My Thoughts on Graduations

As per usual, everything in this post is purely my opinion. I'm sorry if at any point I offend you, and if you don't want to read it, don't. I'm not making you read anything, so please keep this in mind if you choose to read on.

Today, my friend Chiima asked me to try and translate Chiba's (second) graduation announcement (I apologize in advance for any mistakes made in translation). This coming so soon after Otsuka Aina's withdrawal from Juice=Juice, and Sea*A's announcement that they will disband, not to mention the seemingly last graduation from H!P for a while after their 2-3 year flood of them, it's kind of disheartening, even if I don't really know HouPri well enough to be concerned (HouPri went from 7 members to like 20 and I didn't even realize...).

If you recall, or know, I did a review on Sea*A's singles quite a while back. Recently, I realized I hadn't re-uploaded their songs since I got my new computer, so since then I've been listening to them (particularly DREAM SHOOTER and DELI-DELI*DELICIOUS) quite a bit. It was only a day or two after I got the songs back on my ipod did Chiima inform me of the announcement that they were disbanding. I'll admit, I wasn't too fond of Entry, and didn't pay much attention to them since it's release, but as a proud owner of their other three singles, and their mini-album, I was very shocked and quite sad. You don't see many Japanese units that form out of Japan. But for some reason, I wasn't heartbroken about it. Having listened to their old songs so much in those couple days before hearing this, I realized that, as amazing as these girls are, I was completely satisfied listening to their old stuff forever. Sure, it would be great if they could release more in the future, but it it's not like if an H!P unit suddenly announced it was disbanding. The difference between H!P units and Sea*A too me is primarily that I feel like it would take listening to Sea*A's songs on repeat a week straight before I got sick of them, but H!P has very few songs that I still love since I first heard them. I'll miss these girls, but they've left me with some unforgettable, amazing songs, and I greatly appreciate it.

Otsuka Aina, also if you recall, was on my list of H!P girls I hoped would get to be in a unit this year. So it may be obvious, but upon Juice=Juice's formation, she was my favorite of the 6. However, her voice stood out from the rest in an unpleasant way, to me, considering she's a lead. With Karin's gentle and cute but still mature voice, Sayuki's strong voice, and Tomoko's deep, accented voice, she sounded like a humming bird among lions and tigers. Perhaps it wouldn't have sounded so out of place if Akari and Yuka got more lines, since they have pretty cute voices too, but they didn't, so that's that. But my point is, since the group formed, my love for each individual member grew, yes, it's just that some grew more than others and Aina dropped to my 4th favorite. So, she wasn't my oshi anymore. That softened the blow. But when I woke up to facebook posts about her leaving, at first I didn't really know what to think. I thought it might be a joke or a rumor, I mean, their debut was just announced, it seemed so unreal. But looking into it more, I learned that it wasn't a joke, it was serious. I wasn't really sure how to react... I was sad, and frustrated, but I understood that her parents are responsible for her and there's nothing I could do. I was ready to just accept it and move on, but SOMEONE -stares intently at a certain blogger who's already been named- repeatedly posted about it on facebook and it started to depress me. 

It's not that I have any particular love for Aina compared to the others, it's that the group IS Aina just as much as it is Yuka, Tomoko, Sayuki, Karin, and Akari. I really can't imagine how Juice=Juice will look without Aina. However, this situation is very similar to the one in which Murakami Megumi graduated from C-ute. Megumi, like Aina, was one of the main leads of her group for the Indies singles, and C-ute was even worse about line distribution at the time then Juice=Juice was. But now, 7 (I believe?) years later, C-ute is not only still standing strong, but also getting amazing venues (Budokan and Paris, anyone?), amazing songs, amazing goods, and lots of love. If C-ute can do it, I think Juice=Juice will manage too. I mean, the Juice=Juice members are much older and (mostly) more experienced then C-ute was back then, so yes, I'm expecting them to pull through it.

Now it's Chiba Sakino from Houkago Princess. As I mentioned before, I'm not too familiar with this group. Chiima's asked me to translate stuff for them before, and always links me to their songs, but I just can't bring myself to love them like she does. So there's not much for me to say on a personal level. However, when translating her second graduation announcement, even I felt like I was going to cry. She really sounded unsure of herself, like even upon writing the blog post she was still conflicted. It really gave me the impression that she still didn't know what to do, but she had come to a fork in the road, and just standing in the middle wouldn't allow her to advance in either direction. I do, though, fully support her decision. Sakino wants to pursue her dream in fashion, and that's a very respectable dream. I really hope that her fans will continue to support her as she moves into her new line of work.

So for a little bit, I want to mention a few points about graduations in general. 

Firstly, just because someone graduates, doesn't mean they cease to exist. I don't know about other agencies, but most of the time in H!P, members who graduate will still pursue careers as talents. Reina's still in Lavendor, Gaki's done lots of stage plays, Mano also expressed that she'd like to pursue acting, etc. As fans, instead of wallowing in pity when they graduate, spend that time following them. Find what they're up to even after they graduate, and continue to support them, even if they just want to continue their education. In cases such as Aina, who most likely won't return to the idol world, it's best to support her parents' decision and trust that they've made it for Aina's sake. Also, continue to support Juice=Juice, I'm sure it's what she would have wanted. 

The second thing I'd like to mention, is that it's bound to happen eventually. Especially in H!P, where members have changed around a lot, and they get younger every year, it's only a matter of time before the older members leave and give other young girls a chance to possibly get in and become idols themselves. A lot of people may argue that 23-26 isn't old, but, one, in the idol world it kind of is, and two, like I mentioned above, just because they graduate from H!P, doesn't mean they're done with singing, dancing, acting, etc. If they stay too long, it might be more difficult to pursue other lines of work within the idol world (I don't know, I'm not in that world, but with how young most people are, that's what I would assume anyway). 

Thirdly, sometimes, members join who, from the beginning, don't plan on being a member very long. AKA they use it as a stepping stone. Get fans through the group, and then move on to what they want to do with a head start thanks to the support of their fans. The prime example I'd like to use is Kusumi Koharu, since she's admitted to it. She said in an interview or a show or something (I don't remember what it was, but there was a lot of drama about it) that she used Morning Musume as a stepping stone to become a model. It seems a lot of fans were mad at this? A lot of the people I have on facebook were anyway, but I think it's a pretty smart thing to do. Maybe some people think it's "wrong" to take the spot from someone who "really wants it," but that's how the world works from how I see it. The best way to get a job is networking. That's somewhat of an extreme example of doing so. Another possible example of this is Umeda Erika. Although she never admitted this was her goal, it worked out in the end that her time in C-ute was to her benefit.

Lastly, It keeps things fun! Yeah, it's hard to say goodbye, especially to your favorite members, but really, how many people reading this would be a fan of Morning Musume if it was still Yuka, Kaori, Natsumi, Aya, and Asuka? Chances are if members didn't graduate, they probably wouldn't hold auditions for new ones either. If these 5, with Yuko in her 40s now, were the only people who had ever been in Morning Musume, chances are a lot of people would see the group as outdated or just plain old. I mean, look at Berryz. I mean no offense by it, Berryz is one of my favorite groups ever, but even I'll admit that they're stuff recently has gotten boring. Some people probably think and say it's not them, it's the songs they're getting and such, but in my opinion, it IS them. They're nothing wrong with them, it's just that they've been the same for so long, it feels like everything they release is just basically the same stuff over and over again. This doesn't mean that I want anyone in Berryz to graduate, I'm just saying that when a group stays the same for too long, the stuff they do might tend to get repetitive or boring.

Change is a part of life, and trust me, I'm the LAST person to be happy with that fact. But it's something we do have to live with, so we're faced with a choice. We can either wallow around always sad about losing what we love, or we can look forward to what benefits these changes might bring. In Morning Musume's case, you can get depressed over you're favorite member graduated, or you can look forward to the new girls that come in. But the one thing I want to ask of every fan out there: never stop supporting both your favorite members and the groups they were in! You have no idea how much it hurts me when I saw people say things like "I don't even want to support Juice=Juice anymore, it's pointless without Aina" and people DID say this! That's not what Aina OR Juice=Juice would have wanted. Nor is it was Aichan or Gakisan or Reinyan would have wanted with Morning Musume. All of these girls worked very hard to help their groups succeed, and I'm sure any of them would hate if a fan bailed out on the whole group just because they left.

I hope people will keep what I've said in mind in the future, and continue to support both current and past members of the groups they like from here on.

Have a nice day and I hope you don't let all these goodbyes ruin your month.

Kanashiki Amefuri PV/Song Review Of Sorts

As per usual with my posts, I'd like to start off by saying that everything in this post is purely my opinion. I have one, yes, as I'm sure whoever reads this does as well, and most likely, our opinions will be different at some point or another and I ask in advance that you keep an open mind. If you find it difficult at any point to do so, I kindly request you refrain from continuing reading, there's no reason for you to read something you don't enjoy, and there's no reason to rage at me for sharing my opinion. And do understand the difference between suggestions for improvement and raging at imperfections. All that being said, I shall continue with my review thing.

A quick explanation of what I'm going to try to do before I do it:  I'm going to try to analyze the PV in a bit more depth comparing the scenes, outfits, possibly even dance moves, etc. with the song's meaning, implications, tone, and/or whatever else I happen to notice. My goal is going to be to try and connect the PV to the song itself, as the fact that H!P is pretty well known for having random videos that don't match the songs whatsoever, while also possibly pointing out deeper meanings (in both the song and the video) that viewers may not have noticed upon first watch. So to sum it up: we're gonna over complicate this shit until you fully understand what it means when they say "ignorance is bliss". LET'S SEE IF I CAN DO THIS!

I do want to start of by saying that Kanashiki Amefuri is by far one of my favorite PVs Hello!Project has released in a long time. The scenes themselves are nothing impressive or creative, but the editing is amazing, with not only actual effort involved, but enough of it to say that they probably worked their asses off in doing so. Not only that, but The PV incorporated  not one, not two, but FOUR different outfits as shown in the photo below that my good friend Sarah made to show the irony in one of the lines that was translated by H!P themselves (I'll get more into the translation vs. meaning later). For the sake of consistancy, I will be referring to these outfits as (in order as they are in the picture below): the raincoats, the summer outfits, the black and white outfits, and the sad outfits.

From here on I will be making references to the meaning of the lyrics, the translation was done by H!P themselves in the PV on their channel, but if you'd like a text version for reference like I like to use, Projecthello transcribed the translation on their site here: http://projecthello.com/c-ute/kanashiki.html

The first thing I want to discuss about the video is simply the title. Kanashiki Amefuri translates to "Sad Rainfall". One thing I want to point out about this title is the implication that there is such a thing as a happy rainfall. If that didn't exist, this title would be incredibly redundant. Now, this may seem like a stupid thing to point out, but think for a second: whenever you see rain in movies or other videos that doesn't involve a full on storm, what's it usually setting the scene for? Usually something sad. Now going a bit past the title to the theme of the song. Overall, the song is from the narration of a girl (or a really feminine guy, there's really no gender cues throughout the song, but since C-ute is all girls, for the sake of this review, we'll say it's from the narration of a girl) who believes she knows her boyfriend is trying to dump her, despite all the things they planned on doing together.

Lets start the PV review itself by looking at the song from a literal point of view. By literal I mean let's imagine that it really is raining when the narrator is in this situation.

Before the video even starts, the opening where it says the name of the song/group has a raining effect to it (a very unconvincing effect if you ask me, but still, with "rainfall" in the title, it's easy to recognize that that's what it's supposed to be). This is kind of like in a movie opening where it'll pan through some rainy scenery before you actually meet the movie's characters. This is done to set the feeling. There are very few people who will watch this 2 seconds with a smile and say/think "hahaha it's raining on the song title!" Most of the time, this prepares viewers for a darker, possibly heavy-hearted song. But I digress, the point is, people have a tenancy to take things that are literal more seriously then things that are hypothetical. Putting a physical "rainfall" so early into the video could be an attempt to force viewers to take this seriously and literally. For example, if the song titled "Sad Rainfall" had no rain in the video whatsoever, no matter what the lyrics mean, it wouldn't make much sense. Not to me anyway. What's so sad about a rainfall that doesn't exist?

Despite the fact there was rain before the video even started, I personally find it odd that the first rain scene after that isn't until the chorus. However, if you look at the lyrics, the song doesn't even mention rain at all until the chorus either. This brings about my suspicion that the rain is most likely to be meant metaphorically more so then literally, but let's continue pretending it's literal for a bit longer, shall we?

First, let's look at the outfit worn in the rain scene. You may get a better view from the picture above with all of the outfits. At first glance it looks to me like a pretty cliche fashionable raincoat. It reminds me of what I would imagine Dr. Holmes wearing, in fact. But the first thing I notice, upon further inspection, is the lack of a hood. Perhaps it's stylish to have a raincoat without a hood, I'm completely fashion ignorant! But it's not very useful if it can't even keep your head dry. Now, let's assume that they wore the raincoats because they knew it was going to rain. The two most likely reasons for wearing a raincoat that doesn't even have a hood would be 1) If you wanted to get drenched, or 2) if you really didn't give a damn anyway. 

Another thing I want to point out is the lack of an umbrella. Remember, we're only referring to the scene where it's literally raining right now! But I would think, if you really wanted to wear a raincoat without a hood, you would take an umbrella too. Heck, even if I had a hood, I'd still take an umbrella just to minimize how much rain actually hit me. 

The last thing I want to point out before moving to the metaphorical sense of the song, is the two girls above. Notice something? No hood is one thing, as is no umbrella, but Nakajima Saki and Suzuki Airi even go as far as having their sleeves rolled up. I do this a lot when I dress for rain, since I live in Florida where it gets really hot really fast, but the thing is, the second it starts raining, I unroll them. Why? Because having them rolled up completely defeats the purpose of wearing a raincoat (though in my case it's just a jacket... But you get the point).

You'll notice that all three other outfits share the same backing. This provides useful for an instance where they used editing to switch out outfits, such as this part: 

This particular part shows Okai Chisato, Yajima Maimi, and Hagiwara Mai in their summer outfits, Suzuki Airi in her sad outfit, and Nakajima Saki in her black and white outfit. Successfully showing all three outfits at the same time.

You'll notice that the couch scene also takes place in the same backing as the dance shot scenes. Now that this consistency has been pointed out, let's think about "why this scene?" Those who are familiar with making of videos, or even photography itself, may be aware of the purpose of those umbrellas in this scene, but for those who don't know, I'll explain their purpose. Those umbrellas aren't normal umbrellas. They're called photographic umbrellas (feel free to correct me if they have a more technical name then that) and from my understanding, what they're made OF varies with which type is used. I'm not familiar enough with them to tell them apart, though, so I won't get into that. Their purpose is to reflect lighting and flashes in photography to spread the light and keep it on the subject. If you know much about the science of light, it's similar to sound in that it bounces off of objects it comes in contact with. I've always seen these umbrellas facing the the subjects from the photographer's side, though, in order to bounce back the light that bounces of the subjects and, I believe, creating a wider span of which the light hits while also creating less dark spots where you'll probably see shadows in normal photos (such as under your cheeks if you're smiling).

Now, back to the why. Just to remind you (in case you didn't get the hint, since I didn't say it directly) we're now moving onto the metaphorical sense of rain. From here on we'll be connecting things that may otherwise seem unrelated. When you think of rain, what's the first thing you think of? I think of an umbrella (or at least right now I do, since I've been talking about them...). So it makes sense that if we're trying to metaphorically link something to a rainfall, using umbrellas is a good place to start. But it's not literally raining, so having actual umbrellas would be stupid and/or just prove the fact it's not raining. So how do you incorporate them? This backing does a good job of doing so buy using umbrellas that serve a totally different purpose... but are still umbrellas. Thinking literally, umbrellas don't make the rain go away (unless you're one of those people who believe having one will make it not rain), but they do shield their user from the rain for the time which they use it. Photographic umbrellas are connected to photo shoots. Thinking figuratively, photo shoots (possibly representing something that you do just for yourself) may not make the "heart's sadness/rain" go away, but it may be an outlet where you can forget about it, even if it's only for a little while.

Now let's look at the slow motion grey scale close-ups.

These seem to be much like the rain at the beginning of the video, their main purpose is to set the mood.

I really don't want to spend too much time on these because of that.

But one thing I do want to mention is how ridiculous these poses are. You would probably never make a pose like them in real life unless you, like they, were either told to do so, or told to do something under such lines.

And one other thing I want to point out about them is how none of the members look very sad in any of these shots. Except maybe Maimi... But editors usually use grey scale  like rain, to set a sad mood, but in this sad mood, the girls are seemingly fine. This could mean multiple things. It could mean they're pretending to be fine through the pain, or it could mean that this whole thing about hurting so much that it's raining in your heart is total BS. I'd like to think it's the earlier of the two :).

And then there's the normal close ups for the black and white outfits. Notice that the background is a brownish gradient that is darker at the part in which you see better (the top). To me, when I look at the girls in front of that background I feel kind of pained. It's a very earthy color, which makes me think of reality, and the black and white outfits on top of them help with that feel. When I see bright colors like the summer outfits, I think of happy things and energy, and even dreams and freedom. But with colors like these, I think of reality, fear, possibly even hopelessness. It's a feeling like when you realize that everything you dreamed can (or will) all be shattered by one little thing. I think it is the perfect setting to express the feeling that we expect the narrator has when she realizes that there may only be seconds left before everything she fought so hard for (possibly?) may just end with a couple words.

Lastly (unless I missed something), we have the close up shots for the sad outfits. These are very lacking in color, since the backgrounds are tainted white. I say tainted because even white itself is a pretty bright color, but you can clearly see it's not pure white, it's grayish and has shadows. This makes me think that it's tainted. White often represents purity or cleanliness, so tainted white makes me think of pain. Perhaps it's just my overactive imagination, but I think of darkness spreading, thinly enough to not come across as black, but enough to be noticeable.

Lastly, I'd liked to go into a bit more meaning with some of the lines in the song. The very first line of the song reminds me of a book. It sets the scene in a literal manner. The narrator is sitting on a bench with (who we find out in the next few lines) is her current boyfriend. The silence mentioned in the next line gives the image that both of them either have nothing to say (unlikely) or have something to say and either don't want, or are afraid to say it. Based on the overall scene described by this part of the song, I imagine that there is even the possibility that the boyfriend has trying to say it already, but wasn't able to come out with it straight forward. 

This line doesn't make much sense as it's written. I don't know the Japanese vocabulary used here enough to conclude if there is a translation issue or not, but what I think of when I read this is more like "I won't be let down gently" or something. Often times people will suggest that when you "break up" with someone, you should do what you can to "let them down gently," so I believe this line is saying that the narrator won't let her boyfriend try to slip past the guilt of it simply because he did it "gently."

This is the major line of the song that implies that the "rainfall" might be completely figurative/metaphorical. It does contradict my theory about the "umbrellas" that was previously mentioned though...

"No clothes to change" (My friends helping me realize this means like a spare set of dry clothes) is a really strong line here. People usually treat clothes as an expression of themselves and their personalities. Referring to the heart metaphor, this could also be talking about the fact that it's not a matter of just accepting the fact what used to be a big part of your life is now gone. You can't just "change" your personality and such like you would change your clothes. It's going to take time to adjust.

This line I would personally translate as "Don't adults even do their own thing" that could just be my dialect though. This line confuses the crap out of me, in all honesty. It sounds independent, while the rest of the song sounds dependent. And considering it's almost midnight I kinda need to wrap this up, because my brain is starting to not even let me hypothesize, so I'll leave possible interpretations of this line to you :D feel free to tell me what you think on it.

EDIT: looking back at this line now that my brain isn't trying to turn itself off, this line is most likely a reference to the line in the first half of the song "We had things we were going to do" or something. It could be saying that even adults, who's lives are typically much busier then kids (which also implies the narrator and her boyfriend aren't yet adults, or don't have adult responsibilities yet) still find time to do the things they need to get done and/or said they would do. This may possibly give a bit of insight into the reason behind the potential break-up might have to do with an excuse like "I don't have time" or a pretty common one from what I've been around "you're too clingy." The tone throughout the song of not wanting to let go may further this theory as well.

I'm not sure if this line is being literal, such as when a person says "I don't know whether to laugh or cry," or if it's basically saying "I don't know how to face others/you after this". Both of which might mean the same basic thing though... My mind works odd and I see a bit of a difference between them, though, if you don't, I understand.

This will be the last line. This line can also mean "Because I won't let go of you, even for a moment." I like my translation more, because it has more of a meaning like "I don't want to just forget about you" and "I will hold on as long as I can". Together with the line before this one ("Please come back to me") it makes a feeling like "Come back, I don't want to be apart from you," even if it's not the literal meaning.

If it weren't so late, I might be able to go on even more. I'm pretty good at over analyzing stuff. But, alas, it's past my bedtime (so says my brain), and I've basically done what I set out to do. If you enjoyed this and would like me to do more of these in the future, please tell me~ In case you haven't noticed, I have a tenancy to lose blogging inspiration very fast, I need something to do regularly to keep me at it... haha Well thanks for reading (if you didn't just look at the pictures like I tend to do when I read blogs), and I hope you enjoyed, and maybe form your own connections. G'night!

A few hopes for the next year of H!P

Before continuing, make sure you're aware that anything written in this post is purely my OPINION, which I have a right to share. If you don't agree with it, then you don't have to read it, k thnx bai.

Mmk so I decided to write this here. I dunno why. I should really get better about this blog :3 XD yeah, sure.

Anyway, so I'm just gonna get straight to the point. These are just a few of my hopes for the next year of H!P.

First of all, I really hope that a new unit will be introduced. Whether it's a new permanent Unit like MoBeKiSu, or a new sub unit like what used to be Minimoni, W, Tanpopo, v-u-den, etc. I just don't want another one that's like the Satoyama groups (seems to not be really "H!P"), revival groups (release 1-2 songs and then they're done), or Buono! (epic for like 4 years and then just dies). Anyway, I also have hopes that certain members might get into a unit like this too <3. Here's my list of top wants for unit members:

01. Shimizu Saki

No shit, right? Of course I'd want my current Oshi to get in a new unit if one is made, right? Well, honestly, it's not even because she's my Oshi, okay, that's bullshit, it's actually partly because she's one damn badass rapper. And you know what H!P can never have too much of? Rapping. Yes. I don't care if you love her or hate her, after Loving You Too Much and Cat's Eye, you'd have to be deaf to deny her rapping skills. I'll leave it at that since I know whether or not you like her voice is your opinion cause liking her rapping totally is not xP, I personally do, so that's props for me.

02. Nakajima Saki

Another Oshi. I'm being sooo obvious about this, aren't I? But the main reason I have her here is because, ultimately, I'm wishing for a dance unit (not like UFGZ or whatever they're called, I mean just like a unit made of H!P's dancers and it would have epic dances and yeah). And I believe that Nakky is among the best dancers in current H!P. But yeah, I love Nakky, so even if it's not a dance unit, I'd love to see this girl shine more in the project.

03. Otsuka Aina

Ohoho, now we're getting somewhere less obvious even though she's still my favorite Egg. Basically, Aina was one of the ones I was hoping would get in MM and didn't. I was SO happy to find out she joined the eggs. She's a cutie and a good singer, so I just really wish that she gets to be in a unit in the near future (Especially if the unit is like S/mileage was).

04. Katsuta Rina

Look, this girl is so undercreditted in S/mileage. She has some serious talent. If she isn't gonna get lines in S/mileage, she should get in a unit. Yeah. 'nough said @x@.

05. Suzuki Kanon

Why? Try why not! This girl is just omg. This girl should be a lead in MM. Zukki can sing. AND she as Boobies D: HOW CAN YOU NOT PUT HER IN A UNIT?!

06. Nakanishi Kana

Look at that face. Your reasoning is invalid. But really. Kana is actually my... -counts- 5th favorite in CURRENT S/mileage, and even I think this girl should be in a unit. She's cute and her voice is okay. It's better then a lot of H!P's current leads at least. Plus, I don't know, I just really think she would shine more in a unit then she ever will in S/mileage even if she got a lead (kinda like Yaguchi Mari in Minimoni vs Morning Musume. I personally think that Marippe just suited Minimoni more than MM, and she seemed to have a lot of fun.)

07. Kudo Haruka

Haruka has a LOT of talent. She's a great singing and a good dancer AND she's adorable. Plus she was an egg, so she has more training then since joining Morning Musume. How in the WORLD she gets pushed to the back in Morning Musume, I don't understand in the least. I think a unit for her would be a good way to up her fanbase, and hopefully her camera time in MM.

07. Oda Sakura

You can say I'm joining the bandwagon with this one, but to be totally honest, now that Aichan is gone, Gaki is gone, Kame is gone, Reina is leaving, and Shige probably won't last much longer, H!P needs a new ace. And I KNOW many many MAAAANY people will probably hate me for this, but I really don't want Airi to be that ace. I'll admit that Airi has one of, if not, the best voices in H!P, but I'm SO damn sick of hearing it everywhere. And now that Reina is leaving, You KNOW that face is going somewhere, and most likely it'll go to Airi (I'm not even gonna mention MomoMiyaRisa from BK with the shit budget they've been getting recently compared to C-ute's). And no. I'd rather it go to Sakura. A new face for a new generation of H!P. //rant

08. Mitsui Aika

Aika's a solo act now. But I can't see her ever being an actual soloist. With her foot issues, dancing alone would probably be troublesome, but also her voice isn't really solo material IMO. I really want to see her join, maybe even lead a new unit.

09. Conditional girls

I mentioned above that I'd like a new unit to be a dance unit, yes? Yes. Well, another secret secret? hope I have for a new unit, is one that has a similar concept as High King - a leaders unit. So if there were to be a leaders unit, of course Shige, Maimi, and Ayaka need to be in it!  That's the condition for them. For Riho and Ayumi, what's a dance unit without the current Morning Musume Dancing aces?

What? No Masaki? No Miyabi? Why the heck is Ayumi in "conditional girls"? Where's Fukupon? ANSWER!!!

Okay, so yeah, a few of these hopes are due to biases on some level. But I'm still kinda thinking rational. Kinda. Here's what I figure on the above mentioned girls (despite them being among my favorites).

Masaki: Despite loving her and her voice, unlike Haruka, Masaki doesn't have as much vocal training. Plus, her dancing isn't the best. Both her voice and her dancing have improved since she joined MM, but I still think 2013's too early for her to be in a subunit. I think she should get used to being in Morning Musume first. Plus, I highly prefer her lower voice (the one she used in  Hajimete no Happy Birthday), and I honestly don't want her to be put in a unit to use her cutesy voice.

Miyabi: I love Miyabi, but kinda like Airi, I'm sick of hearing her EVERYWHERE. With Aa, Sexy Otona Jan, Buono, and a lead in Berryz, she got a lot of attention ever since she joined H!P pretty much. I think it's time for some newer faces (or lesser shown ones) to get a little attention.

Ayumi: Like I said, what's a dance unit without Ayumi? But really, I think her singing leaves a LOT to be desired. She's improved a bit, but from what I can hear in Help Me!! her voice is still stiff and hesitant.

Fukupon: I thought about putting Fukupon on this list. I really did. But I just don't see her fitting in with any other members. Mizuki's voice is really soft and gentle, and I can't imagine her fitting in a unit with just about anyone that I put on this list.

Okay so that was a heck of a lot of talking over just one hope @x@. So here are a few more hopes that many people will probably disagree with but too bad.

-More graduations & auditions.

Okay, hear me out first. With Morning Musume gaining 9 new members and losing 7 just in the past few years, and S/mileage gaining 4 and losing 2 and a half (counting Fuu-chan as a half), and the graduation of H!P's only soloist, H!P is entering a whole new era. I hate graduations just as much as most other people out there, but if no one else graduates, I can't imagine H!P getting out of it's same old routine. Same with auditions. Preferably not a Gen 12 for Morning Musume yet @_@ but for sure I'd like to see a new unit, even if it's auditions, and I'd love to see at least one new soloist, preferably more than that. Basically, if a graduation or audition is announced, I'll probably cry and then get over it and be like "... wait... this is exactly what I want o 3o"

-Member colors

Okay I think most people who know me know that I have an obsession with member colors, so my few member color related hopes: 

1. Berryz gets goddamn member color outfits for a single. Really they're they only ones who haven't had one.

2. Member colors start being incorporated into outfits regularly. Even if it's just a bow or something.

3. Member color shuffle. Okay, part of me is petrified if this happens, but I'd LOVE to see it. Currently C-ute's okay (I'd honestly like Airi to be dark pink and Mai to be light pink, but whatever), but Morning Musume especially only a couple members really suit their colors now, I think. Especially once Shige graduates. And Berryz... and S/mileage... Just... idk XD it's scary to think about, but I think it would be interesting.

-Morning Musume Self-Cover album

You remember the Shinsei Naru Album that C-ute just released? Yeah. I wanna see an MM one. I can imagine, if it's after Reina leaves, that it would be VERY interesting since there are so many songs that only Shige if Shige took part in the original. OMG I'd die XD

-More and better Berikyuu

I love Berikyuu as a unit. But lets be honest, Amazuppai sucked ass. No solos, boring tune, boring PV, etc. And Cho Happy Song? So overrated. Eventually it got annoying to listen to. I want a GOOD Berikyuu song. One that I could play on repeat for days without it annoying me.

-Autotune dies

Really. Just die. I don't even care anymore. I'd rather listen to Shige squeak then have to hear any more autotune ever. OR maybe you should put people who can actually SING in front so you don't NEED autotune. Autotune can burn in hell.

-Risako stops with the shit hair colors

Really. No. Her natural color is so beautiful, she's gonna ruin her hair if she keeps dying it. And could she at least pick some good colors? Really. The cha cha sing color made her look like an old lady, and her red hair makes her look like a hooker. Look, red hair is for people with a MAX of Miyabi lengthed hair. Long red hair just looks like a shitty wig.

-More group songs, less solos

I love small group songs on albums. I prefer when these songs are from 2 to 5 people, preferably 3-5. So when 13 Colorful Character was announced to have two solos and then a 8nin song, I was so pissed off. And albums like 6 Chou Wonderful are shit too. I like ones like 5 (FIVE) <33 and even the new Morning Musume Singles that have small group b-sides. Just... <33 cut the solos and make lots of small group songs *^*

-Awesome

I just want this year to be the best year H!P has ever had! ^ 3^