Episode 3 Breakdown: LaLuce vs. Samu Samu
(*This was originally posted on OneHallyu on 7/4)
A few thoughts and notes before getting into the show:
- What I found interesting about this episode is that LaLuce and Samu Samu almost feel like rivals. Samu Samu has the most former Interim members out of all the 2nd Units (2). Abe defeated Wakana and Haruka defeated Mahiro. On top of this, Midori defeated Orin in the second chance Battle, stopping her from becoming an Interim Member for the second time. (iirc, Airi defeated Misaki, and Abe defeated Reia, but those weren't as memorable). Abe/Midori and Wakana/Rio are almost like counterparts, except the LaLuce members are a level above them.
- This week's Judges are Kurata Mayumi and Takenaka Natsumi. Apparently, Mayumi stays away from SNS, so fans can't give her a hard time, lol.
- On a side note, Yoshida can't escape from the "Flame Up" he caused on the 2nd Gen's Survival Show, so he didn't appear at the Yatsui Festival.
(*The Yatsui Festival is a huge Entertainment Festival that takes place at multiple venues in the Shibuya area. It mixes Musicians, Comedians, and Cultural Personalities. It boasts the largest number of performers at a Festival in a single day in all of Japan)
A few thoughts and notes before getting into the show:
- What I found interesting about this episode is that LaLuce and Samu Samu almost feel like rivals. Samu Samu has the most former Interim members out of all the 2nd Units (2). Abe defeated Wakana and Haruka defeated Mahiro. On top of this, Midori defeated Orin in the second chance Battle, stopping her from becoming an Interim Member for the second time. (iirc, Airi defeated Misaki, and Abe defeated Reia, but those weren't as memorable). Abe/Midori and Wakana/Rio are almost like counterparts, except the LaLuce members are a level above them.
- This week's Judges are Kurata Mayumi and Takenaka Natsumi. Apparently, Mayumi stays away from SNS, so fans can't give her a hard time, lol.
- On a side note, Yoshida can't escape from the "Flame Up" he caused on the 2nd Gen's Survival Show, so he didn't appear at the Yatsui Festival.
(*The Yatsui Festival is a huge Entertainment Festival that takes place at multiple venues in the Shibuya area. It mixes Musicians, Comedians, and Cultural Personalities. It boasts the largest number of performers at a Festival in a single day in all of Japan)
Majima: "Last time, Samu Samu was Produced by Sashihara Rino, However the result was a total defeat. Since then, I think we've grown. This time, we've come to win as a new Samu Samu. I'd like everyone to watch."
Before LaLuce came on stage, they gave Haruka an introduction as a "3rd Grade Junior High School Student", but didn't do one for the rest of the members. Must have been a production issue.
Before LaLuce came on stage, they gave Haruka an introduction as a "3rd Grade Junior High School Student", but didn't do one for the rest of the members. Must have been a production issue.
Most of LaLuce's costumes are obvious, but here's a little more insight into two of them:
- Abe: Lady at a Summer Resort (Is this actually a character?)
- Haruka: Peter Pan (I thought she was a muppet, lol)
Still no word on exactly what the concept is. They look like children playing dress up to me.
When Natsumi introduced herself, she said she was 13 yrs. old, but her Birthday is on 6/18, so she turned 14 the next day.
- Abe: Lady at a Summer Resort (Is this actually a character?)
- Haruka: Peter Pan (I thought she was a muppet, lol)
Still no word on exactly what the concept is. They look like children playing dress up to me.
When Natsumi introduced herself, she said she was 13 yrs. old, but her Birthday is on 6/18, so she turned 14 the next day.
During voice training for LaLuce's song, Producer Goto took notice of Airi's "adult" voice.
Haruka: "Goto said to me that he saw growth, so I was glad that I could sing better than before".
Haruka: "Goto said to me that he saw growth, so I was glad that I could sing better than before".
Goto gives a very long Baseball analogy, lol.
Goto: "This is good, I think the group will get better. When I saw this formation of 5 people, it felt like I got '5 balls' in baseball. I thought of a way to used these 5 balls to get a strike out". "Abe throws a tremendous Shootball that he opponent can't hit. Then there's Yasuda. Where all the other voices are girly, her's is the only one with the charm of a lady. I don't want to rely on the 2 youngest members too much, but they have a necessary appeal for LaLuce. They are still growing, aren't they? Fans may be disappointed to see you grow up too quickly (laughs). The formation is a bit unstable, but that's part of the appeal, so I'm looking forward to it. Midori is straight down the middle. The opponent can't hit a straight throw. Together this is a strike out!"
When Goto says formation, I think he means the variance in age between the members. The Shootball he refers to is actually a pitch unique to Japan also known as a "Shuuto". It's a difficult ball to hit, so Abe should take it as a compliment. However, from what I've read Goto's analogy is a little out of date and they use a Split or a Fork now instead, lol.
One thing that was pointed out during this performance, is that it was hard to hear Abe and Airi when they were using the mic stands. They mics were too far away from their mouths. I didn't notice this myself, but their 2nd perf seemed better than the first, so they must have paid closer attention.
Of course, people commented that the members had trouble pronouncing "Everything will be alright". I don't know if they will be able to improve that or not. It will probably continue to be one of the few weaknesses of the performance throughout the season. The comments in the chat during LaLuce's perf. referred to the composition as a "90's Anime Song". Allot of people also said that the costumes ruined it. Interestingly, the tweets of the perfs haven't been deleted yet. I know they've been uploaded on YouTube, but I might as well post them here for convenience.
Midori: "I was able to show off the new LaLuce for the first time. Since everyone's face was smiling, I was able to have fun. Thank you very much."
Co-host Anna: "We have a tremendous amount of comments. I feel like the word 'cool' was used the most. 'Good song!' and 'Goto is the best!' were in there. I also saw people saying 'I can see growth'."
No one actually made these comments. That's not to mean viewers didn't like LaLuce's perf., but Anna is just reading whatever they tell her to.
Judges Comments:
Kurata: "It was super cool! They've grown up."
Takenaka: "I thought Abe was really amazing. They really feel like a group."
Samu Samu's VTR.
Rio: "The Title is pleasant and I think the lyrics can only be sung by Samu Samu. It's absolutely feels like a Godly song."
(*Rio uses the word "Kami", which means God, but I'm sure exactly how she's using it here)
Misaki thought the lyrics were very meaningful.
It's not official, but based on the scene from the dance lesson, it looks like the choreography was done by CRE8BOY.
Reia: "The style was adapted to fit the lyrics, so I hope you enjoy the presentation."
Wakana: "The style of the dance is to join together with feeling. There's allot of movement when we touch at the shoulder. It's really amazing to be able to dance with everyone like this. 'Wow Wow' is in the lyrics, so if I could sing along with fans during a live performance, it would be such a deeply moving experience."
The music for Samu Samu's song "Someday or Somewhere" (いつの日かどこかで) was composed by Konishi Shuko (小西裕子). She's also written "Chance no Shunban" (チャンスの順番) for AKB48.
The notable line in the lyrics is "Don't give up even if you lose 100 times."
After the performance, there were allot of harsh comments in the chat like "Do something about the singing". Fans were critical of the "Wow Wow" part, saying that Aki-P just can't help himself when he does things like that.
More comments from Co-host Anna after Samu Samu's perf. I think this is the only one which was true:
- "Only their costumes can beat LaLuce."
Anna threw in "There are allot of nice compliments" since fans weren't actually very positive about the perf.
Judges Comments:
Kurata: "It felt like an Idol of the Royal Road. I feel like this is the group that most suits Akimoto."
Takenaka: "I thought the choreography was very dramatic, and it's symbolic when all the members collapse while Majima remains standing. After that, I was a bit nervous, but when the second half of the song came in, I thought it came together and the facial expressions were good."
And the winner of the Viewer Vote is LaLuce.
Kurata and Takenaka both voted for LaLuce so it was a unanimous decision. In the previous episode, they ran out of time and couldn't do interviews after the decision, but they were on schedule this time.
Abe: "I'm really happy. This time, our goal is to not only to enjoy ourselves, but to transmit the fun to everyone. The result this time is because of our self-confidence. From this point on, we will continue to level up and not be unprepared. Thank you very much everyone."
Wakana: "To be honest, I was standing here thinking I don't want to be frustrated anymore. It's not that I feel sad or that I'm heartbroken, but when I watched the performance of LaLuce, the singing was skillfull and the performance was amazing, I would like to hone my performance for the next Battle."
Goto: "This is good, I think the group will get better. When I saw this formation of 5 people, it felt like I got '5 balls' in baseball. I thought of a way to used these 5 balls to get a strike out". "Abe throws a tremendous Shootball that he opponent can't hit. Then there's Yasuda. Where all the other voices are girly, her's is the only one with the charm of a lady. I don't want to rely on the 2 youngest members too much, but they have a necessary appeal for LaLuce. They are still growing, aren't they? Fans may be disappointed to see you grow up too quickly (laughs). The formation is a bit unstable, but that's part of the appeal, so I'm looking forward to it. Midori is straight down the middle. The opponent can't hit a straight throw. Together this is a strike out!"
When Goto says formation, I think he means the variance in age between the members. The Shootball he refers to is actually a pitch unique to Japan also known as a "Shuuto". It's a difficult ball to hit, so Abe should take it as a compliment. However, from what I've read Goto's analogy is a little out of date and they use a Split or a Fork now instead, lol.
Of course, people commented that the members had trouble pronouncing "Everything will be alright". I don't know if they will be able to improve that or not. It will probably continue to be one of the few weaknesses of the performance throughout the season. The comments in the chat during LaLuce's perf. referred to the composition as a "90's Anime Song". Allot of people also said that the costumes ruined it. Interestingly, the tweets of the perfs haven't been deleted yet. I know they've been uploaded on YouTube, but I might as well post them here for convenience.
(*The tweets shave since been deleted)
Co-host Anna: "We have a tremendous amount of comments. I feel like the word 'cool' was used the most. 'Good song!' and 'Goto is the best!' were in there. I also saw people saying 'I can see growth'."
No one actually made these comments. That's not to mean viewers didn't like LaLuce's perf., but Anna is just reading whatever they tell her to.
Judges Comments:
Kurata: "It was super cool! They've grown up."
Takenaka: "I thought Abe was really amazing. They really feel like a group."
Samu Samu's VTR.
(*Rio uses the word "Kami", which means God, but I'm sure exactly how she's using it here)
Misaki thought the lyrics were very meaningful.
It's not official, but based on the scene from the dance lesson, it looks like the choreography was done by CRE8BOY.
Reia: "The style was adapted to fit the lyrics, so I hope you enjoy the presentation."
Wakana: "The style of the dance is to join together with feeling. There's allot of movement when we touch at the shoulder. It's really amazing to be able to dance with everyone like this. 'Wow Wow' is in the lyrics, so if I could sing along with fans during a live performance, it would be such a deeply moving experience."
The music for Samu Samu's song "Someday or Somewhere" (いつの日かどこかで) was composed by Konishi Shuko (小西裕子). She's also written "Chance no Shunban" (チャンスの順番) for AKB48.
After the performance, there were allot of harsh comments in the chat like "Do something about the singing". Fans were critical of the "Wow Wow" part, saying that Aki-P just can't help himself when he does things like that.
More comments from Co-host Anna after Samu Samu's perf. I think this is the only one which was true:
- "Only their costumes can beat LaLuce."
Anna threw in "There are allot of nice compliments" since fans weren't actually very positive about the perf.
Judges Comments:
Kurata: "It felt like an Idol of the Royal Road. I feel like this is the group that most suits Akimoto."
Takenaka: "I thought the choreography was very dramatic, and it's symbolic when all the members collapse while Majima remains standing. After that, I was a bit nervous, but when the second half of the song came in, I thought it came together and the facial expressions were good."
And the winner of the Viewer Vote is LaLuce.
