Double A-side Madness

Everything stated in this post is purely my opinion. Mine. Wait a minute while I buy a billion labels and stick them to my computer screen. Jokes. But really, I have every ounce of right to state my opinions, just as you have every ounce of right to disagree with them. Please don't take offence if there are such clashes, and please be mature about it if there are. Enjoy~.

I gotta pass time before I spend the next 3 hours refreshing my tracking tag, so what better to pass time then blogging? Yeaaah... That sounds like a good idea. But I have no idea what to blog... So lets just rank all of H!P's double a-sides like a boss. And by all of them... I just mean the Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, S/mileage, and Juice=Juice ones (Yup, including JuJu's Triple A-side) cause who got time just to find all dem other double a-sides? Not me, well technically I do... But I don't have that kind of determination.

The easy part is always listing stuff. Especially since I'm kinda making this up as I go along and haven't ranked anything even for my own sake yet... I don't even know if I'm ranking the songs themselves or the overall singles yet... Probably songs... But for now: Lists! Something I'm actually good at.

Morning Musume:

- Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai

- One Two Three / The Matenrou Show

- Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai

- Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke / Ai no Gundan

Berryz Koubou: 

- Seishun Bus Guide / Rival

- Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama / Ryuusei Boy

- Otakebi Boy WAO! / Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda

- Golden Chinatown / Sayonara Usotsuki no Watashi

- Motto Zutto Issho ni Itakatta / ROCK Erotic

C-ute: 

- Kanashiki Amefuri / Adam to Even no Dilemma

S/mileage:
- Atarashii Watashi ni Nare! / Yattaruchan

Juice=Juice:

- Romance no Tochuu / Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT) / Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT)

So for the rankings I'll be going in reverse order from least favorite to favorite, and these are relative that I just made now, so positions are subject to change and don't justify how much I actually like the song(s). So in 25th of 25, is Morning Musume's The Matenrou Show. I honestly don't understand why this single was a double A-side. Despite being Morning Musume's 50th single, the "double a-side" part of the celebration was really poorly done. But as for the song itself, it's okay, but with the squirrel duo leading it, with literally NO solos to anyone besides them, I am already disappointed. Also, I've never been one for the idea of having most people do echo-y bits while the lead singers own all of their butts (yes, I'm talking about you, chorus of doom). But even the Type 0 version, with Gaki's epic lines, doesn't hold my attention much.

In 24th is Berryz Koubou's Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama. This song was overrated off the bat, if you ask me. As a dubber at the time of it's release, everyone wanted to dub it, which isn't uncommon with new songs, but I have YET to hear an interesting version of this song. Mostly because the song isn't interesting to begin with. It's repetitive with little to no creativity in the line distribution, with a boring sound to it. This type of song is basically what defines most of Berryz songs, to me. Miyabi and Risako lead, with Yurina and Momoko the only others to get actual solos, while Captain, Chinami, and Maasa are left in the background. However, this and Koi no Jubaku are probably the worst of these such songs.

Number 23 is a song that I honestly only dislike due to strong negative bias from my dubbing days. It's in the same category as Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai. But Berryz Koubou's Ryuusei Boy has even worse line distribution than Danna-sama, and this overall single is my absolute least favorite double A-side, with the only good part from it being Ryuusei Boy's outfits (I don't even like Yellow and I can't help but love them <3) The reason for my negative bias from dubbing is because I was almost always cast as Shimizu Saki for this song, which I wouldn't mind... if it weren't for the fact she literally has a total of 3 lines. All of which are chorus lines. But the hatred from that went down a little bet when my friend cast me as Rii (or was it Miya?) in the song simply to try and make me not hate it so much xD That's proably the main reason this song is higher than Danna-sama for me. Love you Rae <3

Juice=Juice's Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT) is my number 22, mostly because I've never been a fan of remakes of songs when so little has changes since the initial song was released. Redoing the song because Aina left was completely unnecessary, and it very much bugs me that Aina's first line was given to Karin... but then Karin's first line was given to Sayuki...? Why not just give Aina's line to Sayuki then? OR BETTER YET! Aina has 3 solos? One to Yuka, one to Akari, and one to Tomoko. Problem solved. Basically I don't generally like remakes...

Guess what my number 21 is? I'll give you a hint. The reason is almost mirrored as to #22. Hint 2 - the pictures are corresponding to the songs. It's Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT). Honestly this is about tied with Watashi ga Iu, because it's basically the same reasons. It just so happens that I like the song itself better than Watashi ga Iu, so it's just a hair higher ranked than that one. I initially liked the idea of the triple A-side when it was announced, but the result just disappointed me. BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG, I LOVE THESE GIRLS! JUJU OWNS. I just dun like remakes much to begin with, as mentioned...

Berryz Koubou's ROCK Erotic is number 20. It's not a bad song... it just fails on too many levels to count. The song definitely didn't live up to the title and the outfits levels of expectations. I like the song, but I wouldn't be able to give much reason why. I almost feel like I like the song because I want to like the song, which isn't the best reason to have for liking a song, which is the primary reason that it's so low on my rank.

19 is Morning Musume's Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai. Since it came out, there's something about this song that I just can't seem to like. It's a song I'll listen to once in a while when I'm in the mood, but any other time and I'd skip it. It's uninteresting unless I'm specifically in the mood to listen to this exact song. When I am in the mood to listen to it, it's definitely a fun song to flail around to (erm... dance?) I'll give it that much for sure. But I can't get over how much yellow is in the video. MY EYESSSS. And the outfits annoyed me from the beginning, reminding me too much of v-u-den's yellow Hitorijime outfits... 

 

Kinda... But that's just me and my stupid brain. Pay me no mind, continue!

Really close to #19, and possibly interchangeable with it, is #18 - Morning Musume's One Two Three. First of all, I hate this over use of autotune. Also the fact that they gave everyone a syllable and called it a day, giving the rest of the lines to Reina and Riho (exaggeration is intentional, don't hate me k?) irritates me. However, I do have have to say, this song it's enjoyable to listen to once in a while, even if I'm not in the mood to listen to it. Plus member color outfits... Yup. I'm not biased in the least. Not at all. "#Membercolors" needs to be a thing if it's not already.

I LIKE THE SONG, OKAY? I'm starting off with this, because I really do. But in 17th place is Juice=Juice's Romance no Tochuu. The song is really cool, and fun to listen to, the big problems I have with it is the very apparent absence of a 6th singer. I'm not necessarily referring to Aina, as much as I'm insinuating that the difference between solos from the leads to the back ups is even more apparent in this song than any of their indies singles. To the point I actually attempted at color coding it with Aina to see how easy it would be to place her. And, go figure, it was a relatively simple task. Anyone who's interested in how that turned out can -click here- and see. This was based off of the idea of a Karin/Aina lead with Sayuki/Tomoko slightly behind them as it seemed in their first two indies singles.

My #16 is Berryz Koubou's Motto Zutto Issho ni Itakatta. I really like the sound of the song, and the line distribution is... interesting, if nothing else. But I like how the song sounds, and I always have my weakness for songs that express pain or sadness, and I really thing the girls pulled off that sound well. Also I think Risako's talking line really fit in with the song, it's placement, as well as it's existence in the song in general. Though overall, I just like it. Nothing more. FRIEND ZONED BIACH.

The first Double A-side of these groups. I can't believe how long it's been. But Berryz Koubou's Seishun Bus Guide is my #15. I love the song when it first came out, which is probably why it's so low now. I kinda... overplayed it for myself. It's a really repetitive song, so it's really relatively easy to wear yourself out on it... But I love the song, if only on a sentimental level. It holds a lot of memories for me, even if it's one of those songs I almost never listen to anymore.

From the same single as #15, my #14 is Berryz Koubou's Rival. This song is really fun to listen to, dance to, or sing along with, but it gets old fast. It's one of those songs which will come on my ipod for the first time in forever, and I'll listen happily, but any other time I'll basically forget it even exists. Nonetheless, I love this song, and rarely decline listening to it on the occasion that it does come on. 

"Let's take advantage of Aichan graduating to finally give Shige a lead song A-side!" Yeah, sounds about right. Maybe Aichan wanted to see it happen at least once before she left? I'd like to think that. But in 13th place is Morning Musume's Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai. The song is really fun, and it's nice to hear a Rokkies lead song. Shige's voice has improved so much since she initially joined, and it's not painful to listen to anymore. Well, this song is halfway up my list, so that says something, right? Right.

Despite how amazing the out of place the skill in the PV's editing is, C-ute's Kanashiki Amefuri is my number 12. The PV impressed me on so many levels when I saw it, I think my jaw dropped a good 5-10 times, and it was the first PV I watched all the way through come from H!P since... probably since... uhm... I don't remember. But since then, the initial impression it's left on me has died down, and the song itself has become much less interesting. I still think it's it's an amazing song, I just tend to skip it, usually in favor of the single's other a-side, quite a bit.

I know a lot of people disliked this single as a whole, but I loved it, and Sayonara Usotsuki no Watachi by Berryz Koubou is my #11. It's a really powerful song that, once again, pulls at my weakness for sad songs. The song itself is a lot of fun to sing along to, and it's one of those songs that, when I sing it, I get drawn into it a bit more than I intend to and, if I'm not careful, can end up belting it or even dancing in public while listening to it. "Kirawaretakunakute, Waratteita..." I think one of the things that draws the song down, though, is the lack of vocals outside of MiyaRii. There are plenty enough lines for them to have shared a bit more, I think.

Ignoring the pedophilic feeling I get when watching the PV, my number 10 would have to be S/mileage's Atarashii Watashi ni Nare! Despite the constant transition from attempted sexy, to absolutely ridiculous silly in the PV, this is actually a really good song. The meaning is similar to that of SONGS, in my opinion. Cross between inconfidence and breaking free from such feelings. Plus the song is very fun and a very entertaining listen. AND I CAN'T HELP BUT THINK OF THAT PART AS THE DINOSAUR PART AND I BLAME CHIIMA. -would link to her blog, but I'm too lazy atm, sorry. Check my last post.-

 

Like I said with Sayonara, I know most people hated this single, and I think most people liked Sayonara more than this song also, but I love this song. Berryz Koubou's Golden Chinatown is my #9. Probably one of my favorite line distributions from Berryz Koubou ever. And no. It has nothing to do with with MiyaRii's "lack of solos" shit. If you ask me, they have more lines in this song then a lot of others, because when there are that many of them, duos are almost even better than solos. But even so, I really enjoy this song, I love the sound of it, I think the vocals suit their placement, and the high notes don't kill my ears. I personally think kudos are well deserved to the composers and singers of this song, and I kinda wish Berryz released stuff like this single more often.

#8 is none other than Tanaka Reina's graduation single's first A-side, Morning Musume's Brainstorming. First of all, I'd like to voice my irritation at the fact the song doesn't have anything to do with actual Brainstorming. Yes, this actually disappointed me. >.> Don't judge me. Other than the... still present autotune, this song is amazing, and I honestly thing it brings out some of the best of the vocals from Reina and Riho. I might have slightly overplayed it when the song was first released... but I don't hate listening to it, and I don't skip it everytime I hear it now, so no major damage was done from that. 

Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! by Morning Musume is my #7. Despite being so "old," it was an amazing song and I still love it. It was a perfect graduation song for Aichan, I think. Very inspirational and heart warming, but fun and energetic at the same time. I love listening to it, I love singing it, I love dancing to it, I love watching it, it's really an amazing song.

S/mileage's Yattaruchan slides in at 6 for this. Initially, I refused to let myself like this song more than it's double a-side counterpart, but the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. It's a very encouraging and fun song, that's a lot of fun to sing and listen to. I love the different "-chan"s that they use in the song. While normally the honorific doesn't make much sense in English, in this context it works. It reminds me of when people say things like "Well aren't you 'Mr. Know-it-all'" so changing "Yattaruchan" to "Mr. Can-do" and the like actually works for this song. /Ignore my random excitement.

Not to spoil anything for you, but I'm at my top 5 now, and I haven't mentioned a single song on two singles yet. -cough- ^^ But one of those singles' songs falls in at #5 and that's Berryz Koubou's Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda. I've loved this song since it came out. I'm not sure if it's "despite" or "because" of the fact the only good friends I really have are online. And even now I don't fully understand what it really means to be a "friend." So a song like this is really one that pierces partially even into my jealousy. But overall I love the song <3 I also have a weakness for fast lines, despite not being able to sing them, and this song has an abundance of them. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Failed, but accepted nonethless.

HEY LOOK. That other unmentioned single. Number 4 goes to Morning Musume's Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke. You have no idea how happy I am at this song. I don't even care that half the girls don't get lines, I'm just happy that not ALL of the lines went to RihoSaku, which was honestly one of my biggest fears at Reina's departure. Since when Aichan left, and especially after Gaki did, the group basically just became ReinaRiho, I was concerned that would happen with RihoSaku, but not only did they get an amazing single, but it's NOT just Riho and Sakura whoring their asses out! Oh yeah, and Masaki sub-lead <3

Number 3 is Morning Musume's "GUNDAN of the LOVE" or rather Ai no Gundan. Although the line distribution, I feel, is quite a bit worse than it's fellow A-side, I would listen to  Gundan over Wagamama probably 7/10 ish times. It's much more fun to listen/sing/dance to, to me. Also MORE MASAKI LOVE. You really can't imagine how happy I was at the Masaki solos in this and Wagamama, you can't even try. Masacchiiii <3

My Number 2 is Berryz Koubou's Otakebi Boy WAO! I've loved this song basically since it came out, the power/strength in the vocals is amazing, and it's one of those songs that's fun to shout-sing just for fun. Even though doing so will kill your voice... quickly... don't do it. Bad idea. The line distribution isn't the best, but considering all girls got at least one solo, I can't complain too much, especially since it's not overly predictable either. I'm at the point with these songs that I can't even really explain why I love them so much anymore, I just do...

Finally, in first place (when did this become a competition?) is C-ute's Adam to Eve no Dilemma. This song is just such an amazing combination of powerful and sexy, there's no words. Well yeah, there are, but that doesn't sound as cool. I can't get over how much I love this song, to the point even I don't understand. It's strange because initially I hated it, mostly because of the fact even Maimi was back seated to Mai, while Nakky, the sexiest member of the group, is still in the back when it comes to lines. I actually refused to listen to the song for a while because of this, but then when I translated it, I seem to have unlocked an almost obsessive love for the song. So I guess it has something to do with the meaning of the song? I don't even know LOL I just love the song <3

So, for the heck of it, I'm going to try and rank the singles in general based on the above rankings. That would be: 

01. Otakebi Boy WAO! / Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda

02. Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke / Ai no Gundan

03. Kanashiki Amefuri / Adam to Even no Dilemma

04. Atarashii Watashi ni Nare! / Yattaruchan

05. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai

06. Golden Chinatown / Sayonara Usotsuki no Watashi

07. Seishun Bus Guide / Rival

08. Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai

09. Motto Zutto Issho ni Itakatta / ROCK Erotic

10. Romance no Tochuu / Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne (MEMORIAL EDIT) / Samidare Bijo ga Samidareru (MEMORIAL EDIT)

11. One Two Three / The Matenrou Show

12. Watashi no Mirai no Danna-Sama / Ryuusei Boy

That's all I really wanted to say/do. Hope you enjoyed. Have a nice day/night/morning/whatever time it is!

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