PASSPO☆: Rock at the Shrine in "Natsuzora HANABI"

PASSPO's 5th major single, Natsuzora HANABI, is to release on August 15, and recently, the
full PV to the A-side was released!

From the name, I was expecting a song that sounded more like generic idol pop. Probably because when I first listened to PASSPO's indies, I thought the same thing and just assumed the trend would continue. (Why I don't follow PASSPO) But to my delightful surprise, it's an uptempo rock song with some parts that mimick traditional Japanese music. I probably said this before, but I'm not much into solely rock music since it can get boring to listen to the same instruments being played over and over, especially when listening to a rock album. Here, they mix in the traditional instruments very well with the instrumental (Even if only for a short time) and they don't sound out of place at all. I even find some of the composition mimicking traditional music, like in the chorus' first lines. I find it quite refreshing and clever when old music is reinvented for new generations, and in this case, it was used in an amazing way! 95%, if not more, is still rock music, but there's something about the tempo, composition and, of course, their voices that make this more suited for an idol group than a rock group, in my opinion. Plus, it gets me, if not anyone else, bobbing my head along to the beat and wanting to play air instruments when no one's watching. Like I said before, the composition mimicks traditional music in the chorus, which I like a lot, but besides those parts, I find the rest of it really awesome. Seriously, there's nothing else I can say about it because it's just that fantastic! I wouldn't want
it changed in any other way; I find it quite perfect.

The song on its own is powerful and rocking; it's powerfully rocking! However, with the traditional reinventions, I personally find that there's a fragility to the song that fits with the whole puzzle. I don't have any PASSPO songs on my iPod, but I definitely wouldn't mind putting this on there!

The PV consists of four main shots: dance shot, close ups, "rock" shots (That is, shots in very rockin' outifts! :D), and the "throwing suitcases" shots. First off, the close ups, dance shot and the suitcase shots are filmed in front of a shrine with a band playing in the back. The close ups show them singing into the mic while they sing their hearts out. They all put a lot of attitude and movement into each word they sing, bringing out their inner rock stars. In a lot of the shots, it almost looks like their begging and crying out when you look in their eyes. It's quite heart-piercing to watch! XD

In the dance shot, they incorporate fans in the dance, further utilising traditional aspects into the product. If I didn't know any better about idols, I'd think it was a bit out of place with the music, but somehow, it works
in a really weird and unusual way. I think the fans flow the most in the chorus, but the choreography when they're jumping on one foot, waving their fans around in the instrumental breaks with serious faces... Yeah, I have to admit that looked pretty strange. ^.^; At first, I thought the dance had a lot of movement in it, but forgetting about the camera movements (Which also looked awesome in here), it actually is quite tame than what I would've liked, especially keeping the tempo in mind. But, like I already said, the camera movements made them look quite cool!

Suddenly, in the middle of the song, there's a black and white shot of the girls standing in a neat arrangement. Then a few seconds later, they throw their suitcases out and up towards the direction of the camera... My first thought is "WHAT ARE THEY DOING!?!". But then, after thinking for a bit, maybe this is just a symbollic scene. Perhaps what it meant was that they're throwing out their image of exclusively being an airplane-themed group and branching out to try out new things. After all, after these scenes is when the rock shots start to appear. If that's the case, then even though it was a little weird, it still looked cool... Then again, maybe they just wanted the girls to look rebellious and awesome. If so, then it was a little weird but still cool, once again. :P

The rock shots appear to be filmed inside of the shrine, instead, or a whole different area altogether. Darkness envelopes them with just a sole yellow spotlight on the girls to light the room for them. These shots really are rockin' with the setting, the outfits, the makeup, the expressions on their faces, their dancing, and the camera movements once more. Besides some shots where the camera placement and movement is awful, these shots look amazing and match the song really well. After, in the same outfits, they stand in front of a pool and fall into it. What can be more rockstar than that? Seriously though, I'm cringing at the camera placement... UH... BUT, forgetting about that and the randomness of this whole scene, the way the girls are trying their best to be like rockstars is laughable since they still seem so idol-ly cute to me. All in good fun, though!

The PV looked a little cheap, but I think it was executed well enough from what they had, and the inner rock attitude of the girls really made it enjoyable!

Overall, I give it a 8.2/10; the song was REALLY amazing and although the PV didn't perfectly match the vision in my head, it still looked quite great, especially from all those camera movements... And that is the last time I am saying that phrase for this review. :D

Watching this PV, I really want PASSPO to do well for this single. At the very least, better than their previous single. But, referring back to Candy's post about their decline (Brilliant, by the way), that goal might not be possible. I wouldn't necessarily call myself a passenger at all, and I'm sorry for the upcoming cheesiness, but I hope that PASSPO are able to pull through to make their dreams possible because they're really worth it!

Koisuru Candy Kiss

Candy Kiss is a 6-member dance and vocal unit. All members were born in Tokyo and attended the dance school "CLOVER" and are in middle school. Their first single, "Koisuru Candy Kiss", will come out on August 15.

In an EXILE-type of style, there are 2 vocalists and 4 dancers, though they all still dance. The members, in order of the picture, are:

Oguchi Ryouka (小口涼花) - Dance
Birthday - February 21, 1998
Hobbies - Music appreciation, basketball
Special Skill - Long-distance race
Favourite Book - Koizora
Favourite Movie - Titanic
Favourite Food - Pancakes
- 3 years of dance experience

Shimoda Kaede (霜田楓) - Dance
Birthday - November 20, 1997
Hobbies - Shopping
Special Skill - Massage
Favourite Book - Ranzuki
Favourite Movie - Disney movies
Favourite Food - Fruits
- 4 years of dance experience

Yoshizawa Ruri (吉澤瑠璃) - Vocal, Dance
Birthday - August 28, 1999
Hobbies - Reading
Special Skill - Knitting
Favourite Book - Eien no Natsuyasumi
Favourite Movie - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Favourite Food - American cherries
- 2 years of dance experience

Yamashita Honoka (山下睦夏) - Vocal, Dance
Birthday - June 20, 1998
Hobbies - Karaoke
Special Skill - My body is soft (Uuuh...what?)
Favourite Book - Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo
Favourite Movie - Usagi Drop
Favourite Food - Ume
- 9 years of dance experience

Kasahara Mahochi (笠原真歩地) - Dance Birthday - August 12, 1997
Hobbies - Golf, shopping
Special Skill - English
Favourite Book - Ryuusei no Kizuna, ONE PIECE
Favourite Movie - New Years Eve
Favourite Food - Korean Nori
- 10 years of dance experience

Sakurai Mayu (桜井まや) - Dance, Leader
Birthday - November 14, 1997
Hobbies - Reading
Special Skill - Dance
Favourite Book - Cellphone novels
Favourite Movie - Bokura ga Ita
Favourite Food - Yakisoba
- 8 years of dance experience


I was quite taken with the beginning of the song. It sounds like some alien copy from the beginning of a rock song that I can't quite put my finger on, but it's so weird that it's good! After that starts the main instrumental, which is happy yet isn't as upbeat as I'd like it to be. The main melody of the instrumental is led by trumpets, I think, and it just makes me feel uplifted and refreshed! The dying frog croak in the background is kind of disturbing, but it does make the intstrumental feel less empty than it'd probably be without it. After a while, the alien communications come back to unite with the instrumental between vocals, but like I said, it's weird in a good way. The whole instrumental pretty much stays consistent and non-changing without any climax. Good or bad, you can choose. But for me, it can get a little boring.

Speaking of which, the vocals - Oh, autotune, what could we do without you? I mean, they fit with the alien sounds and they sound good enough with the backing music, but it'd be better if we could hear what the girls actually sound like without effects since it IS their debut single. Otherwise, the girls' voices are SUPER cute without having to sing high. They sound more like children's voices than preteens/teens, but that's alright. I think they could work on putting feeling into their voices, though, since they sound empty, but they'll get better at that with experience.

The composition is quite amateurish and childish, but maybe that's because they're still a new group. Also, some of the lines sound cliche and/or stolen from other idol songs. The best part about it is the part before the last chorus. I have to admit, the CHUU's are adorable and the last part of it flows better than the rest of the song.

With the whole song, I guess it's cute enough to fit the idol genre, but not something I'd listen to a lot.

Besides the still images, the PV starts off with close-up shots of each member giving a kiss to the camera. AAAAAH, they were all so cute! And usually I don't think that, especially with new groups. All of their close-ups are so pure and innocent! It's like they were made to be idols! >w< They still could improve with their expressions, but man, they're already naturally cute! I found the number of sets in which they did the close-ups (There was a brick wall, a barn-like door and a white backdrop) a little distracting and unnecessary, but the girls themselves made up for it. :P

When it goes to the bed shots, they are not really well executed. The camera angles and awkward pauses make me cringe! XD But it's not the girls' faults. In fact, they did a good job in those scenes. They seemed to act real and like themselves, which is something I appreciate a lot!

The girls sit on the bed in their pyjamas and seem to have come up with a plan. Well, that plan looks like dressing up in pastel maid costumes and skipping to the camera! ^.^b Nah, it looks like the real plan was to make cute desserts in their costumes while showing off their idol appeal! And it works like a charm! It looks like they're having good and simple fun putting icing on the pastries and it makes me smile! And who doesn't love sweets, anyways? You're bound to get a cavity if you delve into these idols!

The dance shots are set in a white room with a checkered floor and mirrored walls, wearing the outfits that appear on their site and on the cover, and also in a simple white dance studio. Since they all attended a dance school, it's no wonder that they nail the dancing, for the most part! They have a lot of unity, attitude, and emotion in their faces! It was really enjoying to watch when they put so much into performing!

The whole PV is just a little more than standard compared to a regular Indie PV due to the addition of a storyline, but I think what made me really like it a lot was the amount of charisma these girls already have for being fresh faces!

Overall, I give the song and PV a 6.5/10. The song is mostly just really childish, and I'd give it a quite low score for that. But because the girls really owned it in the PV in personality and dancing, that made the score better. (It's still quite low, so you can imagine how low I'd score the song. ^.^;)

They're still an Indies group, and a new one at that, but I really think they have idol potential, as they're already so skilled in a lot of factors. I only wish that they'll be given material that will complement their talents more than Koisuru Candy Kiss. I mean, there have been new Indies group with better material to work with than this, so I believe that their true talents can really go all-out!

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Official Youtube
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NMB48: Cat Transformations in "Mousou Girlfriend"

Yesterday, the Osaka AKB48 sister group released the PV to one B-side of their 5th single, Mousou Girlfriend, on their official Youtube channel!

First off, the song! I like how soft-sounding and casual the opening sounds! If I didn't know, any better, I'd think I was listening to one of Acchan's songs off her solo singles. But then, before I can even think, it was just to lead into the real instrumental of upbeat "du-du-duru, du-du-duruduruduru..."'s and clapping, along with some bells, maybe? These make the instrumental breaks sound quite cutesy, in a good way. But when it gets to the chorus, it gets pretty standard. Meaning: It doesn't really stand out in any way. The only part that does stand out is when they sing the first two lines of the chorus and they shout out "GIRLFRIEND!" or "BOYFRIEND!". It continues in that meh-kinda style for the verses and the bridges. For the most part, but I also do like how the percussion builds up in the bridge, and how they say "PLEASE!" in the part before the last chorus. It somehow builds up my happiness, in turn. Aaaaand that's pretty much all I find great out of this song. I mean, it is cute and catchy, but really, really, REALLY generic pop. Thank goodness, it's just a B-side, though, and not the A-side. (Really don't want a repeat of Oh My God; part of the reason why I don't keep up with NMB releases)

Looking at the thumbnail, (which looked... Interesting, if I do say so myself) I knew I was in for a crazy ride. But looking at the beginning, I was squinting a little. "Ah", I thought, "they're just trying to surprise us!", so I continued to watch. When watching Milky talking to the cat and touching it, I found it fairly normal. Who doesn't talk to cats from time to time? But when the cat bit her finger and I saw sparkles coming out, I knew that was when the fun started. From there, Milky finds herself on the ground, her pinky turning pink, growing a tail and ears (With an awesome bow!) and suddenly, standing up, dressed in a crop top, frilly skirt, furry wristlets and a garter, totally pulling off cute and sexy simultaneously.

Surprised by this, she runs off to... Somewhere. I don't know where, but she looks ridiculous when contrasted with the calm, normal scenery! I was really giggling a lot! Through town, on the railroad, in the forest and she finally makes it to the other NMB members, who look at her like, "Who the hell is she?!". But all Milky wanted to do was spread the cat disease by biting her fellow workmate. And so the cycle goes on with biting and transforming into a cat!

Once all the members have successfully turned into cats, they all dance to the music and sing along, as any cat idol would. The choreography, just like the outfits, is cute and sexy with every move that they do. The part where they're in a line, swaying their heads from side to side in unison especially looks so cute and carefree. I also found the part where they do a round-off of poses very giggle-worthy. What surprised me most, though, was that it appears they've woken up from a dream at the end while the camera pans out at their stunned faces.

The storyline was quite fun to watch! Really random and crazy, but fun! The transforming parts were well executed and magical, so they were some of the best parts of the PV for me! I thought that at the end, the cat would be there when the camera panned out fully or something else like that would happen. But with the PV ending like it did, it kind of made me feel empty, like all the whimsicalness of the whole PV was just fake. A bit depressing, I know, but still, I'll just remember the story from before the ending. :P Also, though the outfits were a little distracting at first due to their lengths and furriness, they fit the girls and the dance well. I'd say the PV almost makes up for the song!

Overall, I'd give this 6.7/10; Like I said before, a generic pop song, but the PV bumped up some of the points for me.

SDN48: "Yaritagariya-san" PV Revealed

Recently, SDN48 spoke about their new PV "Yaritagariya-san". This song is a B-side to their latest single "Kudoki Nagara Azabu Juban", which was sung by girls' from Team G. From the looks of the PV, the girls are giving off a more mature and "sexy" look. Along with posing more mature and "grown up".



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S/mileage 4th Single PV

S/mileage 4th Single PV

S/mileage has released their PV for their fourth major label release ‘Shortcut”.

The song is H!P style catchy ,If you have followed this site for any amount of time ,then you should be starting to tell that each group covered has their own sound and style.

The second that you hear the intro, you know that this is an S/mileage song .The PV is all right, it in some ways feels like an Indie idol PV.