Showing posts with label s/mileage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label s/mileage. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Hello! Café Decadent Desserts




Welcome to Hello! Café! Today we're sampling some decadent desserts.

Friday, February 26, 2010

New sites for S/mileage!

S/mileage's new website has debuted!

Check it out!


The site is very well laid out and it fits the group's image perfectly. I'm especially fond of the front page photo which changes! Every time you visit one of six images pops up and it will (usually) be different when you return. The front page also features news and twitter feeds.

Each of the girls has been assigned a sort of image fruit based on their favorite foods: melon for Ogawa Saki, peaches for Maeda Yuuka, cherries and berries for Wada Ayaka, and, of course, strawberries for Fukuda Kanon. Yum!



We're also treated to blog and Twitter links.


Also, not directly related to S/mileage's new site, but Up Front has a relatively new channel on YouTube, and they posted this video of S/mileage:



I believe Kanon's shirt says "i ♡ baby shoot." Such violent Engrish!

S/mileage's 4th indie single "Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii!!!"

S/mileage's 4th indie single Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii!!! (オトナになるって難しい!!!) will be released on March 14.



WAO!!!~!

Wow. Ok. Whoa.

The Outfits

I wasn't a huge fan of the promo outfits for Suki-chan, but I really like these! I'm in love with the cardigan. I wish I had one just like it! Everything else is just so cute! The pink plaid fits their image really well, and of course I like the tiny hats :) I'll admit, I was a little uncomfortable with how good Kanon looks in the costume. She's really growing up fast!

The casual outfits are pretty boring though. I would even say DAWA's is ugly. It looks like she's wearing an acid-wash denim jacket. Boo, I say.

The Song

Well, it looks like someone figured out that the whisper chants in "Suki-chan" were a big hit. The "waku waku waku waku," "doki doki doki doki," etc. bits were very sweet and fun. The more I listen to the song the more I like it. The backing track is cute and youthful, just like the girls. I'm also a huge fan of the title. "Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii!!" translates to "becoming an adult is difficult!!!" Truer words were never spoken, my friends.

The Set

Well, the set is all green screened in, and I think it's wonderful! It's a similar style to Morning Musume's "3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT!" but I think this PV is a better composition. Granted, it looks a bit amateur-ish in comparison, but I think that fits with the image of the group and song. On the other hand, we get two outfits. We get swings and bike riding. We get heads and torsos gliding across the screen (also seen in Minimoni's "Lucky Cha Cha Cha!"). We get adorable antics and dramatically sighing Kanon. It would be a lot more impressive without the "3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT!" PV having preceded it, but I still give it two thumbs up.

The Dance

Well, since this isn't just a glorified dance shot, I can't make a lot of judgements about the dance. It looks pretty simple, but still energetic. There's a lot of follow-the-leader moves, which seems to be a fad in H!P right now.

The Cover



This cover is pure lol. Whoever put it together needs to fired. The composition is awful! At first glance Saki looks like a contortionist with enormous calves, but upon closer inspection those legs belong to Kanon, who is flying through the air with the aid of an electric fan. Saki also appears to be fending off the popcorn eruption that DAWA has an extremely contrived shock at. Meanwhile, Yuuka is sighing over a big a present that displays the "Produced by Tsunku." That box is probably full of old Sharam Q cassettes.

I really can't wait for S/mileage's first major release, which should be coming soon! Their debut concert is just 4 weeks away. After 4 great PVs I'm actually a little worried that the quality of their releases might actually go down with their major debut. Or that, like fellow graduated Egg Mano Erina before them, they will get a great debut song and then a trail of blah.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Kako to Mirai: 2009 retrospective and 2010

Oh hello, world. Well, this has been one hell of a year. I for one have been a total stress mess! I had a very rough summer, lost about 40 lbs. (~20 kg), struggled through a difficult and economically lean semester, and graduated university. Through it all I kept up with Hello! Project, but not this blog, clearly.

I thought an end-of-year post with rankings, reviews and resolutions would be a nice way to get back into things. First up, my perennial favorite.

Morning Musume


A year ago Berryz Koubou had temporarily become my main squeeze, but Morning Musume is back on top as my favorite group. This is mostly like due to my new-found love for Linlin! Her "HI, I'M LINLIN!" at the Anime Expa Q&A this summer absolutely melted my heart.

As for releases this year, Naichou Kamo was not a strong kick-off. The A-side is pretty forgettable, the PV is the worst yet, and the B-side has waaa~y to much Sayumi.

On the other hand, I couldn't have asked for much more with Platinum 9 DISC. Morning Musume's best album in years! Their next single was also a stand-out, though "3,2,1 BREAKIN' OUT" outshines "Shouganai Yume Oibito." It was great to see a Morning Musume single reach number 1 again, too.

The Platinum 9 DISCO concert DVD had performance that just blows all the others away: Linlin's solo in "Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku You na Mirai de Are!" That little girl's got a huge voice. Love her!

With all the promotion for Nanchatte Renai it was bound to do well, and it really really did. It was the best-selling single for the group in four years, and the second-best-selling one in the last five years. The A-side and PV really are standouts, maybe even the best of the 9-nin line-up. Biggest disappointment was too little Linlin in the PV!

The B-side collection wasn't something I was too interested in. The girls looked great in the booklet though! And it was nice to Kago on a cover of a Hello! Project release again :D.

I loved Kimagure Princess, but it didn't fair well being their second-worst selling single ever! The song is super cute, but the promotion was nonexistent and the PV was absolutely nothing special. I would have liked to see more Koharu in this, as it was her last single!

Speaking of Koharu, I'm really sad to see her go. I was on the anti-Koha boat in the beginning, but she really grew on me. What presence! What charisma! What energy! She was a like a Mari 2.0 for me, and she would do well to follow in Yaguchi's footsteps I think.

My first hope for the coming year is to see/hear more Linlin in singles! My second hope is for an audition! With Koharu gone it's time to find ninth gen! I'd like to see a really smart girl already graduated from high school. Tsunku can even put her in glasses since he seems to have a bit of a fetish for megadols.

Berryz Koubou


At the beginning of the year I was obsessed with Berryz, but their recent singles have left them with less luster in my eyes.

They kicked off the year pretty well. Their best-of album sold pretty well and "Otoko no Ko" was a bitchin' track. I couldn't have loved Dakishimete Dakishimete more, and I went on at length about it on this blog.

The double A-side singles are fine, I suppose. They tracks are really nice and the PVs are more okay, but there's something about the girls' image now that seems a little dull and empty. They always look too made-up or something. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but hopefully once they finish acting like an anime unit they'll bounce back.

My hope for next year: an album! 5 (FIVE) was really outstanding, and I want something just as good for this next year.

°C-ute


°C-ute has never been my favorite group, and they haven't grown on me any more this year. ④ Akogare My STAR was pretty good, BYE BYE BYE was terrible, Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu was cute and had a great PV, EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!! was fairly forgettable, and the best-of album was a huge disappointment with no new tracks! I suppose my favorite release of the year was Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu. It parallels my favorite °C-ute release of 2008, Edo no Temari Uta II in that it was a summertime cover song. I'm not sure what Tsunku's doing with SHOCK!'s Airi saturation. Maybe he's hoping for another Furusato→LOVE Machine situation.

Mano Erina

Manoeri's debut single held so much promise! I had a lot of hope for her career after hearing "Otome no Inori" and seeing its PV. Sadly everything sort of went downhill from there for me. The only other single she has released that I even remotely like is Kono Mune no Tokimeki wo, and if that I don't love. Her album was a bit of a snooze too. Really an all around disappointing year from her!

S/mileage

I'm excited about their immanent debut! The girls have such a fresh, sweet image and strong vocals. I think "aMa no jaku" is a super boring track, but "Suki-chan" is super cute with a great PV and "Asu wa Date na no ni, Ima Sugu Koe ga Kikitai" is one of my favorite releases of the year.

Year's Best/Worst

Best albums
Platinum 9 DISC, Champloo 1 ~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~

Worst albums
FRIENDS

Best singles
Berryz Koubou: Dakishimete Dakishimete
Buono!: MY BOY
°C-ute: Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu
Guardians 4: Omakase♪Guardian
Mano Erina: Otome no Inori
Morning Musume: Nanchatte Renai
S/mileage: Asu wa Date na no ni, Ima Sugu Koe ga Kikitai

Worst singles
Berryz Koubou: Seishun Bus Guide/Rival
Buono!: Take It Easy!
°C-ute: Bye! Bye! Bye!
Guardians 4: PARTY TIME
Mano Erina: Love&Peace=Paradise
Morning Musume: Naichau Kamo
S/mileage: aMa no Jaku

Best shuffle units
High-King, Shin Minimoni

Worst shuffle units
Petitmoni V

The year ahead

Well, I'm looking forward to this next year. I hope all the groups do well and have great releases. As for myself, Here are a couple of things I have in the works for the blog this year:

  • A collection of Morning Musume essays: Theseus' SHIP! TO THE FUTURE, Swan Songs, and Asahi Musume
  • Berries for Berryz
  • An exploration of shuffle units and subgroups

Monday, June 15, 2009

Return of the beast

Hello all,

I realize I took a surprise unexplained hiatus, but since I don't want to come off as emo and whiny I'll not explain and just say, "sorry!"

I've missed several releases in the last couple of months, so here are some mini reviewlettes for you all to enjoy. Later today or tomorrow there will be full reviews for Mano Erina and °C-ute's new singles, which have summer themes: my favorite!

MY BOY - Buono!
Wow, Buono!, What a great track! The guitars are really hot, and their voices sound so rich and mature. I love Momo's "it's so nice" line. What an understatement, darling! That girl sounds better and better with every release she's on. I love the cake thief thing in the PV, too. It's such a huge step up from "Lotta Love Lotta Love." I can't say that I love the "Warp!" but none of Buono's b-sides have been anything special, except possibly "Lady Panther." Gao, indeed.

Sadistic Dance - HANGRY&ANGRY
It's good to hear from the duo again! This is in the exact same style as their mini-album, which is fine. I like the goth-pop. You don't get a lot of that in Hello! Project. Rika and Yossie sound really nice. The cover is really ugly though. What is up with Rika's hat?

Shouganai Yume Oibito - Morning Musume
The newest Morning Musume single is great! What a pretty melody and such nice backing vocals. Everyone sounds nice on the track except Ai and 8th gen, who sound ridiculously good, and Sayumi, who sounds like herself. I can't say I love the dance in the PV, but everyone sure looks gorgeous.

The real star on this release though is the b-side. Oh my god, Ai-chan, could you for one minute stop being pure anthropomorphized HOTNESS? I've been listening to it every time I go for a run, and I just grin like an idiot through all 4.5 minutes of it.

Omakase♪Guardian - Guardians 4
Only three words can adequately describe this song: "holy shit Aika!" I think it's a little weird that she's in another four-member special anime unit with Nakajima Saki, but I'm fine with whatever gives me more Aika, especially with her adorably shouting "bui~!" The song itself is totally precious, even more than the Shugo Chara Egg! version of it! It takes a lot of skill to be cuter than something with Fukuda Kanon. On the other hand, the PV and the b-side are completely "meh."

Mecha Mote I LOVE YOU - MM Gakuen
Without at doubt the best thing to come out of TNX ever. I've been listening to both the a-side and the b-side almost non-stop for about a week now. The songs are great for everything: washing dishes, riding bikes, lifting weights, playing video games, dancing, riding the bus, grooming/primping, and everything else I've been doing this summer. Not the best for listening to while writing a review because I can't concentrate on writing due to how stupidly good the tracks are.

Seishun Bus Guide/Rival
- Berryz Koubou
In case you haven't noticed, I love Berryz Koubou. They are hands down the best overall in vocals in all of Hello! Project (unless you consider High-King to be an active group), and arguably the best overall in asthetic appeal.

On that note, I don't love this single. It's through no fault of the girls (excluding Risako maybe, because she sounds a little strained on both tracks), it's just bad song-writing/arranging. "Rival" is moderately adorable and definitely ends up as my number one song on the release, but "Seishun Bus Guide" is almost entirely forgettable. The PVs follow similarly.

Still, it's not a bad release, just not the best Berryz release. And obviously people like it because it's number 3 for Berryz as far as first week sales! Berryz, please come to the U.S., preferably my part of the country!

aMa no Jaku - S/mileage
This song is boring as hell. I'm glad the girls have something over than just b-sides on another group's release to keep them occupied though. 'A' for effort, maybe?

So yeah, I'm sorry I hibernated through the spring. Lots of exciting stuff coming up this summer though, so hopefully you'll be hearing a lot from me!