I adore new S/mileage, and are rooting so hard for the new girls. I feel like this open scolding will bring them sympathy points if anything, though I don't really think Tsunku can hold their waning success against them. It was a combination of things, and not just the new girls that kind of brought them down.
And as much as I love the new line-up, there is no denying that there is just a change in dynamic. 4-nin was cohesive in that they all struggled and worked to debut together. They did the 10,000 smiles challenge, they had their indies singles leading up to their debut, and they achieved their highest selling single, Uchouten Love together (until Miniska Postwoman came out anyway).
With the new line-up, there is obviously a divide between 1st gen and 2nd gen, because the new girls haven't yet had a bonding experience together with the original members, or with each other. Maybe they can do another smiles challenge to keep the new girls from being demoted, idk idk. Like everyone collectively works together to save Kanana. Second, the aura of S/mileage now feels overly genki and unrefined, and that may appeal to some, but it may be off putting to others. The songs this year were pretty lackluster (even though I love the shit out of some Dot Bikini), and they just haven't been pimped as much imo. Suki yo Junjou Hankouki is a nice song, but it goes on forever and has no outstanding qualities about it, and I had even forgot that it was coming out for a while with the buzz surrounding the other groups.
There was a time where it seemed that S/mileage was poised to become the new flagship lol, but now even they are losing steam. But it's not something that solely falls upon the shoulders of the girls to reconcile. Losing their most popular member (who was popular for reasons other than her lighter complexion lol c'mon now), crappy singles, scaled back promo, too many new faces with no ace are all things to blame. They need to give S/mileage a genki song that doesn't go on forever, and need to start grooming someone other than Dawa to be their new ace. Dawa reads too much like a Kaori, and they need their Nacchi. I personally vote Rinapuu for this honor.
