Antes de todo, disculpas a los lectores por no disponer de un contacto operativo, debe haber un error con el link, no me llegan mensajes, el proveedor de este blog es muy simple y provoca este tipo de cosas. Aquí pongo mi dirección e-mail de contacto:
mdottate@yahoo.es
Este comentario será escrito en inglés puesto que se trata de una exclusiva mundial (para los fans no japoneses de Hinoi Team, que haberlos hailos).
ADVISORY : All contents of this post are subjective opinions, statements, and thoughts of the writer and may differ from yours, once you will have watched the special DVD dance version.
On 13th January (saturday) Hinoi Team held three events in three different malls in Akihabara to present their new single "Dancin' and Dreamin'" to their fans. As supposed, "Dancin' and Dreamin'" is a covered eurobeat song from "Dancin' Baby" (Irene, Super Eurobeat Vol 153).
Event tracklist
1 - Now and Forever
(Little talking)
2 - On my own / I'm gonna carry on / Merry Xmas to da world
(Lottery + little talking)
3 - Dancin' and Dreamin' (but we can call it, "Dancin' baby")
After 10500 Km and 15 h 1/2 of trip I arrived at Tokyo the day before, just to be ready and assist to all events. These events were for free, @ Akihabara Game City, Ishimaru Soft 1 and Yamagiwa Soft but fans had to collect a ticket to have the pass granted.
Akihabara Game City (13/1 - 12:00) - Attendance : 200 pax
I arrived one hour before and there were already some people waiting, people with familiar faces to me, the people I met in summer. One Avex staff gave me the ticket and I waited till 15 min before show start. They gave us a lottery ticket and the chance to pick up a number and have the chance to get a good seat. I picked #2, so I could watch the first event at the first row. Clear view to watch the girls carefully and to pay attention.
Girl's outfits (They didn't change them)
Asuka - Schoolgirl outfit - dark red pull-over with shield on left bust, golden-yellow necktie, short black skirt, black panties and black boots. Some cotton to fill her bra too, lol. Hairdressed like in King Kong era.
Hikaru - Sexy outfit - shot black pants, white blouse, black jacket on, no panties, black boots. Some magical item to fill her bra, too.... Hairdressed as usual.
Rina - Hip-Hop outfit - long black sport (hip-hop) trousers, black sweater with Hip - Hop written on, white (¿?) loose hip - hop jacket, fair brown mountain boots. Same haircut as "Now and Forever" but with much longer hair.
Keika - modern casual outfit - black trousers, black boots, light green pullover? (well I don't remember, I didn't focus on Keika really, lol) and a violet fisherman cap (just for the first show). Short hair, black dyed.
Well, this was their best performance.
1 - Now and Forever (or Nau an Foleva as you prefer)
As you know, this is a covered song from Valery Scott and the one that marked current Hinoi Team style. I like this song, I like the dancin' routine, I like Asuka when she's fit, I like Hikaru's way of moving and I dislike hardcore fans shouting "Fiber, Diper, Viper, Fire yay yay". Just around 25 people supported otagei, but they did it loudly >_<. Despite having "some" background sound assistance, Asuka's voice sounded OK, but let's face it, she's losing live skills, it looks like she's not training her voice as recommended if she wants to be a solo singer again. So, first statement:
- Asu, forget about retaking a solo career, you don't have the skills, at least not the voice.
Hikaru, well Hikaru, lol @ Hikaru's voice. She yells more than sings, her voice is completely out of tune, it can become a really annoying thing, but well she is a good dancer and she's sexy.
Rina and Keika did their part of the job, Keika did it as usual, Rina was really focused and danced energically. Best member at events, most improved member compared to Summer Circuit events, she's becoming more and more popular among fans. Keika has also her fans, and Hikaru, lol @ Hikaru again, she's definately the least popular member now. She has a critical problem with her weight, too.
2 - On my own
A para-para classic. One of Hinoi Team's best. This was the first time I watched and listened this song on live and it gave me a good impression. Generally, because Hikaru started yelling and well, etoooooooooo ne, she just messed it up... Pure para-para dance routine, great, I liked it.
Lottery
It was lottery time, and as usual, Keika carried the lucky box to start picking the numbers. The first number was "juu-kyu" (19)... "juu-kyu, juu-kyu..." said Keika, and I reacted like "juu-kyu, eso es diecinueve, es mi numero!!" EEEEEEH!! It's my number!! and well, everybody in the lounge started laughing as long as they were very surprised, Keika told me to go with them, and really, I was very excited, the girls were very surprised, I'm pretty sure they remembered me because Rina reacted like "Hey girls, he's back I can't believe it". This has been the time I stayed the closest to them, and well.... they stepped back, because I'm very tall and big compared to them (1,92 vs avg 1,60 --- 105 kg vs avg 45). I talked a little bit with them, but well don't speak english....Keika said "I speak english" and I answered "All right, my father is isogashii" lol. She didn't like it, rofl, but other girls did. Anyway, I got my prize, Keika's bracelet, now it is my lucky bracelet, always on my left wrist, I know it gives me a little gay touch, but I like it.
3 other persons also got Hikaru's, Asuka's and Rina's bracelets.
3 - Dancin' and Dreamin' (Duransin an Durimin) a.k.a Dancin' Baby
It was time to listen at Hinoi Team's new song and it started:
"Dancin' baby, baby, baby, baby,....." (background sound)
"Dancin' baby all night long" (Asuka)
"Dreamin' baby feeling fine, dancin' on a saturday night" (Hikaru and then both)
Dance routine starts
Well, the song structure is the same as the original "Dancin' baby" song with little touches identical to Hinochi's "Now and Forever" song.
Dancin' baby (I mean Dancin' and Dreamin') is a song FOR Hinoi Team, probably it won't be Hinoi Team's best, but fans will like it. However, there's a big difference between studio version and live version, the studio version sounds cool, sounds upbeating, it's a good song for current Hinoi Team's style (eurobeat to dance songs with Kakkoi dance routines and stylish, up-to-trend clothes and outfits), even if I still prefer "Now and Forever" after listening many times to it, but live version doesn't sound very well at all, specially if Asuka's voice starts to faint and Hikaru keeps yelling. This was the point of my disappointment, they have really lost live voice skills, the studio version needed quite a big tunning work, lol. (I think voices are quite syntethised).
Dance routine is kakkoi, simple, but I prefer this one to Now and Forever's. They have improved their dance skills, (or performance dance skills, it depends), specially Rina and I think the routine is quite sexy, it fits with Hinoi Team current image. There are some little para-para reminiscences but I can say Hinoi Team's para-para era has finally come to an end with "Dancin' and Dreamin'".
If I had to discuss about Hinoi Team's evolution I'd say they're a bit stagnant. All right, they have left para-para behind, they wear better clothes, they dance young kakkoi dance routines, they have fresher images (Hikaru's too skinny) BUT it's sure they will remain as a idol - otaku teen group till they kaisan , mainly because it looks like Avex or VF are not interested in giving Hinoi Team a chance to get some wider market at all. Perhaps this is not posible, though.
Attendance were 200, > 250 and 175 respectively. Asuka said at Ishimaru "Oh, there's a lot of people here, thank you!!!", it seems she's already satisfied with a > 250 pax attendance.
Anyway, there was a little difference that deserves to be pointed out: there were some more fashionable teen girls watching them on live shows. Around or more than 30 at Ishimaru, that means more than 10% of the total attendance. Hinoi Team has been shown in many teen magazines like "Kindai" or "Potato" as models and charismatic idols, and they got the result. There were as many girls than hardcore Hinoi Team fans (those who practice otagei, "fire, faiber...." and go to every place where Hinoi Team go). However, Hinoi Team's fan parameters are the same; male, 25 to 30, single and lonely, music is just an excuse to watch some pretty-teen chicks. I have to say Hinoi Team's fanbase is very loyal.
End of 1st show.
Akihabara Ishimaru Soft 1 (13/1 - 16:00) Attendance : more than 250 PAX
I arrived one hour before the start of the event, but there was already a lot of people waiting. A ticket wasn't needed here, but a CD pre-order was compulsory @_@
Yeah, there were 3 different special dance DVD version for free (the two only differences are that they change costumes, dance is the same, and these versions are not included in the official single), but to have them, fans had to pre-order (and pay) a "Dancin' and Dreamin'" copy at each store. So, that means Hinoi Team has already sold copies before release, lol, a clever strategy, huh?.
Well I got my special DVD dance version for 1050 yen (1050 yen for a special track), and well something funny happened. I was speaking to the manager "come on man, I come from Spain, give it to me for free", then manager talked to the front woman and answered me "I'm sorry, rules are rules, you have to pay and come back in february to get your copy". He didn't said that exactly, but it was the message I had to understand. My reaction was "¬¬" and I answered to him "Spain is very far from Japan, do you think I am a millionaire or something?" and he answered "Hai". I started laughing... "Please give me an extra copy".... "Ok". So I have two copies of that special DVD version now.
Second show started, and well, I have to say this was the worst one. Asuka's voice fainted from the moment she started singing, I was affraid she was going to collapse, die or something, because she lacked of air, she was having trouble, a really bad time, she was touching herself to recover a little of air, a complete disaster. Hikaru became lead singer for this second show, but as I have said before, she doesn't sing, she yells. So, I would have preferred this event to be lip-sync, all I heared was quite disappointing. They performed "I'm gonna carry on" one of my favourite songs, but I didn't enjoy it.
The guys who won at lottery got a signed Hinoi Team photo.
Yamagiwa Soft (13/1 - 20:00) Attendance : 175 PAX more or less
I arrived at Yamagiwa Soft one hour before, but it was quite useless because I had already a place assigned, lol. So, I decided to wait on the street... I watched girls coming to Yamagiwa 30 min before the event start. They looked at me, and I said "Hi, pretty frosted chicks" (It was about 1ºC in Tokyo at that time, and they were just dressed with the event clothes, no jacket on) and I smiled at them.
This event was just OK. After Asuka's "voice crisis" at Ishimaru, sound technicians decided to tune her microphone to the most and I think everybody noticed it. They also increased background sound aid so I guess Asuka almost didn't sing in this event.
They performed "Merry X-mas to the world"... well a listenable song, but quite boring, and well I think it doesn't fit on new Hinoi Team single.
People who won at lottery received a photo with members.
During talking, Asuka announced she will release a solo photobook soon. There will be some sexy photos on swimsuits, so some fans started to yell and howl, lol. You can find further information on Hinochiboshi. But I warn you this will be a very-idol focused item, hoo hoo hoo, more or less like Saaya Irie's stuff ha ha ha.
Quienes quieran comprar el single deberán adquirirlo a través de internet bien sea por CD Japan, Amazon Japan, YesAsia o cualquier otro distribuidor online. Tiene la pega que los costes de envio son algo elevados, pero la ventaja de que como el yen está muy devaluado respecto al euro, su coste original sea menor.
Single will be released on 7th February and they will held 2 promotional events (with handshake) on 10th and on 11th. The first one will be in Shibuya, Tokyo and the second one in Osaka. This is a clever strategy to assure sales, one event for Tokyo fans and another one for Kansai fans. Considering that attendance will be around 200 people and the avg copies bought per fan will be around 4 or 5 (handshake, handshake!!!!) we can be pretty sure that Hinoi Team will sell around 3500 copies for the first week and tail 30th position or something at Oricon Charts.
CONCLUSIONS
- Asuka is not a good singer anymore (some friend of mine uses to tell me she has never been it and I think he's right). She has evolved to a pure idol artist, who releases her stuff at Akihabara stores, like girls who show themselves on bikini or school uniform outfit. I believe she will turn to a photo, magazine or advertising model in the future, anyway perhaps someone will give her the chance to release some solo stuff someday. It looks like she has some support behind her.
- Hinoi Team will be an idol teen group till they split up, with little chances to spread their fanbase out of nasty otakus and middle aged perverted men, even if less people do otagei in their events. (Well they do it louder)
- Hikaru is dangerously skinny
- Rina has improved a lot as an Idol music group member. She looks happy doing what she does.
- Avex and Vision Factory have completely overlooked and mistaken the chance to make this group more popular after "Night of Fire" boom.
- It looks like "Dancin' and Dreamin'" single will be below "Now and Forever", I mean "Now and Forever" single is better.
Lo podeis ver aqui.
