Kimagure Princess [w/ DVD (Type A), Limited Edition / Type A]

"Kimagure Princess" is one of Morning Musume's best songs in years. It's catchy, fun, fast, cute, and has clever musical arrangements, drawing on some unusual European folk strains. I was first exposed to this song on the Petit Best 10 DVD, also reviewed on this site, which contains the so-called "Recochoku" version of the PV. Listening to the song on the CD is even more enjoyable. I look forward to seeing MM's latest concert DVD and watching them perform it on stage. The B-side, "Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun," is very nice also. Ai Takahashi has lead vocal, of course, but all the other girls get solo lines as well and many of them stand out, esp. Risa. It's got a nice beat to it. It moves, but it's not insistent and doesn't overwhelm the singing. I should point out that this is the last time we'll hear Koharu in a Morning Musume recording. I, for one, will miss Koharu, who graduated from MM in December 2009. The video for "Kimagure Princess" is very nice, too. Of course, that depends on which version we're talking about. As mentioned above, I'd first seen the "Recochoku" version on the Petit Best 10 DVD, and was eager to see the Dance Shot version. Unfortunately, that only comes with this release, the Single CD/Limited Edition Type A, which is now out-of-print on CDJapan. I bought the KP Single V, which comes with a "Green Dance" version, but that is not at all what I was looking for. So imagine my surprise when I walked into a Japanese bookstore last week and found the "Kimagure Princess" CD/Limited Edition Type A on the shelf. So now I have my Dance Shot version. The only thing that would make me happier is if I had the Dance Shot version of "Shoganai Yumeoibito" also. But Kinokuniya didn't have that single and it's listed as out-of-print on CDJapan. I generally prefer the Dance Shot versions and wish they weren't so hard to find. I love the dancing, costumes, set and lighting in the KP Dance Version. The only problem, though, is that it's all shot in one take. The camera moves slowly in and out on the dance, but I would have preferred a multi-angle Dance Shot version with cuts to closer shots of the girls, which is the norm for most H!P Dance Shot PV's anyway. But it's better than no Dance Shot version at all. Still, the best of the four or so KP PV's I've seen is the "Recochoku" version, which contains just the right mix of closeups and dance shots.