May the new year be a Lovely one

By: Zabel

Another great year to be an Aichan fan is under way! What's in store for Lovely? I have no idea, but I'm counting on her getting the lead role in some new play or TV series, as well as presiding over the addition of new musume some time before the year is up. *After* the stock is replenished through another audition, I won't be shocked if she gets the graduation notice. Before another audition, I will be. Koharu's graduation announcement last year was mildly surprising, but Lovely's would have been far more so. I knew she was pretty much safe up through the end of 2009, and possibly through 2010 as well. She's that critical to the group :)

Aichan recently got a supporting role in Mano Eri's new series, Hanbun Esper, looking sharp in OL duds.

Meanwhile Ichigo ichie continues, which is awesome. I wonder if Aichan herself expected to still be doing it this long? She must be feeling more confident about speaking by her lonesome because she hasn't had a guest on in awhile. She often mentions how she likes playing Final Fantasy XIII, a game us North Americans don't get until March. (But that's okay 'cause I am thoroughly addicted to Demon's Souls at present)



On a TV program promoting FFXIII which she appeared on a month or so ago (ファイナルファンタジーＸＩＩＩの世界に迫る), when the topic of previous installments in the series came up, Aichan said that she had played FFX three times including once in English! I guess she must like Final Fantasy. (or just Tidus)

Unrelated to any of that, Aichan was on a let's-learn-about-global-warming type of show a short while back (学べるニューズ). Don't ask me why she was there, but hey, she is lovely when learning about global warming too, can anyone deny? Actually she hardly spoke at all and the little footage there was of her didn't justify the watch unless you happen to be interested in the topic and are crazy fluent in Japanese, but there was this one cute yet embarrassing moment at the beginning...



Host: Why is it that increases in carbon dioxide make the earth warmer?
Aichan: Humans put it out.
Host: Humans put it out, yes. But why does that make the earth warmer?
Aichan: When we put it out, the temperature increases.
Everyone: That's what the question is.
Aichan: Sorry!

On another unrelated note, I gotta say it didn't take long for Gakisan's short cut to grow on me. 30 seconds maybe.

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Kaito Reinya Episode 02 Subtitled Release

By: The Incredible He-Hulk


Episode two of the seminal series.

I really hope the police catch Reinya. Then they could wrap up the series and save us from having to translate the rest of these...

Seriously though, this episode is easily twice as funny as the last one. So, if you liked episode one, you'll love episode two.

I know I really enjoyed it. Plus, I mean, it's Reina, right? Reina!!

click here to grab the release.
Or click here to grab from megaupload.

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Kaito Reinya Episode 01 Subtitled Release

By: The Incredible He-Hulk



Look! Up in the sky! It’s a cat! It’s a hot air balloon (powered by a girl furiously pumping bicycle pedals)! It’s Kaito Reinya!

Kaito Reinya is the story of a girl who, by day, works as a convenience store clerk in a shop next to the town police station, and, by night, works as a cat burgler victimizing the same hapless police she serves food to during the day.

Oh, and it’s also a gigantic Tanaka Reina and Hello! Project reference (right down to H!P songs being in the sound track) and a 4 minute advertisement for ramen. But you already knew all that, didn’t you?

The show stars Tanaka Reina (obviously) and Noto Arisa.

It’s already getting panned by anime snobs, but, I mean, as idol fans we don't care for those people, anyway, right? So who cares what they think.
Truth be told, this is adorable, irreverent, and rather funny, especially for anyone who likes Reina, since she plays herself here, or rather what Tanaka Reina would be like if she were the ultimate ramen thief. This gets a confident thumbs-up from me. It’s cute to see one of our girls immortalized in cartoon form, and all H!P fans should give this a watch. If this is popular, who knows, maybe someday we’ll get a Sudou Maasa cartoon that’s an ad for Gold’s Gym and she keeps stealing weight benches!

ICU-Subs will be doing all 12 episodes. We hope to have each week’s episode done within a day, or so, of it airing on Japanese TV.

Enjoy!

click here to grab the release.
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Tsugunaga Momoko - Momo OK Dual Subtitles/Dual Audio Release

By: The Incredible He-Hulk


An ICU-Subs & Hyakupa Inter-group Collaboration Project.


A new year brings about new possibilities. After all, new possibilities and opportunities are what the tradition of New Year’s Resolutions are all about. But if I had been told that the year 2010 held the possibility of a double-sized collaborative project between two H!P sub groups, I’m not sure I would have believed it. And yet, here we are.

This release was a rather interesting experience. Working with people who do the same type of sofk as you, but does it differently than you is always an experience worth having. It gives you an idea of what you do well, and what you could possibly do better. And, it teaches you that compromises oftentimes are just as satisfying as going your own way.

For this project we broke the tasks up along audio track lines. The fine fellows at Hyakupa handled the translation of the main audio track and we at ICU-Subs handled the commentary track translation.
I’m sure that 99% of you could care less about this next observation (you’re all probably screaming “Momo!!!” at the top of your lungs, right now), but this division of labor led to some rather interesting insights in to just how another sub group complete a project and what choices they make when working on their craft. Watching one audio track’s translation and then the other immediately afterwards shows me that all the H!P sub groups are different and you’ll get a slightly different experience from each of them. Not necessarily better or worse; just different. Each group’s work is distinct. It’s rather fascinating, to be honest.

And now a few words about the release itself…

If you’re going to double the groups, you need to double the fun, right? Well, Momoko is so lively, spunky, over the top, and borderline crazy, that she’s like two idols in one. And, if you’re going to double the groups, you need to double the content, right? Well, you’re not just getting an hour of Momo being Momo; you’re getting a second hour of Momo talking a mile a minute about what Momo being Momo is all about.
It’s a super-sized serving of idol craziness from H!P’s craziest idol.

No doubt about it, Momoko is a great idol (with a utterly unique skill set), whose talents work best when employed as a second fiddle. Momoko is an idol who makes other great idols even greater and pulls lesser idols along with her into relevance. She is the vital cog in Berryz Koubou because her massive personality encourages the other Berryz personalities to shine. By being over the top, ridiculous, silly and envelope pushing, she forces the other girls to raise their games and play along. Berryz just wouldn't work right without Momo.

In Momoko's second solo DVD, Momo Ok, we get Momo at her most manic, and her most self-centered.
We learn, without a doubt, that she is a jealous little idol. Momo is convinced she should be mentioned in the same breath as the all-time idol greats. Now, this is obviously partially a gag on her part, but any serious Momo fan can recount the impressive number of times Momoko has challenged other idols, compared herself directly to other idols, and talked smack about other idols. And she spends a large part of the video doing just that. No spoilers, but one idol is squarely in Momo's cross hairs for the duration of the main audio track. It's a totally awesome ride, baby.

And then there's the commentary track. Usually, for a solo DVD commentary, your star idol will always, always be accompanied by a wing-idol. This serves two very vital purposes: First, encouraging the main idol to talk by having someone to bounce conversation off of so as to prevent dead silence for portions of the commentary, and secondly, it's to give the main idol someone to talk about her DVD with so she just isn't rambling about herself, by herself, the entire time like a psycho.
Shockingly, H!P, for whatever reason, decided to just not bother with a wing-idol for Momoko this time, and the result of that decision is an utterly stupefying, mind-bending, rambling trip through the mind of Momoko that will leave you a twisted shell of your former self by the end of it. I'm not kidding. Make sure you drink a lot of fluids because you will swear you must be high on peyote.

Combined these two hours with Momoko are perhaps the most astoundingly bizarre that you will ever spend watching idols and the experience definitely earns my highest recommendation. It’s like idol crack, Jack.

And finally, in order to accommodate everyone on the freaking planet, we’ve decided to release this in four different formats. 404p XviD, 404p H264, 720p XviD and 720p H264. This is probably the only time you will see something like this, but we both do our own releases differently and we wanted every H!P fan to be happy. So, pick your poison.

Remember, because of the dual-audio/dual-subtitle track nature of this release, it is in a MKV shell. In order to manipulate this video and view it in it’s optimum state, I recommend having either the K-Lite codec pack, or the CCCP codec pack installed on your system and using Media Player Classic which comes built in to each codec pack.
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm
http://cccp-project.net/
These releases also work perfectly well with the VLC media player, although I do not personally recommend watching this using VLC unless you have no other alternative.

These files have been tested on a variety of machines with a variety of different codec installations. They work without issue. So, if you are having any problems viewing this release, it’s probably you and your system that are the problem, not Momo. XD

click here to grab the release.

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London Hearts 12-01-09

By: Zabel

I feel a bit bad that I haven't blogged anything about Aichan in awhile. Will the Love Goddess forgive me while I blog about Sayu again instead? The evil bunny appeared on London Hearts with Yasuda Kei for another round of Women Ranking Each Other this week. I'll summarize the parts where either or both of them spoke. As always, please forgive any faults in the translation.

The host, Atsushi, after first introducing Nishikawa, who has been away from the show for half a year, introduces Sayumi observing that her hat is cute. Sayu replies, "Yes, ridiculously cute." Then Yasuda is introduced and Atsushi is curious how well they know each other.

Atsushi: Was there any overlap? (in the time you spent in Momusu)
Yasuda: She joined just when I was graduating.
Michishige: Yes.
Atsushi: So there wasn't.
Michishige: I pretty much just know her face.
(laughter)
Yasuda: I'm your senior!
Ryou: Dr. Nishikawa looks a bit surprised.
Nishikawa: So this is how she is?
(laughter)
Atsushi: Recently we've had this kind of girl join us.
Nishikawa: This should be fun!
(laughter)
Atsushi: Should be fun. What'll happen? Prepare yourself.



The theme is 知れば知るほどいい女 or "Women who are better the more you get to know them." Suzanne is selected by lottery to give her rankings, and her #1 pick is Dark Lord Sugita of all people! Atsushi will be making fun of her for that.

On Misono's turn, the hosts recall how when they were eating out together (from the episode two weeks ago when they stalked Hamada Brittney) Misono announced, "I'm going to take a poop." You didn't need to tell us that, they say. (Thereafter Atsushi refers to her as 'Miss Poop') Misono laughs saying her true friends and fans accept her knowing everything about her. This is where Sayu chimes in coldly, "I don't think I wanna know any more about her." Misono replies that it's about time Sayu accept reality and the results of the surveys. Misono put Sayu at #10.

Atsushi: So putting her at #10 means you definitely won't lose to her?
Misono: If I lose to her I don't wanna come on this show again.
(laughter)
Atsushi: Michishige, you won't lose to Misono?
Michishige: Lately my cuteness has been escalating.
(laughter)
Atsushi: Your cuteness is escalating?
Michishige: Inside of me I think it should be maintaining the status quo, but it's not stopping.
(laughter)
Atsushi: Not stopping. Your cuteness is not stopping.
Aoki: Wow.



Suzanne ranks Yasuda at #7. Yasuda is relieved because last time she was on the show, Suzanne was chosen to give rankings that time too, and she and everyone wrote things like, "Yasuda is more or less...[negative reasons]." Atsushi says, this time Suzanne has a decent reason, right? Suzanne says yes, Yasuda is a very good person, but I don't know much more about her image beyond that. (laughter) Same situation as last time.

Yasuda tries to defend herself but boy oh boy does she choose the wrong words to say!

Yasuda: My juniors really adore me, and my peers really like me.
Atsushi: Your juniors adore you?
Yamada: They do!
Atsushi: Michishige, where did you rank Yasuda?
Michishige: #10.
(laughter)
Yasuda: Ehh?!
Atsushi: The more you know her...but don't you know her the best out of everyone here?
Yasuda: She knows me the best!
Michishige: I may know her the best, but I've never thought of her as a good woman.
(laughter)
Yasuda: Ehh?! Hey!
Ryou: That girl.
Yasuda: I know how to support a man, and I'm really good at keeping peace among the members.
Michishige: Is that a good woman...or a useful woman?
(laughter)
Yasuda: Hey. (slapping Michishige on the shoulder)
Atsushi: Useful?
Yasuda: How mean.



Suzanne's #10 rank is Michishige. She says that from seeing Sayu in the past she thought of her as a considerate person, but since her TV image is so extreme most viewers are probably thinking, "Is she okay??" Even Suzanne's mother phoned Suzanne to ask what's wrong with Michishige lol. Atsushi says, so even your parents are worried about her. Sayu says, there's no need to worry at all.

Also, continues Suzanne, because Sayu keeps calling herself cute it has the reverse effect on her image. Dr. Nishikawa chimes in.

Nishikawa: It's a gag, right? Calling herself cute.
(laughter)
Michishige: It's not a gag. It's not a gag.
Atsushi: Do you think it's a gag?
Nishikawa: It's to make us laugh. She tells rather funny jokes.
(laughter)
Michishige: No, that's wrong!
Nishikawa: They're funny, they're funny.

Suzanne's rankings:

1. Sugita Kaoru
2. Kokushou Sayuri
3. Aoki Sayaka
4. Suzanne
5. Misono
6. Torii Miyuki
7. Yasuda Kei
8. Haruna Ai.
9. Nishikawa Ayako
10. Michishige Sayumi

The actual rankings are announced. Yasuda is excited to rank as high as #5, but Sayumi is surprised.　When Atsushi remarks on her surprise Sayu explains using the expression もう大概にしてほしいですね, which translates to something like "I want them to stay within reason" or "Let's not get carried away now." While everyone laughs Yasuda can be heard saying, "I want you to stay within reason." Atsushi says he never used such an expression when he was 20.

Yasuda has both a positive reason and a negative reason read on her behalf:

- Positive reason: In spite of having been a national idol, she is well-liked among the masses.
- Negative reason: Although she was a Morning Musume, the things in her room and the things that she buys reek of poverty.

Misono beats Sayumi after all. Sayumi's response: "This has become tiresome." (laughter)



It comes down to a contest between Michishige and Sugita for worst position. Sugita says that perhaps Michishige and herself are similar types. Perhaps she, Sugita, herself is extremely cute. (laughter) Atsushi says that you can't attach the nickname 魔王 (Dark Lord; Demon Lord) to a person who is extremely cute.

While Michishige faces the possiblity of a double-whammy, Suzanne faces the possiblity of a penalty of 30,000 yen for her ranking being so far off! Suzanne had predicted Sugita at #1 but Sugita is in danger of getting #10... And does! Sugita offers to pay half of the penalty slapped on Suzanne.

Reasons for Michishige at #9:
- She hasn't yet got anything to show for as a woman.
- The more you get to know her you'd realize she is a woman who can love nobody but herself.
- Somewhere in her heart she thinks of her Hello! Projects seniors as fools.

To that second reason Sayumi says that she would return love to a guy who loved her, but that she has so far never experienced giving love, an admission which draws muffled laughs from the other women.

To the third reason Yasuda nods and adds that it's not just in her heart; she goes right out and says it! Sayumi says, "I'm not thinking fools of them. I just speak the truth."

Then Nishikawa tells how she was recently reading a weekly publication that had a survey of women most hated by women in 2009. Sayumi was listed there which made her curious. Now meeting Sayu for the first time she understands why. Of course she was reading it in the first place because she, Nishikawa herself, was on the list.

Actual rankings:

1. Kokushou Sayuri
2. Suzanne
3. Torii Miyuki
4. Aoki Sayaka
5. Yasuda Kei
6. Misono
7. Haruna Ai
8. Nishikawa Ayako
9. Michishige Sayumi
10. Sugita Kaoru

Well that's the show, or the Sayumi and Yasuda parts anyhow. Hope ya enjoyed the read! I kinda wanted to sub it so you could enjoy the nonstop funniness in its entirety, but for various reasons this episode wasn't a good candidate for subbing; there were numerous references in it to past shows and missing contexts that are difficult to deal with in a fansub aimed at non-regular viewers. (Also, my typesetting/encoding partner in crime has been busy lately)

As we have seen, Sayumi's notoriety continues to escalate right along with her cuteness. On Quiz All For One we saw her make dodgy comments about Nakazawa Yuko, and on this show she was downright mean to Yasuda Kei, her senior by 9 years. She is, however, just the right sort for a show like London Hearts. Nearly every utterance out of her mouth has the host and everyone laughing.

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H!P Qu!ck H!ts

By: The Incredible He-Hulk



I am hopeful I'll be able to turn this into a weekly post if not starting with this post, then with the next. I'm swamped with subtitling stuff, at the moment, and I only have so much time to dedicate to H!P.



• Guardians 4’s New Single, Party Time, released today
Guardians 4 probably has the best lineup of any H!P group right now, but they also happen to be getting the worst songs to sing. Party Time rectifies that slightly by being a modestly catchy affair and makes me hopeful for the first time that this group will outlast the anime it supports.

• Sugaya Risako’s 4th photobook (Risou) announced. Will be released November 27th
Let’s face it, H!P is not the Butterfly Lounge. Skinny as possible is the order of the day where most of the girls are concerned—which is why our yearly Risako photobook is the only reoccurring book to really look forward to. She of the supple curves and sanguine countenance; Risako makes a photobook interesting.

• Nakajima Saki’s first photobook (Nacky) announced. Release date December 12th
It’s easy to tell how much confidence H!P has in a photobook—The earlier the book is announced, the more promotion it will get and the more copies H!P thinks it has a chance to sell. Maasa’s first PB was announced 2 weeks before release; Chinami’s was announced 2 weeks after it’s release, but Nakajimi Saki is getting an entire month of anticipation. There is no doubt H!P knows she’s a bombshell waiting to go off.

• Yajima Maimi cuts her long hair short
In other news, Niigaki Risa washes her face. Oh! Hot rumor! Hagiwara gets nails done, and I don’t want to speculate but there’s talk Abe Natsumi has indigestion…
Seriously. This isn’t news…

• The Tanaka Reina Manga “Kaito Reinya” is now being turned into an anime series. Reina will provide the voice for, uhh, herself
Based on my research (which consisted of looking at one article), the character appears to be some kind of idol/cat hybrid who is a burglar. Oh, apparently Noto Arisa will voice a “stupid” police woman. Personally, I love when children’s TV glorifies theft and belittles law enforcement, so this is probably going to be awesome…

• Proving that, as I speculated, Berryz Koubou is not busy enough, they will perform for the first time in Bangkok Thailand in March of next year
H!P idol shows are, generally speaking, always the same. Therefore, this concert is only of interest if you live in Bangkok or somehow live in a country where traveling to Thailand is cheaper than Traveling to Japan. Otherwise, this is of very little note. Playing a sold out concert on the moon, however...
Tsuki Girls just has a better ring to it than Ryuusei Boy.

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No more regular summaries

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.

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H!P Qu!ck H!ts

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.

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Idol Replacement Therapy: A Series in Three Parts.

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.

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Berryz Koubou First Fan Club Tour in Hawaii 2009 Subtitled Release

**** 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.

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