It has been revealed that Yaguchi Mari is the singer of the new opening song for the popular anime “One Piece”, the song is titled Kaze wo Sagashite (English: Search for the wind) made by Hexagon Family.

The song is an upbeat ballad, and for the most part Yaguchi’s voice fit perfectly with the song. It’s great to see that Yaguchi is getting a lot of promotion these days, and I’m glad that she got a chance to sing the OP to such a popular anime.

They will most likely release this song in CD form, either as a single or as part of an album, so hopefully we get an official confirmation so that Yaguchi fans and new fans get a chance to buy the song.

It has been revealed that Yaguchi Mari is the singer of the new opening song for the popular anime “One Piece”, the song is titled Kaze wo Sagashite (English: Search for the wind) made by Hexagon Family.

The song is an upbeat ballad, and for the most part Yaguchi’s voice fit perfectly with the song. It’s great to see that Yaguchi is getting a lot of promotion these days, and I’m glad that she got a chance to sing the OP to such a popular anime.

They will most likely release this song in CD form, either as a single or as part of an album, so hopefully we get an official confirmation so that Yaguchi fans and new fans get a chance to buy the song.

Note: Yaguchi is also included in the opening credits at 1:39, look for “矢口 真里”



Yaguchi Mari has been made into a CG (computer graphic) character for a Yakuza themed video game titled Ryuu ga Gotoku: Densetsu wo Tsugumono (English: Yakuza 4: Succesor of the Legend). Here is the image with the official news from the “Ryuu ga Gotoku” site:

I’m impressed about how well CG Yaguchi came out since it looks exactly like the real Yaguchi (especially the one where she is wearing a swimsuit, which also makes me remember Taka-san’s joke from Utaban about Yaguchi’s “Love Hello! Yaguchi Mari” PB).

Yaguchi and CG Yaguchi

According to some news articles I read (my Japanese isn’t perfect so correct me if I am wrong) her character will be a therapist in a massage parlor (from what I know nothing adult happens to CG Yaguchi so don’t worry). This probably means that we will most likely get to hear Yaguchi say a lot of stuff we haven’t heard from her (according to the article she blushed a lot while recording).

This will most likely increase the sales of the game with the Yaguchi fans buying it, so hopefully this gives her other opportunities to participate in another game soon.

Yahoo.jp Article About Yaguchi In A PS3 Game

Official Ryuu ga Gotoku News Post About Yaguchi

Sponochi Article About Yaguchi In The Game

Mainichi Article About Yaguchi In The Game

1 Morning Musume – Shouganai Yume Oibito (5:04)
2 Berryz Koubou – Seishun Bus Guide (3:25)
3 C-ute – EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!!(4:19)
4 Pucchimoni V – Pirai! Otome no Negai (3:51)
5 Tanpopo # – Umbrella (4:33)
6 Buono! – MY BOY (4:12)
7 Mano Erina – Otome no Inori (4:51)
8 Aa! – Yume to Genjitsu (4:17)
9 Shin Minimoni – Pen Pen Kyoudai (3:26)
10 High-King – DESTINY LOVE (4:12)
11 Guardians 4 – Omakase♪Guardian (3:20)
12 Shugo Chara Egg! – Shugo Shugo! (3:18)
13 Tsukushima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu (Morning Musume) – Happy☆Happy Sunday! (3:41)
14 S/mileage – aMa no Jaku (4:46)
15 Abe Natsumi – Screen (4:49)
16 Matsuura Aya – Chocolate Damashii (4:54)
17 Yaguchi Mari – Seishun Boku (4:09)
18 Satoda Mai with Gouda Kyoudai – Bye Bye (3:39)

Total Album Length (according to J-Books): 1:15:10

The full tracklist for Hello! Project’s Pucchi Best 10 album has been released. The new tracklist features new songs for most of the shuffle groups, including High-King and Shin Minimoni.

The two new songs from Shin Minimoni (Pen Pen Kyoudai) and High King (DESTINY LOVE) sound like they fit the image of their respective groups perfectly, especially Shin Minimoni’s. The only shuffle group that is missing a song is ZYX-a, which is most likely due to the graduation of two of their members (Kusumi and Erika).

Overall the tracklist looks great since it includes something for everyone because of the variety of songs included (Elder Club, Hello! Project, Hello! Pro Egg, etc).

The release date is set for 12/2.

J-Book Site For Pucchi Best 10

So I’m home with swine flu, quarantined and not allowed to leave my house, even for my senior year homecoming game or dance.  As you can imagine, I’m pretty upset.  But, despite all that and my dad being a jackass, Morning Musume always cheers me up.  Why this time, you ask.

I shall tell you why.

Kimagure Princess is why.  D

The first thing that I noticed is that both the PV and the song lack quite a bit in originality.

The palace setting in the PV is so much like Biyuuden’s “Kaccho ii ze! JAPAN” that its sad.  Not only that, but the dance has more than a few similarities to that same song’s dance AS WELL as the Russian-themed melody. And while we’re talking about Biyuuden, the whole concentration on their asses looks strikingly like “Aisu Kuriimu to My Purin.”

The melody is also very very similar to Morning Musume’s own “Odore! Morning Curry.”  And the fire-coming-out-of-the-hand came from their “Iroppoi Jirettai.”

And THEN, the whole pitched-up, techno-fied voices during the voices reminds me a lot of Buono!, specifically “Internet Cupid” from their first album.

Once I got past all that, though, I really do love this PV and song (but of course there’s always something else to nitpick on).  I love that this is one of the few very vocally-challenging songs in all of H!P.  I missed Panda lines, and I’m also (shockingly) a tiny teeny weeny smidge upset that Koharu didn’t get any solos on her last single.

Now then, a girl-by-girl review!

Aichan – I have to be honest, I’m very disappointed with her vocal performance.  Her “Ii janai”s sound lovely, but everything else on the choruses is very sloppy and she sounds like she has absolutely no control over her voice.  Her “wowow” on the bridge especially made me cringe. (However, I <3 that her long hair is back.)

Gakisan – I really wish we could hear more of her on this song.  Gakisan sounded so beautiful on her solos, I couldn’t help but yearn for more.

Sayumin – I’m so glad Sayumin didn’t get any solos.  I love her to death, but she was so much better placed just looking sexy.  And holy cow, she was smoking.  Letting her do that for the PV was an amazing idea.  Her solo shots really bring you in and capture your attention!

Eririn – Wow.  That’s all I can say.  I didn’t know Eririn had those kind of pipes!  Damn!  Just makes me wonder again why she was so neglected in her younger years.

Reina -  Thank dear Lord Jesus that Reina only got like two solo lines.  Finally someone realized she’s not as great of a vocalist as they all thought she was.  I think that’s why I like this song so much: I hardly heard or saw Reina.

Koharu – Once again, I’m a little disappointed in no solo lines from her, but that’s very slight.  Holy frick Koharu looked amazing.  She’s going to make a great model.  Her dancing and everything was 100% sexy.  I loved it.

Micchi – Aika looked pretty bored and very very tired.  :/  I think that was her attempt to be sexy, but it kind of failed.   I think she’s too young to really master her sexiness yet.  She needs lessons from Marippe.

Junjun – Junjun… to say she completely baffled me would be an understatement.  She is so HOT (cue: Wonder Girls).  My jaw literally fell when I saw her first solo shot.  I mean, I wasn’t expecting that at all.  I’m very very pleased. 

Linlin – It’s really a shame she didn’t get any chorus lines, because they would have been beautiful.  Linlin has already proved she can knock those notes out of the water.  It’s a shame she doesn’t have enough fans to get her lines in singles.  :/

Overall, I really do love this song.  Although it’s a bittersweet love because this is also the end of the super lineup that’s been together for over 2 years.

We’ll miss you Koharu!  :’(

Pucchi Best 10 CD tracklist (not in order, tentative) :

1. Screen (Abe Natsumi)
2. Bye Bye （Satoda Mai with Gouda Kyodai）
3. Happy Happy Sunday （Tsukishima Kirari starring Kusumi Koharu）
4. Chocolate Damashii （Matsuura Aya）
5. Shugo Shugo （Shugo Chara Egg）
6. Otome no Inori （Mano Erina）
7. Seishun Boku （Yaguchi Mari）
8. Shouganai Yume Oibito （Morning Musume）
9. Omakase Guardian （Guardians 4）
10. Seishun Bus Guide （Berryz Kobo）
11. EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!! （C-ute）
12. MY BOY （Buono!）
13. aMa no Jaku （S/mileage）
14. Pira! Otome no Negai （Pucchimoni V）
15. Umbrella （Tanpopo Sharp #）
16. Yume to Genjitsu (Aa!）
http://artist.cdjournal.com/d/-/4109100272/tracklist/
—-

Pucchi Best 10 DVD tracklist (not in order, tentative) :

1 Screen
2 Happy Happy Sunday
3 Chocolate Damashii
4 Shugo Shugo
5 Otome no Inori
6 Seishun Boku
7 Shouganai Yume Oibito
8 Omakase Guardian
9 Rival
10 Everyday Zekkouchou
11 My Boy
12 aMa no Jaku
■特典・その他 (others)
http://www.yamano-music.co.jp/userProdDeta…Code=4209091256

Source: Nayok-Kihara@H!O

The track lists for Hello! Project’s Pucchi Best 10 album and DVD have been released. I’m kind of surprised to see them include Satoda Mai’s “Bye Bye” and Yaguchi’s “Seishun Boku” songs although they were technically released before they graduated from Hello! Project (Yaguchi’s barely made it by being released a week before leaving H!P).

Like rumored the new songs by the shuffle units will be released on the album, including songs from Guardians 4, Buono, S/mileage, and Shugo Chara Egg. I’m glad to see that we will be able to have S/mileage’s debut song in an H!P album, although I would have liked to see Nanchatte Renai on the album instead of Shouganai Yume Oibito (I like them both, but Nanchatte seemed to be a better choice).

Kusumi’s last single as Tsukishima Kirari is also included which is a great relief, and Berryz Koubou’s “Seishun Bus Guide” wasn’t much of a surprise either. What is interesting to see is the “Others” on the DVD, which might mean we could get Shuffle Group PV’s, since they seem to be the only one’s without a PV (except Satoda’s “Bye Bye”, and Berryz who seem to have released “Seishun Bus Guide” on the album and “Rival” on the DVD).

Hopefully we get a confirmed list but for now the setlist is looking great.

The release date is set for 12/2.

Well, let’s see what’s coming up this October!

I’m starting to download all PVs for Mprning Musume, when they’re up I’ll post about them. So far I’ve downloaded Ai no Tane, Morning Coffee, Summer Night Town, Daite HOLD ON ME!, and Memory Seishun no Hikari.

I have various plans for the site, such as for posts I’ll put a preveiw from YouTube on the post and the actual download on the group’s page. The Pages will be on the top bar, but depending on your cmputer screen width you might not be able to see them all so I’m gonna put them on the sidebar. I plan to update my Twitter more too, and I’m gonna put catergories for each member, eg. a post of Ai no Tane will have categories for Morning Musume, PV, Indie, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi etc….

I plan to use this ‘overveiw’ for updates and what I plan to do each month, a bit like sayunii.wordpress.com does for Shuukan Yoro, but not weekly.

I want to get C-ute done and posted ASAP because of Umeda’s Upcomng Graduation, because it won’t be right to post PVs of her when she’s gone.

Hyakupa subs have given us all a treat for Ai-chan’s birthday. Yes the first MM Alo-Hello has now been subbed and is available from the tracker at Hello-Online. So what do we get? Well this being Hawaii lots of flesh. Also some bondage. Yes really. Basically MM are split into four teams and have to compete against each other through various competitions. Which is great as these kind of things ensure fun, energy and excitement. There’s a prize for the winning team and a forfeit for the losing team. But first some free time fun…

After that it’s onto the first competition. It’s a shaved ice eating contest. Who’ll be the fastest? Well I’m not telling but it’s fun to watch…

After which it’s time for some bondage with the six-legged race…

Oh lucky Niigaki and Reina. Tied so close to Rika. The dream of every man (and several women) surely?

Oh lucky…umm…everyone!

After the race it’s time for some lunch…

After that the next contest is the Russian roulette drinking and eating game. Who’ll get the bad juice or bad food? I’m not telling again so just enjoy the reactions from those watching…

Following that competition it’s time for the beach flag trials. That’s where individual members start lying face down and then have to get up, turn around and race for the flags. It’s all good fun and for those of you who don’t want to know the result…I ain’t telling anyway.

After all the running the final contest is a quiz. Well the members probably deserve a sit down. Following the result and the prize the final ten minutes of this 70 minute presentation is given over to the photobook making of. There are some nice scenes to watch including a fun cat impression competition…

Fujimoto Miki there with one of AKB48.

Niigaki Risa there with another of AKB48.

Niigaki Risa there with an angel.

The cat competition there.

A sing-song around the campfire to finish off with.

This Alo-Hello is easily as much fun as the later ones but also has the added advantage of having Kaori, Yaguchi and Rika there. The competition format is one that works well. It always made Hello! Morning enjoyable and when the setting is a beach there’s the added advantage of sexy beachwear. It’s great to see this get subbed and being released on Lovely’s birthday means everyone can celebrate by getting a little bit of Lovely in their hearts. You know it makes sense!

Remember the show I blogged about a little while ago? The one where Yuko, Nacchi, Kaori, Kei, Yaguchi, Tsuji, Ai and Risa sat around eating and talking? Well if you don’t look at this post here. Anyway the full version (just over an hour long) has now been subbed and is available for download here. Thank you HPS. This was one of the most enjoyable tv shows I’ve seen Morning Musume do. If you are a fan of the older members you simply must watch it. Basically for the first 45 minutes or so we get to see them speak frankly about their time in the group. They talk of arguments and ill health. They talk of being poor and hard work. But through it all there’s so much love between them that it’s just a great show to watch. The bond between the members even now is proof of how great a group Morning Musume were and indeed still are. We also get a good history lesson of the group’s evolution (pretty much solely concentrating on the members present) with lots of fun clips from back in the day. Then for the final 15 minutes or so Ai and Risa turn up and they sit around and eat. During that time we get to see the little home made movie each girl made showing off something in their lives relating to Morning Musume. Yuko’s shelf full of stuff is great. Oh and we get to see Nacchi cry and then Ai-chan too. Watching it unsubbed I’d wondered what Lovely was crying for. Now having watched it subbed I’m wondering what Lovely was crying for.

Seriously this show is as touching a celebration of Morning Musume as you will ever see. Plus the hosts are really funny and there’s even a few classic Utaban clips thrown in. So like I said if you’re a fan of the older members watch it. But even if you’re not well watch it anyway. You get Ai and Risa but more importantly you get to see the people who made MM just so successful in the first place. Because without these older members there would be no Morning Musume. In fact there might not be any Berryz Kobo, C-ute, Buono, etc. Recently many fans had the pleasure of seeing Morning Musume play in LA. It’s thanks to the likes of Yuko, Kaori, Nacchi, Yaguchi, etc that there was a group in the first place. So watch and enjoy. It’s funny, moving, funny some more and above all it’s a great celebration of the members skill, hard work and determination. Of all the things I’ve seen subbed this is right up there with the best of them. From a fans point of view it’s like a celebration of that which we hold dear. It’s wonderful!

I saw this clip posted on Youtube and thought it was funny and cute. So here it is. It’s a six minute clip of Yaguchi playing a video game. Her expressions are just priceless. Yaguchi is just perennially entertaining, cute and adorable quite frankly.

Another interesting tv show here. Yuko, Nacchi, Kaori, Yaguchi, Yasuda and Tsuji on some tv show with Ai-chan and Niigaki. They sit around and eat (I’m saying nothing) and then there’s some interesting clips of the OG members looking at items they own relevant to their time in Morning Musume. This show is available from Musume-Central. There’s also a full version of the show at the tracker on Hello!Online. The version I’m reviewing is a 15 minute segment of the show (it turns out).

So this section of the show starts with the OG already seated and Ai-chan and Niigaki turning up…

Then there’s a quick then and now bit…

Other than the hair they haven’t changed too much in eight years have they? Takahashi especially. Niigaki filled her face out nicely though. Or should that be she filled out her little thin head?

After that introduction there’s some sitting around and talking…

Kaori looks older but still very attractive. Tsuji looks really pretty. I just wish she’d lose that bow. Although I never really found her attractive in MM she has grown into herself really and looks better with a few years on her. She needs to lose the cutesie aspects though. Otherwise she’ll be a whatever happened to Baby Jane 70 year old one day.

Anyway onto why we’re really here. This is a Japanese tv show right? Well the two hosts seem to be dressed as chefs, so food…

Niigaki jumps around in excitement at the food. Everyone reacts in joy and then they all sit down and start drinking alcohol. Except Niigaki and Ai who, although they are old enough to drink alcohol, presumably have an idol image to maintain and so they stick to juice. Go Kaori though. Guinness girl! I have one of those Guinness glasses. *Nods* That’s irrelevant but it amuses me to see her drinking the black stuff. I wonder how much lager Yaguchi needs to drink to get pissed? I mean she’s only small. Does it take less than with a bigger person? Personally I think it’d be great to see a tv show where we find out. Never mind food lets see the Musume OG get paralytic. Actually what we get instead here is a few clips of the members present graduating. So we get Yuko…

And Kei…

The ever youthful Nacchi…

Then the wants to stay forever youthful Tsuji…

Then of course there’s the ever feminine Kaori…

Then of course there’s the moment Yaguchi graduated during the Love Is Alive tour of 2002…

Huh? Well okay they put a caption up saying she graduated 14th April 2005 but why they used some teary clip from three years earlier I’m not sure. I guess they felt they had to show something.

Anyway now for what I think is the interesting bit. The OG members through some pre-filmed segments show off some items that relate to their MM days.

Kaori shows off some watch. I’m not sure of the significance though. She does mention Tsunku however so maybe it was a gift?…

The ever kawaii Yaguchi shows off…

Love Machine figures! Yaguchi you are a star! Those Love Machine figures look quite cool when put on that base.

Anyway onto Kei and she shows something that is surely as much a reminder of her Utaban appearances as anything else…

Then onto Nacchi who shows that she really needs a boyfriend…

Okay it’s a toy dog. Maybe these items aren’t necessarily about MM? Also Nacchi was very kawaii but that was still bizarre and somewhat strange. Funny though.

So Tsuji. Her items are…

Scripts (including Help the musical) and a baby’s foot. I have no idea why she decided to film herself while covered in two…face cleansing pads?

I’m now really interested in where these clips were filmed. Some, like Tsuji’s are self-shot. If they were shot where the girls live than I like Yaguchi’s place. Little sexy beam has a big pad…

Anyway onto the final clip. Yuko’s…

Yuko’s a wota. She has a shelf full of stuff. I guess these were filmed at their homes then. I like the pic of Yuko kissing Yaguchi. Also she has the early singles boxset. I don’t even have that. Well not yet anyway. And how cool is the signed MM single as a birthday present? Plus check out all the other cd’s including the Ongaku Gatas album. I think it’s clear that Yuko’s time in MM and in H!P means a lot to her. Just another reason to like her.

After those clips Nacchi is crying. Fond memories I guess…

Then after some more chat there’s this longshot where you can see who drinks the quickest. I think it’s a tie between Yaguchi and Yuko. I’d give the result to Yaguchi due to her diminutive size though…

Then there’s more chat and if Nacchi is crying then there’s no way Lovely won’t rise to the occasion…

And then the show ends. Umm…I adore Cry-chan. She’s my favourite Musume past or present. But she is starting to worry me now with the amount of crying she does. Okay so her heart on sleeve nature is part of what I like about her. She seems to have this really sweet and friendly openness to her. But even so she seems to cry an awful lot. I hope it isn’t a sign of some unhappiness deep down.

Anyway that was interesting to watch. I’d love to see it subbed. I’d love to know what the OG were saying during their individual clips. Even unsubbed though it’s curiously gratifying to see the ex-members so emotionally attached to MM items and to their time together. Yaguchi’s Love Machine set and Yuko’s collection were especially great to see. It’s good to know they all enjoyed their time in MM and H!P. It’s clear bonds were made there that will not be broken. Which makes this an unexpected but really enjoyable bit of H!P tv gold.

On a side note here is a picture taken on the day of the recording. It seems most of the current Morning Musume were there. Only Koharu and Mitsui seemingly missing…

The lineups for the “revival groups” in Hello! Project’s summer shuffle album have been revealed!  Now I’m about 89342 times more excited to get the album and see it live!  (Ftw, bought my ticket!  I’m sooooooo excited!!)

First, the new Aa!:

Natsuyaki Miyabi, Suzuki Airi, and Saho Akari

I’m a little upset seeing as the original Aa! is still all in Hello! Project, so I’m not too sure why they left Reina out, but I don’t like Reina anyway, so I’m not too too upset about that, but couldn’t they have picked anyone else?  There’s a reason Saho didn’t make it into S\mileage, and that’s because (in my opinion, and always had been) she was the worst of all the girls in Shugo Chara Egg.  She’s not physically appealing, she can’t sing to save her life, so I’m just wondering why on earth she was put into a group with two of the most talented Hello! Project Kids.  Hm.

The new Minimoni:

Linlin, Fukuda Kanon, Takeuchi Akari, and Miyamoto Karin

Now this, as you know, I am thrilled about!!!!  I adore Minimoni, I adore Linlin, Fukuda Kanon is way adorable, and the other girls don’t totally suck.  Now, often Eggs don’t stick with me (unless they debut like Kanon and Maeda Yuka who is oddly absent from any of these lineups), but Akari stuck out in my mind from the Egg concert, and Karin just joined, right?  I don’t know why, but she caught my attention right away.  Probably because she’s so friggin adorable.  I’m looking forward to this group the most!

The New Pucchimoni:

Nakajima Saki, Hagiwara Mai, and Mano Erina

Ewewewewew NakaSaki.  She can’t sing her way out of a hole, why does she get attention??  Otherwise: Maimaimaimaimaimaimaimaimai!!!!!!!!!  She has been seriously shoved out of the limelight ever since Tokaikko, which really depresses me because I adore her.  She’s my favorite C-ute member.   So I’m kinda hoping she’ll be the Goto Maki of this group.  And then ManoEri~  I don’t think she’s a good soloist at all, but she does well in groups, so I hope this works well for her!

The new ZYX:

Niigaki Risa, Kusumi Koharu, Tsugunaga Momoko, Suudo Maasa, Tokunaga Chinami, Umeda Erika, Carrot Wada Ayaka, and Ogawa Saki

I’m glad to see so many of the original Kids in this group (all minus Megumi and Saki, right?), but I’m not so sure why they made this group so much bigger.  I love love love that Gaki-san’s in it, not so much about Koharu.  I do like Ogawa Saki, she’s very talented, and Dawa makes me laugh.  I like this entire lineup lots and lots minus Koharu.  Who, unfortunately, will  probably ruin it for me.

The new Biyuuden:

Michishige Sayumi, Junjun, and Sugaya Risako

I was a huge Biyuuden fan and I don’t think anyone can replace them.  The difference between Biyuuden and every other revival group is that the others were all either shuffle groups or subgroups to begin with, but Biyuuden was always a permanent group.  And it’s so so soon after their disbandment, I think it’s inappropriate to “revive” them.  And I think this subgroup hardly does them justice, Junjun or no Junjun.  Of course I’m really excited to see Junjun in this group, but I hate Risako, and Sayumi… oh dear Sayumi.  You know she’s gonna take Charmy’s lines and destroy them too.  Sigh.

And lastly, the new Tanpopo:

Kamei Eri, Mitsui Aika, Kumai Yurina, and Okai Chisato

I wasn’t a huge fan of Tanpopo except for when Aibon was in it, and even then it was kind of blah, but I think this lineup could make me change my mind!!  I adore all of these girls, so I’m super excited to hear and see them!  I hope they do Tanpopo justice (and not that third lineup crap)!!

…………………………….

In other news, omg!  Kanna!  D:  She left H!P.  Hello! Online speculates it may be because of her boyfriend, Johnny’s Entertainment Jr. Hashimoto Ryosuke (who I’m in love with ftw).  Whatever it’s from, omg!  Kanna!  D:  C-ute will never, ever be the same.

Ever.

Singer, Yaguchi Mari (ex-Morning Musume) and actress Kurayama Chiaki (Kill Bill 1&2) and Katou Natsuki, will take part in Animexx’s new program on the 30th called “Anime makes Japan Happy” (or so translated). The program’s theme is “We love anime” and the girl’s will be talking about their favorite anime’s. From “Slam Dunk” to “Sailormoon”, these girls will show you what you’ve been missing.

I guess this is what you do when you’re a struggling actress/talent in Japan. You do random variety shows that have absolutely nothing to do with your career.