March BBS Madness - Berryz Koubou Play-in Round

[JPope]

It's the Play-in round, where we pick the menu for the 1st Round top seeds! This is the Berryz Koubou Play-in. Vote for the song in each match-up that you want to see move on to the Tournament.
 
Voting for this round will be open until 12 PM Sunday (March 19).
 
For more info on the Tournament, check the <a class="bbc_url" href="http://mm-bbs.org/index.php?showtopic=7181" title="">information thread</a>.

[TicTacAnyone]

This round was pretty easy for me....
 
Not that Yuke Yuke isn't a great song, but it can't compete with a classic Berryz like 21ji Made no Cinderella. 21ji also has one of their best choreographed dances, imo... A little behind Special Generation's dance but better than most.

[JPope]

Holy hell, I don't know how much of this I can do, lol! I'm judging these songs based on intro, 1st verse and chorus because I do't know most of them. 

[zlilzlilzlil]

Wait!!!
 
Munasawagi Scarlet is one of the bottom eight?
It's one of my favorites if not THE favorite.

[MejraThea]

You successfully reminded me how much I don't know (or care for) Berryz. 

[kira]

[quote="TicTacAnyone"]
This round was pretty easy for me....
 
Not that Yuke Yuke isn't a great song, but it can't compete with a classic Berryz like 21ji Made no Cinderella. 21ji also has one of their best choreographed dances, imo... A little behind Special Generation's dance but better than most.
[/quote]
 
Fun fact about that dance, I'm pretty sure it's one of the ones that was inspiration behind the popular Suzumiya Haruhi ending dance. Same with Special Generation (and 100 gag... and something else?).

[Shoujo Q]

^ Someone put the ending and the dances used together. 

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="Shoujo Q"]
^ Someone put the ending and the dances used together. 
[/quote]
 
I remember seeing this! I love both Berryz and Suzumiya so this is a match made in heaven for me... Though I learned the Hare Hare a year or so before I even heard of Berryz, lol.

[Anderei]

I know it won't win but I'm voting for Monkey Dance regardless.

[Meikochi]

Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance was one of the song that made me like BK.

[DonJuan]

<ul class="bbc">[*]Munasawagi Scarlet vs. Aa, Yo ga Akeru
[/list]Song: Munasawagi > Aa

Outfits: Neither are great but I loathe those pyjama dresses so Munasawagi > Aa

MV: A location helps a lot. Both are about the same interesting, but the house beats the set. Munasawagi < Aa

Covers: I never got the trend of making covers that got nothing to do with the song. Munasawagi < Aa

Lyrics: Not sure how old exactly Berryz were around Munasawagi but the whole "I want to grow up" is a bit weird. Therefore Munasawagi < Aa

 

Winner: Still Munasawagi Scarlet, despite "losing" in points. Never said I was going for an exact point ranking after all, did I? I just see no reason to relisten to Aa, Yo ga Akeru. Munasawagi Scarlet seems like the much better song to me.
<ul class="bbc">[*]21ji Made no Cinderella vs. Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
[/list]Song: This one is not as obvious as the previous decision but 21ji Made < Yuke Yuke. I have a softer spot for the winner.

Outfits: 21ji Made = Yuke Yuke. No winner here. Both (casual) outfits are cool with me. The monkey outfits are a bit weird... but cute. 

MV: 21ji Made > Yuke Yuke. Once again, a nice location is better than a decent set. 

Covers: 21ji Made > Yuke Yuke. They're pretty similar, but 21ji Made's seems a bit... better.

Lyrics: Uh... 21ji Made < Yuke Yuke. Lame everyday romance against apeshit (hah! saw that?) lyrics about monkeys and dancing? Gotta take the monkey.

 

Winner: Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance. Though to be honest 21ji Made no Cindarella is quite nice, too. Yuke Yuke is just much more fun.
<ul class="bbc">[*]Golden Chinatown / Sayonara Usotsuki no Watashi vs Ai no Dangan
[/list]Honestly this should be a clear victory for Ai no Dangan since Golden Chinatown is probably the worst A-side Berryz has ever released. But okay, gotta give Sayonara Usotsuki no Watashi a chance because I don't remember that one at all. 

 

Song: Golden Chinatown is not even up for comparison. Sayonara is... okay, but boring. Ai no Dangan > Sayonara > Golden Chinatown.

Outfits: Sexy bikers versus gold foil and cheap red fabric? Uh, not that hard honestly. Ai no Dangan > Golden Chinatown > Sayonara.

MV: None of them are really great but I like the Gaga reference in Ai no Dangan. Therefore, Ai no Dangan > Sayonara = Golden Chinatown.

Covers: Ai no Dangan > Sayonara > Golden Chinatown. Clear winner. All GC/Sayonara covers were photoshop disasters. 

Lyrics: Surprise! Sayonara > Ai no Dangan > Golden Chinatown. I kinda like the wanting feel of Sayonara. 

 

Winner: Ai no Dangan. It wasn't fair, I despise Golden Chinatown. 
<ul class="bbc">[*]Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~ vs Shining Power
[/list]Song: Shining Power > Happiness. I have a soft spot for Happiness, but Shining Power is probably Berryz at their best.

Outfits: I really like the red/black outfits, while Happiness' outfits are... eh... cute for their age, but in general pretty ugly and use a bad fabric. Shining Power > Happiness.

MV: Shining Power < Happiness. Cute kids around a dinner table? Adorable! Dance shot? Cool, but boring.

Covers: Shining Power > Happiness. Simple, but probably some of my favourite Berryz covers ever.

Lyrics: The fact that Sining Power is mostly about a bento kind of threw me off. Happiness is a bit cuter, therefore Shining Power < Happiness.

 

Winner: Shining Power. As said before, that was Berryz at their best. 
 
This took me about an hour 

[TicTacAnyone]

For me, Golden Chinatown is still a small step above claw-your-ears-out Asian Celebration. No matter how catchy that song is it kills me inside whenever I hear it. So the combo of Golden and Sayonara definitely beat out Ai no Dangan. 
 
Ai no Dangan is an alright song but as a whole it didn't feel very Berryz to me.

[DonJuan]

I guess that's true, Ai no Dangan sounds a bit different from the usual Berryz sound. 

[Ap2000]

Wow, I voted for the popular opinion with each vote.

[Elpis]

They were all pretty easy except for 21majide Cinderella and Yuke Yuke Monkey dance. Those are two of my favorite songs by them.

[JPope]

Voting is closed. Munasawagi Scarlet, 21ji Made no Cinderella, Ai no Dangan, and Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~ all move on to the main tournament!
 
I'll have the bracket and 1st Round match-ups posted after lunch.

[JPope]

If a mod could close this thread, that's be great. Thanks!