Morito Chisaki in Young Gangan 2016 no. 20

Here’s a nice short photo set from Country Girls’s Morito Chisaki.

Notes from the Idol PV Couch– Week 4 2017 (0129 – 0204)

Okay. I’m rebranding a bit. I just don’t want to keep looking at that damn Memorex ad anymore. The concept here is the same, so I hope you still get something new out of reading these little bits of mine. Thanks a bunch!

Over at New School Kaidan, I write a few words about some of the recently released promotional videos. This is a collection of those write-ups, with a few words sometimes added after a week+ of viewing.

This week we have Promotional videos from:
Country Girls,
Perfume,
Noto Arisa,
Yunomi feat. Toriena,
P.IDL,
RYUTist,
Lyrical Renaissance,
Kimura Tofu Ten (exclusive!),
Maria (exclusive!), and
Yamitsuki Company (exclusive!).

Country Girls – Good Boy Bad Girl

The motorcycle garage fantasy of “Good Boy Bad Girl” got a release today, and it is a ship builder’s dream. The girls pair off and sing to each other much like the guitars duel it out in the instrumentals. The Country Girls embody the titular boy/girl pairing, which means someone needs to play the bad girl girl. While this 50% of the the double A-side doesn’t have the verve of its partner (to me anyways), I do enjoy seeing the group stretch out and try new things. I know someone out there will complain about the incongruous motorcycle garage that isn’t mentioned in the lyrics, but do the visuals really need to match the lyrics exactly? I though we got over that in the 1980s. “Good Boy Bad Girl / Peanut Butter Jelly Love” vrooms into stores on February 8, 2017.

Beyond the Couch

Real talk:

Be Kind, (Promotional Video) Rewind – 20170122 to 20170128

Over at New School Kaidan, I write a few words about some of the recently released promotional videos. This is a collection of those write-ups, with a few words sometimes added after a week+ of viewing.

This week we have Promotional videos from: Morning Musume ’17, Country Girls, Tsubaki Factory, Houkago Princess, 2o Love to Sweet Bullet, FES☆TIVE, Ohara Sakurako (Rewind Exclusive!), PREDIANNA, Ogon Jidai, Yes! Happy, and Sugar & Solt

Morning Musume ’17 – Morning Miso Soup

The first video from Morning Musume ’17 comes in the form of a prootional tie-in with Marukome Miso. “Morning Miso Shiru” is a remake of the group’s 1998 single, “Morning Coffee” re purposed for this 2017 application. The song also marks the debut PV for the new 13th generation: Kaga Kaede and Yokoyama Reina. Things get cozy for the girls as we see them camping in the most glamorous fashion. Decked in fuzzy sweaters and caps, the girls sing along at the campfire, fire up the sparklers, and engage in late night pillow warfare. Of course there’s plenty of Morning Miso Soup to go around. In the first time in quite a while, the Morning Musume seem to be having a lot of fun just being girls in a promotional video, which makes “Morning Miso Shiru” a very refreshing change of pace for the flagship Hello! Project group.

Rewind+

I don’t want to say that Morning Musume ’17 can do no wrong, but really

Hello! Project Power Rankings December 2016

Hello everybody, TheNumber244 here to bring you up to date with the new month of Hello! Project Power Rankings.

It’s been an eventful month in the projects. November spawned two single releases, an album release, a graduation announcement, a first-time Nippon Budokan concert, and a new generation announcement! And, if that isn’t enough news, Michishige Sayumi revealed (after some numberplay and wordplay) her comeback to the entertainment industry on November 26, a full two years after her graduation. The only thing for certain now is that the pink one will return next year. Details will be announced, so look out for Yummy Sayumi!

And now,
Rankings come on!

Read More…

Yamaki Risa in Weekly Big Comic Spirits 2016 vol. 50

I’ve been saying it for a while now. Yamaki Risa is a pretty young thing. Her sweetness and grace come through in this set of photos from Weekly Big Comic Spirits. With any luck this won’t be the last we see of the latest princess of Hello! Project.

Hello! Project Power Rankings November 2016

Hello everybody, guest contributor TheNumber244 here to bring you up to date with the new month of Hello! Project Power Rankings.

October brought with it three single releases, the expectations for two more single releases, overseas concert performances, idol Halloween costumes, and more. But, even with that flurry of activity the news that dominates the here and now is Tsugunaga Momoko’s graduation from Country Girls, Hello! Project, and public life. You saw that correct: Momochi is hanging up the musubi. Technically, this news should belong in next month’s Power Rankings, and it still will appear there. But, in the here and now there is no bigger news. Momoko still has a few months with us- Momoko officially calls it quits on June 30, 2017 – exactly 15 years from the debut of Tsugunaga Momoka and the rest of the Hello! Project Kids.

And now,
Rankings come on!

Read more

Hello! Project Power Rankings September 2016

Hello everybody, guest contributor TheNumber244 here to bring you up to date with the new month of Hello! Project Power Rankings.

In Hello! Project news that doesn’t fit in these rankings, Tsubaki Factory gained three new members! The other Factory Girls picked up H!P Kenshuusei Ono Mizuho, Onoda Saori, and Akiyama Mao. These girls are some real jewels in the KSS system. Onoda Saori is an experienced idol having been a part of the local Shizuoka idol group Princess♪Ribbon and is also the voice of one of the main characters in Kopinks COSMOS. Akiyama Mao, meanwhile, is a noted skillful dancer whose KSS rival is/was … Ono Mizuho! Read more about the new members at my blog. Look for this group to accelerate forward in the coming months.

The other monumental event in August took place at Nippon Budokan. After about four years, the super group of the Hello! Project Kids reunited on their biggest stage. Along for the ride were Tsugunaga Momoko’s Country Girls and Suzuki Airi’s C-ute. Natsuyaki Miyabi probably had the biggest day, though. Not only did the August 25 event take place on Miya’s birthday, but the “New Natsuyaki Miyabi Group” finally received it’s name: Pink Cres. (that’s short for Pink Crescendo). Crescendo is a music term that directs musicians to gradually increase volume, which is the hopeful trajectory for this new group with new girls Nihei Yuuka and Kobayashi Hikaru. Best of luck girls!

Take the good with the bad, though. August saw a major announcement in the world of Hello! Project that flavored Buono! Fest with a bit of the bittersweet. We will get to that news shortly, but before we do, let’s look at Tsunku’s Aflac commercial.

And now,
Rankings come on!

Read More

Hello Project Power Rankings August 2016

Hello everybody, guest contributor TheNumber244 here to bring you up to date with the new month of Hello! Project rankings. This month in Hello! Project saw a new addition, a future foursome, and a TV Summer Spectacular. In addition, July saw nine performances of the Hello! Project 2016 Summer Tour- “Sunshine Parade” and “Rainbow Carnival”. Throw a new release on top of the mix, and it’s a wonder who will fall on top of the heap! Well, I did some of that work for you, so ease your seat back and get ready for the August Hello! Project Power Rankings!

And now,
Rankings come on!

Read More ->

The Future of Hello Project Weekly Shounen Sunday 2016 no. 24

Always be wary of such a sweeping title. But, in this case Weekly Shounen Sunday may have things just about right with this selection of girls from Hello! Project.

Hello! Project Power Rankings July 2016

Hello everybody, guest contributor TheNumber244 here to bring you up to date with the new month of Hello! Project rankings. I know this edition appears a bit late, owing mainly to my four-day lockdown at Anime Expo early in the month. But, enough with my silly excuses! The early goings of June were dominated by an outpour of emotion for the graduations of Tamura Meimi on May 30th and Suzuki Kanon on May 31st. That’s a lot to take in for a fandom that held both girls in high esteem since their induction into the Projects in 2011. How did the rest of the Projects deal in June? Well, let’s find out together!

And now,
Rankings come on!

READ MORE