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Hanii’s Updated P48 List!

Going to try and keep this updated with each and every performance! These are my top picks in order from most to least. I still don’t feel comfortable judging them together. IDK how the judges are handling it. I’d feel so uncomfortable since they train in completely different manners. ^_^

I’m not putting Gyuri in here and I almost didn’t put Chaeyeon in here because I love them so much. I want to see Gyuri make it but I also don’t and just want to see her make top 20 so I don’t have a fromis with less Gyuri!

Korean Girls I’d Like to See Make It

Lee Chaeyeon

I knew Chaeyeon would be my top pick. She’s just fantastic in every sense of the word.

Jang Wonyoung

Kwon Eunbi

Jo Yuri (JUSTICE FOR JURI!)

Ahn Yujin

Choi Yena

Lee Sian

Kim Minju

Kim Sihyeon

Wang Yiren

48 Girls I'd Like to See Make It

(I fully expected to like an HKT girl the most tbh)

Yabuki Naku

Muto Tomu

Takahashi Juri

Takeuchi Miyu

Honda Hitomi

Yamada Noe

Lost hope or interest on:

Now, these are either girls who are now ranked so low that I don’t expect them to pass the first elimination or I liked in previews but don’t enjoy as much as I expected to. I still think they’re all fantastic and I love them but not as much as my above lists.

Park Jinny

Park JiEun

Choi SoEun

Cho Yeongin

Lee Yujeong

[itshanni3]

Preliminary Produce 48 Favs

Hello everyone~!

I will be documenting my favorites in Produce 48 as the show goes on. I will tell you from the get go that I will be supporting Korean trainees over Japanese. Has nothing to do with where they’re from, but the fact that the ones I’m rooting for are actual trainees. AKB only sent one kenkyuusei and I prefer to root for the rookies over the seasoned girls. I adore a number of 48 girls competing, but I think it’s less exciting for me to root for them here. I’ll root for them in the annual election instead. ^_^

Lee SiAn (Stone Music) // 이시안 SiAn was one of my favorites in Idol School--I was so sad she didn’t make the final cut for Idol School. It was funny because every time I’d pick a favorite, she would get eliminated. LOL So it was inevitable I guess...but my final favorite did make the final cut and placed first, so I can’t complain! Any ways! SiAn is super weird, very talented, gorgeous and I find myself watching her perform over other girls. Her presence is awesome.

Kim Yoo Bin (CNC) // 김유빈 When I was looking through the images of everyone, hers stood out the most to me and her video was really cute too. She has a vibe that reminds me of former Berry Good member, Nayeon! (Who was my favorite member!)

Jang Won Young (Starship) // 장원영 She has a lot of charm that came out strongly in her video. Her visuals are wonderful and I think she will do well! I’ve heard she’s already popular with fans so I hope that continues!

Jo Yuri (Stone Music) // 조유리 Another girl I LOVED during Idol School. While I only had a few girls that caught my attention at the beginning, she grabbed it about half way in. Her performance in Rough was SO good in dance and singing. I cannot wait for more from her! Kim Minjoo (Urban Works) // 김민주 omg her VIDEO WAS SO CUTE AND FUNNY! And she is super pretty. I don’t know how talented she is yet but I’m expecting good things!

Park JiEun (RBW) 박지은 I think JiEun is going to surprise me with her performing. I love her smoky voice--reminds me of Sasaki Rikako from ANGERME. Being under MAMAMOO’s label, I’m looking forward to seeing more! (Did I mention she’s also gorgeous?)

Choi SoEun (Music Works) //  최소은 She honestly reminds me personality and voice wise of WJSN’s Soobin and I think that combined with her sounding like she’s doing an infomercial sold me on her. LOL I really like her! Park Jinny (Individual)  // 박진희 She’s one that I’m supporting for the potential. She was a front runner for Blackpink, and is super close with BP’s Lisa, as well as KARD’s Jiwoo. There’s something about her I just really want to cheer on. I have to say, I feel like most YG female trainees have the same tamber to their voices. Rose, Jinny and Miyeon ((G)i-dle) have super similar talking voices and sounds. And it’s not just them LOL Just a random thought!

Cho YeongIn (WM Entertainment) // 조영인 I don’t know what it is I like about her. Maybe her energy? IDK but I like her! Now for a list of girls I didn’t feel I could rank properly but I love!

Lee Yoojung (CNC) // 이유정 This girl gives me Kang Mina vibes and I LOVE it but she almost seems too young to be competing? IDK but I want her to do well. She’s SO cute.

Lee Chaeyeon (WM Entertainment) // 이채연 Loved her during SIXTEEN and was so sad when I heard she left JYP. She deserves a debut so CMONNNN WM (and Japanese netizens who can vote on Korean participants LOL). PULL THROUGH, MAWMA Jang Gyuri (Stone Music) // 장규리 This is another Idol School girl I didn’t love at the start but, after her debut, I’ve grown to absolutely adore her. Now, she IS currently in fromis_9, so she has debuted, but it’s a temporary group. Would I like to see her in another temp group? Not particularly. I’d like to see Stone debut a group with she and the other two girls I’ve listed!!! CMON STONE!!!

[itshanni3]

KENSHUUSEI RESULTS :D

Finally had time to compile my thoughts properly about the KSS tests! These opinions are from a fan recording of the entire event, combined with the short videos we got on Hello Pro Station! :)

My KSS ranking after this (top ten only!) would be as follows: 1. Yamada Ichigo 2. Kanemitsu Ruru 3. Ishiguri Kanami 4. Yamazaki Mei 5. Yamazaki Yuhane 6. Nakayama Natsume 7. Shutto Anna 8. Matsunaga Riai 9. Hibi Marina 10. Yonemura Kirara Ichigo didn’t kill it by any means but I still love her. :)

Continue below for my opinions on everyone’s performances this year! :D

1. Okamura Minami - Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun (Morning Musume) Singing potential--needs to understand movement and expression to match song.

2. Kodama Sakiko - Mijuku Hanjuku Torotoro (Kobushi Factory) Rapping is excellent. Reminds me of Rena on stage--not much going on but not terrible.

3. Nishida Shiori - Golden China Town (Berryz Koubou) I think she was going for personality over everything else and I didn't get personality. Her singing wasn't as good as it can be either because of the song choice.

5. Horie Kizuki - Ai wa Itsumo Itsumo (C-ute) I wish she would get debuted but I really don't think she ever will. I enjoy watching her perform. Her singing and dancing are great, as are her expressions.

6. Ishiguri Kanami - Watashi no Nanni mo Wakacchanai (Morning Musume) Idk how she pulled off this song but hello Ai 2.0. Her expressions and movement coupled with the costume gave me Takahashi 1000%. And not just because she touched her face. (It's a running gag with me to count the times Ai touches her face in a performance)

7. Eguchi Saya - Hatsukoi Cider (Buono!) Did much better than I expected but needs work still. She'll definitely get there.

8. Kudo Yume - KEEP ON Joushoushikou!! (Juice=Juice) WHERE DID LAST YEAR'S YUME GO! Her movements and expression were much better. She looked like an idol on that stage.

9. Shimakura Rika - Fiesta! Fiesta! (Juice=Juice) I think she needed a bit more strength/breath support throughout but is definitely there. She looks so much like Iikubo. I just noticed watching her perform. Same eyes!

10. Maeda Kokoro - Silver no Udedokei (Morning Musume) This was as awkward as I expected as a solo. Her voice from rap to singing were completely different for me and I didn't enjoy that transition! Not bad but not a good song choice so I don't feel I can properly judge it.

11. Hashisako Rin - Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~ (Berryz Koubou) I didn't expect her to be able the vocals in this as well as she did! She needed time to breathe I can hear but but WOW. RIN!! GET IT GIRL! Keep improving, smol one!

12. Noguchi Kurumi - Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM (Kiroi 5) This wasn't a good choice for her vocal range but she tried to pull it off with the movements and expressions!

13. Doi Rena - Aitai Aitai Aitai na (C-ute) Needs more help with singing and dancing but will definitely get there. She has the range for sure.

14. Kanemitsu Ruru - Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai (Morning Musume) Help. Expressions and singing were so good. Expected from a seasoned stage performer! Needs to work on breath support but that will come.

15. Yamazaki Yuhane - Arashi wo Okosunda Exciting Fight! (C-ute) I really wanted to see her do something either cute or soft but she did amazing.

16. Yamazaki Mei - Wonderful World (English Ver.) (Juice=Juice) Her expressions and movement were so good. I see her debuting for sure. If she wasn't so young, I think she'd fit in well with Momohime.

17. Nakayama Natsume - Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Morning Musume) Not a good song choice for her (there's no time to breathe!) but I think her expression was nice!

18. Kawano Minori - Kiss Me Aishiteru (C-ute) Wow did she surprise me here. She gives me major WadaSaku vibes. Really strong but uncontrolled voice. I can see her getting there.

19. Shutto Anna - LOVE Namida Iro (Matsuura Aya) Who told her to stop doing her make up?! She looks cute barefaced but a little eyeliner always helps. She did fantastic and she's NEW. I can't wait to see her improve.

20. Hibi Marina - Fantasy ga Hajimaru (Morning Musume) Her voice isn't strong but it's SO good and her dancing is really great. She's an unsung talent in the KSS tbh.

21. Matsubara Yuriya - Shunrenka (Tsubaki Factory) Needs lots of help relaxing her performance but this isn't an easy song range wise. I am interested to see her grow.

22. Kanatsu Mizuki - Watashi, Choito Kawaii Urabanchou (S/mileage) She doesn't do powerful well. LMAO It's just not her. She'd do well in a Tsubaki style group but this wasn't a choice meant for her........

23. Ota Haruka - Moonlight Night ~Tsukiyo no Ban da yo~ (Morning Musume) She doesn't know how to not smile, which is pretty cute, but didn't fit this. She's improved since last year, which is HUGE. She was BAD last year. She's so precious that I hope she continues to grow.

24. Matsunaga Riai - FIRST KISS (Aa!) I expect a lot in someone performing this. Her expressions were SO GREAT and the singing was perfect.

25. Tamenega Shion - Tachiagaaru (S/mileage) Koharu?????????????? KOHARU?????????????????????? PLEASE NO. TEACH HER HOW TO SING VOWELS PROPERLY. I DONT WANT THIS. If she cuts that, she could be great. But oh my lort.

26. Ono Kotomi - MI DA RA Matenrou (Melon Kinenbi) I find Kotomi really awkward to watch perform normally. Her movements seemed much more natural but she still needs lots of training I think.

27. Yamada Ichigo - Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai (Morning Musume) Mini Riho~ you ran out of breath you precious girl. But I love watching you perform.

28. Sato Hikari - Love Take It All (C-ute) WAY better than I expected but this song is deceivingly easy range wise, IMO. THAT SAID, she still did really good compared to last year.

29. Yonemura Kirara - Inshouha Renoir no You ni (Elegies) YES OK. This is the Kirara I want to see and hear. She killed it.

30. Kubota Nanami - Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke (Morning Musume) Her expressions are giving me the "trying to hard" thing I don't like to see in idols. She looks super unnatural in her expression but her singing is way better than I expected from her past performances I've heard/seen.

[itshanni3]

Hello! Project Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2018 ~Haru no Koukai Jitsuryoku Shindan Test~

Hello you lovely readers~

If you’re here, it’s likely you either: A. Know me so know to expect KSS related posts B. Happened to be looking for info on Hello! Project KSS Either way, HELLO! And welcome!

Here you will find a “translated” (romanized, really) list of the songs and order for the upcoming kenshuusei test! This is my favorite time of year. It’s the one time we are guaranteed clips of the girls individually, as well as full rips of their performances. *knocks on wood* Before I get into it, this is the list! I could have misread something. If I have, PLEASE let me know. Some of these made me go ?? with the characters because it’s early and my eyes aren’t 100% there yet. (I’ve also been having trouble reading on computer screens the last few months :(() If you’re interested on my opinion, scroll to the end~ :D WHOO! 1. Okamura Minami - Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun (Morning Musume) 2. Kodama Sakiko - Mijuku Hanjuku Torotoro (Kobushi Factory) 3. Nishida Shiori - Golden China Town (Berryz Koubou) 4. Inoue Hikaru - Munasawagi Scarlet (Berryz Koubou) 5. Horie Kizuki - Ai wa Itsumo Itsumo (C-ute) 6. Ishiguri Kanami - Watashi no Nanni mo Wakacchanai (Morning Musume) 7. Eguchi Saya - Hatsukoi Cider (Buono!) 8. Kudo Yume - KEEP ON Joushoushikou!! (Juice=Juice) 9. Shimakura Rika - Fiesta! Fiesta! (Juice=Juice) 10. Maeda Kokoro - Silver no Udedokei (Morning Musume) 11. Hashisako Rin - Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~ (Berryz Koubou) 12. Noguchi Kurumi - Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM (Kiroi 5) 13. Doi Rena - Aitai Aitai Aitai na (C-ute) 14. Kanemitsu Ruru - Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai (Morning Musume) 15. Yamazaki Yuhane - Arashi wo Okosunda Exciting Fight! (C-ute) 16. Yamazaki Mei - Wonderful World (English Ver.) (Juice=Juice) 17. Nakayama Natsume - Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Morning Musume) 18. Kawano Minori - Kiss Me Aishiteru (C-ute) 19. Shutto Anna - LOVE Namida Iro (Matsuura Aya) 20. Hibi Marina - Fantasy ga Hajimaru (Morning Musume) 21. Matsubara Yuriya - Shunrenka (Tsubaki Factory) 22. Kanatsu Mizuki - Watashi, Choito Kawaii Urabanchou (S/mileage) 23. Ota Haruka - Moonlight Night ~Tsukiyo no Ban da yo~ (Morning Musume) 24. Matsunaga Riai - FIRST KISS (Aa!) 25. Tamenega Shion - Tachiagaaru (S/mileage) 26. Ono Kotomi - MI DA RA Matenrou (Melon Kinenbi) 27. Yamada Ichigo - Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai (Morning Musume) 28. Sato Hikari - Love Take It All (C-ute) 29. Yonemura Kirara - Inshouha Renoir no You ni (Elegies) 30. Kubota Nanami - Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke (Morning Musume)

Now, for me, my first question seeing song choices is, "Are these good solo songs?" We've seen in the past that some songs are just not written to be solos. There's no time to properly breathe. Since none of these girls will have a handy backing track that gives them a spot to breathe, I wish they would stay away from those choices!!! This year, for me, those songs are: 1. Okamura Minami - Aishite Aishite Ato Ippun (Morning Musume) <-- I just............ idk about this as a solo. Idk man. 7. Eguchi Saya - Hatsukoi Cider (Buono!) 9. Shimakura Rika - Fiesta! Fiesta! (Juice=Juice) <-- love this song but I know from singing it myself that breathing can be hard) 13. Doi Rena - Aitai Aitai Aitai na (C-ute) 14. Kanemitsu Ruru - Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai (Morning Musume) <-- this is my #4 girl... refer to kono chikyuu 17. Nakayama Natsume - Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Morning Musume) <-- this is my #2 girl but this doesn't usually work as a solo--duet or more 20. Hibi Marina - Fantasy ga Hajimaru (Morning Musume) 21. Matsubara Yuriya - Shunrenka (Tsubaki Factory) <-- it's hard enough to keep up with the chorus solos + chorus, and adding in that she's a newbie... D: Good luck, Yuriya!! 22. Kanatsu Mizuki - Watashi, Choito Kawaii Urabanchou (S/mileage) 23. Ota Haruka - Moonlight Night ~Tsukiyo no Ban da yo~ (Morning Musume) 27. Yamada Ichigo - Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai (Morning Musume) <-- THIS IS MY GIRL. BUT GIRL. THIS IS A DUET. WITH HARMONIES. AND YOU HAVE NO BACKING TRACK. Honestly, this will be fine but I'm bummed because I'd love to have her do this with a harmony track she recorded :( 30. Kubota Nanami - Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke (Morning Musume) <-- she generally is not a good singer so...this will be very interesting with the breathing + how high it goes

So those are the ones that have me going, NO. REPICK YOUR CHOICE.

Now for the ones I'm !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! about. 4. Inoue Hikaru - Munasawagi Scarlet (Berryz Koubou) Now, I don't like Hikarun. She's not my type of idol in any way. However, I feel like this will fit her voice a lot and she will sound excellent. This is someone picking the right song for themselves, however not stepping outside the box!

9. Shimakura Rika - Fiesta! Fiesta! (Juice=Juice) Rika is my unloved but talented bean. I'm excited to hear how well she does singing. Her dancing is great. Her visuals are great and her singing is surprising but can she handle such a powerful song? I look forward to finding out!

15. Yamazaki Yuhane - Arashi wo Okosunda Exciting Fight! (C-ute) Yes. That's all I need to say. Yuhane. Always. Delivers.

16. Yamazaki Mei - Wonderful World (English Ver.) (Juice=Juice) I'm sorry. ENGLISH??? WHAT? AT A TEST????????? GIRL??????? OK. OK. I'm here for this.

19. Shutto Anna - LOVE Namida Iro (Matsuura Aya) IDK why but I feel like this is going to be the one that makes everyone go O_O WOAH

20. Hibi Marina - Fantasy ga Hajimaru (Morning Musume) While this is not a solo song, Marina surprises me every freaking time so I'm genuinely hyped to hear her vocals on this. I'm expecting her to run out of breath but...if her cut has the end...... I'm very prepared.

24. Matsunaga Riai - FIRST KISS (Aa!) OK. OK. Let's see how you handle the sexiness, you tiny and precious bean.

27. Yamada Ichigo - Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai (Morning Musume) This might be horrible for abovementioned reasons, but this is my bean who I adore. I refer to her as Mini Riho so I have good vibes about this, regardless of the harmony thing.

29. Yonemura Kirara - Inshouha Renoir no You ni (Elegies) Kirara is like Marina in that she surprises me every time. This is an excellent song and I can't wait to hear her sing it. Especially since she tends to go toward the cute side with her expressions--bring on the srs sexiness, qurl!

Overall, my top 5 KSS at this time (now that Momoko is gone......I’m not bitter...............) are as follows, so, of course, I’m extremely excited to hear them!

1. Yamada Ichigo 2. Nakayama Natsume 3. Yamazaki Yuhane 4. Kanemitsu Ruru 5. Yamazaki Mei (I’ma be real, for me it’s more like a top 10, so pls throw Rena, Marina, Kirara, Anna and Mizuki in there too...) That’s all! What are your thoughts?

[itshanni3]

The Unit!! (girls, not guys)

Hey guys~! So I’ve seen a bunch of my Facebook friends looking for information on who made the Unit’s first round. Now, of course, anyone who knows me knows I’m super unfamiliar with guy groups, so I decided to make a list of the girls that passed instead of trying to do both and probably failing.

That said, I’m no expert and only really got into KPop super actively back in probably mid to late 2013. I followed groups like Girl’s Day and SNSD before that, but I didn’t pay attention to any other groups.

I did my best to compile a list of those who made it and I have separated the list into parts: girls that debuted in groups that disbanded, girls that were soloists (as well as a girl that was on Kpop Star), girls I couldn’t find any info on and girls that are in groups that currently exist.

After that, I went through all the currently active groups and listed their debuts. BEFORE YOU READ THIS! I’m NOT 100% sure that Hyunjoo passed. I haven’t seen the episodes we have so far--I only saw lists of people that passed and her name was on it, but it was romanized weird in some lists. I’m pretty sure it’s her, though. Taemin couldn’t even hold himself together watching how adorable she is.

Lee Hyunjoo (April--she chose to leave the group to work on her health and dream of becoming an actress, but the group is still active and awesome!!!) Lee Suji (the Ark) Yuna Kim (the Ark) Yoonjo (Hello Venus) Kwon Haseo (Real Girls Project, HA&DA) Mint (Real Girls Project, TINY-G) Oh Yeonkyeong (The SeeYa, F-VE DOLLS--yes she was in both at the same time) Yang Jiwon (SPICA) Han Areum (T-ARA) I (soloist iirc) JOO (soloist) NC.A (soloist) Soya (soloist) Seol Hayun (trot soloist) Shin Jihoon (Kpop Star Season 2) Janey (UPR, soloist)

Lee Borim (??) Lee Juhyeon (no idea :'D) Park Jiwon (??) (these are all in alphabetical order by group name first, then first name) Bomi (ACEMAX-RED, a Chinese group, debuted October 2016) Rena (ACEMAX-RED, a Chinese group, debuted October 2016) Sandy (Apple.B, debuted August 2017) Yuji (Apple.B, debuted August 2017) Dabin (Baby Boo, debuted May 2015) Hyeyeon (BESTie, debuted July 2013) Eunji (Brave Girls, debuted 2011) YuJeong (Brave Girls, debuted 2011) Woohee (Dal Shabet, debuted 2011) Serri (Dal Shabet, debuted 2011) DIA Somyi (DIA, group debut 2015, member in April 2017) DIA Yebin (DIA, debut 2015) Jini (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Lucky (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Heejin (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Haesol (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Viva (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Jiwon (GoodDay, debut August 2017) Yena (G-REYISH, debut June 2017) Hyoseon (H.U.B, predebut November 2016, formal debut 2017) Yujeong (Laboum, debut 2014) Haein (Laboum, debut 2014) EunByeol (LipBubble, debut March 2017) HanBi (LipBubble, debut March 2017) Kim (Lovesoul--can't find information on the group at all) Haena (MaTilDa, debut March 2016) Semmi (MaTilDa, debut March 2016) Saebyeol (MaTilDa, debut March 2016) DanA (MaTilDa, debut March 2016) Chahee (Melody Day, debut 2012) Yumin (Melody Day, debut 2012) Yeeun (Melody Day, debut 2012) Yujeong (S2, debut August 2017) Chaewon (S2, debut August 2017) Euni (S.E.T, debut June 2017) Taei (S.E.T, debut June 2017) Gaeul (S.I.S, debut 2017) Sebin (S.I.S, debut 2017) Anne (S.I.S, debut 2017) Euijin (SONAMOO, debut 2014) Nari (WA$$UP, debut 2013) Yeseul (Wings, debut 2014) 60 total, 42 in currently active groups Out of the 42 active groups, 26 debuted from 2016 until now. The oldest groups to be participating (not by member age--by how long they've been around since debut) are both Brave Girls and Dal Shabet. Now, I'm not saying you have to support them, but I am personally giving my support to then, BESTie, Laboum and Melody Day. I ADORE Apple.B, think MaTilDa has a ton of potential and am looking forward to more from GoodDay, but they only JUST debuted. I loved Melody Day's debut but I am pretty sure they were never remembered. I didn't even realize they debuted 5 years ago. It feels like just yesterday. I feel like Laboum is going to disband if this doesn’t do well and I love them so much. Their releases have ALWAYS been solid. I also hope this brings good things to WA$$UP because their debut was really amazing. 

Special mention to precious Hyunjoo, the Ark girls, AREUM (omg DAY AND NIGHT IS STILL ONE OF MY JAMS!) and Jiwon. Seeing Jiwon on Coco’s vlog broke my heart. Coco said she knew SPICA and Jiwon seemed genuinely shocked.

I’m pretty sad that Coco didn’t pass through, though. She said she only had a small time frame to prepare, whereas everyone else had more time. I feel like they knew then she wouldn’t pass but wanted to see what she could do. (I always feel that way about theatre auditions so this is the same to my brain LOL)

[itshanni3]

Let’s Talk About SNSD!

Yesterday, it was officially announced/confirmed that Sooyung, Seohyun and Tiffany would be ending their contracts with SM.

One thing I have always heavily disliked in kpop over jpop is that members can randomly leave, groups can randomly disband and the fans are usually left with either nothing from anyone or a simple message from the member/groups in question. Rarely do we get a goodbye song, a graduation concert--anything like that. When I lose a member or a group, it tends to hit pretty hard because of that. Loving a group that you may never get to see live sucks in that way.

Looking at the girls themselves (and this is me estimating/guessing by the information I’m aware of), Sooyoung has been in SM for about 17 years, Seohyun has been under SM for 16 years and Tiffany for about 13. (I may be off by a year or two, but you get the idea!) When I think about all the jpop groups and members I love, H!P kids are the only ones I can think of that come close to that. C-ute and Berryz/CG Momoko were in H!P for 15 years--Berryz was in for 12 years. That’s a LONG time. I think about how long I’ve done live theatre as actively as they’ve been idols (which wasn’t as much work, but it’s the most comparable experience I have), and that was as long as Berryz members were in H!P. I myself pretty much quit after because I was ready to move on with my life and career. Theatre won’t allow for that and being an active idol wouldn’t either.

Then, I started thinking about these girls, how old they are and what they’ve been doing. Seohyun is the youngest member of SNSD and she’s already 26. She and Sooyoung have essentially been working on their life time careers for a while now, so at least they wouldn’t be starting from scratch. The shelf life of an idol isn’t forever. As Momoko and C-ute all said, they wanted to retire that part of their lives while they were still at their peaks.

Tiffany is taking a path she’s never really taken before in acting, which was a bit shocking to me, honestly. I know she’s been talking about it for a while, but I truly did not expect her to jump ship at SM to pursue it. I figured she’d want to stay there, have their support, and start like her fellow members did.

Tiffany is where I wonder what sort of contracts they were offered. If it was a, hey you can’t get married and we choose what you do, not you contract, I can’t blame anyone for leaving. Sooyoung and Seohyun may want to expand their horizons in acting but SM is holding them back. Sooyoung may be wanting to get married soon, TBH, and Tiffany may not have SMs support to act. If she didn’t have that, there’s no way she’d have been able to successfully pursue the career.

Here’s the kicker, though. All the official reports are saying SNSD did not disband. As a fan of Hello Venus, I know what it’s like to have members under different labels. It inevitably goes wrong. BUT! SNSD is such a big name, that the companies these girls end up in may accept it and be fully supportive. I have hope that SNSD is not over. I highly doubt they’d release anything new as 8, but the three that left, left on proper terms. Their contracts weren’t terminated like other SM performers in the past (I’m not throwing shade at Jessica, guys--many people have had their contracts terminated in SM), so chances are they’d be able to reunite and perform easily, where other former SM members were completely shut down.

I’m honestly thinking SM is just blowing steam to try and get fans to forget and pay attention to Taemin right now instead (he’s having a comeback). I’ve read many people post that SM was notorious for using good news to try and hide away bad news--I myself never noticed this, though. I’d like to believe that Tiffany and Taeyeon could not be so easily separated.

This also brings the question, though, why did YoonA resign if the other two actresses did not? Of course, we will never know. Sunny obviously had to sign back on, Yuri has been starting to plow through the acting scene the last few years, Taeyeon’s got an incredibly successful solo career and SM has done Hyoyeon justice promoting her as well.

So, in short, my brain is just wondering what these contracts were like to turn Tiffany away. I see where Soo and Seo would leave (though I’m still confused why they did and YoonA didn’t). Maybe she just wants to move on from life in Korea officially? I just hope and pray she has success in acting. Very few idols can make me smile just by seeing a photo of them smiling, but the joy Tiffany has brought never failed me. Watching her perform Holiday while they promoted last was an absolute joy and I feel lucky that we had that.

Time to binge purchase all their albums and Tiffany’s trading/photo cards~~~ (just kidding, that’d be super expensive from second parties LOL)

[itshanni3]

Dating Ban? Where is the line?

Before you even start reading, please remember that this is my opinion, which is purely based on what I see, read and hear about idols in both Korea and Japan, as well as my experiences as a performer myself. Outside of attending school in the morning, I performed non-stop in musical theatre and plays. While I don’t consider that to be the same as being an idol, I think there are some similarities that have certainly effected my opinion on this matter.

With the very recent and sudden announcement of Ogawa Rena graduating from Hello! Project and Kobushi Factory after a dating scandal, I just can’t help but think about this topic again. I am of the belief that she decided that, while being an idol was great, she felt happier away from that, living a normal teenage life with a boyfriend. Can I blame her? I don’t know her well enough to judge, but, for me, I do understand it.

The dating ban, to our knowledge, is not something always written in contracts for idols. I know for a fact that there have been formal bans in Korea and I have a good feeling there were some in the 48′s as well. I could be completely wrong on the latter, but I’ve seen many interviews, especially with the more senior (or older and disbanded) groups stating this ban was 100% serious for them.

Do I think it’s okay that idols are banned from having a private relationship with a man (or woman)? Honestly, I kind of do. From the stand point of a performer, as I’ve already mentioned, having a boyfriend did two things. First, I was unable to fully focus on whatever I was practicing for (and I’m a very hard worker/someone who can focus on many things and excel). Second, my performance became less based on my audience and more based on him.

What would HE like? How would HE feel if I performed this way? It stopped me many times from being better. Is this an okay way to think? Probably not--he was never telling me what I could and could not do and was extremely supportive of me follow my dreams. However, I wanted to do my best to make him happy, as I would have normally done for the entire audience. I would think there are definitely some girls (or even guys) out there as idols who would think the same way as I did.

Going back, as I wanted to spend time with him, I would spend far less time practicing, memorizing lines, working on choreography... I still gave it some practice, but I spent at least an hour a day on him rather than my performance. When it comes to Japanese idols, this might be okay, but, with Korean idols (especially new ones and/or ones in promotions), that’s just not going to cut it. You don’t have much free time and, if you do, it should probably be spent resting or eating a proper meal.

When idols are over the legal age, do I think it’s okay that that ban be removed? I do! I think that, if you’re old enough to make other adult decisions, you should be able to choose for yourself whether or not to have a boyfriend/girlfriend. That said, if you cannot handle both your career and your boyfriend/girlfriend, you will need to choose. If an idol is going to let her career suffer so she can have a boyfriend, I just find it a bit unfair to her groupmates. But! I’m always of that mindset to give your job 100%. I think that’s what Rena felt, honestly. And I completely relate. I ended up leaving the life of a performer because I found someone I felt was worth more than performing. I later found a job that I loved more, as well, and I prefer to be giving my all to them then to give one of those only 50% so I can be on stage. Of course, there are people who can balance both and be perfectly fine. SNSD is a great example of that--many of them have had boyfriends but still were at 100% on stage. If an idol feels confidant she can do that, why not have both?

Lastly, of course, we have the fans. Fans are what keep idols alive. Fans are where the money comes from. If a group or idol loses his/her fans, they are simply over. I think this is honestly the biggest part of it all. There are a lot of male fans that are absolutely 100% against an idol they support dating. They love idols because they feel, not that they necessarily can marry them, but that the idol is in love with them and only them. As soon as that is taken away, there’s a good number of fans that will either abandon that idol or will try their best to get that idol a lot of hate. Guy group members have seen a LOT of this in Korea, for sure. It can really ruin the career of an idol. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen this hit actors and actresses in Korea (one girl had to shut her social media down entirely when it was revealed she was dating a famous actor).

In Japan, I think so many fans are just used to the idea of a dating ban that they would be angry if that went away, even if it isn’t written in their actual contracts. Look at Minegishi Minami! While she has climbed back up, the poor girl shaved her head in shame to prove to everyone that she was sorry so she could keep her career. Fans can be very vicious and this is where I think the problem lies.

I absolutely believe that, if older members are given open permission to date (I mean literally an announcement from the company so it’s 100% clear that it’s okay), fans will start to accept it. Maybe not all of them, but a good portion! Then, they can continue to cut that back until all are permitted.

I honestly think Korea gets this right overall, though, and I like the way some companies have done it. SISTAR has gone on record numerous times, as has the Wonder Girls, to state they were permitted to date after a certain amount of time. I think that gives the groups and members enough time to solidify themselves, get a handle on the schedule of being an idol, as well as find that free time to give a boyfriend or girlfriend. But that’s just me. :)

Overall, I would like to see a formal announcement from all labels that dating bans are gone, but that idols can be held back if they do not dedicate themselves to their group 100%. Companies invest so much in these groups, I find it only fair to do that.

[itshanni3]

H!P 20th Anniversary “Shuffles”

Hi readers~

I posted my shortened comments on my profile on Facebook, but I thought I’d go more in depth on my opinion on the way H!P has started out celebrating their 20th anniversary.

First off, isn’t it insane that Hello! Project is almost 20??

Before I get into the changes and upcoming member debuts, I wanted to talk about my initial thoughts on both surprises before we knew where anyone was going.

My goals were to see the following happen:

1. New group with the 3 kenshuusei debuting, as well as with another 2-4 others. Icchan as leader, and I wanted to see both “tinies” debut together in this (Kirara and Momohime).

2. If the CG members staying permanently couldn’t be added to that group also, I wanted to see YanaFuna remain together, with Chisaki in MM or even Tsubaki. YanaFuna I had pegged for ANGERME or, if nothing else, one of the Factories (despite me not wanting them for Kobushi).

3. If the new group wasn’t happening, I needed 2 of the kenshuusei to go to Juice=Juice, as I truly feel Yuka and Tomoko are reaching the end of their idol careers (due to age) in upcoming years, and I don’t think Sayubee, Karin and Aarii are strong enough to stand on their own as a trio (coming from someone who is a fan of Sayubee and Karin, for those wondering). The kenshuusei were good ages to join, since Ayano is nearing 18, Ruru is 16, and Icchan is 18, putting them just a little short of Karin and Aarii at 18 (19 in December). It would’ve also been ironic since it was the first group after S/mileage to form from only Kenshuusei. Since S/mileage has become ANGERME and is more than Kenshuusei, it seemed fitting for me personally.

4. Please do not add more than 1 to MM or the Factories. They’re all getting too big. I know Duu is leaving MM and I’m sensing another member leaving soon, too, but they’re already at 13. Even with two graduations, that’s 11 members!! ANGERME is another group I sense hitting graduations soon. Ayacho has said she plans to stay until at least 25, which only leaves a little over 2 years. Kanana has reached 20 with both Take and Rina at 19. I could see Take sticking around but I’m not expecting the other three to stay more than 2-3 years most. (Don’t get me wrong, I’d love Ayacho to stay forever, but the girl has a degree and is working on her Masters, from what I understand, so...) Then, of course, there’s both Maho and Masaki having various issues. While I’d like to think Maho will return, as I really like 3rd gen as a trio, I’m not holding my breath at this point, much like when Manakan went on hiatus for a while. Masaki couldn’t even make it through the latest Budoukan without having to leave and take a break. Whether it was for her voice or her back, if these health issues don’t get better, she really needs to take a complete break, pull a Yamakki/Ozeki with being a seasonal member or find a different place in H!P where she isn’t going to keep hurting her back. Her condition is one that will likely never go away--it may become easier to live with over time, but not if she keeps pushing it like this. (Sorry Masaki fans, but it’s the truth about herniated disks.)

Now that we know where they are all going, I’m left with the biggest thought, “Why did H!P disband, essentially, Country Girls to make a brand new group with only one of the 6 moving/debuting in it?” I’m seriously just confused now. It seems to me like management just genuinely hated Country Girls at this point.

I know their sales haven’t been amazing but they aren’t that that far off from the Factories, who debuted/were created around the same time (Country Girls averages 38k, Tsubaki had 40k on their debut and Kobushi averages at 44k). Granted, yes, Country Girls had Momoko, but Kobushi had a number of popular kenshuusei and Tsubaki had at least all faces of people H!P Kenshuusei fans knew. Country Girls had two kenshuusei join at first, but both were only members for a year and a half, so I kind of consider them to be on the same level as Kobushi when they debuted, if not even a little lower. Momo is only one person, and was most definitely not the focus in their debut.

So I’m honestly left with the big question as to why on Earth they disbanded a perfectly capable group that they could’ve made stronger. Instead, they decided to “mix things up.” Okay AKB. Also note, I’m a fan of AKB, but I was never a fan of shuffling members between teams. Seeing Mayuyu get pulled from Team B was not my favorite moment!

Here we have it: Chisaki made it to MM, which was her initial goal when she auditioned for Hello! Project. Ruru and YANAMIN got tossed into Juice=Juice. I think Yanamin was genuinely as confused as I was watching it unfold. And then we’ve got Funakki and Ayano in ANGERME.

What do I like? I like Chisaki for MM. I like Funakki for ANGERME.

What do I not like? The Juice=Juice choices. Ruru joining with Yanamin feels really unbalanced and, frankly, awkward. Not that they can’t handle the group--it just looks and feels very weird adding that duo. Adding Ayano to ANGERME just felt really random. Again, it’s not that she can’t excel in the group--she most definitely can. But adding an ace type to a group with multiple aces already? I don’t know--that solidifies my “someone is graduating soon” theory, though. And Icchan getting a brand new group. Am I thrilled for her? Absolutely! But it goes back to the, “Why disband Country Girls?” If it was a finances thing, it certainly costs more to start up a new group than work with one existing already. They’ll have to work on branding, getting a solid team together and they’ll have to start from scratch with yet another discography (without Tsunku).

With Tsunku, I fully trust adding new groups. (Though, I’d still honestly be unhappy with the choice to basically make CG a Buono! to turn around and make a new group.) He had the talent to keep them all moving smoothly with releases.

Currently, we’re lucky to get more than 2 singles a year. And what’s an album? I’ve forgotten, since we haven’t seen one outside of Kobushi’s in a few years. They’ve also been stacking singles on top of each other, which is making it even more weird to me, personally. If you’re only releasing 2 singles per year and you only have (with CG gone/seasonal) 5 groups, you could release on a month and still have two months without anything. Instead, we have singles being released within just a week of each other. Maybe they’re trying to work around AKB. Maybe it’s bad communication or management. I don’t know, but it’s just bizarre.

I guess this all boils down to me being happy that Funakki seems happy (lord knows ANGERME is a bunch of weirdos so they’re happy pretty much always with anything--bless my oshi group). Chisaki...seems concerned. She’s very much a Riho/shy type. So I’m expecting her to need time to warm up to a new group of people. Thankfully, she knows most of them decently well. Ayano will be fine, though I’m concerned she’s going to disappear immediately to the back, which she is way too good for, in my opinion. I just don’t understand the Juice=Juice choices. I feel horrible for Yanamin. She did not seem happy at all.

But! It seems highly likely to me that these girls found out within days of their decision where they would be going. More than likely, like in typical H!P fashion, only the leaders of the groups even knew this was happening until the official announcement. I’m certain Juice=Juice did not think they had anyone coming, nor did Morning Musume. Karin’s post welcomed new members after the announcement, but I don’t think they actually expected it. ANGERME is like a constant party, so they were probably hoping to take at least one of them in. Judging by the footage we have, Funakki is wearing the same outfit she wore seeing MM’s show as she was finding out she was joining ANGERME, which was June 7th (we were told the announcement on the 9th). It looks like they told the other members a few days after. ANGERME had a release event on the 10th and also on the 19th. I’m guessing they were told on one of those days, which had to be incredibly shocking. It could’ve also been on the 8th, as Juice=Juice would’ve been in Kagoshima on the 10th. (Aka across the country from Tokyo.)

In general, am I thrilled with this? No. I’m most definitely going to have to quit collecting Yanamin--at least Juice=Juice stuff. It’s very difficult to get collectors for the other members to split photo sets, and I get enough of those leftover photos from collecting ANGERME and Tsubaki Factory. Unfortunately, I just can’t afford that. Do I still adore her? Absolutely! I will 100% buy anything I can afford that’s just her or that is Country Girls Yanamin. But I’m definitely quite sad she wasn’t put into a more fitting group in my mind. Everyone will do fine in their groups after adjusting. Chisaki will thrive being in a dance heavy group. Ayumin may end up with a new dance rival, which I think she’d love. And Funakki’s weirdness belongs very much in ANGERME.

[itshanni3]

2017 Kenshuusei Test Reactions

Hi guys~! As you probably know, I’m a big fan of Hello Project’s kenshuusei and have followed them very closely since becoming a fan. Every year, I like to listen to their annual recital/test to hear how they are all doing on an individual level with vocals.

This comes with absolutely no bias for most everyone but probably Momohime. I generally forget who I’m listening to, outside of Momohime, so I feel like they’re pretty unbiased and just my opinion of the singing I’m hearing.

I tend to be overly critical a lot, so keep that in mind. I will also mention, if I do know/am remembering who’s singing, improvement or maybe disappointments in something that was good in previous years. :)

These are in order of their performance! ^_^ Ishiguri Kanami - Only You (Morning Musume) Unstable at the very beginning, but then had extremely good breath support considering the song and dance. The head voice parts weren't perfect, but really enjoyable and there's a lot of talent here. Yamazaki Mei - Chu! Natsu Party (3-nin Matsuri) Stupid stable at the beginning and brought personality into her performance. Perfect performance from what we have to hear. Shimakura Rika - Be Alive (Morning Musume) Definitely had some nervous shakes in her voice on some of the longer notes. Very pleasant voice to listen to. Hit every note strongly and caught all the little bits MM did when performing--lacked emotion in her performance/voice. Sounds a lot like Risako on her belty notes. Hibi Marina - Glass no Pumps (Goto Maki) Very shaky voice and lacks strength, but has a very unique tone. Still really not unpleasant to hear. Sounds terrified but really has the vocals for this song if she can gain the confidance. Pretty sure even the person that judged her said she sounded scared LOL Kawamura Ayano - Mugen Climax (C-ute) Very stable performer--higher pitched Karin voice and I didn't expect that. Kudou Yume - Chotto Guchoku ni! Chototsu Moushin (Kobushi Factory) Odd song choice but starts off strong with hitting the cute and strong bits. Gets slightly off beat but still sings the song better than some of Kobushi. Slurs her words a lot so should work on that for sure. Running out of breath--again, odd song choice for a solo. Kitagawa Ryou - Dance de Bakoon! (C-ute) Keeps running out of breath and could enunciate more! I'm curious to see her expression because she sounds bored some times and I know her default expression is ._. The high parts are definitely too high for her but not everyone has to be that "main vocal" in groups. Matsunaga Riai - SONGS (Morning Musume) Lacks vocal stability but has so much potential--hit a lot of belt notes dead on and perfectly. I think she needs to work on breath control and she'll be fantastic. Her singing voice is a total 180 from her speaking voice--reminds me a lot of Rikako. Eguchi Saya - What is LOVE? (Morning Musume) Sounds like Masaki when she joined but in a good way (I'm not a fan of Masaki's voice). Her squeaks actually worked in this and I think, if she can improve her breath support just a pinch, she'll be an incredibly strong vocalist. This dance is difficult to do while singing so I'm a bit impressed. Doi Rena - Ima Sugu Tobikomu Yuuki (Morning Musume) Higher notes were great but seemed maybe nervous, as was shaky and went off pitch a bit. Yamazaki Yuhane - Magic of Love (Juice=Juice 2015 vrs.) Perfect. This performance may have pushed her to my favorite kenshuusei after Momohime. Crap. You can really feel her passion and feeling in this performance, on top of the perfectly solid vocals. I wouldn't even know what to tell her to improve on but she deserved best performance unless her dance was totally horrible (which I doubt, as we know she's a solid performer overall). Inoue Hikaru - My alright sky (Buono!/Suzuki Airi) Her runs were pretty sloppy for someone who has this many years of experience now. She was honestly a bit unstable, but she's improved a lot from when she joined. I hope she works on carrying her "ii" sounds outside of her nose--that killed the end of the performance for me. That said, she's improved IMMENSENLY since she joined so I'm still happy with this. I disagree with the judges giving her an award for it, but if it's based on her improvements, I'm cool with it. (Not like I get a say any ways and I'm not WATCHING it in the moment so I'm sure it's different. :)) Yonemura Kirara - Tokaikko Junjou (C-ute) So much improvement from last year--get it girl. Still could use help with breath support--she lost a lot of what she had when she had no time for a proper breath--could be song choice too. But she sounded like she gave it her all. I think she did well! Nishida Shiori - Take off is now! (Morning Musume) Such a husky voice! I loved that I could understand every single thing she said and she punched every note perfectly until the very last note (which she did all the last part in one breath so completely understandable). Yamada Ichigo - MY BOY (Buono!) For someone with idol experience performing before this, she was missing a lot of notes. She seems to struggle with breath support so I'd really like to see how hard she danced. I definitely think it's the breath support, as she got to a part where there's way less movement and nailed the notes there. Her dance was said to be surprising so I look forward to maybe getting a clip of it! Maeda Kokoro - Suki Sugite Baka Mitai (DEF.DIVA) VERY shocking performance for me--she's improved a lot. Couldn't quite get to the high notes but still stable outside of those--will continue to improve each year I think. Kodama Sakiko - Rottara Rottara (Buono!) This song choice was one I saw and went D: y. She is slightly off key at the beginning but picks it up, then gets off again. She definitely needs more time but you can tell she's having fun and is trying to get the audience into it. Just like Hikaru, needs to learn to carry her vowels outside of her noise.Sato Hikari Definitely singing for the sake of singing but has a strong base as a vocalist. This song choice was another odd one for me, personally. It doesn't suit a soloist very well, but, considering that, she did pretty darn good. Needs to work on feeling the song! I think one of the judges may have just said that, but I'm not 100% paying attention to the judges. Kanatsu Mizuki - Are Kore Shitai! (Juice=Juice) A lot of the audience seems excited about her--I'm surprised. She seemed really unpopular to me (I always thought she was cute!). Was she inspired by Juice=Juice in this? She seems to be mimicking their "isms" in this song a lot. But holy crap has she improved since last year! Needs better support on the higher notes, but I think she did extremely well compared to the past. She lost breath support at the end, but that was her biggest struggle I could find before so go her for doing well up until that point! I'm super proud of her! Kiyono Momohime - Mr. Moonlight (Morning Musume) Personality and strong vocals--just as expected from Momohime! She ran out of breath a few times but remained strong throughout. Not the best song for a solo but she did well. Kawano Minori - Oh my wish! (Morning Musume) Very strong performance--sounds a lot like Miki. Lost some of the higher belt notes but very strong voice. Takase Kurumi - Baby! Koi ni Knockout (Pucchi Moni) I expected a little more from her. She was a bit unstable but I'm wondering if she's losing air. Her performance was still great but not as good as it has been in the past! Horie Kizuki - Waserete Ageru (ANGERME) I forgot I was listening to the kenshuusei when this one came on--I thought I was listening to a MM concert and someone's solo. She did really fantastic! I look forward to clips of her dancing (hopefully we get some!). Ono Kotomi - Akai Nikkichou (Akagumi 4) So much improvement since last year! How is this the same girl from last year's test?! She did really fantastic until it got to the higher part. Hashisako Rin - Massara Blue Jeans (C-ute) I think we found the weakest singer in the bunch so far--but she almost nailed the belting parts. Her range just seems a little small for this song. Her personality seems really fantastic, though. The way she talks and answers questions almost reminds me of Taguchin. (That's a good thing.) I could see this girl doing Minimoni Telephone ga Rin Rin Rin for LOLs. Okamura Minami - Tropical Koi Shiteru (Matsuura Aya) I'm normally not a fan of "cuter/higher" voices, but hers really draws me in. She did a really great job and you can tell she had fun singing it as well. Nakayami Natsume - Aisuru Hito no Namae wo Nikki ni (Berryz Koubou) I definitely expected more out of her but, with this song choice, there's not much that can be done. She did alright--it was sadly just a boring choice, but I think she still did just fine. Noguchi Kurumi - Take off is now! (Morning Musume) I liked the energy she brought to this song versus the other one. Her pitch was as stable but she almost had a bit of "sexiness" and "fierce" feeling in some of her lines. If she can get pitch down 100%, I think her vocals will be stellar. I'm interested to see her expressions because her voice spoke a lot. I'd like to see it reflected in her expressions as well. Oota Haruka - Chokotto Love! (Pucchi Moni) I lied, I think this is currently the worst singer in the bunch, which is really saying something because she wasn't horrible. I love Kanatsu Mizuki but, when she first joined, she was worse than this. The standards for the kenshuusei must be super high now. This was a bit painful at times at how off key she was but she did throw a lot of personality in, which will get her far. Her expressions are really good, I know, so I think she'll be fine if she just keeps working at pitch. Ichioka Reina - Hitorijime Shitakatta Dake Nano ni (C-ute) I'll never forget the first time we heard her and her singing was just...not there. LOL It just wasn't. She's improved leaps and bounds and, while I think most of her popularity comes from her being a kenshuusei for a long time, she deserves to debut. That said, I'd 100% have swapped she and Kaedy. I may eat my words when we find out what she's actually doing. Her idol appearance has really improved, as has her stage presense. I think she can stand to work on feeling what she's singing but she's still doing better than a lot of her juniors--Ruru, for example, could learn a lot from her. She SHOULD be doing better than her juniors, but a lot of these girls below her have experience, too. Danbara Ruru - Give me love (Morning Musume) Oh sweet jesus. What's wrong with her in this performance? I know she normally just sings to sing without emotion, but she's pushing WAY too hard. This isn't that kind of song. Sorry--tangent over. I don't like what she's doing with her belts now. She's also a lot less stable than she has been in the past. Her runs were very nice, at least. I wonder if she's sick or something because of this was just...not up to par for her.

[itshanni3]

Morning Musume’s 13th Generation

Hi guys~! I’m back with another opinionated entry to give my thoughts on the newly added 13th generation of Morning Musume.

Before we get started, I want to give you a quick background on my feelings on the group currently, if you didn’t read my post on who I wanted in 13th gen. As of right now, I know a lot of people are enjoying the rotating center and that everyone seems to be getting an equal-ish amount of lines. Personally, while it’s great to see back girls shine, I feel like this MM has become too complacent--the girls don’t seem like they’re fighting for lines any more. It’s just sort of been assumed (at least from my stand point) that everyone will get a line in at least one of the songs. We also haven’t had an original album in forever (over 2 years), which I’m sure is one of the reasons they’re trying to push everyone to have lines and focus.

To me, that’s just super duper boring. LOL I like a Morning Musume that has 1-2 definite centers that everyone is trying to improve to catch. Perhaps it’s because the talent level is pretty stable so no one feels the need to compete or maybe it’s because they know Sakura will always be the main vocals and they’re cool with that (I’m pretty cool with that LOL). But Morning Musume to me is a better group when they have that competition that keeps everyone on their toes. Riho was an excellent girl to add in, because everyone was trying to catch up to her the entire time she was a member.

This takes me to the newly added gen. I said before I didn’t want Kaedy in and I felt she belonged better elsewhere. I still feel that way. Does that mean I’m mad she made it? Heck no! LOL I love seeing kenshuusei get promoted even when they aren’t my particular choice for their position. Oddly enough, this was the first time I ever went ???? with this since.........gosh. I can’t even remember. Kaedy is exactly what I didn’t want. She seems like she’ll be a bit of a Zukki replacement, which makes me wonder why Akanechin got added, as I always saw her as Zukki’s future low tone replacement. Any ways, Kaedy is going to have a lovely time as a member and I’m incredibly happy for her...................but I’m incredibly worried she’s just going to become what I call “background fodder.” That’s what I used to call Junjun and Linlin back in the day. Just there to occasionally get random short lines and be in the back holding down the formation for the dance. Kaedy is talented but I’m not really thinking they added her on talent, or they’d have certainly added Kurumin instead. (Sorry Kaedy--I’m not even a fan of Kurumin any more but that girl is the whole package of an idol!)

Then, we’ve got Reina. She was the wildcard to begin with that all wota wanted in. Photogenically wise, I didn’t get it until seeing her photo in the announcement last night when her fringe/bangs were properly fixed. I totally get why she was added. She’s the type of member I wanted in with an ace. Sadly, in my eyes, she wasn’t added in with an ace. BUT! That said, she could most definitely surprise us all with talent I don’t know she has. That’s what I’m hoping for. She has a great smile and shine to her--albeit not the strongest--and highly resembles Kamei. I just hope that, instead of becoming a Kamei, she can live up to her namesake and become a Reina as performer. For me, MM desperately needs that ace in the hole. 12th gen needs someone to feel challenged by and Reina is my bet 100%.

Sorry to all Kaedy fans--she is talented but personality wise and appearance wise, she just isn’t MY type of ace material. Note, this is MY opinion. My opinion means absolutely nothing. I’m just one fan looking at the group from my personal point of view. :)

(Mizuki, Kaedy, Reina)

[itshanni3]

My 13th Gen Predictions

First off, I find it mildly hilarious that my love of Hello! Project kenshuusei only comes up when auditions are happening. Normally, most fans I know totally disregard any of the members that aren’t “senior” in the training program. As soon as these auditions happen, I’m immediately bombarded with PMs on Facebook with my thoughts. Fine by me--I will always love and support members of the kenshuusei!

I’m going to break this down in a similar manner to what others are doing: the high, medium, and low probabilities, as well as the “we don’t have enough to judge these girls properly” and the “would be better off outside of H!P in the UUG sister group.”

I’m going to start with the latter because I think that one is going to be where people will disagree the most and I totally respect that--these are just my opinions:

Better Off Outside H!P: Icchan, Kaedy, Hikarun, Ruru, Kizuki, Kokoro

With these girls, it’s not that I don’t think they have talent, are cute or anything else. It all boils down to most of them being passed over for multiple MM auditions, multiple ANGERME generations, Country Girls (and gen 2!), Kobushi Factory AND Tsubaki Factory. I honestly just can’t imagine they haven’t had enough training to debut before most of that happened. I feel like H!P thinks they are lacking something important to not have debuted at this point. Kizuki and Kokoro haven’t been around quite as long, but I just think that, visually, they fit in better elsewhere. Kokoro still has time to change, as she is only 14, but I could see her being the face of a group outside H!P more than a front runner in H!P. That said, she IS young, so she could certainly surprise me!

Not Enough to Judge: Ono Kotomi, Kodama Sakiko, Yokoyama Reina, Yamazaki Yuhane, Yoshida Marie, Nishida Shiori, Hashisako Rin

The babies of H!P--we do have some performances with 25th gen (Kotomi and Sakiko), but I honestly don’t feel confidant judging them or the 26th gen (minus Ayano, as she was an idol before H!P). Most of them are pretty new and the others haven’t even been training a year. :) I’ve heard and seen a lot of people rooting for Yokoyama Reina but I’ve literally never seen or heard her do anything performance wise so perhaps that’s based on appearance. Appearance wise, I’m personally rooting for Rin in this grouping. :)

Least Likely: Yonemura Kirara

It’s not that she lacks talent--I think she has a lot of potential being so young and she’s already shown improvement since joining. My concern is that she looks so super young and cute that, visually, I can’t picture her in the current MM lineup.

Could Surprise Us: Takase Kurumi, Kanatsu Mizuki, Noguchi Kurumi

You may be a bit confused why I put Kurumin in this group (Takase). She was also passed over multiple times, so it makes me wonder if they have something specific for her. It’s either got to be that or that they’ve got her planning to be in the UUG sister group. They’ll need star power to make that group and Kurumin has it. As for Mizuki, she’s cute as a button and has shown growth as well, like Kirara. I think she majorly lacks confidence but has talent locked up in there. Noguchi Kurumi has proven that she does have talent, and she fits in the current MM aesthetic to me, but she doesn’t carry any star power. Frankly, I think that’s what they’re looking specifically for and haven’t gotten in two rounds of auditions.

Most Likely: Kiyono Momohime, Kawamura Ayano

These are 100% my top two picks. As I just said, I think they’re looking for star power and both Momohime and Ayano have that in the bag. Both girls have a following from their previous indie idol groups and Momohime has proven herself multiple times as a front runner. She and Momona (ANGERME) won the fan vote for Best Performance earlier this year (note: she had only just joined the program a few months prior) and has participated in two stage shows already after being a kenshuusei for less than a year.

I know there are a lot of folks against Momohime joining but, to me, even my bias of her aside, I feel like she would bring back a lot of the sparkle MM lost with Riho and Sayumi. If they added Ayano, they’d add instant talent and sparkle to make up for that. I fear that, if they don’t take a similar route to this, MM is going to continue to sink for me, personally. I haven’t felt nearly as passionate about MM since 12th gen joined (despite the fact that Miki and Oharu rank super high for me) and they lost both Sayu and Riho (and I’m not even remotely Sayu biased). I hope for this so I can find my love of the group back again and support Ayumin better.

Either way, this has been great exposure for the kenshuusei. I’m disappointed they went this route and didn’t give any outside girls a chance, but that’s why I’m truly hoping for this to be a star power audition.

Now watch it’s actually just a ploy to add in all the older kenshuusei who will end up as nothing but filler members until 9th and 10th gen graduate...*face palm*

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FromJapan.co.jp’s New Fees

Hi guys~! I know, I’m writing an entry! As you know at this point, I’ve been trying to keep this more of an informative blog than anything else on JPop and the occasional KPop.

If you’re a buyer of JPop or Japanese merchandise, you may know about or even use FromJapan. I’m a pretty big fan of their services--I’ve used them for many years now with little issues.

Honestly, the only issues I can think of even happening are when I got a poster in a box with other stuff only rapped in bubble rap (the poster was totally fine but it was like ???), getting a thin plastic figure that had snapped because it had no cardboard helping it stay stiff and a few missing items. Keep in mind, I’ve had orders of thousands and THOUSANDS of dollars going through here with a total of maybe $150 worth of issues in all this time.

I digress~ LOL :D

They recently changed the fee formatting to be easier on our bank accounts and I just received my first fee total from them, so I thought I’d show you a comparison.

Basically, FJ used to charge 5% up front on the cost of every item ordered, as well as 200 yen per item. If you ordered more than 4 items from the same seller, you were only charged 200 yen on the 4 most expensive items. You paid those all up front in your Charge 1 (aka immediately when you order/buy). When you got your Charge 2, this contained internal fees like the shipping of your item(s) to the FJ warehouse, as well as bank transfer fees (172 yen per order) FJ had to pay to order your items. When paying shipping for your items to you, you also paid 5% of the shipping cost as a fee.

The new fees work like this: 300 OR 700 yen insurance fee per order (700 yen guarantees they will refund you if something goes wrong with your order) and they are trying to avoid the bank transfers, so they pay with a credit card any chance they can. So, essentially, you’ve only got the 300 or 700 yen fee per order. Keep in mind that “per order” also means “per auction.” If you do an order at a shop, though, you only pay the fee once for every item in your cart. Make sense?

So let’s compare with the order I just paid the Charge 2 for. My insurance fee total was 1800 yen and I did have some bank transfer fees which totaled at 972 yen for a total fee/commission charge of 2772 yen.

Now, with the old system, I’d have paid 5% of my order up front. My order total was 15450 yen, so 5% was 773 yen. Then, I had 10 items, so 200 yen each was 2000 yen in the other fee. My total so far is already at 2773 yen--one yen more than with the new fees. And this are all the fees I’d have had to pay up front! Move on to the bank transfers, which are 173 yen per order and I had 6 orders, so 1038 yen--but there’s also the 5% fee on that, making it 1090 yen. I’m currently at 3863 yen. The final and last fee is the 5% on shipping cost. Now, I happen to be the highest rank in FJ so I actually don’t pay that (if you spend a certain amount a year, you can get 5%,10%, or 15% off your shipping--I have the 15%). But let’s pretend I don’t. My shipping cost was roughly 3000 yen, so add on another 150 yen from the 5%.

Total fee cost before? 4013 yen.

Total fee cost now? 2772 yen.

Total difference between the two? 1241 yen.

That’s not a lot but this was actually a pretty small and inexpensive box for my typical orders and that difference is about $12 USD so that’s a good meal at a decent restaurant where I live, or 8 L sized Hello! Project photos from the shop. LOL That’s usually what I buy per month, so I’m pretty happy with these savings. Especially when ordering more expensive items, I think this will turn out to be pretty great for us overseas. 

EDIT:// One element I forgot to add in is the fee FJ is charging to combine orders into a box. This fee was recently reduced and it only a flat 500 yen per Charge 2. I didn’t have that in this box, as one of my items was purchased before they changed the fees over. Either way, I’d still have saved about 741 yen. :)

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hani clinging on to solji during weekly idol is the cutest thing <33

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C-ute to Disband in June 2017

Here it is! The long awaited (from me) post on this. If you know me at all, you’ll know my top two Hello! Project idols for a very long time were Maeda Yuuka and Suzuki Airi. Yuuka graduated before I was really into the fandom that much, and now Airi will be going before I get a chance to see her live.

But let’s take a look back at C-ute and compare them to other groups in the past because, frankly, I think they deserve to move on and I’m very certain these girls will stick around UFA/entertainment in some way or other. Much like I said with Berryz and Maasa, Miyabi and Captain, we’ll still be seeing them. Probably right after for the most part (knowing Maimi, she’ll be on the TV acting pretty quickly with her talent).

C-ute is a group that started from Hello! Project Kids in 2002. While they technically didn’t debut until 2006/2007 (indies in 2006, major debut in 2007), that means, when they disband, they’ll have been doing this together for FIFTEEN YEARS. On average, their current age is 22, so that’s given them about 8 years to just live freely with no career. As someone near Maimi’s age, I can’t even imagine that life. (Though I honestly think I’d have loved it, as I love working hard and performing.)

If we take a look at other groups, MomoClo started around the same time, but Berryz started just before C-ute and “went on hiatus” a year and a half ago. Then, of course, we can take a look at AKB48, who started releasing indies in the same year. Their first release was only the first generation of member, Team A. Out of those 21 girls, one is still a member and one has announced her graduation. I honestly can’t imagine MomoClo disbanding any time soon, but they’re sort of the last major group around from that time period.

Looking at C-ute as a part of Hello! Project, Momoko and Ayacho are the only other two left from around that time period who are still performing as idols in H!P. I imagine Momo will stay around longer and I hope to see both she and Airi move to Up Front Create with Miyabi’s new group (Pink Cres) so that Buono! can stick together and perform once a year. Ayacho doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon either--she’ll stay until she feels she has to go with the amount of love she has for H!P.

I guess I really expected this after Berryz and I expected this to be their last year any ways, but I will definitely be sad without Maimai and Airi together (I love their friendship!) in DVD magazines and I will miss C-ute’s performance level a lot.

But there is promise. With the loss of a huge, long-term group like C-ute comes a budget for spending. No doubt, the Berryz Koubou budget went mostly to Kobushi Factory and sprinkled around in Tsubaki Factory as well. I still don’t feel that Tsubaki is ready for a major debut but, I think the timing with adding new members is to push them to give them part of the budget. I wouldn’t be surprised if they held onto the rest or used the remainder of the finances to go towards a new Kenshuusei album or to be split between the two Kenshuusei programs. Clearly, the original has had lots of success, so it wouldn’t be a bad place to toss some budget.

Either way, I wish these girls all the best. While I stopped collecting Airi’s photos a long time ago, I’ve never stopped supporting her and she’s remained one of my top JPop idols after many years of being a fan. I will hold my Suu-san plushie tight while crying the day they are done, but I know they are doing it together as a team, just like they have from the very beginning. These girls will always be close friends and I think they will come back to perform just like the group of Morning Musume OG has after they graduated. This will just allow them to follow other dreams, have a love life and not have to worry about being an idol all the time.

Team C-ute forever~~!!!!!!!!

[itshanni3]

credits: doodoo_22

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i_am_disgusted.mp3

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cr: flawless april