Yeah, if you’ve been following H!P for the last few months, we’ve known BEYOOOOONDS’ leader, Reina Ichioka was on hiatus due to some illness (which we never found out what was going on, surprisingly). Earlier in the week however, we got the surprising announcement that Reina decided to leave/graduate the group and the company due to the sickness not getting better.
I personally am surprised this is the first member from BEYOOOOONDS to end up graduating considering this whole group started off as Reina’s choice of creating a new original group from H!P and then following their odd releases and a sort of lacking in the promoting department (especially the last two years even). Just seems a bit unfortunate to lose a member such as Reina though in the long run, she wasn’t a vocal powerhouse as more of a face of the group. If I think of vocalists, Yuhane, Momohime, Shiori, and Kokoro usually are the first to pop up. Don’t know what’ll be next from the group, but it’s just interesting that this is happening. Hopefully she recovers and finds what she wants to do next!
Yup, like I said, I was going to return with the results of the auditions! I was a little surprised, but also not surprised…either way…let’s check it out!
Mihane Ishii, Yuu Murata, Fuuka Doi
Since Tsubaki Factory were the only group to receive new members, let’s talk to them first. Mihane reminds me of someone in H!P, I think there’s a little of Wakana Matsumoto in her appearance. She’s the eldest of the 3 joined at 15 and she seems pretty memorable already. I’m curious to see where she’ll go.
I don’t know why, but Yuu kind of reminds me or Risa Irie. There’s just some kind of innocent, green nature to her that has me curious. Not much else to say.
Funny that Fuuka’s picture here reminds me of Kiki. The one that stood out to me from their unveiling, Fuuka was incredibly emotional about her introduction and that caught my eye more than the other 2.
Hello Pro Kenshuusei
I was a bit surprised that we got a whole bunch of Kenshuusei joining (all the members being finalists). In order it’s Hana Shimakawa, Yurika Asano, Chihiro Miyakoshi, Ichiki Nishimura, Yume Souna, Mano Ootsubo, Hikari Yoshida, Meisa Sugihara, and Rua Hattori. Not much can be said right now, I’m just glad the KSS aren’t continuing to do things with just 3 members lol. They at least will be unveiled at the upcoming KSS Happyoukai, so woot?!
Honestly, was expecting ANGERME to get new members what with Sasaki leaving soon, but alas…also some news about the KSS Unit ’24 would’ve been great, but filling out the Kenshuusei roster is also good.
L to R: Ichika Arisawa, Yuumi Kasai, Shiori Nishida, Homare Okamura, Momo Kitahara, Rin Hashisako
Kicking off 2024, we have a new unit, but it seems this may be a one-off unit again, this time taking some of the more recent members joining and throwing them together to promote Gummies! Interesting to note is that it’s one member from each of the current H!P groups (sans the KSS Unit ’24 of course).
Style of Music: Pretty cute so far….poppy and fun basically is what I got from Come on Mix!
Discography
Singles
Come on Mix!
Hey, it has a PV, cute though to see them.
Overall: Honestly, just the fact that we get members who haven’t really had a spotlight in their own respective groups (with maybe the exception of Nishida), this was a cute group to put together and did much better for me than L!PP did (even though it had its own set of issues). This was definitely a good way to showcase some of the newer members (I wish they did more with the other new members TBH).
L to R: Mao Akiyama, Miyo Hirai, Ruru Dambara, Rikako Sasaki, Ayumi Ishida, Kaede Kaga
Kind of late, but L!PP was formed in 2022 unit created out of member of the Hello Pro Dance Team (a kind of bigger unit of H!P’s best dancers who have been around at least since 2014.). The unit was created to promote beauty products…so it was just obvious from the beginning that the group was just slated to be a one-off unit. Hell, their only release was digital-only so…
Style of Music: Their only song, Sunset Summer Fever is kind of pretty much standard H!P with a summer vibe to it, but also has a bit of that disco-funk flair too.
Discography
Singles
Sunset Summer Fever
Hey, at least there’s a PV for it!
Overall: I would’ve thought since the Hello Pro Dance Team has been going on since 2014, it should’ve been made obvious that there should’ve been releases by them, but nope, it took until 2022 to finally make it happen and it’s just kind of lukewarm and doesn’t really show off the 6 members’ dancing skills very well. Even more that it’s just 6 members when there was way more in the Dance Team. Shame this is a one-off since Kaede graduated (and Rikako following soon). I hope the Dance Team do more releases!
So I realized I didn’t post on some upcoming graduations so I thought to share my thoughts on them before the big news in a couple of days of new members joining H!P. So let’s quickly go through them!
Akari Uemura
The first was announced back in August of 2023, Uemuu has decided to graduate and as such lasted the longest of the original 6 members of the group. She’s definitely grown a lot since her debut days (including her Kenshuusei days as well). Akari used to be pretty much in the background with Yuka for quite a while before I would say until Sayuki and Karin left the group, it seemed like she was going to pushed a bit more with all the new blood that showed up in the group. Though I’ve noticed she’s taken up a nice leader role since Tomoko’s graduation, really putting up a nice sound in her voice to finally shine! It’s a bit sad to see her graduate as I’ve been always enjoying her presence ever since she joined the KSS, so this journey is coming to an end in H!P and she’s left a great mark on the group and was a good leader!
Rikako Sasaki
Announced in December, Rikako announced her graduation as well and it explains why she didn’t take up leadership in the group after Akari graduated (though I guess the curiosity was announced before then when Kawamura ended up being sub-leader). As she was there when S/mileage became ANGERME, Rikako is the last of the 3rd gen of the group and she’s been quite a visual I’d say, I don’t know if I would go and call her the best singer of the group (Kanon, Akari, Meimi, Moe, and Musubu definitely press more buttons for me vocally). Though Rikako was a great dancer and she’s kept that up her entire tenure for sure and I feel like she always up in the front for that lol. The hype kind of died after she joined, but she’s kept up a great tenure with a lot of memorable moments.
Kisora Niinuma
Last, but not least, announced in January, Kisora is also leaving Tsubaki Factory only being leader for less than half a year in. With Riko and Yumeno just graduated, I thought we’d get to see Kisora lead a bit longer, but it seems she’s retiring to do something else which is fair. Kisora was never a member I tend to sway towards, she has a pitchy voice and she didn’t really have many lines compared to Risa, Kiki, Yumeno, and Riko (she at least had a bit more than Ami?). So she doesn’t quite give me the feels that both Aarii and Rikako are leaving. I think I’m more shocked that Ami is becoming leader so quickly!
What’s super curious is that all 3 have said their graduations are all set for Spring of this year (no specific dates yet). Like I said, this is news before the new members get shown off so!!!!!
So I thought what a way to begin 2024 with catching up Morning Musume PVs, Considering that the leader of Morning Musume since Sayumi Michishige’s graduation has well…graduated! There really wasn’t a good place to slap everything together, but I guess we’re here for the long ride, having to look at 12 MVs this time! It’s is wild that in the time of 2 years we lost Masaki Sato, Chisaki Morito, Kaede Kaga and the aforementioned leader, Mizuki Fukumura, but also gained new members in Rio Sakurai, Ako Yumigeta, and Haruka Inoue as well. Yeah…so the PVs talked about here will be Teenage Solution, Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no, Beat no Wakusei, I WISH, Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai, Dai Jinsei Never Been Better!, Swing Swing Paradise, Happy birthday to Me!, HEAVY GATE, Suggoi FEVER!, Wake-up Call ~Mezameru Toki~, and finally Neverending Shine. Let’s dive right in!
Teenage Solution
The Song: Immediately kicking this post off, we’re dealing with a graduation single from Masaki Sato who had to graduate due to stomach issues she’d been having (though I had to wonder a bit since she did start a solo career a bit after). It definitely sounds like some of the song is like a fusion between “Tokyo to Iu Katasumi” and “Junjou Evidence” which to be honest was starting to grate on me as Momusu in this time was starting to come off a little stale musically. Maachan does get a LOT of lines in the song, but I noticed most of the members.
What Genre is it?: More electronic-pop with a bit of it leaning with strings included in the arrangment.
The Premise: None to actually follow along to, it’s just following the members inside a building >.>
The Setting: It feels like there’s a few settings in the PV, the beginning shows Masaki, Homare, Mei, and Rio K. outside, but switches to members dancing in front of curtains and some of the members posing outside at night. Though majority of the PV takes place inside a building, it looks like a hotel almost, but a bit more homely? I don’t know XD. Not much is done with the first 3 areas (both outsides and the curtain area (the latter is seen more in the 2nd chorus though where everyone is dancing). The nighttime shots are sporadically shown and the daytime outside shots are in the bridge, but they don’t quite correlate to much for the PV, just good shots of the members.
The Outfits: Kind of uniform, but not quite uniform as each member has their own outfit but they all match due to using black, teal, and blue as the main colors so they all match color-wise. Although Eripon’s pink hair really sticks out to me in the PV.
The Choreography: A lot of the PV is watching the girls walk around the building which is kind of a sour point here. Though there’s some interspersed in the verses, but it’s mostly the choruses where we get to see the choreography and it’s a weird dance? Lot’s of outstretched arm movements and the bridge was kind of odd too. Though I really couldn’t understand the outro of the song, it felt so weird.
PV as a whole: While I know it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, I recall the last couple PVs and this kind of slips in smoothly with them, not really a strong PV, but the setting is neat and the members do look great, but it’s just lots of close-ups and walking around (made me think of C-ute’s “I miss you” PV, though without the one-shot hook to keep people watching). Song is eh, sounds like a few other MM songs in their discography as of recent making it feel kind of old news.
Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no
The Song: The 2nd track off of Maachan’s graduation single, Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no was another song that kind of went over my head really. There were just a lot of things that put me off from the song like the smooshed sounding lyrics to the ~it’s alright, it’s alright~ hook feeling out of place and unnecessary to hear in the music. Beyond that, I suppose it’s cute? It’s supposed to be more on the cuter, flirty side so I suppose it’s nice.
What Genre is it?: Dance-pop, less dramatic than “Teenage Solution”
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: It’s mostly green-screened, the dance-shot got’s a set that’s all this fuchsia-coloring but has a lot of shapes, stairs, and balls adoring it. Though the backdrop is where the green-screen lies and takes over for the close-up shots and such. There is another set they dance in where it’s just a white background, but there’s a fuchsia ring and ball floating around them. Although, I do like the final chorus where two of the members are posing and snapshots are being taken, that was interesting. Otherwise, this felt low budget compared to the other two songs from the single. Odd since they utilize a 360 degree camera…
The Outfits: Interesting that Erina’s hair is brown in this PV lol. Anywho, the outfits are in the same way that “Teenage Solution’s” were in the way that it’s got a theme of black and white angular shapes on their jackets and black top and skirt. It’s a bit of a wild juxtaposition considering the PV is set in this 80’s new wave color scheme so the clashing kind of draws you to them as they dance.
The Choreography: I will say that the dance is interesting and one of their better ones, minus the bit where they look like they’re petting the other girl and then do body rolls to each other…that’s a little weird for me. Beyond that though I do like the dance and a little bit of formation thrown in for fun.
PV as a whole: I haven’t seen this PV for quite a while and coming back to it, it still does feel like it got the least amount of love from the company. I just remember is “the one with the weird amount of ladies hugging and being too close”. Not really a PV I come back to, the song is still meh and just overall, not a good turnout despite, yay another PV to watch XD
Beat no Wakusei
The Song: As the 3rd A-side off Maachan’s grad single, Beat no Wakusei is kind of the oddball song of the bunch, but this time in a good way! Strange since it sounds so different with the bumping bass and the brass instruments and the overall happier tone versus the serious, “Teenage Solution”. Nothing really huge about this song in particular though so…let’s move on.
What Genre is it?: Kind of dance-pop/funk fused together.
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: Gosh there’s a lot of things going on in this PV! Most of it is green-screened though. There’s a bunch of interesting things though. Lot of the dance is done against a white screen/though probably green-screen too. The members also get an area that’s looks like some kind of refractive material, looks like foil, but looks like draped fabric too? Very crystalline basically. Another batch of solo scenes take place against a black background with planets floating around and the members do silly things with them (though…funny that other members themselves wear black gloves to create the illusion of the planets for the solo shots). The graphic artist had a field day though…throwing effects on the screen and doing some paneling around the girls during the planet shots. I also saw solo shots looking at the planets (I thought they were in a bubble?). The most interesting is that a few of the members sit in front what seem to be projections shot behind them of I guess pictures taken during the making of the PV.
The Outfits: Hey, we get out of the uniform outfits and we have now 4 colored dresses (Red, Yellow, Blue, and Teal) (yeah, the blue and teal kind of look way to close, but you can tell the difference between Sakura and Mizuki being next to each other)). Add on a black tummy belt and it’s kind of simple but it works for them? I’m a little surprised since the tealish color was there that Maachan didn’t where it (she wore red here).
The Choreography: I’ll definitely remember this dance as the one with all the shuffling during the choruses. It’s a peppy dance and it looked fun,
PV as a whole: I guess looking at this one, there was just a lot of things going on the PV that was pretty distracting like the digital effects flying across the screen, still the group was actually having fun in the PV and that’s what I felt was missing for some time out of Momusu. This was just quirky and cute and yeah, not a bad track!
I WISH
The Song: Huh? Oh yeah, they did make a video for this self-cover of I WISH. Yeah, the only actual information why this happened was simply because it was an ending theme song to a dorama, Mayonaka ni Hello!. Same arrangement, new vocals…you know the drill!
What Genre is it?: Pop, simply pop!
The Premise: Unlike the original, this one has none really lol.
The Setting: Interesting the way they start out kind of in a line, each of the members getting a solo line (or word…or an mm mm >.>). Though they’re against a wooden wall, odd. Though after Mizuki’s solo they run into this kind of fancy-looking room (or studio since the choreography takes place here as well). Though solo shots seem to be in a different location (I can see greenery and stairs, but the background is blurry as the focus is on the girls). Then curiously, it shows footage of all the members joining Morning Musume (not sure quite if it’s their first performances or what have you). Though it cuts back to the group sitting in some kind of triangular room (kind of like a church?…prolly not). Besides more footage of the past, we see the group fooling around behind-the-scenes of the MV and…it’s kind of an interesting MV, right?
The Outfits: Not counting the recorded live footage of the members in different outfits, the main shot has the group pretty much in casual clothes though once the song kicks in after the intro, they do put on varsity jackets akin to the original I WISH music video, more than likely not the original ones as there are more members here than in the original recording XD. Nothing to really talk about otherwise
The Choreography: It’s at least to me, the original choreography, if they added more then I wouldn’t know otherwise, but the chorus looks the same so xD.
PV as a whole: I wasn’t expecting MM to give the remake of I WISH a PV, and while yeah if you were more of a casual fan, this would be incredibly lazy to pull, I really do like the kept the original arrangement of I WISH here and it was super nice going down memory lane and seeing all of the members in their debuts. Will say it’s nice they didn’t fully try too hard. I mean you saw even shots of Riho, Kanon, Haruna I., Haruka, Masaki, Haruna O. which is super nice they didn’t back out of doing. It’s just a good song still, really feels like this should be the group’s theme song…just encapsulates everything good about Morning Musume. Hell, Sakura owned the shit out of Aibon’s original high note at the end of the song!
Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai
The Song: Ack! Another graduation single comes up, yeah, Chisaki Morito decided to graduate from the group to pursue activites outside the country (but she’s been performing a bit here and there with other H!P members as recent as New Year’s, so it’s nice to know she’s still down to perform sometimes). I should say, “I WISH” would end up being here as a B-side, so technically we can call that part of Chiichan’s graduation songs (albeit didn’t stand much). With the leading A-side, Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai though, she was definitely front and center for the PV! Also, one of the songs I really like so let’s check it out.
What Genre is it?: Electro Pop, you know the usual!
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: Another MV where most of it is shot mostly in green-screen. The dance-shot is even more basic than it was in “Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no” with just one white platform. Not much to really say beyond the digital effects. I did like the kind of fact that it felt like they were making a movie or something to that effect though.
The Outfits: I remembered a lot of orange outfits, but it seems that there was a bit of black, white, and red outfits as well alongside the orange. Though what struck me odd was the Fukuchan was wearing a little somethin blue under see-through white top and it was a bit weird to see amongst the other colors (but it’s probably due to her being leader?). Will say it was interesting to see Kaede, Eripon, Ayumi, and even Chisaki wearing long pants XD. Interesting color dynamics though and considering and the background is black for the choreo, this actually worked!
The Choreography: Definitely, the best part of the MV is the choreo itself. It’s got a lot of posing potential behind and there’s just a lot of movement, but not broad ones. Very cool dance and suits the song just right!
PV as a whole: Loved this MV, even though it’s another that overutilizes the green-screen and digital effects, I like the song already, but the PV was fun, the members also seemed to be liking this one. Chisaki was pretty much up-front of the video (since she was the graduating one). Yeah, this one was really good!
Dai Jinsei Never Been Better!
The Song: As the other song to Chisaki’s grad single, this one was never a track I particularly enjoyed as it was one of those breezy, happy songs that H!P seems to cheese up most of the time and this was such a case. Strangely enough, this one wasn’t the one that had Chiichan leading in the song so the tune was just that spring-into-summer kind of song that didn’t work with me, like “Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai ga Aru” or “Seishun Collection”, just kind of there-to-be-there song for me.
What Genre is it?: Pop, best I could describe it…Spring/Summerish vibes
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: They seem to be outdoorsy again, but the video does have them begin in a building with wide space overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Also seems like it’s a sunny day out perhaps? Though it does shift to some members dancing on the roof (there’s even seating there…makes me wonder if it’s another hotel? It could be because panned shots show this connected to a taller building which def looks like hotel rooms or apartments at best). Though once the 2nd verse starts, it shifts into a smaller room (definitely a hotel room) at night and then the digital effects sneak in playing around the members).
The Outfits: They do theme around white and light blue, but it’s still kind of casual mostly. Not sure why Chisaki is wearing poofy sweats though, that’s a bit weird, but everyone else is in skirts/dresses so that’s cute a bit summery/marine-like.
The Choreography: It’s fine, simple, flowing and they’re pretty synced together. Though I wasn’t expecting the bridge to pop off like it did. That was a nice surprise.
PV as a whole: Yeah, not a fan of the song and not really into the PV besides some of the quirkyness you see during the 2nd verse. It just feels like another song that was peeled around the time like “Familia” which also felt pretty dull to me. I was more surprised at how lacking Chisaki was in the PV (considering she had the worst outfit XD). Yeah, another one that misses the mark for me!
Swing Swing Paradise
The Song: Oh great, another graduation single, this time for Kaede Kaga which really hit me as I really liked her, but she never truly got her song, but she was all over this music video, so I suppose that’s a win right? Though this also was the debut single for Rio Sakurai! So this was our first video with her (technically the other A-side was since that PV came first). Also the song is kind of odd, the trick intro with Rio K., Mei, Mizuki, and Sakura before the tune bumps up to speed and the way this PV closes out is something H!P hasn’t done before…
What Genre is it?: Electro-swing? Hm…
The Premise: I thought there was one surrounding Kaedii, but nah, there isn’t
The Setting: It is a little strange, though as I said in the premise, it does surround Kaedii. From the PV, it seems like a lot of it is shot on a performing stage, as if Kaede is the star of the program. The dance-shot takes place. Other places include the make-up area for the solo shots and then there’s a weird kind of shot were two of the members pose in front of a black backdrop and some kind of odd 3D RBG kind of fuzzy look to it. Then the music video ends with a TV floating in space showing the MV, but it keeps repeating…odd to close out with xD
The Outfits: Pretty much uniform all-around although some of the members don gloves. Otherwise, they’re wearing a silver top with a red satin jacket and skirt. Kaede though gets an extra outfit, one that’s white shirt, black cover and skirt and pantyhose (with heels even) and even a tophat! Simple outfits but it suited the PV.
The Choreography: It’s a very bouncy dance and the members are doing a lot of stepping around and spinning their bodies or their arms or even other members. The shimmy-ing is also pretty nice too. On top of that though was that Kaede gets a solo dance in the bridge which was pretty neat, but didn’t look too difficult.
PV as a whole: It felt like a themed A-side to be honest. While vocally, Kaedii was just not here, she was definitely the prime suspect for the MV which is cool, though doesn’t quite show her skills off in a powerful way. It seems fun and playful and the way it ended surprises me in a good way.
Happy birthday to Me!
The Song: I definitely felt like this showcased more of Kaede vocally and did more for new member, Rio S. as well. As the other half to the graduation/debut single, Happy birthday to Me! felt like it was meant to mean something, but nah, I don’t think it was celebrating anything Birthday related.
What Genre is it?: Pop, Dance-ish?
The Premise: Well, I mean both Rio’s are looking at a cake…yeah no story
The Setting: The video actually begins with both Rio K. and Rio S. giving a stare with a cake in between them and a kind of grimey looking wall behind them, a weird mood for a happy-go-lucky song. Though it does shift into the main look of the PV (dance-shot and solo/duo shots). It’s hard to explain the style but it’s pretty angular and bold and the colors pop out, kind of reminds me ANGERME’s “Nakanai ze…Kyoukan Sagi”. The darker tinged area is filled with chairs and member posing and singing amongst them and there’s parts where a bright spotlight focuses on the members too. Of course there’s some post-production visual effects going on…but it’s kind of simple MV.
The Outfits: All the members kind of have their own looks in the PV. I think I counted at least 2 different looks going on for most of the PV, it’s really hard to tell what the point of the change between outfits, they’re all quite colorful regardless, I want to say the outfits during the 2nd chorus is a bit more elegant? Though I’m still not quite sure if that’s the right word to describe it. Both Rios though have a 3rd outfit, seen in the shots together with the cake or when they’re paired together, basic white dresses…odd and you only see that a few times.
The Choreography: Another one with a kind of weird dance, I was initially surprised that was the choreography for the intro and outro as it looks a little weird and clunky, but as the song filled out more, the dancing. Fun overall, just a little strange at times.
PV as a whole: Colorful is what I remember most out of this one. Beyond that, not much really stuck on to me beyond the song itself, kind of a basic H!P video here.
HEAVY GATE
The Song: So HEAVY GATE is a little bit of an odd one as it didn’t come from an album, instead being the promotional track off their best album, “Morning Musume Best Selection ~The 25 Shuunen~”. Now, by then we were introduced to two new members, Ako Yumigeta and Haruka Inoue, but they wouldn’t be present in the song unfortunately, they debuted in another song off the best album, “Nanzansho Souzansho” which did not receive a PV.
What Genre is it?: Electropop, throwing them back to 2013 with similar vibes of “Makeru Kishinai Konya wa Shoubu” and “A-B-C-D E-cha E-cha Shitai”
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: Well sadly, the music video is a live performance of the song, so it’s basically on a stage. Though they really couldn’t keep things simple as there’s post-production digital effects strewn about the song. Not quite as annoying as “I surrender Aisaredo Ai” did though.
The Outfits: Considering this is as a live performance, the outfit wasn’t the focus too much this time around, a sparkling silver/black outfit. Members wearing different accessories that suited the outfit too. performance outfits basically.
The Choreography: The dance was pretty cool to watch, pretty kinetic a lot of interesting formations, Very active dance at that. The only part that was odd with the “building the ladder” move they did before the chorus, that was odd, but the rest was cool!
PV as a whole: Despite not being a true PV, HEAVY GATE is a pretty neat song and the live performance was neat at least. Just kind of a side step I guess?
Suggoi FEVER!
The Song: We’re finally onto our final single which was all about Mizuki Fukumura graduating, though this marks also the debut for both Ako and Haruka (huh, all four singles in this post had a graduation…that’s wild). Anyway, the song is meh to me at best, most notably that deep, growly awkward voice that is the hook of the song got really annoying to hear.
What Genre is it?: Disco-pop
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: So most of the setting actually is the dance-shot, checkerboard floor and gold curtains (makes me think of “One Two Three” doesn’t it?). I do like the spikey star chandeliers? Though they look pretty low. Though they also have cubic lights higher above which is…odd? After that there’s the solo shots which places the members in front of a blue/pink wall. Then there was a shot where smaller groups of the members posed with a disco ball behind them, short only really appears once. I think I was surprised with the camera angles throughout, especially when they roll over above the members, that was pretty cool.
The Outfits: Girls are in uniform, with some slight differences, but they do wear a black outfit with a hot pink jacket on them. Pretty simple overall.
The Choreography: Also pretty safe for a dance, but the girls are having fun throughout with it so I’m not too bothered by it.
PV as a whole: Sadly the song is annoying enough to make me avoid the PV, but after watching it again, it’s fun and happy video, seems like it’s another basic H!P video, but I do appreciate the wild camerawork that went into this one.
Wake-up Call ~Mezameru Toki~
The Song: I definitely remember loving the song out of the 3 of them as it was bonkers and crazy and just filled with enough nonsense that I ended up loving it. Very wild song indeed and just so much to remember!
What Genre is it?: Electro-musume!
The Premise: N/A
The Setting: Most of this PV is heavily slathered in green-screen and digital effects and no surprise there! The main dance set does see them performing in front of blue lasers shot to the floor and a black background. Some of the solo shots are similar but green lasers shooting down from the ceiling. I also believe that some of the more colorful parts are both digital and physical especially the few shots of the group standing together…looks wild and maze-like, just kind of a wild design to piece things together.
The Outfits: Really there’s one outfit that’s seen most of the PV and that’s the matrix-esque lime green/black outfits, once again small differences between the girls, but mostly uniform. The only other outfit is actually donned by Mizuki and Sakura which are the sailor outfits (because the song’s lyrics and some of the dance is a nod to “The Pea~ce!” which had sailor outfits in it).
The Choreography: Was hard to follow the choreography due to how fast-paced everything was in the and how it was focused on solo shots and grouping shots instead of the dance.
PV as a whole: So frantic! It was so surprising to see a Momusu PV that matched up with how crazy the song was and it shows. While the green-screen was turned up to 15, I actually like the energy the group was giving and the members were having fun. By the time it got to the rapping section, the song was just lighting off and everything was happening so fast! Still, I can’t help that of the 12 PVs here, this one caught my attention the most.
Neverending Shine
The Song: Last, but not least, we get to Fukuchan’s graduation song, yeah she got an original song due to most likely her incredible tenure being in Momusu (only now passed up by her gen-mate, Eripon). Honestly, graduation songs don’t really stick to me unless it’s a bit random like “Shabadabadoo~”. Neverending Shine is kind of just a there song, it’s supposed to be sentimental, but these kind of tracks are not of my taste.
What Genre is it?: A mid-tempo ballad
The Premise: I thought there was one especially with the way it ends with Fukuchan floating into the sky, but no there really isn’t much besides the group giving hugs.
The Setting: I could remember 3 spots in the PV, Fukuchan in the grassy opening between the trees, she also walk through the trees as well. Then she’s in a house that’s all white (including items in the house). Then the dance-shot is somewhere in the house, you see stairs. Then I started to realize, oh this place was where Tsubaki Factory’s “Hatsukoi Sunrise” took place. Very interesting indeed.
The Outfits: The group altogether are wearing all white outfits, but different styles (because of course). Fukuchan is wearing a long white dress (duh, she’s graduation). Though Mizuki does get to wear two more outfits, one is a shorter dress during the dance-shot and a grey dress with flowers in the design (she wears it in solo shots standing next to a pillar). Very basic outfits, the the flowery dress was a nice choice to add a little color.
The Choreography: Slow, simple, of course Fukuchan is in the middle while the rest kind of sway, do their thing, and share moments with Mizuki. Nothing to really write home about.
PV as a whole: I mean, it’s a graduation song…of course it’s going to be like super sentimental and soft. Though I didn’t think WHITE would be the PV…that feels so empty and unlike Fukuchan to do. While I do love the green and blue sky at different points all I got was just white everywhere. The song wasn’t all that interesting either, being 95% a Fukuchan solo. Just was kind of over it quickly.
WHEW, finally caught up! I’m very curious to the Eripon era and see what becomes of it as now we can start to see some of the elder members moving on, with the happenings of Rio K. kind of becoming a lead vocal and the new members getting their feet wet, I hope this means new styles for the group!
Here we are again for another go-around with H!P and this was a pretty interesting year all things considered, but how was the music?!? Well let’s dive into the year that was 2023!
Morning Musume ’23
Morning Musume was in a pretty odd place this year I feel like. Mostly because they were pretty absent for the first half of the year, only really having news in May when auditions finished and we came out with two winners, Haruka Inoue & Ako Yumigeta. Though when they did release music at the end of August with the kind of best album/self-cover release, Morning Musume Best Selection ~The 25 Shuunen~, it was kind of a weird moment (especially since the 2 new members debuted under one of the songs).
Though it wouldn’t be too long before they released a single to commemorate Mizuki Fukumura‘s looming graduation with Suggoi FEVER! / Wake-up Call ~Mezameru Toki~ / Neverending Shine. Mizuki would graduate at the end of November.
NOTE: Considering that most of the self-covers are just new vocals on top of the old arrangements, I’m going to skip those because there’s really not much to talk about them really beyond that if you like Mizuki and Sakura…then there ya go xD. This also ties into Juice=Juice as well, but I’ll mention why there.
GREAT SONGS
HEAVY GATE – As the main promotional song from the best album, HEAVY GATE definitely reminded me of their aggressive EDM songs back in circa 2013 like “Makeru Kishinai Kon’ya wa Shoubu”, “Bouya”, and “A B C D E-cha E-cha Shitai”. I do like the overt amounts of filters on the vocals for most of the track and the energy is there, so I was happy to see a song like this return. I mean we are drained dry over the whole EDM phase of the group, but HEAVY GATE just kind goes back to when it was big for the group. What a way to kick things off!
Wake-up Call ~Mezameru Toki~ – At least the single had one really good track with Wake-up Call! It’s wild atmosphere is kind of fun to listen to and yeah it feels like another song that’s cobbled together from parts of different songs stitched together to make a track (not make it cohesive, mind you). The crazy raps throughout all adds to this clusterfuck of a song that just rides the energy so hard that I can’t but love it here! Though I do question giving Miki that auto-tune before the final chorus though. It’s a ridiculous song, but this is the most excitement I’ve gotten from Morning Musume in a hot minute!
OK SONGS
Nanzansho Souzansho – When I was talking about Haruka and Ako taking part in ONE song off the best album, Nanzansho Souzansho felt really cool because all of the members got solos in and throughout the song. Even the two new members as well (Ako’s vocals are pretty deep and Haruka’s are nice, but still green in ways). Outside of that, the song is kind of a cutesy upbeat track and while I think the chorus is pretty dull, I do like the verses and the quickness of them changing between members and all that. It’s not bad though, just kind of there.
Kanashiku Naru You na Rainy day – So the best album had split groupings and this was strange because one of these was the last of the new songs (while the other two groupings were doing covers). Sung between Erina, Ayumi, Sakura, Miki, and Akane, I thought this was an odd track to include because of why its there. Hearing it though, it’s a mid-tempo R&B track. There’s something that reminds me of “Tsumetai Kaze no Kataomoi”, but it could just be me. Not bad, but strange as the 3rd new original track from the best.
Last Kiss (23 Ver.) – Like I said, the other grouping songs were of covers of Tanpopo and Petitmoni and I found that curious. Regardless, we have Last Kiss first and it was resung by Maria, Reina, and Rio K. Obviously, it wasn’t going to be handled as well as the original trio (Kaori, Aya, and Mari). The vocals though are kind of nice and clean and I finally had a surprising feel to hearing Kitagawa’s vocals in the song as she sounded so good! Maria was decent and Reina…well…her voice is a choice here especially since she led the first chorus. Interesting choice of ladies and I did notice a few added things to the song’s arrangement (like guitar in the bridge?). Good cover.
Chokotto LOVE (23 Ver.) – So Mei, Homare, and Rio S. take over the Petitmoni song and it’s passable too. Same kind of things applied here when it comes to the arrangement being 95% the same, it’s just little things added. Vocally, this song always felt like it was meant for younger voices (though not to slam the original of Sayaka, Kei, and Maki), but the youthful tones are a nice, welcoming sound for Chokotto LOVE (which is why I kind of enjoyed S/mileage’s take on it as well). I will say Sakurai’s vocals are a little more in tune of the original trio (her voice is a little lower than the duo chirps out of Mei and Homare). Still, solid cover!
Suggoi FEVER! – I really wanted to love this one as Suggoi FEVER! was quite the exciting disco-funk track that Momusu seems to downpat. Though the one thing that holds me back from it is that damn ~suggoiiiiiiii, ha ha ha ha~ parts from the incredibly unnerving voice. It just sounds incredibly creepy and annoying especially since it’s part of the hook. Getting over the creep voice, the rest of the song is nice, I do appreciate seeing both Rios getting solos though and the energy and chorus is fun to listen to. Decent song, but hmmm…next time don’t include such a voice!
MEH SONGS
Neverending Shine – Of course the song that I enjoyed the least would be the song used as Fukuchan’s graduation song with Neverending Shine. Granted, these kind of songs never do it for me in the past, so it’s no surprise to me. It’s just that kind of fluffy, positive sound mixed in with Morning Musume’s kind of string/trap beats/light EDM sound that’s kind of boring to me. Since the song is sung entirely by Mizuki by herself with the rest of the group doing background vocals. I will say, Mizuki sounds pretty and fits the light-hearted mood of the song. Don’t know what was going in with the dubstep inclusion in the bridge, but eh? Not much to say here, it’s an OK sendoff song, I suppose.
Predictions from 2022
Obviously, the biggest takeaway is that we will get winners from this current audition running, I say maybe 2 or 3 new members perhaps? It really depends on who is going to graduate next after Fukuchan here and I’ve been counting on letting the old guard finally decide to move on from the group, but it hasn’t worked out for me the last few years til now, has it? I also want to see Rio S. more and Homare too, I feel like the latter really hasn’t popped up on my radar here recently and I’d like to see her get pushed to the front for an A-side or 2.
Actuality: Surprisingly, all this at least came true, maybe like 80%? We did get two winners in Haruka and Ako and so far they’re kind of fitting in, I do hope we get to hear more from them in 2024, but right now, they’re on their first year so… Still only Mizuki graduating this year is kind of surprising since now Eripon is going to become leader for the next year. As for current members, I feel like I finally get Rio Sakurai and Homare now more than I did last year which is good!
Predictions for 2024: With Erina becoming leader (I think of both Momusu and H!P), I kind of wonder how her leadership will be like…maybe it’ll be exciting considering how long Fukuchan has led. Of course more Haruka and Ako as I’ve said and with their vocals, they could both be potentially good. Not much else to say other than not to pull off a half year of no releases again >.> There is an audition for H!P proper going on, but I don’t think Momusu needs more members right now.
ANGERME
I would definitely say that ANGERME had the busiest year within H!P. We started off with the fact that Akari Takeuchi was graduating within the year and they were not kidding by starting it off strong with the group’s 4th album, BIG LOVE in March and then following it up with Takechan’s graduating single in June, Ai no Kedamono / Dousousei before she finally graduated towards the end of the same month and Moe would become leader.
A short while later, like two weeks later in July, news would pop up that two members would be joining ANGERME, Hana Goto & Yukiho Shimoitani and they would end up debuting in their December single, RED LINE / Life is Beautiful!. Though the it wasn’t all the news as towards the end of the year, Rikako Sasaki would announce her graduation for 2024.
GREAT SONGS
Survive ~ Ikiteku Tame ni Yume wo Min da – As the first song off the 2nd disc of their “BIG LOVE” album, Survive is a pretty energetic way to open things with a very aggressive dance beat and sound, kind of being similar to many other H!P songs out there, but this actually sounds fun and I love hearing all the members get at least one solo throughout the track. Maybe in the grand scheme of things this might not stand out in their discography, but this is really good!
Nekkara Playboy – Since the album did split the members up for a few songs, I came across the first one (sung between Akari, Ayano, Shion, and Yuki) and honestly this was a really great track. It did take on that funk vibe that we’ve seen in stuff like “46-okunen LOVE” and “Mirror Mirror” which isn’t surprising as the group can handle that. Though what I wasn’t expecting was to see Yuki being a powerhouse in the song, possibly moreso than even Takechan! Props also for Shion who also sounds really good in the song. Yeah, this quartet really fit the song and I enjoyed this a whole lot!
Ai no Kedamono – Now we’re onto Takechan’s graduation single and Ai no Kedamono was the leading track and honestly, this to me has a vibe that a little more aggressive like how “Ai Mashou” was, just with a jungle-esque paint job on top of it. Maybe not as loud and full of sound as the aforementioned song as we get to hear the group a bit more fully. I do like that everyone has a line to stand out with and the beat is catchy. Definitely a fun song to listen to.
Dousousei – As I finish talking about “Forever Friend”, Dousousei comes out which was the other A-side off Takechan’s grad single and honestly, I get similar vibes from the two despite obviously the latter is kind of the group saying goodbye to Akari. The biggest differences is the more booming percussion and saxophone (or a synthed-up version of it) being included. There are parts that stand out more from this track than the aforementioned track like the catchy chorus and Rin K.’s high note solo in the 2nd chorus (is she starting to become a secondary vocal front perhaps?). The bridge adds a guitar solo which is odd (considering there’s choreo involved in the PV too, loool). Just a perfect way to send Takechan out I would say!
OK SONGS
23ji no Persona – I definitely felt the drum n’ bass elements being present for this track and after the weird vibes of “Bukkowashitai”, I was definitely approving of this song! I just like the synths here and the group sounds decent as they try to sing in a lighter tone after the previous two tracks on the disc. Nice song overall!
Top! – Not to be confused of the Morning Musume song of the same name, this track is actually sung between Rikako, Moe, and Rin K. This grouping felt a little more suitable together as I feel like the 3 could handle a bit of a cooler song even if it’s a little more basic sounding and focuses on the 3 members involved. There’s not much to really say here other than it’s an OK song, could’ve used a bit more music besides the beat lol.
Sister Sister – Damn, was not expecting Yuki to open the song up with ad-libbing, but I am here for it! The track is a bit more of a cuter song from them, maybe a little more poppy because of that notion. Little surprised that Rin H. and Shion didn’t get a solo in this song despite that it’s a song that could easily have given them lines. It’s a decent track, I believe.
Forever Friend – As the final song off the album, Forever Friend kind of wraps things up in a pleasant bow with it being kind of a mid-tempo and breezy-ish kind of song. I do like the addition of strings and acoustic guitar in the song and just has a feeling of togetherness that isn’t a ballad which I appreciate a lot! Though it does set up the songs off the next single, which is something I wasn’t more or less into. It’s a nice closing to “BIG LOVE” though.
Ikanakucha – Takechan’s final single ends off with a solo song with Ikanakucha. This song also feels like something that was made after the thought of “Forever Friend” happened as this song has a bit more of an upbeat acoustic pop kind of sound to it. I will say as a solo track, Takechan definitely makes the most of it and it sounds nice for her. Though graduation songs never really stay with me for long, I will say this is pretty nice overall, if not a little simple for my tastes?
RED LINE – As the group’s last single of the year and the first without Akari and first with new members Hana and Yukiho, I was very curious where the group was going since Takechan was one of the more leading members in terms of lines. RED LINE was a surprise as it was more of darker song for the group which I tend to enjoy a LOT. I will say that the verses caught my attention especially since we get lines out Wakana, Rin H., and Rin K. a little moreso than normal which I really liked to hear. As for the new members, Yukiho gets one line and I don’t remember much, but Hana gets two and one of them shows off some power and I am excited to see her moving forward! Though what gets me is that like “Bukkowashitai”, the chorus comes off weaker and the odd upbeat, bright mood peeks through which I don’t like seeing in songs like these. Still, first song post-Akari was good!
Life is Beautiful! – Huh, it feels like it was just recently that we got this kind of track, last year’s “Aisubeki Beki Human Life” with a similar upbeat and frantic kind of sound. I do enjoy that Hana and Yukiho get solos at the front of both verses of the song and everyone else gets one throughout other places. That said, I don’t think this song is as good as the aforementioned song because I had a harder time finding a hook and the energy is a little too loose. Then again, it’s been a year between the two songs, I don’t know if we needed this yet.
MEH SONGS
Bukkowashitai – Next track was a bit more disappointing to me than “Survive” though. I mean the song kind of sounds cool initially, especially the intro and shouting between Shion and Rikako! Then the verses were a bit more funky and I remember Yuki’s line a whole lot, she has a lot of grit which makes me happy. Then the chorus happens and honestly, it just falls apart for me. It’s that shfit of positivity that throws the song off for me and almost sounds like some light generic motif for me. The rock elements and verses are what I think is the song’s best parts, but no, that chorus is meh…
Maa, Ii ka! – If there was anything that really threw the album off for me, it’s this track sung between the remaining members (Layla, Rin H., and Wakana). I really wasn’t expecting a song that sounds like a child’s song come up…especially since this style was more in line with S/mileage back in the day moreso as an ANGERME song. Granted, Layla sounds really nice and hearing Rin just moreso than any other song off the release is good. Wakana also sounds pleasant too! Though, the song is just kind of a little too kiddy sounding for me.
Predictions from 2022
Honestly, out of all the H!P groups, I feel like there’s not much to predict for ANGERME. Of course a LOT more music as they’ve been pretty light this year and last year so they need to make up for that in the new year. As for anything else, I’m not sure, but maybe a graduation but I have no clue…though Takechan is…so…hmm
Actuality: Yeah, ANGERME didn’t leave me much to predict with for this year. They did release a lot of music this year (the most of any H!P group funny enough). Of course, I knew of Takechan’s graduation before the year ended so that obviously happened. I didn’t expect 2 new members joining in the aftermath of Akari’s graduation though, but I should’ve expected that.
Predictions for 2024: ANGERME seems to be continuing the unsure haze of things that can happen with the group. Obviously, seeing Hana and Yukiho grow into their roles is obviously something I’d like to see. Of course pushing Rin H. and Rin K. just a little more would be nice. As for graduations, I think maybe two will leave? Rikako is the eldest and since she didn’t take up leadership roles in the group (Kamiko is leader and Kawamuu as sub-leader still), I feel like she could be the first to go (EDIT: that is before she actually did announce it before the end of the year). I also think Ayano will graduate too, but it’s more of the age factor to me…maybe a new member, even?
Juice=Juice
Juice=Juice in 2023 was a little busy, but it also felt very light as well from the group. After the craziness of the last few years dropping many members (most of them original members), Akari ended up becoming leader of the group and we started off pretty late with the group releasing a single in July, Pride Bright / FUNKY FLUSHIN’ though in junction with the promotion, they were also given a new member from the Kenshuusei, Mifu Kawashima.
In August though, it was announced that Akari Uemura was going to graduate from the group in 2024.
The only other thing they released was their first kind of best album (also self-cover album) in October, Juicetory.
NOTE: Just like with Momusu, I’m going to overpass most of the Juicetory album with the exception of three tracks because most of the other songs were basically just redone vocals (which focused a LOT between Akari, Ruru, Rei, Riai, and Yume mostly). Just would be beating a dead horse at that point.
GREAT SONGS
Pride Bright – Leading the single release, Pride Bright was a pretty cool, but calculated from the group as I feel like this song is really in their comfort zone. Though after all the member changes, I think Pride Bright does a great job of really bringing the group together as they are right now. I really do love Ruru and Kisaki opening the song, especially the latter since I feel like Kisaki hasn’t had a chance to stand out since “Plastic Love”. I’m kind of surprised that I didn’t hear Akari E., Risa, or even Sakura get a solo line anywhere. Ok technically Risa does get the final word, but like…WHY. Still, the song is funky and energetic and I do like the current vocal fronts, so it’s not the worst problem. One of the stronger A-sides out of H!P this year.
FUNKY FLUSHIN’ – The other A-side released, FUNKY FLUSHIN’ continues the group’s pattern to at least cover one song each single and this one was originally a 1979 Tatsuro Yamashita single. This one was definitely continuing that city-pop meets summer vibes and I was really grooving along to the song. Though I appreciate FINALLY hearing Akari E. and Sakura getting a solo and they both sound pretty green still, which is fine as this is their 2nd single as part of the group. The track is just cute and bouncy and really carries such a easygoing vibe. I really like the bridge/final choruses where Kisaki, Risa, and Ichika kind of whisper the chorus for a bit before Aarii just solos it and by god she’s grown so much. May argue that this is BETTER than “Pride Bright”
OK SONGS
Romance no Tochuu (2023 10th Juice Ver.) – As I said above, “Juicetory” was both a best album and a self-cover album, but two of the tracks got new arrangements since they both were kind of promotional material for the release. I was a little surprised to see them redo their major debut song here. I will say the updated band arrangement is nice and very much an update. I was surprised that Akari E. and Sakura were kind of forgotten in the song, but new member Mifu does get a solo line and it’s OK, I think we need a proper song to get more out of her. Overall, decent retread!
MEH SONGS
Wonderful World (2023 10th Juice Ver.) – Already coming into this, it wasn’t going to change my thoughts of the song for the most part. I do like the acapella opening of the chorus in this version, but once the arrangement with the harp, strings, and chorale in the background just kind of tunes me out for the song. I will say that Riai keeps impressing me with her vocals nowadays and just hearing her in the first verse is just so good! Regardless though, the song is still pretty vanilla to me and just another version of it existing is kind of bleh.
Bon Voyage ~Omoi no Kiseki~ – The only NEW track off “Juicetory”, Bon Voyage was not a song I was expecting to be there since it was the only new one of course. I was expecting something strong and upbeat, but Bon Voyage is actually kind of a ballad. Kind of was a little bored of this one after a while and while I believe Mifu is in there somewhere, I don’t think she gets a solo (but then again neither does Sakura and Akari E. once again… This was just kind of…mmm, too vanilla for them lol.
Predictions from 2022
More releases of course, but honestly, I hope to see more push for the newest members, Akari E. and Sakura…this single was OK, but didn’t really propel them far to give them a big notice. We will see moving forward how well the duo will do, but that’s all I’m hoping for out of them.
Actuality: I feel like I didn’t really predict too much and even with these two, it didn’t seem to quite come true as I wished it did. While they did release a single and an album, the latter was just re-recordings of past songs…hell the new tracks themselves were LESS than in 2022 which is pretty sad I’d say. I guess the new vocals to old songs could be interesting, but having Morning Musume ALSO doing that this year was a bit overkill IMO.
Predictions for 2024: With Aarii already announcing her graduation, I’m curious as to who will take her place as leader. I have a feeling it might be Ruru, but there’s also a chance that Rei could also be there as she’s been in H!P a bit longer (from her stint in Kobushi Factory). We’re also going through an issue with the group’s newest member, Mifu who is suffering from hearing loss, so I hope we don’t lose her as this would be a truly sad way to leave the group. I also really hope for a push out of Endo and Ishiyama, it’s their 2nd year with the group and they still don’t really have much of an appearance in the group yet, so I wanna see H!P work with that a bit.
Tsubaki Factory
For also having a smaller year as well (actually every group here on had a small active year it feels like). Tsubaki Factory kind of also went through quite a bit of change within the year. We already knew from last year that Kiki Asakura was graduating and that final single came in the form of February’s Machigai ja nai Naitari Shitai / Skip Skip Skip / Kimi to Boku no Kizuna feat. KIKI before she finally graduated in April.
Then two weeks later, it was announced that Riko Yamagishi & Yumeno Kishimoto would both graduate towards the end of the year. That however got a bit cloudy when in between, Kishimon would go on hiatus due to adjustment disorder, which pretty much sat her out until a few weeks before graduation, meaning she didn’t get a graduation single. Riko on the other hand did with September’s Yuuki It’s my Life! / Mousou Dake Nara Freedom / Demo…Ii yo before the two of them finally graduated at the beginning of November.
GREAT SONGS
Machigai ja nai Naitari Shitai – Gosh I do love when Tsubaki does more serious songs with their exciting dance-style thrown in. I really love the dramatics in the song and the members just sound wonderful here, especially the lower tones they hit during the verses. There’s a lot going in the arrangement on top of being able to hear a LOT of each member, mostly impressed by Yuumi, Yumeno, Kiki, Saori, and Runo in this track, their vocals are definitely strong in this one for sure. I feel like the song is a bit under the radar, but it’s really good!
Yuuki It’s my Life! – Now we get into Riko’s graduation single starting with Yuuki It’s my Life! I already really liked this one as this was bright and upbeat and just has this kind of sparkly quality about it that felt right for Riko since this one focused on her a lot. That chorus is just so positive and sweet. Plus hearing so much Riko in the song is really refreshing for me. Still a bit bummed that Yumeno missed out on this to be honest. My only negative may be that sudden ending, but still great A-side!
Mousou Dake Nara Freedom – We definitely needed a sillier Tsubaki Factory song and this one is pretty much their take on ANGERME’s “Manner Mode” in both the song and the wackiness of the PV! I also could see Buono! tackling this song too funny enough. The busy pop/rock arrangement and the craziness I’m hearing from the ladies is just fun to hear. This definitely makes up for how strange “Idol Tenshoku Ondo” turned out.
Demo…Ii yo – Normally ballads really don’t capture me but for whatever reason, Demo…Ii yo really interested me. From the intro adlibs from Shiori that were mesmerizing and then Yuumi’s vocals that kick off the verse really impressed me somehow. Then just hearing Marine and Runo even do some really great things during the song cemented their place in the group. I REALLY liked that about this one. The song itself is quiet and light and while the chorus spends a LOT of time having the group be in the higher register of their vocals, I find it kind of nice? Really though, best ballad for me this year by far!
OK SONGS
Skip Skip Skip – I feel like Tsubaki does these cutesy songs once in a while and yeah, I’d file this near “Waratte” and “Shunrenka” to be honest. I do feel like it’s been a while though so we were due for a song like this. That said, I feel there’s something missing about this one in particular, maybe it’s a hook that I feel like this track is lacking in. I really do like hearing the new members get a hefty solo batch in the bridge at least…but I feel like this one is a bit forgettable, but the happy-go-lucky energy is there.
MEH SONGS
Kimi to Boku no Kizuna feat. KIKI – Since this was Kiki’s goodbye song from the group (not her actual graduation song, we’ll get there soon enough), I wasn’t surprised this was like that breezy mid-tempo kind of track that we’ve seen SO MANY times before and after that it just lacks anything that really makes it stand out amongst the others. I think the most interesting thing is that the whole “feat. KIKI” is kind of odd? This song was performed before this happened and it’s not like the rest of Tsubaki isn’t missing as everyone sings in the track. I will say that Kiki does get a lot of solos (and the PV has a lot of her featured as well). Still, the song is just boring to me so I’m passing this up.
Predictions from 2022
DEFINITELY more releases, granted they are the first H!P group to have a single coming up in the new year, but I REALLY hope they don’t go for this 6 month gap between releases again. After Kiki graduates, not sure…this is a group that I’m still getting used to the new members, so I hope next year they stick onto me more.
Actuality: One more single than last year’s, I suppose is a win, even if that’s still very small but still another 6 month gap is a bit ridiculous. At least I can say for sure that Yuumi, Marine, Shiori, and Runo definitely came in strong this year on both singles as they’re kind up in the front (though very much sharing the spotlight with the other members equally). Outside of Kiki though, I really wasn’t expecting losing two more members especially leader Riko and face of the group, Yumeno…this is going to be an interesting 2024.
Predictions for 2024: Coming off of losing members and now that Kisora is leader (and Ami is sub-leader), I’m hella curious to see where the group goes moving forward. I could see a member being added to soften the blow of losing 3 members in a year. I’m expecting an album considering the group has 3 unreleased songs currently, so it’s probably the best move (I really hope they don’t follow the self-cover best route like Momusu and Juice=Juice did this year though).
BEYOOOOONDS
Really, REALLY? AGAIN?!? Yeah, it seems that BEYOOOOONDS would once again only pull a single release for 2023 and the worst part was that this single, Motomeyo…Unmei no Tabibitozan / Yume Sae Egakenai Yozora ni wa was released back in April and the group has been missing since then! I mean they’ve been doing stageplays, but otherwise in releases, it’s been pretty bone dry.
OK SONGS
Motomeyo…Unmei no Tabibitozan – It’s not really a surprise that BEYOOOOONDS would lead with a pretty quirky and random track such as this as their music has kind of always been that way for the most part. Not sure if I was really all that interested in Momohime’s spoken dialogue so quickly after the explosive intro. Most of the song is fine and cute and upbeat and sounds like a slightly slower “Koshi Tanta Turn” in some ways. Though I think the spoken dialogue (Utano gets one of these before the 2nd verse as well) takes me out of the song a bit. I do like Shiori’s high note before the final chorus though.
Yume Sae Egakenai Yozora ni wa – The other A-side is a bit more interesting to me though. I do like the intro where Rika and Minami sing and the melody of the track is more or less like a lullaby. Things do luckily pick up when a full band comes in and there’s a lot of interesting instrumentation included like woodwinds and brass on top of Honoka doing the piano in the song. Just the musical touch really elevated this song up for me and while I can’t put it on the great, I appreciate a song like this in their discography. Also just kind of funny seeing whales randomly pop up in the MV, what a twist! lol
Predictions from 2022
It’s hard to tell where I think the group will go for next year, I’m still hoping the sub-groups will get a single to themselves instead of backpacking on the main singles, but I doubt H!P would shelf the money for such an idea. Maybe two singles at best for next year since the album happened already.
Actuality: I was really off this year. Nothing I predicted really happened and unfortunately not in a good way. Another year with one singular BEYOOOOONDS release and even worse, the sub-groups were pushed to the back as they made no such appearance in the year.
Predictions for 2024: MORE GODDAMN MUSIC! Like this is the 2nd year BEYOOOOONDS have only given up one sparse release and otherwise been incredibly quiet on the music front over 2/3 of the year! I really hope H!P gets their act together and push the group for next year. I also have this gut feeling that at least one of the girls will graduate, but not sure who. Reina? Honoka? maybe even Kurumi? It’s just a feeling I have.
OCHA NORMA
OCHA NORMA too also has a surprisingly empty year with just one single at the end of July, Chotto Joucho Fuantei?…Natsu / Ocha no ma Maharoba Ikoinoba ~Showa to Reiwa wa mo Watchawacha~ / Shekenaare / Yoridori ME DREAM a first for H!P as a quadruple A-side release. Outside of that, I don’t think they did too much besides touring of course.
GREAT SONGS
Ocha no ma Maharoba Ikoinoba ~Showa to Reiwa wa mo Watchawacha~ – Of course the song I really like this year from OCHA NORMA would be the one with the awfully long name lol. Though I will say that this song was a bit more like what they pulled off last year with “Uchira no Jimoto wa Chikyuu jan!” with it’s more electronic arrangement. I do like the longer solo lines out of this one and I really can tell that members like Kirara, Natsume, Roko, and Kanami are kind of the powerhouse vocalists (with Momo of course, but she gets the cool 2nd verse line again, but also the bridge as well lol). Though again Nanami seems to pop out for me. Honestly this was great for showing vocal prowess IMO. Though the speeding up the tempo near the end was really fast and out of nowhere for me…but it ended well. Great song!
OK SONGS
Chotto Joucho Fuantei?…Natsu – As the leading A-side from the single, Chotto Joucho Fuantei?…Natsu is what I would call your typical Summer fun track. I will say the explosive intro from Roko and Miku caught me by surprise, though after that the song gets under way and we’re given a surprisingly cute and fun track for the group to get. I kind of love each of the members getting a solo line and just giving their best cute performance. Also I noticed more out of Miku and Nanami in this song. Even better is the sax solo in the track, that was pretty cool. Decent track at least!
MEH SONGS
Shekenaare – After the previous two tracks on the single, Shekenaare comes next and versus those, this feels a bit too light, which is odd considering its got an anime tie-in and what not. The arrangement is cute and upbeat, but those synths sound like something out of Mario Kart for what ever reason. If I had to be honest, this kind of sounds like a song old 4-nin S/mileage would release as it has their energy and sound down. It’s vocally fitting for the group, but just not for me.
Yoridori ME DREAM – Unfortunately, it carries to the last A-side which was also known as an unreleased song for quite some time before making onto the single as the 4th A-side. From the beginning it was giving me BEYOOOOONDS’ “Furefure Everyday” vibes with the jig sound of the synths. Likewise, this is another S/mileage-esque song for me and also doesn’t quite vibe with me really. It feels kind of generic and maybe should’ve been a B-side.
Predictions from 2022
Like with BEYOOOOONDS, they’re the new unit, so I don’t have much in predictions to be honest beyond a new single and potentially an album (the group has 2 unreleased songs currently). Yeah, just letting OCHA NORMA continue to grow together and getting more time to perform is pretty much all I have.
Actuality: I mean they did give us one single for the year and 4 A-sides (H!P’s first Quad A-side), so I can’t be too upset, but they performed MORE unreleased songs during the year which is kind of frustrating lol. As for the group’s dynamics, I feel like the group is more evenly spaced out this year as there’s not a real vocal leader yet, I do see all the members getting some spotlight, though maybe they’ll lean on Kanami, Kirara, Momo, Roko, and Natsume to hold longer solos versus the other 5 right now.
Predictions for 2024: Really not much to say on the matter for predictions as 2024 will mark as OCHA NORMA’s first album release in the new year, beyond that…maybe another single before the year’s end? Really unsure what to really predict with OCHA since they’re still such a new group for me.
Hello Pro Kenshuusei / Hello Pro Kenshuusei Unit ’23
What’s there to say with the Kenshuusei this year…surprisingly quite a bit, well…maybe?
News started around March when 3 new Kenshuusei members were announced; Toa Makino, Niina Hayashi, and Soara Kawano. They actually ended up taking part in the Kenshuusei Test Recital of that year!
Cut to July when many announcements were made regarding the KSS. Hana Goto & Yukiho Shimoitani were both joining ANGERME, Mifu Kawashima would be joining Juice=Juice, and Hinoha Yoshida & Rena Kamimura would be joining the ongoing Kenshuusei Unit ’23 to which the announcement was made that the group would be debuting in 2024 with a possibility of additional members.
Of course, KSS Unit has performed 3 original songs already, so it’s a bit wild right now, amping them up for debut. Though it does leave us with Toa, Niina, and Soara as the only pure Kenshuusei left right now…
Other H!P Releases
Interestingly enough, the only H!P releases that didn’t fall under a group were all graduation songs from Tsubaki Factory members, kind of an odd thing to see to be honest. Takechan and Fukuchan’s graduation songs were on the group’s singles so that’s also funny to see. I would’ve thought one of these 3 would get an original track, but no they’re all covers of other H!P songs.
OK SONGS
Kacchoii Uta – Oddly enough, Riko gets the pop/rock track to graduate with and it’s the B-side from the Hello! Project Mobekimasu single (the everyone is here single) and I was surprised she chose this song because it is a joint-effort kind of song and remembering the ManoEri solo of the song kind of made me cringe because she wasn’t the best vocalist to tackle the song alone. Add that Riko was also not the strongest in Tsubaki made me worry, but she held her own quite nicely. I will say she does kind of sound winded a little towards the end, but overall this was fun to listen to.
BE – I think this was the strangest pick for a graduation song to be honest. While we were missing Kishimon in the latter half of the year, I was happy to see at least she would grant the fans one more song before her graduation and it’s the Berryz Kobo song from “5 (FIVE)”. I liked the idea that it’s a ballad, but the background vocals and kids are 100% less fitting in this song versus the original and Yumeno is in her higher range and not belting her power lines so it’s not THE best representation of Yumeno’s time in H!P, but that’s my opinion.
MEH SONGS
You’re My Friend feat. KIKI – Not entirely sure why the whole “feat. KIKI” would be here considering this is a solo track from Kiki regardless loool. Anyways, I was surprised by the song choice because it’s an album track originally done by Buono! I will say I was excited because Kiki chose to do a pop/rock song, but nope! The arrangement was changed up to be more ballad with piano, strings, and percussion. That said, the song was less memorable and while I liked Kiki’s voice…just wasn’t my thing to be honest.
Gains & Losses
Gains
Toa Makino
Soara Kawano
Niina Hayashi
Haruka Inoue
Ako Yumigeta
Hana Goto (to ANGERME)
Yukiho Shimoitani (to ANGERME)
Mifu Kawashima (to Juice=Juice)
Losses
Kiki Asakura
Akari Takeuchi
Riko Yamagishi
Yumeno Kishimoto
Mizuki Fukumura
My H!P Member Ranking for 2023
71. Haruka Inoue (NEW)
70. Ami Tanimoto (-8)
69. Ruli Hiromoto (-3)
68. Erina Ikuta (-11)
67. Utano Satoyoshi (-12)
66. Mei Yamazaki (-19)
65. Mifu Kawashima (NEW)
64. Rin Hashisako (0)
63. Sakura Ishiyama (+5)
62. Kisora Niinuma (-6)
61. Minami Okamura (-3)
60. Homare Okamura (+5)
59. Ako Yumigeta (NEW)
58. Ayumi Ishida (-16)
57. Yukiho Shimoitani (NEW)
56. Madoka Saito (-2)
55. Akari Endo (+14)
54. Reina Yokoyama (-4)
53. Saya Eguchi (-7)
52. Rio Sakurai (+15)
51. Sumire Tashiro (-15)
50. Ayano Kawamura (-18)
49. Maria Makino (-6)
48. Shiori Yagi (-14)
47. Ichika Arisawa (+12)
46. Miku Nishizaki (+15)
45. Wakana Matsumoto (-24)
44. Miki Nonaka (-25)
43. Hana Goto (NEW)
42. Kisaki Ebata (+9)
41. Risa Irie (+19)
40. Marine Fukuda (+13)
39. Honoka Kobayashi (-7)
38. Yuumi Kasai (+2)
37. Reina Ichioka (+2)
36. Saori Onoda (+8)
35. Nanami Kubota (+14)
34. Rin Kawana (+18)
33. Miyo Hirai (-23)
32. Kokoro Maeda (-7)
31. Natsume Nakayama (-11)
30. Yume Kudo (+5)
29. Momohime Kiyono (-23)
28. Shion Tamenaga (+1)
27. Kurumi Takase (+14)
26. Mao Akiyama (-3)
25. Kirara Yonemura (-11)
24. Kanami Ishiguri (+2)
23. Rikako Sasaki (+10)
22. Rei Inoue (+8)
21. Riko Yamagishi (+27)
20. Roko Tsutsui (+25)
19. Rika Shimakura (+12)
18. Akane Haga (0)
17. Runo Yofuu (0)
16. Mizuho Ono (-9)
15. Momo Kitahara (+1)
14. Yuki Hirayama (+8)
13. Kiki Asakura (+2)
12. Shiori Nishida (+24)
11. Rio Kitagawa (+23)
10. Akari Uemura (+17)
9. Yuhane Yamazaki (+2)
8. Moe Kamikokuryo (-4)
7. Yumeno Kishimoto (-5)
6. Layla Ise (+2)
5. Mizuki Fukumura (+7)
4. Riai Matsunaga (+9)
3. Ruru Dambara (+2)
2. Sakura Oda (+1)
1. Akari Takeuchi (0)
Kenshuusei
Toa Makino
Soara Kawano
Hinoha Yoshida
Honoka Hashida
Rena Kamimura
Niina Hayashi
Ayana Murakoshi
Hasumi Uemura
Karin Onoda
Yulia Matsubara
Well that’s that!!!! Not a busy year, not a bad year, but could’ve been better…hopefully 2024 will do them better!!!!!
It’s that time of the year, we hit the halfway point (well, near it, but I’m doing it now before I head to vacation for the 4th) and we have stuffs to talk about from H!P thus far! So let’s check it out!!!
Morning Musume ’23
Y’know, I would argue to say that Morning Musume has literally done nothing musically in this first half of the year and that’s quite the shame considering Mizuki Fukumura‘s graduation is coming up soon in the Fall. Though we did get 2 new members in June with Haruka Inoue & Ako Yumigeta joining the group and towards the end of the month, FINALLY announcing new music, a song called HEAVY GATE which is going to be promoting an upcoming best album. I think this is the slowest Momusu has ever been when it comes to releasing music, so they really had no appearance so far this year.
ANGERME
On the other hand, ANGERME had the busiest year of all the groups thus far in the year. Not only kicking things off with an album in March with BIG LOVE and the single in June, Ai no Kedamono / Dousousei. This was in the field for Akari Takeuchi‘s graduation later in that month. Throw in two new members with Hana Goto & Yukiho Shimoitani joining the group and you can see that it was a packed 6 months with the group.
Juice=Juice
Things for Juice=Juice, like Morning Musume has been quiet mostly in the first 6 months what with them not releasing anything. Though they are next up for a single release with Pride Bright / FUNKY FLUSHIN’ coming out in July. They too also gained a new member in Mifu Kawashima. Beyond that, nothing much else happened.
Tsubaki Factory
Well since we knew last year that Kiki Asakura was graduating, Tsubaki Factory was the first group to release a single in the new year with Machigai ja nai Naitari Shitai / Skip Skip Skip / Kimi to Boku no Kizuna feat. KIKI released in February before Kiki left in April. That unfortunately didn’t stop the graduation train though as both Riko Yamagishi & Yumeno Kishimoto both announced their graduations for later in the Fall. Kind of shocking the OG are dropping like flies right now and such, but I hope they recover well from it.
BEYOOOOONDS
Oddly enough, BEYOOOOONDS released one single so far in the year, Motomeyo…Unmei no Tabibitozan / Yume Sae Egakenai Yozora ni wa in April and that’s pretty much been it for them (also all these groups performed at least one song that hasn’t been released yet (except for Juice=Juice & ANGERME). Nothing has been announced since from them, but here’s hoping to another single this year.
OCHA NORMA
H!P’s new group did release anything in this first half of the year, but they are going to be releasing a new single for the end of July, Chotto Jousho Fuantei?…Natsu / Ocha no ma Mahoroba Ikoinoba ~Showa mo Reiwa wa Watchawacha~ / Shekenaare / Yoridori ME DREAM as they’re the first group to release a Quad A-side single under H!P. Beyond that not much else happened.
Hello Pro Kenshuusei Unit ’23
Well the unit did perform a new unreleased track as the 5-nin so far adding up to two, but that changed when in May, Hinoha Yoshida & Rena Kamimura were announced to be joining the 5 on top of the big news that they’ll be debuting as a group in 2024! Very curious to see what it’ll be about.
Hello Pro Kenshuusei
The KSS started their year in March with the announcement of 3 new members joining; Toa Makino, Niina Hayashi, and Soara Kawano. Then of course they had their annual Test where Hana Goto was the winner and Mifu Kawashima was runner-up. Then throw in the May madness when 3 of the KSS were added to existing groups and two went into the KSS Unit and now all we have left unattended is the 3 new members that joined this year. Definitely the lowest the Kenshuusei has been since inception.
So yeah, that’s everything H!P has done so far in the year….kind of quiet all things considered, so I hope the rest of the year has some fun things going on!!!!
Yo, it seems like H!P has been mostly quiet recently what with ANGERME only having a single coming up because it’s Akari’s graduation single….so I had wondered what’s been going on…that is until H!P dropped a big bomb (a happy one at that) with a LOT of additions to groups! So shall we check out what has been announced???
Morning Musume ’23
So it seems that the Momusu auditions bore winners here and both are newcomers and not KSS (once again). Meet Haruka Inoue and Ako Yumigeta. Honestly, not much is really known about the two, beyond Inoue auditioned for NMB48. Curious to see how this goes considering Momusu hasn’t even released any music yet so far this year, so I can assume the 1st single may debut them (but also could be used for Fukumura’s graduation single). Also, Yumigeta kind of looks like Duu to me xD.
ANGERME
I actually wasn’t expecting ANGERME to gain new members even though Takechan is graduating here soon. Though it’s great to see Goto and Shimoitani joining ANGERME especially after the last Shindan Test. I know Hana was getting really popular of a KSS member. partly due to being a Oha Girl, but she’s a pretty good singer as well! Yukiho while more recent of an addition to the KSS was surprisingly decent, if not needed more training so I’m more than surprise the pair ended up being in the wild group. I’m super curious bout them since we only just had Yuki for a little while…so yeah, interesting choice!
Juice=Juice
Even Juice=Juice gets a new member in this year’s Shinden Test winner, Mifu Kawashima! I mean she did pretty well in her performances, so the winner being added to a group (and 2nd place, Goto) was of course something many had considered to include. I’m also a little confused on the inclusion because we’re also still shaking the newness off of both Endo and Ishiyama (and still I feel even Ebata, Arisawa, and Irie are still too new) XD. Curious, but she’s a great singer, so I’m sure the push will be real!
Hello Pro Kenshuusei Unit ’23
Last. but most interestingly, Hinoha Yoshida and Rena Kamimura were announced to joining the other 5 KSS Unit members (Matsubara, Onoda, Uemura, Murakoshi, and Hashida) on top of the news that the group will debut sometime next year. Interesting news as I kind of figured that some of the other KSS members would just remain to join the group. That being said, it leaves us with ONLY 3 KSS members right now (Kawano, Makino, and Hayashi) and I have to wonder if the KSS Program is ending and we’re just stringing these 3 until they are to join the unit (or other groups). Very cool stuff and I can’t wait to see OCHA NORMA 2 basically form together XD
AND THAT’S IT, lots to take in and talk about and I can’t wait to see these members perform with their groups for Summer tours!
Welcome back! It’s that time of year again where I talk about the Kenshuusei Test and this one may be the shortest/smallest turn out since its inception! There’s a couple reasons though (the KSS Unit ’23 did not partake in the test) which left us with 8 members to sing! Kind of a bummer, but it’s what it is…Like last year, they had to perform twice, once with a selection from the company and the other, their own. So I’m curious to where these 8 stands (since 5 of them are new to me)!
Hinoha Yoshida (Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai) – Starting with the company’s selections, Hinoha kicks things off with this classic Berryz Kobo tune! I can tell she’s getting better bit by bit here, her vocals can now hit more of the high notes correctly, but maybe it’s me but that dance made her sound out of breath and it’s only the first performance of the evening :0. Like I said, there’s improvement, but there’s more that she can still do.
Niina Hayashi (Adrenaline Dame) – One of the three newest Kenshuusei, I was surprised at how quick they were to jump into the test considering it’s not been a long time yet. Out of the 3 though, Hayashi has quite a good sound to her voice and was able to keep up with this wild Tsubaki Factory song. My only thing I noticed is that she feels low energy in both power in her vocals (despite sounding good at it) and her dancing is a little too careful. Of course training will fix that up, so hopefully next year, she’ll be more confident in performing!
Toa Makino (Nakanai ze…Kyoukan Sagi) – Oh this was not the performance to have here. I’m not sure, but Toa just didn’t do well for me here. She felt lost almost the entire way and she was flat-lining the chorus for what this ANGERME song is, is pretty bad to say the least. She’s got a LOT of training ahead to get where she needs to be, but since she’s the 2nd of the newbies, I can’t put too much blame on her lack of skills at the moment.
Yukiho Shimoitani (SHALL WE LOVE?) – I wonder why this song is so popular as a choice? Anyways, Yukiho’s performance of the song isn’t the worst luckily, but she does tend to sound honky at places which in turn makes her sound flat in her performance. Though I do like the potential she has from her booming voice, she’s got lots to bring and I can’t wait to see what more she can do!
Soara Kawano (Swing Swing Paradise) – Interesting choice since it’s the most recent song from the selections. Last of the newbies, Kawano did OK in her performance of this song. She’s got the typical first timer voice where it’s passable, but there could be more training involved. I think she did OK here, but not the best.
Mifu Kawashima (SHALL WE LOVE?) – Like the difference between Yukiho and Mifu’s take on the same song was like night and day for me. I definitely think Mifu killed it here in this song with power and skills together. There are some vocals twitches here and there, but I think she had the best performance out of the first 8 here. Also, she kind of looks like Manaka Inaba here…?
Hana Goto (Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai) – Although, I would say Hana’s performance of Berryz’ debut was just on par with Mifu’s performance. She sounded really strong and her dancing was more on point than I felt with Hinoha’s take. It’s hard because I know Mifu has the technicals down, but Hana had the notes and power. Hard to say which one did better by far as both kind of gave great tests here!
Rena Kamimura (Adrenaline Dame) – Huh, considering she’s been a KSS for a bit of a year, Rena got beaten out by Niina in her performance of Adrenaline Dame. For whatever reason, Rena sounds a bit more rough around the edges vocally, though she does better in the dance moves. Not bad, but also not the best either.
Moving onto the member-chosen part of the test
Hinoha Yoshida (Massara Blue Jeans) – You know what, she’s kind of surprising me here. Just from listening to this, she does have that certain Maimi Yajima vibes here with her deeper voice, but somehow hits those high notes too, it’s just that she’s bellowing a lot in the song and that’s distracting. Like I said, I see the improvements happening and she looked like she had fun with this one!
Soara Kawano (Koko ni Iruzee!) – I feel like Soara kind of tanked on this one. She felt a little too slow for the song and she kind of lacked the energy for it (especially dancing). Vocally she sounded faitgued and was lagging behind the actual pace of the song too…it was a difficult listen, but she tried to keep up.
Mifu Kawashima (Kanashiki Heaven) – Powerful performance, same thoughts I had when she did her “SHALL WE LOVE?” very decent, albeit some spots of vocal pops, but Mifu pulled off the end of the chorus quite powerfully here. All in all, great one!
Yukiho Shimoitani (Adam to Eve no Dilemma) – Same thing, Yukiho has a powerful voice going on, it’s just that she’s flat for a good portion of the performance. Still a decent performance, maybe a bit better than her “SHALL WE LOVE?”. More training could do her real well moving forward!
Niina Hayashi (Beat no Wakusei) – With how new she is, I was surprised that Niina held her own for Beat no Wakusei. It wasn’t the best of the bunch, but she’s definitely someone to keep watch on as her voice is clear and loud. She’s pretty young too, so I’m expecting great things coming from her in the future!
Hana Goto (Be Alive) – I was happily surprised with Hana’s Be Alive. She sounded stable and kept it smooth and overall was really nice. Vocally might be my favorite performance of the evening for sure!
Toa Makino (Renai Revolution 21) – And then we slide to the otherside with the worst performance out of Toa. Her Renai Revolution 21 felt just as dead and messy like her “Nakanai ze…” She definitely had a few moments where she tried for other notes, but once again it was mostly flatlined. I don’t even think Rin Hashisako and Yulia Matsubara was this rough in the beginning…
Rena Kamimura (Ame no Naka no Kuchibue) – I will say that Rena did a much better job doing this song than she did with her “Adrenaline Dame”. Her lighter flow was a lot more controlled and pretty to listen to, I’m more surprised at the song choice since it’s so recent and such. Rena upped her game here and it did very well!
========WINNERS=======
Runner-up: Hana Goto
Winner: Mifu Kawashima
Kind of bummed that the different awards were dropped entirely, it’s a little shocking how this Test felt altogether really. Only 8 members participating (the 5 in the KSS Unit ’23 were left off) which means they’ll be debuting sometime soon here so it felt quite short altogether. Honestly, I thought Goto did better than Kawashima, but the latter did do more difficult songs so I can understand why she won. Hayashi is someone to look out for in the future. Shimoitani, Kamimura, Yoshida are debut level, just need some more push and training and Kawano has still got the greenness going. The one member I’m not even considering for debut is Toa Makino because she straight up is the weakest member right now and she needs a LOT of vital training moving forward. Good year, but feels empty at the same time…
Iroppoi Twilight Game 