Berryz Koubou 2012 Spring Concert (Sokko USB Ver.) Review + Download link + streaming

Thanks to UFA releasing yet another sokko DVD (basically a quickly edited together version with little postproduction, like Aichan's grad concert but this one was available on a USB stick), as well as the person who bought this, we get to see the whole concert really early.

There are some suspect camera angles (I wanted the camera to zoom in a lot more than what was shown, which is really rare since I'm usually complaining about too much zooming) and some of the instrumentals were a bit too loud for my liking (especially in Jingisukan and Risako & Yurina's duet), but those things will get ironed out in the official DVD/Blu-ray release.

Anyway, I really liked this concert.

Yo no Naka no Barairo was a great way to start it off. I listened to it only a limited number of times when their latest album released so I don't really know the song, but I really enjoyed watching it being performed. And then following it, Ai no Suki Suki Shisuu Joushouchuu was performed.

Then there was a member intro VTR,

and two hero themed songs performed back to back - Be Genki

and Hero Arawaru!

It was slightly strange to see capes being worn with those dresses, but Berryz made it work. Be Genki is quickly becoming a favorite of mine so that was the best performance of the concert so far, for me. 

After the usual self-introduction MC,

the real fun begins (assuming you liked Ai no Album 8).

Mythology ~Ai no Album~ is another song that I didn't listen to much, but loved the performance. The dance is really cool.

Then my favorite song from the album was performed - Shy Boy. This was my first official spazzing of the concert. Besides the awesomeness of the song, there were quite a few nice moments, like I could've sworn I saw Miya feeling up Captain's arm during one part. I also really, really loved the dance for this. Be Genki was my favorite performance before, but Shy Boy immediately changed that.

From there Jingisukan was performed and then the shuffling of members began. Maasa, Chinami, Yurina, and Risako performed Renai Moyo but I was a bit underwhelmed with it. I think it sounds better on the album. Still, it wasn't bad or anything.

However, Atarashi Hibi on the other hand was simply amazing. CHAIRS.

Seriously every performance is made better with chairs.

And Captain was the center in this peformance omggggggedgvbryhjtyh

Camerman-san (well the staff member who edited this) almost ruined it by the camera angles used. Like during one part, at first all we see is Momochi,

and then in the next shot, suddenly everyone is halfway on (or getting off) the chairs.

Still, nothing could truly ruin the hotness of this performance. OMG MIYA

And then there was this:

*faints* Yep, I'm changing my favorite performance again. It's definitely this.

Because Happiness was performed next and it totally felt empty now that I've heard the Berikyuu Chou Happy Song mashup. However, it's still one of my favorite tracks on the album and I wasn't disappointed by the performance itself.

The MC that follows is hilarious.

Captain joins Miya and Momo for a short acapella Buono! song (pictured above), Momo does a Tsunku imitation by saying that Nakazawa is Berryz's new member (she basically was imitating the S/mileage sub-member announcement), and then there was this:

Yeah, you totally shouldn't skip that MC. From there, we have more random pairings, with Yurina and Risako singing Berryz's debut single. It was good but nothing will ever beat Miya/Risako's duet of that song (with Captain's dance solo) from many years ago.

I liked Captain x Momochi's duet better because it was more creative. They sang Fighting Pose (in some really cute outfits. Captain in pink omggg),

and near the end, some weird staff guys brought them boxing gloves.

Captain and Momo "box" each other throughout the song and at the end they shook hands, which was cute.

A MC is after that and again, it's something you don't want to skip. Captain x Momochi starts it off doing what I can only guess is supposed to be a fake kids TV show.

Miya, Maasa, and Chinami sang Piriri to Yukou! to round out the duet/trio-type performances and then Semi was performed by everyone.

This song brings back so many memories (especially when Miya sang Maiha's solo). It's such a great, laid back song. I particularly always love Risako's "missing" echo part.

Next up is a song that I consider to be very underrated, Dakishimete Dakishimete. But, there was a twist to this performance.

During the beginning and for a few other random parts, Miya had dance solos and they. were. awesome.

A few more performances later (Baka ni Shinaide yay!) and the encore starts. There was a rare sighting of Sakura→Nyuugakushiki (I really love both of the Sakura songs on their 4th album so much),

an ending MC, Otakebi Boy WAO! Spark Ver. (which I didn't really like; the original is so much better), and Icchome Rock! to end things.

Download link:
http://depositfiles.com/files/ogr2kdbo0
or
http://www.mediafire.com/?twp7s22ppca2v

Streaming:





Note: this was encoded from the dvdrip on the tracker so the quality isn't particularly great (well you can judge for yourself by looking at the screenshots above). I cropped the video, resized it (it's 720x400), and significantly reduced the filesize (it's 849 MB). Also, I didn't include chapters this time (I'll save that for the actual DVD release).