Review: Morning Musume - Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizou!
Few topics this year have aroused as much heated debate among the H!P fandom as Morning Musume's 28th single, and in a year peppered with scandals and surprises, that's saying a lot. The birth of the single pretty much kept with recent MM tradition; the release was announced at the very end of August, a mere month after the 27th single's debut, a drop date of 10/26 was given, a week or so later the title "Koi wa Hassou! Do The Hustle!" was learned, the song was performed at MM's fall concert, and finally an audio rip from a fan's recording made its way around t he internet. In the brief period of speculation between learning the title and hearing the concert rip, there was some excitement over the title. If anything, it clearly ruled out the possibility of the song being a ballad, and the "Do the Hustle" inclusion led to various disco-infused MM fantasies...more or less, there were a lot of hopes placed on the single just days after its announcement. It should almost go without saying then that the initial concert rip of "Koi wa Hassou" was met with some disappointment, as fans were decidedly underwhelmed, and when news began leaking around mid-September that "Koi wa Hassou" was actually the b-side to an as-yet-unnamed title track, MM devotees across the internet were relieved. Irony, thy name is Tsunku! Confirmation came in early October that Hassou was indeed a coupling track, and the real a-side was posted to the H!P site itself: "Chokkan 2~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizou!" Cue ensuing outrage!
As evident by the title, the single was being established as a sequel of sorts to an earlier track, "Chokkan ~Toki to Shite Koi wa~" from Morning Musume's sixth album, Ai no Dai 6 Kan, released in December of 2004. A zany, upbeat track, Chokkan had been one of the most positively received new songs from the album's release, but fondness for the original was not enough to soften the blow of what seemed to be an ultimately lazily move on Up-Front's part. Though not the first 'sequel' song given to MM (see: "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari 2" also on Ai no Dai 6 Kan), this would mark the first case in which pre-existing material would be granted single status. Is the song itself worth all the spotlight?
"Chokkan 2" is more of a remake than a sequel, utilizing an instrumental nearly identical to that of its namesake, with very few changes to the arrangement. Even the lyrics for the choruses in each are identical, with only the regular verses in "Chokkan 2" being completely new. Like its predecessor, the song is decidedly hyper; the instrumental enforces a very strong 'tribal' sound, complete with gongs and rolling drumbeats that suggest traditional festival songs, reminiscent of shuffle-group 10nin Matsuri's terrific 2001 track, "Dancing Natsumatsuri". There is no lead vocalist or center for "Chokkan 2", a blessing or a curse depending on your point of view, as most of the vocals are sung in group chorus or by pairs of girls with only about seven actual solo lines to the song, one of which is handled capably by young neophyte Koharu. As in the first version, each chorus is overlayed with a subtle vocal track of the members energetically shouting out the lyrics, which might not attract much attention on its own, but it does provide a slightly more childish tone to the song, bringing to mind 2002's cloying "Ganbacchae". Overall, "Chokkan 2" is slightly faster and more hyper than Chokkan, and as is the case for both, the choral vocals and repetitive Tsunku chants don't keep the songs from being somewhat infectious and fun to listen to, but still relatively a step backwards in terms of MM singles.
The beleaguered b-side, "Koi wa Hassou! Do The Hustle!" is an interesting reminder that good music does not always a good song make. The instrumental is a unique combination of guitars, drums, and electronic snippets that could have been lifted from any series of 8-bit video games, with an opening infused with a slight Indian flair courtesy of some sitar-reminiscent strums that repeat after each chorus. The vocals simply don't manage to capitalize on the intriguing groundwork provided by the music. Solo lines in the verses are almost shouted by the girls in a theatrical way, backed with a subtle but annoying echo effect, and little spoken outbursts from members add to the feeling they're yelling a story instead of singing it; the song just sounds strongly like it could have been lifted directly from one of MM's musicals, which is not exactly a compliment. "Koi wa Hassou" improves at the choruses, despite laughably questionable lines like "Koi wa hassou, be the muscle", but not enough so to save the song from its downright mediocrity.
To many inside the H!P fandom and out, a less-than-stellar MM single release could seem to be business as usual anymore, but there's been a fierce negativity associated with "Chokkan 2"'s release that surpasses the mere disappointment expressed about merely disappointing tracks, like last year's unpopular "Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago." The recycling of material is by no means a shocking turn of events for a Hello!Project group, but such tricks are typically reserved to album tracks or concert appearances. A single on the otherhand garners decidedly more spotlight; a music video and singular DVD release, numerous live television performances, a 1000 yen pricetag...all factors that place more urgency on the songs involved, and make it easy to understand why some fans could feel cheated. To eagerly await a new release only to learn it's a song you've already heard (and purchased) before is disappointing to say the least, but carries a more sinister implication; that the naysayers who have been predicting the impeding doom of Hello!Project for years might soon have their theories cemented in truth.
Though some would say Morning Musume has maintained a steady downward spiral since as early as Maki's graduation, I'd have to disagree; though 2004 offered a series of disappointing singles, the first three releases of this year, "The Manpower!!", "Osaka Koi no Uta", and "Iroppoi Jirettai" , have been songs of mounting quality worthy of comparison to the releases in 2003, one of the best years for the group in terms of consistent quality. This doesn't however qualm a general rising fear for Morning Musume resulting from lackluster sales and the general public's rising ambivalence towards the girls. The release of "Chokkan 2" does seem to slightly suggest Up-Front throwing in the towel on the group and just sitting back content to milk whatever popularity the girls have left, based on their established fanbase and name alone instead of effort and product. With a group that peaked with national notoriety at the top of its game and has been sliding downhill ever since, there's a very real fear that Tsunku's attention will be entirely focused on fresher groups that have nowhere to go but up, such as Berryz Koubou. This might seem like a ridiculous amount of pessimistic speculation to grow from a lone CD release, and to a point it is. Fans will recover, and most are already looking forward to the next release with hope...but some understandable trepidation as well.
Released: Nov 2, 2005 
