Juice=Juice 2nd Single - Ijiwaru Shinai de Dakishimete yo / Hajimete o Keiken chuu

[Farrah]

Sorry to say, but this was the first J=J video to really disappoint me. There are thousands of ways that they could have filmed this to cover up the absence of Karin / the presence of Ayumi, and instead it comes across as shoehorned and messy.  They could have switched the formation and made Tomoko or Sayu center with Ayumi at the side, they could have used strategic camera work to show as little of Ayumi as possible, they could have... not had Ayumi up front and center the entire time while also lipsyncing to Karin's lines?


Also, I thought the outfits might look better in motion, but alas, no such luck LOL.  Atleast the songs are good! I even sort of like Hajimete, which is saying something since I generally don't enjoy songs in that style at all.

[Shoujo Q]

They reshot the dance shot for the music video. You'll see that on the DVD instead of Ayumi. Ayumi was there just so they could have something to show for promotional purposes.

[Farrah]

Thank god for that. It's a shame however that a lot of people probably don't know that, and that this may be the only version of the video they see (new fans, mostly).  Doesn't change the fact that this video manages to look even cheaper than Watashi blahblahblah, though, haha.  At least the color scheme is nice.

[NekoKaiSai]

I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything about this yet even though I've been keeping up with this thread, and I think that's kind of what aine's been talking about.  So here are my thoughts on the songs and PVs.
 
Hajimete: Watching this PV is incredibly fun.  Trying to spot all the costume and color changes makes it interesting even after multiple times.  The group shots are cute and heartwarming.  Everyone has the appropriate facial expressions, which is something not every group can say.  The instrumental really makes this song while still complimenting the singing and vice versa.  It's also really strong for a non-dancing song, doesn't feel like it should have just been a B-side, and is more memorable than Romance no Tochuu even though that one had catchy English.
 
Ijiwaru: I'm loving the power in Sayuki's voice in this song, and that this song is Tomoko heavy without feeling like she's the only one singing.  That said, I do wish that Yuka and Akari would get more lines than just "nee nee" as a duet.  Though maybe/hopefully they'll each get a song where they're featured more.  In regard to the PV, Ayumi was a good temporary replacement for Karin.  The shots with them in the room with mirrors and chandelier type things with lighting in their member color were a nice way of adding color to the MV without it looking out of place.  The shots using the mirror effect made it feel creative/artsy and fit the overall feel of the MV and song.  The group shots with the four plus Ayumi where they were just standing seemed awkward, though in the first one I thought Karin was in there instead until I went back and paused it.

[NekoKaiSai]

Damn it, people, post!
 
In regard to the KYAST dance shot, Yuka's improved quite a bit, especially from when they first formed, but also from the last dance shot version.  Akari, however, seems to have worsened a tad, though maybe she was just tired or something.  The new room they used is so much better.  I don't know if the last room was intentionally dark so that Ayumi stood out less or what, but I'm really glad they changed it.

[ShiroiChanUK]

^ I actually don't like the new set. It's great to see Karin but I think the new set is too bright. The rest of the MV is considerably darker so this set stands out way too much so I wished they kept the darker set.
 
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Just incase anyone is interested Ju=Ju are at #4 in Oricon's Ninki Ratings :) 

[ShiroiChanUK]

Juice=Juice Daily Rankings :)
 
#4
#6
#8
 

[NekoKaiSai]

Somehow we never posted the covers.  Under the spoiler since I have no idea what I'm doing.


[spoiler2]

Regular A 


Regular B


Limited A


Limited B


Limited C


Limited D

[/spoiler2]
 
There's some awkwardness with facial expressions, but overall they're not too bad.

[momoirosaya]

In LE B everone looks really pretty!

[pandapanda]

I only like reg B.

[Elpis]

Regular B is the best, Limited D isn't too bad.

[Meikochi]

To me Regular B and Limited D are the best (but Tomoko made a strange face on those :( more on Lim D in my opinion).

[smtmissin]

Never had a chance to say this, but whoever created the choreography of Ijiwaru Shinai de Dakishimete yo must be very happy when Karin was replaced by Ayumi in one danceshot. The dance looks "complete" and more sophisticated with Ayumi in it. Ayumi makes even the simplest dance move look amazing. Honestly, I don't even look twice at the KYASTdance shot.

[Shoujo Q]

I didn't want to say it, but seeing the two dance shots side by side, you can see Karin isn't hitting the same marks as Ayumi was. I think it's because of all the formation dancing she does she's got it in her system to keep in formation. At one point in the dance Karin is in the back behind Sayuki I believe and she's off center so you notice her, while Ayumi hid behind so it was like a perfect + sign. She's done it in every performance since then so I don't know if that's how it was suppose to be, or they made Ayumi try and hide herself whenever she could. So conflicted. 

[Elpis]

From reading about it on other places, people seem to like the Karin dance shot way more. But I just think its her fandome saying that.

[momoirosaya]

Yeah Ayumi is just too good at dancing.... I think she danced it better than Karin.

[smtmissin]

I know now! The only thing Juice=Juice lacks is a great dancer, like Ayumi and Riho in MM, Maimi and Nakky in C-ute and Captain in Berryz. Sayuki is good, but I don't know how she is compared to her sempai yet.
I used to cry a river over Aina's departure, but now I think J=J is completely fine without her, even better because there are less squeaky voices. I still miss and love Aina though.

[Elpis]

Someone on H!O made an Ijiwaru MV with the KYAST Dance-shot instead of the Ayumi dance-shot. It looks pretty good.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Na_1xlgNa-Y

[Meikochi]

[quote="smtmissin"]
I know now! The only thing Juice=Juice lacks is a great dancer, like Ayumi and Riho in MM, Maimi and Nakky in C-ute and Captain in Berryz. Sayuki is good, but I don't know how she is compared to her sempai yet.
[/quote]
 
To me, Karin is Ju=Ju's best dancer (not as good as Ayumi or Riho but she has nevertheless a nice way to dance, very energetic, in my opinion) but I think it's good that they don't have a better dancer than the others because, if they had one, she'll overwhelm the others and, even if she dances at the back, everyone will just stare at her ^^'