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This pic continues to be my favourite incarnation of Goto thus far. I love that minx hair style, that odd mix of overalls with a leopard-print jacket and the fact that she is outdoors, not draped over some velvet couch covered in pearls. This strikes me as down-to-earth sophisticated, which I much prefer.
Since her mini-album has been released I decided to watch her ‘Unrecorded’ segments on youtube (see her recording ‘Fly Away’, also personally my fave episode here). She wears this coat a lot during the shows.
What I expected to like about it was seeing her in real life, being like the Goto she was in H!P. Granted, I don’t know a whole lot about who she was in H!P because I had no interest in her when she was in Momusu, or when she was a soloist. Well, some interest, but very little. I’ve always been more interested in the person Goto than the idol Gocchin. So I was delighted to see that ‘Unrecorded’ was that kind of show. I liked just seeing her do the job. She got up early, slurped down her Starbucks treats and went about her day not as if she was “super delighted” to be there, but as if this was (is) her job and so she’ll keep going, even when she inevitably got tired. I did get a sense that she enjoyed it, but she didn’t have to pretend as though she did to entertain me. My Japanese is still in its infancy, but from the bits I understood, and what I observed, she seemed fulfilled and determined. I loved seeing her that way. Seeing her scribbling down lyrics and choosing the look she wanted to present in her photoshoots (as was my limited understanding) was so different than any backstage moment H!P has ever given me.
Avex is a bit of mysterious place for me, but my impression of it in regards to people like Koda Kumi has really made me think about the person Goto Maki.
I sorta feel like we all need to get to know her all over again.
Strangely, I’m not happy about this.
I’d describe it as rather a sinking feeling.
I’ve never hated Koharu, or as I’ve dubbed her forever ‘nut-job’. I don’t hate any of the H!P girls, even Winky who annoys the living hell out of me. I’ve just never been a fan of hers. I’ve never really thought she could sing very well, if at all, and I couldn’t stand any of her solo ventures. With all the crack-tastic concert behaviour, you’d think she would have become endearing to me, but not really, no.
This picture reminds me of her early days when she was simply adorable; those were the days when she’d sit on Yossy’s knee and piss off Miki with her excited bouncy innocence. Obviously, any idol has to grow up, but I never got as attached to her Kira….rin(???) persona.
I’m really on a recent-Momusu kick right now. Am I really the only blogger who is enjoying the hell out of recent Momusu?
Anyway…viewing the aforementioned, recently English-subbed, DVD magazine was so much fun. And as most Momusu related things do, it made me think.
Thank goodness for fansubbers. They amaze me. They aren’t getting paid (I assume) for all the slaving they do, they are just sharing the wealth. It must take so long and it must be so frustrating. To do all that work just for the satisfaction of being able to share with other fans – that’s amazing to me.I appreciate them so much and I don’t comment nearly as much as my gratitude prompts me to. So, to all you fan-subbers – kudos. We’re grateful. Selfish as all hell, but grateful nonetheless.
You can call this sucking up if you want. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s true and you should all be damn grateful too.
That being said, let’s move on to the actual dvd.First of all, I didn’t sub this, or translate it. I’m going by HPS’s translations, so all credit goes to them – hence the grovelling to fansubbers I just did (seriously. Love you guys. THANK YOU!).
Now this isn’t a play-by-play review, as those seem tedious to me. This blog was started on a whim, is governed by whim and operates only when I feel the need to post my thoughts (and usually, far too many screencaps). To do a post that summarizes the whole thing seems tiring to me, which is why the Gokkie series is currently on hold. Besides, you should all watch it. What I’m here to comment on would be the segments in which we finally learn a little more about what the girls think of each other nowadays.
That, to me, is worth examining.
(Trust me, even if I had a life, I’d still be writing these…so hush.)
I’ve been away from here awhile, and what a while it’s been! We’ve gotten Momusu going across the sea (to somewhere other than Hawaii), new/old shuffle groups, new single for the girls, and so on and so on. I’ve been itching to post, so I decided to just cover those things and anything else that drifts through my mind because I really can’t think of a good way to connect them all.
Blogs = self indulgence.
Hooray!
And regarding this pic: do I ever need a reason for random Gokkie love? Gracious Mame is tiny, even compared to Takahashi!
To those people in the U.S who actually saw her up close, was it like looking at a tiny life-like doll? That’s the sort of image I get when I try to picture any of these girls as real live human beings. They look small enough on pvs and such, but in reality…man they must be tiny.
I’ll stop stating the obvious and just get on with it.
…rather than taking a new direction, has Morning Musume really just begun to return to form? Their music will always have that certain flavour that we expect from them, but in terms of theme, they seem to be slowly creeping backwards.
I’ll try to make this clearer.
I couldn’t stop watching the danceshot version of their new single ‘Shouganai Yume Oibito’ when it finally came out (thanks to HelloOnline as always). Usually dance-shots merely satisfy my curiousity rather than make me think. I find it frustrating that I can only see bits and pieces of a dance in a regular pv, especially if it’s an interesting one. That’s why the “real” pv for Resonant Blue didn’t bother me. I still like that dance and I still think the pv suited it. But I’m stubborn like that, and getting off topic. I love that this dance-shot takes place in what looks like a university library. It looks like a real location rather than a back-drop, which gives it a completely different feeling. I love the soft, feminine look of them. It reminded me slightly of the Sexy Boy video, but that one didn’t have the same vulnerability I felt in this one.
Maybe it’s just shots like this one that made me feel a sense of vulnerability, but they tend to reach forward for something over and over and never reach it.
