Morning Musume's 'Hero' energy-packed funfest

May 2, 2008 at 10:39 PM
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Eri, center, January 2008, might beat Risa and Aichan to the graduation table.

The “Resonant Blue” era has begun for Morning Musume. But if “Blue” marks a new beginning, then it was one hell of an end for the previous era as Morning Musume turned in its best performance in years as part of the Wonderful Hearts Tour and Hello Project Winter 2008 Awards Show in January.

That was evidenced in the first Awards Show perf at Yokohama Arena when the red-clad Daughters of the Morning jacked up the already stunning setlist with a brutal double whammy: “Love & Peace! HERO ga Yattekita” and “Bomb Girl.”

Morning Musume closed out the pre-'Resonant Blue' era in style in January.

This took place soon after “Mikan” shook the arena main stage, walkways and launch pads. That was a thunderous song, and “Hero” and “Bomb Girl” were appropriate follow-ups.

Fellow blogging colleague CK has already described the sensational costumes that Morning Musume donned during this memorable doubleheader. And, though CK certainly took note of the “posteriors” of the performers, the whole costume design just clicked. Tsunku’s trademark red contrasted with the white trim and the result, as they say, speaks for itself.

From left, JunJun, Aika, Aichan and Reina take 'Hero' to a new level at Yokohama Arena.

Our first communiqué from Yokohama after the first performance on Jan. 26 reflected the fact that Morning Musume looked and sounded better than they had in years to lift what was a flat first night overall. That was quickly upgraded in the Sunday matinee (Jan. 27) and was profoundly concluded with the night DVD shoot.

Kamei, left, was on her game but LinLin, right, was unstoppable all night long.

The DVDs that arrived in March clearly confirmed that “Hero” carried an extra kick. The girls were funny, with high energy and the Pandas, LinLin and JunJun, continued their “Mikan” roll through not only “Hero” but “Bomb Girl” as well.

Uh ... just what are Kusumi, left, and Reina up to?

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But all nine Daughters were at their very best, even as an era ended and the “Resonant Blue” era was to dawn.

Kusumi, right, just covered a lot of ground, including this cuddle with Eri.

“Hero’s” lyrics are just flat fun, a classic flirt on a par with the Olivia Newton-John climax in “Grease” with John Travolta, “The One That I Want.” Here they are, courtesy the wonderful lyrics site “Projecthello.com:”