BD. Hello! Project 2011 WINTER - Kange Shinsen Matsuri - Kanzen Ban [Blu-ray]

Can there be too much of a good thing? This set offers five solid hours of material: two two-hour concerts + 21 additional songs that are not on the DVDs. I first watched all five hours in two sessions over two days and found it wearying. When I re-watched it for this review, I watched it in portions and skipped past the MC segments and the numbers I didn't like and appreciated all the rest so much more. There are enough top-notch numbers in this to earn it 5 stars. But it's best watched in portions. The Blu-ray experience has its pros and cons. You can see everyone quite clearly, even when they're sitting on the side of the stage during others' performances, which can be distracting. In the ensemble numbers, since everyone's in such clear focus, it's hard to know where to look when there are over a dozen girls in a single shot. A small price to pay, though. The girls all look fantastic in this format. The highlights of this set, for me, are in the extras. Disc A features 10 extra numbers by the special units, including Pucchimoni V, Shin Minimoni, Aa, Tanpopo#, Zoku V-u-den, and, best of all, High-King, who offer some great dance moves. Disc B features 11 extra numbers--all solos, including breathtaking vocals by Airi Suzuki, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Maimi Yajima and Ai Takahashi, and delightful turns by Mai Hagiwara, Saki Ogawa, Saki Shimizu, and Kanon Fukuda. Among the featured groups, S/mileage deserves to be singled out for consistent excellence in its numbers and, of individual performers, Risako Sugaya comes off best, whether solo, with Berryz, in V-u-den, or in the ensembles. Clearly the MVP of these concerts. The new members of Morning Musume make an appearance in both concerts. Little diva-in-training Kanon Suzuki is absent from Concert A, but present in Concert B. Mizuki Fukumura, still a Hello! Pro Egg here, dances back-up in both concerts and, thanks to Blu-ray, is quite visible. There are far fewer Eggs than in the past and few that I recognized. The backstage footage is reduced to a couple of minutes alongside the end credits. Interesting song choices, including lots of old Aya and Maki songs and plenty of catalog titles that were unfamiliar to me. No Morning Musume classics, though, just newer ones. The ensemble finales were pretty spectacular in both concerts, with intricate work in mass staging and choreography on that tiny Nakano Sun Plaza stage.