Once again the White team represented by the gentlemen won, but not without facing great contenders and performances from the Red side that look like they were challenging them very closely.
The Red side shone in strength with Hinatazaka 46 and the 46 variations of singing girls who appeared to become much more visible in the void left by AKB 48 and the almost complete disappearance of its original members. On the particular case of AKB 48 and despite this fact, it is remarkable to see how well this AKB 48 brand holds. Especially so as they performed a more internationalized version of their hit “Koi suru Fortune Cookie” which was quite pleasant to see. Sang by several regional expressions of the group from China to India integrated with their Japanese expression, the group showed what it takes to go beyond Japan and crate hits.
Beyond the usually attractive feminine side, some remarkable top performances from the White side included the boy bands with all their variations, Jonny’s Junior, Kiss-My-Ft2 and Arashi. They as the usual suspects to carry results forward did exactly what was expected to win the scores. On the less quantifiable but more on the quality of performance side of things the gentlemen that strengthen the position of the White team were Miura Daichi, Hoshino Gen, and an upgraded Hikawa Kiyoshi and his new looks. King Gnu, a remarkable new band and the Yoshiki (X Japan) singing with Kiss performance pretty much sealed the prize for the guys.
Back to the Red side, the women continued their contest with a more emotional approach which kept them catching attention. However, individualities were not seen to the point at which they could have turned the score. A few names to keep in mind are Paprika, and Little Glee Monster especially the later which has an interesting appeal. Nakamoto Mizuki stole the night in her own right with her great performance of “Into the Unknown” Quite remarkable for a girl that a week earlier was working as a cashier in a supermarket. All the other performances on the red side were carried on by the usual suspects Perfume, Superfly, Matsuda Seiko, Sakamoto Fuyumi, Takeuchi Maria as well as Ikimono Gakari who appeared to be there to raise numbers for the Red team, but quite possibly not to stick out beyond their names with their performances.
On the wildcard side of things, Beat Takeshi did a spectacular job as a comedian and singer. This is a guy worth appreciating a lot more in every possible respect in the way that he continues to drive the pop scene in Japan. AI Misora Hibari on the other hand was controversial as she was brought to life by a humanoid robot which although it was good, it generated some mixed feelings. Perhaps we should let the dead rest in peace and not try to profit out of them next time.
Amidst all these the interval in between first and second halves of the show brought an unintended third wild card with the news of Carlos Ghosn fleeing Japan. It was almost as if he could have scored points against the guys with his performance reported by the news.
Overall a good show that carried a remarkable level of performance we should certainly not only continuously hope for but also to strive to maintain. As a changing society in a country that needs to express itself better and differently J-pop or better called pop Japan has to continue to look forward to the more there is to come in further editions of this traditional, New year’s eve White-Red contend in much the same way it was done this time.
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