However, the more that I listen to Dance de Bakoon the more I like it. Right now the one issue that I have with the song itself is that it feels disjointed. The verses all have this rock feel, which is cool, but then the choruses have a more dance/pop feel that I actually kind of like better. So every time I get to the chorus I think something like "OH YES, YAAAY" though the verses (especially the "jajajaja" bits) are endearing themselves to me. I admit I wasn't really wowed by this song when I first heard the concert audio and the radio rip, but it's really grown on me and I definitely like it a lot better than SHOCK or Campus Life.
An issue a lot of C-ute fans have is the line distribution, so I think I'll take a few sentences to address that. I'm going to have to get it out of the way that I am very very much biased towards Yajima Maimi. I think she's a fantastic leader, idol, dancer and I really like the sound of her voice. That being said, I actually like the line distribution here. I think that the Airi/Maimi lead dynamic has worked in the past and has proven to be a solid combination. All the members get at least three solos (Chisato gets four) so the song isn't completely Airi/Maimi, but Nakky, Chisato and Mai all get some solos. I'd personally want more of Nakajima Saki because I think she's adorable and she's my second favorite member of C-ute to Maimi, but all in all this is a better song for line distribution than SHOCK and Campus Life.
This is a fairly simple H!P PV and definitely does not have the budget alloted for Mano Erina's Genkimono de Ikou that I covered in my last post. It's dance shot, close-ups, a few variations on the dance shot and some model walking in different outfits. The whole thing is obviously green screened with no real location other than two main green screen backgrounds (one with lights and one without as many) and a runway screen.
However, the more I watched Dance de Bakoon the less I minded the obvious green-screening. In the far off dance shots where you see more of the floor and they aren't backed by lights I really don't like the background (it looks too fake) but when it comes closer it looks pretty nice.
So fake looking I can hardly stand it....
However, the more I've seen this PV, I really get past the cheesy background and watch more of the girls, and how fun it is. I normally really want originality in an H!P PV so after I saw it for the first time I thought that I would hate it but, surprisingly enough, I love this PV. I really think it's shot well and that itself makes it commendable, but more than that the PV is FUN. From the beginning, when the girls all do poses until the end, the PV is all about the girls having fun, dancing and singing. I think part of the reason that I like this PV so much is because of the girls themselves. They look like they're legitimately enjoying themselves and that's a big reason that I like the girls I do. If they're having fun, I am as well.
It was after I was thinking about this that I realized that, at least to my sensibilities, I thought that Dance de Bakoon's PV was better than Genkimono de Ikou's PV. Now, before I get attacked, let me explain. Genkimono's PV was good, it had a story, it had a budget (*gasp*, an H!P PV with a budget?), all things that I want H!P PVs to have. However, the one thing that continues to bug me about Genkimono's PV is how NOT-ManoEri it is. It has stories that are professionally directed with Mano Erina, the girl who's supposed to be the star of the show, acting like an afterthought. It's almost as if the director/UFA is saying "Yes, we know that Mano Erina isn't selling anything; let's try to sell...professionalism?" However, despite Dance de Bakoon being potentially budget challenged and unoriginal, it at least centers around the most important things for an idol PV; the idols. C-ute really shines in this PV, having fun and lighting up the camera. I keep writing about them "having fun" but it's true; I'd much rather watch idols having fun, being themselves and rocking it for the camera than a professionally done PV with barely any idol in it.
Honestly, it's a matter of preference, but I do know that when it comes to watching the PVs, I know which PV I'll come back to and which one I'll just listen to the song instead.
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