All thoughts and opinions regarding the group, song and music video are all my own and no one else's! Don't like what I have to say? Then don't read it, and go suck a lemon! Have a problem with me? Tell me, and don't go whining to like-minded people with the same old opinion as you! Don't care about what I or others say? Then your mind is more open than a door, which is good~
From Hello! Pro jail-bait to AKS' youngest group, once again filled with jail bait! Except these girls wear a lot more clothes, and this song is ultra cute rather than super sexy... still, I say they are jail bait!!!
It feels like forever since I last reviewed a single from the 48's, but that's because I tend to only review the videos I really like, and seriously, their videos have bored me lately. The Janken song and video was a rehash of other videos (plus it bored me to death) and whilst I loved the idea and look of Mae Shika Mukanee, I had already done a concert themed Music Video review already at that point, so it has actually been a good while since I reviewed something from the 48's... but yeah, they bore me too much most of the time, so they rarely warrant a reason to be reviewed.
Until now, that is. But this PV justifies itself for needing a review, I say. Why? Because it is so darned cute, that's why! It also helps that this is one of the more creative MV's to come out of the 48's, though the same can't be said for the song, but still! It truly is the video that is the real winner for HKT48's Sakura, Minna de Tabeta,a nd what a sweet video it is! Are you ready to find out what the video is like with me?
Get ready and prepare yourselves readers and viewers, for the cuteness and moving walls will come crashing towards you in this new music video from HKT48!
1, 2, 3, 4... Sakura, Minna de Tabeta!!!
Oh, why hello there! You're all looking rather happy to see me!
... Row two are a little more excitable I think! Then again, Sasshi and HKT's midgets are all in row two. Of course they'd be an excitable lot!
Russian Monkey: "Hello there, world!!!"
Whoever you are, you are adorable and I want to keep you.
Meruru: "Heck YEAH!!! I'm back to being centre!!!"
Sasshi: "Awwww yeeeeeah, baby!!!"
Mandatory jumping is mandatory! Just look at Sasshi go!!!
Why is this move always so enchanting in any Idol video!? It's so cute!
Haruppi: "Okay, point to the right now!!!"
Haruppi is so freakin' happy in this, its crazy! I swear, her happiness is catching... not good!!!
Okay girls, I know I'm fabulous and rather important to you all, but you really don't need to bow...
Erm, er... Nako? Nako, why are you crying on the floor??? NAKO!?!?
Mio: "Yaaaay, I'm finally being noticed as a centre! YAAAAAAY!!!"
Meruru: "Ahahaha sweety... you aren't a full centre yet until you take that position from me, which won't happen. EVER."
Meruru with some poor unknown
Meruru: "Now how do I get rid of this one...? Push her off a cliff, accidentally suffocate her... the list is endless... sigh, it's so hard being the one and only centre..."
I have no clue who the adorable girl is next to Haruppi, but gosh darned-it, she is CUTE!!!
Haruppi servicing her fans with a kiss. Be sure to catch it!
Haruppi: "This one's for Chiima! MWAH!!!"
... Wait a second, is someone riding a bike on the musical score!?
Aika: "Okay Sasshi, slow down a bit, you're going a tad too fast there..."
Sasshi: "Aitakatta, Aitakatta, Aitakatta YES!!! KIMI NI!!!"
Aika: "... Are you even freakin' listening!?"
This scene isn't even that long, and yet Sasshi still manages to look manic and entertain me greatly. Gawd, I love that girl...
Aika: "Whoa whoa, Sasshi! SLOW DOWN, SASSHI!!!"
Sasshi: "AHAHAHAHAHAHA, FASTER, YOU SAY!? FASTER WE GOOOO!!!"
Yup, Sasshi's psycho. I love it!!!
Meruru: "Teeheehee, gotta take out the competition somehow!"
Good Lord, Meruru is a sneaky little bugger!
Russian Monkey: "Oh no, Meruru killed off the Captain and Sasshi! What do we do!?"
You take over, Anna. You take over... <3
Oh goodness gracious me, the Russian Monkey is so cute! And there's a winking girl there, too!!! Could this screenshot get any better?
This kid... This kid <3 I have no idea who you are, or what Team you are in, but daaaamn, you are cute!
Meruru: "Teehee, I luuuuurve being centre!"
Haruppi: "I will crush anyone who tries to take my centre spot! Crush them, I say!!!"
Sakura: "Ehehe, being at the front is so... shiny...~"
Mio: "Why are Meruru and Haruppi intent on getting rid of me? Why?"
Oh shit... is this what I think it is? Process of elimination via crushing of the walls!? Who will survive? Which HKT girl will left as the one and only centre!?
Meruru: "But I'm too pretty to die!!!"
Meruru is not happy with the idea of being smushed for the centre position.
Chihiro: "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIEEEEE!!!"
Sakura: "Wait, is this a game!? I like games!"
Haruppi: "Hahahahahahaha I hope everyone else dies!"
Meruru: "Arrrgh, kill all of them, not me!!!"
This reminds me of a Japanese game show, actually!
Sasshi: "Hell no, Hell no, you ain't getting me wall, HEEEELLL NAAAW!!!"
Loving that sexy triple chin there, Sasshi ;)
Meruru: "Why do I have to die with these pathetic excuses for Idols?"
Meruru is not happy with the current situation, it seems.
Awkwardly cramped together, between two giant walls... oh well!
Sasshi: "Well, what can ya do?"
Aika looks like she really doesn't mind this predicament! She seems quite pleased, actually!
Whoever this kid is, she really does not care that she's there right now. She's had enough of this shit, clearly.
Miku: "I've had enough of these idiots, urgh."
Aika is loved! Back hug for Captain by some cutie pie!
Meruru: "Maybe if I jump high enough, I can get over these damn walls and win this fight for the centre... yeah, that's a good plan..."
Russian Monkey: "DADADAAA~~~ I'M SUPERMAN!!!"
Good Lord, Anna is entertaining, even when she's in the background xD
Natsumi: "Mufufufu, it's time to peek on Idoru's!"
I love this little troll face on thsi girl! By far my favourite member of the entire video, for sure!
Natsumi: "Heheheh, there's an Idol, free for me! Come here, little Idol!"
I don't know why, but she is one enchanting girl. I like her!!! Oh and look, a cutie in the background!
Madoka: "You can do it, Mai-chan! You can fly!"
MaiMai: "Will I fly if I jump higher? I can't jump that high..."
Okay, this is just too darned cute, I want to watch this over and over again!!! MaiMai!!!!! <3
Natsumi: "Okay, if I concentrate hard enough, you can fly... and I can peak up your skirt...~"
Chiyori: "... Wait, what!?"
Natsumi: "Oh, nothing!!!"
Chiyori: "Ahh! I'm floating! I'm floating!"
Natsumi: "Yes, I did it!!!"
MaiMai: "... What!?"
Chiyori: "Ahahaha, this is MY apple now!!!"
MaiMai: "Why aren't I flying!? MADOKA!!! This. Is. All. Your. FAULT!!!" -proceeds to beat with broom-
Damn, I love watching the girls in the background in this MV xD They are seriously entertaining!
Sakura: "Arrrrrrgh!!!"
Haruppi: "Oooomph!!!"
Meruru: "Mother fu--!!!"
Mio: "BLOODY APPLES!!!"
... Is the apple meant to symbolise the girls becoming Ringo Queens or something?
Nako: "Hmmm, this looks yummy...~"
Miku: "Your eyes are really pretty, Nako-chan...~"
Sakura: "NO!!! That's MY apple!!!"
Meruru: "Oh good Lordeh, they're gonna squish me..."
Miku: "Hehehehe, Nako look, they're tinier than we are!"
Nako: "I wanna poke 'em!"
Meruru: "Go back to poking that damn apple, you doofus!"
Miku: "... Should I tell Aki-P that I hate Apples?"
It was hard to resist screen capping this cuteness!
Nako: "It's hard being smaller than an apple, sometimes...~"
Cuteness GALORE!!! 8U
... Oh gawd, is that a troll face I see on Miku? XD I LOVE IT!!!
Meruru: "Hold me, Sakura... but if you grope me, you die."
Sakura: "Hey, at least I can die saying I grabbed your butt. That's more than others can say, Meru..."
AHHHHH, THIS IS SO CUUUUUUUUTEEEEE!!!! EEEEEEP!!! <3 <3 <3
Russian Monkey: "No no NO Chiima, I am cute!!! I'm Superman Cute!!! YEAH!!!"
Oh gawd, Anna... perfect cameo!!! <3 Ahhhh you are so awesome! <3
Good lord, look at Sakura, pulling out the moves there! Everyone else is fancy and delicate, but nope! Not our Sakura, she's just doing it her way!
Madoka: "I will charm you with my cameo wink! WINK!!!"
Ahhhh, my heart! Be still!!!
Natsumi: "Oh Hell NAW, not again! Urrrgh!!!"
Russian Monkey: "You shall not have me today, wall!!! NEVER!!! SUPERMAN SHALL LIVE!!!"
Haruppi: "... Oh shit."
Look at Natsumi bend! Get away from Natsumi, vile wall!!!
Natsumi: "... Will it be too high to climb up? I could totally climb it..."
I think that Natsumi is one of the few members who has great reactions that don't look fake when the wall comes in on them, which is nice to see.
Meruru: "I'm too young and pretty to die by two walls!!!"
Sakura: "Why is everyone freaking out? This is FUN!!!"
Look at the two midgets, hugging each other! Soooo CUTE!!! *^*
Nako: "It won't stop!?"
Girls, face it; this process of elimination game is not going to end well for any of you.
Girls, just leave the fallen! Do not turn or look back, LEAVE THE FALLEN!!! Every Idol and cutie for themselves!!!
Sasshi: "Erm, hello? Help?"
Best reactions awards goes to... SASHIHARA RINO!!!
I just wanted this shot in here because I find it rather beautiful and symbolic to the PV~
... Yeah, girls, a little help for you; sheer willpower will not stop the wall from moving. Putting a spanner in the works might, or actually pushing it back, but willpower? NOPE!
Natsumi: "I... I can't do it..."
Nooo, they're falling!!! They're all giving up!
Sakura: "It's hopeless..."
There is always hope! Just push the damn wall, Sakura!
Oh, how the mighty have fallen, all because will power was clearly not enough...
Erm, girls... you do know that there are doors there, right? Like, two on each wall. You have FOUR DOORS to walk out of! All hope is clearly not lost!
... So you're going to ignore logic? Okay, fine. Starve. Die there. Get crushed for all I care.
... I really expected better from you lot, especially you, Haruppi!
... Oh good Lord, please don't tell me that this is their resolve!? Seriously, this isn't the one thing that makes them regain hope, right? RIGHT!?
Haruppi: "Ah! The Chery Blossom, it gave me... hope!"
Holy Jesus and Crackers, it is =.= How damn clicéd. Urgh!
Haruppi: "With the power of hope and cherry blossoms on our side, we can... do... it! We can conquer the wall and how it traps us all!!!"
Because Cherry Blossoms > Logic is clearly the answer here, people :/ Though Hope is a great thing to have, but still!!!
Oh look, without any force or spanners in the works, the walls move back! All because of hope and willpower. YAY FOR LOGIC BEING DUMB!!!
... I kinda wanna photoshop a moustache onto you right now, Sasshi... >o>
Sasshi: "Ayyyye, it's a me, Sasshio! Wanna a Pizza?"
... Yep, that's perfect! >8D
Even though this kid barely stood out to me in this entire video, she is actually really cute, minus her snaggle tooth that I spotted a while back somewhere in the MV.
Look at all these cuties, trying to fly! Fly away, Idols, fly awaaaay!!!
Haruppi: "Flowers, from my adoring fans. Ahhh, this is perfect!!!"
Mio: "Kyaaa, it's raining Cherry Blossoms for me!!!"
I can't figure out if those cherry blossoms are actually the real deal, or once again the cause of effects? Possibly the latter, because clearly no group can afford real cherry blossoms!
... I haven't mentioned that these costumes are cute, have I!? o-O Well, guess what? They are SO cute!!! *^*
Once again, Miku does not give a fudge cooki about this video at all. So not bothered...
Natsumi: "Hmmm, I wonder why it's raining Cherry Blossoms... inside? Questions, questions...~"
Natsumi is so cute and perfect, I want her ; A; I make you my HKT fave, girl, my HKT fave <3
Those are some good lookin' girls there, though they need a few more leggy members if you ask me.
It's rather unsettling how charming Haruppi is to me in this video. I don't like it ._.
God, they all look so short. But I guess the smaller they are, the more you can carry away and kidnap, right? RIGHT!!!
Now... EAT ALL THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS!!! 8U
... I just finished a bagel, and I want another one. But will it help me concentrate on writing this review? Who knows~
Okay, seriously speaking right now (and off the topic of yummy food which I am sure you all want right now~) just how freakin' cute is this PV!? Seriously, from the preview given for Sakura, Minna de Tabeta I really did not expect much other than a dance + close-up shot for the video, so I was a little surprised to see additional scenes as the preview really did not hint to anything other than the dance and then the walls moving, which in itself would have made a pretty epic PV I think, but when I saw the other scenes play out in the full MV I was a happy bunny. It makes for a more adorable video and it gives it some diversity! YAY!
If you ask me, this is honestly one of the better PV's to come out of the 48's lately, or at least since last years NMB and SKE summer PV's. It's cute, different and quite creative in how its done, though it does have its downfall during the resolve portion of the MV where the girls find a way out of their prison... yeah, that sucked, but for the most part I can overlook that because dang, the rest of the MV is too darned cute and well done! Let's get into it!
As a music video Sakura, Minna de Tabeta is pretty creative in its concept and theme; the idea of the girls dancing in a room where the walls are constantly moving is pretty fun to think about, yet it is rather cruel as well. The girls are constantly having to move with the walls as they try to perform whilst simultaneously trying to figure out how to escape their prison that is slowly moving in on them, enclosing and ultimately trapping HKT48 between two walls. I really liked that idea of the video because it showed us how the girls struggled to continue performing for the sake of their profession, yet the same thing that was happening to them is what ultimately brought them together in the end of the video to fix the mess they were in. To me, the dance shot with then moving walls shows us the idea of HKT coming together as a group in order to help themselves and also becoming a closer group as a whole.
Due to how the dance shot works, the whole idea of entrapping the girls is met with hilarious and cute reactions from some of the members; there were many times where I just laughed at the looks of Sasshi or was amused by the mock-fright of Haruppi in this video. It was really great to see those over-exaggerated expressions on the Idols as the walls came towards them, constantly pushing them together. Sure, these girls aren't the best actresses, but the way they expressed themselves made the video so much more amusing when they started to realise that the walls were coming at them! They were all adorable, and it was just great fun to watch a few of the girls express themselves and then suddenly go back into perfect formation and walk with the walls.
During the other scenes within the video we see the girls in different worlds to the one they are in with the moving walls, worlds that I like to think are beyond the four doors of the walls that try to encase them, actually. Within these walls are tiny people, girls that can fly on broomsticks and Haruppi and Sakura conducting giant musical notes! These worlds are simple in look, but they are also really sweet and add to that child-like innocence of the entire video. Sure, it may seem like there isn't much other than a white screen and random objects placed there for the scene, but to me it adds that simplistic charm that reminds me of how youthful and innocent HKT is as a whole, showing off the girls in another world outside of the moving walls, a world where they are free and powerful in whatever they do. Whilst the walls show the negative side of the video, these scenes of the other world outside of the walls shows the positive side to the story, allowing us to experience the freedom that HKT are wishing for whilst they are trapped.
Speaking of the other-world scenes, I really do love the scene where Natsumi arrives. I don't know what it is about her, but the second she opened that door the first time I watched this video, I fell in love, and I found my HKT Favourite. Ahhhh, Natsu love ;w;
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| Love at first Troll Face <3 |
As a whole, I really do like this video. It's refreshing, cute and innocent, but its still creative and has a really fun concept which reminds me of Japanese game shows where they have to try and not get pushed off a ledge by the wall coming towards them! My only gripe with the video is how they resolve the problem of being trapped by the two walls; there are four doors! There is also the strength of pushing the wall away too, though that would probably end a lot less well than going through the door, still... I found the solution to the problem rather weak, but also very typical for an Idol video. It disappointed me that in the end of it all, a magical floating cherry blossom was the reason for their sudden strength in hope and willpower, and yes I was kind of hoping for a better way to tackle the situation, even if it meant giving one of them super powers to conquer it, but we get what we get. Thankfully the rest of the video saves the weakest point of Sakura, Minna de Tabeta greatly, because other than that one iffy part, this is a cracking video!
Before I end the review, let's talk a little bit about the song, mm'kay? So the song is surprisingly not as disappointing as the 'magical cherry blossom of hope', but it's still a typical AKB affair. That said, this is the best Sakura song to come out of the group in ages. I really don't care for any of the AKB Sakura songs that have recently been released (especially the shit-bomb that is So Long!) but this is by far the best one yet. It has energy, its cute and its very catchy too, though like many of the more generic 48 songs, it is very forgettable too. Still, I like it, even if it is the hybrid baby of Girls Rule and Suki Suki Skip!. I like that it has a bit more personality to it, and that it is very cute.
... But yeah, once I stop this song, I have a feeling that Oheso no Kuni kara Konnichiwa will invade my brain again. It's an easy song to listen to, its refreshing and cute too, but it's extremely forgettable and not very original or creative. So far, this is the weakest of the HKT songs, but gosh darned it, it's adorable! So it wins in that respect I guess.
Sakura, Minna de Tabeta is weak yet cute in sound, but the true show-stopper of HKT48's latest release is in their newest PV! Fun, creative and memorable, the idea of moving walls and different worlds is truly enjoyable to watch and a must-see for all 48 fans or casual listeners and viewers! This video shows off the childish innocence of HKT as a whole as well as a humorous and quirky side to the girls. It is a fresh spring video truly worth watching and one that will prepare you for the on-coming cherry blossom storm that is HKT48! Are you ready for HKT's ultimate cuteness?
Everyone, are you ready to join us and eat the Cherry Blossoms together?
Chiima~
You can buy HKT48's Sakura, Minna de Tabeta at CDJapan!
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