J-Pop Catch Up Part II: Itoshiki Tomo e - Or, Everyone Has a Higher Budget Than Momusu

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I don't find myself listening to H!P ballads very often because they're not often done well. H!P is known for turning out hyper, upbeat pop songs and one gets the sense that when they do slower songs, they're not entirely sure what they're doing. So instead of coming out as something very simple and beautiful, it's more...boring. Of course, if you manage to stay awake past the verses, it's well worth it - but most people can't. If it weren't for the fact that I really want to write about this, I probably wouldn't be able to either.

Koharu is so pretty. Man. It takes the other girls like three years to grow into their looks, but she managed to grow into them really fast, and now she's just getting prettier.
 

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The PV is what saves slower H!P songs for me every time, if only because I have something to look at and think about if the song is on the sleep-inducing side. And this really is a beautiful PV. The set is beatiful, the girls look great (Koharu. Oh. My God.) and Nacchi walking on water is just...this is just a good PV, you know?

I'm starting to wonder how long the 10th Anniversary Unit will last. I thought it would just be a one-shot group to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Momusu and one of UFA's less crack-induced ideas, but they have another single, they're having a tour...is Tanjou 10nen Kinentai here to stay? While I do really like them, I'm hoping that they either disband at the beginning of 2008, or change their name when 2007 is over. Because I love this lineup, I really do, and I'd love to see more stuff from them. But if they keep making me type out Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai...my love for them will diminish. Greatly. Especially if I'm still typing it well into 2008.

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Is it just me, or is this the same house/hotel place that the v-u-den was in for "Koisuru Angel Heart" and that Ayaya is in for "Egao"? (I didn't watch the full thing for "Egao" though, so I could be mistaken on that part.)

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Gaki also shines. This unit does a great job showcasing the members. Iida looks very grown up and mature, as does  the usually childish Nacchi.

Gocchin...seems a little younger here, actually. Like a teenager, really. She's shown with more makeup than the other girls and is the only one with an entirely different mirror to examine her reflection in, like she's preparing for her first date or something. (I wouldn't know. I turned all the boys in my class off after I beat up one of them.)

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I'm assuming by the flashes and the background that they were putting on makeup for their photoshoot in the middle of the house, or something along those lines. I don't know if that's true or not, but it's the only thing I can think of that ties the two together.

Maybe I am (once again) reading too much into this, but one gets a small idea of the hierarchy by looking at the way they're lined up: Gaki and Iida on either side, backing the frontgirls. Koharu and Nacchi sit in the center with Gocchin right next to Nacchi - close enough to be considered at the front. Perhaps it's because she was the accidental Miracle? Koharu was touted as the Miracle Girl from the moment she won the audition, and Nacchi became the center of Morning Musume practically from the start.

Then again, shots like this show who the two original Momusu frontgirls were. Man, I really hate when they do this. The Golden Era is over. Get over it or get out. Is even Up-Front hung up on that as well? Berryz and everything are great and all, but letting go of Momusu's past is the best way to ensure that Momusu will have a future at all. (*chants* Berryz will not surpass Momusu, Berryz will not surpass Momusu...and neither will C-ute...)

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I really like their dresses. The colors are beautiful and they've got the appropriate amount of ruffles. They also show nice amounts of leg, which works very well for Iida. (If you ask me, it's a crime not to look at Iida's legs on the very rare occasion that she shows them off.)

Maki uses her superpowers to stop time. I don't know what this has to do with anything, actually. Since I haven't found a translation anywhere, I'm taking it just for visual effect.

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Koharu is the only one not shown dabbing makeup onto herself. There's just this one shot where she holds a brush and looks like she's thinking. I beg you not to use that brush, Miracle Girl. Your hair in this PV is a Miracle unto itself.

I've been viewing this PV repeatedly, and I still can't make sense of it. Where does it tie into the title, "Itoshiki Tomo e"? That's supposed to mean, "For a Beloved Bad Friend" (from the translations I've found), but others say it simply means "To a Beloved Friend." Which one is right? Though to be honest, I've thought about both titles and the PV makes sense with neither. Is it just more visual effects? Pretty idols dabbing on makeup and acting elegant instead of cute? Does it have anything to do with anything at all?

Nacchi can walk on water and Gocchin can stop time. They are two of the most prominent Momusu members, past or present, and both have probably seen the most favor in staying with their idol careers. Iida and Gaki simply stand there and look pretty, Koharu clutches a brush and does generally nothing. Does that say anything? I'd like to think it doesn't, but a year of reading Cult of Pop and/or American Wota has convinced me that there are always messages in H!P PVs that I'm missing, whether it's true or not.

The b-side, "Michi Naru Mirai e" is a more upbeat song. Something about it actually reminds me of Ayaya's "Kiseki no Kaori Dance", though how I can hear this I can't really explain. I really like it, possibly more than the A-side. It certainly beats out "Junen Ai"...for me, anyway. It's catchy, it's also bringing back the slight rock noise of the latest H!P releases, and I can actually stay awake through it. (Amazing.) So now I have another song to add to H!P B-sides that I can listen to without cringing. That brings the list up to...eight? Yeah, that's it so far.

This is actually a fairly strong single. The A-side is okay bordering on good, and the b-side is just awesome. I'd like to say that "Michi Naru Mirai e" should've been the A-side, but it just doesn't strike me as being very A-sideish. I don't know. It's good, but it's just so very typical H!P. As Tanjou 10nen is the 10th Anniversary Unit, they should stand out from the other units, remind us which group is H!P's mothership (hint: it ain't the Berryz - fuck, it's not C-ute either, you perv!...and I say that with love) and which H!P group we've been bowing down to for ten years.

Also, since I've got a lot that I want to say, some of which is slightly outdated, I will post what I hope will be my catch up schedule:
Part III: Hana wo Pu~n / Futari wa NS
Part IV: Glitter / Fated
Part V: BINGO!
Part VI: Berryz 4th Ai Something Something

I might also get around to the other AKB48 single (you know, the one that they released like two hours after their last one) but I heard it kind of sucks, and I don't love AKB48 enough to waste my time on that.

There's also the members' birthdays: Happy belated birthday to Nacchi and Kaorin, both of whom are in this unit. Also happy belated to birthday to...I'm sure there was some Berryz or C-ute member that had a birthday earlier that I forgot. (Maasa, I forgot a while ago so I'll stick that in here now...but who was the other one? *hits head*)