Morning Musume - "Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke / Ai no Gundan" Single Review

Gosh I hate typing those stupidly long single names. Darn double A-sides.

For some reason I'm actually not super thrilled about reviewing this single. I have no idea why, but I kinda felt it was my duty to review it since I have consistently reviewed at least part of Morning Musume's singles since "Wakuteka Take a chance".

Let's talk real quick about how impressed I am with the success of this single. It was released August 28, and in just the first two days, it managed to sell a reported 105,414 copies. I absolutely cannot wait to see the week's sales. It's good to see that they're building their success back up with almost every single. Though of course double A-sides almost always sell more than normal singles, but whatever.

This is the group's first single without my favorite member Tanaka Reina. The group has proven with this single that they can carry on without her, even now that all the members, except the leader Michishige Sayumi, have only joined within the past two years. Also, this is the first single with Fukumura Mizuki (16) and Iikubo Haruna (18) as joint sub-leaders.

The single was released in two regular editions and five limited editions, which means two A-sides and three B-sides. Limited Editions A - C also come with bonus DVDs.

TRACK BY TRACK TIME!

1. Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke

So for this song I did something that I haven't done in a while with Morning Musume: I listened to the song for the first time and watched the music video at the same time. Something about hearing it on top of a brand new music video makes it that much cooler for me, so that may or may not have affected my opinion of this song.

Put quite simply: I love it. The combination of electronic sounds with those drums. I absolutely love the way it came out. The vocals are also great, and the "Aisaretai" line was just... whoa. I would really love to say something intelligent here about how great it sounds but I'm just too in awe of it, really. Not only the power behind that line, but the echo and just... the sound of it. Argh, I can't describe it, but I love every second of it. 

Also, when the other members chant "aisaretai", and it's layered over those drums, it's just like the sound of heaven. Something about the chanting makes me feel the unity among those members. Like they're now a team cheering each other on through the song. That really fits, since they cheer right before Riho or Mizuki or Masaki does her big line.

I never really realized it until a comment discussion I had with Chiima (of Okay! Musume Time) that the members really have great chemistry now. Back when the 9th Generation first joined, the chemistry was absolutely awful to me. It's like the group was split, and the new generation just seemed like the annoying little sisters. Now that they've almost all got the same amount of experience, there's really no superiority thing going on here. It's just ten awesome girls doing what they love and doing it as a team. Sure, some members end up hogging the spotlight more than others, but they really blend well like this. I completely love it.

Now for the music video of this song: OMG, it has a real setting! It may not be anything extravagant, but it's not like some boxed in fantasy world that only our idols live in. It's a real place, where they just have fun singing and dancing on stage. That panning thing they do with like three members at a time is so cool.

My first reaction when watching this video was me just sitting there, mouth hanging open, and occasionally squealing "Oh my gosh, this is so cool!" It's likely the lighting that really did it for me. The darkness in the beginning set the mood of coolness for the song,

The dance, while a little weird, is super energetic and cool. Of course Momusu has been known recently for their unique formations, and it really shows in this dance. The moves really go with the sound of the music, especially in the parts in the chorus where it's like a battle between the two halves of the group.

Personally, as far as both song and video, this A-side is my favorite of the two. It's not perfect, nor my favorite ever, but I will never forget that first reaction. That feeling that I get when I realize that I'm a fan of one of the coolest girl groups in the world. That feeling I've been getting for every single since "Renai Hunter". It just makes me happy that the world has group like this. (Okay that was cheesy but whatever!)

2. Ai no Gundan

This song gave me less of an excited reaction than Wagamama Ki no Mama. I heard this one while watching the dance shot, and the song really didn't impress me that much. This single is really kind of parallel to my feelings toward "Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai". I fangirled and replayed Brainstorming over and over, but Kimi Sae kind of bored me when I first heard. But there is a difference here: I eventually grew to like Kimi Sae, even better than Brainstorming. But I'm still not that impressed with Ai no Gundan.

I'm not a fan of the vocals. The only parts of it that sound good to me are "bonnou honnou" (especially by Sakura!) and that autotune bridge part before the last chorus. Those sounded really powerful and pretty to me, but something about the melody for the rest of the song just bores, and occasionally annoys, me.

And that main sound in between singing. Gosh I suck at describing it, but it's almost like a saxophone-like sound. Gosh I hate the way it sounds sometimes. (Which makes no sense when I compare it to the sax because I adore saxophones).

Okay, enough negativity, there are some things in this that I really do like, like the little Chinese sound in the background of the verses. And the "ao!" right before the chorus is so fun to do.

What really redeems this song is the dance. If you haven't seen it yet, you have to watch the dance shot for the full experience. The formations with the "hand salute" theme look incredible. It really shows another way that this group is like a team. This dance only looks good when all the members are doing it, because that's when you get the full effect, and the way they layer their moves to create the great formations. I truly love it and wish I had some Jpop-loving friends who would learn it with me. I also love the four-member dance break in the bridge; those girls are so talented!

The music video is good. It has some flaws and some beautiful points. Flaw: RETURN OF THE GLITTER! Why...? I have nothing else to say on that matter. But Riho and Sakura's beauty really makes up for it. Especially Sakura. I swear she looks exactly like a mini Ai-chan. And she sings like her, too! She wasn't impressing me much with her first two singles, but now she's really learning how to work the camera and she looks and sounds gorgeous. Speaking of working the camera: Riho. Rihoriho. She never. looks. bad. I dare you to find a shot in either of these music videos where she doesn't look her absolute best. Every angle. Every shot. How are you doing it, Riho? Tell me your secrets! I want to be as pretty as yoooouuuu!!!

The outfits in the music video are much better than the ones in Wagamama Ki no Mama. The red and black army-like outfits on top of the checkerboard -- holy chiz I just realized that they look like checkers! Really chess would be a better fit when you think about it, cuz of the whole army thing. But still I totally love the outfits. I really want those skirts, and if I could wear a hat (darn this curly hair), I would steal them too. They look really pretty in white, too, and the glitter in that scene actually works, like a beautiful fantasy world.

So in summary: not a fan of the song, love the dance, like the video.

3-1. Bouya

This is one of the two split-group songs of the single. The featured members are Michishige Sayumi, Fukumura Mizuki, Iikubo Haruna, Kudo Haruka, and Sato Masaki. This song is only on the Regular Edition A and Limited Edition D.

I like this song. The beat is nice and danceable, and it actually reminds me a bit of "Kanashiki Koi no Melody", one of my favorite Morning Musume's B-sides (from "Pyocopyoco Ultra"). I always enjoy video-game-like sounds in songs, and this song has a bit of that during the chorus.

The vocals are decent. Sayu's voice definitely isn't the best here. Of course she's never been the strongest singer, but normally they can disguise that with autotune or a cute song, but here it's very clear that, despite being the leader, she's still one of the weakest vocalists. I do like the melody of the song in the chorus, up until that last line ("bouya"). It's so... short and anticlimactic.

The song is nice, but it's missing something. I think it's actually doing better at showing the members' flaws instead of their talents. Still, it's easy and fun to listen to, so it wouldn't be a total waste of your time to play.

3-2. Funwari Koibito Ichinensei

This is the second split-group song. The featured members are Ishida Ayumi, Ikuta Erina, Sayashi Riho, Suzuki Kanon, and Oda Sakura. The song is only on Regular Edition B and Limited Edition E.

Okay, first of all: that "Yeah! C'mon" stuff at the beginning of the song -- I swear I have heard it before, but I cannot remember what song it was in. Does anyone else know?

So anyway, this song is kind of... boring. I really don't have that much to say about it. The vocals are very good, there are some parts of the music that I kind of like, and the rapping is cute. But the song is just so sleepy! So forgettable.

Maybe I'm just used to these upbeat dance numbers by now, but I really don't like this song. Moving on to the next!

3-3. Makeru Ki Shinai Konya no Shoubu

Finally, the group B-side! I really don't like split group B-sides. It's really not the same unless you have the whole group together, like I said -- acting as a team. This version is only on Limited Editions A - C, which of course are the versions with the DVD, so if you want this song (and don't use iTunes) then you'll have to pay extra for it. Boo.

I knew from the first five seconds of listening to this song that it would be my favorite of the B-sides. The intro sounds remind me a bit of C-ute's "Adam to Eve no Dilemma". Then the vocals start out with harmony. The melody is great for most of the song, and there are some really pretty intervals in there. There's a bit too much autotune in it for my taste, but some members still sang really well. Whoever did the last lines of the first and last chorus sounded amazing.

This song is a little slower than I expected, but I like it. It doesn't have to be super fast and all over the place to be a good song. Occasionally the vocals were a little whiny, but I really enjoyed the song as a whole.

Final thoughts on the single: This is not Morning Musume's best or most fun single they have released recently. I'm impressed with some songs, and I dislike others. I'm actually not that interested in buying it. But on a positive note, they are selling well, and even without Reina, they are doing very, very well, and I'm proud of them even if every single release isn't exactly perfect like I want it to be.