29 November 2011

Kis-My-Ft2 - We never give up! PV review

Was thinking of waiting to do this near the end of the week but my rage will not wait that long.

I was okay with the 3/4 break down of the group for their debut single as I figured as a newly debuted group they needed to make sure people could at least recognize one member of the group and with the Ikemen Desu ka tie-in it made a lot of sense to have Fujigaya Taisuke and Tamamori Yuta as centers, and of course Kitayama Hirosuke has always been one of the lead vocalists with Fujigaya so he had to be in front as well. I wasn't too happy about how much the other four blended in the the back dancers when they had them but decided to just suck it up as this was just the start. Now that we're on the second single I would still would be okay with things at the Everybody Go level of things but if this PV is any indication of what it will be like then my tolerance of this is at its end.

It seems someone in management or perhaps just the director for the PV thinks that the group is Ki-Ft featuring s-My2 and not Kis-My-Ft2. Senga Kento, Miyata Toshiya, Yokoo Wataru and Nikaido Takashi all don't have a single close up shot in the entire PV which is 5 minutes and 34 seconds long. I mean heaven forbid they use four of those seconds to give these members a head shot when they could of course be giving Ki-Ft a minute long scene of just about nothing but that.

I still don't mind Ki-Ft being the centers of the group. Kisumai is one of those groups that I can honestly say that I like all the members just about equally. And I can't blame them for doing what management or a director has asked them to as that's pretty much part of their job but I'm a fan of a group called Kis-My-Ft2 not this Ki-Ft featuring s-My2 that they're pushing too hard for. And it's even more frustrating for me personally because I've been a fan of big groups with favorites that aren't the popular members and when I can watch any of the early Hey! Say! JUMP PVs and still get the feeling Okamoto Keito is a member of the group and then turn around and question if s-My2 are supposed to be a part of their group then I find that beyond depressing.

I ended up skipping on pre-ordering anything more than the RE version of this single because of budget reasons but I'm glad I did as I just might have cancelled my order to re-do it without that LE version. I don't want to own this PV on DVD. And until Kisumai starts getting PVs that don't treat s-My2 as glorified back dancers I refuse to buy anything but the RE versions of their releases, as with Avex that tends to be the only version with bonus B-sides anyway. I mean if I wanted a group where only a few members sing and the rest back dance I would be an EXILE fan, and hell even there the back dancers get solo shots and they have fourteen members. SMFH.

That all aside there are a few things I liked about the PV and I'll touch upon those with the screen caps.

Somebody took a wrong turn somewhere.
So PV begins in a someplace in the snow. One wonders by the buildings are meant to be Greek, but the landscape looks more Arctic and then you have the building the group is in that doesn't really fit the image all that much. I guess if anything the PV starts as confused as people might be about how many members Kisumai has from watching it.

Bowties are cool.
Kitayama kicks the song off with his solo lines and we see the group in a grey building/set, wearing grey. Subtle, is it not? And hello s-My2, I see they don't even bother to ever have in focus during this.

Even Tama doesn't look happy being in this PV.
And honestly I find Tamamori's scene here a little creepy. Since he does not have a strong singing voice, I believe the only solo line he has in the song is with his voice distorted, he's singing with Fujigaya and Kitayama but he's the sole focus for those lines so it looks really off, as if all the voices are meant to be coming from him or something.

Let the sunshine in!
And finally we get some color. And the color they picked for s-My2 to be wearing is kinda ugly. Except somehow Yokoo got away with a purple shirt instead of maroon and it's not as bad. Of course why they could be at least looking like they're wearing street clothes as well as Ki-Ft baffles me as it wouldn't have taken much and the divide wouldn't seem so jarring as it does.

Shh, he's thinking.
Then we're dragged back to grey, snow and more Ki-Ft featuring s-My2. I do like Fujigaya's hair like this and hope he keeps it for a bit more, just hope he doesn't keep this style as long as he did his old one. I also hope he stops trying so hard to be sexy. It comes off more comical to me than anything else and he's definitely one of those guys that don't need to try that hard.

I don't know why you keep getting shafted either.
While we don't get s-My2 solo shots we do get some group shots of them. I wonder if they thought that since they had these scenes they didn't need solo shots of them. I guess they forgot to run this past anyone who's a fan of the group, because really they don't.

Trying to balance the weight of his head with his hair like that.
And Kitayama just can't pull off sexy to me. I blame the nose as when I see guys with noses like that I just think cute as it makes them look much younger than they are. Which I guess why in his mid-twenties he's still playing high school student characters. But this scene of trying to look fierce and sexy made me laugh as he looked neither to me.

If it were the next finger over they would expressing my feelings
about this Ki-Ft featuring s-My2 formation.
The choreography for the song does stick out to me as it really seems like they made sure to match the moves with the lyrics which leads to some interesting looking hand gestures, and pointing. Lots of pointing.

Fujigaya has the perfect expression for this PV here.
And then we have about a minute of Ki-Ft walking in the snow without any of s-My2 anywhere in the scenes. As you can see with this screen cap they do a split screen and seeing how they do it even when the others have lines to sing they could have easily added the other four into it and finally given them close up shots at least.

How many people walk in snow with their sleeves rolled up?
See, instead of a solo shot we could be seeing Fujigaya in the center with two of the other members looking serious on either side. It's such a simply thing but would have made me like this PV so much more with it.

Burn this PV! Burn it with FIRE!
Okay, and one of the things I do like about the PV are the transitions using the flare. It's a little thing but it gives the viewer a good idea that there's going to be a scene change and with the eventually melting of the snow it even works if you see it as a ray of sun that Kisumai bring with their song and dance.

These are our war faces.
And this scene I like as it's one of the few that makes me feel like they are one group. Even though Ki-Ft are still in the front s-My2 still manage to look like they are with them and not just there to solely support them.

Johnny's chiropractors. 
This is one of the more interesting dance moves I've seen in a while. I do like how its another thing that shows that they are one group by having Fujigaya be the odd man out. And I'm interested to see if they do this on any of the lives they do for the song.

Somehow I'm not surprised we don't see them land...
And we get the roller skates, because it can't be a Kisumai PV without them. I don't mind the roller skates personally as I've had about four years to get used to them and I find that the moves they can do in them usually has them changing up the formation to let those in the back get more chances to move up if just for a short while before moving to the back.

Senga looking cool for the second you can really see him.
And this is my great highlight of the PV as Senga actually gets a somewhat decent shot as he isn't behind anyone. There needed to be more of this in the PV as well and again it would have been a quick and simple to do so.

Kis-My-Ft2, bringers of Spring.
And with the roller skates comes color, sunshine and flowers. Because this is a Johnny's PV and it needs something corny like that.

Who needs global warming when you have Kisumai?
The CG looks to be rather cheap, which is probably a really good thing that it isn't used much. Of course one still has no idea where in the world they are supposed to be as we still get random Roman ruins but oh well. I long gave up on Johnny's PVs making sense.


It's honestly an okay PV if I look at it without my fan rage. But with my fan rage I find it hard to watch even with the few things I like about it. If Johnny's and Avex want more of my money they need to fix the Ki-Ft featuring s-My2 thing. I don't mind the 3/4 split but they need to just lessen the gap between them or I'm not going to be a happy Kis-My-Ft2 fan.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really hope they wanted to put some solo shots of sMy2 but they burned or rats ate the tapes... I mean, how can they do that on purpose? D:
I thought that after the 1st PV it could only be better, and now we get this D:

Or maybe sMy2 were to busy to be on the PV shooting so they just put some random Jr's and blurred them out so no one notices?
They can't be so cruel to do it on purpose! They can't!! D:

As much as I love KiFt, their shots were TOO LONG and boring after few seconds.

I want to know who the hell created this PV, so I can kick his ass :/


Also, seeing the bit of shooting in some news, I thought there would be more roller skates, but watching the PV I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited and when I lost hope there was little bit of it :/
(Speaking about the news clip, Nikaido was clever falling flat - at least he got his name shown xD)


I hope the next PV will have more equal screen time for everyone.

As of now, it's just not fair :(

Kismy said...

Gosh, I´m glad to read your post because we share the same thoughts!!!!
I love Kisumai from my heart and was so much excited to see their new PV, with the hope that s-My2 would get more screentime but then.... DISAPPOINTMENT....
And it made me soooo ANGRY!!
What´s this with the 3-4 seperation again and it got even worse than in their last single T_T
Okay, Taisuke is my ichiban but I became a fan of KIS-MY-FT2, of the whole unit because I love ALL boys!
Arrggghh, JOHNNY´S WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGGGG????????? >________<

Ani2 said...

I watched the PV for the first time today and I felt so sad for how the management treats Senga, Miyata, Yokoo and Nika. Like in the middle of watching I got already confused why there was only Tama, Fujugaya and Kitayama to be seen but even when the PV ended I didn´t got to see any close ups of sMy2. This seems to be so wrong to me!
Then afterwards I watched the PV again and tried to concentrate just on sMy2 but it was really so hard to catch even the smallest glimpse of them.
I don´t understand why they are that much in the background because I think they are all nice and funny boys who just need the chance to show all the people who they are and what they can do.
This is so sad..

Chris said...

"Umm, am I watching a PV of a 3-member group?!"
That was what I was thinking when I saw the PV.
Well, I´m not very impressed with the new release. The song sounds too much like Everybody Go to me and the PV is rather boring.
But the worst is the 3/4 seperating thing which is really horrible. I can understand that Fujigaya and Kitayama are more in the front because they sing the solo lines but what about Tamamori?
I don´t want to attack him or anything but is he any better than SMY2?! Tamamori isn´t a great singer and his expression looks always the same which makes me feel bored. Is he just in the front because JE thinks he is more handsome than the other 4?
But this is just a matter of taste.
This is so unfair. SMY2 are giving all their best and their talents are thrown away so easily.
Omg, this seperation really sucks and I can´t imagine that we´ll get a change that soon´or if there´ll be ever a change D:
Sorry but this time I won´t spend my money on "We never give up!"
On a personal note : I like your PV reviews, like this one or the one of SZ :)

Misa said...

Awwww, would like to see more of Senga and Yokoo T__T
This is so cruel !!! >.<

It´s really not fun watching PV´s of a 3-frontsinger- 4-backdancer group where I would know that those 4 are originally NOT backdancers. And is it so hard to give those 4 even a second of a close-up????!!!!
If this breaking up continues, I don´t know but I´m not sure if I will like Kisumai as before, I just hate this new constellation T___T

Mia said...

What irks the most is the absolute wastage of talent going on here. Whoever is managing them needs to be put to boot camp and made to watch all pre-debut appearances and performances of Kisumai members, both as a group and as individuals. I stopped watching after some 30 secs into the pv. Nd it's not jst the pv, it's everything, the concert dvd promos, the concert dvd design, magazine shots, television appearances, everything is so skewed... So much talent, Wasted :( They seem to have zero idea about neither the group that they are managing nor the fanbase that they are catering to...

J-newbie said...

Hello, nice to meet you ^_^
I´m a very very fresh Johnny´s fan; well, "fan" is a bit exxagerated but since a few months I get really interested in Johnny´s Entertainment and their groups.
I´m glad I found your blog because it helps me to learn more about Johnny´s and get more deeply into it.^^

Okay,I´m talking as a complete newbie.
I first heard and saw about Kis-my-ft2 when they performed a song in a japanese music show (I think it´s called Music Station?)
It was their debut song and when I watched their performance, only three guys catched my attention. I´m sorry I don´t know all of their names yet but those three were dominating the whole song.
Behind them there were so many backdancers, I remember everyone was dressed so dark, so I didn´t even notice them.
I believed that Kis-my-ft2 consists just of three members.
Yesterday,I´ve seen their new PV and thought the same: I only see three members singing and on screen and randomly noticed that somewhere behind, there are some backdancing guys.
Then today, I was researchng about Johnny´s Entertainment again and found your blog and some other sites where fans ranted about is-my-ft2.
I found out that Kis-my-ft2 consists of 7 members and not 3 (O.o)
Honestly, I was really surprised and shocked and also, I felt so bad for not noticing it earlier.
So this groups really consists of 7 members? Could it be that those backdancing guys are the same as in that music show performance ?? But why were they dressed so dark?
I really didn´t notice them.
Or are those 4 just supporting them in dancing?? Can´t they sing?

I could imagine that I´m not the only one who didn´t notice them. Especially if there are people like me who are totally newbies in Johnny´s Entertainment things.
I like this one guy, his name is Taisuke Fujigaya, he is really cool ^^ I want to know more about him but I really want to know more about those four backdancing guys too.
Are there any videos of performances where I can see those 4 more clearly?

Smurfette said...

J-newbie : watch these perfs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZYmfYSnJzM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ZmuO5oSnI&feature=related

J-newbie said...

Smurfette,
thank you very much for those videos ^^
I just watched them and I´m so surprised that those four are actually standing equally on stage and even sing too !!! Plus, they are really cute XD
There is one guy especially who is so handsome ; in the second clip the boy at 1:16.
He´s so handsome !!! Such a waste that his face is never shown in PV D:
But why do they get to sing just in concerts and not in PV and it maks me wondering why they are always so much in the back in the PV O.o
If I could tell my true opinion, watching their concert clips was much more fun for me because I felt like they are all "one" and I was just glad to be able to see those 4 for the first time upclose.
They are seriously cute XDD
But now I´m confused: the constellation of Kis-my-ft2 in concert clips and PV is so different, so what is the real constellation? The one of the PV or concert clip?
By the way, it´s soooo cool that this group uses rollerskates !!

Smurfette said...

J-newbie : the guy you mentioned is Senga, the youngest, best dancer and 3rd most popular member of Kisumai (behind Fujigaya and Kitayama)) back then in 07~08 until Tama had a role in Gokusen movie in 09 and replace Senga's position in Kusimai. I think his fans feel the worst because he was very popular and now he's like Kisumai's backdancer:(

Those 4 are funny and some of them have better voices than Tama's IMHO. If you watch their PVs only, you will never know how good those guys are.

I think JE still has some plan for these guys, but we still have to wait. It's like, they want people to think that Kisumai is a 3-member group and after some time, they will push these 4 up and surprise people (like "oh they consist of 7 guys" 0.0 ), like you for example XD. Well, just my hope, but it can be considered a strategy in a way XD

If you want to know more about Kisumai, debut tour is highly recommnended ^^ You can dl it with sub here : http://jounetsu-8.livejournal.com/6710.html

J-newbie said...

Smurfette,

Ah so his name is Senga ^^
He was really so popular back then? Well I think Johnny´s Entertainment could have let him in the front too, together with those other 3 in the front.
But I really hope it will be like you said and that Johnny´s E. still have planned something with them and don´t forget about those 4 D:
Thank you for the link! I will download it immediately after I became a member of livejournal ^^
oh and I´ve seen lots of other Kis-my-ft2 videos on youtube and I love this group !
Their songs "Fire Beat" and "Hair" are just soooo cool and I also like "Inori" ^^
I wish they would use such kind of songs for their singles too :/

Thennary Nak said...

@ Anonymous

I think that's too much to wish for seeing as these days just about everything is digital. Perhaps then files of their solo shots got corrupted though, if you really don't want to believe the cruel truth.

I'm sure there's a good long line for people wanting to kick the ass of whoever is responsible for this mess of a PV.

I also thought there would be more roller skating too and was surprised we waited so long for it. (And indeed, smart Nikaido there.)

I hope the next PV is better too, but right now I'm not holding my breath.


@ Kismy

I don't think there are many fans of the group happy with this PV no matter who their favorite is. Especially if they're like us and truly love the entire group.


@ Ani2

Nobody can really figure out why either. No other Johnny's group has been treated like this, even if they had more members. Sure each group has a few members that get more of a focus but even the least popular aren't as snubbed as those four are in this PV.

@ Chris

That seems to be the common thought with people watching this PV.

Tamamori is honestly just there because he's been getting the drama roles. Because he doesn't have a strong enough voice to carry a song, especially if he has Fujigaya and Kitayama who are "the" voices of the group. I have nothing against Tamamori, and he's even mentioned being up front is hard for him as his personality is rather quiet, but I'm sure there's not much he can do if management is telling him to be a center. And as long as he keeps his popularity up with his acting work I don't see this formation going away anytime soon.

If I didn't enjoy the B-sides on their debut single I might have also avoided buying this single altogether as well. Though I do like We never give up! more than Everybody Go.

Thank you. I plan on doing more of them in the future, even going back to some of the older stuff.

Aurora said...

Watch it like this, YokooNikaSengaMiyata represent Kisumai of all these years, their underappreciated always in the background never the main performer back up dancing selves. They all literally were blurs in the background in the many dvds of their seniors, where fans had to pause a lot to get evn glimpses of them. The very obvious grey and snow in the beginning. And GayaTamaMitsu represent their bright spirits within, that kept them through it all, not giving up. The end 30 secs or so, when the theme culminates, they are shown together as a group of 7. I think this might be the concept ’cause there is no way their producers nd management can be dat bankrupt or that biased to give them that shabby clothes. It’s a personal intuition, nd I pray I am right here, but I think for once may be they are trying to push them as a group here. See it as a group effort, a symbolic pv, it’s like a tribute to Kis-My-Ft2 themselves… Nd I do think this might hav been what they were planning as the original debut song nd am glad dat EG came first. Whichever way it is, by the time their 3rd single gets released, I think we wil get a proper idea of the direction they are taking. Can’t believe I did so much analysis on a JE pv, or evn a pv in general :D

Smurfette said...

J-newbie : glad that you like Kisumai ^^ They have lots of good songs their perfs are always awesome, that's why I love them in the first place XD
My fav Kisumai songs of all time are Smile and Brand New Season, and good that you like FB, Hair and Inori ! They are three of the most popular songs of Kisumai too ^^

Kisumai's music are varied, and they just debuted, I think they will make something fiercer like FB or Hair in the future ^^

Thennary Nak said...

@ Misa

I'm still miserable about it too. Senga and Yokoo are my favorites, though everyone is still pretty close in my ranking, and I would have loved to see much more of them.


@ Mia

Things do seem mismanaged, but this PV takes the crown right now. And you're right that it seems like a complete waste of talent and I wish they would go back to their pre-debut set up as that worked just fine and had a good balance unlike this current set up.


@ J-newbie

Welcome to Johnny's fandom. We all have to start somewhere and there is a lot to learn and take in and I'm glad you are finding my blog helpful.

I am sadly not surprised that you were confused after that performance and this PV. It's a shame new fans like you are getting misled about this group as they are a great group and all the members bring something to it and it isn't the same without a single one of them.

I think you're on the right track to becoming a fan which really makes me happy. Even if I'm not happy with how they are being currently handled I still love this group and would like others to love them as well.

Smurfette has done a great job with answering your questions. I also hope that later on they will let the other members of the group shine as well.


@ Smurfette

I want to thank you for stepping up and helping J-newbie. I really appreciate it as I felt terrible about not being able to get back to them sooner.

Plus those clips are great for introducing someone to all seven members of the group. Let's hope we're right that someday the other four will get their chance to shine too.


@ Aurora

Except that doesn't work because at the end s-My2 are still pretty much shoved in the back while Ki-Ft are given the spotlight.

Personally as long as they get better than this PV I'll be happy, but I do hope s-My2 get their chance in the spotlight too instead of having to stand behind Ki-Ft all the time.