Oh, JE. I procrastinated too long on this entry, and now I don't know whether its primary tone should be boredom, excitement, or WTF outrage.
Guess we'll go in chronological order, then.
Re: 嵐's new double single: I'm kind of... disappointed.
明日の記憶 has a pretty, artsy PV, but it's such a forgettable ballad; shades of
シリウス, I'd like to say, except that I actually remember シリウス--and in シリウス's defence, it features quite a lovely Jun solo, which are three words I can very rarely use together. 明日の記憶... well, it's beautifully filmed, and the guys all look great, and no one is committing crimes against fashion. And Sho's solo is quite smooth and pleasant in that higher register, and makes me think he's really improving vocally, though his solo in the AAA 2008
素晴らしき世界 is still my uncontested favorite (and
gorgeous.) But, well, I think I do like シリウス better, and シリウス, if you recall, was an album track. Meanwhile I still can't remember what this A-side sounds like.
On the other hand, I would absolutely hire Ohno to decorate my room, man.
Crazy Moon ~キミ・ハ・ムテキ~ is doing better in that it's actually moderately catchy, and though it's not my favorite song of theirs by any means, I did find myself singing the chorus for half an hour after. (But be fair: I do that with B-sides.) I think fandom is mostly of two opinions on the PV, which are: it's really boring; or, the choreography is impressive. Here I display my massive ignorance of dance: while I can see that Crazy Moon is technically complex, the filming angles just make it look unorganized to me. Too little synchronization, too many people standing mostly still while the others orbit vaguely around them--and I keep staring at Nino and thinking "hey, isn't he a little fast?"
I'm not such a fan of Jun's pseudo-Doumyouji perm here, either; he looked much better with that wavy/fluffy style in 明日の記憶. However, for awesome entertainment: pause the PV on any group shot. Matsujun is practically guaranteed to be making really fabulous hand gestures.
Let me break it down for you, Arashi. As singles go, you have pretty much two choices. You need a really catchy song:
Believe, or
truth (which also had a legitimately awesome dance,) or
We can make it! You're actually pretty good at getting this one right. There are a few exceptions--
Beautiful Days comes to mind--but generally, this works better with not-ballads. Or you need a really awesome PV. That'd be
きっと大丈夫 and
Happiness among your recent releases. I get you're going for a more mature image, but guys, I miss the rainbows.
That said, congrats on some truly astounding sales figures! I'm so so proud of my favorite group.
Re: new releases:
1) I'm glad, as always, we're getting a new Arashi single. (I hope it falls better in line with the guidelines to single success above.) But I wonder, Johnny... are we ever going to get anything
but singles? Have you figured that they're far more lucrative on a per-song basis and thus eliminated future albums completely? Because I say: way to throw away money, Johnny. Your fans want to give it to you!
2) I have, however, nothing but joy for
テゴマス. New single! New
album! I'm so so happy for my favorite
NEWS boys.
3) You know who
hasn't had a new release in a long time? That would be
タッキー&翼. Do they still
exist, Johnny? Because, personal preference all aside, I can't see the business sense in pushing Takki solos: his most recent single made half the sales of their last group release. Just something to consider, Johnny-san.
Re: NEW DEBUTS, WHAAAAAAT, or, Reasons I'm resenting
中山優馬 with B.I.Shadow already:
1) NAKAYAMA YUMA WITH B.I.SHADOW. Way to guarantee from its very inception that the group will never, ever enjoy equal member recognition, Johnny.
2) Average member age: 14.4. YOUNGER THAN
Hey! Say! JUMP, YOU GUYS. I'm glad that we've apparently abandoned the concept of rewarding talent in favor of targeting a younger and younger age group who, funnily enough, won't have the income to help a new group to chart-topping sales. Here's why Arashi work, JE: their appeal is intergenerational. You just can't create the same fanbase for a second chibiko group, particularly when HSJ are better known and better loved. One of them will definitely slide into obscurity (and HSJ seem to be doing this already): it's the NEWS/KAT-TUN/Eito problem, but worse. So when are we going to get a debut old enough to actually
sing?
3) BUTOUKAAAAAAAAAAN. T.T