Hello, long time no see.
Life got in the way of things and so I have not blogged for a long time.
However in my helping out in the technical side of things with PureIdolHeart , helped me to regain some spark. So I will be restarting the old rusty engine for sure and hopefully very very soon.
Will take some time to code my own blog engine, when it is finished, will post the link here.
Just so we are clear, and so that PIH has its own identity - Previously Gaki mentioned that this blog has moved on to PureIdolHeart.blogspot.com.
To be clear, PureIdolHeart is NOT an extension of HNPH. It is purely Gaki's brainchild and his very own project. It would be unfair to say take any credit from all his hard work, because he does have his own unique and exclusive writing and direction on how his site works. Give PIH all the support you can, the writing team has a lot more to offer and you don't want to miss a thing, for that I am sure.
Needed to have this written down, to compose my thoughts and as a reminder to myself.
Balance. Who can find the middle ground for it? Real life has caught up to me and I find myself in constant struggle with it ever since my change of marital status last year. Everyone wants attention from me everytime, everyone want SOMETHING from me all the time. And it is getting more and more each day. Have I bitten off more than I can chew?
Sacrifice is needed under these circumstances, but I grew tired of it. For some reason, everyone demands it of me, unwilling to make some sacrifice of their own. What have I lost during the past one year?
It was around this time last year that I greatly slowed down my writing because of the changes that comes with my marriage. Obviously, my bachelor and otaku style of living needs to change somehow. I used to spend hours without sleep on the Net, as if the Net IS my life. And it was. Modding and roleplaying my Baldur's Gate games for the n-th time was my life. Writing songs and arranging music with my guitar and Fruity Loops was my life. Manga and Anime was my life. And especially HNPH, it was my life and my life's work.
I have since pushed away many, many, many requests for help in Japanese translations of even more projects in Anime, PV and lyrics. (For those of you reading this, I apologies again.) I have since stopped reading manga and purchasing/downloading anime. I have since stopped keeping up to date with the Jpop world. I have since put my writing and blogging literally to a stop. At times, I find that I have lost my passion in whatever I have done so far and have contemplated of getting away from it all. How has this happened?
Interests have diminished for the things that I have utmost passion for. Following the developments of the entertainment scene had always excite and inspire me. What do we have so far? Wedding bells for Ayaka, Goto Maki shifting label, new songs for C-ute, Gaki-san and Ai-chan in a dorama. Yet I find no joy in things like this anymore. Started to look at the idol scene in a different and twisted way. I recount another one of my most passionate interest, in the one Kago Ai - Aibon. My love for Aibon was HUGE a few years back, even when she got caught in her famous scandals I am supportive of her. But now... I am not afraid to admit that I have not read her blog entries even once. She is not Aibon anymore, she is just .... "Kago Ai". A struggling celebrity looking for a comeback in her career, trying to find a balance between her life's challenges and making it back to the mainstream of people's minds in the entertainment scene. In a way, I can relate to her and her suicidal attempts. I have scars of my own in my left forearm to show for that. Sometimes pressure and dissapointments in life can really bring you down. But it is not about always about the people around you, rather it is your own life that you have come to despise and you wish nothing else than to put at end to it. I sympathise with Kago. She had it rough, took it hard and made it hard for herself.
However, again it is in her that I find inspiration. Certainly, the things that she has gone through in her life - broken family, pressure from work, pressure from public, the media - it must have been even harder for her, considering that she faced all that before reaching her 20th birthday.
Therefore, I see no reason I cannot do the same. After looking at her blog for the first time yesterday, I thought to myself - I shall make MY own comeback. Things that I resolved to do last year, MUST be done in this year. Don't have time? Make the time. The Merovingian seems to think it is possible. Hopefully and with luck, I will not be defeated this time.
If possible I would humbly to ask the support from all reading this post as you have supported as always. Perhaps, you may even have a chance to embark on this quest with me. Will let you all know more in due time.
There have been some posts that I wished I have the time to write, but always I got distracted someway or another. Here are some:
- FNS and YTV charts; 30-11-2007 (No biggie, really)
- Of Leah Dizon, AKB48, Shokotan in Kouhaku 2008; 26-11-2007 (You all know this)
- Other variations of wotagei; 20-11-2007 (Yes there are others, darn cute too)
- Yaguchi Mari denying her alleged relationship; 12-11-2007 (For those who missed it, yeah she had one scoop but not big news either, since she is not in MM anymore)
- Hello Non Pro Hour Lost Months EP01-05; 31-11-2007 (Remember the time when I was missing for months, there were 5 episodes of blog contents that was in queue to catch up on old news while I was away. But time and wife got in the way.)
- Onna ni Sacchi Are translations; 02-07-2007 (Yes I am still doing translations, but now... now i am not so confident of squeezing the free time anymore)
- Bishoujo Club 31; 29-06-2007 (Found out about them while I was looking for info on Berryz Captain Saki-chan. A very interesting alternative to MM, NGP and AKB48)
- KiraPika; 11-06-2007 (Trying to detect a plagiarism act on LuckyStar manga ^_^)
- Relationship between Sky Corp and UFW; 25-05-2007 (The agencies from Sugiura's and Tsuji's agency. There is a connection....... i think. )
- Hello! Project Idol Life and Private Life Part 1 & 2; 09-05-2007, 10-05-2007 ( This series was actually 90% finished. But I forgot now why I did not publish it. Perhaps it was too spicy for anyone to read. This series talks about boyfriends of MM girls and discusses the meaning of Dekikon (shotgun marriage). Also included are my own conspiracy theory of what happened behind closed doors. Could potentially be a novelty piece. )
- Sukeban Curse; 30-04-2007 (I did not come up with this one. But this was too funny, XD)
- Morning Musume Alpha - Onyanko Club; 23-04-2007 (Yes, I did not lie... there is a follow-up piece to the Tokyo Performance Doll article. Yet this article went unfinished due to lack of research materials. )
- Sunday Girls; 07-04-2007 (Old Jpop lovers should know them. The fate of all Japanese act that invade Taiwan with little follow-up)
- Aibon - When did Fiction become fact 29-03-2007 (One of my many Aibon articles, which I am known for. This one talks about the many versions of eyewitnesses on what went behind the curtains of that "love onsen trip". The question is of course which one of them is true. Confession excerpts come from a Aibon fan-forum.)
- Morning Musume - Asahi Shinbun Interview 25-03-2007 (Translation from a newspaper interview)
- Psychology analysis on Morning Musume's body language; 22-03-2007 (Definitely pseudo-science. For fun only.)
- Another H!P curse - Newscasters curse 22-02-2007 (Ever noticed that one by one, every newscaster/reporter of H!P mock news segments like Hello Pro Wide and Hello Pro Channel are in some sort of trouble? ^_^)
- Are the girls in H!P happy? 21-02-2007 (Ever wonder if the girls in Hello! Project are happy what they turned out to be? Would they want to be an undying idol legend like Matsuda Seiko or a ero-kawaii and sexy Koda Kumi?)
- Michishige Sayumi - Unsung Talent 11-01-2007 (An entire article dedicated to Sayu, the true epitome and definition of a pure Japanese Aidoru/Idol)
- Berry Koubou - Healing Power 09-01-2007 (I was sick at that time, and listening to Berryz made me get well faster. I'm not kidding! Therefore i wanted to write a single by single review of all Berryz singles. But once again, no time.....)
There are more of these. Any of these of any interest to anyone?
I'm banging on the idea of plucking some of the old drafts to be published once and for all. But time... time is my biggest enemy. Real life catching on you is NOT something fun. I wish there are 36 hours in an Earth day. If not I'd settle for Earth to have the same length of day as Mars (24.7 hours), cos it sucks to have Venus' length of day (eq. 243 Earth days!).
After many weeks of delays, I have soft-launched the new site. H!P Hello Non-Pro Hour will now continue in its new form - HNPH - Hello! Project News Blogzine.
The format of this new site is a blog cum magazine, hence the name blogzine. It will feature more journalistic elements into it and hopefully everyone will accept.
H!P Hello Non-Pro Hour will remain as it is, and I do not plan to migrate the contents over to HNPH. You can still come back and revisit any blog posts over the year. As such, I am starting afresh with HNPH, and I ask for everyone's support and love as always. Hope that everyone will continue to join me in my journey of discovering and re-discovering the wonderful culture and music genre known as Jpop. See you there!
Sorry for the 2 week silence. Been caught up with personal stuff. I have a plateful of responsibilities and commitments starting yesterday. It will take a miracle to be able to take on them all.... but I will have to make it happen by hook or by crook. ^_^
I plan to launch the new site this Friday on the 18th January and the forum on Sunday 20th January. Mostly, lots cosmetic works to be done. There are some new features not entirely ready at launch, but it will be added as we move along. Here are the URLs, I blocked it for the moment, so that the web-crawlers don't index it just yet.
The new site http://jinryuichi.com/hnph
The new forum http://jinryuichi.com/forum
My new personal blog http://jinryuichi.com/blog
For those who are interested in taking the posts of forum moderators at the new forum please send me an email.
I cannot believe I am doing one these "Important Announcement" now. Usually when we see such titles in Hello! Project sites we would cringe with fear. ^_^
In any case, here's what I wanted to say...
For the past one year, (Yeah, i have totally missed out celebrating the one year anniversary of this blog, oh well...) this has been a wonderful blogging experience. I have had a run at running other blogs, but this one has been the most active of them all. Thinking back, it has been Aibon who had inspired me to start blogging about Hello! Project, though mostly about Morning Musume in particular. In other words, as much as we H!P fans hated the scandals, it was through a scandal that gave this blog its life. Kinda funny, come to think of it...
From blogging in Hello Non-Pro Hour, I have certainly learned a lot of things about writing, and have dedicated to producing the most quality of posts I can. I attribute this to my participation of certain forum (for those who know me, know which one I am talking about) that encourages forumers to post quality messages instead of one liners. As a result, my love for literature and expression through texts have really shown. Gradually, I find that I became interested in the world of journalism and a newfound respect for it. It has certainly changed the way I look at blogging and the age of digital news. Recently, the participation of fellow bloggers Anna and Gaki have really helped in providing a different feel of input and I enjoyed every minute of it. I learn a lot from them as well.
Most of all, I have nothing but thanks to all the readers that keep coming back to read all the rubbish that I have written all this while. In actuality, it is the comments left by all readers that keep motivating me to keep blogging regularly.
As the famous Oracle (The Matrix) says... "Everything that has beginning has an end". The time has come for Hello Non-Pro Hour to come to its end...
HOWEVER....
I am proud to announce that due to the steady growth of Hello Non-Pro Hour, and in part of my interest of giving it more journalistic elements, I will be migrating it to a brand new domain, and subsequently be renamed to HNPH. Fellow bloggers Gaki and Anna will be joining me in this endeavor. This new site will include new features and cool stuff that cannot be done by remaining as a blog only. Plus, a new forum will be introduced, to provide more room for discussions instead of doing it in the comments section.
Will let everyone know of the launch dates and the URL soon. I cordially invite all of you to come over and continue the fun with me. Stay tuned, peoples!
No charge for the fright. I learn this from Ray.....(^o^)/
This article aims to debunk the myth that have been circling around the Morning Musume fandom (especially the English fandom, check out the reactions noted in IntlWota.com), that due Morning Musume's weak sales in their latest single "Mikan" is a sign that their time is done, and that their popularity is fading. Many fans assume that their fandom is rapid shrinking, due to older members have graduated, and wotas less interest in the current Momusu members (their attention has diverted to the C-ute and Berryz Koubou).
As noted in the previous post Mikan sold around 28k copies and has been performing weaker than the others. If you are a hardcore Morning Musume fan, you may want say that the Japanese music industry is declining overall. But the fact is the industry is NOT on a decline. It's because.... times have changed.
Beginning with Oricon figures, as we all know Oricon sales figures should not be taken as a true measurement for the sales performance. They only count sales based on reports from selective stores, therefore we use the 1.75 modifier to calculate a closer estimate. Still, it is not 100% accurate. I have touched on a subject that Oricon may be playing favorites and everyone still mentions it every now and then.
To restore hope to all desperate fans let's look at a bigger picture, outside of Oricon sales figures.
The Rise of Digital Age The market for digital-sales have Four days after Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in Japan, they recorded over one million song downloads. An outstanding feat, seeing that it took iTunes USA a full week to achieve the same numbers. The main factor - price. Why spend 1545 yen ($US 13.99) on the CD jacket, when you can download it for 463 yen ($US 4.19). As noted by Gaki in the comments of a previous post, the RIAJ (Recording Industry Association of Japan) reports that digital-music sales are rising due to the increasing popularity of ringback tunes, mobile-based full-song downloads, PC-downloads and other forms of paid downloads. We are talking about 121.6 million units of digital-sales in the 3rd quarter of 2007 that are not taken into account by Oricon.
Cumulative digital-download results for the first three quarters of 2007 show mobile-based music downloads rising 28% to 325.2 million units, for a value of 50 billion yen ($458.1 million), up 44%, while PC-based downloads in the January-September period rose 27% to 22.3 million units, for a value of 4.3 billion yen ($38.7 million), up 15%. Total digital downloads, including miscellaneous categories, for the first three quarters totaled 347.5 million units, a rise of 28%, for a value of 55.3 billion yen ($506.8 million), up 44%.
In summary, while in the first three quarters CD sales dropped 30% but digital downloads have risen 28%. CD Sales as of Oct 2007 was 51.421 million and download sales were 347.5 million. Meaning that, comparing with the industry CD & digital-sales, for every 1 CD single sold, it is sold by digital download 6.8 times (rounded from 6.75). Therefore to calculate a more closer estimate of the true sales, is to take the Oricon figures and multiply by 6.8.
So the true sales for Morning Musume's single "Mikan" is 28,082 * 6.8, giving us a 190,957 of estimated true sales, with a discrepancy of +/- 1000 units. Now the numbers don't look so bad, huh? ^_^
It is this lucrative potential in download sales that prompted Avex to announce that Ayumi Hamasaki's next single, "Together When...," will be a digital release only. The full song officially goes on sale on December 5, with shortened ringtone versions available starting last Wednesday. Avex acknowledged the decline in CD sales and increase in digital sales and as a result it became the main factor behind the decision. They recall the RIAJ report of the rise of 142% in sales increase in 1st half of 2007, and due to its low-cost production (compared to the cost producing CD jackets) and may consider making it the core of their future music business if the single is successful.
Morning Musume's Other Income Source Other than CD sales and digital-downloads come from concert tickets, concert merchandise, photos, Hello! Project stores, photobooks, radio shows, variety shows, political campaigns. So there are no worries that the group cannot find ways to sustain. Children who attend H!P concerts bring their parents along, meaning that they generate revenue even from the wallets of parents of H!P fans. So don't think the wotas are the only source of income for Momusu.
The Lure of Morning Musume Morning Musume is recognizable to every Japanese, no matter if you are a Jpop fan or not. I remember seeing a variety show in which Yaguchi Mari was on. The on-site reporter carried placards of Morning Musume members to remote villages around Japan. They pick a random senior citizen and ask if they know who the person in the card is. Not surprisingly, all of them do know! (even though some of them got the names wrong, but they recognize the girls at least) We owe this recognizability to TV exposures and other mass-comm media, which Morning Musume have in abundance. See the viewership figures here --> Utaban exposed to 13.5 million viewers Music Fair exposed to 11.3 million viewers Music Japan exposed to 13.3 million viewers Music Station N/A about the same as the others Haromoni as of Nov 11 draws 2.4 million viewers
Speaking of Haromoni, which given a daytime slot aired on Sunday mornings, it is a variety show designed for children. Despite their many past scandals, Momusu has always and will remain a strong demographic draw of pre-teen girls, who like Momusu fashion style and make up. Kusumi Koharu testified in an interview with Oricon that during her junior school's radio taisou (morning assembly exercises) session, they used "Love Machine" as a tune to dance to (Much to the shock of Nakazawa Yuuko, who is feeling the generation gap there ^_^). Additionally, many teens name Takahashi Ai and Tanaka Reina as their role-model.
Overseas, Momusu are 3rd most searched group in Korea. They are in the top 5 in sales in Taiwan . Their visit to Taiwan caused a near riot at the airport for fans to see not only Junjun and Linlin, but MM as a whole .
Business Is On a Roll - Expansion. Earlier this year, the holding company UFG (Up Fron Group) the mother company for UFW (Up Front Works) and UFA (Up Front Agency) where Hello! Project resides under, are on a move to get listed on stock exchange.
This can only mean one thing, business is booming. And it is not without the help of image recognition created by their entertainment side of the business. Namely, the artistes with UFW and Hello! Project. They would not have spent 100 million yen to promote their company image in 3 national papers if it was not important.
Therefore it makes no business sense to kill a brand that they have spent 10 years to build, especially one that they have invested with so much resources.
Conclusion I hope this article helped to answer many questions that you may have, and to urge you to have more faith in Morning Musume. I'm not saying that the Oricon sales figures is not important, because it is. A good sales track record looks great on any portfolio. But if you can look beyond the numbers and the bigger picture, you will find that there are still many untapped potentials for Morning Musume. They're time is not done. In fact, they've only just begun...
Peace (^_^)v
29 November 2007 - Facts & figures provided by Gaki, edited by jinryuichi
Now in previous interviews, Sugiura revealed that their daughter's name will be a combination of the parents name. Funny, the name "Noa" (希空) only have half of Nono's name, Nozomi (希美) and none of the father's name Taiyou (太陽). So I thought further, and with reference to Sugiura's fame due to his role as Ultraman Cosmos, a quick search produced this -->
ULTRAMAN NOA
Image taken from this site and information in English can be found here.
So now I understand~~~~~~~! Well.... at least I think it's like that. (^_^)v
And here's a clip of the Ultraman Noa, the last mode of Ultraman Nexus, in action.
I called Noa-chan Hello!Project's first Morning Magomusume モーニング孫娘 (Morning Granddaughter) in my previous post. Some comments from my previous post questioned that, because NOno is not the only and not the first ex-Morning Musume to have a child. As noted by Sponichi, there was 1st gen member Ishiguro Aya, 2nd gen member Ichii Sayaka, and finally 1st gen member Iida Kaori (who got married the same day as me! ^_^) who is expecting her child in January 2008. To be clear, I said that this is the first Magomusume because Nono is the first person (soon to be followed by Kaorin) to remain under the Hello!Project stable even after the birth of the child. To me, this is certainly something significant, because they are supposed to be idols. Unless they are not considered as idols after leaving Morning Musume of course...
In any case, Tsunku seems to agree, and revealed his feelings in his blog.
In his blog, he mentioned that he was very happy for Tsuji, felt as if his own granddaughter was born, and expressed his joy to see a small-sized Tsuji being a mother. (I think he still find that hard to believe, as many of us do~~ ^_^) He said that the newborn girl is a reserve candidate for Morning Musume!
Finally, he remarked that Tsuji is a "producer" now, and hopes that she will be a reliable, perfect, kakoii and kawaii mother for the kid.
Oh... he also said he wanted to meet the baby and give it a hug. ^_^
There has been concerns and talks about the future of Morning Musume, due to the disappointing sales of their latest single "Mikan" and that Momusu's time is running out.... because Buono,C-ute and Kirari have outsold Momusu.
I don't know about you guys, but I felt that from Tsunku's statement in his blog that the baby is a upcoming candidate for Momusu, deep inside he wants Morning Musume to continue on. (at least until the kid is old enough to audition, of course). I think Momusu's time is NOT over.
But this should not be the only reason. Please stay tuned for an upcoming post.
The couple christened the baby "Sugiura Noa" 杉浦希空（すぎうら・のあ）. Literally meaning "Sky of Hope", this is a beautiful name. Proud father Sugiura revealed that the mother is safe and is deeply moved. Their respective agencies has been notified and the news was faxed to various news media.
And there we have it, our first Morning Magomusume モーニング孫娘 (Morning Granddaughter)!
This week's Haromoni hosted a voice casting competition to decide who will be the one to voice the new cat character "Gurocchan" in Kirari Revolution, which was revealed on last week's Haromoni. Pity... since it was Michishige Sayumi who created the character, I thought it would be more appropriate for her to play the part. Oh well...
The competition began where the candidates, Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Tanaka Reina, Jyun Jyun, Rin Rin and Mitsui Aika. Each are required to deliver the best Yankee line as intimidating as possible... while sucking on helium. ^_^
And here is the winner... Mittsi!!
Namenayo!
"Namennayo" (なめんなよ) literally means "Don't lick me", but this Japanese slang meant "Don't play with me" or "Don't look down on me". It is befitting that Mittsi wins this game, because "Namennayo" is also the name of a cultural boom that hit Japan in the 1980's involving pictures of cats in Yankee attire.
It all began when a man named Satoru Tsuda found an abandoned kitten at the dry cleaners and took it into his care. Although he hated cats, but this particular kitten changed his mind, and he gave it a name "Matakichi", after the dry cleaner's name. As his fondness towards the feline creature grows, one day the kitten was playing with some doll clothes and an idea struck him - he would dress up the kitten in doll clothes and took pictures of it. This gave birth to a nationwide boom called "Namennayo Cats". Since then he has been taking pictures of cats dressed in various costumes and attire. It was a big hit for men and women alike. One of his trademark was being able to make the cats/kittens stand on two legs when posing for the camera. I only look forward to the day he is able to train the cats to do Kishidan performances. ^_^ More information and pictures here.
My take: The decision to cast Mittsi to voice Gurocchan has gotta be pre-decided by the agency already. I mean, the association with Gurocchan as a cat character and the line "Namennayo" has to be more than a coincidence. In any case, I think Mittsi will do very well. But she better not be sucking helium every time she deliver a line for the cartoon character. ^_^
* In other news, Mittsi also won the voice casting role for the new T-Rex character in Robby and Keroppi, in which Niigaki Risa voiced Athena. This time she is required to put on a mohawk hairdo and some accessories, and deliver the baddest line she can. And here is the result:
This came in a few hours ago. In May this year, Tsuji Nozomi discovered to be 9 weeks pregnant and subsequently announced her marriage to Ultraman star Sugiura Taiyou. Now the time has come for the baby to greet the world. My God, has it been 9 months already? (*counting fingers, conceived in March, now November...*) Yeah, it has! Boy, how time flies~~~ (^_^)
On topic, while actor Sugiura Taiyou (20 yrs old) was in a talk show at Digital Hollywood University in Tokyo, in commemoration of the DVD release of his participation in the movie "Academy", he announced that his wife Tsuji Nozomi (20 yrs old) is currently at the last month of pregnancy and is expecting anytime soon. Obviously he is filled with the soon-to-be-father feeling.
He added that as part of the prenatal care, Tsuji had been listening to music a lot, and even danced to the concert live DVD. (Good God... is that wise, Tsuji?). Even the name of the bay has been decided, it was to be a combination of the parent's names. (Taiyou and Nozomi, 太陽 and 希美... I have no idea where to begin to guess, though it does potentially sound nice.)
Sugiura comments "Now it looks as if a watermelon had entered her stomach. I was there for her at nights where she had difficulty sleeping. Now I finally know how hard it is to be a woman". He is understandably very excited.
Gosh... Tsuji... now full-fledged woman..... (T^T)b Wonder if they will be revealing the baby's picture or name later?
Another news that I have missed out... It's about Kago Ai. It's been a long time since I wrote something about her.
If you haven't noticed. I have prevented myself from calling Kago with the showbiz name "Aibon" or "Kago-chan" because essentially, that is her showbiz brand, and she is not in it at the moment. Figured that it will be more appropriate for me to address her as a person, as Kago Ai. But that's just me, you do not have to agree with me, you may call her whatever way you're comfortable with.
The news corner starts of by stating that Kago has been terminated from her agency UFA for 7 months already, and further mentioned that reportedly Kago had stayed in Nara for some time after her termination, and afterwards have lived in Hawaii with some relatives, before finally settling down in New York with you-know-who. As much as I love the idea that the "important announcement" on next week's Haromoni would be about her return to showbiz, but after the past frustrations I decided to remain realistic this time. The panel and analysers however decided to shed some positive views on Kago's case this time.
Then the analyser began to explain the possibilities and reasoning of Kago's comeback. 1) Kago provides her family consisting of her divorced mother, 3 siblings (7 yrs old brother, 6 yrs old sister, 2 yrs old brother). She has to work to support her family, and it would be truly difficult for her to work as an OL (office lady) at this time (after being in showbiz for so long), therefore she has no choice but to return to showbiz.
2) Kago deserves another chance. Although she has to pay the price of smoking underage, there are others who have done even worse things but still able to return to showbiz. Furthermore, her smoking did not really cause harm or hurt anyone. One panel mentions that it was not right of her to smoke because of her status as an idol. The lady panel presents that Kago. like Goto Maki, although still an adolescent she had to work as an "adult" in showbiz for a long time ever since she was 12 years old. And because she is forced to be like an adult (even though she was not) with no one to depend on and be herself, probably she has been looking for a way to release her (suppressed) true self, and found that opportunity with a 35 year old man. The lady panel hopes that Kago is able to make choices for herself in the future, because people will depend on her, and she may break down under pressure again. The 3rd panel supports the idea of Kago's comeback, though he is concerned about the media and paparazzi who have been working too hard to haunt and expose Kago.
3) Kago turns 20 years old February next year, the legal age in Japan, and it would be a good timing for her comeback. And there are many ways she can do so, even if it meant that she has start from scratch by going into a Kansai-limited circuit (because her hometown Nara is in the Kansai region of Japan), and she can do this while she decides how she wants to shape her career path.
I am contented with this news broadcast, because at least it's not about bashing Kago left and right about what she had done. What I think, is that if Kago does come back, chances are that it will not be with Hello! Project/UFA. The top guns at UFA are known to be ruthlessly strict about maintaining their rules. But I do wish Kago a good "afterlife" from showbiz, and that she live well and healthy...
My PC is resurrected. Good. But I have to reformat the hard disk. Bad. Managed to salvage most of my "important data". Good. But I have reinstall the drivers and softwares. Bad. Managed to connect to internet and surf freely. Good. But discovered more bad news on Goto Maki/Yuuki saga........ DAMN BAD.
As I just managed to revive my ancient machine, now was the only time I managed to crawl the net undeterred... and found more information that I have missed for the past week. I still haven't browsed around other blogs and forums enough, and most of you probably have known about these news, but I need to record it in this blog, just for... archiving purposes.
What I found out is that Goto Maki's brother, Yuuki will be prosecuted for a theft crime, involving cables. But what I missed out is how Gomaki is involved in the whole situation - it is said that Gomaki's lover happened to be Yuuki's partner in crime.
As noted by a commenter, Hello!Online has information that Goto Maki will quitting showbiz altogether. Other than that, the existence of a boyfriend. Of course I have no way of verifying it, cos I'm not in Japan. But take note - the info came from ever reliable and credible H!O.
The bit from the FLASH Magazine - the official site does make note of the headline scoop of discovering Gomaki's boyfriend and his involvement in the crime, additionally other sources notes it too. It was just as H!O reported, word for word. However, the latter source questions the credibility of the scoop, because it was sourced from eye-witnesses consisting of "close friends" and "neighbours".
And apparently, stemming from Yuuki's theft crime, there were... oh, how should I say... "whispers" that not only Gomaki's boyfriend (separated) was arrested..... Gomaki was also named. Lots of hecklers in Japan also seem to be riding on this ... "whisper", since Gomaki DID say "sorry for causing trouble for other (H!P) members". Probably they assumed from that statement Gomaki indirectly admitted her involvement?
Personally, I don't think Gomaki is financially troubled nor desperate for money. I'm thinking somebody must have misread "Goto Yuuki" as "Goto Maki" and coupled with the photographs in the papers and news sites, the fact became twisted as it passes from one person to another. However, I cannot comprehend how her brother's crime can become her burden and "cause trouble" to her fellow H!P members, but I can only sum it as being another one of Hello! Project's "Idol tradition".
H!O has given the heads-up for all of us on Gomaki's supposed departure from showbiz. I'm only waiting for the other news sites to confirm it to make it official. There's still hope for her rebound though. At the very least, that I do believe.
後藤真希の恋人は「ユウキ銅線窃盗団」メンバー、フラッシュが報道。
Web posted at: 2007/11/07 05:06 Written by コ○助 このエントリーを含むはてなブックマーク
I'm still fresh from following this news compared to the rest of the world, having returning only recently. But where does Goto Maki fit in her brother Goto Yuuki's theft crime?
It's now official that Goto Yuuki have plead guilty for the crime of stealing cables from a construction company and will be prosecuted, his reason - "I needed money". (~A~) Bleh... [Source]
I'm still puzzled on how Gomaki come into the picture, I mean, how is she associated with her brother's mishaps. How come she is quitting Hello! Project at this time? Please, please, please don't tell me that she is actually involved in her brother's crime. On a dramatic scenario (but least likely methinks), perhaps Gomaki had pleaded her agency (UFA) to help her brother or she quits. But the puzzle still doesn't fit.
Because if Gomaki does want to leave H!P to plan her own life and musical path, she can very well negotiate peacefully with UFA. (Unless somebody upstairs in UFA doesn't want to release her, of course). With regards to her release contract, I wonder what further stipulations is involved. Many fans think that she may move on to Avex rightaway, but what if... just what if Gomaki's release contract stipulates that she may not perform under any other labels until the termination of her previous employment period? Such a thing IS possible if the contracts says so. Unless her next agency decides to overrule that clause (with some cash and conditions), will Gomaki face a long "holiday"? Seriously, I hope she's not in trouble or something... cos' there seems to be an outbreak of "acute-gastroenteritis" lately.
On the contrary, Yuuki's ex-partner in EE JUMP, Sonim, is doing quite well, having recently formed a duo unit with TV talent and model Osawa Akane. The unit is called "tomboy" and their first single "Super Star" is a cover of Korean group Jewelry 2005 hit of the same name. They're doing so good that the single has been chosen as the closing theme for a TV Tokyo variety show Sukibara, recomended to national karaoke companies, and "tomboy" will also debut Utaban. [Source]
Just ranting round... cos I'm still trying to resurrect my PC, but to no avail. And i'm in a blue, blue mood.... >> Read the rest of this article
Here's to catch up on old(er) news while I was on a break, I do feel that I need to comment on some of the happenings. Not all of them of course, life goes on, and I'm sure there are more incidents to come.
- forming of duet Kira☆Pika, Kusumi Koharu and Hagiwara Mai (^_^)b~~ Yay! Maimai!!
- Aibon's MOM going nude (o_o;) Good Lord... please have mercy on me eyes...
- Athena & Robikerottsu, formed with Gaki-san, Mittsi, Sato and Saki (^o^)/~~~ YAY!! Gaki-san!
- Formation of group 'Buono!', formed with Momoko, Miyabi and Airi (^_^)/ That's great! Though it seemed like 2nd 'Aa!' with Momoko replacing Reina...
-Berryz and C-ute's recent success (^_^)? Nice!!... but what is it? Sales? Concert attendance record?
- Melon Kinenbi's infamous PV (o_o)? What happened...? Did they strip off their clothes?
- Tsunku Jr./NG Project (O_O;)! WHAT?! So it was true?!
- THE Possible graduated from H!P Eggs (^_^) Aww.... I was gettin' ready to warm up to them. Wait... they'll still be around, right?
On the negative note, the word "scandal" takes on a wider scope by now, so it will called 'Incidents' from now on. Look at what incidents we have so far ->
- Yoshizawa Hitomi's brother died in vehicular accident. - Kago Ai discovered working intern, caught smoking again, spent the night in onsen trip with old guy... and subsequently fired. - Hello Morning has transformed to HaroMoni, changes in concept and style. - 2 Chinese girls accepted to Morning Musume as "exchange students" - Tsuji Nozomi got sick and dropped out from theater, later discovered that she was actually pregnant, got married with the father of the baby. Currently on a break till baby is born. It was said that the two were introduced to each other through Yaguchi Mari, though they denied of this. - Shortly after being appointed as Momusu leader, Fujimoto Miki discovered to be in a relationship with a comedian, and subsequently fir-... err I mean, resigned from Morning Musume. Later, rumours surfaced that Fujimoto and her guy were introduced to each other by Konno Asami in her birthday party. - Konno Asami returns to Hello! Project to join Gatas futsal and musical group
The above stuff that ones I covered, here are some things what happened during my break.
- Iida Kaori got pregnant and married the baby's father - an acquaintance of Tsunku. - Abe Natsumi got driver license, promoted traffic safety. but soon after ran down a motorcycle in an accident.
And of course the latest news about Goto Maki -> - Goto Maki got sick and dropped off from concert tour and afterwards rumoured to be pregnant (after Tsuji's case, 'acute-gastroenteritis' is another word for pregnancy ^_^ ). Then her brother got caught committing crime stealing cables, then Gomaki subsequently announced her resignation. [Edited 12:11 p.m.]
Then, found more stuff from the ever-resourceful WHG. Things like:
- Ex-member of Momusu, Ishiguro Aya divorced, husband Shinya wanted to reform LUNA SEA. - Low attendance in H!P summer concert in Saitama Super Arena - The A-Team (Morning Musume 10th Anniversary Team), was jeered in live promos. In Oricon chart, A-Team's 2nd single lost to AKB48 by double sales. - Gatas music group lost to PERFUME in Oricon chart.
I have no way of confirming these sightings and stats, though. Sales figures prolly retrieved from Oricon which is, of course, not really accurate.
Welp... *stretching arms and cracking knuckles* ... time to go to work!
Look what God dropped on me just when I am coming back to blog... ^_^
OK... Let me get my head straight...
Goto Yuuki (Goto Maki's brother) was arrested for a theft. He became a suspect of a crime job in July this year, for stealing of 80 bundles of electric cables belonging to a construction site, worth 1 million yen, in Edokawa, Tokyo. Whilst trying to transport the goods out in a rental truck, someone spotted the act, called the cops and the gang fled, leaving the cargo behind. Apparently it was a repeated crime.
Gomaki, subsequently, announced her graduation (or should I say resignation) from Hello! Project. The fact was made official by UFA themselves, and Tsunku sents his best wishes and support to her in his blog.
Gomaki blogged about her graduation. But only snippets were in the news. The webmaster of Gomaki's blog has banned my country's IP, and due to heavy traffic the site was constantly inaccessible. Fortunately, I managed to acquire it using a feed reader.
Roughly translated (Cos i don't have time now, but we get the general idea)
Important Announcement by Gomaki Yesterday, I graduated from Hello! Project on 28th October. Sorry for the sudden announcement. From the time I joined Morning Musume, this has been my 9th year (in showbiz). I have grown up through many emotional encounters. In the middle of it, little by little I am able to picture the things that I really wanted to do. I've decided to graduate, so that I can once more create my own time carefully. Although, I do not know what will happen from now on, but I will pursue the things that only 'Goto Maki' can do, reevaluate my music style, absorb many things, change things with my own means, and move forward in a stable way. I was going "What should I say to everyone?", and have been troubled about it. Because of everyone, I am here and you can be smiling. I cannot express in words how thankful I am. Thank you, thank you very much. From now on, I still want to be with you all, because you are what supports me. I will give my best, not as a member of H!P, but as Goto Maki, as myself. Please watch over me, Goto Maki from now on.
Stories are about that Gomaki's leaving was planned earlier. But "how early?" I ask. Last year, beginning of this year.... or at July, where the crime was reported?
... And so Yuuki steals some cables, Gomaki gets the boot?!
Unfortunate coincidence? Or fear of crime association?
Eh?! This alert came in last night, and I have hardly unpacked my stuff. Goto Maki graduates from Hello! Project?! Not only that, her brother was involved in some kind of theft crime?!
Funny, cos i was reading about Gomaki's graduation from Momusu from an magazine published last month...
平成19年10月28日の「後藤真希LIVE TOUR 2007 G- Emotion II 〜How to use SEXY〜」最終公演をもちまして、後藤真希はハロー！プロジェクトを卒業することとなりました。 後藤真希は平成11年9月モーニング娘。第3期メンバーとして加入。その後、モーニング娘。の活動と平行しソロ活動を開始。平成14年にはモーニング娘。を卒業し、歌手のみならず、ハロー！プロジェクトの一員としてドラマ、CM、ミュージカル等で幅広い活動を行ってまいりましたが、今後の活動に関し事務所と本人とで話し合った結果、今回の事件で他のハロー！プロジェクトメンバーへ迷惑がかかるのではないかと気にかけていたこと、また活動の方向性の違いにより、ハロー！プロジェクトを卒業することを決めました。 尚、ハロー！プロジェクト卒業後も、ソロ活動は続けて参ります。
Sorry for no updates and for not informing. But I've been darn busy these days. Guess I should have put up a notice or something but I cannot even find the time to do that. ....... well, that's half the truth really. (^_-) Some of you guys prolly caught me hanging round da 'Tube watching vids.
I've been meaning to find time to come back and post. But work, family and my newfound marital status have caught up to me, that I barely had time to rest. Many thanks to all those who have sent me messages and emails. I'll try my best to answer them all.
Truthfully, other than the busy schedules and chores, one of the reasons that delayed my coming back is the stoppage of other blogs. Apparently this is also like a season of marriages, scandals, kaisans.... AND blogging roadblocks. I love to blog, but I love some competition also. Although I hate to admit it, Some Boys! Blog had been one of those that I consider a friendly rival. Haha! (^o^)/ I hope they come back soon, as I do myself.
Still, this break gave me excellent time to catch up with the Jpop side of things. I realised how much I've been missing, being in the H!P world most of my past few years. It feels great to get connected to my roots. In fact, in addition to coming back to HNPH and my personal blog, I have been thinking of doing a Jpop blog too! ....... Kinda crazy, but we'll see how it goes.
ALSO.... there's a new venture for me and a partner overseas coming up. So stay tuned, and please give your best support... as always. (^_^)v
Thanks for reading and checking back!
p.s. However, I'm off to a company trip to Bangkok tomorrow night. So I'll be back after that... hehe~~~! (^_-) Kentaro-san, I owe you TWO omiyage this time.... ^_^
>> Read the rest of this article
This news is too good to not be documented real time. Incidentally, my boss is not around yet anyways... ^_^ (Special thanks to Anna for the headsup!)
And yes, ladies and gentlemen! Konno Asami who has graduated from Morning Musume last year in July, is back with Hello! Project. After so many speculations of whether Konkon is coming back to showbiz, it's finally official. (^_^)/
UFA has released a comment saying that it was Konkon's wish to rejoin and play in Gatas after she is able to enter the university of Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus. Her first stage for a comeback will be held at Nagoya Century Hall with Hello! Project tour concert in July.
Konkon on the other hand, have commented that "Although I am worried if I am able to balance (Gatas) with my studies, but I am determined to try my best to make it happen. To all the people who have given their support through my entry to the university, I am most eager to meet them again. However, if there is a conflict between Gatas and studies, I wish to give priority to my studies first."
The single will be titled "Nari hajimeta koi no Bell ~ 鳴り始めた恋のBell" (Meaning: The bells of love have begun to ring) and produced by none other than Tsunku. This single will also be the image song for Dralion Cirque Du Soleil circus troupe. This will be the second "supporter song" written for Dralion, the first being "Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia" by the Morning Musume A-Team. I expect the song style would be similar, depending who is doing the song arrangement. It will be released on the 22nd of August.
Funny though, Konkon is still listed in the Skylark site as one of the graduated members. Are they not going to update that page yet? Players of Gatas (senior) that are not involved are -> Fujimoto Miki, Tsuji Nozomi and Shibata Ayumi. I can understand why Fujimoto and Tsuji are not involved, but Shibata? Actually, I have my speculations, but that is another story.
On topic, I'm ecstatic! My favourite extracurricular-all-rounder, slow-eater, "My Pace" idol Pon-chan is back!! I was so devastated last year when she graduated, and the feeling of never going to ever see her again is one that I cannot describe. This exciting news is truly an upside event, giving us a break from all those scandals and stuff. What's more, we get to see more of the Hello! Project Eggs in action (Which I hope won't be just doing backup dancing). Looking forward to it!
Another thing.... For those who haven't heard, apparently Konkon has dyed her hair blonde since entering the university. In other words, had become a real Gyaru. We don't have pictures of that yet, but I have been hearing stories from eyewitnesses seeing her in blonde. Let's see how blonde it got, or if she is going to dye it with another colour again. I wonder if she has put on some weight as well....... BUT anyways, I think she should keep the blonde hair, so that she can be inducted into Gyaruru. Now THAT is cool! (*Bites green apple*)
Lastly, some videos for your enjoyment.
Alo-Hello Konno Asami. Yup, she can play basketball too. I'm sure fellow ballers will recognise that is one good lookin' shoot and follow-through~~~! (^o^)/
Gatas Brilhantes FC Highlights - Konno Asami's last game and graduation. This small girl can HUSTLE! (^_^)b
Surprise #1 When Tsuji Nozomi has to exit from her role of voice acting Atena, a character in anime Robby and Kerobby due to her marriage plans, the anime producers had to find a replacement. And they found that person in Morning Musume sub-leader -> Niigaki Risa. Source here.
Gaki-san will be voicing Atena from episode 16 onwards, which will broadcast on the 8th of July. A bit strange that she is still wearing the Kanashimi Twilight costume for the picture. Has this been decided way earlier on? Or maybe it was to enhance the recognizability of Gaki-san, due to the recent release of the Morning Musume single. Her hairdo wasn't the same pompadour as we saw in the PV anyway. I am unable to listen to the audio comment by Gaki-san on the site, cos' I'm on Linux right now (it needs a Windows Media Player). Will try again later on a Windows machine later on.
Surprise #2 The theme song for the period of July till September for the anime has been decided as well. It is entitled "Meguru Koi no Kisetsu ~~ めぐる恋の季節" and will be performed by ℃-ute. Source here
