Time to break down the first Battle of the Abema Producer Battle! Because the show is so long and there's allot of new information, I didn't know quite how to format it. It's a mix of my own opinions and observations from Japanese fans.
Looks like they're sticking with the 1hr. format. That's fine by me. It doesn't feel as rushed. The setting is more informal than the show on TV Asahi. Just a basic stage with a live audience standing only a few feet away. The atmosphere is closer to that of a small live house.
#ラストアイドル in AbemaTVありがとうございました！— 竹中夏海 (@723takenaka) June 10, 2018
視聴者投票➕審査員票で負担が少し軽くなると思ってたのに結局責任重大…
初戦はどうしてもパフォーマンスがバタついちゃうのはしょうがないですよね
前回も後半にかけてみんなキレッキレになったので、ここからどう仕上げてくるのか楽しみ…！ https://t.co/WB4aeaYkk4
Our MCs are Cunning Takeyama, who's pulling double duty along with his gig on the 2nd Gen's Survival Show, and Mitani Tsumugi (三谷紬), a TV Asahi Announcer. Here's how the rules for the Battle work:
There are 3 Votes: A Viewer Vote and 2 Judges Votes. Whichever groups gets the majority vote, wins.
This finally brings and end to the nonsense of 1 Judge deciding the winner. I thought it was going to be decided entirely by the Viewer vote, but I'm glad Judges are involved so it doesn't end up as a popularity contest. Which group goes first is decided by Jyankenpyon. This week's Judges are Last Idol staple Yoshida and Tekanaka Natsumi.
The Costumes
Love Cocchi's aren't nearly as nice as the ones Sashihara made for Samu Samu and are allot less elaborate. I'm not sure what look they're going for. It's looks like traditional clothing from Switzerland. Not feeling it. There was no VTR to explain the concept, so that might come in a later episode.
I actually like Good Tear's costumes. They're simple, but the colors really pop and the gold embroidery adds a nice touch. I thought the corsets they were wearing looked odd, until Producer Chikada explained that the concept is Belly Dancing and they're supposed to remove them to expose their stomachs.
Time to get the big announcement out of the way. On June 3rd, Staff went to an AKB48 Hand Shake Meeting. There, they surprised NMB48's Kusaka Konomi with a letter from Sashihara. Sashihara asked Konomi to handle the choreography for Love Cocchi.
Later, Konomi said the choreo is a little unusual and she wanted to make an impact by having the members sit down during the chorus. I question why Honoka was made the new Center. I get that Honoka's pretty, but she's not a strong performer, and is more of a Variety Talent. Airi is one of the best all around performers in the 1st Gen. Konomi really should have kept her as the Center.
Performances
These were bad. Really bad. Especially Love Cocchi. Their whole performance was off. Some of the members of Love Cocchi were out of position when their song started playing, so it had to be restarted. It looked like they hadn't practiced the choreography enough. There was allot going on in the routine and I didn't think it came together very well. It looked like they were just flailing around on stage. On top of this, the vocals were really bad and the microphones were too sensitive so you heard allot of heavy breathing throughout the performance.
There were comments in the chat that it felt more like the performance of an Underground Idol group and that they had already lost.
Apparently, the choreo was supposed to convey the image of an Angel and a Devil, but no one really got that impression. MC Natsumi said something to the effect that the Otaku are happy because they like feet, lol. She also lied and said that the comments in the chat were positive, that "The song got better" and "The perf was pretty and cute", but there were no such comments. Fans were actually saying it was "Borokuso (ボロクソ)" which, as you can probably guess, is really bad, lol.
I'm really surprised. Love Cocchi's first performance in the 1st Producer Battle was allot better, but the choreo was allot simpler. I think most of them aren't used to such a complicated dance routine. On the plus side, they can only improve from here, and I hope that Konomi tweaks the choreo a bit.
Good Tear's perf was a bit better. They seemed more comfortable with the routine and their presentation was better than Love Cocchi's. However, for the most part, their vocals were equally as bad. Fans seemed to be uncomfortable with the erotic nature of the dance.
Love Cocchi's Airi and Good Tear's Kana were the only ones who brought decent vocals to the performances. The other members really need to get some more vocal training.
Songs
What are these songs?! Both feel like a step down from the 1st Producer Battle. "Love Docchi (ラブドッチ)" by Love Cocchi sounds even more generic than Samu Samu's. It's referred to as a "Dajyare (ダジャレ)" which is a comical type of word play that's out of style.
"Hey, So? (へぇ、そーお？)" by Good Tear's sounds a bit dated. The lyrics are supposed to be very unusual and something you don't typically hear in an Idol song.
"Hey, So? (へぇ、そーお？)" by Good Tear's sounds a bit dated. The lyrics are supposed to be very unusual and something you don't typically hear in an Idol song.
Chikada explained how to approach the vocals when they were recording, but it was strange and difficult to translate. He says something to the effect of:
"When you speak, your mouth should be comfortable. The sound the mouth makes should be something fun. I would like you to convey a feeling where the vocals move together with the dancing."
I think Chikada is going to be an interesting character throughout the Season, lol.
Throughout the song there's allot of random words and phrases that fans didn't understand the significance of:
"When you speak, your mouth should be comfortable. The sound the mouth makes should be something fun. I would like you to convey a feeling where the vocals move together with the dancing."
I think Chikada is going to be an interesting character throughout the Season, lol.
Throughout the song there's allot of random words and phrases that fans didn't understand the significance of:
「おっととい」 The day before yesterday.
「あ、別チャン」 Oh, another one.
「コーマンタレブー！」 French for "How are you?"
「HOOKだ、さぁ！」 ???
「おっぺそ」 ???
「やべー、あべー、あ、キレちゃんたらもう」 Yabe, Abe, Ah, pretty already.
「あ、別チャン」 Oh, another one.
「コーマンタレブー！」 French for "How are you?"
「HOOKだ、さぁ！」 ???
「おっぺそ」 ???
「やべー、あべー、あ、キレちゃんたらもう」 Yabe, Abe, Ah, pretty already.
There was allot of attention given to the lyrics by fans. My favorite Blogger gave their interpretation:
「HOOK（フック）だ、さぁ」→ Fukuda
「あ、そーお」→ Aso
「あ、別チャン」「AB」→ Abe
「あ、そーお」→ Aso
「あ、別チャン」「AB」→ Abe
They think the word play could be talking about politics sarcastically. The repeated use of "398" might be a reference to the increase in the consumption tax.
Fans were drawing comparisons to old Morning Musume. I definitely got some "Happy Summer Wedding" vibes from it.
Judging
MC Natsumi was called out as a lier for making a dumb comment which I did'nt quite understand. She's not making a good impression so far. In the Judging, Love Cocchi got 54.4% of the Viewer vote, so it was very close. Obviously, both Judges voted for Good Tears, so they are the winners of the first Battle.
Judges comments:
Yoshida: It was interesting because they completely changed their direction. He felt the energy of Momusu, and it was amusing so he voted for Good Tears.
Takenaka: She didn't think Love Cocchi's presentation was good and they looked cramped on the stage.
Yoshida: It was interesting because they completely changed their direction. He felt the energy of Momusu, and it was amusing so he voted for Good Tears.
Takenaka: She didn't think Love Cocchi's presentation was good and they looked cramped on the stage.
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