A-gana Bonus Footage

I just watched the bonus footage that was paired along with the blu-ray release of the Winter 2011 Hello!Project concert A-gana version.  To be honest, it wasn't as great as I hoped.  It failed in comparison to the B-kkuri bonus footage (in my opinion of course).  It was 8 performances sung buy shuffle groups, 1 Berryz perf and 1 C-ute perf to finish it off.  10 in total.

Pucchimoni V: A great way to start off the dvd.  A great song sung by one of my favorite shuffles.  High energy and awesome dancing!  Probably my favorite performance of the dvd!

ZYXa: Overall was a good performance, but it wasn't that spectacular.  Chinami, Maasa, and Risa are win.  The other three were just bleh.  The outfits are scary too o_o

Aa: Snorefest.  I've never heard this song prior to this performance but it just felt very boring and it dragged on forever!  It's like it was a 8 minute performance I swear.  Airi and Miya are win though.

Shin Minimoni: Oh lord what have they done.  This performance puts shame to the original Minimoni.  I don't really know who the two eggs are, but they did far better then Kanon actually.  Her voice made me want to rip my ears off.  It was terrible im sorry.

Tanpopo#: Even though this group is 3x the win, this performance wasn't.  I've never heard the song before, but it was just a bunch of yelling honestly.  I could barely hear them singing over the (way too loud) instrumental, and I think they noticed it was too loud too.

Zoku Viyuuden: Ah, MUCH better.  This performance was awesome.  Even though i'm not the biggest Sayumi fan, I am the biggest Risako fan.  I also love this song.  They certainly rocked it.

High/King: Getting better! Such a great performance this was.  High/King just rules.  Nuff said.

Moar High/King: MOAR HIGH KING.

Berryz: A good performance for a good song.  This was one of the better songs on the album, and it was nice seeing it performed at this concert.  Nothing stood out though.

C-ute: This has become "that song" that HAS to be played at every concert I guess.  It's fun, but I swear it's like a 6 minute song.  IT NEVER ENDS.

In conclusion, in my opinion, Pucchimoni V, Zoku Viyuuden, and High King saved the day.  They held the only reasonable performances.  Maybe you will think otherwise?  I of course suggest you watch it and see for yourself!

Junjun and Linlin Return!

Recent Sayumi and Reina blog posts have confirmed that both Junjun and Linlin have returned to Japan for a visit!  It has not been stated how long either of them will remain, but it's great to see that they have both came back for a well needed visit to their former Musume's.

Linlin and Junjun flew into Japan from China at separate times.  Linlin arrived earlier last week, while Junjun arrived yesterday (or possibly is still on the way).  It's been noted that Junjun is returning to see a Morning Musume concert, along with Kamei Eri.

Linlin already visited her friends, in which we got some very nice blog pictures out of.  Linlin just keeps getting prettier!

The above were taken from Sayumi's blog.  Linlin looks really pretty, and from what Sayumi writes in her blog, all of the members, especially Aichan were extremely happy to see her again.  Linlin is really like a big sister to Aichan.  Gaki's facial expression is also just very cute in the above pictures!

Linlin and Kanon!  Who would have ever thunk it.  As Sayumi says, "Linlin and Zukki's outfits match.  It's like they could go on stage together like this."  I would also like to point out that all these blog pictures were taken in the last 3 or 4 days, so I wonder, has Aichan already gotten tired of her bleach blond hair?  I'm just assuming~

More Linlin spam coming up!  I take it that either Junjun hasn't arrived in Japan yet, or she hasn't met up with any Musume, since no blog pictures of her have risen that I know of~

I take it that Linlin attended a Fantasy DX concert.  I wonder what it felt like for her to be in the audience of a Morning Musume concert for once?  That, and having her Kouhai's perform songs that she sang from their Fantasy Juuichi album?

I wonder if Linlin or Junjun will ever get back into Hello!Project?  That would be so great~

[In addition, I would also like to start what is known as a "30 Day H!P Idol Challenge" on July 1st.  I hope you all will be interested in reading it!]

B-kkuri Bluray Bonus

I just watched the bonus footage that was paired along with the blu-ray release of the Winter 2011 Hello!Project concert B-kkuri version, and let me just tell you that it was 32 minutes full of pure win.  I watched it twice in a row actually.  It was 11 solo songs sung by various members.

Kanon: A cute way to start off the DVD.  The song has been a favorite Miki song of mine for a while, so it was nice to hear.  Kanon pulled it off well with her high pitched voice.

Yurina: Wasn't too familiar with the song, but after hearing Kumai-chan sing it, I became a fan today.  I really like her jacket actually lol.

Maasa: My favorite Aya song!  Maasa sung it very well but to be honest, she didn't look too into the dance.  She looked rather concerned throughout actually.  I prefer Reina's perf during the platinum 9 concert, but I prefer Maasa over Reina! Haha

Haggy: The song is just 'eh' for me, but omg Maimai is just so cute.  She looked like she was having a lot of fun and I had a lot of fun watching her perform the song!  Interesting dress too.

Airi: Didn't expect anything less from Airi.  The performance was flawless.  Omg it was awesome.  She owned this song.  +100 Airi points omg.  Marry me.

Sakkity: She looked so cute singing this song!  The song itself is just rainbows and kittens cute and Saki performed it really well.

Captain: Very interesting wardrobe choice lol.  Watching Captain bounce around the stage was more interesting then her singing.  She was so happy and smile-y throughout the song that it was contagious.  I just had a smile on my face the whole time!

Sayu: What in the world is she wearing omg that outfit should be burned.  The song was new to me and it was as odd as the outfit to be honest.  Sayu's performance was really cute, but I couldn't get over how redic her skirt is!

Miya: Omg she owned this song.  Miya looks fantastic and she sung this song gracefully.  A great song choice for her, as her voice suited the tempo perfectly.

Maimi: (lol derp face) I've never heard this song before, and to be honest, the performance wasn't very memorable for me.  Maimi looked really cute as usual though.

Lovely-chan: Omg.  This performance was epic of epicness.  I now can't get over the epicness of this song, and how Ai-chan pulled it off.  The song really got to her as you can see from the screen shot, she got very teary and it looked like it caught her by surprise.  She really got to me with this performance.  I got crazy chills and goosebumps when watching.  Especially that tear omg.  With a title that translates to "Goodbye, I Don't Want to be Friends," it must have been something personal.  I want to hug her aww.

In conclusion, Ai-chan's, Airi's, and Miya's performances were my favorite by far.  Maasa's and Yurina's are runners up.  I really fell in love with this DVD extras for some reason! It's just so awesome!  EVERYONE PLEASE WATCH IT!

Goto Maki calls a hiatus

Beloved former Morning Musume member Maki Goto has just recently announced that she is going to be suspending all of her entertainment and media related activities come 2012.  She has decided it was finally time to take a break and "find herself."

Here is her official statement translation:

“To my fans and those who will be affected,
Today, I have important news.
I, Goto Maki, will stop all entertainment activities starting January of next year.
13 years ago, during the summer, not knowing the world, as a  daughter of a working-class family, I brazenly took the opportunity to audition for Morning Musume.  And I became Gomaki; while I experienced many brilliant stages, I ran about in a daze.
I am truly thankful for all my fans who came to support and root for me in both clear weather and rain, for the staff and others who always assisted me, and for my family as well as fellow entertainers I have met.
In winter of last year, I lost my mother, who was a strong source of support; this led me to think about many things.
Looking back on the path that I had walked, I thought about how I wanted to live in the future and found it different from the path that I had chosen up until now.
I feel extremely thankful for everyone’s existence.
However, as it is, I cannot fill up a giant void within myself.
Up until now, I have always been living not for myself, but for someone else.
I have come to the conclusion that this time, that “me” should not be living for someone else, no matter who they are, but for myself.
That “me” is not Gomaki; instead, it is connected to my desire to change into a normal Goto Maki.
While I think about what I can do, I want to challenge myself to do whatever it is I think up.
I have agonized about this for a long time, but I have decided to stop my feet here.
For those who have supported me as singer Goto Maki, I will use all of my energy to run through the remaining half of the year.
In July, a new track will be released for distribution; in the summer, I will go to various places to sing for a-nation; in the fall, Avex, to which I have transferred to, will release my first album.
And in December, just like nearly four years ago, I will hold a solo concert.
While I wish that you will understand my selfish determination, in the period until my hiatus, even though I am just one person, I want my gratitude to reach everyone and I will do my best to open up all of my power.
Doozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
2011 June

How do you all feel about this?

New Eggs

So far, three new eggs have joined the Hello!Project community.  They're known by Yoshihashi Kurumi, Taguchi Natsumi, Hamaura Ayano.

Along with the above three, Morning Musume's 9th generation semi-finalists, Otsuka Aina and Minami Mogi were added as well.

Didn't really see that one coming!  I think it's great that these two who tried so hard have at least gotten to be a Hello!Project Egg.  I'm happy for them.

9x the Maji

I found something awesome on eBay that I knew I couldn't pass up.  It had to be mine, and I wouldn't let anyone get in my way!

Do you want to know what I bought?

You betchya.  I found a Maji Desu Ka Ska poster autographed by all 9 members, instead of just by one.  I already had a poster signed by Aika, but this one is 8 times better!  I already sold the Aika poster to a friend before this poster even arrived to my door, just to make room in the frame.

Now the only problem is that...I don't know where to hang it! ^^;

Oh by the way, what do you guys think of the new blog banner and the color scheme change?

Only You Profile Pictures

New artist profile pictures were recently updated to Hello!Project's official site.  As we all saw from the PV, the outfits were pretty similar to each other.  The five senpai members wore a fitting one piece white outfit; almost consisting of a corset top, see through sleeves, and a layered skirt.  The four kouhai members wore a short sleeved top, with similarly patterned short shorts.

All the outfits where white, and very similar to each other, so I found no rhyme or reason for critique.  I honestly think all the girls looked great.

Instead, just for fun, I added some member colors to the girls outfits, to see what it would look like.  I think I would prefer the clean white look, but this look would be fun for concerts or performances.  What do you think?

That's a new spin on it, if you ask me.  What do you guys think? ^^;

Aikas 1st Photobook

Thanks to a friend of mine, I recently got my hands on Aika's first photobook:

Let me just tell you that it is full of win.

I always knew that Aika was a beautiful girl, but I never realized how photogenic she was.  She is so elegant and beautiful!  There isn't that much that I can say about this photobook, other then that if you are a fan of Aika, you should definitely add this to your collection!

Here are a couple of teasers for you all:

The photos just get better and better as it gets towards the end.  Oh, it also comes with a DVD making of, so that should be fun to watch as well.

Aika <3