Mixed Feelings

Brainstorming had me pumped up for Morning Musume. But now with their latest song & video release, I'm have mixed feelings and think that Kimi sae ireba nani mo iranai overall is a bit of a let down.

1. Tsunku. Please back off on the autotune (or whatever voice techy stuff goes on so much these days). These girls CAN sing. They don't need it. As for the song, I don't care for the verses, I really enjoy the solos during the pre-chorus' and I like the chorus. It's not as catchy a Brainstorming, but it's not bad.

2. Costumes get a zero on a scale of one to ten. The yellow is a bad choice, with Pyoco Pyoco only a few singles back. A lot of people disliked the Pyoco Pyoco outfits, but I think they match the theme of the video and are darling. These ones make me cringe. After the cool looking outfits of Brainstorming, how in the world did MM end up in these flapper girl dresses?! Even Pepper Keibu and Seishun Collection have better outfits.

3. While I like the direction MM has been going in, the dance choreography is getting repetitive. Help Me, Take a Chance, and Brainstorming have a lot of common or similar dance moves. And as I watched the latest MV, I was disappointed to see yet again more of the same combos. I'd like them to do something totally different in their next PV. Maybe take a step away from the 'dance shot versions' and go for a fun video with lots of close ups and different scenes. One can hope.

4. Line distribution. Morning Musume has been making me happy with allowing 9+10&11 gens to solo more and more. I LOVE that you hear more of Ayumi, Sakura, and Mizuki. I was sad to not really hear from Masaki this single though. I also think they are horribly overlooking Haruka's vocals. That girl deserves at least one solo!

5. Sayumi. Ugh, I don't wanna say I feel 'sorry' for her. But I kind of do. Even with Aichan and Gakisan graduated, she doesn't get much more than autotuned lines where you don't really get to hear her voice for what it is, or Ha's Ah's Ai's and Oh's. I remember when she was on Music Fighter and mentioned how she wished to have more lines than her simple "Help Me" in Resonant Blue. In a funny way, I hope that once Reina graduates, Sayumi doesn't get thrown to the back behind the new generations. She deserves to shine some.


Overall, this is a very forgettable song and video for me. I like Brainstorming as an A-side of their 53rd single a lot, but I like singles 44th through 52nd ALL more than I like Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Irenai alone.