Bringing Back The Maid Costumes - Afilia Saga East's 'Mirai no Watashi Matteiru' PV Review!

As always, all opinions are my own and no one else's, unless otherwise stated. I have a mind of my own, and think freely, as do all of you. Please respect my opinion, and I will respect yours. Thank you.

Please don't take some of the things I say seriously, lawl.

Afilia Saga East is back, and boy, am I happy - I've been waiting for their newest PV to come out for a while now, especially as it marks the return of those adorable maid costumes that the girls like to wear - however, with such a happy occasion comes a sad one, too, as this is also the last single of two original members, Rose Gardenfairy and Meena, who will be graduating from the group.

So, whilst I was anticipating a new single after La*La*La Revolution, I honestly wasn't prepared for an announcement like this - Rose Gardenfairy is actually my favourite member of the group (well... not any more, it seems), so I was of course sad when I found out that she would be leaving the group. However, as a fan, I will support her with this decision and also anticipate the two new members who will become a part of this amazing group, and see how well they grow in Afilia Saga East.

Anyway, moving on from the graduation surprise - Guess who helped with the production of this song1? That's right, good ol' Tsunky-boy! Considering He and Chiyomaru are in cahoots with each other, now more so than ever thanks to the creation of Akihabara Backstage Pass, I'm not honestly surprised that Tsunku played a role in the making of this single - apparently he just wrote the lyrics for this one, which is probably why the song is quite calm, unlike Knee High Egoist... Damnit, Tsunku, why can't you make awesome songs like Knee High Egoist for MM eh?

Anyways, now that I have said all that and what not... it's time for the Pic spam! BRING IT ON!!! -gets out spear-

Bow-Chicka-Wow-WOOOOOW~

-insert horror music here-

OMFG A CHURCH! -bows down-

The Café setting is pretty cute~

... er... whut?

-stir stir, stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir!-

Demon Voices: Bow Down to your overlords, Bitches!

RIGHT! Time to search for a new favourite in Afilia Saga Eeast!

D'awww... No :<

She's beautiful, but no ;A;

I like her ribbon soooo much!

Rose! ;A;

Okay, this girl here reminds me of Chinami, and me likey that!

Chubby cheeks~~~~~~

This dance move is pretty cute, but let me say this, that damned light is annoying

She looks like she wants to cry :(

Chuu~

This girl is intriguing, for some reason - and very cute!

Kohime: Oooooooh!~

Where the heck is yo' Panda?

Er... shoulder shimmy's are in dance shots, now? o-O

YOU! You are my new favourite!

All hail, Cutie Pie Kurumi! -bows down to Kurumi Lala Milk-

Hahahahaaha, FAIL!

Rose is so god damned gorgeous, it's a shame that she's leaving... But it has to be ;~;

Oh crud, will readings Graduation messages -cries-

They look like they're at a Church service, not a graduation ceremony

Catholic School Girl Maids, anyone?

How sincere and pretty, Rose really looks gorgeous ;~;

Oh crap, that's one creepy effing smile!

Actually, that creepy smile is almost on par with Ayumi Ishida...

It's BABY PREDATOR-SAMA!!!

It's Meena's turn to read out her will Graduation message... -sniffs-

Pfft, Kohime is such a titch! So adorable!

I wanna play piggy in the middle with her, just cause it'd be really cute to watch her jump when there are so many people taller than her I'm a bitch xD

Meena: See you in AKB48, bitches!

Randomer: WAAAAAAH!

DAT ASS! <3

So freakin' pretty - why are they all pretty?

Randomer: (Through tears) Finally, more spotlight for me...

Kohime isn't crying... lawl? What?

Meena: Sayonara, girls - I'm off to better things!

 Hey look! Nooblets!

D'awwww, they're all paired together - LOVERS!!!! <3

I didn't find ANY freakin' panda's! WTF???


Okay, so that's pretty much a wrap for the PV Review... not.

As I said previously, I was anticipating this release - I adore Afilia Saga East, because they are a group who are good vocally and visually. Whilst most groups do tend to rely on cool backgrounds and flashy effects to pull them through, smaller, lesser known groups like Afilia and Fudanjuku pretty much use their charm and charisma to pull off a video - and even if there is a bit more here than what Fudanjuku had in their latest PV, Afilia Saga East still manage to portray emotion and charisma into the video without making it boring.

The girls all look adorable and cheerful here, with a few exceptions (like Rose, for instance) who look more charming and beautiful rather than adorable. I enjoyed the expressions on the girls' faces during the close up sequences, especially Maho and Louise's, because their expressions looked realistic and not fake. I also thought that the added scenes where the girls were crying after the messages was very sad and well played out - the girls truly did look sad (more than some) and it made me feel sad in return - which is what I like to feel when I see a sad scene. If I am watching something sad and the emotions don't come across, then the acting is freakin' shit (like when I watched a certain drama), but here it was portrayed well - so I am glad that it made me feel sadder than I wanted to, but, it's a graduation PV, and I am extremely sad that Rose is leaving Afilia :(

Anyway, enough babbling on graduations - the rest of the PV was equally enjoyable. I liked the dance scenes in the Cathedral, considering it kind of reminds me of My White Ribbon, which is my favourite song from this group. It has a reminiscent feeling, especially with the return of the cute Maid costumes, and makes me think of the early days of Afilia Saga East and their first PV. The Cathedral is very pretty, and I like that the podium and the stained glass windows are basically a part of the background. The dance is also very nice - very gentle during some parts, but also quite energetic at other parts of the song. I would say that the only problem with some parts of the dance is that some of the girls are out of time, and it kind of takes away from how elegant everything is.

The added Café scenes to the PV are a nice touch - they add a bit more light on the whole video, as the dance scene is pretty dark in the Cathedral, so I like the added brightness - the same goes for the close up sequences, which are brighter and pretty refreshing thanks to the background colour.

Si yeah, the PV is pretty much a winner for me - the girls look amazing, and the dance is really cute. The acting scenes seemed realistic, and I like that the girls are dancing in a Cathedral rather than a studio - It makes a nice change of pace from the boring studio's and plain backdrops that other groups have been performing in as of late.

ONTO THE SONG?


Okay, the song. Yes, I like it. When have I ever disliked anything made by this group? Oh wait, a few of the B-sides... but, regardless of that, I am pretty biased when it comes to Afilia Saga East songs. Is it my favourite? Nope. Is it kind of generic? Yeah... And it's pretty slow, which I seem to not be too fond of right now. The song itself is charming and very cute, and has that Afilia flavour to it which I can distinguish whenever I hear their songs, and also reminds of another song, which I will say is Houkago Romance with a bit of My White Ribbon added in there. I don't know - it just reminds me of those two songs.

The song is cute, and soothing in its own way, with a great amount of blending of the girls' voices - and that's what I like about Afilia Saga East - their blended voices. Rarely do I hear a song by them that has solo's in them, which means less of a bias - and I like how songs sound when in a constant chorus of voices blended together. They all sound adorable, and have a cutesy-lift to their voices which makes the song really sweet.

The only problem? For me, it's a little too slow for my current mood, however the chorus is absolutely adorable and I like how it picks up during that part of the song and becomes a little faster with the instrumental. But, other than that, this is a pretty solid single from Afilia Saga East, and a great way for Rose Gardenfairy and Meena to bow out.

Yes, I like that the PV is focused on them during certain points - it makes graduation singles better, in my opinion.

So, have you watched this video yet? Did you enjoy Afilia Saga East's 7th single? If you still haven't watched it, go, now!!!



Chiima~


PING!!!! International Wota Recommended Reading: February 28th, 2012