Hello! Project Station '24 » YT, TV, Radio, Magazines

[koregaboku]

Sakura is great for being 15 and only having been in the group for 2 years. It's not fair to compare her to Aichan and/or Airi just yet.
She's not getting to me either, and you can tell the songs she's doing are too difficult for her, but at least she is improving through doing them and that's all I care about tbh.

I think as fans we (myself included) like to give girls the benefit of doubt, saying that time will make their performances better.

For (I guess) a more fair comparison I rewatched Mizuki singing Ai Araba on Hello Station and I think that the major problem is that both them are just singing. While that's fine and dandy, it's somewhat boring to watch. I can only hope that one day they'll have the stage presence to pull an Airi and sing Renai Rider in a pizza shop but make it so that you can't help but be mesmerized.

And that being said, I think it'd be fair to compared young(er) Airi to the girls. Sure she got more time as an Egg but she did debut at 9. Maybe it's Maybeline but my guess is she was born with it. Girl just has "It".

[otaku_blue]

^

you say this but among Japan idols right now Sakura is definitely up there in terms of vocal and performance ability. Sakura totally just slayed most AKBingo(except Masuda Yuka) and AKB48Show performances that I've watched, and they're live. Miles ahead of MomoClo and other idols in terms of being popular within their group and vocal ability.

keep in mind the context of this performance, they're just covers. even the Suppin to Namida dance shot(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM84-VRGlWk) is twice as boring.It's more like Uta Doki, or watching the girls do karaoke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwX0Dzsp_iQ

the thing lacking in Sakura's performance is maturity, and emotional engagement with the song as well as showing more expression. its not just time, but emotionally and physically maturing. Sakura is still young, she lacks emotional experience to give a heartfelt performance to the song. I think its unfair to compare her to Airi, because Airi has always been flawless, and had been in training for longer beforehand.

I think this inherent idea of comparing current members to past members is one of the current flaws of the MM system.

[Starra]

Sakura's perfectly fine, guys. I don't feel like people should be criticising her so much just because she isn't *~*perfect*~*. Same goes for other idols.

They're not here to be brilliant singers...

And that being said, I think it'd be fair to compared young(er) Airi to the girls. Sure she got more time as an Egg but she did debut at 9. Maybe it's Maybeline but my guess is she was born with it. Girl just has "It".

Airi was never an Egg... She was an H!P Kid .

[otaku_blue]

^

its not just because they're idols, but the standard for idols can easily be compared to mass produced kpop idols, and the performance quality of the platinum era, that makes the girls look like they're not as good. when in perspective, they're just fine.

[Starra]

I guess I just don't like comparing things . Other idol groups, yeah, I can understand why people compare them. But KPop idols are, imo, completely different. They're more focused on talent than Japanese idols are. Not that Japanese idols aren't talented -- some of them are really good -- but they just have a more casual atmosphere.

I still feel like people put far too much emphasis on whether or not an idol can sing, since it's about the whole package (singing, dancing, performing, entertaining, etc).

And sure, some H!P members may not be as good as some other H!P members, but in the end it doesn't really matter that much. So long as the girls enjoy what they're doing, and the fans enjoy them, I don't feel the need to constantly nitpick a girl's talents.

Plus, it's important to remember that these girls are human... and they're young. Being an idol must be so much work, both mentally and physically, and I feel like fans kind of demand too much of these girls sometimes. So what if they're not amazingly perfect all the time? To me, at least, they're amazing just by continuing to be an idol. I hate seeing people bash/hate on idols for no reason... even minor comments about how they look. These girls do so much for fans, and then some turn around and shit on them for it.

Now, I'm not saying people can't point out flaws, but most of the time people seem to do it in a nasty tone. Maybe that's just me though.

TL;DR: Idols need to be treated with more respect and it's silly to be so demanding and just plain mean about them. They do a perfectly good job, and I don't understand why people always complain about everything they do that isn't perfect.

[JonCC]

Maybe that's just me though.

It's not.

[otaku_blue]

^^

I don't disagree with you. I just mean that considering the competition of the "idol war period" and MM's extended history, that fans will inherently compare girls to other idols. But the girls as they are right now, they're just fine, and I agree with you lol.

[Starra]

Yeah, I get that. I was just making a general statement -- it wasn't exactly directed towards you .

I'm not saying comparisons are bad, I just think people go a bit over the top with them sometimes. To me, so long as I enjoy something, I really don't care if it's better or worse than things like it.

For example, people comparing Sakura and Ruru isn't too farfetched. I don't think it's really fair, since Ruru's had lots more training than Sakura, and in the grand scheme of things Sakura's great, but they're similar enough to the point where it's totally logical.

But for all the people who bitch about how x is better than y (insert Pokemon joke here)... why not both?

And obviously people are allowed to dislike what they dislike, and there's no helping that. But the way some people talk about things makes fans feel like they're somehow wrong for liking said thing, even if it wasn't intentional.

I don't expect people to be a fan of every idol (that's impossible -- believe me, I've tried), but isn't it easier to accept that there are people out there who actually do like them and just move on? Yeah, in group performances it's hard to ignore members you don't like (especially if they're front girls), but for solo performances, profile pictures and other such things? Nobody wants to hear how bad you think they sound or look.

Basically, people should just appreciate idols, and if they can't do that, they should just shut up. And not hate. Because hate is bad. And sometimes it's basically bullying, even if the idols aren't ever going to see the comments.

This turned into a super long incoherent rant... I've been having lots of idol appreciation feelings lately, and I always get annoyed whenever I see people constantly hating on idols they don't like. To me it's rather childish and really mean. These girls are humans who are, mostly, several years younger than the people making the hateful comments. It's not cool and shouldn't be done.

[Zunu]

I thought Sakura sounded amazing. Her kind of juvenile, unpolished stage presence is just a charm point for me at this point. I mean, we can turn on the TV and see a Broadway-caliber toddler belting out some operatic masterpiece, to the point where that's not even interesting any more. It's much more intriguing to see someone who's an unpolished diamond as her brilliance slowly and unsteadily brightens. I recently finally got around to watching her Sakura no Shirabe Solo events, and was so impressed by her. She still carried that enigmatic quality of somehow not being entirely in the room, but was at the same time much more animated than in this performance.

[Amped]

Mechaike 9-13-14 - Mechaike's 24hr youtube streaming show "Zero TV" recap, during their 24hr marathon on 8/30

Morning Musume. '14 Bakuretsu Papa segment recap @ 10:06

@ 17:42, Yasuda Kei got the call from Yaguchi Mari interrupting a taping for Mechaike. Okamura spoke to Yaguchi (made news headlines) and covered his mic. Okamura tried to explain to her on the phone that it was a 24 hour Mechaike marathon streaming show, not to be confused with NTV's 24hr TV marathon



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on 9/12, Sayumi is a talk guest on the NTV show "Another Sky", hosted by Imada Kouji and Kishimoto Cecil. Sayu talks about her graduation, and her memories of the trip to Hawaii.

http://www.ntv.co.jp/program/detail/21834008.html
http://www.ntv.co.jp/anothersky/

Another Sky 9-12-14 - Michishige Sayumi interview