Listen to! March

The unintended "Girl Groups Rule" -edition.

I've gotta say at first I thought FM was really boring, but now that I've listened to it more, I think it's musically one of Crayon Pop's best songs. They're still quirky and unique, but this is very different from anything they've released. Anyway, girl groups. The best kind. I always find myself getting back to listening almost only girl groups, but then again, they're great! Why avoid greatness? ♥

Ps. Notice Red Velvet and Moso Calibration wear clothes with led lights.
I think it's a thing right now.

Concerning Love Live!

So, obviously, Love Live! has been a huge thing recently.

I've heard some songs from μ's, seen some clips from the anime and I've got a lot of friends who are crazy about this series. I tried downloading the rhythm game once, but it didn't work on my device. I've fancied the character designs of Love Live! for a while, but never really felt like or felt pressured to watch the anime. I never said I never would, either, like the case might have been a few years back, when I was ridiculously negative towards idol animes.

Then, one day I stumbled upon the song Happy Maker!, and I went; "Why not."

Now, I'm not an anime person, I could say I usually watch one to two series a year, and don't even finish most of them. Still, I watched the first season of Love Live! in less than two days, and I was actually surprised how quickly it ended. I really liked the first season, and I wrote most of this after watching it. Season 2 was mainly boring, to be honest. I'd say only the last 2 episodes were actually worth something.

Here, read why Love Live! is so popular.

”When talking about this topic, it's important to note that the "idol" genre had been simmering in some corner of the overall anime media universe for a long while. -- They weren't really shows about idols, at heart. It was always "<x> with idols", x usually being some other already well-established genre, like mecha with idols or mahou shoujo with idols. -- Needless to say, Love Live didn't do that - the story was about the girls, and about the girls only.”

As an long-term idol fan I can say I'm surprised how long it took for an anime like this to appear and to become popular. (We can argue if this is the first pure idol-anime or not, but at least it's the first to go this big. Well, LL does have school genre in it too, but as school idols are an actual thing, you could call it a pure idol anime.) I mentioned how a few years back, when AKB0048 came out, I was really pissed about anime idols. I was the only idol fan I knew outside the internet and suddenly all my friends loved animated idols, do you get me?

Recently the situation has changed. It's partly because of LL and partly it is the reason why LL is so popular. Idols are a thing now. Artists like AKB48 and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu started becoming more popular around the same time Love Live! was released, and K-pop was getting even huger too. Nowadays it's very common to meet other idol fans at conventions and such, and I feel it's because everything just happened to happen at the right time. Japanese and Korean music and Japanese animation together caused an idol-boom. And I couldn't be happier about it. I don't know if people get it but even if it's "just" anime idols, after spazzing about idols alone for years, I feel so delighted to hear people talk about idols, to see people loving idols. (Note: Remember, I can only talk about my personal experiences, and I am only involved in the Finnish con scene.)

Why didn't this happen a few years ago? I think it wasn't only my childishness that was the reason I didn't like anime idols, it was because anime idols weren't ready yet.

Love Live! has nailed anime idols. The animation is beautiful, the girls are interesting each in their own way, and the songs are actually good! All I can compare LL to is random clips from AKB0048 and some other idol animes, but I don't need more to know LL is way out of their league. 0048 was so messy! Everything in that anime drowned under everything in that anime. Really, know how to stop.

So, if we ignore some disturbing facts about Love Live!, like how all the girls can just magically sing quite well and pull off concerts without microphones, or how a bunch of high school students can afford that many glorious costumes, the anime is good. And if I like an anime, boy, then it seriously is good. Sometimes I can't watch even my favourite series because everything that is characteristic to anime tends to disgust me. LL is a very generic anime, and yes, some things in it do annoy me, but it succeeds to hide all that under the great mood that is very genuine and idol-like. In season 2 the anime does become a little slow and lack the feeling, but it's still bearable. Two times 13 episodes is a nicely short anime for someone like me.

Love Live! lacks logic, but it succeeds on fulfilling the most important thing - being a Happy Maker!, like they sing in the song above. So, even if I still prefer my idols in the flesh, I can suggest watching Love Live! if you're even slightly interested in it. At least season 1. 

Itooshikutte Gomen ne / Koi Dorobou

I'm still getting used to the fact that Momoko is part of country girls, to be honest, I don't think she completely fits in there. However, like people have already voiced out, she doesn't really stand out too much in the PV's, which is good. Anyway, Itooshikutte Gomen ne is a song that has that kind of a legendary feeling in it. It feels like a song that will be remembered & that will be sung in concerts for years. I think it's catchy and cute - in a bit cheesy way, but in a good way, I think. Hello!Project has been lacking a cutesy group for a while, so I really like the image given to Country Girls.

The music video is quite basic, but very nice. I like that there are more than one kinds of close-up shots, and god, aren't the girls just adorable. The outfits and the dance fit the song too, even though there's nothing especially great about them. Oh yeah, and each girl has more than one outfit. The casual outfits are perfect!

Song ★★★★☆

Dance Shot ★★★☆☆

Close-up ★★★★★

Clothes ★★★★☆

Overall ★★★★☆

Koi Dorobou one is a bit too pink, but only slightly. The setting is very cute and pretty and looks fabulously fluffy! Flowers are always great. The song is okay, quite a basic double A-side song. I love the chorus, but the counting after that just kinda kills it for me. Everything about this song does fit Itooshikutte and Country Girls' overall image though, and there's not anything actually wrong about it.

Still, the dance is kind of meh, and so are the outfits. I just watched the PV but I have got no idea what the girls were wearing. Oh, okay, they're real cute, I would wear most of those clothes myself, but they maybe they blend into the background too much. I'm starting to be quite sure both of these songs should get a 3½ out of 5 stars, but I haven't given myself that option, so, we'll just go with this. I do these reviews based on first impressions.

Song ★★★☆☆

Dance Shot ★★★☆☆

Close-up ★★★★☆

Clothes ★★★☆☆

Overall ★★★☆☆

Listen to! February

It's March already, but here are some songs I've been listening to lately.

▼

Plus: Yesterday Block B performed in Helsinki, Finland, to some 1500 people. Like my friend said, it's hard to believe there are so many people in Finland who listen to K-Pop. However, the venue was very nice and full and the atmosphere was damn amazing. Block B was sweet and the show was very pleasing!
It's great to have this kinds of events in your homeland. However, the delivery of information about them is still very lacking and the organization of K-Pop events is only taking its baby steps.

I'm eagerly waiting to see how far we can go.

♥