5 posts tagged “tnx”

So once again, I come in late with a review and a look at Gyaruru and their first single - "Boom Boom Meccha Macho!". I saw the original version on YouTube (or at least the dance shot) but I only downloaded the Story Version. Because if Jpop is going to eat away at my hard drive, then I'm only getting stuff that entertains me. 

This review was delayed by my stupid VLC player that didn't want to cap for me, and by schoolwork. (Summer school is a bitch. The end.) And, well, I was trying to dredge up something to say about Gyaruru. However, it just wasn't coming. So in order to get this out before the single is a year old, here we go: I love Sonene. She's easily my favorite of the group. Not for her talent - her singing voice is very odd and her dancing is...shitty...but:

SHE MAKES SOME OF THE BEST FACIAL EXPRESSIONS EVER. Really. From "Sonene EAT CAKE!" to her sad faces, Sonene is just very, very cute. Really. Amimi and Abebe occasionally look a little odd doing their smiles or Amimi psycho faces, but Sonene always just looks so cute. I mean, I just wanna pinch her cheeks. Except, you know, she's like twelve years older than me.

Abebe looks so much like Nacchi here. I know they're sisters, but not all sisters look alike. After all, I remember DLing Asami's photobooks a while back and being totally surprised at how well she pulled off the sexy. Which isn't to say Nacchi isn't attractive, but Nacchi in a bikini (or, fine, whenever she sexes it up) is like when you see those Disney child stars doing porno and trying to break out of their goody-goody persona. (No sex appeal. Whatsoever.) Asami on the other hand...maybe she hasn't been fronting a girlpop group for about seven years, but she manages to pull off a more feline look without getting caught in the "she-did-WHAT?!" kind of trap.

This single is very pointless and silly. One of the lines in their songs goes "Para para odoru", which should hint that this is right up there with "Minimoni. Jankenpyon!" in terms of silliness. Only, of course, this is a group of girls that are all over the age of 15, so...well, I can respect it more than them taking off all their clothes, so we'll leave it at that.

After a while though, this song can get tiring. After endlessly listening it for about a week, hearing that "Meccha BOOM BOOM FIRE!" stopped making me bounce around. So I put it to rest for a little and let myself skip over it, instead torturing myself with a few mind-numbing days of old-school Morning Musume (I can't be the only person that doesn't particularly enjoy Koi no Dance Site, can I?) and a splash of Esthero. (Wikked Lil' Grrls still makes me shamelessly shake it, though...but that's an entry for another time.)

But, then it popped up again, and I was thrilled to hear it. I don't know any of the moves, so I just did some of those "Go Girl"-esque arm movements and it worked out just fine. You know, if you're ever para-para-ing and you don't know the moves, just do the "Go Girl" dance, because it works with everything. I would know, I do it through pretty much all upbeat H!P songs. (I do not, however, recommend trying it during "Last Kiss" or "Shiawase desu ka?". Just FYI.)

What I want to know is: would I like this better if Nono was here? After all, she is my second-favorite member of H!P of all time. It'd be cruel and unusual of me to say that I don't want her in my base, killing my d00ds as a part of Gyaruru, but I can't help but wonder if I would give up finally hearing something out of Abe Asami for the wild card of the fourth gen. After all, she's certainly had plenty of lines in her Momusu days, and W made fair use of both the girls. You know, before one of them started smoking like a chimney and the other one decided to pop out a Fetus Musume. Abe Asami has made music, of course, but where I could find this music, I don't know. Certainly not my Japantown. Asami is no Nacchi (from what I could hear, anyway) but her voice probably pwns Tsuji's, if you're looking at it from an unbiased and scholarly standpoint. (Which I'm not.)

A lot of people have been saying that Abebe doesn't smile at all and doesn't look like she enjoys being there. While I do agree that she doesn't seem to completely enjoy being tossed into the group because they lost - ahem - Tsujiji, she's certainly smiling. Still, I'm hoping that as she continues in Gyaruru, she won't be given Tsuji leftovers. She's probably wearing Tsuji's costume and sunglasses here because of the suddenness of Knocked-Up Nono and the rush that was now on the single...but I hope that they just don't go over their future plans for the group, crossing out Tsuji's name and writing in Abe's. I hope they rework them so that it's not Abe-replacing-Tsuji anymore, just...Abebe.

Would I like to hear more from Gyaruru? Yes. Definitely. I'm sad that this only reached #15, but as long as I can listen to it, I'll be fine. Would I like to see more from Gyaruru? Only if they give Abebe a reason to not look so bitter, and only if Sonene doesn't look like a stick in the breeze when she dances.

Sadly enough, I've found myself pondering for weeks over what to write here. I do so adore this single and Sonene, but...I find myself at a lack of things to say. I want to care so much more about Gyaruru than I actually do. I hope that they'll worm their way into my hearts the way so many others have managed to (Sayu and Koharu are prime examples of this), because I think this was a pretty good single. I think it's the lack of enthusiasm. The only person that's bouncing along like she hasn't a care in the world is Amimi - and why shouldn't she? She can sing, she can dance, it's all the same to her. In the meanwhile, Sonene's very obviously self-conscious about her singing and dancing (no Utaban for her for a long, long time...) and Abebe just looks like she couldn't care less - after all, she's just the replacement. They don't have the entertaining appeal that Momusu or Minimoni or other Tsunku-produced creations (granted, all H!P ones, but since we've come to think of H!P = Tsunku, is there even a difference anymore?) have - and yes, the current Momusu still has it. I think I'll write about that later.

In conclusion: Gyaruru needs time. Time, and cake. Mmm...cake. 

...Asami Abe? Natsumi Abe's little sister? Uh. What?

Before you get the wrong idea, I like Asami. I like Natsumi. But I also like Asami. I actually have no idea what the hell she was doing before this...I mean, I knew she was semi-famous and was a singer or whatever, but I actually have never heard a peep out of her.

But now it appears I shall! Abebe (oh, jeez. I'm sorry, but that is by far the worst of the Gyaruru names. The one I liked the least from the old Gyaruru was Tsujiji, and even that wasn't so bad. But Abebe? Oh...oh my.) has been added to Gyaruru and they'll probably rerecord the single or whatever before unleashing Gyaruru upon the unsuspecting masses.

I'm glad Asami gets to sing and that I'll get a chance to hear her (apparently she's pretty good) and I'm really glad Gyaruru's going to get to see the light of day. I wonder if they'll become a quartet if Tsuji decides to return? Still, this news is good because of my love for "BOOM BOOM Meccha Macho." I'm even more excited than I was when I found out about Gyaruru in the first place.

Good luck to Asami and Gyaruru! Woo!

Okay, so no one really knows if it's going to be in the summer or not. But Morning Musume doesn't have a "Happy Insert-Season-Here Wedding" song, so I had to make do. And they're getting it registered in the summer, so it's kind of right...whatever. Shut up.

I am not normally one to judge people by their looks, but may I just say that Tsuji's guy is currently winning in my book right now for being pretty cute? And the fact that he seems nice (even though I've head some nasty rumors on boards) adds to that. Also the fact that he's ULTRAMAN and wouldn't mind letting the kid (if it's a boy) be Ultraman.

God, imagine what kind of kid this'll turn out to be. The mom's the Bakajo of Morning Musume, and the dad is Ultraman. Man, why isn't my dad Ultraman? Oh, well, anyway.

I know some people are disappointed in "Knocked-Up Nono" (as is her new name...Tsujiji apparently didn't catch on as well as we thought!) but I think that, considering the circumstances, she made the right choice. Of course, I'm thirteen and the chances of me getting knocked up and knowing what I'm talking about is not a likely one...but hey, Nono's only six years older than me! Six years and one month exactly. But I think everyone would agree that the baby is more important that Gyaruru, no matter how catchy their single is.

I want Tsuji to come back when this has settled down. When the baby is born and she's gone through the whole "first baby panic what-do-I-do" part of motherhood (though actually, considering the way my mom acts towards me, I don't think that part will ever really end...) I would like her to come back to the music scene. UFA doesn't seem to be taking this as well as we thought they would, and uh, neither is Yoshizawa...but Gyaruru's on TNX. So I think she'll be okay. I don't particularly care about her staying in H!P because she doesn't do much by way of performing, and now that Haromoni@ has replaced H!M and features only Morning Musume, the chances of Tsuji doing anything there aren't big ones. And now that Aibon's gone, it's not like Tsuji can perform W songs solo...well, she could, but it's not the same as Miki doing "Melodies" solo. W songs were just...they were W songs, for God's sake. It was pretty easy for me to just take the one-person "Melodies" because it was still good and I didn't even really miss Aya there. But I know that if it was just Tsuji doing "Miss Love Tantei" or whatever I'd constantly be thinking, "The fuck? Where's Aibon? Are you telling me that this is a W song with Nono but not Aibon?"

Wow, I really started rambling. Where was I, anyway? Oh, right. Tsuji's pregnant. How could I have forgotten? Right, I

was rambling about W songs. Actually, I loved W and I wouldn't mind if other performers did their versions of them. I don't believe in "locking away" H!P songs or parts of songs (like Rika's "The Peace!" monologue) because that's not really a possibility considering the rapid changes of members and it's boring to hear the same version of a song over and over. (Not to mention, I love seeing my favorite H!P members perform songs I like that they weren't a part of.) I jumped on the Early Single Box when I found it online because it had different, earlier versions of songs like "LOVE MACHINE" and "Morning Coffee." BUT ANYWAY. BEFORE I START RAMBLING AGAIN. (Even though I started again. I'm stopping now, though!)

While I think Tsuji's making the right choice, I'm a little disappointed at the way that everyone now has to run around rearranging things. I know Yossie's pissed because her dinner party thinger has to be postponed so she can take on Tsuji's role in that play, and they need to find a new voice for that thing Tsuji was voicing. Good to know pregnancy isn't making Nono any less clumsy. >_<

Anyway, I will close this off with best wishes to Nono. Though I'll probably be saying the same thing at the end of another post when more news on this thing pops up.

Well, it's been confirmed that Tsuji is getting married. Nothing on her pregnancy, though quite a few blogs and other sources are saying that the pregnancy too has been confirmed. UFA seems to be handling it pretty well, from what I've been reading. Nothing about a terminated contract. Tsuji is, however, withdrawing from her idol activities. Gyaruru will probably release that first single (assuming it's done) and then lay low until Tsuji has her baby and the marriage is done and everything's settled down...

Maybe it's because she's not dating the guy, she's marrying him. She managed to keep their relationship under wraps for a while, they seem to have been going out for about two years...and well, after that, they're going to get married. I don't know if the company just likes Nono or what, but maybe they see it as more of a...I don't really know how to put it. They seem to not like the girls dating guys (or at least being seen with them in public) but getting married seems to be just fine with them.

I can see why they would take her getting married better than her having a boyfriend. Boyfriends, too temporary and too damaging to the career for something that rarely lasts long once their relationship is out. Marriage is more serious. Then again, only a handful of famous marriages actually lasted. We'll just have to wait and see...I hope Nono knows what she's doing and her Bakajo days are behind her.

I don't think her contract is going to be terminated. UFA would've said so already. So, I'm kinda excited about this. If this whole thing goes the way it seems to be going from here (though it rarely does) this will be the first kid born to an H!P idol that hasn't left the business.

Well. It seems that perhaps that spark of rivalry reminiscent of Morning Musumes past still exists: in the form of Tsuji and Kago trying to one up each other in the name of the "Scandal Musume."

Kago, for those of you that have been living under a rock, recently got fired from H!P for smoking underage and then getting a 38-year-old boyfriend. But rumor has it that Tsuji has just outdone her by getting pregnant and planning a marriage with the supposed father - 26-year-old actor Sugiura Taiyo.

I'm not sure whether or not to believe this. This news apparently isn't coming from some tabloid - it's being printed in newspapers and making appearances on TV as well. And honestly, it adds up: Tsuji's "phsyical problems" during the play were at first chalked up to her being her usual clumsy self. Could it be possible that she was dealing with the first bouts of pregnancy? They said she had stomach flu - could it be more?

I've seen this mentioned about her clumsiness: if this is true, is Tsuji really mother material? I mean, I think it's been said that she still can't cook without setting something on fire. If she chooses to have the baby, I think we might have to fear for the life of that poor kid.

I'm mixed on this. If it's true, it's kind of exciting in a really messed up way. If it's not...well, a big part of me wants it to not be true, because I love Nono and after the leave of Aibon...well, I don't know. It doesn't surprise me, but it does make me feel a little sad.

And what about Gyaruru? That new song, "Meccha Macho Boom Boom" or whatever it's called is pretty damn catchy, and I would really like to hear more from them. Sure, some idols have gotten married and had kids and still kept their career intact - but none of those idols were 19 years old, and none of those idols were part of the virginal Hello! Project. (Okay, maybe not so virginal, considering the latest PVs from the older groups...but it's a thing, let's go with it.) But then, maybe this is why Gyaruru is on TNX. Tsunku didn't seem to want to let Aibon go...so maybe Gyaruru and their catchy parapara is safe.

But then again, this could open up new opportunities: Aibon is apparently getting back into showbiz. If Tsuji does leave H!P, she could sign on with whatever label Kago's with now and W (or whatever they might be called) could get back together.

However, at the time, this is still a rumor. No confirmation from UFA or Tsuji herself yet. I wonder if Kago's going to pull something after this?