Ichioka Reina graduates from BEYOOOOONDS

[DonJuan]

Official Announcement.

Not much information of course, but her health condition has been going up and down with no real improvement, so management and she came to the conclusion it would be better for her to graduate.

I feel really sorry for her. This is really the worst end.

[JPope]

Well this sucks. She was clearly nearing the end, having just celebrated her 25th birthday, but going out with SGS (Sudden Graduation Syndrome) is just salt in the wound. She deserved way better than this, and I hope her health eventually improves to the point where she can take her place in M-line if she so chooses.

I gotta say, 2024 has been a massive bust for H!P so far, and the lack of traffic here is a result of that. Two albums, neither of which are even close to what I'd call top-tier, one middling corporate tie-in, and not so much as an announced release to look forward to. And now another group leader is gone, this time without the pomp and celebratory run-up that she deserves. I don't know if there's a similar malaise in the Japanese fandom, but the next couple of singles need to be fucking great -- and I mean instant H!P classics -- because all this is happening on the heels of a rash of popular graduations to close out last year. People are beginning to forget H!P even exists. My Twitter TL -- usually 75% H!P content is now other idol groups, Kpop, pro wrestling, billiards, soccer, and fucking politics for the most part. I don't know if this is the beginning of the end, but it's what I'd imagine that would look like.

[DonJuan]

We also lost/are about to lose every group's leader except for OCHA's in a year: Takechan in June '23, Mizuki and Riko November '23, Icchan now March '24 and Aarii (and hey, Kisora too) this spring.

Man, this is another Hellomageddon in the making. The current H!P lineup suffers from having ignored building up aces for the last few years. At least MM has RioRio (and hopefully Homare in the making) and apparently Marine is the big gunner in Tsubaki at the moment so they're save for some more years, but Anju is about to lose Rikako (they still have Kamiko, but for how long?), Juice will be left to mostly nobodies (despite me liking them all), and Biyo has been put on the backburner for too long now. I can see Momo getting some attention but OCHA as a whole is not exactly popular.

That being said, it *is* baffling how there are basically no positive news except for the gummy commercial. There is not one single or album announcement out there, the last single was Anju's RED LINE on December 13 (and albums don't really make the rounds). That's nearly 3 months now! Even if you give every group only one single per year now you could at least spread it out, that's one single every two months.

The way I see it we will have a messy April/May with graduation singles for Juice and Tsubaki and HOPEFULLY finally one for Biyo after a whole year.

And they're probably gonna put an audition somewhere into this year.

It's all just really frustrating, Icchan's sudden graduation was of course just a catalyst for another wave of discontent. But come to think of it, her H!P story is really frustrating, too: 5 years of KSS until the announcement of her debut in May 2017, and then debuting only in October 2018 with their debut single coming out in May 2019. After an exciting first year Biyo was crushed by covid, releasing no single in 2020 and only one for each 2021-2023.

Man...

[Shoujo Q]

What sucky news. But it was a slow moving train we all saw coming.

Aside from that I agree this has been a horrible year for H!P but it’s something we all saw coming after the Covid lul. It sucks mainly for Beyooooonds if I’m honest.

I really don’t think UF can pull out another group and keep with these generational groups. They are going to stretch themselves way too thin. I prefer quality of quantity and UF if starting to fail, hard.

[JPope]

Here's another thing to consider: We haven't heard too many legit bangers from Hoshibe in the last calendar year. Biyo's "Motome yo... Unmei no Tabibito San" came out last April and MM's "Wake Up Call" last October, and that's pretty much it from my perspective. Of those, "Motome yo..." is formulaic Hoshibe funky-pop that, while really good, has been done way better numerous times previously. Expecting multiple classics from one songwriter each year is as unfair as it is unrealistic, but like Tsunku and Takui before him, it is the standard he set for himself, so we're gonna notice when it stops happening. A Hoshibe slump is the last thing H!P needs at this particular moment, because times like this are a stark reminder that music is still the most important ingredient for any idol group.

[DonJuan]

I really don’t think UF can pull out another group and keep with these generational groups. They are going to stretch themselves way too thin. I prefer quality of quantity and UF if starting to fail, hard.

Honestly, the idea of a second KSS Unit was dumb. OCHA was already the leftovers from those that didn't make it into Biyo (and those that were too young), now the new unit isn't exactly strong either. Seeing how many girls went to Tsubaki and Juice since OCHA's debut makes me wonder if they couldn't have added them just to other groups - same with the current unit.

Here's another thing to consider: We haven't heard too many legit bangers from Hoshibe in the last calendar year. [...] A Hoshibe slump is the last thing H!P needs at this particular moment, because times like this are a stark reminder that music is still the most important ingredient for any idol group.

I didn't think of that, but you're right. Tsunku was a madman, and Takui only wrote a few songs, but putting everything on Hoshibe now is quite some pressure. Looking at the other people who worked on songs that I enjoyed last year...

- Yamazaki Aoi (Pride Bright), also works on other H!P songs every now and then, and some of them are real good (Suki tte, Bitansan, Hitori de ikiraresou tte, Aisare Route A or B...), but probably not main writer material. Also he mostly works with Juice and Tsubaki, and I think especially Tsubaki didn't really have problems with songs the last few years.
- Itagaki Yusuke (Mousou Dake Nara Freedom), is usually an arranger, I think Freedom is the first H!P song he actually composed?

Well, and then Suggoi Fever, a Tsunku song.
Looking a bit dire. Maybe that's why they're waiting with Biyo, Hoshibe is not on top.

[Shoujo Q]

Makes me wonder if they are second guessing their debut? They mentioned it that they would debut last year and everyone probably assumed they would debut them in the beginning of the year. But we haven’t heard boo. So now everyone will wonder if they will debut after the yearly KSS test. All these unexpected graduation aren’t helping matters.

[JPope]

Damn...

[Solarblade]

http://www.up-front-promotion.co.jp/inf ... tail/17186

Ichioka has now officially left the company.

[DonJuan]

Understandable. March 31 was probably her last day under contract.