[PV Roundup] Cupitron, Morning Musume ’16, ANGERME, Itano Tomomi, AyumiKurikaMaki

ANGERME – “Itoshima Distance”

The ANGERME train rolls onward this week. After the super hype that was “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku”, I was ready be naturally disappointed by anything else. I thought for sure there was no way this single could contain any more hype. Well, our second offering from ANGERME this time around is definitely no “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku”, but it is a really nice, catchy song with a PV I can’t help but love for all the biased reasons.

The first thing that’s going to grab your eyes in this video is the outfits. Essentially, the girls look like a dancing deck of playing cards. I don’t think these outfits are particularly awesome or ugly. They’re inventive enough to be passable, I guess? Some are better than others. Aikawa Maho easily has the most hilarious outfit. The hat makes her look like a J-Pop version of Rita Repulsa from “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”. I just noticed this while writing this review and now I can’t stop laughing.

Meanwhile, some girls look amazing. Kamikokuryo Moe gets some really great shots and is free of any funny hat, and maybe it’s just luck with her lighting, but her eyes are so sparkly and beautiful. She is rather gorgeous, isn’t she? She is giving me a major Hashimoto Kanna vibe in this PV. Katsuta Rina, who I honestly don’t really notice that much, has a fantastic hairdo that makes me almost not even notice her funny hat.

And here folks, is where I throw my journalistic fairness out the window. Over the last several months, Murota Mizuki has become my favorite thing in H!P by a mile. I love her. She’s super pretty, has an exemplary voice, has such a positive and friendly personality, and acts so cutely bizarre. This PV has a lot of Murotan in it and I obviously couldn’t be happier about it. She looks pretty awesome in her outfit. I love the yellow tones, and her hat actually is the most in line with the outfit out of all the members.

And just for the sake of full disclosure, her shoulder and armpit game is on point. Her arms also look amazingly toned. She already had good tones in her Greeting DVD, and it seems they’re only getting better. Please, Up Front. Photobook. Soon. This girl. I will buy it. I’ll buy multiple ones and give them out as presents.

Thank you for being you, Murotan. Oh, hi, this is a PV review isn’t it? My bad.

So yeah, this PV features a good mix of awesome, funny, and unique visuals for the members. The background is shot entirely in a large reception room of some condo or whatever. It’s a bit bland but better than the H!P hangar for sure. The camerawork is decent, and shows off the dance alright.

Speaking of the dance, it’s kind of weird. For example, when she isn’t singing, Murotan looks like she’s driving an invisible car most of the PV. Other girls are doing similar, slow motion gestures that are more weird than anything else. There’s some other gestures and moves in the video to keep it interesting, though.

As for the song itself, it’s good stuff, man. It has a bit of a Spanish flare to it in the same vein as older AKB48 Team K stage songs. It is a bit more subdued in energy compared to “Tsugitsugi Zokuzoku”, but it holds its own with a constant flow, nicely layered instrumentals, and some very well-rounded vocals from Moe and Murotan especially. Moe gets a slightly above average amount of solo vocal time in this one and I’m very impressed with her voice. ANGERME’s a better group in every way with her in it.