You know the drill here. We own our own thoughts, we have our own opinions, and I just so happen to place mine out in the open. If you don't like what is said here regarding any song, MV's, groups or members, then ignore it, or bear with it. I won't change what I say for anyone. The only time that may happen is if my opinion has gradually changed over time. That is that, me ducks.
*[A Week with Zukki] is a series dedicated to the and only Suzuki Kanon, to both celebrate her and to prepare for her up-coming departure from both Morning Musume and Hello! Project. Here I hope to appreciate and adore the Idol who has brought me such joy, as well as to share with you some of her best works in her time as an Idol. So in order to celebrate all that is Zukki and her wonderful smile, let's take this journey together and think of her with fondness and joy. Before she dares Graduate, let's enjoy this wonderful Idol as much possible, and smile as we do so!
I really wanted to write other PV Reviews, however when one of your favourite members is barely ever shown in a video, you kind of have little to no choice but to accept the fact a PV Review revolving around her is really freakin' hard to come by, to the point where they are basically fluffy pink unicorns.
Luckily, such a thing does exist, and though I hoped to look back at some of her earlier releases... well, I can't, and honestly, I'm just thankful that there is something out there that allows me to truly appreciate Suzuki Kanon in all her glory!
I looked through a lot of PV's to figure out which one I would review next and, whilst I wanted to try and do something a little early on in Zukki's career, I had either written about it already (and my opinion hadn't exactly changed), or she was barely in it, with only milliseconds of screen time to capture. The only videos I hadn't actually reviewed were some of the later lot, otherwise known as her last three single PV's. That's late into Zukki's career, and though I didn't want to exactly do what I'm gonna do, I don't really have much other choice.
It's things like this that knock a spanner into the works for me as a blogger, because whilst I would happily review something like One Two Three (of which my opinion has actually changed, which is a fucking nightmare for Chiima '12), I want to review something with a decent amount of Zukki in it. Again, those are fuckin' rare, considering H!P are douche-bags and never really gave this kid even the minimal amount of limelight she deserved. She was awarded pittance, and yeah, I'm sore about it. I always will be.
SO, with that tangent rattled, I decided that I'd look at the last few releases Zukki was in, with more of a focus on the ones that actually gave her more credit than I ever thought she would get within H!P. Of course the first of my three final reviews starring my darling Zukki has to be Oh my wish!, the first and pretty much last single to feature Zukki as a vocal and visual center. It was a dream come true for most of her fans, as well as a wish made real for Zukki herself.
So, in her first leading performance within a single, will Zukki shine like a star and own the spot like it was made for her, or will she wilt in the limelight? There's only one way to find out. Let's hit it.
Oh, my wish is for H!P to finally start creating some nice looking title sequences. These are getting boring, yo :P
And then we open up to the best damn member within the entire group next to Eripon: ZUKKIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!
And hot damn, she looks amazing!
Duu: "Romeo-kun, Romeo-kun, where for art thou Romeo-kun?"
And Duu is finally getting those solo lines she deserves! She's totally ready for it.
I'm basically here for Eripon, the rest can head on home, now ^o^
Also, whilst I'm not complaining about the lack of Fuku lines... why is she one the dance team? In comparison to the other three, she's weak XD
Okay, I like that part of the dance. Jump, puppets, jump!!!
Oh my days, she's peeerfect!!!
Sadly it took her doing some hardcore diet to get noticed by the H!P bigwigs D8<
Just look at how beautiful she is! And yet she never got that much spotlight ;w; How cruuuuuuuuuel!!!
Duu: "Mind = Blown."
Yeah, blows my mind how your management ignored the both of you for a good while, especially in the vocals department o-O
HONEEEEEY!!!!
Good grief she's gorgeous, however her hands... nope owo
The rest of her = perfection, though <3
Well, HELLO! OWO
... Wait, which ones are legal, here? >o>
... o3o Yeeeah, I just like watching this.
OOHaru looking like a bad guy with her great cheekbones, smug look and badass evil-looking shoulder pads o3o
I really do hope this kid gets a bunch of solo lines cause, out of all her generation, she's the most talented.
... And actually, she's not my favourite, so this isn't actually biased XD
-hums all this to Oh my wish!-
Good grief, my gif-maker is washing her out... that said, daaaamn, OdaSaku, who did your cornrows?
"It was thiiiiiiis small!" Masaki Sato was reportedly heard saying during an interview regarding Suzuki Kanon's popularity.
Erm, can we please get this kid some mascara? She looks tired and way too much like a baby Winky for my own liking o3o
Damn, it's like some ritual to sacrifice the best vocalists to the H!P Gods or something.
... Well, that's what it looks like to me, at least o3o
TBH she is pretty damn amazing, but also waaay too young to be trying anything 'sexy' or mature or whatevs o3o
SHE SO PRETTY, THOUGH!!!
Yes, yesssss, bow down to Zukki! Bow down to your rightful Queen!
She is killin' it and she is owning every damn one of us with her absolute perfection!
Absolute perfection, even in this washed out gif!!! <3
My baby girl, flawless as ever, and making them crowds go wild!
Honestly, Duu deserves the spotlight. It took H!P waaaaay too fuckin' long to jump on the idea that she should be a vocal lead, and not just a visual lead. Urgh.
There is so much Zukki in this, I'm crying! ;w; ;w; ;w;
When Zukki walks away, she looks like she owns your attention, and she knows it.
OOHAAAARU, MY BAAAABY!!!! <3
She is perfect, and needs about 100% more screen time, but not the lines. I don't care how fuckin' biased I am, she can't sing, so please don't let her. I don't want another Riho mishap o3o
But if you don't give Honey the lines she wants... well, she gonna fuck you up!!!
Hagachin is so damn adorable. I wish she was shown a bit more ;w;
... Oh shit, I hope she isn't going to be the next member to suffer the Zukki-Aika treatment o-O
God damn, she is absolutely stunning here, not just because of her weight loss, but because she is radiating confidence and control here. She is wonderful, and I can't get enough of her!
Look at that cool and collected smile. She knows she's awesome.
Okay, this is a pretty fun sequence. I love how it flows.
That said, the shaky cam is a little off-putting. Urgh.
Duu is so cute, but at times she looks like a lost puppy.
Honey: "Ahh, it's so hot in here...~"
Honestly, it's freakin' weird watching Honey try to be 'cool' and 'serious'. It doesn't suit her, and she needs to stahp, NOW.
YASSSSS <3
I will gif EVERY SCENE SHE'S IN D8<
And yes, Maachan approves!
... Ew.
Okay, in all honesty, I think she's an energetic, fun member. I just think she's fake as fuck XD
Aaaaaand that's the look all the Maria fans are giving me now, because yeah, they hate me o3o
"Don't look at us Chiima, you bitch!" The Maria fans shriek.
We were sorely lacking some adorable Hagachin here, so... HERE! HAGACHIIIIIN!!! <3
Okay so, is it just me, or do a few of the girls look sick in this? I mean Zukki looks like she has hayfever, and Sakura just looks plain ill.
Or is it just the shitty lighting or really bad makeup? I dunno, but yeah, they look sick. Get them some flu medicine!
SO.
DAMN.
FLAWLESS!
And when she does that little pout like she don't give a damn about you at the end, I just about die.
Duu: "... Why the fuck aren't you Oshi'ing ME!?"
I think that's the question all Duu fans ask the other non-Duu fans o3o
OMFG, ERIPOOOON!
This is that one rare MV where she gets little to no fucking spotlight. WOW o3o
And it's that one rare video where Zukki actually gets more than 10 seconds' worth of solo shots! Hence why I'm giffing the crap outta it >o>
Sakuranbo: "Urgh, shoot me. Your fangirling's annoying to hear."
Leading the way, just like they should have always been doing ;w; </3
Oh my days, she is a cutie. Hopefully she blossoms into so much more as she grows up in this big, wide Idol world.
OOHaru: "Zzzzz..."
O-OOHaru? o-O
OOHaru: "Ah, my apologies, but you bored me with your incessant fangirling and silly happiness over some chick getting a few extra lines and a nice set of solo shots."
You shush yourself, now!!!
Eripon: "Now we'll see who can dance the best, NYAHAHAHAHA!!!" -stabs Riho in da back-
I swear, that last part of the dance sequence is a reenactment of Julius Ceaser's stabbing owo
Holy shit, that messes with your eyes owo -rubs eyes and blinks muchly-
Oh, oh no Duu, honey, no... Please don't pull that face.
Also, Zukki... sweety, you sleeping? You can't nap here, that's no good.
Zukki: "Chuuuuuu~! Thank you for all your loving support."
It was my pleasure, Zukkini baby! ;w; <3
OH MY DAYS, Hagachin is absolutely beautiful! OWO She has some lovely shots in this!
And hey, Maria's pretty damn beautiful herself. She looks a bit like a doll sometimes, too, and not a creepy one.
Miki: "Hello, gorgeous ladies~"
Oh, daaaaamn, Miki looks like one of those hot Highschool Boys, ready to hit on some cute girls! You better watch out, ladies, or Miki's gonna get'cha! ;D
OOHaru: "Senseeei, Chiima's being a weirdo again!!!"
HEY, don't tell on me! D8<
Sakuranbo: "Oshi me now, peasent!"
NU!!!
DAMN, that little Zukki smile at the end! ;w;
She made the wait truly worth it ;w;
"We don't want to be Idols! Let us be Windmills now!"
Okay, whatever floats ye boat o3o
And Scene!
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OOOOOkay, so as you can probably tell, I went a bit heavy on the Zukki / Duu screenshots and gifs here, and why the heck not? This is one of the first PV's since Maji Desu ka ska! to feature Zukki as nicely as she's featured here, as well as the first to have both these talented girls as vocal leads. It was a nice change of pace for many of us viewers, and something we Zukkini and Duu fans had pretty much waited for since they both debuted. So, yeah, I went all out here, simply because I finally could.
It's actually pretty nice to not have to snatch every little fragment of frame time just to appreciate a few seconds of Zukki, for once.
But, if I'm gonna be honest with y'all, which I always am, then I gotta be blunt; aside from the dance shots with the dance unit... this video is actually pretty boring to watch. No wonder there were so many dance sequences thrown in there!
The filters are probably the reason as to why this video looks so dull and lifeless. That sepia tone does nothing for the video or the members, and often gives the girls a sick, tired look that is not attractive at all, and it just makes the video itself look sleepy and boring. The studio dance sequences, on the other hand, are really well lit and feel bright and energetic, especially with the sparkling sequins on the dresses. Even Zukki and Duu's scenes in the studio look nice, and ten times better than any shots on location.
I'm happy they have a location, don't get me wrong, I just wish they hadn't used such a sluggish filter to overcast the group shots, or such muted colours in solo shots. It weighs the video down considerably, and just tires me out whenever I watch it. If the sepia tone was actually lessened and a more blue toned light was used, the video might actually feel more awake and lively, instead of withdrawn and, y'know... sleepy. (Actually, I was feeling really tired when screen grabbing and giffing the video, but a lot more awake when writing the review. I didn't peg it until I wrote that line that it was the video bogging me down, and not just me being stupidly sleepy).
I won't say this is a bad video, because it isn't, and I do like aspects of it. The solo shots are well done, the dance sequences with the dance unit are really nicely recorded, though the hand cameras can get annoying, and these costumes are pretty darned decent. The girls also look like they were styled really well, with no mess ups in the hair department, thankfully. I guess the only thing I thought odd with this video was the lack of make-up or mascara, because it didn't help in making sure the girls looked awake, especially with how the lighting was. But eh, that's slight nit-picking, and I'm sure there was a reason for it. Probably to keep the fresh-faced and young, I guess.
In regards to Zukki and Duu though, I do think that, like the dance unit, they made this video. Both were really great here, Zukki especially. I mean their charisma and power throughout was very obvious, with Zukki standing tall and proud as she owned that center position. With each smile and smirk, you could see that she was enjoying herself and that she loved being there, that this was her calling and that she knew you were enjoying watching her take lead. She looked so darned cool, and yeah, she knew it. She knew everything.
Duu, too, was really cool here, though not as great as Zukki. I may be biased in that regard, but honestly, Duu looked like a little puppy sometimes. That said, she did keep me watching her in each scene, and she really is great to look at. She's an absolute doll, and I do think she should be a center, because Duu is great in many ways, and also has a lot of unleashed potential that needs to be catered to. Also, H!P really have no reason to keep her quiet; she's popular, and they know it.
Honestly though, everyone was great here, but Zukki was especially demanding of my attention. Yes, I noticed Ogata and Maria, I definitely enjoyed little Hagachin in her minimal solo shots, and Sakura was quite fun to watch, too. I'd say the only girls who felt out of place here were Masaki and Haruna, especially the latter. It doesn't feel like their scene, and whilst I know Masakins can be cool and serious, she just felt off here. Still, her voice rocked, and she was cute. I guess that's what counts.
But, yeah, I loved this video for the Zukki and the studio dance shots. Zukki was just so cool here that I fell in love all over again, and with each little smile she gave, I wanted to root for her even more. She commanded this stage of hers, and she took complete control of the video and song.
It was really nice to see so much of Zukki here, though it did feel like H!P were trying to make up for never really using her in about 4 years in one video, but hey, I shouldn't complain; I got my Zukki, and the wish of many fans came true to finally see her center and lead a song. She looked great doing it, and probably won a few new fans in the process... well, that's what I hope, at least.
It's actually pretty nice to not have to snatch every little fragment of frame time just to appreciate a few seconds of Zukki, for once.
But, if I'm gonna be honest with y'all, which I always am, then I gotta be blunt; aside from the dance shots with the dance unit... this video is actually pretty boring to watch. No wonder there were so many dance sequences thrown in there!
The filters are probably the reason as to why this video looks so dull and lifeless. That sepia tone does nothing for the video or the members, and often gives the girls a sick, tired look that is not attractive at all, and it just makes the video itself look sleepy and boring. The studio dance sequences, on the other hand, are really well lit and feel bright and energetic, especially with the sparkling sequins on the dresses. Even Zukki and Duu's scenes in the studio look nice, and ten times better than any shots on location.
I'm happy they have a location, don't get me wrong, I just wish they hadn't used such a sluggish filter to overcast the group shots, or such muted colours in solo shots. It weighs the video down considerably, and just tires me out whenever I watch it. If the sepia tone was actually lessened and a more blue toned light was used, the video might actually feel more awake and lively, instead of withdrawn and, y'know... sleepy. (Actually, I was feeling really tired when screen grabbing and giffing the video, but a lot more awake when writing the review. I didn't peg it until I wrote that line that it was the video bogging me down, and not just me being stupidly sleepy).
I won't say this is a bad video, because it isn't, and I do like aspects of it. The solo shots are well done, the dance sequences with the dance unit are really nicely recorded, though the hand cameras can get annoying, and these costumes are pretty darned decent. The girls also look like they were styled really well, with no mess ups in the hair department, thankfully. I guess the only thing I thought odd with this video was the lack of make-up or mascara, because it didn't help in making sure the girls looked awake, especially with how the lighting was. But eh, that's slight nit-picking, and I'm sure there was a reason for it. Probably to keep the fresh-faced and young, I guess.
In regards to Zukki and Duu though, I do think that, like the dance unit, they made this video. Both were really great here, Zukki especially. I mean their charisma and power throughout was very obvious, with Zukki standing tall and proud as she owned that center position. With each smile and smirk, you could see that she was enjoying herself and that she loved being there, that this was her calling and that she knew you were enjoying watching her take lead. She looked so darned cool, and yeah, she knew it. She knew everything.
Duu, too, was really cool here, though not as great as Zukki. I may be biased in that regard, but honestly, Duu looked like a little puppy sometimes. That said, she did keep me watching her in each scene, and she really is great to look at. She's an absolute doll, and I do think she should be a center, because Duu is great in many ways, and also has a lot of unleashed potential that needs to be catered to. Also, H!P really have no reason to keep her quiet; she's popular, and they know it.
Honestly though, everyone was great here, but Zukki was especially demanding of my attention. Yes, I noticed Ogata and Maria, I definitely enjoyed little Hagachin in her minimal solo shots, and Sakura was quite fun to watch, too. I'd say the only girls who felt out of place here were Masaki and Haruna, especially the latter. It doesn't feel like their scene, and whilst I know Masakins can be cool and serious, she just felt off here. Still, her voice rocked, and she was cute. I guess that's what counts.
But, yeah, I loved this video for the Zukki and the studio dance shots. Zukki was just so cool here that I fell in love all over again, and with each little smile she gave, I wanted to root for her even more. She commanded this stage of hers, and she took complete control of the video and song.
It was really nice to see so much of Zukki here, though it did feel like H!P were trying to make up for never really using her in about 4 years in one video, but hey, I shouldn't complain; I got my Zukki, and the wish of many fans came true to finally see her center and lead a song. She looked great doing it, and probably won a few new fans in the process... well, that's what I hope, at least.
This is a decent video, though not a favourite of mine. The saving grace is definitely Zukki, and she truly shined here. This PV made my year in 2015 one way or another, and I'm happy that for at least one single, Zukki was given some light and focus and shown off as the star that she has always been.
What are your thoughts on Oh my wish!? Does it meet your video standards, or did it tire you out as much as it did me? Are you a Zukki or Duu lover here, and who is your favourite member? Think about it, and enjoy this video and all it delivers.
Until next time dear readers, please love Zukki, enjoy your Idols and, of course, live happily and take care of yourselves.
Much Love,
Chiima~
When the Hello! Ste version came out I was like "Ahhh! Zukki opens the scene! OMG OMG OMG". When I calmed down, it was a "FINALLY, they're using Zukki to her potential".
ReplyDeleteShe honestly saved the MV for me, like you did. I would've never made it through to the end of the MV had she not owned the solo shots, group shots (with Duu!), and dance shots with her confidence and charisma.
I felt like some of the shots went by too fast, especially that part near the end of the bridge. I do like that move where they were in two lines moving their arms after each other. Would've been nice to see that one in a dance shot to see how it looks from the front.
I've always liked Duu, but she did lose me a few times with her "startled/lost puppy?" look. And some other members seemed awkward and/or out of their element here.
The song took a while to grow on me, and even then I listen to it only occasionally.
As a Zukki (and Duu) fan though, it was like H!P finally gave Zukki and Duu the spotlight they deserved. Cynically I also thought it was management's way of saying "Thank you for finally losing weight and looking good Zukki. Here, you'll star in the next lead single of the triple A-side." Sigh.
I actually never properly watched this video until I reviewed it, to be honest. I didn't find the look of it appealing or the song that great, however I was very appreciative of Zukki's center position. It made me stupidly happy, haha!
DeleteHonestly, she and Duu made this video amazing. It was overly dull and stifling though, which was annoying. Zukki really is a saviour haha, sad they gave her one shining PV a dull overtone. Urgh.
Aye, sadly, I think H1P enjoyed cutting to other parts. They seemed to want to focus on the dance unit, but had to focus on Zukki and Duu too cause they are the actual centers. I think they just had no clue how to edit this one, because there was a lot they wanted to look at and show off.
I am gonna completely agree with that statement. Duu is great, but she didn't seem to have that serious and cool appeal that Zukki and other girls held. And yeah, a lot of them felt awkward here. Never fun, but it happens.
I don't actually care for Oh my wish!, and I doubt I'll return to it much. It's not a riveting song like others. I actually think it's more focused on the dance unit, as opposed to the song, which is a drawback. Go figure that H!P would do this to the one single Zukki and Duu fans waited for, urgh.
Yeeeah, I think management were being a bit mean with that, however it's how they are, right? Also, I think they figured Zukki was ready to leave, and they thought it might be worthwhile to finally let her lead or something. That, or they did just think 'wow she's looking good, let's be nice for once and give her a bit of limelight in this dull PV!'.