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!
Iroppoi Twilight Game 
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