Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru- Another Version

Let's talk about Morning Musume '15's Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru. And yeah, the regular version is okay. The another version will make your mind blow up and become a part of the greater existence.

The another version is directed by Shuhei Shibue, who won the Big Chance competition with this video. It was quite clear already back then the music video he would get to direct was going to be something completely different. His style is really unique.

Of course I like this MV already a bit better, because it has Zukki! I have nothing against Karin, and I know putting her on Zukki's place in the promotion edit(s) was a considered move, but I just don't think she fits the atmosphere of Morning Musume songs.

Anyway, Seishun Kozo ga Naiteiru. What a great song! And this another version is possibly the best music video from Morning Musume ever.

What's great about Sibue's MV is everything. Seriously, it's innovative, interesting and inspiring. The atmosphere is really fantasy-, even dreamlike throughout the video. It's exciting, even thrilling to follow. It has everything you could ever wish for - references to art, school uniforms, cheerleading, great GC, some fanservice, and an actual idea. (Which of course is the 12kies joining their scary senpais, who already have their personalities sorted out, in a wacky journey trough idolhood.) I'm not actually a big fan of long story MV's, this is just the amount of plot I need.

The best part is when the girls tear their way trough the wall. The shot has a really mysterious, even intimate feel to it and is very unusual. I love the detail when Maachan flips the piece of paper out of her way. Another great scene is when they break to the chorus for the last time and the petals start falling due to lighting. Like, what? Everything makes so little sense it's just utterly great.

There's a lot going on in the MV, and it still doesn't get messy. There's just more and more to discover - which fits the song, it's the same. For once, there's a music video that really embraces the song, its lyrics and the girls, and really is something suitable only for this one song. I wish there were more music videos like this, hell, Morning Musume could get hugely popular again if all their videos were like this.

Lastly, a couple of words about the song. It's written by Tsunku, who recently lost his ability to speak completely because of cancer. (If you're wondering whether I'm extremely sad about his loss or extremely happy he's still with us and working with music, I'm totally both.) The untranslated parts are from an old Japanese poem, and mean something like this:

Even the blossoming flowers
Will eventually scatter
Who in our world
Is unchanging?
The deep mountains of karma
We cross them today
And we shall not have superficial dreams
Nor be deluded.

If you're still not amazed by Seishun Kozo, I'm not sure what I should do with you.

♥ screenshot credits ♥

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 ★★★☆☆

Taiki Bansei / Otome no Gyakushuu

ANGERME's first single with the new name and with 3rd
generation girls! What do I think of it?

It it even possible to be this excited for a song? Even though I only started following S/mileage properly last year and I'm not still too keen on the name ANGERME, I have been waiting for Taiki Bansei like crazy. One reason might be that alongside Meimi the new members appeal to me more than most old members. Especially Rikako, and I'm super happy too see her as a center here.

I also really like the dance and the setting of the dance shot. There's great energy there, even though its camerawork is slightly too messy. The clothes are casual but classy, which I adore. Only one minus: why oh why is Akari wearing a hoodie? That is only casual and she looks very out of place.

The horrible member introduction parts from the HaroSute version fortunately got deleted, but it wasn't enough to save the MV completely. The rainbow flag as the background of the close-up shots is fugly and doesn't fit the dance shot at all. The lighting makes some of the girls' hair look really messy. I guess they were going for a happier feeling with a colorful background, but let's be honest here - there's no way Taiki Bansei would need more happiness.

Song ★★★★★
Dance Shot ★★★★☆
Close-up ★☆☆☆☆
Clothes ★★★★☆
Overall ★★★★☆

When I saw Otome no Gyakushuu on HaroSute, my first reaction was to dislike it because it was so weird and nothing I had expected to hear after Taiki Bansei. But now that you think about it, Otome no Gyakushuu is the kind of song you would except from a group named ANGERME. And it really grows on you!

I actually really like the high-pitched parts, as well as the chorus. I just think the whole song could have been a lot more melodic instead of singing one particle at a time. There clearly has been a genius idea for a song, but the execution lacks a bit. The lyrics are interesting but don't always make sense, plus the arrangement is a bit off. The last ten seconds of the song are completely useless, I just wish it would have ended with the "la-la-la"s, it would've been so much more powerful.

And the MV is great! The setting is gorgeous, the close-ups are beautiful and there's more than just the dance and close-up shots! I love it! The antique furniture, the roses and the paleness fit the song perfectly. And so does the dance. Even though it's a bit weird, it has really fine parts, especially in the C-part. The outfits are fine. But just that, there's nothing very special about them.

Song ★★★★☆
Dance Shot ★★★★☆
Close-up ★★★★★
Clothes ★★★☆☆
Overall ★★★★☆


To be honest, even though I rate this song lower than Taiki Bansei, I think I will like Otome no Gyakushuu for a longer time. I just have that kind of a feeling. Anyway, overall, I think this is an all-kill single. Very nice start for ANGERME.

CRUSH

I LOVE IT HOW YG AND THE WORLD IS FULL OF GORGEOUS MEN AND THEY PICKED AN AVERAGE LOOKING ONE FOR THIS BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY MATTERS.
I've always wanted to write a long deep analyzing blogpost concerning things like this and finally I'm getting to do it! Still, this is only how I see these things.

Well, clearly, it's a dystopia they're living in in Come Back Home. Have I told you I love dystopias? Even the song says: "Don’t leave me at the end of this cold earth" - There are only a few people left on earth and more and more are escaping the reality to "Virtual Paradise", where all is well. Love is pretty much everything that's left in the real world and the guy being an average looking druggie in my opinion highlights that the planet is no paradise any more. It's not the same as thousands of years ago when smoking hot Korean pop stars made you think everyone looks like a sex god. Seriously, all the comments I've already seen about the man being "fugly" and "not attractive enough" only remind me of the wicked beauty standards we have these days.

About the lip sync then? It's distracting and nothing new. But it's not like the girls can't lip sync, in Happy MV they clearly can, right? I think it's intended here because of the story MV, they're thinking the lyrics out loud or something, I think that would fit the picture. It still doesn't stop being distracting though!

I'm really pleased with this video overall. It's very 2NE1, but still something new. I can't even describe it, but I've never heard anything alike. And hey, a story MV built with a lot of thought that is understandable! It's great that story MVs are made but it's easier said than done to make one that actually works. Sometimes you have to watch the video multiple times to understand what's going on. Here I, at least, get what's going on and can just relax like watching a movie, now that I don't have to push myself to figure out the plot. My absolutely favourite scene is when the girls have entered the "Virtual Paradise" and they gone blow shit up. They always gone blow shit up! Plus, this is how CG is done. I don't even mind the postponement.

Happy I like as well. It might be my favourite song from the album, which is good overall, even though it doesn't have any songs that would actually fricking blow my mind. Still good, still very good. Other faves might be MTBD, Come Back Home (unplugged version), and of course Scream is still awesome.

Again a happy video for a sad song, huh? Yes, Happy is actually quite a horrible song. Well fine, at least we won't get that depressed. And it's pretty, very pretty! I'm just wondering when this was shot, because it should be quite a long while ago, if you think about how fast hair grows and winter comes, haha.

(Dara is stunning no matter what she does. She told she got inspired by chicken. Fine. Whatever. Goddes.)

Would say it's 4/5 album and 5/5 videos from 2NE1.

130 Million Bizarre Dieting Songs

What the fuck is this? That's what I was thinking when I heard the concert rip. It sounds better than I remembered, that's my thoughts in the beginning of the music video. And for the rest 4 minutes I thought: What the actual fuck?

But I was in awe.

1 Oku 3 Sen Man Sou Diet Oukoku is ridiculously amazing and so weird that I can't help loving it. I really like the instrumental and after the lagging begging of each verse there are the repeating parts and the glorious chorus I totally adore. I'm a bit mad to Tsunku for only making songs about dieting, but this song really makes me question what he actually wants to say by doing so and what the dieting culture of Japan is actually about. "Even slim girls are dieting", that's it?

It's my opinion, but this whole song is genius! It's not about H!P trying to be something different anymore - which has been the case for the last couple of years - this was something really unexpected.

The video deals with the basics, but is very pretty. Risako looks like she just returned from a holiday in Capitol, and I love it. I just wish she wasn't the only girl getting bright hair colors and bizarre makeups, because there are, well, 7 interesting, grown up girls in Berryz that would all have the potential to be just a bit more than just great idols.

The other A-side of this single, Otona Na Yo! didn't impress me as much, but I'm not saying it's too bad. I enjoy listening to it. I like the MV, maybe a bit more than the one of the dieting song. Many seemed to dislike the outfits and the dolls, but in my opinion they're the best things about this. The dance has its good and bad parts. Still, what distracts me is that the lyric arrangement doesn't really work and the wows sound just terrible, I and mean that, just ugh nope. Plus it's not their choice who they're dating.

Ah, I shouldn't be writing this quickly, it's all just flow. But otherwise I would never write anything. So I apologize if I disagree with myself tomorrow. Anyway, the Berryz Koubou single will be released in the 19th.

Faith in Morning musume keeps rising

I can't wait to talk about this MV so I'm going to talk right now.

Morning musume。'14 launches their first music video in today's Haro! Station. Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa. Sayu's goddes-like appereance makes me cry at 0:17. For some reasons clapping in songs really appeals to me. At 0:22 I want to start praising the anonymous person who is in charge of CG for Tsunku. This is how you do it. The dubstep doesn't surprise me but it doesn't sound bad. It's part of their image nowadays so let it be if it fits in. I'm surprised how soft and aidoru-like the vocals are. Some lines are very badly arranged, but at least they are greatly distributed! Finally I feel everyone gets a share! The "nikitekoso"-line generates so much energy inside me I fully realize why Tsunku described this song uplifting. I love the feeling of summer that Egao no Kimi brings to this stupid dark winter.

The outfits are nice - as eternal lover of light colours I can't say it's too much white, but I can't help noticing two girls are wearing different shoes from everyone else. Why? Also, why are they trying to make Erina this boyish Yankee-girl? The snapback looks so corny on her, while Kuduu wears it looking all natural. Of course I hope Erina would find her own personality and type but it won't happen by forcing.
Otherwise the group close-ups are very nice and the girls look like they're actually enjoying their job. I think I've said this before but hey, it couldn't be more important!

This isn't the best song I've heard or the most complicated video I've seen, but this is huge improvement. I seriously had forgotten how bad Wakuteka, Help me!! and such look. I feel Morning musume is on the rise again. Since the rock bottom in the group's history about a year ago, every single has been better than the previous. I hope it would show in the sales and rankings too.

I love What is LOVE and am positively surprised by this. I can't wait for more of this single. What do you think of these songs?

ps. *your

Not just another boy band

【Spoiler alert】

If Psy tells you something is cruel and harsh, you better believe it. That's exactly what YG's WIN was. A survival program for two trainee teams. One winner, one debut. That's the worst and promised scenario, however I don't believe YG could not debut the other team as well. He wants the money and he wants the glory, and hell sure he'll achieve those things having such talented trainees.

I didn't follow the show, to be honest. I tried, but the first episode was so awkward and already heartbreaking I only watched the show after I had heard the results. I still managed to get my heart broken several times. It was exhausting just to watch the boys compose songs and practice dances in such little time, pulling allnighters after allnighters. It was fun too, though. All the trainees were so lovely and full-heartedly in it, they all had their dream and they put up fantastic performances.

To me, Team A appalled more. Let's say my heart is a bit less broken now that they won than it would had been if they had lost. Despite the hardships Team A had in the beginning, the amount of talent in this group is huge. They all have their own strong character already, their dance is strong, their rap, their vocals, their visuals are strong. And I think they have more artistic sense and are more versatile compared to Team B. Seungyoon is a pure genius. Seunghoon really gets the dancing part. Jinwoo is a cute little sweetheart. Minho's rap really captivates me. I could stare at Taehyun for years. They're a great and ready group.
Smile Again was a song I could imagine winning all-kills on music shows, I simply loved it. This team really deserved what they got. You could tell this was something they longed for a long time and they obviously put a hell of an amount of effort in becoming what they were in the end of the show.

I'm not saying Team B was no good. They were amazing. I can't believe their average age was  only 17. So amazing and so talented, my sweeties.
Even so, I feel it's better they didn't win. I feel like partly because of their young age the company propably wouldn't had given them so much freedom or chances to release their selfcomposed songs. They're also concentrating on only hiphop, which, yes, is YG's style and very trendy, but being capable of many styles is useful. Throughout the whole show their performances were good, but I felt like they weren't completely owning them, with the expection of Climax in the final, that was something.
In couple of years or so, Team B will be able to fully control the potential inside them and they'll be capable of great things. YG, I am ready to judge you so hard.

▼

I loved both teams. I loved seeing them being such great friends over being rivals only. OT11, indeed. But in the end, in the final battle, you could easily tell which team had progressed more. Team B had performed strongly every time and did good this time as well. Team A looked like fucking superstars on that stage.

Now I'll just hope that Team B doesn't have to disband and that eventually they'll get to debut together as well. I hope Team A gets to release Smile Again and that the company will let the boys do more of their own songs. I'm very much looking forward to the debut and everything that follows. If YG's decision is not to change their name, I want to be called a trophy.

So damn good

A video I must talk about. Block B is back after a long while and with what kind of a song! So. Very. Good. I love how Block B never fails to sound original. I love their style that is entirely their own.

Okay, I get some Big Bang / GD vibes from this, as I noticed other people did as well. But that's only in some minor parts of the video, meaning Zico's solos. And Zico is an eccentric man as well as GD and so he's not being not him so it doesn't bother me. Everything about this video fits the song and the song and video fit the band very well.

What I think makes Block B original is their sense of humor. They sure put a lot of effort in everything they do and always do things professionally, they know what they are doing. But they don't take it too seriously. I love it how they throw themselves into the art they are creating.
I love the interaction with the boxer girl, the dog, Kyung's scenes omg and umm. These kids just goofing around. You can see from their faces they're actually enjoying what they're doing, and no wonder. After not being sure about the future it must be great to get together again and make some kick ass music. That's what Block B does.
And umm. Jaehyo. Stop flirting with people you just robbed!!!

Hey bees, cry louder
Shout loud to make the stage shatter
Pretty boys try hard
Try looking tough but still so cute

✖

Ps. Thank you Lord and Satan and Pledis. I mean I love this live.

You are the apple of my eye

~ Spoiler free movie review ! ~

A couple of days ago I was surfing on Youtube again, and I saw this video and it looked like it was from some really cute drama. After searching for a while, I found out it was a Taiwanese movie named (Those years,) You are the apple of my eye.

 It is about a lazy high school student Ko-Teng and his friends, who all have own kind of a crush on the class' honor student Shen Chia-yi. All this, well, evolves into one big lovely mess.

The movie instantly took my heart and put it into a jar and carried it away as it ended. I'm not going to spoil anything, just wanted to tell you that it was amazingly sweet and cute and heartbreaking story about friendship and love. Well, lots of nudity and sexuality jokes were included. But they were hilarious too.

 Sometimes the sidekick characters were very cliche. Also, the story was told very quickly and sometimes you wished for deeper connection between as well as the characters as the movie and the viewer. Still, all that is very common in Asian movies and if you usually like those you should absolutely watch this.

For me, it's sometimes very frustrating how slow Asians are with their relationships. Like honestly, go fuck her already. But at the same time it's great variation to all the western stuff we're used to. Also the ending differed from usual endings in this kind of movies. From that point of view it was genius, so funny and perfect. But damn, did I cry.

Do you have any other good movies to recommend? ♥