UFP/OG Spam Thread :: All things non-Hello!Project Related!

[JPope]

Miki sounds like half school teacher, half nervous teenager. I'm less put off by her diction than by her not having anything prepared. Her command of the language isn't good enough for her to record these cold.
 
Also, from what little I've seen of Kaga so far, I like her a lot. She seems like a fully realized idol, already prepared to take on a greater role than any of the 12th gen. She seems poised and comfortable when talking, as well as in that Sexy Cat performance.

[JoshuaJSlone]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JPope" data-cid="203883" data-time="1483479770">Miki sounds like half school teacher, half nervous teenager. I'm less put off by her diction than by her not having anything prepared. Her command of the language isn't good enough for her to record these cold.</blockquote>I was wondering about that. I mean, I'm a native speaker and would probably do even worse, but I'm also not a professional entertainer who's been on the job for a few years.

[TicTacAnyone]

Really? I think her accent sounds sorta northern. I mean, I'm not from Illinois (from Michigan here) but it doesn't sound like Alabama to me. Her y's are totally Japanese, though. "Ears old."
 
And if I can be frank, I think y'all are a bit.... Harsh is definitely not the right word.... critical? Not only is she thinking/speaking in a grammatically correct way--generally--but she is also doing live interpretation. I mean for some people, public speaking in their native language is scary enough; let alone in a second language. And Kaga and Yokoyama are repeating themselves anyway, which kinda makes it look bad for Miki to repeat herself too.
 
I think she only had a few real slip ups. To try and have good communication in Japanese with other people, then trying to explain it in English to a camera can't be easy. Not only are you switching from a personal conversation to an "imaginatory" one, you're switching languages along with it.
 
/end rant  

[JPope]

Here's the thing: even pro entertainers prepare for things like these. That's why they're pros. The girls had to know ahead of time that they were going to shoot this video after the concert, so Miki should have come up with some banter. Nothing major, just a small script to practice, maybe a couple of jokes. Anything to focus her mind and make her appear more comfortable. Hopefully someone strongly suggests this to her for the next video.
 
I don't want to be too critical, because I love that they're even attempting to reach out to the English-speaking fans like this at all. 

[JPope]

[quote="TicTacAnyone"]
I'm not from Illinois (from Michigan here) 
 
[/quote]
 
No shit? Me, too. What part of the Mitten are you from?

[momoirosaya]

As someone who is a senior theatre major and speaks English and Japanese fluently, Miki is not exactly being the most professional she could be.

Also Ayaka from Coconuts used to do the whole English and Japanese thing too. I think Miki just needs to study what American (since she learned her English there) interviewers or interviewees speak like. There's a certain cadence.

[Purin-chama]

Is there a reason the Miki stuff is in the OG thread? I'm confused...

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="Saya"]
As someone who is a senior theatre major and speaks English and Japanese fluently, Miki is not exactly being the most professional she could be.
[/quote]
 
That's true, but I don't know if their aim is to have her speaking English professional/formal-like. Not only is she reaching out to Americans, but to the international community. Not everyone who can understand some English can understand fancy English. It seems like the staff's plan is more to go without a script and just wing it. And she can have what she wants to say prepared but that won't stop her from having to translate on the spot for other girls, and get it across in an easily understandable way.
 
 
 
[quote="JPope"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="TicTacAnyone" data-cid="203893" data-time="1483506037">
<div>
I'm not from Illinois (from Michigan here) 
 
[/quote]
 
No shit? Me, too. What part of the Mitten are you from?
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I'm in Virginia now, but I used to live in Oakland County. Didn't I hear you say you live in Dearborn? I used to go there every time I went to my aunts house, and really I lived there the first few years of my life. 

[JPope]

[quote="Myst"]
Is there a reason the Miki stuff is in the OG thread? I'm confused...
[/quote]
 
Because the n00b posted the video in the wrong forum. St00pid n00b!
 
Then us st00pid OGs just went along with it. 

[JPope]

[quote="TicTacAnyone"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Saya" data-cid="203896" data-time="1483506313">
<div>
As someone who is a senior theatre major and speaks English and Japanese fluently, Miki is not exactly being the most professional she could be.
[/quote]
 
That's true, but I don't know if their aim is to have her speaking English professional/formal-like. Not only is she reaching out to Americans, but to the international community. Not everyone who can understand some English can understand fancy English. It seems like the staff's plan is more to go without a script and just wing it. And she can have what she wants to say prepared but that won't stop her from having to translate on the spot for other girls, and get it across in an easily understandable way.
 
 
 
[quote="JPope"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="TicTacAnyone" data-cid="203893" data-time="1483506037">
<div>
I'm not from Illinois (from Michigan here) 
 
[/quote]
 
No shit? Me, too. What part of the Mitten are you from?
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I'm in Virginia now, but I used to live in Oakland County. Didn't I hear you say you live in Dearborn? I used to go there every time I went to my aunts house, and really I lived there the first few years of my life. 
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
I lived in Dearbron from 6th grade through high school. Detroit before that, and a bunch of other places after. I'm in California now.

[sayu1991]

Ultimately I think she did a really good job when you consider that she's not a native speaker and has been away from native speakers for a few years now. Next time it'd definitely be better if they had the other girls prepare their answers ahead of time and give them to her so she's not trying to translate their responses completely off the cuff and while nervous. It would be great if she could improve her English a bit more, she sometimes made the usual foreigner mistake of leaving out participles such as "to" and "at", but it's not likely while living in Japan (unless her parents invested in a native tutor for conversation practice) and frankly it's refreshing to hear reasonably fluent English that I didn't have to struggle to make out. Her accent is definitely more northern than southern although I heard a bit of southern accent in the way she said "too" and "sleep." For the most part though, her English is very neutral.

[TicTacAnyone]

[quote="JPope"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Myst" data-cid="203897" data-time="1483506783">
<div>
Is there a reason the Miki stuff is in the OG thread? I'm confused...
[/quote]
 
Because the n00b posted the video in the wrong forum. St00pid n00b!
 
Then us st00pid OGs just went along with it. 
 
</div>
</blockquote>
 
Actually, Miki did say she was making the videos for Up!Front Link 

[JPope]

[quote="Sayu"]
Ultimately I think she did a really good job when you consider that she's not a native speaker and has been away from native speakers for a few years now. Next time it'd definitely be better if they had the other girls prepare their answers ahead of time and give them to her so she's not trying to translate their responses completely off the cuff and while nervous. It would be great if she could improve her English a bit more, she sometimes made the usual foreigner mistake of leaving out participles such as "to" and "at", but it's not likely while living in Japan (unless her parents invested in a native tutor for conversation practice) and frankly it's refreshing to hear reasonably fluent English that I didn't have to struggle to make out. Her accent is definitely more northern than southern although I heard a bit of southern accent in the way she said "too" and "sleep." For the most part though, her English is very neutral.
[/quote]
 
I agree. Her English skills are fine for this, IMO. She could actually be worse and still be good enough for what this is. It's the apparent lack of preparation that kills it for me.

[Ap2000]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="TicTacAnyone" data-cid="203672" data-time="1483159288">When the wall lifted, Konkon still didn't realize it was really Gaki... she just thought "This girl looks so much like Gaki-san."</blockquote>
Typical fucking Konkon. lol

Also, Gaki looks still damn pretty.

[JPope]

[quote="Ap2000"]
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="TicTacAnyone" data-cid="203672" data-time="1483159288">
When the wall lifted, Konkon still didn't realize it was really Gaki... she just thought "This girl looks so much like Gaki-san."
</blockquote>


Typical fucking Konkon. lol


Also, Gaki looks still damn pretty.
 
[/quote]
 
She's gonna age like Nakazawa, maybe better, even. 

[Mugi]

Don't know if anyone shared this but T. Reina and T. Ai did an event together.  They sang a lot of the songs MM did after Ai left.  That's only one video but I think the rest are on the channel.

[JPope]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mugi" data-cid="203962" data-time="1483744493">
<div>
Don't know if anyone shared this but T. Reina and T. Ai did an event together.  They sang a lot of the songs MM did after Ai left.  That's only one video but I think the rest are on the channel.
</div>
</blockquote>
 
 
This is a really cool show. Here's my favorite of the set: <a class="bbc_url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjS-ytdCXuA" title="External link">Ikujinashi</a>

[Purin-chama]

[quote="Mugi"]
Don't know if anyone shared this but T. Reina and T. Ai did an event together.  They sang a lot of the songs MM did after Ai left.  That's only one video but I think the rest are on the channel.
[/quote]
I miss 6th gen + TakaGaki singing together  I hope they do events like this more. I was never a huge Reina or Ai fan during their time in H!P, but I like them as performers... and I love covers.

[Mugi]

Not sure if this is where this goes but I was watching this random anime today and I saw Tsunku's name and I was surprised. He wrote the opening (link below) Its interesting to see the stuff he does outside of HP.

[Shoujo Q]

Oh yay! I forgot that anime was starting. <3 By the way, this is the opening. And this is the ending. 
 
I remember, back in the day, sitting in the student lounge of my college and someone put on the Orphan anime. I heard Tsunku, and back then I really had a vague idea on who he was. But it wasn't till the ending, when I heard Taiyou to Cisco Moon that I knew what I was hearing. That was my first real experience of Tsunku outside of Morning Musume.
 
Speaking of Tsunku. He's going produce a new project called "Uta no Harajuku hokoten", a live stream show on SHOWROOM
 
It's aimed at street performers and artists. 
 
Source.

[Mugi]

Whoops Thanks for posting the real one.  I was too excited when I posted since I saw he even wrote it.  I barely pay attention to the credits since I can't read Japanese that well.

[JoshuaJSlone]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Mugi" data-cid="204024" data-time="1483920372">Not sure if this is where this goes but I was watching this random anime today and I saw Tsunku's name and I was surprised. He wrote the opening (link below) Its interesting to see the stuff he does outside of HP.</blockquote><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">The Heroine Party, Sunlight Party, Starlight Party, Bishoujo Party, Wakaba Party, Subculture New Party, and SOS Party. From these seven idol political parties, the idols who have become National Diet members and representatives for each prefecture will smash through the sense of stagnation covering Japan using the power of song and dance! They'll bring back the smiling faces of the people, and wrap Japan in a glittering aura!!</blockquote>Well, nice to see there's a new horror anime, anyway.

[kitaoji]

this just in on her blog: Konno Asami has married Sugiura Toshihiro, pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

[yuzuriha]

Damn, five years younger.  Good job Konkon!  

[Madara]

Isn't Tsuji's husband also named Sugiura? Are the two related?

[MejraThea]

They do have the same Kanji, but Toshihiro doesn't have any listed siblings, whereas Taiyou only had one brother listed (not Toshihiro). So they could possibly be cousins, but it isn't extremely likely because Sugiura isn't a rare name. Here's a list of other famous people with the same family name.

[TicTacAnyone]

I just imagine she gets pranked by him sitting behind a wall pretending to be someone else, and when the wall raises she looks at him and goes "it's nice to meet you."
 
 
Oh. =w=

[Shoujo Q]

<div>Tamura Meimi has been cast to play Honda Minako (former idol/singer who died in 2005 to a form of leukemia) in an upcoming stage production.</div>
<div> </div>
<div></div>
<div> </div>
<div>Fun little fact. Minako also happened to play Eponine in Les Misérables and was also cast as Fantine, but died before that run of the musical. And you know how much Meimi loves Les Mis. </div>
<div>I'm sure she's excited to play this role. Hell, I'm excited FOR her. I loooooved Honda Minako!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Congrats to her!</div>
<div> </div>
<div>According to the director of the musical, Meimi took a year off for vocal lessons.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Considering the power that was behind Honda Minako's voice, I'm so super excited to see what Meimi can do. Eeee!!!</div>

[Anderei]

Meimi is probably more excited because she's a fan. She visited her memorial on the anniversary of her death last year.

[Meikochi]

This is great for Meimi and I hope it will be filmed.