“Vampire vs. Human” (ENHYPEN’s YouTube channel)
Lee Minyoung: The vampire princes have begun to try and integrate into the human world. In ENHYPEN’s new series “Vampire vs. Human,” the group plays vampires infiltrating the human world after 500 years of keeping the nature of their identities a secret. JUNGWON, JAKE, and SUNGHOON confidently stride into a senior center asking “Is this where our girls are?” but immediately turn on the manners once in front of the elderly women there. Even when JUNGWON announces “I’m actually 500 years old” and JAKE confesses “We’re actually vampires,” the ladies aren’t particularly bothered. SUNGHOON, SUNOO, and NI-KI, meanwhile, visit a Buddhist temple and ask the monk there completely straight-faced, “We get impulsive cravings for blood. How should we handle those urges?” At that, they end up receiving a flaming hot mugwort moxibustion treatment to purify the 500 years’ worth of blood they’ve consumed. In the middle of all this, SUNGHOON and Seolwon Sunim break character when they discover they were both born in 2002, and end up bonding over that. Unlike real vampires with their superhuman strength, the three ENHYPEN members follow up their 108 prostrations with a wobbly trip down the temple steps on quivering legs. It’s hilarious moments like these, where ENHYPEN’s vampire premise collides with reality in ways nobody saw coming, that make “Vampire vs. Human” so enjoyable to watch.

The ENHYPEN members often fail to stay in character as vampires, but it’s actually a chance to let their natural allure shine through. When the seniors compliment SUNGHOON and JAKE’s prowess with a knife while prepping ingredients for kimchi, the boys break out into their single “Knife” on the spot, then lean into the women’s tastes by following it up with a disco rendition of the Nam Jin classic “With My Love.” During the moxibustion session, SUNGHOON, SUNOO, and NI-KI open up about how well they know each other’s personalities after years of working together—a conversation that captures the playful teasing and genuinely affectionate dynamic between the three of them. And every time any of them breaks character and ends up flustered, “No Doubt” or “Brought The Heat Back” kicks in at just the right moment to turn the awkwardness into a punchline. And that’s how ENHYPEN’s six years of building up vampire lore is taking the leap from their albums and into the variety show world. As these endearingly clumsy vampire princes work their way into the human world, they make it believable and fun for the audience.

“All Greens”
Nam Sunwoo (“CINE21” reporter): There’s something suspicious about this club. What calls itself a gardening club starts with three members, meets on the roof of the school, and has its members in matching green jumpsuits slipping in and out of a greenhouse—and what they’re growing is cannabis. Hidemi (Sara Minami), who used to freestyle on the streets, got her hands on the seeds. Aiding in the grow op are Miruku (Natsuki Deguchi), who lost a finger learning the trade, and Mako (Mizuki Yoshida), who’s always got her nose in a manga. It might not be particularly surprising that three high schoolers, less friends than just classmates who had practically nothing in common before they shared a secret, end up bound by a single goal: escaping the clutches of their hometown. Not many people make it through their teens without feeling the pull of somewhere that’s anywhere but here. “All Greens” casts a green glow over anyone who’s ever made it through on that wish alone. Most notable is the graduation scene, which feels like it picks up where “Happyend” left off—another Japanese film that made quite the splash when it opened in Korea last April. The sequence casts a glow that feels less like the green of new beginnings and more like moss. It’s a flicker of encouragement for young people stepping out into an uncertain future—a secret green light signaling permission to those who have survived the swamp. For anyone who’d rather take a chance than run away, these three girls will show you how having no plan can be a plan in itself.

“More! Mi Amore” (Juice=Juice)
Baek Seolhui (writer, columnist): On April 30, MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN, the nation’s biggest music awards ceremony, announced its 2026 nominees. Among them, the Juice=Juice song “More! Mi Amore” which the group put out in October, was nominated for Best Girls Idol Culture Song, and set the world ablaze.

Now in their 12th year, Juice=Juice is a girl group under Hello! Project, the collective best known for producing Morning Musume. Like Morning Musume, Juice=Juice operates on a rotation system, periodically adding new members instead of sticking to a static lineup. From the start, the group’s stacked lineup spread by word of mouth, and even now, with all the original members having moved on, it boasts 11 members whose talent is beyond compare. Even so, Juice=Juice’s outstanding singing and dancing hadn’t really caught on with the average listener. But that all changed this past October with the release of “More! Mi Amore.”

The part where they sing “Can’t let my guard down / This is the shot” while kicking their legs started blowing up on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. Altogether, the clips have racked up around 600 million views, making it the group’s biggest viral hit to date. Japanese Gen Zers zeroed in on how the group holds mics and sings amazingly while pulling off intense dance moves. There was also a lot of love shown for the melody and the rhythm, which fits into Hello! Project’s signature upbeat Latin dance sound. As a result, the single went gold under the Recording Industry Association of Japan system in November, and the music video has surpassed 10 million views. The group’s performance for Japanese music channel THE FIRST TAKE has topped four million views. Juice=Juice has been riding that momentum all over, doing everything from an online McDonald’s ad to a slew of music shows.

But what makes Juice=Juice’s success with “More! Mi Amore” important to look at? Leader Ruru Dambara, who’s quietly held the group together for nearly nine years with her outstanding vocals, told “Billboard JAPAN” that they’ve “managed to do what we like because we’re less focused on going viral and more about wanting to give people what we think’s good, what gets us excited.” And it’s precisely that unwavering commitment to doing what they love and do best that speaks to a wider spectrum of listeners in “More! Mi Amore.” Juice=Juice is set to release their mini album “MORE! MORE!,” which includes their breakout hit, on June 24. And there’s every reason to look forward to more and more from the group in the future.