Mitsui-san Dakara Daijoubu Desu
15 April 2008
I've noticed something rather disturbing about the last two episodes of Haromoni@. They're now exactly four minutes shorter than they were before. It would appear the broadcasters have secretly cut the running time of the show again. Four minutes is a big chuck of time when you're talking about a twenty-three minute show normally. Add to that the fact that they had a studio performance of 'Resonant Blue' this week and there's very little time left at all. Personally I'm quite saddened by this as I've started to enjoy the show since the New Year episode. I really that hope this isn't an ominous sign of an impending cancellation. That would ruin Sunday mornings forever.
The girls look absolutely stunning this week. They're all wearing businesswoman style suits; complete with glasses for that sexy school teacher look. Definitely the best outfits they've worn so far in my opinion. They look seductive; but also ready to pull up a flip chart and start discussing the finer details of the Production-Possibility Frontier (I don't know what that means but it sounds complicated). Consequently it has meant that the screenshots this time are all of the girls rather than any of the clips.
The first video features a five-year old kid who's a master of the Taiko no Tatsujin game. I've always wanted to try that game so this was of some interest to me. You wouldn't think a child that young could have that much hand-eye coordination. I wish I was that good! Following this was the return of 'Mister Noise' with his impressions of a Formula One car and Donald Duck but they weren't as good as the last time. After seeing the clip of this guy, Michishige Sayumi immediately raised her hand and wanted to do her Mickey Mouse impression. I don't know what the Japanese voice of Mickey sounds like but I bet it's nothing like Sayumi's version. Wasn't as good as her Yoshi impression that's for sure.
Niigaki Risa's Korean impersonation series returned once again. This time it was Yamamoto Takahiro's impersonation of Oda Yuuji (an actor who starred in the drama 'Bayside Shakedown 2: Save the Rainbow Bridge' which the dialogue was taken from). I've never seen the drama before so I can't say whether it was accurate or not but it was quite funny. Afterwards Tanaka Reina also tried to impersonate him and it seemed to go down well with the rest of the members. Sayumi wanted to do her Mickey Mouse impression again but they wouldn't let her /laugh.
The longest clip of the show was an odd little video featuring 'Cabinet Minister Cabbage'. It showcased some interesting little items to help you with hanami (blossom viewing). One of the items was a small machine that made candyfloss from small sweets. The girls paired up and had a go at making some in the studio. This led to a rather cute moment between Reina and Sayumi taking a bite out of the same stick of candyfloss. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I saw that. I couldn't help but take a screenshot of it.
Lin Lin featured in another Air-??? skit this week which everyone seemed to get. Well, apart from Reina and Sayumi who both thought it was bungee jumping when the correct answer was skydiving. They both raised their hands in objection in a manner which reminded me very much of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Kamei Eri stole victory again and made Risa do a cute little pout.
The last part of the show was Jun Jun's memory test segment. For some reason she'd decided to put on a cutesy character for the whole thing. Her challenge was to recall the names of twenty-five breeds of cat. She breezed through it without any problems. When it came to grading her performance it was Mitsui Aika who once again rebelled and refused to award a star. There was much tension as Aika called Jun Jun a 'gaudy woman'. In order to settle the dispute they're going to have a battle next week to see who will come out on top. From the preview it seems that Jun Jun will end up in tears again. I hope she wins!
Despite the cut in runtime this week's show turned out to be pretty good. There were lots of memorable scenes (like Reina and Sayumi's candyfloss moment). I really do hope they don't axe the show in the coming weeks. I know most people either hate it/find it boring/can't be bothered to watch it (or all three) but I find it enjoyable. Surely there must be other people who like it too? Aren't there...?
Posted byHocchan at 5:55 pm
I own Taiko no Tatsujin for PS2, and I can verify that it's awesome. Definitely play it if you get the chance.
And I happen to enjoy this show, myself. It's nowhere near as good as H!M was, but it's better than nothing.
- Zac
Oops, forgot the 'no' in the name. Will fix that right away.
It's nice to hear someone does. I agree, it's not as good as Hello! Morning but it does have it moments.
Count me as someone who enjoys the show too. I look forward to it every week, although some episodes are better than others. I love GakiKamei!
Hurray! The Haromoni@ Union continues to grow! Soon we shall rule the world.