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Yeah, I've run out of steam doing Ichigo ichie for now so I won't be posting weekly summaries. Sorry. HOWEVER I am not quitting blogging completely as I may have Aichan or MM-related stuff to write about from time to time.
P.S. If you want something to blame, blame Little Big Planet as most of my time goes to it :P
P.S.S. An unnamed member of Berryz will be a guest on her show next week.
By: The Incredible He-Hulk
With the goal of posting more often in mind, I’ve decided to steal an idea from my sports writer buddies and begin doing a semi-regular post of my initial gut reactions to pieces of recent H!P news. Please keep in mind that I will always write down the very first thing I think of when I am made aware of these topics, so blunt and slightly crass will likely be the order of the day…
• Umeda Erika retired from H!P October 25th.
No graduation. No surprise. Did anyone think H!P would do an actual graduation concert in a 1500 seat dance hall in Osaka with zero promotion? Girls who played by the rules always got graduations before, now there will always be speculation, rumor and innuendo as to why Erika didn’t get one.
To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, "All tyrannical management needs to gain a foothold is for wota of good conscience to remain silent." Why don’t we ever stand up to them when they pull b*llshit like this? Why don’t we ever demand to know?
• Morning Musume’s 41st single, Kimagure Princess, rolls out this week and next.
The backing track returns to the cliche "ethnic" feel of golden era Momuso hits, but it’s a been there done that song that isn’t here and doesn’t do that. It would have been immensely improved by the girls whispering “TOP SHHHHECRET” every 10 seconds, or so. If you don’t get that reference then you’re a terrible fan. *wink*
• Inaba Atsuko announced her departure from Up-Front October 30th.
A girl whose work behind the scenes was always more important to H!P’s success than what she did in front of the camera, she will be missed by approximately 10 people. Those 10 people are individuals of sound mine and discerning tastes, however.
If she had chosen to leave 5 of 6 years ago she would have at least gotten acknowledged with a bouquet of flowers and a final solo song at a H!P Winter concert.
• Sale of a new Fujimoto Miki Photobook (Jibunkon) centering on her wedding has been announced. It will be released in November.
Why? Because coveting another man’s wife is awesome! It’s sin-a-licious. Now that I know this is coming, I’ve already begun saving up for her eventual pregnancy photobook. Why? Because the only thing sexier than photos of Miki’s wedding will be photos of her Caesarean section…
• Upcoming dual-side single (Like my future husband / Meteor Boy) release for Berryz Koubou marks second time this year they have released two singles over a two week period.
Is Berryz Koubou just not busy enough, or something? And could there possibly be a worse song topic for teenage idols than their future husbands? We fans tend to think no one is good enough for our idols, but the truth is most of our idols will end up with Manzai comedians, people who dress up as superheroes on childen's TV, or Ishimoto Yasuyuki.
• It was recently announced that Sudou Maasa has obtained the starring role in the movie adaptation of the Japanese light novel “Light Novel no Tanoshii Kakikata.”
Probably quite good for her career. Very few H!P girls have ever had the starring role in a television series or movie, and it’s usually only the agencies top girls that get these opportunities. But I’m not going to be able to bring myself to watch this. Every piece of fiction H!P girls are in is always so freaking terrible. Do you remember “Last Present”? If there was ever a movie that made H!P fans feel "not so fresh" that was it.
There are at least a few ICU members who will demand we subtitle this Maasa movie, though…
Sigh… Extra Mild Vinegar or Extra Cleansing Farm-Fresh Flowers? I have a feeling we’ll all need farm-fresh flowers after this one.
More qu!ck h!ts next week.
By: The Incredible He-Hulk
Apologies to any who have been anticipating the third part to this series. While I had the frame of all three articles written before posting the first, circumstances led to an inability to flesh it out until now. The time I can dedicate to my H!P hobby is mostly used up by managing our sub group. That is simply the reality of things. Now, on to part three...
Part 3: Judgments in Decision Making
The theories have been discussed. The facts have been considered. Now, what direction will management take? How will they handle these graduations? And, more importantly, how should they be handled?
Should C-ute add a new member?
No, they shouldn’t.
Will they add a new member?
No, they won’t. There’s too much risk and too little reward.
I will always personally believe that Kanna was added to C-ute in order to balance the unit out with Berryz Koubou before C-ute’s first single debuted—Eight girls apiece to ensure symmetry between the groups. Sadly, the decision to add Kanna to C-ute was made before management knew Maiha wanted to leave Berryz. And since Kanna had already been training for months to be prepared to join C-ute, management really had no choice but to continue with the plan, despite the fact that it would mean C-ute would have one more member than Berryz.
This assumption, when considered with the fact that UFA has never added another girl to the H!P Kids, or later to either Berryz or C-ute, indicates managements reservation in shaking these groups up.
And sadly, when it comes to Erika, there is the simple the fact that she has never really been central to the group’s success. She will be greatly missed, but nothing really changes with her departure. One could argue that the removal of someone like Airi would force H!P to either replace her with an idol capable of diminishing the loss of such a important member or simply sack the group altogether. The loss of a back row girl like Erika allows them to simply continue on as if nothing has happened. H!P has a very good idea of how popular each girl is. Erika’s leaving is a sad event for most, but not a deal breaker for 95% of C-ute’s wota.
These points make a strong case for H!P’s reservation to mess with the “idol gang” chemistry of these groups, but there is an additional factor at work beyond H!P simply adhering to this rule. It is a belief that while Morning Musume may be eternal, all of H!P’s other groups are transient and fleeting. Such has always been the case with H!P’s other acts. Country Musume, Coconuts Musume, T&C Bomber, etc. All of these served H!P to varying degrees of success, but beyond a few changes to the lineups during the first year, or so, none of these groups were artificially boosted by new talent regardless of what talent left the groups. Once they had outlived their usefulness they were all left to rot. In business terms, Momuso would be referred to as H!P’s “core product.” They are central to the survival of their entire company and make the money that sustains the business. The H!P Kids groups cannot be considered core products, at best they are very profitable side-projects. The distinction not only lies in sales, but in the fact that Morning Musume holds a position in Japanese popular culture that H!P’s other groups simply do not and will not possess. Momuso fuels H!P’s other acts. This was truer in years past than today, but it is still fundamental.
Now, C-ute and Berryz are both popular enough that they probably won’t ever just go the way of H!P’s neglected groups, but I can imagine with little difficulty an eventual end similar to that of Mini Moni. Over time, enough girls will leave each group that management will simply dissolve them rather then let them continue on so short handed. As for the fate of any H!P Kids that remain after this dissolution, that topic is one best reserved for other discussions…
Will Morning Musume add a new member?
Yes, they certainly will.
Should they add a new member?
There is no other choice.
All the reasons why C-ute won’t replace Erika apply to Morning Musume’s situation, only in reverse. As mentioned, they are the flagship group. They must always exist for H!P to have any chance of remaining a successful idol house. They are the rock on which Tsunku has built his idol church.
They also have never had group stability, so the entirety of the fans have never really thought of a particular lineup as the only lineup that is truly Morning Musume. Because the expectation of lineup changes has always existed, it’s much easier to perpetrate this act upon the fanbase.
Additionally, it is my belief that Tsunku is constantly chasing Goto Maki (I may do a future article entirely on this point). Goto Maki’s arrival in the group marked the beginning of Momuso’s golden age of massive sales and mass-market fame. H!P has been trying to recapture that magic with a fresh new face that would push millions of CD’s ever since. Kusumi Koharu was supposed to be that girl—Tsunku said as much. It turned out she wasn’t, and Tsunku has jumped ship. But he will apparently try again.
As I said last time, this strategy seemingly flies in the face of new management’s decision to break this “too many cooks” cycle and try to make Momuso a group defined by strong, recognizable personalities. Since the pandas arrived, there have been no line-up changes of any kind. This is by far the longest period of group stability we have ever seen. Based on this fact, and the statements of their current manager, I believed we might see several more years with the same lineup. If anyone would have graduated, it would have been Ai, but only when she decided she was ready to leave.
Deciding to graduate Koharu (a 17 year old, still in the early stage of her idol prime) flies in the face of all of that. However, it is very much in keeping with the willy-nilly, gut decisions Tsunku has made for years concerning the group. Tsunku was always the man behind the decision to graduate old members and bring in new girls. Is a power struggle happening behind the scenes between a management that now wants group stability and a producer whose whim has for so long prevented it? Do they each have different goals for the group? I won’t pretend to know. But I do know that Koharu’s graduation does show us that, despite any talk to the contrary, very little will actually change in how Momuso is run. It certainly puts the fear of God back into the wota. At any moment your favorite Momuso member could just blink out of existence. Gather ye idols while ye may…
If graduations are making a comeback, then auditions cannot be far behind. If staple girls must be plucked form the group then new girls must take their places. It will happen, and I cannot imagine us going any longer than another calendar year from Koharu’s graduation date before we get a new member, or two, or three.
**** Please read my comments before downloading. This is a very unique release and requires specific instructions on how to watch it in order for it to be enjoyed to it’s fullest. ****
What do we want from our idols? For them to make us smile? Sure. For them to make us forget our troubles? Absolutely. But somewhere between the realistic and the foolish there are things we want much more. Things we don’t readily admit to. We want them to be honest. We want them to be authentic. Selfishly, we want to see joy in their eyes and on their faces, and for once know that it was put their by us. And, most importantly of all, we want to be told by them, that we, the fans, matter—not just to the business, but to the idols themselves.
Berryz Koubou First Fan Club Tour in Hawaii is a very special video. In it, the Berryz are filled with a remarkable amount of love—for each other, for being idols, and for their fans. Whether it’s how they always feel and just aren’t ever quite confident enough to express it, or there was just something in the tropical air that weekend, during this two day trip with their most hardcore fans the Berryz Koubou are nearly blissful.
Every event during the trip was planned by the girls themselves, so everything you’ll see here is a “thank you” of sorts. They play embarrassing games, play games with the fans, make fun of each other, perform a concert of classics, they even rank themselves. And then there are the letters…
You see, for this event each member wrote a letter. It’s a letter addressed to the other members and to the fans, and it represents our idol’s true feelings. If you’ve watched this video raw, you’ve seen that H!P, in their infinite wisdom, told you that girls wrote these letters, showed video of the girls reading them, but decided not to allow fans who weren’t in attendance that day to hear what the girl’s actually said and did not include the recitations of the letters in the video.
But once a secret is known by more than one person, it will never stay hidden. In attendance that day was an ICU-Spy. With pen and paper in hand, he recorded everything each girl wrote in her letter, word for word. ICU-Subs has taken these letters, translated them, and put them into finely crafted, mock-hand written letters from the girls, and made these letters a part of this release.
Yes, that’s right, our English translation includes things the original DVD does not, and is actually a more complete experience than the original DVD release that the Japanese Fanclub got. I believe this to be a first for any fansub of anything, ever. (Don’t hold me to that.)
I won’t spoil anything that’s in the letters—except to say, bring tissues—but to maximize your enjoyment of this release, I ask you not to read the letters until you are instructed to do so by the video. Just watch the video as normal and when the time is right an Editor’s Note will pop up and tell you to go read the letters. Read them, cry, and then return to the video and hit play. Trust me when I say that the letters are more impactful when read in the moment.
Additionally, I want to reiterate that these letters ARE authentic. Everything that is in them was written down by a fan in attendance. Nothing has been added to them and nothing has been altered. Only what the girls said when reading their letters is found in our letters, and they are accurate transcripts of what the girl’s told the fans that day.
I consider this to be our most accomplished, thorough, and complete release, and I am very proud of it. We spent lots of time on the aesthetic of the video and the letters to make them look and feel just right—to be something special. And, we spent lots of time crafting the translation of the video and letters to convey not just the brute language, but the essence of the girl’s personalities and the emotion in their words. Because of all that hard work and the results of it, this release is a very special one and makes it my favorite ICU-Subs release so far. I hope you will find this to be so, as well.
click here to grab the release.
This release is the sister release of our Berryz Alo-Hello. These two releases combine to form a complete set of the girls experiences in Hawaii. You can find the Alo-Hello on the tracker, as well.
A translated teaser for all the C-ute fans anticipating this release. After seeing this, I know I’m excited!
Anyhow, this preview also serves as notice that ICU-Subs are going to subtitle this C-ute Alo-Hello. The H!P Kids are, after all, ICU-Subs’ domaine d'expertise. We will begin working on it when it hits. We learned a lot of valuable lessons doing our release of the Berryz Alo-Hello, so releasing something of the same valeur should only take a few weeks this time.
Look forward to it.
click here to grab the release.
By: Zabel
A summary of the most recent London Hearts continued. Apologies if any of my translations are off.
Misono doesn't cheat herself, but she has an unusual attitude about being cheated on. It's not the being cheated on that she dislikes, but when a man tries to hide it. She gives an example of a boyfriend who cheated on her and said nothing about it for 6 months when she knew all along. Fundamentally, she doesn't mind her man having another girlfriend. In her own words, she doesn't mind being "number two".
Misono's way of thinking is hard for the others to swallow, especially Tsuji and Suzanne. There aren't many women who are okay with being number two. "That's why when I write it in lyrics I don't get a response", she laments. "That's why my songs aren't selling." XD Sugita wonders, but isn't that cruel to the woman who is his number one? Misono's response? It's best when all three of us get along.
Here, Aota jumps in with one of a number of bizarre analogies she tries to make throughout the evening. Something about how you can't divide up a pizza while making a pizza delivery. Even the host is scratching his head. "This is your most confusing example yet!" Then Brittney starts talking about how Misono's is the PM system. Misono protests Brittney trying to make any comparisons with her.
But the big shocker comes when Michishige suddenly announces that she totally understand what Misono is saying and that she wants to be cheated on herself! You read that right. Sayumi says that she wants to be cheated on. She says she wants to feel sad being alone and imagining her guy being with another girl. Not quite the same thing Misono was saying though.
Sugimoto suggests that the two of them are cut out to be mistresses. They only see what they want to see and ignore the rest. Sugita adds that they love themselves the most. Atsushi: "So you like to picture yourself worrying that the man might be cheating?" Michishige: "Yes. I would be cute doing that."
Sayu doesn't speak again until her name comes up at #3. There's a lot of funniness in between which I'm gonna skip, but the ranking for Sugimoto is particularly amusing. She gets #4, so only negative reasons:
"She would say something clever like, 'Cheating is the spice by which one comes to know true love', while doing it." Which is in fact close to what she actually said! Except she used the word 'essence'.
"If the man were to start cheating she would reply with a big grin, 'So that's how it is.'"
Next comes Sayumi. Reasons:
"She would do it without malice saying, 'He likes me so it can't be helped.'" (translation might be bad)
"She would be fine with cheating herself but would never allow her boyfriend to cheat." They got it backwards, Sayu says.
"She would think it's natural for many men to be serving her."
That last one makes the host think of Kano Kyoko. And then:
Atsushi: So they think you'd find it natural to have men serving you?
Michishige: But I've been called cute all the time since I was little. Everyone around me has called me cute. It's really everyday stuff.
Atsushi: It's common.
Michishige: Yes, so I thought how nice it would be to some day find one of them who I love.
Sugita: While you go on thinking that, you'll stop being cute, and then after everyone distances themselves from you you'll feel betrayed.
(laughter)
Atsushi: What do you think of that idea? (directed at Michishige)
Michishige: It's twisted.
(laughter)
Sugita: I speak from experience.
(laughter)
Atsushi: From experience.
Sugita: It's not twisted.
Tsuji: But my opinion is that if she keeps being called cute, she'll become un-cute instead.
Atsushi: What do you mean?
Tsuji: Like, you're probably cutest when your love is unrequited. So you set that person as a goal and you become pretty instead, and you keep getting called cute, and then when you've become a princess you're not cute anymore.
Atsushi: Your senior is telling you that it's bad to just keep being told you're cute.
Michishige: But I am told.
(laughter)
Finally, the worst two are Hamada and Aota. Brittney keeps denying that she's a cheater. Aota doesn't even try lol. The host concludes by observing that London Hearts increasingly has people on who he can't understand.
By: Zabel
Sayu did say that her judgements are precise, but it occurred to me that her rankings of the other women really have been close to the mark. Perhaps if Sayu is ever called up to the front she could have a decent chance at winning the 1,000,000 yen =D It's just her rankings of herself that are the problem lol.
Okay, I decided to continue writing about Michishige's 3rd and Tsuji's 1st appearance on London Hearts.
Continuing with her rankings, Brittney places Misono at #5. Atsushi asks, but doesn't Misono have the image of being dedicated? Yes, Brittney says, it's the women who say they are dedicated who would be weak to the advances of men. Sugita points out that Brittney claimed earlier to be dedicated herself. "But I'm dedicated for real", answers Brittney. (ガチで一途なんですよ)
Misono defends herself saying that 1. She doesn't tell lies, 2. She has never once dated a man who pursued her; she does the pursuing herself, and 3. When she is dating a man she will live together with him, making cheating impossible. Brittney: "That IS impossible!" Atsushi: "Hey, you would cheat after all! You'd cheat for real." (ガチで浮気するんだよ) It's a pretty funny exchange in which Brittney appears as if to be taking advice on how to cheat on men (including from Sugita) while insisting that she never would.
Skipping ahead to Brittney's pick for #1 most likely to cheat...Michishige.
Hamada: When she gets told she is very cute, Michishige would happily cheat.
Michishige: But I've gotten used to hearing that I'm cute since I was little; it's everyday stuff. So that--
Atsushi: That's no big deal?
Michishige: That isn't enough to sway my heart.
Sugita: But cute girls like her--I was cute when I was young so I know--after they stop being cute they're in a hurry to cheat.
(laughter)
Michishige: Yuck.
Sugita: She may go around cheating to try to confirm for herself that she is still cute and that she has still 'got it'.
Sugimoto: That happens a lot, huh.
Atsushi: Ah, I see. Getting with men to confirm it.
Michishige: What a twisted way of thinking.
(laughter)
(Mo-musu bomb)
Atsushi: Yeah, you don't want to be like that.
Michishige: I don't want to be like that.
Atsushi: You would just keep getting cuter, right?
Michishige: Right, I've had confidence that I am cute, and recently that confidence has turned to conviction.
(laughter)
Atsushi: Wow, conviction?
Michishige: Yes, conviction.
Atsushi: What do you think, Tsuji?
Tsuji: Well she's always gone around calling herself cute, but after today I might have to apologize to everyone for her.
(laughter)
In the second half of the program the host gives the actual results of a survey taken by 100 men and reads some of the comments men wrote about the women. These were the results:
#10 Aoki Sayaka
#9 Tsuji Nozomi
#8 Misono
#7 Torii Miyuki
#6 Suzanne
#5 Sugita Kaoru
#4 Sugimoto Aya
#3 Michishige Sayumi
#2 Hamada Brittney
#1 Aota Noriko
Aoki gets #10 just as Sayumi predicted. What Sayu said about her being at level 0 in womanliness is still bothering her. "Am I even lower than Brittney?", she asks Sayumi.
Tsuji is ranked #9. Reasons:
"She is fixated on her husband so no one else could distract her."
"She wouldn't do anything to ruin how happy she seems to be."
"Having established a 'Mama Doll' image she couldn't cheat even if she wanted to."
Brittney tries to insist again that Tsuji would cheat in order to make her man jealous, using the word パコル again. Atsushi wants her to stop using that dirty word.
Misono gets #8. She is so elated that she throws her paper in the flowers. XD There's a lot that happens during Misono's turn so I'll cover it next time.
By: Zabel
As some of you may know, I'm a fan of Michishige Sayumi, and also a fan of the TV show London Hearts, so when the the one is a guest on the other I don't miss it. The last time Sayu appeared on Women Ranking Each Other I subbed it to English, but since I don't feel like doing so this time a blog post will do.
Tsuji Nozomi (who I've always been a fan of as well) was a guest for the first time this week. Tsuji says that she watched Sayu's previous appearances on the show and was surprised because Sayu isn't normally like that. She's not normally so poison-tongued because she doesn't want to be hated, Sayu explains. Then why be hated here? "Here is where I get back", she replies. (get back at the world for the stresses in her life). Non and Sayu both say that they didn't talk much when they were in Morning Musume together because they didn't get along well.
Do they get along well today? Sort of, although we never do find out where they ranked each other.
The theme is "Women likely to cheat on a man". Homeless comic artist, Hamada Brittney, is selected to give her rankings, and immediately reaches for the 1,000,000 yen. (if her rankings accurately predict how men rank the women, she wins the cash) She says she has confidence in her rankings because この面子ググってきたんです-- she's been researching everyone on Google (literally "I've been Googling these faces").
Brittney is funny because she is so unconvincing. She puts herself at #10 claiming that Gyaru don't cheat, it's the girls who look cute and pure who do, according to Brittney. No one believes her after that talk about PM's (playmates) from last time. The word パコル (screw; sleep with), another Brittney memo from last time, comes up several times today too. Well, asks Atsushi, what does the public think? If they try going out with me they'll know, answers Brittney. No way, replies Atsushi. Who wants to end up in Friday magazine with a picture of himself next to you? XD
Brittney's rankings:
10. Hamada Brittney
9. Sugita Kaoru
8. Sugimoto Aya
7. Aoki Sayaka
6. Tsuji Nozomi
5. Misono
4. Torii Miyuki
3. Aota Noriko
2. Suzanne
1. Michishige Sayumi
Some of the women's views on cheating are surprising to say the least. Sugimoto shocks and confuses everyone when she says that cheating is a play or "essence" that cultivates love between the man she really loves. Her ultimate hope is to be held by another man in front of the man she loves. In order to reach the heights of eroticism. Atsushi makes a joke here about climbing...not Everest but 'Ero-best'.
When Atsushi asks if any of the younger ladies feel this way, Misono raises her hand declaring that she is okay with cheating; how else does the man have a basis of comparison for realizing her good points? More on that from Misono later...
Tsuji understands where Misono is coming from BUT she isn't ok with cheating at all. She doesn't even like her man putting heart marks in phone mail to anyone but herself, and she cried when he performed a kissing scene in a play (her husband is an actor). Sugimoto says that she used to be like Tsuji when she was younger, and maybe Tsuji will become like her when she gets older. (yikes, let's hope not) "Will Tsuji climb Ero-best too?", Atsushi asks.
There's a consensus with negative spin that Aoki isn't capable of cheating. Sugimoto says that Aoki can't understand the world of pleasure until she seeks it. Aota Noriko says that Aoki has never had it (a sexual climax), leaving Atsushi rubbing his eyes at how unfit for TV Aota is. Michishige put Aoki at #10 because she's not at the level in womanliness where she even can cheat. What level in terms of Dragon Quest would that be? Level 0, says Sayumi. (Dragon Quest music plays) Aoki asserts that she is at level 42. (Dragon Quest level-up music)
Sayumi continues to dis Aoki after having given her the best ranking, and Tsuji remarks that Sayu sure has grown. Sayu's judgement is cool, Atsushi says. My judgement is precise, Sayu says :D
Brittney on Tsuji...She thinks that Tsuji is the type who would retaliate by cheating herself if she were to find out that her husband is cheating, or if he's being cold to her. Tsuji says there's no way he would cheat; he turned her down 3 times before they started dating. Also, she has him come home every evening to ask what to make for dinner. Sayu chimes in saying that Tsuji isn't capable of doing two things at the same time very well; if she were to cheat she wouldn't be able to hide it. Has Sayu always felt that way about Tsuji? Yes, answers Sayu, and she feels refreshed to have said it.
Shoot, this is starting to get long. And the most shocking revelation that comes out of Sayu's mouth is later on in the program! What should I do? Break this up into parts, or just get back to Ichigo?
In case I don't continue, I won't leave you in suspense about the outcome. Non will get ranked #9, Sayu #3. Not that these rankings mean a whole lot, as many of the women have clearly had far more experience in such matters than the bunny, yet somehow ranked better. Even Sugita, who admits on the show to having cheated many times, got a better ranking.
By: Zabel
There is one thing that has not changed in 6 years -- I love Aichan.
Here's a rundown of her show this week.
Ichigo ichie 10/15
- Aichan read the Circle of Magic series in a week, one volume every two days. Then lent it to Mitsui.
- For this concert tour and its rehearsals, Aichan has been sweating literally. They don't turn the air conditioning on during the fall or else the audience is too cold, so it has been hot for the girls, especially the ones wearing hats.
- Aichan's recommendation is Sendai Shirou Monogatari (仙台四郎物語), starring Korokke, and also Fujimoto Miki, who sings two musical numbers. If she thought that Sanma play she talked about last week was long, this one was four and a half hours including breaks. Mitsui, Linlin, and a manager watched with her. The story is about a historical figure, and the spoken accents were hard enough for Aichan to follow, but for Linlin more or less impossible, to say nothing of the impersonations that the lead is famous for.
- A listener recommends Takaraduka's rendition of the opera Aida, by Kimura Shinji who produced Ribon no Kishi the Musical, and Kai Masato who wrote the music. Aichan has seen it but can't remember it.
- Lovely has been listening to a lot of 30H!3 lately.
- Last time she got together with her, Ishikawa Rika asked, "Was I scary?", to which Aichan replied, "Yes, you were scary."
- Aichan doesn't do karaoke often, but recently she went with her sister and mom. She tried to sing BoA featuring Crystal Kay and VERBAL. The three of them (not the Takahashi's) can sing English very well, which makes Aichan want to improve her own English.
- When she was in L.A. it made her happy whenever she saw 3,2,1 Breakin' Out playing on the Anime Expo TV channel.
- In the "Teach me, Aichan" (教えて愛ちゃん) corner Aichan is asked how she relaxes on her days off. She likes to read magazine with aroma burning, but mostly she likes to go out to see plays. If she can't get a ticket for a play, she goes shopping instead.
- English lesson review: "Would you say that more slowly, please?"
- Asked to name something she can boast about, Aichan answers (half-jokingly since it isn't much of a boast) that she has tons of clothes, so many that she can't stuff any more into her sister's closet.
Tsugnaga Momoko is a very special idol. In a sea of unique personalities and styles Momoko is H!P’s Lion Fish—Even when compared to the menagerie, she remains highly unusual, and thus oddly fascinating.
Momoko combines the usual button cuteness and constant pleasantness of your average idol with something more; Momoko is actually a Momoko wota. She aspires to be the personification of the idol fantasy. To be the only idol any wota could ever need. And if she occasionally descends into self-parody because of it, so much the better. In fact, it’s clearly intentional. Watch as Momoko claims every failure as victory. Watch as she turns embarrassment into personal achievement. Watch as she denies all her vices. And know that it is all part of the show.
No H!P idol works as hard as Momoko to fascinate or entertain. So, even though Momoko is not my favorite idol ever, or even my favorite current idol, there’s no other girl I’d rather watch in a solo DVD. If you give this release a try, I think you’ll agree.
Release includes both the main video and the extra "making of" track from the same DVD that chronicles the shooting of her Momo no Mi photobook.
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This release is a bit of a format experiment for the group. Normally our releases are encoded at 720x400 just to simplify things and ensure that everyone viewing it gets the same experience. However, this release has been encoded at 720x480 with the anamorphic tags left intact. This means it will display at 853x480 when you view it.
So basically, I’d like to know if people would prefer this format for future releases or if they’d rather just keep rocking at 720x400. Feedback on this specific subject would be welcome.
click here to grab the release.
