This was a crush that was totally inevitable- you can't have that much concentrated cuteness each episode without falling head over heels in love, and that's exactly what happened watching the insanely adorable Emi Takei each week in Tokyo Zenryoku Shojo!
I've already blathered on and on about how cute Emi Takei was in an earlier post, and don't have much more to add to it other than I can't believe how many scenes each episode I find myself rewinding and REWINDING over and over again to experience her amazing adorkability!
First thing I ever saw Emi in was Otomen and even then I remember noticing how sweet and spunky she was, and then I saw how smooth and cool she could be when I saw her in GOLD. Who would have thunk that the sweet young thang in those shows would turn into one of my new favorite actresses? But after seeing her in W No Higeki, the Rurouni Kenshin movie and of course Tokyo Zenryoku Shojo, that's exactly what she's become!
As Kuriko in Otomen
As Akira in GOLD
As Mako/Satsuki in W No Higeki
As Nao in Asuko March!
It's interesting to note that Emi was one episode too late to appear on Arashi's wonderful "VIP Room" on Himitsu No Arashi-Chan, and instead ended up being the first guest in its sadly sub-par replacement VIP Limousine. But since she's such a cutie, I'm prepared to overlook this...and besides, compared to later VIP Limo episodes, Emi's one is pretty fun and interesting!
Eating a Korean Hottoke on VIP Limo
...and on VS Arashi
Yep, seems like I've enjoyed just about everything she's done, just about the only drama I didn't care for was "Asuko March" (with it's "Problem Student" format which I loathe) and I'm even contemplating trying to re-watch that one again since I love her so much!
The sweet and peppy song "Binks" has always been one of my all time favorite tracks from K-pop group KARA ever since the first time I heard it on the the incredible "Girls Talk" album, and finding a performance of them performing it live has always been a highly sought after item! While they'd never 'officially" released anything, there WERE several nice fan-shot videos of them doing it, the girls happily dancing around in these super SUPER cute and VERY 80's Idol-looking dresses, and oh how I wished DSP would releasea proshot version!!!
KARA in their "Binks" Outfits
Well, time and time again there'd be a new DVD concert release from KARA, but maddeningly, though the footage was taken from concerts where the girls HAD performed Binks, no footage ever made it to the final DVD release! WTF!!! Finally late this past year, I saw that they were going to release a new DVD with a complete and uncut concert, though the initial press release didn't list the track titles, I saw that the concert playlist for the date the cocnert was filmed DID feature Binks, so the possibility was HIGH that I would FINALLY get an official live performance of this song!
So right away at the beginning of this new year, the KARA DVD comes, and first off I am blown way by how goddamn BEAUTIFUL it is! The cover looks great- the girls look soooo sultry and sexy! The DVD set of 2 Concert Discs and one Making of Documentary disc also came with a HUGE packet of what contained over 40 huge postcards of the girls!!!! Not only that, but the set also came with a glossy fold-out poster!!
If all those aforementioned goodies wasn't enough, the absolute cherry on the top was the track listing. One glance told me that my dreams had come true when I saw:
YES!!!!! "BINKS" IS ON THE DVD!!!!!!
Well, I couldn't WAIT to watch that concert IMMEDIATELY!!!!! Popping it into my player, however, I was confronted with the horrifying sound of the DVD player skittering back and forth trying to read the DVD without success! I took the disc out and tried playing Disc Two of the concert, and it played fine. Tried playing the Documentary disc. It ALSO played fine! Panicking, I switched to my OTHER DVD player, only to have the SAME problem!
Sigh. Sadly, the first Concert disc was defective, and OF COURSE, it was the one with Binks on it!!!!! I was sooooo fricking bummed out. After all this wait. So I've emailed CDJapan and am still waiting for a response of how to return this disc and get a replacement. I'm kind of worried that the Limited Edition will sell out and they'll be unable to replace my copy! I would hate to send back this awesome set with the cards and poster and bonus disc if I couldn't get another set. In fact, I'd really think about if it was worth it to send back, though paying almost $70 for a concert I can't watch is kind of ridiculous. So far it's been three days and still no word from them. We'll see.... Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
Ever since the Year-End Specials introduced me to the wonder of the adorably silly antics of Momoiro Clover Z, I’ve been checking out all their older videos, and I have to say that this is a girls group like none I’ve ever seen! If I had to make any comparison I’d say they reminded me a bit of old Hello Project act Minimoni (complete with the duckwalking and leg-teetering dance moves) but their complete adherence to the great Super-Sentai superhero shows puts them in a league of their own!
After their kick butt performances on the Kohaku and MS Super Live, I began randomly clicking on some of their other videos, and each one that came up had both insanely super catchy songs as well as amazing Japanese Super-Hero direction and sensibilities!
The Power Rangers motif is obvious, but I like how there’s little things in it that are clearly from the heroes I grew up with as a kid, in particular, Goranger (5 Rangers) and Kamen-Rider! Watching the video for “Z Densetsu Owarinaki Kakumei”, I had to laugh at the references to heroes of the past like the elaborate “Henshin” belt complete with cartoon rays of energy emanating when the belt is activated…
Tried and true personality traits like “Yellow” Momoiro Clover Z girl Shiori having an uncontrollable appetite for Curry:
"Red" Momoclo Ranger Kanako positioned in the center as the group's leader...all super sentai leaders are the red ones, don't you know?
And in what has to be the most HILARIOUS Kamen Rider Reference, when the voice-over dramatically describes how the girls got their super-powers, they show a clip of Purple Momoclo girl Reni strapped to the diabolical backlit operating table (where so many other Riders met their fates), only in THIS instance, she is struggling because the other girls are tickling her! AHAHAHAHA
Even the backdrops that the girls are fighting in harken back to the Superhero shows of the 70’s; Old Shipyards with huge rusty containers and brawls on the docks right at the ocean’s edge…
And if that wasn't enough to seal the deal, they even got Tokusatsu Vocal Legend MIZUKI ICHIRO (he of Kamen Rider X and Mazinger Z vocal fame, among countless others) to help out during the chorus parts yelling "ZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!"!!! How COOL is that??!!! AHAHAHA! Oh man, this is one group I’ll have to examine closer, as it looks like they have something quite unique in this explosion of idol pop!
Below: a smattering of eclectic Momoiro Clover Z Videos to knock your socks off, first with the Action-packed Momorio Clover Theme song "Z Densetsu ~Owarinaki Kakumei~" (Charismatic " Z!" Yelling provided by Mizuki Ichiro)
LOL, it's hilarious when the announcer calls out their colors, when he gets to "blue", the girls kind of go 'Uhhhh..." since "Blue" Ranger Akari Hayami had since departed!
Below: an example of how "Epic" the scope of Momoclo's Super Heroic Videos can be with the powerful "Otome Senso"
Below: the girls perform the theme song for Keiko Kitagawa's Akumu Chan Drama,"Saraba, Itoshiki Kanashimitachi Yo" in a cool Angel/Devil themed motif:
Notes on This years’ NHK Red and White Song Festival, with Horikita Maki and Arashi as your hosts. Maki looks absolutely gorgeous here in a sultry and sexy dress, conversely, Arashi's outfits look a bit like a passing unicorn flew overhead and crapped magical rainbow poop all over them...LOL! Now, onto the performances that piqued my interest....
Horikita Maki and Arashi
Was thrilled to see that AAA has gone back to their fun and happy style of singing before they turned all their new releases into AVEX TRAX style of THUMP THUMP THUMP House Beat tracks…songs like 777 (Let's Sing a Song!) remind me of their more carefree tunes like Chu, Endless Summer and Sunshine and had me remembering why I liked them so much in the first place! Ehh, could have pumped up the music track a bit louder, though.
AAA
A stunning Ayako Fuji in another one of her beautiful non-kimono performances doing the sweet song Wasurenai set against the backdrop of some doggie animation... This perf wins the Ayaka Hirahara Overly Dramatic Stage award!
Ayako Fuji
Momoiro Clover Z...I have to say that I really like these girls! They’re so uber genki all the time and they never fail to put a smile on my face! From their first appearance participating in Hosokawa Takashi’s performance, they already had me laughing and I couldn’t wait for their actual performance!
Hosokawa Takashi and Momoiro Clover Z
I also liked Kana Nishino’s fun song “Go For It”, which is quite a diversion from her earlier introspective stuff, or at least it seems to me… and is it just me or does it seem like there’s always ONE artist who is delegated with the “Cheerleaders” backdancers?
Well, I guess in this case, the choreography matched the song…
Kana Nishino
Kohaku producers find ways to keep the younger guests interested when the seasoned performers are onstage, as evidenced by Godai Natsuko’s AKB48 enhanced performance. (and its funny because I can remember when Godai Natsuko was considered one of the “younger” acts!)
Godai Natsuko and AKB48
Out of the whole festival, probably the biggest WTF moment was Kaori Mizumori singing from the top of what was supposed to be a Sachiko Kobayashi / Kenichi Mikawa type special effect dress but looked more like a huge-ass pile of strawberry shave ice...
Kaori Mizumori
While I love Kanjani8 I haven’t really gotten into a lot of their more recent tunes, so I was happily surprised to see them close their set with one of their older classics, the zany “Musekenin Hero” which suited their nutty style to a T!
Kanjani8
And speaking of zany, just as Car had predicted weeks back, the equally zany group paired up with Kanjani8 was none other than hyper girls Momoiro Clover Z, and I have to say, this act really STOLE THE SHOW for me! The girls opened their set with the song I was hoping to see them sing on Music Station Super Live, the Kitagawa Keiko drama Akumu Chan’s rockin' theme song “Saraba, Itoshiki Kanashimi Tachi Yo” and it was even BETTER than I hoped! So energetic and FUN!!! Then they fully turned on the krazee with their Super-Sentai performance of “Ikuze! Kaito Shoujo” SO MUCH FUN!
Momoiro Clover Z
Performing Saraba, Itoshiki Kanashimi Tachi Yo
Cool Enka singer Fuyumi Sakamoto came out to perform her classic “Yozakura Oshichi”, a song that I absolutely loved back in the day, though nowadays I sometimes wish she’d sing some of her other hits! The way she's been singing this lately, you'd never guess she had so many other good songs!
Fuyumi Sakamoto
After seeing Yui appear on the Music Station Super Live Special and NOT singing my favorite song from her, it was a bit of a relief to see her finally sing “Goodbye Days” on the Kohaku before she goes into retirement (hiatus?), I'm so glad I got to see this awesome song from the “Taiyo No Uta” movie at least once!
Yui
I gotta say I was pretty impressed with AKB48’s “Uza” and wish they could have performed the whole song instead of cutting it in half medley form. But I guess that they always try to balance their perfs with a balance of cool and cutesy. Medleys…Medleys Everywhere…Man, what the heck is up with all of these acts doing freaking Medleys? Doesn’t ANYONE come on to promote ONE song anymore? LOL
AKB48
Then it finally came time for ARASHI to hit the stage officially, and they did it in a big way with their super catchy song “Wild At Heart” (from that uneven Matsujun drama Lucky Seven) as well as their dub-steppy “Face Down”… so cool, and they even got Ms. Hotaru Amemiya herself to introduce the boys!
Ayase Haruka and Horikita Maki
Arashi
Then it was time for the older acts of J-pop past to make their appearances, and for the first time, Princess Princess appeared on the Kohaku, here performing “Diamonds” in decidedly odd looking “Diamond” themed outfits, and with all the medleys going on, was surprised that PuriPuri didn’t back it up with another tune or two. And hey, SOMEBODY should have turned up the volume on Kanako's Guitar, that shizz was WAY too soft! Gotta let that gal ROCK!
Princess Princess
And then as they’ve been doing for awhile now, SMAP came on the close the Kohaku Show. They did their songs “Moment” and “Sakasama no Sora”, while both were nice, somehow it couldn’t come close to their MS Super Live performance, in my opinion. Now THAT one was a concert closer!!!
Well, that wraps up another year, and tallying my scorecard, I have to say that the hands-down winner of THIS round goes to Momoiro Clover Z...those girls are just too damn adorable!
Even just watching them standing on the side of Maki Horikita as she MC'd, I kept laughing to myself watching those two girls smiling and giggling with happiness! Definitely made me smile this Kohaku!
Those adorable Momoiro Clover Z girls beaming next to Maki Horikita
