Slasha’s Tatami Mat

Ok yesterday was the official start of AX, even though for the MM fans it started on the 1st. The Expo started off with the arrival of guests of honor and the opening ceremonies. The Guests of Honor were introduced and staff explained how the expo was gonna play out. From what I heard, there were also a lot of advertising for the various exhibitors.

Then there was the Q&A session, where (some) fans asked MM the questions that they were dying to ask. I heard Linlin answered her questions in English, which wins her points from me. I'm guessing everyone else answered in Japanese and broken English. I heard something about Yossie (I'm sorry...I mean Hangry) being there signing stuff and that's just awesome.

Paul from Hello! Blog met the UFA president. I wonder what's that like, standing in the presence of a person who controls your favorite singing group. 

But with all the good things there have to be some bad things. I've heard stories about some Western fansites and blogs were denied an interview by UFA. Some (including my favorite fansite, Hello! Online) weren't given a reason why, which makes me wonder what those press passes were for...I'll leave you with a video of the opening ceremonies.

Well the time has come for Morning Musume's first trip into mainland America. On behalf of all the MM fans from Oklahoma (Me and about 20 other people), let me say welcome to the US, Momusu (Make sure you don't get lost downtown.I heard LA is tough to navigate). Now while I can't be there at AX in person, I will still try to comment on each day. Right now it's day 1, so I'm late writing this post, but today's events haven't actually started yet (I'm two hours ahead of LA) so I'm not doing too bad. I heard that the IW press team in LA doesn't have wi-fi in the Los Angeles Convention Center. (Well that sucks) That means posts from them will be limited to about 1 or 2 a day. I wonder why a convention center wouldn't have wi-fi...I smell a conspiracy! Anyway, I'll stop rambling and leave you with a video of MM arriving in LA.

Well I'm a couple of days late for Chisato's 15th b-day but then I noticed I'm right on time for Aya's 23rd b-day. So time for some picspam for the shortest C-ute member (It's odd that Maimai grew taller then her. Maybe they put something in her food. I smell conspiracy)

 

And now here's pictures of Aya, the hottest soloist but not the cutest (That title goes to Nacchi)

 

 

Those magazine pics are HAWT lol. Happy birthday Aya and Chisa!

 

PS I just found out that Hello! Blog got a press pass for Anime Expo! Congrats Paul!

C-ute will be coming out with their new single, Shochuu Omimai Moshiagemasu (It means "Midsummer Greetings" reminds me of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for some reason...)  on July 1st. The PV has just been released and seeing as I haven't reviewed a PV in a while, I decided to make random comments on this one.

Blue skies? I hope this PV's outside! That would be a nice change.

 

 

Oh well that dream's ruined...Let's hope this is a good PV

 

Interesting dresses (ARGH those dresses have ruffles on them! Ruffles are one of the things I hate...) They would be more appropriate on Valentine's Day, though.

A beach! Then there's hope after all! I have to note that this scene is in slow motion (like every recent H!P PV), which shows that H!P knows how to make a good video

Maimi prepares to break the watermelon with a stick (which is a popular summer in Japan by the way. I would try to do it here but I don't live by any beaches...I guess I can go do it in a park) There's a lovely cameo from Ume (Awesome)

 

Nakki epically fails on her try. But she looks cute doing it so it's alright

Chisa actually gets a hit and acts like she won the Super Bowl or the World Cup or the NBA Finals or the Daytona 500 or the Stanley Cup (Want me to continue or have I made my point clear)

 

Random point to the ceiling moment! "We're #1... and Berryz is a close second!"

Let's eat that watermelon that we were beating to death not too long ago. Hope they washed the sand of it first...So after they eat, the girls take pictures. Just about everyone gets one and after more dancing they color.

"Airi! Stay inside the lines!" "I need a red. Does anyone have a red?" "Just use a pink. No one will notice..." Then there's more closeups and more dancing. After that, C-ute decides to go home for the day. "Maybe we'll film another PV here one day." Maimi says as they walk away

 

I like this PV because: 1. It's not in front of a green screen 2. It's bright and colorful. It makes good use of the slow motion and closeups and this time the PV actually matches the song which is rare is H!P PV these days. So this PV gets an A from me. Good job, girls!

Yes I know that Erika's birthday was days ago. But I've been out of town for the past week and haven't been able to observe this day. But now that I'm back in town, I'm making up for lost time. I didn't forget you, Eri!! Happy birthday Ume and enjoy your first year of legality (in America but not in Japan where she's not legal 'til 20. 2 more years...)

 

This is one reason why she's my favorite, she's sexy!

 

This one is also sexy

Even Maimai loves her (It looks like they're slow dancing lol)

There's that smile I like so much

Last time, my Miis that were based on H!P members were doing pretty well (except for the getting an out part). So after 2 more outs, we had to switch sides.

Soon the computer's team get a 3 point lead. After that I'm starting to consider ripping the power cord out of the wall. But then an great thing happened...I get 3 (yeah 3) outs IN A ROW (Lil Captain, who's based on Shimizu got 2 of them). After that, I pulled my hand away from the cord and kept playing.

Now it was my turn to bat again. I didn't get another home run but I got a lot of doubles and a triple (Thanks to Lil Aichan, which boosted my score up by a lot). Soon I was leading by about 5 or 6 points. I got out and we switched sides again. But their luck had run out and they didn't get a single point. The mercy rule was declared and I was declared the winner.

And the H!P Miis lived happily ever after (lol) The end

Just this past weekend I attended my cousin's dance recital. It was held at my old elementary school which I attended up until 2003. As I started remembering my life back then, I thought, "What was H!P like in 2003?" So I did some researching and here's what I found.

-Momusu releases 4 singles (Koi No Victory, Hyokkori Hyotanjima, As For One Day, and Shabondama) and one album (No. 5)

-Momusu gains three members (Four if you wanna count Miki) Tanaka Reina (Yay Reina), Michishige Sayumi (Go Sayu), and Kamei Eri (All right Kame!)

-Mari, Kei, and Nacchi graduated Momusu.

-ZYX is formed and later disbanded (But not before releasing 2 great singles)

-Aa is formed and disbanded after one single

-Koinu Dan no Monogatari, was released, exposing the recently joined H!P Kids to the fans

-Country Musume welcomes guest vocalists Konno Asami and Fujimoto Miki and recruits Saito Miuna

-CM released 3 singles (Uwaki no Honey Pie, Senpai ~Love Again~, Shining Itoshiki Anata)

-The shuffle groups (Salt5, 7Air, 11Water) released their singles

-Melon Kinenbi releases 1 album (1st Anniversary) and 4 singles (Akai Freesia, Chance of Love, Mi Da Ra Matenrou, Kawaii Kare) 

 

H!P was a lot different 6 years ago. Back then, H!P wasn't yet expanding around the world and not a lot of people outside of Japan knew about them yet. But that would soon change...

After reading that title, you probably think "What's this have to do with H!P, Slasha?" Well, most of my Miis are based on Hello! Project members. So anyway let me tell you a story.

-A few days before this post was written-

I started playing Wii Sports and decided to play Baseball against the computer's team. So I started batting with my personalized Mii (Who looks EXACTLY like me). I managed to get to 2nd base.

Next was Lil' Reina (Based off of Tanaka Reina) who managed to get my team's only home run of the game (Which boosted my confidence a bit. I was just about to switch to boxing, which I'm a king at) .

So next was Lil' Ume (Based off of Umeda Erika) who got two strikes. On the third swing, I was determined to get to at least 1st base. I swung with all my might and the ball sail into foul territory. Now I'm thinking, "Great a foul. Now I have another chance" But out of NOWHERE, some guy speeds towards the ball and it lands in his glove. "Out!" the announcer said and I had the most most appropriate look for the situation (Something like 8O).

 

That's part one of my story. I'll continue the rest of the tale later.

Well while I was looking for H!P news to report on, I thought about Gocchin (If you forgot about Goto Maki, the lone 3rd gen MM member and fairly sucessful solo artist, shame on you!) I started doing some research about her life at avex.

Seems that she just released her 3rd PV with Sweet Black (I guess they're some avex group). It's called "with..." (Nice title) It was released as a ringtone back in early April but they decided to film a video for it too.

The PV can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWbSchIT2ZE along with Gocchin's other avex PVs. 

Hopefully soon she can release a full length album and get to #1 on the charts. Maybe she'll become an actress again so she can be in a #1 movie. I just have to wait for that to happen, though...

Updated Gocchin pic time

 

Yes you heard me right. The Stockholm Japan Expo that was supposed to expose Buono to their European fans for the first time has been cancelled with many fans who wanting to see Airi, Momo, and Miya in person angry and confused.

The shocked fans recieved this letter from the Expo staff

 Dear Customer,

Unfortunately we have to inform you that Stockholm Japan Expo 2009 is cancelled.

There are several reasons for this, the financial change in world economy, severe competition from other festivals/concerts as well as poor ticket sale.

This means you will get your ticket purchase back by www.ticnet.se. More info about this will be announced on our website (www.japanexpo.se) next week.

We deeply apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused and hope that Stockholm Japan Expo will be feasible in the near future.

With sincere apologies,
SJX-Crew

Now, I, like many other fans, was very disappointed. But when I heard the reason, I understood completely. The world's economy isn't very good right now and that affects a lot of things, including music festivals and ticket sales. Also there are a lot of music festivals happening at the same time and in the same area as Japan Expo, so that hurts it too. But maybe one day, Sweden will see their first taste of Buono and H!P can advance into Europe.