MANATSU NO SOUNDS GOOD!(+DVD)(regular)(TYPE A)

I've chosen 5 stars because I like everything done sharp with this girls group on CD/DVD. Good luck to all the listeners!

Great music

With the success of AKB48′s 25th CD single "Give Me Five!", when I saw promos of their 26th CD single "Manatsu no Sounds good!" and saw members of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 in bikinis, I knew that this single was going to do well in sales.Not just because they are in bikinis but also because it is the first time a single would feature 36 girls from the various 48 groups! But also, the single is a senbatsu election single in which fans who purchase the single will be able to vote the top 16 AKB48 members to be represented in the next CD single.And sure enough, AKB48 has managed to achieve their biggest selling CD single yet with 1.6 million copies sold in its first week. A magnificent accomplishment in today's Japanese music industry and have no doubt that the single will achieve 2 million copies sold by the end of the month.Suffice to say, it has been well-documented of how tremendous AKB48 has been as a business machine, media machine and there is no sign of that machine slowing down!With "Manatsu no Sounds good!", there will be a total of three versions of of the single. Type-A and Type-B will come with a DVD and a different third track. The limited edition will feature a different cover and come with a random ticket for nationwide handshake meeting events and the regular edition will come with a senbatsu voting card. The third version, the theater edition, will come with no DVD but will come with a ticket for a theater handshake event and owners can purchase a photo of a member.The version that I will be reviewing of "Manatsu no Sounds good!" is the Type-A limited edition version. This version comes with a slip case with Haruna Kojima, Mariko Shinoda, Yuko Oshima, Atsuko Maeda, Minami Takahashi, Yuki Kashiwagi and Tomomi Itano on the front cover. While the reverse side features Asuka Kuramochi, Sae Miyazawa, Rie Kitahara, Yuka Masuda, Yui Yokoyama, Minami Minegishi and Tomomi Kasai.The insert booklet is 16-pages with individual photos of several members in their bikinis. Lyrics and production credits are included.The first track on the CD single is "Manatsu no Sounds good!" (which translates to "Midsummer Sounds good!"). The song is an upbeat, catchy pop track that has the feeling of summer but also an enthusiastic feel due to the many members featured in the song. The song also captures the feeling of summer incredibly well.The song begins with the girl saying to put suntan oil lotion on her back and as she removed her swimsuit top and lays down, you can smell the sweet scent of the lotion. And with the relationship doing so well, the two discuss moving in another step in their relationship by confessing one's love but it's something she has been unable to do in the past. But with the waves sounding good, the midsummer sounding good, the time is right and now she finally has the courage to say "I love you".The second track "Mitsu no Namida" (which translates to "Three Types of Tears") is another upbeat, joyful track performed by the Special Girls (which are the Undergirls with the Kenkyuusei research students). The feel of the song is reminiscent of past AKB48 upbeat pop tracks. The song is about a girl who is always happy whenever she is with the guy that she likes. Whenever she's down and he is nearby, she's happy. And she typically has three tears running down her cheek. One is of sadness, the other is for joy and the third is for a new chapter/stage in her life. She's not sure if the guy likes her but she knows that if he is not interested in her, her feelings of hope will continue to grow.The third track is "Chodai, Darling!" (which translates to "Please, Darling!") and has a feel of an modern upbeat, pop version of a '50s style song. Catchy and cool, the song features members of Team A, Team K, Team B and also Team 4. The song is about a girl who has fallen in love. She wants to grow up and mature, so she borrows her mothers lipstick and is preparing herself for the guy she likes. In her mind, she has wild ideas of kissing the guy she likes and feels that she is in the right stage of her life to fall in love. A song about a virgin and a girl with no experience of being with a guy, just having dreams and ideas of what a relationship and being with a guy is all about. And really falling for a guy and wants him to kiss her and love her.The final three tracks on the CD are the instrumental off vocal versions of the song.As for the DVD, the first music video featured is "Manatsu no Sounds good!" and the best way to explain this video is that it's a clash of two worlds. The older AKB48 members and the younger AKB48 members.Mayu Watanabe of the younger group is talking to Atsuko Maeda of the older group of how she shouldn't have saved her and to escape while she can, but Mayu wants to help her. The video then shows us of a world where some type of attack has taken place and it exposes a field where the young girls who were in P.E. and seeking cover under the rain, sees this distortion in the middle of the field.The older girls are now being affected by some alien virus and they are dying and their life blood is being turned to black. The young girls of AKB48 sees them and the older members try to scream for them to not get close to them and stay where they are, but the young members run and pick the older members up and try to save them.In the process, the young girls start dying with blood exploding from their mouths and their blood starts turning black and they begin collapsing. The two lone survivors for each group...Mayuyu and Acchan.While the two are escaping on bicycle, Atsuko covers Mayu's eyes with her hand.The video then transitions to an island paradise with the all the girls from various 48 groups dancing and singing "Manatsu no Sounds good!". The video ends with the two trying to walk and escape, while at the end of the road are all their friends waiting for them, with smiles and are wearing their white dresses.My opinion is that this video symbolizes Atsuko Maeda's graduation and the pending graduation of the older members. For Atsuko Maeda, she has passed the baton to Mayu Watanabe and both are featured as centers during the music video (dance portion). As for the sci-fi storyline, my feeling is that the video showcases unity. One segment features Karen Iwata standing among the dead members and I'm assuming this is to symbolize her surviving the great earthquake and tsunami disaster. And as for everyone in white dresses, my feeling is that the two lone survivors died and they see their happy friends in the afterlife. This is a symbol that old and new, AKB48 members who have graduated will embrace them with open arms.The second video is the dance version of "Manatsu no Sounds good!" and features the girls dancing in their bikinis and an intro of the group rehearsing and having fun on the beach before their dance. And probably the best dance version of a music video I have seen on a DVD so far!The third music video "Mitsu no Namida" features the AKB48 Special Girls. The video begins with three Chinese men who are gambling and then we see tears streaming down Sayaka Akimoto's face and then we see three groups of girls dancing in different settings. One with silver shiny dresses, while the other is wearing normal, colorful clothes while the other are in more urban style clothing with metal fences behind them. And the girl selected are represented by the colors that the gambling men select. And we see tears flowing down a few members faces and other members hoping they are selected.The fourth music video is for "Chodai, Darling!" and AKB48 are in colorful dresses, performing their song. While we see another side of them as secretaries or teachers and are in their work dresses. And each are singing the song. A fun video!The fifth video is 22-minutes long and features the first part of the 27th CD Single member profile in which many members of AKB48 are featured and a brief video clip of each member are shown with their name in English and Japanese. Also, other profile information that will hopefully assist people who have a senbatsu card and are trying to figure out which member to vote for.It's important to note that this is a region 2 DVD and will not play on a region 1 player (unless you have a non-region DVD player) but can be played on a MAC or PC using free video playing software such as VLC or Daum PotPlayer.JUDGMENT CALL:"Manatsu no Sounds good!" was a fun and enjoyable 26th CD single. From its catchy and upbeat music, to the awesome video content featured on the DVD, Type-A is not so different from Type-B unless you want the extra third track and also the DVD for Team A, Team K, Team B, Team 4 and Kenkyuusei profile videos. But personally, I prefer Type-A for "Chodai, Darling!" over Type-B's google+ song "Gugatsu no Sora".Overall, AKB48′s record-breaking CD single is their most successful single yet. Featuring three upbeat, enjoyable tracks and four music videos plus a 22-minute profile video for the upcoming 4th annual senbatsu elections, "Manatsu no Sounds good!" (Type-A) is a solid CD+DVD single overall! Recommended!

今回、「逃がした魚たち」、「AKBがいっぱい」、「ミリオンがいっぱい」のPV集とシングルで「恋するフォーチュンクッキー」を手頃な価格で購入できましたからそろそろ最後のつもりで買いました。ジジイとなりました自分にとっては若さと元気を注入できるアイテムになりそうです。それにしてもDVDの方に入っている特典映像のような形の2012年に行われた選抜総選挙用メンバー紹介VTRは、その関連グループを含めその人数の多さが女子校並みで全て観るのにかなりエネルギーを費やしました。真のファンの方達はほぼ全員を把握していると考えると脅威をおぼえます。卒業されたメンバーと共にこれから変化を続けながらも活躍されるのを期待しています。

メンバーの1人が友人の娘さんで購入しました。

娘に頼まれて買いました。喜んでました。

AKB

最近の歌の良さは私にはよくわからない。リアルジャズでもなく、さりとてJ-POPでもない。これは歌手の責任ではないけれど！日本にも今少し独自性のある軽音楽が生まれないかな！その点J-POPの時代はよかった