Friday, March 16, 2012

Let's Be Genki with Berryz!


I've been a little busy. 

Crazy, right? I feel like one day I just woke up today, ran through everything I had to do next week, and thought "Wait! When did I get a... life!?" I blame it mostly on schoolwork; my load has been much heavier this semester and I even started falling behind a bit. Brings a cruel twist to the term "March madness." Luckily, now that I'm back on track, I need to look at some new releases. I feel like lately the idol world has been a little static but now from the looks of it, things are about to get very, very busy again. And personally, I can't wait!! But for now I'll start with the first order of business: SuperBerryz. 

Honestly, I'm pretty divided on this song. There are some parts I really think work well for the song and parts that just annoy me. Like the verses are probably my least favorite part of the song. I think they sound rather choppy and robotic and not in the good way. Not to mention they're very... grating on the ear? Is that the right way to put it? I couldn't stand the repetitive "NAI NAI! NAI NAI!" but other than that the verses weren't terrible, just not great. On the up side though the transition into the chorus is very nicely done and the best part about the song is the chorus! I can't put my finger on why but chorus is so catchy! After being thoroughly irritated by the verses, I almost didn't stick around to hear the rest of it but now I'm glad I did! Other than that there isn't much to the song that really stuck out to me but I still have that chorus stuck in my head... Something else that really surprised me with this song was that the lead vocals (Risako and Miyabi) were very good! Especially Risako considering she decided to take a break from wailing. Risako's voice is very hit or miss and luckily one of those "hit" songs for her. Miya sounds lovely as usual but I'm a little biased. My only complaint is I wish it hadn't been so Risako/Miya-centric; it's nice to actually hear the other members.


I wonder how I would react if I saw seven girls in superhero costumes walking out of a warehouse...


The TV effect is simple but still pretty neat!


But it would have cooler if they'd done the way it was in Astrogation...


Woo hoo for power walks! Or should I say superpower walks? Get it? Because it's... and the... yeah, you got it.


Scandal likes power walks too!


Fortunately, there is lots of Miyabi to go around in this PV!


And unfortunately there's also a lot of Risako. Your mileage may vary on how good/bad that is.


2+2 is.................. TEN!


Oh Maasa, why don't you get more lines?


Risako has the bigger TV screen yet I'm more focused on Maasa...


UFA, Momoko is twenty years old. Stop styling her to look like she's ten.


And Berryz Koubou is off to save the world from AKB48


What's this!? NO green screen? In an H!P PV!?


The dance is surprisingly awesome; the energy in it matches the song just right and the moves are a lot of fun to watch!


You know, I think Chii is cuter than Momoko...


Miyabi knows she owns the PV.


I could probably take this shot a little more seriously if Momoko wasn't wearing those ridiculous pigtails.


I spy... with my eye...


Chinami being adorable!


Saki too!


I swear, I love this dance more and more!


Here's a little fun fact: Yurina and I are the same height.


Another classy Miya-pose!


And Risako's crappy imitation of it ._.


I love how Maasa pretty much does her own thing in every Berryz PV. It makes her a lot of fun to watch!


I'll bet all the other Berryz members are standing below Yurina the fantastic giantess!


Risako... just stop.


Let the Captain show you how it's done!


And Miyabi! I'm surprised this hasn't turned into a Miyabi pic spam yet...


I should have figured Momoko's fighting pose would be that!


This is what I love about Berryz. Good or bad music, I think the members are really close to each other!


PEACE!


Oh, Berryz. You and your caped shenanigans!


For some reason this move reminds me of something more of a cartoon supervillian would do... Or Batman.

So there's the new Berryz single! I always like to keep my expectations low when it comes to a UFA PV but every once in a while they tend to step a little out of their budget range. This one... I'm actually rather impressed with! Sure, the PV is still cheap but not as cheap! Like they actually went out of the studio to film it! There were also a lot of different locations and sets in this PV which is always a nice change from the standard dance shot/close up usually filmed in the same place. The outdoor shots reminded me of the ones from Buono!'s Our Songs! But, like most of the other Berryz PVs, what really drives it are the members. What Berryz lacks in vocal talent and decent costumes they make up for with their charisma in their PVs. You can really tell the girls are close and they play off each other very nicely with every video they do! Well... Risako's trying too hard to do... something but that's another can of worms I'd rather not open today. I can tell that they're all having a bunch of fun making this PV and they really put their all into it! That's the spirit, Berryz! Whether it be nightgowns or monkey suits, as long as you guys have fun I can probably put up with your PVs! So yeah, the PV's nothing new but overall it's pretty decently shot and Berryz is fun as usual!

But...


It could have been so much better. When I first saw the outfits for this single, I was hoping that the PV would be reminiscent of Sayumi's Crackland aka Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai: fun, trippy, and completely and totally nonsensical. There could have been this whole plotline of Berryz having to save the world from some kind of evil force and do so with the power of love/singing/whatever super-idols use. Wait. Do you know what would have been awesome? If C-ute played the villains! Maimi could be the mastermind and the other four could be her minions! They would be pitted against Berryz and they could have the ultimate idol smackdown of the CENTURY! That would be freaking awesome. There could be lasers and green screens and bad special effects and a totally cheesy truce at the end like in Flying Get! It might be because I grew up watching Batman and Superman cartoons and I just think it could have been really clever to make references to other famous superheroes. They have the costumes; why not go all the way? Something about the PV just made me feel like it was entirely... awesome? Is that the right way to put it? It just fell flat.

Now let's see... what to review next? Momosu's new Dubstep single? C-ute's interpretive dancing? Or Perfume's potential of a concert in the US!?

...I'll sleep on it.

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