元気者で行こう!

A PV of Mano Erina's 8th single, Genkimono de Ikou! was uploaded to the UFA Youtube Channel earlier today.



Considering Hello! Project's track record, I tried not to get too excited about this PV. A famous director, Yukihiko Tsutsumi, was hired to provide Hello! Project with some much needed direction, but just how much of an impact could one person have?

Tons, apparently. It only took me one watch to see that Genkimono de Ikou! is miles better than any PV Hello! Project has churned out in the last couple of years. But what exactly makes this PV so much better than the rest? For starters, it has one key feature that is almost always lacking in a Hello! Project PV - humans of the male variety. Considering the pure pandemonium that only a PV of this quality can provide, I have no idea what role they (or Manoeri for that matter) play in whatever story Yukihiko has created, but what I do know is that it is awesome.

More importantly, this PV looks well polished. One of the biggest complaints from Hello! Project fans these days is that UFA's PVs look cheap. Most of the time I'm indifferent to something like that, but when you have the girls dancing in parking garages, even I must object. This PV is the complete opposite of any of that. It doesn't look like it was filmed in someone's yard. It was well edited. I daresay it even looks like it cost a pretty penny to make.

But why now? After years of following the same cookie cutter formula, why would management suddenly decide on something radically different? Never underestimate the power of change. Many people are afraid of change. After all, change is, well, new and when things are going well, why change? A year ago during Manoeri's debut, the above may have been perfectly valid. However, with sales declining, something needed to be done.

Genkimono de Ikou! is a perfect example of positive change and a giant step in the right direction. No one can deny that the PV is wildly different from anything we've seen from Hello! Project in what seems like forever. I won't hold my breath waiting for it to happen, but I really hope that this trend continues with future releases.