Jpop Mix: Morning Musume '16 - Utakata Saturday Night, The Vision, Tokyo to Iu Katasumi

With a new year, Morning Musume has evolved from MM '15 to MM '16. Their first single with a 12 member line-up after the departure of 9th generation member Sayashi Riho is also the final single for 9th generation member Kanon Suzuki (pictured front row, center, in the blue outfit). Suzuki's final single is a triple A-side single, each with a distinct flavor showcasing the flexibility the group and also showing a gradual changes in musical and presentation style(s). 

The main A-side single is Utakata Saturday Night. This song has a disco vibe very reminiscent of Golden Era Morning Musume. As Morning Musume has mostly promoted EDM songs, this was a breathe of fresh air and served as a great farewell song to Suzuki. She has always been praised for her smile and her positivity, therefore this song reflected her personality well and even allowed her to have a special solo part just for herself! The choreography of this song is fun and wacky, once again mirroring Golden Era MM where members didn't have quite the same level of dance skill as the current lineup does. The "do it" dance has to be one of the most fun and yet also amusing parts of the dance. The music video is amazing, I absolutely loved it (I mean that explosion at the end? Awesome!). 

Jpop Mix: SKE48, Chicken Line

I know, I know, weird title. Believe me, everyone in the fandom was like, "wth is up with this title?!" And then it turned out that in the lyrics, chicken = coward and Line = the social media platform that is super popular in Japan. Chicken Line therefore, refers to someone who is a coward by confessing their love through Line rather than in person. Now that that's out of the way, hey - this is the second time I'm reviewing a single for SKE! To be honest, SKE has just lost a number of key members that I was too busy watching their line-up changes and trying to figure out where the group would go from here (especially since they lost one of their center girls, Matsui Rena). To no one's surprise, Jurina Matsui was given a solo center for the first single after Rena's graduation, but to some surprise, Goto Rara and Kitagawa Ryoha were chosen as supporting centers.

Chicken Line is a single that marks a new era in the group. It's clear from this single that the group is in a transitional period and that it's really pushing for the newer generation to take the lead. Matsui Jurina is still very young and will likely stick around for a few more years (or more!), but I definitely get the feeling that she'll be retiring from the center position sooner rather than later, in order to allow the group to grow with new aces at the forefront. The loss of Matsui Rena was a big change, but one that SKE handled well throughout this single.

Music Mix: Morning Musume '15 Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi/Endless Sky/One and Only

Just two months ago, I wrote an entire blog post dedicated to one of my favorite idols of recent years, Sayashi Riho, who had just announced her graduation from the group, Morning Musume. Being that she graduates in two days time (one if you're in Japan's time zone), Morning Musume dropped one final single with Riho as a member. A tripe A-side single, this single hits a perfect balance between featuring Riho and providing a final farewell from her and looking to the future of the group. In this post, I will tell you of ALLLLL my feels and general feelings about each song.

The single's first song and main A-side is "Tsumetai Kaze to Kataomoi", whose official translation is "The Cold Wind and Lonely Love". The song was originally intended to be Riho's graduation solo song, however, the song was rearranged to include all members so that it can be promoted into 2016, after Riho's graduation. The song is a melancholy ballad that has sprinkled EDM dance breaks which sounds bad in written form but actually works very nicely in the song itself. The dance breaks are specifically for Riho to perform her solo dance(s) as she is known for being an AMAZING dancer.

I'll be honest, I'm kind of upset Riho herself didn't choreograph these solo's since I think she would do a much better job, but eh, she pulls it off. Some of the dance steps seem a bit off in certain parts but overall, she does a great job and this song stands as a great homage to Riho's skill and status as ace of the group during her tenure. The music video does a good job of showing us how much Riho has grown and her solo dance breaks are especially good because they really reflect Riho as a person: a solitary girl with great talent and a passion for performing. This music video is definitely my favorite of the three.

Jpop Mix: Juice=Juice, Wonderful World/Ça va ? Ça va ?

Another Music Mix post? Yes indeed. I realize that this is the third one already this month, but there have been tons of releases in 2015 that I wanted to review so I've been trying to knock them out as quickly as possible. 

This time, Juice=Juice's newest single is up. Juice=Juice is an idol group signed to Hello Project! (the same group that manages C-ute, Morning Musume and Country Girls). They are considered a newer group, since they debuted two years ago; despite being one of the newer groups, they are largely considered a professional and sleek group, with strong teamwork that mirrors C-ute. The two groups are compared often as they both have 5 members, 3 main vocalists and 2 supporting vocalists. In addition, Juice=Juice is remarkably versatile, just like their seniors. 

Juice=Juice originally boasted a very unique sound. The majority of their music featured strong jazz undertones and really made them stand out amongst the other groups in Hello Project! The release of songs such as Hadaka no hadaka no hadaka no kiss and Black Butterfly marked a departure from their earlier style and the girls began to release music in a variety of different styles. They continue in this new direction with their newest release, the double A-side single, Wonderful World/Ça va ? Ça va ?