Berryz Kobo – Seishun Bus Guide / Rival

Seishun Bus Guide / Rival is Berryz Kobo’s 20th single and it was released on June 3rd, 2009. It reached #4 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 34,589 copies.

♠Tracklist♠

1. Seishun Bus Guide
2. Rival
3. Seishun Bus Guide (Instrumental)
4. Rival (Instrumental)

Being one of the very little double a-side singles in all of Hello! Project’s history, it was interesting to see how this single would turn out now that we wouldn’t have to add “the crappy b-side” into the mix. The first a-side, Seishun Bus Guide is actually very typical pop for the girls. Ignoring the rock elements here and there, the song is synthy pop at its roots. Fortunately, the song has a fun melody along with nice line distribution, even though Risako’s vocals can get a little ear grating from time to time. The song’s so safe yet so polished that one can’t help but like it.

Rival on the other hand focuses more on its chorus and overall quirkiness(oh, and more Miyabi than it’s counterpart). Once again, it’s as pop as you can get which is a bit strange since the girl’s recent releases have seen them trying out different genres. Anyway, apart from the strange and random monologues during the verses, the song is actually pretty catchy. Vocal wise everyone sounds fine. There’s more Miyabi this time but I still think that Yurina can’t sing to save her life(she just sounds like shes talking).

For being the first double a-side I’ve lived to see released in H!P(not counting things released pre-2006, when I wasn’t yet a fan), I’m quite impressed. Even though neither of the two tracks were to be considered either perfect or amazing, the overall high quality of both tracks make this a very enjoyable, if safe single.

♠Single Rating♠

♠Favorite Track♠

Rival

Berryz Kobo – Dakishimete Dakishimete

Dakishimete Dakishimete is Berryz Kobo’s 19th single and it was released on March 11th, 2009. It reached #8 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 27,501 copies.

♠Tracklist♠

1. Dakishimete Dakishimete
2. Sono Subete no Ai ni
3. Dakishimete Dakishimete (Instrumental)

I was surprised by the genre of music Tsunku gave the girls for Dakishimete Dakishimete but he did a great job with it. Instead of having that synth-pop style like in Morning Musume’s Naichau Kamo, it instead has a heavier techno sound to it, making heavy use of the sounds heard in those high octane dance tracks and with that H!P synth that Tsunku has recently been using in all his works. The vocals however maintain untouched and they sound just great that way. Also, I’m not complaining of Miyabi’s big part in the song. A very fresh, surprising and catchy song with a more mature sound, although it took a while to grow on me.

Sono Subete no Ai ni is a ballad. We should all know that 80% of the time H!P+ballads is not a good combination at all. Unfortunately for us, this song is not an exception. Even with it’s pretty piano melody, the song just doesn’t pull it off. The vocals are fine but there’s something lacking in the instrumentation and arrangement that throws this track into the deep abyss of bad Hello! Project b-sides.

Ignoring that horrendous and boring b-side, the girls really pulled it off with Dakishimete Dakishimete. I like the variety and unexpectedness of the groups releases which is what always has me anxious for new material from them. I’d still like for them to release an aggressive song though, just to see how they would compare to their fellow Hello! Project Eggs group.

♠Single Rating♠

♠Favorite Track♠

Dakishimete Dakishimete

Berryz Kobo – Berryz Kobo Special Best Vol.1 (New Track)

Berryz Kobo Special Best Vol.1 is Berryz Kobo’s 1st best album and it was released on January 14th, 2009. It reached #11 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and has sold 13,163 copies.

♠Tracklist♠

1. Otoko no Ko

Otoko no Ko might be one of Berryz Kobo’s most aggressive songs to date. It blends in really well with the image they were using at the time so it makes sense that Tsunku would compose a song like this for them. There’s very heavy use of electric guitar, making the track a hardcore synth rock track with impressive and expressive vocals from the girls(I even liked how Yurina sounded). This is the type of sound I would like to hear more often from the girls, even though it is a bit messy. The transition from the calmer verses to the rushing chorus is an exciting bridge which I thought just did a great job with the song’s rockier sound. Well done Tsunku.

♠Song Rating♠

Berryz Koubou – MADAYADE

MADAYADE was Berryz Koubou’s 18th single. It was released November 5th, 2008.

Tracklist

1. MADAYADE
2. Furare Pattern
3. MADAYADE (Instrumental)

I didn’t know Tsunku was allowed to release surfing as the winter holidays were arriving! Much like the other Berryz releases, MADAYADE is crazy(though not near as much as the last two). It opens up with some unique rifts, and than leads into a full blown typical Hawaiian/surfing type instrumental which is a pretty strange listen. The song is upbeat the whole time and has a very catchy verse, which is sung well by Risako(although she doesn’t have the best voice in the group). We get to hear more of the members this time, notably Yurina whom Tsunku seems to have switched roles with Miyabi, giving her a more back seat role. The chorus is a ton of fun, with the girls repeating “MADAYADE” and ending it with a strange “Pyon” sound, similar to the minimoni tracks. As much as I like this song, it isn’t as memorable as their last two singles and I also disliked how they gave Miyabi a less important role in the PV, song and cover art. She easily has the best voice(next to Momoko, while the lead singer has, in my opinion, the whiny and obnoxious voice) in the group and should be given more recognition.

Never too excited to get to the 2nd track of an H!P single, I cautiously began to play Furare Pattern. It opens up like your typical H!P b-side except this time it sounds… kinda unique. The song seems to make a total u-turn when the actual singing arrives. It’s really good! And catchy as well! You could say it’s your typical pop song during the verses and chorus with some snazzy sounding rifts) but the real difference is the hook of the song, where the girls sing this rising bit together that Momoko manages to glue together. It’s pretty epic and the highlight of this song. An above average b-side.

While the single sounds a little more mainstream than your typical Berryz release, it still proves to be a strong overall package. The more rock sound heard in the a-side is quite fresh while finally having a listenable b-side is a sigh of relief. The lack of Miyabi still bothers me but I can only hope that it’s temporary as Yurina had always been “the 4th girl” in the group.

♠Single Rating♠

Berryz Koubou – 5 (FIVE)

5 (FIVE) was Berryz Koubou’s 5th full length album. It was released September 10, 2008. It sold 11,715 copies in it’s first week, sold 14,415overall and reached #11 on the charts.

Tracklist

1. HAPPY! Stand Up

2. Kono Yubi Tomare!

3. Baka ni Shinaide

4. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance

5. Ah Merry- go-round

6. CLAP!

7. REAL LOVE

8. Yume wo Hitotsubu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~

9. Dschinghis Khan

10. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi

11. BE

12. Special Generation ~ Eccentric Remix

Opening up this album is HAPPY! Stand Up a hyped up fast paced pop song with a really great chorus that both starts off the song and is present in A LOT of the song, making it sound just a bit too repetitive. Either way, this is a great song that relies on it’s catchy chorus and strong vocals even though the verses themselves are great themselves. A great way to start of the album.

Second is Kono Yubi Tomare!, sung by Momoko, Chinami and Maasa. This song is actually my favorite new song from the album, although at first listening to it I thought I wasn’t going to like it. This is your typical H!P brass heavy song but what I like about this song is not it’s chorus(which are pretty solid on their own) but instead the verses. The reason is because you don’t get flooded in vocals and actually get time to listen to just the instrumental a bit(which is uncommon in H!P music). Of course, the instrumentals have to be good for that to work out, and the rapid brass instruments make it all sound great.

Next is Baka ni Shinaide sung by Saki, Miyabi, Yurina and Risako. This song actually opens up with a serious tone, composed of beeps and than some rapid electric guitar. It kicks off with the chorus which isn’t too bad. It’s a rock/pop song, leaning more to the rock side but maintaining the H!P sound. This song has a pretty mature sound to it that maintains throughout the entire song, t sounds pretty good but wasn’t anything too spectacular.

The first single of the album is actually the last single to be released. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance sounds right in place with the rest of the songs and is still my favorite song from the era.

Ah Merry- go-round is the only duet song on the album, sung by Momoko and Saki. This song is leaning to a more R&B side. I enjoyed the vocals from the girls, especially during the chorus, which is the strong point of the song and the main reason to listen to it, along with having Momoko.

CLAP!(sung by Chinami, Miyabi and Yurina) easily takes the prize for most up lifting song on the album. It’s an extremely cute pop song with acoustic guitar, some clapping and extremely happy vocals. Bot the verses and chorus are great, which was a relief to me. One of my favorite songs on the album.

Next is the only solo song on the album, sung by Risako, REAL LOVE is a synth heavy song with a serious tone and catchy beats. It was a risk listening to a solo from Risako, due to her grating vocals and all but she managed not to sound extremely bad as she didn’t need to hold too many long notes. The instrumental is especially great in this song and manages to stand out from the other new tracks.

I’m supposing Yume wo Hitotsubu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~ serves as the ending to one part of the album and the beginning of another due to it’s name, but either way, this is an EXTREMELY good track. It’s a little unorthodox in it’s style as it’s kind of a waltz-y kind of song except that it just sounds extremely good and gets a touch of pop during the chorus. I really recommend this song and my only complaint against it was it’s short length at only 2:41.

I was wondering when Dschinghis Khan would kick in and I thought it sounded great after the “ending” type song we just had.

The first single from the era, Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi, comes up next, continuing the trend of nice flowing songs.

BE was a particularly surprising listen. It’s actually a full blown ballad(as much as H!P ballads go)! It has a serene type instrumental, focusing on the group’s harmonization. One thing I didn’t like however was that during the verses, there’s a part where Tsunku+ either some little kids or the girl’s with some REALLY squeaky voices get a line, but that finishes quickly so it didn’t cause too much of an impact on me. The chorus was not as strong as I was expecting it to be though it did stay within’ the “serene” sound. An excellent way to end the album itself.

The last track on the album is the Eccentric Remix of Special Generation. Compared to the awesomeness that was the original, this mix is a lot heavier in terms of instruments, featuring lots of heavy thumping and electric guitar. Typical remix elements are present also, such as voice distortions and such. I REALLY like this remix of the song(though it was unexpected) and recommend it to any fan of the original.

Since I’ve been getting more stable on J-Pop releases since last year, I’ve also experienced going through artist’s entire eras and this one was my first for Berryz Koubou. I can proudly say that this was a great era with amazing singles and a solid album to end it all. Only around 2 of the new tracks were kinda forgettable but some of the new songs were very impressive, such as Yume wo Hitotsubu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~.

♦Album Rating♦

Berryz Koubou – Dschinghis Khan

Dschinghis Khan was Berryz Koubou’s 16th single. It was released March 12, 2008. It sold 30,667 copies in it’s first week, sold 37,096 overall and reached #5 on the charts.

Tracklist

1. Dschinghis Khan

2. Darling I LOVE YOU (Berryz Koubou ver.)

3. Dschinghis Khan (Instrumental)

I don’t think it’s possible to go wrong with Berryz Koubou’s cover of Dschinghis Khan’s Dschinghis Khan. The song manages to stay true to the original with those great sounding “Ho Ha”’s. I just loved the verses because they focused on the girl’s vocals than anything else and it only helped that the line distribution was great int his single as most of it is sung harmonizing. The instrumental gave the original a more modern H!P twist and it just came out sounding awesome. If you were a fan of the original you should definitely give this a listen and even if you aren’t, this is a H!P fan safe listen.

The b-side is the rock influenced high energy pop song Darling I LOVE YOU. Now both Berryz Koubou and C-ute released this song around the same time on their singles with the only difference being the few solo lines being sung by the lead vocalists of the group. The song is a very high octane, high energy fresh sound from the girls and sounds great in all of it’s parts. My only complain about it was that it’s a pretty loud song and even sometimes manages to give me a headache.

Since their last single, Berryz Koubou only managed to step things up with Dschinghis Khan. If I had only heard the original song I would have never been a fan of it but I most definitely enjoyed Berryz version. The b-side was also really good, if not extremely hyper.

♣Single Rating♣

Berryz Koubou – Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi

Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi was Berryz Koubou’s 15th single. It was released November 28, 2007. It sold 28,307 copies in it’s first week, 31,787 overall and reached #6 on the charts.

Tracklist

1. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi

2. Warera! Berryz Kamen

3. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi (Instrumental)

Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi begins with some heavy beats and some VERY pop sounding instrumentals. The verses are sweet and hyper sounding, with nice. happy vocals from the girls. The bridge to the chorus is nice, but the chorus is were the song shines. The song might sound a little like generic pop at first but after a few listens it become quite enjoyable, although I though the instrumental was a bit too heavy.

Whats this! A good b-side?! Warera! Berryz Kamen actually gives of the feeling of the girls being some kinds of spies(Kamen really) so it has that type of movie sounding instrumental with the H!P brass and pop flair. It actually sounds really great, as do the girl’s vocals(which tend to sound kind of silly at times, theres even one of the member’s doing an evil laugh after the instrumental break) and has a great melody to pump you up. It’s really one of the better b-sides released recently and will probably be that way for a while.

Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi was a great single from Berryz Koubou. The a-side was an above average typical H!P pop sound that was well executed but where the single really shines is the b-side. It’s really quite a rare song from H!p so I suggest giving that a listen.

♥Single Rating♥

Berryz Koubou – Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance

Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance was Berryz Koubou’s 17th single. It was released July 9, 2008, sold 29,963 copies in it’s first week, 33,017 overall and reached #4 on the charts. It is their second best selling single after Dschinghis Khan.

Tracklist

1. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance

2. Maji Good Chance Summer

3. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance (Instrumental)

As soon as Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance starts off, you know it’s no normal song. There’s a constant repetition of the word “monkey” throughout the song to make sure you don’t at all let it leave your mind for all of it’s 5 minute length. The song starts with very high, fun energy and some great vocals from the group, not to mention the great line distribution in this song(although Sugayo Risako has the main vocals), something I’ve waited for a while now. The chorus is complete gold, rising the energy up with some catchy vocals and keeping the whole “monkey” play online. The instrumental break in this song is quite weird, as it starts off with a circus type sound and than switches to some nice electric guitar work. The girls get some solo lines and the chorus kicks in again. The song ends the same way it started, high energy and background noises of the girls screaming and laughing.

The next track, Maji Good Chance Summer, starts off with the typical H!P b-side sound, though this time, it’s actually quite good. The whole song gives off a summer feel(thus the title) and yet feels a slight bit relaxed at the same time. Line distribution isn’t as good as in the previous song, but the vocals are great either way. The vocal is particularly catchy and has Tsunku backing the girls up with some “oh”’s. A very fulfilling b-side.

This single was very well received on my end. It continues Berryz trend of releasing “weird” songs, right after Dschingis Khan. Both songs were of very high quality(Maji Good Chance Summer for being a b-side) and should most definitely be given a listen. Not to mention the great covers and extremely awesome PV that came along with it. Nothing can beat all the members in monkey outfits!

♥Single Rating♥