True Life Seek

You stupid monkeys!

Being an idol is so easy a monkey can do it.

Being a monkey is so easy an idol can do it.

So does this means that a million idols typing at a million typewriters for an infinite amount of time can type out the complete works of William Shakespeare?

Finding some silver lining beneath this mess they call “Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance” will be hard, but I’ll try…

Why is Berryz Koubou disappointing me so? They are at a time when even Saki Shimizu looks good. I don’t talk about the music of Hello!Project often here on TLS, but I’ll be listening to the instrumental version of this song more than the actual song. If only they were not singing about monkeys, singing like monkeys, weren’t dancing like monkeys and weren’t in freaking monkey costumes; then I think that this would have been an enjoyable release.

Of course, this is Hello!Project, and I’ve become accustomed to there always being something wrong. Look, I don’t expect perfection. If I think that a song, music video or idol themselves is perfect, then I am probably being biased. Nothing is every perfect. However, that which detracts should not be ruining the experience. It should be little imperfections.

In all honesty, these outfits are fine. To no surprise, Momoko, Miyabi and Risako are in a costume group separate from the pack. I love thinking back to the times when Yurina was considered a part of the core Berryz group.

Can you see it now? Can you see them on the stage of HeyX3, doing this dance and the crowd getting into it? Me neither.

I am not the biggest fan of Maasa. I like Chinami and wish she’d be pushed to the moon like the Top 3. In this song, both Maasa and Chinami have an increased presence, something not seen in most Berryz singles. Naturally, you would assume that a bigger role in a song is a good thing…

Under different circumstances, I’d agree. The only problem is how Maasa and Chinami are presented and what they have to do in this song. Compare their actions to Miyabi and Risako in this PV. Maasa and Chinami are comedy relief. Miyabi and Risako are given lines to sing whereas Maasa and Chinami are given goofy facial expressions and screams (oh god the banzai).

The H!P Kids finally got their own variety show with Berikyuu - a show which Morning Musume has invaded and taken over episodes multiple times already. Chinami and Maasa are finally given more screen time, even though they are presented as jokes compared to Miyabi and Risako. There is a pecking order and a hierarchy within Hello!Project that will just always exist.

When there is a better quality of this PV, I will go over this scene again. At 1:28 in the PV, when they all do a turnaround while grabbing the backs of the members to their left, Chinami grabs Risako’s ass. Well, now we know how Chinami finally got lines and screen time in this PV. Chinami does seem very careerist and would get to the top “by any means necessary,” so I am not all that surprised.

Here it is, in all of its (haha) glory. NO BUYS. They could have done this entire PV over without the monkey costumes and they wouldn’t have lost a single sale. I don’t see anyone - that is, people who weren’t automatically going to buy this single - seeing them dressed in monkey outfits and thinking that they need to buy this single. Oh wait, there is one type of person.

KIDS.

These costumes are horrendous to Yurina. She sticks out wearing a monkey costume in a group of people wearing monkey costumes. Wow.

We have lots of scenes such as this one - closeups in their monkey outfits. Nearly every single one of these scenes has Chinami in it. Furthermore, in all these scenes, Chinami, and Maasa for that matter, is doing something GOOFY. Risako has a few scenes focused on her in the monkey outfit - and that is very few compared to the many closeups of her in regular clothing. In all of the monkey scenes, she is not instructed to make a fool of herself. Why? Well I think it is because we are supposed to see Risako as the “real deal” while Chinami, and Maasa for that matter, is the “joke.” I am shocked Miyabi is doing something GOOFY in this one.

So I didn’t do a good job finding silver lining here. The normal outfits are nice. Outfits, looks and presentation go a long way into my enjoyment of pop. The tune is catchy, but that is not essential. Other than that, I can’t really get behind this one.

It is yet another Berryz single where UFA/H!P is telling me that I am stupid for not being on the Risako bandwagon. Furthermore, Chinami and Maasa, representing any idol that UFA/H!P is not currently pushing to the moon, are geeks and will never be on the level of a Risako. Hopefully I’ll be wrong and we will get a Chinami PB in a week. Hopefully in that PB, she won’t be dressed up as a clown begging for spare change on a street corner.

These are not minor imperfections that are not ruining the experience. They are taking away from the enjoyment in my eyes.

From a business standpoint, they have no reason to change. Risako, Miyabi and Momoko means money. I am not coming from the business side of things. I haven’t like a lot of Berryz Koubou for the last two years. So I want change. I want Risako to not be the focal point. I’d like to see Momoko not be a total goof, Chinami and Maasa flaunting their sexuality and Yurina growing up. I’d like to SEE Saki.

Unfortunately, the next release is, ugh seriously, “Dschinghis Khan Remix.” Nothing ever changes. Berryz Koubout will remain in the blurst of times.

Posted on June 28th, 2008 by broomhead. Filed under PVs.
Tags: Berryz Koubou, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudou, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Momoko Tsugunaga, Risako Sugaya, Saki Shimizu, Yurina Kumai