is the 49th single by the J-pop group Morning Musume, released in Japan on April 11, 2012.

Background

"Ren'ai Hunter" is the second single for the 10th generation members and the last single by Morning Musume to feature Risa Niigaki. It also became the last single to feature Aika Mitsui, who would announce her graduation from the group due to a foot injury that was taking a long time to recover.

Release details

The single will be released in six versions: a regular edition and five limited editions. The Regular Edition and the Limited Editions D and E are CD-only. The Limited Editiona A, B, and C come with a DVD containing a special version of the music video for the title song. The Limited Edition E is a special version to commemorate Risa Niigaki's graduation from Morning Musume. It contains an additional song, performed by her. The song is a cover of "Egao ni Namida (Thank You! Dear My Friends)" from Aya Matsuura's 2002 album '' First Kiss''. As the group's producer Tsunku wrote in his comment about the single, the song is Risa Niigaki's favourite, although it is not a Morning Musume's song; she would always listen to it at the time when she was still a freshly joined member. All the limited editions include an entry postcard for a lottery to win a ticket to one of two single's launch events; one will be held on April 28 in the Kansai region, and the other on May 3 in the

Kanto region Kantō (Japanese) Kanto is a simplified spelling of , a Japanese word, only omitting the diacritics. In Japan Kantō may refer to: *Kantō Plain *Kantō region *Kantō-kai, organized crime group *Kanto (Pokémon), a geographical region in the ' ...

. So, the Limited Edition D contains the same tracks as the Regular Edition, but sports a different cover and includes a lottery card.

Composition

The title track is an

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

song with a dubstep-influenced arrangement. Morning Musume's producer Tsunku explained that he attempted to make an electronic dance music (EDM) song, wanting to create an opposite of the previous single " Pyoco Pyoco Ultra". Also, Tsunku has revealed that the coupling track "Watashi ga Ite Kimi ga Iru" is an energetic song.

Music video

Aika Mitsui didn't participate in the dance parts of the video due to leg injury. In her close-up at the end of the music video, Risa Niigaki says silently: "Morning Musume daisuki" ("I love Morning Musume very much"). The music video was published on March 21 on Morning Musume's official YouTube channel. On Sunday, March 25, Tanaka Reina wrote in her blog that, in the YouTube most-viewed video rankings, "Ren'ai Hunter" was currently at number 1* in Japan and at number 8* in the world. * in the daily YouTube Charts for Music

Members at time of single

* 5th generation: Risa Niigaki * 6th generation: Sayumi Michishige, Reina Tanaka * 8th generation: Aika Mitsui * 9th generation: Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta,

Riho Sayashi Riho Sayashi (鞘師里保 ''Sayashi Riho''; born May 28, 1998 in Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese dancer, actress, and singer. She is a former ninth generation member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume, along with Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Iku ...

, Kanon Suzuki * 10th generation: Haruna Iikubo, Ayumi Ishida, Masaki Sato, Haruka Kudo Watashi ga Ite Kimi ga Iru Vocalists Main Voc: Risa Niigaki, Reina Tanaka Center Voc: Sayumi Michishige,

, Ayumi Ishida Minor Voc: Aika Mitsui, Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta, Kanon Suzuki, Haruna Iikubo, Masaki Sato, Haruka Kudo Watashi ga Ite Kimi ga Iru Vocalists Main Voc: Risa Niigaki, Reina Tanaka Center Voc: Sayumi Michishige, Mizuki Fukumura,

Minor Voc: Aika Mitsui, Erina Ikuta, Kanon Suzuki, Haruna Iikubo, Ayumi Ishida, Masaki Sato, Haruka Kudo

Track listing

Regular Edition, Limited Editions A, B, C, D

Limited Edition E: Risa Niigaki Graduation Edition

Bonus

Sealed into the Limited Editions A, B, C, D, E: * Event ticket lottery card with a serial number

Charts

DVD single

The corresponding DVD single is titled "Single V 'Ren'ai Hunter'". ; Track listing * from

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renai Hunter 2012 singles Japanese-language songs Morning Musume songs Songs written by Tsunku Song recordings produced by Tsunku Zetima Records singles 2012 songs Japanese synth-pop songs Dance-pop songs Torch songs