“Resonant Blue” has really been the sort of single to take everyone on a rollercoaster. I’ve had my fair share of moments where I’ve been either pissed off at Morning Musume, Tsunku, Up-Front Agency, my peers, or all of the above for producing what I felt was a worthless song and video combination. As the release date approaches, tensions mount high for me. I am still not as big a fan of this single as I am of “Love Machine”, but I’m hoping in earnest that it’ll sell. Whether or not those figures are earned honestly (there’s a different version of the PV on basically every limited edition, which to me sounds like an assholeish marketing scheme).

In truth, I no longer really hate the song. I actually am okay with the song, but I can’t listen to it twice in a row or else I will get a headache bordering on near-migraine proportions. Reina’s voice is just that intolerable. What happened to you, Reina? When I look into the past, you used to be cool. I loved your simple black hair, your good vocals, your interesting ability to roll your “R”s, your attitude. You were almost more mature then than you are now, as an idol nearing adulthood. And yet, all of that is gone. You’re pretentious. You’re overpraised. You sound like a whiny brat when you sing. You’re such an attention whore that it’s gone past the point of being a little endearing and is just plain annoying.

Why, Reina?

I was expecting a lot from this other version. Reina had talked mostly about her shoots, but she let some other details slip in an installment of her shared radio show FIVE STARS. (Keep in mind that I read what she said about the ‘Another Ver.’ earlier today, and saw the new PV a few hours later. So much has transpired.) What I read intrigued me, and I couldn’t wait to see it, just as I still can’t wait for the 16th when the Oricon ranking debut information will come out. When I watched the full PV, I wasn’t really disappointed per se, but my opinions of some Musume have changed rather thoroughly through the destructive run of this single.

For one, I like Ai now. Back when I was first getting to know the current lineup’s names (this was circa “Kanashimi Twilight”), I saw Ai and picked her out as my favorite despite not really knowing anything about her/relating very well to her as an idol. I forced myself to call her Takitty, tried to dote on her, but in the end I just sort of gave up and waited the longest time until I found myself in Junjun. I went through a period where I heavily disliked Ai. I went through another where I just found her boring. Then I realized that she really does have a personality, and it shines in “Resonant Blue”. Unfortunately, Reina was played up much more, which is why I’m not fanatical about this single.

Koharu also won part of me over. I haven’t enjoyed her tenure in Morning Musume so far. As an idol, I don’t think she ever got the chance to develop an exaggerated persona off of her true personality, but instead got thrust into Tsukishima Kirari’s world almost immediately — it seemed — after her debut. I sometimes refer to her as Kirari instead of Koharu because that seems like who she is stuck acting as. In “Resonant Blue”, I see a much more serious side of her, which I love. This incarnation of Koharu reminds me of the girl who was new to Momusu, who was sort of just getting the hang of the type of job they have to do. I enjoy that candid, almost ‘rookie’ vibe from Koharu, but considering the type of developed idol Kirari is (although she is a very one-dimensional character), it hasn’t been allowed to come forth.

Also, Koharu’s interview looks as though it’s being filmed on Hello Pro Hour. :) Aah, I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of this cheap, debt-ridden UFA.

Another girl who earned my respect (but not quite to the point that Ai did) is Risa. I like her vocal quality, her voice is rather deep, and she’s come a long way from her childish roots. I really enjoyed her scene in the PV.

For the other girls, my opinions stayed the same. I will always like Sayu and Eri earned my respect in “Mikan”, when I realized just what a great dancer she is. Junjun is my Musume-of-choice, and Linlin still needs to prove herself to me.

Mittsi is still out of favor with me. She’s the baby of the group, which made me feel as though I had to like and dote on her, similar to how I used to be with Ai. I’m not averse to her — in fact, I’m worried about her current condition as she’s been diagnosed with appendicitis, which is a nasty inflammation of the appendix — but I’m just not that enamored with the idol side of her.

I’m going to second the opinions of the majority in that the PV does seem really poorly-edited. I almost hoped that maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have to see that motherfucking dance shot version, but alas. Right after Ai’s opening scene, there it is. The scenery in that version sticks out too much amidst the rest of the PV, and it seems as though it would belong more in the ‘Night Scene Ver.’ than in this one. Instead, I would’ve liked the ‘Lesson Dance Studio Ver.’ to be more prevalent, as it ties in better to the perceivably poignant and self-aware meaning of the ‘Another Ver.’ PV as a whole. I do, however, love the dynamic camera angles they utilized, the interesting scenery, and the fact that every girl got (more or less) the same amount of screentime. I don’t think that giving everyone a closeup or a line is done begrudgingly to “please the wota”. I think it’s done because Morning Musume is a group, not a solo artist, or a trio, with a couple backup dancers. No, I really believe that the most popular members are given the most amounts of solo lines and shots in PVs to appease their wota hoards. People can be selfish that way, which has been scarily apparent through this whole “Resonant Blue” ordeal.

The story to be found in this single, I think, is one that is very self-aware. I already saw parts of my idol fandom in the translated lyrics, and this version of the PV drives home the theme. The loneliness and isolation that can occur as a result of the type of occupation all nine of these girls endure on a daily basis, regardless of if you’re alone (Risa, Aika) or with someone else (Junjun & Linlin, Sayumi & Eri), and how they can vent their frustrations (Reina, Ai). The expectations placed upon them that they may struggle to uphold (Koharu). It plays heavily on the pity note, but somehow that’s not an issue here, for me. I view it as being symbolic and the most self-aware Morning Musume has ever been, disregarding “Hyokkori Hyoutanjima”, which was childish at best. We have not completely been unintroduced to this type of emo, solemn Momusu — we’ve seen them in notables like “Memory Seishun no Hikari”, “AS FOR ONE DAY”, and “Shabondama”. But “Resonant Blue” takes a new approach to it. This is the upside.

The downside, to be entirely honest, is that this single made me loathe Reina. Not to the same extent that I hate Sugaya Risako or Mano Erina, but my lowly opinion of her got a notch lower. The whole thing is about her. She gets the most coverage in the PV, she completely ruins my favorite part of the song by being slow and anticlimactic, she’s pretentious as fucking hell (though part of me has to admit, I fuckin’ love those boots), she pushed Ai out of the way and took control of the lead and center roles, and she acts smug throughout the entire thing. At the end I almost wanted to rip my hair out. I fucking hate attention whores, which is precisely what Tanaka is, and that is precisely what has ruined Morning Musume over the years. This is a grouping of idols, not a soloist, and it shouldn’t have to be presented or marketed in the manner of it being a soloist for it to sell. Sure, we had a lead, a face when Morning Musume was new. But Abe Natsumi was not an attention whore. She didn’t lap up her lead roles and act as though she craved more. She deserved “Furusato” and earned it in the process because her voice was beautiful, and in a way, every Musume was equally represented in that PV. Tanaka is skewing the lineup; it’s almost as if she’s challenging Ai for the face of Morning Musume.

It shouldn’t be a battle. It should be that everyone has a part in it, not because Morning Musume is a cute Girl Scouts side-project for the members and you need to be fair to everybody, but because they are a fucking musical group. Ai, Reina, and Koharu will still bring in the cash regardless of prominent roles, and you should concentrate on developing everyone else’s fanbases or else they’ll come up too short when it’s time for them to shine. Japan shouldn’t have to rely on exclusively recognizing Ai, Reina, and perhaps Koharu’s names and not know the rest. UFA’s marketing strategy is flawed, and they’re pissing off more people than they think in the process.

Of course, you all should know what my answer to all of this is: Have Morning Musume disband like they should’ve in 2004. Their longevity as a group is shot because of Tsunku’s determination to have them go on forever. They couldn’t have went the way good idol groups go and then reunite briefly for a profitable one-time tour — no, no! They have to survive for ten years until Japan votes the group as #4 on the list of celebrities they wish would just GTFO.

But since most of you don’t find that a particularly appealing concept, we’ll have to make due with the huge improvements I think the group needs to make before they can be accepted again by the Japanese public and entertainment world. Huge improvements that UFA will never try to implement.

“Resonant Blue” has taught me my next huge lesson in being a Morning Musume fan.

Tanaka Reina

It’s taught me that this isn’t a group, this is a hierarchy, and I’ll need to come to accept that every single will have one idol out of three as a chosen lead.

Niigaki Risa

That you can be very easily attacked by your peers for your opinions, just as a human being may be attacked easily for their idol persona.

Li Chun & Qian Lin

That with every new release, I should expect to be disappointed by everything overall.

Mitsui Aika

That I will be stuck waiting years for my favorites to get what they deserve.

Takahashi Ai

That I should start getting used to how things are done around here, because they will likely never, ever change.

Michishige Sayumi & Kamei Eri

That more often than not, some girls don’t even get what they’ve deserved all along and then it’s too late.

Kusumi Koharu

That I am entirely at the mercy of an unknown decisions-making figurehead whose reasons for what they do I am never privy to.

And that idols, my friend, are serious motherfucking business.