I’ve done comparisons between Cute and Berryz before, but recent events have got me thinking more about comparisons between Cute and MM. Specifically, looking at the roll that each member plays in her group using a member by member comparison. I know that not all of these pairings are super-strong, but I do think there is enough similarity to be of interest. Since there are more MM members than Cute members, a couple of the Cute members are paired with two Musumes.
Maimi/Ai- The leader of the group, one of the prettiest in the group, some of the strongest vocals, gets a lot of lead parts and central positions, kind of a bland personality, can sound manly when singing low parts sometimes, great dancer
Mai/Aika- The youngest in her group, cute/strong/nasally voice, gets a fair amount of lines considering that she’s the youngest, really adorable, seems mature for her age and pretty even-keeled, has anime tie-ins
Erika/JunJun- tallest, one of the oldest(or the oldest in Erika’s case) somewhat awkward at dancing, pretty strong vocals but not that many lines, seems a little unsure of herself but can be funny, not that popular overall
Airi/Koharu/Reina- gets a lot of lead lines and central positions in photos, one of the younger members but not the youngest, often wears her hair pulled back in a high bun or ponytail, has anime tie-ins and a large wota following (koharu/airi), has one of the best voices in the group and can pull off the gothic Lolita style and was in Aa! (reina/airi), one of the most popular members of her group
Kanna/Risa- kind of the forgotten girl pushed to the corner of formations and photos, cheerful and bouncy, good at dancing, great smile and reactions, occasionally gets a solo line and usually sounds good when she does, not all that popular especially when she first joined
Chisato/LinLin/Eri- the quirky goofy one, has a surprisingly good voice but never seems to get many solo lines or a central position, can be really funny, one of the younger members (linlin/chisato), has fans who constantly gripe about how underutilized she is (eri/chisato)
Saki/Sayumi- pretty girl with pale skin and nice black hair, not a very strong singer so she doesn’t get very many lines, has quite a few very hardcore fans/worshippers, has made noticeable improvement in singing since she joined her group
I think this worked out pretty neatly. What do you think?
edit: just for fun, if you combine the names you get Aimi, Maika, Junrika, Koaina, Kisa, Cherilin, and Sayuki. I think I may have just created the best idol group EVER!!