London Hearts 09-10-20 (part 2/3)

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.

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London Hearts 09-10-20 (pt 1?)

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.

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Ichigo ichie 10/15

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.

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Tsugunaga Momoko "Momo Only" Subtitle Release

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.
========================================

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.

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Ichigo roundup: 10-1 & 10-8

By: Zabel

I've been feeling better :) Still having some trouble staying motivated, though, and also I started fansubbing again, which is a new demand on my attention. Anyway, here's a selective rundown of the last two Ichigo ichie shows.


Ichigo ichie 10/1


- Aichan has been eating bread in the morning. Ideally, she would eat scrambled eggs, sausage, and yogurt.

- The theme of Kimagure Princess is "butt". Tsunku came up with that when he was looking at his own kid's butt.

- Aichan became a fan of Takaraduka star, Mizu Natsuki, when she saw her cool performance in Hououden (鳳凰伝), a dramatic role in which she dies in a climactic fight scene.

- When a listener recommends Evangelion, Aichan says that her sister and even her father is a fan. Her sister is into boys' anime such as Gundam.

- Aichan has been collecting candles lately. Traditionally she has always collected Takaraduka merchandise.

- Hokushou Kairi, a Takaraduka member who came to see her in Ribon no Kishi, became friendly with her and has given her lots of pictures.

- Aichan watches foreign dramas on TV with the intent to study English. If what's on the channel is dubbed rather than subbed she'll change the channel until she finds one with subtitles.


Ichigo ichie 10/8


- Sanma's advice to Aichan as to how not to stumble when speaking, when the topic was raised by a listener on Youngtown, was to act. Aichan stumbles because she is nervous.

- Aichan went with Sayumi and a manager to see Sanma perform in Warushawa no Hana, a long 3 1/2 hour play without a break. She was impressed with how the dialogue seemed real as if unscripted, and the story had her in tears by the end. When she talked with Sanma afterwards, he asked her, apparently joking, to send a long e-mail of her impressions, and Aichan complied.

- A listener recommends The Nightmare Before Christmas, which she has already seen, and which Ogawa Makoto loves. Aichan likes the song sung by the three little prankster kids.

- Aichan always acquires Halloween goods around Halloween. She still has a pumpkin she got last year.

- On the Morning Musume All Single Coupling Collection, Aichan particularly likes Popcorn Rap, Koi ha Rock & Roll, Wasurerannai, Housekibako, KoiING, Nebou Desu Deeto nanoni, Yowamushi, 3-2-1 Breakin' Out, Akiurara, Subete ha Ai no Chikara. Basically all of them.

- When they were learning Popcorn Rap 5th gen was new and everyone was unfamiliar with their voices, so when Iida heard the part Aichan sang she was like, "Who is that?" Aichan was shocked and worried that her voice may be weird at the time, but now she can laugh at the memory.

- A listener wishes her body was as flexible as Aichan's. Aichan says that since her hip joints are stiff, she puts her feet together to do a stretch that resembles a Yoga pose. ("Yoga Teleport!" lol)

- There will be a new corner on Ichigo ichie, "Teach me, Aichan". She'll be answering questions about herself and other members.

- Aichan re-reads her fan letters in the bath. Recently Aichan was moved by a divorced fan who was cheered up by her singing.

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Idol Replacement Therapy: A Series in Three Parts.

By: The Incredible He-Hulk

Part 2: The Circumstances of Dilemma

Whenever a group loses an idol, that group risks losing some, or all, of the wota that were primarily fans of that girl. If the remaining idols can’t fill the vacuum, then the group will decline. To ameliorate this issue, idol groups often add new members. But, if the replacement isn’t a strong personality with a lot of appeal, she’ll end up being little more than dead weight for the girls already in the group—someone to drag along with them who contributes very little individually. Conversely, a new girl cannot be too forceful or too talented. A new girl thrust to the forefront of a long existing group is often met with hostility by existing fans that have existing favorite members. When a new girl is featured over a group of veteran members, hard feelings are inevitable and the new girl is demonized by many. And, what’s worse, even beyond these general hurdles all idol groups face when their line-ups change, C-ute and Morning Musume face additional, exclusive challenges when it comes to finding new members—Challenges based on each group’s unique founding, history, and standing in the idol world.

The H!P Kids groups should be categorized as idol ”street gangs”. Each born from a common collection of girls raised to be idols since adolescence. These girls have common experiences that have forged them into cohesive idoling units of one mind and one purpose. These girls have strived for years to get where they are today. They’ve succeeded and failed together. They’ve laughed and cried together. They’ve known heartache and joy together. And it’s because of this unified history that many fans of these groups cannot see them as revolving door units. They are fixed member acts that are made up of only the girls who deserve to be a part of them—the girl’s whose blood, sweat and tears forged their success and name recognition in the first place.

H!P has largely held to this “street gang” principle when handling C-ute and Berryz Koubou. In all the years since the H!P Kids were chosen, only one girl was ever added to the mix after the fact. Because of this, for a lot of fans, Arihara Kanna never really fit. I liked her (I like all the idols), but Kanna was never able to amass much of a following, and she never really looked like she was 100% comfortable being the new girl in a collection of idols that had existed for years prior to her involvement. It was no wonder then, that after much subterfuge and idol machinations, Kanna retired from H!P with no fanfare or eulogization. She simply ceased to exist. Kanna represents a lesson learned. Don’t mess with the H!P Kids group’s lineups if you can avoid it.

And yet, with the eminent departure of Umeda Erika, C-ute will soon find itself a five member group, three members short of their largest lineup. So, what will H!P choose to do? Will they be tempted to pull the trigger on a new girl simply because C-ute was formally an 8 member act? The desire to maintain original intentions and the status quo is often a strong one. Or, will they choose to stay the course with the 5 remaining members? A 5 member idol group can be successful as long as the personalities are strong enough, and C-ute’s two most important members remain intact. Both possibilities offer positive and negative outcomes.

Meanwhile, Morning Musume faces a similar situation, albeit one with its own set of particular challenges. In their case, they are losing a girl who is very popular, and, although she isn’t the lead, Kusumi Koharu occupies a place of prominence in the group. Because of this, any new girl that is added to the group won’t be able to, at least in the short term, replace Koharu’s popularity. She will be the new low-rung on the idol totem pole, and will be starting in a similar place to where the pandas began their careers. In a lot of senses, today’s Momuso is a group with few stars, and the last thing a group like that needs is another girl without star power.
But even though Momuso is losing a much more valuable member than C-ute is, they also have several advantages unique to their group that make adding replacement idols much easier, and, frankly, expected. For much of its history, Momuso was a “Growth or Death” idol group. In fact, they didn’t even reach the height of their fame until after they had replaced some of the original members and added new ones beyond those. Because there is an expectation of new members amongst fans, there will be very few rumbling against such a thing.

Additionally, despite the group’s age (and all the warts that come with it), Morning Musume is Morning Musume. The group’s former status as a pop culture phenomenon has caused it to be a name known to all of Japan. So, even though the group no longer sells nearly what it once sold, many prospective idols who would not be interested in trying out to be a member of C-ute or Berryz would want to be in Morning Musume. Morning Musume auditions receive thousands more applicants than H!P Egg auditions, and that fact alone increases the odds of finding a highly qualified replacement. Finding someone who is capable of replacing both Koharu’s important role and reaching her level of popularity is possible if not exactly likely.

A final simply interesting fact is that this graduation flies in the face of management’s recent openly acknowledged attempts to turn Momuso into a “too many cooks” idol group. Momuso’s manager has admitted in interviews that today’s group is largely unknown as individuals and that they recognize this as a problem. Few Japanese know any of the girls, or would even recognize that these girl’s are in Momuso unless you pointed it out. One of the goals of this new era was to reacquaint the girls, as individuals, with the nation. A graduation and then an audition flies in the face of this new approach. It’s a return to the same old, same old revolving door idol group.

Tomorrow, what to do.

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Idol Replacement Therapy: A Series in Three Parts.

By: The Incredible He-Hulk

The daily idol grind has claimed two new victims. By the end of the year, both C-ute’s Umeda Erika and Morning Musume’s Kusumi Koharu will move on from their idol careers into the nebulous career of “modeling.” But while I personally believe these girls want to be models mostly because being a model isn’t being an idol, the how or why of it isn’t of any particular significance. Graduated idols are spilled milk, and there’s no use crying (or speculating) over spilled milk. The real—and much more fun—question is whether or not H!P will bother to replace these fallen soldiers with fresh faced idol recruits.

I will be tackling this issue in a series of posts over the next few days. Today’s post will concern itself with the mechanics of idol replacement—the blueprints used to build the temples at which we worship. Tomorrow’s post will focus on the particular situations each group faces when considering adding new members, as well as the obstacles associated with those situations. Finally, the last article will discuss the pros and cons of adding members to each group and whether or not they should.

Part 1: A Conflict of Visions.

The first decision an idol house must make is simply whether or not a group needs an infusion of idol talent. C-ute and Momuso both have specific considerations to make, unique to each of them, when considering adding new girls. But before we deal with specifics, there are a few general schools of thought on what I’ll refer to here as the numerology of idol groupings, and many of these theories (all given names, now, by me) have been used for years by idol fans—whether they realize it or not—to argue for and against adding members to their favorite groups. At the very least, each has some interesting points to make:

- First, there is the “Growth or Death” school of thought. This theory postulates that an idol group that isn’t constantly replacing old idols, and occasionally simply adding new idols, is an idol group on the decline. In recent years, new groups such as AKB48 have made this theory the basis for their entire marketing strategy. The more idols you have in your group, the better chance that fans will find an idol in your group worth following.

- Next, there is the “Too Many Cooks” theory. This theory postulates that having too many idols in a group prevents idols from creating strong personal identities and building name recognition as individuals. An idol group is only as strong as it’s most famous idol. This is the primary theory used by “bandol” groups like ZONE, and other fixed number idol acts. By keeping the roster small, you put increased emphasis on each girl. Additionally, this increased emphasis creates increased pressure on the group’s idols to be appealing across a wide array of wota demographics.

- Lastly, there is the “Street Gang” theory of idol group creation which puts forth the position that there is an important bonding experience idols all go through when they are the founding members of a group. Their struggle to earn success unites them in a way that nothing else can, and so the close ties formed during this period give an idol group its personal identity. Thusly, any members added to the group after this period dilute the group’s power and further distance the act from its roots.

These three principles are helpful, but flawed, and are rarely universally applicable. This is partially because each principle argues against the others on some level, but also because the nature of an idol group’s formation is so often unique. Morning Musume, for example, ceased to be an idol “street gang” the moment the second generation showed up. So, whether or not you believe in this theory as an important element of a successful group is rather irrelevant when considering current Momuso. Meanwhile, the two H!P Kids groups are very much still “street gang” groups.
However, the fact remains that, regardless of their imperfections, these 3 theories form the basis for the formation and development of nearly every idol group, and therefore will be used to form the basis for this discussion about the current H!P idol group’s future membership.

Finally, once you get beyond these three theories for idol group formulation, there is one last guideline that applies specifically, not to idol group creation, but to idol group maintenance. This is the “Rock and a Hard Place” rule. This theory primarily concerns itself with the effect a specific idol’s departure has on the group and whether or not new idols can mitigate these effects, ameliorate them, or even improve the group in some way. A new idol must be an eventual gain, if not for the group and its chemistry, than at least because she can recoup, at least partially, the financial loss a departing idol creates.
A new idol is expensive, both to train and to promote, and whether or not she will eventually replace the lost sales of the departing idol cannot be easily predicted. So, the question becomes, will you replace the lost revenues created by a departing idol by spending more money to find, train, and promote a new idol who may, in the end, never be nearly as popular (and profitable) as the departing idol was? It is a difficult question to answer for a business that operates on narrow margins already.

Continued tomorrow.

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Gomen

By: Zabel

I just can't find the will to do Ichigo this week. Not just a problem of will, but I've got other things to do lately, and to make things worse my health has been quite poor ><

I did listen to it. Aichan talks about the new MM single Kimagure Princess, recommends another play Ogawa Makoto starred in, gives advice on how to study English, and talks about how she never thought she would still be in Morning Musume at age 23 (but is glad to still be). If anyone wants to write about the show in more detail, they're welcome to.

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Ichigo ichie 9/17 - Aichan's birthday

By: Zabel

Here's a quickie summary of this week's show.


Ichigo ichie 9/17


As Aichan starts talking about her 23rd birthday she suddenly lets out a super cute scream なんだ～！ They brought her a cake in the studio. She talks about memorable birthdays, and how she paid back Gakisan for surprising her on her own birthday with a surprise on Gakisan's birthday; they hid in the dressing room for her.

Her recommendation today is Shugo Chara, which starred Maeda Yuuka. Also, Fukuda Kanon and Saho Akari, and Aichan has words of praise for the three of them. Yuuka saw Aichan perform in Ojigi de Shape up!, so Aichan thought she would go see Yuuka perform in this musical. Aichan is an anime fan herself, and when a listener recommends the Sailor Moon musical to her, Aichan explains that she has already seen it. Her dad, apparently a fan himself, went to see it with her.

The Morning Musume fall concert tour "Nine Smiles" starts on the 19th. The keywords for this concert, she says, will be "smile" (笑顔) and "happy" (元気). Speaking of smile and happy, the dinner show she recently performed in with Gakisan made her happy. Being that close to the fans, she can see their faces; some are nervous, some are in tears, other are smiling brightly, and others try to avoid eye contact out of embarrassment. Gakisan showed off some big smiles of her own due to the incident of Aichan running around in red tights, which they talked about last week. It had been awhile since Aichan had seen her laugh that hard. Reading fan letters is another thing that makes Aichan happy.

English lesson: "Thanks for inviting me."

In the Tettekete corner today Aichan gives advice on how to overcome nervousness. One thing their manager has told them is to speak in a loud voice. As for Aichan herself, talking makes her more nervous than singing or dancing. For instance, when she must talk about Morning Musume in front of people.

Lastly, Aichan tells how she is the type who can fall asleep on the plane, the bullet train, or anywhere.

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Ichigo ichie 9/10 - Niigaki 3rd guest appearance

By: Zabel

Takahashi Ai's Ichigo Ichie this week is another fun show with Niigaki Risa as a guest.

Ichigo ichie 9/10

Risa makes her entrance speaking in a princely voice words from Cinderella. But both of them have trouble remembering what the name of the prince was; not 'Franz', not 'Crystal', but 'Christopher'. Then Aichan introduces her as Morning Musume sub-leader 'G-A-K-I-san'. Aichan was late to the studio today because of traffic. She caused management a bit of worry because they weren't able to contact her. She had forgotten to bring her cell phone. Risa says she often does.

When Aichan asks Risa what she's into lately, Risa reveals that she has a song stuck in her head which Aichan had playing in the dressing room at the dinner show. It has lyrics that go "Po-po-po-poker face-po-po-poker face". Poker Face by Lady Gaga, Aichan explains. As for Aichan, she's into Korea... They'll leave it at that for now.

On the plane ride to L.A. Aichan watched 17 Again, a story about a man who, wanting to relive his youth, becomes 17 and ends up going to the same high school that his son and daughter go to. Aichan gives a full synopsis of the plot. Forget what I said last week; Aichan has no qualms about spoiling movie plots too it seems. Risa can't help busting out laughing.

Risa: Is it okay to be taking 2 hours? You're telling everything that happens.
Aichan: I have to tell what happens. This...this is the corner where I tell what happens.

So Aichan continues talking on and on about the plot of the movie. It gets to where Risa bangs her microphone in exasperation.

Aichan: ...Then because of that his son gets good at basketball too. So then Mike's wife--Mike is the guy's name...
Risa: I don't care! I haven't seen it.
Aichan: That's why I'm explaining it. So then they dance to the song they used to listen to...
Risa: (laughing) You're the worst!

But Aichan has no intention of stopping until she reaches the very end. The Ainote corner is so much fun when Aichan has a guest whose patience she can obliviously test XD They conclude.

Risa: But now, everyone watch this...what was it?...this 17 Again. It'd be best if people watched it.
Aichan: Yes, please watch it.
Risa: It'd be best if they watched it.
Aichan: Yes. Then they ought to understand what I've said.
Risa: (mumbling) They ought to.

At last Aichan involves Risa by asking her to recommend something, and she picks the Japanese equivalent of Disney & Pixar's Up, which she really liked. Aichan agrees to go see it with her. Risa admits that she is the annoying type who while watching a movie or play sometimes doesn't get what's going on, so she asks the person sitting next to her--Aichan--who answers with "something", not shifting her gaze from the screen.

They talk about the Takahashi Niigaki premium dinner show. A listener who was there thinks it would be great if they released a DVD or CD of the event. Ai and Risa and even Risa's mom were thinking the same thing, and it seems management did film them. Another listener writes that it was neat to see Aichan helping Risa along where Risa was the one who was nervous, not having performed at a dinner show before, and Risa confirms this. When they talked casually about doing it again, Aichan had already decided for herself which songs they will sing next time XD Also, Risa got a big laugh out of seeing Aichan running around in red tights in the dressing room.　

Now the Tettekete advice corner... A listener working at a bread shop seeks advice on creating an original bread or cake. Aichan says how about a combination of maple syrup and strawberries. Risa says how about something with the taste of edamame (枝豆).

The second question is from Aichan herself to Risa. What would be a good autumn theme for Morning Musume? Risa would like to fans to get to know those interesting personality features each member of MM has that we don't get to see just by looking at the covers of their singles.

The English phrase is "Thanks for coming." While teaching this, Aichan twice mistakenly says "Thanks for waiting".

Risa teaches the Korean phrase "ggakka juseyo" (깎아 주세요), meaning "Discount please." She used it much during the 3-day vacation in Korea that the two of them recently took together. They had a fun time there. Did lots of walking. Shopping, no doubt. Next time they go to Korea they'd like it to be more leisurely.

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