Wait..? WHAT?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Well, this is a very sad day in many H!P fans lifes. C-ute member Arihara Kanna has officially left Hello!Project. :’(

Official statement from the H!P website:

We would like to announce that Arihara Kanna is leaving °C-ute and Hello!Project as of 09.07.2009. Arihara worked hard after she joined Hello!Project in the 2004 audition, joined °C-ute in 2006, and as their member, she had a major debut the year after.

As you know, she stopped appearing on the stage since February this year, due to the bunion, and now she has decided to leave °C-ute and Hello!Project and return back to the life of a normal girl.

We are very sorry to bring such unexpected news, but we hope you will keep supporting °C-ute in the future.

Seriously, what the fudge?! Honestly, I knew this was going to happen, I just really wished it didn’t. Why did it have to be my favorite C-ute member to leave? It’s like having Miyabi leave Berryz or something… It really does suck as 6-nin C-ute just seems so weird to me. Would I like a new girl to be added? Hm… Probably. The group without Kanna just isn’t the same. But I don’t mean a new girl as a Kanna replacement(that’s impossible) but just to have it be a 7-nin C-ute.

I don’t know if it’s coincidental, but C-ute’s releases since Kanna left have been above average at best. I mean, Bye Bye Bye and Shochuu Omimai Moshiagemasu haven’t really had the impact that FOREVER LOVE and Edo no Temari Uta II did. Of course, I can’t blame Kanna’s absence for a few Tsunku productions that I didn’t grow obsessed with.

I think what I’m going to miss the most is not anticipating Kanna lines between every Maimi and Airi ones and her shouts in Massara Blue Jeans…

Sigh… Well, what’s done is done, I guess… On the bright side, at least I’m glad I got to spend part of my lifetime obsessing over her while she was still active(unlike Murakami Megumi who I bet I would have been a big fan of if she was still in the group. Oh, and Erika should get more lines too… And since it’s a 6-nin group now, I’m thinking EVEN MORE focus will be put on Maimi and Airi(as odd numbered groups tend to have three central members[9 members=Momosu(Ai, Reina, Kusumi), 7 members=Berryz(Momoko, Risako, Miyabi/Yurina), C-ute(Airi, Maimi, Saki)])

Well, good bye Kanna. I don’t think I’ll ever get to see you again unless random fan pictures surface of you or you decide to pull a Kago Ai and release music again. There goes my favorite C-ute member… So now my favorite member order is…

1. Yajima Maimi
2. Okai Chisato
3. Suzuki Airi
4. Nakajima Saki
5. Hagiwara Mai
6. Umeda Erika

All this H!P Revival groups nonsense…

Well, we all know that new(and awesome) Hello!Project cover album is coming out soon right? If you didn’t, here’s the tracklist(fromTH!P):

Chanpuru 1~Happy Marriage Song Cover Shuu~

1. DIAMONDS – High-King
2. Ai wa Katsu -°C-ute / Mano Erina
3. YES-YES-YES – Aa!
4. Tentou Chuu no Sanba – Shin Minimoni
5. Kimi ga Iru dake de – Pucchimoni V
   
6. Heya to Y shirts to Watashi – Tanaka Reina
7. Mamotte Agetai – Niigaki Risa / Kamei Eri
8. Cosmos – Takahashi Ai
9. Mirai Yosouzu II – ZYX-α
10. ONLY YOU – Zoku v-u-den
11. Akai Sweet Pea – Tanpopo #
12. For You… – Linlin
13. Kanpaku Sengen – Berryz Koubou / Mano Erina
    
14. Sekai wa Futari no tame ni - Michishige Sayumi, Kusumi Koharu, Mitsui Aika,  Junjun

That’s not what I’m gonna talk about though, even though seeing High-King return, LinLin get a solo and Mano join the two H!P Kids groups is pretty damn awesome. Instead, I’m gonna rant about the recently leaked members for the revival units.

Aa!: Natsuyaki Miyabi, Suzuki Airi and Saho Akari

Well, this surprised me a bit. Why take out Reina? I know I’m not a fan of hers but it would have been awesome to see this group get back together for a song. If you don’t know who Saho Akari is, she’s the member from Shugo Chara Egg! who played the blue/spade character. I guess shes a good addition. It seems Tsunku wanted to replace Reina’s older age for Miyabi and Airi and make Akari the younger one. Group rating: 4.5/5

Shin Minimoni: LinLin, Fukuda Kanon, Takeuchi Akari, Miyamoto Karin

Well, we all have to agree that LinLin was the perfect leader for this group. There’s just no denying it! Short(if that even matters), quirky, independent and a kick ass singer. What else do you want?(Oh, and hot). We all know Fukuda Kanon, of course(green/clover in SCE!).

Takeuchi Akari, no idea who she is. I’m really unfamiliar with all these Eggs. Either way, she seems cute.

Another Egg I don’t know, Miyamoto Karin. Oh JEBUS! O_O She’s cute. @_@<3

Apart from not knowing who half of the group was, I feel really confident about this group. If they don’t got the cuteness part filled in, than I don’t know what could. Group rating: 4.75/5

Pucchimoni V: Nakajima Saki, Hagiwara Mai, Mano Erina

So is Mano supposed to be the new Goto Maki? Hah, right. Anyway this group is just kinda random for me. Erina makes sense and in a way so does Saki, but I dunno about MaiMai. The original Petitimoni(as I call them) consisted of Goto Maki, Yasuda Kei and Ichii Sayaka and which Yossie later switched in for. I guess it takes like two girls who can sing well(which was Tsunku’s original plan[Yasuda's and Sayaka's Otome no Shinrigaku in Momosu's second album]) and pair them up with the already vocally talented Goto Maki. Putting it like that, it does make sense to add Saki and Mai who are(I suppose) vocally talented in a way. Group rating: 4/5

ZYX-α: Niigaki Risa, Kusumi Koharu, Tsugunaga Momoko, Tokunaga Chinami,  Sudou Maasa, Umeda Erika, Wada Ayaka, Ogawa Saki

Heyheyhey whoa! What happened to Yajima Maimi and Shimizu?! Ahh I know, probably too old. xo I can see how Risa takes Mari’s role as leader although Koharu and Maasa being in here are pretty random. The Eggs make for a welcome addition and it’s nice to see Momoko and Erika back. Honestly, this group doesn’t really excite me much. Group rating: 3.75/5

Zoku v-u-den: Sayumi Michishige, JunJun, Sugaya Risako

Ok, Sayu+JunJun are PERFECT for this group but WHAT THE FLIP is Risako doing there?!?! Seriously, she’s so out of place. Since the group theme is sexiness, in a way she fits it(but it’s weird how Tsunku chose Berryz’ youngest member, but maybe he was aiming at how all v-u-den vocalists must suck[which wasn't the case in the original v-u-den]) but her sexiness just comes out kind of awkward at times. However, sexy she is. I think other H!P Kids would have fit the slot better… Let’s see… From Berryz… Chinami or Miyabi would have fit in pretty well. Mayeb not Miyabi ’cause she’s already in Aa! but Chinami doesn’t really have that sexy trait to her… From C-ute… Ok well, no one. Well what do you know. Tsunku really did make the right choice… Group rating: 4.75/5

Tanpopo#: Kamei Eri, Mitsui Aika, Kumai Yurina, Okai Chisato

Ok, all I had to do was read the first two members of the group to know that it would immediately my favorite. Hello?! Eri+Mitsui= musical heaven! And than Yurina showed up. :x Ugh… Not that I hate the girl, only when she’s taking Miyabi’s spotlight… Hopefully she’ll prove less annoying this time around. And yay for C-ute’s best vocalist making it on the group! Chisato is a welcome addition, although I think that if Kanna were still around, she would have fitted in better due to her voice. All of the vocalists in the group have naturally high voices, minus Yurina. Oh, and +2 points for Tsunku @ creative group names. Group rating: 5/5

It’s finally time for…

III

At long last Sora to Kujira Version 3 is here! I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while now but I’ve finally “found the time” to do it so here it goes.

First of all, I wanna thank everyone for 35,200 hits. ^-^ That’s really something for me to be proud of.  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! <3 I really wanna get to 50k now~~~

Also, don’t forget to vote on the weekly poll so I can get you guys’ opinions! It really makes it more accurate if more people vote! >_< Oh, don’t forget to check out the “Sora to Video” thumbnail to see the newest PV artists(that I like anyway) have released!

Next is a nice update to the “About Sora to Kujira” page. It’s been spiffied up. I added new content to about every section, totally edited the format(kinda), more info about me(and a pic ;D), removed and added artists from my favorites lists.

Oh right, well since I kinda want to make everything new here, I’m obviously going to make a new rating system! ;D I already made the icons for it, I just gotta work out a few kinks… It’s a lot simpler and cleaner than the older version so reading reviews should be faster. Of course, a new review format is also in the works. ;D

THE FIRST ARTISTS TO BE REVIEWD ARE UP ON THE UPCOMING REVIEWS PAGE! I’ve taken 3 Japanese artists, 2 Korean and 1 Non-Asian that I’ll be reviewing for the week. I think that’s the way I’ll be reviewing things. Posting them up on Sunday and than doing 6 reviews a week. :3 Sounds nice. ^-^

As you may have noticed, I got a new theme up. I noticed that Otsuka Ai starred in my first ever theme and I coincidentally used her in the Sora to Kujira Version 2 theme so I decided to make her my personal model everytime the blog jumps up a version. Congrats for you Ai! ;D

So yea, now that this Momosu in AX thing is over, I can finally concentrate on the blog again~~~ The first review should be up soon… but there’s a catch~~~

[...V•O•T•E...] Week III

Week of 6/28 –7/05 (14 votes)

Uh oh, something’s up. Votes just keep going down. D: Anyway, this time I asked what your favorite(and active) Hello!Project act was. There aren’t as many choices as there were, lets say, last November, but hey, that just gives us more rapid releases from everyone(’specially C-ute).

My personal vote went to Morning Musume, of course. Even though both H!P Kids(Isn’t Erika 18 already? <_<) are super active and releasing kick ass stuff, Momosu just got me with Platinum 9 DISC and SYO.

1. Morning Musume: 43% – 6 votes
2. Buono!: 29% – 4 votes
3. Mano Erina: 14% – 2 votes

Loser: Guardians 4: 0% – 0 votes

Oh wow. I’m surprised to see that Buono! beat out both Berryz and C-ute(1 vote each). I’m also surprised Mano beat the two groups. Seeing the newbie group Guardians 4 getting no votes isn’t very surprising.

Now for the next poll question, I’m gonna go ahead and stay in the H!P field while asking whats probably the most asked question in all of H!P.

KILL ME NOW *UPDATED*

OMG I’m SERIOUSLY about to jump out the window. This is a historic event in Momosu history and I’m not there! D: I’m like so disappointed but yet excited… UGH!!!

Oh god…

Btw, new stuff coming once I get out for Winter vacation(like 5 more school days).

EDITS: Another video, no sound.

Another, the best I’ve seen yet.

The setlist for their concert: <3

Mikan
3, 2, 1 Breakin’ Out!

MC
Shōganai Yume Oibito
How Do You Like Japan? ~Nihon wa Donna Kanji Dekka?~
Resonant Blue

MC
***medley start***
I WISH
Happy Summer Wedding (Risa got to do the wadaaa)
-costume change mid medley-
Koi no Dance Site (Kamei did sexy beam?)
Souda! We’re ALIVE
The Peace (Koharu center)
Renai Revolution 21 (Reina did the hoi)
***medley end***

MC
LOVE MACHINE!
Sono Bamen de Bibichaikenaijan!

MC on global warming
Ame no Furanai Hoshi de wa Aisenai Darou (from Platinum 9)

MC of myspace contest with Yossi and Tsunku
3, 2, 1 Breakin’ Out! encore

[...V•O•T•E...] Week II

Week of 6/21 – 6/28 (20 votes)

Well, it seems that the asking someone which is their favorite electropop act doesn’t have quite the popularity if asking who they think the queen of J-pop is. I say this ’cause we got 13 less votes than the week before! Hmm, maybe this way I’ll be able to figure out exactly what my blog’s followers are made up of.

The contestants this time were once again pretty easy. You got the main acts, Perfume, Suzuki Ami, MEG and capsule. Add in the also popular Aira Mitsuki and her D-TOPIA label mate Saori@destiny and you got yourself the main electropop group of Japan.

This time, the winner kinda shocked me…

1. Suzuki Ami: 30% – 6 votes
2. Perfume: 25% – 5 votes
3. Aira Mitsuki: 20% – 4 votes

Loser: capsule: 5% – 1 vote

MEG and Saori@destiny both tied at 4th with 2 votes each. Actually, that kinda surprised me. I was expecting MEG to rank higher than both D-TOPIA girls. capsule being last doesn’t surprise me either, although Saori@destiny being last would have also fit.

The top three acts were all only one vote away from each other which means Aira could of easily won this thing if only a few more Aira fans had stumbled to the poll during the week.

Anyway, I’m glad to see that veteran Ami took first place. Actually, my vote had gone to her. ^-^

Who did you guys vote for?

Artists to be Reviewed (Part 4)

And also the final part! Yes ladies and gentlemen, StK’s first review in oh so many days is only a few days away. >_< Let’s not waste time and look at the new arrivals:

K-Pop

Yea, I kinda forgot to add some during the last post so I’ll just stick them up in here. It’s no problem for me to review Korean music. Releases are really smooth and don’t stack up like J-pop does.

Girls’ Generation

Lee Jung Hyun

After School

4minute

J-Pop

• Kylee (New)
• BONNIE PINK (Returning)
• Saori@destiny (Request)
• alan (Returning)
• KOKIA (New)
• PUFFY (Returning)
  

Pop

Miley Cyrus

SHUT UP I LOVE HER

And there you have it. StK’s official featured artist list. ^-^ Here’s the full version:

J-Pop

1. AKB48
2. Amuro Namie
3. BoA
4. Hamasaki Ayumi
5. Hey! Say! JUMP
6. Kalafina
7. Koda Kumi
8. Mano Erina
9. MEG
10. misono
11. Nakagawa Shoko
12. Otsuka Ai
13. Perfume
14. Suzuki Ami
15. Tohoshinki
16. Kylee (New)
17. BONNIE PINK (Returning)
18. Saori@destiny (Request)
19. alan (Returning)
20. KOKIA (New)
21. PUFFY (Returning)
22. EVERYTHING H!P + TNX

K-Pop

1. Big Bang
2. SHINee
3. Wonder Girls
4. Girls’ Generation
5. 2NE1
6. 4minute
7. After School
8. TaeGoon
9. Younha
10. Lee Jung Hyun

Pop

1. Lady Gaga
2. Björk
3. Miley Cyrus

35-ish FEATURED ARTISTS!