Believe/Kumori Nochi, Kaisei [Review]

Apparently people have gotten their singles like.. a week early (o_o) and have very kindly released them on the internet so I have heard the entire single and so now, I will write my review on this single ^^

 

Believe - I love this song so much. In my opinion, it's a very good song, it's up-beat and I don't realy know what the lyrics are or what the song means but it really raises up my energy and just wakes me up. If I had to use one word to describe this song it would be cool, take that word in whatever way you want. It really is a cool song, I mean the style is sort of... low yet fast and it's not really "happy" but it's not "depressing" either. I mean the song is called "Believe" so I can just guess it's about believing. I think it's a fitting song for a superhero - I can imagine it coming into play right when Sho starts kicking some bad-guy ass xD

Kumori Nochi, Kaisei - At first, I didn't like this song. I really didn't. I didn't like the style... and kill me if you want, but I didn't like how Ohno sounded. I thought the song was too up-beat for Ohno to be singing solo, but, after watching the PV I fell in love with this song. It brings a smile to my face, it's cute. It's up-beat in a ... mellow-ish sort of way as in, it's not out right happy crack like "Happiness" or like the 3rd song in the Truth single "Smile" but it's definitly a happy song. I think, in the end, it does suit Ohno, because he really is a mellow guy. Oh. but.. um.. I have to mention a few things about the lyrics. "Lan Lan Lang?" and "Ran Ran Rang" etc. etc... what language is this? English? Japanese? o_o

Tobira - Um.. I listened to this once. ^^'' It's a nice song, but I'm not really thinking of keeping it on my "Arashi playlist". I mean, if it appears you know, it sounds good but I don't think it's very memorable. Like. You know, it's a good closing to a good single but aside from that it's just... it's not memorable. *shrugs* Should I call it bland? I mean, it's the standard "Arashi" song... like, it sounds like Arashi, it is Arashi but it's nothing "special" is what I'm saying. Understand? No? Well.. too bad =D

Overall mark - 4/5

I like the songs a lot but not to an obsessive sort of point. It's good. "Believe" and "Kumori Nochi, Kaisei" are good songs and I think it's a great start to Arashi's year and they're really putting up a high bar for the next singles to come out but it's not yet beating Truth or even Beautiful Days (I like Beautiful days A LOT xD)

 

Believe/Kumori Nochi Kasei PV's

The full PV's have been released for both songs!! ^^
I like Kumori Nochi Kasei's PV more.. oddly, I thought I wouldn't cause it's just Ohno alone and it would seem awkward.. without the other Arashi members (>_<''), but it turns out I really like it. And, it also made me like the song a lot more. It's taken a while, but after watching this PV I think I've fallen, gradually, fallen in love with this song xD

I'll talk about the Believe PV first.

Earlier, I said it seemed like truth? Well.. it's... sort of along the same vein, but there are it's differences. I thought it was good. I mean, the effects and stuff were alright and I seriously love the silver colour scheme. So.. pretty-ish. Somehow the dark, mellow mood of the PV fit the song, surprisingly cause I thought Believe was a more happy up-beat song. xD

Now. I'm going to pick on a certain member - some guy named MatsuJun.

JUN!! WHY DON'T YOU MOVE YOUR HANDS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?!?!
(will put screencaps later)

Everyone else moves their hands in weird, funny little motions and seemed to put all their effort into singing.. and then you have Jun who is just standing there all cool, not doing hand movements like the rest of them. (T.T) Why Jun?  Why? It really seemed, like his expression didn't change at ALL throughout the ENTIRE PV. And it bugged me to no end. He was like a robot (-_-'') I want to see Jun messing around like everyone else and doing awkward hand movements and moving, arms, legs, face.. you know, moving is good roboJun.

Right, aside from all that up there (sorry Jun, I love you but... come on.... you really were like a robot.)

The dancing looks pretty cool. I really can't wait to see a live performance of the song cause I am so waiting for some kick ass dancing like Truth or something along the lines of that. I wish they showed more dancing actually cause.. you know, I am more entertained by dancing more than them just standing there. (hence why I'm so agitated that Jun did not move >_>)

In terms of looks (since I guess I should talk about this... ) they all looked pretty nice. And pretty. Sort of funny that Jun was wearing like. a suit with a bow-tie xD Right, I don't have much to say about looks cause.. appearance I don't really take note of unless they are looking really hideous (Nino, Shorts, One Love? No), but none of them looked bad so yes.. looks, all pretty good. ^^

Overall. It was alright. 4/5 =D

now - onto Kumori Nochi Kaisei

I love this PV. Why? I have no idea, maybe it's cause it's oddly like.. simple. I think it's a very cute/sweet PV. Also, I found it amusing that they have random like.. caucasion people mixed in with Japanese people. xD Ohno doesn't really do much, the dancing is really simple and half the time he's moving his arms but that's it.. but.. it's cute.

It's such a cute PV. I really liked it, it amused me. The hand movements were cute too. And you know what? Ohno was just hella cute this entire PV. I don't think crazy-ass dancing would've mixed well with a song like Kumori Nochi Kaisei so I'm not that bugged about no dancing. I mean, they did dance somewhat, and it was simple and sweet and not very challenging nor did it showcase Ohno's skills much but it fit. And there wasn't anyone killing the mood *cough* (what not implying anything...*shifty eyes)

I don't really have as much to say about this PV even though I like it more because I already said why I liked it so much. It was cute. Simple. Amusing. Entertaining. You know. I can't tell if Ohno was acting as himself or if he was pretending to be Yano Kenta, because ... in my eyes, they're practically one and the same xD

5/5 for (in my opinion) a very awesome PV xD (even if there is only one Arashi member *cries*)

now that I think about it.. I wish the Arashi members would've cameo'd in the PV xD It would've been funny =P

alright I'm done.

(screens will come later... =D)

Arashi Beat Box

oh my god. so much awesome right there xD
I love this video so much.
But.. beware.
Might get a headache if you watch to many times (^^'')

well.. I did anyways.

but. here. take a look at =D

 

Himitsu no Arashi-chan #42 [2008.02.26] - Arashi Beat Box

More News

March 24th (Tuesday)
(19:00) - Odoroki no Arashi SP - (2:00)

another one? (o_o)
Wow. Goes to show Arashi really is getting popular (^^)
I hope they come up with completely new experiments though..
some things are just getting old....

anyways.
and another thing.
Sho won't be guesting on Uta no Oniisan?
(>_<;;) - eh?
Now. I'm confused... and a bit sad... (T.T)

Himitsu #41 = Love

I just watched the videos on Tenjo Style and..
Oh. Damn.
I couldn't stop laughing. xD
Jun has a hella amount of patience. 77 takes?!
But the end product looks so cool.
^^
I can't wait to see the Arashi version with all 5 of them.
I think that airs next week?

This episode, I think, defines my Arashi love.
Ah.
The stupidness. *hugs*

and another thing..
is it just me or...
does Jun look fatter? (in a good way)
Like. More buff?
Because, I'm liking the fatness, I hope it doesn't all disappear when drama filming starts (o_o)

Sho on Uta no Oniisan?

Apparently Sho will be having a guest appearance in Uta no Oniisan episode 7.
(^^)
That's pretty cool. =D
Arashi members seem to enjoy making cameo appearances in Ohno's drama ne? xD

on another note...
Anyone know where I can download
Hana Yori Danshi?

The HardGay parody for HanaDan? I really want to watch it (>_<;;)

Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo

I want to watch Tsuyoshi's version. Season 1 and 2.

I like MatsuJun's version but everyone says Tsuyoshi's version is better xD
Not that I don't like MatsuJun (my god, I love him in Kindaichi ^^)
but... hey.
I'm a Kinki kids fan too.

*sigh*
But I can't find it anywhere (>_<;;)
I can only find season 3.
dang it.

*keeps searching*

"Believe" PV

It. Looks. So. Good.
*dies*

It's like Truth except... not. Black and Silver.
Those are the colours.

Can I mention? Nino's hair? So. Good. (o_o)
Can't wait for the full PV!!

(will put a review *cough*fangirlingpost*cough* here later =D

Uta no Oniisan final

March 13th (Friday)
(23:15) - Uta no Oniisan episode 8 ~final~ - (6:15)

Aw... it's only 8 episodes long. Well.
Honestly I wouldn't mind
cause.. I think if they stretched it to 10 or 11...
with the storyline the drama has...
it would turn sort of boring...

*shrugs*
Just my one thought.

Ohno on M-Sta

Apparently Ohno is going to be on M-Sta alone singing his own song Kumori Nochi Kaisei. ^^

I think it'll be interesting to see riida alone without any of the members with him xD I bet all 5 of them (especially MatsuJun and Nino) will watch him when the episode airs on TV =D

::EDIT::

February 27th (Friday)
(20:00) - Ohno on Music Station [Asahi] - (3:00)

aww... it's going to be weird seeing Oh-chan all alone without the members there...

V6 Performances

Hope I'm not spamming anyone up (-_-'')

but... can I just say... I love it when V6 does performances. I mean, all of them can do like.. acrobatics/gymnastics which makes their dances so much more interesting and they're in sync like... to the dot (as far as I can tell) and no one ever seems to go way off tune.... and.. you know what they're just plain good at live performances.

Looks like I'm going to go on a concert downloading spree soon xD

Nino Flail [aka my new ichiban] xD

Nino's acting is SO FRICKEN GOOD!!

Like. Holy crap.

I just saw a preview of Door to Door - the drama SP he's going to be in and I was like "... o_o!!!!"

He looks just like a person with Cerebral Palsy, it's crazy, like... damn. There's the Hollywood actor right there, Ninomiya Kazunari.

I mean.. I was already blown away with how he did in Marathon but... like.. I'm just getting totally blown away again. And I love how Nino does the voices. In Marathon his voice was really high and childish and now his voice is deep and... it's, believable. Like. I don't think it's acting at all. I don't see Nino as "Nino" but as the character he plays. Gah. Can't explain (>_<'')

*in shock*

I'm not even this blown away by American actors, but Nino just... it's incredibly. (o_o)

You can tell I'm so looking forward to Door to Door xD

:::EDIT:::

For a while now, Nino and Jun have sort of been tied for first place, but now. It's all Nino. Don't worry Jun, you still have your very special pedastal for getting me into Arashi that is by default always an milimeter above every other member xD

No. But really, I think Nino is my ichiban - for the moment. Watch me revert back to Jun when Smile comes out xD

New Banner

I made a new banner
(^ _ ^)
I don't normally "celebrate" Valentines day
but...
If it's for Arashi, I'll probably do anything xD

Hope you like it ^^

Arashi-Valentines

PV Previews

February 16th (Monday)
(5:20) - Believe PV on Zoom In! Super [NTV] - (12:20)

February 20th (Friday)
(8:00) - Kumori Nochi Kaisei PV on Super Morning [Asahi] - (3:00)

I can't wait ^^ I especially want to see the Believe PV...
the Kumori Nochi Kaisei PV might be a bit lonely though, just seeing Ohno along (>_<;;)

AAA2008 Tokyo DVD

*shot dead*
I cannot wait for end of March/April (>_<;;)

Anyways...

ARASHI Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo
JABA-5046
2 discs
Release: March 25, 2009
Price: 5524yen (5800yen tax included)

CAD = $77 ($80 tax included)
USD = $61 ($64 tax included)

Details:
Live DVD release from Arashi featuring footage of the live "ARASHI Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo" at Kasumigaseki (NAASH.) This is their second concert tour in Asia. Includes the tracks "truth / Kaze no Mukou e," "One Love," "Step and Go," "Re(mark)able (the track created for this Asian Tour)," and more! Also includes documentary of rehearsal, recording of the track "Re(mark)able," and more.

got this info from cdjapan

*still dead*

:::EDIT:::

Just read from kikinini's vox that these things will be included
-Full concert
-MC
-Documents of Kokuritsu (documentary...?)
-Rehearsals (backstage?! =D)
-Recording of re(mark)able (AWESOME)

[The Fandom Chronicles #4] NewS vs KAT-TUN?

I don't like KAT-TUN as a group. I don't know why, I'm just... biased like that I guess (^^'') and NewS is like.. you know, I don't have much opinion over them. I don't hate them, I like about 1/2 the members... but.. something I found odd.

I like KAT-TUN music  a lot more than NewS (no offense, their music isn't that great... )

Strange how things work out that way huh?

In fact, I guess you can't even say I like NewS music... I mean.. the one song I've ever listened on repeat with NewS is probably their debut song ~Kibou~Yell but, that doesn't count cause I have some... thing with debut songs. Like, I will always like them. But.. any other songs is just sort of like "eh... it's nice" when it starts playing but.. after it stops I won't have the urge to listen to it again.

KAT-TUN though, as long as I don't watch ANY PV's whatsoever, I will like that song. A lot. If you make me watch a PV though I will hate the song... but in general, I find, KAT-TUN songs really good. Well.. only the ones I have downloaded anyways (which is only their singles).

Am I weird? I don't know, it seems strange to me. That I like KAT-TUN music a lot and yet don't like the actual group and then .. I "like" the group NewS and don't really like their music. (again, NewS is a really... touchy subject cause I don't watch any of their videos or follow them at all but if you give me a vote, I will pick them over KT o_o)

but overall, KinKi Kids will always reign supreme... followed by Arashi and TOKIO ^^ 

OMG!! JUN NEW DRAMA!!

OMG!OMG!OMG!!!

YES!!!

Alright. I'm calm... kya~!.. *cough* okay. Now I'm calm.
(^^)

Well as you probably read from the title...
MatsuJun's new drama is confirmed
Yes. CONFIRMED

Are we happy or are we happy?!

I am VERY happy (betcha didn't notice ne? xD)

And as the rumour said - he will be co-starring with Aragaki Yui. The only difference with the rumours is that the drama will be called Smile and apparently Jun will be playing a half Japanese half Filipino (what? o_o?)

It will be a Friday night 10:00 drama from TBS starting in April.

more info found at Tenjo Style's vox

[Drama Review] Marathon

Marathon
Starring: Ninomiya Kazunari
2007 Drama SP

Another true story about a autistic young man who managed to run a full-marathon in 3 hours. It's actually based of a Korean person who is still alive and running. It's be adapted into a Japanese character and Nino plays the autistic young man by the name of Shotaro.

Let's get straight to the point shall I? I. Love. This. So. Much.

If you want some hard evidence that Nino is a brilliant actor please watch this because I was literally blown away at Nino's brilliant acting as an autistic person. I didn't even see him as Ninomiya Kazunari, idol, singer, actor, I saw him as Shotar the autistic boy who loves to run. Sometimes I seriously just wanted to hug Shotaro because he was so adorable.

It really is a touching story, I felt really moved at the end and I just felt so happy and content. If you're an emotional person (which I am not) you might cry just from the sheer happiness of it all. You watch as Shotaro runs, at first you think it's for his mother but then you realize that he really does love to run. Although Shotaro can't express his feelings through words, you realize that in the end he runs the marathon because he wants to. Because he enjoys it.

Relentlessly practicing.
Getting blisters on his feet.
Running until he cramps so bad he can't move.
and then going to the finish line.
2 hours 59 minutes 16 seconds.

I always read about how Nino's acting his better than Jun's and I never really knew what to think because I haven't watched many of Nino's dramas before, but after watching this? I am ready to completely agree. Nino is a brilliant actor. Now, I will go on a Nino-drama watching spree. (^^)

Rating - 5/5 (cause it was just that good in my opinion)

[Drama Review] Sukoshi wa Ongaeshi ga Dekitakana

Sukoshi wa Ongaeshi ga Dekitakan
starring: Ninomiya Kazunari
March 2006

It's a story about a 17 year old boy (at the beginning I believe) named Kitahara Kazunori and his battle with "Ewing's Sarcoma" a very rare-cancer occurring in the bone and flesh and spreads through the blood. He spent a year and a month battling this disease and while fighting he gained much support from his family and friends. During his battle he managed to get into the prestigous Tokyo University (Todai).

It's a true story.

I'm not very affected by things like these, people dying from diseases and what not. (Although the last two episodes of 1 litre of tears did make a waterfall run) but this wasn't so bad. I think that if I wasn't so attached to Nino/Arashi I wouldn't have been so affected at the end. Which makes me say, I didn't actually cry. Tears appeared, but only one or two came out of my eye. It was still a very touching episode though, I enjoyed it very much.

What really got to me was the boys name. Kazunori.... could you get any closer to Kazunari? Like really (-_-;;). And watching Nino slowly die for 6 minutes really killed. The entire time I thought I was going to start sobbing but I didn't miraculously. By the time the tears were threatening to fall, the elder brother killed the atmosphere. When the elder brother came home 1 month after Kazu died, and he started sobbing so dramatically, I was like "DAMN IT YOU KILLED THE MOOD!!!" because he did. His crying was just so dramatic and bad and.. ugh.

But I did nearly cry at the very end when the mother was taking grad pictures. I sat there, on my chair for like.. 5 minutes without moving after the SP ended cause... I just couldn't move. I was just speechless I guess.

To an actual review, it's very good. Nino's acting was very good. The character Kazu really moved me. He was fighting cancer but he got into University and even when he was going through all that pain. And at the end, I felt so sorry for him. He looked so.. pitiful lying on that bed, and I was so moved and all he did was think about his parents and his brother. It's a very touching story. I really think it's something all Arashi/Nino fans should watch if you haven't already, even if you aren't a fan, it's still a touching story to watch.

I'm not being biased here, I really think that even if I didn't like Nino I would still watch this because it was enjoyable. It wasn't slow and draggy, I was actually surprised when I realized I had already gone through 1 hour of it.

The slowest part was really, probably the 6 minutes in which Kazu was slowly, slowly dying. Such a long, painful 6 minutes. *sniffles*

Rating - 4/5

It didn't bring me to tears xD - Now, off to watch Marathon!

[Kinki Kids] - Yakusoku (約束)

Okay, technically this is a fangirling blog so I can fangirl about whoever I want. In this case, I would like to just let everyone know that even though Arashi is my #1 group, in terms of music...Kinki Kids are the winners. ^^ And with that, my crazy rant on how much I love, love love their new song "Yakusoku"

Yakusoku (約束)
What can I say? Ever since I heard this song in the Johnny's Countdown I've loved it. I downloaded the PV but I didn't really watch it. It's a bit plain, but this song. THIS song.. oh my god. It's so... much.. love. Like. I swear I'm not being biased. The melody is catchy and then their voices and their harmony and *rants on and on*... conclusion? This song is the best. I love this song.

Loving
It's alright. I like it, if I listen to it but it doesn't really stick in my mind. It's like a lot of Kinki Kids ballads - ie - they sort of make me sleepy xD It doesn't mean I don't like it but I'm not going to be listening to it on repeat. I think overall, it's the song I like the least.

Yume Hajime Hana　(夢始めの花）
It's faster paced than Loving so ... yeah. I generally like fast paced songs more ^^. I like the melody of the song, it's interesting. Possibly my second most favourite song in this single, but again, it doesn't stay in my mind so much. Although I enjoy listening to it. I like the chorus a lot. ^^ When the song starts to pick up... ah... so good.

Tabidachi no Hi　(旅立ちの日)
Ah. Even though this is a low ballad-sort of song, I like it a lot. It has a very calming effect on me. I'm not sure what, but it just gives me this sort of sweet feeling that i really like. The piano (pretty sure it's a piano) in the background in the beginning makes me smile. I always like piano's being played.

Overall
Overall - obviously - I love this single. xD Although I don't listen to all the songs (3/4) as an entire single it gives me this sort of... really mellow, calming sort of feeling. Kinki Kids music generally gives me that type of feeling and mixed in with their wonderful vocals it really just adds to the feel. This single, if you listen to all the songs together you really will get the best out of it. *sighs dreamily...* Seriously, if you're not a fan of Kinki kids - listen to Yakusoku and fall in love.