With the arrival~* of Watarirouka Hashiritai's 4th single release which topped the Oricon Charts ＼(^o^)／☆ this past week (love!! love!! love!! this group so much!!!), I've learned so much recently about not only the reasons for their style of music but also their direct link to J~Pop 80's past~.
Anise & Cloves first mentioned to me how an Onyanko Club sub group named "Ushirogami Hikaretai" which debuted back in the latter 80's was fronted by well known pop artist Kudo Shizuka and while this group was a trio…the newly resurrected "Watariouka Hashiritai" is a 4nin sub group (now grown to a 5nin♥ sub group with the recent addition of cutie~♥ Kikuchi Ayaka!). The mastermind behind it all is Akimoto Yasushi as he has managed to bridge a gap between J~Pop styling~s* of yesteryear to today's modern sound.
Watarirouka Hashiritai releases can be ordered here at Cdjapan.
Watarirouka Hashiritai releases can be ordered here at YesAsia.
Watarirouka Hashiritai releases can be ordered here at HMV Japan.
A very special thank you~* to Zdorama who coincided this link to the past with the arrival of Watarirouka Hashiritai's latest single release~* ＾ ＾！(Ushirogami Hikaretai's mp3's and image courtesy of Zdorama~*)
~Here you can listen to what the original formation of this sub group once sounded like, and as wonderfully written J~Pop never quite goes out of style….the newly formed Watarirouka Hashiritai has much more of a resemblance then may initially be observed~.
Most notable to begin with would be the third track from this single~* as favorite♥ member Mayuyu sings solo here on "Yasashiku sasete"….as this track so much replicates the 80's era of J~pop down to its very core of songwriting and overall style~! This by far is my most favorite♥♥♥ song on this single release~* as not only is Mayuyu's performance so sweet and endearing here with her tone but the song itself resonates so much nostalgia with catchy~ness at it's very best!!
And it's with these style of songs that have Watarirouka Hashiritai resurrecting their predecessor Ushirogami Hikaretai so much!!! Such a cool idea to emulate a part of Akimoto~san's past history with music with a direct link to one of today's most popular groups~*!
"Yasashiku sasete" surely receives the Maochan♥ awesome song seal of approval~*!
The second coupling with track "Wakage no Italian" also captures an 80's essence right down to the electric guitar's tone~* …it's rock with a touch of folk~.
As seen in the top photo there's also symbolism with the appearance of each disc resembling vinyl records which is a nice touch and while idol♥ groups have become so accustomed to releasing multiple versions for their single I was once again tempted beyond my better judgment perhaps (・д・`*)。。！as I ended up ordering all three LE's A, B & C along with the most necessary pv DVD and thank you so much~* to AKB48 for releasing their pvs♥ on the very same day as their accompanying singles….makes the entire experience of a new release's arrival so so much better ＾ ＾♥。
I think it's with the first press editions?…but each release of "Akkanbe Bashi" you order comes with a wonderful~* release poster which is pretty large sized only funny thing is that now I have four of them..the very same posters (人∀`*)。。。so if anyone would like one of those extra posters to put upon your wall you can send me a sturdy poster tube with a return address and I'll be sure to send it back to you~* o(*´∀｀)o゛。
To the left are the instructional dance posters which are included with each release~*…and here are the front and backs of them and they're really cute~♥ with the members themselves posing for all you'll need to learn in order to dance away to the title track "Akkanbe Bashi" to your heart's♥ content~ っo(*´∀｀)o！
And just in case you feel the urge to start learning right away and perhaps before your single(s) arrive~*…I've scanned both sides of the poster just below…
Each edition also includes an randomly inserted photo card….and I really had it in the "cards" to receive lots of Rabutan ~♥~!!! as three out of the four cards I received are of Rabutan whom has one of the most awesome nicknames ever in idol♥ history I think…just so cute~* o(*´∀｀)o゛！！！。。I also received one Harugon card..she's most adorable~* too!
The backs of the photo cards have cute doodles and some with printed signatures…if you happen to be reading and you've received one or more of Mayuyu♥ I'll be most jealous~ (人∀`*)！！
~While LE Type A and B include bonus DVDs with a document of the group as well as a extensive interview with new member Kikuchi Ayaka, LE Type C includes arguably the best collectible~* as the jacket sleeve also serves as full color photo booklet with lots of cute~* photos of the members…and now with 5nin there's even more to adore (*´∀｀*)♥！。。complete photo scans from the booklet are just below…..
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This cracks me up!!..as this poor guy is having some um…perspiration issues (・o・)。。。and after a bit of….
……we have Mayuyu's♥ expression here which is priceless~*!!!! and all due to well……↓↓↓
。。。the inevitable nose bleed (。ーωー。) ♪ ♪。。。
。。as Mayuyu♥ was apparently a bit too hot* for him…(^q^)!
~The title track "Akkanbe bashi" has a really cute title!!!..as "Akkanbe" refers to a gesture often times seen in anime where a character pulls down a bit underneath one eye while sticking out their tongue in amusing fashion (。ーωー。)。。。the word "bashi" which undergoes a bit of a pronunciation change from "hashi" is written here as "bridge" and what it all amounts to is yet again AKB48 raising the bar on music videos♥ so much as it's a full blown production with tons of fans as extras~* standing in as dance partners for the "Akkanbe" dance festivities as played out in a school's gym~! The act of "Akkanbe" is in full swing making countless appearances throughout the dance and with so many participating you do catch fun glimpses during the making of where members of Watarirouka Hashiritai receive much adoration from the fans present for the filming as waves and warm~* acknowledgment are exchanged♥!
The song itself is a cute~* whimsical folk dance composition with a classic tone* and a waltz like movement and also included on the pv DVD single are a dance version ↓↓↓。。。。
。。a special "spin off movie" version which shows much extra footage surrounding the main pv♥ as well as a most welcome "making of" clip….just love the fan interaction even when this is technically work and if you feel at any moment like you'd want to bust a move or the entire folk dance there's always those two~sided instructional posters which I've scanned above…(^q^)!
