Hello! Project Special Unit Mega Best [CD+DVD]

This is a CD/DVD collection of songs/videos done by H!P spin-off groups formed for one or two songs and designed to be short-lived, excluding the shuffle units which have their own Mega Best collection. It's a real mixed bag and I give it 4 stars only because it has three of the best H!P videos ever in it. Plus, it's got five videos devoted to different groups of H!P's greatest beauties. "All for One & One for All!" features the "H!P All Stars," meaning every girl who was performing in H!P at the end of 2004, and they come out in order of when they joined and engage in the most spectacular number ever devised by H!P. "Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia," is performed by Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai, consisting of Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Maki Goto, Risa Niigaki and Koharu Kusumi, a beautiful song meant to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of Morning Musume. "Fly High," is performed by Zyx, consisting of Mari Yaguchi and five of the Hello! Project Kids, Erika Umeda, Saki Shimizu, Megumi Murakami, Maimi Yajima and Momoko Tsugunaga. It's one of the best H!P songs I've ever heard and it showcases four of the best of the Kids in the best thing they did before the Kids were split up into Berryz Kobo and C-ute. The "Great Beauties" units are: Gomattou, Romans, Nochiura Natsumi, Def.Diva, and Gam, with varying combos of the following ladies: Nacchi, Maki, Aya Matsuura, Miki Fujimoto, Rika Ishikawa, Mari, Mai Satoda, Hitomi Saito and Ayaka Kumura; The five featured in "My Asia" all belong in this category as well. Nacchi's in 7 out of the 16 featured videos, Maki's in 6, and Aya and Rika are each in 5. Not a bad tally. What's missing from this collection are the MM Otome Gumi and Sakura Gumi videos from 2003-4: "Sakura Mankai," "Yuujou~Kokoro no Busuniwa Naranee!," "Hare Ame Nochi Suki," and "Ai no sono ~ Touch My Heart!" The first two were included on Petit Best 5 while the last two were on the out-of-print Petit Best 4. There's no reason they couldn't have been included here. There are several weaker videos that could have been eliminated to make room for them, including the two "eco"-themed numbers by EcoMoni and Tomoiki Ki wo Uetai. Those are stage pieces, not videos, so they shouldn't have been here anyway. Some of the songs are better to watch, while others are better to listen to. Some are just as enjoyable either way. Lucky we get both the CD and the DVD.