NMB48 Junjou U-19 Ryouri Taiketsu (Cooking Battle) Part 2 — Japan vs. The World

From the last entry, we know that Kishino and Yamaguchi advanced to the finals.

It looks pretty grim for Kishino. Whereas Yamaguchi was like “Yeah, I’m gonna incorporate my Osakan roots and show you how to be creative with Omuraisu,” Kishino was more like the happy-go-lucky, “I put in Kimchee and I won! Thank god for Kimchee! Sorry if it’s spicy!” girl.

Neither Milky nor Sayanee have really shown any cooking skill so they’re probably just dead weight.

Ironically, except for Milky, everyone else is in the Bird unit of NMB’s A3 performance. Although Yuppi is cool in my book for the crap she went through in Naniwa Nadeshiko (the prank, as well as the part where had to get rid of her bad luck) as well as for that one episode of Ohayo Asahi where she uh… ran… hypnotizingly… her Bird performance demonstrated how weak she is in singing on stage, so I’m finding it harder to like her. But none of that matters right now since we’re talking about cooking.

It looked creepy, but it's just chicken.

Strangely, they’re gonna run on Iron Chef rules, and the special ingredient is Hinai Chicken. I’ve never had it, but according to JP Wikipedia, it’s prized for its tough chew and the richness of its fat. It’s actually a protected species too. Apparently it’s one of the 3 famous chicken breeds in Japan, along with Satsuma chicken and Nagoya Cocchin. But again, I’ve never had it, so as far as I know, it’s just chicken.

A pointed difference as it seems Shirogumi's never cut a whole chicken before, where as Akagumi tackles it like experts.

For some reason, they’re using ceramic knives, and I don’t know why. When it comes to kitchen knives, if you want the sharpest knives, you go to Japan because they know how to process their steel. Whereas German knives are sturdy and tough but not as sharp, Japanese knives are thin and can split hairs, but you have to sharpen them often. Ceramic knives only reach the sharpness levels of German knives, and you can’t sharpen them yourself; you have to send them back. So… anyway…

We can see some of the dishes start to take form. Shirogumi’s going for a Japanese style using really basic recipes. Yakitori with tare, and nabe. Akagumi is making a curry doria(!!!) and boiling some chicken. I think Yuppi said something about chocolate, maybe she put some chocolate in the curry?

Anyway, let’s skip to the end.

Her dishes are composed of a fried chicken starter, a colorful chicken salad with a pineapple tartar sauce, and the chicken curry doria. Wow. Like, I don’t even know how you come up with that stuff on the fly. Watching everyone’s reaction was great too.

The judges were just dumbfounded with how good it is. You could also see the care in which Yuppi put into serving the dish; she placed a premium on appearance, even when serving everyone’s individual dish. The girls were screaming so loud when Yuppi cut into the doria, you could probably double that sound effect for use in an AV.

I bet Momoka the Hentai Queen would do something like that.

She also explains that her uncle is a cook, incorporating his technique of putting in chocolate in the curry. Her stuff is so high level, maybe she should just become a chef instead of doing NMB…

Whoa uh, hello there...

Rika’s menu is not as elaborate, but hey, basic dishes done right can be really good.

Genuflect for the food.

The Yakitori dish looked pretty simple. It reminded me of how I keep throwing away the organs that come with the chicken instead of keeping it. Man. Now I feel bad.

The name of her nabe dish is “Trusting the Kimchee” or something like that. Girl loves her kimchee, what can I say.

The big surprise was her third dish, which also elicited quite a few screams…

Just add egg! Now it's completely different! Magic!

Keira can't believe it. She only believes in Magic Johnson.

Kishino’s dishes looked great, but honestly, Yuppi was on another level. Yuppi fused a lot of unique flavors together (chocolate in the curry? pineapple tartar?), her presentation was top notch, and there was enough food to feed probably both teams. Kishino’s 2nd and 3rd dish weren’t that different, and though there is beauty in simplicity, I think she was really outclassed… like a home cook vs. a pro. This should be an easy victory for Yuppi. She had it on the creative end and on the presentation end and sure, let’s throw in the quantity end too.

Wait what? I don't even...

I... wait, what happened? And Milky! Stop laughing!

How did she lose? Did Dewey defeat Truman again?

I don’t know what happened. It just doesn’t make any sense. If you look at right before the judging, you could see Yuppi praying to win, where as Kishino was kinda smiling because she knew she couldn’t match Yuppi. But… like… I just don’t know.

It’s not like I’m playing favorites either–I would rank Kishino above Yuppi. Maybe management wanted to see tears? Maybe the old guys on the judging panel can’t handle the new Western tastes, and they still haven’t seen the black ships? Maybe management wanted a senbatsu winner over a non-senbatsu winner?

It was really fun to watch the whole battle, but the conclusion just left me sour. I can’t believe that just happened. It got me depressed re-watching this just to screen cap this.

Well, at least I got some new recipes to try out…

NMB48 Junjou U-19 Ryouri Taiketsu (Cooking Battle) Part 1 — Omugyoza

The bonus DVDs for Type-A and Type-B contain a food battle between Akagumi and Shirogumi, with Type-A containing a prelim match and Type-B containing the finals.

During the prelims, everyone makes a certain dish with their own style incorporated into it, and they select the best chef to represent them in the final match.

This was, surprisingly, quite entertaining. Spoilers abound, so if you don’t want to know the results, uhh… go read another one of my fine articles?

Anyway…

First up is Shirogumi, whose challenge is Gyoza.

There’s a couple of really nice ideas. I was really impressed with Maachun’s.

In true waseigo fashion, she calls her dish a collabo of Chinese food and Italian.

It’s got some tomato, it’s served with a ketchup/soy sauce, and there’s a drizzle of Parmesan on it. That’s pretty cool. I actually want to try that one day.

One group made some with strawberries. Yeah, I don’t know why people just don’t stick to the basics…

Pork chop sandwiches!

Keira sets her pan on fire. I think the best part of this was her reaction, she starts laughing and was basically like, “Tee hee, I dunno what’s going on!” Some might find it adorable. I find it hilarious.

The backup singer for Bird puts hane, how appropriate.

Kishino makes gyoza with Kimchee. She uses a technique where you add a flour solution to the pan, so it gives it what’s called “Hane,” or wings. It makes it crispier on the bottom. I tried it but I wasn’t so successful. Thanks Naruhodo High School!

Anyway, due to the power of Kimchee, she wins the battle, with Maachun coming in 2nd. I forget who came in 3rd, but she got there with a natto Gyoza.

Pickled plum and fish? Are you serious?

Kanakichi was not so successful. Pickled plum and fish. Yeah. I don’t know. The worst part is that she has such a refreshing smile. She found a way to wipe that smile away… by eating her own food. She wanted to best Kinoshita Haruna but she wasn’t so successful and picked up the “Worst of the Show” award, having to drink a shot of bitter tea as punishment.

On the Akagumi side, they had to make omelette rice.

I am just realizing how crazy and weird Kinoshita Momoka is. At first I didn’t like her because she screams otaku to me, but then I realized how funny she is. Like her reaction when she realized she had to crack eggs for this challenge.

I see dead chickens.

But then, check out her reaction when she succeeds.

This is the greatest day of my life! I'm king of the world!

Because there are only 10 stations, the 2 people who were voted as most likely to screw up were put on a team. This team had Hikawa and Riichan. They decided to use the most basic recipe, and gee, unsurprisingly, it worked. Strawberry Gyoza, come on. Yeah, I’m still (sweet and) bitter.

"Simple is best."

I think they ended up with 2nd place.

1st place by what was probably a large margin was Yuppi. I mean, she absolutely blew everyone out. She makes some neo Omurice in the vein of sukiyaki, saying that she even implements the taste of Osaka in it. She was on her own level.

Actually I thought she was making fajitas in the beginning.

But this ain't no fajita.

I felt bad for the last place person. Fuuko. Just looking at it, it was already bad. I get down on myself when I serve people stuff that I know is average and not that good. But when it’s bad? Oh man. I’d just call for pizza. She tries it herself and…

She's behind Milky, hiding her shame (and throwing up, probably).

The finals will feature Yuppi and Kishino, with Milky and Sayanee as their sous chefs.

NMB48: Junjou U-19 moraxGiRLPOP translated interview

Feel free to distribute the translation! Just remember the source (of the real interview, not my crappy translation).

Asking the following members about the 3rd Single Junjou U-19 members: Ogasawara Mayu, Yamamoto Sayaka, Fukumoto Aina, Jounishi Kei, Yamada Nana, Watanabe Miyuki

──For the third single, a more adult song has finally come.
Ogasawara: Compared to the 2nd single’s “Coming home from club activities and eating croquettes,” I thought the lyrics were daring and provocative.
Fukumoto: Things like “Tonight, come over and play,” and “Protect my pure heart until I’m 19…”
Yamada: Then, seriously, “Iron Panties” (laughter). What an incredible impact.
Watanabe: It’s a silly joke for everyone now but in the beginning, it was quite embarrassing. The singing coach was saying “Be more confident when you say Iron panties!” (laughter)
Yamamoto: At first it was supposed to be “iron resolve.” But panties is more direct and has a better impact so it was good that we decided on this.
Jounishi: As for the actual song, because of the upbeat tempo, I thought it was really cool.
Yamada: The choreography is pretty sharp, and this time we’re in shiny gold outfits, so I thought we could be really charming during our concerts and performances. To tell the truth, while dancing I think, “I bet I look really cool now.” (laughter)
Fukumoto: For this song, Kei becomes a bridge and while we lift her, Sayaka passes under her. I think it’s quite original.
Jounishi: When I first heard that I had to do that I thought “It’s impossible!” But after I tried it, it wasn’t as scary as I expected, so I’m quite used to it. (laughter)
──The “one point” performance has become a characteristic of NMB.
Yamamoto: For our first single we had the bow, and for our second single we formed a pyramid. “I wonder what’s going to come next,” and I was kinda nervous.
Watanabe: We’ve done of lots of things, and since we’ve established that kind of tone, I think it’s great to keep going like this.
──What kind of group is NMB?
Ogasawara: We’re idols, but it’s also important for our group to be funny. It’s not just performances but also our talking ability that’s emphasized.
Fukumoto: The scariest thing is bombing a joke during an MC of a performance!
──So, your rival is not AKB but Yoshimoto Kogyo?
Yamamoto: Well, it’s both. Idols, musicians, comedians, in the end they all come together. We don’t want to lose to any entertainers so we want to steadily improve our dancing, singing, and our MC ability.

source: http://mora.jp/special/girlpop_mora/?cpid=NMB48.moragirlpop.201202

NMB48: Junjou U-19 – Ferrous Panties

I’m really feeling the new NMB48 single. Oh My God was a bit of dumb fun, and the choreography was kinda goofy except for the pyramid. Zetsumetsu was kinda cool stylistically but I think it lacked a bit of punch.

Junjou U-19 fixes it with great choreography and with a song that’s goofy and fun but also cool and catchy.

You also get to see them play with their balls.

The glittery gold uniforms look good, though a bit tacky. They wear it better than Flying Get, though.

Speaking of the choreography, a couple things stand out. First of all, it’s pretty sexy without being slutty, finding that literally cool medium. It’s not the sexy-kawaii that’s present in Japan, but a cool sexy. And like I said, it’s not slutty either, so while there’s a bunch of lolis on the team, it doesn’t feel dirty, it just feels cool.

Cool.

The lyrics also reflect the non-slutty nature of the song. Like yo son, put your pants back on. It’s kinda weird to have this song and Seifuku wo Jama wo Suru under their belts but… whatever.

(Under their belts… I wonder if there’s some sort of imagery I was implying…?)

Reminds me of Kashiwagi, and not in a good way.

There’s also a little bit of acrobatics. Jou and Kishino do cartwheels and in the back they do this cool lifting maneuver on someone and have Yamamoto walk under it. I also feel like the choreography is a bit more demanding as far as sharpness and cleanness. I remember watching a clip of NMB48 practicing on Star Hime when they first debuted, and they had pretty sick skills; I think they’re getting closer and closer to matching their skills with the choreography, since I’m not a fan of the typical idol choreography. Put in some more hip-hop stylez, yo~!

She should've used the pot that you can get at the SCUMM Bar.

The concept for the PV is kinda twisted but I guess it could make sense. As the song is about preserving purity until you’re 19, you could tie in the fact that they still believe in the supernatural as part of that innocence… but I dunno, that feels like I’m stretching. Either way the video is just fun to watch. The part with the silhouettes and Yamamoto busting out the Shurijo pose was a nice inside joke shout out.

I know which one is Yamamoto!

Overall I’m really feeling this song. I’ll be sure to protect my iron panties from rusting.

NMB48: Doryoku no Shizuku — The Yellow Turban Rebellion

When I first heard this song, I noticed the heavily distorted guitar. Something about it sounded familiar.

So I closed my eyes and tried to trace it. I ended up in world of Dynasty Warriors.

I then imagined some sort of crazy drama series in AKS with all of them representing the Three Kingdoms. Takamina as Zhuge Liang would be pretty sick.

…anyway.

You think this school is bad, wait till you see the Juku.

I pegged myself as a Shirogumi fan because they seem to have all the members I really like (Yamamoto/Nana/Rika/Ogasawara/Kinoshita H), and then they added Jou so how could you go wrong?

Is that Maachun on the left? Well, I guess you could go wrong...

One of my favorite NMB songs is actually Boku no Maketa Natsu, the B-side from Zetsumetsu. It’s fairly generic and the PV could’ve been filmed in someone’s garage (okay, an American person’s garage because that’s totally not a Japanese garage) but I liked how you could pick out some voices, and most of the members had their own little moments in the video even it was just slow motion of them pouring milk on themselves or getting blasted by water, which I find hilarious.

Them legs. No milk needed.

Shirogumi’s OMG B-side wasn’t to my style, so I thought that maybe with the unit shuffle that this would turn out to be a good song… but listening-wise, it wasn’t as good as I expected.

It seems like they lost of their individuality and rely again on that group-sing mentality. Maybe they’re not meshing the right voices together or something, as I thought that Milky’s voice fit perfectly with Jo’s in Hoshokushatachi Yo. Give some people some solo lines or something, something to break up the monotony.

Individuality, like Haruna. She has the best hair in NMB, I swear.

With that said, the PV is actually pretty awesome! The costumes and hairstyles are pretty sophisticated and have that Greek goddess thing going on, the choreography seems good and has a pretty sick flower formation thing, people are flying all over the place, it’s wild and chaotic yet elegant and refreshing. Story-wise, it makes absolutely no sense, so I dunno why they even bothered trying to incorporate something like that with a 2 minute intro that accomplishes much, but it sets up all the crazy flying action and dancing.

Blanka Ballin' down the hallway.

Throwin' Air Hadokens in class too.

Then when you think about it, it IS like Dynasty Warriors. Chaotic and elegant? Greek goddess thing going on? A story that doesn’t make much sense? People flying all over the place?

Hmm.

Just remember, do not engage Lu Bu.

NMB48: Migi e magare! — Turn Righto

Do you like girls?

Do you like girls in military garb?

Do you like seeing girls run in military garb?

Do you like the stage Nosasharharhahsrhr Canals in Battlefield 3?

watch out for claymores

Then this is the PV for you!

hidari wa akan!

Unfortunately, I think this song suffers greatly from what call group-sing. All the voices are so hopelessly blended that it loses its individuality, its soul, its vitality. It’s not as if it would’ve sounded better if they gave every member a solo, because the song itself sounds so monotonous. I was a big fan of the Jou Eriko-led Akagumi B-side from Oh My God! but this song sounds just… boring. One of the things I like about NMB48’s main singles is that they use a lot of isolations of units within the group, and if you’re a fan you can kind of distinguish between them. They kinda try to do the same thing but it’s not really there.

Don't be mad at me. I'm just telling it how it is. Go turn right if you don't like what I'm saying!

Milky-center could be really refreshing. There’s like a different aura that projects on down as opposed to the calm cool captain Yamamoto. Unfortunately, it seems to come off more like a rookie/noob dance number, instead of the natural confidence that she projects.

There was one part where she gets tackled by one of the guys in the black getup, only to unmask it and realize that it’s her. I dunno why but her on herself was like super hot. This was also supposed to be the “deep meaning” part of the video, but given that it doesn’t really establish why they’re running or for what reason, it doesn’t really have an effect. So instead I’ll just entertain myself with thoughts of her tackling herself.

Get out of the way! Milky's here!

Milky と　Milky を 混ぜて, あっという間に・・・ sexiness.

The only other thing to note about this video?

OH MY GOD WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU

Riichan (Rii-kun?) looks like a dude. I had to double take and ask myself who the hell that was. Seriously. Oh man. I keep looking at that picture and I’m laughing and feeling sorry for her at the same time. Oh man. Ohhhhh man.

lololololololol. in duplicate it's even worse