Onna ni Sachi Are!

Yesterday I geeked out a bit and took the time to figure out how many different lineups MM has had. Surely this has been done before... anyway, by my calculations, the current 9-nin configuration is the 24th lineup of Morning Musume. Eighteen of those are represented by at least one single; a few lineups had no single, but appeared on live DVDs; and a few didn't do much of anything and just mark transitional periods.

What does this have to do with anything? Nothing, really, though it might prompt you to reflect on what a complex legacy MoMusu has created over the course of ten years.

The title of their 34th single, Onna ni Sachi Are, is - like many J-pop song titles - hard to translate into convincing English. It's something like, "All the Best to Women," or the vaguely creepy-sounding "Good Luck, Ladies." Such a profound sentiment makes me reach for the Latin: "Salvete, feminae!"

Anyway, I enjoyed watching the Single V of this, but what really got my attention was the Music Fighter performance.



Of course, Ai-chan is the lead vocal on this single, with tons of solo lines; you can assume that she got most or all of the lines intended for Miki, in addition to her own. But only while watching this perf did I realize that Koharu was at the center (you can see her in the opening and closing formations in these screencaps). This is a natural move; she's the best-selling soloist of the last two years, and hopefully her young fans are crossing over into becoming MoMusu fans.



Everyone's on their "A" game in this perf, though that's not to say that everyone's perfect. Live in the studio is a harsh environment. But I'm really bullish on this group of girls and look forward to seeing them shine in the future.

One thing, though -- sub-leader Risa needs more of a push. She's really giving it up in this performance; these sceencaps give you a hint of that:



But she's always coming with it 110%! Give her a little bit of the spotlight.

(And yeah, Sayu's working it, too, but more on the sultry side.)