Kago Ai vs. Friday

[Ap2000]

[quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67514' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:29 PM']Even if 4 years have passed, the whole reason she's out of H!P is that her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray. So the change wasn't really something over a long period of time.



So to recap... September 7, 2005. W is still cute and no one suspects a thing

early 2006, New W single you guys! oh how cute, right around Kago's Bday.[/quote]



You expect all of the H!P girls to be "perfect" even when they're not on stage ? I doubt they are.



To me, she didn't become a bad/negative person (I get the impression that's what you think), just because she smoked and I don't see why anybody would think that, except for some freakish extremist fans.

[tsukinobyouin]

[quote name='Pi Miki' post='67529' date='Aug 18 2009, 07:56 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67518' date='Aug 18 2009, 03:24 PM'][quote name='mEri' post='67509' date='Aug 18 2009, 01:17 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67497' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:36 PM']I still can't believe that no one has thought to put her in a rock band yet. She could get away with anything if she were fronting a good rock band.[/quote]



What self-respecting rock band will choose to be fronted by someone who shilled kids pop songs for a living?

[/quote]

One that's interested in instant publicity? You might have noticed that she's hasn't "shilled kids pop songs" in quite a while now. You might have also noticed that what press she has garnered recently has been of a controversial nature, including underaged smoking and trysts with older men. Nope, no rock band would be interested in hitching their wagon to that.

[/quote]



I can't imagine Kago singing rock songs with that high pitched girly voice of hers. She tried to sound sort of badass in Shabondama and just sounded silly.

[/quote]



I thought she did a pretty good Shiina Ringo. Not that Shiina is hardcore metal or anything, but she's done some rock.

[JPope]

[quote name='TnB' post='67531' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:33 PM'][quote name='Pi Miki' post='67529' date='Aug 18 2009, 07:56 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67518' date='Aug 18 2009, 03:24 PM'][quote name='mEri' post='67509' date='Aug 18 2009, 01:17 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67497' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:36 PM']I still can't believe that no one has thought to put her in a rock band yet. She could get away with anything if she were fronting a good rock band.[/quote]



What self-respecting rock band will choose to be fronted by someone who shilled kids pop songs for a living?

[/quote]

One that's interested in instant publicity? You might have noticed that she's hasn't "shilled kids pop songs" in quite a while now. You might have also noticed that what press she has garnered recently has been of a controversial nature, including underaged smoking and trysts with older men. Nope, no rock band would be interested in hitching their wagon to that.

[/quote]



I can't imagine Kago singing rock songs with that high pitched girly voice of hers. She tried to sound sort of badass in Shabondama and just sounded silly.

[/quote]



I thought she did a pretty good Shiina Ringo. Not that Shiina is hardcore metal or anything, but she's done some rock.

[/quote]

Holy shit, that's not bad at all. There are plenty of rock bands with high pitched girl singers, especially in Japan.

[fpd]

[quote name='JPope' post='67538' date='Aug 18 2009, 10:59 PM'][quote name='TnB' post='67531' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:33 PM'][quote name='Pi Miki' post='67529' date='Aug 18 2009, 07:56 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67518' date='Aug 18 2009, 03:24 PM'][quote name='mEri' post='67509' date='Aug 18 2009, 01:17 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67497' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:36 PM']I still can't believe that no one has thought to put her in a rock band yet. She could get away with anything if she were fronting a good rock band.[/quote]



What self-respecting rock band will choose to be fronted by someone who shilled kids pop songs for a living?

[/quote]

One that's interested in instant publicity? You might have noticed that she's hasn't "shilled kids pop songs" in quite a while now. You might have also noticed that what press she has garnered recently has been of a controversial nature, including underaged smoking and trysts with older men. Nope, no rock band would be interested in hitching their wagon to that.

[/quote]



I can't imagine Kago singing rock songs with that high pitched girly voice of hers. She tried to sound sort of badass in Shabondama and just sounded silly.

[/quote]



I thought she did a pretty good Shiina Ringo. Not that Shiina is hardcore metal or anything, but she's done some rock.

[/quote]

Holy shit, that's not bad at all. There are plenty of rock bands with high pitched girl singers, especially in Japan.

[/quote]

Agreed, that was surprisingly good.

[AEUGNewtype]

That really wasn't very good IMO, but maybe I'm just very used to how much tone control Shiina has, even when singing extremely loud, but that's something you'd have to practice at for a long time if you weren't used to it. Kago was off-key for most of the notes and the tone only hit being accurate for a few seconds here and there.

[Geof]

I'd just like to say that I'd like to see Kago's tits & look forward to this book showing me about 80% of them.





I'd also like to say that this is the most interesting thing I think she's done since graduating from Morning Musume.





Carry on.

[fpd]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='67543' date='Aug 19 2009, 12:15 AM']That really wasn't very good IMO, but maybe I'm just very used to how much tone control Shiina has, even when singing extremely loud, but that's something you'd have to practice at for a long time if you weren't used to it. Kago was off-key for most of the notes and the tone only hit being accurate for a few seconds here and there.[/quote]

Well obviously she's way worse than Shiina, but for some random karaoke shit she did pretty well. :/

[eri]

[quote name='JPope' post='67518' date='Aug 18 2009, 12:24 PM'][quote name='mEri' post='67509' date='Aug 18 2009, 01:17 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67497' date='Aug 17 2009, 09:36 PM']I still can't believe that no one has thought to put her in a rock band yet. She could get away with anything if she were fronting a good rock band.[/quote]



What self-respecting rock band will choose to be fronted by someone who shilled kids pop songs for a living?

[/quote]

One that's interested in instant publicity? You might have noticed that she's hasn't "shilled kids pop songs" in quite a while now. You might have also noticed that what press she has garnered recently has been of a controversial nature, including underaged smoking and trysts with older men. Nope, no rock band would be interested in hitching their wagon to that.

[/quote]



Yeah -she is train wreck, which is fun to watch. The key phrase is "self-respecting." The rock band might garner some fun publicity but it would only amount to being a "failed child-idol-turned-paparazzi-whore" vehicle and laughable curio. I'm sure many would-be rockers are desperate for any start but no one would take it seriously.



And, c'mon, let's just usher Kago into porn and get it over with. What else will she do? More (terrible) karaoke cover appearances on game shows?

[Pucchi-Mo]

[quote name='Ap2000' post='67530' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:32 PM'][quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67514' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:29 PM']Even if 4 years have passed, the whole reason she's out of H!P is that her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray. So the change wasn't really something over a long period of time.



So to recap... September 7, 2005. W is still cute and no one suspects a thing

early 2006, New W single you guys! oh how cute, right around Kago's Bday.[/quote]



You expect all of the H!P girls to be "perfect" even when they're not on stage ? I doubt they are.



To me, she didn't become a bad/negative person (I get the impression that's what you think), just because she smoked and I don't see why anybody would think that, except for some freakish extremist fans.

[/quote]

It wasn't that she became a negative person, it's just that the FRIDAY thing of 2006 shattered her image/ "the illusion" and once it happened, things just didn't get much better for her or her decisions.



I'm not speaking about how I feel about her, I'm just stating the timeline which fans experienced. You mentioned something about her being a different person after 4 years and I was pointing out that she was viewed as that different person since 2006.

"Even if 4 years have passed, the whole reason she's out of H!P is that her immediate actions.." It didn't take 4 years for the change, that seemed to be Trike's point as well.



[quote name='Ap2000' post='67530' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:32 PM'][quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67514' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:29 PM']Even if 4 years have passed, the whole reason she's out of H!P is that her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray. So the change wasn't really something over a long period of time.



So to recap... September 7, 2005. W is still cute and no one suspects a thing

early 2006, New W single you guys! oh how cute, right around Kago's Bday.[/quote]



You expect all of the H!P girls to be "perfect" even when they're not on stage ? I doubt they are.

[/quote] When did I say that? Seriously. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />

[tsukinobyouin]

[quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67567' date='Aug 19 2009, 12:47 PM'][quote name='Ap2000' post='67530' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:32 PM'][quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67514' date='Aug 18 2009, 08:29 PM']Even if 4 years have passed, the whole reason she's out of H!P is that her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray. So the change wasn't really something over a long period of time.



So to recap... September 7, 2005. W is still cute and no one suspects a thing

early 2006, New W single you guys! oh how cute, right around Kago's Bday.[/quote]



You expect all of the H!P girls to be "perfect" even when they're not on stage ? I doubt they are.



To me, she didn't become a bad/negative person (I get the impression that's what you think), just because she smoked and I don't see why anybody would think that, except for some freakish extremist fans.

[/quote]

It wasn't that she became a negative person, it's just that the FRIDAY thing of 2006 shattered her image/ "the illusion" and once it happened, things just didn't get much better for her or her decisions.



I'm not speaking about how I feel about her, I'm just stating the timeline which fans experienced. You mentioned something about her being a different person after 4 years and I was pointing out that she was viewed as that different person since 2006.[/quote]



To add to Pucchi's point, it wasn't just the scandals themselves that changed people's perception of her. Most rational fans (i.e. non-wota) know that yes, these girls have sex and yes some of them probably smoke/drink/whatever. Instead of saying "Hey, I made some bad choices but I learned my lesson and now I'm going to try and move on with my life," Kago went out and about airing out her dirty laundry to the public. As soon as she started showing up on TV again all she talked about was "secrets of the entertainment world" and her family sob story. At first it was kind of interesting to hear, but then it just went on and on. She shares things on national TV that most people only share with close friends. Things started with the scandals, but they've added up over the years. She wasn't gone off the face of the entertainment earth as long as she's been back on it, gabbing away.

[Ap2000]

[quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67567' date='Aug 19 2009, 06:47 PM']When did I say that? Seriously. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />[/quote]



You said "her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray.", that sounds to me as if you think the others are perfect/not doing such things, because otherwise you wouldn't have to mention this as something special in Kago's case.



I can agree with you, that the timespan wasn't as big as I initially thought (from a fan's point of view I guess).

[JPope]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='67543' date='Aug 19 2009, 12:15 AM']That really wasn't very good IMO, but maybe I'm just very used to how much tone control Shiina has, even when singing extremely loud, but that's something you'd have to practice at for a long time if you weren't used to it. Kago was off-key for most of the notes and the tone only hit being accurate for a few seconds here and there.[/quote]

This is just not at all correct. She's pretty much in tune for the bulk of the performance. She sounds pretty pretty good overall. I honestly wonder if you bothered to actually watch the clip before commenting on it.

[Pucchi-Mo]

[quote name='Ap2000' post='67577' date='Aug 19 2009, 02:34 PM'][quote name='TightWetPucchi' post='67567' date='Aug 19 2009, 06:47 PM']When did I say that? Seriously. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':blink:' />[/quote]



You said "her immediate actions were the exact opposite of the personality that Mini Moni, W and the industry had her portray.", that sounds to me as if you think the others are perfect/not doing such things, because otherwise you wouldn't have to mention this as something special in Kago's case.



I can agree with you, that the timespan wasn't as big as I initially thought (from a fan's point of view I guess).

[/quote]



Which is still assuming something that wasn't stated. I only said it in that way because the change was instant and without warning, not an over time thing. Kago didn't really have signs or hints like some of the other girls and the way she was presented in H!P probably let fans keep their guard down. After all of the scandals in H!P, why the flying fuck would anyone in 2009 think the others are perfect? This isn't jpm.



We kind of knew Miki was trouble (even while she was a soloist) and Mari was no big shock.



I'm sure the others aren't perfect, they were just better at hiding it.

-Or too far out of the spotlight that it wouldn't make news.

Kei could have killed someone the day after she left Morning Musume and it wouldn't be in FRIDAY. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' />

[AEUGNewtype]

[quote name='JPope' post='67584' date='Aug 19 2009, 02:52 PM'][quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='67543' date='Aug 19 2009, 12:15 AM']That really wasn't very good IMO, but maybe I'm just very used to how much tone control Shiina has, even when singing extremely loud, but that's something you'd have to practice at for a long time if you weren't used to it. Kago was off-key for most of the notes and the tone only hit being accurate for a few seconds here and there.[/quote]

This is just not at all correct. She's pretty much in tune for the bulk of the performance. She sounds pretty pretty good overall. I honestly wonder if you bothered to actually watch the clip before commenting on it.

[/quote]

Holy hell, are your ears broken or were you just watching on mute? Anyway, I'm not going to argue about this any further because there is no middle ground, but I watched the entire thing twice, actually, and it was very bad.

[JPope]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='67612' date='Aug 19 2009, 07:21 PM'][quote name='JPope' post='67584' date='Aug 19 2009, 02:52 PM'][quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='67543' date='Aug 19 2009, 12:15 AM']That really wasn't very good IMO, but maybe I'm just very used to how much tone control Shiina has, even when singing extremely loud, but that's something you'd have to practice at for a long time if you weren't used to it. Kago was off-key for most of the notes and the tone only hit being accurate for a few seconds here and there.[/quote]

This is just not at all correct. She's pretty much in tune for the bulk of the performance. She sounds pretty pretty good overall. I honestly wonder if you bothered to actually watch the clip before commenting on it.

[/quote]

Holy hell, are your ears broken or were you just watching on mute? Anyway, I'm not going to argue about this any further because there is no middle ground, but I watched the entire thing twice, actually, and it was very bad.

[/quote]

The only area she slips -- the ONLY area -- is the first two bars of the chorus where the intervals are sort of difficult. Other than that, she's pretty solid. If anything, that clip just proves that she could handle singing with a rock band.

[eri]

Ummm...so pictures from this book are scanned. I don't even know what to say about them. Well, I was looking forward to some scandalous shots but I'd never guess we'd get to know Kago's ass crack so well.



Here is a happy preview:





The klassiest part is how they caught the light looking like a penis. Yeah, these aren't trashy B-porn images but it is nowhere near the kind of stylized classy eroticism I was sort of hoping for. I guess you can say it is the equivalent to the US's Maxim (not Playboy but not much better).



Go here for the rest of the images:

http://jpop.technotaku.com/2009/08/kago-ai...ok-preview.html

http://jpop.technotaku.com/2009/08/aibon-k...y-magazine.html

[neshcom]

[quote name='mEri' post='67942' date='Aug 26 2009, 11:10 PM']Ummm...so pictures from this book are scanned. I don't even know what to say about them. Well, I was looking forward to some scandalous shots but I'd never guess we'd get to know Kago's ass crack so well.



Here is a happy preview:





The klassiest part is how they caught the light looking like a penis. Yeah, these aren't trashy B-porn images but it is nowhere near the kind of stylized classy eroticism I was sort of hoping for. I guess you can say it is the equivalent to the US's Maxim (not Playboy but not much better).



Go here for the rest of the images:

http://jpop.technotaku.com/2009/08/kago-ai...ok-preview.html

http://jpop.technotaku.com/2009/08/aibon-k...y-magazine.html[/quote]

She looks like a trick-or-treat-er who couldn't afford enough gauze or nipple covers, but desperately needed the candy.

[jochin]

[quote name='mEri' post='67942' date='Aug 27 2009, 12:10 PM']*pictures*[/quote]



EEEWWWW.

[AEUGNewtype]

Holy fuck, I'm looking through all the images right now. This is actually really disgusting, almost to the point where I can't look at them anymore. They're so trashy it just goes beyond. There's no style behind it, just trashy exploitationism. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

[fpd]

holy shit.

/barf

[eri]

I can't believe I'm saying this but...they aren't THAT bad. I thought they were ridiculous and uncomfortable (um fake nipple bobbles much?), but also said, hey, she isn't lying spread eagle with a dildo up her butt. It is still stylized in some way except that it is overtly sexual. Honestly, it struck me as a more direct, more sexualized progression from the kinds of PBs all of the H!P girls normally take. It also isn't very different from the other "adult" photo shoot she had a few months back. Finally, it is completely in line with all of the other gravure PBs out there. Obviously Kago's change has been really troubling to most fans (me too) but I thought people could laugh about it and eventually just see her for what it is.



At the end of the day, Kago is an adult and she is choosing to build her new image in a certain way. If anything, I hate the H!P machine that infantilized her to the media to such an extreme that she was demonized for being a sexy 21 year old. (This is the same H!P company that shills "innocent" bikini PBs of 12 year old idols for adults to fap over. Hypocrisy much?) H!P stinks like the Disney machine more and more and suddenly I feel very tired of the kind of slut-shaming of idols. Or in short, I've come to wholly embrace Kago the Slut <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

[jochin]

[quote name='mEri' post='67949' date='Aug 27 2009, 03:35 PM']Or in short, I've come to wholly embrace Kago the Slut <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/quote]



I thought I had too, but this is just coming right at me. XD

[Cyrene]

And my one of my favorite H!P girls of all time quickly goes down to the bottom of the list. This book is pretty shocking and not in a good way. That mummy costume was just horrid. Ugh, Kago. What have you become?

[Ap2000]

Why can't she just make a normal photobook ?

This must cater to some very niche niche-market in the niche-market.



I don't find this disgusting (why should I ? There's no such things as bdsm, feces or whatever involved), but also not interesting.

[EmEl]

I'm completely fine with smut, in fact I'm watching three different pornographic videos while typing this (and all before 11am too), but there's something about these pictures that just don't have any value. Sure, they're all "artistically" consistent in their trashy feel, but it just comes off as amateur. Pictures such as that last linked butt-shot would never be found in an actual trash publication because it's a terrible picture in its mechanics.

[Melon]

Like EmEl, I too have no problem with smut. But Kago's comes off as the girl trying too hard and it's stomach churning.



THIS PICTURE (ah man imageshack isn't working):

http://jpop.technotaku.com/nggallery/post/...view/page/10140



is the sexiest of the book. First of all, it's focusing on her face - her SMILING face. She's nude with the sheet pulled up, but it's secondary to her face and I didn't notice it until I took a closer look. Her hair is tousled, much like hair gets after a night of fun. Errr, what I'm getting at is that it looks like she would after waking up in the morning after nightly activities. It's not exploiting in its sexuality like fake nipples or gauzebutt, it looks like a normal woman's reaction and that's sexier than a full frontal nude imo.



If they made the rest of the bra/bikini photos look like she was trying them on for someone instead of "look we snuck into her room and set up pinhole cameras" it would've been sexier too. Or is "we're invading privacy" the intended point...? :| What's most disturbing to me is that most of it looks like it was shot in a hotel and we get these extreme close ups of her (nonexistent) butt and a two page spread of her picking a wedgie. Yuck.

[eri]

[quote name='Petit Melon' post='67961' date='Aug 27 2009, 09:37 AM']It's not exploiting in its sexuality like fake nipples or gauzebutt, it looks like a normal woman's reaction and that's sexier than a full frontal nude imo.[/quote]



Yes - Kago has been chopped up into her respective sexualized body parts; it is disrespectful, like most gravure images are.



However, she also seems like she knows what she is doing and is engaging with the camera directly otherwise. This is a worlds away from the terrifying sexy PB shots where it seems the model is unknowingly being watched or dominated (see Konno). That's why I can't draw a clear line between "innocent" H!P PBs and this type of gravure stuff. So in the end, I agree it this PB is totally trashed up and could have been more interesting...but I don't dislike it simply because it sexualized Kago.



However, I'd like to call her Gauzebutt from here on out. Thanks PM. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />

[eri]

http://jezebel.com/5327894/why-do-we-celeb...ess-falls-apart



I thought this article was appropriate...

The title is: Why do we celebrate when an actress falls apart?

Perhaps, in a way, we make jokes and write nasty pieces in order to distance ourselves from the reality of the situation. And perhaps it's easier to blame a select few than to blame society in general, or the way women are packaged, pushed, and ultimately disposed of in Hollywood...



It's easy for us to crack jokes about the soap-opera esque nature of these women's lives: Britney's pink wig days, Lindsay's drunk driving, and Tara Reid's sad drunken tours around the world have spawned millions of nasty zingers over the past few years. These were young women who, we believe, had everything: money, beauty, fame, and opportunities, and they squandered such things in favor of drugs, drinking, and shitty ex-husbands. But does anyone really believe that any of these women wanted to let go of such things in order to become a tabloid joke? Does anyone really think that the decisions these women have made were based on rational thought patterns? Probably not. And yet we still insist upon kicking them when they're down, just in case the fall from their pedestal wasn't painful enough.

[JPope]

[quote name='mEri' post='67949' date='Aug 27 2009, 02:35 AM']If anything, I hate the H!P machine that infantilized her to the media to such an extreme that she was demonized for being a sexy 21 year old. (This is the same H!P company that shills "innocent" bikini PBs of 12 year old idols for adults to fap over. Hypocrisy much?) H!P stinks like the Disney machine more and more and suddenly I feel very tired of the kind of slut-shaming of idols. Or in short, I've come to wholly embrace Kago the Slut <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /laugh.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />[/quote]



Yeah, I'm with you right here. The low-budget soft-core porn nature of this book comes off as being done tongue-in-cheek to me. When you consider the title, this is like Kago's version of the bathroom scenes in "The Peace" video. I think she's having a lot of fun basically saying, "Fuck you, Friday!" And seriously, what's a better way for her to stand out in the pack of former H!P idols: continue acting like a virginal teenager, pursue a "serious" idol career, or the shock-and-awe path that's she's chosen? I really don't get the feeling that she's being exploited beyond that which she is comfortable exploiting herself. And this photobook is way less creepy than most of the H!P photobooks featuring 12-16 year old girls. WAY less creepy.

[BeForJess]

If Kago wanted to be sexy, she could do it. She's old enough and attractive. But what is in this book isn't sexy, it's just dirty. Not a fan.