After I fell off the side of the earth with this blog, I decided to move to wordpress.
I like VOX, but I felt that moving to wordpress would allow me and to motivate me to write more, which was the goal of this blog originally.
I also feel like wordpress's layout as a whole is cleaner, but thats not especially important.

Here's a link:
http://hotaruenlightening.wordpress.com/

I'm not going to shut this down, but I don't plan on updating it anymore.

Come visit me at my new blog :D

Writing this, I realize I never reviewed Pepper Keibu properly. All that really needs to be said was "I enjoyed it a lot, Hello! Project generally does well with covers."

I've never actually been as disappointed with a single as I am with Naichau Kamo.

I mean, come on. The title holds promise, it makes the fans excited to see what the song will sound like, and then we get generic recycled-song. It sounds like a mix between Resonant Blue or ONSA and Iroppoi Jirettai. The new "sad and angry" image Morning Musume seems to be adopting isn't bad, but they need fresh sounding songs for it to work. Resonant Blue was a good step in that direction. Naichau Kamo isn't terrible, but it could have been a lot better.

For instance, the use of 8th gen. Almost everyone is saying this, and the fact is, that is what will give the group a new sound. Only using Ai-chan and Reina with a few minor vocals from Gaki and Eri is okay, but using the whole group in a song would definitely bring about this line-ups voice. The group as a whole sings pretty well. Junjun has matured her voice, Koharu can be okay if she tries, and Sayumi has a come a lonnnggg way. Mitsui and Linlin were decent singers to begin with, and I'm sure they've developed their voices quite a bit.

Here's some positive, though..!
-The set looks nice, and not super-cheap. Did you notice that the black things are umbrellas? I thought that was kind of clever.
-Taking the girls outside to shoot a PV is practically unseen, so seeing the girls outside was pleasing for me.
-The girls all look great in the outside scenes. Their hair all wet and them (attempting) to cry made the girls look very depressed and vulnerable (even if a few sort of didn't pull it off too well, namely Niigaki, Mitsui, and Linlin). Junjun played her part almost surprisingly well. Reina and Aichan were of course, great at being sad, and Eri and Koharu may not have been crying, but they did look dejected/depressed.
-I enjoyed Reina, but I do want to see more than just her and Aichan, seriously.
-I like Sayumi's lines. They were probably the best part for me.

And here's the negative!
-the song is typical, I said that already, but heres the biggest reason why: Naichau Kamo is formuliac. Verse1 Chorus Verse2 Chorus Dance Break Chorus Chorus. Borrrrrinnnggg. The forumuliacness that bothers me could have been avoided by making the line distribution or the song itself a bit more interesting, but that doesn't happen.
-The dance outfits are kind of lame. "Whoo! We're Morning Musume and we are angwee girls!" just doesn't cut it with me. If they lost some aspect of it, like the jackets or the fishnets, it would have been quite a bit more appealing. The "grunge" or whatever look someone chose they were going for didn't really work...

So yeah. They could have done better. I have hopes for their next single -_-.

This going to be a tl;dr, so you can ignore this if you want, haha >_<

When people say that your junior year of high school is the hardest, they really mean it. I have two AP classes to deal with (AP Language and Composition, good class, lots of work, and AP economics, which is confusing), along with marching band and Japanese class. I'm taking Japanese class at my local community college this year, which is on wednesdays, one of my previous free-er days to write reviews. The class is great, and I just took the exam for Japanese I (talking II next semester), so I'll have a couple free wednesdays. Although it is time consuming, Japanese class is definitely helping me understand non-subbed Hello! Project stuff more, so I am grateful to be able to take that class.

Technically, Marching band should be over. We won state this year, yayyyy. You can watch the performance here if you want: http://www.sagacioustechnologies.com/lhsband/ The reason marching band isn't over though, is because we are going to the Fiesta Bowl Marching Competition in Arizona over winter break. I am really excited about it, and it shouldn't leave me all stressed, but I am (Airplane ride, people who have never riden an airplane before, all the information to get across...keeping the marching show stuck in our head). I was hoping this winter break I would be able to get caught up, but 1. I am going to Arizona, so I wont have access to a computer 2. I am probably going to be in detroit with my family beforehand, where there isn't great internet.... After break is midterm exams...and then I'll have to start doing things for my high schools musical production (Beauty and The Beast; I'm doing make up, masks, and hair) and start studying for the Michigan Merit Exam and the ACT. SOOOO, what I could have said was "I have a really busy life right now, so don't be surprised if I don't post at all!" but I'm pretty sure everyone has expected that of me now. But it felt good to  type out all the things I have to do. I guess I'm on a hiatus (I'm sad about it, though you might not be, haha) so don't expect regular posts until like..June :(

Before I get on to High-King...
-I like Pepper Keibu. I like the color green they are wearing, and I like the Reina. Hello! Project never fails me with covers of songs, so I am highly anticapting recieving Aka Yuu for Christmas.
-Madayade's song isn't amazing, but the choreography and the PV are a lot of fun (Yay Secretary Berryz!)
-LOVE FOREVER is a good...except...why does the song loose the serious-sound at the lyrics. Its like "Now the song is cute!...And kind of tropical sounding, somehow." I love their outfits, except for Kanna's Plaid...overalls?
-Buono! is probably my favorite group within Hello! Project right now. Despite the PV being minimalistic, it fits the 50's-60's theme. Rottara! Rottara! is great, and Momoko is still my favorite!
-Hangry & Angry is a strange name for a brand of clothes... "I'm so angry I'm going to eat my clothes!" is what I think. The song is catchy and likeable...the PV is kinda too...strange for my tastes, though...
-HALCALI's new single, Long Kiss Good Bye, is the new song I heard at their concert at Anime Central. I like the song a lot. The PV is meh, though.
(I like all of these things -_____-, why did I single out high-king? Because I had started something on it a while ago, and I didn't want to just throw it away)

On with High-King!

I love this group. Three leaders, Reina, and an Egg? I was a bit wary of Maeda Yuuka, as I am of all eggs, since I am generally unaware of their existence until something big happens like this! But I found myself liking Maeda. her voice is cute and young, but she doesn't sound out of place with the older members of High-King. It makes me sad that they wont get another single, but the greatness of Cinderella Complex leaves me satisfied. Its an upbeat song with a danceable tune that I really enjoy. The choreography is actually pretty difficult! I am impressed that the girls did the dance so flawlessly. Reina is featured in this group, so that might be why I like it so much, haha. I feel like she has a cute and cool character in this PV, which fits the song well. Saki, Maimi, and Maeda do a good job also! Ai is always amazing, her vocals add to the song so much! Now that I'm listening to Kioku no Meiro again....I think I like this song more. It shows off all of the girls voices equally, and blends them to create a great song. I'm sorry that this was quite incoherent, it expresses the stress I have right now -_-.

A++!

-Hotaru <3

Woo, my life is starting to slow down a bit. Marching Band will be over November First. Hopefully I can catch up...I probably wont be able to, though...so please bear with me. D:

I honestly don't find this song catchy at all. Whenever I try to recall any part of the song, I start humming "Buckets no Mizu" instead. Is that bad?

Gachinko

This makes it sound as if I don't like the song much!

I do like the song, really!! It is a summer-y fun anime-ending song. It fits the previous ending song tunes and themes well, and thats really what its supposed to do, I think. Tie up the series with an ending that is reminiscent of the previous endings...it seems to be sort of common these days in anime (Although the only example I have is with Code Geass...and all of ALI PROJECT's songs sound the same, so maybe it isn't as common as I would like to think it is). Anyway! I am enjoying the vocal selection of this song, as Momoko seems to be the major lead (with only three people, they are all leads..) in this song. She is also not singing in her usual squeaky voice, so she matches Airi and Miyabi very well :D. Although the song is very similar to previous singles, there are attributes that the previous songs do not have! Such as the cute speaking parts before the chorus, and the mixed-in speaking parts at the musical interlude. They add flavor to the song, making it a bit more interesting! Hopefully this paragraph convinced you that I don't dislike the song (haha). I enjoy the song, but I feel as though I would like the song a lot more if Renai Rider and Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! had not come before it.

The PV provides us with some amusing scenes of the girls in their adorable suits. These scenes have a dark-basement feel to them, which adds to the Playing-Poker idea I believe they are trying pull off. Instead of poker the seem to play Old Maid instead, which is probably more interesting for them to play than poker. Momoko's excitement when she gave Miyabi the joker alongside Airi's "Woohoo, whatever" attitude was great. Actually the girls playing the games makes the PV worth watching overall. The other two scenes we are provided are a little...bland. I can understand the use of a white background for the dance scene. Its supposed to make the girls pop out, right? The thing is, the girls are wearing a lot of black, gray and white, therefore they blend in to the background much more than they pop out. With better color choice, this could have been a perfectly aceptable dance shot. The other scene, with the musicians playing and Buono! running around 'playing' the instruments could have been a good scene also, except...the musicians seemed to be looking at Buono! like "Why are you playing my instrument? Go away!"...that kind of ruined it. There are a lot of fun and creative elements in this PV making it worth the watch. I still feel like there are some simple things the creators could have done to make the PV awesome.

Character Review:

Suzuki Airi: Although I always find her kinda boring, she tends to shine a bit more in Buono! PV's. Her totally uncaring expression during Momoko's excitement was the best XD. She has a cute outfit here, I like it a lot. Fits the anime's theme. I found her hair and hat outfit to be quite unflattering on her, though.

Miyabi- Oh my goodness! I am so happy that she wore her hair down! She is so pretty with her hair down...and her fedora, haha. I felt that her voice fit rather well in this song.

Momoko- She is the highlight of the PV (this is obvious, she is my favorite). She is really expressive, which is something I love to see in Idols these days. Momoko has such an adorable persona, it is very hard to not like everything she does (perhaps this is a bit biased.) I find that she fit the role best for this song. She wasn't the least bit awkward. This isn't to say the other girls looked strange in their suits or how they acted, Momoko just had the most fun. This could be because she was given the role to have the most fun, but I feel as though she gave it her all, while Miyabi and Airi gave most of it.

Overall: Good Song. Okay PV. B+.

-Hotaru <3

So I wake and check the news in the Hello! Project world, to see that half of Hello! Project is graduating in March.

What...!? Its not as though some of their graduations weren't expected (Nakazawa, Melon, Yasuda), but did they ALL have to graduate??
Even the young'uns on Ongaku Gatas are graduating...!
And Yossieeeee D: D: D: And Abe! and Matsuura!!! and...everyone....

I really honestly, do not know how to react. I don't think this big of a graduation has ever happened within Hello! Project, or other idol groups for that matter. This must be sad for them too. Some of them have spent literally 10 years within Hello! Project, and now they have to look for some other label to continue their career (or start a quieter life).

And what will happen of the new unit HANGRY&ANGRY? I guess they must be a one-shot group.

...At this point in time, my guess is that the more popular girls (Abe, Fujimoto, Matsuura, Melon Kinenbi, Ongaku Gatas (?)) Will release one last single before March, as a good bye.

But after March...I have no idea. I can see Matsuura, Fujimoto, Abe, Yossie, Ishikawa, the younger Gatas, and maybe Yaguchi getting a new sort of career and being sort of successful in the future. I don't know about the others, though. D:

It is a sad day...

Same as last year, I am swamped with things to do. Therefore, I will not be able to create reviews/other posts very often.

Here is an example of my schedule:

Monday- Nothing, but I tend to get swamped with homework these days and I may start working on Monday's.
Tuesday- Marching Band 2:30PM-5:00PM (2:30 is when my school gets out)
Wednesday- Japanese 1 at my local community college from 6:00-8:00
Thursday- Marching Band 2:30PM-5:00PM
Friday- Football Game- Play at Halftime
Saturday- Band Competition (all day)
Sunday-I recuperate and do homework...

I know that showing everyone my schedule is unnecessary and silly, but it makes me feel more organized XD.

So...I am sorry that although I said I would try to post a lot more often, it appears I can not.

But I will give a quick opinion on Pepper Keibu, Morning Musume's Latest Cover Single...

I like how they made the song all techno-y...and how it switches from Original-ish Song to Techno-y-song....
Those are my opinions...at the moment.

Again, I apologize for my half-hiatus. *bows*

-Hotaru <3

I apologize for the lateness of this. I actually had this done last week, but Band Camp came up so fast, I didn't have time to put it up! My apologies. Please enjoy my review on C-ute's Latest Single, Edo no Temari Uta II! Oh, and if you can't tell, I really don't understand this song. I sincerely apologize if my title is horrible and offensive and such.

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(I was really really worried when I saw these covers..."Oh Mah God noo...Not lumberjacks!")
This song took me by surprise! Its so strange sounding...and its really short for the average Hello! Project song! I really wasn't sure what to make of it the first time I heard it...! It is a fusion of more traditional Japanese music and more modern hiphop (yes, I used the word hiphop.) noises...although I could be mistaken, it may just be an enka(ondo?)-pop fusion. I must say, Edo no Temari Uta II did a good job at leaving me clueless as to what they are trying to portray and what style the song is in...But that doesn't mean I don't like it! I think choosing this song for  C-ute was a good choice. I especially love the line distribution. Everyone gets a solo line :D! I really love how Chisato gets a longer solo line (her being my favorite and everything..). I also noticed that Saki's voice didn't sound incredibly squeaky here! In fact, she sounds pleasant. Actually, I find myself very impressed with the vocals with song, even the weaker voices in the group sound great.

I personally find the neon lights in the PV great; they fit to me, since I associate the piano parts to 'downtown' and I only see Neon lights like that 'downtown' nowadays...anyway, I'm actually impressed at how intricate this PV is, I didn't notice it at first, but the spaces between the neon lights are plastered with Hello! Project CD covers! Its a fun idea to do this, but not all too original (Theres something like that Do It! Now, right?). I like how the covers are making more of a cameo than obviously being there, unlike in the Do It! Now PV. The sunrays and clouds add to the Japanese feel of the PV, and also add some background color to let the girls stand out more (but blend into the PV...) because of the black background behind everything.. The girls dancing in the background are also very Japanese and add to the overall feel of the PV too... No, I can't identitfy the girls. I'm guessing they are Eggs. They clearly are not meant to be identified since there are shadows on their faces most of the time! Having backup dancers for a group so large seems like a stupid thing to do, but it really added to the scenary and overall feel to the PV.

Member Review!

Umeda Erika: The only thing I don't like about Erika in this PV is that she is wearing black. It washes her out, which makes her look like a ghost along with making her look a bit out of place when you see the dance shot. Purple or a Dark Green would have been better (if they were tryng to go for a darker color). Erika herself shined beautifully despite the bad costume choice (whoever decided that: shame on you!). Her solo line was executed nicely. I had worries in the past that her voice would grow to become more whiny as time progressed, but she has relieved me of these worries!

Yajima Maimi: I really like Maimi in this PV. I've read some complaints about her "liberty bell" red dress, but I personally like it. I think it suits her. The bright red brings out Maimi's facial features flawlessly! I love it when Maimi wears her hair down. It is so pretty that way :D. Vocally, Maimi is great also. Her solo line sounds deeper and more mature than all of the other girls solo line. It fits the song magnificently; having her as the first solo line was a good choice.

Arihara Kanna: I love the color of her modified kimono. I don't love her shoes though (they aren't that great...). I kinda feel bad for her because her light-y pose was really awkward looking...like they only gave the girls one chance to do something and thats all she could think of and now she is thinking to herself "Dang, I wish they gave me another shot at that. :(" Vocally, I have to give an award to Kanna. She is very consistent in her singing voice, and never sounds very tired. Her voice may not be very strong or nice sounding, but it is very consistent! Therefore, I am very impressed by Kanna. She's cute, too, right...? EDIT: I just read the backlash on Kanna's scandal. I'm really just disappointed in Wota for doing such a deliberately mean thing to a 15-year-old girl who was behaving like a 15-year-old girl would. I understand that it is basically forbidden for members of the younger Hello! Project groups to have boyfriends, but I'm pretty sure UFA could torment her enough about her date. Hopefully this will blow over and not become a huge scandal. Since there wasn't a lot of news right after it happened, I don't think there will be...

Nakajima Saki: I like the yellow of Saki's Dress, even though its a sort of mustard yellow. It looks flattering on her, though. I first noticed that Saki and quite a few of the other girls are wearing gladiator style sandals. I don't really prefer those, but they fit the outfits quite well here. Saki's voice impressed me the most about her in this PV. She isn't squeaking out all of her lines, the style she sings in is much more mature. I hope that she continues to sing in this style, but something tells me she wont. Which is unfortunate, since this style is a lot nicer to hear.

Suzuki Airi: Her dress is one of my favorites. The shade is perfect for her. Its also really short! Airi really left a good impression in this pv. Usually I find her to be a little on the boring side, but she pulled this song off beautifully. Because there are only seven members and eight solo lines, someone had to get two. Naturally, Airi got the second solo line. She molded her voice to fit the music perfectly! I love it!

Okai Chisato: I've read some positive and negative responses to Chisato's outfit...I personally think its really cool. Its the most "ancient Japan" looking, and it also fits Chisato. She looks like a warrior XD. Chisato's Light-y-up shot is perfect! Her pose was the best, in my opinion. Although it is a bit biased, I love Chisato in every aspect in this PV. I love her solo line, and I love that it was one of the longer "E~ E~" ones. So, in conclusion, Chisato rocked in this PV, and I really wish she had a more prominent role in more singles!!

Hagiwara Mai: Maimai's dress is clearly the winner in this section. It is awesome. The way its made to look like a modern and traditional kimono at the same time (actually, all of the dresses are like this, but Mai's is the best made). The blue and the white and the flowersss *fangirls* its just so great XD. On the bad side...Mai's solo line was kinda breathy and less mature than the other girls. Although, Mai always sounds like this. We must take into account that she is quite a few years younger than the other girls. I'm actually pleased with her performance, she looks a lot less like a dead fish just hanging there where as all the other girls are giving it their all.

This was really an amazing performance for C-ute! All the girls seemed to give it their all! A+!

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This sounds much more like an "anime song" than Renai Rider or Honto no Jibun does to me. At the same, Buono! has a unique sound that makes Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! sound like it is not part of an anime at all, and just a great sounding single. Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! is a combination of cute and "punk" sounds. Normally I would be very skeptical about the description I provided (coming from other people..?), but when its a single by Buono! I know that the product wont be disappointing. (If it was bad, I would be very very sad.) I will admit, this song is a bit more generic than Buono!'s previous singles. Even so, it is still incredibly fun, with pretty food vocals and even a harmonica (how often do we get to here a harmonica properly placed in music these days?)

The PV is my favorite of Buono!'s. Its in a school, like in Honto no Jibun, but the girls school uniform outfits don't look horrible and unflattering. I also love that the girls are drawing all over the chalkboard, as if they are just messing around instead of cleaning up. I love the cleaning scene with Momo just hopping up and down to dust the top windows XD. A lot of the PV seems rather surreal, as I can't really imagine a school in Japan to be so colorful and fun looking! When its "lunch time" the girls all have vibrantly colored trays. I love them! I wish I some for myself XD. The outfits for the Hallway-Instrument-Scene aren't as wonderful as the school uniform ones...but I love them because Miyabi is wearing her hair down! She looks so pretty with her hair down! As said before, this PV is definitely my favorites of Buono!'s. It so fun! It makes me want to go that school and clean XD

Member Review!

Suzuki Airi: To be honest, when I usually watch the PV, I don't focus on Airi at all, and miss her when she appears on screen sometimes...I feel bad about it, since Airi is cute and a good singer! I just now noticed that the girls are only wearing one earing when they wear their school uniform outfit. Thats interesting...Airi's is a green and pink treble cleft! Its really big, but I like it. Airi was given a guitar to play with, which appears to fit her very well! She appears to be having fun with it XD. I like Airi's outfit in the Hallway-Instrument-Scene. I like her accessories a lot more, though, haha. They are also only wearing one earing in this outfit too! It appears to be dangling silver heart. I wonder why they are only wearing one earing...Ah well. Airi's vocals sound great in this PV, and she is cute and energetic in the PV (She unfortunately doesn't stand out to me as much as Momo or Miya do...)

Natsuyaki Miyabi: She should wear her hair down more!! I already said this, but she looks so pretty with her hair down! I like Miyabi's Hallway-Instrument-Scene Outfit the best...its great!  Miyabi's earing in her school uniform outfit was hard to find a clear shot of! I have determined that it is a white and black boom box (after about seven minutes of searching the internet for a clear screen shot/picture). Her earing in her Hallway-Scene outift is all dangly with red and black stars. I used to have earrings like that XD. I honestly think that Miyabi shined in this PV! She looked comfortable and brought out an energy that perfected the PV :D

Tsugunaga Momoko: She is like the icing on the PV...she is the most entertaining part of the PV! She hops up and down adorably to clean the windows (I can't say I haven't done that myself...), she plays drumsticks like a harmonica, and reads a cute bunny book while the other girls are reading novels..! Maybe its that I'm biased, but I really think Momoko was the best part of the PV. I like Momoko's big pink candy earring in her school uniform outfit, but find her huge star earring to be a little...too big. Actually, I find her Hallway-Scene outfit to be unflattering. It washes her out, even though she's adorable anyway. I darker shade of blue would have been a better choice..!  

I'll say it again, I really love this single. I can't help but give it an A!

-Hotaru <3

I'm going to try this a bit differently than usual!

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1 comment

When I heard the radio preview to this song I thought "Joy. Another Berryz song full of nothing but Risako solo lines". Then I saw the PV, and realized that everyone got solo lines in this song! It was a nice surprise! For once, a low-quality preview made me happy. I am happy with the ammount of lines Chinami and Maasa got :D Although it may have cost Saki and Yurina screen time, I feel it was okay just this once XD. It is obvious in this PV that Chinami and Maasa are the extremely goofy ones in Berryz (although Momoko and Saki their moments in this pv). Chinami and Maasa seem to the most comfortable with just having fun and not really thinking about what the fans will think or whatever it is that prevents Risako and  Miyabi from being silly!

I love the banana making its cameo as a moon. I like the outfits the girls wear, minus the icky vest things.The real spirit in this PV comes out when the girls are in the monkey costumes! Everything gets much more loose and silly. Maasa is the only girl to have her hair completely hidden by the costume it seems... (a completely useless discovery). I have also noticed that most of the girls have a random "*move around like a monkey*" moment in the dance. At one point, Saki tickles Chinami...I found this very amusing XD. If this song was sung by anyone other than Berryz Koubou, I don't think it would be pulled off so fluidly! I don't think I would like it if it were anyone else!

A Short Member Review!
When I say short, I mean that some of the members will have shorter reviews than normal because they weren't very notable or in the PV much.

Shimizu Saki: I feel bad that she got so little attention. In a lot of the dance shots, she is completely cut out it! Saki's probably one of the better dancers too -_-. In the few shots she is seen in she is being silly in her monkey costume. She looks pretty adorable making a puffy face and pulling her ears. Unfortunately, this is just about all we get of Saki, except for her couple solo lines. I am happy for those! They just didn't do much justice to her.

Tsugunaga Momoko: She is simply adorable in this PV! At the first "Everbody" part we see a confused Momoko doing some "Oh! I'm supposed to do this"-move-realization (or something!). Then we see Momoko fall over after one of her solo lines in her monkey costume. Momoko in a monkey costume really fits her XD. I was sort of sad when you couldn't even see Momoko at some of the monkey parts because everyone was taller than her! But I told myself that it was okay because other, much less noticed girls were being featured! Oh! Also, I love what she is wearing on the cover to the single. Its my favorite outfit!

Tokunaga Chinami: Oh my goodness, Chinami being represented this much makes me more so happy :D! Chinami has the best personality (in my opinion) in Berryz Koubou...her role in the PV, allowing her to be in the PV more than usual, was a good move on whoever decides these things (Tsunku/UFA)! She really gets into it, becoming a "Yankii Monkey" and her overall enthusiasum makes the PV fun to watch every time!

Sudou Maasa: Her role in this PV and song has brought out Maasa (its about time!), and is a lot more interesting to me now :D. Her voice really fits this song. I'm not sure what it is about her voice, but it sounds natural, like she didn't have to try very hard to get into the mood of singing the song. At all the close-up monkey parts, Maasa is always doing something silly! I especially love her when the music intermission ends and theres just a guitar-noise playing and Maasa's doing this silly dance XD. This PV has definitely made me love Maasa...

Natsuyaki Miyabi: She really isn't in this PV much, is she? Miyabi provides a solid solo lines, but thats pretty much all she does for me in this PV. She does have a cute moment with Chinami pretending to be a "Kawaii Monkey". Thats...all I can really find of Miyabi doing something silly, though. I don't what prevented her from "getting her ape on", but at least it made Maasa and Chinami all the more appealing..!

Kumai Yurina: I wonder if she is going to break six feet XD. Haha, back to the monkeys...She really isn't in this PV much either! I think if Yurina was better represented she would have been about as amusing Chinami and Maasa. In a lot of the monkey scenes, she is seen joining in with the other girls shenanegans (wow, I don't get to use that word a lot), but doesn't do anything by herself to set her apart from the other girls. Which is unfortunate, since I really think she has a lot of potential. I really like Yurina's voice, so hopefully we will see much more of her next time!

Sugaya Risako: ....I wonder if she realizes that she is a bad dancer...? You would think it would be a slap to the face when she was told "And you will be standing here during the chorus, bopping up and down."  I would like "...what?! Really?" Risako doesn't seem miffed, though. She is too busy making annoying pursed lip-faces  >___<. In fact, she doesn't really look like she cares at all in this PV...which is a disapointment, because this is a really fun song accompanied by an equally fun PV! Why are you bringing it down? How lame. Cheer up, girl.

And Now...For my sisters opinion on "Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance"!
I feel that it is only fitting that she reviews this PV also since she is a big fan of monkeys and the Ape Escape series. Her three comments on this PV are:
"The monkeys in Ape Escape do one of the same dance moves they do in the PV" (I believe she referencing to the dance move during the upbeat part of the music-intermission)
"The red circles on their cheeks make their cheeks look fat."
"Is all they can say 'Monkey Dance'??"

And there you have it, my sisters profound commentary.

I have wanted to respond to Misa's J-music Survey for quite a while now, I'm just being slow about it. My problem: It takes me a while to remember what my first J-music really was! I think I finally got it, now.

1. What was the first Japanese song you ever listened to?
This is going to be a bit scattered, since I can't quite remember exactly myself. When I was very little, I used to be obsessed with My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro). Somewhere along the lines a relative gave me the Japanese Soundtrack to it, so "Sanpo" was probably my very first Japanese song.  "Sanpo" is sung my Azumi Inoue, but my only knowledge of her is that she sang the theme to Totoro!  When I got older, I watched a bit more anime, and somehow got into L'arc~en~ciel. That didn't last long...Eventually I stumbled upon Ayumi Hamasaki. I loved her. I still like her, but my love dimmed...My first song from her was probably "You" or "WE WISH", I can't remember exactly.

2. Did it inspire you to like that group/singer, or did it turn you away?
Well, yes. I still enjoy Ayumi Hamasaki. One of my teachers at school went to Japan a while back and asked me if I wanted anything. Nothing special was coming out except for Ayumi's "GUILTY", so I had her get that for me. She actually turned out to love Ayumi Hamasaki XD. Back on topic, it definitely inspired me to search for more Jpop. Eventually, I was introduced to Morning Musume when I talked to a girl from Japan who had been dragged to a camp I was at with her cousin XD We couldn't really communicate, but her cousin would sometimes translate for me. Eventually I got the idea that she really liked Morning Musume and W-inds. I looked up both when I got back from camp. I fell in love with Momusu (obviously), but not so much W-inds. And that is the magical tale of how Hotaru discovered Momusu.

3. What is the one song that you have been listening to for the longest time?
Well, sometimes I get sick of certain songs and take them off my iPod, etc., but  I'm pretty sure "Shabondama" and "The MANPOWER!!!" have stood the test of time, along with a few songs by Flow "DAYS" and  "COLORS" (Although COLORS has not been out for all too long.) ...Also probably "Ride on Shooting Star" by The Pillows. Wow, this is a lot. I'm really now sure which song I have listened to the longest. But now I'm thinking it might just be "Sanpo"...haha.

4. What group/singer have you liked the longest?
I guess Ayumi Hamasaki might be the longest. I have liked FLOW for quite some time, also...but I don't really follow either. So, I would probably have to just say "Morning Musume", since I follow their music releases and whatnot.

5. What is the song with the most plays on your itunes/media player?
Hm...It says "Shabondama" By Morning Musume.

6. Is that song your favorite?
Its definitely high up there, in the top three. It was one of my first Morning Musume songs, so it has a 'place in my heart'.

7. If not, what is?
Well...a couple of my other favorites are "The MANPOWER!!!" , "HYBRID RAINBOW" by The Pillows , and "Twinkle Star" by HALCALI.

8. Is there any one group that you can listen to all/most of the songs by? If so, who?
I can probably listen to just about any Aa! song XD. Haha, although I love Aa!, I don't think that counts...um...I don't think I can listen to every song on most albums, but...I can listen to most HALCALI songs, so I think HALCALI is the winner here.

9. What is your favorite agency?
Well, looking back on it now, I guess I'm going to have to say Sony Music Entertainment Japan (SMEJ). Its weird, but as I was looking around, I really like a lot of the artists that they have (YUI, HALCALI, UVERworld)...and although I love Hello! Project, I don't love the way UFA does things :D

10. What is your favorite group/singer?
My favorite singer is probably actually Vanessa Carlton right now...but my favorite group right now is Morning Musume (haha.)

I hope this has inspired Misa? Although...perhaps it didn't. I apologize if it didn't!

-Hotaru <3