[PV Roundup] X21, SUPER☆GiRLS, GEM, palet, Keyakizaka46

by Mike

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It’s summer! Most of the idols are in the great outdoors, not that anyone would notice because they’re too busy catching Pokemon.

X21 – “Natsu da yo!!”

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The elegant ladies of X21 are back with something new. This time, they give a summer tune a go because what else are you gonna do this time of year? While it may not be as wild as some of the summer videos we saw last week, they deliver summer fun in their own lady-like way.

The first thing I noticed in this PV is color. Oh my gosh, sweet delicious natural colors! This PV takes place exclusively outdoors, which is always the worst environment for Japan’s love of color modification, but there is practically none here and the members and backgrounds benefit greatly from it. There’s really no excessive post-processing of any kind. No aftereffects, no wacky transitions between shots, it’s just a pure and simple video as far as the technology behind it goes. The camera work is quite good for the group dance shots, and even better for the solo member shots. There’s a lot of fun to be had for fans of any member in this video.

The choices in presentation aren’t the only reason everyone looks great. We get one outfit for the duration of this video, and every member gets the same treatment of a matching top and skirt decorated with cherries. Pretty Freudian choice for a group that by and large keeps it classy. There is just a tad of fan service to this outfit, as most girls have just a bit of midriff showing. Compared to what we see other groups do it’s very minimal, but for X21, it’s a nice subtle way of reminding us it’s summer, I guess. The purists need not worry though, for the skirts are so long we will have none of that nasty intentional safety pants shots. Go back to your Nijicons and NMB48s for your fix on that. In an case, it’s a very lovely outfit. The shoes are also well chosen for the terrain and allow for easier dancing.

Speaking of dancing, there’s quite a bit of it in this PV and it’s pretty typical X21 high quality. Not their most intricate of performances, but given the summer fun and unideal terrain of a grassy field, it’s perfectly fine. The PV really shines in the seemingly un-choreographed member interaction shots that make up the rest of the video. Pretty much any imaginable situation of summer fun is displayed here. There’s plenty of girls playing with water guns and hoses, tossing around the ‘ol beach ball, and enjoying some ice cream in the most platonically X21 way possible. Perhaps it’s not the most exciting or enticing representation of idol summer fun, but it’s what you’d expect from this group. All in all it’s a very fun, pretty gorgeous presentation all around.

As for the song, I think it’s really strong. As far as summer songs go, it fits right in. The instrumentals are very lively and the tempo is moderately high. It maintains this upbeat energy for the duration of the track and is really pleasant to listen to. The whistle in certain parts makes me think of Super Girls, but other than that it’s very pleasing and calm in an upbeat way. The vocals are very nice and typical of the group. Pretty much everything is a full chorus or small groups of three at the smallest, but it maintains the same sound throughout. It’s fine with me. I absolutely love how this group sounds as a chorus. It’s soothing in the same way their elegant cousin group Nogizaka46 is. Nothing at this song comes at you too hard, making for the perfect mix.

4stars

X21’s 8th single drops July 27th.

Watch: YouTube (Official, Short Ver.) | Dailymotion (UNOFFICIAL)

 
Buy on Amazon JP: Regular Edition | Limited Edition [CD+DVD]

Buy on CDJapan: Regular Edition | Limited Edition [CD+DVD]