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Nostalgic feelings. I was pretty obsessed with MM back in those days. The girls now are still great but it's a different feeling. Plus back then, the side groups of comprised completely of non-MM girls were almost afterthoughts. Now if anything I would say that H!P (including shadow-H!P and the localized groups) is spreading itself too thin in an attempt of mirror the full rosters of certain competing organizations. Having so many girls means that few (or none) of them make a truly huge impact. Would a random Japanese person recognize any of the current roster of H!P girls, I wonder?

The last time I was there was when Reina was graduating, and some people knew who Sayashi was, so there is a possibility they might know Maachan and possibly Kudo. Maybe Sasaki.

Oda Sakura Sakura no Shirabe 6
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Sousou Shuukyoku "Stigma"


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Zunu wrote:Nostalgic feelings. I was pretty obsessed with MM back in those days. The girls now are still great but it's a different feeling. Plus back then, the side groups of comprised completely of non-MM girls were almost afterthoughts. Now if anything I would say that H!P (including shadow-H!P and the localized groups) is spreading itself too thin in an attempt of mirror the full rosters of certain competing organizations. Having so many girls means that few (or none) of them make a truly huge impact. Would a random Japanese person recognize any of the current roster of H!P girls, I wonder?

There's honestly no reason for anyone to know the girls as individuals unless you follow the group closely. They've pulled out of TV pretty much all together, instead focusing on FC Events, Concerts, Stage Plays, etc etc. And while those things are nice, no one in the General Public is watching those things. It's mostly fans. Casual fans probably don't know all the girls either (I'm a casual fan of a lot of groups and could only tell you 2 or 3 people in each when they have easily 6-12 in their roster). I'm not sure H!P cares to really foster the girls as individuals anymore because it isn't individual's that sell anymore. Groups are in, soloists are out, so cohesiveness as a group is more important.

Soloists and group leads are completely different -- I don't believe you can infer loss of relevance of the latter from that of the former. The evidence says otherwise. The top selling girl idol groups by far are the top Akimoto spawn groups. Nobody else is even close. Generally even though they have zillions of members who only hardcore fans can keep straight, they still have a few front girls who are pushed forward and recognizable by almost everyone. Then there are other popular groups like Babymetal, Perfume, Momoiro Clover Z, E-Girls, Dempagumi, Inc, all of whom have one or more highly recognizable members strongly pushed by their agencies. (well, not so much E-Girls any longer but that's a recent development.) Sure there are groups who can sell ok without known faces (Ebichu?) but my feeling is that having a known face helps greatly. That front girl helps to keep the group in the public eye between song releases. When songs do come out, she can go on more shows to pimp the single, not just music shows but talk/variety type shows. Having her face featured in the CM will help to move more units. A well-known face helps retain brand loyalty.

"Face" is not "faces" though. Like I said, Casual Fans will know a few of the members (Which ever ones stand out right now, don't know who that is currently. Probably Masaki and Kudo) but there's no real reason to learn all/any of them. And there's no real way TO learn all/any of them these days, as H!P isn't really focusing on making "faces" to the General Public/Casual fanbase right now. Good or bad, they aren't really working on it and they seem to be catering to people who already have some kind of investment (I'd say kind of like 2007-2010 but even Platinum Era went on more variety shows). Maybe it'll change with Chiichan, I dunno.

I agree, Chiichan seems to have the potential to be a game changer. Maybe Makino too, with a little work.

Yokoyama

Ami talking about butts

Duu's legacy…