MOMONA 101 [ME:I Debut Single "MIRAI (Click / Sugar Bomb)" on 4/17]

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ZIP! Morning news 3.28.24 : ME:I 1st Fan Concert report

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Mezamashi morning news 3.28.24

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Next Wednesday April 3rd @ 11:15pm, ME:I members MOMONA, RAN, KEIKO, and TSUZUMI make their first variety show appearance on the TV Asahi show "Kamaigachi"

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[Shoujo Q]

Momona has lost so much weight. It’s starting to worry me and it’s really noticeable in some of those photos. I wish these girls didn’t need to do extreme things like weight loss to appease some unhealthy standards of beauty.

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ME:I will be featured in anan magazine April 2024 issue, release is 3/27
https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/565377

anan magazine April 2024 issue, Special Edition cover


The cover of anan issue #2391 special edition is released. ME:I, who will make their debut on April 17th, make their first appearance on the cover of anan, which will be on sale on March 27th and feature beauty habits that make you beautiful!
With the theme of "The Beginning of Spring", 11 girls are photographed in a very cute and fresh way just before their debut.
https://twitter.com/anan_mag/status/1771008910302015973
https://natalie.mu/music/news/566042

ME:I introduction for anan magazine

[Idol Tenshoku Ondo]

Agreed about Momona's weight. Seeing ribs never makes me not uncomfortable.

I did like Click, worst part was the generic AF dance break but it's been in my head since I heard it. Good vibe.

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https://seventeen-web.jp/news/16162/

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#ClickChallenge

MOMONA

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NTV DayDay morning show 3.28.24



The show announced that ME:I will be in the show's studio next month on the day of their debut (4/17), to perform live.

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~~~~~

NYLON Japan magazine video message

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[KakureW]

Alright, so I attended the event last evening, and here are my report and thoughts.

First off, I was just amazed by the gender ratio of the attendees. I don't know the actual numbers, but from what I saw it felt like a 9:1 female to male ratio of fans (maybe even more in favor of female fans). On a personal note, I don't think I have ever felt more weirdly out of place at any point of time in my life than yesterday at the concert. I had a seat smack dab in the middle of the venue, and I was totally surrounded by women and girls squealing and screaming. Part of it is down to this being my first time attending a concert by a JPop/KPop artist or an idol artist. Up until this point I had only attended rock concerts or classical concerts, which are a completely different vibe. But the other part was how much I underestimated the female fandom of ME:I. I had this general image of Boy groups being popular with women, and Girl groups being more popular with men, but that was totally not the case here.

Second, the merchandise was selling like hot cakes. I would say more than 80% (maybe even more than 90%) of the fans attending had some merchandise, mostly waving fans of their favorite member. Some also brought handmade signs and posters.

The concert itself was quite good. The performances were really excellent. Their dance coordination is exquisite, and Click is a great song in a live setting. They also performed the ballad by Kaela which surprised a lot of fans as they were not expecting ME:I to perform that song. The &ME performance was quite strong too. They also performed their new single. I haven't been able to form an opinion on that one just yet. It sounded like a chill, somewhat moody song. I need the MV and a few more listens before I form an opinion on that one.
One thing I really wanna complement the staff on is the production quality. They made full use of Tokyo Garden Theatre's large screens by displaying bright and colorful visuals. There was even the cheering guide tutorial broadcast before the Click and &ME performances.

On to the girls themselves. I will go by one by one in order of their Nichipu rank.

Spoiler: show

Momona: As others have pointed out, Momona did seem excessively slim. I don't know (nor do I want to) what kind of diet you have to do to get a waist like that, but all I know is it can't be healthy. At the very start of the show, all members came out one by one to do a solo catwalk down the middle of the stage. A few of the girls were showing ribs on that one, and for me it felt uncomfortable to look at. However, for Momona I could hear a lot of the women around me going "Wow, look at that waist" (dunno if they meant it as a compliment or not).
Apart from that, she was energetic and seemed to be enjoying herself. And her performance was great too. I did get the feeling that she wasn't being treated as the true center, and that the agency is still pushing Ran more instead of Momona. But she had that aura of the return of the prince charming, and had a lot of girls swooning. I also heard some female fans sitting behind me talking about Kenshuusei, and true enough, they were cheering for Momona, so there seemed to be a few HP wotas there too.

Rinon: She was great. I think she has already established herself as the "Neko" character in ME:I. She seemed to be enjoying herself too. She is a pretty good tsukkomi character as well imo. Her looks seem quite popular with the Japanese female fans.

Ayane: I dunno if airhead is the right word, but her weirdness was on full display. Her way of talking is unique, and she is quite expressive as well. She made quite a bit of funny, naughty and weird faces the entire time, and the fans took really well to her style and rhythm of speaking, which was quite cute (kinda like watching a Voice Actress). Her live singing is excellent. She has grown tremendously on me. Her dancing was really great too.

Miu: I had this impression of her as being not very expressive, so I was slightly surprised to see her have a much better vibe and facial expressions. Her performance face was on point though.

Suzu: At times watching her felt like watching a cute baby. When she put on the pink jacket, the audience was screaming "Kawaii", and her mannerisms seem like that of a cute little baby as well. The fact that she can dance those perfect dances while being such a baby is mind blowing. She's a bit of an airhead as well.

Kokona: She genuinely looks drop dead gorgeous with her hair down. I personally don't think her hair tied behind her back suits her. She seems really popular with the fans, and got some of the loudest cheers. She showed good facial expressions during the songs, but apart from that she wasn't very expressive. She said she was aiming for a cool beauty character, so it seems quite on brand.

Shizuku: Apart from Momona, Shizuku was another one who seemed to be extremely thin. I was somewhat worried she might tire out quickly during the performances but that didn't seem to be the case. Her singing is quite nice, and her blonde hair seems to be quite popular with the fans. She also looked like a chibi character.

Keiko: She truly is the bright and shining personality of ME:I. I think fans also like her outwardly and positive personality and her communication skills. But this event she was relatively quite as compared to the YT videos.

Ran: She is stunningly pretty. Her hairstyle (ponytail) yesterday really suited her. I have a suspicion the management are pushing her as the center even though Momona is supposed to be the true center for the first single. The camera focused quite a lot on her, and she had a lot of screen time on the LED panels inside the arena. She also waved and responded to fans a lot. Also her abs really stood out. A lot of the girls sitting close to me were gushing on and on about her abs. Her dance skill is outstanding.

Tsuzumi: Truly the youngest kid in every sense of the word. Extremely full of energy and talkative. Her personality is like that of a friendly dog. She got to sing a few high notes, and nailed all of them imo. She is one of my favs for sure.

Cocoro: Her demeanor was soft and understated, which imo suits her personality and position as the loving big sister of the group. She cried a little while saying thanks to the fans, saying she didn't know if her name will be called, but now that she is here she is really grateful and enjoying it. Quite a few fans got emotional with her. Her smile is pretty and infectious.

I dunno if I will go to another live like this, but the performance was really enjoyable. I think the future is bright for ME:I. Even if I don't attend the lives, I will still be cheering them on. And I really hope they attend SummerSonic coz that would be a great chance for me to watch them live again.

[DJChisato1]

Alright, so I attended the event last evening, and here are my report and thoughts.

First off, I was just amazed by the gender ratio of the attendees. I don't know the actual numbers, but from what I saw it felt like a 9:1 female to male ratio of fans (maybe even more in favor of female fans). On a personal note, I don't think I have ever felt more weirdly out of place at any point of time in my life than yesterday at the concert. I had a seat smack dab in the middle of the venue, and I was totally surrounded by women and girls squealing and screaming. Part of it is down to this being my first time attending a concert by a JPop/KPop artist or an idol artist. Up until this point I had only attended rock concerts or classical concerts, which are a completely different vibe. But the other part was how much I underestimated the female fandom of ME:I. I had this general image of Boy groups being popular with women, and Girl groups being more popular with men, but that was totally not the case here.

Second, the merchandise was selling like hot cakes. I would say more than 80% (maybe even more than 90%) of the fans attending had some merchandise, mostly waving fans of their favorite member. Some also brought handmade signs and posters.

The concert itself was quite good. The performances were really excellent. Their dance coordination is exquisite, and Click is a great song in a live setting. They also performed the ballad by Kaela which surprised a lot of fans as they were not expecting ME:I to perform that song. The &ME performance was quite strong too. They also performed their new single. I haven't been able to form an opinion on that one just yet. It sounded like a chill, somewhat moody song. I need the MV and a few more listens before I form an opinion on that one.
One thing I really wanna complement the staff on is the production quality. They made full use of Tokyo Garden Theatre's large screens by displaying bright and colorful visuals. There was even the cheering guide tutorial broadcast before the Click and &ME performances.

On to the girls themselves. I will go by one by one in order of their Nichipu rank.

Spoiler: show

Momona: As others have pointed out, Momona did seem excessively slim. I don't know (nor do I want to) what kind of diet you have to do to get a waist like that, but all I know is it can't be healthy. At the very start of the show, all members came out one by one to do a solo catwalk down the middle of the stage. A few of the girls were showing ribs on that one, and for me it felt uncomfortable to look at. However, for Momona I could hear a lot of the women around me going "Wow, look at that waist" (dunno if they meant it as a compliment or not).
Apart from that, she was energetic and seemed to be enjoying herself. And her performance was great too. I did get the feeling that she wasn't being treated as the true center, and that the agency is still pushing Ran more instead of Momona. But she had that aura of the return of the prince charming, and had a lot of girls swooning. I also heard some female fans sitting behind me talking about Kenshuusei, and true enough, they were cheering for Momona, so there seemed to be a few HP wotas there too.

Rinon: She was great. I think she has already established herself as the "Neko" character in ME:I. She seemed to be enjoying herself too. She is a pretty good tsukkomi character as well imo. Her looks seem quite popular with the Japanese female fans.

Ayane: I dunno if airhead is the right word, but her weirdness was on full display. Her way of talking is unique, and she is quite expressive as well. She made quite a bit of funny, naughty and weird faces the entire time, and the fans took really well to her style and rhythm of speaking, which was quite cute (kinda like watching a Voice Actress). Her live singing is excellent. She has grown tremendously on me. Her dancing was really great too.

Miu: I had this impression of her as being not very expressive, so I was slightly surprised to see her have a much better vibe and facial expressions. Her performance face was on point though.

Suzu: At times watching her felt like watching a cute baby. When she put on the pink jacket, the audience was screaming "Kawaii", and her mannerisms seem like that of a cute little baby as well. The fact that she can dance those perfect dances while being such a baby is mind blowing. She's a bit of an airhead as well.

Kokona: She genuinely looks drop dead gorgeous with her hair down. I personally don't think her hair tied behind her back suits her. She seems really popular with the fans, and got some of the loudest cheers. She showed good facial expressions during the songs, but apart from that she wasn't very expressive. She said she was aiming for a cool beauty character, so it seems quite on brand.

Shizuku: Apart from Momona, Shizuku was another one who seemed to be extremely thin. I was somewhat worried she might tire out quickly during the performances but that didn't seem to be the case. Her singing is quite nice, and her blonde hair seems to be quite popular with the fans. She also looked like a chibi character.

Keiko: She truly is the bright and shining personality of ME:I. I think fans also like her outwardly and positive personality and her communication skills. But this event she was relatively quite as compared to the YT videos.

Ran: She is stunningly pretty. Her hairstyle (ponytail) yesterday really suited her. I have a suspicion the management are pushing her as the center even though Momona is supposed to be the true center for the first single. The camera focused quite a lot on her, and she had a lot of screen time on the LED panels inside the arena. She also waved and responded to fans a lot. Also her abs really stood out. A lot of the girls sitting close to me were gushing on and on about her abs. Her dance skill is outstanding.

Tsuzumi: Truly the youngest kid in every sense of the word. Extremely full of energy and talkative. Her personality is like that of a friendly dog. She got to sing a few high notes, and nailed all of them imo. She is one of my favs for sure.

Cocoro: Her demeanor was soft and understated, which imo suits her personality and position as the loving big sister of the group. She cried a little while saying thanks to the fans, saying she didn't know if her name will be called, but now that she is here she is really grateful and enjoying it. Quite a few fans got emotional with her. Her smile is pretty and infectious.

I dunno if I will go to another live like this, but the performance was really enjoyable. I think the future is bright for ME:I. Even if I don't attend the lives, I will still be cheering them on. And I really hope they attend SummerSonic coz that would be a great chance for me to watch them live again.

Did they perform any live singing or was it all playback and lip-syncing?