Hello! Project rankings, and a few scattered thoughts.

Well, hello again. Feels like I haven’t blogged in a while now, but it really wasn’t that long ago. I’ve been pretty ill these past few weeks– that and otherwise buried in homework. Those factors sort of combine together with the fact that nothing recent in the idol world has inspired me quite enough to make a big blog post about it (sometimes I think I have an attention span worse than Tsunku’s), but the recent Hello! Project ranking poll started by Hello! Blog that’s been going around and reading about everyone’s rankings has made me want to join in, too. So I’ll post up my rankings and explanations and combine a whole bunch of random thoughts I’ve had about recent events in the idol world later on in the entry. So, without further ado…

 

What’s so Special about Buono?

No, really. What’s so special about Buono? The question is 100% genuine– not to be taken in a sarcastic way at all, and it’s something that I’ve been trying to figure out for a while now.

When the formation of Buono! was announced back in the summer, I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Just what Hello! Project needed– even more Airi, Momoko, and Miyabi. Because we hadn’t seen or heard enough of them, of course. When I heard about the Athena & Robikerottsu unit, I had a very different reaction. That was a step in the right direction, I thought. Taking Risa, who has continually been overshadowed in Morning Musume, Aika, and Nakajima Saki and Okai Chisato from C-ute and throwing them together for a super-cute unit. This was the way to go about it– put a few of the lesser-known (and newer, in one case) girls in H!P with a more well-known, deserving member of H!P, and you’ll have success. Throwing Miyabi, Momoko, and Airi together into an anime-based unit seemed as redundant as a regular H!P single. These three girls have constantly gotten leading roles in their individual groups or Berryz Koubou and C-ute Suzuki Airi ft. the Rest of C-ute. Buono was neither new nor exciting. And on a more personal level, I didn’t particularly like any of them. Miyabi was the highest on my list out of the three of them, but she wasn’t enough to save the group for me. I just wasn’t interested.

But here I am, months later and loving Buono, without any explicable reason whatsoever.

 

As long as there’s Chinami, IT’S ALL RIGHT!

I’ve kept it no secret that I hold Chinami in high regard. In my whole scheme of favorites in H!P (and elsewhere in the idol world), there’s very few idols that I think can really do no wrong. Chinami is definitely one of them. I honestly don’t remember ever being disappointed by anything about her– her personality, voice, performance style. Nothing. And that’s why I think it’s such a shame that Chinami always seems to get the short end of the stick. She has disappointingly few solos in Berryz singles; ‘Tsukiatteiru’ was the most recent, and what lines did she get? “Ne ii deshou?” Oh, fantastic. We get to hear Chinami singing solo for about half of a second. And the other most recent was, “sore ga onna yo,” in ‘Very Beauty’– it was notable that she was the only one other than Risako, Miyabi, and Yurina to get a line– but it was one line, not verses like the others got. And yet, even with the little glory that Chinami is personally given, the girl knows how to work with what she’s got. She absolutely owns her solo lines, and despite not being a front-girl for the group, she’s always energetically performing.

I still remember when I was first browsing Berryz videos– ‘Gag 100kai bun Aishite Kudasai’ was one of the first ones I found, and it was just one little appearance that made the entire PV enjoyable. This girl had me at “no nyu!”

 

The Mystery of Risako

It took me forever to decide on a title for this post. I wanted to get across the point that it’d be about Risako, obviously, but I didn’t even know how to go about phrasing it. I’m not 100% happy about how in turned out– but it’ll do. It was either that, or replace ‘Mystery’ with ‘Power.’ (And then both of them led me to trying to form some pun like… Risakopower!! ga subarashii… and, just… anyway.) Power might be a bit more true to the entry, but it sounds awkward out of context and sounded more like some kind of late-night infomercial on alternative healing or something. But I guess that’s the inevitable trouble I face in trying to describe a girl as… extraordinary as Risako.

 

Miyabi the “Otona;” A Theory

Before I start this one, I just want to note that this entry was highly influenced by the events of my week; the title that reads like some bad scientific paper (and I had one due yesterday morning), the possible incoherence at times in this entry (due to the lovely concussion that I have), and, well, the most important of them all, my final Developmental Psychology class. What the hell does that have to do with Natsuyaki Miyabi? More than you may think!

 

So THAT’S What Heaven Must Look Like!

This post will officially qualify for my post with the LEAST substance yet, but I’m sorry, this just HAS to be shared. My brain just about exploded from the epicness that is this photograph.

 Click it, click it, click it, click it!

ERIKA and YUKIRIN in the SAME PICTURE! And and and! Nakajima Saki~ and Sayaka and Sae! Chinami! Satou Amina! Ohori Megumi! Itano Tomomi! Risako! Yurina! Kanna! Acchan! Rina! Andandand everyone else! In the saaaaame place! The only thing that would make this picture better is, well, Maimi. And Morning Musume. Then I’d officially be in a coma from all the awesomeness.

Kouhaku… is going to be SO awesome this year.  

 

Hairstyles Gone Wrong, Hairstyles Gone Right

Just last night, I was talking with a friend of mine about how hairstyles tend to be a rather… tricky issue in the idol world, especially, it seems, in the groups I follow– namely Hello! Project and AKB48. Sometimes their stylists are spot on with their choices, and sometimes, you just have to ask, ” … what were they thinking?!” And with the release of the full PV for THE Possible’s new single, “Kaze no Uwasa,” I figured there’d be no better time to jump in and share my take on some truly heinous hairstyles– and some really fabulous makeovers, at the same time. (Well, alright, the fact that I’ve finally got no homework and I’m finally getting better from being sick all week contributed to that, too, but let’s just pretend I planned this from the start.) So, just a warning, before I get started. This post IS going to be pretty shallow since I’m really only discussing a particular aspect of the following idols’ appearances, so you’ll have to forgive my lack of depth in this, but remember, this is by no means an attack on the girls themselves– hey, it’s probably some behind-the-scenes stylist’s fault, anyway!

 

My Top 10

Once in a while, I need to get these things out of my system. There’s nothing too immense going on in the idol world right now that I feel the need to share my take on, so I’m going to put up a much more personal post. Not personal as in my actual boring life (trust me, even I’d want to be spared the excruciating details of the tale of another neuroscience class, kthx), but much more idol-based. So! I present to you, my current Top 10 in the idol world.

 

My Dream Unit

So I was browsing through a few H!P fanblogs, and I came across MorningBerryz’s recent entry about the new unit, Buono!, featuring Suzuki Airi, Natsuyaki Miyabi, and Tsugunaga Momoko. In that entry, MorningBerryz asked “Hmmm…if you could create your own mini H!P unit who’d you choose?” And that question got me really thinking. I wasn’t actually too pleased with the announcement of Buono; I liked the name, and I liked most of the girls enough, but they were three major, front-girls of their own groups. There is never a lack of Airi, Miyabi, or Momoko in any of their group singles, so this unit wasn’t anything new and fresh that I would’ve hoped for. I want some of the other girls to really get their chance to shine. So thinking up this group wasn’t too hard for me. Here’s what I came up with.

I apologize for the awful photoshop job there. Don’t have the best image-editing skills, but I think you get the point!

So, why these three?
Tokunaga Chinami – One of my favorite Berryz girls. This one was an easy pick. I absolutely love Chinami’s voice– along with her look, her attitude, everything. She’s so silly and fun, and does not get NEARLY enough lines as she deserves in group singles. She gets her fair share of lines in b-sides, but Chinami is a-side material! She was one of the lucky ones to actually get… one solo line… in Very Beauty, and her voice really puts this lovely little spin on the song. It really turns out well. Her voice in that line, to me, is really full of hope and optimism. She REALLY delivers, even in live shows! Watch this performance if you haven’t before– Chinami’s solo line is just PERFECT.

Honestly, if there was a new unit created, I’d want to see Chinami in it the most. It’s really time for this girl to shine, and getting almost no lines at all in Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba was a complete shame. With her personality and voice, Chinami would be a fantastic addition to any unit.

Umeda Erika – Now, anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love Erika. She’s probably my favorite girl in H!P, hands down. She’s gorgeous, has a beautiful voice, is a fantastic dancer, and I love her personality. Now, Erika’s been in a unit before– ZYX, so she has gotten a little more exposure, but I couldn’t possibly leave her out of my dream unit. Erika’s another one that really does awesome, even in lives. Need evidence of how awesome she is?

This girl has real star quality.

Linlin – Chinami and Erika were the easy choices. It was the third spot of this mini-unit that I took a lot of time thinking about. The first ones that came to mind were Nakajima Saki (because I love the relationship that she has with Erika, and I have a feeling they’d work well together) and Arihara Kanna (because she impressed me so much in the most recent C-ute concert DVD). But after going through and thinking, Linlin came to mind, and she was PERFECT for this unit! I think her voice would work really well with Erika and Chinami’s, and her goofy, cheerful personality would fit right in, too. If you’re not too familiar with her voice, here’s a fan-made video featuring a recording of Linlin singing solo:

 Now, I know there’s no chance of a Linlin/Erika/Chinami mini-unit happening (and if it did, I’m pretty sure I’d be hospitalized from passing out from the excitement), unless Tsunku/other H!P people magically tap into my brain/come across my blog, read English, and care, but hey, a fangirl can dream, right?