1 post tagged “onna ni sachi are”

Originally drafted around July 10th, because Chiakii is lazy and lost her Internets and is speaking in third person, which is a good excuse!

Um. Wow. That's really all I can say right now. I'm starting to get a better semblance of what this title means. I mean, all the baka at the beginning...the evil glares...Morning Musume really seems to be heading in a way different direction. "I don't trust men" from Kanashimi...and now this. Man, I remember back when the lyrics went along the lines of, "Whenever I'm with my boyfriend, I feel really happy" or "The person I liked was kind today! Happy happenings happened!" Not that those lyrics were that good....I still raise an eyebrow at "He's really good at enka" from Go Girl. Are they trying to appeal to a female fanbase here? If they are, I don't blame them. The fact that I actually pause the video and rewind to the frame whenever I see girls at a Momusu concert unfortunately says a lot about our perceptions of the H!P fanbase.

And wow that is one horrific closeup. Tsuji's fangs got nothing on Reina's bottom teeth. Guess her eye isn't the only wonky thing she's got...haven't these girls ever heard of dental care? I mean, I've seen more teeth problems in the Momusu crop than I have in my entire school.

Observe the Koharu, quite obviously the face of this pack. Please note the larger headdress, frontmost position, and Tsunku calling her "Miracle" every fucking time he mentions her.

The group begins to rather aggressively move forward, perhaps in an attempt to attack their prey: the unsuspecting Japanese public.

And by the way, I hate that mirror, I really do. It makes the whole thing so much more yellow than it needs to be.

You know, Koharu wouldn't look so bad if it weren't for her headdress. I mean it. She looks so gorgeous here, and she looked great in Kanashimi...but really. The other girls look pretty nice, since theirs sort of fall over their shoulders...but Koharu's just stands straight up. D:

Also, of all the members, which one of them took over Yossie's position as the pimp of Momusu? Aichan. I mean, just look at her! Who would've thought? All we need is a "Mr. Moonlight" role and Aichan can become the next Yossie. I mean, she can do that owning look really well. It's kinda of creepy, actually. *goggles*

This move looks great in motion. Now that I've screencapped it, it actually looks really awkward, but I swear, it is awesome.

Honestly, I haven't seen this strong a lineup vocally since perhaps...God. I'm thinking back over the past lineups, and the last lineup with very few weak points was probably the "Love Machine" one. The fourth gen was a mass of cuteness that couldn't really sing...the fifth gen was great but Konno didn't do much and Gaki's really only growing into herself until now...the sixth gen brought Sayu...and Koharu is only just turning into a strong point. Yup. This lineup actually probably is one of the most talented ones from the Momusu pool. The only girl that probably won't turn into a real asset here is Sayu, but we all knew that and actually, as long as she's not given a solo line, she'll do fine. But Aichan and Gaki have really blossomed, Reina's always been a powerhouse, Eri's not getting as much attention as she did back in her big breakthrough but she carries it well, Koharu's really turning into a beautiful, talented young lady...and the eighth gen is still growing, but from what we've seen thus far, after some time in the group, they'll turn out great.

The girls do their various bakas...Koharu really spits hers out, while Kamei looks kind of like a tribal woman - I swear to God I didn't mean to screencap her that horrifically, but with all those feathers and somehow her face looks very weathered...and Sayu doesn't look very into it at all. She kinda ruined the way the other girls were like "BAKA! BAKA! BAKA, DAMMIT!" She looks more like, "Baka" than "BAKA!"

After seeing Reina's teeth in high-quality, I don't think I'll ever look at her the same way again. Pretty much every kid in my class has had braces, but none of them ever needed them as bad as the Great Wonky One.

The song reminds me of a mix between "The Peace!", "Iroppoi Jirettai", and "Ambitious." People have said that before, so moving on...

Sayumi sounds like crap as usual, but somehow it's not so bad when she's matched up with Aichan. Really, all you need to do is never give Sayu a solo line, pair her up with a better singer, and it's all good. She's still gorgeous though...never stop being cute, Sayu. It's the only thing you've got going for you.

And excuse me for a moment but OHMYGOD the Pandas. They're easily my two favorite members right now, even beating out Koharu. Linlin's definitely number one, Junjun maybe tying with Koharu for the number two spot. And shit they both look gorgeous, even cheekbonetastic Linlin.

That said, not enough love for Risa.

Aika...has yet to grow on me. I'm just not really that interested in her yet. She's definitely cute, and I'm glad she won the auditions...but yeah, just not too drawn in by her so far.

I'm really liking the barefoot thing. Strangely enough. Mostly because the only shoes I can imagine going with this are the gold "Peace!" boots, and that is just too much gold in one place for me. The headdresses, the clothes...the mirror on the ceiling isn't helping much. Which isn't to say I don't like the PV, because I do. But it's so damn yellow. I like the closeups a lot better than the dance shot, if only because it rests my eyes for a little. Though, this is a really cool dance. It reminds me a lot of "Ambitious", like I already said.

I do like that green/blue light, though. It sort of balances out the yellow and adds a nice contrast (especially during Eri's line.) It makes the PV look like a big, moving Livejournal icon, now that I think about it. At least, a decent Livejournal icon. (As opposed to AAA's "CRAZY GONNA CRAZY", which I saw screencapped at unchained and cried for...)

A lot of people seem to be upset at how much Takahashi seems to be dominating this song. But I think if there's one thing that's a step in the right direction, it's getting a "face" of Momusu. Someone people can recognize, someone that can pull the casual listeners in by thinking, "Oh, hey, I've seen her before" without them having to see the Momusu logo and begin backing away slowly. And I'm still not liking the haircut on her, but at least it's a change from the hairstyle she's had since what, 2002? 2003 if we stretch it a bit...yeah. Also, I read some people saying, "This just proves that it's now Ai Takahashi and Morning Musume." But hey, how come no one complains about Natsumi Abe and Morning Musume? "Furusato", anyone?

Reina threatens to bite us with her wonky teeth, several fanboys go willingly.

The girls were all absolutely impressive in this song. Junjun and Linlin, definitely. They have deep voices, which is something I really love and that I was missing after the departures of Yossie and Mako and before they starting giving Risa more lines. It's not that I don't like high-pitched voices (if I didn't, W would not receive the love it did from me) but I miss having deep, more mature-sounding voices. There have been too many girls in Momusu's history that have voices like three-year-olds.

A quick screencap to make up for old-lady!Eri in the beginning.

This song really is addictive. It took a few listens to get used to, but now once I listen to it, it won't get out of my head. It's kind of like "Ambitious!" in the way that it always makes me want to move. Not dancing (God knows I can't dance) but running, jumping around while shouting "Baka ne!", etc. It's got a lot of energy. Not to mention, "Ambitious" was pretty yellow as well...and hey, I actually kinda liked the costumes for Ambitious. Am I the only one?

I'm glad they let Junjun and Linlin do the "Onna ni sachi are" lines. It sounds really good and they're really just my favorite members right now, so yeah. Their voices actually go together very well. Hey, maybe if they're only in Momusu temporarily, they could form an H!P unit together. That would be so awesome. For me, at least.

Eri also kicks ass here. Holy crap. Now I really want to hear more from her.

The pandas also rock their solo lines, and someone pointed out that Junjun sounds a little like Mako. I can kind of hear it...vaguely.

Thus far, I really think great things can come from this lineup. I'm not going to hold out for another "LOVE MACHINE" or bemoan the fact that they may not hit #1 again for a very long time...but we have to remember, Morning Musume is an idol group. Idol groups are generally on the decline in Japan and hey, the fact that Morning Musume even lasted ten years is a Big Damn Achievement. (Sorry, Firefly moment.) "Onna ni Sachi Are" reached #2, and if it manages to hang onto the charts, then that'll be even better. And they took the daily #1, so that's something, right?

The b-side "Please! Jiyuu no Tobira" is one of the few Momusu b-sides I'm really fond of. I mean, it's not that I don't like the b-sides, but the list of b-sides that I actually listen to is very short, and the list of ones that I like better than the A-sides has maybe two songs on it. ("Love & Peace" from The Manpower!!! single...and that's it, actually) - but "Please! Jiyuu no Tobira" definitely makes it onto the first list. I haven't listened to it more than I have "Onna" but I've listened to it more than twice and I've made it past the 30-second mark without changing the song about six times, and that's a Big Damn Achievement considering how bored I normally get with H!P b-sides. They always sound like so much less effort was put into them than into the A-side, which is probably true...but for the love of God, at least try to cover it up.

So. On the whole, how is this single? I'd have to say that it's definitely a better one. I'm mourning the loss of the very obvious guitar in "Kanashimi", but the song is so good I can forgive it.

Anyway, I'm going off to continue my started drafts. I will continue playing J-pop catch up after these words from our sponsors...

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm a procrastinating bitch. *distracts you with a picture of killer Junjun and runs*