Which is why, when I saw this, my heart nearly burst with glee:
Kyara (long nickname is long)'s PONPONPON.
Now, I don't really pay attention to Japanese magazines, or Japanese celebrities unless they're in the music industry. So until I got shared this vid I had no idea who she was. So now I know that she is an offbeat model who's now making her music debut, which is making the internet fandom explode.
I love this video because of its strangeness, but what are some other strange videos out there? JPop has had some very crazy videos, and so I thought I'd make a list devoted to some of the weirdest videos JPop/idol music has to offer. If you think I 'm missing something, let me know!
-The first thing that was brought to my attention when I started asking some of my friends for what they thought were strange videos was DJ OZMA. Now I don't follow Ravex, and since the DJ OZMA persona retired in 2008, right at the start of my JPop fandom, I wasn't around to see if there were any big reactions to his stuff. However, he loves using extras in funny/strange ways, so when I got recommended some of his vids I knew that I would have to include them here.
-Mini Moni is always a bundle of WTF-ism; I had multiple Mini Moni PVs suggested to include in this list. However, one alone is the fourth video when you search "Worst music video" on Google...
True story: I have a photocard of him that I got in a photocard lot floating around somewhere in my room.
- Another lovely suggestion! Coconuts Musume were kind of the red-headed stepchild of the Hello!Project empire, and probably one of the more forgotten groups. The only reason they really do have any recognition with today's fans is the fact that the group produced Ayaka and Mika, who are definitely more famous than the group they originated from.
Honorable mention in the weirdness department goes to Watashi mo I Love You, but Tokonatsu Musume has to take the cake. All the random hawaiian images, the hula dancer, the mathematical improbability that is four flowers plus four flowers equals pineapple. Also, some of the editing is really off; at one point there are three images of Lehua on the screen at once. And Danielle, you have a solid voice, but your facial expressions are basically trying too hard.
-I first got into JPop early on in 2008, and back then AKB48 was out there but wasn't the giant that it is today. My first AKB video was Skirt, Hirari, but my second video was....
Chocolove's Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru. It's one of those vids where it starts off weird ("OK, they're lying there covered in blood...") then you get caught up in all the normality. They're going to meet each other in their own way, how sweet! You forget the beginning until "OH MY GOD THEY SHOT THE IDOLS." It's so unexpected with the tone of the PV. But then it's OK... because they're just bleeding chocolate?
I can't decide on whether this is weirder/funnier when you consider that the main girl is now a porn star. I feel like there has to be a joke or something there, but I don't quite know what that is right now.
- I don't blog about her much, but I actually quite like Otsuka Ai. I only have her best-of CD on my iPod, but Sakuranbo is one of my most played songs, and I genuinely like all that I listen of her music. I haven't seen most of her PVs because they tend to get removed quickly off of YouTube. However, I have seen one of her PVs...
Ahh, Chu-Lip. First off it starts with a cow taking care of business. And then Ai flies out of a flower (luckily not the one that the cow pooed on) and goes into this strange PV with weird images, a guy dancing in front of and climbing in and out of a vagina and dancing in front of urinals.
Also, the guy on the left of Ai while dancing in front of the urinals TOTALLY looks like my Japanese teacher from my freshman year of college. I watch this PV and can't help but wonder if it is Tazawa sensei or not. Probably not, but it's uncanny.
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Who doesn't remember that moment when you realized Natsuo was Ayaya? When "he" took off his sunglasses and you're like "AYA? WHAT?". Aya's faces in this PV are the BEST. Besides, it also features alien abduction. Summer romance obviously needs alien abductions!
Some Honorable Mentions:
-Mini Moni Jankenpyon, with the girl they do rock paper scissors with in the weird suit. Uh.. what.
- GAM in Melodies, making runny eggs sexy.
-Melon Kinenbi's "Onegai Miwaku no Target"; thought process: "Let's replace the idols with black guys! No one will notice!"
This isn't a comprehensive list; if anyone has any PVs that they wish I'd included, tell me here!
Ottototto Natsu Daze. There is no weirder song or PV. EVER. Maybe. ;)
ReplyDeleteCan't believe I forgot about that one! In my opinion the song is weirder than the PV, which is certainly an odd case.
ReplyDeleteThe classic "Yatta"
ReplyDeleteHaha! Most things that came out of EE Jump were weird, though. Sonim's solo stuff was pretty oddball, too, though in a different way.
ReplyDeleteShingo Mama no Oha Rock is strange, if only because it's sung by a SMAP member dressed as a frumpy housewife. Oh, and because James Brown makes an appearance.