OG To Graduate  (Bikkuri Project)
ding dong the Elder Club is dead  (Hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)
Elder Club To End - Everyone Graduates 1 March 2009  (Morningtime)
Dismantling the Love Machine  (The J-Pex)
Mass Graduation for H!P  (Sakuraichigo’s Weblog)

Obviously this is huge news, and most everbody is going to have a strong reaction to it.  We will try to get to everyone…

Celestia was initially shocked, but the more she thinks about it, the more she understands it from a business standpoint.  She also asks the question I have been wondering.  What happens to the Eggs that were in O.G., and does the futsal team disband as well?

Despite the title, pengie IS upset by the news.  She has posted initial reaction from last night’s wotachat.  And leaves us with this dreary thought…

“Hello! Project will be reduced to a writhing, snivelling mass of girls under the age of 25 who focus purely on cutesy bubblegum pop and not getting pregnant.”

Morningtime figures this is the end for just about everyone, save Charmy and Yossie who are just starting on Hangry & Angry.  He also wonders is Gatas’ graduation means the group is actually breaking up?  M figures UFA and H!P’s treatment of the Elders contributed to stagnation and a lack of popularity, causing this to be inevitable.

Pex saw the Mega Best Collections as a sign, and wonders why everyone graduating didn’t get a CD release.  Pex also wishes the girls good health and future success.

Sakuraichigo sees this as the biggest thing EVER to happen in H!P, and wonders if there are any new auditions on the horizon.

Many many more to come…

In praise of Suzuki Airi and the person she shouldn’t love

pengie of hajimete no ROCK CONCERT is smitten with Airi’s performance of Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito! Some of you might not know this, but I actually love Airi quite a bit, so hearing pengie talk about how much she likes Airi is great! Anyways, pengie embeds the performance for those of you who haven’t seen it. She also calls Airi “as cute as a button”, and I AGREE!

Taiwan audition winners  (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)
H!P Taiwan Audition Winners!!!  (H!P Fangirling like Nobody’s Business)
NEW STAR Winners Chosen  (Stardust)

Lightbulb Wins!  Lightbulb Wins!  Lightbulb Rules!!!  That would be my post title.  And it seems Pengie agrees with me as she makes her pitch for Lightbulb to be the newest member of Morning Musume.  Wouldn’t that be great?  JunJun, LinLin, Lightbulb?

MaiMai wonders if the winners will be participating in any of the concerts in Japan. She also gives her thoughts on the winners.  Her favorite is Wu Si Auan, the 20-year old hottie that everyone (including myself) seems to have the “warmies” for.

Mars (and others apparently) are disappointed about the exclusion of Risafan, but like MaiMai he is also excited about the selection of Wu Si Auan.  Apparently the girls are going to record a single in Taiwan as a unit after training in Japan this Winter.  Beyond that, who knows what the future holds.

This is an exciting moment in the world of H!P.  I certainly hope Tsunku and the gang take advantage and make this something memorable.  It seems as if the girls chosen have a lot going for them.  I hope they are a success!

morning musume “pepper keibu” pv  (Love マシーン)
HAIR (and Pepper Keibu)!  (Super Happy Genki Hyperforce Go!)
Legs, Legs, Legs! [PK PV HQ]  (Stardust)
Pepper Keibu : Download the Blue Sexy PV!  (hello!musume)
Needs moar heels  (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)

More PV reactions, GO!

Markusantione has embedded the PV AND a preview of the B-side.  He likes the dance better than the one in Resonant Blue, but wishes the eight girls not named Tanaka Reina would get more face time.

Kiko focuses on the girl’s latest hairstyles.  She likes Sayumi and Eri’s hair the best, but wishes Reina would get a boyfriend and dump him, just so she’ll cut her hair (as a sign of independence?)  Yeah, I am always weary when my girlfriend cuts her hair short!

This is the lastest of multiple posts by Mars about this song.  He really likes the choreography, but is mostly taken by the “shortness” of the outfits.

Nakane finds the PV to be awesome, and has provided a link to download the HQ version.

Pengie feels MoMusu did a good job of walking the fine line between merely imitiating the original and bastardizing the original beyond recognition.  She includes a conversation on #wotachat with Second Blossomming about the group’s choice of footwear.  And the amount of leg shown has Pengie listing which members she would invite into her bed, and in which order.  Ultimately she feels Momusu would be at their best if they didn’t sing at all, and just simply performed naked.

The funny thing is I have the same thoughts when watching this PV, but it sounds funnier when Pengie says it!  I guess it looks as if Pepper Keibu is a winner, ne?

I don’t get this pic.

Pengie has a picture of Koha being all mental - as usual - so check it out. Pengie also questions the picture and quite frankly overthinks things, which is half the fun isn’t it? Expect a drug joke at the end. Brilliant!

A more serious blogging survey. (Go go! Cutie Party)
SUP MISA SURVEY. (Renai Revolution 21)
..::The Serious Survey on Joke-Hate-Post::.. (Eternal ~♥~)
hajimete no BLOG SU… okay, seriously, that title is getting old. (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT.)

Misa has a survey about criticizing idols for us and these blogs have replied.

Wendy of Renai Revolution 21 feels that criticizing idols is okay, and she would like idols to know her opinions of them.

Amyrulez of Eternal ~♥~ does not often make fun of idols, but would like a certain idol to know his opinion of her.

Lastly, pengie of hajimete no ROCK CONCERT offers her thoughts on the subject by explaining the gray area between hating an idol and joking about an idol.

Eggs, ham and Tanaka Reina

Recommended lulzing. pengie has taken it upon herself to try and stop making fun of Morning Musume’s Tanaka Reina. However, before she embarks on this personal mission, she couldn’t help but get one final jab in, and I must say it’s quiet a riot. However, be warned that this is completely Reina unfriendly. It’s a whole lot of snark disguised in Dr. Seuss’ style. How can you beat that?

Edo no Temari Uta II PV (Strawberrie)
Edo no Temari Uta II (The J-Pex)
°C-ute : Edo No Temari Uta II Clip (Hello!Musume)
C-utes latest single - Edo no Temari Uta II (Wotaku Now!)
Edo no Temari Uta II First Thoughts (Shanimuni Paradise)
This. Is. AWESOME. (Aoi♥Usagi)
C-ute plays handball (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)

Recommended reading. C-ute’s latest PV is up, and bloggers have lots to say about it already!

Strawberrie doesn’t have much in terms of commentary, but has a lot of screencaps and a link to the video on DohhhUP!

Pex is liking the new PV, what with the bright colours and interesting costumes. I agree with Pex in loving Chisato’s outfit the best. What’s fun with this post is that we get to see the beginnings of a new fan coming in the C-ute fandom!

Hello!Musume finds that there is only one downfall to this single/PV… And that’s it length. Also, a few subliminal advertising messages are pointed out… I didn’t notice those before.. But then again, I’ve only watched this PV once so far.. I need to rectify that.

Shirow of Wotaku Now! got a nice surprise when he woke up. Shirow’s got a different standpoint from most others that I’ve heard. While he wouldn’t mind if the track were a bit longer, he still thinks “that every second of this is pure quality, like most things in life I prefare them to be short and sweet as opposed to drawn out and medicore affair.” However, Shirow does not agree with mine and Pex’s opinion regarding Chisato’s outfit. XD

Our Tsukiki is unsure of how she feels about the PV. She lists off the pros and cons that she’s noticed, but in the end, she can’t quite figure out if she likes it or not.

Usa-chan of Aoi♥Usagi I absolutely loving this PV. She’s got screen caps of the girls, and gives a run down of each girl within the PV. Heck, she’s even liking NakaSaki! My favourite part of this post had to do with Chisato (surprise surprise)…

Ah, Chiisan. With your voice that sounds like a 80-year old woman who has smoked a pack a day her whole life… and still just happens to be a kick-ass singer.

Our pengie has screencaps and snark mixed in with her review, which is always great fun! She’s liking the unique sound this single has, and the girls are all looking pretty good… The only negative comment on that front is directed at little Maimai, who pengie feels looks like a six-year-old. I’m sure there’s someone out there who would enjoy that… HEY SEC… Nah, I won’t go there… XD

O Captain, My Captain

Pengie gives a shout out to Berryz Koubou leader: Shimizu Saki. Include a poem about a captain and Pengie wanting saki to have a photobook, and you have a good case and point. I still want a chii one more though, even if its all leg shots.

O 46, 46, wherefore art thou, 46…
Lesbian Lumberjack Love Song II

Our own pengie has some thoughts on the beginnings and endings of life in Hello! Project.

In the first post, she is trying to rekindle her interest in the H!P Taiwan auditions. It seems as though pengie can’t find her initial pick, but still gives us her top four from the finalists thus far.

In the second post, pengie gives us her thoughts on C-ute’s upcoming single. Looking at a screencap of the girls in their outfits for this single (I am assuming that this is for a TV spot promoting the single), she takes a deeper look at what’s going on and speculates on Kanna’s future in the group. Much lulzing within.

Biyudensetsu (hajimete no ROCK CONCERT)
Biyuden : Disbands (Hello!Musume)
Goodbye v-u-den (HNPH)
The End of v-u-den (I WISH;;)
V-u-den Disband (Let’s Laugh! Hello Project)
A sandwiched farewell to Biyuuden (OH NOES! Magi-Kat’s rambling again!) (Magi-Kat presents “Morning Meteora”)
Why I’m Missing Biyuuden (Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations)
Biyuuden- Nannimo iwazu ni I LOVE YOU pv (Morningtime)
Bye Bye V-U-DEN♥ (Nekocafe’s World!)
Never Forget (Shanimuni Paradise)

v-u-den disbanded over the weekend. There were lots of reactions and I apologize that they are so late on reaching IW. Some bloggers took it as an opportunity to revisit what they loved about the group; while others expressed frustration over the breakup. Most people showed concern about what the future holds for Miyoshi Erika and Okada Yui. Meanwhile, nearly everyone - some begrudgingly - are of the belief that Rika’s career will not be affected too dramatically by v-u-den breaking up.

PANDAS WIN.

Our pengie has a very cute picture featuring Morning Musume’s resident pandas. And what are they holding? Why, penguins, of course!! I wonder why pengie loves this photo so much. XD

So I’m saving all my Engrish for you, avex

Highly Recommended. Pengie shares a very short clip of Gocchin, but it’s long enough to show off what she learned taking singing lessons in LA (because after you’ve been singing with H!P for almost a decade, you need them apparently). Her singing alone is impressive and I think it puts to rest her being brought in as another Koda Kumi, or anything similar to what’s on Avex. Her English is somewhat less so and my hope is she takes some accent reduction lessons if she’s trying for that. (Because…there’s a joke I don’t even need to make in there.) But even if she sticks to Japanese, she’s well on her way to becoming the kind of talented and respected singer I’m not very interested in.

But it’s hard not to feel proud of her growth.

You can do what you want with that line.

Meet your first six–er, seven–finalists

Recommended reading. pengie watches the first episodes of the Taiwan TV show where the new Egg will be chosen, gives each of the finalists a snappy nickname, and decides who she wants to root for. Still no sign of 46 yet, but fingers are crossed.