Amuro Namie ft. Yamashita Tomohisa - Unusual PV review

I will not lie, a good part of why I am doing this PV for the reviews is because I am a Amuro Namie fan. I do not follow her closely but I love her music and make sure to buy her albums, or at least the newer ones as I love her hip-pop sound. But hey, the PV does have a good amount of Yamashita Tomohisa in it too so it is not like it is not related to Johnny's.

Like I said before I enjoy Namie's hip-pop sound and I think Yamapi is the perfect Johnny's artist to fit in the genre. Even though Akanishi Jin could have worked as his sound is not that far off of Yamapi's Super Good, Super Bad era material I think the two have distinctive enough styles I do not think it would work out quite as well if it was Jin and not Yamapi in this collaboration. But I will say that when it comes to them both I do tend to find myself liking their collaborations more than their usual solo material.

Guess who Yamapi is cosplaying.

It seems surprising to see that Yamapi is the first to be seen for the PV but with how the PV ends I think it works perfectly. He also gets to start the PV off by "writing" the title of the song on the screen.

The Queen of Hip-pop.

Of course it is not long before the true star of the song and PV shows up and looks amazing like usual. I do find it interesting that with the stigma Japan has with tattoos Namie has no issue showing off hers. But maybe minds are changing about them in Japan these days.

The power of the dark crystal.

I really love this effect when we go back to Yamapi and have him walking through the diamonds(?). One large one passes over him and he get him in black which leads to a scene change. I just love how organic that change is in the PV instead of a sudden scene change to something different like most PVs do.

Looking fab.

We then get scenes of them both walking down this purple corridor and looking stunning. I think I like these black outfits best for the both of them, but I rather love all that Namie wears in this PV.

"Remember this is the head guys should think with or you will end up like Jin."

While Yamapi is not a favorite of mine I have no trouble in admitting that I do think he is good looking. Of course he looks best when he is actually emoting which does not seem to be often these days but he seems to put some effort towards that in this PV.

Doing the doggy paddle.

And we get the first dance scene and it is the two of them together. Honestly it would not feel quite right without such a scene as Namie is known for her dancing and I just cannot see Jin doing scenes like these which is another reason I feel Yamapi is the more natural fit for this kind of collaboration. It is also interesting to see how Yamapi has to adjust his moves to try to keep in sync with Namie with their height difference.

Yamapi has blue balls... who knew?

We get another scene change with Yamapi moving to a part of the screen that falls away to reveal with room/stage.

Sitting in a chair like a boss. 

This because I just love how comfortable Namie looks even though it does not look like the most comfortable positions to be in.

If there's a window where's the door?

Love these scenes with the window. Not only is it with my favorite stage of the PV but it works well with the back and forth lines in the song between the two as it looks like the two could possibly be addressing each other. It also highlights the symmetry of the PV between the two as they are constantly trading off between each other.

Showing off the swagger.

To add some more variety we get a spinning camera with the two back to back. I really love how this works  like the window where it lets the two switch back and forth with their lines while keeping both of them on the screen. Though it is with these scenes I began to notice how Namie's voice tend to over power Yamapi's in parts. That most likely is intentional though since he is the featured artist of the song after all.

Ready to be schooled?

We get another dance scene with each taking turns being closer to the camera and showing off their dance skills while the other dances simpler steps in the back ground. And I cannot help but be amazed that Namie can dance in such high and thin heels. But I guess without them Yamapi would tower over her even more.

The queen's throne is a seat for one.

I do not know why but I really do love this set. Maybe because I like how blue and white go together. But Yamapi and Namie continue to look pretty.

Can't say Yamapi is not watching where he's putting his hand.

In a way this is like watching a Domoto Koichi PV in the fact that Yamapi gets to actually interact with a member of the opposite gender. I just really hope there are not obsessive fan girls that hated Namie for this though.

Yamapi looking good and knowing it.

Pretty much just have this here because I like how Yamapi looks. It is not so dead-fish-eye and does show the kind of attitude that is a good fit for the atmosphere of the PV and song.

Yamapi, the muscle and Namie, the flamingo. 

Love how this is not even really an idol PV yet there is a corny finish pose in it.

Unusual that Namie is not looking as fab as usual here.

The PV ends with Namie taking Yamapi's place from the start of the PV to finish off with the symmetry. And as Yamapi writes the song title Namie erases it to bring the PV to the final close.


Yamapi is far from my favorite Johnny's but every once in a while I find myself liking something that he is doing which is where Unusual falls. And I think with his movement to a musical style that falls probably best in the hip-pop category this is a perfect PV, song and collaboration to help cement that new image that he was making for himself at the time.

Plus he gets to be a Johnny's first with being the first Johnny's to be featured in an non-Johnny's PV. And we all know how much Johnny's loves their firsts in anything.