Oh Goodness, Now They're Monkeys! - Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance Review
I'm going to try this a bit differently than usual!
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.
-Hotaru <3
