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

[DonJuan]

Hah, absolutely. It feels a bit like older internet in general, where people just had some fun.

[DonJuan]

Okay so this is partially about the new MM album, but since I'm mostly talking about Mizuki I thought I'd put it into the spam thread.

I've seen a lot of people being mad that Mizuki is neither in the shuffles nor getting a solo on the new album. And I don't really get it. She'll be gone by the end of the year and if they ever want to perform these songs again then fuck it? I'm sure she'll get her solo after all, just not with the album.

And now there's people saying Up Front is mad at Mizuki. That Mizuki has beef with Up Front. And I'm like - what the heck?
This is the girl that has been in the lead the most for every single since Riho's graduation. Tsunku said she could stay in MM for many more years.

The funniest thing is that there's an actual controversy about things Mizuki has said and how she has acted in the last few months/years, especially surrounding Kaede - though I'm sure it's mostly from one very dedicated person at the H!P confessions blog on tumblr (yes, that still exists).*

*Putting this here under spoilers since it's really nitpicky lol:

Spoiler: [+]

- Apparently Mizuki has made fun of Rairi always sitting alone in their dressing room instead of actually going and talking to her.
- People are mad that Mizuki said she wanted Mifu to debut in MM just for her to debut in Juice. It's a bit like putting pressure on her and Up Front.
- The general atmosphere in the group has been off, with the senpai (namely Mizuki and Sakura) being way too strict about being the once up in hierarchy. Every other group has been a lot more welcoming to new members and basically everybody that debuted in these groups has been pushed way better than the Morning girls except for maybe Rio and Mei.
- That she's bad at introducing other members or giving them the spotlight. There was the situation with the JAPAN JAM performance where Mizuki put introduction cards for every member on instagram but they were mostly... "likes pandas", "likes baseball", etc. Mizuki even "admitted" that she didn't let 12th gen grow as individuals for the longest time.
- Apparently some points were really pissed at some comments in her 910th anniversary interview lol. Something along the lines that the younger members didn't grow up with MM's original songs and that's why it's only right that the older members get to lead them and how MM won't be MM when 9th-11th gen leave. And I even get that last comment, since they're the last ones that debuted under Tsunku.

Some of that is silly, yeah, but by far not enough to make Up Front "punishing" her for it. I mean they even went and took legal action when some fans accused her of meeting fans in private - they certainly did not do the same for the Kobushi girls (or Tsubaki more recently).
I stand by it, her not having that much focus on the new album is just because they wanted to promote the other girls more. She will get her moment to shine.

[JPope]

I've seen a lot of people being mad that Mizuki is neither in the shuffles nor getting a solo on the new album. And I don't really get it. She'll be gone by the end of the year and if they ever want to perform these songs again then fuck it?

Takeuchi got a unit song on Big Love, so this "future-proofing" theory doesn't really fly for me. They can always cover her part for lives. UF probably has something big in store for Fuku closer to her graduation day.

Or they really just hate her.


(just kidding)

[DonJuan]

I wouldn't be surprised if they have something planned for her, but I also don't feel like comparing Anju to Morning - they just don't work the same way.

[MejraThea]

The funniest thing is that there's an actual controversy about things Mizuki has said and how she has acted in the last few months/years, especially surrounding Kaede - though I'm sure it's mostly from one very dedicated person at the H!P confessions blog on tumblr (yes, that still exists).*

I am shock. Blast from the past, lol. Definitely be better if it didn't though...

[Shoujo Q]

^ It was actually Ayumi that said she wanted Mifu in Morning, not Mizuki. Maybe it was Mizuki too? But I clearly saw a post about Ayumi.

Fuku fans really just want the BEST for Mizuki. But the big problem is, they debuted new members as part of an audition in the middle of a graduation session. So UF is poorly juggling this. They really didn't NEED to to the audition, when they clearly are doing another audition before the other audition had even finished. Their need for kenshusei and to continue to produce groups is blinding them to what fans want. More time spent with what they already have. Hello!Project as a whole is losing what it originally had that made it stand out from other idol companies. And its becoming more and more apparent as the years go by. I'm not sure if covid helped in any of this. They tried their best to weather that storm and did pretty well.

But there is such a need for more music from the groups and putting out double/triple/quadruple a-sides isn't the answer. I KNOW they are doing it to save money in the long term. Less promotional money needs to be used. You get more bang for your buck. Etc.

Not sure where I was going with this. It's early. xD

BUT, Mizuki will have her time to shine late summer, early fall, probably around the time of the next Musume anniversary. Fans just want to spend more time with her before she leaves, that's totally understandable. A lot of people hate seeing their favorites leave. But she's (not really leaving) just going to M-line* so it's not really a big farewell.


*(Pure speculation, it's never been stated but that's where all graduates are going these days and I don't see Mizuki doing any differently.)

[DonJuan]

^ It was actually Ayumi that said she wanted Mifu in Morning, not Mizuki. Maybe it was Mizuki too? But I clearly saw a post about Ayumi.

I'm pretty sure Mizuki said it too, probably around the time Mifu had her One Plus One with Reina (I think that one was during the previous audition even, when we got Rairi). Sakura, too. But adding to the whole silliness of the situation people only use it against Mizuki, lol.

But yeah, they won't let her go without anything. It's Mizuki, of all people. They've given her so much until now. She's still the longest serving leader.

[JPope]

But she's (not really leaving) just going to M-line* so it's not really a big farewell.


*(Pure speculation, it's never been stated but that's where all graduates are going these days and I don't see Mizuki doing any differently.)

Not all, but a fair number of them for sure. I think UF is at least a little bit discerning about who they'll have in M-line -- not too many bad singers atm -- but Fuku seems like the very essence of M-line to me: above average at everything and has a large fan-base within the target audience. I'd be floored if she didn't join.

[JPope]

From today's Hello! Pro Station, probably my favorite of the BEYOOOOOPHONIC performances: "Kinoko Takenoko Daisenki"

[DonJuan]

Still such a good song. The idea of making the KinoTako-war into a theater song, making it about world peace, and performing it so well is still one of my favourite things H!P has ever done.

[Madara]

Re-watching Kaga's graduation concert from last December, I was again struck by how harsh the lighting has gotten in Budokan for these concerts, which casts the girls in a gray, sickly pallor. (Same with Chisaki's graduation.)

What happened is they changed the whole stage set-up by making the stage 360 degrees. As a result, they no longer have a bank of lights behind the stage which used to provide a lot of pleasing lighting effects. Now the lights are all overhead shining down on them. And sometimes they leave the house lights on for a whole set.

Doesn’t management notice how worse it makes the girls look? Don’t they protest to Budokan? I wonder what the conversations are like. It clearly diminishes the aesthetic appeal of the concerts.

Compare these screen shots from the Kaga concert with the warm lighting seen in a shot from Ayaka Wada's Budokan graduation in 2019, also at Budokan.

[JPope]

That's interesting. It does look worse, but I imagine that UF is more concerned with the live experience. They could color grade the video for BR/DVD releases, but probably don't feel it's worth it.

[JPope]

This is adorable.

[JPope]

Translation:
"Morning Musume. '23' and <Mangart Beams> have collaborated, and T-shirts with illustrations of each member will be sold in limited quantities and on full order from August 4th (Friday)! Check here for more detail."

Follow this link to see close-ups of the individual shirts.

[Madara]

Question: I've repeatedly noticed that when a group releases a new album, the album photos only include the then-current members of the group despite the fact that recently graduated members all sing on the album. E.g. Country Girls' final album only had four members on the cover even though the songs included all past members singing on it and by that point CG was disbanded so that every member was a former member, so why not put all of them on the cover?

This came to a head recently when I pulled out and listened to the MM 14 Coupling Collection 2. Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki and Reina Tanaka are prominently heard in several of the songs, yet there's no trace of them on the album cover or in the booklet inside.

Yet when MM's Coupling 1 was released, they had all the former and current members' faces on the cover. So the precedent was there. Why didn't they follow it? Here are the two covers:





Personally, I find this insulting to the former members and their fans. What am I missing here?

[JPope]

I get why they do it for new original albums -- they're literally not in the group anymore, and the unique nature of idol groups make it almost inevitable that some past singles will feature a different lineup. That said, there's no reason they shouldn't include everyone involved on the covers for Best-Ofs and other collections.

[JPope]

Hoshibe Sho guitar cover of "CHOICE & CHANCE." Based on the title, this appears to be the first of a series. I fucking love shit like this.

[JPope]

Someone uploaded Juice=Juice's TIF performance of "FUNKY FLUSHIN'" to YT. I believe this is Mifu's live J=J debut, and she even gets a little solo line near the end of the 2nd chorus.

[JPope]

This is pretty sweet.

[DonJuan]

Someone uploaded Juice=Juice's TIF performance of "FUNKY FLUSHIN'" to YT. I believe this is Mifu's live J=J debut, and she even gets a little solo line near the end of the 2nd chorus.

Not to hijack the Mifu post but I really love Ichika. She's a bit awkward, but her performances are still good.

[JPope]

Ichika has an endearing flighty vibe that feels very genuine to me. She's also improved way more as a singer than I ever thought she would, to the point where she's getting some important lines in older songs.

And not to hijack the Ichika post, but the star of 3 Flower to me is Ebata. She's the impish little sister who can hang with the big girls as a performer.

[DonJuan]

Oh, absolutely. I remember 3Flower being completely overshadowed by Tsubaki's newbies (and the losses Juice had at that time), but they've grown a lot. Risa might not be the greatest performer, but she follows Yuka's and Manaka's line of cuteness that is very interesting to see.

[DonJuan]

Rumor has it that an Anju girl is dating one of Naniwa Johnny's.



Bunshun, yeah. No names mentioned though.

[JPope]

LOL!

[DonJuan]

Ah, Riai Once again she reminds me of Maachan.
(That Bunshun article was a fluke btw. No Anju members involved lol)

[JPope]

Ah, Riai Once again she reminds me of Maachan.

Ha ha! Funny you should say that.

[JPope]

I mentioned this is the thread for TF's new single, so if any of you are on Twitter and want to respond, here you go! I'm probably gonna do a blog post about it.

[DonJuan]

I have no (H!P or public) twitter, but I'm gonna take the liberty to add some points here lol.

As many have mentioned in the qrts, they're lacking releases. Personally I don't think they need more music, especially not MM, but the single promotions are the rare times they actually promote the groups. Other than that you can basically go and not hear from them for half a year. The girls are busy of course, since they're constantly touring, but the tours feel more like forcing them to make money lol.

Outside of releases I get that they need opportunities to promote themselves as everything else would cost them money, but they could be a bit more creative. Basically all blog and social media posts are "heeeyyy we're done with tour rehearsals/performing at festival x [cute selfie]" which is. Well. It's okay. But certainly not something to get new fans with. I doubt that the girls themselves are so uncreative that they couldn't come up with a fun corner to film for their Youtube channels, especially since we have so many older girls left.

Lack of creativity is also pretty obvious when it comes to everything. They try with OCHA at the moment. I think they still try a bit with Tsubaki, too, despite the group going through a massive style change. But the others, especially Juice and Morning, are left in the dust. Anju is so-so since I feel the members are crazy enough to make their own thing, but MM is very strict and Juice has gone through so much change for some years with so many newbies that they are missing a goal or direction.

This is mostly a Morning Musume thing, but the fact they are cutting their budget is a bit too obvious. It's good to promote new groups, but you can't tell me that there was no budget for better MVs for their last single. Hell, Swing Swing Paradise felt like it was straight from their worst years. Morning is their biggest money maker and I think they should use some money for them.

In general, we got so many new members since Covid, but I really don't know them well, despite trying to keep up. Tsubaki's variety show helped me with their new members, but I'm still so-so about Juice's 3flower despite them having had 2 more generations join after them. Don't get me started on OCHA and the new KSS unit, I still mix up their faces, and they at least *try* to promote OCHA.

What I don't think is that important is spotify or catering to an international fandom. Spotify doesn't do much for them so I guess it's the most logical thing to cut. And while international fans are spoiled with kpop which is basically produced to cater to the world we all fell in love with jpop because it was a bit inaccessable, didn't we? They did their own thing and that's what made it good.

[JPope]

What I don't think is that important is spotify or catering to an international fandom. Spotify doesn't do much for them so I guess it's the most logical thing to cut. And while international fans are spoiled with kpop which is basically produced to cater to the world we all fell in love with jpop because it was a bit inaccessable, didn't we? They did their own thing and that's what made it good.

I gotta tell you, not being on Spotify and not going after the international markets hard enough were the two things I was expecting to dominate the replies, and while they were two of the biggest issues, they didn't dominate quite as much as I expected. And I agree with you 100% on both.

I think there's a natural instinct to expect entertainment companies to cater to yourself in particular, and when they don't, well then they're just stupid, aren't they? The Spotify thing is the prime example of this. Physical media is so much more profitable than streaming, and Japan is the one country left where physical media is still in demand. The amount of money that Spotify pays companies is criminally low, so I don't blame any of them for telling Spotify to kick dirt.

It seems like I tweet some version of the following out once a year: if you're an H!P fan outside of Japan, you are not the target audience. And quite frankly, I don't ever want that to change. I don't want international fans -- and Western fans in particular -- to ever be a major consideration for any J-idol company. I love it because it's not Western, it's distinctly Japanese and not everything has to be accessible to everybody. I know that I'm just a guest who's along for the ride and that my opinion on which way to go is utterly meaningless. I'm cool with that.

[JPope]

Rika Shimakura does a solid a cappella of one of the most beautiful and underrated Buono! songs, "Koucha no Oishii Mise."