Morning Musume 9th gen audition + mass graduation

[Shoujo Q]

I'd see it as a total waste of talent if he didn't add an egg or two. He's been training them for years to interact with the wota and perform on stage and generally be a good little idol. Just because in the past Morning Musume was about raw talent and finding a diamond in the rough, doesn't mean these girls don't get a shot. They were the same way, they just came up a different route to get to where they are. And it would be stupid not to even see that. Tsunku can't keep making random new groups from his eggs, he's stretched very thin now as is. And I worry his producing skills will suffer more then they have already been for awhile.



On another note, now that they don't have a stable show on television I wonder how they'll go about doing the auditions? One of the year factors is getting people interested in the candidates before crushing out dreams that he didn't pick the right girl and then watch as she floats on over to the 48 Clan later that year. It's tradition!

[Gerald]

I love Eri's comment "I was thinking a lot about how I could become a pretty woman" <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /heart.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />, they do have mirrors in Japan don't they?



Why is it so many really attractive women don't think they are, maybe it's a bit like that if you have to say you are cool you aren't!

[strawberryjam]

I feel sorry for the Pandas too... it's too bad it wasn't their decision. And I have little hope UFA will be much more support for their careers. It also does come off as, yeah thanks for joining the group, but it's time for you to leave now! And you can't stay in Japan even if you wanted to!



At least Linlin seems like she has connections in show business. Saw her in a picture with Alan Tam from H!O before. He's a famous HK singer. I don't know about Junjun... either way, China isn't known to be particular friendly to Japanese. In fact, I do think a lot of them still have grudges towards Japan... it could work out if they went to HK or Taiwan. And if they go to HK, I'd be happy to help out with subs/translations for once! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /weeeh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />



Also, hoping Eri's health gets better.

[stoveroad]

I thought Jun was a model before joining. Couldn't she go back to that?

[eri]

Lets start a bet pool.



He will not add eggs and he will not add "talented" experienced girls. MM has always been a "training school" model for dorky awkward less talented girls. The idea was to mold and polish them or at least make money showcasing their flaws to all of Japan. Thats why we consistently see great girls being passed by in auditions for people like Mitsui (who is hilarious in her own weird way but you know).



He will also bypass the Eggs because he already makes money off of them. The basic H!P fan base is already aware of the Eggs and sees them in concert. Its smarter to find someone new, gain more exposure, and make even more money.



On the other hand, Tsunku needs a gimmick. Here are his gimmicks.

1: You lost....no wait! You won! You will all be idols!

2: Haha surprise! 3 more girls.

3: Not 3 girls but 1. 1 super star.

4: 4 more girls, 2 of whom are less than half of Yuuko Nakazawa's age.

5: I guess the joke was Konno?

6: 3 new girls and MIKI FUJIMOTO.

7.1: No one. Y'all suck!

7.2: He tries to pull the 1 super star crap but calls it Miracle Girl this time.

8: Chinese girls!

9: ???



MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.

[neshcom]

[quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.[/quote]

WOAH. When was that?



I place my bet on 4 new girls because it's cheaper to edit the choreography if there's the same number of girls and they were at 9 for a while.

[tsukinobyouin]

[quote name='neshcom' post='82727' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:36 PM'][quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.[/quote]

WOAH. When was that?



[/quote]



I know, that part of Coconuts Musume was so bad you may have blocked it from your memory. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />

[Pi Mako]

[quote name='TnB' post='82728' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:49 PM'][quote name='neshcom' post='82727' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:36 PM'][quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.[/quote]

WOAH. When was that?



[/quote]



I know, that part of Coconuts Musume was so bad you may have blocked it from your memory. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />

[/quote]



Hahahaha, I was going to type"Danielle" but you beat me to it. ;P



Also, what's with everyone getting disappointed about the fact that girls are graduating without it really being their choice? I mean, weren't AT LEAST half of the graduations Tsunku's decision?

[neshcom]

[quote name='TnB' post='82728' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:49 PM'][quote name='neshcom' post='82727' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:36 PM'][quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.[/quote]

WOAH. When was that?

[/quote]



I know, that part of Coconuts Musume was so bad you may have blocked it from your memory. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />

[/quote]

Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... ryalot.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />

[Pflaume]

My opinion is whatever Petit Melon's is. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/wub.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />



Enough of that. Real edit:



I love Eri with a white hot, fiery passion. Not as much as Sayumi, mind you, but she's up there. She's shown, I think, the most obvious improvement out of any of the girls (possibly ever). You genuinely got to watch her grow out of being a shaky, just below average girl and turn into a solid performer, which was awesome. Also, she is just cute as a button. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /heart.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> Her departure makes me very sad, although her leaving because her skin is a crazy whore is pretty hilarious and very Eri. She couldn't just go "study." She was itchy you guys! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':cryalot:' />



While I honestly liked JunLin, the truth is I basically quit paying attention to MM altogether shortly after they came on board. I'd stopped worrying about the music very much by the time Haromoni died its final death. That and variety shows were really the only MM thing I'd watch, so when that was over I basically quit making the effort. I know something went down with a banana and there was a lot of 8D, but that's about all. It's kind of like seeing a character in a movie for two seconds. Even if they're really adorable, you don't have time to become attached.



I doubt anything substantial will happen for them in China, which is kind of a bummer. On that note, being in Morning Musume isn't exactly the most desired entertainment job either. I just hope they don't move downward, which I fear is going to be the case.



Audition predictions: No eggs, no foreigners. He is going to pick some young Japanese girls no one has ever seen before. 2-3. They will not be able to sing or dance. We're all going to whine they look like circus freaks, but then they'll do something silly and endearing on camera and at least half of us will accept them into our hearts. The end.

[Madara]

[quote name='Pflaume' post='82731' date='Aug 10 2010, 02:47 AM']I love Eri with a white hot, fiery passion. Not as much as Sayumi, mind you, but she's up there. She's shown, I think, the most obvious improvement out of any of the girls (possibly ever). You genuinely got to watch her grow out of being a shaky, just below average girl and turn into a solid performer, which was awesome. Also, she is just cute as a button. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /heart.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> Her departure makes me very sad,[/quote]



Ditto.



One of the great things about MM in the last couple of years was watching 6th Gen come into their own. Especially Eri. In the early years of my fandom (starting 8/29/05, the fifth anniversary of which is coming up), Eri was my least favorite in the group. But she's gotten so good and in the last two years or so of concerts she's been genuinely exciting to watch. And beautiful, to boot. She'll be missed.

[JPope]

[quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']On the other hand, Tsunku needs a gimmick. Here are his gimmicks.

1: You lost....no wait! You won! You will all be idols!

2: Haha surprise! 3 more girls.

3: Not 3 girls but 1. 1 super star.

4: 4 more girls, 2 of whom are less than half of Yuuko Nakazawa's age.

5: I guess the joke was Konno?

6: 3 new girls and MIKI FUJIMOTO.

7.1: No one. Y'all suck!

7.2: He tries to pull the 1 super star crap but calls it Miracle Girl this time.

8: Chinese girls!

9: ???



MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning. He's already had white Americans, Koreans, Chinese, and Taiwanese girls mingle in H!P so I don't think he'll go there again.[/quote]

Here's a gimmick that he hasn't used since the 4th Gen: add talented, interesting and cute girls to the group. I know, crazy talk, but give it a shot.

[michikodesu]

I found this on the forum topic at H!O. I found it interesting. TSUNKU



As for the graduation/audition topic. I find that I was shocked at first, but since this is like my 10th (possibly more) graduation, it didn't weigh as heavy for very long. I'm used to it. The most shocking graduation announcement for me was Yoshizawa since she was pretty much my favorite since she joined MM. She beat Nacchi. Anyway, there's a lot of speculation going on over at H!O. You might get a good laugh at how stupid some people really are and how a good bit of the population doesn't think with their brains anymore.



Eri's condition can really mess with a girl's self esteem; especially when she has to wear a lot of clothing that might reveal her rashes and then having to cover them up with make-up which for me would be more itchy. And then the close-ups and everything. I can understand her wanting to get that under control.



JunJun and LinLin probably had the best experience in training that anyone could probably give them if they would have stayed in China. I mean, they've been to the States how many times? And they've been to Paris. They've also got to perform probably more than they would have any where else (with H!P's crazy concert scheduling). We've seen them grow and come out of their shells into becoming great entertainers. I could even see them becoming entertainment ambassadors between China and Japan. Who knows? Also, someone else mentioned about their student visas. That might have been a problem as well and they couldn't either get them extended or like someone posted, China wanted them back.



Reading all the posts from H!O almost looks like you're reading comments from an obituary.

[Melon]

I really hoped we'd get to keep the current lineup a little longer. They finally obtained a great group dynamic that was missing for years and will be missed. They do need fresh faces though, I just hoped we'd get to keep a couple in the process.



Eri, well, there goes one of their better performers. Sometime she seemed boring because she was so inoffensive, but she was always someone I liked and she had a wicked comedic character when it was allowed to come out. She's the best dancer in the group and had some great energy onstage, sometimes to the point her peers would seem like they're half assing it when shown next to her. I don't think she's popular here, but she's one of the best in the group now, thus I am sad. Her skin problem must have been hell to deal with, especially in a looks oriented occupation. I hope she'll be back in some way, but I doubt she will. There goes my dream of 6th gen "biyuuden" of awesome. Guess I'll never hear what happens to JunLin unless someone starts a "remember pandas lawl look at them now" thread. I hope they can continue as singers though, seems like such a waste of talent.



As always, I'd prefer a strong singer (for the inevitable hole after Ai graduates) that will come to H!P because she doesn't want to release photobooks holding up her skirt in a park like a certain other group does. She can be bland and boring, I don't care, so long as she'll sound good on cd/lives. I'd like another girl to have a brutish/rough/cool/aloof/whatever its called personality because the current girls are all ...so...sweet! It's like everyone assumed a perfect idol persona. A Yuko type character would shake things up. A comedic character to clash with Sayumi and help for their once a year television appearance would be nice too. Tsunku can have his inept at life girl and mold her into a superstar, though I'd prefer he hold off on that fetish of his and only add naturally strong performers this time. I don't care if they come from eggs because I don't pay attention to the eggs and they'll be fresh faces to me.



Of course, he's going to pick some lolis (12-13 y/os) that fail at life and we will kick up a shitstorm of "I AM NO LONGER A FAN" and return to business as normal within a few months. The public still won't care. I wonder if they'd care if Morning Musume wasn't named Morning Musume?

[Pucchi-Mo]

I just sold two "40 singles medley" shirts in Jun Jun & Eri colors, that's so bittersweet.

Wait, they chose gold, that's not quite Eri, since real orange is a choice now.





[quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 12:25 PM']On the other hand, Tsunku needs a gimmick. Here are his gimmicks.

1: You lost....no wait! You won! You will all be idols!

2: Haha surprise! 3 more girls.

3: Not 3 girls but 1. 1 super star.

4: 4 more girls, 2 of whom are less than half of Yuuko Nakazawa's age.

5: I guess the joke was Konno?[/quote]



No, the 5th gen gimmick was "4 more girls again, but Kago's hair bun has more charisma & presence than their efforts combined"



Prediction for the 9th, I'd say 2-3 more. At least one is old enough to drive.

[eri]

[quote name='Pflaume' post='82731' date='Aug 9 2010, 10:47 AM']She's shown, I think, the most obvious improvement out of any of the girls (possibly ever). You genuinely got to watch her grow out of being a shaky, just below average girl and turn into a solid performer, which was awesome.[/quote]



Yup! It is really remarkable to see Kamei in her first year. In that Mechaike Sports Special, she near panics when she's asked to make a joke and has to basically just rely on whatever gets whispered into her ear. Sayumi was already schilling her cute thing and Tanaka crawled out of the womb as a conceited bad ass, but Kamei was all confused and scared for a loooonnng time. So cute. Then she went all Kameizo and was so loveable and I forgave her for stealing my name. (Then she turned into this burriko maid personality and thats when I forgot about her.)



[quote name='Pflaume' post='82731' date='Aug 9 2010, 10:47 AM']Audition predictions: No eggs, no foreigners. He is going to pick some young Japanese girls no one has ever seen before. 2-3. They will not be able to sing or dance. We're all going to whine they look like circus freaks, but then they'll do something silly and endearing on camera and at least half of us will accept them into our hearts. The end.[/quote]



<img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> I guess the 9th gen gimmick is that...there is none. Same old routine. I'm still excited.



Ps. Thank GOD Kamei is leaving. Now I won't get that uncomfortable 3 second pause to figure out which Eri people are hating on (loving is fine). Can I just refer to her as Itchy from now on?

[Shoujo Q]

[quote name='eri' post='82744' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:06 PM']Ps. Thank GOD Kamei is leaving. Now I won't get that uncomfortable 3 second pause to figure out which Eri people are hating on (loving is fine). Can I just refer to her as Itchy from now on?[/quote]



I'd call her Scratchy. ;D





JunJun finally added something to her blog and the nice folks at H!O translated it. (It's at the bottom) It's very very heartfelt and if you feel nothing from reading it your a cold stingy bastard. :<

[Madara]

In tribute to Eri, I just did a blog entry on "6th Gen: An Appreciation," complete with pix comparing them in the latest concert with pix of them in their very first appearance on stage with MM, back in 2003.



Remember this?







[Stupid question <snipped>]

[Farrah]

Fuck this shit, man. Everyone I gave a shit about is gone - they're graduating like, my top 3. The only one I care about now is Sayu.

[EmEl]

[quote name='Madara' post='82751' date='Aug 9 2010, 05:42 PM']it sounds like Tsunku's announcement onstage was the first time the girls were hearing it. Is that what happened or were they informed before the show?[/quote]

First of all, that would be ridiculously cruel <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' /> But as Linlin mentioned in her post: she said that when she first heard the news in a meeting, it was like a dream. But when she heard it at the concert, it finally sunk in. So clearly they were told beforehand.

[tsukinobyouin]

[quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='82741' date='Aug 9 2010, 03:03 PM']I just sold two "40 singles medley" shirts in Jun Jun & Eri colors, that's so bittersweet.

Wait, they chose gold, that's not quite Eri, since real orange is a choice now.[/quote]



That would be me xD I meant to pick an actual orange, oops. Oh well. I plan to add their names to the back anyway. I'd been meaning to order those from you for a while and I figured now would be a good time. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... pyeyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':weeeh:' />

[Geof]

[quote name='The Turtle Moves' post='82713' date='Aug 9 2010, 04:03 AM']I love Eri's comment "I was thinking a lot about how I could become a pretty woman" <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /heart.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':love:' />, they do have mirrors in Japan don't they?



Why is it so many really attractive women don't think they are, maybe it's a bit like that if you have to say you are cool you aren't![/quote]

Because the only thing women hate more than themselves is other women. And THAT'S one to grow on! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... lesson.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lesson:' />

[Madara]

[quote name='Em-El' post='82759' date='Aug 10 2010, 09:53 AM'][quote name='Madara' post='82751' date='Aug 9 2010, 05:42 PM']it sounds like Tsunku's announcement onstage was the first time the girls were hearing it. Is that what happened or were they informed before the show?[/quote]

First of all, that would be ridiculously cruel <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... nfused.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lesson:' /> But as Linlin mentioned in her post: she said that when she first heard the news in a meeting, it was like a dream. But when she heard it at the concert, it finally sunk in. So clearly they were told beforehand.

[/quote]



So much for my reading comprehension. Please forget I asked that question. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/doh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':love:' />

[thamychan]

Just read the translations on H!O... So sad! And reading Kanon's post made me think of the shuffles... Linlin was so Shin Minimoni, she was the perfect Mika with some Yaguchi aura. That makes me wonder if the revival group is dead once again. I knwo there were the others but Linlin will be harder to substitute in my opinion.



On the audition topic... First, they now have Youtube and they could probably get some time in other places and then summarize it in Bijou Gaku, something like S/mileage's segment. As for adding eggs... The only older Egg that still could have a chance is Yuu Kikkawa but I don't think I'd like her in the group. Besides her, if Tsunku were to put Eggs, he'd choose the less experienced and more unknown. But yes, I agree with the major part here, he'll probably just choose some random girls. By I hope they choose 3 to 4 girls because even if one is better for Momusu's rhythm, the group is getting older and older. I wish it had been Ai to graduate... She is the strength in the group but they have to start letting her go if they want to keep the rotation. Now we'll have a similar situation as with the forth generation, Nakazawa and Kago contrasting every second.

[Milly]

[quote name='eri' post='82725' date='Aug 9 2010, 06:25 PM']MM pretty much jumped the shark a while ago and less and less girls are interested in auditioning.[/quote]

I actually think they'll have a decent turnout. Even though Morning Musume isn't very popular these days. UFA is a pretty decent agency. Maybe not in how they promote their artists, but definitely in how they treat their talents (especially Morning Musume). I found this list on 2ch on why joining Morning Musume isn't such a bad career move:



-Decent salary. Sanma apparently often jokes on their radio show that the girls make too much money. I guess the concerts, mechandise and photobook sales still makes a decent profit for the company.

-Decent vocal/dancing training. AKB-graduates do gravure, AV or disappear. Morning Musume-graduates do stage plays, musicals and concerts.

-Travel the world. In the past two years the girls have been to LA, Hawaii, Paris and Shang-Hai. And they travel in style too. When they went to Paris they traveled first class, had single hotel rooms and ate at fancy restaurants.

-You're not fired from the company when you cause a scandal or when you get knocked up. Yaguchi, Fujimoto and Tsuji have plenty of screen time on tv these days and Iida recently played a part in a low-key movie.

-You're not fired when you break the law. Kago and Nacchi both got suspended. Kago only got fired when she broke the law again.



With auditions like this it isn't just an announcement and some ads in a few magazines. They make an effort to contact dance/singing/talent schools across the country to get people interested. Just look at the 5th gen: Takahashi did ballet, Ogawa attended a talent school in Niigata and Niigaki did some modelling before joining. Konno was the only one with zero experience.

[EmEl]

And while Morning Musume may not be the juggernaut they once were, it's not like it's a bad career move to join them. Morning Musume is still more popular than YGA, Fundanjuku, passpo, Momoiro Clover (and those are the bigger small ones, not to mention DokiDoki Dream Campus, Idol College, those maid idol groups, or all those new groups, whatever there are a ton), and girls still want to join all these smaller idol groups all the time.



I'm sure it's a great feeling to be part of the number one idol group of AKB, but I can't imagine it's that much different from other idol groups if you're buried within the system for not being one of the top girls. Being one of only nine (or whatever) girls still might have some charm for someone who wants to be in show business. Furthermore, getting into any show business requires audition, audition, audition. We saw with Sumire who kept on auditioning for an idol group even after not making it through one. So I don't think anyone with star ambition (except unqualified/diamond-in-the-rough girls who just audition because their friend said they should) will truly say "Morning Musume? Nah."

[Haru]

Yeah, and in my opinion, Konkon turned out very well. I love her voice.



I'm reading through the translation's right now. I don't cry much when I read things, but JunJun's...! <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... pyeyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':ph34r:' />

[mrsross]

I could understand Eri but, I'm pissed about the pandas graduating. When I start getting interested in the group, I automatically connected with them. To me they had the best personalities in the group aside from Sayumi. With this, I wonder what's going to happened with the shuffle groups. I cannot picture them as they are now especially Tanpopo#. The new girl(s) will have huge shoes to fill. Also, I don't think that they're not as big as they were will factor how the auditions will turn out. When there's a chance of becoming famous, tons of people will run in order to have that opportunity.

[BonkyuAsh]

I don't want Eri to be replaced in Tanpopo # (Because I want more Aika love). I don't mind some replacing JunJun in Zoku Biyuuden as long as they are at least 16, and it's gonna be hard to find someone to take crazy LinLin's place in Shin Mini Moni. They should put some girls in ZYX-a.