07.03.06
SORAN HAPPIES – ODORE! Soran Para Para PV
In a previous post, I mentioned that Mio Tachibana’s girl group, SORAN HAPPIES, would release their debut single on April 12, 2006. Well it’s been out a few months, and I’m very, very late. But even so! Better late than never.
The song, albeit rather flat and repetitive, is insanely catchy at certain points. I for one, cannot resist singing that “YAAAAAA-ren soran soran soran SO-RAN SO-RAN” line over and over again. It’s particularly useful when you want to irritate a roomful of people. Don’t blast it too loudly though, it really grates on the nerves.
But enough about the song. Today this blog brings you a detailed look at the PV.
***
In case you didn’t know, the four girls from SORAN HAPPIES are middle-school Japanese fashion magazine models. Can they sing? It remains to be seen, but they’ve got decent stage presence at least in the PV.
From left to right, Konan Yuka, Uehara Nami, Asada Miho and our dear Tachibana MIO.
Despite the fact that this is a music video, they couldn’t seem to shake off their modelling roots. Or perhaps the director couldn’t resist reminding us of the insanely cute way Japanese girls pose for photos:
However, apart from the posing, this PV actually has some sort of storyline, and isn’t your usual “dance-shot, face-shot, dance-shot, face-shot” type of idol PV that we often see with groups like the now defunct SweetS, or *cough* Morning Musume.
The PV starts with the girls in a classroom, and looking for “Neko-chan” (Cat). That would be Neko-Hiroshi, the comedian they collaborated with on this song. His job is to cut in at appropriate intervals and say nonsensical words such as his trademark NYAAAA~~
(Pretty scary when he does it to the camera)
But horror of horrors, Neko-Hiroshi is nowhere to be found!
He’s actually having fun hiding from the girls…
In the school’s General Office.
Dancing with the Principal.
Fooling around in the science labs.
But while he’s hiding, our girls are also having fun showing us their Soran Para Para moves…
On the Rooftop.
In the school hall.
But they’re not about to give up yet! They finally find Neko-chan in a classroom,
scare him out of his wits,
and then proceed on to forcibly dragging him down the corridors…
(don’t try this at home, kids)
At this point in time one is really feeling sorry for poor Neko-Hiroshi. Then we realise the girls were going to these lengths for a greater good! With the whole team present, they can finally proceed to ascend the larger stage of the… school hall.
It doesn’t seem impressive at all, until the camera zooms out to reveal a hall FULL of Japanese schoolgirls doing the same dance, at the same time. Now as a self-taught Para Para dancer, I couldn’t help but be moved by such a scene.
Then the PV ended.
***
Song rating: 2/5, PV rating: 3.5/5
They’d better try something new next time… if there is a next time.
Overall, I think that this PV was a decent effort for a debut group that has no strong vocals to back it up. The dance is sloppy at times when compared to the strict synchronisation of Hinoi Team’s para para, old-school but very well executed. Given the fact that this is a different kind of para para, “Soran” para para to be precise, I suppose this apparent lack of competency can be forgiven as part of the Soran “style”.
The PV’s storyline, while simple, was funny in a weird way. Bonus points for that.
I was hoping that Mio would have a voice similar in quality to her brother’s, but it was impossible to discern her voice from the general squeaky wail that characterised the song. However, ironically or not this group is saved by the song. As the song does not require rich or even clear vocals, it actually suits their squeaky wail pretty well. On first listen it is jarring, but on repeated listens some of the melody’s hooks get catchier and catchier. Definitely great arcade music, but not something you’d want to have on repeat, unless you’re also addicted to that “YAAAA-ren Soran” line.
Nyaa! Download the PV over here.
Carolina said,
April 29, 2007 at 2:47 am
do you know where i could get that song?
Inamura Maiha said,
May 12, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Do they have an lyric to this song ?
Onizuka said,
June 19, 2007 at 4:54 pm
the link to download the PV is down, can u upload once again? thx =D i really love them~ kawaii~
sara said,
June 19, 2007 at 8:05 pm
Carolina>> I’m not sure if mp3 uploads are allowed at wordpress! Some sharing sites have been deleted. Sharing PVs / videos seems safe so far though, so I’ll do more of that (when there’s time) XD
Maiha>> Posted the lyrics here
Onizuka>> Hey! I think I linked it wrongly. The download link is here: SOLAN HAPPIES PV. (right click-save as) Thanks for dropping by
I’m also uploading an ipod video version of the PV, so check back for that if you’re interested.
Onizuka said,
June 20, 2007 at 2:42 am
oh of course! i can store that into my psp! haha!
Onizuka said,
June 20, 2007 at 2:45 am
erm the link is different again, erm i want the PV where there is nekohiroshi ^^the PV where the screenies you posted, the one u gave me is the one they danced solo @ the hall xD
Onizuka said,
June 20, 2007 at 12:43 pm
erm haha srry, it was correct, i just placed it at the wrong place XD
sara said,
June 20, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Oooops! okay I liked the wrong video in my comment! Rargh. So have you got the PV now? >_
Onizuka said,
June 20, 2007 at 10:48 pm
yes~ >
Eleina said,
March 3, 2008 at 11:49 pm
awww…
it seems that their groups effort didn’t worked that well…. any current news from them yet? O.o?… It’s been.. err.. how many years?.. since that para para song… >.>..
sara said,
March 4, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Haha, it’s been 2 years? Hmm. Maybe it was planned to be a one-off release. ^^;
in any case, the world isn’t exactly missing out on outstanding musical talent. though I do miss Soran’s offbeat humour
sweetbliss80 said,
March 4, 2009 at 8:58 am
do u know where i can get the dance steps
maeowe said,
May 19, 2009 at 10:35 am
sweetbliss80: You can get the steps at youtube – morinoikearchive
I went to that camp and a girl there filmed all our dances. You won’t have to mirror them don’t worry. The hard this is that it’s under
踊れ！ソーランパラパラ
so copy and paste that when you look for the video.
maeowe said,
May 19, 2009 at 10:36 am
oh and sara, I can’t download that into my itunes (it is the song not the video right?) Anyway I can’t fins the song anywhere to download. When I do, it ends up as a document with strange symbols ://
sara said,
May 19, 2009 at 12:22 pm
(WOW… I am completely amazed that people still visit this blog even though it hasn’t been updated in so long.)
Hi maeowe! That’s the video and it’s in .wmv format, which may explain why it won’t play in your iTunes. It’s not legal for me to share mp3s on this site, though… Soran Happies were kind of a one-off group which is why it’s hard to find anything on them – BUT the song is so crazily infectious isn’t it? xD
laila said,
August 4, 2009 at 9:45 am
I like the para para on “High School Teacher”, it looks like so much fun
http://japansugoi.com/wordpress/para-para-dance-videos/