Get on top of Mariko! - Ue Kara Mariko PV Review

As always, all opinions regarding any songs or PVs are my own. If you don't like my opinion, then why not go and write a blog post with your opinion? I would love to read it! :D

Ue Kara Mariko is the 24th single from AKB48, and the first to feature Mariko Shinoda as a centre in the single.

Whilst I may not be a big fan of AKB48, I do occasionally listen to their music, and I have been wanting to write a review on one of their PVs for a while now. I originally intended to do a review for Kaze wa Fuiteiru, but the video didn't entertain me (but I actually really liked the song), and I got bored when I started writing the review. I like to enjoy what I'm writing, and Kaze wa Fuiteiru was rather depressing when it came to trying to talk about my likes and dislikes of the video.

So, I was starting to anticipate this video, and I hoped that it would entertain me more than the previous single from AKB48 did. Thank goodness it turned out to be more entertaining.

SO! now that I've talked a little bit, let's get on with the review and see what the heck I have to say about this song and the video!

I do not like this hue...

Mariko gets all Gangaster

Yeah, you get in the way of Mariko, little bitches, she'll cut you!

:o skin~

Mariko's like 'HELL YEAH this is ma PV, YO!'

Oh, she's a pretty one~

The girl plots and schemes, wondering how she will take down Mariko and the rest of these AKB girls...

Er.... I doubt that AKB girls are really this saintly, but whatever floats your fetish

Wait... Janken Tournament?

Mariko: They're rein-acting my VICTORY!!!

That was my first though when I realised this video was Janken orientated.

The nun, the nun, let the fucking nun win!!!

Lol wtf are they doing?

OMFG she has such a chubby face! Mine! <3

Hopeful AKB winner wannabe's.

And Mariko, watching smugly from the side as she gives the girls a penetrating, indecent stare...

Hey, I found another cute one! *catches with Pokéball*

Yeah, I also wonder why the fuck writing appears every time somebody new appears in a costume.

King: Oh hells yeah, I won!

FAIL!

Smuggy: Ima wipe the floor with you, beyotch.

Chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~ <3

So not impressed

YAY! Chubby Cheeks is a winner! ;A;

This part of the dance made me lol

But this just made me think Fucking EPIC!!!

Princess-chan is shocked, whilst King-kun bows her head in SHAME!

Oh look, Mariko's back!

Mariko: What the hell, why are you in here?

Nameless-chan: I... I fail...

Mariko: ... Here's a hair clip, now smile, depressed child, SMILE!

Wait, why did you change Mariko? Did you transform!? :o

Mariko: I have faith in you, young one.

Nice pom poms

CHUBBY-CHAN <3

Mariko's naked!

Mariko watches as her minions fight one another for dominance and to get on top of Mariko.

Mariko: Like a boss!

Scissors, I choose you!

And Nameless-chan wins! After stealing Mariko's dress, and borrwing her hair clip, she left the tailors dressing room to partake in the Janken tournament, and with her stolen goods, she won with scissors over paper. Now she can top Mariko in bed!

Mariko is pleased

And Nnameless-chan smiles as she stares over at her new lover

And END!

So, now that we;ve looked through the pictures from this video, let's get on with my conclusion and see my overall opinion of AKB48's 24th single!

To be honest, when I first heard this song, my initial thought was 'This is a generic AKB48 song', and even though I absolutely adore the song now, I still think that it's rather generic and recognisable as an AKB song. But that doesn't mean that it isn't a likeable song, because it really is.

The song is very catchy, from the soft voices of the members blended together as well as the happy and charming beat of the instrumental. You're instantly hooked on the song, and you'll probably find yourself singing along to some parts, especially the Ue Kara, Mariko line, which I have found myself singing to rather happily as I listen to the song on a loop. Yes, people, this is loop-worthy song! I've actually found myself listening to this more and more now when I am not watching anime or when I'm not doing homework, so I've kinda hooked myself on it in a way. It's a pretty infectious song, despite how generically AKB it is.

I'm going to say that my favourite parts have to be where the guitar rifts kick in (I hope it's guitar rifts, because that's what it sounds like to me) and the instrumental is kicked up a notch. You really get a feeling of energy and happiness from the song when you hear the instrumental. Even so, with the vocals the song is upbeat and playful, but personally, I am loving the instrumental more than anything. It's fun and catchy, just what I like.

Now, moving onto the video itself, I really don't have any complaints. I guess the only thing that bugs me is the fact that the video isn't how I pictured it to be. Once the Jacket covers were released, I imagined an Alice in Wonderland themed video, and I was really anticipating that, but instead we got something totally different. However, I think that the video turned out really well, and even though Ii don't have my dream Alice in Wonderland PV with cute chubby faced girl in a cute outfit, I still have this video where she is adorable and huggable.

Now, getting back on track, I am really liking the dance to this video - the way they have incorporated Janken moves into it is something I wouldn't think they would do at all, but considering this is a video based around the Janken tournament winner, I shouldn't be surprised that they managed to fit it in somehow. I just really like how the video starts with all the girls running towards Mariko as she holds up her fist in the form of rock, and they all retreat in playful defeat whilst showing scissors. It's a nice way to symbolise Mariko's victory throughout the video, and it caught my attention straight away.

Another thing I love is the costumes in the video - there are a different variety of outfits for all the girls, and some are extremely cute. The one that caught my attention the most, though, was the girl in the Kings outfit. Now, I may not know much about AKB48, but I do know that Mariko is a fashion lover and that at the Janken Tournaments the members generally wear a costume, so I wasn't at all surprised to see that there was a dressing room with mannequins in there, connecting both the Janken Tournament and Mariko together. But what surprised me was how Mariko wasn't shown doing the tournament with the others. In fact, she was watching over them and helping them choose their costumes, showing a leader-like, or big sister, quality about her throughout the PV, as if she was watching over the girls whilst they aimed to win.

And that brings me to my final point about the PV, and though this isn't negative, it isn't entirely positive either. Whilst watching the PV, I started to realise how much of a graduation video it seemed like. Mariko standing in the background as she watches over the girls play Janken, helping them to get dressed and choose their costumes as well as helping that one girl with her hair and giving her more focus than the others, by being with her and watching over her as she wins the Janken Tournament and becomes the winner. During the end, you realise how much this PV looks like Mariko is handing over front girl reigns to another member, and though this may not be the case, it's rather noticeable and can also be worrying for Mariko fans.

But even with the graduation feeling to it, I really like the video. I like the little story line that is present with Mariko watching over the girls who have entered the tournament, and I enjoy the dance and the costumes. This video is really entertaining in its own way, and gives you a sense of giddyness and makes you feel happy. It's the sort of song that you get hooked on, and the sort that you won't let go of for a while. Though the video is nothing like what I had expected, I really like this version and I think that Mariko is a great front girl. She deserves the centre position more, however, I am getting tired of her being used as the girl who looks over everyone else. It was used in Everyday Kachussha, and I was hoping it wouldn't be like that in this video, but she was shown to be looking over everyone else.

C'est la Vie, as they say.

OH! And it's refreshing not to see Maeda Atsuko there. Her face honestly annoys me sometimes, but that's my personal opinion.

I like this song, but what do you think of it?

EDIT: Who also feels like this sounds too much like Everday Kachussha? The beginning sounds far too much like it...

Ue Kara Mariko MP4 download

Chiima~

PING!!! International Wota: Recommended Reading November 12th 2011

Okay! Musume Time ~8th Poll Winner~

About one week later, I have returned to announce the poll results of the 8th Okay! Musume Time poll.

It's been a while, hasn't it? I apologise for that, I've just been stressed lately (still stressed, actually) and I haven't felt the creative flow of the blogger in me for a while. It actually depresses me a bit, since I really do enjoy blogging and having people read what I write, even if half of it is horribly written.

Anyways, let's get this sob story over with! Now, I will also update you on what I've basically changed on this blog. As you can probably tell, the banner has changed. In fact, I changed it twice in the past 2 days because the first new banner was something I thought was too boring, so I changed it to the one we have now. I'm happy with the banner, but then again... I'm a simple person to please :D

Lord, I love my new banner~

But I'll probably be bored of it in a week XD but that's just me :D

ANYWAYS ONTO THE RESULTS OF THE POLL!

This week's winner is the flagship group of UFA, Morning Musume, with 18 votes (69%, as a friend pointed out). So, congratulations to Morning Musume on beating the rest of the groups and rising to the top as the most loved group in UFA!

Coming in second is one of the newest permanent groups within Hello! Project and UFA, Buono!, with 9 votes. Running to third place is the ever so loveable C-ute, raking in 7 votes and taking away the crown from Berryz, who come in fourth place with 4 votes for their team. Next, in fifth place is the sekushii Mano Erina, taking two of the votes whilst last, but not least, is S/mileage, with only one vote. I guess the new members, the graduation of Saki and the impending DOOM of Yuukarin kinda lost a few fans, eh?

For this poll, I got a total of 26 votes. Thank you to everyone who participated in this poll and gave their truthful answers, I really appreciate it ;A; I love you all. Minna, arigatou!!!!

So that is the poll for this week! What will the next question be, who shall it involve? WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR!?

... Find out now! :D

This weeks poll will be a question on groups outside of the UFA box, and it is: Which of these Groups do you like? I will be putting various groups there that I'm sure most of us know of, like Idoling!!!, Afilia Saga East, Momoiro Clover Z, AKB48 and more! There are 9 options for this poll, made up of groups that most of you may have heard of, or some you will be new to, so please check them all out and give them a try! This question is coming from the fact that I've actually been listening to more groups outside of Hello! Project lately rather than Morning Musume or C-ute. I've just felt that I needed the change of pace, and I am adoring quite a few songs. So! Have fun with this poll, and hope to see you in my next post!

Much love~

Chiima~

Getting Old Already? - Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 'Kibou Sanmyaku!' PV Review

Happy first post of November! -sneaks in-

All opinions are, coincidentally, my own. If you do not agree with my opinion, then that is your choice. I can't help but want to speak my mind about certain things regarding the JPop world :D If you want to vent your opinions, simply create a blog too.

Okay, so before I start rambling about this new song and PV and vent out my feelings, or whatever it is I do on here, I am going to apologise for the lack of updates. I've been busy with college and have since become stressed thanks to the amount of work I have been getting. However, I really enjoy writing essays - it's page layout design and Music Video editing that I hate doing. So yeah, that is what has been stressing me lately, and it is what has been keeping me away from blogging and also, it's made me feel moody. So I haven't wanted to blog thanks to college and stress and okay I am rambling now.

MARCH FORTH, READERS! MARCH FORTH TO THE REVIEW!

Watarirouka Hashiritai 7, or as I know them, Chinny & Co, charmed their way into my heart with their catchy and overly cute single Hetappi Winku, so when the news came about that they were making a new song, I was excited about it, because no matter how annoying their voices are put together, I actually like them as a group. And with the amount of love for Hetappi Winku and Valentine Kiss that I have, I was really hoping that I would love this song just as much as the two I have since mentioned.

Yeah... not the case, is it?

Though quite disappointing, I have a feeling that this song will eventually (aka maybe in a year) grow on me and I will learn to appreciate it and love it as much as I do Hetappi Winku. Though I doubt I will be playing this song on a loop...

Anyway, let's get into the reminiscent PV that is Kibou Sanmyaku!

Kibou Sanmyaku!, like most AKB based groups and sub units, starts with a little act before the actual video itself starts. However, it's pretty short (thank fuck), and sounds more like a radio show rather than a TV program that is taking place back in the 1970's or 1980's. I guess it's because of the grainy microphone that is used in the beginning. However, I do like the effect, and it's a nice change from modern type PV's.

But the old-fashioned theme seems to remind me of that Not Yet's Perapera Perao time wise, and in a way, costume wise. Aki P's going old school.

What I like about the video is how it goes from a black and white screen to full on colour, whilst still maintaining a style that reminds me of something older. Maybe it's how drained the colours look on the walls, or how the wall paper is styled. Maybe it's those shapeless, but still kind of cute costumes, that give it a retro feeling. Maybe they used a filter to wash out the colours - you never know, but even so, the feel of the video maintains a feeling of the past which is still quite quirky and cute in its own way.

When I first watched this video, I was pretty convinced that there was no storyline to it at all - but after watching it a second time, I realised that, though it isn't really a big storyline, there is one that's quite obvious, but isn't really that exciting. The storyline portrays a popular girl group who sing in a small bar, and whilst they sing they grasp the attention of two rather depressed, sleepy or hopeless men and captivate them with their Chinny charm and their cuteness.

Speak of the chin, and Mayuyu shall appear!

...

Or Ishikawa Rika - whichever one you find more horrific!

Whilst I find the video to be quite boring in all (I wanted the guy at the bar to go over and propose to the girl in the picture above or something - I wanted him to fall in WUV!!!), the girls are quite endearing throughout the entire video. Their dainty dance moves and their cute faces make the video a little more enjoyable than what I originally thought when I first watched it, however, they're not doing so well that I will totally fall in love with the video just because they smile and wink at the camera.

Hey look, it's the drunk dude who wants a piece of Chinny & Co!

I'm gonna throw in that I absolutely adore the costume choices here - Okay, not so much the singers. In fact, it's their boots I adore more so, but the people in the crowd have some nice 70's-80's esque clothes that are really cute~ It makes me wish I lived in that period of time. (And this is when I realise... we're in the 60's era, I think!)

Derp face from the man on the right, courtesy of my stupidity!

Pardoning my idiocy regarding mixing up the dates (I think - I'm still unsure, really I am), I am really enjoying the fact that the crowd is more energetic than the actual group towards the end of the video. But then I remember that they are in a bar, and there is a good chance that about 90% of these people are drunk and there to have a good time, smoke some weed and get layed. The singers are there for entertainment, but the beer is there to make the joy flow! WHOO!

Wait... why aren't you on stage? o-O

Moving on from the video, the song itself is just as appealing as the video is... or at least, that's what I thought when I listened to it for the first 10 times. My first and honest impression was that the song was horrible, it wasn't the Chinny & Co that I was used to, and it was terribly bland beyond repair. Oh, and Mayuyu's voice kept hurting my ears every time she opened that big damned mouth of hers.

Believe it or not, I like Mayuyu, she just has a horrible voice, like Momoko, Mitsui and Reina! Oh,a nd Ri-Suck-OH!

That's a winy fail...

But after listening to the song more, I have found that I have started to like it. Why? Well, it's been on a loop. Even when I vow to never like a song, I end up liking it anyway because I constantly put them on loops in order to write blog posts about the song. It happened with Tachiagaaru, sadly, and it's happened with this song too. However, I do find that when all of the girls sing together it sounds horrible piercing to my ears. Weirdly enough, I don't find their voices too bad in Hetappi Winku, but I guess because this song is slower and less pitchy than Hetappi is, their horrible, squeaky voices really stand out.

And my ears hurt. URGH.

Actually, I can see this song becoming highly annoying in the near future...

So, I am going to conclude this (rather poorly written) post now with my final thoughts on the song:

Whilst I like Watarirouka Hashiritai 7, and yes I do count the two added members because it's when I became interested in the group, I find that this song is something that... isn't up to my standards. That doesn't mean that it's not up to your standards, but for me I find that I really just don't enjoy it as much as I do when I listen to Hetappi Winku. When I listen to a song, I want it to hook and engage me straight away, like Kare to Issho or Heavy Rotation or even that annoying song Valentine Kiss. Sadly, Kibou Sanmyaku! didn't hook me straight away - it took about 20 loops in order for me to get the tune stuck in my head, and that's not good in my books.

But the video itself is something that I am attracted to. From the costumes to the dainty dancing, to how the girls portray their sweet and innocent characters, I feel that the video is really well produced. Though it has a lack of a story line in there, I found it really fun to watch the people get into the song and act like drunks at a respectable tea party. I love the hue that is used to make the video seem so washed out colour wise, because it really does give the PV that vintage, old fashioned feeling that the producers were going for.

So, though the song isn't my favourite, the PV is something I really like. I think that it's a really nice way to take us out of the modern times and show us a few things of the past, like how crowded bars were, and how popular bar singers were back then. It was also fun to see the fashion from the 60's, 70's or 80's thrown in there too, as well as the black and white effect to start us off. It really throws you back into a time period that you've probably not been in before, but it's refreshing all the same, and Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 performed so well in this video.

So, that's all for now. What are your thoughts on the group and their new song?

Get the video before it disappears!

Chiima~


PS Just remembered that this song is for the Shin Chan movie - wow... ._. what a boring song for Shin Chan! XD


PING!!! International Wota: Recommended Reading November 10th 2011