On the "failure" of Mikan and what needs to be done to turn Morning Musume around.

When the weekly Oricon numbers were published last week, and Mikan was only able to achieve 5th on its premier day and 6th overall in its opening week, I admit that I couldn't help but feel a little bit of schadenfreude; that wonderful German expression applying to feeling joy over another person's failure. Mikan is, and quite rightly so, the worst selling single in the history of Morning Musume.

I listened to Mikan for the first time about 2.5 weeks ago and quite frankly, I hated it. To me it sounded like a B-side or a forgettable filler-track on an album; it was a song that you tolerated but didn't really listen to, or worse, skipped over to get to the "good" tracks. As for the accompanying PV, I appreciated the return to some production value but it was still lacklustre and "by the numbers". But PVs are just promotional tools, they are not what sells the single, for what sells the single is the music behind it, and Mikan just did not have any redeeming musical quality.

Mikan has all the noticeable trademarks of a single made by committee, and anything made by committee will always pale in comparison to something that is truly a work born of inspiration. It's as if Tsunku and his production team sat around a desk and brainstormed their ideas. I can picture it in my mind and it probably went something like this.

Inspirational yet entendre-filled opening words? Check.
Inspirational lyrics? Check.
Something about love or hope or happiness? Check.
Something about Japan? Well let's leave that out of this particular song.
Catchy middle eight? Nah, let's leave that out of this one as well.
A catchy chorus with a real hook? Nope, let's not give away the farm.
Cool, okay let's record it and choreograph a little dance for it. And this time let's spend a little money on the PV and make the wota happy by showing some baby pics.
With this kind of effort, we're guaranteed another 50K seller.

Well now we all see the (non) payoff for this effort and I hope Tsunku and UFA are realizing that perhaps Morning Musume is not always going to be a guaranteed sell.

One thing that the creation and production and ultimate failure of Mikan reminds us is that when the importance of THE MUSIC is forgotten, then everything following will also fall by the wayside. And Morning Musume, even though it is JPop in its most treacle sweet bubblegum manifestation, must still produce music that is catchy, and unfortunately Mikan did not deliver even that.

Pre "Love Machine" Morning Musume was certainly musical, but it rode the coattails of its notoriety as a creation of a television program, and not for some need to fill a void in the JPop universe. Once that notoriety wore off, so did the sales figures, as evidenced by the stunningly rapid decline of those figures until Love Machine. Love Machine was a spectacular turning point for Morning Musume in that it ended the era of "serious" music and ushered in the era of bubblegum. But the bubblegum was so sugary and enjoyable and addictive that it was difficult to not buy in to it all. As long as the music remained the most important thing, the personnel changes could last forever.

But somewhere along the line the music was lost, in turn replaced with creation by committee and the ascendency of marketing. Somewhere alone the line it was decided that the music had to fit the girls of Morning Musume and not the other more proper way around: create the music first and then let the girls fill the roles required of the song.

Yes, there was a bit of an upturn for a while prior to Mikan, especially with the release of Aruiteru. And one can't discard the fact that Aruiteru was, for all intents and purposes, exactly what Morning Musume needs again, a replenishment of its musical credibility. Aruiteru was a crappy single for myself and other Morning Musume fans, but it was so musically uplifting that it sold beyond the tradtional fanbase. It was so musically accomplished in terms of its creative quality that Tsunku himself recognized it for what it was, a hit beyond the bounds of Morning Musume, and decided to record a version with Sharan Q.

Mikan, on the other hand, catered to only one demographic, the Morning Musume fan. The PV was made to promote the single to the fans. Who else other than a Morning Musume fan would care to see baby pictures of the girls? And when you target a certain demographic only, then you're bound for failure. The really sad thing about the failure of Mikan is that it was the group's 35th single, following directly from the release of their 10th Anniversary celebrations and the retrospective double CD with all previous 34 singles. It's as if Japan has said "10 years, they've had their run. Time to move on." Frankly, I think it would be a mistake to turn our backs on Morning Musume.

So what do Tsunku and UFA have to do to right the good ship Momusu out of these somewhat dire straits? That's a difficult question to answer. So many other things are also contributing to the decline of music sales in Japan and really, the entire planet. But if I had a wish list of what needs to be done with Morning Musume this is what I would recommend:

1) Announce a rebuilding effort. Acknowledge the failure and disappointment of Mikan and state a genuinely renewed sense of purpose.
2) Keep the line-up as it is for a time. What Morning Musume does not need now is another graduation from a long-tenured and beloved member. Ai Takahashi is the eldest and slated to go but it would be a mistake to let her go any time soon. Some may detract her skills as a leader, but there is no denying that as the one with the longest tenure she is the face most familiar with the public whether they be fans or not. At the same time, don't announce any new auditions for a 9th generation. The addition of Jun Jun and Lin Lin is an evolving experiment to expand Morning Musume to Asia. Give it time to happen. A 9th Gen audition will only negate that.
3) Let the girls be themselves. Morning Musume was created by 5 girls who were asked to fill roles based on their personalities. Up through the 4th Gen auditions, this was the successful plan. Let the remaining 5th and 6th Gen members and afterwards let their true personalities come out rather than be stifled by the expectation of "proper behaviour" for an idol. I am not saying that the girls should be allowed to smoke or have boyfriends, they should still project an air of innocence. What I am saying however is that the girls should be allowed to speak and not just sit their looking pretty. Flashes of the girls real personalities on Hello! Morning and Haromoni@ are genuinely the best thing about those programs. When they go on shows to do promotions, allow them to express themselves. The host of Utaban was right, the current members are bland. But that's only because UFA have either directed them to be bland. Let them loose, please, just as the girls from the 1st to 4th generation were allowed.
As a side note, I somehow feel that Rika Ishikawa was to blame for the fear the the 5th through current gen members have for allowing their real personalities to show. You all know how I feel about Rika and her tendency to put on airs and be "proper."
4) Most importantly, rediscover and re-emphasize THE MUSIC. As I said before, let the creativity flow and let music come out, and then get the girls to fill the song with their personalities. The beauty of such songs as "Do it Now!" and "As For One Day", and all of the successful Morning Musume singles is that they were first and foremost musical. But those two singles are my all time favourite because it asked the girls to sing better than they have ever done before or since.

Mikan shows what happens when the music becomes a secondary concern to image.

On listening to Morning Musume's Hawaiian de Kiku CD

This CD has been gathering dust on my shelf. I have it part of my collection for no other reason because of what it is at face value, a novelty and not part of Morning Musume's canon. But as I was re-alphabetizing my CDs ,or re-kanjiitizing them if you will, (shut-up, I was bored and feeling a little squirrelly) I decided to finally have a listen to it, and what I heard made me smile with heartfelt glee for the under-appreciated treasure that it actually is.

The CD was released in 2002 and contains Hawaiian musical interpretations of select Morning Musume's singles up to Mr. Moonlight. The various H!P members contributing their vocal abilities are Morning Musume, Ayaka Kimura and Mika Todd the only two remaning members of Coconuts Musume, Miki Fujimoto at the time still an H!P solo artist, Rika Ishii former Princess Princess member and at the time another H!P solo artist, and Boo Takagi a Japanese Hawaiian who also sang and did most of the musical arrangement of the original songs to fit the Hawaiian musical style (slide guitars and ukeleles).

For the most part all of the songs retain the original single's melodies and cadence. But what was surprising to me is how some of the songs have actually been made better in the Hawaiian versions. On the other hand, some of the songs just didn't lend themselves well to a Hawaiian interpretation, and some are just not even fit to have been attempted let alone recorded. Here's my ranking of the songs on the CD from worst to best.

#12 - Actual Track 11 - Furusato - This song will forever be identified with Natsumi Abe, and also definitely marks the musical departure of Morning Musume from ingenues singing adult-themed songs, to when they crossed the line into cheerful bubblegum with their follow-up single, Love Machine. But this interpretation, sung mostly by Boo Takagi with all of the girls merely singing unharmonized backup is, to put it politely....shit! It's hard to listen to this song sung by anyone else other than Natsumi Abe, but it is absolutely excruciating to listen to an old man sing this song which is about a young girl living in Tokyo and having an unrequited love and crying out for mother's guidance. Worst attempt at auditory homocide EVER!!!

#11 - Actual Track 12 - Morning Musume Hawaiian Medley - This track seems to have been an afterthought, made for and sounding as nothing but for the simple reason to pad the length of the CD from an EP to LP. Each of the tracks in this medley do not flow very well into each other because of the awkward changes in tone between songs that the mixers and sound engineers don't bother to attempt to vari-speed so they went with ukelele riffs to segue between songs. Made up mostly of tracks from the album, the only noticeable thing about this track is that it includes a short clip of Souda! We're Alive, a track that didn't actually make it in the final CD other than in this medley.

#10 - Actual Track 5 - The PEACE! - The call and response of this song's opening doesn't translate very well into a Hawaiian version and the syncopation and happiness of the original is lost in this rather bland and unenergetic re-working set to a plodding and uninspired 2/4 time.

#9 - Actual Track 2 - Renai Revolution 21 - Just like The PEACE! this songs loses a lot of what it made it such a good single with its translation to a Hawaiian arrangement. Just as bland and lacking in energy as The PEACE! but only slightly better.

#8 - Actual Track 8 - Summer Night Town - Sung only by the remaining 1st and 2nd Generation Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, and Mari Yaguchi, the slide guitar in this Hawaiian version is hauntingly beautiful, but unfortunately the vocals are a bit lacking and the quick phrasing of the verses don't really work in comparison to the quietness of the track as a whole.

#7 - Actual Track 3 - Love Machine - With vocals from Morning Musume generations 1 through 4 only, unfortunately most of the vocals for the verses are sung by Boo Takagi, save for the middle eight and the chorus which the girls do a good job with. But this isn't really a Hawaiian version, this is still very much a disco song, but played with Hawaiian instruments, and therefore an uninspired cop out.

#6 - Actual Track 7 - I Wish - The dividing line for me between the bad songs on this CD versus the good ones. Vocals by Kei Yasuda, Maki Goto, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, and Ai Kago only. This one is unremarkable, but it isn't bad per se. Boo Takagi singing a number of the important lines about receiving silly emails or being scared about talking to someone else and such are not fitting for the song, however. This one should have been left only for the girls to sing.

#5 - Actual Track 6 - Koi no Dance Site - I never liked the original song as I thought it was an undeserving follow-up to the million-selling, reputation-making single that was Love Machine. However, the Hawaiian version is a noticeable improvement that ups the fun factor and cleans up the somewhat messy vocals of the original single. The inclusion of Boo Takagi in this one is actually welcome as it creates the much needed vocal counterpoint to the girls that sounds like fatherly advice on the joy and wonder of falling in love.

#4 - Actual Track 9 - Morning Coffee - The single that officially started all, and thank the stars for it. Vocals by Kaori Iida and Natsumi Abe with only quiet harmony and counterpoint by Boo Takagi. This one is vocally clean by the two girls and absolutely sweet sounding as though not exactly a love song between a girl and an unseen boy, but a sweet declaration of love and friendship between IIda and Abe.

#3 - Actual Track 10 - Mr. Moonlight - This is a much quieter version in comparison to the original single, but it still manages to keep its energy and fun. Vocals by Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ayaka Kimura, Mika Todd, Miki Fujimoto, and Rika Ishii. Listening to the note perfect delivery of every line by each of the girls is to find a new appreciation to their vocal abilities, usually buried by a lot of production. Boo Takagi's inclusion for the male speaking role delivered by Hitomi Yoshizawa in the original single takes nothing away from this very enjoyable track.

#2 - Actual Track 4 - Manatsu no Kousen - With vocals provided by Ayaka Kimura, Mika Todd, Miki Fujimoto, and Rika Ishii, this track is absolute perfection in terms of its Hawaiian arrangement and the producers wisely chose to keep Boo Takagi out of this one. ALL of the girls are note perfect, their harmonies are spot on, and the musical accompaniment with the slide guitars and ukelele strums make one imagine the 4 of them dressed in grass skirts and performing a slow and hip-tastic hula.

#1 - Actual Track 1 - Happy Summer Wedding - A great choice in making this the opening track of the CD. Sung only by Morning Musume with Boo Takagi only providing background vocal sound effects and harmonies. Retains all of the energy, fun, and charm while replacing the sitars of the original with Hawaiian slide guitars and ukulele. Yuuko Nakazawa's spoken lines are now uttered by Kaori Iida and still as cute. From the opening "Aloha!" and that awesome slide guitar riff and all the way to the final "Hai hai!" this track is sheer happiness and delivers everything that Morning Musume and H!P wanted to accomplish with this CD.

If you have this CD sitting around, gathering dust and unlistened to, do yourself a favour and play it. You may experience the same joy I did.

My favourite girl NOT selected for Morning Musume.

Before I begin, I want to give a shout out to International Wota, a meta blog site that was the inspiration for me creating my personal blog, in order to contribute to their site. Thanks!

One thing that is absolutely great about our modern culture and the proliferation of the internet is that it allows people to share things in near-lightning speed. Well really, it depends on your ISPs bandwidth allotment, but you get my drift. Having been only recently enlightened to the existence of Morning Musume and Hello! Project (since late 2003, just when the 6th generation was getting into the groove, and also just before Aya Matsuura began her decent into H!P mediocrity) I was a newcomer to the cycle of graduations from and auditions into the group. But getting back to the original point I was making, the proliferation of the internet has allowed people from all parts of the world to learn about each other's cultures, and I will always be grateful to those people in Japan who have recorded every television appearance of Morning Musume on Japanese television and shared it with...the world.

Think about it for a second. Not just Morning Musume and H!P have benefitted from this, really everyone in the world has, but just to focus on Morning Musume and H!P it is amazing to think of the fanbase these groups have OUTSIDE of Japan. To put this into comparison, in the 80s, in the height of her JPop Idol power and glory, hardly anybody had heard of Seiko Matsuda outside of Japan and parts of Asia. Her attempts to break into the North American market were met with relative nothingness and obsurity, even after recording a duet with Donny Wahlberg, who at the time was part of the biggest boyband in North America at the time, New Kids On The Block.

Without today's technology I think I still would have become a fan of Morning Musume and H!P. But because of the technology I am able to absorb as much information and minutiae as I can, one of which is watching the birth of Morning Musume in 1997 on Asayan.

Perhaps I am more than a little skeptical than others of the audition process for Morning Musume. I'm of the belief that Tsunku and UFA know well in advance of the final selection who they will be selecting for the group. All those cross cuts and anxious waiting is all just showmanship. To me, the selection committee looks for archetypes to fill certain roles in the group rather than on any merits such as singing or dancing ability, and for the most part, each girl has fulfilled her role. And for the most part, I can't dispute any of Tsunku's and UFA's decision. The one exception perhaps was Hitomi Yoshizawa who was intended to fill the "intelligent beauty" role, a role she played for her first year of membership until it was decided that a tomboy persona was more fitting for her.

But in 1997, this was all new territory. I still believe that Tsunku knew who he wanted to be in Morning Musume before the final auditons: Yuko Nakazawa to be the strong older leader, Kaori Iida to be the glamour girl, Aya Ishiguro to be the outspoken one, Natsumi Abe to be the promising ingenue, and Asuka Fukuda to be the little sister and to give the group a far-reaching and younger fanbase. The other girls not selected just couldn't fit any other roles. But one of those initial finalists should have been chosen, in my opinion, to fulfill a role, that one was Yumie Matsumoto.

Now, looking at the original 5 girls chosen to be in Morning Musume it is difficult to see her being part of that group. In fact, its hard to see any of the "rejects" being part of the group after the winner is chosen and begins to fill her role. But there was something about Yumie Matsumoto that makes me feel as though she should have been chosen. She was cute but not overly cute and her singing and dancing were above par. Even Okamura called her "charming" and knowing my feelings (or lack thereof) for Charmy Ishikawa, Yumie Matsumoto was genuinely charming. In hindsight, not including her in Morning Musume was a missed opportunity, especially in light of Asuka Fukuda's quick departure from the group.

So, Yumie Matsumoto, wherever you are, to me you should have been in Morning Musume.

My views on the great debate: Berryz Koubou vs. C-ute

It's impossible to be a fan of H!P without getting caught up in the debate as to which group is better, Berryz Koubou or C-ute. Because both groups sprung forth from the communal well that was the Hello! Project Kids, direct comparisons abound, and damn you if you don't pick a side. So I'm going to let it all out and tell you that between the two I believe that C-ute is the superiour of the two, and by a wide margin.

The true purpose of creating the Hello! Project Kids in 2002 (yes, even before the Morning Musume 6th Gen joined in 2003, which seems kind of weird when you think about it) may never be known beyond Tsunku and the unholy star chamber that is Up Front Agency, but it proved to be an amazing idea that worked. At first the 15 girls were used to fill the casts of the Mini Moni movie, and Koinu Dan no Monogatari, (of which sprang the album track Ganbachae! for MM's 5th studio album) and then they became backup dancers to W and the H!P solo artists. Then came ZYX! and Aa! and eventually, in 2004, Berry Koubou.

Much lore has already been made about the original concept of Berryz Koubou, which was to be a rotating line-up of the H!P Kids for each successive single. That plan was eventually dropped, and wisely too for it is almost impossible to form a group and an identity for that group if the members change for each song....Morning Musume notwithstanding because MM is unique in it's regenerative abilities.

For 2 years Berryz Koubou flourished, rather unremarkably when considering single and album sales, but they did manage to forge their identity and cut out a piece for themselves in the JPop universe, but especially in the kingdom of H!P with it's legions of fans. But what about the other remaining H!P kids that didn't become part of Berryz Koubou? Well, they hung around during the entire time, still being referred to as the H!P Kids.

And then in 2006 the remaining H!P Kids were assembled under the banner of C-ute, but they were still being treated as the unworthy step sisters to Berryz Koubou as C-ute's first four single releases were never released to mass market, but only available in limited release. But if one takes a listen to those four independent releases by C-ute, they blow the living shit off of many other singles released by H!P to the mass market.

In 2007 when C-ute's first mass released single, Sakura Chirari, was released, I had grave feelings that the group had taken a step back. They had to deal with the unfortunate loss of Megumi Murakami who was no doubt the equal to Airi Suzuki in terms of vocal ability and flat out charm in the group. Compared to the four independent releases, Sukari Chirari was a vocal and musical letdown, not to mention a visual letdown as the dance and PV discplayed none of the previous high energy of the independent releases. But the fans disagreed and Sakura Chirari went on to sell more than any of Berryz Koubou's singles. I still don't like Sakura Chirari, but who can argue with sales figures?

Since then, all of C-ute's singles have gone to higher and higher sales, with their 3rd single selling close to the territory held by the lowest sales of a Morning Musume single which, despite the direct comparison to MM, is still relatively lofty when considering Japanese music sales as a whole.

So then, why the ascendency of C-ute compared to Berryz? It can be argued that Tsunku and UFA have temporarily focused all of their energy to advancing C-ute, giving them the better song selection and investing more in their promotional campaigns. This could very well be, but it's hard to argue the fact that C-ute as a group has done a spectacular job with keeping up on the demands made on them, much like the demands made on Berryz Koubou when they first debuted.

That Berryz Koubou has been relegated to the H!P mediocrity bin for the time being is somewhat hard to ignore. In spite of their sell-out concerts at Saitama Super Arena, it seems Berryz Koubou has found it difficult to keep up the energy of their previous 3 years together. To sell out SSA was quite an accomplishment, but it also has all the markings of a group that has "jumped the shark." Their singles since have been musically limp (despite higher sales than their previous releases, save Special Generation) and so have their live performances. The SSA concert to me lacked any energy from Berryz Koubou, as though they were just going through the motions, not being able to feed off the adoration of their audience.

C-ute, on the other hand, with less of a reportoire to feed off of, gets to cherry pick which songs from the H!P back catalogue they can perform, and thus can fill it with their own interpretation and fill it with as much energy that they can muster. One has only to look at the perspiration of Maimi Yajima during every concert to realize just how much she is giving it, and thus is being transferred to her group mates, and thus is refleced to the audience, and then again back to the group.

Then there are the intangible qualities that each group possesses. It's hard to argue that Berryz Koubou as a group is a tight and cohesive ensemble, perhaps moreso than Morning Musume with its generational cliques. Whereas Berryz Koubou can be seen as one group with each memeber contributing something to the whole, C-ute has been likened to being comprised of five children under the care of Maimi Yajima and Erika Umeda. This is somewhat true, but as the younger members of C-ute grow up (and get a little taller) there's little doubt that image will disappear. Saki Nakajima, Kanna Arihara, and Chisato Okai are already showing more of the precociousness of early teenage-girlhood, and Mai Hagiwara is forging an identity as being one of the groups powerhouse performers. Airi Suzuki is one the younger members of the group yet because of her vocal prowess it's somewhat difficult to see her as a child.

In a contest of vocal abilities it's hard not to give the edge to C-ute. When Megumi Murakami was still in the group, she and Airi Suzuki along with Maimi Yajima to a somewhat lesser extent, were a formidable JPop combo. With Murakami's departure the vocal requirements have been distributed to Erika Umeda. Berryz Koubou was, at most, adequate to the task. Each of the four "preferred singers", Risako Sugaya, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, and Yurina Kumai are not possessing of any great musical or vocal ability.

Unless Berryz Koubou comes out with a single that comes close to the promise of Special Generation, then they will continue to be relegated to mid-volume sellers with a loyal fanbase. C-ute, meanwhile, is again due for yet another spectacular single which will not be dependent on an ensconsed fanbase, but to one with a much larger reach, and therefore higher sales beyond the traditional purchasers of H!P singles.

No post comparing Berryz Koubou to C-ute can be complete without an inevitable ranking of the individual members of each group. Because I prefer C-ute to Berryz Koubou, I will rank the Berryz members first, but in no way am I saying that overall I think the C-ute members rank higher than the Barryz members. I just don't have the patience to all fourteen by preference without first placing them in their respective groups. It's just easier this way.

Berryz Koubou

Berryz Koubou #7: Risako Sugaya - She was an adorable kid, but as she's grown up and gone through a rather awkward pre-teen to mid-teen phase, she's lost a whole lot of the adorableness she had. And yet she's been given two PBs, which to me makes no sense. I've already stated above that I find her vocally unremarkable, and her live performances lack any energy.



Berryz Koubou #6: Momoko Tsugunaga - What she lacks in vocal ability (that voice of her's is annoying as hell) she makes up for in performance energy. I don't find her charming, but rather fascinating. She's got some muscles on her for someone so small.



Berryz Koubou #5: Maasa Soudou - She deserves more than being relegated to the back of many of Berryz Koubou's PVs and chroeographed routines. Her contributions to fanclub shows and her natural sense of humour deserve to be put in a bigger spotlight. She looks absolutely fantastic in the Jiriri Kiteru PV and live performances.



Berry Koubou #4: Miyabi Natsuyaki - I find her voice to be very nasal, but nonetheless she gets many lines. She has more personality than Momoko and Risako combined so she has that going for her.



Berryz Koubou #3: Captain Saki Shimizu - Despite her size, she truly leads Berryz Koubou. Her live performances are the most energetic of any of the girls and she is undoubtedly the most accompished dancer of the group.



Berryz Koubou #2: Yurina Kumai - Though she's grown freakishly tall in relation to the other members of the group, it suits her, and more importantly it suite Berryz Koubou. Although she possesses what plagues the rest of Berryz Koubou, a weak singing voice and a lack of energy in live performances, she does have a noticeable charm and budding sexuality that is more genuine than anything displayed by Risako Sugaya.



Berryz Koubou #1: Chinami Tokunaga - She doesn't sing very well, and at times her voice is as grating as Momoko's and Miyabi's, but she has a winning smile and attitude that can't be ignored and is contagious, in a good way. If only Risako would observe Chinami and learn to catch her energy, the group would be stronger for it. Energetically right at the top with Captain Saki Shimizu. She was near the bottom of my list when she had long hair, but when she cut it short for the Special Generation PV, the change was for the better and helped her stand out.

C-ute

C-ute #7: Kanna Arihara - I've penalized her a bit because she came over to C-ute as an H!P Egg, and therefore hasn't paid the same dues as the other girls. But she is funny, and I don't find her "uncute" and just like the rest of the girls she does give it all in her performances.



C-ute #6: - Erika Umeda - She's a bit bland for my tastes, and her face is not what I would deem to be cute in the traditional sense. She's been given many of the lines that were originally sung by Megumi Murakami, which doesn't really highlight how much of a good singer Erika is, instead it shows how great a loss Murakami's departure was to the group.



C-ute #5 - Mai Hagiwara - Perhaps it was the sunglasses phase, or perhaps because out of all the Hello! Project Kids, her selection was mostly because of cute she was, and not really because she would develop into an idol, that I still don't find her all that interesting. Her inclusion in C-ute will give the group the appearance as a not musically-serious effort, but as she grows up and continues with her energetic performances and sense of humour, that moniker will disappear. She's already growing out of childish image in Tokaikko Junjou.



C-ute #4 - Chisato Okai - This girl is underappreciated. She knows how to bring the funny, and more importantly, she knows WHEN to bring it. Full of genki wonder and surprise and with a terrific stage presence. Unfortunately, her dark skin and tomboyish looks keep her from being showcased more, but when she is camera range, you can't help but be drawn to her.



C-ute #3 - Saki Nakajima - She's growing up to be a cutie, moreso than she was when she was a Kid! She can dance and she has energy, but is still a little timid. As the group grows up, it will be hard not to notice her even more.



C-ute #2 - Airi Suzuki - Cute beyond words (despite that chin, and those god awful teeth) and with vocal abilities greater than many in the whole of the Hello! Project, only better things will come from her.



Cute #1 - Maimi Yajima - Not the best vocally, especially in comparison to Airi Suzuki and Megumi Murakami, but she does lend a special range and tone in songs that the other girls just don't have. She doesn't appear to be as much of a hands-on leader in comparison to the leaders of other H!P groups, but then again she doesn't really have to be as the girls in her charge are more or less already veterans of the idol world. A fantastic dancer who's perspiration filled performances display the full energy she gives. Appears to be completely sweet in natural settings, but is given "bitchy" acting roles mainly because of her drop-dead gorgeous looks and patrician demeanour. Of all the former Hello! Project Kids who have grown up and become members of Berry Koubou or C-ute, she was the only one truly deserving of a Photobook. A duet with Natsumi Abe in 2008 shows the faith that Tsunku and UFA have in her to be able to pull-off such a feat.



So there it is. Agree or disagree?

My least favourite H!P member

Everybody has a favourite in Morning Musume and H!P. Some people have more than one favourite and switch allegiances when the mood hits them. And everybody has a least favourite.

My least favourite member of H!P is former Morning Musume member Rika Ishikawa.

Some people who have just read that may be screaming "SACRILEGE!", but please allow me to explain why.

She just straight out bugs me!

There is something about her that strikes me as disingenuous, and airy (as in having airs, not, as some would presume, for being air-headed). No, for I believe Rika Ishikawa is the opposite of Charmy. Nay, if only she would have heeded the words of Risa Niigaki in the Hello! Morning World Children's Games with Akira (super-brute female wrestler) and, I'm paraphrasing here: "Charmy, go home!" And may I add, "Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out!"

I actually like this picture, it's too bad SHE'S in it.

Some people will argue that Rika brought a certain something to Morning Musume, an innocent sexiness enhanced by a tiny voice and possessing a confident persona. I'm sorry, but I just never saw it. To me, ever vocal utterance of hers was grating, and yet she was given the centre position and many spoken passages of many MM singles: The Peace!, As For One Day! (she sung her part, but it was almost monotone that it can be considered spoken), and Shabondama! Yet I happen to like those singles, despite her presence in them and the fact that no one else in the group could pull off those parts as well as she does. And yet still, despite all that, I still can't stand her.

Someone in UFA decided that we needed more Rika in practically everything H!P. She was loaned out to Country Musume, she was part of Tanpopo, Romans, Ecomoni, she became host of Hello! Morning, and Viyuden was created around her. But...why? Why was she so damned fucking popular?

She was also made a part of DEF.DIVA! DEF.FUCKING!DIVA!

One of these girls is NOT like the others. One of these girls just DOESN'T belong. Rika...I'm looking in your direction!

Suki Sugite Baka Mitai is one of my favourite H!P songs of all time. And DEF.DIVA is one of my favourite H!P groups, excuse me, super-groups, of all time. And yet it contains Rika. Putting someone else from H!P into that line-up just wouldn't have been right. Can you imagine Hitomi Yoshizawa or Miki Fujimoto as part of that line-up and singing the lyrics of that fantastic song? I can't. But it still doesn't make me like or appreciate Rika in anyway.

Vocally she's always been one of the weakest singers in H!P, a point I don't think many will argue, and yet she's been put into the most number of H!P units than any other member. The line-up of Rika, Asami Konno, and Sayumi Michishige getting the main singing parts for Namida Toumaranai Houkago was ear-splitting beyond words, especially when matched against the tonally perfect voice of Mike Fujimoto in that single. If it weren't for the great PV for that song with the girls in traditional Japanese archery kimono, it would be a forgotten MM single, as the low sales of the single can attest to.

But still, UFA keeps pushing her on us. Putting her in Sukeban Deka as Aya Matsuura's character's nemesis was brilliant because somehow I feel that Rika's bitchy character in that movie is what the REAL Rika Ishikawa is like. For that, take a look at her interaction (or lack thereof) with the 6th Gen girls in the Mechaike Okajo Special after each event, especially the high jump when Eri Kamei clears the bar. Cold! Then take a look at the Hello! Project 2003 Sports Festival (the famous Cavalry battle) and the 2006 Sports Festival when she wins the first 100m sprint heat. To me, those two instances there are the epitome of bitchy Rika.

Now, I like Viyuden, not for their songs mind you, and definitely not because of Rika, but because of Erika Miyoshi and Yui Okada. God only knows what they have to tolerate with Rika as their leader, but Viyuden should have no business showing up in a Morning Musume DVD Magazine as when they make an appearance in DVD Magazine Vol. 13. Without Hello! Morning Viyuden doesn't have much TV exposure, so please UFA, stop pushing Viyuden on us in everything else related to H!P.

And what's with the name "Charmy" anyway. From what I recall, she gave that name to herself, which, y'know, you just can't do.

How I discovered Morning Musume

Welcome to the very first post of my blog!

I know that giving it the title of "H!Phanatic" may predispose me to write exclusively about Morning Musume and Hello! Project, but that's not going to be the case. I intend to write about any and all things, but since my interests at the moment centre around H!P, you'll get a fair amount of posts related to the subject of the title of my blog.

So, without further ado, let's get at it.

I've been into JPop ever since I dated a Japanese girl about 4 years ago. In order to impress her, I did what I could to learn everything I could about contemporary Japanese society. I figured learning about samurai and all that stuff would just be what a "japanophile" would do. I wasn't a japanophile, but I really liked this girl. And one thing that kept coming up in my internet research was JPop.

So I started with borrowing her CDs; she had a lot of Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada, which were good. But she also leant me one CD that I enjoyed more than all of the others and played over and over again: Morning Musume 4th Ikimasshoi!

Now, believe me when I tell you that there is nothing in this world that would have given you any clue whatsoever that I would like this sort of music. I mean I was always into electronic music. Not that fake dancey over-the-top eurobeat stuff, I'm talking fuckin' hardcore Detroit Techno with DJs such as Jeff Mills, Richie Hawtin, Derrick May, Carl Craig among my favourite. A subset of the Detroit Techno sound was the music being played by Japanese Techno DJs such as Fumie Tanaka. My all time favourite CD to this day is Jeff Mills Live at the Liquid Room in Tokyo. But I digress, I'm just illustrating that there is nothing in my history of musical appreciation that would give the impression that I would like this Morning Musume CD as much as I did.

The CD that started it all for me!

Perhaps it was the flat out, in your face, cutesy and catchy bubblegum, or whatever Japanese metaphorical equivalent to bubblegum is, that made me like it so much. Perhaps it was the picture of the girls, the cutie-pie faced girls on the CD cover and liner-notes. Perhaps it was the hyper-happy, hook-filled, energetic song tracks. I don't know. I still don't know. All I know is that I liked it. I still do.

That girl and I lasted together for about 8 months. It seems like such a long time ago, but I forever owe her a debt of gratitude for introducing me to Morning Musume and their music.