H!P Concurrent Group System

[Celedam]

three flagship groups

Umm… There can be only one flagship anything. That's the point — it's the best or most important thing in a group of things. The term was originally navy jargon for the one ship in a fleet that carries the commanding admiral, i.e., the ship that flies the admiral's flag.

I wouldn't say anything if it was anyone else, but you've specifically asked me to correct you on stuff like this.

[Starra]

I understand how a ton of people freaking out over this can get frustrating, but it's no exaggeration to say that this is a weird, unprecedented thing. It's not one group announcing auditions for a new generation with several months notice; it's the three flagship groups having new members added -without- auditions, with only a couple of weeks' forewarning to the fans. Add to that a major change-up to the activities of a group that people had been anticipating being out on their own finally. It's a lot of stuff.
To say that everyone shouldn't be surprised by this, just because H!P used to be more volatile in the past than it has been for past 5-7 years, is frankly ridiculous.

I'm just over people acting like change = bad every single damn time. Yes, this is different, but so many people are having a negative reaction to this without thinking about it rationally at all and it pisses me off.

Nothing is *~*ruined*~*, yes it will take some time getting used to, but people are also acting like this is some sort of crime or something and it's just... I'm tired of people overreacting to this. Especially when the girls themselves aren't happy about it either (for the most part) and if anything we should try to be supportive (not that they read our comments, but y'know). This was most likely Nishiguchi or Hashimoto or both of them making these decisions.

I'm not saying people can't vent their frustrations, but at least have some kind of valid argument. I'm sick of "they changed it now it SUCKS" every time UF tries something new with H!P.

Don't mind me, I'm just in a shitty mood in general lately. It's got nothing to do with H!P though or anything in particular.

[otaku_blue]

If someone became a fan back when Platinum Era was a thing, one would really think H!P was the most stable thing in history.

Yeah I think stability and nostalgia is/was one of the company's key marketing points, since many kids that grew up with Morning Musume and HP kids could later return to the group and support them as adults.

Also to be honest, I'm not really fond of the idea of constant instability. I hated how much of a mess Country Musume was, and this was Hello Project still at its prime but the group was a complete mess towards the end. Its just so confusing for anyone that isn't otaku. You could also tell it affected the group by looking at their sales numbers. I wouldn't categorise Angerme/MM as unstable groups because changing line-ups are expected.

I personally think many fans that came back to Hello Project after its slump were able to because of the familiarity they had with those groups. So I think that these anxious feelings from losing this stability that Hello Project had maintained for several years are valid. So they either have to market these changes properly or risk distancing themselves further from the fans during a time with so many graduations and an evolving identity for Hello Project.

[Starra]

What baffles me is when new members are added in response to graduations/sudden departures and people act like it's a bad thing. If they didn't do that, the groups would die. They keep adding members to keep the groups going. It's rare that groups want to keep going for as long as, say, Berryz or ℃-ute.

Also, I don't think changing members is "confusing".

[Menno]

For J=J the issue is mostly that this addition is pretty much completely out of the blue. There haven't been any new additions to groups after such a long period of stability from the start. Usually changes only happen just before a major debut or when there are girls leaving after a longer period. J=J had the just before major change with Aina leaving, but no one was added to replace her. I do think that this new addition right now clearly is a change of direction for J=J by UF. For years it has always been a mix between stable groups and revolving groups. I think we can now conclude that all groups will continue to revolve from now. And not just to constantly bring in fresh faces also to create new positions for the trainees. The stability from the 2nd half of the 2000s, was also reflected in the H!P Egg pretty much doing nothing for 5 years since their 1st audition.

I can see why people are not happy with these changes, even though we do have to get used to seeing more.

I'm just lucky that the most recent additions to Angerme have not been disappointing in any way. And I have good faith that the new girls will fit in perfectly. I've been watching Ayano's karaoke video's on YouTube, she really was into S/mileage songs. I'm happy for her and for Angerme that UF chose the right group for her. As a bonus she won't have any issues learning all the lyrics to the songs. And Musube is already friends with the members and has the right attitude, that can't go wrong.

[Starra]

I can see why people are not happy with these changes, even though we do have to get used to seeing more.

I suppose in the end I agree with this. I don't expect everyone to be happy, but what I personally get annoyed at are the people dismissing every change as bad and refusing to accept it as a thing that happens.

Also, I'm totally with you on ANGERME. At the time I didn't think either Kamiko or Momona were needed additions, but now they're my top 2 in the group (only because Meimi left though). The same thing happened with Tsubaki -- honestly I was kinda mad that they got new members before they'd even had their major debut, but I love 2/3 of them and the 3rd is pretty neat too.

[JonCC]

I find no fault at all with this reorganisation.

-It prevents the total disbandment of Country Girls.
-It allows two girls to focus fully on school, something H!P is well-known for allowing idols to do.
-It directly prevents the graduation of the three other Country Girls members.
-It extends the life of the groups receiving new members.
-It allows three Trainees to debut.
-It will result in the creation of a new group, which will allow even more Trainees or outside girls to debut.

Hello! Project is about change. From the very first graduation and from the second ever audition.
It is through this change that the system has the potential to last a lifetime and beyond.

After losing many promising members over the last few years (Uta, Riho, Manaka and Meimi to name a few), I can only applaud that they are doing this.

[AyuHikaru]

How did I forget about Lehua!? I love Lehua

Anyway, H!P goes through fluxes and people aren't happy about it till they get used to it. Here are things I remember people flipping out about:

~ H!P Kids. Divisive as fuck. SOOO many people hated the idea.
~ Miki Fujimoto being added to 6th Gen. LET ME TELL YOU, the forum I was on at the time was not nice about this. People hated it but also people called Miki a flop (Kinda what people are doing to Country Girls now)
~ Junjun and Linners being added to 8th gen
~ Aika being 8th gen at all.
~ Koharu. Just... Koharu.
~ The mass graduation of Elder Club.

I'm missing things, but this is just how it goes. Everyone vents, gets out what they need to get out, then everyone adjusts and we move on. THAT is nothing new. I don't understand the need to be mad about the fan cycle we constantly see.

[Menno]

I wonder if we get a new All for one, one for all / Mobekimas song for the 20th anniversary? I think it would be interesting, especially with all the recent changes. It could be done after Kudo's graduation and formation of Ichioka's new group.

[Shoujo Q]

Perform it at the countdown live/winter concert. Release at the beginning of the year. It's the only time they tend to have all the girls together at once. Aside from summer concert of course.