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The story
A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board titled “The Hello! Project best-songs top 4 has to be ‘Gatame Kira,’ ‘Resonant Blue,’ ‘What is LOVE?,’ and ‘Come with Me’” set off a wave of agreement and pushback. “Gatame Kira” got shot down almost instantly (“no way that’s making the list”), while “Resonant Blue” split opinion over whether it was genuinely beloved by fans or just a “village song” (a track adored mainly by staff and insiders, not the wider fanbase). Others chimed in with alternative picks like “MADAYADE” and “Wacha☆Future,” and some lamented a drop in songwriting quality over the last decade, turning the thread into a broader debate about generational differences in how fans view Hello! Project.
What people said
"Gatame Kira"
Morning Musume.
Those four are the foundation basically every current Hello! Project song is built on.
Summer Night Town
Love Machine
Resonant Blue
Beyond Time, Beyond Space
…yeah, it pretty much all comes back to Morning Musume.
The other three, sure, I get it even if I don't fully agree — but that one, no.
No idea why nobody ever covers it lol
That's a god-tier track — hits hardcore fans and casual listeners alike.
There are actually quite a few people who say the "biyo~n" bit is too goofy and it rubs them the wrong way.
I figured I'd end up feeling the same way once I grew up, but nope, never happened lol
It's not that I dislike it — it gets me pumped live — it just never made my list of favorites.
'Beat no Wakusei'
'7-bu Zaki no Tsuzuki'
'Hai to Diamond'
'Celebrate Celebrate'
All I remember is people calling it gloomy and depressing.
My sense is its reputation only got rehabilitated later, once people started romanticizing it as a hidden gem.
It was a massively popular song — the one and only track the old-guard fans (the type who trash-talk every new single) unanimously crowned a masterpiece.
But I heard all the time that the hardcore fans back then, plus the agency staff, show crew, and members' parents and families, all said 'Resonant Blue' was their favorite.
So I figured, oh, it must be the kind of song music connoisseurs and grown-ups love.
Thought maybe once I became a proper adult I'd come around to it too…
but nope, my feelings never changed one bit from when I was twenty lol
It gets me hyped live, but the lyrics don't land with me at all, and outside of a live performance it just doesn't move me.
Still, I definitely don't dislike it.
I mean, the general public didn't even know Hello! Project songs back then lol
So there's no real "public opinion" to speak of in the first place.
Sorry, I was a Berryz Koubou fan back then so I guess my read on it was off.
Of course I like the song too.
Guess you're just into the powerful, high-energy ones, huh.
That one was great.
Even as a die-hard Morning Musume loyalist (a "Musume cultist"), I liked Juice=Juice's version too.
You could even call it Tsunku's own inner girl given musical form.
Whoa, I want to see that!
Tsunku at his peak was just on another level.
Say Yeah, one more Miracle Night
On this night that's as sweet as it is painful
I'm seriously praying for peace on this Earth!
All of those are outside the top 2000, surely.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Hello! Project is the umbrella name for a family of idol groups whose songs Tsunku♂ produced for many years, with each group — Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, Juice=Juice, and others — carrying its own distinct musical lineage. The term “village song,” which came up repeatedly in the thread, refers to a track that’s rated far more highly by insiders and staff than by the general fan base, and whether “Resonant Blue” fits that description was the central point of contention. Some also pointed out that quality drops off if you limit the discussion to the last decade, which likely reflects how much more varied the production setup has become in recent years. There’s no single correct answer for a “best four,” and the fact that people’s rankings shift depending on how long they’ve been a fan and which era they’re most attached to is exactly why these ranking threads tend to blow up.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Isn’t the Hello! Project best-4 songs just ‘Gatame Kira,’ ‘Resonant Blue,’ ‘What is LOVE?,’ and ‘Come with Me’?“
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