Friday, August 17, 2012

Cat's Eye 7 or Catwoman's Sexy Minions?


First of all, is it just me or has there been a boatload of electropop this year? Like Kikkawa Yuu released the Vocaloid-influenced Koko Kara Hajimarunda. Then Morning Musume released One Two Three which is laced with Autotune and the typical electro effects. Kara released Speed Up, another electropop song. And of course Perfume is Perfume but it's a stretch to call their music electropop. That's only three groups... maybe it is just me.

Well... if that's the case, I guess Cat's Eye 7 is just continuing the pattern then.

When I first heard about the unit for the play Cat's Eye, I was slightly, and I mean very slightly, interested. Considering the unit consisted of Maimi, Nakky, and Maimai from C-ute and Yurina, Maasa, Risako, and Saki from Berryz, I did like the mix-up but worried that members like Maasa, Maimai, and Saki would get shafted in favor of more popular members in this unit. I honestly didn't think they'd do much in terms of promoting a song for the play anyways. Still, the promotional pics I saw floating around along with the gorgeous single cover released did make me wonder just how far they were going to promote this new song. Hell, would it even get a music video? I later found out that yes, yes it would! I'm not sure why such promotion has gone into this song (the play might just be popular in Japan or UFA's getting bored) when bigger groups like Reborn Eleven also released singles and were quickly forgotten about by UFA and the general public. Still, with some sexy leather outfits and the potential for a really kickass group and song, I decided to keep my eyes and ears open for anything I heard about this little stage unit.

A warning to anyone who hasn't listened to it yet: there is a lot of electro-sound in this song. Seriously, I think Tsunku just took the recording of the vocals and dumped it in a vat of electronic acid. So if you're not a huge fan of that type of music then I don't think you'll take much of a liking to this song. I could be wrong, but if the electro-sound doesn't drive you away from this single yet then the Autotune might be the final nail one the coffin. I honestly think there's more Autotune in this song than electro-sound! The girls all sound like they're halfway through some "human-to-cyborg" transformation experiment that involves singing for some reason. Think One Two Three: the song is very similar in style and tone to One Two Three except everyone gets equal lines and no one sounds like an evil robot about to flood my room with neurotoxin. I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone sounded despite the overlaying Autotune because I could still make out who was who. Even Risako whose voice is incredibly hit or miss for me was surprisingly good. Maimai and Nakky sounded like a combination of adorable and sexy. And Saki's rapping is top notch as usual although I found it to be similar to the "gratuitous rap sequences" I find every time I decide to listen to a K-pop song. In fact... this entire song has a very K-pop sound to it! With the Autotune, the upbeat, catchy instrumental, the rapping... if this were in Korean, I think it would blend in right into what the K-pop market is churning out right now (they are still doing that, right?). Normally I can only take so much K-pop let alone K-pop influenced music but Cat's Eye pulls it off pretty well. It might be because I'm a little more lenient to electro music as long as the vocals aren't butchered and since everyone sounds non-cacophonous, Cat's Eye 7 is a win unit for me!

Another surprise for me was that this song actually garnered a music video! How much you wanna bet UFA just wanted to put those skintight leather costumes to use for something besides pictures? Who cares? Let's see how far UFA stretched their $2.00 budget this time!


And so the video begins with sirens. What, are they under arrest for being too sexy?


...

I guess so.


I mean, sweet Jesus! Leather, cat ears, high boots, give them whips and they can be Catwoman's sexy minions!


Although there are a shitload of sparkles and other Photoshop effects in this PV, it still doesn't reach One Two Three level, thank god.


It pains me to know I will never reach Maasa's level of coolness...


I adore Nakky but my eyes are drifting to Risako's self-groping in this shot. It's strangely hilarious.


Hell, everyone's groping themselves! It's a groping party! Only not because that sounds like a sucky party.


Finally, a style that suits Risako! Those twintails horns have been recycled a lot in H!P lately. First Haruna, then Airi, and now Risako! You know what they say: "If it ain't broke, keep using it!"


I feel like I see this move in every idol PV that's trying to be sexy (and some that aren't). I should come up with a name for it by now!


And Maimai once again proves she has turned into a bombshell. I blame the sexy cat costume.


Oh hi, gratuitous special effect!


With our sexy powers combined we will make the whole WORLD sexy! NYAN!



Make way for Saki, boss Captain and boss rapper!


Seriously, she totally owns her little rap sequence; shame it didn't last long...


I know this move is supposed to be sexy but when I screencap it, their spines look like they were replaced with really long Twizzler sticks.


Here's a sexy picture of Maasa to make up for it!


If I were to pick who could pull of Catwoman the best, I think I'd go with Maimai!


Every time I see a cool dance move, that stupid camera glare blinds me again!


Just add this to the List of Sexy Dance Moves


I think I like this cat pose better than Momochi's.


It's times like these I wonder if their parents ever watch their music videos. Because if they watched this one...


Oh, Yurina. I love how your tallness always gets your head cut off in shots!


And after holding that pose for 15 minutes, Catwoman's Sexy Minions went off to rob AKB48.

All right, raise your hand if you think the PV was shot for the sole purpose of fanservice! Because that was a rhetorical question and I can't see you through my monitor, I'll just assume you went along with it and get back to the review! The SEXY review! Can't you feel the sexiness oozing from the little letters of this wall of text? No? Then you're not trying hard enough! But let me tell you, the Cat's Eye girls are definitely putting their all into making this one of the sexiest PVs from H!P's repertoire. To think that these girls went from Ookina Ai de Motenashite and Piriri to Yukou to tight leather costumes and suggestive dancing is both ironic and hilarious. Although the dance is incredibly sexy, it's also very well done but that can be expected when you have strong dancers like Nakky, Maimi, and Saki in the group! In fact, the dance is one of the strongest points in the PV which is good because that's pretty much all this is: a dance shot with a couple glitter effects thrown in! Yeah, it's cheap. You know the drill. Blah-blah-blah-it's-UFA-blah-blah-blah. Still, there were a couple creative camera shots tossed in here and there and despite the fact that's there's only one single set, it's always pretty awesome to see anyone dancing on top of a freaking building. The only thing that bothered me were those stupid camera glares that showed up all over the place! I was seeing dots by the time the PV was finished! Overall, I don't much else to say about the PV other than the heavy fanservice and sexy dance yet it was done well without looking terribly cheap. For a stage unit, it's nice that they put so much effort into the group's promotion even if we'll never hear from them again!

But hey! You have a sexy video to do god-knows-what with, wotas! Enjoy that! As for the girls, I hope this single does well and they break a leg doing their play!

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