We saw a lot of familiar performances in the first July episode of Gamushara J’s Party!! (ガムシャラ J’s Party!!), but perhaps that means we’ll get more new stuff in this edition. Let’s find out.
Once again, the participants were Jesse, Morita Myuto, Nozawa Yuki, Morohoshi Shoki, Kyomoto Taiga, Kouchi Yugo, Tanaka Juri, Morimoto Shintaro, Haniuda Amu, Nagata Jiei, and Matsumura Hokuto, and we got the same Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou-inspired opening as last time.
The first song was “Darkness” with Morohoshi, Juri, Myuto, Kouchi, Taiga, and Shintaro on stage. Well, I sure haven’t seem them do this one before, and while it’s not a traditional opening song, it was a very good choice to get viewers interested.
I’m thrown off by the random combinations of juniors, as the agency insists on not even hinting at stable groupings. While I liked the fact that this was something new, I didn’t sense the group cohesion here that we saw with the former Bakaleya members in the previous episode. That’s probably because they haven’t performed this song together as much, and so are more focused on the moves than the mood.
The next performance was something totally new – “Love yourself” with Haniuda Amu-kun and Nagata Jiei-kun. I thought these two would only get to backdance, but here they are with their own stage.
But again, while I appreciate the freshness, which is what I entered this episode looking for, I didn’t like the fact that the backing track totally drowned out their voices. If they can’t sing, they can’t be the only ones on stage – find a junior who can sing to put them together with. “Love yourself” is not a difficult song.