Hello! Project 2010 Summer Concert review

It's Thursday and all of the new H!P releases for the week (except for the Morning Musume Blu-Ray concert which I don't expect to show up) have surfaced on the internet. Last night after I got the concert up on my channel, I was able to watch the concert in it's entirety and so here is my review.




1. All For One and One For All (all)
Great way to start the concert. Normally I don't like the opening songs for the sole reason that we've heard them a million times over, but it's been a while since I remember this being concert performed so it was a good choice. 8.5/10



4. Ganbaranakutemo ee nende (S/mileage) 
My second favorite song from them. Definitely nice to see this performed at a concert. Loved the audience chants that they added. Though I think I like the CD version a bit better.
8/10



5. Genkimono de Ikou! (Manoeri)
Never really liked this song. I have absolutely nothing against the single, especially with the great PV, but this isn't a song that you'd catch me listening to on my iPod unless it happened to come up during shuffle mode. It was nice to see a couple of the Eggs front and center with Manoeri (and hopefully we will see more of one of those four by ways of the 9th gen audition). Even though I'm not too fond of the song, it's high energy and the concert atmosphere makes it entertaining.
7.5/10



6. Dance de Bakoon! (C-ute)
Now the "real" concert begins. I remember when I watched this last night I said to myself that this song was best of show (without having watched the full concert) and now I can confirm that my thoughts were right. I am completely in love with this song, the dance, the outfits, and everything about it. It was sung really well - Nakajima's "mou yada" lines were pouty/angry, Chisato and Mai did well in their limited opportunities, and Airi and Maimi were excellent in their co-lead, as usual. Can't wait to see this performed again at C-ute's next concert.
10/10



7. Maji Bomber (Berryz Koubou)
When this song first came out I wasn't too keen on it, but it's growing on me. Love the outfits and the punk rock style the girls had going on. Dance is okay. It was pretty hard to follow Dance de Bakoon!, but Berryz held their own.
8/10



8. Seishun Collection (Morning Musume)
Probably my least favorite song of the three. I'm not sure what it is, but this single never really clicked with me. The instrumental is cool but I guess I don't really like the happy vibe that this song gives off (not that I have anything against happy songs either; see All for One and One for all). I just think that Morning Musume does sad songs a lot better. However, the performance was solid from what I remember. Morning Musume is still the best singing group in Hello! Project right now.
6.5/10





10. Aisu Cream to My Purin (Zoku v-u-den)
One word: yes! Besides Dance de Bakoon!, this was the one song I was looking forward to the most ever since the setlist was revealed. I never was a v-u-den fan, but this is one of their songs that I actually got into. It goes without saying that the dance is totally awesome. Sayu really fits this group well.

One thing that I hate about the upcoming graduations is that it totally screws up the Shuffles and it may encourage Tsunku to just forget about them, which I hope he doesn't.

But anyway, like I said, Sayu really shines in this. Junjun does pretty well. Risako seemed to be a bit embarrassed (and I don't blame her). Ironically enough, the order in which I ranked their performance (Sayu > Junjun > Risako) is the complete inverse of my opinion of their talent levels. Interesting.

Also, Momoko standing up from her seat and dancing was awesome on so many levels. (@ about 2:12 in the video)
9.5/10



11. Daite yo! Please Go On (High-King)
Yay for more shuffles. This was one of the few instances where I knew nothing about the song. I heard it here for the first time. Overall it's not bad. I liked the dance. I think it suits High-King really well, so kudos to the wota for picking it.
7.5/10



13. Chu! Natsu Party (S/mileage)
Ah, I remember this song. It was one of the first non-Berryz Hello! Project songs that I ever heard (for whatever reason, the early years of my H!P fandom took me from Berryz to 3nin Matsuri). I've heard this countless times, whether it was from the original artists, Berryz, or a random mash-up of girls. I think this performance falls somewhere in the middle. It's not groundbreaking. It was sung decently well. It was danced mostly like it should be. It was interesting only because we've never heard S/mileage sing or perform it before. Otherwise, I'm quite tired of hearing this song by now.
6.5/10



14. aMa no Jaku (S/mileage)
Back to singles again. Being their first [indie] single, it was the first impression of many for these girls. Like most fans, this song really got me hooked on S/mileage. But again, I'm starting to get a little tired of it seeing as it's been performed at virtually every concert S/mileage takes part in. Though that doesn't take a away the fact that it's a pretty good song.
7.5/10



15. Momoiro Kataomoi (Manoeri)
I have a feeling some fans will be upset that Manoeri is taking on an Ayaya song. Personally, I don't mind. Obviously it's been sung much better, but Manoeri gave it her best and looked like she was having fun, which is all you can ask. It was also quite fun watching the H!P members on the benches dancing along. Honestly, I wouldn't mind watching the whole concert with the camera focused on them. A lot of the stuff that the camera was able to catch was quite amusing.
7/10



16. Haru no Arashi (Manoeri)
Honestly I had forgotten this song existed, which is a shame because it's pretty good. The dance is great. Manoeri was at her best here, singing her own song. She looked really confident doing so. This performance was much better than the last few that preceded it.
8.5/10



18. Campus Life (C-ute)
Another song that I didn't like a first, but grew on me. This was another solid performance from C-ute. Not quite as awesome as Dance de Bakoon!, but it's amazing that it's even close, considering my opinion of the song when it first released.
8/10



19. Forever Love (C-ute)
I can't get enough of this song. It is completely biased towards Maimi and Airi (even moreso than usual), with them singing and dancing completely separate from the rest of C-ute for most of the song, but still I can't help but love it. This isn't the best performance of the song ever, nor do the outfits even remotely fit the song, but Forever Love continues the nice groove that the concert went into, starting with Haru no Arashi.
8.5/10



20. Dakishimete Dakishimete (Berryz Koubou)
This is my most underrated Berryz song of all time. It doesn't get enough love. It didn't sell nearly as much as I thought it would. But that doesn't stop me from fanboying all over it. The dance is so cool. It almost makes me want to get up and dance (don't worry, I won't).
9.5/10



21. Gag 100kai Bun Aishite Kudasai (Berryz Koubou)
This was like the second H!P song I ever heard, so it holds a special place in my heart. Momoko is really in her element here, singing lead. I know this was only a portion of the song, but people complained about Shock! - well this performance was just as one-sided as that song was. But again, that doesn't stop me from loving it. Old school Berryz is the best Berryz.
9.5/10



23. Naichau Kamo (Morning Musume)
2009 was a great year for Morning Musume, with their first weekly #1 in years, and their highest selling single in forever. The song that gets lost in all of that is Naichau Kamo. It started off the year of emo Musume. If you paid attention earlier, you'll know that this is exactly the type of song that I feel Morning Musume does best. This performance is no different. I almost wish this song was performed more often, but then the honeymoon would probably wear off if it were performed too much (such as the case with Resonant Blue).
9/10



24. Koko ni Iruzee! (Morning Musume)
I love high energy songs. The audience always goes nuts (and in this case, so does the remaining H!P members sitting behind them). Aichan's solo line near the end was as powerful as ever. Linlin and Junjun's interaction with the members behind them was pretty cool to see. Even though we've seen this song peformance again and again and again, it's one of the few songs that stands the test of time, so I don't blame wota for picking this song.
8/10



26. Suki-chan (S/mileage)
S/mileage's indies singles are all awesome. Actually, now that I think about it, all of H!P's indies singles are awesome. I really loved how the wota got creative during this performance with their chants (starts @ about 2:20 in the video, when the girls start whispering Sukichan and the wota accordingly respond with "Yuuka no Suki-chan", etc). I had never heard that before.
8/10



27. Sekai wa Summer Party (Manoeri)
Would love to have seen Onegai Dakara performed, but this is an okay single. It's just kind of "meh". Not great, but not horrible either.
7/10



28. Massara Blue Jeans (C-ute)
Awesome dance is awesome. C-ute always gets the best dances. Despite the fact that this is performed at like every C-ute concert, it just never gets old. Though it does make me miss Kanna.
8/10



29. Special Generation (Berryz Koubou)
Ah, the Berryz classic. I hate how they've stopped doing most of the dance. The parts where they form a line and step out from either side are my favorite parts. But oh well, the song is still awesome. It's definitely a classic.
8/10



30. Sexy Boy (Morning Musume)
Haven't heard this in a while. It's always fun to do this dance, even while sitting down.  Not my favorite single of all time, but since I haven't heard it in a while, it was good to see it again. Though I would have switched this with Koko ni Iruzee! so that Morning Musume would end on an energy high.
7.5/10



32. Genki Pikappika (All)
Totally didn't expect this as a group song, which makes it even better. It works as a big group song and was a pretty nice way to end the concert.
7.5/10



Bonus 1. Destiny Love (High-King)
Hmm, maybe its just me, but it seems like we've seen this a lot lately.  But still, it's High-King, and thus it must be awesome. I don't think any group is quite as cool as High-King is. I had my doubts about Yuuka being in the group, when it was first announced, but she has held her own against some of the best singers and dancers H!P has to offer.
9/10



Bonus 2. Rock no Kamisama (Buono!)
It's Buono! I hesitate to say this, but I think Buono! is my favorite group. They have a really awesome unique style that just doesn't exist in H!P today. It also helps that they have (arguably) the best Kids all in one group. And they couldn't have picked a better song. Rock no Kamisama is the textbook definition of a crowd pleaser. If I had to pick one song to describe the style and appeal of Buono!, it would be this one. Of course it was a flawless performance.
10/10



Bonus 3 + 4. Morning Chime (Ogawa Saki) + Little Princess Puri! (Lilpri)
Putting this two together because I basically have the same thing to say about both. It was my first time hearing both and I wasn't all that impressed. I mean, I like the girls of course, but just not the songs. Ogawa shows her age during her performance as her voice was bouncing all around the place.
Oh and that pink bear thing that they kept zooming in on in Morning Chime is creepy.
6.5/10





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Overall this was a good concert. I was a bit letdown considering the amount of songs they had to choose from. I don't mind the setlist they picked, I just wish that more bonus performances were chosen. Or, release all of the setlists as a limited boxset or something. You know some wota would be all over that. I totally would if I weren't broke. But anyway, this concert was saved because of a select few very awesome performances (Rock no Kamisama, Dance de Bakoon, Dakishimete Dakishimete, etc..), otherwise it would be pretty forgettable. Thankfully, a Blu-Ray release with more bonus content is forthecoming. That will definitely raise my overall score for this concert. And with any luck, a nice long DVD Magazine will be released with even more footage. Only then will I be completely satisfied. Until then, H!P's 2010 Summer Concert gets a 7.5. I'll definitely watch again, but probably skip quite a few performances.