For those who may not know: ‘Maji Desu Ka Ska!’ (My rough translation: ‘The “Is This Serious?” Ska!’, your interpretation may vary) is Morning Musume’s 45th single, and is closest in sound and style to ‘Koko ni Iruzee!’, their 16th single released in 2002. It’s also the first single to feature the new 9th generation members – Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta, Riho Sayashi, and Kanon Suzuki – and the accompanying PV gives all four of them a good chunk of screentime. The amount of footage of a MoMusu member in their first video with the group is usually a solid sign of their future place and status, unlike with AKB48 where previously front-and-centre members are inexplicably never seen again. The fact that all of the new members are visible from the beginning, and get a solo line each in the first verse, gives me hope that they won’t just be shoved to the back.

One of the first noticeable things about this song when the first previews were released, apart from the aforementioned line distribution, was the lack of horns in the backing instrumental track. I don’t know very much about ska, but from what I’ve heard of it I’m pretty sure there should be horns. ‘Maji Desu Ka Ska!’ has plenty of what I can only assume is synth pretending to be the trumpet. This isn’t exactly a criticism, but it’s worth pointing out that this is Hello! Project’s interpretation of ska (see the following: 7-nin Matsuri’s ‘Summer Reggae Rainbow’ as an interpretation of reggae, Country Musume’s ‘Hajimete no Happy Birthday’ as an interpretation of country, etc.) rather than a ‘serious’ attempt at the genre.

Comparisons to ‘Koko ni Iruzee!’ are easy to make, especially as the break after the second chorus contains an almost identical ‘ho! ho! ho!’ chant, but this newer song is significantly shorter, relies on a more standard verse/chorus formula, and the melody isn’t as catchy as the chorus. I like ‘Maji Desu Ka Ska!’ a lot, but even I can hear that it’s a very generic song, and maybe that’s why I like it. After all, I liked ‘Mikan’, and that’s MoMusu’s worst selling single to date. My hope is that people find the song to be pleasing to the ears and buy it, regardless of whether it’s the best work Tsunku’s ever done. I know that might be damning the future quality of Hello! Project releases if this particular tactic works, but I also know many would argue that that quality has already gone significantly downhill since around 2003-4.

The full PV still hasn’t officially been released on MoMusu’s YouTube channel as of the time of writing, but someone else has helpfully combined all of the existing previews into the following linked video. For those of you who can’t view the clip, or anyone moderately offended by colours, I’ll be describing sections of it anyway.

Maji Desu Ka Ska! PV on YouTube

From the very start, it’s clear that this isn’t a ‘serious’ music video, and the song previews warned that it was never going to be. There are no angsty, brooding or crying idols as seen in ‘Naichau Kamo’ or ‘Nanchatte Renai’ here. This is a happy, upbeat song! Everyone’s got a differently coloured jacket on in front of a clashing background! It’s a very simple concept, but one that was expected nonetheless. The floor occasionally changes colour, but this video is yet another one-set, two-costume formula that defines so many Hello! Project artist PVs. The addition of new members has done little to change that.

There is one difference, though. Part of the PV includes short cuts of members posing with characters which spell the song’s title: ‘Ma’, ‘Ji’, ‘De’, ‘Su’, ‘Ka’, another ‘Su’ and ‘Ka’, and an exclamation mark. Some of you will have spotted that there are only 8 characters in total, and 9 members. So what did they do with the one remaining girl? Put her in a random old man costume and showed her making flowers grow on cacti dotted around the set (there’s a line in the chorus about flowers blooming, this apparently makes it relevant). No, I am not making that up. I really want to make another ‘serious’ joke here, but it’s just too easy. The member chosen for this starring role was… Aika Mitsui. I think this is because she’s the only remaining girl from her generation, so singling out one of the others wouldn’t have been as fair. The fact that she got less screentime as an old man than Ai Takahashi did jumping in front of a giant exclamation mark is presumably also fair.

The dance which accompanies the song isn’t complex, but looks more difficult compared to what was required of earlier members when they first joined. It’s a very energetic and fun routine, with plenty of jumping and air guitars. I had a go at learning parts of this dance last week, and it’s such a hyper dance that I couldn’t help but smile whilst flailing around like a lunatic. It’s a great cardio workout if you’re trying to get fit, too. I can see parts of this dance being popular with the fans in live venues, especially the finger pointing because it can be done with glowsticks. Heck, they do the ‘Sexy Boy’ bit, so why not this one?

As a whole song/video/dance package, ‘Maji Desu Ka Ska!’ ranks pretty highly on the list of ‘Least Serious Songs Morning Musume Has Ever Released’, up there with ‘Hyokkori Hyoutanjima’, ‘The Peace!’, and that one Pocky song. It’s a fun, happy and positive song, a departure from the more recent string of ‘adult-like’ singles from the group (‘Appare Kaitenzushi’ excepted), and with the new members all aged only 12-14, the turn back to a more youthful style was hard to avoid. The return of that childish, silly, ‘genki’ element to the flagship group of Hello! Project appears to have officially begun. If you’d started taking Morning Musume seriously lately, now is probably the best time to stop.

Now I get to explain myself again…

1. Reina Tanaka – Yeah, was there ever any other doubt? This hasn’t changed. Not just my favorite MoMusu, not just my favorite H!Per, but my favorite J-idol, period. Beautiful voice, beautiful face, nice rack, nice butt… fuggedaboutit.

2. Koharu Kusumi – My geinou adopted daughter, and the young woman responsible for three of the most twisted albums in the Hello! Project canon to date, was #3 on last year’s MoMusu poll. Curiously, she was listed twice on Paul’s new poll as both a MoMusu and 1/3 of MilkyWay, so for shits and giggles I went with her MilkyWay outfit, since her tenure voicing Kirarin Revolution is coming to an end (along with the series itself) soon – and also because I seem to be cuing up “Anataboshi” quite a bit lately.

3. Mari Yaguchi - It’s about fucking time Mari hit the studio for the first time in four years and recorded something. My copy of the new single came in today, although I’ve been spinning a leak on my iPod since I caught wind of it (my impatience strikes again, buffered by my conscience saying that since I already bought the record, it’s OK.)

4. Hitomi Yoshizawa and 5. Rika Ishikawa - Placed here mainly because the HANGRY&ANGRY EP has been a frequent visitor to my iPod and CD player. Not to mention I liked Ongaku Gatas and Viyuden. And no, I’m not putting Yossy in this spot just because Reina placed 4th in Vee’s own survey last week.

6. Miyabi Natsuyaki – 1/7 of Berryz Koubou, 1/3 of Buono! and Aa! Responsible via her shirt on the Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance single for the name of this blog. H!Per most likely to make like Mike Watt or Jah Wobble. Shares a birthday with Elvis Costello. 

7. Airi Suzuki - 1/7 of C-ute, 1/3 of Buono! and Aa! H!Per most likely to make like Johnny Ramone or Ron Asheton. Responsible for those great high notes in “Maasara Blue Jeans”. 

8. Yuki Maeda - I’m probably going to be one of the few people voting for the Elder Club’s resident enka singer, but I don’t give a fuck. Yuki set off my interest in enka music long before a fellow Pennsylvanian flew to Japan and gave the genre a kick in the ass. Here’s hoping her future singing career brings her a longevity that equals, if not rivals, Sayuri Ishikawa’s and Yuriko Futaba’s. 

9. Kaori Iida - We still love you, Johnson. Please make another solo album soon. 

10. Nozomi Tsuji - Ah, Nono, if only things were different (read: If only Naoki Yamazaki wasn’t such a stick-in-the-mud prude)… Someone at UFW should dust off the master recording of W3: Faithful and, if not give it a legit release right away, at least force one by leaking the goddamn thing online. 

The question this month:

The music industry has had many tie-ins with animes and doramas. Of those tie-ins, did one manage to capture your interest and get you hooked on their music? Or, did one manage to change your perspective of a musical act?

As a 2nd part, did you end up watching the anime or dorama in its entirety or give up once the musical act’s tie-in ceased?

And for you non-anime/dorama watchers, have there been any CM tie-ins that had a similar effect on you?

This is going to be somewhat brief compared to my usual ramblings. Years ago, I was regularly scouring the DVD bins for interesting anime titles, usually centering around ones that weren’t mecha-laden sci-fi. One of the titles that I got into heavily was Love Hina, based on Ken Akamatsu’s manga. Such was my interest that I started scouring the web for anything Love Hina that I could get my hands on, especially if it featured my favorite character from the series, Motoko Aoyama. Yeah, that’s where the title of my original music blog, Stuck In A Pagoda With Motoko Aoyama, came from.

The search inevitably led to me finding soundtrack CDs from the series (two albums of character songs sung by all the seiyuu on the series and two different soundtracks). I’d found one on eBay, and on a search for a more regular source, discovered CDJapan, ordered up the rest, and started searching out other recordings by the voice actresses on the show, particularly those by Yui Horie (whose singing career I’ve become a devoted fan of) and Yuu Asakawa (who, while putting out three fine mini-albums of music, hasn’t done any solo material since about 2003).

I lost track of what was going on in anime and manga after awhile (its only in the past couple of weeks that I’ve started to look through the latter’s racks again), but discovering CDJapan in my search for these CDs, and knowing in the process that I could find other Japanese CDs easier, led me to start using the site to fill gaps in my Whiteberry collection (specifically at the time, their first EP After School and their trilogy of cover-version singles). This in itself led to me doing a little networking through LiveJournal and elsewhere for more J-music to find, which of course led to my discovering Morning Musume and Hello! Project, and to my blogging adventures.

Funnily enough, I haven’t paid much attention to any acting or anime project involving MoMusu very much. I’ve downloaded the first couple of episodes of the current My Melody series because of Reina Tanaka’s involvement in the voice cast and my general interest in Sanrio characters (Hell, I visit the Sanrio store in Times Square and buy something every time I visit New York City – last time it was a little Kuromi beanbag stuffie and pen). On the opposite hand, even though I have all of Koharu Kusumi’s Kirarin Revolution-related solo albums and think they’re fucking brilliant, I’ve never seen a single episode of the series, although I’ve heard that it may be coming out on DVD in the States at some point. My fingers are crossed…

Wota Wonderings 003 – The Ties That Bind (Selective Hearing)
Wota Wonderings 3 – Tie-Ins (Solo Space)
Wota Wonderings: Mendol – where the guys are girls and the girls are hot. (boylikesmusic)
Wota Wonderings 003: It’s All Yui Horie’s Fault (Somewhat) (The Groove Music Life)
Wota Wonderings 03 – Anime, Dorama, Video Game Tie-Ins (fields of maize and berryz)
Wota Wonderings 003: Kirarin Revolution and Hot Guys (Merry Go Round)

You can name and/or recognize half or more of the AKB48 research students or H!P Eggs. I couldn’t even name anybody in AKB48 proper, except for Megumi Ohori because of her solo single.  

You own at least 10 photos of your favorite idol. Guilty as charged!

You buy t-shirts advertising your favorite idol/idol group and wear them on a regular basis. If you’re a man 25+, you don’t feel any regret or embarrassment about this. Regrettably innocent. Japan doesn’t seem to make their shirts in American XL size, otherwise I’d have at least one Morning Musume shirt and one Reina Tanaka shirt.

You know all of your favorite idol’s stats by heart. I know Reina Tanaka’s birthday, where she’s from, and what her first single with the band was. Beyond that, fuggedaboutit.

Whenever anyone insults your favorite idol or idol group, you immediately come to their defense… even if you know you’re b.s.ing half your compliments. (i.e. “They’re good singers!” “She can dance well!” “She has more personality than [insert some famous TV personality here]” “They’re NOT ugly!”) For one thing, I don’t bullshit my compliments when it comes to J-Pop. Other than that, guilty as charged, especially where my fiancée is concerned. All that having been said, anyone in MoMusu could run circles around [name of a certain teen pop/TV star deleted as I vowed never to mention her name on this blog ever again].

You have spent more than you make a day on idol goods. Guilty!

You can recognize all of your favorite idols’ voices. Yep.

You have almost a stalkerish obsession with wanting to meet them or even just see them in person. I definitely don’t know about stalkerish obsession, but let’s be fucking blunt: Morning Musume are my favorite band along with Iggy Pop & The Stooges, and since I’ve gotten to see the Stooges play live last year in what was the best fucking concert I’ve ever seen in my life, I need to get my ass to Japan someday so that I can complete that equation! If I got to MEET them, I’d probably be extremely fucking nervous.

You hear someone say something that remotely sounds like your favorite idol’s name and you immediately assume they’re also a wota. Let’s just say that it doesn’t help that Reina is also a common name for Latin females!

You heavily anticipate any news from your idol. Guilty.

You have sent fan-mail. Honestly, I wouldn’t know where to send them fan mail.

Your favorite idol appears in your dreams more than once. Hasn’t happened with Reina Tanaka yet, but I do remember a dream where I was supposed to be going away somewhere the next day and I’m in a room with my parents and Mika Todd. 

You have wondered what would happen if your idol dated you. (Mainly for guys, but if we include Johnnys here…) Actually, I haven’t wondered what a date with Reina would be like. A record-shopping trip with Reina would be quite interesting, though…

Your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/immediate family has learned to deal with your obsession long ago. Perhaps.

If your favorite idol is suspended/fired/retired/graduated/has no work with their agency/other you check more than two sources of possible info everyday and accept any rumors about his/her return to be true immediately. Um, seriously, I’m trying to put what happened with Ai Kago out of my mind, but…

You have at least 3 photobooks or DVDs of your favorite idol. To date, four photobooks and two DVDs of Reina.

You could colorcode a song sung by AKB48 O.o (I’m afraid of those who can!) I couldn’t even colorcode a song sung by MoMusu!

You do fandubs, cosplays, or fandances of your favorite idol or idol group. This would be fellow Cancerian wota Vee’s department. Personally, on a related note, I’m surprised I haven’t sat down with my guitar and figured out the chord changes to MoMusu songs!

You make birthday and worship posts on a blog/forum. Guilty in the first degree – hell, I started So Hot She Shits Fire on Reina’s 18^th birthday and did birthday posts that day on MotokoAoyama.com and YODC as well.

You don’t take the cheap route and buy your idol’s songs from iTunes or another mp3 site, you spend the money to order every edition of the CD/DVD. Unfortunately, I’ve taken the impatient route and downloaded a few things from either iTunes or Hello-Online.org’s tracker when the mail service for an advance order was way too slow for my liking. 

I didn’t see any full episodes, only clips (many of those having only Reina Tanaka in them, for reasons obvious only to longtime readers of MotokoAoyama.com (both versions) and SHSSF. From what I read of descriptions of the show, it seemed to get sillier and sillier with every episode. Didn’t bother me though.

It wasn’t the talent that was the problem with the show – Morning Musume still continue to sell records, having not missed the Oricon Top 10 in their entire history. It was the situations they found themselves in. Their previous program, Hello! Morning, had the group in a bigger variety of situations both in and out of the studio. HaroMoni@ had them stuck in a TV studio being bossed around by a puppet in a crown and a diaper.

Morning Musume and Up-Front Works will, no doubt, have a new TV outlet to replace HaroMoni@. With the band still a priority for UFW, that’s pretty much a given, and I wouldn’t be surprised if UFW had a contingency plan in place once they saw the writing on the wall. I would also not be surprised if an announcement on MoMusu’s replacement program came before HaroMoni@’s last episode airs at the end of September.

The only real disadvantage I can see, from my point of view, is that the end of HaroMoni@ also means the end of eyecandy of my favorite MoMusu wearing those rather sexy cat ears.