Stargazing with Bump.y

Hi guys, let's talk about an idol group I've never reviewed before! Yes, today we're deviating from Perfume, H!P, AKB48, and all the other groups I regularly review and taking a look at a little idol group called Bump.y! 

Isn't that such a cute name? I've actually known of Bump.y for about a year now. Back in 2011, Chiima reviewed their last single, Gotta Getcha, and I really like that song. So I looked further back into the group's discography and I enjoyed their music a lot. What I like about Bump.y is simple their diversity; the members themselves are all of different ages and appearances so it's easy to make out who's who. The ages range from twenty-one to thirteen! Isn't that cool? Not only that but they have a lot of different styles of music the group has dabbled in, although their specialty is happy/cutesy music. I think Kiss! is my favorite song by them since it reminds me of a song that Kara would do. The PV is also really cute so check that out! Anyways, I thought Gotta Getcha was a really awesome song and I would have reviewed if not for the fact that I was distracted by other idols I was reviewing (probably Perfume...). I just figured I'd review whatever the group released next! 

So after letting Gotta Getcha slide past my review list, I kept a mild look-out for whatever endeavor Bump.y was pursuing next. And then... they didn't release anything. I don't know what happened. Over time, I gradually forgot about Bump.y because I had other groups I needed to look into and I hadn't heard any news about them and by 2013, I'd pretty much forgotten about them. And then what do you know, they come back with a new single! My first reaction was "They're still alive!? REALLY!?" Well great, but where the hell have they been!? Did they go training in the mountains or something to improve their idol skills or something? The group was gone for over six months so something must have been going on behind closed doors with them. Bump.y doesn't strike me as the type of group to spend six months lounging on the couch watching movies. Oh well, I still have no idea what the hell Bump.y was up to all of 2012 but I'm not questioning it too much. I'm just happy that the group is still active! And I'm excited that I finally get to review something by them so let's get to that!

Now I was very curious as to what Bump.y was going to do after Gotta Getcha because that song had such a K-pop feel so would the group continue in that direction? Or would they go in a completely different style of music? Well, it appears that the idol group has gone back to the fun and cute J-pop style they were doing before! Bump.y's new single is titled Cosmo no Hitomi and any song title with the word "cosmo" in it is bound to get my attention! It makes me think of space travel and science fiction and traveling through the cosmos of outer space, the final frontier! Bottom line, space is a cool and I was imagining an ethereal song about space based on one word in a song title. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't really base my predictions around that... I was hoping for an Astrogation-type song at best but in the end Cosmo no Hitomi turned out to be a song that didn't really sound the way I thought it would. Big shocker there! But that's not too much of a bummer because I still like Cosmo no Hitomi. 

While the song doesn't remind me of space, it does remind me of Tanpopo! Second Generation Tanpopo to be exact! I love Tanpopo, especially First Gen. Tanpopo, but Second Gen. Tanpopo is also pretty awesome too. I love the First Gen. for their cooler and more mature image that you'd never see from the current H!P and I love the Second Gen. for their retro and old-fashioned style! I wish another group like Tanpopo would come out of H!P but I feel like it's more of a thing of the past now. I could totally see Tanpopo covering Cosmo no Hitomi though; it would fit perfectly with their discography. Cosmo no Hitomi has that same retro feel I get from a lot of Tanpopo songs and I like it quite a lot! It's a very sweet song and there isn't much to it but what it does have I like! Its one of those songs that just puts me in a good mood when I listen to it! Cosmo no Hitomi is a little on the generic side but it's not so generic that I start flipping tables. For a comeback, it's a very sweet and cute song that fits perfectly with the image of Bump.y!

So even though the song has nothing to do with space, would the PV have anything to do with the cosmos? Let's find out!

Yay! Matsuri doesn't look like a 12-year old boy in this PV! (unlike Gotta Getcha...)

I see stars in the background of these close-ups! That's kind related to space!

And Nanami has star-shaped earrings! Maybe they'll start souring through the Milk Way or something!

I still can't believe Mio and Matsuri are sisters; I guess it's because Mio just looks more girlish than Matsuri!

And Maeri looks awesome as usual!

Well hello there, Mr. Fuzzy Sweater!

I didn't realize until after several views that those two weren't in the same room together...

Aren't you a little young for this guy, Matsuri? your head can barely reach the telescope!

These outfits are so fetch.

Agh, I love her outfit so much! The gloves, the dress, it's so space-retro!

Mr. Fuzzy Sweater and I both love stargazing... we're SOULMATES!

I know this set is really simple, but I like it a lot! My only gripe is the outfits are a little hard to see because of all the whiteness...

And the dance is awesome! It's pretty generic as far as idol dances go but it's so charming too!

So sweet!

Poor Mio can't find any stars!

How does this guy tie into Bump.y anyways? Is he their BFF? Something more? A passing stranger? We'll never know!

Can someone please adjust Matsuri's telescope so she can actually see through it!? This is really bothering me!

Nocchi Stare- I mean... eh... Nanami Stare!

Nanami's eye is transporting us to another galaxy, a realm beyond the bonds of-

Oh nevermind, it just takes us back to the adorable dance shot!

Can I further emphasize the fact that Matsuri is insanely cute? She looks so sweet in this PV!

Well, that was a cute PV! Albeit a little simple, it's cute to end the PV with all the girls posing-

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?

Okay, I know it's just a multi-shot of the girls' eyes but... it still looks so weird!

Well... so much for a space themed PV. I don't know why but I thought this PV would be like Astrogation too! I'm not sure what makes me associate anything space-themed with Astrogation because that's not even the most space-themed PV out there! Maybe it's because Mizuki Nana is just really awesome and makes really visually striking PVs... Enough of Nana though, this is a Bump.y PV review so what do I think of the PV for Bump.y's kind-sorta comeback song? Well... I like it! There's not much to the PV but the choices that were made in the styling fit the song very nicely! And the PV does have a few things related to space, such as the telescope! I like the shots with the girls gazing through the telescope a lot along with the parallel of the guy gazing off too! But I'm a little unclear as to what that indicates. I'm certain that the context of the guy and girl stargazing at the same time is kind of a parallel and understanding the lyrics of the song would probably give me a better understanding of the PV. 

I do know that "hitomi" means "eyes" or "beautiful eyes" in Japanese, so the close-ups of the girls eyes makes more sense to me! Even, then I'm still a little unclear as to how eyes relate to the song and again, I think that lack of clarity can be cleared up if I can find an English translation of the lyrics! Beyond the stargazing shots and the close-ups of the eyes, the rest of the PV is your standard, run-of-the-mill idol PV. I swear I think I've been spoiled with all the AKB48 and Perfume PVs I review because I tend to forget that most idol groups don't have the budgets that those groups do. The production values in this PV are pretty typical for a more obscure and less-known idol group; you've got your dance shot and your close-ups and then a few other random shots thrown in to spice the PV up a little bit! I like those extra shots because I think they add some character to the PV and probably match with the meaning of the song!

That being, said the PV is cheap. You can tell by the simple shots and the minimal sets. However, I think this PV is a perfect example of "Simplicity if not a bad thing." I always say that whenever I'm reviewing a Morning Musume PV because the biggest problem I find with their PVs is that they try to look high-budget but they fail miserable at that. With Bump.y, it's obvious that there wasn't a lot of budget saved for this PV but I think the director and producers were aware of that too. So they worked with what they had and honestly, I think it worked well. The set of the dance shot is just a simple white room, but the bright blue outfits pop against the stark white and I like the color contrast in that shot. The bareness of the dance set allows me to focus more on the girls and admire the cute dance in the PV! 

It's up to the girls of Bump.y to keep the PV interesting and I think they do a pretty good job of that; they match the tone and feeling of the song very well. And again, I love seeing them peering through the telescope because they look so into it. The close-ups are nice and again very simple along with the rest of the PV but they don't look bad at all. I've always preferred simple cheap over tacky and trying not to look cheap and failing miserable. I like the Cosmo no Hitomi because it's simple and low-budget and doesn't aspire to be anything more than that. In the end, there isn't a lot to this PV and if you're looking for a Manatsu no Sounds good! or Spring of Life type PV, you're not going to find it here. But if you're a fan of Bump.y who was eagerly waiting for their next song and wondering what the hell they were up to, I think you'll enjoy this PV! It's a return to the fun and happy style that Bump.y has and despite its simplicity, the PV is very nice looking! Not a single poorly done sparkle-effect in sight!

Overall, I'm gonna give Cosmo no Hitomi 3 and half apples out of five. The song and PV will never become my favorites in the world but it's a nice comeback for a group that I thought had dropped off the face of the planet! I just hope this year they're actually going to stick around the music scene and not disappear again!