DaBear's H!P Cave

majidesukasuka Event!

2011-05-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

So, I bought the new モーニング娘。single (limited ed.) and registered the little numbered card using my phone which I have done a few times before. Guess what - I won! Got an email a few days later that I won a ticket to the launch event in Nagoya. Now, I had no idea what happens during a launch event but I was quite excited!

And....

....I just came back from the event. Whoah! It blew my mind!!!!

It was a large concert hall... around 1000 people. My seat was 11th row and dead center! So basically, when the lead girl was singing in the front, she was looking in my direction! Totally good seat! I was able to see the girls quite well on the stage.

The event was basically a mini concert with just lights on stage (very simple) and the girls were wearing normal clothes (well.. basically their single clothing but with the launch t-shirts). It lasted 30 minutes. There was also a short talk segment for which they told us to sit down. Very short but quite enjoyable!

My personal impressions on the girls... Aichan was awesome! Her hair fit her very very well, she looked great (had a little top head pony tail going too). She was very energetic always smiling (in my direction heheh). From that, I should probably call her my favorite member! Reina was.. hmm... Reina... nothing different.. she looked/acted like Reina which was nice but I didn't feel the same connection as with Aichan. Risa was very sweet and looked great with long hair. Sayu was tall!!! Tallest of all of them. Aika looked pretty nice with very bright long earings. From the new members, Eripon stood out the most for me - she looked awesome with huge ponytails and seemed very at ease and happy. Yasshii looked.. hmm.. like a kid... compared to the others, cute but like a kid (well... she is..but..). Zukki was quite energetic and smiling and she said that she is from Aichi Prefecture (where the event took place) to which Sayu corrected her I think making her say that she was from there.. not sure. Was funny. Fuku-chan looked very uneasy which was strange since she has the most stage experience from the kyuukies. At some point in time, in the dancing, Aichan had her arm around Aika and Aika gave her a little kiss - that was sweet!

The event ended and people were still in their seats so I waited around not knowing what is happening. Then they slowly started to get people out the side door, row by row. It only clued in on me when I was out of the door and heard the "arigatou gozaimasu" shouts that it is a handshaking! I got totally nervous! It was the standard handshaking thing, girls behind a table with men pushing the people along so it goes fast. The first one was Risa which was awesome cuz she looked at me coming in and said "whoah"! That made me smile - totally awesome! I guess it is quite rare to see a foreigner at these things :P. The whole thing went so quickly that I completely don't remember who was where and I didn't even say their names like I wanted to, just thanked each of them. Aichan looked good. The last was Reina but the best response by far was from Risa :).

So, I really really hope I win more of these cuz this was much more exciting than the big concerts! Now I need to buy like 100 of the next Berryz singles to see ももち！ Hehe, well... this single sold 40k units... there were 4 versions, 3 of them being limited with the cards. So, loosely assuming that 30k units sold were the limited ones with cards (which is probably a bit high), there were 3 of these events in Nagoya and 3 in Tokyo so about 6k people in total (assuming people did not repeat which some might have - not sure). So basically, 20% chance of winning which is not that bad! :P

So I had total fun and would love to do that again!!!!

Hello! Project 2011 WINTER Concert

2011-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Today I went to my first H!P related concert - the Hello! Project 2011 Winter ~Kangei Shinsen Matsuri~. Wow, what an experience! I am still trying to get over it! I've watched many concert videos so I pretty much knew what I should expect - but it is quite different if you are actually there! It was just surreal from many points. First of all, to see my beloved idols with my very own eyes (almost made me cry!). Second of all, the fan experience, being surrounded by other wotas that brought so much energy to the place.

The venue was the Aurora Hall of Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts in Nagoya. I was a bit worried about it but getting there was totally easy. There was even an underground tunnel from the subway station to the building! I arrived about 2 hours before the show because I was a bit worried and still had to get my actual ticked from the ticket counter somewhere. There were maybe about 50 people around when I arrived and there was no lineup to the concert goods outside counter. I wanted to buy the Berryz T-shirt set but they didn't have XL anymore (oh Japanese clothing sizes!). So I ended up buying 2 glow sticks (red in colour). I also asked them about the ticket and the lady explained that there will be a ticket booth set up inside the building near the entrance but I am a bit early!

So, off I went to find food (I didn't eat dinner so I was quite hungry). Got some nice buns from a bakery place inside the subway station and ate them outside of the concert hall. After about 30mins, the previous concert finished and people started to come out of the building. It got a little bit busy. I noticed that people were buying concert tickets from a little both in the hallway so I went there and asked if this is where you pick up the tickets - it was! So I had to show some ID and was handed my ticket - floor 1, row 30, seat 47.

Around 5:15pm, people started to form a small line outside to the entrance doors. So I stood in there since I didn't have anything else to do - I was maybe 20th in the line! The doors opened at around 5:30pm. First they asked for the ticket then another person asked if I have a camera to which I said I don't so I was given some pamphlets and off I went inside. Inside was a much larger concert goods setup with about 6 or so stations. There was also a large table with DVDs/CDs for sale. I went in to find my seat. I was seated in the 2nd last row on the side by one of the alleyways. Which was a conveniently placed seat since I only had one neighbour but it was a bit far from the stage. There weren't many people sitting down and the place was nowhere near busy so I went to the lobby, looked at the goods for sale and bought some ;P.

I bought a concert bag - gotta have a bag to carry all the other stuff, right? :P

And I bought the Momusu T-shirt set which lucky did have an XL size! The picture cards are awesome!!!

Back design:

And I bought the poster - which is both huge and quite thick paper (almost like photo paper). Now I need to figure out how to put that up on the wall without damaging it - any ideas? Very pretty though!

So here are the things I brought back in the bag: the poster, the t-shirt set, glow sticks (one shown) and the advertising pamphlets:

So then I sat down and waited about 45minutes for the concert to start - most people arrived maybe 15 minutes before the concert. So next time, I have to come later :P. However, sitting down waiting gave me an opportunity to watch the wotas prepare for the concert: taking off clothes, putting on special coloured t-shirt (I guess from another concert - the ones from this were only black), prepping the glow sticks, making a hat out of the micro fiber towel, things like that. Quite interesting!

A few minutes before the start of the actual concert, Kikkawa Yuu appeared on stage and sang Sayonara Namida. I know of her (starting from the 8th gen auditions) but I was really not very interested in her (a bit difficult to follow the Eggs) but her performance blew me away! Seriously, her voice in the performance reminded me of Ayumi Hamasaki - it was not "good", it was "excellent"! I really don't want to compare her to Manoeri (Mano is cute and all and I like her but...) but wow! I am now really looking forward to her first single!

Then the concert started with all the girls appearing on stage. I won't talk about the setlist (A2) in detail since first of all, I don't remember and second, the setlists are available online. Basically, after the opening song (3,2,1, breakin' out!) that everybody performed, each group performed their upcoming singles. I liked C-ute's upcoming "kiss me aishiteru" quite a lot - the outfits.. oh my! The new Berryz song was quite interesting. Morning Musume's performance of "onna to otoko no lullaby game" was quite something (5nin but still...) Aichan did a few awesome dramatic pauses (i.e., music pauses... wait... wait... aichan starts again).

After the regular songs, the shuffle group songs started (I went to the shuffle concert A2 setlist). They were quite interesting. A bit sad in the groups that were missing the Momusu members that just graduated. I was very surprised about the performance of the tiny Miyamoto Karin in Shin Mini Moni - not only was her dance awesome, her singing was great (probably the first time I heard her sing). I really liked the High-King performance.

At one of the MC sessions, Sayu was talking about the 8th anniversary of the 6th gen and from time to time the camera would go on Reina when Sayu was talking and sometimes Reina looked so funny - like expressionless - that everybody laughed and Reina kept looking back at the screen complaining that they are filming her while Sayu is talking. When the 9th gen members were introduced, sadly, the 3 new ones could not make it so only Mizuki did her intro. The other 3 were introduced by the MCs through info screens. Cool thing is that the new nicknames of the new members were given out.

After the Shuffle groups were some performances of Mano, Smileage, and then an awesome medley-like performance of C-ute, Berryz, Mano, Smileage, and finally Morning Musume (basically, the group growing in size with every switch in song). Finally, the Eggs joined and everybody performed the last few songs including "how do you like Japan" - which made me want to yell out "I do I do". And then it was over... idols departed as suddenly as they appeared... yet they still remain in my mind.

A little bit about the wota experience. The "always hard working" Japanese male goes through a lot of stress in his life. I think that concerts just like this are one way to unwind/relax/let it go. Kinda on par with the business drinking sessions, game centers, or karaoke. That might be why some wotas are seen to basically go crazy during a concert - in a healthy way! It was quite interesting to see the people wave their light sticks (I also tried but I found it a bit difficult to do it in unison with the crowd!), do dance movements, jump in the air, yell out, etc. The wota experience definitely positively impacted my first concert experience in Japan! I will definitely be back!

みなさんどうもありがとうございました。がんばってください！

Random AKB TV Pictures

2010-10-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

AKB also seems to appear on TV quite a lot. Here are some interesting moments.

Tsunku was one of the guests on this TV show where people try to imitate famous artists/actors/etc.

The funny moment was when a guy was trying to be AKB48's Acchan - he looked rather similar - quite scary! Then the AKB48 girls themselves jumped onto the stage and they all performed a song medley - the guy along side Acchan.

Don't they look similar? :P

At some point there was some confusion as to who the real Acchan was - hilarious!

Quite similar! :P

After that, a few of the AKB girls were sitting in as guests. The funny thing was that they were sitting right next to Tsunku.

Tsunku (or rather つんく♂) + AKB48 (Yuko + Acchan and Sae and Minami in the back) :P

Minami (or Takamina) - the strong, tiny AKB48 leader.

A little later in the show was a girl impersonating Acchan. She was also quite similar looking :P.

Aww, that must have been dream come true for her.

Acchan was on some show where she tasted some foods (very typical Japanese variety show).

Random H!P TV Pictures

2010-10-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

I've accumulated some H!P related TV shots over the last 2 months or so. Sorry for the bad quality.

Yaguchi seems to appear on several TV shows.

There was an old Momusu plus current Momusu collaboration on some TV show.

Tsuji joined in later... she didn't participate in the dance - I think because she is pregnant again

Yaguchi looks sad!

Some s/mileage:

Hehe, I am on that picture somewhere! I did actually find myself on one photocard of the girls in front of this picture.

Yossie on some TV show:

I found Koha on a CM for bread:

And finally.. Reina singing solo on an oldie hits show:

2010 H!P Calendars

2010-10-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Trying to catch up with a few posts - post spam!

I recently bought two H!P calendars. I found them randomly at a bookstore so I got so excited that I bought two. Since I just have a small one room apartment - they are hanging on the opposite sides of the room (looking at each other? :P).

First off, the Morning Musume calendar.

The girls are looking quite lovely in the front picture.

So it looks like the pics are by generation. Here is 5th:

6th gen:

and 8th gen:

The obligatory swimsuit picture!

Pretty cozy.

and the back page with some lovely closeups.

The MM calendar is OK but the Berryz one is amazing!

Starts off with an awesome picture with various flavours. Captain looks amazing!

Momo looks very good (and serious) as an office worker in this picture!

The schoolgirls looks great too!

Hmm... I wonder if I can hire them to do my laundry!

The very unique Berryz swimsuit picture. There aren't many of them around - especially of poor captain who doesn't even have a PB. ... and Chinami... !!

Kimonos are always pretty!

So cozy! Brings about feelings of fuzzy on cold days.

And the last page - a mix of offshoot pics I guess - some pretty funny.

I didn't buy the C-ute calendar since well.. I already have 2 - I really really don't need 3! :P Plus, besides a few pages maybe, I wasn't too interested in it. The Berryz one is really really pretty! A little bit sad that it is the last Momusu calendar with that makeup since 3 of the girls are leaving. But the next one will have gen 9 members which could be (or not) interesting!

AKB48 Beginner

2010-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

I managed to buy the new AKB48 single - Beginner on the release day. They had tons of them still at the local HMV. I bought the version A limited edition.

Here are some shots of the package:

back (staring the two girls from SKE48):

inside looking at the CD:

the DVD:

Inside booklet:

Plus, I also got a Maeda photocard from HMV:

The single is quite good... a little bit different style but executed in a nice way. Sadly, the PV is horrible! There was a controversy with the original PV for the single so they decided to create a new one which is a mixture of the making off and the dance version - ok but doesn't hold up against the previous PVs and the original one. Why was it controversial? Well... it featured the girls playing a computer game (Matrix style) where they are hooked up to some machine. What was bad/interesting is that they kept dying in really bad ways inside the computer (i.e. head cut in half, body crashed..etc). And once scene had Maeda bleeding and screaming in real life from her damage inside the game. However, the PV was done very well so I would like to see that released at some point in time!

The single sold close to 600k copies on its first day which even surpassed the previous single record sales. On the MUSIC STATION TV show, AKB had both the 10th place (for the previous single) and the 1st place for Beginner. They performed it well starting off and ending with hoods. Here are some bad quality pics from my TV:

H!P Official Store Nagoya

2010-10-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

How to find the official H!P store in Nagoya? It is not an easy task but if you are lucky and the store is open, there shouldn't be any problems! The first time I went there, the store was closed and there really isn't much of a sign that will let you know which it is since they all look the same and all the windows are covered by metal garage-type shutters.

The H!P website has this page for the store. What you basically need to do is leave from the back of the Nagoya Train Station (the twin towers) and follow that road for about 3 traffic lights. The street will get smaller and there will be a whole bunch of little shops on either side just like this:

The H!P shop is under that checkered yellow/black pattern roof somewhere near the end of that building.

The store front looks like this (there was a display of S/mileage costumes at that time so that might change):

If you are looking for CDs/DVDs/PBs/etc then you will be disappointed. The store only seems to carry photocards - of which they have a ton! You basically take a little order form and a pencil and write down the numbers that you want to buy. Happy hunting!

Updating!

2010-10-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

I think it is time to update this blog. I recently moved to the land of the idols... well not because of the idols but they have definitely been an influence. So I'll try to post all the going ons from the idol part. I will be including some AKB family and perhaps others as well. Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Momoko!!!

2010-03-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

I don't update this blog as often as I would like but this is a very special occasion!

Happy 18th Momoko!!!

The little peach is all grown up now (even though she's still little at 150cm).

She's come a long way from the time she was selected in the H!P Kids Audition. Here is a pic from the early Berryz circa 2004 (Momoko 2nd from the right at the bottom):

Dear Momoko, have a wonderful birthday and entertain us forever!
Gambatte!!!

Graduations

2009-08-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

In the seemingly happy world of Idols, there also come times for sadness. After many years in the business, some Idols decide to move on and pursue other careers. It is a sad time, both for the members of the Idol groups who must get attached to each other after many years of working together, but also for the fans who have followed the Idol careers of these girls, sometimes from childhood. Any thoughts from the community about the inevitable graduations of our favorite Idols?

Arihara Kanna

The last month or so has been tough on Idol graduations. First, in early July, it was announced that Arihara Kanna from C-ute decided to not come back to the group after some health problems. It was said that she was going to concentrate on her schooling. Kanna's leaving brought about several conspiracy theories about the true nature of her graduation. Her leaving was predicted by many people due to her being gone for a few months and not included in the C-ute singles and photoshoots. Kanna also did not get a graduation concert performance.

Umeda Erika

More sudden was the announcement at the start of August of the graduation of Umeda Erika, the oldest C-ute member and oldest H!P Kids member, who has been in H!P for 7 years. Erika, at 18 years old, decided to leave the group and pursue a career in fashion modelling. As sudden as this news has been, Erika was never a prominent member of C-ute which did not allow her true talents to shine through. Her leaving will allow her to work at her future goals - gambatte Erika! She is said to graduate at the last day of the C-ute concert tour on October 25th - making Erika the second H!P Kids member to graduate with a public graduation ceremony (Megumi, and Kanna did not have a public ceremony, Maiha did [1][2]).

C-ute 5nin

The two C-ute graduations in the last month beg to ask about the health and future of C-ute. With 5 members, C-ute will be quite a bit smaller than its sister group Berryz Koubou. Will they do fine with 5 members? Will somebody get added to the group? Who? (my bet is on the Korean audition winner but she might not be ready yet) I guess we'll have to wait and see! Any predictions?

More Graduations?

These recent graduations are making the fans uneasy. Shirow at Wotaku Now! brings out the (often unwanted) topic of Morning Musume graduations. There hasn't been one in several years and there is bound to be one probably some time soon. Once again, we'll have to wait and see, and pray that our favourites stay around forever!

P.S. Momo and Reina better stay forever!!!

Berryz Kobou - Seishun Bus Guide

2009-05-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Time for a new Berryz single (20th already). It is coming out on June 3rd, 2009 and it is a rare double A side single. This means that both of the songs on the single are treated roughly the same and thus both get a PV. The typical formula is a single A side and a less important B side so this is slightly different. The two songs featured on this single are called Seishun Bus Guide and Rival. The songs are quite different from each other but both have a very fun, playful tune and some hilarious PVs.

Let us look at the Seishun Bus Guide PV first. Sorry for the low quality of the screenshots since only the Dohhh UP! video has been released. Seishun means youth - so wasn't too sure what to expect from the PV since it isn't the first song to feature a bus. I definitely didn't expect what I saw! The PV is an awesome parody of the girls playing schoolboys on a field trip with some serious crush on the bus guide lady!

The bus guide is an older but quite attractive lady who is a TV Tokyo announcer. Seems like all the girls *ehem* boys are attracted to her.

The PV starts off with a view of inside the bus where all the bus guide has the total attention of all the boys (and momo is insane as always!).

Momo as usual is just insane! Oh gotta love her for that... She really likes her fancy yellow camera. The girls do make some very cute schoolboys! :P

Maasa got so hot lately! Also, in this picture, that uniform looks more like that of a priest. Brings a new meaning to the Church of Maasa.

Hamster-chan!

The girls' awesome reaction to the bus guide:

Risako looks quite frankly totally in love.

Of course, even as boys.. there is this chemistry between Chinami and Miyabi:

Awestruck!

Momo all of a sudden puts on a pair of funny glasses!!

Not sure what this is supposed to be but there is a moment where Miyabi coughs a few times and points to captain!

There is even a field trip where the girls are fighting over being close to the bus guide. Yurina has an awesome Japanese-style huge camera lens.

Of course, Miyabi is grabbing the guide's ass!

The girls play cards in the bus to kill time. Momo has this cheating look!

Awesome Momo moment! I like teeths!

Miyabi is going further and making a love card!

Yurina has a huge ass camera lens - bigger than Captain's head!

Another awesome Momo shot!

There are 3 different outfits used in the PV. The black schoolboy outfit, a purple space-outfit for the dance shots and girl scout outfits?! Strange mix.

Overall, the girls look the cutest in the closeups - can't wait for the closeup version!
Risako:

Miyabi:

Yurina:

Momo looking like a wet rat:

Maasa is ripping her clothes off while singing about jelousy!:

Chinami has cute hair

Captain:

And Momo will rule the world someday!

Video from DohhhUP!:

Morning Musume - Shōganai Yume Oibito

2009-04-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

The PV for the 39th Momusu single is out on Dohhh UP! Rather early since there is still almost a month to the release. Shōganai Yume Oibito is a slower song but I quite like it (even though I prefer faster songs). It has that Momusu feeling to it and well..you can't not love it for that!

The PV is quite interesting. Similarly to Buono!'s My Boy, we see more natural on-location footage and basically no green screens (well.. there is this screen they girls are walking/standing in front but it doesn't seem to be used in the PV - maybe pictures?).

The setting for the PV seems to be a university. This is greatly enhanced by the girls wearing normal clothes (no strapped on dead muppets, etc) and they are quite mature looking and acting. It seems like they are going about their way studying, walking to class, meeting each other, etc. The girls look lovely with their mature looks (and no crying like in the last single).

Onto the image spam (video follows).

The video starts with the girls in front of some white screen somewhere outdoors, although they are just standing there or walking around. Unsure what the purpose of the screen is but it looks quite interesting. I just love JunJun's outfit :P

Aichan seems to be reading something from a book with a highlighter in hand - study girl, might come in handy someday :).

Aika looks awesome and she also is reading a book (or staring at it!).

In walks Reina! WOW! I mean WOW! She looks lovely in a natural way, but still preserving some of her fashion sense in her clothing. Come here my dear, I'll give you some teriyaki beef I just made.. you like beef don't you?!

Koha seems to be not too thrilled with all the notes she has to carry around. I wouldn't worry... unless this is a girls only school, she will find somebody (or a horde) to carry her books. She also looks quite lovely with her mature look (I really don't like her Kirari acting most of the time).

Risa looks lovely indeed! Love the hair!

I'm not too thrilled about Eri's look - she has looked better. Eri certainly likes to read (or stare at) books about Forests?! She's an environmentalist!

The pandas are walking together, talking, laughing. It looks very natural and very cute. JunJun is lovely! I wish I put her first on my cuddle list... oh wait, I did! well then! :P LinLin looks... well like LinLin :).

The dance shot reminds me a lot of Sexy Boy... not sure why.. maybe the dance, maybe the formation, maybe the dresses.

Aichan so cute and natural!

Reina... so lovely... I want to feed her and give her a hug!

Whoah...there is this one moment when Koha looks to the side then looks down than stares right at the camera - sends shivers down my spine! Wow... she can be so sexy sometimes!

Another good shot of JunJun:

Now, that's it... I'm packing my bags and applying for a professorship in japan! Damn!

Finally a nice closeup of Sayu (and a solo line, yay! :P). She's sporting a very sexy asymmetric haircut that almost covers one eye!

LinLin is playing games on her cell! Or she's texting JunJun (who is right next to her!)

Aika being the kitty she is, is rubbing her back on a seat.

Koha seems to be running (away from something) in the hallway.... there might be bears chasing her..who knows!

The PV ends with Aichan staring at the sky then the camera. She looks very similar to her drama character in Q.E.D.

Dohhhup video:

H!P Rankings

2009-04-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

Paul over at Hello!Blog has created a wonderful program that allows you to choose your top 10 H!P members. It was created for the H!P 2009 Poll and you can read the results at Paul's site. Many bloggers have voted in the poll and have published their results. I didn't make it in time to vote in the poll but was able to use the program to choose my favourite H!P members. Thank you Paul for making such a wonderful and easy to use program!

The decision was very tough and isn't entirely based on logic :P. Here is my list:

The top 3 girls are my favourites from the 3 main H!P groups. The others might not be in the right order but like I said, it's not entirely based on logic.

Shirow at Wotaku Now! has created a challenge to the blogging wotas to do a separate "cuddle" list. Of course there might be many meanings of such a list, and the exercise of filling in the blanks is left to the reader (hey! they are not necessarily all about that!). As for me, there is a large range of cuddling that I would be interested in, depending on the girl and depending on the situation.

So, without further ado, here is my cuddle list which is definitely not based on any reasoning. If you notice, some of my top choices on the regular ranking list are not even on this one... well... that's the mystery of it! Thanks Shirow!

Introduction to Buono!

2009-04-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Buono! was created in 2007 and is composed of 3 girls from C-ute and Berryz:

Tsugunaga Momoko, Berryz - leader, oldest, kills you with her cutesy mysteriousness
Natsuyaki Miyabi, Berryz - with her mature, beautiful look
Suzuki Airi, C-ute - youngest, with her amazing voice and beautiful cuteness

The group was created for the opening/closing songs of the Shugo Chara! anime. Their music is mostly rock-sounding which is different from the typical pop-y sounds of other H!P songs. They currently have 7 singles, and 2 full albums.

For those lucky europeans, Buono! will be performing on May 24, 2009 at the Japan Expo in Stockholm, Sweden. I wish I could go but somebody needs to keep lighting the fire in the cave!

Picture from the latest single - My Boy - with Airi, Momoko, and Miyabi:

Buono! - My Boy

2009-04-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

I was very excited about this song when the short preview came out. It is quite fast and just sounds great. I would classify it as eurobeat-rock :P. The preview (from the Shugo Chara! anime ending) can be found on Youtube (until somebody decides to delete it). It features a really cute cat running away from some troubles:

A few days ago, the PV for the song came out and I just love it! I think it's the best H!P PV in years! It goes away from the normal green-screen PVs that H!P has been producing lately with actual on-site footage! Plus, there is a story to the whole PV! I haven't read a translation of the lyrics so can't say if they have anything to do with the PV story (and probably they don't). The full PV can be seen at Dohhhup:

So, lets start with the picture review!

The PV stars with an image of a curious heart shaped container that is being guarded by military guards somewhere within a castle or something. What could it be? Why is it important? Who is the creepy guy spying on the girls?!

The girls appear (video cuts to dance-shot)! They are wearing so many different colours - it looks very spring-like and refreshing! Of course, the outfits are the typical Buono! costumes with knee-high socks and short shorts/skirt.

A chest!!! Something is coming out!!! It's a MOMO! She looks.. serious? confused? sick of being in a chest? all of the above? She's wearing a dark brown secret agent / scout uniform with a wireless ear/mic set.

Then we see Airi coming from behind a door wearing the same uniform and acting very concentrated on her job.

Finally, Miya appears behind some glass doors trying to break into something. Looking very hot I might add!

The dance-shot part is interesting. The dance is quite simple but they seems to flow quite nicely into interesting formations.

Oh oh... Momo has a gun!!! Everybody should be very afraid! And what is that there... is it... can it be... yes... of course... it's the pinky!

Thank goodness it's not a real gun!

Airi puts on some fancy hot glasses and begins to crawl under some lasers! Way to go girl!

Meanwhile, Momo and Miya are creeping around staying in the shadows. Momo encounters her nemesis: a medieval suit of armour.

Airi is relieved having just passed a whole corridor of lasers!

New orders from the creepy boss looking at their every move (is that supposed to represent Tsunku?)!

Finally the girls meet up in some dungeon room (yes... well... indeed... but that's another story). They seem quite happy!

Oh oh. They have some kind of a knockout gas granade they are using on the guards!

Missing accomplished... they finally get to the misterious heart shaped object! Good job girls! But... what is it? Why?

The cake is not a lie!!!

The PV ends with some happy eating!

There are some close ups of the girls throughout the PV - which look lovely indeed:

Momo:

Airi:

Miya:

Hibernation Ends

2009-04-17T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yaawwwnn.... DaBear comes out of hibernation. It was a long winter with much work done in the cave, moving far distances to a new cave, and of course watching idols. Now that this stressful and tiring process is done... time to update you on some idols.

On the technology side, imageshack seems to randomly fail on some images. Hence photobucket will be the desired image host for the time being.

Since a cave blog post wouldn't be complete without a picture, here is a fellow hibernator, Suzuki Airi:

Introduction to C-ute

2009-01-31T20:19:00.000-08:00

In 2005, a group called C-ute (°C-ute) formed out of the remaining 7 H!P Kids. This younger sister group to Berryz Kobou often complements Berryz with the choice of songs and performances. Having worked together for years, all the H!P Kids seem to still be friends even though they are in two competing groups (although I am not sure if they feel they compete as such). The joke of the wota community is that what C-ute lack in singing talent (lack is a very loose term here since most of them are actually very good singers), they make up in other attributes, consistantly beating Berryz at various contests.

The lineup of C-ute was changed in 2006 with the graduation of Murakami Megumi and addition of Arihara Kanna. Kanna was not part of the H!P Kids audition and is not considered a "kid". She entered H!P as part of the Hello! Pro Egg group of trainees. The current lineup involves girls aged 13-17 as follows:

Umeda Erika - oldest, tallest, reserved, mature
Yajima Maimi (leader) - scatterbrain, mature yet playful
Nakajima Saki - cute
Suzuki Airi - very pretty, amazing voice, usually lead singer
Okai Chisato - short, dog!, smiling, joker
Hagiwara Mai - youngest, the kid
Arihara Kanna - nice smile

C-ute has released 4 indie singles, 7 singles, and 4 albums. They have also appeared in many H!P concerts as well as their own concerts. Here is a group picture:

Top from left: Erika, Mai, Chisato, Kanna

Bottom from left: Airi, Maimi, Saki

Introduction to Berryz Kobou

2009-01-31T19:38:00.001-08:00

The next short introduction post is about the H!P group Berryz Kobou (Berryz工房) meaning "Berryz Workshop" (don't know who Berry is, but somebody should congratulate the guy :P). The members of Berryz and its sister group C-ute are often lovingly refered to as "the kids". This name is not indicative of their age (especially considering that the girls are growing into beautiful ladies in front of our eyes) but of their origin. The "kids" were winners of the Hello! Project Kids audition that took place in 2002 to recruit trainees and helpers for concerts, etc. Out of close to 28 thousand applicants, only 15 girls were chosen.

Berryz Kobou was the first official group that was formed from the H!P Kids in 2004 consisting of 8 members. One of the members (Ishimura Maiha) graduated in 2005, leaving the current lineup of 7 girls, ranging in age from 17 to 14. They are:

Shimizu Saki (captain) - oldest, shortest, mature yet playful
Tsugunaga Momoko - insane!, overly-cute, high pitched idol voice
Tokunaga Chinami - happy, smiling eyes, joking
Sodou Maasa - very feminine yet with a strong build, funny
Natsuyaki Miyabi - quiet, reserved, mature
Kumai Yurina - tallest (by far!), kind-hearted
Sugaya Risako - youngest yet very pretty, often lead singer

Some of the girls have very evident personalities (or maybe idol personas :P) but more on that at some later time.

Berryz Kobou has released 18 singles and 5 albums and have appeared in several concerts per year. I leave you with a group picture from the latest (18th) single MADAYADE:

Top from left: Maasa, Miyabi, Chinami, Saki

Bottom from left: Yurina, Risako, Momoko

Introduction to Morning Musume

2009-01-31T18:12:00.000-08:00

Morning Musume (モーニング娘。), or Momusu, is the flagship Hello! Project group formed in 1997, currently running in its 12th year. The meaning of musume in this context is "girl". The group does not have a stable lineup of members. Every year or so, some members leave the group (officially called a graduation) and to compensate new members are also added, typically through auditions. Each such addition (which usually involves multiple new members) is called a generation. Currently, Momusu is in it's 8th generation.

None of the original (generation 1) members are still in the group. The most senior members are from 5th generation. All in all, 25 girls have been members of Momusu. The current lineup consists of 9 girls, ranging in age from 22 to 16. They are:

5th gen:
Takahashi Ai (leader) - quiet, short, oldest
Niigaki Risa (sub-leader) - always happy, smiling, genki
6th gen:
Kamei Eri - very quiet, extremely funny (or not), joker
Michishige Sayumi - the pretty one, doll
Tanaka Reina - kitty, yanki
7th gen:
Kusumi Koharu - genki, borderline insane!, also soloist
8th gen:
Mitsui Aika - youngest, brat, smiling
Junjun - older panda, bananas!, still learning japanese
Linlin - younger panda, very funny

Junjun and Linlin are chinese, lovingly called "pandas", and have been added to the 8th generation as "exchange students".

In terms of songs, Momusu is now on its 38th single and 9th album. Overall, the group has sold over 11 million singles making it the best single selling female group in Japan. The popularity of the group has decreased over the last few years showing a decrease in sales. With a changing member lineup and changing times as well, it is difficult to compare the group it is now with what it once was at its peak time. I will not try to do that in this blog - I will take the group as it is now and comment on it in terms of shorter spans of time.

Additionally to their released music, Momusu is involved in several concerts a year which are always packed with excited fans. The japanese idol fandom is a bit different from what we experience in north america. Hard core fans of female idols (such as the girls in Momusu) are called wota. Some wotas are very much obsessed with their favourite idols. Concerts are usually filled with screaming wotas (large majority male). The group also has a large following outside of japan (as can be seen with this blog :P). While the international wotas might not be as occupied with the lives of their favourite idols, we definitely are interested in them.

That is it for an introduction to Morning Musume. I leave you with a recent picture from the newest (38th) single entitled Naichau Kamo:

Top row: Linlin, Eri, Koharu, Risa, Junjun

Bottom row: Aika, Reina, Ai, Sayumi

Introduction to Hello! Project

2009-01-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

A little introduction to begin for those that are not yet skilled in the ways of the Hello! Project (H!P). Hello! Project is a conglomeration of Japanese idol groups managed by the Up-Front Agency and produced by Tsunku♂.

The short official history of the H!P is that it formed out of the result of auditions held to find a soloist for Tsunku's band Sharan Q. The auditions identified a winner but most importantly 5 of the runner-ups (Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda, and Aya Ishiguro) have been given the chance to form a group. Hence, in the fall of 1997, one of the most famous all-girl groups of Japan - Morning Musume - was born.

Morning Musume was the first group to fall under Hello! Project. Other groups and solo artists later followed. I'll try to introduce each of the main groups in their own separate posts. Currently, over 11 years after the formation of Morning Musume and the H!P, the project is composed of three main groups: Morning Musume, Berryz Kobou, and C-ute. It also hosts several smaller groups, young trainees, sports teams, and various shuffle groups. In March of 2009, the Elder Club (mostly composed of older H!P soloists and former Morning Musume members) is graduating from H!P leaving the project to concentrate on the groups and its younger soloists.

The Hello! Project main group members and soloists as of January 2009:

Hello and Welcome to DaBear's H!P Cave

2009-01-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to DaBear's H!P Cave - your glimpse into the world of Japanese Idols. From time to time, DaBear will try to bring you interesting news from the Hello! Project idol groups.

Come! Enter the cave! Sit by the fire! Watch the drawings on the walls move!