[2020.12.16] Morning Musume.'20 69th Single - Junjou Evidence / Gyuusaretai Dake na no ni

[JPope]

Yeah, it's frustrating, because Junjou Evidence the song has kinda grown on me -- especially the chorus -- but the overall package is all over the place. The MV has some really great effects, but they're almost too good in that they make the conventional shots seem more boring than they really are by comparison. The covers are all under-developed and poorly executed, and the outfits feel like an afterthought. The song falls on the right side of average for me, though. If the other song is decent, this will be a decent single, but I'm ready for more than decent from MM.
<div> </div>
<div>Other high points of Junjou for me are:</div>
<div>• Maa looks and sounds great on this track.</div>
<div>• The video cut from studio to parking lot in the middle of Fuku's hair flip at the end of the second chorus is stellar. </div>
<div>• I dig the choreo at the outro.</div>

[WonderBuono]

Yeah I know I already said I don't like it but I'm pretty frustrated too. The only thing new or exciting in this video is Maa's haircut.
I don't know if it's Tsunku or management or whatever but something is holding this group back and it's got to change.
 
J=J has moved up to my number 1 main group this year -- the spot that MM has held since 2012, 2013-ish? I still love them but I expect more from the flagship group.

[DonJuan]

Gyuusaretai preview from Maria's radio show.
 
Sigh. I hate having two EDM songs on a single. I hope the MV is good at least.
(By the way that backbeat is SO annoying. This is something my kiddie keyboard had pre-installed.)

[Shoujo Q]

This sounds like, their last single or was it the single before? Either way, it’s okay but it’s like the bootleg version of a previous MM single. I hope it’s got a good hook buried somewhere in there.

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="Shoujo Q"]
This sounds like, their last single or was it the single before? Either way, it’s okay but it’s like the bootleg version of a previous MM single. I hope it’s got a good hook buried somewhere in there.
[/quote]
 
Junjou Evidence really reminded me of a mix of Are You Happy and Sou Janai. 

[momoirosaya]

I’m tired of their sound. Usually MM changes their sound and that’s what’s I liked about them, but ever since 123 they got a good idea and are beating it to death.

Before at least they had cute b-sides...

[JPope]

[quote="Saya"]
I’m tired of their sound. Usually MM changes their sound and that’s what’s I liked about them, but ever since 123 they got a good idea and are beating it to death.

Before at least they had cute b-sides...
[/quote]
 
I don't even hate either of these songs, but I can't argue with anything here. Gyuusaretai is a more interesting iteration of this particular horse they've been flogging the past few years, but after their last single, this is a letdown. I don't so much mind that they've stuck with EDM this long as I do how little they've strayed from a few different formulas within EDM. KOKORO&KARADA was a fresh sound for MM, and the LOVEpedia/No way way two-headed monster was a fun concept that they pulled off well. It was a step forward for a stagnant group. This is two steps back. 
 
Bitter & Sweets's latest single, as conventionally J-Pop as it is, is so much more interesting to me than either of the songs on this single. 

[JPope]

<div>Full video for Gyuusaretai Dake is up. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It's back to the "Wagamama ki no mama" stage, lol. It's not a bad looking video, it's just that Angerme released an ad yesterday that puts this to shame in every way. I dig the brown color palette and most of the outfits, but this is so average.</div>

[DonJuan]

You beat me to it lol.
 
Yeah. The visuals are pretty cool, and I even kind of like the song now (except for the verses, just like K&K). Lines for the obvious FukuMaaSaku lead, but also for Rio, Mei, Miki and... Akane?! lmao.
 
What sticks out to me, however...
 
1. As said, the verses. I expect most of the rest being from a sound pack just like K&K again because it sounds good.
2. The dance is out of synch at times.
3. The solo shots stand out as too standard in the othervise visually appealing video.
4. It is, once again, a mash-up of what we've seen for the last few years. Not only the song is nothing new, the MV has elements of...
 
- the Wagamama stage
- cheap looking ripped props (here the ripped fabric) like the baking paper in Jiyuu na Kuni
- standing in trance like in Jama Shinaide
- animal ears like in Sexy Cat (though that's a bit of a stretch to be fair).
 
Also, I hate the moving-butt-seductively part of the dance.

[TicTacAnyone]

It's not great, but I prefer it to Junjou Evidence. But the way it flows is really off, especially the ending...

[AquaChan]

It's such an average single but I'm totally okay with Rio being added to the "center" roster.
 
(Is it me or all Tsunku songs are the *exact* same for a while? It's boring.)

[JPope]

[quote="AquaChan"]
(Is it me or all Tsunku songs are the *exact* same for a while? It's boring.)
[/quote]
 
It's not just you, lol!
 
[quote="DonJuan"]
 Lines for the obvious FukuMaaSaku lead, but also for Rio, Mei, Miki and... Akane?! lmao.
[/quote]
 
You know what? I'm cool with giving Akane some burn here and there. She's never going to be special, but she's worked her ass off to become average, which is so far above what I thought her ceiling was, and her hard work should be rewarded. I legitimately like Akane now, and I was probably her biggest detractor on the board back in the day.

[DonJuan]

I'm never going to complain about a little bit of diversity in MM's line distribution (And hey, Akane is my fav, even if I rarely show it.)
 
What really bums me every time I watch the MV is how much screentime (and lines) they give to Mizuki. In fact, it's more of a FukuMaa lead, Sakura doesn't get much after all.
 
Short rant ahead.
 
[spoilerbox]
Mizuki is a decent idol, she's got the looks and she's got a voice that's above idol standard. But why would they want to make her the group's face?
Sakura is the most talented, but it shows that she is not really popular with wota (she's pretty far down in the recent goods ranking, behind Ayumi, Maria, Chisaki... and of course behind Mizuki, Masaki and Rio).
Masaki is a bit annoying and maybe a bit too unreliable, but that girl has a bit of character and is objectively the most popular member at the moment. Hell, make Rio the face, she's not worse than Mizuki in every point.
 
Making Mizuki the face of the group basically stands for everything that's wrong with it right now. Okay, but boring. Probably hard-working and above your average idol group, but boring. A big money maker but not creative in the slightest.
 
I base this thought on Gyuusaretai, but also on every single they've released since... Tokyo to Iu? That's a spanking 5 years.
[/spoilerbox]

[Banana]

^ [spoilerbox]With regard to the Mizuki situation, they prefer to have someone well-rounded as the face of the group. (Obviously, they’ve had centers who weren’t so great at everything. They have to work with what they have.) But, ideally, this person should be strong in singing, dancing, facial expressions, looks, popularity, and, uh, they should be willing to do swimsuit photoshoots (lol). So... Mizuki. But Rio seems to have what it takes and wants it (also important), so I think she’ll probably have the job (or share it with someone else) once she has a bit more experience. (She’s improving quickly, but she had basically no training before joining—absolutely nothing for dance, as far as I know—so that’s also a factor.)[/spoilerbox]

I seem to feel the same way about this single as most of you. These songs are painfully bland. Mei’s outfit is cute, lol.

[Shoujo Q]

I feel like this is a complete throw away meh single for Morning Musume. They always seem to have one every few singles. I can names a hand full that I don’t like personally. All the way back to the beginning. They just don’t have a bop that pulls me in. Some people like something about it. But overall it’s just, meh!


—-

Rio is going to have to share center with Maria until Maria finds a baseball player she’s willing to marry and start her post H!P career. XD


Morning Musume has a pretty good second string built up so once the Olympics are over and Covid settles down there will be a lot of graduations happening. Sakura will stick around till they have a member that can handle her lines plus whatever she picked up from Takahashi Ai.


I’m not sure who I can see being the next stable leader?

[momoirosaya]

No single is better than this mess. The only thing I like about the whole single is the brown outfits.

I watched the MV’s out of obligation, but I won’t be adding them to my music.

[JPope]

While I probably like both of these songs more than most here, I do feel like it's a perfect representation of the Fukumura Era overall: it's okay. Not bad, but not great. It's a competent idol single. And it sums up their catalog from "Seishun Kozou..." through "Junjou Evidence." There four-single run of "Tsumetai...," "Saturday Night," "Sexy Cat" and "Brand New Morning" is the high water mark for me, and almost entirely for the lead songs only. And of those four, only "Saturday Night" stands out as an all-time classic (BNM is pretty close, though.) Now there are only a few songs that I straight-up dislike, and a few others I like pretty well, but it's mostly a big ball of average. Ranking this set of 12 singles would be really difficult for me. 

[JPope]

Morning Musume.'20's new single debuts at #2 on Oricon with 84.967 copies sold. 
https://twitter.com/hipnewsservice/status/1339212609074114561

[DonJuan]

Not too shabby for corona times, and i think they sold over 10k on the second day, too.


Personally I wouldn't mind them switching from handshakes to online signing events in general. One can dream.

[JPope]

Yeah, I was surprised at that number.
 
Today's Upcoming features the making of the "Junjou Evidence" MV, which is pretty cool. Also, more from the new Anju members, and the direction of Mao's recording on "Ima Nanji?" is a great example of how H!P's heart operates at 16-beats per bar.