Gif of the Day #138 (J&A // KAT-TUN)
Subject: KAT-TUN
From: WHITE PV
This PV was not without its aesthetically pleasing moments.
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WHITE sort of review below...
WHITE PV related gifs here.
I forget when I pre-ordered my three copies of WHITE, but as always, I pre-ordered from Kinokuniya. :) I have no idea if it counts towards Oricon though. DDDD: -headdesk- orzzzz Anyways, my Kinokuniya stamp card had been filled up from the last time, so for this purchase, I got $20 off my total~ Woot, woot! \(*o*)/ Not bad, not bad at all. :D
My thoughts regarding the single below. Included song information, etc for easy reference...
Limited Edition [CD + DVD]
Catalog No. JACA-5261〜5262
Price: ￥1470 (tax incl.)
Buy It: CDJapan | YesAsia | Amazon JP | HMV JP
Tracklist
01 WHITE
"Sofina Adult Skin Whitening" CM Song
Lyrics: ECO
Rap Lyrics: JOKER
Music: Shusui / DAICHI
Arrangement: pinkcastar
Thoughts: WHITE is the weakest song on the single, imo. However, that's not to say there aren't parts of White that I like. I love Koki's rap, especially the "You're so beautiful~" part w/ the guitar. Then the "永遠に終わらない パーティーはこれから / 両手広げ 高く舞い上がれ (eien ni owaranai paatii wa korekara / ryoute hiroge takaku maiagare)" part is my other favorite section of the song. Junno also backs up Kame here "「頑張れ」と簡単に言えなくて ('Ganbare' to kantan ni ienakute)". :D I definitely think White as a song ranks towards the bottom of KT single title tracks. It irks even more that as a single song, it will be played in future cons. xD Tbh, though, this fanvid certainly helped improve my opinion of the song, LOL.
I go into the choreography for White in my other entries: Music Japan, Hey!x3, Coming Soon!, and Music Station.
Reblog here.
02 PERFECT
"AOKI 3D Slim" CM Tie-up Song
Lyrics: ECO
Rap Lyrics: JOKER
Music: Kosuke Morimoto
Arrangement: 18degrees. (Ken Arai)
Thoughts: In contrast to my feelings for White, I absolutely adore PERFECT. My feelings haven't changed from the first time they showed it at the 4/1 MS SP (entry here). It raises my energy level and just puts a smile on my face. It lifts my spirits~ Any of the other songs on this single would have made a better title track than White, but between the two pop songs, Perfect should've been it imo. As it stands, it is a double A-side without a PV. Fuck. We can get two PVs for Love Yourself and D-Mo, but not for White and Perfect, the latter of which needed it more I think (LY and D-Mo were stronger songs).
I thought the version at MS was the full version of the song, but it turns out there is another verse. (I was happy/satisfied already the way it was, so I was pleasantly surprised by the new verse. White on the other hand...) More Kameno and Maruda dueting~ \(^______^)/ Though some of you are probably thinking a lot of my love of the song has to do with Kameno, that's not true. It's a very, very nice bonus for me, but even if the members had been switched around, I would still love the song the same amount as I do now. Also, again here, I loved Koki's rap. :Db
Plus the choreography for this song is A++++. I can't get over how fabulous KAT-TUN was when they performed it at MS. One of their best perfs ever~
PERFECT MY FRIEND PERFECT YOUR MIND~ ♪♫♪ ---> Catchy, but I still have no idea what it means, lol.
Reblog here.
[DVD]
I'll probably have longer entries on all the video clips later with screencaps (maybe picspams). For now, a few highlights and comments.
WHITE - PV + Making of
Disclaimer: Some of you already know this, but first off, just let me say, I hate, hate things that are edited down/cut off/left out. Basically, if we know there's a full version out there, but they cut it down and give us a shorter version, I am not happy. (This is why I unfortunately can't call the NMP DVD my favorite con. I wish I could, but my fave con is still QoP.) There is a full-on rant going on for my thoughts on the White PV. Skip ahead to the PV Making thoughts if you do not want to read my complaints.
PV ~
- I didn't like it. This ranks at the bottom as my least favorite KAT-TUN PV.
--- 1) There is no full/long version of the PV. We are deprived of a PV to the full song. I think this is the first time this has happened? (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Some say it's not necessary/that it's fine the way it is. I disagree. Plus it's not about what's necessary. It's about what's expected. I understand having short versions for TV airings or whatever, but when you put it on DVD, I expect the full thing. PVs to the full songs has been one of the few things we as fans are supposed to be guaranteed. Now even that's in limbo. Imagine NMP having verses cut out in the PV? DUES? CUW? It annoys me.
--- 2) They've been going on in interviews about how this is a PV with a story-feel. The story was they went to the same university and they were reuniting again after five years because, for some reason, they just so happened to stop by the school again. But there is no story. That is a background story to the PV, just like previous PVs (replace "story" w/ "theme" for a majority of them). I basically felt duped. >.> Stories have a beginning, middle and end. (Once again, DUES is the only PV of KT's that comes close to being a story PV, and it works.) The beginning started out really cool - they laid down the foundation w/ Kame walking into the school, TaNaka greeting each other. TaNaka take notice of Kame and Maru gives Junno a longer glance as if he remembers him from somewhere. I was expecting an awesome reunion scene w/ all five of them - only TaNaka get a shadow of that. The next scene is them in the classroom and they're all getting along passing around that pass holder when in the previous scene, they didn't even recognize each other! The PV jumps from beginning to end w/ no middle. And you know how they could have fixed that? IF THEY USED THE WHOLE SONG. They then could have put in a middle that made it actually feel like a story, which is what I was most excited about when they started talking about it in interviews. Instead, we get this chopped up PV w/ these random cheerleaders and I- I. Do. Not. Like. It. And after that classroom scene, we get slo-mo of them walking around. Wow. We can't get a full version, but we can get the typical, cliche shots in before the PV is over.
--- 3) Junno's hair and the way it was styled this time certainly does not help improve my opinion at all.
- Of course, the PV is not without its positives. I like that they finally had a location shoot instead of just shooting inside/around the studios. I liked the international school they used - it looked really nice. (Another reason I'm bitter b/c they don't use the location to its full potential.) It turns out that the tweet way, way, way back when had been telling the truth when she said KAT-TUN had come to her school to shoot a PV.
- The tracking shot at the beginning was very well-done as it goes from Kame (w/ TaNaka in the bg) to Ueda to Junno to TaNaka. I love long tracking shots b/c I know how difficult they are. That being said, it was only done once. The timing was hard - as KT has stated in interviews - but again, they only did it once. Am I supposed to be impressed? And looking back, it's not even that impressive b/c they cut from Kame's entrance to the school (w/ Tanaka in the bg) to Kame walking past the stairs, so the tracking shot wasn't that long.
- I like how there were flashes of things around the school (water fountain, books, lockers, etc) dispersed throughout the PV as we get the individual shots.
- The cheerleaders. Pointless. Hated them. (That being said, Kame/Cheerleaders fic basically needs to happen what w/ his eyes following them everywhere and his smiles, etc.)
- I thought everyone looked fabulous except for Junno. I loved everyone else's outfits - Tacchan's fedora, Maru's blue jacket and yellow scarf, Koki's jacket, Kame's khaki and jean jacket combo, etc. I did not like the horizontal striped T-shirt Junno was wearing with a vest thing and white long sleeved T-shirt underneath? =.=;;
Reblog here.
- I did enjoy the editing and scenes w/ Koki's rap and it was the only time I thought the cheerleaders were cool (again, the way they used the "flash" effect in the PV was very good).
- The individual shots w/ them turning around? At first, I thought Kame and Junno were supposed to be recognizing each other. Then I realized it was all five of them turning around to stare into the camera. Yawn.
- Could've used more group interaction/linkage, especially what w/ the message of the PV and what was supposed to be the story...
- They didn't actually use an old picture of the boys in the PV, but they CGI'd some other boys (whom I'm assuming are Juniors - I think one of them is Juri, LOL) into the pass holder. Also, the boys they used were so young, they couldn't have been just university friends (as they stated for the "story" they established). More like they were all childhood friends, lol.
- Roof scene was okay, I guess. The PV elicited either rage or 'eh' feelings from me. Cheerleaders once again being pointless as they dance around. They remind me of the soldiers in the NMP PV - just show me the boys. ;P
Reblog here.
Making of ~
- The Makings are always the best parts (Makings > PVs) of the single releases (which makes me sad for Bokura no Machi de, Yorokobi no Uta and You), so my rage was soothed somewhat. But if there had been no Making? I can only imagine what my rage level would've been b/c it was already quite high on my initial watch of the PV.
- More Kameno here than what was in UW~ 8) ---> Always relevant to this journal.
- Kame, Koki and Maru playing soccer~ yayayay! Awesome. :D Kame did a cool kind of kick and we also get a shot of him playing basketball. Then we get Koki in glasses! 8D Always good. LOL at the clips in his hair. xD
- I didn't realize how much I missed TaNaka until they were onscreen. They seemed to get more attention in this PV/PV Making. LMAO at Koki: "It's always a two-shot. It's the two of us the whole time! Always the two of us-"
- Maru making the chance cards for the Dressing Room Corner~! We see him write the "Score +20 pts" card. Am I imagining it or is that Junno's voice in the background? @.@ I can see Uepi's legs, tho. lol
- Koki reiterates the "story" (grr...) they laid out about how this is the university all five of them attended five years ago, then they come back and reminisce~ How the past was good/fun, etc~ But also that the present is wonderful as well.
- Sorry, I was LOLing at all the gaikokujin as the extras in the background. xD;; Especially the ones that Kame walk past. So :|. I think they were something other than extras, but still. LOL at their expressions.
- Fedoras are becoming Uepi's thing now and again, I suppose. I'm sooooooo glad Kame's not the one who developed a taste for them.
- Again, I hate that horizontal striped shirt and vest-hoodie jacket thing on Junno. =_____=
- LMAO at TaNaka going through the rehearsal and their fake cheerful talk. xD
- Junno taking down a book from the library shelf: Hai, hai, hai, hai, hai, ah all right, all right. Ok, ok. Then he says it's Harry Potter, but I paused the video as he grabbed the novel and it's a book by T.C. Boyle (!?). xDDDD
- Kame Camera!!! /bricked I love when he gets a hold of a video/photography camera.
- Always awesome to see behind-the-scenes shots of actual filming, like here with the tracking shot.
- Beatboxing! :D Is it just me or has it been a really long time since we've heard Maru beatboxing? @.@ Why can't I remember any recent songs with it? The most recent one that comes to mind is CUW for A-side. Oh and Make-Or-Break B-side... I guess not that long...
Reblog here.
- Kid!Maru is super adorable. Twirling around with his arms stretched out~ lol
- Is Maru wearing the Ice Watch he bought with Kame?
- Koki's prize from the darts game makes an appearance! We don't know that's what it is yet though...
- KAT-TUN playing games on the roof as they walk - a riddle game? No idea. lol
- Ueda jumping on the whatever-it-is on the roof and Koki acting and telling him to be careful.
- TaNaka with the rope on the roof and Maru pretending not to see it and almost tripping. LOL at Kame's laugh. You can hear it in the background before they cut to the other camera filming him. xDDD
- Aww, the boys had to film in such cold weather. I lol'd at how they immediately jumped up after the director said 'cut' and the assistants rushed to give them their coats. The one in charge of Junno was fastest! ahaha
- The way Junno says "Noriteee~!" JunDa moment here.
- KAT-TUN something-something (seriously, I don't know what Junno said, lol) Tournament~ Using cards or whatever. lol Not entirely sure what was going on, but I loved this part anyway. More than the Factory Skit to be honest. xD
- "Pacific Tokyo Adventure." LMAO, Kame. xD
- Denden~ Ahahaha, you can totally tell they're used to each other (KAT-TUN Syle, y'know~)
- I want to know what Junno's blunder was at 16:48. xDDDD
- Tacchan looks sssooooo bored during this game. Or is he just thinking? LOL
- Seriously, Koki's rap was my favorite part of the PV. I'm glad we got to see filming of it. :D "Ittadakimashita. Gochisousama deshita."
- Kame dashing away after filming his solo part.
Reblog here.
- LMAO, Maru. xD Why are you not my favorite again? Flexing his muscles, but not really...? lolol
- Last scene they needed to shoot was the one in the classroom~ The one where they pass around the pass holder w/ an old picture of them. There is actually a pic of old KAT-TUN in there if you pay attention to the Making. As they said in the TV Pia 5/25号 issue, the pic has Koki with his shaved head. Unfortunately, they don't show it to us. ;______; I wanted to see it too. =3=
- I love their faces after the camera moves to focus on the others as they pass the holder around. They can't stop smiling/laughing.
- LMAO, TaNaka... xDD;; The way Maru looks at the pic is like... it looks like he needs glasses. Definitely seemed like a "jiji" there.
- FACTORY SKIT! Playing around with the desks. xD I don't even know. lol
- We get to see the empty pass holder. Yay. ---> /sarcasm Apparently, they CGI in a photo? Using younger Johnnys, methinks. I think one of the boys is Juri. xD Another may be from B.I.Shadow. lmao
- I love how all of KAT-TUN is there even though they obviously only need Maru, possibly Koki for shooting the last part for the pass holder.
- Did Junno just comment on Maru's fingers being "kirei"?! lmao -dying-
Reblog here.
- 1000 bonus points to the staff in charge of getting the bouquets for KAT-TUN. KAT-TUN color coordinated bouquets. Brilliant.
Reblog here.
- Maru, trollin' in your solo interviews.
- Love Kame's aviator sunglasses. 8D
- Dressing Room Game Round 4! This time, darts or 'The Darts'. lmao Fun~ Reminded me of CTKT. ;______; LOL, they talk about Koki didn't like Round 3. xDDD
- I seriously love these chance cards~ Way to go, Yucchi! 'Score +20pts', 'Score -20pts', 'Throw from the farthest spot', 'Face the back and throw', 'Throw three darts at the same time', 'Fight!', 'Throw while apologizing and bowing your head', 'Throw while skipping' etc.
Reblog here.
- Kame holding onto Junno's shoulders~ *___* lol (Honestly, I'm not as excited as I sound. lol I'm not crazy, I swear. @.@) Junno's form actually wasn't bad and he hit the board at least...? lol
- LOL at Uepi telling the others to shut up. xD Omg, Junno's "ZE~RO~!" after Uepi fails. I love it. xD
- Junno's laugh during Kame's first throw... lolololol
- What are the chances that Koki would pull both the '+20' and '-20' cards?! Koki's face as he reads his card before telling everyone... xD And Kame's not as loud as Junno, but you can hear Kame also go 'Ze~ro~!' in the same way Junno did. Super cute. And w/ a Kameno flavor. /bricked
- Kame's 'gomen nasai' was soooo cute. ♥
- Kame checking out himself in the mirror before Ueda's turn. Kame and Ueda both skipping. xD;
- When Kame had to throw from the farthest spot, his pitch was so pretty. *_____* Too bad he didn't make that one. It hit the board! lol
- LOL, Junno has made it to the finals of every Dressing Room Game round.
- Koki won~ Yay~ Especially since he found the last game boring. xD
- What are these prizes, Maru?! lmao KT is sooo confused.
Reblog here.
- Sometimes I really don't understand Junno and his gags. lmao Like... why? xD But I was happy because KAT-TUN went with it and didn't ignore him. ;________; Member-something-like-ai.
- Was anyone else trying to see what CDs Kame was holding? xD
- Oh Tacchan and Kame... xDDDD;; Seriously, who wouldn't be able to resist doing that tho? lol I'm surprised Koki wasn't the one to do it first!
- Tacchan pulling at the hair peeking out from Junno's hood. xD
Reblog here.
- Kame starts off the Iriguchi gag~ ♥♥♥
Kame: Iriguchi~
Tacchan: Deguchi~
Junno: Taguchi desu!
ヽ（´∀‘）人（⌒ー⌒）人（´・ω・`）ノ
- I like everyone's private styles. :D
Reblog here.
- Kame touches his side... and then around the stomach?! Maybe? Not? LMAO
- I'm not the only one who was looking for and found Kame in the reflection of the window as Koki was talking, right? >.>;;
Soooo... this was like a mesh of commentary/highlights? Sorry, I rambled. xD orzzzz
Reblog here.
Regular Edition (1st Press) [CD]
Catalog No. JACA-5263
Price: ￥1100 (tax incl.)
Buy It: CDJapan | YesAsia | Amazon JP | HMV JP
Tracklist
01 WHITE
02 PERFECT
03 勇気の花 (Yuuki no Hana)
Lyrics: Sean-D
Music: Anthony KRUNCHIE Bamgboye / Harry Wilkins / Ricky Hanley
Arrangement: Anthony KRUNCHIE Bamgboye
Thoughts: LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. Something had happened w/ me earlier in the day before I listened to the song the first time, and I think I was already emotional, so I cried when I listened to it. Not a full-on cry, but I definitely teared up and I'm not usually one to tear up to songs of any kind. >.>;; I teared up quite a few times on listening again. I just find the song really beautiful plus the lyrics. The lyrics. ;_______; I adore the chorus and just everything else. This song was pretty much on an endless loop when I first got it. I've finally listened to other things (LOL), but whenever I listen to it again, I loop it at least two or three times. :)
聞こえるかい？ WE WILL MAKE YOU SMILE 笑って
少しずつ優しさ集めたら ほら、勇気の花が咲く
そう、君のため そう、遠くまで 届くように 笑顔が咲かそう
;___________; And this ---> '笑顔が咲かそう (egao ga sakasou)' They pronounce 'egao' (smile) in the lyrics as 'hana' (flower). See what they did there? ;) They will make smiles bloom~ Also, the 'We will make you smile, waratte' part gets me every time.
今どこ？ 何してる？ 聴こえるよ
勇気出して WE'RE WITH YOU WE LOVE YOU
♥♥♥♥♥
I also love how they end the song with the music faded out and just their voices. ♥
I honestly don't understand the skepticism, that maybe the boys are capitalizing on the disaster and that this is fake. Sometimes I wish there was more I could do besides donating money to help. The boys have Marching J and they have this, their music. I know Junno has said he felt helpless (Manual 54), and I'm sure the others have said/felt something similar. They've asked themselves, 'What can we do?' Well, they can make their fans smile. They can bring happiness and joy even for a little while. (And yes, they've said stuff like this in their recent mag interviews.) Even if this song wasn't a message to the victims of the disasters (TV Pia 5/25号 plus elsewhere), I would still find it very beautiful as both a love and encouragement song to their fans. It's not something that would come out of nowhere either as KAT-TUN has stated again and again and again how important their fans are to them (so much so that the fans are the 'hyphen', and w/o the hyphen, you won't have KAT-TUN).
04 WHITE（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
05 PERFECT（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
06 勇気の花 (Yuuki no Hana)（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
Reblog here.
Regular Edition [CD]
Catalog No. JACA-5264
Price: ￥1100 (tax incl.)
Buy It: CDJapan | YesAsia | Amazon JP | HMV JP
Tracklist
01 WHITE
02 PERFECT
03 SILENCE
Lyrics: Sean-D
Rap Lyrics: JOKER
Music・Arrangement: David Fremberg
Thoughts: Love it! It's along the lines of what fandom perceives to be "traditional" KAT-TUN, even tho KT is a much more versatile group, but whatever... -stops self from ranting on a completely different topic- Anyways, for me, Silence > Remember. I especially like the intro. :D 'I CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY TO GO' ---> Junno backing up Kame! I think, lol.
And Koki's rap~ *______* -shivers- He's batted 3 for 3 on this single, methinks! ♥
沈黙破って 「愛してる？」と君が聞いた... shh. ---> The pause in the music, the "shh"! -dies- Kame, bb~ Rockin' it the only way he can~ (Also, reminds me of the 'Aishiteru yo' part in TWO.)
GOIN' DANGEROUS GOIN' DANGEROUS~ ♪♫♪
04 WHITE（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
05 PERFECT（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
06 SILENCE（オリジナル・カラオケ）(Original Karaoke)
Once again, the B-sides > A-sides, though Perfect can stand with them. So basically, all other songs >>>> White. lol And yet another PV that didn't realize its full potential, but they managed to piss me off even more. xD While the PV is my least favorite KT PV ever, that's not true of the overall single. It definitely ranks low on the list, but it's higher than say... Yorokobi no Uta. I love, love, love YnU, but that single came w/ PV only and no Making and that's just sad. ;_______; I do appreciate the YnU PV using the whole song, tho. ;P Yes, yes, yes, I know what you're all thinking. I shouldn't be so annoyed with White then b/c at least we get a Making. I dunno. I can't help it. xD
I'd like to address the complaint I've seen that Koki's raps are out of place in songs like White and Perfect. I strongly disagree. I think Koki's raps actually mesh rather well and they've been some of my favorite parts of the songs. Two things that are particularly unique to KT and their songs are Koki's rap and Maru's beatbox. KAT-TUN doesn't use them 100% of the time, but for a majority they do and it helps define a KT song as KT's. This distinguishes them from other groups' sounds. It's to the point where I expect Koki's rap in most songs and I certainly don't see any problem w/ his raps being in their pop songs either. He's done this since pre-debut and post-debut - why should he stop now?
I have to admit I really haven't been a fan of KT turning towards using more harmonies in their songs rather than solo parts, especially since Junno is the one that gets gypped most of all. Even if it was just one line, I like being able to hear him. Instead, he's usually stuck backing up someone else. I get why they're doing it tho. The whole 'united as a group' thing has to be part of it.
Ah, the sales numbers... I kinda don't want to think about them anymore, LOL. As long as KT maintains their #1 streak, then I'm good. :) Ofc, I won't stop wishing for their sales to rise again somehow. :3 Love these boys too much.
Also, if you're unhappy with KAT-TUN and their music, no one is forcing you to buy their CDs. It doesn't make you less of a fan if you choose to skip a single or don't buy at all (because you can't - JE is an expensive fandom to be in; if you have the means, however...). You like what you like - music taste is subjective. If they're not making you happy anymore, it's okay to leave. KT's music is part of the reason they drew me in, but I'm not in it just for the music. I'm in it for them. I love KAT-TUN as a group. I love Kame, I love Junno. I enjoy Maru, Koki and Ueda as well. I like watching them all interact. That's why I'm following them, that's why they're my favorite. They can't be replaced by other JE groups because they're not in the other groups, lol. Some of you read my big complaints for this single, have heard past complaints about other things, but at the end of the day, I still love KAT-TUN. Sometimes I complain because I just want more of them, I know they can be more. They can release more Going!s, WHITEs, etc (-knocks on wood-) and I'll still be following them. I do think their pop sound needs more work, but if they continue pursuing it (perhaps going old school pre-debut sound), then it'll really, really work for them. They haven't lost their edge, they're just reinventing themselves. They're showing that there's more to them than their past deliquent/rock/rebellious image. They're not just this one thing. Pre-debut and post-debut, they've always been a very versatile group. If you want to stick them in a box, fine. Go ahead. But that won't stop KAT-TUN from moving forward with what they think is best for them, for their future as a group. I'm just along for the ride and I'm not regretting a minute of it.
Reblog here.
Anyways, support the boys and buy their CD if you can! :)
Drama, please, KT? Something... anything... TV bangumi... :(