Sorry for the late update, but a few days before the end of the year, we got a shocker that OCHA NORMA got its name and the winners from the auditions were known. Though that same audition was also for ANGERME ironically and yet a Kenshuusei member actually won, one Yuki Hirayama has ended up joining ANGERME and took the yellow-green color from Musubu Funaki.
Honestly, Yuki has been quite the vocalist from the KSS and she was definitely destined to join a group and I’m happy H!P noticed this too and she ended up joining the group where I think her vocals could lend some power. I’m excited to see where she goes especially with the competition from both Rins, Wakana, and Shion.
Yup, that time of the year once again and we finally came out of the lockdown from the pandemic (sorta) to finally get some more releases out of H!P! Some big changes throughout the year really pulled off and some good releases as well which is why we’re here! So let’s dive into the year that was 2021!
Morning Musume ’21
So Morning Musume ’21 this year were a little more active than last year, but not by too much oddly enough. March was when we’d first see them release and it was a new album! Yeah, 16th ~That’s J-POP~ was released!
Cut to September though and we get an announcement that Masaki Sato was graduating due to her IBS situation which she had pretty much for most of the year itself after the album til the announcement. Also announced shortly after that she would graduate with one more single in Teenage Solution / Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no / Beat no Wakusei in December.
GREAT SONGS
Aishite Nan ga Warui!? – As the album’s opening track, Aishite Nan ga Warui!? continues the group’s strong execution of first tracks with a pretty cool and electronic-heavy track to kick things off. Really was surprised to hear all the members get some kind of solo in the song, but still leans on Masaki, Sakura, Miki, and Mizuki for majority of the choruses and throughout. The song as a whole kind of goes back to the last couple of albums where we’ve been into the electro Musume sound and I kind of enjoyed that a bit despite Momusu drowning in the style. Plus all the members sound good and that chorus was surprisingly done well…overall a really awesome start.
TIME IS MONEY! – Another smaller grouping track, this time with Masaki, Miki, Reina, and Mei here. I was pretty shocked when I heard this song especially with the equal line distribution going on between the four and while I initially was a little skeptic due to the vocals from all 4 were so unique between them. Plus we get to hear more of Mei and she does still have the squirrely vocals, but I also feel like she’s maturing enough that it’s not literally piercing my ears now. I also love that there’s English lyrics in the chorus and just hearing everyone tackle it is awesome! I think the only voice I seem to forget is actually be Yokoyan’s? Something about Reina’s vocals just didn’t wow me like the other 3 did. Still, my favorite of the grouping tracks.
Beat no Wakusei – As the 3rd A-side from the single, Beat no Wakusei was hinted to sound like “Utakata Saturday Night!” and I could see the disco-esque vibes but it reminds me of something else like something from Berryz Kobo or something. I do find that most of the members get a solo here and it just sounds bright and genki. It’s definitely interesting to hear and I love that I noticed Kaedii a lot here. Definitely the highlight of the single.
OK SONGS
Shinjiru Shika! – Of course since we have a Morning Musume album, we of course had to have smaller grouping songs involved and that was the case with this track which only had Erina, Ayumi, Sakura, Kaede, Chisaki, and Homare singing through it. Very interesting they kind of went for more of a hip-hop flavored track. The choice of ladies is a bit of something like a wild card situation because it’s Sakura versus members that really don’t shine too often and I’m surprised they really don’t showcase Eripon, Kaedii, and Chiichan more as their vocals are surprisingly nice and then hearing newbie, Homare’s vocals being spritely and cute stuck out to me. I think this song is catchy though and the vocals were pretty for the most part so I felt this was good, but nothing that really blew up to make it to the top.
Futari wa Abekobe – The last of the groupings, this one having the remaining members: Mizuki, Maria, Akane, and Rio and this one represents something more akin to a cute, girly song for the group. It seemed to really work with everyone, but Akane for some reason? Like her voice seemed a bit too deep and husky for what the other 3 were pulling, which by the way also Rio sounds a lot like Mizuki sometimes during the song. The arrangement has some nice brass (don’t know if it’s natural instrumentation or keyboard) but it’s peppy and upbeat and sounds decent overall…just not the most memorable.
Hey! Unfair Baby – Oh hey! We finally get to have the studio version of this track finally (was originally first performed alongside “KOKORO & KARADA” last year before the pandemic happened. Seeing it now, I’m glad since the song isn’t half bad, but it’s kind of like another “I surrender Aisaredo Ai” here with the rockin’ crowd pumpin’ style that made me not like “Kono Mama!” that much. It does feel like it’s just too much for this album to have and the fact this doesn’t have solos in it (except for Mei and Homare’s spoken one-liner). Can’t put it much higher, but it’s decent enough!
Renai Destiny ~Honne wo Ronjitai~ – Yeah the album ends off with the promotional track for the album, Renai Destiny and it’s another one of those pulsating crowd energizers, but this time there’s a lot more synths involved alongside the guitarwork so at least it’s not playing it too safe. It’s still a booming song and has a really strong offer to it and even solos in it from Mei, Mizuki, Miki, Akane, Reina, Sakura, and Masaki. It’s definitely the best of the 3 crowd songs from the album that’s for sure and a solid way to end the album off.
Teenage Solution – As the leading A-side of the single, Teenage Solution really wasn’t anything special in particular for me. It sounded kind of like an album song to me and felt a bit generic and lifeless. I mean the intro sounds exactly like “Tokyo to Iu Katasumi” which was already kind of polarizing song as it is and “Sou Janai” during the verses. It’s kind of a dramatic song and no surprise that Maachan has the lead here as she’s the one that’s graduating. Did see the 3 new members get the bridge and hearing solos from mostly everyone except (Reina, Eripon, Chiichan, and Ayumi) is interesting, but this song is OK, nothing terribly exciting though.
Yoshi Yoshi Shite Hoshii no – I feel like this A-side kind of leaves me perplexed more than anything else. The song has a bit of a 90’s feel to it, but it’s still kind of that EDM-Musume sound overall so it kind of stands out a little bit. What I didn’t like was the ~it’s all right, it’s all right~ line during the music breaks…they sound gross to my ears lol. The rest of the song is kind of messy, solos for Mizuki, Sakura, Masaki, and Miki…but overall…it just kind of was vanilla and messy rolled into one here.
Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (Morning Musume ’21 Ver.) – I mean of course we’d be seeing this song again, last time was when the 15th album came out and now an album and some singles later, we’re seeing it once again. Big difference is that Kudo, Iibuko, and Ogata are gone and now Kitagawa, Yamazaki, and Okamura are part of the group…was this all that necessary? Some of the arrangement is slightly changed and some of the vocal melodies in the choruses sound different, but it’s pretty much the same ordeal (from Fukumura to Yamazaki). Yeah…this just wasn’t too memorable to me.
MEH SONGS
Nakimushi My Dream – With an intro that immediately makes me think of “Wakaindashi!” it’s actually the album’s ballad track and boy was it a truly slog of a song to get through. It feels like it’s trying to be sentimental and I do appreciate the vocals, though not all members get them, but once again, hearing Rio, Mei and Homare solos is a nice push to have against the group’s mains like Masaki, Mizuki, Sakura, and Miki and even Reina & Kaede get one too! Outside of that, the track just marches way too slow and feels like it’s stumbling which is never good for ballads to have. The synth flourishes are cute though, but nah, this song was not all that great to me.
Kono Mama! – Hearing this track, I definitely was kind of surprised at how they went into rockin’ mode for the track. I expected that since some of the unreleased tracks that were finally making an appearance seemed to be more rock-oriented. This one is definitely in your face and just energetic in the more kind annoying way for me. It’s like a positive song that’s like a lot of shouting and fist pumping to that weird overly speedy section during the choruses. I don’t think it’s a song I cater to, but I could see the crowd really getting pumped up off this track (which is funny since “Hey! Unfair Baby” and “Renai Destiny” are also crowd pumpin’ songs too).
Predictions from 2020
With the pandemic still ongoing, how active MM is going to be is kind of in the air, I mean all H!P members have been doing tours doing ballads, so I suppose maybe that’s giving them some extra training in, so I’m hoping that their next release will surprise me. Though I definitely feel a graduation or 2 happening in the next year.
Actuality: Not really much surprising happening from those ballad performances unfortunately and it was pretty basic to the wall for Morning Musume, though was happy to see an album make its way out during the year. Though did call the graduation, albeit not who I was thinking but instead Maachan.
Predictions for 2022: I feel like next year will be the 1, 2 punch for both Fukuchan & Eripon…I feel like their time in the group is starting to run out (possibly Sakura & Ayumi as well). I think we won’t get auditions for next year either, I think with the amount of members, they really need to start popping out and fronting the group (looking at Akane, Maria, Reina, Kaede, and Chisaki). Just hoping for some kind of shake-up in 2022.
ANGERME
After the chaos that ran through the group in the last 2 years, it felt like things were finally starting to relax a bit especially after the addition of the 3 new members, Wakana Hashimoto, Shion Tamenaga, and Rin Kawana. The excitement was rising as the group was starting to get used to the new members and was finally shown off with their debut single in the group, June’s Hakkiri Shiyouze / Oyogenai Mermaid / Aisare Route A or B?.
Though in the same month, it was announced that Momona Kasahara would be graduating from the group in November to study afar. Though unfortunately she didn’t get a final sendoff single, she did partake in the group’s digital single in September, SHAKA SHAKA #2 LOVE (Colorful Life Hen) which was a sequel to the song that was released last year, “SHAKA SHAKA TO LOVE”.
The rest of the year was pretty quiet overall and Kassa graduated. Though in a surprise twist, the year ends with the group gaining another new member, KSS member, Yuki Hirayama.
GREAT SONGS
Oyogenai Mermaid – This one though was so nice to hear from them. It sounds like something they’ve done before like “Wasurete Ageru” and “Aa Susukino”. Y’know, the more dramatic, but still kind of electronic and danceable. Though the nice part I feel like we get some semblance of vocals that have a bit more personality here. Especially opening the song with Ayano & Layla here was just awesome. Plus following it up with both of the Rins, Shion, and Wakana…it felt nice to really hear them for once…though I also noticed a LOT of Momona and Rikako too! This was a much better song than anticipated and really brought out some vocalists who I thought were being more left behind and did better showing off the new trio.
Aisare Route A or B? – Seems that H!P has been all into covers this year and luckily for ANGERME, this was the 3rd A-side of the single (covering a Stardust Revue song). I really do enjoy the big band/showtunesy/Roaring 20’s feel of the song. Then hearing Momona and Moe having such sultry vocals (especially the ~ah, ah, ah~ from Momona…wows). The tune is just so interesting and has such a classy, yet energetic feel. Definitely my favorite song of the year for sure!
SHAKA SHAKA #2 LOVE (Colorful Life Hen) – Kind of bizarre we got this considering we had the original last year. Of course the difference now is that everything is mostly different except the hook of the track, Funaki not being here and the 3 new members now joining in. The arrangement has changed from a pop track, to more of an electronic dance tune. Throw in a bridge that REALLY throws the song in an unusual place by changing the style to more of an ondo-styled track (that’s led by Rikako). It’s definitely a better track than the original IMO…fun song for them!
OK SONGS
Hakkiri Shiyouze – Of the 4 songs released from them this year, it’s odd to say that I thought Hakkiri Shiyouze was the weakest of them, but it’s not by much. It still carries the funk/disco sound that was established with a couple previous songs of theirs, but it’s a bit more tight and less frenetic as something like “Mirror Mirror” or “46-okunen LOVE” was. Little surprised to see the solos really were focused in the first verse. I do like the vibes out of this one and Kamiko’s solo before the final chorus was awesome! Might not leave the biggest impression, but it’s still definitely good song from them!
Predictions from 2020
Of course more releases especially here since they ONLY had the one single and one digital song this year. Dunno bout other things that could happen though, maybe Layla center and push for Rin hopefully and a good debut for the new members?
Actuality: Unfortunately, it remained the same this year ironically enough with just one single and a digital single. Luckily I felt the remaining half turned out pretty well. I noticed all 5 members that I mentioned that I would love to see more and it worked. I felt like this was a good year to showcase them all, little sad to see Kassa go though, though wasn’t expecting MORE new members to join…but I get it..
Predicitons for 2022: I feel like Takechan is starting to get up there too for being in the group as long as she has and I feel like she’s getting to a point where she may be thinking of graduation. Otherwise, I hope there’s more releases next year (especially since it’s been a while since the group released a physical single). Of course continuing to push members is nice too and of course a good debut for Yuki! Time for an album?
Juice=Juice
Seemed like Juice=Juice was hit by the trouble bug this year because it seems the 0G members are starting to get to the point of moving on. The year began with the announcement of their next single, DOWN TOWN / Ganbare nai yo which was to be the debut of Rei Inoue joining the group since Kobushi Factory had disbanded last year…
HOWEVER, while the single was originally supposed to drop in March, an unfortunate scandal that included Sayuki Takagi delayed the single to April AND ended up with her leaving the group due to it.
With a dual audition happening, we got results in July that the group gained 3 new members; former Kenshuusei members: Ichika Arisawa & Kisaki Ebata and newcomer Risa Irie.
However, another member was to drop as in October, Tomoko Kanazawa announced that she would be graduating due to her endometriosis which was affecting her time in the group, but she did also announce that she would be part of the next single, Plastic Love / Familia / Future Smile alongside it being the debut for the 3 new members, though she’d graduate in November before the single would drop.
NOTE: Still no notice on what the state of Platonic Planet is, so once again, skipped over!
GREAT SONGS
DOWN TOWN – Yeah it seems Juice=Juice was the “cover” unit for the year as this is ANOTHER leading track where it’s the cover. Anyways, the cover is actually a bit more city-pop sounding which is refreshing to hear from the group. Really surprised to hear so much Riai & Yume in the song, but they’ve been getting really solid in their lines and it’s no surprise to see that here. Reirei also has a lot lines as well and she has a beatbox solo in the bridge (something she learned during her Kobushi days). I still do feel that Sayubee’s absence is felt sadly, but they still did pretty well overall!
Plastic Love – Surprised? Once again Juice=Juice for the 3rd time in a row has a cover as their leading A-side. Though it is a cover of the incredibly well-known song from Mariya Takeuchi which is like city-pop definition! While a little sad it’s not the full version of the original, this is pretty much what I expected from H!P to kind of hit. It’s got that same groove that “DOWN TOWN” carried and does it pretty well I’d say. Also hearing solo lines from Kisaki, Risa, and Ichika is just so nice and I’m kind of loving it (maybe Risa’s is a little green, but she did sound good here). The rest of the group sound great! Especially Manakan, Riai, and Ruru. Good and slightly faithful cover (like I said, it should’ve been the full version!)
Future Smile – Hey, I’ve been wanting to hear Juice=Juice return to something a bit more latin-esque and it really caught my attention. It’s bouncy and has a bit of this mischievous flow to it which I so enjoyed. Though I have to say, there was a LOT of Riai and Yume in the song and I loved that…they’re really impressing me since they joined the group! Also shoutout to Ichika for that violin solo in the bridge, hella interesting and adds SO much uniqueness to the track!
OK SONGS
Familia – I feel like when it comes to graduation singles, Juice=Juice has seemingly place this lighthearted and kind of these sentimental tracks together, like “Good bye & Good luck!” and “25sai Eien Setsu” come to mind and Familia fits the bill pretty tightly. I personally felt like it’s been done before and I’m just kind of lukewarm to it. It is nice to hear solos regardless (especially of the new members), but yeah these kind of songs don’t usually stick around too often (plus it’s a ballad).
MEH SONGS
Ganbare nai yo – Yup, what a surprise that I found myself not liking the ballad. It’s like hearing “Naite Ii yo” and “Feel! Kanjiru yo” once again and it just seems to really bore the hell out of me. I mean we get to hear Riai, Yume, and Rei in a ballad here. Actually once the chorus comes in with the stronger instrumentation it does give me slight Kobushi vibes oddly. Yeah, this one just kind of puts me to sleep sadly.
Ganbare nai yo (Solo Ver.)’s – Funny enough, the digital release of the single came with 7 bonus tracks which were solo takes of the ballad. Depending on the voice, it kind of varies, but the vocal strength is great in all of them, despite the song being even MORE stripped down to just piano versions. Interestingly enough, Ruru and Riai’s version is sung in a lower key…don’t know why that is honestly…but it’s something to know.
Predictions from 2020
More singles to be honest since they had a pretty small 2020 in releases. Though, I hope Rei’s debut into the group goes smoothly, vocally and with a good single at that. I still can see Tomoko announcing graduation though so we’ll see with that.
Actuality: The group themselves did manage two singles this year which I guess is a small win from that prediction, that’s true. Rei’s debut I think went as well as it could despite the shocking drop of Sayubee from the group sadly. Though I saw Kanatomo’s graduation a mile away and it finally got to her after having to be on hiatus for a good portion of the summer.
Predictions for 2022: With Akari now as the last of the original members left, I feel like maybe it’ll be interesting seeing her be the leader and all (would that make Dambara sub-leader or Inaba?). I don’t expect her to stay too much longer considering…but it’ll be nice if she manages another year into the group. I do hope we get to see more of the new members (and Rei) get pushed in future releases, so far I’m liking what I’m hearing from Risa, Kisaki, and Ichika! Even better that Ichika is pretty fluent in her English so I hope that works super well (especially with Miki Nonaka!).
Tsubaki Factory
Curious enough to see that Tsubaki Factory had a pretty interesting year as well. After the whole ordeal with Risa Ogata leaving the group last year, they moved forward and released their sophomore album, 2nd STEP in May.
Cut to July when the auditions for both Juice=Juice & Tsubaki Factory ended and shockingly the group gained 4 members; Yuumi Kasai, Shiori Yagi, Marine Fukuda, and former KSS member, Runo Yofuu. They would train for debut and they would in the group’s next single, November’s Namida no Heroine Kouban Geki / Garakuta DIAMOND / Yakusoku Renraku Kinenbi. And so that was their year!
GREAT SONGS
Masayume – Honestly, the first of the new songs from the album, I was so surprised and excited with how energetic and disco/funk it was. It really helped bringing the group’s vocals up front and hearing all the members bringing the energy and vocals together was pretty awesome. Especially for Yumeno, Kiki, Mizuho, and Saori. It was just such a punchy song and dare I say, might be my favorite non-A-side track of the year!
Saijoukyuu Story – Next album song up and I ended up really liking this one too even if it isn’t as bombastic like “Masayume” was. It kind of reminds me of an anime outro song with the way it flows and the chords it strikes and the instrumentation as well. Fits in with a lot of the songs they’ve released for the album as singles so it made sense another was going to happen.
Namida no Heroine Kouban Geki – As the first A-side with the 4 new members, I was happy to get something a bit funky and groovier of a song. There’s just something about the song that sounds cool and that bass is pretty awesome. Granted this was the first time we get to hear Yuumi, Marine, Shiori, and Runo and they all sound great here with their solo lines. It’s a bit toned down of a song, but I like the coolness factor of it. Very cool debut song for the new quartet!
Garakuta DIAMOND – Which continued on with the next song from that single with Garakuta DIAMOND which had even more lines for the new members! I’m also loving the fact it’s kind of more of an aggressive track for the group (at least in some areas). It reminds me of songs like “Hana Moyou” and “Junjou cm” in that it’s kind of a serious song, but with a dance beat to it. Also going back, yeah the new members…vocally impressive for the most part, but of course they didn’t forget the other members and they sound lovely as well, especially Mizuho, Saori, and Kiki’s low notes at the end of the choruses. Very cool song from them.
OK SONGS
Ai wa Ima, Ai wo Motometeru – Right from the get go, this one definitely caught my attention with the opening hook and that is probably why it stuck to me all year. Ai wa Ima, Ai wo Motometeru is kind of a cutesy pop song for the group and its bright colors kind of leave a smile on my face. Interesting to hear Kisora & Ami get first solos (and they do again in other places). It’s a pretty decent song all things considered!
Dakara Nannanda! – I remembered this song because of the goofy video it got with Saori doing ridiculous dances that just kind of made me laugh. It’s a bit more synthy than other tracks off the album and a bit more poppy. It’s one of the more unique tracks from the album (maybe a little like “Dansha-ISM”). After a while, it does kind of get a bit too repetitive, but the upbeat nature is kind of catchy too.
Yakusoku Renraku Kinenbi – Interestingly enough, the 3rd A-side of the single, Yakusoku Renraku Kinenbi to me felt like the most Tsubaki Factory they’ve released for the year. It’s nice to hear all the members throughout, but the song didn’t really feel all that unique and just a typical track. I do like the choruses though, very different approach with the triplets and such.
MEH SONGS
Hikari no Curtain – I’m not surprised with a title like this that it would be considered the album’s main ballad track and of course it’s one that just doesn’t fully click with me, but that’s pretty normal at this point. I will say the acoustic guitar being added with the piano & strings is a nice touch, but otherwise it’s just a little bit too vanilla for me otherwise.
Tarinai Mono Umeteyuku Tabi – As the final song off the album, Tarinari Mono Umeteyuku Tabi closes things off in a rather sentimental, but happy way with bouncy piano melodies and a chill arrangement. Soft vocals and some strings also play a part of the song. It’s just one of those songs I would expect to hear as an encore during live concerts. In studio form, just kind of plain for me.
Predictions from 2020
More releases still, though after this whole Risamaru situation, I’m kind of wondering how the group dynamics will shift since she was a front voice for the group. Maybe some of the back members will get some push?
Actuality: Yeah, no that was the actual opposite of what happened! I would’ve thought the group would just simply continue as 8 members, but I was not ready for 4 new members to join bringing it up to a full 12.
Predicitons for 2022: Oh gosh, more releases…I mean this gets a pass because it was an album & a single, but I want more next year. Plus more reasons to hear the new members of course! Not sure how close anyone is to graduation, but we may start to see hints maybe?
BEYOOOOONDS (Ame no Mori Kawa Umi, CHICA#TETSU, SeasoningS)
After being mostly a no-show last year, BEYOOOOONDS actually came back sorta XD. The group’s first interesting piece of news was that the 3 members who were the final pieces to the group (Hirai, Kobayashi, and Satoyoshi) were finally given their sub-unit name, SeasoningS and luckily their first outing as that name was the group’s only physical single this year, Gekikara LOVE / Now Now Ningen / Konna Hazujanakatta!.
The also kind of quietly released a digital single at the end of July, Furefure Everyday.
Add on they had OSTs of two of their plays, Ara~BEYOOOOONDS Nights & Nemurenu Mori no Biyo (of course going to not review those).
GREAT SONGS
Gekikara LOVE – With Momohime opening the song with a talkbox, Gekikara LOVE is sort of a cover of an 80’s Toto Coelo song, same melody, different lyrics. This is still pretty electro and full of synths. It’s just pretty cool to hear the members again and it’s just a pretty cool. The melody is definitely something that’ll get stuck in your head and I loved hearing all the members get involved. Great song!
Konna Hazujanakatta! – Ahhhh, this song is so cute and yet so strange because its about BEYOOOOONDS’ history (which let’s be honest, hasn’t been that long to be honest). It’s a fun little track for the group and it’s funny and just sounds like it was fun to record. Like it’s just a quick-paced track and has some great moments, especially the verses about articulation…that was downright hilarious. Definitely a favorite from the single!
Vitamin ME – While this song was originally shown off last summer, it wasn’t until this year’s single that it was finally released somehow. This one is a bit more punkish sounding versus any of the other tracks, but I felt the energy from the group and that chorus is so ridiculously catchy. Though I definitely heard Yuhane a LOT in the song. It’s a really peppy song and I appreciated finally having this one a release!
Yabai Koi no Yaiba – Yup, it’s the return of the sub-units and we have Ame no Mori Kawa Umi’s track, Yabai Koi no Yaiba and it’s got a bit of that 50’s rock, mixed in with a little of the surfer vibe to it as well. Considering the 5 involved, I really liked how each of them sounded (Kurumi and Minami’s higher range was a little odd at first, but I enjoyed how they all came together and it sounds great!
Watashi to Odorinasai! – So we finally have SeasoningS (yay!). Since this is their technical 2nd song as a trio, I was kind of enjoying the fact they continued this ragtime-y sound for this one and that Miyo, Utano, and Honoka sound really good in the song and they add pep to what is already a fun-sounding track. It has 3 verses to get the 3 gals solos which is awesome and I feel like I’m getting used to hearing Honoka and Utano now that I can tell them apart. Great little ditty.
OK SONGS
Now Now Ningen – The 2nd A-side of the single is pretty weird to me. The intro is pretty aggressive and punchy, but the verses switches to singing and rapping and it just feels a little weird to me. The chorus though fixes things and it turns pretty catchy, but then it goes back to the intro and verses and I’m just kind over it a little bit. That bridge with those ~na, na, nas~ was pretty catchy though haha.
Ninenmae no Yokohama Eki Nishiguchi – Then we get to the train unit, CHICA#TETSU and this once again is about trains xD. The song is actually styled like a city-pop sounding track and it’s mood here is smooth, but also a little cute which is added by Reina, Saya, Rika, and Shiori. It’s a bit dreamy and for that it kind of gets lost to me. I do like the quartet’s vocals though, quite pleasant sounding. Just a little too slow for my tastes.
Furefure Everyday – I actually had totally forgotten that this one was released since it was literally in the middle of the year and it didn’t have the biggest promotion beyond the PV. This one is a bit hokey and definitely screams farm-land because it’s a mix of the idol sound and the fiddles and banjos just kind of give it that twang. I will say it sounds so strange in amongst the other songs they’ve done this year. I suppose it’s cute, but wow this is a bizarre one for them!
Predictions from 2020
ANYTHING…why UFP didn’t release a single for BEYOOOOONDS is beyond me and just the lack of presence from them makes me worry into the next year. Just anything would be great! Luckily they did announce a new single in 2021…but still wow.
Actuality: After they were pretty much absent all of 2020, I was happy they released a new single, but damn that excitement died quickly. BEYOOOOONDS kind of once again disappeared into the face of the Earth and only coming back for “Furefure Everyday”.
Predictions for 2022: Please make them more active, they still feel like a new group and they have 2 singles and an album to show for it. Like let’s focus on them in the next year with more releasees, please!!!!
Hello Pro Kenshuusei Unit / OCHA NORMA
This year was a busy one for the group as you can see! At the beginning of the year, the unit was still at a pretty small 4 member group and they were doing their promotions and stuff. It wasn’t until July when shortly after the Kenshuusei Test Recital, it was announced that 4 more members had ended up joining the group; Natsume Nakayama, Momo Kitahara, Miku Nishizaki, and Ruli Hiromoto bringing the total up to 8 members.
They group was involved in the Kenshuusei album, 3-STARS, but only had their one original track at the time, Mistake.
Cut to December and we get huge news that 2 members from the H!P Audition had past, Sumire Tashiro & Roko Tsutsui and the group’s name was announced to be OCHA NORMA and will debut as a 10 member unit in the 2nd day of the next year.
NOTE: Won’t be reviewing both Go Your Way and Date Zenya Kyousoukyoku as they haven’t been released yet.
GREAT SONGS
Mistake – So the Kenshuusei album actually did feature Mistake which is the group’s first song ever, but despite that when the album released we had 8 members, the studio recording for the song here is actually just the 4 original members (Ishiguri, Saito, Kubota, and Yonemura). As for the song, it is pretty electronic with some guitars as well! It has grown less on me over the year because its been a bit overperformed, but makes sense when the group has like 3 songs. Still it’s good and I heard a lot of Madoka in the song (I think all but Kirara got a solo in the song).
Predictions for 2022: Of course a solid debut, especially with the recent 2 newcomers…I mean the 8 have performed together for a while now and they sound great together, so I’m just hoping their single will contain the 2 new performed songs as well as an updated version of Mistake.
Hello Pro Kenshuusei
The Kenshuusei this year was pretty busy of course once again, but surprisingly moreso than a few years ago!
It began in March when the then 4-member KSS Unit was announced to finally start performing more to debut and the announcement of possibility of additional members were announced.
Bout a week later, it was announced that Hokkaido KSS members, Minori Kawano & Karin Nishimura had finished their training (though both were on hiatus prior to the announcement) and then a month later, Ichigo Yamada had also left the company.
Cut to July and we had a MASSIVE dump of members who would join groups, starting with Momo Kitahara, Miku Nishizaki, Natsume Nakayama, and Ruli Hiromoto joining the Kenshuusei Unit. Then 2 days later, it was announced that Ichika Arisawa & Kisaki Ebata were joining Juice=Juice and Runo Yofuu would be joining Tsubaki Factory.
In August, 2 new members joined, Hinoha Yoshida & Mifu Kawashima but unfortunately weren’t able to join in for the Kenshuusei’s 3rd album, 3-STARS, that came out in September.
Finally, we land on December and we finally get a name for the KSS Unit, OCHA NORMA and the Kenshuusei released a preview OST for their Engeki Joshi-bu “Toshokan Monogatari ~3tsu no Bookmark~ stageplay. Then the good news that Yuki Hirayama would be joining ANGERME at the tail-end of the year!
GREAT SONGS
Kimi no Toujou – As the opening track for the album, Kimi no Toujou is 100% the album’s “Say! Hello!” as it’s kind of brassy, energetic, and just fun to listen to. I mean it’s a fun disco track and it has some pretty awesome solos from Nakayama, Hiromoto, and Yofuu. I just carries itself so well and it’s just a great song for the KSS to have to really showcase their togetherness!
Warui Hito – I also think Warui Hito was just as vibrant as “Kimi no Toujou” as they both kind of have a solid disco-like feel to them. That said, the funk elements are a nice touch and the vocals are pretty good. A little surprised to see Hashisako, Tamenaga, and Matsunaga being involved in the song they’ve been out of the KSS for quite a while.
Upside down girl -We finally get into the electro songs with Upside down girl and it definitely immediately gives me those “Onna no Sono” vibes from the first album that’s for sure. It’s got a good groove to it and despite no solos are in it, it still manages to capture my attention and it just has a really cool vibe to it. Pretty cool song!
OK SONGS
Zettai Idol Sengen – One of the older songs performed by them, Zettai Idol Sengen is kind of a more idol-like electropop song here and it’s kind of got a simple structure and sound to it. I definitely remember hearing Ebata, Matsubara, and Ishiyama get a solo which is nice that I recognized their vocals here. Otherwise the song doesn’t strike me as memorable, but it’s passable.
Bukatsu Owari ni Atarashii Jersey ni Kigaeru Otomegokoro – This long titled track is one that’s sung between Yofuu, Arisawa, and Ishiyama and since it was one of the full songs that we hadn’t heard until the album dropped, this song is kind of interesting. It starts off quietly and like a ballad and I really liked hearing all 3 of their vocals in this one. Though the 2nd verse is a bit weird with the background sounds. Overall, it was different than songs thus far on the album so refreshing to hear.
Animal Land – That intro definitely was pretty cool and kind of reminded me of BEYOOOOONDS’ “Atsui!”, but the rest of the song is pretty wild in and of itself. It’s a bit like the album’s “Oheso no Kuni Kara Konnichiwa” with the odd lyrics and strange choreography, but this also has some weird places it goes to, changing tempos and what not. It’s definitely a fun song to listen to, maybe not as good as other songs off the album, but this is pretty close.
Omotesandou A5 – The song as it begins sounds exactly something Morning Musume would be releasing with the synth and melodies going on. Funny enough, only 4 members only were involved here (Yonemura, Nakayama, Tamenaga, and Hirayama). It’s actually pretty decent and they really kept up with the driving arrangement and full EDM sound.
Hankouki! (Hello Pro Kenshuusei feat. Kanami Ishiguri) – While technically not a new song (it was originally sung by the Hokkaido Kenshuusei, but it seems it gets a new version with only Kanami being from the original hence the featuring. The arrangement remains the same from the original, it’s just new vocalists being involved. It’s pretty nice that the other 7 members here are the remaining Kenshuusei (of course they grew two members after the album). Still, it’s a fun pop/rock song and sounds like something the Kenshuusei would do.
Twilight Blue – As we get closer to the end of the album, Twilight Blue represents the ballad of the album as a lot of it is softly sung with piano/strings and some light instrumentation. There’s even a flute solo in the bridge which is surprisingly cute. It’s an OK song, probably my 2nd least favorite song off the album, but not too bad.
Irotoridori Nobi yo!! – Wasn’t expecting Matsubara’s voice to open up the final track off the album and after “Twilight Blue”, I just wasn’t expecting an upbeat, cute song to close things out. Kind of a standard cute song like “Hankouki!” but it’s just more on the cutesy side of things in comparison. Not too bad for a closer.
MEH SONGS
Jounetsu Sparkle – Probably the only KSS song that really disappointed me from the album, Jounetsu Sparkle is kind of a more of a cuter song for them, kind of like “Zettai Idol Sengen”. It does kind of remind me of a Country Girls song with the light-heartedness about it. Though I can’t lie and say I was kind of forgetting about it in the long run.
Other H!P Releases
Not very much was released outside of the groups but there was a couple of things. First of all, I didn’t expect to see another one of these compilations, but we got our 7th installment of the Hello! Project no Zenkyoku Kara Atsumechaimashita! Vol. 7 Eiga “Ano Koro”-hen which was released in February to promote the most Ano Koro.
The rest of the year was splattered with solo tracks, most were graduation songs. Although the first was actually from Mizuki Fukumura in June,(Extra), which wasn’t a graduation song, but a song to promote the ballad-centric tour they were on at the time.
The rest of the digital songs though were graduation songs though from November’s Chikyuu wo Kyou mo Ai wo Hagukumu (Momona Kasahara) and Anata wo Omou Kaerimichi (Tomoko Kanazawa) to December’s Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa (Masaki Sato).
OK SONGS
Kiseki no Kaori Dance. (Solo Fes! Version) – Yeah, that compilation album only had one unique track and it’s BEYOOOOONDS’ Yuhane Yamazaki’s solo performance of this classic Aya Matsuura song from the year previous. It doesn’t sound live for some reason because the arrangement and music sound like studio, but once Yuhane starts singing, it does sound a bit like she’s singing in a microphone. She does a solid job performing the song and it sounds pretty neat and I do think her ~thank you~ at the end is cute! Nice!
Chikyuu wa Kyou mo Ai wo Hagukumu – Kind of surprised Kassa chose a S/mileage song to sing as her graduation song, more or less one she wasn’t involved in. This song is odd to hear as it’s not really a song that should be sung solo, but somehow Momona was able to pull it off. While she was never ANGERME’s best singer, she has gotten so much better than when she started out as a Kenshuusei. Still, I rather the 6-nin orignal version.
Anata wo Omou Kaerimichi – For Kanatomo’s graduation, she ended up releasing an original song (which she performed in her solo tours back in 2020). Odd because there’s 3 other songs unreleased still after the graduation. The song itself is another ballad like “Extra” but this is more acoustic-based and it does grow a little bit in the 2nd verse. Though I love Tomoko’s vocals in the song, she’s always been an amazing singer since day one and she really pulls the ballad here incredibly well.
Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa – Maachan at least chose a song she was involved her group with originally. Very bizarre choice of a song though since it’s pretty difficult to sing as a solo track. It shows because it feels Masaki is a little slower in style than the original vocals here (mostly Riho and Sakura). She does sound good though regardless and it’s a faithful solo take to the song otherwise.
MEH SONGS
Extra – As I mentioned, H!P had done a tour of just covering famous ballads (kind of a shame they didn’t take advantage and release like a FOLK SONGS 6 or something). Though in admidst that, this Fukuchan solo ballad kind of quietly dropped. Being it as a simple piano ballad, I wasn’t immediately thrilled about it, but Mizuki’s soft vocals were surprising in the track. Softly sung track, but I kind of zoned out after a while despite Fukuchan’s good performance.
Gains / Losses
Gains
Kanami Ishiguri (to OCHA NORMA)
Kirara Yonemura (to OCHA NORMA)
Madoka Saito (to OCHA NORMA)
Nanami Kubota (to OCHA NORMA)
Momo Kitahara (to OCHA NORMA)
Miku Nishizaki (to OCHA NORMA)
Ruli Hiromoto (to OCHA NORMA)
Natsume Nakayama (to OCHA NORMA)
Marine Fukuda
Shiori Yagi
Yuumi Kasai
Runo Yofuu (to Tsubaki Factory)
Risa Irie
Ichika Arisawa (to Juice=Juice)
Kisaki Ebata (to Juice=Juice
Hinoha Yoshida
Mifu Kawashima
Sumire Tashio
Roko Tsutsui
Yuki Hirayama (to ANGERME)
Losses
Sayuki Takagi
Minori Kawano
Karin Nishimura
Ichigo Yamada
Momona Kasahara
Tomoko Kanazawa
Masaki Sato
My H!P Member Ranking of 2021
Haruka Oota
Sayuki Takagi
Roko Tsutsui
Sumire Tashiro
(the top 4 didn’t really do much in the year, Roko and Sumire are new but no performances with their group yet.)
66. Rin Hashisako (-24)
65. Chisaki Morito (-20)
64. Risa Irie (NEW)
63. Homare Okamura (-19)
62. Ami Tanimoto (-30)
61. Ayumi Ishida (-23)
60. Utano Satoyoshi (-22 from 2019)
59. Erina Ikuta (-18)
58. Marine Fukuda (NEW)
57. Ayano Kawamura (-18)
56. Rio Kitagawa (-25)
55. Minami Okamura (+3)
54. Rin Kawana (-6)
53. Riko Yamagishi (-24)
52. Yuumi Kasai (NEW)
51. Ruli Hiromoto (NEW)
50. Maria Makino (-25)
49. Reina Yokoyama (-13)
48. Miku Nishizaki (NEW)
47. Kisaki Ebata (NEW)
46. Shiori Nishida (-5 from 2019)
45. Rika Shimakura (0 from 2019)
44. Nanami Kubota (NEW)
43. Kurumi Takase (-6 from 2019)
42. Rikako Sasaki (-8)
41. Momona Kasahara (-4)
40. Mei Yamazaki (-4)
39. Saori Onoda (-4)
38. Rei Inoue (-21)
37. Shion Tamenaga (+10)
36. Kisora Niinuma (+4)
35. Ichika Arisawa (NEW)
34. Yuki Hirayama (NEW)
33. Miyo Hirai (0 from 2019)
32. Saya Eguchi (-2 from 2019)
31. Madoka Saito (NEW)
30. Wakana Matsumoto (+16)
29. Shiori Yagi (NEW)
28. Akari Uemura (-8)
27. Honoka Kobayashi (0 from 2019)
26. Momo Kitahara (NEW)
25. Mao Akiyama (-1)
24. Miki Nonaka (-5)
23. Kirara Yonemura (NEW)
22. Kokoro Maeda (0 from 2019)
21. Natsume Nakayama (NEW)
20. Layla Ise (-6)
19. Kanami Ishiguri (NEW)
18. Akane Haga (+12)
17. Runo Yofuu (NEW)
16. Yume Kudo (+2)
15. Riai Matsunaga (+7)
14. Kiki Asakura (+6)
13. Manaka Inaba (0)
12. Masaki Sato (-2)
11. Yuhane Yamazaki (+6 from 2019)
10. Kaede Kaga (+5)
9. Mizuki Fukumura (-4)
8. Momohime Kiyono (+6 from 2019)
7. Moe Kamikokuryo (+9)
6. Ruru Dambara (0)
5. Mizuho Ono (+6)
4. Yumeno Kishimoto (+3)
3. Akari Takeuchi (0)
2. Sakura Oda (-1)
1. Tomoko Kanazawa (+3)
Kenshuusei
Mifu Kawashima
Hinoha Yoshida
Hasumi Uemura
Honoka Hashida
Sakura Ishiyama
Yulia Matsubara
Ayana Murakoshi
Karin Onoda
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! 2021 is done! Guess we’ll see each other again for this for 2022!~~~
Iroppoi Twilight Game 