Morning Musume's 50th Single "One•Two•Three/The Matenrou Show"

[tsukinobyouin]

[quote name='Haru' timestamp='1340303461' post='127989']

Because this is really cheap and low rate looking. Sure when you look at the technicalities it's better; but when faced with an Edward Cullen vomit laced video, it's very hard to take this song seriously.

[/quote]



Exactly. Sorry aine, while your analysis is interesting I think it's kind of pretentious. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' /> I mean come on - this is an idol music video! Not an artistic film. It's main purpose is to make people buy the single. At best you could say idol videos exist for the purpose of entertaining fans, which might make it come slightly closer to worthy of that level of analysis. But realistically speaking, people react to PVs based on how entertained they were by it - an emotional response. And the largest emotional response seems to be "ugh cheap effect overload." Saying that we should consider this PV better than (for example) Nanchatte on the technicality that they did something different is a stretch. "Ohh new angles" isn't going to distract people from the fact that our eyes are being assaulted by bling.





[quote name='JPope' timestamp='1340303912' post='127994']

I guess I can understand some of the anger; since this is such a great song, people naturally want a video of equally great quality. This is the first MM single in over four years that I've wanted to listen to over and over again, and for me, that's enough. But I get that most people are into videos more than I am.

[/quote]



I think it's pretty much your first sentence. Or at least it'd be nice to have a video of at least half the quality of the song. But in the end I agree, it's the music we'll be talking about in another 4 years (hopefully), not the PV.





[quote name='enmi' timestamp='1340305408' post='127998']

I'm actually worried about Zukki. Maybe she is just missing her Aika. She seems so down in the dumps, though. I could buy the excuse that she is uncomfortable being sexy. She is young, after all.

[/quote]



I think the uncomfortable excuse is highly possible, BUT I love me some Zukki and it makes me sadface that she seems to get relatively little love in general.



I'm sure I'll kick myself for this later, buuuut...

Would anyone else be interested in a fun little fan project for Zukki? Maybe sending her an MM-BBS bundle of love, like letters, fanart, etc? I wouldn't mind translating letters as long as they're short.

[Mukuro]

[quote name='TnB' timestamp='1340306951' post='128002']

Would anyone else be interested in a fun little fan project for Zukki? Maybe sending her an MM-BBS bundle of love, like letters, fanart, etc? I wouldn't mind translating letters as long as they're short.

[/quote]



Yes! I would love to do something for Zukki! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> She's my favourite in the group right now so I think this is a great idea. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[Anderei]

If you sent it closer to August, you could just send it as a birthday gift.

[rallyleo]

Sign me up!! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[NekoKaiSai]

^I'm on board for doing something for Zukki.



The PV was too sparkly, but other than that I didn't have any problems with it. The girls were cute and seemed to be having fun.

[showraniy]

Late to the party, but:



This is probably the hardest UFA has worked its PV department (graphics design dept.?), and while it's not perfect in a number of ways, this is probably the closest they've ever come to it. So A for effort, and I really hope this is a new trend with them and not a one-time, 50th single special thing.



This single really deserves to get #1 with all this effort they're putting into it, and I'll probably rethink life if it doesn't.



EDIT: Whoa, what in the world. People, I was expecting to be the downer of this party, not be the one person who doesn't hate this PV.



It's a good PV! I have no idea how you can let UFA's usual inability to put out quality affect seeing that this is a really good PV. UFA's design department sucks. Refer to Kimagure Princess's cover, Aruiteru's, and a myriad of other examples to see how much they always have and always will suck. Couple this with the fact that every PV they've ever made has followed a very specific formula, and you get a PV which broke away from the norm in a number of really great ways that was just executed poorly.



But hey, it's still highly watchable if you saturate the shit out of it, and that's more than can be said for many many music videos. So I'll just take this for what it is and run with it, because I'm sure this is the limit of UFA's abilities.

[Noa]

I would definitely be on board the do something nice for Kanon train.

[Haru]

I'd love to do something for Zukki as well. I suki suki some Zukki.

[Farrah]

The fact is, UFA's entire business strategy revolves around a small, loyal fanbase of wota who will STILL go out and buy 50 copies of the single no matter how garbage it is. Upping their game isn't going to significantly increase sales, so they see no reason to try putting out a quality product when they're still going to sell 30,000 copies of absolute crap. I really hope something happens to stir up the wota and give UFA a reason to work for their sales. Some sort of major scandal, I don't know. Maybe then they'll spend a little extra to actually make the fans happy.

[roddyreta]

I'm still optimistic about what UFA is doing.



I think 1-2-3 is a kickass song and is a dramatic departure from past Tsunku efforts.



Everything else about the single is great -- the outfits, the choreography, the way the girls look, even the single covers.



The PV is a huge misfire, but I agree they made an effort to do something different. The rapid-fire editing is certainly a big change from the norm. And the mirror close-up shots are a good idea, I can't wait to see the solos. I also suspect the PV will look way better in HD.



UFA will probably spend real money to push this single, but in other areas. Mostly in the form of in-person events (which are the most highly effective in increasing sales). But hopefully some major TV promotion as well. We'll just have to wait and see.



I was privately hoping for perfection, but this is definitely an above-average effort from UFA.

[Anderei]

I still think the choreo is kind of crappy, to be honest.

[cadmonkey]

[quote name='Riho World' timestamp='1340304018' post='127996']

Kitsuiko from H!O counted the number of times each member got a shot/close-up on the PV:



...



Misaki 23,

[/quote]



Really? Seems like she's in it way more than that.



And I'll continue to take a neutral stance towards Momusu PVs. The girls looked great, but it's too sparkly for my tastes. Luckily for me I prefer to listen to my music and not watch music videos, so I can quickly forget this if I want to. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nceman.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':danceman:' />

[Melon]

[quote name='cadmonkey' timestamp='1340320601' post='128026']

Really? Seems like she's in it way more than that.

[/quote]





I think a better count would be the total number of seconds each girl gets. 23 shots of split seconds amount to nothing of note.

[Enmiz]

I'm glad so many people want to do something for Zukki, too! Zukki love all around! And a birthday bundle sounds great. I bet she'd love to know she has a lot of foreign fans. I wish all of the girls had a blog so we could see their reactions. If something like this would even warrant a reaction. I hope it would.



My husband thinks Reina's bow is stupid. I tried to explain that's kind of her "thing," but he still thinks it's dumb. And he says the dance is crappy. Man, he has no love for my Momosu this time around! Except for Sayu. He likes Sayu.



Masaki seemed like she was having trouble not laughing during her close-ups. She's cute, but I'm just not feeling her in this at all.



After seeing it on the computer a few times, I think the close-ups in the mirror are kind of cool. If they took out the weird snowflakes, it'd be great. I think I actually like it. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />





Anderei, I think the choreo is kinda gross, too, but this edit did a good job of covering that up.



Now it's time to wait for TMS so we can gritch about that one! Woohooo!

[Ap2000]

[quote name='cadmonkey' timestamp='1340320601' post='128026']



Really? Seems like she's in it way more than that.

[/quote]



Still too often.

Seriously, that girl is the only one I find unappealing in every single way from the current lineup.

[Noa]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1340323784' post='128030']

[quote name='cadmonkey' timestamp='1340320601' post='128026']



Really? Seems like she's in it way more than that.

[/quote]



Still too often.

Seriously, that girl is the only one I find unappealing in every single way from the current lineup.

[/quote]

For once AP, I agree with you completely.

[cadmonkey]

I will say that I'm not a fan of her new haircut (and the PV didn't help change my mind at all), but besides that she's been all sorts of awesome.

[aine]

[quote name='Ap2000' timestamp='1340306608' post='128000']

I think your judgement on the MVs is inconsistent and I disagree.

Most of them are just like 1, 2, 3, but without the flashes and different surroundings.

[/quote]

The point I was trying to make was that said flashes etc. are an integral element of the MV as a finished work of - let's take a little liberty here - art. Apart from judging each element separately, there's also the more elusive matter whether the MV appear to be more than the sum of its parts, or less. And from having seen quite a few lens flares in my time I can tell that "One Two Three" falls towards the "more" end of that spectrum, chasing after "Kare to issho", than "Kono chikyuu", which to me is the essence of a colourful CG vomit, or "Onna to otoko no lullaby game", which simply does not have enough elements to even talk about any kind of a sum of them.



But if you want to point out any specific inconsistencies other than my confused use of the terms "PV" and "MV" then feel free to, and I may just bite the bait. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... tongue.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



[quote name='TnB' timestamp='1340306951' post='128002']

Sorry aine, while your analysis is interesting I think it's kind of pretentious. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hahaha.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':hahaha:' />

[/quote]

I'm sure it was that Pink Floyd link. I knew I should have thought twice before putting that in. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... stling.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whistling:' />



My analysis wasn't to convince anyone to like the MV while they don't. It was to show, with my very limited knowledge and experience in the industry, that it is a much more competent production from the MV-making industry point of view. One that could almost compete with the big boys and not come out completely destroyed. Again, my opinion is that whoever pulls the strings (Tsunku, UFA, whatever) realised that the song did manage to strike the right chord with the general audience and ordered an MV that could appeal to that general audience, and not be just another fob-off for the ~30k wotas that most of their MVs are.



Take almost any K-pop MV out there. Most of them have a very high production value, and even if you haven't a clue about film making you will have this gut feeling that something about them just feels more professional than H!P MVs. You may hate the song, you may hate the performers, you may even hate the contents of the MV, but you can't deny the professional craft that was put into making it. In fact I think that most K-pop MVs are over-produced to the point that the performers look like scary robots I want to barricade in my house from (call it the K-apocalypse), but their MVs are excellent to illustrate the point when watched side-by-side with any H!P one.



The bottom line (tl;dr) is, the "One Two Three" MV is a successful attempt to break out of the box and play in the general audience league, rather than staying in the formulaic and non-ambitious wota league. Whether you like the song/MV or not, this is a fact that you should be happy about as a fan. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />



Although I do wish that they took the AKB's arthouse short film path instead of K-pop's overproduced bling path. But that's something that would have to be planned for and budgeted for long in advance and not two days before the MV's announced airing date.

[JPope]

[quote name='Farrah' timestamp='1340313560' post='128017']

The fact is, UFA's entire business strategy revolves around a small, loyal fanbase of wota who will STILL go out and buy 50 copies of the single no matter how garbage it is. Upping their game isn't going to significantly increase sales, so they see no reason to try putting out a quality product when they're still going to sell 30,000 copies of absolute crap. I really hope something happens to stir up the wota and give UFA a reason to work for their sales. Some sort of major scandal, I don't know. Maybe then they'll spend a little extra to actually make the fans happy.

[/quote]



Selling a significantly higher number of units when the song is good is about the only way it would happen, and even that's unlikely. The brand is just too tarnished to really ever be any more than it is now, IMO.

[al kusanagi]

C-ute proved there is hope with their last single. They marketed the hell out of themselves and gained several new fans. MM needs to approach things as a completely new group now, since no one beyond the wota will know any of the current members other than Sayumi due to all her variety appearances.

[roddyreta]

dvl009tk translated Suzuki Kanon's Youtube message:



"Hello. I'm Suzuki Kanon of Morning Musume.Our new single, One-Two-Three and The Matenro Show, will be released on July 4. As for this double A-side single, there are lots of winding moves in One-Two-Three, and also we move our fingers like "one two three", so please check them out.



"In the other one, The Matenro Show, we revolve about a certain person, and there are lots of strange formations, so please check them out, too.



"As for our previous single, Ren-ai Hunter, a person has uploaded ODOTTEMITA(dance cover) of it, and I watched it. They really were synchronous and everyone had their own role to dance. I think they are all so cool. This time, it's a double A-side single, so I'll be so happy if you show me both ..."





I wonder what "certain person" Zukki is referring to...

[Anderei]

Riho or Reina.





Or, in my dreams:

21:32 petit OH GOD THEY ARE DANCING AROUND TSUNKU

21:32 petit AS THE GOD OF IDOLS



Yes, please.

[aisasami]

[quote name='Anderei' timestamp='1340332260' post='128050']

Riho or Reina.





Or, in my dreams:

21:32 petit OH GOD THEY ARE DANCING AROUND TSUNKU

21:32 petit AS THE GOD OF IDOLS



Yes, please.

[/quote]





In only speedo or boxers.



Tsunku is going to be the suprised 11th generation member!

[momoirosaya]

Oh my god, I would love to see Tsunku as the center in an MM PV, the would be freaking hilarious!!



I don't get the MV hate either, I actually liked the sparkles as well. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... smooch.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='=3=' />



[quote name='Haru' timestamp='1340304314' post='127997']

[quote name='Riho World' timestamp='1340304018' post='127996']Iikubo 17,

[/quote]



How. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... hatthe.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':whatthe:' />

[/quote]

Late :P But I think this is supposed to say '27' seeing as how it's going from most shot to least shot, 27 would fit in perfectly right there, and I know that Harunan got more screen time than Kanon.

[rob]

The video is great, what the fuck is with all the bitching.



The thing I liked the most was that some of the "background" girls seemed to get a push, Kudou and Masaki especially seemed to get a lot of screen time.



I liked the angles they used, the effects were ok.



The thing I would have liked to see as someone else said would be a bit more of pairs, or 3s in single shots singing the same line etc.



I think it was going to be a standard dance shot + solo = mash up video, the norm for recent MM videos.



but they went back to the studio and re did it, I'm with Aine on this one, I think this is the best MM video for a LONG TIME.

[momoirosaya]

Okay so apparently Sayu blogged yesterday about filming the Matenrou PV, and that's most likely the one that will get released the 27th like Tsunku was talking about before.

[Shoujo Q]

Dance around Tsunku, please dance around Tsunku!

[Banana]

My brain saw that as "Dance around, Tsunku! Please, dance around, Tsunku!"

[Miss Moonlight]

Q YOUR AVATAR IS PERFECT <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />



Here's hoping it's the Kare to Issho to this particular sparkle bomb.

[tsukinobyouin]

Because it lead to the production of PQ's amazing avatar, this PV has just been upgraded to greatest MM PV of all time in my book. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... umbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />