I Just Need One Reason to Love HouPri - Houkago Princess' 'Juliet ~Kimi wo Suki na 100 no Riyuu~' PV Review!

All opinions of this group are solely my own and no one else's. Whatever I say or think about this group, their PVs or songs are my true thoughts. If you do not like my opinion, then don't read this blog. Simple as!

I have been waiting for this PV for a while now, and was losing hope that it would come out before the 24th - but, when I went to look on the HouPri staff blog today, I found the PV was already uploaded to youtube, waiting for me to watch it. Why, HouPri, did you make me wait!? In the end, I realised that the reason why it never showed up in my youtube subscription box was because it had been uploaded on the 11th, but privated until now.


Damn you, HouPri staff!


Oh well, it's here now, and I am a happy bunny - I love HouPri, and have been following them since the announcement that they would debut, so of course this PV would please me a great deal. It is their second official Indies release, as well as the official debut single of generation 2 (or shin members) Rena and Aoi, as well as the first single of 2012.

So, without further ado, let's create a pic spam of HouPri's new release, Juliet ~Kimi wo Suki na 100 no Riyuu~ or, as I know it, ~100 Reasons to Love You~ Juliet!!!

Honestly, I don't know how the heck Nana is in her 20's - she looks like a high schooler!

Rena is freakin' gorgeous, I don't care what anyone else says!

Man Hitomin is pretty - so pretty, that when she sat down everyone went silent -lol-

Nah, they're just curious about her picture, which, btw, the others could easily see other than Yumeka and Aoi.

And yet, they are all oblivious to as what the picture is... I bet it's a boy!!!!

Aoi: Hm...

Yumeka: Which JE boy is it? I bet it's Ryosuke Yamada!

Sakino: I bet it's Edward Cullen!

Mayuka: No way, Jacob Black!

Rena: No, it's got to be Jin Akanishi!

Mayuka: He's married now...

Rena: Say WHAT!?

OMFG POOFY DRESSES! -loves poofy dresses-

I adore Mayuka's chubby cheeks! Omg, I wanna pinch them!

And Rena! Omfg Rena is so damned beautiful! She looks perfect here!

I love it when Nana doesn't smile, she looks less awkward XD

HouPri: Oh no! *gasps*

D'awww, Rena's thinking!

Hello, Hitomin!

Hitomi: -texts randomly-

Hitomi: And... send! -sends text of LURVE to Chiima-

Even though she looks... weird, Sakino is really quite a cutey pie. But too. much. BLUSHER!!!

Kyuun~ Yuuki sends you her wink of everlasting love that will make you her fan!!!

Damn I love those costumes!

Yumeka is so pretty! Don't deny it, you think so too!!!

Yumeka x Nana foreber!!!

Hitomi: -sighs dreamily-

Hitomi: I love you so so much, it hurts... -hugs picture and squeezes tightly-

... and then she proceeds to suffocate herself! NOOO, Hitomin, don't do it!!!! You are my LOVE!!!

Oh, hey, Yumeka's smile has saved me from depression! YAY!

Yuuki: You can do it! Become my fan, and I will love you all the more!!!

-becomes a fan-

Aoi is freakin' gorgeous, probably the most gorgeous HouPri member...

Rena: ... Eh? What do you mean? You don't think that... I'm beautiful...?

Rena, it's a lie!!! I didn't mean it, you're beautiful!!!

Sakino: What about me!?

... Lay off the blush, and we will talk...

Mayuka: Don't forget about Mayuka! Mayuka is the cutest of them all!!!

Definitely one of the cutest XD

Nana: Shh, if we hide behind this cushion, they will never find us!

Yumeka: Are you sure???

... Are they smoochin' behind that pillow!?

Yumeka: Nooo! Nana x Yumeka FOREBER!!!

Rena: NEVER!!!!

Nana: Yumeka!!!!

Hey, look! It turned into a Romeo and Juliet story!!!

Yuuki: Can I be your Juliet?

... But, my Juliet is Hitomin... ;A;

Yuuki: She's got that boyfriend, so be my Romeo!!!

Okay... ._________.

Hitomi: -sighs dreamily at photo-

Nana: Hmph!!!!

Honestly, I love Nana's face here - she looks so upset!!! xD

Hitomi: Kyahahahaha~ -runs away-

Hitomin, why are you leaving your picture behind!? They will look!!!

Sakino: What, us? Never! We won't even peek!

Sakino: From the bottom of my heart, I swear that we shall not peek at this picture...

Hitomi: Pfft, what lies! You'll look, I know you will!

Sakino: You have such little faith in us, Hitomi!

This probably has to be the cutest shot of Sakino in the entire PV, ngl xD

Nana: I'm not promising anything! My future Mistress might have a boyfriend, I need to know who it is so that I can destroy... I mean, evaluate him!

HouPri: Is it you!?

Yay, they're pointing at me!!!

Yuuki: Oh my gosh...!

What? What! Did she turn the picture over, why so shocked Yuuki????

Rena: Eh!?

Mayuka: ... What?

Sakino: Is that IT?

Haha, Rena's face is priceless here! xD

Hitomin, your boyfriend looks yummy, I have to say!

LOL I laughed so hard at this part when I first saw it XD XD

Nana: Well, that sucked...

Yuuki: At least she doesn't have a boyfriend, I mean, it would kill her contract after all...

Nana: True, and that means that she can still become my mistress!

Yumeka: Hey, what about me!?

Nana: ... whoops!

And Hitomin ends it whilst nomming on her beloved omelette!!!

The End~


Haha, not really! We still have a review to finish!

So, as most of my regular readers would know, I am a big fan of Houkago Princess and I try to follow them as much as I can. Whilst most people may not really like this group for how new and awkward they appear to be, I really like this sense of fresh faced cuteness as well as the unique concept that they are 'dress up Idols'. So, I was of course looking forward to their second single to see what the group would bring to the plate, and to see if they had grown in any way or improved.

In a way, they have. There is a definite improvement in how the girls act and look on camera as well as a massive change from a cheap gym setting to a more girly and rather pretty background where we see the girls dancing. They're less awkward on camera, and seem to be a lot more comfortable in their surroundings, which makes the PV a lot more enjoyable and easier to watch.

When it comes to the PV itself, I will honestly say that I am very biased and will try my best to find no faults with the video - but of course, I do find faults - after all, these girls are a brand new indies group who came straight from the ground and are slowly building their way up. They have had no previous experience, so it's expected to see some flaws - and it's mostly in the dancing. Whilst I was watching this PV, the one thing that I was aware of the most was how out of synch the girls became during certain parts of the dance. Sometimes, they just don't flow together and you can tell - but, in the end of it all, that would be the only fault I find other than the fact that Nana still looks as awkward as ever when she smiles. Then again... some people like that (Eripon is an example of me loving awkward idols).

Anyway, that aside, I really enjoyed this PV - and that's probably because it was a major Hitomi-fest. Hitomi is pretty much my HouPri bias. I liked her in the beginning, and she still continues to amaze me with how she acts and looks. So, when I first watched the PV I was ecstatic when I realised that the story line revolved mostly around my favourite Idol from this group. Now, whilst the focus of the story may have been Hitomi, I would like to point out that, for the rest of the PV, she isn't the one camera-whoring - that actually goes to Yuuki, Nana and Sakino, which is a nice change of pace because it isn't simply all about Hitomi. Yes, everyone gets screen time, but really, it's these four who are being shown the most and pushed the most.

Now, with the story line, I really wasn't expecting how it would turn out - I thought 'Wow, they're giving Hitomin a boyfriend in this!?' and originally anticipated what the guy would look like - only to find out that the picture she had was of an omelette. My immediate reaction for that was bursting out into a fit of laughter, because really, this is Hitomi, and I couldn't imagine it any other way. I have a feeling that Hitomi and her love for omelette will become a running gag, because she was shown to be eating omelette in Sukidayo (Egao), and has put on her profile that her favourite food is omelette. So, really, if this video is anything to go by, Hitomin might have a few more omelette related roles in future videos. If this happens to be the only one, I might actually get sad xD

Anyway, aside from the rather funny and surprising storyline (really, I did not expect that ending!), the rest of the video was really cute - like most PVs, there was the usual formula of close up and dance shots where we get to see the girls individually as well as together. Some of my favourite parts of PVs are actually the close up shots, because you get to see different reactions of the girls and to see how they act in front of the camera. My favourite actually has to be Yuuki when it comes to close-ups - she has such a natural, but rather cheeky, image and seems comfortable in her surroundings. I especially loved her wink at around 2:17 of the video. I also loved the scene changes for the solo shots, as well as the spot they were dancing in - the staircase is very pretty! It makes me want a spiral staircase, actually. Okay, back to the dance shot - it was very cute, quite simply, but well done. It shows off the elegance of all the girls when they dance like that, giving them a more princess-like image.

And those costumes!!! Omg, I want I want I want! These are probably the best costumes that HouPri have had yet in the four PVs that they have had, but really, these dresses are beyond beautiful! I like that they're half military half poofy. It adds a bit of originality to their costumes~ Good thing that their manager is a designer, eh?

Okay, so moving on from the PV (it seemed like I would never stop writing about it!), the song itself is a pretty simple, and rather soft, number, much like the debut single of HouPri. Whilst this is a rather generic Idol song, it is still cute and gives off that Houkago Princess feeling to it. I actually heard this song through previews from snippets of the groups live events, and I liked what I heard - it's definitely an improvement from Houkago Princess ~Oshiete Kudasai~ in terms of how it sounds and is probably more toned down in energy and presentation.

In all honesty, I love the blending of this group - it sounds pretty amazing for an indies Idol group! The girls all sound so pretty together, and very gentle too, which is really nice to here. It honestly reminds me of AKB48 in a way when they sing soft songs, and that's what I find appealing with these sorts of groups, I guess. One of the things that I have to whine about, though is the line distribution - like most idol groups, there will be about one or two girls who will get more lines than others, and in this case, it's Sakino and Nana. It was pretty apparent from the beginning that Sakino and Nana were going to be the front girls, so I guess I don't mind so much, but it kinda makes me sad to see that Rena isn't getting lines at all - Hitomi may not have lines either, but she's pretty much the one in the spot light, so I have less of an issue when it comes to her, but Rena... yeah, my issues with lines is coming up again, but I can handle it.

So, in conclusion, I enjoyed both the song and the PV - of course, HouPri has its flaws, and that mostly lies in dancing and looking awkward in front of the camera, but I think that in the short amount of time they have been a unit, they've grown pretty quickly, especially Yuuki. They all look and sound amazing, and even if the song isn't ground breaking, it is still a really nice track to listen to. Will it become my favourite? Nope, but it's a pretty good song for a second single.

Honestly, my favourite part of this package would have to be the PV - I wasn't expecting that twist at the end where the omelette was in the picture, but when I saw it, I was so happy and it gave me a good laugh. I've been feeling pretty drained today, so to have something to laugh at was a nice change of pace for me, and I am glad that it was Hitomi's love of omelette's that did it.

All in all, for me, a person who loves HouPri, this PV is a winner - it's better than Oshiete Kudasai's video, and HouPri will just keep on improving more and more as time goes on.

So, what do you guys think of Houkago Princess right now? Do you think that they have improved, or not?



Chiima~


PING!!!! International Wota Recommended Reading: February 16th, 2012