Notes from the Idol PV Couch– Week 15 2017 (0416-0422)


Over at New School Kaidan, I write a few words about some of the recently released promotional videos. At times, this is a bit of a grueling task, and all of my thoughts can get a little scattered when multiple PVs are released on the same day. But, I always try to present the promotional videos in the best light possible, and I try to remember that each of these pieces of entertainment for your a me is actually the manifestation of a dream for some young girl or girls out there in Japan. Here then 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:

Juice=Juice – Feel Kanjiru yo

Barely a week to go until their 9th single release, and Juice=Juice finally deliver a promotional video for “Feel! Kanjiru yo”. As if to add variety to the single, this song bounces along with some confectionery pop, leaving the around the world trip to the single’s other A-side. Visually, Miyazaki Yuka and the girls wear their Sunday best and frolic about the hillside like five Marias in the Japanese hills. The Vaseline smeared camera lens gives the girls an appropriate glow with the midday sun lighting up their auras. Lyrically, Miura Yoshiko pens the Juicers a song about the interconnections holding the universe together and opening one’s heart to feel said connections. Not for the cynically minded, this is the kind of song that will probably make Miyamoto Karin cry in its future performances. You can feel for yourself when “Jidanda Dance / Feel Kanjiru yo” hits store shelves on April 26, 2017.

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Notes from the Idol PV Couch– Week 11 2017 (03019 – 0325)


Over at New School Kaidan, I write a few words about some of the recently released promotional videos. At times, this is a bit of a grueling task, and all of my thoughts can get a little scattered when multiple PVs are released on the same day. But, I always try to present the promotional videos in the best light possible, and I try to remember that each of these pieces of entertainment for your a me is actually the manifestation of a dream for some young girl or girls out there in Japan. Here then 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:

°C-ute – The Curtain Rises


The third and final promotional video from °C-ute’s farewell single broke this morning. “The Curtain Rises” might seem the opposite title for a swan song of a single, but the optimist says that the second act for Yajima Maimi and co. is about to begin. The song is a dance track littered with the hook of a title line and synth leads that call to mind some of the group’s classic songs. I haven’t had time to sort out the steamy backroom that serves as the set for most of “The Curtain Rises”; perhaps the curtain rises on the hidden machinations of the group? The PV features some nifty “Vertigo” style dolly zooms on the girl’s faces. Though there is much to unpack with “The Curtain Rises”, I’m going to leave off here before you’re looking at one of my 2000 word blogs. ℃-ute’s final single will be released on March 29, 2017.
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Notes from the Idol PV Couch– Week 8 2017 (0226 – 0304)


Over at New School Kaidan, I write a few words about some of the recently released promotional videos. At times, this is a bit of a grueling task, and all of my thoughts can get a little scattered when multiple PVs are released on the same day. But, I always try to present the promotional videos in the best light possible, and I try to remember that each of these pieces of entertainment for your a me is actually the manifestation of a dream for some young girl or girls out there in Japan. Here then 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 – Jealousy Jealousy


Looking like an elegant slumber party before the actual slumbering, “Jealousy Jealousy” rounds out the promotional videos for Morning Musume’s 63rd single release. Things look very black and white, although it’s not particularly clear which side is actually which (metaphorically speaking). What I do know is the group makes great use of their anchors: Oda Sakura and Fukumura Mizuki sing with an increasing presence from Nonaka Miki while Ishida Ayumi rightfully anchors the dance team and provides legit skills to the rap interludes (you should also stick around to hear Miki’s English in the rap- always a treat). Perhaps “Jealousy Jealousy” rests on foundations that are more predictable than its counterpart A-side, but man is the song smooth. For those put off by the mortar shells in “Brand New Morning”, “Jealousy Jealousy” feels like coming home to groove laden J-pop butter. “Brand New Morning/Jealousy Jealousy” goes on sale March 8, 2017.

Beyond the Couch

Over at Twitter I ran a poll, Continue reading

Be Kind, (Promotional Video) Rewind – 20161106 to 20161112


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 ’16, Bokura no Oyugi, Chubbiness, Especia, Yanakoto Sotto Mute, Fullfull☆Pocket, The Idol Formerly Known as Ladybaby, and ONEPIXCEL.


Morning Musume ’16 – Sou Ja Nai


“Sou ja nai” finds the girls of Morning Musume ’16 return to form, and that form is the 2014 “Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai” / “Password is 0” version of the group. Fukumura Mizuki’s girls are dramatically lit and shadowed in their cold antiseptic set filled with glass and poured concrete pillars. The promotional video also showcases some interesting effects. After the group materializes from silvery, Makino Maria summoned cocoons, the send shock waves flying with every thrust, sweep, and kick. There’s some definite Musume robotics at play with “Sou ja nai”, but I’ll let you fill in the connection between the song and the visuals. Morning Musume ’16’s 62nd single, “Sexy Cat no Enzetsu / Mukidashi de Mukiatte / Sou ja nai”, hits stores on November 23, 2016.

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