Quite self-explanatory, here's my 10 favorite Morning Musume PVs (including Sakura and Otome gumis) with some comments and a last honorable mention in the end.
01 - Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
I remember quite clearly that this was the first PV to catch my attention on YouTube all the way back when I couldn't tell the members apart. That's because, after watching it more times than I cared to count, I had memorized all their names. And it was the perfect way to get to know their idol personae.
I love that every member gets their moment in the center, and that there's always at least 3 more people behind them all doing different things. That makes me gladly watch the PV many times, so I can pay attention to what each member is doing. It also helps that they don't move much, so when I'm trying to watch one of them I don't have to follow them around while they dance. And observing closely each member in this PV pays off, because there's hardly anything else out there that compares to it in the "Funny Faces per Second" department.
Oh, and my favorite part of it is right after they say Sayu doesn't need to use makeup, when Kaorin comes to the front and says "How nice, to be young...", Sayu answers "Yes!" and Yaguchi "Dammit~!"
02 - Mr. Moonlight
I think I can justify this PV's position with three screencaps.
03 - I WISH
The "message" of this PV, if I can call it that, always amazed me. The
beauty of the lyrics doesn't need any extra commentary, it's one of the
best - if not THE best, I'd have a hard time choosing this or Ai Araba
- in Morning Musume's discography. But it's the scenes in the PV that
get my attention. First, there's a character introduction of sorts.
Then, something starts going wrong with every one of them: Yasuda burns
her clothes, Tsuji doesn't get paid, Yossie injures her head, etc.
After that nonsense scene� when Maki, Yaguchi and Yossie do a
kamehameha (?), they all go fight in front of the police. And then,
they see Rika walking with her dog and smiling at them. So, they all
make peace instantly while the song starts going "LIFE IS WONDERFUL!".
Lesson we learned: Rika's smile is the way to world peace (???)
04 - Dance Suru no Da
I love the way this one was filmed. Or better, I love the way this version was, because I've seen two different ones, this and another with more "normal" camera angles. Oh, and I know this isn't an official PV, but I want it here.
What this camera does is give me exactly what I liked in JKM, although in a different way. With the screen split into two and the coreography not demanding the members to run all over the place, I can easily watch any one of them I want. And the parts with them playing around are pure gold <3 I especially liked when Tsuji and Kago appeared with the AIBO robot (the dog), because the name remembers me of Aibon. But that's just me and my weird sense of humor...
05 - Sakura Mankai
This is the most beautiful thing to come from Hello! Project <3 I think if I took a random frame out of this PV, it's certain that whatever scene it contained would be wonderful and ready to be used as a wallpaper. Whoever divided Momusu in two groups was a complete genius... If it had been me, I'd put Sayu in Sakura and Yossie in Otome, because that would make more sense with the image I usually have of them, but the way it was ended working perfectly.
It's too much fun =D I read once somewhere that this PV and song was a little childish, but this is nothing for someone who appreciates MiniMoni. This is surely a PV from a time H!P had plenty of creativity around, this and Koko ni Iru ze! that comes just below in this list. There's little to say about it, though, only that I laugh a lot each time I see it. Especially when Yasuda is thrown into space, and when Ogawa/Yossie appear together Titanic-style.
Another overall fun PV, but that doesn't really get me inspired to write... Just want to share one thought though...
08 - Souda! We're Alive
09 - The Peace!
10 - Renai Revolution 21
These are classic PVs, much has been said about them already and I don't really have much to add. I LOVE the giant M flag in Souda! We're Alive (I'm not even sure if I can call it a flag with that size), and the jumps. Those scenes with them stopped and the camera rotating around them don't do much for me, though. The strong point of The Peace! is so obvious it shouldn't need mentioning: the sheer craziness of it all. And two YAY!s for the sailor suits. Renai Revolution 21, I love its sci-fi style <3 and the hairstyles too <3 especially Aibon/Nono/Nacchi
Aruiteru
I like Aruiteru, and I really like its PV. Seriously. *watches the readership go away in disgust*
I wasn't around by the time this was released, so I haven't read it, but I saw one or other comment in some blogs that made me believe Aruiteru was mostly rejected by the English H!P community.� I like the song, it's the kind I'd hear when I'm tired and happy. The PV isn't Top 10 material, maybe Top 15. The first half of it is the cutest Close-up Version I've ever seen (there's almost only close ups...) and then there's the happy reunion around the campfire part <3 Ok, Mikitty went a little too far in her HAPPY! YAY! impression, since that's so far from her usual self in Momusu... But whatever. That's not a bad thing.
[this is good]
I enjoyed readong this review. I haven't read any bad comments on Aruitreu myself, but I personally love this song, and the PV. It has a nice feel to it and never fails to cheer people up when i show it to them. :)
Looking forward to hearing more reviews from you in the future!
投稿情報: laura | 2007/12/29 06:07
Thank you. I'll make sure you'll have more reviews to read then ^_^
投稿情報: HarimaKenji | 2007/12/29 08:46
[这个好] I don't really have anything worthwhile to comment, I just want to say that I quite agree with your top two picks. In my opinion, too, JKM and Mr. Moonlight are definitely in the top tier of MM's PV's. After that I, don't even know what my own favorites are so I can't really say if I agree with yours or not, heh. But RR21, Souda and The Peace would all surely be in my top 10 too. Not Dance Suru no da though, I always kind of found that one boring even though it is a great song.
投稿情報: Henkka | 2007/12/29 11:44
That seems worthwile to me ^_^ Glad to know we agreed in some of them. I did think Dance Suru no da would be the one pick in my list a good number of people wouldn't agree with, along with Aruiteru, maybe.
Oh, and I replied to you back in intlwota. Just in case you didn't see it, because there's been so many posts there today...
投稿情報: HarimaKenji | 2007/12/29 12:14
Your choices reflect the astounding contrasts Morning Musume has exhibited over the years. I can safely sayonly one single -- "Ambitious" of early 2006 -- was what I would consider uninteresting. "Do It Now" was also somewhat of a waste, but everthing else was overwhelmingly great. Another excellent essay.
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http://radicalpatriot.vox.com
投稿情報: Rad♂ | 2007/12/30 03:04
Yeah, agreed, Ambitious always fails to catch my attention. I also can't understand why Do It Now is a favorite to so many of the members; it got pretty boring when I watched the Morning Musume Singles Collection DVD and a lot of them chose that single, so there was like 5 different performances of that in a row...
投稿情報: HarimaKenji | 2007/12/30 06:07
[this is good] I'd have to agree with you for most of the singles but... I'm not sure what I'd actually have as my top 10 list. Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari was my first PV/single I actually heard from Morning Musume. My best friend sent me a link on AIM saying that she liked the song and told me to watch it. I watched it uninterested and was surprised with so many people in the group though. I listened to it a few more times and got myself hooked. I started searching around and found Iroppoi Jirettai. I must say, I gotta love my best friend for introducing them to me.
Aruiteru is a good song... but I'm still having my doubts over that song... but the PV isn't that bad. It's the outdoors... and away from green screen.
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-Air
投稿情報: Air | 2007/12/31 06:39
WTF did I do with that colour of my writing... XD
投稿情報: Andra | 2007/12/31 06:51
[いいですね] Most of those picks are among my favorites, "Aruiteru" included. It took the song a while to grow on me but it did after a while (especially after learning its message). The PV is just beautiful also (not to mention "natural").
投稿情報: Magi-Kat | 2007/12/31 14:55
It's not so much that they changed the way PVs are done... PVs were always mostly dance shots and close-up mixed. Just go watch any of these PVs in the list, it's how they are all composed. However, when they make close-ups in Koko ni Iru ze, they make funny faces, and when they're on dance shots, they do crazy air guitar, all that in a unique set and costumes. That's what they're missing nowadays, some creativity inside the dance shots and close ups. They also don't have a theme. Just look at this list, Mr Moonlight is big band, Sakura Mankai is traditional Japan, Hyokkori is pirates, while Mikan is... Oranges? Childhood memories? Hope for the future? And what does that have to do with their costumes and the set? They could go very far with just dance shots and close-ups, if they put some thought on it.
投稿情報: HarimaKenji | 2008/01/01 04:29
Magi-Kat, I guess I was wrong with all the positive replies here about
Aruiteru. Maybe it just needs some time to grow on people. I like how
you describe the PV as "natural", that's a great way to put it ^_^ They
all look just plain beautiful on it, with common clothes instead of the costumes in other PVs, and it combines greatly with the song's
lyrics.
投稿情報: HarimaKenji | 2008/01/01 05:17
投稿情報: Andra | 2008/01/04 03:42