I originally had a draft written and saved expressing my thoughts on each individual member of Morning Musume. And no, not all of these were very nice. Some might say they were downright grudgewank-worthy. But what softened me up was rediscovering an old interview Ishiguro Aya, one of the original Musume girls, did after leaving Hello! Project. In this interview, she talked about how the girls got an average of three hours of sleep back then, how they rarely had time to actually eat meals so they ended up snacking and as a result gaining weight, etc. Then I watched some live performances of “Onna ni Sachi Are”, since I have inexplicably fallen in love with Li Chun, and realized…

I would be no better than any of the tabloid magazines prattling on about Britney Spears’ dramatic meltdown. Morning Musume tries damn fucking hard to deliver on-time (…I hope to god I don’t turn into the future “LEAVE MOMUSU ALONE!!!111″ dudechick on YouTube. Oh Jesus NO), they always have put effort into their singles no matter how boring some of the songs Tsunku has come up with are. Granted, not everyone is on top of their game and perfect, the wota are the only people keeping this group alive anymore, etc, etc… Yet why should we blame the members? It’s not like they chose themselves to be in. It was Tsunku’s idea to take five “losers” who didn’t even audition for a Japanese pop group and turned them into just that, in the beginning. It was then also his idea to start doing cute little graduations and adding new members to the group all the time. At times, not everyone was 100% perfect at singing/dancing. Hell, Abe Natsumi was pretty much the Takahashi Ai of the past.

Although I may not agree with some of Tsunku’s decisions and thoughts (WTF at Tanaka Reina being the quintessential Musume, and double-WTF at Koharu being an ace), I can choose to ignore them and focus on the positive things about Morning Musume at the present. For instance, we’ve got Ai (even if I, personally, find her to be very boring), Risa (I like her singing voice and I think she’d make a good leader for the future), Sayumi (there’s something that rings classic to me about this girl), Eri (even if, like Ai, she’s boring), Aika (I feel oddly calm and serene whenever I see her — she’s also much cuter than Koharu), Li (aaaajcijeijieekowjri9!!!!111 LOVE), and Qian, whose voice reminds me a lot of Abe Natsumi’s.

However, one reason Morning Musume has sort of lost appeal for me lately is the alarming rate of “mature” singles. Mature isn’t a bad thing. Classic Morning Musume had many mature members who had mature voices and I adore them above all else — there weren’t any squeaky girls until, like, Non and Kago came along. But the singles are so mature that they’re spilling back over into immaturity. It feels forced at times. Honestly, what’s with the feminist movement all of a sudden? (*DUCKS QUICKLY BEFORE PINK WOTA KILLS ME*) I mean, I’m not against feminism, it just seems so…weird for this to be coming from Morning Musume. “All the best to women”? I enjoy the sentiment and it’s better than singing about pining for a boy that doesn’t actually exist, but the sort of music Momusu used to make was usually in good fun, not “LET’S GET THOSE BASTARDS WHO BROKE OUR HEARTS! BBBBBBBBBBAKA! BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAKA!“.

Though I suppose every group needs their happy songs and their mad/sad songs. It’s just unnerving to see “Kanashimi TWILIGHT” and then another single in the same vein right after. Pissy songs: they’re like ballads, you only need them once in a while.

…honestly, though, I really am directing criticism at Tsunku and not Momusu. Today is, like, Morning Musume Appreciation Day for me. I feel nothing but love because Li has instilled new hope in me for the group’s future.

I’ve mentioned before that Qian sounds like Abe Natsumi. Well, she does. Literally, she does. This, combined with the fact that the “LOVE Machine” lineup is like crack to me, is a Very Good Thing. Li doesn’t sound bad either, but I can’t quite place who she reminds me of.

I can’t stop listening to “Onna ni Sachi Are” because I want to hear those solo lines continuously. They’re great. I love them, and I disliked the song before. If China-tachi have the ability to get me into Morning Musume again and make me adore any future singles that have them in it… Then I’d say that’s a pretty powerful ability there. It’s almost akin to Vulpi’s insane love of Sayumi.

At any rate, I officially declare October 23rd, Morning Musume Appreciation Day~! Ironically enough, “Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari” was their 23rd single (the more you probably already knew and I didn’t). Since the song focused on each member individually, let us take this day to focus on our each favorite members, or even the group in its entirety.

All the best to you, Morning Musume.