Single V: Forever Love

C-ute did three great videos in 2008 and I don't know which is the best, "Forever Love" or "Edo no Temari Uta II." (The other is "Namida no Iro.") "Edo" is the cutest song and has the most colorful costumes and imaginative dance moves, but "Forever Love" offers a dance routine that just may be the best ensemble piece C-ute has ever done (so far). The choreography has the kind of drive and energy I'd like to see in more pop dance numbers and the girls pull it off like the finely-tuned performance unit they have become. In the main video, the girls wear two sets of costumes. When we first see them, they're all in black suits, white shirts, and ties, with black high-top sneaker boots, and they watch footage of themselves on computer monitors doing the main dance routine in different outfits comprised of more casual sportswear, but still very stylish (especially the outfits worn by Maimi, Airi, Saki, and Maimai). At different points in the video they're seen dancing in the black suits and I must say those suits make them the coolest-looking I've ever seen them. The "Casual Dance Ver." only shows the dance routine in the more casual outfits. It's basically a Dance Shot version that allows us to see the full dance routine performed in medium long shot with minimal cuts. This is exactly how I want Dance Shot versions to be presented. Just put them out there, give them some great choreography, let them loose, and nail the camera down and shoot. Both versions of the video are enormous fun to watch. The dancing is some of the best I've ever seen them do. The videos are followed on the DVD by five minutes of "Making of" footage, which is not nearly enough. Berryz Kobo had 16 min. of Making of footage on their "Madayade" Single-V. C-ute deserves at least that much. That's why I give this four out of five stars, deducting one for being so stingy with the Making of footage.