Contrary to what you may believe, I did not wait a month just to use that title. But I am rather proud of my turbo-punning skills, thanks.



There are certain perks to unemployment, as a blogger. More time to write, for one. And being home on the day a new Morning Musume PV premieres. That's something I haven't been around for in some time. So there will be no half-assed review for you guys, here - I'm pulling out all the screencappy goodness for this, a shining achievement for MoMusu.

I mentioned in my Berryz article that Morning Musume came dangerously close to losing my confidence this year, and it's true. I loved the early singles of the 2007, but 'Onna ni Sachi Are' took me a good few weeks before I started to groove on it, and the PV remains my least favorite in some time. I've grown tired of Takitty's vocal grandstanding and limited range of facial expressions (or maybe I've just grown tired of Takitty). All the scandals. Yossie's graduation. Miki just...leaving.

But the good news? I've sloughed off all the weight of that, and I've come to appreciate this line-up for all it is. I was really hoping for a (Don't Call it a) comeback single with 'Mikan', and...wow. That seems to be what I have on the way to my mailbox. The song is vibrant and plucky and energetic, the girls vocally shine, and the PV...the PV has made me believe in miracles.

Morning Musume is beautiful, Morning Musume is talented, and Morning Musume is still rockin' it. Despite all the fumbles and growing pains, they are here. Which is such a relief, because I have way too much heart and soul invested in this group.



Let's start with the costumes. From the moment the PV started, I knew I would love it, because I loved these sparkly, well-appointed, knee-high accompanied suits. The set adds to the love - I've gotten used to the sparse and the uninspired as far as sets go on MoMusu PV's (which the girls usually make up for in spades), but here we see a completely realized CG setting which ties into the whole video's "concept" rather well.



Group 1 - Aika and Koha! For Koharu to be the perceived "center" of this song is brilliant, as she leads this PV in personality by miles. Which is saying a lot, considering every last MoMusu brings her A-Game to the table, here. But pay attention to Koha in every shot and you'll see what I mean - she is absolutely owning it. She's playing Leader in her mind, you can tell. And in my opinion, she's doing far better than the real Leader. Aika is adorable, as always, and steps up her game just a bit for this, perhaps feeding off of Koha's power.



Group 2 - JunJun, Takitty, and Aika again! I love the little rainbows encircling all the groupings - it brings a whole "Katamari Damacy"/"Mario Kart" feel to things. But maybe that's just me. That's probably just me. I used to think I'd have a hard time telling the Pandas apart, but then I reminded myself that one of them is an Amazon and the other looks a lot like Ayaka (THANK YOU, by the way, to Anna for pointing this out, because I thought I was alone...!).

Either way, I think I totally got them confused several times in this review, unless they were right there, together, so...feel free to poke holes in my IDs.



Group 3 - Eririn, Koha again, and Gaki-san! I love the way the girls play off of each other in this PV, and this shot seems to illustrate "why" pretty wonderfully. I love Eririn's smile, and everyone just seems so...genuine.



It'll take a few more viewings for me to really grasp what's going on with the dance, but it looks really nice. A dance shot will be great to have. They're movin' quite a bit, and dozens of really blurry screencaps can attest to that.



See this? This fucking "touch-the-side-of-your-face-then-look-all-innocent" singing move? I WILL BE HAPPY IF I NEVER HAVE TO SEE TAKITTY DO THIS AGAIN. >:( She does it no less than twice in this PV, too, and her little tic of touching that side of her face constantly is even worse. At least Reina's constant peace signs are cute. I just don't know what's up with Takitty and the face-touching.

I'm pretty sure I'm growing to hate her.



Meanwhile, in bizarro-world, I suddenly LOVE Eririn. What happened?! Oh, yeah, she's beautiful and has a personality!



Gaki-san is looking similarly lovely. I adore the lighting they have for these close-ups that produces that wicked square relfection in their eyes.



Sorry, I uh...I really didn't get any wonderful close-up caps of Sayumin, but this will do. Sayumin always looks cute in PVs - did you need any proof?



The reveal shots of the girls' baby pictures is genius. How squeal-worthy and inspiring!



Seriously, how did I ever NOT love this?



MITSUI AIKA STILL LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS SHE DID AT AGE 2!!!



She does! She looks like Ayaka! Check it out! (makes me wonder if she has the same junk in the trunk...PB! PB! PB!)



Not an amazing screencap, but it really shows the dynamic nature of this dance. Reina looks FIERCE, not that that's anything new. MEOW!



Reina = Always Ready For Her Close-up. If there ever comes a day that I do a "Top Ten Morning Musume Eyes" list, you won't even have to scroll to the bottom. Reina has the most beautiful, if wonky, eyes I've ever seen.



And take that damned ring off before you poke someone's eye out! >:(



Koha's sorta like "hey, what's going on over there...?" Morning Musume sure does point a lot in their videos. I should do a comprehensive study on this.



I can understand how Koha on her own, or even Koha paired with someone like Sayumin, might be too much exuberance for some to handle, which is one of the reasons I love the Aika/Koha pairing so much. Before I lose track of this thought, I wanted to put it out there: Koha's demeanor in this PV is...dare I say it? Yankii?



A nice group shot to show off the dance poses.



YOU WANT V-SIGNS?! HAVE THREE V-SIGNS!!



A good example of the baby pic effect...adorable JunJun now...



...and adorable JunJun then!



Now things switch to the alt shot for the PV, featuring the girls grouped off and sittin' (quite literally) on top of the world. It reminds me of the Sou da! CD jacket, and that's never a bad thing.



Reina: "Bitch, stop stealin' all the solos."
Takitty: "I'm not listening..."



Eririn JunJun (confirmed Panda mix-up #1) and Gaki-san are my favorite pair-off in this shot. They're both so beautifully captured, with some light-up-the-room smiles. This series of close-ups, as well, has a very candid, off-the-cuff feel to it, and actually brings to my mind 'Ai Araba! It's All Right'



The Pandas LinLin and Eririn (confirmed Panda mix-up #2) tease a cuddle-worthy Sayumin. LinLin looks particularly delighted by this.



Subtle hand-touching in the Koha/Aika group...NO I'M NOT THINKING WHAT YOU ALL THINK I'M THINKING. I'M NOT LIKE THAT. I SWEAR.



Have I squeezed a close-up of Aika in here yet? I can't remember. Anyway, here she is, giving her cheeks a BIT of a rest.



This screencap is just hilarious in every possible way.



All right, a JunJun close-up, four hours in. 9___9 I think this PV has single-handedly made me love the Pandas.



This has "NO WAI!!" written all over it.



I thought C.J. might appreciate this gorgeous shot. :)



Yes, Sayumin has always been that cute.



Wow, this isn't stereotypically Chinese or anything. Sure is cute, though.



LinLin and JunJun are here to kick ass and eat egg rolls, and they're all out of egg rolls!



LinLin: "Reina-san, would you please show us your Jimmy 'J.J.' Walker impression?"
Reina: "DY-NO-MIIIITE!"
Sayumin: "I don't get it."



Gaki-san, perennial winner of the Morning Musume Dental Beauty Pageant, with a great shot of her chops.



JunJun and Yurina should really just cut their losses and form a "giantesses" subgroup...like the opposite of Mini Moni. I'd buy that for a dollar.

So, on the whole, one of the best Morning Musume videos in a while, not counting 'Kanashimi Twilight', which will forever hold a place in my personal faves. It sure as death and taxes beats several others in recent memory, and in its favor, the song is totally worthy.