Uta Doki! - Pop Classics Vol.12

While this isn't the best of the Uta Doki volumes I've seen (for one thing, it's only got 14 songs and a total of eight singers), it deserves special attention because it offers one of my favorite segments of the show and the one that prompted me to seek out the series in the first place. That would be a performance by Hitomi "Yossi" Yoshizawa and Rika Ishikawa of the anime theme song, "Get Wild," originally performed by T.M. Network for the series, "City Hunter." (It's also been covered by Nami Tamaki.) It's a fun song and Yossi and Rika really let loose with it, clearly having a ball. They are joined midway through the song by the segment's "D.J.," Ayaka Kimura, who's enjoying herself as well. I particularly like Rika's heartfelt delivery of the English lines, "It's your pain, it's my pain, it's somebody's pain" and "It's your dream, it's my dream, it's somebody's dream." Getting this DVD finally allowed me to stop watching this segment in the inferior quality displayed on YouTube. This volume features only four main singers, Natsumi Abe, Yuko Nakazawa, Yossi, and Risa Niigaki. Each of the four gets their own D.J., recruited from the ranks of other H!P performers. Each of the girls does at least one duet with another singer. Nacchi and Yuko each do multiple duets with male singer Hirofumi Banba. In the second major highlight of this volume, Banba and Yuko do a moving duet of Banba's one-time hit, "Sachiko." In addition to performing with Rika, Yossi does a duet with Ayumi Shibata from Melon Kinenbi. Risa does a duet with older female performer Yuki Hyodo who hugs Risa at the end of it and pats her on the head. Some of the numbers have live musical accompaniment. Some don't. This is the first Uta Doki volume I've seen with deejays introducing each performance. In addition to Ayaka deejaying for Yossi, the other deejays are Maimi Yajima from C-ute (for Nacchi), Risako Sugaya from Berryz (for Yuko) and Eri Kamei for fellow Morning Musume member Risa. Nacchi and Maimi have very nice rapport, although Risako can't seem to get Yuko to warm up to her. Eri is very professional, while Ayaka is an absolute delight. Yossi and Risa may not be the best solo singers in Hello! Project, but I enjoy seeing them stretch a bit and try something new. The great thing about a show like this is that it gives them that opportunity.