I miss Koharu. True fact. I miss her energy, her weird attractiveness, her inability to sing (I love her weird voice) and of course overall her total, indisputable crackheadedness. And I miss her even more when I see pics like the ones included in her H!P digital photobook Volume 67.  This release came out in May. It’s now up on the tracker at H!O and also available direct download at Musume-Central. Anyway so impressed was I that I thought I’d post a few pics to whet the appetite.

Best. Picture. Ever! O-o DOKI DOKI

Siren!

Koharu is absolutely stunning. I hope leaving H!P doesn’t mean she won’t get any more photobooks and dvd’s. I don’t see why it should. Ishikawa Rika still gets them and Koha is very popular. I’m hoping for another pb later this year. One thing’s for sure though and that’s that Momusu just isn’t the same without her. Her unique looks, personality and singing style really added a lot to the collective. Damn I wish she’d been at the Japan Expo in Paris!

It’s been ages since I did a random pictures post and today while sorting through some folders on my laptop I came across a few pics that made me chuckle. So…

Firstly a pic of recent birthday girl Kusumi Koharu. I’ve always thought highly of Koha. Yes you could say I think the light shines out of her behind…

Meanwhile another recent birthday girl Michishige Sayumi has a message for us all…

“FU”? Well there’s no need for that kind of language young lady. I thought you were supposed to be an idol? >.>

Mano Erina is always busy isn’t she? She releases a single every five minutes, tours, does lots of acting and now it can be revealed she even fights crime in her spare time…

Yes it’s SpiderMano.

But who would an idol superhero have as an enemy? Well there’s one evil arch-enemy all young H!P members have…

Yes it’s the Green Goblin…I mean Yasuda Kei.

But maybe we shouldn’t be too harsh on the older ex-Musume members. I mean even young attractive ex-AKB members can find things get tough. We’ve all heard that one ex-member is going into porn. At least no ex-Momusu members have sunk that low. Have they?

Yuko! That’s just taking the two Japanese obsessions of tv food shows and pornography a step too far.

Meanwhile following the reemergence last year of the shuffle groups Tsunku has denied he is short of inspiration for new ideas. Mind you he denied it at the press conference for the unveiling of his new unit…

…Double Who.

Lots of H!P members have turned to acting recently. With Maimi, Kanon and now Niigaki all having made films and with Mano being all over the net with her dramas Momoko Tsugunaga has decided to show everyone that she will not be outdone. In fact she’s got the starring role in her own tv series…

It’s time to face the music. It’s time to light the lights. It’s time to get things started on the Momopets Show tonight. Momo is to play Kermit. There’s some confusion over who will be playing Miss Piggy. It will all depend on which of Sugaya Risako and Sudo Maasa eats the other one first.

Hey are you ready for an old-time idol experience? Get ready for the youngest swingers in town…

The (B)rat Pack are heading your way. Relive all the old classics like ‘Face the Music and Tap Dance’, ‘Love and Marriage and a Sudden Graduation’, ‘Softly, As I Leave You’ (Kanna Arihara). ‘MaiMai Way‘, ‘Maimi Italiano‘ and ‘Airi Get a Kick out of You‘. Coming to a nightclub joint near you soon. Daddio.

Not to be outdone by Koharu’s recent early morning bread advert Mitsui Aika unveils her new nreakfast cereal campaign…

“Ah they’ve taken me Lucky Charms so they have begorrah”.

Aww look, it’s Ai-chan playing pool…

I wish she’d come round here and play with my balls. What? Oh come on. You know perfectly well I was being completely innocent there. >.>

Anyway after meeting me in Paris Ai-chan has sent me this especially…

Aww I’m touched. I’ve never been so flattered in all my life. No other idol has ever said anything like that to me.

Well I stand corrected. Okay I sit cross-legged corrected. O-o

New photobook alert. There’s another Momusu member pb coming out and it has bikini shots…

Mitsui Aika’s self-titled pb is due out soon. Hmm…I think she’s showing nearly as much as that ex-AKB48 member does now. O-o

Following Argentina’s exit from the World Cup their manager Diego Maradona resigned his post. But we shouldn’t feel sorry for him and not just because he’s a druggie cheating git. Oh no. He has also got to hang out with Okai Chisato and Yajima Maimi…

There’s been yet more H!P food tv programme and porn crossover shenanigans…

Miyabi’s old enough for this filth but trying to get MaiMai involved is just wrong!

Scientists have come up with what they call the female wotas ideal baby…

And finally disaster strikes as Miyabi falls and injures herself at a Buono gig…

There’s neigh way she’ll be able to continue.

Kusumi Koharu is 18 today (15 July. It’s that date in Japan as I write this). Happy birthday Koha. She was my clear second favourite in Momusu behind Ai-chan and well ahead of everyone else over the past few years. I still feel she left too soon and Momusu is missing her sparkle. I loved going to Japan Expo and getting the current members autographs. In fact I had a great time there. Hung out with old friends, made some new ones (one very special one). The weekend was almost perfect but…no Koha. I was so gutted on the Thursday morning when the news came through that Yuko was the surprise guest. Koharu would have really completed my weekend. But it wasn’t to be. Such a shame. I mean I like Yuko but even so…

Anyway I really hope Koharu isn’t going to be one of those ex H!P members who hangs around until the contract expires and then leaves UFA. I really do hope she becomes a solo singer.

Happy birthday Koharu. I hope it’s as cracktacular as you deserve. Also DAMN YOU TSUNKUUUUUUUUUU!

Picspam!

I really do think Koharu has something really special about her. Both in her looks and personality. She’s a big presence badly missed (at least by me).

Right I’m off to make some fairy cakes to celebrate her birthday.

Day four started with us all dumping our bags in CDevil’s room as he was staying an extra day. This was a godsend as it meant not having to lump all our luggage around the expo. At the Expo the others went to the huge Momusu lottery draw queue while I headed back off to the Jelly Beans stall. This time I got a Yu-ki single V clips dvd and her first solo album plus she posed for another picture and gave a handshake. Win! The pic came out kind of blurry though…

I also went back to the Hello! Project store and bought some more stuff. Oh and I took some pics of the costumes (Junjun’s apparently)…

After that I went and met the others who were still queueing. So I wandered off again and came back a while later to queue up myself when the queue wasn’t so long. Two of the people in front of me won tickets but sadly I never. I’d have loved the chance to get their autographs again. I’d bought a poster on the first afternoon which I’d have loved to get signed and I’d have liked to have a second attempt at actually saying something to the members. Even so I got into one signing session and that’s more than some people so I can’t complain. Also the weekend was just so good that I couldn’t possibly be unhappy! The fact we could all watch the signing sessions taking place really made the difference. Even if you weren’t lucky enough to get an autograph you could still see the members so close and get a wave off them. I mainly seemed to end up on the right hand side which meant I was closest to Linlin. She waved a lot including at me a few times.

Anyway after the draw I attempted to find the Q&A session. I’d hoped to meet jltos again as well but hadn’t seen her yet. By the time I found the Q&A session it was almost over so I hung around outside hoping to spot Hexi and co but they had left early and gone to a cafe. However lucky strike number three in three days meant I bumped into jltos again. She was just about to leave to catch her plane back to Finland but she had a birthday card she’d made for Sayumi. I took the card and promised to get it handed over at the signing session then we said our goodbyes. I felt kind of sad we hadn’t spent any time together that final day but even so I’m really pleased to have had her company for the two previous days.

Eventually I found the others at the cafe and as luck would have it Hexi had a ticket for the signing session so she handed the Sayu card over to the staff. Sadly for the first time the security were all over the signing session stopping people taking photos. I know a forum member from Hello! Online had managed to get into one of the autograph sessions as a photographer one day so whether that was a cause or not I don’t know. Either way it was annoying not to be able to take photos that final session. But on the plus side we got plenty more waves from Momusu and they all came to the front of the stage at the end to wave goodbye.

I did manage a few snaps before the guards moved in…

Once we’d had some food and drink we left the Expo and headed to the airport as we heard Momusu may be on the 7:30 plane. Someone then saw the manager with lots of bags so we knew we were on the right track. Then all of a sudden there they were walking down the corridor. They walked past us only a few feet away with no barriers or anything between us. They waved and said goodbye to us all. It was just amazing. Ai-chan looked directly at me at one point. Oh happy happy joy joy! Then Mitsui looked at me and when I looked back she waved so I did too. They then queued up and we waited for them to leave. At times they turned around and waved and then as they were leaving Ai-chan shouted something but I can’t remember what (thank you?) Then they were gone. So amazing. Once again they had been so positive towards the people who had waited to see them. To have them just feet away from you looking directly at you is just unbelievable. Oh and Reina looked gorgeous. She really does have such a striking clothes style. Boots and a short skirt! Plus she had the patented Reina hair and some badass sunglasses on. I wish I’d gotten some photos but Airport security told us no pics.

Once Momusu had gone it was time for us to head to the hotel, get our bags and head back to the airport for our coach. It didn’t leave until half 11 but we all needed some food and drink. The coach journey home seemed longer than it had done coming. That may have been French border control and the wait for a Channel Tunnel train or it may just have been the fact that there was a sense of sadness at it all ending. I have to say that I loved that four days. I can’t think of anywhere else other than an Expo where so many people can just dress up and be themselves (well be other people sort of but you get my point) without fear of ridicule and/or violence. Everyone was so happy and it was great walking around all the stores. Also seeing so many ecstatic Momusu fans really brought home how wonderful Hello! Project is. The fact people can travel from all over the world just because of this one group and then meet each other is just brilliant. You end up meeting people you would never have met otherwise. What’s the translation of the line from Koko ni Iruzee! again? Music knows no country borders or something similar? Damn right. I met Germans, Mexicans, Americans, French, Canadians (but I don’t think I met any French Canadians) Finnish people and many more besides. And everyone had such a good time. SUGOI!

I felt strangely free for all four days. Like the shackles of the rat race had been broken. I know it won’t last and it’ll only take a day or two back at bitch-central where I work before I feel run down again but even so that whole weekend was one long free and glorious period I will never forget. I hope Momusu or someone else from H!P comes to Europe again soon. We need to do all this again. XD

I’d like to thank Hexi, ptom, Lampshade, Paul Elliott, CDevil and jltos for a great weekend. Being back in the ‘normal’ world with nobody to talk to about Ai-chan’s perfectness or the beauty of Junjun (shut up ptom!) is going to suck. Normal life is rubbish. Our lives are so much better!

I’d like to finish with a song. *Clears throat* Oh you won’t be able to hear me anyway so here’s some pics of some stuff I bought but haven’t mentioned yet…

Pocky Pocky Pocky :p

Those last two pics were the front/back of the S/mileage Mano Erina visual book covers.

Day three started with breakfast of orange juice and tea before we decided to head off to the Expo. We hadn’t bothered queueing up overnight for the first come first served Momusu autograph queue as we figured there’d be no chance of getting in anyway. This turned out pretty much correct. A lot of the people who camped out overnight didn’t get in. Anyway after two days of baking hot sun it started to rain just as we were walking to the bus stop. And then it really rained…and thundered…and turned the street into a river. Not too good for us but probably even worse for the poor sods who’d camped out overnight.

When we got to the Expo we went to see the Momusu signing session. We were at the right of the stage right by the barriers. Suddenly Momusu walked right past us the other side of the barriers. I wish I’d had my camera ready! Anyway Momusu were again great. Waving at everybody and making lots of signs. The crowd were having a lot of fun at each signing screaming out names and getting waves. My camera was still rubbish though. >.>

That’s about the only postable pic from the signing. Then they walked off past us again and I got these…

Crap pictures but they were so close! I’m sure some great pictures will turn up online at some stage.

I split off from Hexi, Lampshade, ptom and Paul Elliott as I didn’t really fancy the Kirarin Revolution cosplay thing and I really wanted to look around the Expo properly and find the Jelly Beans stall. It’s safe to say I got hopelessly lost and walked around for about an hour before finally finding the Jelly Beans store. Yu-ki was there signing cd’s, posters and so on as well as posing for photos. I bought the two Jelly Beans cd/dvd’s pictured below then went back the next day for the two Yu-ki solo releases (an album and single V clips).

Here is the picture I took…

Pretty!

Anyway I then wandered around lost some more. I think I probably wandered around on my own for about three hours then suddenly I spotted jltos. Joy! It turns out she’d been on her own as her room-mate had flown back home due to being in the middle of moving house (and country). So I had the pleasure of her company for the rest of the day. It also turns out that the reason Momusu had walked past us where they did was that they went to the Hello! Project Shop after the signing. jltos had been there and they walked right up to the store and posed for pictures. I am so jealous!

After grabbing something to drink with jltos we then found the Kirarin Revolution event that was nearly finished so we waited for the others. I got two free hugs of random girls who had walked past in a big free hugs crowd. Then we wandered off to a stall that had some stupidly priced merchandise (Nine Smile dvd 95 Euros anyone? B-Sides Collection 90?) However the stall also had calendars incredibly cheap including C-ute and Berryz latest ones. It may be half-way through the year but for 7 Euros I was not going to pass up a C-ute calendar…

January seemed quite hot this year…

^.^

Oh and happy July…

They also had photobooks for 45 Euros which I passed up on.

Eventually we headed back to the hotel and since jltos was staying nearby we arranged to order six pizzas (four of them actually looked edible) and jltos, Lampshade, Paul Elliott and I stayed in ptom and Hexi’s room and watched the Nine Smile dvd for the evening. Some lucky wotas had gone to the Eiffel Tower and got an Eiffel of Momusu (bad pun alert…oh wait I should give that warning before the pun). Yes apparently Momusu had gone to the Eiffel Tower and happily posed for pictures with fans. Momusu were great this weekend with their attitude to the fans. Only to be expected from such a wonderful group but even so it needed saying. Regardless of what Momusu were doing we had a good time watching Koha’s graduation concert while some hotel guests sat on the lawn outside the hotel playing a guitar and saxophone. It was quite surreal background music that kept coming through. It was like some Sam Spade film noir. Momusu walked into the room. As soon as I saw them I knew my life was over. From that moment on it was NoLife (bad pun alert…oh yeah too late again. Sorry!)

About midnight we all headed off to our own rooms. The third day was over but it had involved some good Momusu moments. Especially them walking right past us. Also I’d spent most of the day with jltos who I found I had a lot in common with. Away from seeing Momusu and seeing my fellow Brit wotas again the other great thing I’ve taken away from the weekend is meeting jltos. She is absolutely lovely and her company for those two days was so enjoyable (arigatou!) If anyone from H!P ever goes to Finland in the future I’ll make sure I’m there!

Day two started with us all having breakfast in the hotel. I wish I’d taken a photograph. There was some cereal made out of chocolate, lots of bread, a toaster to make your own toast, some chocolate spread and not much else except for some refreshingly cold juice and some tea (I missed tea. I missed it a lot). After ‘breakfast’ (tea, orange juice, tea, orange juice and orange juice for me) it was off to the Expo to see how CDevil was getting on. Although he had booked two hotel rooms it seems both he and his band of mercenaries had no intention of sleeping in their beds at any stage. So he, a Mexican, an American and a Canadian (that sounds either like some modern retelling of The magnificent Seven or the start of a joke) had camped out overnight to get good views come the concert. It worked as I saw them on the big screens quite a bit come the concert itself.

Walking to the concert venue in the morning we got chatting to an English girl who recognised Hexi from her blog. She was staying with a Hello! Online user called jltos. We all walked to the concert venue partly because we wanted to see CDevil, CatchFiveBats and co and also because we wanted to find some shade and find where the concert venue was so we could not get lost later. After hanging around a while I decided I really wanted to go to the autograph draw queue so while Lampshade, Hexi, ptom and Paul Elliott stayed at the concert venue I walked to the Expo with two people I’d only just met.

Of the five signing sessions over the four days two were first come first served (the FNAC Champs Elysee one and one on Saturday Morning) the others were a lotto system where you hand in your ticket, the staff sign it so they know you’ve been through once, then you draw a ticket out of a box. It either had a smiley or frowny face. I didn’t win but jltos did and I was so happy for her. Even though we’d only just met I already knew she was such a nice person with such a positive attitude that she deserved it so much. After the draw we went to the Hello! Project stall. jltos bought the special expo set of photos to get signed. I bought a set the day before. They aren’t signed but a nice memento…

We then went to the autograph session where she queued up and I watched. Morning Musume walked out onto the stage dressed in their bunny girl outfits. So incredibly cute! If I’d known my camera was so poor I’d have bought a new one before I went!

We then went to get some food and drink before we headed to the concert line.

The concert line was pretty long already even though it was only half four. I could see Hexi at the front of the queue with MiniMico (who is mini) and CDevil, Lampshade, ptom and Paul Elliott were all around there too. Instead we queued up a lot further down the line. There was a great atmosphere that even the sudden rain couldn’t dampen. There were plenty of official photographers coming out taking pictures of the crowd and a cameraman too. The hours were spent in heady anticipation and were made more pleasurable by the good company I was in.

Come 6:45 we were let in to the venue. There was still 45 minutes to go but we spent the time chatting to an American girl who lives in France and who was there with a French friend who doesn’t speak English. Everyone was so happy at the prospect of seeing Momusu it was just a surreal and gleeful experience. The music being played before the concert included Bran Van 3000′s Drinkin’ In LA which is pretty much one of my favourite songs ever and that made me giggle to myself for some reason. But then came half 7 and the concert started. Momusu. There. On stage. Performing. On stage. There. In front of me. On stage. There! What? Is this a dream? Throughout the concert I kept turning to jltos and she had such a big smile on her face. everyone was cheering and waving glowsticks. The atmosphere was great. Momusu performed Kimagure Princess early on which I love. Seeing them perform that live is when it REALLY hit home that this is Momusu. There. On stage. In front of me. There. No really, there! XD

There was a great moment during the mc’s where each member introduces themselves. Before the concert there’d been some plan to sing happy birthday to Sayu during her bit (does anybody know which forum or whatever had organised it?) As soon as she stopped talking the crowd started singing but at different times and speeds so it didn’t sound like much at all at first. The fact we’d interrupted Mitsui probably made her worried but I think it was Ai-chan who caught on to what was happening first and started pointing at Sayu. Then Mitsui started waving her arms to get the crowd to sing it again. We all did and in unison this time. Sayu looked genuinely surprised and touched. There were tears in her eyes. It was a great moment. It’s not even her birthday for another two weeks. XD

Half-way through the concert the surprise guest turned up. It was Nakazawa Yuko. We’d been hoping for Koharu but had heard on the morning of the day before that it was Yuko instead. Still she got a really warm reception and seemed really happy. She spoke to an interpreter a bit and a few clips from early pv’s were played. I don’t totally understand why she was there but she was warmly received. I do think it was a bit long though and would have preferred more Morning Musume. They could have performed a few more songs in that time. Even Yuko singing one of the early singles would have been good. I just don’t get why they had her there and jusy played pv clips.

Morning Musume came back and did some more songs and I don’t mind saying that I was a bit teary eyed at several stages of the concert. I love this group and seeing them in person was so far beyond what I ever imagined was possible. The night was topped off by their encore of How Do You Like Japan? One of my favourite album tracks ever. The fact they also did Renai Revolution 21 that night too (my favourite single) just really made this a special night.

It was an awesome day spent in good company (something that was to continue on the Saturday due to a chance meeting. Chance meetings can be great). I will never really be able to explain how much it meant to see Momusu performing right in front of me. Words like “awesome”, “amazing” and “supercallifrageristicexpialidocious” just seem too mild really. It was a great day for meeting jltos and a great night for seeing Momusu. It was awesomelysupercallifrageristicexpialidocious with an extra topping of heavenly bliss thrown onto a huge fluffy cloud of joy. And then some.

So on Wednesday the 30th June I set off on the train to London to catch a coach to Paris with Hexi, InsaneLampshade and ptom. We arrived in Paris at about 6:30 on the morning of July 1st. We then spent a good while wandering around Charles de Gaulle Airport looking for the free shuttle to our hotel (or at least for someone to point us in the right direction. Two people independently pointing us in the same direction would have been a start at least). So we gave up and took a taxi instead. At least we attempted to. Taxi drivers and the whole taxi system seem a little complex in Paris. First of all the driver walked off with our hotel address and started talking to other drivers. We have no idea what they were saying but “how much should we rip these deperate Brits off for?” may have been involved. Anyway we finally got to the hotel only to find that they couldn’t book us in until 12 and there’s nowhere to leave our bags. Luckily CDevil had arrived a day earlier and the rooms had key codes so he texted the code and we dumped our stuff in his room and attempted to get a taxi to the Champs Elysee to meet up with him (he’d camped out all night to get a place in the first Momusu signing session at FNAC). The hotel we were staying in was one of many in one little strip in the middle of nowhere. Handy for both the airport and Expo though. Even so it was such a hassle getting a hotel to book us a taxi that at one stage it looked like we’d have to go all the way back to the airport using the free shuttle and then get a taxi to Champs Elysee. Luckily eventually a hotel receptionist spent about seven million hours on the phone to one company and got a taxi for us.

The taxi ride to Champs Elysee was interesting to say the least. Not least because I’d had no sleep since the previous morning, no food, had a hangover from drinking on the coach and the heat was quite stifling. Add to that the fact the fact that the French have a gloriously suicidal disregard for road safety (they don’t actually seem to have a traffic system, it’s more a ‘see a space take it fast before someone else does. Oh no too late that biker you only just missed had got there first. Mind that car! Shit! That was close. Roundabout. Stall the car on the roundabout. Mind the police woman. Ooh…nearly hit her. Never mind. Better luck next time’ type of system. All motorbike riders drive with their hazard lights on. I can only presume it’s because they drive so crazily that they are expecting to crash at any minute and so need them on anyway. The journey also took ages being rush hour. Anyway we eventually arrived at the signing queue and joined at the back. Except ptom and Hexi went off for food and by the time they came back the line stewards had arrived and decided nobody else could join. Despite the help of two really helpful French women in front of us in the queue the stewards refused to let them in so Lampshade swapped places with Hexi so she had a chance of getting an autograph.

This next paragraph is under review with Morningtime’s lawyers and is now banned from publication under the 50 year rule.

The good thing about the autograph session (both at FNAC and the others at the actual expo) was that they allowed people to watch. So even if you weren’t lucky enough to get an autograph you could still see the members. Plus they were waving and responding to calls from the crowd. Mitsui was so enthusiastic at responding that at one stage I thought she was having a fit. Seeing the members in the flesh is just so surreal. I have watched these people for the past three years (ever since I became a fan). I never thought it would go beyond watching on a laptop or tv screen. Seeing them actually there in front of you is almost too hard to comprehend. It certainly feels to hard to explain properly. Stunned glee is about the best I can manage. I really wish I’d taken some photos on the first day but I’d left my (not very good) camera in my bag back in CDevil’s cloakroom.

After the FNAC signing session we took a train to the Expo to try our luck at the lottery signing system. We then headed back to our rooms for showers and water before heading out for something to eat. I’d like to say one of the more unlikely highlights of my weekend is sitting in the hotel room watching the French version of Wheel of Fortune. The main influences on the French version seem to be Eurotrash and The Jay Leno Show (there’s an incredibly camp host who has a dog with him, a blonde woman with huge bazookas who looks like that Lola explodingtitsa and then there’s the  house band. Yes that’s right. The house band. The Wheel of Fortune has a house band). It would have been interesting had one of the influences of the French version of Wheel of Fortune actually been Wheel of Fortune but no. As far as I can tell the host chats a bit, everyone dances, a wheel is spun every now and then, nobody gets any money then suddenly two of the three contestants walk off and the third is the winner (maybe the other two got bored? Hey maybe it’s other influence is that Japanese game show Endurance that Clive James used to love showing clips from. Maybe the winner is the one who doesn’t get embarrassed or bored to death before the other two?)

Anyway the highlight of day one is I got Momusu’s autographs…

I didn’t realise until I got home that Mitsui had come off all over the back of Reina. Hmm…I’d have thought Junjun was the more likely to do that sort of thing. O-o Anyway seeing them in the flesh and actually speaking to them was beyond description. I could probably only describe it in some kind of energetic visual mime that involves lots of jumping up and down and an aneurysm. There was no handshaking but you could chat to the members briefly. However all my Japanese (well what little I know) deserted me. Everything is such a blur I didn’t even realise they were saying “merci” until I was up to Sayumi.

I was wearing my Ai-chan Nine Smile t-shirt. When I walked up she looked directly at it and gave me a great big smile. She then said “konnichiwa” (as they all did) and took my picture to sign. After saying arigatou to her I was about to move on to Niigaki but had to say “thank you” to Ai-chan in the most heartfelt way. For some reason even though I said “arigatou” to them all I also then said “thank you”. It was like I wanted to point out my Englishness but also say my thanks in the way I was most used to so that I could really get over the gratitude. Anyway it was quite noisy and Ai-chan didn’t quite hear so she went “huh” with a big smile and hand to her ear and I said it again to which she replied “oh you’re welcome”. Englishness got across. So cute.

When it comes to Momusu there are some members whose bigger size photosets I buy. Then the other members I just tend to have their pics through group sets. I really wanted to show my support of my favourite members by getting the bigger sized sets signed. Also the only all members smaller set I have that just has the current line-up (no Koha) is the bunny pics set. I like it but I find that some members looked better on the pics than others. Besides I really wanted some bigger pictures signed by my favourite members. So I picked four bigger pictures of Ai, Sayu, Reina and Junjun and used the smaller bunny set pics for the others. I hoped they didn’t mind signing the smaller pics but when it came to it each member took the bunny pic and went “OHH” in an approving manner or something similar. Niigaki signed hers then Eri. While Eri was looking down signing my picture Sayu was waiting for me so as I looked around and saw her she gave me a great big wave and “konnichiwa” to which I replied with the same. I don’t think I’ve waved as much in my entire life put together as I did in the past four days. After Sayu (who looked so cute) it was time for Reina. This weekend has reminded me just how stylish, unique and sexy she is. She had the patented Reina hair style throughout the four days and looked amazing. After Reina was Mitsui who was very friendly. I will say I’ve warmed to her as a person during the four days, just not as an idol. I still don’t think she should be one but she did come across as very likeable. She is also good at working the crowd. After Mitsui was Junyum. Junjun just looked wow. I spent the most time with her as Hexi was right in front of me getting a picture from Momusu’s calendar signed and Junjun and Linlin were kind of squeezed together at the end. The picture was so big that Linlin was having trouble getting it into a position to sign and Junjun couldn’t sign my pic until Linlin had signed Hexi’s. I just wish I spoke Japanese better so I could have a conversation. Anyway Junjun eventually signed my pic to which I replied with “sugoi” and “arigatou” and “thank you”. Each member also replied with “thank you” when I said it. Waaaah. Finally it was Linlin’s turn. Linlin smiles a lot at the crowd and looks better in person than on pics. Then that was it. I joined the ptom, Lampshade and Hexi in watching the rest of the signing. Hexi was in floods of tears. She’d reckoned she wouldn’t cry this time too. But tears of happiness is the perfect way of illustrating the awesomeness of Momusu so all is good.

I have to say during all the signing sessions Momusu were great at responding to fans calls. Mitsui was hilarious during the FNAC signing. At one stage she made so many different facial expressions in such a short space of time it looked either like she was having a fit or like one of those cartoonish moments where a character has some sort of attack (think Homer Simpson having a heart attack or that Detective in Kaito Reinya when he starts thinking about Reina – the bit where the mouse is doing the movements with him). Anyway it was funny. During the four days I got waves from Linlin, Junjun and Mitsui a lot. Mainly because I was standing over to their part of the stage as that’s where I could get the best views.

After the Expo we met up with Paul Elliott (who comments on the Hello! Blog a lot and who was staying in the same hotel) then we went out seeking food. The restaurant on the first night was quite good. Everything came with French fries for some reason but the grilled chicken was great after a long day.

So to summarise day one. I was tired, hungover, baked in the sun and then I met Momusu. Which makes everything worth it. What’s a two hour train ride (plus 30 minute delay) and a 7 hour coach ride when you get to meet Momusu? It’s nothing. Belly crawling naked over broken glass and landmines would be worth it if there was a chance of meeting Momusu (should you survive). Momusu were truly amazing and it was still only day one.

Meeting them is hard to describe. When you’ve only ever seen them on laptops or tv screens to see them in person is so far beyond awesome that no word has yet been invented that can adequately describe the feeling. Maybe the best word to describe it is “Momusu”. That should be the new benchmark for something that goes beyond heavenly bliss. Meeting Ai-chan (my dream girl) and finding her even more beautiful, cute, sweet and damn lovely in person was just the best thing ever. Then having to meet the other seven members when already on cloud 9 just takes you to some new higher cloud that’s so high up it’s technically in space. BEST. WEEKEND. EVER!

Days two to four will come later. So tired right now.

Hyakupa subs have translated the recent Momusu Alo-Hello 4 dvd. I’m not really intending to do a review as such, more a few random comments.

Okay that’s a good start.

YAY!

Ai-chan wants to know where to put the turtle? I have a few suggestions but they’re a bit (well a lot actually) pervy. >.>

Ah fair enough Eri. Okay I think Ai should bend you over and…

Nobody else has ever complained. >.>

Yeah it was a bit quick but I’ve been err…tired a lot recently and err…

Oh relax. I joke of course. Ai and Eri were making jewellery for each other using beads. I know what type of things I’d have used beads for with them but apparently they were for external use only so…

Ai and Eri do make a nice pairing though…

Beautiful. So glad they didn’t just do the lame thing of putting Ai with Niigaki.

Meanwhile Linlin was paired with Mitsui for the jewellery making and photoshoot and then Junyum with Sexy Cat.

Not so much fan service as Junjun service.

Then Sayu was paired with Niigaki. That’s 21 minutes of a one hour dvd gone and all we’ve seen is some jewellery making and a bit of posing? Alo-Hello 3 had beach races and beach volleyball. Ah well onwards…

Onwards to the Genki Pika Pika pv they decided to shoot. Oh dear Buddha no. I know what you’re thinking “it’s eight girls in bikinis dancing on a beach. How bad can it be?” Right? Well nothing can quite prepare you for the sheer embarrassment of this pv. The dancing is dreadful, the close-up’s are windy and the whole thing is just awful. I wouldn’t mind, I mean it’s just a bit of fun right? Just having a laugh on the beach yeah? Yeah well I’d rather not see the members doing something so amateur. It makes those Youtube dancers seem really professional by comparison.

After Gunky Puker Puker we go on to get a photobook making-of style montage of each member prancing around on the beach, posing elsewhere, etc. The thing is that’s what the dvd’s that come with photobooks are there for. Recently there’s been this trend of soing this. Making the full-length dvd’s into nothing more than extended pb making-of’s. It’s infuriating. I want to hear the members actually speaking (except Mitsui). I want to see them doing something more interesting than simply posing. Whether it be sight-seeing or competing against each other in sports like with Alo-Hello 3 or even just mucking around in pools like in C-ute’s Alo-Hello or shopping like in Berryz Koubou’s. It’s fine as long as they are lively and we get to hear them actually talking. Watching them posing while crap instrumental music plays makes these dvd’s nothing more substantial than a bit of soft porn. Where are their personalities? They have them (not Mitsui) and I want to see them. It’s like just deciding they are eye candy only so why bother? Now I may make the odd pervy comment or several (hundred) but really I adore these girls (not Mitsui) and love their personalities (not Mitsui’s). I find this increasingly common trait of making them mute and having them just pose prettily just undersells all that they have to offer. It downgrades them and considering the up and coming idol groups out there like Momoiro Clover and the groups already upped and came like AKB I don’t think H!P can afford to just have the members be pretty. It’s a bit like having weekly or daily tv programmes and having them do boring things…yeah like that would have ever happened. >.> Besides which surely that’s what photobooks are for. Dvd’s offer the opportunity of so much more than just pretty visuals. I love pb’s and will always support my favourite idols by buying them. But I don’t see the idols as meat. I love them for their personalities first and foremost. Otherwise I’d still be liking Fujimoto Miki (I used to like her in the early days because she looks good. Then once I found out the type of personality she has I went off her big time. Good lucks don’t cut it on their own). If I buy a pb I expect pictures. On a dvd I expect a hell of a lot more. I expect their personalities to come to the fore. If H!P’s management can’t make the most of the idols (and they have shown time and time again that they can’t) then H!P’s management are clueless wankers. Oh and Momusu’s singles sales are dropping while other groups are taking their place so this isn’t the time to have clueless wankers for management (if there is ever a time anyway. Which would seem doubtful).

Anyway rant over so here’s some eye candy anyway.

Ah Junjun. So deserving of her very own pb’s and dvd’s.

And it’s been too long since Reina had her own releases too.

Pretty girl is pretty (but also bitchy. Still you can’t have everything).

I think I’ll set up a Twitter account called EriChanSleep and see if I can convince Hello! Online that it’s really Eri’s account. >.>

I’ve been finding myself liking her turtleness more and more recently. Seeing her with Ai-chan earlier in the dvd makes me wonder what it’d be like if Gaki left and Eri became sub-leader. I’d like to find out.

Still as awe-inspiringly gorgeous, sweet and angelic as always. DOKI DOKI!

So 41 minutes in and what do we get next? The actual photobook shoot. Ahahahahaha…that’s just taking the piss. Although at least they can talk a bit now. Anyway here’s some more picspam. Well what else is there?

Lucky tree.

Everyone wants to hug Ai.

I do wish Niigaki would stop gurning. I’m starting to think less of her than I do of Mitsui. And that’s saying something. Also I’m not sure now which one of them looks more like Jimmy Krankie. It used to be Mitsui no question but now Niigaki with that hair…

Err…no. No you’re not.

Junjun gets her arms around everybody. A girl after my own heart.

Mitsui! MITSUI! Put it on your head! XD

I would like to be on that bed…instead of Niigaki.

License to thrill. And so on.

Right back at ya! >.>

And that’s a wrap. I think H!P’s management is so poor their head honcho may actually be Sepp Blatter. And I can’t think of a more insulting thing to say about any organisation than that. Even so I adore these girls (not Mitsui) and would rather spend an hour watching them watching paint dry than I would spend an hour watching AKB members do pornography (which with at least one member you can do now apparently). My negativity is not towards the girls (except Mitsui) it’s towards the management for not making the most of the beautiful talented idols they have (not Mitsui). Yes I like seeing them in bikinis. But I love seeing them doing interesting and fun things while their personalities shine through. Surely the whole point of the idol industry is that the multi-talented idols have different types of personalities? There should be an idol for everybody. When you mute your idols and just have them posing then it’s more like the adult entertainment industry. H!P idols aren’t supposed to be those kind of idols. Leave that to the ex-AKB’ers. Let the individual personalities shine through. Let each member add what they have to create a strong dynamic idol group with it’s own unique identity. Hello! Project really needs to sort itself out. This is disappointing. The talent they have (not Mitsui) and are wasting is such a shame. I want to feel close to my idols. Therefore in order to do that I want to see and hear them doing interesting things. Demoting them to nothing more than models eradicates so much of their personalities that you are really watching them while thinking back to earlier dvd releases and tv show appearances in order to remember the personalities. So I watch it thinking “Ai-chan you are wonderful” but I’m having to think back to other times to remember her actually being wonderful when it should be plain to see here in front of me now. So in short what a stupid waste of a dvd.

In case you haven’t heard Okada Yui has announced her contract with Up-Front has ended and she wants to move on to pastures new (possibly to become a make-up artist). A Hello! Online user has made a post here with some translations.

What can I say? I know she’s been out the limelight a lot since v-u-den split (she was doing some tv shows mind you). Even so I’m gutted. Okada Yui was that rare thing in H!P. A member who was sexy and funny. It seems a shame her career fizzled out. She was the best thing about Yo-Yo Girl Cop and always made an impression in H!P live shows. She was also constantly funny in Hello! Morning sketches. The move from H!P to Up-Front hasn’t benefited many members so far. Melon Kinenbi did okay for a while…then split up. Otherwise only really Rika and Yossie and Maeda Yuki seem to have done much since leaving. I have to say yet again the management are crap. It makes me wonder about Koha’s future.

Anyway instead of getting all emo about it let’s celebrate the good times. Great v-u-den songs and pv’s, great live appearances and of course great pics…

I guess the only thing left to say is Yui-chan Nanni mo Iwazu ni I LOVE YOU!

Oh yeah and I have a message for H!P/Up-Front management…

Chisato is 16 today. Waaaah. Sweet 16! Here’s hoping Tsunku GIVES HER A SODDING PHOTOBOOK AS A PRESENT! And I’m not talking about one of Airi’s either! >.>

Okai has the competitive, sometimes moody, tomboy type of personality at times. But she has also grown up to be quite beautiful. Add to that a good voice and I think that’s a winning and unique combination. I love her spunk, her voice and her looks. Plus her personality in C-ute contrasts well with the other members and leads to some fun viewing. Her rivalry with Maimi in her Yorosen week for instance. Contrasts bring out the personalities of all members. It makes things a lot more interesting.

It’s great to have seen her grow over the years. After all she’s gone from this…

To this…

Those last pics are my favourite set from any Hello! Project member from the past year or so. Breathtaking! Anyway I hope we get to see a lot more of Chisato over the coming years. I’d love to see her get more vocals in C-ute. She more than deserves them. Also of course as I’ve mentioned countless times I’d love to see her get a photobook and dvd. Basically I’d like to see her have a higher profile. She’s really blossomed over the past few years and I think she will only continue to get better and better in so many ways. Happy 16th birthday Chisato-chan!