Bikkuri Project

Fixed the youtube issue! (it was the kacchoii uta clip). Here’s the youtube version.

First, I’d like to give a huge thanks to everyone who participated in the poll! And now, your top 25 songs of 2011, starting with #25 and working our way up to #1! Youtube won’t take it, so here are a couple alternates (they’re the same video)

Hello! Project Top Songs of 2011 Poll Results by Celestia414

Watch Hello! Project Top Songs of 2011 Poll Results in Music | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Since I know you’re curious, here’s a full breakdown of the results.

Overall

Top Single: Uchouten Love, S/mileage

2nd Place Single: Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo, Morning Musume

Top B-side: Jishin Motte Yume o Motte Tobidatsu Kara, Morning Musume (Takahashi Ai)

2nd Place B-side: Kachoii Uta, Mobekimasu

Top Album Song: Silver no Udedokei, Morning Musume

2nd Place Album Song: Midnight Temptation, C-ute

Bottom Single: Koi no Booing Bu, S/mileage

Bottom B-side: Panya-san no Arubaito, S/mileage

Bottom Album Song: (Tie) Asaasamba, Kusumi Koharu, and 3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei, C-ute

Morning Musume

Top Single: Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo

Top B-side: Jishin Motte, Yume o Motte, Tobidatsu Kara

Top Album Song: Silver no Udedokei

Bottom Single: Majidesuka Suka

Bottom B-side: Yamete yo Sindbad

Bottom Album Song: Kaiketsu Positive A

Berryz Kobo

Top Single: Heroine ni Narou ka!

Top B-side: Omoide

Top Album Song: Icchoume Rock

Bottom Single: Aa yo ga Akeru

Bottom B-side: Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai

Bottom Album Song: Masshiro Ano Kumo

C-ute

Top Single: Kiss Me Aishiteru

Top B-side: Faraway

Top Album Song: Midnight Temptation

Bottom Single: Momoiro Sparkling

Bottom B-side: Idai ni Chikara wo!

Bottom Album Song: 3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei

Mano Erina

Top Single: My Days for You

Top B-side: 21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou

Bottom Single: Seishun no Serenade

Bottom B-side: 10 Karat Kirameki

S/Mileage

Top Single: Uchouten Love

Top B-side: Jitensha Chiririn

Bottom Single: Koi ni Booing Buu!

Bottom B-side: Panya-san no Arubaito

Buono

Top Single: Natsu Dakara

Top B-side: Juicy He@rt

Top Album Song: Frankincense

Bottom Single:Zassou no Uta

Bottom B-side: Runaway Train

Bottom Album Song: Kia Ora Gracias Arigato

Other

Top Single: Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku

Top B-side: Kachoii Uta

Bottom Single: Amazuppai Sakura Sake

Bottom B-side: Moshi mo

FULL RESULTS WITH POINTS

298 有頂天LOVE (Uchouten Love)

254 この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ! (Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun da yo!)

235 Kiss me 愛してる (Kiss Me Aishiteru)

228 彼と一緒にお店がしたい! (Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!)

196 ブスにならない哲学 (Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku)

172 Only You

170 ヒロインになろうか！(Herione no Narou ka!)

132 まじですかスカ! (Maji Desu ka Ska!)

119 プリーズ ミニスカ ポストウーマン! (Please Miniskirt Post Woman!)

110 シルバーの腕時計 (Silver no Udedokei)

103 自信持って 夢を持って 飛び立つから (Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobidatsu kara)

96 愛 の弾丸 (Ai no Dangan)

85 Midnight Temptation

81 世界一ＨＡＰＰＹな女の子 (Sekai Ichi Happy na Onna no Ko)

80 Ok Yeah!

79 夏ダカラ！ (Natsu Dakara!)

67 好きだな君が (Suki da na Kimi ga)

66 ああ、夜が明ける (Aa, Yo ga Akeru)

66 My Days for You

65 かっちょ良い歌 (Kacchoii Uta)

64 フランキンセンスΨ (FrankincenseΨ)

62 ショートカット (Shortcut)

59 いざ、進め！ Steady go! (Iza, Susume! Steady Go!)

58 Partenza ~Let’s Go!!!~

57 一丁目ロック! (Icchoume Rock!)

56 雑草のうた (Zassou no Uta)

55 Juicy He@rt

51 Give me 愛 (Give Me Love)

51 タチアガール (Tachiagaaru)

44 My Alright Sky

41 もっと愛してほしいの (Motto Aishite Hoshii no)

41 桃色スパークリング (Momoiro Sparkling)

38 思い出 (Omoide)

35 青春のセレナーデ (Seishun no Serenade)

31 1/3の純情な感情 (1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou)

29 自転車チリリン (Jitensha Chiririn)

26 この愛を重ねて (Kono Ai wo Kasanete)

24 Bomb Bomb Jump

23 負けるな わっしょい!) (Makeruna Wasshoi!)

20 女子会 The Night (Joshikai The Night)

18 Faraway

18 Ice Mermaid

16 ヒーロー現る！ (Hero Arawaru!)

16 ラナウェイトレイン (Runaway Train)

15 やめてよ！シンドバッド (Yamete yo! Sindbad)

14 乙女のタイミング (Otome no Timing)

14 甘酸っぱい春にサクラサク (Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Sake)

13 超WONDERFUL！ (Chou Wonderful!)

13 嫌いで嫌いで嫌い (Kirai de Kirai de Kirai)

13 21世紀的恋愛事情 (21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou)

11 My Way ～女子校花道～ (My Way ~Joshikou Hanamichi~)

11 10カラットの煌めき (10 Karat Kirameki

10 二十歳前の女の子 (Hatachimae no Onna no Ko)

10 恋にBooing ブー! (Koi ni Booing Buu!)

8 ルルルルル (Rururururu)

8 キアオラ・グラシャス・ありがと (Kia Ora Gracias Arigato)

7 偉大な力を！ (Idai na Chikara wo!)

7 スマイル音丼 (Smile Ondon)

7 青春劇場 (Seishun Gekijou)

6 サークル (Circle)

5 初恋の貴方へ (Hatsukoi no Anata e)

4 ガールズタイムス (Girls Times)

4 女のプライド (Onna no Pride)

4 こんにちは, こんばんは (Konnichiwa , Konbanwa)

4 もしも・・・ (Moshi mo…)

3 怪傑ポジティブA (Kaiketsu Positive A)

3 大人にはなりたくない 早く大人になりたい (Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai)

3 単純すぎなの私・・・ (Tanjun sugi na no Watashi)

3 別れたくない・・・(Wakaretakunai)

2 真っ白いあの雲 (Masshiroi Ano Kumo)

2 パン屋さんのアルバイト (Panya-san no Arubaito)

0 ３番ホーム ３両目 (3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei)

0 アサアサンバ (Asaasamba), Kusumi Koharu

Not a particularly eloquent post, but I needed to say something.

My favorite member of Morning Musume is graduating…. I mean, I knew this was coming, but I hoped it wouldn’t be until at least next fall. Now all I can think is that I really really want to get back to Japan to see her  perform one last time, but I just don’t think I have the money to do that right now. Extremely sad about this. The Morning Musume whose concerts I went to is going to be almost totally gone soon.

~Celestia~

PS. Voting in the Top Songs of 2011 poll is closed, and I’ve got the results tallied. Just need to make the video, so look forward to that.

Let me start off by saying that I certainly did not expect Morning Musume or Mobekimasu to be invited to Kohaku this year, because apparently the Japanese entertainment industry now hates them or something. Feel free to mumble conspiracy theories to yourself at this point. I did think that maybe with the relative success of MM and Mobekimasu’s singles this year (55K+ ain’t bad) and their strong promotional campaign, there was a chance, but a slim one. So am I disappointed? Sure. Surprised? No.

What does surprise me is who was invited. According to THIS post we not only have the usual crowd of enka singers who only the very old people care about, but some rather.. odd choices. Tangent alert! I’ve always felt that a big problem with Kohaku, and probably the reason their ratings seem to be on the decline, is that they’re trying to appease too many people at once and thereby end up pleasing nobody. Enka for the old people, pop for the young people. The problem is, the young people stop watching because they hate the enka, and the old people stop watching because they hate the pop, so in the end, a lot of potential viewers are lost. It’s like having a concert that’s a combo of gangsta rap and smooth jazz. No one wants to listen to the whole thing. I know this idea is unthinkable, but I think they’d have more success overall if they threw two Kohakus, one for enka and one for pop. Then they could invite more performers from both camps too!

Anyway, back to some of the choices of invites. On the list we have…

*Several groups whose best single this year undersold Morning Musume and Mobekimasu, one of which (Tokio) sold less than half as many copies.

*Groups that released only one single this year (NYC, Tokio again)

*And (this blows my mind) an artist who hasn’t released even one CD since 2009 and hasn’t so much as picked up a microphone since Kohaku last year.

??? Huh??? First, I get that Tokio and NYC have extra power because they are Johnnies, but the weird part is that there are much more popular Johnny’s groups that also released more music this year and DIDN’T get an invite. If they can only send so many Johnny’s, why not send their most popular? Especially since their new years countdown has turned into a Juniors thing. Or why not send the newly debuted groups they’re interested in promoting? I really do love Tokio, but they clearly have barely any fans anymore, so why them? (Instead of Kisumai, or KAT-TUN, or Kanjani 8, or anyone else really. Is it a dislike of the letter ‘K’?)

Koda Kumi I get. She also undersold MM, but everyone and their dog knows who she is. But how does AAA get an invite? They consistently undersell MM, and not only are they not very popular now, they’ve never been very popular, so they’re not riding on powerful name recognition.

As for Ayaka, nice that she’s coming back after a long hiatus, but how about putting her on Kohaku after she has her comeback. Getting an invite is supposed to be such an honor, and I think the performers should have to earn that honor anew every year. If you didn’t do anything this year, make way for someone who did.

In the end, all I can say is THANK GOD they didn’t invite Dream Morning Musume without inviting regular Morning Musume. That would be so incredibly insulting and undermining to the current group; it would make the treatment they’ve gotten from music shows look positively friendly. I’d MUCH rather neither group gets invited than just Dream Morning Musume.

~Celestia~

PS. I wonder how the anti-hallyu people are reacting to all the K-Pop groups invited to this very Japanese tradition? Defecating rectangular building materials is my guess

PPS. Don’t forget to vote in the poll!

PLEASE VOTE IN MY TOP H!P SONGS OF 2011 FAN POLL/ VIDEO PROJECT! Response has been pretty good so far (we’re at 30+ people voting in about five days), but I really want to get as many votes as possible (at least 100 would be great) for the most meaningful results. I can say at this point that there are two songs that have been fighting it out for first place with another two being possible contenders. I’m so excited to see which song wins!

I thought I’d publicly post MY top 20 list of 2011, since I won’t be making a video of my personal list this year. Listing from #20 to #1.  (this isn’t by points for the poll, in other words. Don’t get confused! When voting, be sure your favorite song is marked +10, second favorite +9, and so on down the list)

20. Kachoii Uta, Mobekimasu- I especially like the C-ute version

19. Hatsukoi Anata e, S/mileage- S/mileage seems to get some pretty good B-sides

18. Jishin Motte, Yume o Motte Tobitatsu kara, Takahashi Ai- Really grew on my after the 10th gen auditions

17. Momoiro Sparkling, C-ute- Great summer song, and I love the dance

16. Natsu Dakara, Buono- Has some lovely harmonizing. Very relaxing song

15. Herione ni Narou ka, Berryz Kobo- Good musical hooks, and my favorite effort by Berryz in what was a disappointing year for them (IMHO)

14. Give Me Love, Morning Musume- Dramatic!

13. Majidesuka Ska, Morning Musume- A very joyful and energetic song, and a good welcome for 9th gen

12. Shortcut, S/mileage- Always gets stuck in my head

11. Motto Aishite Hoshii no, Morning Musume- I think this B-side is way under-rated!

10. Tachiagaaru, S/mileage- Another S/mileage song that always gets stuck in my head

9. 1/3 Junjou na Kanjo, Buono- Love hearing the girls use deeper voices since idol music is often so squeaky

8.  Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku, Mobekimasu- Do I just like it because I’ve watched it be performed so many times? I’m not sure, but I do like it quite a bit

7. Ok Yeah!, Morning Musume- Hope this becomes a concert staple (and I suspect it will)

6. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa.. blah blah blah, Morning Musume- Long title is too long. Song is a nice tribute to classic MM style

5. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai, Morning Musume- I’m surprised these two ended up so close together, but they did. Finally Sayu gets a chance to shine and MM gets their weirdest PV yet (possibly)

4. Silver no Udedokei, Morning Musume- Riho proves she deserves her new lead spot with her live performance of this song

3. Only You, Morning Musume- Love the chorus so much. Itoshi no kiiimiii eeeee

2. Kiss Me Aishiteru, C-ute- Fantastic dance, and amazing solo lines by Chisato

And my favorite song is…..

1. Uchouten Love, S/mileage- It’s just the most perfect S/mileage song. I could listen to it over and over again (and I did watching the live S/mileage auditions) Cute, catchy, and bitter sweet in that it’s the last for the original S/mileage lineup. Makes me long for the S/mileage that could have been

And that’s it! My top 20 of 2011. Stay tuned for other “favorite” and “least favorites” of 2011 including PVs, albums, dances, and costumes.

~Celestia~

An previously announced, I am creating a new h!p video of the top songs of 2011, and I need your help! Below is a list of every song released by Hello! Project in 2011. All you need to do is pick your top 10 songs, put them in order, and tell me your list. It should look something like this.

• +10 Song Name
• +9 Song Name
• +8 Song Name
• +7 Song Name
• +6 Song Name
• +5 Song Name
• +4 Song Name
• +3 Song Name
• +2 Song Name
• +1 Song Name

Except instead of “Song Name” fill in the song that you’d like to receive those points. The song you mark as +10 (your favorite song) will receive 10 points, the song you mark +9 will receive 9 points, etc. There are four voting options. I’d prefer you choose #1 or #2 to keep the results more of a surprise

1. Comment in this blog post (comments will be hidden)

2. Send choices to hpvote2011@gmail.com

3. Comment in THIS thread on Hello! Online

4. Vote in the comments section of the youtube announcement

PLEASE ONLY VOTE ONE TIME!!! Do not send votes to all four places. Just pick one. I’m counting on your guys to be honest here. Fans from any country are welcome to submit votes. Votes may be submitted in English or Japanese.

Note: I realize we have yet to hear S/mileage’s new B-side, so I will allow you to change your votes later to include that if you would like to. I do want to get voting started so there’s plenty of time.  However, no vote changes will be allowed OTHER than inserting that songs into your list, so choose carefully.

Song Options

Morning Musume

• まじですかスカ! (Maji Desu ka Ska!)
• もっと愛してほしいの (Motto Aishite Hoshii no)
• Only You
• やめてよ！シンドバッド (Yamete yo! Sindbad)
• この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ! (Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun da yo!)
• 彼と一緒にお店がしたい! (Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!)
• 自信持って 夢を持って 飛び立つから (Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobidatsu kara)
• Give me 愛 (Give Me Love)
• シルバーの腕時計 (Silver no Udedokei)
• 好きだな君が (Suki da na Kimi ga)
• 怪傑ポジティブA (Kaiketsu Positive A)
• この愛を重ねて (Kono Ai wo Kasanete)
• My Way ～女子校花道～ (My Way ~Joshikou Hanamichi~)
• 乙女のタイミング (Otome no Timing)
• Ok Yeah!

Berryz Kobo

• ヒロインになろうか！(Herione no Narou ka!)
• ヒーロー現る！ (Hero Arawaru!)
• 愛の弾丸 (Ai no Dangan)
• 思い出 (Omoide)
• ああ、夜が明ける (Aa, Yo ga Akeru)
• 大人にはなりたくない 早く大人になりたい (Otona ni wa Naritakunai, Hayaku Otona ni Naritai)
• 一丁目ロック! (Icchoumei Rock!)
• Bomb Bomb Jump
• 真っ白いあの雲 (Masshiroi Ano Kumo)
• 女子会 The Night (Joshikai The Night)
• ガールズタイムス (Girls Times)
• 女のプライド (Onna no Pride)
• 単純すぎなの私・・・ (Tanjun sugi na no Watashi)

C-ute

• Kiss me 愛してる (Kiss Me Aishiteru)
• 二十歳前の女の子 (Hatachimae no Onna no Ko)
• 桃色スパークリング (Momoiro Sparkling)
• Faraway
• 世界一ＨＡＰＰＹな女の子 (Sekai Ichi Happy na Onna no Ko)
• 偉大な力を！ (Idai na Chikara wo!)
• 超WONDERFUL！ (Chou Wonderful!)
• Midnight Temptation
• いざ、進め！ Steady go! (Iza, Susume! Steady Go!)
• ルルルルル (Rururururu)
• 別れたくない・・・(Wakaretakunai)
• サークル (Circle)
• ３番ホーム ３両目 (3Ban Homu 3 Ryoumei)
• 嫌いで嫌いで嫌い (Kirai de Kirai de Kirai)

Mano Erina

• 青春のセレナーデ (Seishun no Serenade)
• 21世紀的恋愛事情 (21 Seikiteki Renai Jijou)
• My Days for You
• 0カラットの煌めき (10 Karat Kirameki

S/mileage

• ショートカット (Shortcut)
• パン屋さんのアルバイト (Panya-san no Arubaito)
• 恋にBooing ブー! (Koi ni Booing Buu!)
• 初恋の貴方へ (Hatsukoi no Anata e)
• 有頂天LOVE (Uchouten Love)
• 自転車チリリン (Jitensha Chiririn)
• タチアガール (Tachiagaaru)
• スマイル音丼 (Smile Ondon)
• プリーズ ミニスカ ポストウーマン! (Please Miniskirt Post Woman!)
• こんにちは, こんばんは (Konnichiwa, Konbanwa)

Buono

• 雑草のうた (Zassou no Uta)
• ラナウェイトレイン (Runaway Train)
• Juicy He@rt
• 夏ダカラ！ (Natsu Dakara!)
• Ice Mermaid
• Partenza ~Let’s Go!!!~
• フランキンセンスΨ (FrankincenseΨ)
• My Alright Sky
• キアオラ・グラシャス・ありがと (Kia Ora Gracias Arigato)
• 1/3の純情な感情 (1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou)

Other

• ブスにならない哲学 (Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku), Mobekimasu
• もしも・・・ (Moshi mo…)
• かっちょ良い歌 (Kacchoii Uta)
• 負けるな わっしょい!) (Makeruna Wasshoi!), Bekimasu
• 甘酸っぱい春にサクラサク (Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Sake), Berikyuu
• 青春劇場 (Seishun Gekijou), Berikyuu
• アサアサンバ (Asaasamba), Kusumi Koharu

Note: You may not vote for non-h!p songs such as those by Kikkawa Yuu or Kitahara Sayaka. You may not vote for singles that were first released in 2010 but then re-released on albums in 2011. You MAY vote for the cover songs on the Buono mini album (new to h!p), but you may not vote for S/mileage covers of previous h!p songs.

Please feel free to spread the word! The results will be better the more people vote. The deadline for voting is JANUARY 1ST. I will probably have the results video within a week.

~Celestia~

I don’t know if this is a natural consequence of getting older or blogging for so long, but the more I do this, the less I start to care if I offend someone. I could probably work it into a mathematical formula (number of shits given is inversely proportional to number of years blogging). Anyway, I’m here today to point out two types of idol fans who bug the crap out of me. Let’s call them the “Idol Devout” and the “Idol Atheists”.

The idol devout will always believe every official statement from the management or scripted comment from a girl, no matter what. They can be heard crying out “Kanna really did leave C-ute because of excessive bunions! She would never abandon her group like that!!” Presumably she recovered in time for her return to the industry as a racy grauve model though, right? Also, these people honestly believe that no member’s graduation has EVER been anything but 100% her own decision, made with her personal happiness in mind. So even when Tsunku comments after Koharu’s graduation announcement, “As for Kusumi, she was puzzled at first, but she accepted it firmly”. These people still insist that Koharu chose to leave on her own to become a model. She even later said that she had “Discussed with Tsunku and various people!” She left to pursue her dreams! Let’s imagine how that “discussion” went, shall we?

Tsunku: “Koharu, we’ve decided to have you graduate”

Koharu: “What the fuck?? What am I going to do now?”

Tsunku: “I dunno. Maybe you could model or something?”

Koharu: *while sobbing* “I..I.. guess so”

Viola. They discussed. Koharu accepted. The idol devout will fly in the face of all logic in order to preserve their happy fluffy ideal of idol life, and nothing will deter them.

On the other hand, we have Idol Atheists.

These people will NEVER EVER believe anything the management says. Every graduation or resignation is actually the result of a secret sex scandal, a nasty dispute over salary, or group infighting. All the members of every group secretly despise each other and are completely miserable. They just have to put on a happy face because Tsunku beats them if they don’t.  The idol world is more cut-throat and ruthless than the Hunger Games.

My problem with both of these groups is that they have a knee jerk reaction to every event that fails to take logic or considering the facts into account. I guess I’m more of an idol agnostic. I believe that I can’t ever really know what goes on behind closed doors in the idol world, but I try to look at the information I have and make my best guess. Where would you place yourself on the idol faith continuum?

~Celestia~

You know who else I don’t like? Terrible singers or groups of singers who post videos of their voices dubbed over idol performances on youtube. If you’re decent, then okay, but if you are an awful singer, nobody wants to hear that.

I’m not one for pic. spam, but GUH! (was the sound of my eyes popping out like a cartoon) Is anyone prettier than Sayumi? Like, ever in the history of the world?? There’s a lot of pretty girls out there, but Sayu… she’s something special. She’s also, apparently, a killer bunny dominatrix. Probably should have suspected that all along.

Sayu by Day….

Sayu by Night

This photo book looks to be a lot more creative than most!

~Celestia~

I thought about this before, but as more and more time goes by, the more I’m starting to suspect the answer might be no. Let’s look at the evidence for and against an Aika comeback.

FOR A COMEBACK

-She showed up and sang in the encore at Ai-chan’s graduation concert, so she’s definitely not out of h!p yet

-She’s in the new Mobekimasu PV (very briefly), and she was in the last single’s PVs too (however, all of these were filmed a while ago) But at least it seems like they’re making an effort to show that she still exists, unlike when Kana went on “hiatus” from C-ute and she didn’t appear in their next single, sitting or no

AGAINST A COMEBACK

-She stopped updating her blog at the end of June. Pretty sure you can update a blog from a sitting position

-Historical precedent. Arihara Kana from h!p, Matsushita Yui from SKE, and Saeki Mika from AKB are all examples of idols who suffered medical issues or injuries, disappeared for a long time but showed up once in a while in special appearances (not Kana), and then eventually announced their graduations because their treatment was taking a lot longer than expected. That brings us to…

-Aika was supposed to be back and fully recovered by September 23rd, after 8 weeks of rest. Cut to September 30th, a week later, and Aika appears at Ai-chan’s graduation in a wheel chair. Clearly, she is nowhere near healed enough to dance if she can’t even walk yet. I believe that originally, they fully intended to bring Aika back (the early evidence points to this. Inclusion in PVs and the concert intro and goods, etc.), but her recovery doesn’t seem to be going well, and who knows how much longer it will take or even if she will ever be able to dance again without risk of re-injuring herself.

-And let’s not forget, she’s not exactly an “essential” member popularity or vocals-wise. Remember when Ai-chan hurt her ankle and she still sang at Yossie’s graduation concert (sitting down)? They tried that with Aika at first (the fan club tour) but then they stopped (MM’s recent tour).

-This ->

“Introducing New 11 Member Morning Musume!” , says the headline. 11. “New” Morning Musume has 11 members, not 12.  Would it have been so hard to get Aika on this cover? I know she already has one of those costumes (unless they gave it to one of the 10th gen girls). She wouldn’t have to dance. It might not mean anything, but it sort of looks like they’ve stopped trying to include her in things, even when she can participate.

I’m not totally convinced either way, but at this point, I can safely say that come the h!p Winter Concerts neither a full comeback nor a tearful announcement followed by a nice little graduation ceremony at the last show would surprise me.

~Celestia~

PS. Looking at that picture, it really hits me how very different current MM looks from the group who’s concerts I attended back when I was in Japan

The new “Mobekimasu” PV has come out. I can summarize my thoughts pretty easily.

Song: =)

PV: =(

I really think the song is very nice. It was probably a good move giving it a very different feel from “All for 1 and 1 for All”. I especially like the “ready?” lines. The PV however… sigh. It’s just boring unfortunately. You think they could have put in some effort to make this one a little special.

But what really upsets me about this release is the fresh surge of “Riho-hate” it has caused. That combined with the whining and obnoxious crys of “IT’S NOT FAIR!!”. Well no shit, it’s not fair. When and how did you ever get it in your head that the idol world was fair? Or even that it should be fair?

The two primary arguments are this “Everyone should get an equal amount of focus” and “The most senior members, or group leaders, should get the most focus (and therefore, Riho should be in the back)”. So let’s look at this from a business standpoint.

1. “Everyone should get an equal amount of focus”. How many girls were in that PV? 28 or so? If everyone gets an equal amount of focus, NO ONE gets much focus. Which groups in h!p have the most equal line distribution? S/mileage (when they had 4 members) and C-ute (NOTICE: The line distribution only became closer to even after they lost a couple members). When you have a small group, you can afford to focus on each girl more without taking away from your most marketable members. Not possible if you’ve got 28 girls. The purpose of this Mobekimasu song, as I see it, is to draw some new attention and new fans to h!p. They’re getting to perform it on some shows that h!p rarely appears on lately, and it will likely be viewed by many people who are unfamiliar with h!p. It’s important that they highlight their most marketable members, because they’re the ones most likely to draw in new interest. The girls who are, to put it nicely, less conventionally attractive, charismatic, or talented (though they have their own good points blahblahblah) CANNOT be allowed to take valuable camera time away from the money makers. It’s not “everyone is equally special and valuable let’s all hug” time. It’s a business, and in the idol business, some girls are just more special and valuable than others. You’re kidding yourself if you honestly think otherwise.

2. “The most senior members (or group leaders) should get the most focus”. Wrong for a couple simple reasons. First, the most senior members may not be the most popular/most likely to draw in new fans (see above). Remember, if they decide to push a girl, it’s not a random decision. They have a reason, and they have plenty of experience picking out which girls could be the most popular. Secondly, the older a girl, the less time she likely has left in the idol world. What happens when Risa and Maimi and Saki S. graduate (it will happen eventually), we’re just left with the younger girls, and everyone says “Who?”. For the long-term health of the company, it’s important for h!p to promote their future stars as well (Yuuka, and especially Riho).

I’ve talked about this before, and I know I’ve ruffled some feathers, but I hope I explained it a little more clearly this time. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be happy if Gaki or Chisa had gotten a solo line, but I know why they didn’t, and I’m not going to rage about it.

~Celestia~

PS: Not entirely on topic, but I want to get this off my chest. Many of us (myself included) have grown up in a generation that’s been taught that the world should be fair and “everyone is equally wonderful”. That you should feel proud of yourself and have high self-esteem for merely existing. I believe that mentality has created an entire generation of lazy, entitled, and arrogant kids and young adults. The fact is, in the real world you don’t always get what you deserve, and you don’t always deserve what you get. (though your odds improve with hard work and natural talent)  Point being, people transfer that sense of entitlement over to their favorite idols as well. Japan doesn’t seem to have a problem separating people into winners and losers (no crappy, everybody gets a participation trophy!, we’re all winners!, “competitions” there), and so they have less problem with their idols being separated into winners and losers similarly. Just look at the annual AKB “elections” if you don’t believe me.