IW @ AX – Day 2 (Morning Musume Concert Photos)

Day 2 of Anime Expo 2009 featured Morning Musume’s concert. The official AX photos of Morning Musume’s concert have just been made available to the press, so here they are for your viewing pleasure.

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CK’s Thoughts on MoMusu at Anime Expo

Wow, what an event!
This past long weekend was amazing for so many reasons.  I originally figured I would simply be seeing a Morning Musume concert.  And maybe there would be some sort of extra event surrounding it.  Since I have seen MoMusu so many times before perhaps the anticipation in me wasn’t quite as high [...]

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IW @ AX – Day 1 (Morning Musume Q&A Transcript)

Morning Musume’s panel from Day 1 of Anime Expo wasn’t quite as in depth as Tsunku’s was, but it was still fun to listen to. The girls were absolutely adorable and you could tell they were excited to perform for their international fans. Check out the post to read the transcript.

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Have Any Questions for the Otakon Musical Guests?

By pengie in Noteworthy, Otakon 2009 on July 13, 2009

otakonartistsWell, faithful readers, Otakon 2009 is in a few days (this weekend, July 17-19). As you may already know, the convention, which takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, will be hosting several prominent Japanese musical acts this year. Rock band VAMPS will be holding a press conference, while concerts will be performed by I’ve Sound artist MELL, American-born singer BECCA, and cello player and vocalist Wakeshima Kanon. It all promises to be very exciting, and since I (pengie) will be in attendance as a member of press, I’ll be doing my best to bring IW daily coverage of the events!

I’ve secured a one-on-one interview with Wakeshima Kanon on Saturday evening. Additionally, I have requested interviews with MELL and BECCA, and should hear a response on these sometime this week. Even if I’m not able to secure an interview with them, there are press conferences and/or Q&A sessions likely being held for each artist, as well as the concerts themselves. (VAMPS is not actually holding a concert at the convention, but is playing a show in Baltimore on Thursday evening; I will not be attending, unfortunately.) So what does this mean for you guys? It means that you have chances to suggest questions again!

If you have a burning desire to ask Wakeshima Kanon the name of her cello (or cellos?), or how fluent BECCA is in Japanese, or whether or not MELL is just as tired of “Red fraction” as the rest of us… head on over to the wotatalk links below and suggest away! Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, and posted on IW when they are completed, as well as concert coverage and any other related events I may end up attending.

IW at Otakon – Questions for BECCA
IW at Otakon – Questions for MELL
IW at Otakon – Questions for Wakeshima Kanon
IW Interview/IW at Otakon – Questions for VAMPS (updated)

Keep your eyes on the front page of IW for my coverage of Otakon 2009… and if you’re actually going to be there, feel free to stop me and say hi! I’ll be the one wearing a press pass, IW pin, and looking flustered nonstop.

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Bloggers Say Farewell to Arihara Kanna (Pt. 2)

By CK♂ in Blogs, Hello Project on July 13, 2009

Good bye Kanna, and Good Luck (Sazaki’s H!P Weblog)
Farewell Kanna T_T (The Hello!Avengers)
Kanna says goodbye to H!P (Super Happy Genki Hyperforce GO!)
I Kanna Live Without You (Hello!Blog)
Kanna is gone … should we care? (Wotaku Now!)
My thoughts on Kanna (香水)

It is nice that so many people are sending Kanna their best wishes, even though admittedly not everyone was the biggest fan of hers.  Well, maybe I should say most people.  Actually I am wondering how her former groupmates are taking this.  We have been deprived of a cryfest (graduation).  No fair!

Sazaki wishes there could be something he could say to make Kanna change her mind.  But alas, he is powerless to change the fate of someone he saw as a great idol.  And as far as any potential scandals are concerned, he prefers to let sleeping dogs lie.  At this point Kanna is free to do what she wishes.  So more power to her!

James feels the lack of a graduation is a bit of a snub on Kanna.  And he wants to give all of her detractors a big “poke in the eye”.  Hang tight James, they’re comin’

SHG is very emotional about this situation, a feeling she compares to that of losing a close friend.  She hypothesizes on the reasons why Kanna may have left, including one theory I haven’t heard before.  Perhaps she felt like the group was doing fine without her, and didn’t really need her anymore?  Interesting theory, entirely plausible.  But alas, we will probably never know the actual reason behind the decision.  SHG is also concerned about the future of C-ute, noting quite often a groups’ material declines when they lose a key member.

Tom recovered from a night of “pub and pancakes” to read the news about Kanna.  He doesn’t see this having a major impact on C-ute as he thinks they have done just fine as a 6-nin group.  Ultimately his brief conversation with his buddy Chris at the bottom of the post put things into proper perspective.  At least for me they did!

Shirow doesn’t really understand why everyone os so sad, and he cites his reasons why Kanna’s leaving isn;t a big deal.  But despite that he made a tribute video to C-ute’s newest former member.  I dunno, I guess I have trained myself to be ready to laugh whenever Shirow makes a video, so it didn’t have the “tissue” impact I was warned about.  Oh well.

Last but certainly not least, Wendy noticed that Kanna’s departure made her realize that she doesn’t really like C-ute at all.  Furthermore, she takes umbrage with all of the supposed “superfans” coming out of the woodwork noting that she has always been C-ute’s least popular member.  (I was wondering about that too!)  Finally she assures Kanna that although she is leaving the idol world she will still be followed around and photographed by hordes of Wota stalkers.

That’s great!

Seriously, at the end of the day we all send Kanna our best wishes and hope she does well with all of her future endeavors.  Whatever they might be.

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Reactions to the Departure of Arihara Kanna (Pt. 1)

By CK♂ in Blogs, Hello Project on July 13, 2009

Kanna’s GONE?! (Donmai!)
Kanna goes Bye Bye Bye!! (cake+and+lemons)
Kanna Arihara leaves C-ute (Morningtime)
Wait…?  WHAT?!  NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! (Sora to Kujira)
Goodbye Kanna (Bikkuri Project)
栞菜ちゃんへ。。。 (モーニングBerryz…the morning after…..)

So this is the first major H!P departure we have seen since the massive Elder Club graduation announcement almost 9 months ago.  Understandably everyone has an opinion on this.  Not that this was a surprising announcement.  But this is the first change to happen to one of Hello! Project’s three core groups since Mikitty left Morning Musume.  (I think)

I must admit I really felt sad while reading Donmai’s post, which is a fictional description of what it would’ve been like the day Kanna returned to C-ute.  It’s a moment that will now never happen, which makes her sad too.  It would have been nice to see Kanna return to the stage with her mates again, even if it were one last time to give her a proper sendoff.

Deanna isn’t buying all of the hype about this being some sort of grand cover-up.  Is it really far-fetched to believe that Kanna merely decided that this was her time to leave H!P.  Maybe it was as simple as her wanting to return to a normal life.  Or perhaps her injury is one that would limit her future performing career.  Maybe the story is there isn;t an inside story.

Morningtime celebrates Kanna’s graduation with a series of pics of Kanna groping other H!P members…Bwahahahahaha!

Jin is thankful for the time he got to spend obsessing over his favorite C-ute member, and wishes Kanna luck for the future.  He feels C-ute doesn’t look right with a 6-nin lineup, and figures they will need to bring on another member to be complete again.  To him this has just as big an impact as someone like Miyabi leaving Berryz or Aichan leaving MoMusu.

On the contrary, Celestia figures C-ute will be fine moving forward as she didn’t see Kanna as a major impact member.  And she also figures there is some sort of scandal being kept quiet.  Case in point, why no graduation?

And finally MB presents us with a most beautiful and heartfelt post celebrating the memories of Kanna and her days as an H!P idol.  It is a wonderful over letter, one I am sure Kanna would appreciate if she had the opportunity to read it.  Hey MB, you should write that out and mail it to her.

Just a suggestion…more to come!

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Fujimoto Miki Has Tied the Knot with Tomoharu Shoji

By maiZe in News, Noteworthy on July 12, 2009

mikishoji-noteworthyMiki Fujimoto, Tomoharu Shoji officially married (Tokyograph)
MIKITTY WEDDING!!!!!!! (dorkiドキ)

Former Morning Musume leader, Fujimoto Miki, has married comedian Shoji Tomoharu. The romance between these two made headlines two years ago when the pair was caught on a date by FRIDAY magazine, which eventually led to Miki’s resignation from Morning Musume. The pair stayed together following Miki’s resignation and announced their engagment in March of this year.

According to Tokyograph, the pair were married in Hawaii this past July 3rd and submitted their formal marriage registration on the 11th.

With a wedding date of July 3rd, that means no current Morning Musume members or former leader Yoshizawa Hitomi were able to attend the wedding, seeing as they were in Los Angeles for Anime Expo 2009. It seems a shame for Hitomi not to attend seeing as they were leader (Hitomi) and sub-leader (Miki) of Morning Musume for 2 years. One would have to assume that Matsuura Aya would have been at the wedding… How could Miki have a wedding without all of GAM in attendance?

dorkiドキ has photos of the happy couple in Hawaii as well as from the press conference they held to announce the news. They both look extremely happy and I wish them all the best!

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Taking a Look at How the K-pop Stars Live

By CK♂ in Blogs, Kpop on July 12, 2009

Check out WonderGirls’ luxury travel bus for their American concert performances (K Bites)
Take a look into 2NE1’s dormitory (K Bites)

Sometimes we get a glimpse of this stuff via blog pics.  But SooKyeong is giving us a tour inside the private life of two top acts.  Specifically, WonderGirls luxury tour bus and 2NE1’s apartment.

The bus featured in the opening post…wow!  Those are some nice digs!  I have actually been inside a bus like this before and was flabbergasted by how luxurious it was.  But it makes me wonder what type of travel vehicle the Jonas Brothers are touring in.  Actually, Jonas Brothers provided this bus for the girls.  What nice guys!  Sheesh, maybe I’ll like them for…[listens to Jonas Brothers]  Errr, maybe not!  The 2NE1 dorm looks like a regular apartment.  But I did like the prominence of SpongeBob and Stitch in the pics.

It should also be noted that both living quarters featured bunk beds, which I’m sure makes it difficult for the girls to bring back a few groupies for a little post-show relaxation.  Oh well, that’s life on the road!

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To AKB or Not to AKB

By solo-kun in AKB48, Blogs, JPop, Pop Idols on July 12, 2009

On AKB (Bikkuri Project)

There are a few things that are keeping me from jumping in to the AKB48 fandom and it’s not necessarily the music they’re making. This also seems to be the case for Celestia of Bikkuri Project. In this post Celestia takes a look at the pop idol group and makes a few interesting observations.

Noticing the increase in popularity throughout the community and with some free time on her hands, Celestia hunkers down to get to know the girls, the teams and their music. Using a series of pluses and minuses, she steps through the goods and the not so goods of the group, incorporating a few inevitable comparisons to Hello!Project. On the plus side, Celestia acknowledges some good voices, good dancing and good songs to go along with it. Of course there is some hit or miss in all of those areas, but that’s generally to be expected of just about any group one is looking in to. From a negative standpoint, Celestia has found a few issues that just don’t sit well; from copious amounts of lip syncing, to a bit too much on the sexuality side of things to name a few. In the end, Celestia feels that the negatives were just to much to really be able to give in, but has still managed to add some nice music to her collection in the process.

So, what’s stopping you? Or what is it that finally pushed you over the edge? Head over to Bikkuri Project, give it a read and share your opinion on the matter. It’s always interesting to hear from different perspectives.

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AKB48 Hawt Bikini Spread in Weekly Playboy

By CK♂ in AKB48, Blogs, Eyecandy on July 12, 2009

Bikini Surprise! (Hello! Island)

Pata has scans of an article featured in Japan’s Weekly Playboy magazine promoting…well, I guess promoting the fact that AKB48 looks awesome in skimpy two-pieces!  There are a few full page shots of some of their most popular members.  But my favorite pics are the one’s featuring them jumping ala their famous Jump and Cry PB.  The bikini/stocking combo is extremely sexy.  Eyecandy all the way.  Thanks Pata!

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Arihara Kanna Leaves °C-ute, Hello! Project

By pengie in Blogs, Hello Project, News, Noteworthy on July 11, 2009

Arihara Kanna leaves Hello!Project (Hello!Online)
C-ute’s Arihara leaves Hello! Project (Tokyograph)

kannaIn February of this year, it was reported that Hello! Project idol and °C-ute member Arihana Kanna would be absent indefinitely due to pain caused by bunions on her feet. Now it has been announced that she will be leaving both °C-ute and H!P to “return to being a normal girl.” Tokyograph delivers the basic version of the news, but the Hello!Online staff suspects that Kanna’s departure from the group could be due to more than her foot pain. Since some pictures were published a few months ago of Kanna cuddling up to a Johnny’s Jr. member, it’s been rumored that the two are dating… and H!O’s “inside source” believes that further pictures were brought to the attention of Up-Front Agency that violated the terms of Kanna’s contract. This may be true, or it could be that Kanna enjoyed her time away from the spotlight and decided to continue it. Regardless of the facts that we may never know… °C-ute’s seventh member will be sorely missed.

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While MoMusu Invaded the City of Angels, AKB48 Rocked Paris

By CK♂ in AKB48, Blogs, News, Noteworthy on July 10, 2009

AKB48 in Paris:  First Europe, then the world (SaeYaka Paradise)

akbliveThere was another J-pop group with a milestone concert last week.  AKB48 made their first appearance outside of Asia at Paris’ Japan Expo.  Originally it was supposed to be Team A making the trip, but ultimately it was a combination of members from all the teams who made the appearance.  In addition to a concert and autographs, some of the fans were also treated to photo-op sessions.

Heiwa and Ange have also posted video of their performance, which to me is really surprising.  They actually allowed cameras inside the show?  Wow!  AKB is usually as militant as anyone about that kind of thing.  But it is good news for us as we can see virtually all of the show via the YouTube links.  And the quality is really good!

It is also amazing to see AKB performing some of their songs not only in English, but in French!  That was a nice touch indeed!

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What do You Think About the New (Old) Hello! Project Sub-Units?

By CK♂ in Blogs, Hello Project, Noteworthy on July 10, 2009

Hello! Project Champloo ~Happy Marriage Song Shuu~ A.K.A. – the cover album (Mayuge Madness)
All this H!P Revival groups nonsense… (Sora to Kujira)

tanpopoiI have no idea if these lineups are “official” or not, but I am going to assume that they are.  Liamers and Jin have the tracklists and artists, but they go on to do detailed analysis/predictions on the lineups for each track.

Liamers is most excited about the ZYX and Tanpopo revivals, which isn’t surprising given he sees thing through “Gaki-colored” glasses.  But he is most skeptical about the Pucchi Moni group.  This is the result of what was being discussed here on IW a few days ago with regards to Manoeri.  Her inclusion in this unit along with MaiMai (who also seems to be getting a lot of flak lately) draws immediate skepticism.  Not that I disagree.  I am not excited about that lineup either.  But H!P has proved me wrong so many times before.  Just watch, Pucchi Moni V will blow everyone away!

On the other hand Jin has the least expectations from the ZYX revival mainly because of the absence of the two H!P Kids group leaders from the lineup.  Oh yes, I loved Captain in ZYX!  Like Liamers, Jin is interested in the Tanpopo lineup.  But he is also anticipating the new MiniMoni.  He rates each sub-unit on a 1-5 scale.

I dunno.  I understand that they all have the old group names.  But with the exception of High-King these are essentially brand new units.  So I don’t see any point in comparing them to the old groups, unless of course they start covering the old songs.  So far there hasn’t been a sign of that, and after witnessing the genius of Tsunku at AX last week I will give him and them the benefit of the doubt.

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