MM16 Mr. Moonlight Ikemen analysis
And, honestly, Maria actually does have the most masculine swagger of the three.
It's quite interesting look at isolated moments in gif form, particularly our three ikemen's entrance: http://49.media.tumblr.com/5017deaea32bb9ddc8db3d18d5f8f99d/tumblr_o45025gEUm1spwfpoo5_500.gif
Ikuta and Kudo have a very theatrical poses. Problem is, it's the jazz-hands camp kind of theatrical. Furthermore, Ikuta's pose is just straight-up awkward, while Kudo's doing a very feminine leg positioning.
Maria? She grabs a light-pole and leans/slouches. Chin tucked in. SMOLDERS.
Maria has the first line, and again, chin down, leans in as she winks.
Erina doesn't flow with the swing, so it don't mean a thing.
Haruka does well enough on her line. Swaying with the swing, pulling smolders both chin down (leans in when staring at the camera) and chin up (looking down the nose).
Both Erina and Haruka's dance skills are more learned than innate, but Haruka the dance club member has started internalizing some of the swagger beyond choreography. Haruka has loose sync capability, Erina does not. So in this song, where the dance style is much less controlled, she doesn't seem to quite remember the body language.
(Maria, of course, is a natural dance talent.)
Like, there's masculine walking and masculine strutting. When Erina crosses the stage during the first pre-chorus, she does the former, but again, this is a jazz song! Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. Even a slightly more feminine skip step would be more appropriate, and it would still fit the male hoofer image. Poses at all times. Never stop moving. We might want manliness, but not leadfoot masculinity.
And this is also where Haruka starts falling out of persona. She might just be focused on hitting the notes instead, but there are times when she just stands there, instead of punching every phrase with a direction turn. She recovers once the chorus hits, though. Dat short strut right before the monologue, unf.
Off topic: I'm sorry, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh Miki.
But back to the theatricality point, it really parallels their general performance styles.
Erina is trying to put on a persona, but affectations aren't her thing, she's more charming when her guard is down.
Haruka is the actor. She puts the persona on, and shines for how you can see her visible acting choices, packing in as many turns as she can.
And Maria is the natural. She sinks into the persona, becomes the persona.
(So Haruka is more like Reina, while Maria is more like Takahashi. And Erina is more like, I dunno, Iida? She just needs to embrace the weird, go for her own style, instead of matching someone else.)
Maria's gestures comes across like she's coming up with them on the spot. Haruka's gestures are overtly planned, and you appreciate the thought that went into each of them. And Erina's gestures feel like she's frantically having to remember to do this at this time, and that at that time. Most damningly, she doesn't seem to be feeding on/drawing energy from the crowd like the other two, which is often the difference between amateur and professional performance.
I dunno. Maybe at the end of the tour, Erina will have settled into the role, and will be a lot more compelling.
It's quite interesting look at isolated moments in gif form, particularly our three ikemen's entrance: http://49.media.tumblr.com/5017deaea32bb9ddc8db3d18d5f8f99d/tumblr_o45025gEUm1spwfpoo5_500.gif
Ikuta and Kudo have a very theatrical poses. Problem is, it's the jazz-hands camp kind of theatrical. Furthermore, Ikuta's pose is just straight-up awkward, while Kudo's doing a very feminine leg positioning.
Maria? She grabs a light-pole and leans/slouches. Chin tucked in. SMOLDERS.
Maria has the first line, and again, chin down, leans in as she winks.
Erina doesn't flow with the swing, so it don't mean a thing.
Haruka does well enough on her line. Swaying with the swing, pulling smolders both chin down (leans in when staring at the camera) and chin up (looking down the nose).
Both Erina and Haruka's dance skills are more learned than innate, but Haruka the dance club member has started internalizing some of the swagger beyond choreography. Haruka has loose sync capability, Erina does not. So in this song, where the dance style is much less controlled, she doesn't seem to quite remember the body language.
(Maria, of course, is a natural dance talent.)
Like, there's masculine walking and masculine strutting. When Erina crosses the stage during the first pre-chorus, she does the former, but again, this is a jazz song! Don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. Even a slightly more feminine skip step would be more appropriate, and it would still fit the male hoofer image. Poses at all times. Never stop moving. We might want manliness, but not leadfoot masculinity.
And this is also where Haruka starts falling out of persona. She might just be focused on hitting the notes instead, but there are times when she just stands there, instead of punching every phrase with a direction turn. She recovers once the chorus hits, though. Dat short strut right before the monologue, unf.
Off topic: I'm sorry, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh Miki.
But back to the theatricality point, it really parallels their general performance styles.
Erina is trying to put on a persona, but affectations aren't her thing, she's more charming when her guard is down.
Haruka is the actor. She puts the persona on, and shines for how you can see her visible acting choices, packing in as many turns as she can.
And Maria is the natural. She sinks into the persona, becomes the persona.
(So Haruka is more like Reina, while Maria is more like Takahashi. And Erina is more like, I dunno, Iida? She just needs to embrace the weird, go for her own style, instead of matching someone else.)
Maria's gestures comes across like she's coming up with them on the spot. Haruka's gestures are overtly planned, and you appreciate the thought that went into each of them. And Erina's gestures feel like she's frantically having to remember to do this at this time, and that at that time. Most damningly, she doesn't seem to be feeding on/drawing energy from the crowd like the other two, which is often the difference between amateur and professional performance.
I dunno. Maybe at the end of the tour, Erina will have settled into the role, and will be a lot more compelling.