Wow, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m nearing the 2 year mark on this blog and this is the first time I get to blog about a change within the Morning Musume line up… I think that may be why I’m in such shock over this.

I hadn’t really been thinking about who would graduate from Morning Musume next. I obviously saw all the talk about who would be graduating next, but personally, I didn’t bother thinking about who would or should graduate next. Through my years as a Morning Musume fan, I never liked thinking about who would graduate next as I found that even when it was announced to be a member I wasn’t hugely a fan of, there was always this hole it group left after their departure.

So, imagine my surprise (along with the surprise of each H!P fan as they found out) when I woke up yesterday morning, restored my #wotachat window, and scrolled up (as I usually do to see what I missed while I was sleeping) and saw talk of the lone 7th generation member, Kusumi Koharu, graduating.

I think my main shock over this announcement is that when a graduation is announced, you have a bit more time to… come to terms with the graduation. By that, I mean a graduation is usually announced at the end of a concert tour (ex. Umeda Erika’s graduation was announced at the end of the summer H!P tour) for the end of the next concert tour (ex. C-ute’s fall concert tour). However, in this case, Koharu’s graduation was announced on the first day of Morning Musume’s fall concert tour, and is set for the final date of this concert tour. As all the other reactions are pointing out, this seems very sudden.

However, I’m not understanding why so many people are getting upset that someone from the 7th generation is leaving before those from 5th or 6th generations. I’m going to have to point out Shirow’s post from Wotaku Now! where he asks “Why get rid [of] one of the most profitable girls?” …. Just take a gander at some of Morning Musume’s previous graduations. They don’t wait to graduate members when they’re at they’re lowest… Some have been due to their age/maturity (ex. Nakazawa Yuko, Yasuda Kei, Iida Kaori), but you can’t tell me that when the likes of Goto Maki, Ishikawa Rika or Tsuji/Kago were graduated that they were past their prime in Morning Musume.

In my history of being a Morning Musume fan, Rika’s graduation was the hardest for me to come to terms with, seeing as she was my absolute favourite Morning Musume member. Leading up to her graduation, all I could think about was how “The Peace!” would never be the same, or “Shabondama” or the “Hoi!” in “Renai Revolution 21″… And while those songs have never been the same for me when I watch them live, I’ve been able to move on with it, hold those Rika moments in my heart (while giving a slight sigh each time someone else does a classic Rika moment TOTALLY WRONG) and continue to support Morning Musume as they move forward with the next line up.

I was never a huge Koharu fan (understatement of the year XD), and I’ve even joked that Koharu’s joining of Morning Musume was the reason I took a 2 year hiatus from really following Hello! Project. However, seeing as there has been no change to this stable line up of Morning Musume since Fujimoto Miki’s resignation in June of 2007, this will definitely be something to get used to. But in the end, I think think that’s all this will be… Something to get used to.

There is one special moment within my Morning Musume fandom that will forever be associated with the Miracle of Morning Musume, and that would be my complete facepalm moment at Anime Expo where I saw Koharu (and the rest of Morning Musume) walking towards me and my first thought was “Hey! That’s a pretty good Koha cosplay!” XD Koharu is the first Morning Musume member I ever saw live in my 8 year fandom, and that is something that I will never forget.

I can relate to those fans out there who are freaking out because their favourite member is graduating, but it’s not the end of Morning Musume… And really, if it is the end of your Morning Musume fandom – JUST because Koharu is graduating – then why in the world would you call yourself a Morning Musume fan? Morning Musume is a group of girl idols who change members… If the departure of one girl makes or breaks your fandom… Well, it seems like you weren’t a Momusu fan so much as a [insert member's name here] fan. And it’s not like Koharu’s leaving on bad terms. She’s going off to do what she wants, and I say good on her.

Now, what I’m quite interested to see is this graduation concert. This will be the first graduation since Ai-chan and Risa became leader and subleader, respectively. It is well known that those two (along with Reina) are the most heartfelt criers during graduation ceremonies… Thus, I am wondering how they will handle this graduation. On the other hand, this will be the first time someone who was not their sempai (or fellow generation member) will be graduating.

Now back to the issue at hand, it’s surprising that Koharu will be graduating from Hello! Project completely, but I think a move into modelling is a good one for her. I’ve said it in the past, but I enjoy Koharu so much more when (at least singing wise), she’s muted. I mean, her vocal performance in Nanchatte Renai was actually surprisingly good to me, but during her time in Morning Musume, her voice has been the painful low of the group to my ears. But, as she’s grown from the little 12 year old girl who joined the group in 2005, she has steadily matured into the beautiful young woman she is now, and I think that she’ll do just fine in this next step in her career.

To round this all out, I thought I’d add the Koharu clip from DVD Magazine Vol. 23. It looks like the other members see Koharu as a bright, happy point in the group. Well, I don’t think any of us ever had any doubts about Koharu being an energetic person behind the scenes. XD