Morning Musume, NHK, anime theme song 2003

What is Victory in Hyokkori Island?

2003 started with the annual Hello Project concert
In 2003, Morning Musume。 Ms. Kei Yasuda set a record with the group with her solo concert held on May 5 at Saitama Super Arena. She graduated from Morning Musume。 This concert was Morning Musume。 It attracted 28,000 people, the largest attendance ever for Morning Musume。
Later, the live viewing of the 10th term Yuki Sato’s graduation concert held at Nippon Budokan (December 2021) was updated with 33,000 attendees, but this record was not broken for about 18 years.
In such a year, 4 singles and 1 album were released.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

February 19, 2003 release [Morning Musume。 s Hyokkori Hyotanjima].

This work was the last single CD price of 1,020 yen. I feel the times.
This is the first single of 2003, and the 17th single in total, and is the theme song for NHK’s showpiece “Hyokkori Hyotanjima”.
This work is a cover of “Hyokkori Hyotanjima” that was broadcast on NHK, and Hyotanjima is also shown on the CD jacket.
In the music video, each member is on a pirate ship doing interesting things, and Kei Yasuda, who is about to graduate, is sent flying by a cannon.
The song features lines that are not in the original, and who is saying what is also a highlight.

March 26, 2003 [No.5].

This silhouette is a first-run limited edition, and who knows where it will be? This album reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart. Miki Fujimoto joined at the beginning of this year, and the 6th term members did not participate in this album.
The singles “Do it`s Now” and “Here I am! and “Morning Musume。 s Hyokkori Hyotanjima,” which was released last month, was not included in the album. One of the songs on this album is from the Glico “Pocky” commercial.
Goddess – Mousse na Kindness – (Original Long Ver.) by Keiori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, Maki Goto and Hitomi Yoshizawa, “Vernus Mousse”.
YES! POCKY GIRLS (Original Long Ver.) by Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Ai Kago, Ai Takahashi, Makoto Ogawa, Asami Konno and Risa Niigaki
Mirai” and ‘Ganbakkachae!’, the theme songs for the movies screened that year. and “Ganbachae!”, the theme song for the movie shown that year,
Graduation Trip ~Morning Musume。 I thought Kei Yasuda would graduate with this album, but there was more to the album. But there is more to it.
Here is the correct jacket. The jacket of the regular edition and the CD jacket is as shown here. Did you get the answer?

April 23, 2003 [AS FOR ONE DAY].

The momentum was so great that they released CDs for three months in a row, which was not expected. With this song, Kei Yasuda graduated and the song reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.
With Maki Goto out of the group, Rika Ishikawa and Ai Takahashi stood next to Natsumi Abe. From this song, they arrived at the complete center. In the music video, the dancers are dancing in a place where the ceiling is a space of water.
And from this single CD, the price was changed to 1050 yen.
Morning Musume。 Morning Musume。’s song “Walking” did not reach No.1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart from this song until its release in 2006. It became such a valuable song.

July 30, 2003 release [Soap Bubble].

Sixth term members Miki Fujimoto, Eri Kamei, Reina Tanaka, and Sayumi Michishige joined from this song!
In the music video, they danced violently in a place where there was water, and there were shots of each term member in different costumes. From this single CD, two types of CDs were released: a limited edition CD and a regular CD. The CDs used to have only stickers attached to them, but the case was changed to make it easier for people to purchase them.
Reina Tanaka, a 6th term member, played the center role in this song, and I got the impression that she looked very suitable for the role because she had a bullish expression on her face.
And Sayumi Michishige’s line duties increased from this point on. And Mari Yaguchi became the sub-leader from this song, officially after Kei Hoda’s graduation.
Then, this summer, at the Hello! Project concert this summer, Natsumi Abe announced her graduation next spring and decided to make her solo debut, releasing “22-no-Me” in August.

Released November 6, 2003 [Go Girl! Victory in Love].

The limited first edition of this single came in an unusual case with a clip to insert the solo cards of the members.

This song was also performed at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen that year and became the theme song for the drama starring Aya Matsuura.
In the music video, the members have cute smiles on their faces and confess their feelings for each other, unlike the previous song, which had an intense and cool look. There is also a scene where they dress up as soccer players and kick a ball.
The CD jacket was also innovative in that it showed the members holding up their names on the cover, with the idea that the audience would remember each member’s name and face.
The choreography is catchy and easy to remember. The songs are sung in unison by the four groups, with no solo parts at all.
The coupling song “Koi ING” is said to be a divine song, which is rare for a coupling song, and has been sung by other idols and the current members.
The lyrics of the song are so cute that you can imagine the scene in which the main character is in love and shares the bread with her boyfriend.

In 2003, Morning Musume。 The year 2003 was a year of major changes in the positions of Morning Musume。 Natsumi Abe, who had been the center of the group up to that point, made a big graduation announcement.
However, this year was the last year that Morning Musume。ヌs only one song was performed at the NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest). The turbulent Morning Musume。 The next issue will be about the actress who is still active in the music industry.
In the next issue, I would like to write about a song by Yoshino Kimura, who is still active as an actress. She has a strong image as an actress, but she was also an idol and released a CD. Please look forward to what kind of music she will be writing about!