
3. ChaNge the WoRLd
4. Why oh Why
5. HEy GirL
6. KiSS KiSS xxx
7. RaiN
8. Oh Oh…
9. Something Missing
10. One of a Kind
11. WoNDeRLaND?
12. Shibuya de Punch
13. YOU
14. UP TO YOU

Some days or maybe even a week ago I received my copy of this great debut album and it came with a little extra. A piece of newspaper about Japanese baseball thanks to my middle man! I found that cool but not as cool as my CD+DVD album. And after writing about her last single before this album I wanted to make sure you also know what I think about the new songs.

Of course all four A-sides can be found on this album. The similar sounding PROMiSE and ChaNge the WoRLd very matching placed right after each other. The catchy KiSS KiSS xxx not long after those two and almost at the end of the album there’s the beautiful ballad YOU. I think it would have been better to put it at the very end but who cares?

But not only the A-sides are here for your pleasure but also the B-sides. The attitude-rich HEy GirL from the first single, One of  a Kind and the a bit weird WoNDeRLaND? which I still find has too much mixes of English and Japanese. But there are also the Kind-of-B-Side Why oh Why which is a new version of YOY from the YOU single. I don’t exactly know which one I prefer. YOY sounds really playful but Why oh Why has the richer sound. I think it depends. And so there’s one last song that we already know which is the title song UP TO YOU. It actually is a new and now part-Japanese-part-English version of the all-english Fuck You And Your Money from her indies album. It’s now more like the rest of the album, going into the dance-direction and not so much rock. I think it lacks the power of FYAYM and it just doesn’t fit the position as album-closer.

That means there are 9 songs that we (kind of) already knew before the album was released, leaving us with 5 new songs. But in reality it’s only 4 because MadNesS vol. 1 is the intro. The only Japanese word in it is her own name and it is kind of crazy with little different instrumental parts and the lyrics are also fun. “Switzerland~”. There even are some references to the songs from her indies album.
Track 7 is the next new song RaiN. It’s laid back and simply consists of an acoutic guitar and some other sound effects but you don’t drown in it. The chorus is exactly like what we know from MiChi and maybe you could describe it as a slower version of KiSS KiSS xxx.
Oh Oh… starts like it could be another song like RaiN and the whole song through you won’t get another impression. At least not if you only listen to the instrumentation. It’s MiChi’s vocals and the lyrics that make it different. We got this really soft drum beat and then again MiChi is full of attitude which is a really nice and not so often seen contrast. I already mentioned Fuck You And Your Money but even though the title implies it, the F-word never is heard in this song. In Oh Oh… it is.
With Something Missing we could almost be on her indies album again with the heavy vocoder and stuff. But that’s only for the verses since the choruses sound like her singles which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just her style and it’s still good. I would have loved more power but like this we get some feelings in the bridge.
The last one of the new songs is Shibuya de Punch and it might be the most creative song with the different vocal styles like the “normal” singing, the singing under the vocoder and her “asking”. The music also makes some changes from a really modern, fast song to a more laid back and simple styled one with some influences of traditional asian music, I think. With it’s long outro it lais the path for YOU after it.

Since I also got the DVD that came with the limited edition of the album I will shortly say something about it. The PVs are good and creative for a newcomer. Sure, PROMiSE and ChaNge the WoRLd are kind of similar but you can’t help that. I would have loved to see some Making of or a new PV for one of the album songs but at least there’s the CD+DVD version and you don’t have to purchase the PVs extra (Damn You, Chihiro!)

I can’t really say much negative about this album. We got a lot of songs we already know but some of them were new mixed or even with new lyrics and all in all are 5 new songs a good amount for an album. Which singer gives you an album of 14 tracks with only one Intro?! And all in all are the songs great anyways and if you don’t have the singles you don’t have the heard-too-often-effect. I only hope that MiChi tries out a bit more or finds her way back to the “extremer” music like on MiChi MadNesS.
I think my money was well spent.

P.S.: My favorite tracks are in italic.

Stage by Stage ~K3~

So, I thought that there should be at least one post about something different between the Stage by Stages and here I am, bringing you K3 after two little PVs.

Sometimes I get crazy and think about reviewing the new DVD Boxset but then I think about how I don’t know how most songs were originally performed and then I’m sure that there will be a time when a concert review finds its way onto this blog but it’s not here yet.

So let’s first look at Team K’s 3rd Stage Nounai Paradise

I don’t really like that shot but it shows you best that they are really using some instruments for the opening song Tomo yo. And because I feel like it you get to see even more pictures because they look really nice using them.

It's Sayaka and the other girl. I don't have the slightest clue...

I could just guess who she is but I don't want to make a fool out of myself so I won't >_>°

Tomo yo is a kind of slow pop song but it’s really nice. I mean the chorus really gets stuck in your head but if I want to be honest I’d have to say that the instruments help the song a lot. And Tomomi Kasai on the harmonica is a picture for gods. She looks like she had never done anything different.

The next song is already the title song for this Stage Nounai Paradise. They had to undress a bit so there was this little intro where they were jumping and running around the stage until everyone was ready. It was really cute and the intro sounded a bit like it could have been the opening music for some 70’s TV series. The song itself is really infectious because of this couting numbers and weekdays. And there was this little funny part in the dance when there was happening a kind of chain reaction :3 Just mentioning.
Ki ni Naru Tenkousei starts off as a very cute and sweet song but gets poppier after a bit. I like that the voices aren’t as high as when they beginn singing and even this song got it’s own catch phrase so won’t forget it. Ever.
Everybody hey hey!

With Naki Nagara Hohoen de we see the first solo song in an AKB48 Stage and it’s sung by Yuko Oshima. Man, I could have made pictures from that performance for hours, she just looks so beautiful. The song is of course a ballad and I have to say that Yuko really surprised me. I never payed much attention to it but I didn’t expect her to have such a voice. I knew that she had to be a somewhat good singer for a solo but this voice is just perfect for this kind of song. I thought she would have a more powerful and not so girly voice but I guess she can do more than this. But she does this song pretty great even though is this high note that isn’t really my taste but I don’t think it’s sung badly or anything.  Beautiful song <3

MARIA is a pain in the ass when it comes to making good pictures from the DVD performance for your effing review. So I just give you this crappy pic and hope that you are interested enough to watch the performance. Because this is one great song. It has power and melody and guitars. What do you want more? The performance is also kind of cool (with some weird moments) because when they first appear Ayaka Umeda and Tomomi Kasai position those two big mirrors behind them and it’s a bit funny to see the audience in those said mirrors. Also they got those not-microphone-stands. It’s like they just have long sticks attached to their microphones. But that’s important for the whole dance which is really cool but you have to make your own opinion. About the girls is to say that I was shocked when I saw that Tomomi is in that unit because she just has such a high voice and you need to get used to it but it helps the chorus to get this begging atmosphere. And wth, I didn’t recognize Ayaka Umeda! She really starts to become a favorite of mine. A few days or weeks ago I saw a stunning picture of hers so it got me interested in her and now I hear how good she sings and again how beautiful she is. Great girl <3

Another great unit song follows. Kimi wa Pegasus has my Oshimen (Sayaka <3) in it and Sae which is nice because they also were in K2 in the same unit. The song is not pop and not rock and pop rock doesn’t fit either. It has some syths I think but you see, I can’t describe this song to save my life. The important thing is that it is able to take your full attention. The only negative thing might be their voices at some point. Sayaka’s voice fits naturally (I’m wondering how she would do in a cutesy song~) and Nonti’s also but in this song Sae’s voice is inappropiately high and you see, she is a man here. Unlike Sae Natsuki does her best to make her voice fit in. But it’s still a great song. Maybe a shuffle version would get full score :3

Somehow I got the impression that Hone Hone Waltz isn’t too popular among AKB48 fans but I don’t care. I fell in love with it. For the simple reasons that it is a cute song but in an very unusual style. It has this kind of merry-go-round music in the chorus and the music in the verses is so minimal that Erepyon and Manami don’t have to sing over the music with their kiddie-voices. It defenitely is something different and a nice performance to show your friends at halloween!

As you can see in the picture is Kurukurupaa a funny song and it is performed by six members, just so you know. The music is nothing too special as you might already have guessed but at least it is fun to watch.

The first song after the unit songs is Christmas ga Ippai which is nothing surprising because K3 started in december. But it’s no slow winter ballad like Anata to Christmas Eve from A1 but a happy, poppy song. The dresses are just wonderfull and there are some parts in the song when they interact really friendly with each other.
When I read Theater Pirates i thought of something powerful because, you know, pirates are powerful but instead we get another popsong. In fact, it remembered me a bit of High School Musical. Don’t know where I got this image from but it was just there. Well, miocre song.

After Yuko’s solo song we get another ballad with Kataomoi no Sotsugyou Shiki and it is really beautiful. They get on stage person after person because they had to change first but it really fits the mood of the song. I’m not a ballad fan but here in the verses it seems like almost every line is a solo line and when they start to sing together in the chorus it’s a wonderful effect.

Hana to Chire! is very powerful song and something I waited for the whole stage even though we got those songs in the units I wanted to see it from the whole Team. The chorus is a bit weird but that’s nothing compared to the bridge which totally stands out. They tried a lot in this song and I think it works for them!
Like in A3 there is also in K3 a medley. Specifically the Team K 2nd Stage Medley. It consists of Virgin Love, Cinderella wa Damasarenai and Korogaru Ishi ni Nare and I think those songs a very well chosen. But unlike the A3 medley here they changed nothing about the songs what I thought to be kind of sad. I would have loved to here a new mix for Korogaru. You can see in the picture that they aren’t wearing dresses what makes the dance for Cinderella again a bit redundant but that’s something one has to live with. I really like this medley, don’t get me wrong, but they could have made more with it.
The “last” song is Sougen no Kiseki it’s a very casual song. It sound like nothing too special and there isn’t something like a real choreography. I mean some parts for sure have a specific dance but a big part hasn’t. They just hug each other and smile and some are even weeping. It’s a song that let’s you go home with a smile on your face.

Although Sougen no Kiseki is the last song there is a special bonus on the Stage DVD. Arigatou is the song that Yu Imai performed on her graduation day, I guess. It’s a beautiful ballad and even though it’s not perfect sung it’s understandable because she just performed in a Stage and of course her feelings must be heels over head too. So, it’s a very nice bonus :3

I didn’t calculate Arigatou in my rating ’cause I’m asuming that it was performed only once but with almost only great unit songs, a cool title song and a bit of every genre it’s a very good stage. It gets 7,9/10 points from me. That means it’s the second best stage until now.

Lascivious Oni-chan!

I think Chihiro will always be a part of this blog and I’m happy about it because it means that she always makes something blogworthy.

This is the same woman whose last four releases were deep, meaningful songs with a dark atmosphere and everything a Chihiro-Fan wants to hear from her. And now we get this so totally different song and I love it!

I also like her ballads and of course X which might be my favorite song by her but this song with the matching PV is just so surprising and different and fun that I can’t say anything different than that I’m totally excited for the coming album!

I hope there are a lot of different styles and if it turns out like Steal This Heart I really don’t mind if she doesn’t use her voice like we are used to hear from her. I already know that there will be two songs on the album that I don’t really like so this was kind of necessary. Now, after I looked at the tracklist, I realized that there are only four unknown songs left. But I trust her. This will be a better album than LAS VEGAS.
I let you know as soon as possible.

But back to the song. It’s just a fun one and it’s really easy to remember. Steal this heart~ Again and again~ *sing*. There’s a weird filter over her voice but that’s just for the retro sound I think. But even though the song is good, the PV is also a big factor. With the band in the style of those bands that I don’t really know because I’m born in the very early 90’s (okay, I hope they didn’t look that weird) it’s just great to watch because you can see how they all don’t really take it seriously. The best scenes are Chihiro making out with everyone of the band members. LoL. That’s so not her. And because of that it’s totally her imho. Loved it. She makes you look like this O_O without having a three-some with two other girls *cough*Kumi*cough*.

I’m thinking about buying the PV collection.

Damn you Chihiro for not releasing a CD+DVD album like everyone else!

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