What’s this? For once Vivi decides to review something timely? Namely, she’s reviewing a preview of the PV for the upcoming C-ute single? Well, that’s a first - usually she’s about 5 years behind in reviewing music-related videos.
For those who don’t know, the upcoming C-ute single is titled Edo no Temari Uta II (there is no Temari Uta I, for those who are wondering), which means roughly “The Edo Hand-Ball Song II”. I’m not quite sure what that is in reference to, and the lyrics contain a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary so I can’t really discern what kind of crazy stuff they’re singing about this time (but after songs about Genghis Khan and monkies and pancakes, I think I’m ready for anything that H!P decides to toss at me next). So without further ado, here is the PV itself:
I hadn’t heard the radio rip yet, so my first impression was, “What?! From the single cover, I would never have guessed this was a tradition-styled song.” This is the first distinctly traditional-Japan style that I recall C-ute singing (they usually stuck to upbeat cute or fierce “I’m not a child anymore” songs), and to tell the truth I’m rather impressed by how they pulled it off with just the right amount of C-ute flair to make it unique =)
Set: I’m really impressed with the set that they chose for this PV. After Milky Way and Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance, I started having some confidence in H!P’s PV-making skills again, and this PV really confirmed that my trust was not invested in a wasteful method. The sunbursts in the background are gorgeous. Not only are they a brilliant shade of red-orange that really stands out, they really compliment the light flares (see below) generated at various points in the PV. The silhouettes of buildings and trees was a subtle but nice touch, as were the background dancers - just subtle enough to be noticed, but not too distracting that they diverted attention from the C-ute girls themselves. The neon lights were also a really cool addition (maybe I just have a weakness for neon lights), and they really complimented some of the costumes (Kanna’s, for example).
Lighting/camera: this is some of the best lighting I have seen in an H!P PV in a long time. There’s just something with the way the light shines that reminds me of the fierceness of Iroppoi Jirettai that hasn’t been seen for a long time. It’s got the right kind of “spotlight” quality without being a shiny cabaret like Onna ni Sachi Are or Egao YES Nude. In fact, the combination of dark background with colourful set pieces and costumes is probably what makes this and also Anataboshi’s PVs so attractive. Also, the moments where the girls were silhouetted were breathtakingly amazing. The camera angles were all positioned beautifully as well, especially in the close-ups.
Left to right: Airi attempting to be fierce (and failing slightly), epic head rolling (go Saki!)
Left to right: the awesome general set, Saki with the camera light flares that go really well with the suns in the background
Left to right: epic silhouette effect reminiscent of Osaka Koi no Uta and Iroppoi Jirettai, Saki being awesome with Kanna and Maimi in the background
Costuming: most of the girls really got the short end of the stick costume-wise. Poor Maimi and Kanna look like blood-red and teal imitations of the Liberty Bell, Chisato’s pointy shoulder pads look more suited for a Warera! Berryz Kamen PV, Erika’s face looks shadowed most of the time, thanks to her oversized hair accessory and dark outfit… and WHAT is that on Chisato’s head?! The only girls who are (in my opinion) flatteringly attired are Saki and Airi (on that note, damn Saki looks good in yellow). Maimi’s hair also looks nice. However, despite some of the sucky costuming, I guess have gotten used to enough of H!P’s eclectic styles to not really let the costuming affect my rather good opinion of the PV in general.
And now, onto observations of the individual girls…!
Yajima Maimi: she was really not feeling this single/choreography, I could tell. Half of her expressions seem half-hearted, and her dance is nothing brilliant as I have seen it be. The head-toss at 0:32 is rather nice but ultimately lacks the normal Maimi fierceness. Her first solo line was also really lackluster. As a side note, those huge skirts really don’t work well for the silhouette shots (which is probably why they stuck Saki in the middle for the first one). Her close-up at 1:54 looks nice, but once Saki, Erika, and Chisato appear after her, you can quite obviously tell that she’s not really charismatic in this PV. Her final post at the end was stiff and awkward (reminds me of Sayumi trying to act arrogant in Onna ni Sachi Are - it just didn’t click). All in all, not the best performance by Maimi but nothing that really stuck out like a sore-thumb either, so perhaps it’s best she ended up in the second row for much of the group dancing.
Suzuki Airi: ahh, Airi Airi Airi, the Reina of C-ute: extremely adorable; very pretty; tall, thin and model-like… but oh-so-very one-dimensional. This PV is no exception. Decked out some modern-looking and very gorgeous costume (hers actually reminds me of the Iroppoi dresses, for some reason), she performs all of her dance moves to a T, but in doing them with such mechanic precision there’s really something lacking. Airi is just being plain old Airi - the girl who is there simply to look pretty for the camera. She’s definitely got the energy of the dance down, but not the style or charisma needed to really rock it. Look at 0:50 to 0:55, and again at 1:06 - there is she is, with her wide eyes, looking like typical pedo-bait, staring into the camera. Her head-toss at 1:07 has the exact same feel as her close-up: head tilted slightly down, eyes directed straight at the camera, as if you say, “Mm-hm, you like me.” If you need yet another example, look at 2:02. OH HEY, IT’S THE SAME EXPRESSION. At this point, I’m stopping my assessment of Airi because no matter how far I play into the PV, she’ll be the exact same Airi. Yes, dear Airi, your style works for some songs (Sakura Chirari, anyone?) but it sucks when you try to put that eyelash-batting diva style to work in songs like Tokkaiko Junjou and this one. Moving on.
Hagiwara Mai: I was really disappointed with Mai’s performance in this PV. She really wowed me with her flair in Tokkaiko and Namida, and I was expecting a similar level of brilliance in this one since the feel is closer to Namida than LALALA, but I could tell Mai just didn’t -get- this song very well. At 0:32, Mai looks almost bored as she flings her head around, as if she really doesn’t get the feel of the choreography. In fact, for most the song she seemed to be confused between whether she should go for her typical cute little girl style or her serious “kodomo ja nai” style. As a result, she tries to smile cutely at times and be a bit serious at others, which makes for a really confusing display (look at 1:15 if you need an example: why is she grinning like a goofball while doing a pose like that?) … not to mention putting a fluffy white dress of the shortest member of the group really doesn’t help her appear as grown-up and seriously-taken as the others. Please attire Maimai in something proper next time, thank you. In addition, her solo line at 1:23 was probably THE worst close-up solo in the song (Chisato comes a close second) and her close-up at 1:46 does nothing to redeem it. If you’re looking for a good Maimai performance, this is not the PV to find it; go back to Namida no Iro.
Okai Chisato: my least favourite member, sigh. She was mediocre in this PV, and I really don’t have much to say about her because I’ve never noticed her much in the past so I don’t have much to compare against except for the fact that this is another typical Chisato performance. Her dance is subpar compared to some of the other girls (she seems to be the one having the most trouble with the little knee-twisting move they do; watch at 1:02) and her singing and facial expression hasn’t wowed me yet. At 1:31, we get her solo line, and it looks… really weird. Singing-wise she sounds fine, but unlike Airi’s “ee~ ee~” line earlier, Chisato has this facial expression that makes it look more like she’s got something stuck in her throat and is trying to get it out. At 1:55, we get a smug little look from Chisato that really doesn’t fit the song and for some reason kind of irks me. Her camera-flare pose at 2:23 is also, without a doubt, the worst of all the girls (Maimai’s at a close second). The wide-open-arms happy pose just doesn’t fit with that smirk on her face, making her look more like a grouchy teddy bear! Ah well, I didn’t expect much from the member I like the least (although to tell the truth.. C-ute is the only group with members that don’t -dislike-, just members I like on varying levels).
Umeda Erika: after this point, all of the girls I’m assessing are the ones that REALLY impressed me the most. And whoaaa, Erika. I have never been a huge Erika fan, but I’ve really mourned for the fact that she’s so underappreciated and oftentimes shoved out of the spotlight in PVs, but damn. She performed awesome in this one. Her outfit made her look like a flailing nun at some spots, but despite bad costuming Erika’s face and personality really came out in this PV. Although she arguably isn’t AMAZINGLY brilliant, I just think it’s really nice that she finally got some decent screentime and got a chance to really show her stuff. Her solo line at 0:53 was one of the best solo close-ups in the PV (Kanna bested her, just a bit). Her dancing at 1:17 was also really well executed, and she’s the only girl who looks good spinning in her outfit (1:22). Her pose was a little awkward (2:28), but that’s probably just due to the lighting and disgustingly long sleeves. Speaking of which, I know black works REALLY well on Erika in general, but I really do believe it was a bit dark for this PV and seemed a little out of place. Perhaps a really deep navy blue would have worked better? Also, they need to come up with some way to keep the hair out of Erika’s face - in many of the dance segments her body and moves looked really gorgeous but I could barely see her face because of her hair framing it too tightly and dangling in front of her eyes. Otherwise, good job Erika =) I usually don’t notice you but this time you definitely caught my eye.
Arihara Kanna: Kanna hasn’t really gotten much screentime the past few PVs, and she’s really not that well suited to the fierce styles of Namida/Tokkaiko. I remember I first latched onto Kanna after her trademark “Massara blue jeeeeeeans!” shout from the song of the same name. She became the little baby of C-ute that I started rooting for, but like Erika she’s severely underappreciated. In this PV, though, she’s one of the only girls who looks like she’s sincerely having FUN. She looks like a grown-up kid having fun playing around (which fits the title, but again, I can’t distinguish lyrics). Just look at her bouncing up and down in 0:19 with that genuine smile on her face. Although her head-tossing and snappiness isn’t as “fierce”-like as some of the other girls, she has a kind of childish innocence that somehow manages to fit really well with the moves that the camera shows her doing. At 0:57, she is the one with the best smile in that shot because, again, it looks so childishly innocent and adorable =) At 1:11 and 1:43, her pose is so cute - in this PV, she really reminds me of Mitsui Aika in Mikan: just childishly cute smiling and good fun. 1:26 gave me the BEST solo line close-up in the PV - Kanna got the feel of it perfectly. By 2:08 I was ready to just pick her up and give her a hug, she was THAT irresistable in this PV! Nice to see her finally shining in a PV that shows off her personality.
Nakajima Saki: let me just start out by saying that Saki has almost NEVER grabbed my attention. I just never felt drawn to her, and her performances in other PVs was barely noticed by me (not sure if that’s because I was too busy staring at the girls I’m most partial to, or if I just disliked Saki’s style in general). However, in this PV she is, hands down, the BEST performer in my opinion. Every little motion that Saki executed just felt so PERFECT. I tried and tried to find something to critique, but I just can’t find anything. She very clearly NAILED this song, and that’s probably why they decided to let her be a front girl for this one with Airi. Her head-roll at 0:30 owned everyone else’s in any part of the PV. Even at 0:40 where she’s not in the front, I immediately noticed the high energy of her movements. That’s probably why she did so well in this PV - she had the right amount of energy for the song. At 0:46 and 0:55, she looks so charismatic; and like Kanna, she has the childish smile at 1:04 that really shows how much she’s enjoying it. Her pose at 1:09 is THE best camera-flare pose in the PV. Something about the look on her face - the way her smirk slowly turns into a full smile - coupled with her excellent pose, really good camera angles, and beautifully coordinated colours of the backdrop made that my favourite part of the entire PV (along with Kanna’s solo line). Again, at 1:17 even when she’s in the background, my eyes are automatically drawn to her high-energy moves. At 1:40, despite the presence of one of my favourite girls (Airi), it is Saki that claims my attention with her coyly tilted head and energetic smile. At 1:50, I nearly screamed with joy - she just looked so PRO there that I couldn’t help but feel myself quickly being converted to a Saki fangirl. 1:55, and there’s that amazing little smile of hers - even though it’s slightly smug, it carries so much more of the “enjoyable” quality than Chisato’s smirk directly after Saki’s. Watch 2:04, and how her head slowly angles down to give a coy little look, and then tosses itself back up in a playfully arrogant show. Even though it’s subtle, it’s these little things that made me watch her the entire time. 2:20, and there’s that amazing head-toss of hers again. Damn. And did I mention that having Saki in the middle for the silhouette shot at 1:11 was ingenious? She looks so ownage there I can’t even start to explain it.
The song itself: er, I left this for last. I’ve watched the PV successfully about 10 times (once for each girl, and several times in between to get a general feel) and this song is really starting to grow on me. It doesn’t have the instant dance-around quality of a Tsunku production, but there’s something different and intriguing that I really like. Good job, H!P administration - you have not yet made one C-ute single which I didn’t like.
