Hello! Project's dream pairing!! Abe Natsumi & Yajima Maimi (C-ute)- "Juurokusai no koinante"

The long wait is finally over and all J-Pop fans can really rejoice with this latest and most creative collaboration between two Hello! Project  family members and whether you're in the mood for something lively and upbeat or a graceful ballad, you're sure to find what you're looking for with this release! And while the ever so diverse Tsunku didn't have a hand in penning either track's lyrics or music, what we are presented with is quite a different flavor of song with a distinctly different approach. The limited edition version arrived 2 days ago and personally I really think that H!P has started off the new year with a definite gem! "Juurokusai no koinante" is suuuuuuuch a catchy song and it's even got more hooks than a tackle box does!! The song opens with it's infectiously melodic chorus and......wait a minute....it reminds me of something. Have you ever heard a song and thought that perhaps part of it sounded like another song you know? While you'd think that songwriter's would have already used up every possible note connection, the possibilities certainly remain deep and vast as this feeling doesn't strike often and for me personally is actually quite rare. Okay I'm not talking about a song that uses sampling from another's or when the arrangement is blatantly similar, for me the most recent for the latter being when I first heard Nishida Hikaru's "Totsuzen no natsu" which is the very essence of Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together" as they are a splitting image of one another instrumentally in the verse portions although the lyrics' melody in Hikaruchan's song is distinctly different. Rather this feeling that I'm referring to here is when there is a substantial similarity in melody but it's presented in a most subtle way. The last time this feeling struck me was when I first listened to Every Little Thing's (by the way I love older ELT and will have to make a little post about them in the future!) "Deatta koro no youni" and for a few days I just couldn't figure out the song that part of its melody reminded me of. Eventually it hit me as a Zard song came to mind and just now I've started that old cycle again as right now I can't remember which Zard song it was. :P At least I know it was Zard though. :) So to make this long story even longer :P, for the past 2 days I've been humming the chorus section of "Juurokusai no koinante" to myself and just a few minutes ago it finally came to me! The chorus of "Juurokusaino koinante" has a subtle similarity to Nakayama Miho's J-Pop classic "Sekaijuu no dare yori kitto." It's not a splitting image but there's just something about their structure that reminds me of one another although towards the end of "Juurokusai no koinante's" chorus the melody does take a detour of its own.  "Juurokusai no koinante" is a heavily "orchestrated" driven song that wastes no time in reeling you in from the very start with its immediately bouncy intro which goes right into its aforementioned chorus instead of the standard verse first format. A very cute and up front piano enhances the cutely repetitive verse portions which lead up to the nice change of pace pre-chorus arrangement which then lends itself seamlessly into the wonderful chorus. And what we have here, albeit the year has just begun, is a H!P song that already sets the bar up pretty high for the rest of the year's releases! Nacchi & Maimichan present so many possibilities for the producers' imagination and starting with their vocals which blend so well together and even better than I expected, the lyrics also are a custom fit with purpose as portions of it express their different visions of youth and age from each other's prospective. Moritaka Chisato's classic "Watashi ga obasan ni natte mo" comes to mind here as well. When it comes to H!P, I consider Nacchi's vocals to be in the upper tier along with recently "graduated" Gocchin and Ayaya (those with great vocal character & control) to name just a couple as these definitely aren't the exclusive ones that I view in this light and with that much anticipation surrounding this release was to hear how Maimichan's strong yet still developing vocals would match up with Nacchi's. The results couldn't have been better as this somewhat odd coupling really do compliment each other vocally and it also draws the perfect line between youth and adulthood as their distinct vocal expressions are representative of just that. I imagine that this song may represent a large bucket of water that can then help douse and appease the loudly spoken desire for more upbeat songs versus ballads that I've heard many fans express. Still though with this unique pairing of "senior" H!P member and its youth joining together much of my anticipation laid in the hopes for both an upbeat song as well as a well written ballad and this release presents just that. The coupling with song Watashi no koibito nanoni" answers the question...hmm but can they perform a ballad together? :) There are beautiful patches of harmonization between Nacchi & Maimichan that give the impression that the two have been paired together for a much longer time as this type of song presents a great vehicle for their vocals to shine in a much more stated manner than what is usually approached in an upbeat song. "Watashi no koibito nanoni" is a wonderful lullaby of a ballad that will have you swaying along with it's soft and sweet cotton candy like melody in no time and with it's understated arrangement the vocals really carry this tune in the forefront. Think fluffy clouds of pink...okay I may be getting carried away there! :P

As you can probably already guess by my fluffy pink clouds and song reminiscing above, I do hope that this duo, the odd couple of H!P do continue on as for them to become one of H!P's one single wonders would certainly be a shame and disappointment. And while this pairing is such a smart one, others that I'd like to see come to life albeit they'll probably remain in my imagination are: Nocchi & Manoeri, Kamei & Gakisan, Risakochan & Ayaya, and Nakki & Aichan. Haha and you thought that Nacchi & Maimichan were an odd coupling! :P

With Momusu's upcoming new single opting for DVD bonuses while dropping the collectible booklet in their B version I became quite concerned that the days of collectible booklets were perhaps passed us and I was so happy to see that the limited edition of "Juurokusai no koinante" comes with a 24 page photo booklet! So there's still hope for future releases! Maimichan has grown so tall and it's so cute to see little Nacchi her elder next to her in these photo shoots. The styling is elegant and soft and both members look so beautiful!! Well I think I've gushed enough for one day about my overall favorite H!P member and favorite C-ute member being teamed together in this wonderful release! :)

Now I'm really looking forward to the pv DVD single which will be released on February 6th! H!P sure likes to make me wait! Below are the rest of the scans of the LE's booklet.