Berryz Koubou to release 7th Anniversary PB

It was revealed today on the official Hello! Project site that, to mark 7 years since Berryz Koubou first debuted, they will be releasing a celebratory Photobook titled Berryz Koubou 7 Shuunen Kinen PHOTO BOOK 「7」.

The website hints at what the PB will include. It will feature pictures of each girl through the years, going back as far as their very first Photobook. A good chance to easily glance over how each member has chnaged in the past 7 years in a trip down memory lane for everyone. I have a feeling that seeing these pictures again will evoke just as many memories among us fans as it will among the girls themselves. 

That said, I hope we get to see the girls' reactions upon seeing the photobook for the first time. How they react to those old pictures of themselves and eachother will prove to be a very interesting watch. And I hope UFA have the foresight to have cameras on hand when it's first shown to the girls.

Aside from that, there will also be interviews where the girls will, presumably, talk about their 7 years in Berryz (and 9 in Hello! Project). Perhaps retelling an anecdote or two. It will also, assuredly, provide us with some information on where Berryz hope to be in the future. 

I think that this is a vital PB for Berryz fans, both new and old. But it probably won't hold much interest for anyone else. Judging from the information we have been provided already, it's unlikely to catch the attention of a random punter off the street.

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Kikkawa Yuu's Solo Debut!

For the last few weeks, there have been rumours floating around that Kikkawa was about to get her debut as a Hello! Project soloist, as well as some news which hinted tentatively towards that end, but this news comes as confirmation.

Our fears have indeed been realised.

Kikkawa Yuu will release her first single, titled "Kikkake wa YOU!" at the end of March. The single, set to release in 4 versions (RE, and LE A, B & C) will all be different. With the Regular Edition featuring a remix of the titular track as it's c/w, while the three Limited Editions will each contain one of the three songs she performed at the Hello! Project Winter 2011 concerts. 

Though I'm not a Kikkawa fan, I still herald this as good news. She is one of the more popular of the Eggs, and will no doubt enjoy a successful career. And with the rate at which H!P is losing members, introducing three new 9th Gen members and debuting two Eggs in the space of a mere month, UFA are trying to make up for lost numbers, it seems.

Not to mention that it will probably shut up all those people asking for her to join Morning Musume.

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Buono!'s Zassou no Uta PV

Upon the creation of Buono!'s official YouTube channel, it seemed that the first order of business was the release of their newest PV, featured below.

The PV features the girls singing, dancing, and working, in a garage, surrounded by horribly "pimped" classic sportscars - complete with neon underlighting. It's a horrible mess. But at least it's pretty clear what they were trying to achieve. And, abominations against the world of automobiles aside, the PV is actually pretty decent.

The decision to set it in a garage was a weird one though. I guess there's something intricately sexy about girls who understand mechanics. Despite the stigma attatched to people who work in such places.

The song itself isn't the best that Buono! have ever released, and is by far one of the least memorable tunes. But at the same time, I've heard much worse come from H!P. So this song exists somewhere in the middleground between "interesting - awesome" and "interesting - rubbish".

All in all, a decent PV and a decent song, if slightly on the boring side.

Yet on a not-so-boring note... What is up with Miyabi's hair? She looks like Minni Mouse.

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Buono! on YouTube

Joining the ranks of Hello!Project artists who have gained their own YouTube channel are Buono!.

As with previous channels, it will no doubt become the main source of Buono! PVs on YouTube, as well as many other exclusive video bytes and promotional messages.

This is definitely a good sign. It shows us that Buono! are here to stay. But more importantly, it shows us that UP FRONT aren't as far off the ball as one might think at first glance. Piracy is a major problem for the music industry, and there was a time when any music videos posted on YouTube would be removed for copyright infringment, but the industy (UFW included) are beginning to turn their heads and realise that such draconian measures never work, and the best thing to do is to actually join in. By providing an official alternative to the dozens of PV uploaders already existing, they can still make money thanks to advertising. And, let's be honest, if you see two copies of the same PV on there, one uploaded by the official Buono! channel, and one uploaded by jimbob123, we're all more likely to go to the Buono! one, whether we realise it or not.

This is just one more step on the continuing road to embracing the internet, which was previously shunned. A trend that I feel will come to define the new decade.

Official Bouno! YouTube Channel

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Miyabi gets a Solo DVD!

The news broke yesterday that Miyabi will be releasing a new Solo DVD some time next month with the title『NATURAL & COOL』. 

It was only two or three days ago that I was saying in #wotachat that I predict they'll announce Miyabi's second photobook this week. Turns out that I was pretty darn close. Though I'll admit that I was mostly joking when I said it. The converstation had taken a down turn with everyone saying "after Ai-chan's announcement last week, I wonder what horrible news awaits us this week". I said, "They'll announce Miya's 2nd PB," mostly to lighten the tone of the conversation, and also because it was the potential news that I most wanted to hear.

The funny part is that, upon making the prediction, the others dismissed the idea almost immediately. "She probably doesn't want a PB," they said. That's reasoning I've heard before. The Captainists have been saying that for years in an attempt to explain why their Idol doesn't have a PB. And yet the announcement came then too, proving all of the naysayers wrong.

While there hasn't been a photobook announced this time yet, it's still a very real possibility. Captain's solo DVD was also announced prior to the photobook. It used to be the normal order of things. It's only fairly recently that they switched them up whereby photobooks were starting to get announced first. So, I'm pretty certain that the PB will be announced over the next week or two. And if it isn't, you can hold my words against me.

We have been gifted a brief preview the solo DVD, however. It's far shorter than anything we could have hoped for, but I know perfectly fine that for fans of an Idol, even the smallest of videos and news bytes become the most significant stories in the world. And I'm certain that this news deserves nothing less than such treatment.

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