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Yattaruchan wrote:I'd love to see Kamei back, but that probably won't happen anytime soon.

I agree with both parts of this statement. I was pleasantly surprised to see such a substantial clip of her in the special. She was never banned from inclusion or discussion, of course, but it was still unexpected, given the tendency of these shows to focus on members that are still with the company.

Kamei and Goto all but retired so it makes sense we don't see them.

I get Kago may not want to but, again, that isn't my argument.

I didn't think Ichii left on bad terms. Did she? That was awhile ago so I could be misremembering. I wonder what their reason is for basically ignoring her?

Ichii was certainly still on good terms with the company during her CUBIC-CROSS days. Taisei was the group's keyboardist and producer, and Tsunku contributed songwriting and backing vocals to their album. She also did that FOLK SONGS/FOLK DAYS collaboration with Nakazawa.

I was very excited to see someone wearing a CUBIC-CROSS t-shirt at one of the H!P concerts I went to in 2009. The guy was surprised that I'd even heard of them.

AyuHikaru wrote:I didn't think Ichii left on bad terms. Did she? That was awhile ago so I could be misremembering. I wonder what their reason is for basically ignoring her?

It kind of seems like her situation is more one of her own making? I don't closely keep up with her, but everyhing I've read makes me think rather than being on bad terms (at least until the DMM incident) she just doesn't care that much most of the time, unless it garners attention. (I have no idea if that's actually the case, of course.)

Mixi (2014) wrote:Ichii Sayaka is the MM OG who acknowledges her idol career the least . . . . She said she has no interest in anything and in any member that joined after she graduated.

- Seemingly didn't bring up Musume much until the adult AKB audition.
- Then she went on TV and publicly complained about UF not asking her back for Dream Morning Musume (I can imagine this did a decent amount of damage; why would you want to work with someone that was this unprofessional?)
- Now she's talking about it because of the anniversary; which could absolutely be genuine sentiment but could also be percieved as capitalizing on the moment.

Either way, as far as missing anni OG go I know she just had a baby recently but I hope Yasuda is able to join in on some activities before the year is out.

What you read on these English forums about Ichii (or anyone for the matter) is not close to reality, but that's just the nature of how this type of things work.
She is just some random mum with 3-4 kids to me (no obligation to defend her or anything) and don't think anyone care much about her at this point to really bash her with intent anyway, but let's get the record straight since I keep reading these comments about her nowadays.

What she did was to go to a variety show a few years back and in spirit of that type of show, joked around a bit with encouragement of comedians there on some trivial shit. That's how that type of TV works there, just to create some cheap laughs. Not at all in bad faith or any seriousness of what some folks now make it out to be. Forgot what show it was and not sure if it is still around online, but it's where you go and complain jokingly to this comedian dude (Ariyoshi or something) who is known to talk harshly of others. The whole thing is a farce if you ask me, like most Japanese variety shows. If anyone watches now and can understand what is going on, you can't be serious about this "traitor" Ichii bashing UF stuff.
Not sure how this is any different/worse than Goto's "Tsunku and UF didn't let me be what I want to be as a singer, so I moved to Avex." (paraphrasing it of course) or Fukuda (Asuka) telling on variety shows on how she was bullied in MM. That didn't stop UF to bring them for some UF gigs recently.

And that AKB adult (that she failed to get picked) or Onsen idol group stuff? It sorta made her look desperate and they didn't go anywhere, but let me take a stab in dark and assume that the woman needed some ¥. Did I mention that she had like 4 kids and she is not even remotely relevant as Tsuji or any of these ex-idol celebrity moms in Japan?
I don't care what she does and I am not going to hold it against her that she accepted these gigs when offered (presumably from her management office). Not like she was doing porn or anything illegal, like harming somebody. Not trying to be harsh, but she is like many of these ex-idols in having not much talents. All she has is her face and is an active D-list celebrity who retired a couple times already in the past. And she can post whatever she wants on her own personal instagram account and I (or anyone else) don't need to go and read it if I don't want to. It's that simple. She is not exactly pushing her agenda on your face with this MM 20th stuff, but only to her followers.

What hurt Ichii is most likely that her professional relationship with UF is over so long ago and she isn't original MM nor particularly popular. They have no reason to bring her back and pay her, even for the 20th anniversary. They didn't pay Ogawa (also currently active in the industry after un-retiring), either, btw.

Not necessarily calling out foreign fandoms in particular, but there is that extra filter in that folks have to rely on someone else's word (and his/her interpretation) and through words of mouths, they just become what they are and treated as facts, really. The fact that Ichii is so OG that she is like pre-OG doesn't help as virtually no one is around now when she was active as idol. It's much easier to bash someone who seems very remote now and only exists from archive footage with impunity. To add, the same Ichii bashing among fans is not exclusively in foreign fandoms. This is an idol/entertainment industry stuff, so that's not exactly shocking.

Edit: I see that there is definitely no love lost here among folks when it was present instead of past, lol.
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That makes sense, and it does sound like the kind of humor that I've seen a lot of on Japanese TV.
To me, the big story with Ichii is that Cubic Cross was a good, honest attempt at rock-group success and respectability, but getting a solid foothold as a rock group can be very, very difficult (you can wind up playing too many clubs where the audience is one or two of your friends and somebody who wandered in from the street).

I don't know if/how much of that was directed at me, but I thought my post made it clear that I don't follow her (meaning I realize there are large gaps in my knowledge) and anything I was saying was speculation gleaned from things I had come across over the years. I specifically said that I had no actual idea if it was true.

I never intended to state my speculation as absolute fact, didn't mean to insinuate that it would be a bad thing if true, and never called her a traitor to anything; I'm not dellusional enough to think I know the woman's life inside and out regardless of how trustworthy a source of information is. Clearly the interpretation of events regarding her going on TV and complaining was made to sound more childish when I learned about it. I'm glad to know that's not the way it actually went down.

^ I took yours as trying to explain, not necessarily agree.

from Monthly The Television magazine

on 3/31 on BS-NHK Premium, There will be a Morning Musume 20th Anniversary music special that is over 4 hours long (11:45~4:15). From their debut single Morning Coffee to the current singles will be shown. Also footage from their Pop Jam and Music Japan performances.

Today is the last day to visit the Morning Musume. Museum in Fukuoka.
https://twitter.com/hmvbooks_hakata/sta ... 8929451009
https://twitter.com/hmvbooks_hakata/sta ... 7238765568

now if they were smart, they would set up a spot at the Satoyama and Satoumi event later this month in Yokohama.