Berryz Koubou VS °C-ute - The Discussion

[MejraThea]

So the March Madness gave me an idea for another poll.
 
Either you're a C-ute fan, or you're a Berryz fan. Vote and discuss!

[Mukuro]

I picked C-ute because even though Berryz was my first exposure to H!P I listen to more of C-ute songs (old and current) than I do Berryz. Comparing the past few years of both groups I feel like it was obvious Berryz was tired of being idols whereas C-ute just kept getting better.

[TicTacAnyone]

At the moment, I'm the sole Berryz.
 
Generally, I liked their group chemistry, and I think it was properly placed that they debut before C-ute's formation. I think where Berryz fell flat is their members didn't really push themselves much, or try to become some powerhouse within H!P. But that was part of their charm. They just were, they didn't try to be more.
 
Song-wise, Berryz triumphs still for me. While C-ute's most recent album could rival a lot of my favorite Berryz songs, Berryz had a lot of really good album songs....
 
Here are some of my faves:
Furare Pattern
Aisuru Hito no Namae wo Nikki ni
Natsu Remember You
REAL LOVE
BE (One of my favorite H!P songs. Amazing lyrics.)
Toshoshitsu Taiki
Massugu na Watashi
 
 
I tried to limit it, as I like so many of their songs. I feel like Berryz Koubou songs make me feel good or feel emotions, while C-ute songs make me want to sing and dance. Suzuki Airi could almost put C-ute above Berryz herself, but afterall that's not the case. Plus Berryz got all the weird songs and outfits.

[Purin-chama]

I was following C-ute before they even became C-ute. The 7 girls that were left over from HPK after Berryz was formed piqued my interest more. And it wasn't just because of Airi. I think it was the under dog vibe. In concerts as back-up dancers, you could see a majority of them working their ass off. And Maimai was just fucking adorable. Otome Pasta ni Kandou was the first song they performed in concert before they announced their formation, and I remember being hooked. I also remember Wakkyanai Z being their first performance at their very first fanclub event, and listening to it on repeat. It was just the waiting game for their indies debut to be announced Starting with Massara, their indies were great song after great song until they got their debut. Which I was disappointed in... especially after their mini album.


Over the years I didn't have such a hard on for them, but it was amazing how much more cohesive and hard working they seemed as a whole than Berryz. They also seemed to grow more as a whole. More vocal lessons, better dances, etc. Unsure if that was management or how hardworking the girls are.

[JPope]

For most of the life of both groups, I was a fan of neither, but each had some strong early material that I liked. The difference is that Berryz limped out of the spotlight on a string of weak, forgettable singles, whereas C-ute quit the game with arguably their strongest material to date. Berryz acted like they were done a couple of singles before their "hiatus" was announced; C-ute looked so strong at the end that the company asked if they wanted to continue as a non-idol group. 

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="Myst"]
Over the years I didn't have such a hard on for them, but it was amazing how much more cohesive and hard working they seemed as a whole than Berryz. They also seemed to grow more as a whole. More vocal lessons, better dances, etc. Unsure if that was management or how hardworking the girls are.
[/quote]
 
I agree. I think this fell more on the girls than management. It's like what happened with Angerme once 3rd gen entered... Don't get me wrong, S/Mileage was a good group, but it was obvious management was trying to push them further than they were generally willing, it seemed. But as soon as new blood entered suddenly Angerme became this powerhouse of performance. You could contribute it to the change of direction over to Taisei, but in the end if the girls didn't want to go hardcore they didn't have to.
 
In my mind, that happened with C-ute. They wanted to prove themselves to not only fans, but the company as well. The dances, tho... that falls on Berryz's choreographer. Same with their hideous outfits lolol

[Shoujo Q]

As far as groups, C-ute is by far the best, but when it came to music. Berryz was my group. 


The only member in C-ute I can't stand is Mai. In Berryz, I could tolerate the girls but aside from Momoko, Risako and Miyabi I really didn't care about anyone else. 
 
When it came to performing, C-ute put on a much better concert than Berryz. I found they were much more engaging with their audience. 

[DonJuan]

My biggest problem was that I didn't follow either until 2011/12-ish (as said in the other thread). At that point °C-ute was more appealing to me because they finally broke out of their shell, and in general I thought they were the better performers. However, even if they looked a bit bored on stage, Berryz was more interesting to me. Also, early °C-ute wasn't appealing to me at all except for Massara Blue Jeans while Berryz had a nice string of good singles. What JPope said is true too, °C-ute ends while they're on top of their abilities while Berryz mostly faded out. 
 
So... it's half-half for me. Early years? Berryz, by far. Later years? °C-ute, but only on stage. I guess that's me leaning a bit more towards Berryz? Since I also liked some of their later singles. Their last one was really nice. Cha cha Sing was great. Be Genki had gotten a lot of negative feedback but it was my jam back then. °C-ute... can be a bit too much, I guess. Also, while I do greatly respect artists, I'll mostly prefer idol-y songs over grown-up songs. For example Ayaya's singles are ALL amazing, but nothing beats stuff like Momoiro Kataomoi or Meccha Holiday for me. Or Good Bye Natsuo. Geez, those were great singles.

[Madara]

I'm joining the Early Berryz and Late C-ute camp. I just watched some early Berryz performances in three different concerts and they were just superb. All of them.
 
On the other hand, I appreciated C-ute more after they winnowed out the weaker members and became five-member C-ute. They've just kept getting better and better, esp. Airi, Maimi and Chisato.

[Ap2000]

I like both pretty much equally, but a few more Berryz songs and Risako made my choice rather easy.

[Farrah]

When I got into H!P, C-ute were still indies and had only released two songs but I instantly preferred them to Berryz.  On first sight, they immediately seemed more polished, cohesive and mature.  Plus, being the same age as several H!P kids, I preferred a group with that "look up to me" feel and I never got that from Berryz, they were too approachable or too much like equals.  C-ute felt like ~pop stars~, Berryz felt like neighborhood kids putting on a play in someone's backyard LOL.  
 
Honestly I feel like Berryz never really lost that "just some regular ol' girls" aura.  Something about them just seems very ramshackled to me, and it became even more apparent as they got older and all started bringing their incompatible aesthetics more and more to the forefront.  I can see why that appeals more to some people but for whatever reason, it just didn't work for me at the time.

[freezingkiss]

Oh my god. 
 
Arghhhh. ARGHH. 
 
Berryz. ONLY JUST. When I got into H!P in 2004 they were all adorable and watching them grow up was just the most incredible journey. I love Maasa SO MUCH and the news of their disbandment hit me so, so hard. C-ute's did too but it wasn't as hard considering we had all come to kind of expect it at some point. 
 
Although music-wise only, I would choose C-ute. But overall wise I choose Berryz. 

[MejraThea]

You made me laugh, lol! Although I am slightly surprised.
 
I forgot about mine... I first found C-ute in 2009, but then switched to MM so I don't think that was a big influence. However, when I finally did look at the rest of H!P I liked (only liked) C-ute and their things, whereas I've never cared for Berryz. I would listen to some of their songs, and learned their faces. I even loved one or two (Maasa). But Berryz was always my least favorite, not counting S/mileage. So C-ute for me!

[Noa]

It's Berryz for me. They were the group that really got me into H!P and I was immediately so drawn to Risako and that love of her has never gone away and it's been 9 years.

[Zoe]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JPope" data-cid="206261" data-time="1489863270">C-ute looked so strong at the end that the company asked if they wanted to continue as a non-idol group.</blockquote>

Seriously? Now I'm bummed they declined--there's a depressing shortage of non-idol groups :(

[showraniy]

C-ute for me! I really liked early Berryz songs, but they never appealed to me in their later years.
 
I prefer more mature songs over more idol-y songs, so C-ute win for me. I still think Kimi wa Jitensha is one of the best H!P efforts in yeeeaaaars. All that effort into each girl and all the different music videos, coupled with the fact that I just adore that damn song.

[TicTacAnyone]

I feel like Berryz has a lot of B-sides or album songs that you've heard throughout your years in H!P and didn't know they were Berryz songs. Such as they were performed at birthday events, H!P concerts, etc. Imo, they had more songs that became "staples" or something of the sort in H!P. Then you go to look at the original and you find out it was a bunch of these young girls who originally had this awesome song.
 
A number of C-ute's B-sides fell by the wayside for casual H!P fans, imo. Sans a few big ones, of course.

[JPope]

[quote="TicTacAnyone"]
I feel like Berryz has a lot of B-sides or album songs that you've heard throughout your years in H!P and didn't know they were Berryz songs. Such as they were performed at birthday events, H!P concerts, etc. Imo, they had more songs that became "staples" or something of the sort in H!P. Then you go to look at the original and you find out it was a bunch of these young girls who originally had this awesome song.
 
A number of C-ute's B-sides fell by the wayside for casual H!P fans, imo. Sans a few big ones, of course.
[/quote]
 
This is definitely true. Tsunku was still at the top of his game for the first couple of years after Berryz debuted. Some of the stuff was quite honestly too good for them. I don't want to say Tsunku wasted great material on Berryz, but Tsunku wasted some great material on Berryz, lol. "Semi" and "Koishiteru Toki wa Itsumo" stand out as two tracks that Berryz were just not capable of making the most of. Can you imagine Morning Musume circa 2004/2005 singing these songs?

[Purin-chama]

[quote="JPope"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="TicTacAnyone" data-cid="206371" data-time="1489968617">
<div>
I feel like Berryz has a lot of B-sides or album songs that you've heard throughout your years in H!P and didn't know they were Berryz songs. Such as they were performed at birthday events, H!P concerts, etc. Imo, they had more songs that became "staples" or something of the sort in H!P. Then you go to look at the original and you find out it was a bunch of these young girls who originally had this awesome song.
 
A number of C-ute's B-sides fell by the wayside for casual H!P fans, imo. Sans a few big ones, of course.
[/quote]
 
This is definitely true. Tsunku was still at the top of his game for the first couple of years after Berryz debuted. Some of the stuff was quite honestly too good for them. I don't want to say Tsunku wasted great material on Berryz, but Tsunku wasted some great material on Berryz, lol. "Semi" and "Koishiteru Toki wa Itsumo" stand out as two tracks that Berryz were just not capable of making the most of. Can you imagine Morning Musume circa 2004/2005 singing these songs?
 
</div>
</blockquote>
Koishiteru was one of my favorite c/w... But hearing young Berryz perform it was  ... It was much better when they got older, but I do remember wishing it went to another group. But honestly, I think the chorus would've been hard regardless of the group. 

[yuzuriha]

Do I even have to answer?  Well let's see, Berryz was the first major group I saw formed after I became a fan.  And they also came about around a time I was losing interest in MM (Kaori graduating, Koharu joining).  So I basically just went ALL IN on them from the beginning.  And of course I grew to love the girls, and just in general their music was more my style than C-ute.  There are of course exceptions on both sides, but Berryz 100%.  And honestly every since Berryz "went on hiatus" I have barely been able to bring myself to care about C-ute.

[JPope]

[quote="JPope"]
For most of the life of both groups, I was a fan of neither, but each had some strong early material that I liked. The difference is that Berryz limped out of the spotlight on a string of weak, forgettable singles, whereas C-ute quit the game with arguably their strongest material to date. Berryz acted like they were done a couple of singles before their "hiatus" was announced; C-ute looked so strong at the end that the company asked if they wanted to continue as a non-idol group. 
[/quote]
 
Having listened to Berryz final singles a lot more during the BBS Tournament, I now regret having posted the bolded part. 

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="JPope"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JPope" data-cid="206261" data-time="1489863270">
<div>
For most of the life of both groups, I was a fan of neither, but each had some strong early material that I liked. The difference is that Berryz limped out of the spotlight on a string of weak, forgettable singles, whereas C-ute quit the game with arguably their strongest material to date. Berryz acted like they were done a couple of singles before their "hiatus" was announced; C-ute looked so strong at the end that the company asked if they wanted to continue as a non-idol group. 
[/quote]
 
Having listened to Berryz final singles a lot more during the BBS Tournament, I now regret having posted the bolded part. 
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
As a group, they were fading; there's no doubt about that... But their singles were still decent. In my mind they started off strong, lost their way a bit in the middle, then brought it back home towards the end, single-wise.
 
Where as C-ute had an alright start then was just complete "meh" for me until like 2012 when they just had hit after hit after hit, especially in 2016.