Hello!Spam :: 2023 ~Dancing, Singing, Exciting!~

[TheParuProject]

Yeaaahh, I dunno if I buy that. They keep producing blurays and photobooks of her, so clearly there are people wanting to buy them. And most of the time when I see people talk about handshake events, it seems that Maria is one of the most popular.

[al kusanagi]

Maria is photogenic, but other than baseball talk there's not much to her. She's not even stylish because she dresses like a what a 10 year old thinks a Disney princess looks like.

[Meikochi]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Al Kusanagi" data-cid="216493" data-time="1546477945">
According to a recent Japanese fan vote with a sample size of around 2000 people:


1. Masaki

2. Sakura

3. Karin

4. Kaede

5. Dawa

6. Mizuki

7. Ayumi

8. Eripon

9. Maria

10. Chisaki
</blockquote>
I am very surprised : the ranking I see by trading collection photos or else at concerts and handshake tickets at events is (--- indiquates a different category and it is very hard to trade girls from different categories if you want someone "higher") :

1. Masaki

2. Maria

-----------

3. Chisaki

4. Reina

-----------

5. Mizuki

6. Ayumi

7. Sakura

8. Miki

9. Erina

10. Kaede

11. Akane


I would say Maria is photogenic but also very energetic and reactive during lives and handshakes / cheki / ..., which may be appealing.


Edit : After some researchs, the Japanese pool was only about oshi, so it only shows who has the most "hardcore" fans, not how generally popular is a girl or not (and this would totally explain why Kaede is so high there : when people like her, they do love her, but she hardly attracts other people).

MM. had an event in Nagoya last week and someone who went there posted a comment on each girl's queue lenght during the cheki event (people have to line up in front of each booth before entering it to take a photo with the member they chose) ; I was also there and it matches what I saw. It is quite hard to measure how popular is everyone (though what mordhel did past years was quite good to me, as we could rank 10 girls) but I think, if we can't have detailled and checked surveys as mordhel did, looking at this kind of events queues may give some good hints.
<div>"My own memo</div>
<div>If Chiichan's row length is 1.0</div>
<div>Then Kaedii 0.9, Yokoyan 1.0, Akanechin 0.1, Maria 1.3, Nonachan 0.5, Sakura 1.5, Maachan 2.0, Ayumi 1.3, Eripon 0.6, Fukuchan 1.0</div>
It is not so much reliable since it's just right for the moment I saw it"

(Translation by page11 on H!O).

[DonJuan]

Yeah, and only 3000 people were asked I think. Maria should be much, much higher.

[Meikochi]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="DonJuan" data-cid="216505" data-time="1546510878">
Yeah, and only 3000 people were asked I think. Maria should be much, much higher.
</blockquote>

3905, which is a big enough sample for statistics though. I really think the main problem is about choosing only 1 member (problem if the point was to reflect general populariry, not in other cases).

[Anderei]

The sample size is actually more than enough. But I don’t think it would be proper to call it random sampling. If I’m not mistaken they just asked everyone at a single event.

[yuzuriha]

Also that's like...just the top ten girls in H!P, Maria isn't exactly "low."

[Meikochi]

[quote="Anderei"]
The sample size is actually more than enough. But I don’t think it would be proper to call it random sampling. If I’m not mistaken they just asked everyone at a single event.
[/quote]
Actually the results were shown at an event on December 30 but people had to vote on the organizer website from mid-November to early December (I am not sure how exactly the voting process went though, I got one of the flyer they handed out outside a H!P venue but forgot to vote on time). But yes, it wasn't a random sampling.


And you're right to point it yuzu, it is not low, but MM. are more popular than other groups so more casual fans know about Maria than they do about Ayacho or Karin (which makes more likely the fact that she could have more fans than these 2).

[Shoujo Q]

Maria is very charming when you meet her. She's got that idol glow and if you like that sort of thing, then you'll be quiet easy to fall into her web. If she were a better singer, I'd probably rank her higher. 

[Mukuro]

Do you guys remember the days when everyone said "MM is doomed" and thought we couldn't survive even a year without Tsunku handling everything? I completely forgot about that until recently for some reason and now I feel like it's the complete opposite.

[DonJuan]

[quote="yuzu"]
Also that's like...just the top ten girls in H!P, Maria isn't exactly "low."
[/quote]
 
 
[quote="Meikochi"]
And you're right to point it yuzu, it is not low, but MM. are more popular than other groups so more casual fans know about Maria than they do about Ayacho or Karin (which makes more likely the fact that she could have more fans than these 2).
[/quote]
 
I never answered again lol sorry, but what Meikochi said. There is no way that Maria is less popular than Kaede and Ikuta, too. 
They should announce a real ranking through their fanclub letter or something. 
 
^Depends. Once again it's just a fandom change. One era ended (Platinum era after Sayumi's graduation, H!P Kids, classic H!P without Tsunku), but another one started. H!P is pretty popular with (female) university students. Their wota-following is difficult to pin down; you still have the magnets like Chisaki and Maria but we don't know if they can ever get up there with Sayumi and Momoko. The general public still doesn't care - less than in 2014, maybe a bit more than during Platinum era, but it's really not much. 
 
That being said, MM will survive until they don't make money anymore. Lots of old fans, those that always talk about being "doomed" either left by now or suck it up. Personally I find my interest for MM fading by the day but I'm just stuck here ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[JPope]

An "official" popularity ranking seems to go against everything that H!P stands for, and I'm glad about that.

[DonJuan]

Not that I want one, especially since it doesn't do anything for H!P nor the girls. A "vote" - as in, really just voting by sending a letter or something, not buying member-specific stuff like it's the case with other groups - won't bring them more money or anything. 
The girls themselves probably know about their popularity by how many people wave their glowstick or come to their events. 

[DonJuan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=244&v=A3Sze_Ok1eM

Beyooooond's Bunkasai Jikkou Iinchou no Koi from The Girls Live.

Gotta be honest, I'm starting to dig the concept. And most of the girls are doing really well. Kurumi and Momohime are born entertainers (also I didn't know Momohime was a decent singer with a pleasant voice). 
But to be honest, for now Ame no Mori Kawa Umi kind of steals the show. Granted, it was kind of a given with Kurumi and Momohime. Yuhane is also "the" singer of the bunch (though I'm not sold on that yet) and Kokoro doing a great job as the designated tomboy (also, she's really stunning). Minami is cute on her own, even though it doesn't show yet in their performances.

[Madara]

I get the feeling Yuhane is being groomed for better things. What might that "better thing" be? Membership in one of the main groups?

[Anderei]

If she doesn’t make it into MM it’s likely she’s not going to debut at all. It’s probably going to be the last additions for awhile. Maybe JJ will add new girls.

[Mukuro]

Isn't Yuhane already a Beyonds member though?

[Meikochi]

Yuhane is shouty to me, I don't want her in MM.

And I'm not sure what you mean Anderei, she is debuted now ?

[Anderei]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mukuro" data-cid="216656" data-time="1547605234">
Isn't Yuhane already a Beyonds member though?</blockquote>


Oh, she is? Never mind, then I don’t know what Madara is talking about lol.

[Solarblade]

Yeaaaah, Yuhane is in Ame no Mori Kawa Umi

[Meikochi]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Anderei" data-cid="216659" data-time="1547607954"><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mukuro" data-cid="216656" data-time="1547605234">
Isn't Yuhane already a Beyonds member though?</blockquote>
Oh, she is? Never mind, then I don’t know what Madara is talking about lol.</blockquote>


I guess concurrent membership like CG ?

[Shoujo Q]

Perhaps Madara didn't realize Beyooonds was a major group, not part of KSS thing?


Honestly, the girl that is being groomed is Kirara for sure. I'm not exactly sure for what, but you don't get thrown into major group performances if you aren't damn good at it. 

[Madara]

I still haven't wrapped my head around Beyooooonds being one of the main groups. I was seeing it as a stepping stone. Give me time...

[momoirosaya]

I mean, they’re kind of still KSS level, they haven’t released anything official yet.

[DonJuan]

From the MM 20th anniversary book translated by Henkka:


<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
Yokoyama: I have never once met Tsunku♂. I’ve never been able to meet him in-person, and I’ve never gotten the opportunity of being taught anything by him.
</blockquote>
 
I mean we all knew that Tsunku isn't involved with the group anymore but this kind of broke my heart. Especially since Miki mentioned that she asked Tsunku about going abroad to study (I think?) and the other girls (most notably Mizuki) still being in contact with him I thought that would be the case with the newer members, too. Granted, Yokoyan saying "in-person" sounds like she has talked with him through emails but I'm not sure about that.
 
 
--- 
 
Other than that I really like the interview though. A lot of the girls whose interviews have been already translated thought about making the group better, raising the performance level etc. but Yokoyan talks about standing out and developing a character which is what I really want in a group. Performance is important, but there's a reason why Country Girls was more interesting than MM when they were still a main group and why not that many people follow Juice despite them being the best performers in H!P.

[Anderei]

Since he’s no longer living in Japan there’s really very few opportunities for new members to meet him.

[Madara]

[quote="Anderei"]
Since he’s no longer living in Japan there’s really very few opportunities for new members to meet him.
[/quote]
 
They should all make regular pilgrimages to Hawaii to consult with him. And Up-Front should pay for it.

[WonderBuono]

I was under the impression that he still communicated via email or video chat, but her saying she’s never learned from him... makes me wonder if he’s more detached from it than I thought.

[JPope]

That interview was more revealing and interesting than I was expecting. This bit is troubling, though: "I consciously try to sing in a cute voice."

[Meikochi]

Thanks for sharing DonJuan. With her cute and always laughing character, I did not expect her to be that much into competition. I know some of you here would love some more competition within MM., but I'm the type who doesn't like unfriendly competition so I would be afraid it would become a not so nice environnement for girls to work in. (Momusu's high sense of hierarchy, very Japanese, is already something that doesn't seem beneficial to me, only making young ones feeling unconfortable or overburdened by it.)


Tanaka Reina interview was also quite interesting to me (I am only halfway through it though) : http://wotaintranslation.com/2019/01/18/morning-musume-20th-anniversary-official-book-interviews-tanaka-reina/


I can't believe though that 5th gen used to scold 6th gen for having no character, as they didn't really had ones either...

And on the topic of too much hierarchy, I don't find it good when new members everyday goal is to not be scold by anyone for stupid things.