EunB, RiSe, and Simone Battle

This past week was a dark time for girl group fans. All in one week, we lost three singers: EunB and RiSe (from Ladies' Code), and Simone Battle (from G.R.L.).

Ladies' Code was in a car accident on Wednesday, September 3. EunB died on site, and RiSe passed away at the hospital from her injuries today (Sunday, September 7).

Simone Battle was found dead in her home on Friday, September 5. Her cause of death is still being investigated.

I don't really follow either group that much, but I had obviously known of them and heard their songs before. I even watched G.R.L. perform on TV a few weeks ago so now that Simone is gone... it doesn't seem real. All three deaths happening in just once was truly heartbreaking for me, and today I just cried. Even though I don't know any of these girls personally, I know that they were surrounded by people who loved them, and my heart breaks for those people.

Simone was 25. RiSe was 23. EunB was just 21. But even thought their time on earth was short, I believe they fulfilled their dreams... and that gives me a bit of peace. Everyone dies at some point, but what matters is how you live.

That's why we should never give up living, never put things off until later... because it could happen to anyone at any time.

I only wish there was something more I could say... but I have nothing, so I pray for their families and friends. Even then I don't really know the words to pray... but I pray anyway.

Everyone, please pray.

R.I.P.
Go Eunbi (November 23, 1992 – September 3, 2014)
Simone Sherise Battle (June 17, 1989 – September 5, 2014)
Kwon Rise (August 16, 1991 – September 7, 2014)

Orange Caramel "My Copycat" MV

Orange Caramel has released a music video for "My Copycat", which is my favorite K-pop music video in a long time!

The music is standard Orange Caramel, so if you're not into that I guess you won't be crazy about this either. But what really makes the video stand out for me is that its interactive. I LOVE interactive videos!

In this one, the main goal is to spot the difference in the split screen scenes. There's a number in the corner that tells you how many changes there are. You can pause to spot them all, or if your like me you make a game out of it by seeing how many you can spot before the scene changes.

There's also a "Where's Waldo?" type challenge where you have to spot the members of Orange Caramel.

It's silly, but I haven't had this much fun with a music video since Girl's Day's "Hug Me Once". And "My Copycat" is even better!

There's really not a lot to say about this video because it really speaks for itself. It's simple, but it's so much fun!

You can find this song on Orange Caramel's fourth single album, which also comes with a new song called "Gangnam Street" (a really great dance song).

Check out the dance version of "My Copycat", too!

Country Musume Audition Results: No Winners

The results for the Country Musume New Member Audition came out today.

Finally, after six months of waiting and guessing and excitement (for me, anyway), the results are finally in.

And...

No winners. None.

We didn't even get to see any of the auditioning girls. No one even said if the finalists will get a chance at being Kenshuusei or not yet, either. No word on what's gonna happen to Country Musume from now on: Are they finished? Is another audition coming up? Will Satoda Mai remain the sole member of Country Musume? The world may never know!

I know Country Musume wasn't the most popular Hello! Project group, at least not without Ishikawa, Konno, and Fujimoto backing them up, so maybe it's just me, but I kind of feel betrayed. As a lover of all things 90s H!P, I was so excited to see such a great group make a comeback. I was eager to see new faces in Hello! Project.

But nothing happened and we didn't even get a good explanation why.

I guess I should have expected this after last year's aborted 12th generation audition. Those girls were apparently too good for Morning Musume and would have changed the image they have now. So maybe the Country Musume auditionees just didn't have the same image as the former members, and they didn't want CM's legacy to be tarnished.

It's also highly probable that UFP is just being difficult because they can and that's what they do.

Whatever. Let's all just pretend this never happened and enjoy this performance of a flamenco version of "Iroppoi Onna ~SEXY BABY~".

My thoughts on Berryz Koubou's hiatus

Yes, yes, I know this is old news now; forgive me, but I have to share my thoughts on this eventually.

Berryz Koubou announced on August 2 that they will be going on an "indefinite hiatus" after their spring 2015 tour.

While I'd like to say I'm happy they're not disbanding, I'm not sure how I feel about a hiatus either.

Truly I can see why they would not want to disband. I think they've grown so close these past ten years as a group that they're practically a family, and you don't just break up a family. If anything, when their time to quit really does come, I think they should "retire" Berryz Koubou, together. It seems so wrong to say that they would "break up".

But I'm getting ahead of myself; no one is disbanding yet, just going on hiatus. On one hand, some good could come out of this -- the members will have more time to try other things, take a break, or maybe even go to university if they haven't already.

The thing that stinks about a "hiatus" though is that constant state of uncertainty we're left with. No one really knows when or if they will ever come together again like they were before.

It reminds me too much of where the Wonder Girls are at right now -- they're a family, so they don't wanna just "disband". But some of us fans are left wondering if things will ever be the same again. And I hate it. I hate hiatuses.

The Civil Wars already broke my heart this week by announcing their split after nearly two years of a hiatus. Please don't do that to me in two years, BK!

I guess I should end this post with the cliché "I'll still support you!" comment to the girls. And it's true, I will follow and support you all until the day you retire for good.

Also, admittedly, my first thought when I saw the announcement my first thought was "This would be a great time for a Buono! comeback..." For real though, if y'all could make that happen, I would totally forgive this whole hiatus thing.

Now that I've finished writing down all my jumbled thoughts, I'll share with you the playlist of (nearly) all of Berryz Koubou's music videos. Watch them in order from the oldest, because it really is a delight watching them grow up from adorable kids to beautiful adults.

Girl's Day - "Darling" music video

Girl's Day has released a new video for their song "Darling".

It seems like lately K-pop music videos have been giving me the same mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm a not a fan of the "sexy concept" at all, and the number of shots of their butts in this music video is ridiculous. On the other hand, this song is super catchy, the video is well-made, and the girls are actually adorable when the camera focuses on something besides their rear ends.

Obviously Girl's Day has been trying to push this "sexy concept" a lot lately, since songs like "Expectation" and "Something" have been some of their most popular songs. (Those two were so over the top for me that I never finished watching either video.) But it seems now they're remembering that they also had a hit back in the day with "Twinkle Twinkle", which was cute and quirky. This video seems to be a combination of the two styles, which is rarely ever attempted, but in this case I think it actually worked.

The song is so catchy and fun, and probably one of my favorite summer songs this year. I've only listened to it a couple times and it's already stuck in my head. It sounds like something Secret would do, actually. It's bouncy, happy, sweet... it makes me wanna sing and dance along. The replay value of this song is very, very high, and I have no doubt I'll listen to it at least once more this summer.

The music video is where my feelings are slightly mixed, but I've already gone over how I feel about the "sexy concept" so I'll just skip that part, because I don't think I'll say anything that everyone else hasn't already said.

The video is very bright, with lots of yellow and orange, but your eyes will adjust after a few seconds (probably). There's lots of summer fun in this video, from chilling at the pool to playing darts or washing a car. None of it really has anything to do with the song, but it is amusing to watch. As I said before, the girls are absolutely adorable in this video. It makes me miss their "Twinkle Twinkle" days just a little bit.

I also enjoyed the combination of dance scenes; there are four different combinations of locations and outfits. It really gave the video a lot of variety, and I wish more groups would use this many different sets more.

Overall, I'd say my thoughts on this are mostly positive. If Girl's Day can continue to release catchy songs like this, I may forgive them for changing their image so abruptly. The truth is that the members really are talented, and I'd hate to stop listening to them simply because they look different now.

If you enjoyed this song, you can buy it on Girl's Day's new EP Everyday 4, which released yesterday! Let me know your thoughts on this song and video, too.

Juice=Juice - "Black Butterfly" music video

Juice=Juice released the full PV of their song "Black Butterfly" on Friday.

As with their last two singles, Juice=Juice continues the formula of having two A-sides: the first with a dark PV, the second with a light one. "Ijiwaru Shinai de…" was sort of jazzy, "Hadaka no KISS" had flamenco style dancing, and now "Black Butterfly" has tango.

I'm not really feeling this song to be honest. The tango style sounds great in the verses, especially on Karin's lines, but most of the song is pretty forgettable. Worst of all is those background vocals on the "black butterfly" line. It clashes with the soft sound of the song and just... sounds bad to me.

As for the music video, it's also lacking in memorability. Everything is black and dark, and the flowers on the ground remind me too much of "Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game". One thing that did stand out to me, however, was the dance formation that looked like a butterfly, with Karin in the center of course.

As I always say, maybe it'll grow on me. "Ai wa Itsumo Kimi no Naka ni" was similar to "Black Butterfly" in that it didn't have a pop sound at all, but after initially not liking the Berryz' song, it grew on me and is now one of my favorites. So maybe "Black Butterfly" still has a chance?

If you like this song, you can buy it on July 30 as part of the single "Black Butterfly / Kaze ni Fukarete".

Sailor Moon Crystal - Act 1

I'M LATE!

Mom, why didn't you tell me Sailor Moon Crystal premiered on Saturday?!!! *falls down stairs*

...okay, so actually I knew that. If you must know, I was out of town over the weekend and didn't get to watch the episode -- er, excuse me, "act" -- until late Monday. And then I took three days to write about it because... I have no idea why. But I'm here now!

Disclaimer: please remember that I have barely seen any of the original Sailor Moon, and I don't share the same nostalgia that most fans have. So if I make some stupid newb comment during the course of this review, forgive me!

As I said, I watched this episode late on Monday. I was very excited before that it would be airing through Hulu, as I have Hulu Plus and could watch it on my TV, but unfortunately my Wii U is unable to properly time the captions, and I couldn't read what they were saying until a second after it was said. I tried to use this to practice my Japanese listening skills, trying to determine what they were saying before the captions came up, but bouncing between languages like that just hurt my head so I gave up on the listening part near the end. So, yeah, from now on I will be watching this on my computer. :(

Anyway, onto the show!

The new series opens with shots of space and planets in an intro lasting about a minute and a half. Kind of like how a movie would start. No credits, no narration, just music.

After a few quick shots of Serenity, we are shown the Tsukino house, where Usagi once again does her famous "late for school" gag. After Usagi falls down the stairs and runs out the door in a rush, her mom wishes she would learn something from Sailor V.

Then the opening sequence starts, and oh it is GLORIOUS!

"Wait a sec, is that CG?" you ask. Well guess what, you're gonna see a lot more of that later.

All you "Moonlight Densetsu" lovers had better also get used to the new rocking, energetic, girl-power-themed "MOON PRIDE" opening song by Momoiro Clover Z. The scenes in this sequence are great as well, but seriously, that theme song!

Sailor Moon classic episode 1: "The Crybaby: Usagi's Beautiful Transformation"
Sailor Moon Crystal episode 1: "Usagi - Sailor Moon-"
...how original.

Calling it now: episode 2 will be "Ami - Sailor Mercury-".
Oh I just checked Wikipedia and that actually is the name of it. Crap.

So Usagi runs full speed to school and accidentally trips over an adorable kitty with a band-aid on her forehead. Usagi peels off the bandage to reveal a crescent moon shape on the cat's forehead. Suddenly she remembers she's late for school and dashes away from the mysterious cat.

Even then, she's still late for school, gets thrown into the hallway, gets caught eating in the hallway, and learns that she only scored a 30 on her English test.

...does all this sound familiar to you guys? Because I'm getting really bored re-capping it.

Naru and Umino look the same as always, Sailor V is still a legend, Usagi is still crushing on the guy at the arcade, blah blah blah... exact same stuff we saw in the classic series, just with new animation. Yawn.

Oh, but here's a change: one of the highlights of the episode, Mamoru's first appearance. Now I know some people said they hated Mamoru's clothes from the classic series, but is making him wear a tuxedo on his first appearance really the answer? Do you know how much dumber this will make Usagi look in the later episodes? "Gee, I wonder what that Tuxedo Mask guy's real identity is. Surely he's not the same as the one who wears a tuxedo all the time!"

"Who wears a tuxedo in the afternoon? What a show off!"

As before, Usagi gets kicked out of the house for scoring horribly on her test. Then Naru discovers that the lady running the jewelry store earlier that day is really a monster disguised as her mother, and is using the jewelry to drain energy from the customers.

In Usagi's room, the cat returns and introduces herself as Luna. Luna then gives Usagi her transformation brooch. I was a little irritated that it looks totally different then it did in the original anime, but then I looked it up and realized that's how it looks in the manga.

And now the moment we've all been waiting for...

MOON PRISM POWER, MAKE UP!

I told you the CG would come back, didn't I?

Usagi hears Naru in danger and rushes to her aid. (By the way, they didn't include my favorite scene from the original, which was when the monster lady turned her head all the way around to look at Sailor Moon. It was so creepy it was awesome.)

What would Sailor Moon be without her signature introduction speech?

And her signature obnoxious crying. It's so irritating I can't help but love her for it.

Moon also uses her first attack here. This attack has actually gone through multiple names. In the original manga, it was "Moon Frisbee". In the original anime, it was "Moon Tiara Action". In the live-action series, it became "Moon Tiara Boomerang", and since then the manga and anime have both changed to use this name. I sometimes like to shout the attacks along with the characters, so I have a feeling for the next few episodes I'll be screaming "MOON TIARA AC-- dang it!"

Thus Sailor Moon defeats her first monster and officially meets Tuxedo Mask. The episode ends with a look at a mysterious new character (spoiler alert: it's Mercury).

So there it is you guys, the long-awaited Sailor Moon re-boot.

Was I disappointed? Heck no! Great animation, great music, and Mitsuishi Kotono still rules at voicing Usagi.

Was I bored out of my mind watching this? ...maybe. Obviously you can't drastically change the first episode of Sailor Moon. It's practically iconic by itself. But to me, I just couldn't really get into it for most of it. Perhaps it was more entertaining for those haven't seen the first episode since the 90s, and are in this purely for the nostalgia. As for me, it was almost painful having to watch this twice so I could review it.

I'm extremely excited, however, for Act 2. Crystal will only be twenty-six episodes long (about half the length of the original series), so it's clear they're introducing the team members much quicker. Thank goodness. It took so freaking long in the original that I never even got to the episodes with Jupiter back when I watched it.

I hope you all enjoyed my first Sailor Moon review! Comment about what you thought of the episode, what you thought of my review, and what you expect for the next act! New episodes air every other week, so Act 2 will be next Saturday.

I will do my best to review every episode, so follow my blog if you want to read more of my stupid, newbie, rant-ish comments on what is looking to be a great series so far!