H!P All Stars Revamped?

I honestly tried to get this in before all the fan wars and whatnot erupted online, but life just wouldn’t let it happen. And to be completely fair, trying to get a word in before the epic shit show of words amongst fans is a futile effort. So here I go with my personal stab at trolling over Hello! Project’s Mobekimasu!

The members of the H!P army have all come together to give rise to a new power group called “Mobekimasu,” cleverly created from initial characters from each group’s name (Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, Mano Erina, S/mileage). While these girls have been hard at work promoting and recording performances for their single “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku/ ブスにならない哲学,” fans of the online community have already dissected the crap out of/supported/hated on anything and everything the group has released. Er…sort of.

The PV for the single was released yesterday, and it came upon some immediate responses, ranging from slightly hostile to staunchly supportive.

The setting for the PV immediately takes me back to “Iroppoi Jirettai” and maybe even certain portions of “Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai,” while the initial outfits definitely hearkened back to the latter song with slightly less frill and a wider color palette. The simplicity of the PV setting was enough to already strike the wrong chord with some fans, who undoubtedly expected something more from the management and creative team for a power group like this. In my opinion, the outfits were ok, I suppose. Typically ridiculous/sparkly/colorful as far as idol outfits go and at least they provided a remote color scheme contrasting the black background.

The dance choreography was a lot more appealing than I had initially thought. With a group this large, it’s easy to make things look messy or look uniformly boring. There was a lot of effort placed into adding some dynamic into the fray, but I will admit there were parts that did seem a bit messy and awkward. The part where a portion of the girls in the center dip it low to a half split while the girls at either side and before them are dancing awkwardly around them was notably awkward, yet ironically enough, it was those half split moves that took the prize for my favorite part of the choreography.

As far as creativity goes, the PV falls under the typical “group dance shot/group singing shot/individual face shots” formula, with some model-esque poses thrown into the mix to add some variety for shits and giggles. Members Shimizu Saki (BK), Niigaki Risa (MM), Mano Erina, Yajima Maimi (C-ute), and Wada Ayaka (S/mileage) all offered some silly faces to stand out of the mix and definitely made for a more interesting watch.

And as far as the song goes, well it sounded like it should have just been a Berryz song, but it seemed like the producers tried to add elements from each group to mix up the musical flavor for the piece. If you think about it, the song had the same problems as the choreography: it had potential to be incredibly messy or boring. It was surprisingly neither, at least to me. The stitching of random pieces together was much better than anything the producers at H!P have released lately and while the song had no real epic highlight, it wasn’t boring.

While certain parts of the formula are predictable, others aren’t. The mash up and mixed combinations of members of each group were definitely interesting to hear/see. The Reina/Risako combination was wonderful; Reina’s high pitched voice in contrast with Risako’s lower tone balanced out beautifully. Gaki and Maeda Yuuka had the same sort of thing going on for their combination….And yeah, that’s about all I’ve got to offer for that.

Final comments:

• That shade of whatever doesn’t suit Gaki that well, but it’s not too horrible.
• Maimi is flawless.
• Risako has such a sad look on her face and I can’t tell if it’s natural or just her make up.
• Riho was workin’ it the whole time and she did it well.
• Not enough Chisato or Sayumi.
• Yuuka was workin’ it right along with Riho.
• Reina’s getting the H!P garter treatment now? *snickers*

This wouldn’t be a real review from me if I didn’t add my personal trolling to the mix, right? A lot of fans reviewed and ranted on about how this mega-group was nothing compared to AKB48 or the beloved All Stars shuffle group. First off, aside from the size of the group and the fact that the group is actually invited to perform on music programs *gets shot*, I can’t see how this is even remotely related to AKB. And regarding the argument with All Stars, well you see, that was then; this is now. But just for the giggles, here’s the PV for “All for One and One for All.”

Oh the nostalgia that video brings, the familiar faces and the happier times. Ok, now I’m really just trolling. All Stars was one project and Mobekimasu is an entirely different entity. No one ever said that this new mega group was trying to be another All Stars. People are simply confused and automatically assumed that because this group is composed of everyone under the H!P flag, this just had to be the All Stars revamped! Well, assuming gets you nowhere and you just made an ass out of yourself. Congratulations.

Also, for those complaining about line distribution and center features, can anyone really be surprised? Maimi and Airi from C-ute, Risako and Miyabi from Berryz, Gaki, Reina, and Riho from Morning Musume, and Yuuka from S/mileage (and Mano Erina doesn’t count lol since she’s a soloist) are all the prominent and often featured members from their respective groups, so obviously they’re going to get the majority of the lines and face-time in the song/PV. Trust me, I can be butt-hurt about my favorite members not being featured as prominently as the rest, but it doesn’t change anything. And for the record, I’m quite pleased with the amount of camera time leader Gaki has gotten in this PV.

For those spoiled by the Takahashi era, those fans better brace themselves for the up and coming 48th single and PV. Just because Gaki is the leader, doesn’t mean she will be front and center like we all know Reina and Riho will be. Not every leader got that sort of treatment (i.e. every leader that wasn’t Ai). Just a warning, because I know I will have to repeat myself for when that time comes.

Though definitely a far cry from the 2004 All Stars group, Mobekimasu offers something new for the new age fans, as well as some variety for the old school fans. If you go into watching this PV with your mind already made up and set on a certain idea, there is no doubt you’ll end up disappointed.

As always, be sure to support the group by purchasing their goods! There will be a whopping 7 editions to be released on 11/16, the regular edition, the limited DVD, and a limited edition for each group featuring a B-side sung only by that group.