Berryz Koubou – “Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!” PV Preview Released

A full PV preview of one of the a-sides to Berryz Koubou’s 22nd single titled Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda! has been released.The costumes on the official Berryz Koubou profile are confirmed to be from this song.

The preview is of low quality since the PV was released for cellphones today so the quality of the video and sound isn’t that great at all, but at least it gives us an idea of what the PV looks like. I recommend you don’t watch the preview if you want to wait for better quality since the audio and video aren’t the best available (for now).

The PV has somewhat of a loose story where Momo is having fun with the other Berryz members, after which they all leave leaving Momo alone and sad, after sitting in her room alone they appear again and they have fun again (it isn’t the most in depth story but it’s something).

All of the members get a lot of screen time since the solo lines for each of the girls features them singing to the camera alone, and for the most part I have to admit that they all look incredible (especially Momo, Chii, Kuma and Maasa).

The PV is somewhat of a mix of Aruiteru (the scene where they are at the beach), EVERYDAY Zekkouchou! (everyone having fun decorating pictures) and Watashi no Mirai no Danna Sama (dance shot) which sounds a lot better than what I describe it since the song mixes in well with the scenes of the PV.

I will wait for a higher quality before I make my final decision about the PV but so far I love everything about it – the setting, the song, the costumes – so hopefully the singles debut well since this single has the possibility to become one of their best, if not their best selling single.

We should be getting the full PV sometime soon on Dohhh-UP and a preview of the other a-side Otakebi Boy WAO! will preview be released soon as well since it is the main song after all.

The release date is set for 3/3.

Berryz Koubou – Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda! PV (Low Quality)

Video uploaded by: newfuwamix

I recommend watching the preview as soon as possible since there is a small chance it might be removed, I will update with a higher quality preview once it is released.

C-ute – “Kimi no Senpou” Radio Preview Released

A preview from one of the tracks from C-ute’s 5th album titled Kimi no Senpou has been released. Kimi no Senpou is the solo song for Saki, Maimai, and Chisato.

Like the other 3 new songs we get another ballad, but this song is definitely different since it’s a bit more upbeat than Maimi’s solo song or Shigatsu Sengen.

The vocals of the song are impressing since they feature a combination of spoken and sung lines which come out incredible, especially with Maimai, Nacky and Chisato’s voices since they sound a bit more unique.

The instrumental for the song is a bit more upbeat than the other songs, which is somewhat of a relief since we can look forward to listening to at least one song that isn’t a ballad (and also one song without Maimi or Airi).

I’m glad to see that it’s shaping up to be a great C-ute album and while most of the new songs are ballads I do hope that it sells well.

Hopefully we get a chance to listen to the previews of the other songs (Yume ga Aru Kara and Airi’s solo song Aa Koi) sometime soon.

The release date for the album is set for 2/24.

C-ute – Kimi no Senpou (Radio Preview)

Video uploaded by: snapman147
Radio audio ripped by: Amped-Echoz

Ishikawa, Kikkawa, and Sengoku Will Be In A Stage Play, “Tiger Breathing”

Ishikawa seems to have lost a contact

Ishikawa Rika and H!P Eggs Kikkawa Yuu and Sengoku Minami will be in a stage play titled Tiger Breathing.

Information about the play hasn’t been released (I can’t find any reference to the play other than it being a Kung Fu/Yoga move) but at least it’s great to see that former H!P members are collaborating with H!P Eggs in plays.

Hopefully the play is a success and I wish the best of luck to Rika, Yuu and Sengoku.

The play will run from 5/7-11.

Official H!P Announcement About Ishikawa, Sengoku, and Kikkawa In Tiger Breathing

Gekidan Online Page With Info About Play

Uchida Yuma To Graduate From Canary Club

It has been announced that Uchida Yuma, or Ucchi as she is known, will graduate from Canary Club and NICE GIRL Project! to continue her studies.

As you may have noticed I don’t cover stories about NGP since I know close to nothing about them (The Possible, Canary Club, Ogawa Mana, Karen, etc), but I decided to at least cover graduations from these groups.

It’s always sad to see a member go but I wish the best of luck to Uchida in her studies.

Uchida Yuma will graduate on 3/21.

Natalie.mu Article About Her Graduation

Official NICE GIRL Project! Announcement

Mano Erina Single V Clips 1 DVD Cover Released

The cover for Mano Erina’s Single V Clips 1 has been released on Neowing.

In the cover we can see Mano wearing a pink t-shirt while resting on a pink wall, which is cute in a way since Mano is (somewhat) smiling at the camera while she poses.

For the most part I like how the cover looks since we actually get a chance to see a picture that isn’t a close-up of her (not that I don’t like those covers but the theme was somewhat overused) but I think they used the color pink a little bit too much.

Despite the reminder of the pink theme from Mano Erina’s LOVE&PEACE=Paradise PV the cover overall looks great since we get to see Mano in a cute pose.

I’m looking forward to this DVD so hopefully UFA promotes it and it sells well.

The release date is set for 3/3.

Neowing Page For Mano Erina’s Single V Clips 1

Michishige Sayumi Opens Up A Gree Blog

Michishige Sayumi has opened up a Gree blog. Here is a translation of her first blog post (translation credit: sferris @ H!O):

Finally ↑

Hello
I am Morning Musume’s Michishige Sayumi ♪☆

At this point in time, I have been given a blog on Gree.
I am so happy (≧∇≦)

I’ve wanted one since forever!
and ever!
and ever!
even in my past life!!! ☆

In short, I’ve wanted a blog
and my wish was granted ♪♪

I’m sooo happy~

From here on I’ll be expressing my thoughts, my feelings, everyday things that happen to me… a lot more different things and pics too!

And of course I ♪
hope to make this blog enjoyable for all the people reading it
cheers ♪☆

I’m glad to see that more H!P members are getting a chance to open up blogs since it gives us fans a chance to find out more about their everyday life and what they are up to.

Sayu is the perfect choice for a blog (with her love for taking pictures, her many appearances on TV, etc) so I’m glad to see that she got a chance to finally get one, and as a Sayu fan I will definitely be keeping track of her posts.

I look forward to reading her blog on a daily basis and I hope that she updates it constantly (most likely we will see a post with a picture of some food in the next 24 hours).

Hopefully some other members get a chance to open up a blog, but for now I’m glad that Sayu was chosen.

Official Michishige Sayumi Gree Blog

EDIT: Hyakupa will be translating Sayu’s blog HERE, thanks for the translation sferris!

Wada Ayaka Will Be A Regular On NHK’s “Test no Hanamachi”

Wada Ayaka with the cast of “Test no Hanamachi”

Starting on 3/29 S/mileage member Wada Ayaka will be a regular on NHK’s educational program Test no Hanamachi.

There isn’t that much information about the show itself but at least it’s great to know that more and more H!P members are getting chances to act alongside others in shows.

It seems that S/mileage members are being added to educational shows or shows directed at younger viewers (for example Ogawa Saki on Ohasuta).

Hopefully the other two members, Maeda Yuuka and Fukuda Kanon, also get a chance to appear regularly on a show of their own since it would be great promotion for the group when they debut.

The show airs every Monday from 6:55-7:25 AM (JST).

Official H!P Announcement About Wada Ayaka In Test no Hanamachi

Berryz Koubou – 2009 Fall Concert Tour ~Medachitai!~ DVD Preview Released

A preview of Berryz Koubou’s 2009 Fall Concert Tour ~Medachitai!~ DVD has been released on Dohhh-UP. The preview is the performance of Ryuusei Boy one of the two a-sides from Berryz Koubou’s 21st single.

For the most part I’m amazed at how well all of the girls sound singing live, especially Kumai, Momo and Miyabi (Risako sings well most of the time, but there are times when she sings a bit differently than usual).

The choreography was incredible as well since they managed to use the two levels of the stage to their advantage during the performance, especially during the bridge of the song where all of the members split up to different parts of the stage (it was cute to see Momo running with her hands up in the air to the top of the stage at 2:30).

Despite only seeing one song we can get a general idea of what the concert will be like and overall I think it will look incredible with the amount of talent in Berryz Koubou (plus there is a Chinami solo and a Momo solo as well).

The release date is set for 2/10.

Berryz Koubou – Ryuusei Boy (Live)

Dohhh-UP Link To Berryz Koubou’s ~Medachitai!~ Performance of Ryuusei Boy
Video uploaded by: circusls06dd

Official Okada Yui & Up Front Kansai Twitters Opened

Hello! Project Kansai member Okada Yui has opened up a Twitter account. Her first tweet was about an hour ago:

これから公開録音のラジオだよ??
She seems to be talking about the future of radio (basically asking if she was the future of radio)

Also joining Twitter is the staff from Up Front Kansai which only has two groups at the moment (SI*NA and Okada Yui), their first tweet was also done recently:

アップフロント関西公式です。関西で活動しているタレント＝岡田唯やSI☆NAの情報、現場レポなどつぶやいていけるよう頑張ります。
It basically says that they manage SI*NA and Okada Yui

I’m glad to see that more and more former H!P members are trying out Twitter since the list has now grown from HANGRY&ANGRY & Kago to now include Okada Yui and Up Front Kansai.

Hopefully we get a chance to see many more H!P groups and members join in as well since it would be great to see what kind of stuff they would post about (most likely 90% about food and 10% news about them).

I will update with better translations when I find them.

Official Okada Yui Twitter

Official Up Front Kansai Staff Twitter

Shuukan Yoro! Vol 25

Site Updates: I haven’t had a chance to update the profile section because of school so I will try again this weekend. I hope to at least have updated the images for the groups and I might try as well to update the individual pictures if I have the time.

Apart from that I hope to also check the information in each of the profiles to make sure it is up to date, so I will try and at least go through all of the ones from the current H!P to make sure they are current.

A few mentions about the site, a few days ago the site received its 1,000th comment! Some of those are mine so they aren’t all from fans who read the blog but it’s a great milestone to be able to see more than 1,000 comments, so thank you to everyone who does so.

I follow a simple rule when it comes to comments: if someone took some time to write a response to a post I should do the same and take some time to respond. So hopefully we soon get a chance to pass the 2,500 comments and beyond (posts are also close to 1,000, right now there are 867).

Also just recently Hello! SayuNii won 2nd place in the 2009 International Wota Awards in the “Best News Source” category! I was really surprised I even got nominated since the blog is just a year old (plus a few weeks), but I have to thank everyone who voted for this site since the site got a chance to appear next to such big names as Hello! Online, Tokyograph, MorningBerryz, Hello! Blog etc. So thank you to everyone who voted for H!SN at IW!

Polls: The winner for this poll was Shimizu Saki with 153 votes (42%) so congratulations Captain! Kumai Yurina came in second place with 115 votes (32%) and Tokunaga Chinami came in third place with 94 votes (26%). There was a total of 362 votes for this poll.

For the most part I’m glad to see that Captian got a chance to win since she hadn’t had many chances to appear as “H!P Member of the Week”, but on the other hand I’m somewhat dissapointed that Chinami got so few votes.

Hopefully in the next poll Chii and Kuma get a chance to get even more votes and a chance to be the winner of their respective polls but for now congratulations to Captain.

Overall vote count was down but it was somewhat expected, although if you do have a chance please do vote, it only takes two clicks and you help your favorite member appear as member of the week!

The next poll will include Morning Musume members Niigaki Risa, Mitsui Aika, and Jun Jun:

Please vote!

Reviews: I didn’t get a chance to finish the review because of some homework I had to turn in (the teacher assigned it to us during the weekend). I did get a chance to at least work a bit on the review so I would say that 1/4 of it is done (about 30 min of distracted work while doing my homework).

If I had to set a date for the release of the Kumai Yurina PB review I would say this weekend, hopefully before Sunday since I have to meet with a group from school for a project that day.

I will try my best to work on the review as soon as possible and at least make the review release pattern once per week. I still have another 2 reviews I haven’t started but I will try and do them as well after I finish the Kumai PB review.

I will update with more on the Review page.

Shuukan Yoro: It’s the 1st day in Maimi’s week about “Side dishes of the world”.

Class starts with the class calling Maimi cute after which we get a chance to hear about her fascination of rice. She explains to the class what the class will be about: choosing the best side dish for rice from the world.

The class setting changes and we get a chance to see them try a side dish from Tunisia. To find out what side dish they tried and what their reactions were (plus Mano) please watch the episode.

The episode is really entertaining for fans of C-ute and also H!P fans alike, so hopefully you enjoy it.