Sayashi Riho to Graduate from Morning Musume。'15 on 12/31

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

60th is another milestone single though. I doubt they would "rush" it out and also with a member leaving. I don't see them doing it :d

Like Celedam said, it's been 2 months... They'll likely release one in December.
---

GUYS MAYBE ONE AND ONLY IS LIKE, ABOUT RIHO OR SOMETHING o.o
(think about the lyrics)

I also just realized I won't be in america for the graduation so i won't be able to watch it ;-;

[Beatrix]

Very proud of Riho, to know what you want and need from this life and have the courage to pursue it, she is amazing. Quiet, focused and passionate she will give her best always, thank you Riho for giving us your all and happy travels onto what is next in your life

[Zunu]

Sheeucks, just as I was really warming up to her.

But anyway, as always we don't really know what's going on behind the scenes. It's fun to speculate, but there are a lot of reasons for which someone might choose to leave an idol group. Some of those reasons can be stated in a press release, however a lot of them can't, and that doesn't necessarily mean they're bad. Maybe she's just tired of the grind. Maybe she wants a love life. Maybe she wants to travel, do things independently, be alone. Maybe she doesn't have the same exact goals at 17 that she had at 12. We don't know and we may never know, but there's no reason imo to automatically leap to something bad being the reason.

I wish her all the best!

Who's gonna keep Maachan in check, tho?

[Mirai]

Noooo.... I can see why, I guess, but I'm still sad.

[AyuHikaru]

This is a freaking surprise.

Oh my God, I'm actually upset. I never disliked Riho, I even defended her against the people saying she was a bad singer. In hindsight this makes sense with the last single... I thought it was a fluke though. I guess with how well it sold she thought it was a sign that she could step down.

I bet this has to do with that mystery medical issue. I always suspected it was worse than they were saying it was, and there are a lot of signs pointing to something was up with her body that wasn't just the flu.

Seems she's going the route of Maki.

I'm pretty sad about this

[resop2]

Riho becomes the first member of the "Eleven Twelve" (the 12 girls who debuted in 2011) to graduate.

[AyuHikaru]

and I have to say hardly anyone hedged their bets on her being the first. The top three guesses were always Erina, Zukki, and Harunan.

[bisuketto]

I think MM will do just fine without the ace even though they are losing one of their best dancers!

[AyuHikaru]

Riho actually did have a pretty big impact on the group - even if her haters will say she didn't. The reason Momusu is known for their dancing now is because they did harder choreography for Riho. The reason Ayumi made it in the group (arguably Sakura, too) was to give foil for Riho's dancing skills. They pushed the girls to be able to keep up with her and the media took notice. Her ace status was never really in question either, not until recently (which seemed now, in hindsight, to be intentional) and she was extremely popular with the Japanese public, helping Momusu back into the public eye.

Little lonewolf did have an impact. I hope her legacy for high quality dance continues on in Momusu.

[b229b24k]

and she was extremely popular with the Japanese public, helping Momusu back into the public eye.

Didnt know she was at that level, you know, helping MM back into public eye