So much hate lately...

...surrounding Morning Musume's performance on Kouhaku the other night! I was going to wait until this weekend to download it, due to the fact that I couldn't clear off enough space on my computer for the entire performance before I had to leave for school today. (gotta watch the other special year-end shows this weekend) But everyone's talking about H!P's performance...so I had to check it out on Youtube. Instead of doing homework, but I only have one subject left and a two-hour free tomorrow, so...

Ok, this is Berryz Koubou and C-ute's first ever Kouhaku performance, right? I honestly expected it to be a big cool thing, and this was kinda disappointing. Question, have they always put all H!P acts together in a medley? The only other Kouhaku performance I've seen was the 2005 performance, which I personally loved- but I'll touch more on that later.
I also think that LOVE Machine has definitely been over-performed lately. I love LOVE Machine, and I like seeing current Momusu perform older songs, but I think they should leave it for the concerts. I would have preferred that they sing Mikan...haven't they basically performed LOVE Machine at all of these big music shows?
I didn't like the transition things between songs. I mean, wait, what? The Peace...and then Renai Revolution at the end...um...?
I think the newer members should have had solo lines in LOVE Machine, I don't think any of the 8th gen did. But honestly, they shouldn't have been singing LOVE Machine in the first place. That song's old- I know it was their most popular single, but relying on stuff from the past isn't going to work. Did the rest of you guys catch the audience when they showed them during LOVE Machine? They were bored, like 'ok, just get this over with.' D: And honestly, I don't blame them! Morning Musume is different now, but they're still singing this song from 1999. Even the best songs get repetitive after a while.

Berryz Koubou and C-ute got only small parts with their respective songs, and I think that wasn't really fair, especially for their first Kouhaku performance. They both performed a chorus from their latest single.
This was the first time I've heard Berryz' latest single, and I've already forgotten the tune and everything. Er...D: Yeah, not the best song I've heard from Berryz...
As for C-ute, I think their performance was done well, even though they got only a short bit. I guess I don't really know what else to say since I don't know much about C-ute, but I like the song and I didn't see anything wrong with their performance.

After that, there was a song with lots of "la la la"s. Er...what was this song? Never heard it before.


All in all, I'm disappointed with this performance, but I really don't think it was that horrible. Definitely could have been better. My suggestions? Momusu should sing a song OTHER than Love Machine, maybe Mikan. Berryz Koubou should sing a different song too, and C-ute should get more time and sing like a verse or something instead of just the chorus.


After I watched this, I decided to take a look back at one of my favorite H!P performances: the 2005 Kouhaku LOVE Machine performance. Actually, this was part of a medley with Ayaya's Ki ga Tsukeba Anata and DEF DIVA's Suki Sugite Baka Mitai, but...haha the LOVE Machine part is the reason this performance was great.

Now THIS is the type of performance I love to see. I watched this when it first came out, expecting just normal performances, and WOW. Wasn't expecting this. I actually have an mp3 of the entire medley on my iPod, and I listen to it a ton. It was GREAT to see every single past and present member of MM still in H!P singing this classic all together. I love how they started with the past members in the first verse, then the current members in the second verse, and then everyone together for the last set of choruses. I think I wrote an uber long blog post of this complete with screenshots WAY BACK THEN on my Gaia journal, haha.
...
Lol, omg, LOOK at this. I found it, but I dunno the settings on Gaia journals, so I dunno if everyone can see the post, not to mention the screenshot links were totally dead. So I'm reposting it here, I guess, with updated links. Now you guys get to see my first imporession of the 2005 Kouhaku performance. Screenshot spam much?
This is originally from January 11th, 2006.

Kouhaku 2005
If I remember correctly, it happens late December every year. And I just downloaded the Kouhaku 2005- or at least, the H!P part of it. It was a medley or something of that sort, with Aya Matsuura singing Ki ga Tsukeba Anata, DEF. DIVA singing Suki Sugite Baka Mitai, then Momusu singing LOVE Machine. Er, well, not Momusu exactly...but I'll get to that later. ^^

First off, Ayaya's performance. First it was just Ayaya singing, then a bit into it some members of H!P Kids started dancing- I believe it was 4 Berryz and 4 C-ute? With Berryz in blue outfits and C-ute in pink. Or maybe it was the other way around, I'm not very familiar with H!P Kids. Farther into it, all of a sudden the rest of H!P Kids came out along with....um...figures?... One of them was Domo- you know, . All in all, pretty good performance. I absolutely love the song. ^^

Next is DEF. DIVA's performance. DEF. DIVA is Aya Matsuura, Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto, and Rika Ishikawa. I don't really have too much to say about this one; just a pretty normal performance, nothing really special.

Last. LOVE Machine. Homg. This was awesome. It's not just Momusu performing. It's Momusu + all past members that are still in H!P. MARIPPE~!!!!!! Lemme do a quick run-down. There were 19 members in the performance, and there have been 22 different members of Momusu. If they aren't still in H!P, the name will be in italics. Format is this: Name (Current group/whatever)

First generation


Yuko Nakazawa (solo)

Natsumi Abe (solo, DEF. DIVA)

Kaori Iida (solo)

Aya Ishiguro (----)

Asuka Fukuda (----)

Second gen

Mari Yaguchi (solo...I think. I hope.)

Kei Yasuda (No clue, really. I suppose solo. She hasn't released anything yet, though she graduated back in 2003. She's still in H!P though.)


Sayaka Ichii (----)

Third gen

Maki Goto (solo, DEF. DIVA)

Fourth gen

Hitomi Yoshizawa (Morning Musume)

Ai Kago (W)

Nozomi Tsuji (W)

Rika Ishikawa (DEF. DIVA, v-u-den)

Fifth gen


Ai Takahashi (Morning Musume)

Asami Konno (Morning Musume)

Risa Niigaki (Morning Musume)

Makoto Ogawa (Morning Musume)

Sixth gen

Sayumi Michishige (Morning Musume)

Eri Kamei (Morning Musume)

Reina Tanaka (Morning Musume)

Miki Fujimoto (Morning Musume; used to be a solo artist but put that on hold while in Momusu)


Seventh gen

Koharu Kusumi (Morning Musume)



Kinda sad that I know all that, actually.

So anyway. First they start off with Kaorin, Kei, and Yuko rising from under the stage, and then they show Marippe, Aibon, and Nono doing the same on the other side. That's the beginning part, with the 'oooohhh's and stuff. Then they go behind the ball that's in the back, and as the music starts going faster, the ball kinda drops down to reveal all of them, plus Gocchin, Charmy, and Nacchi (they kinda had to change from their DEF. DIVA outfits. ). So they sing up to the end of the first chorus, then the rest of the girls (Yossui, Mako, Risa, Takitty, Konkon, Sayu, Reina, Eririn, Mikitty, and Koha; basically the current Momusu) come in behind them in these red outfits. They look really pretty...I think Hitomi looks especially pretty.

Hitomi

That isn't to say the others aren't, though. So then, the current Momusu does the second verse and chorus. Then they perform a chorus with two members singing at a time- one past and one current.

Reina and Nacchi




Gocchin and Takitty (they don't appear at the same time, though, so I needed two screenshots. )

Gocchin

Takitty



Mako and Marippe (my favorite, for hopefully obvious reasons.)

Mako and Marippe



Then, confetti bursts out, the H!P Kids come running out, the characters all come out, and basically it's just cuteness. ^^ At the very end, the last line, 'love machine', is said by Koharu. ^^

Y'know, I thought I'd never get a chance to see Marippe and Koharu perform together. Seeing as Marippe left in April, and Koharu didn't come in until later. But hey! It happened!



More screenshots! (Ayaya deserves a few. ^^)




Ayaya

Ayaya and Kids

Cute

Berryz

Ayaya and Kids (2)

random characters



Just kinda saving as a halfway point. It's almost midnight and I need to get to bed; I'll finish the screenshots later.

For the record, I never finished it. For all the times I look back on these old posts and go "WOAH I'VE TOTALLY CHANGED", there's always something that makes me realize I'm still basically the same as I was before. xD
Hmm, I wonder if this means I have more screenshots buried on my desktop computer somewhere? I'll have to check back on that when I go home for the weekend...

2008 predictions

Haha, I wrote a list out like two weeks ago, but forgot to post it here. Oops.
Thankfully, I remembered it now, otherwise it would have been too late! xD
Some of these are predictions, some are more wishful thinking on my part...xD;

2008 Predictions
-Morning Musume will release 3 or 4 singles and their 9th album. Their 9th album has gotta be coming up soon, they've already released three singles due to be on it, and there's a fourth being released in March.
-Morning Musume 9th gen auditions. I know the 8th gen hasn't been around for that long, but...
-Takahashi Ai graduates, becomes a solo artist. I'm kinda neutral on Takitty, I don't love her but I don't hate her either. I could totally see her graduating to become a solo artist at some point...she has a good voice, and because of that, she gets so many solos in Momusu. I want the others to get lots of lines too...xD
-Hello! Project Kids become uber popular, get a #1 single. I keep hearing people say that the Kids have taken over Hello! Project...I think it's just a matter of time before some H!P Kids group, whether Berryz, C-ute, or Buono, gets a #1 single.
-One of the Berryz gets a boyfriend and is kicked out of Berryz. Haha, I kinda want to see this happen...8D I barely even know their names (I'm learning! I swear I am!) so if one of them got kicked out, I wouldn't really care all thaaat much...
-Yaguchi Mari starts a solo career. Or at least does something, please! She's my favorite ex-Momusu, and I really want her to sing again.
-Yasuda Kei does nothing. Still. Damn.
-Goto Maki signs with a new record label and releases first single. Please? I really loved Goto...
-GAM comes back. Even for just one single. I was hoping that because of GAM, Miki would still have something to do even after she left Momusu, but now GAM's pretty inactive...
-As for the new units...Ongaku Gatas is permanent, and continues to release singles. Athena & Robikerottsu releases maybe another single after their upcoming one, then either actually breaks up or just fades into inactivity. Buono! keeps going until Shugo Chara ends, singing all the opening/ending themes, then moves onto another anime.


And just a couple of quick non-j-pop predictions...
-Prince of Tennis ends. This is the one prediction that I'd hate to come true the most. However, the end of PoT is obviously happening soon- it's so close, they're on singles 1, the very last match of the final round of the National Tournament. The author once said that he'd like to go through Ryoma's second and third years at Seigaku. I think at one point this would have worked- when Prince of Tennis was really really popular. However, now it's not, and so I think that he's just going to end it where it is rather than go on with the chance of cancellation.
-Mx0 gets an anime. PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE
-Sket Dance survives in Jump. YESS

Berryz Koubou cameo in Gintama! xD

I think it's supposed to be Berryz, at least.
So I've been watching Gintama yesterday and today to try and catch up with the subbed episodes. Gintama parodies billions of other anime/pop culture things, like the main character wants a Bankai (from Bleach), and in episode 62, Yamazaki (who's obsessed with badminton) plays a badminton match against someone from 'Hyoutei' complete with crazy moves, the rest of the 'Seigaku' and 'Hyoutei' players on the sidelines, and 'mada mada dane' at the end. (Prince of Tennis parody, if you couldn't figure it out. link to the video, it's hilarious) But I didn't think there was going to be anything involving Hello! Project...well, I was wrong. xD
Basically in this episode (episode 18), there's this guy that goes around stealing women's underwear and giving it to the lonely guys that aren't liked by girls...and he's currently having a speech about all the lonely guys and how they're 'begging for him to save them'. xD Complete with pictures of said 'lonely guys' doing random things, like painting big-boobed anime figures and, you guessed it, going to a Berryz Koubou handshake event. xD

The headband on the guy on the far left says "Switch OFF" which I think is supposed to be a parody of their Switch ON! 2005 tour. xD

Haha, I love Gintama. xD

Upcoming releases

Ok, so there's lots of stuff coming out either in the next two weeks or around the beginning of 2008, so...

Let's start with Hello! Project:
-On January 16th, the duet between Abe Natsumi and Yajima Maimi, 16sai no Koi Nante, is being released. I just listened to a preview of it, and I don't think it's too bad. Probably not something that I'll listen to a lot, but it's not that bad either. And, btw, I don't really know who Yajima Maimi is. I swear I've gone over the names and faces of the Kids like 5 times since I started this blog. I have a horrible memory, I guess. ;-;
-Buono!, the group formed with three H!P Kids that sung the opening and ending for the anime Shugo Chara!, is releasing their second single and their first album in February- the 6th and the 20th, respectively. I believe their second single, Renai Rider, is going to be the new ending theme for Shugo Chara!, it's supposed to start airing soon so I'll be able to check it out before the single comes out. xD As for their album, I really thought they weren't going to be a permanent group, but I think an album usually signifies that they'll be around for at least a little while longer.
-Ongaku Gatas also has their first album coming out, 1st GOODSAL, on February 6th. I loved both of their singles, so I'll definitely have to order this one. I'm glad that they're getting an album, hopefully this means that they're a permanent group.
-Athena & Robikerottsu is releasing a second single on February 14th, Seishun LOVE Launch. I hope it's as catchy as their first. xD I can't wait for more Risa and Aika...and those two Kids that I can't even remember their names. ;-; God I suck.
-According to wiki.theppn.org (I haven't seen anything about these anywhere else), C-ute and v-u-den are getting new singles on February 27th. Both are still untitled. I probably won't end up buying either of these, sadly...;-; There's too much stuff out there, and I have too little money...
-And Berryz Koubou is apparently releasing a new single called Jingisukan on March 12th.

And on the other side of my blog, the other fandom I love...upcoming Prince of Tennis releases:
-This Saturday, at Jump Festa, three new Prince of Tennis CDs are being released. The first two are for the Prince of Tennis Musical- two new Best Actor's Series CDs, #9 and #10 in the series. 9 features Sanada and Yukimura. 10 is a special Extra Seigaku 3rd Cast Memorial CD- a memorial for the third cast of the Seigaku regulars, who graduated (I feel like I'm talking about Hello! Project now. =P) after this summer's Absolute King Rikkai feat. Rokkaku ~Second Service~ musical. The fourth cast debuted in the Progressive Match Higa feat. Rikkai musical, which started 8 days ago on December 12th. (sadly, I have yet to see photosets of the new Seigaku cast. I really really really need to see what the new cast looks like in character!)
The third CD being released at Jump Festa 2008 is a new Megane's single, their fourth. Originally it was just going to be called "Odorimasen ka?", meaning something like "Won't you dance?", but apparently they had to keep the tradition of having "Megane's" in the song title (their previous singles have been "Go Go Megane's", "Kira Kira Megane's", and "Manatsu no Megane's"), so they renamed it "Odorimasen ka? Megane's". =P According to the description on the official page, it has something to do with the National Tournament Finals OVA (which, by the way, is the LAST OVA SERIES and therefore THE LAST WE'LL SEE OF PRINCE OF TENNIS T_____T unless the manga keeps going after the Nationals, but that's pretty unlikely) and the amazing 100 song marathon that's taking place early 2008. It also says that apparently this song is a high tempo SALSA song. Oh dear lord. @_@
Oh, and they released the cover for it too: here. Ohhh wow, PoT cosplay's fun, but...@_____@ WHAT THE HELL
"Won't you also dance with these three people?" @_@
-After those three, looks like there's nothing else until February 14th (which is kinda strange cause there's been so much released lately, what with the Best of Rival Players for Shitenhouji and random other character songs). On 02.14, Kai Yuujirou, Higa Chuu's vice-captain (I think), is releasing his version of Valentine Kiss. It's the 5th year of this tradition, and he's the 6th person to sing it- so far we've had Atobe, Oshitari, Sanada, Shishido, and Ooishi.
-And of course, the massive rerelease thing on February 27th. @____@

-not music related, I know, but the 3rd and final volume of the Prince of Tennis National Tournament Semifinal OVA series is being released January 25th. After that, which wraps up the match against Shitenhouji (this DVD encompasses Tezuka vs Chitose in Doubles 1 (er...well Inui and Zaizen are there too, but they decided to just stand at the side so it's basically a single match. hey, playing singles in a doubles match makes more sense than Eiji playing doubles in a singles match. =P), and Ryoma vs Touyama Kintarou in that one-point match since the official match didn't make it to singles 1), the first volume of the National Tournament Finals OVA series is being released on March 16th. During the finals, Seigaku plays Rikkai for the second time, but this time for the National title rather than the Kantou Tournament title. I'm not sure what this DVD will have- the first DVD of both the original National Tournament OVA series and the Semifinal OVA series only had one episode, which was a prequel to the actual match. So maybe this DVD will have the special Yakiniku no Oujisama / Prince of BBQ story that was originally between the semifinals and the finals in the original manga? It was a 4 chapter thing that started off as a party for winning the semifinals but ended up as a 5-school yakiniku eating contest. =P (everyone lost, btw, and they set the yakiniku place on fire. xD) I hope we get to see it animated. It's not really a prequel-thing like the other first episodes, but since Seigaku's played Rikkai before, there was no introduction set of chapters or anything in the manga...unless they take the scenes of Rikkai vs that exchange student team (they were originally mixed in with the one-point match between Ryouma and Touyama) and make it into it's own episode.