Morning Musume “Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai”

NIPPON! NIPPON! NIPPON, NIPPON, NIPPON, NIPPON!

Unless you need bludgeoning, the third PV released from the 01/29 Morning Musume ’14 release is a clear cheer song for the nation of Japan. The set featuring billowing red and white cloth clearly evoke the Japanese flag, while the round white stage set amid red drapes acts like a mirrored Japanese rising sun. These simple elements work great with the PV. These elements give the impression of the Japanese flag waving majestically on the rising sun.

Morning Musume ’14 has this formation dance thing

I call this the “Speed Skating” move. Is there a Japanese front runner Speed Skater?

“Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai” is the musical cousin of the recent “Ai no Gundan“. This time, Tsunku keeps the same melodic line repeated over changing chords. With every repetition, the melody accents different tonalities to the effect of the creation of varied moods stemming from the same melody. This musical trick either works for you, or you call it lazy songwriting. I have this feeling that your opinion on this matter exposes your opinion on Tsunku more than anything else.

“Kimi no Kawari…” is also a cheer song wrapped up in a single. The English translation “No One Can Replace You” certainly fits the sentiment of swelling national pride over a sporting event. If I was a biathlete I would probably be uplifted at the thought of Eripon telling me “No One Can Replace You!” The lyrics even conveniently contain a “Nippon! Nippon!” chant. What could be more perfect for a cheer?

Cue the “No one can replace you” montage …

However, making this song a cheer song is the crux of the problem. Tsunku no doubt felt the pressure of following his musical muse, writing a single track, and creating a cheer song. Trying to accomplish all three tasks with the same track is a lofty goal. Sadly, I think “Kimi no Kawari …” falls just short of all three goals. I can’t shake the feeling that had Tsunku concentrated on only one of the goals we would be talking about a better song. Still, I’m sure the “Kimi no Kawari …” refrain of the song will be an earworm to many.

These olympic rings are modified for copyright control

I’m not a huge fan of the green and black outfits. I know the colors work complimentary to each other, but this much green gives me a sickly feeling. I’m not helped by the makeup work on this PV. I think the girls are made-up too heavily. Their youthfulness is regrettably masked. As I’m sure many are drawn by their youth (this IS Japan we are talking about), this works to the detriment of the PV.

Eripon shouldn’t look like this

More than a few fans anxiously awaited this PV; somehow some wota believed this PV’s budget would rival that of the lead PV from this single, “Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa”. Unfortunately, the PV does not give the girls much to do in this PV. The PV offers a dynamic dance shot, one-shots of each girl, and that’s it. You know by now that I don’t need much from my PVs, so this pleases me just fine. But, think of those anticipating wota. I’m sure they’re not happy. Of the three songs, “Kimi no Kawari …” has my least favorite choreography. I’m into seeing the girls pound their hips rhythmically- it looks like it hurts. Even though I complained about many of the visual elements of the song I admit the images of the girls against the waving red and white background are very appealing.

Shippers just love these suggestive pairings

Sakura gets a juicy solo and spotlight

I couldn’t resist the scary Riho face

But I’ll follow it up with fierce Riho. Riho gives some GREAT looks in this PV

Closing Tableau

Now that all the horses have entered the race I can post my rankings: 1) “Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa”, 2) “What is LOVE?“, and 3) “Kimi no Kawari…”