Getting To Know The New Idols On The Block: SUPER☆GiRLS

I've recently have been curious about up and coming idol groups like SUPER☆GiRLS, Passpo, Fairies, and Tokyo Girls Style.  All of them have released some music, for the most part singles, that I've enjoyed.  I feel like after the music, getting to know the idols' characters is the next step.  Since doing them all in one post would be a bit much, and take too long, this will be a series.  After the jump I'll throw in some music videos or performances that I like so you can get a taste of their music.  (Tokyo Girls Style are my favorite for talent, Fairies for songs and dancing, and Super Girls for personality.)  So, let's see who interests me.

SUPER☆GiRLS

Goto Aya (14)
- From Hyogo
- Likes men who look cute, but have a masculine character
- She has a habit of saying 'あやな' (Aya thinks)
- Out of all the members she thinks she is the best at Sumo

Kano Kaede (19)
- From Saitama
- Her hobbies/ talents are volleyball, dancing, piano, and anime impressions
- Her favorite idol is Takajo Aki (AKB48)
- She wants to become an actress
- She prefers men who she can have a good time with and will make her their #1 priority
- People tell her that she often asks them to share their food with her
- Out of all the members she would win a sweets eating competition

Katsuta Rino (17)
- Originally from Hokkaido
- Her hobbies are listening to music and eating
- She likes SNSD
- Her favorite idol is Ueto Aya
- Her ideal boyfriend is tall, good at sports, and gentle
- She has a habit of checking her cell phone
- She has a news app on her phone
- Her bangs grow quickly. . .

Maeshima Ami (14)
- Her hometown is Saitama
- She tends to perform in pigtails
- She wants a guy who has similar interests and is funny (celebrity examples: Sadawo Abe and You Oizumi)
- When she sees other people gossiping or having fun she likes to ask 'What's going on?' with the goal of being included
- She dislikes her tendency to interrupt people while they are speaking
- She is the youngest member

Miyazaki Rina (18)
- From Fukuoka
- She likes men who are gentle and can make her laugh
- Miyari likes to eat, so she wants a boyfriend who can smile while he watches her eat
- She considers herself to be the strongest, physically, in the group

Mizote Ruka (15)
- She is from Osaka
- Her hobby is to dance
- Her talent is drawing portraits
- Her favorite artists are BoA, DREAMS COME TRUE, and ayaka
- Her favorite idol is Miyazaki Aoi
- Her ideal guy is someone who always has a shining smile
- During concerts, she tends to mess with her bangs when she gets sweaty
- She is a fast walker

Watanabe Hikaru (18)
- Originally from Hokkaido
- Her hobbies include dancing, listening to K-Pop, and people watching
- She is talented at impersanations of KREVA
- Her favorite musicians are Kara, SNSD, BoA, and Amuro Namie
- Her favorite actress is Ayase Haruka
- She wants to become both a singer and an actress
- When asked 'what kind of men do you like?' she responded by saying both men and women who work hard towards their dreams, whether it is sports or studies, are attractive.  
- Since she is from Hokkaido, she has a habit of saying 'したっけ' (did I do that?)
- She does things at her own pace
- She considers herself easy-going

Yasaka Saori (23)
- Is from Tokyo
- She is the leader
- She enjoys reading, watching musicals, museum tours
- Her talents include alt0-saxophone, hula hooping while saying tongue twisters, and impersonations
- She finds cool, solid men attractive
- She often starts her sentences with 'なんか' (I mean)
- She claims that out of the entire group she could be best at 'loving elder men'

Tanaka Mirei (15)
- Comes from the land called Saitama
- She adores men who are good-natured, clean, smart, and innocent
- She used to wear glasses, so she has a habit of squinting (she wears contacts now, so she isn't walking around blind or anything like that)
- She wears hats during more promotional videos than the other girls

Shimura Rika (19)
- From Kanagawa
- Her hobbies are eating, aromatherapy, listening to music, and manga
- She is good at tongue twisters
- Her favorite idol is Oshima Mai (soloist, ex AKB48 member)
- She wants to do modeling
- She likes gentle men who have a 'ladies first' attitude
- She sticks out her tongue when people take pictures (she has been warned by staff)
- Her tongue is long, at least she thinks so
- The other members think she is stupid, but she sees herself as a serious person

Arai Reira (17)
- She is from Tokyo
- Her ideal man is a gentleman with an open mind, treats people equally, and respects women
- She loves the United States (cool)
- She likes Miley Cyrus (nope, nevermind)

Ranking:

1. Arai Reira

2. Yasaka Saori [leader]

3. Kano Kaede

4. Shimura Rika [most photogenic] 

5. Watanabe Hikaru [favorite profile]
6. Goto Aya

7.  Katsuta Rino

8. Mizote Ruta

9. Tanaka Mirei

10. Miyazaki Rina

11. Maeshima Ami [center]

PV Reviews 110822

Here is a girlicious PV review post.  It features AKB48, SDN48, new idol group Fairies, Super Girls, and a bit of K-Pop.  If you don't know, on YouTube I follow Eat Your Kimchi which reviews requested K-Pop videos every Monday.  Well I requested for Teen Top's recent music video, and they did it.  I suggest you check it out.  I am kind of glad that this is mainly a J-Idol blog because my impression from various comments among other things that K-Idol fans on the internet are pretty vicious.  (I have an impression of Japanese male wota as a bit stalker-ish because of all the scandals caused by them digging up trash about idols.)  I digress, lets get to it.  UPDATE: My computer and Blogger are being glitchy.  My videos that I've embedded keep on disappearing (and it has varied).  I'm going to give it a little break and fix it later.  Sorry about that.

To give you guys some perspective, I adore Nine Muses' song No Playboy.  I wasn't so thrilled with this one, both the song and the video.  It has the typical K-Idol format of some dance and close up shots.  They did play with the lighting and had more variation than more prominent groups like Girls Generation, but you need to do more than that.  What sold this video enough to get another star is the lighting in some of the shots, especially the close up with the black background and rainbow spots of light.  I just don't respond well to a lack of creativity.
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I hated their first couple of singles, I loved the single before this, and I like this one.  This reminds me of Hello Project and some of their old silly songs with a disco feel.  I love that they add the playful elements of cosplay.
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What is with these new, young idol groups that have major artists backing them and only have one (at least less than half of the group) singing.  I appreciate the mainstream feel to their production and the better dancing and all but can they actually all sing?  This is the only preview, but because of Happiness, I am not prepared to be surprised.  (Three dance shots.)
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I hate the song, but the music video is really good!  I love the color combinations used in the dance shots.  The storyline shot is playful.
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Oh god the English!  Nothing was wrong, but not believable.  Well, I got my club/ bar PV but the girls all look really trashy.  I mean if they were on the curb I would think they were prostitutes.  There are good elements to it.  Hey at least their dancing isn't more provocative than Hyuna's.  I'm all for women taking charge and having active sex lives (guys do it and no one thinks of it), but could we clean it up a bit?
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I was a bit concerned that it was too hyped, especially after just watching the short version because it seemed basic.  The action was basic and it was basically only two shots: dance shot and storyline shot.  What I've learned from K-Pop teasers is that the teaser's impression has little to do with the full version (often disappointing).  However, after getting off of my shift at Coldstone I watched this masterpiece with glee.  The direction and cinematography is amazing.  If only I was a fan of old kung fu films because I wonder how it compares.  The nice thing about AKB is that it seems the fans are incorporated in most things they do.  It revolves around the relationship between Maeda and Oshima.  I am thrilled they went all out with the theme.  The song is brought in in the main fight scenes which doesn't feel disjointed but part of the rising to the climax.  The stage and costumes for the dance shot are wonderful.  It was the potential of this PV which sold me on importing a physical copy, and I do not regret it.  There is still room for improvement though.  I wish the big dance section was more difficult because the choreography is anticlimactic when matched to the instrumental.  I would of also liked for the other members to have stronger fighting scenes, they seemed almost minion-level weak.  The conclusion was touching.
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I was expecting something sexier because of the happy title track and the center.  However, with the variation in members I thought this was a great idea.  To pull this off in one continuous shot is impressive.  The little mistakes and mannerisms are endearing.  It isn't my favorite Undergirls' PV, but I approve.
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This is basically shots from the second season of Majisuka Gakuen cut together with behind the scenes clips.  I go easy of their third song PVs because most groups only release one PV per single, but they release four.  The video has good pacing with the slow song.  I would of liked to see a larger proportion of behind the scenes video.
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I was expecting at least close-up shots, possibly a dance shot.  However, I do like the storyline that they decided to go with: pay it forward.  Basically Eguchi Aimi does something nice for Acchan and then Acchan does something sweet for Oshima, and it continues on.
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Hey, AKB has schoolgirls and SDN has hostesses.  I do find some hostess characters annoying.  I do like the idea that they have a song about drinking, but I would of preferred a club song or a rock-edge at a bar.  I like the dance shot and some of the characters in the story-shot.  Plus, they have Cindy!  (It helps that I like the song.)
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PV Theory: AKB48 vs. SUPER☆GiRLS

Two promotional videos were released by large idol groups.  One I thought was okay, and the other I really liked it.  Take a look before I review and compare the two. (AKB48's is slightly slower to avoid copyright.)

AKB48 takes the original concept of Ponytail no Shushu and inserts a pinch of all their other PVs.  If you are an AKB fan you get to play a game of recognize the PV, however the rest are kind of left out.  Now, I have high expectations coming into it.  I loved the song because it was fun to dance to and infectious.  Plus, for at least the last year their PVs have been pretty outstanding.  Sure nothing is perfect, but AKB was definitely reaching for it.  They also started hiring well-known directors and choreographers.  But, I am quite disappointed.  I don't even care for any single part of this PV, not the close ups, not the storyline, nor the dance shot.  Maybe the fact that they incorporated so many different PVs made it okay, but the storyline is all over the place.  I don't know what is going on or why anything is happening.  Just think about the non-AKB fans going 'WTF was that?'  Huge bonus that they worked in more girls, but that is overshadowed by the fact that the dance shot and choreography is mild.  I'm going to have to watch that dance routine over and over again.    


Don't judge me!  This is just plain, stereotypical, male-targeted fan-service, which part of me wants to say is horrible.  At least try not to be obvious about it, present a concept as to why they are playing around in swimsuits, seifuku, and yukata.  Don't you want some female fans?  Oh by the way, "they want it anytime, they want it anywhere," REALLY, no really I know you were talking about them wanting to have fun but everything else kept telling me it was the other thing.  Wait, what was that?  Don't make it obvious that you are just trying to make your boobs look bigger, no random squishing them together.  However, despite all the ridiculous fan-service I loved it.  The girls were adorable, and they added in small elements of humor.  The PV sells the song, which is my determiner of whether it is a good PV or not.

Surprise, I thought SUPER☆GiRLS made a better PV than AKB48, and I'm not even a guy.  See, I am not biased enough to say an idol's group 2nd PV is better than my favorite's 21st.  Both had a concept, and neither of them were good.  However, the cliche one might be a cliche for a reason.  Actually, that is not it, they just were more charming.  That is amazing because I don't know a single one, AND I like AKB48's song better.  FAIL.  Sayaka won the poll for who I should vote for.  I haven't bought the single yet.  When I arrive in Japan I will see if I can grab a copy.  Unfortunately, your votes did not sway me.  Acchan got second, but then her appeal video was a complete fail boat so. . . Minami Minegishi!  (Unless my Miorin friends don't talk me out of it.)  What do you think?