H!P Releases August 10

A lot of releases today (about 9) so it will be a somewhat longer post with shorter reviews, but nonetheless fans of Buono, Berryz, S/mileage, and HANGRY&ANGRY will be very happy since today there are many releases from them.

Today’s releases include:

Berryz Koubou Concert Tour 2011 Spring Berryz Koubou Kessei 7 Shuunen Kinen Concert Tour 2011 Haru ~Shuukan Berryz Times (Blu-ray)
Berryz Koubou Aa, Yo ga Akeru (Regular, Limited A, Limited B, Limited C)
S/mileage Uchoten LOVE (Single V)
Buono! partenza (Mini-album)
HANGRY&ANGRY Reconquista (Single)
HANGRY&ANGRY LIVE CIRCUIT 2010 “Sadistic Dance” (DVD)

Check out the full post after the break!

Berryz Koubou Concert Tour 2011 Spring Berryz Koubou Kessei 7 Shuunen Kinen Concert Tour 2011 Haru ~Shuukan Berryz Times (Blu-ray)

1. Heroine ni Narou ka!
2. Special Generation
Movie
3．HAPPY! Stand Up
MC
4. Joshikai The Night
5. Onna no Pride
6. Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi
Skit
7. Munasawagi Scarlet (Natsuyaki, Sugaya)
8. Sakura wa raku sa (Tsugunaga, Tokunaga, Shimizu joins in the interlude for a dance solo)
9. Grand demo rouka demo medatsu kimi (Sudou, Kumai)
Heroine ni narouka corner~Who’s the heroine today?
10. Darling I LOVE YOU (The 6 girls who did not become the heroine)
Heroine ni narouka corner~Who’s the heroine today? The heroine can do whatever she wants for 3 minutes.
11. BOMB BOMB JUMP
12. MADAYADE
13. Sakura→Nyuugakushiki
14. Jiriri Kiteru
15. Shining Power
16. Icchoume rock!
17. Otakebi Boi WAO!
Encore
18. 7shuunen kinen special medley: Koi wa happiridako→Berryz Kobo Koushinkyoku→Maji Natsu sugiru→Sayonara hageshiki koi→Yume wo Hitotsubu ~Berryz Kamen Ending Theme~→Kimi no tomodachi→Magical Future!
MC
19. Girls Times
Bonus:
Kokuhaku No Funsui Hiroba

Bonus:
Anshinkan (Tsugunaga Momoko)
REAL LOVE (Kumai Yurina)
VERY BEAUTY (Natsuyaki Miyabi)
MOON POWER (Sugaya Risako)
Kozukai UP Daisakusen (Tokunaga Chinami)
Omoitattara Kichi desse! (Sudou Maasa)
CLAP! (Shimizu Saki)

The blu-ray version of Berryz Koubou’s spring 2011 tour featuring the same setlist as the DVD version but with 7 extra videos featuring solos for each member.

As I mentioned before I loved the DVD release since it had a great combination of songs from newer and older releases, and while the blu-ray might be somewhat more expensive than the DVD version I highly encourage anyone who can to get it since it has an additional 7 tracks as well as blu-ray quality which are both great ways to enjoy this concert tour, assuming you have a blu-ray player.

The bump in quality might be an improvement but the price might be a bit too much for some fans who still have to pay shipping costs apart from that (in that case I would recommend the DVD version), but if you don’t mind the cost I highly recommend this release since it’s a perfect way to enjoy the concert.

Berryz Koubou Aa, Yo ga Akeru (Regular, Limited A, Limited B, Limited C)

Top row (from left to right): Regular, Limited A, Limited B
Bottom row: Limited C

Aa, Yoru ga Akeru
Otona ni wa Nari Takunai Hayaku Otona ni Naritai
Aa, Yoru ga Akeru (Instrumental)

Berryz Koubou’s 27th single titled Aa, Yo ga Akeru (Eng: Aa, Break of Dawn) which debuted on the Oricon at #6.

The single was a big surprise for many since the outfits were a bit more mature compared to their other releases (slightly lingerie styled), but they surprisingly fit the song well since the song had a mature and somewhat catchy ballad theme that some fans loved since it seemed to show off their dreamy and grown up style.

The covers reflect this theme since they feature Berryz posing in a white room in calm poses (Regular), smiling at the camera from the clouds (Limited A), in a lineup surrounded by roses (Limited B), as well as sitting on swings in front of a white curtain (Limited C), and while I didn’t like a few things about the covers I have to admit that they each had a unique theme that reflected the song well, especially the Regular and Limited A covers.

As for the song it has a funky instrumental with a powerful ballad sound which combines perfectly with the vocals, and while the multiple vocals for each member might make the lyrics a bit hard to hear from time to time I absolutely loved the way the song came out since it showed off everyone’s voices in a calm and mature way.

Video uploaded by: berryzchannel

The PV reflects this since we get to see each member posing in a different room along with the group shot where they are all singing from the stairs, and with a castle setting (the same one used on Buono’s MY BOY) it really makes the song stand out since the elegant style of each setting match the outfit each member is using, and with the dance shot in a salon it really made the PV complete.

Chii, Maasa, and Captain didn’t get quite as many lines as the other members but they still got quite a lot of appearances as well as a solo line and a syllable each, which is better than nothing, although I hope we get to see them have a few more lines since their voices fit in with this song well. Apart from that Risako, Miya, Momo, and Kumai did an amazing job with the lines since they each sang perfectly, although Miya and Kumai are the stars of the PV (at least for me).

Video uploaded by: 0099seven

The b-side has a contrasting theme since it’s filled with heavy guitars as well as a synthesizer filled instrumental, and while it might not be as catchy as the a-side I was impressed with it since it complements the a-side well, and since all of the members seem to have lines it really makes the song stand out.

Overall this single is well worth getting for Berryz Koubou fans and for anyone who loves ballads since it’s a great single, and while it might not be selling that well so far it seems like it could have been a great single for the group since it shows off their mature side perfectly.

Hopefully UFA soon understands that focusing promotion on only a few groups at the time doesn’t really help since this single could have done a lot better, but it’s still too early to say that since the single was just released.

For now I hope fans buy a copy of the single or at least get the copies from iTunes since it’s a great way to support them, and for me personally I loved this single since it has everything: a mature ballad styled a-side with a guitar filled b-side, and while the outfits might have been a bit too “mature” they fit the song well and with the PV setting they seemed to match perfectly, but the a-side could have had a more upbeat sound to it so for me this release gets a 4.

S/mileage Uchoten LOVE (Single V)

Uchoten LOVE (Music Video)
Uchoten LOVE (Chou Close-up Ver)
Making Of

The Single V release for S/mileage’s 6th single titled Uchoten LOVE.

Like most Single V releases we get the PV, an alternate version of the PV, as well as the Making of, and while this release might not be that different it’s still a great release for fans of Single V’s since it includes an interestingly titled alternate version: Chou Close-up Ver, which is most likely another set of clsoe-up shots from the PV.

The main PV is simply one of the best I have seen from S/mileage since it has a large amount of shots mixed in with different themes, such as the close-up shot, dance shot, random shot (where the members sing into mics and have fun), as well as many others which combine to form an amazing release. I have already reviewed the PV many times, but like they say a picture is worth a thousand words so check out the PV if you haven’t done so already:

Video uploaded by: smileagechannel

Unfortunately I can’t find anything but the main PV to preview, but I encourage anyone who wants to check out the Making Of and the Chou Close-up Ver to get a copy of the Single V and see for themselves since they seem like interesting ways to enjoy this single fully.

Since I haven’t seen the full Single V I can’t say for sure if it’s perfect but the PV alone makes this DVD an interesting addition to any S/mileage collection, so for anyone who loves the PV I would suggest you get a copy.

Buono! partenza (Mini-album)

partenza~Lets Go!!!~
Zassou no Uta
FrankincenseΨ
My alright sky
Natsu DAKARA!
Kia Ora Gracias Arigato
JUICY HE@RT
1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou

Buono’s first mini-album release featuring 3 unique new songs, 2 covers, and 3 previous releases for a total of 8 songs.

The release of this mini-album was a big surprise to everyone mostly because the group hasn’t released a mini-album and with only 2 singles after their brief change to Zetima it seems like this album might not have that much content. That couldn’t be farther from the truth since we get 5 new songs along with many interesting themes for the releases.

Since there are 5 new songs (3 new and 2 covers) I’m going to briefly review the new songs:

partenza~Lets Go!!~