Mega Update #1

Well, funny how things turn out, isn’t it? Originally, I had planned to get the Tanpopo/Petitmoni Mega Best album toward the end, if not dead last, in my Mega Best Quest. Instead, because I found it cheap on eBay, I went ahead and bought it. It turns out that it arrived the same day as the Special and Shuffle Unit Mega Bests from YesAsia that I ordered earlier.

So basically, it’s three down and five to go. And those five, I’ll be getting for my birthday, along with the second V-u-den album. After that, I’ll probably want to get the fourth C-ute album, the Berryz Koubou Best album, and Kusumi’s Kirarin Best album. I like Best albums, apparently. In truth, I just like albums in general as they tend to be better value for money and often, when it comes to albums from the various groups, they also contain songs featuring the less-featured members of the groups, which is nice. The only downside to this is that the b-sides of the singles usually aren’t on the albums, to the best of my knowledge. If only H!P would do like Soul’d Out and release a collection of b-sides…

Anyway, at some point, I think I need to sit down and take stock of everything that’s currently available or coming soon that I want. It’ll be a while before I get most of them, but it would be good to know exactly how far behind I am. As G.I. Joe used to say, “knowing is half the battle…”

Obligatory H!P Best of 2008 – Pex’s oPinion

Okay, so I saw this on Morningtime, and he saw it on Hello!Blog, who saw it on Merry Go Round, it’s basically an opinion poll on the Best of 2008 from the world of H!P.

What does the Pexmeister think about last year? Well…

Best Group Single – Cinderella Complex (High-King)

I did have this entry written already (with Resonant Blue getting the win), but then I remembered Cinderella Complex. I’m honestly shocked that I decided to change my decision, but as good as RB and its previous contenders (Pepper Keibu, Edo no Temari Uta II, and Dschinghis Khan) are, they can’t compare to this slice of aural excellence.

Best Soloist Single – Papancake (Koharu Kusumi) & Kizuna (Aya Matsuura) TIE

I used to want to smack people who gave “TIE” awards. I used to feel it was cheating. I still do, I guess, but I honestly can’t choose between the two. They both perfectly capture the twin sides of H!P for me. Papancake is sheer cracktastic Koharu at her best representing the sugary-kiddie-pop side of H!P which, let’s face it, has been around at least since the time of Minimoni. You can’t honestly tell me that you like the “Ai-n” songs but find Papancake silly. Well, you can tell me that, but I’ll laugh at you, because you’re being silly. On the other end of the spectrum, Kizuna represents the soulful introspective ballads the H!P soloists are usually best known for. In short, they are both the best there is at what they do, and I cannot choose between them. Nor do I wish to.

Best Group Album – Cover You (Morning Musume)

Although I got both 5(Five) and 3rd Love Escalation for Christmas, I have yet to listen to them. Even if I had, there’s just no way that those two albums would beat Cover You. Yes, none of the songs on the album are actually “Morning Musume Songs” as such, but that doesn’t matter. The girls take those songs and make them their ow…no, actually, I can’t really make that judgement. The only one I’d heard prior to the album’s release was Pepper Keibu, and even that one was “tainted” by MM from the very first time I heard it, because my first time hearing the song is via a clip from the docu-drama about the songwriter, and Ai-chan and Risa were singing it. So in my mind, all these songs are Morning Musume songs. With that in mind, Cover You stands out as their most…cohesive album to date. It’s currently tied with Sexy 8 Beat as my favorite MM album of all time.

Best Soloist Album – Legend (Yuko Nakazawa)

No, I don’t have it yet (I plan on getting it for my birthday), but I’ve seen some of the PVs, and though Nacchi has some good songs (and I plan on getting hers for my birthday as well), I’m looking forward to this one more. The Elder Stateswoman of H!P deserves no less than the Best, and so, I give her the award for Best Soloist Album.

Best PV – Resonant Blue (The Version that combines all the other versions into a proper PV)

I remember when music videos (as the non-JPop crowd – as well as myself – like to call PVs) used to tell a story. They would have different scenes, cutting back and forth and weaving a story, setting a mood, and entertaining us. I miss videos like that. Ai-chan on her exercise bike, Risa in the cab, Reina walking through the streets at night…these scenes all say “Resonant Blue” to me. I would choose the version containing only those elements, but there’s something inviting about watching the girls warm up and practicing their dance routines. It’s one of the most normal things I’ve ever seen them do, and I quite like that scene because of it. As a result, I could not separate the versions. I feel I must give an honorary mention to Edo no Temari Uta II because of Chisato’s outfit as well as the outstanding minimalist background silhouettes set design. It totally rocks. Just not enough to win.

Group With Best Overall Releases – Morning Musume

Yes, C-ute and Berryz both released more, but I don’t feel MM should be penalized because of the quantity of releases. They all did very well, but MM’s two singles are two of my favorites by them ever, so in the end, they just had to win.

Best New Group Debuted in 2008 – High-King

It’s funny that, even though I like all three members of Buono, I’ve only listened to maybe one or two of their songs. I don’t know why I can’t get into them. Laziness, I imagine. Either way, High-King refused to let me be lazy. You pretty much had to notice these girls, even if they only released one single and are unlikely to ever release any more. It was just that unforgettable.

Best New Soloist Debuted in 2008 – Erina Mano

Erm…isn’t she the only soloist to debut this year? I can’t remember. Anyway, I haven’t heard anything of hers yet, but since she supposedly plays her own piano music, I’ll give her props for that. I can’t even play Guitar Hero and talk at the same time.

Best Established Group Did Not Debut in 2008 - Morning Musume

C’mon, did you really think I was going to pick anyone else? They’re the flagship, and rightly so. They may not have had as many releases as the other groups (well, more than Melon Kinenbi, but you know what I mean), but the two they had were among the best the group has ever released, so I have to give them props. I will say that Berryz and C-ute both had very strong releases throughout the year.

Best Established Soloist Did Not Debut in 2008 – Koharu Kusumi

I like Koharu’s Kirarin singing voice. I said it, and I’m not ashamed. Her songs have always been fun, ever since Balalaika, and this year’s single, Papancake was no exception. I like her voice so much that I even consider the Milky Way songs and Pinponpan Taisou to be Kusumi solo songs, since she tends to feature so heavily on them. Normally I would feel silly saying that she “roxxors my soxxors”, but she does. Stop all the Koha-hating. It just makes you all seem like old fuddy-duddys.

Best Photobook – Happy Girl (Risa Niigaki)

Let me put it to you this way, Happy Girl and Maple (Eri Kamei) were the two photobooks whose scans wanted to make me start collecting photobooks, and although it was a surprise Christmas gift from my brother, Happy Girl would have been the first one I would have bought myself. Risa just looks absolutely frelling gorgeous, and has the most interesting variety of outfits, but I have to say that the outfit with the old baseball cap and old blue jeans and jacket is my favorite. That’s similar to how my dad (who is a farmer) tends to dress, and whenever I look at that picture, I can smell my dad coming home late at night with the fresh scent of night air on his coat, and it is just so familiar and inviting. I’d like to imagine Risa coming home to me smelling like that and wearing that outfit. It’d be like she had become a part of my family. A picture like that is worth way more than a thousand words, and that’s why this photobook, no matter what, will always be my favorite.

Hottest Idol 0f 2008 – Ai Takahashi

If you haven’t seen Ai-chan’s Pimp Hat and face-caressing skills, go watch High-King’s Cinderella Complex PV right now. She’s sweet, but the girl knows how to make you quiver in all the right ways. The way she puts her hand to her cheek with most of her fingers curled shyly away in that PV, the way her booty goes into turbo-boost overdrive in the Resonant Blue PV, those intense eyes that just reach into yours and say, “C’mere, Sexy!”, those long, luscious legs of hers…to quote Jayne from Firefly/Serenity, I’ll be in my bunk.

Worst Soloist Single/ PV/ Group Single / Vocalist – N/A

Sorry, Pexie don’t play that. I focus on positives in my blog. The most I could give you for any of these would be “Least Best”, and since I haven’t heard everything, I might accidentally give a “Bad” Award to something I will later consider to be good, and I just ain’t gonna do that, sorry.

Least Attractive Girl of 2008 – N/A

Weren’t you listening? Pexie don’t play that. They’re all good in my eyes.

* * *

Okay, I’d actually like to add a category, if I may, and since it’s my blog, I’m gonna do it anyway.

Most Improved Girl of 2008 – Risa Niigaki

I’ve always liked Risa, but her voice never really stood out before, in my mind. All that changed at the MM All Singles concert. She has really upped her game! Listen to her belting out the lyrics in Shabondama or The Manpower, and then go listen to her (almost) solo song from Cover You, Johnny e no Dengon. She really has a lot more range than I ever previously thought. I still think she’d have problems with Koi no Hana (like she did the previous time she sang it on Hello Pro Hour), but overall, she has improved muchly over the course of this past year. At least, I like to think she has. If she was always that good, I’m ashamed of myself for not noticing it any sooner.

* * *

Well, that’s it. That’s yer lot. Take it for what it’s worth, one man’s opinion. Your mileage may vary, etc., etc.

Guess-timation

Over the holiday season, I participated in Hello!Online forum member Himalia’s Annual Christmas Giveaway Games, which allows forum members to win actual H!P merchandise donated by Himalia himself. To my complete and utter surprise, I not only won one of the pre-festivities Guessing Games, but I also came in #13th place overall, thus winning yet another prize in addition to what I won in the Guessing Game. While I don’t know yet what my #13th place Prize is going to be yet, I would like to share with you what I won in the Guessing Game. I won nine Ai-chan photocards! Here they are:

Gorgeous, ain’t they! At any rate, someone finally overtook Eri in the category of “Most Photocards of a Single H!P Member Owned by Pex”. I like Eri a lot, but I do like Ai-chan just a bit more, so I don’t really see anything wrong with that. But now I do need to get a Risa photo or two…Risa’s just under Ai-chan on my favorites list, and it’s a shame I don’t have one of her yet. Oh well, I’ll get around to it eventually!

Please look forward to another future post where I’ll reveal what my #13 Prize was!

Christmas Loot 2008

Just a short note to let you all know what I got for Christmas this year from the world of J-Pop.

Santa brought me the following:

• Berryz Koubou – Koi no Jubaku (single)
• Berryz Koubou – 5 (album)
• C-ute – 3rd Love Escalation (album)
• Heartsdales – Fantasy (single)
• Chieco Kawabe – Candy Baby (single)
• m-flo – Awards Super Nova Loves Best (album)

My brother got me the following items as well:

• m-flo loves Emyli & Diggy-MO – Dopamine (single)
• Morning Musume – Mikan (single w/photo booklet and Eri card)
• Morning Musume – Resonant Blue (single w/ Another Vers. DVD)
• Morning Musume – Pepper Keibu (single w/DVD, not sure which version)
• Risa Niigaki – Happy Girl Photobook

I love everything I got, but I think I’m most happy about Happy Girl. You see, it’s my first ever photobook, and though I’ve seen pictures from a lot of the photobooks thanks to scans posted online, nothing compares to having that big smiling face of Risa’s adorning the cover of my very own copy of the book. I keep catching myself hugging it as if it were a teddy bear or a book I’d treasured since childhood.

Photobooks are expensive things, but I’d like to get more of them in future. In a dream world, I’d like to get them all, but for now I’m restricting myself to either favorite members or really gorgeous photobooks. I’ve been hinting to my brother that Eri’s Maple PB or one with Ai-chan would both be most excellent choices for potential birthday gifts from him (have to start hinting now, since my birthday is on Valentine’s Day). Beyond those, I’d really like to get Mari’s photobooks. I think they are the ones beyond the two I’ve already mentioned that I would like to have the most. Then, a pb from Yuko or Reina. Like I said though, I’d like to get them all eventually, so any that show up as presents would be fine. Of course, eBay might be the way to get some of the older ones. Perhaps if I get any money for my birthday, I might see about treating myself to one (or maybe two). I’m greedy, but the girls are just so purty, I can’t help it!

At any rate, I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas this year! Sorry for not updating this blog very much recently. I shall have to make a New Year’s Resolution to continue blogging more often.

HELLOPROLAND

I’ve just added to my H!P photocard collection. Here are my newest acquisitions, which came in the mail today:

Four photocards (1 Kaori, and 3 Eri in Rakuten Eagles promo shots). I got the large Eri 10th Anniversary Singles Collection promo photo for free.

I got these from HELLOPROLAND. This is a great eBay seller who has always done right by me in every purchase I’ve ever made from him, and when I order photocards, he very often gives me one (or on occasion, two) free. He doesn’t have to, but I think he’s a nice guy, and I like ordering from him. I even feel guilty when I don’t order from him for a while. Yeah, I don’t often have the cash to spend on eBay, but when I do, HELLOPROLAND is the only store I specifically look for. The rest of the time, I just look up the name of the item I want. But with this store, it’s like going into a big toy store, wanting everything, and taking hours to pick out one thing to take home with you. It’s fun like that!

Funnily enough, I notice I bought three Eri cards. I already have two. Originally, I had only intended to get one photocard of each member, but for some reason I keep coming back to Eri. I shouldn’t really. It’s not fair to the others. I guess I just really really like her with that short hair. Or maybe she just photographs really well. Or maybe both. I’ll talk at length about my H!P photocard wants and needs at another time, but for now, I’m just staring at the pretty Eri pics and wondering where to put the big photo. Hmm, if only I had a picture frame…

Best of the (Mega) Best?

Like many of you, I’m quite looking forward to the eight Mega Best Albums being released by Hello!Project next month.  Okay, I think Nacchi’s album is not technically a “Mega Best” album, just a “Best of” album, but it’s coming out at around the same time and will, like the others, be vying for a spot in my collection as soon as possible.

Decisions, decisions.  Which should I try to buy first?  I’m currently rather behind on my TV-on-DVD and Doctor Who audio drama collections, so those will have first priority, but when I can again turn my attention to the world of H!P, where should I focus my energies?  Let’s have a look…

Nakazawa Yuko – I like her voice, but I don’t know many of her songs.  The only one I’d really say I knew is Danna Sama.

Tanpopo/Pucchi Moni – I like Baby Koi ni Knockout and Pittari Shitai X-Mas, but I already have Pucchi Moni’s album containing these two songs.  I know nothing about Tanpopo’s music.

Taiyou to Cisco Moon (T&C Bomber) – Haven’t heard anything by them, or if I have, I don’t remember doing so.  Not a high priority at all, I’m afraid.

Country Musume – I know I’ve heard the “Honey Pie” song, but beyond that, I don’t know them that well.  Again, low on the priority list.

Melon Kinenbi – I love Charisma Carpenter Kirei, and like Yuko, I’d like to hear more from them.

Shuffle Units – Chu Natsu Party, Summer Reggae Rainbow, Dancing Natsu Matsuri, Get Up Rapper, Kowarenai Ai ga Hoshii no, I love all of the above songs, and while I have the singles containing the first two, I’d really like to get the others.

Special Units – Like the Shuffles, I have a couple of these songs already, namely the Hawaiian Single Medley and Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia, but the chance to add Shall We Love?, Thanks, Shouri no Big Wave, and Cinderella Complex to my playlist is just too good a chance to pass up.  A strong contender for top pick, this one is.

Abe Natsumi – The lack of Screen is annoying, but it is going to have both Koi no Hana and Iki wo Kasanemashou, not to mention Nacchi’s solo rendition of Furusato.  A surprising contender, but a worthy one.

So where does that leave me?  Specials is clearly in the lead as far as the pure number of songs I want to have goes, followed by Shuffles and Nacchi in joint-second place, Yuko and Melon tied at third, and the rest in a big pile of “meh” in fourth place.  I think, therefore, that I will purchase them in the following order (assuming I only get one at a time, that is):

• Specials
• Shuffles
• Nacchi
• Yuko
• Melon Kinenbi
• Tanpopo/Pucchi Moni
• Taiyou to Cisco Moon (T&C Bomber)
• Country Musume

Having said that, I do want to mention that I like Yuko a lot, so depending on my mood, she may jump ahead unexpectedly.

Mind you, my next H!P music purchases will be none of these, as I intend to get Morning Musume’s Cover You album and then probably Hangry & Angry’s album (gotta support those U.S. releases, y’know!), but it’s good to know I have a general sort of plan to go on…

Life in the (Renai) Project

Just a quick note to let you all know, I’ve been asked to contribute to Renai Project as a staff writer.  This, of course, does not mean that I have abandoned The J-Pex, it just means that I’ll be writing the occasional article for them as well as my entries here on my own blog.  Since we’re on the topic of myself and writing, however, I would like to mention my other blog, Planet Pex.  It’s where I discuss everything non-J-Pop related, although there may be an occasional mention of something on that topic there, as the mood strikes me.

Basically, if you want to know my opinion on J-Pop, read The J-Pex.  If you want to know me, read Planet Pex.  And if you want to read good articles on great J-Pop that were not written by me, go to Renai Project, where I occasionally hang out.

Kill Me Kiss Me PV

The PV for Kill Me Kiss Me is up on Hangry & Angry’s MySpace, along with an update declaring a simultaneous US and Japanese release for their mini-album on November 19.  November’s going to be a good month for me, I think.  Ace of Base, my all-time favorite band, has reformed and is releasing a new version of one of their earliest singles and a remix album as a prelude to their brand new album next year, and an H!P-related group is finally releasing something in the USA.

But for now, let’s talk about the KMKM PV.  It has an interesting goth rock look interspersed with almost-Batman-esque displays of dialogue and the band’s name in the background.  The song, of course, rocks, and it’s nice to see the video do the same.  What really sells the video, though, is Yossy and Rika themselves.

Like with most H!P stuff, I watched it first with my brother, because he too is a fan, though not active in online fandom as he spends most of his time playing video games.  He made a couple of very interesting comments on the girls while watching that I have to say that I agree with completely.  Firstly, he said that Yossy has the eyes for this type of music.  For someone named Hitomi, this is a particularly amusing revelation.  But he’s right.  She completely sells the Hangry hardcore “rock chick” vibe here.

Secondly, he said that Rika was channeling Drusilla.  For those of you who don’t watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Drusilla was a former nun driven crazy by a vampire before being turned into one herself.  Now while I don’t see Rika biting people’s necks anytime in the near future, he’s right again.  She totally has the same “Psychotic Calmness” as Drusilla, that total unpredictability of a truely insane person, the proverbial quiet one you have to watch.  Whether she’s slinging her mascot around by its tail or hugging it sweetly and singing in an almost Charmy way, there’s just no telling what the girl will do next.  And for those of us who have seen her in both her Charmy and V-u-den sekushi moods, this really should come as no surprise.  The girl has acting range, and it shows.

The only thing I’m a bit iffy about is the stereotypical almost-punk-lesbian vibe the two seem to be generating in their almost kisses and when Rika briefly cups Yossy’s breast.  I have nothing against lesbianism, it just seems a bit cliched and predictable that the two punk rock girls are “together” like that.  Having said that, though, they do seem to hint at it with just the right amount of tease, stopping short of an actual kiss or not lingering very long on the “cuppage”.  It’ll be interesting to see how they decide to pursue this in future PVs.

Overall though, I liked it.  It was a rocking song with a rocking PV, and a very worthy debut from the world of H!P into the western world.

Dismantling the Love Machine

According to International Wota and Hello!Online, the H!P Elder Club has been overthrown. They’re all graduating/being fired/quitting, take your pick. The gist of it all is that the older generations of H!P, as of my mom’s birthday next year, are no longer going to be a part of H!P. “That sucks!”

Here’s a complete list of the “Evictees”, to the best of my knowledge:

Nakazawa Yuko
Iida Kaori
Abe Natsumi
Yasuda Kei
Yaguchi Mari
Ishikawa Rika
Yoshizawa Hitomi
Tsuji Nozomi
Konno Asami
Ogawa Makoto
Fujimoto Miki

Inaba Atsuko
Satoda Mai
Saito Hitomi (Melon Kinenbi)
Murata Megumi (Melon Kinenbi)
Ohtani Masae (Melon Kinenbi)
Shibata Ayumi (Melon Kinenbi)
Maeda Yuki
Matsuura Aya
Miyoshi Erika
Okada Yui
Ongaku Gatas (No word yet on whether it’s just the group “name” that’s being done away with, or if the junior members will be thrown out on the street alongside their mentors)

I suppose we should have known UpFront was up to something, releasing all those Mega Best collections at the end of this year. Like Yumi of Renai Project, however, I can’t help but wonder why Kaori, Miki, Yuki, Aya, and Melon Kinenbi didn’t get a Mega Best collection. I’d like to think that we’ll get a second wave of collections before the end of March, to round out the set, but I very much doubt that will happen.

I won’t go on and on about how I’ll miss the girls, because I think we all will, but there’s a chance some of them will stay with UpFront, apart from H!P. Some may go to Avex or another label. Some may fade out of the spotlight altogether. Some, like Mari, have thrived and will continue to do so outside of H!P’s influence, as “variety idols”. Some may turn to gravure modeling (hopefully, Yui). Whatever the future holds for these girls, I wish them success and good health. I’ll support you as and when I am able to do so.

Time marches relentlessly on, and it was foolish to believe this wasn’t going to happen one day. Doesn’t make it hurt any less, though…

Eat You Up PV (Korean Version)

The music video for BoA’s debut US single, Eat You Up has been leaked a few days early. Here’s a subbed (in English) version if you have a little trouble making out some of the words (I confess, I did, just a little):

The video is AMAZING! BoA looks really great, the choreography is hot, and the special effects are out of this world. As a fan of Heroes, I could really dig all the super powers she was displaying during the audition sequence – telekinesis, super strength, pyrokinesis, sonic vibrations, etc. How anyone could not like the video is, quite frankly, beyond me. I’ve been a steady supporter of not judging something until I’ve seen it, but the US version of the PV has a heck of a lot to live up to (and the sunken cheeks “diva” look BoA is sporting in the preview doesn’t help any).

The real question is, how is the song? Put simply, it’s good. I think it’s great. No it’s not the best thing she’s ever done, and yes, it’s quite a departure from her normal output, but the thing we have to remember here, boys and girls, is that she’s trying to break into a new market here. To do that, there’s going to have to be sacrifices made on both sides. For BoA’s part, she’s trying to mirror her competition, using sexy lyrics that may not fit her previous image, but which don’t necessarily make her a sellout either. I can see enough of the playful, more innocent BoA we know and love in the video and in her delivery of certain lines of the song (“I think I’m in love”, anyone?). Besides, she is an adult and can sing about adult things such as a sexual appetite. When we became adults (for those of us who are), we didn’t necessarily abandon the things we loved as children. We grew, and learned to love new things in addition to our previous interests. The same thing is now happening with BoA. The lyrics may be a bit edgier, but she’s still BoA underneath, and I intend to support her both in the Asian market (through YesAsia) and the US market (through Amazon). I like both styles. They each have their place.

I mentioned a sacrifice on both sides. On the music-buying public’s side of the equation, they have to “take a chance on an Asian love” as I used to think the words to Shine We Are said. For a “melting pot” of a culture, America can sometimes be incredibly xenophobic and unwilling to support foreign artists (Shakira aside), and I hope that BoA can overcome this challenge. I have high hopes that she can, but I’m an optimist, so that’s kinda my job. We shall see. In the meantime, I will definitely be buying Eat You Up as soon as possible!