First of all, I want to say that I’m horribly displeased by the changes WordPress has made to its layout and blogging tools. It’s so confusing — why do I want to move something to a section designated as “Trash” and then have to empty my “Trash”? Why can’t I just delete a draft? Jesus.
Anyway, I’m not here to blog about that. It’s actually been a really, really long time since I’ve felt the urge to write anything about idols (or anything in general, to be honest — there’s not a lot to say in the way of the J-electro scene aside from music reviews). Since I’ve been away so long, there’s been some changes in staff: Morning Musume is now comprised of Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, and Mitsui Aika.
…oh wait.
Excuse me, then. Morning Musume is now comprised of the aforementioned five girls with the new additions of Hello! Project Egg Fukumura Mizuki and the three lucky audition girls Ikuta Erina, Sayashi Riho, and Suzuki Kanon.
This is the first Momusu generation I’ve actually been excited for since I’ve gotten into the group. This comes at a surprise given what a champion I was for the eighth generation when they came around. I used to actually like Mitsui, okay? Then I came to my senses. (Apologies to the Mitsui fans out there. She does take a lot of heat as it is, I don’t intend on adding fuel to the eternal fire.)
But no, I think what I’m trying to imply here is that… Eighth generation was a bummer. I’m not even gonna lie. I couldn’t handle the thinly-veiled racism in regards to how the two random Chinese girls, Junjun and Linlin, were treated in the group. They always felt awkward, like they were outsiders, and given Japan’s wonderful xenophobic tendencies and also very blatant hatred of China, it was truly a terrible move on the decision-making people behind Morning Musume. Terrible from a group dynamic perspective and a marketing perspective. Don’t sit there and postulate that Momusu is full of nice, modern girls who don’t discriminate even slightly against someone for not being Japanese — I’m not trying to say that everyone in Momusu is a racist, no, but there had to be some of them and it would be naive to assume otherwise.
Now, I’m about to make a racist statement here, but… I’m quite glad that the ninth generation of Morning Musume is four cute, 100% Japanese girls. While it wouldn’t have hurt at all to add the odd Korean girl in (which, who knows, they may just do this along the road) during the big hallyu movement right now, it’s best to play it safe and play it Japanese when you’re a struggling-in-contrast-to-what’s-popular-at-the-moment idol group in Japan. This way, I won’t be put off the group from perceived pseudo-racist overtones. I won’t have to shake my fist at the management for not giving Linlin and Junjun equal treatment. And I also won’t have to worry about public backlash being a major contributing factor to why Morning Musume’s singles sales keep plummeting.
I didn’t pay any sort of close attention to the audition as it was happening. I didn’t really care, I just wanted to find out who made it. Now that we’ve found out, I went and did some background (read: I watched the Bijou Gaku audition stuff on YouTube) on the three new girls. I’d first like to say, thank fuck Mogi didn’t make it in. Shaking my fist that Otsuka Aina didn’t make it in because I liked her more than Ikuta Erina. Moreover, wow, is it the 2011 or 2012 audition? The world must be ending because Tsunku didn’t really add anyone who absolutely lacks talent and he also threw an Egg in there as an afterthought, something people have been vying for since I got into this fandom.
Fukumura Mizuki. The stats on her say she’s 14, been an H!P Egg since 2008, and was also in some Shugo Chara group. My sources tell me she’s actually one of the more popular Eggs, but I wouldn’t know from any firsthand experience. There’s not a lot for me to judge her on so far, but I don’t find her irrationally irritating and she’s not offensive on the eyes, so she has a good start as an idol in my ~ranking. I can say that she’s incredibly lucky — think of all the fellow Eggs who will probably never debut in any group, much less Morning Musume. She better outdo herself and make me believe that she was a worthwhile pick from the Egg pool.
It’s also really good to have a girl in there who is closer to the ages of the other ninth generation winners but who has more experience as a performer in H!P. Perfect move. It would be painful to see something like Fukuda Asuka syndrome happen again, wherein the age gap creates a rift and potential problems in the group. I’m truly loving how all of this was handled so far.
This is… Ikuta Erina, the second-oldest at 13. And for absolutely no real reason, I kind of dislike her more by the minute. The only real personality she displayed to me was that kind of demure quietude that does nothing for me and will likely make her wildly popular with everyone else. Her dancing was a tad spastic but that can be worked on. The behind-the-scenes people love to do things that I dislike, so I’m kind of banking that she’ll become a frontgirl in the future. Which I probably won’t mind because I’m not even that into idols, just there’s other girls (read: Suzuki Kanon) that I’d rather see get pushed into the forefront of this generation. But when it comes down to it, really, anyone is better than Mogi.
SAYASHI RIHO THE MASSIVE FAN FAVORITE ACTUALLY MADE IT INTO THE GROUP. Cue the cries of “blasphemy!” and waiting for it to turn out to be a joke. I’m actually not as batshit crazy about this girl as everyone else seems to be, but I’m way more endeared to her than I am to Ikuta. Her dancing skills are superior and her voice sounds like it has definite room to grow and develop a la Goto Maki. If she works on an entertaining idol persona to complement her capabilities, she’ll prove to be one of the most worthwhile additions to Morning Musume in a long time. There’s no doubt in my mind that she won’t be pushed to the front, with all the standout skills she possesses. I’m hoping she gets to shine, because she can attract outsiders to Momusu and possibly make the group relevant again.
Oh, she’s also another wonderful product of the Hiroshima Actors’ School, which delivered to the world the incredibly relevant and popular three-piece girl group Perfume. Kind of goes to show that real training = real idols.
Don’t ask me why I’m so fond of Suzuki Kanon. I was actually almost positive her and Ikuta would get booted out for having names similar to other way popular H!P members, but color me surprised, she made it despite stealing off Airi and Kanyon’s names!
She’s seriously my new favorite. Even though she’s not as talented dancing-wise as Riho, and her audition video was kind of laughable (in that good way! I could empathize with her ridiculous dance moves), I love what I’ve seen of her personality thus far and I feel like she’s as promising of an addition as ~*~The Sayashi Riho~*~. I like the depth of her voice, it’s more mature than that of the other girls despite her being them all being within the same age group. I do have a horrible feeling that she’ll be thrown in the back of group photos for her entire tenure, though. I base this feeling solely on the fact that I like her so much. …Then again, she kind of resembles Sayumi a little, so there’s hope for her yet in terms of popularity.
Just like three or four years ago when the eighth generation was whole and presented to the world, I attempted and failed to have anything to really say about them. It was because they were so new, so underdeveloped. They weren’t exactly the most promising generation — the “Hachies” yielded someone I tentatively label one of more hated Musume in the group’s history; an unappreciated and very confident, talented Hangzhou native; and a physically intimidating, emotionally weak Hunan native who seemed to always aspire to get into the entertainment industry despite her lackluster talent. The dichotomy in that generation was pronounced.
I’m not sure who I’ll miss more, between Linlin or Junjun. I can say that I will miss Junjun in some measure. She was truthfully a disappointment for me, and yet I can still somehow find a way to appreciate all that she managed to give us fans. Sometimes her pictures really do make me laugh, and I feel like had she been in a different environment, she would’ve had the capacity to shine more than she did as a Musume. I’m not sure when I’ll see them again, but I look forward to keeping occasional tabs on their individual careers.
Anyway, BRING ON THE NINTH GENERATION OF MORNING MUSUME. Hope to god they’ll actually get somewhere this year.
Images from the concert are courtesy of Japanese news outlet Natalie. Image of Junjun being bizarre is from…her blog.
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