The Niigaki Risa Thread (新垣里沙) [+110 pages]

[kjpop]

Best wishes to Gaki. I saw it coming, but I didn't quite think it would be so soon! I was expecting sumer or even winter, but man. This is rather soon >__<

a few thoughts: http://kjpop.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/the-dwindling-fire-niigaki-risa-to-graduate-from-hello-project-and-morning-musume/

[manamin]

I'm majorly bummed. I mean, it's not that it was entirely unexpected, or anything like that. But I'm still allowed to think it sucks hardcore, right?

I'm gonna do my darnedest to go to the concert. And I want Arena floor. C'mon FanClub, be kind to me.

In the meantime... I've tweeted Tsunku's twitter account - just asking for equality. Ai-chan got a solo song to go out with. Gaki's been there just as long. It would be nice for her to have one too. I dunno if it will do anything, but it can't hurt, right? A friend of mine helped me get the grammar ironed out a bit, so it should be pretty darn good.

I seriously do not know that it will do any good at all. But giving it a shot has got to be better than doing nothing, and that is the attitude I'm taking about this. If you want to retweet it and see if some extra recognition helps give it a boost, please be my guest.

https://twitter.com/#!/kecchin/status/153880964647493634

[THUNDERDUCK]

I think my MM love has officially died now.  But I'll support them, not given that I don't know the new members really

[Hart]

^ Same here. 

If I was tearing up during Yossie's graduation, I'll definitely be bawling during Gaki's.

[daigong]

Damn... Risa graduating can only think what would marimari say. It's not surprising shocker, just like CMON SON give her a little time to whip some noobs lol but so goes the evolution of H!P - can only mean a Risa PB is coming up! HA!

[muppet]

The actual lyrics of Love on the Rocks by Neil Diamond don't quite fit, but the sad tone sure fits the melancholy feeling of thinking about Risa graduating (still happy  for her to pursue her dreams, of course, but still not over the shock):

[kawaii beam]

"22 sai no watashi"


;3;

[ishiyoshiftw~^^]

I can't believe it. It's just like one member graduating after another, give us a break! I saw the news yesterday in a not very official looking place  and thought it had to be a joke but no... The time has come for Risa to graduate. She's been my favorite member for a year now... With her and Ai-chan gone I don't really know how i feel about MoMuSu. It's just to much to see them all graduate one after another it's like I don't know anyone anymore!

[shirenuファクトリー]

The girl of the week is back in business, and who better to kick it off with than...

Gaki-san! The leader of Morning Musume, graduating later this spring.

To get things started, fill in the survey:

My Gaki-san story:
My favourite thing about Gaki-san:
A memorable performance:
A moment that made me laugh:
A moment that surprised me:
A picture that I like:
A video that I like:

If you completed the survey during the previous Cycle of GOTW and don't feel like doing it again, feel free to talk about if your fandom has changed since then... Or anything else you can think of!



 

[rndmnwierd]

My Gaki-san story: The first time I saw Gaki-san and acknowledged her existence was probably during the 2006 winter concert. Among the blue costumes, Gaki-san (and Yossie, but I was more her fan at the time) stood out. I think I probably thought she wasn't the best dancer, lol. But cute was my first impression. I was just learning about Morning Musume, this was actually the first concert I ever saw and still one of my favorites. Since I was a huge W fan at the time, I was quite looking forward to Nono and her's duet, Love Namida Iro. It has stuck with me, obviously, since I don't even have to look it up to remember that performance. After that, I started watching the Hello Morning theater, the bus stop one. Ah Hello!Morning, the best way to get to know the girls at the time. After W dissolved and Yossie graduated(and Miki...), Risa was quick to climb up to my number one spot, often battling it out with Ai-chan in my heart.
My favourite thing about Gaki-san: Her smile and her laugh, that surprised laughter when she's not expecting something funny.
A memorable performance:
A moment that made me laugh: Chan Pon Chan, gosh, the Bakajo test was so full of win.
A moment that surprised me: When I learned that she had been really hated on by fans when she first joined. Watching old clips of this cutesy, little pigtailed girl, it was unbelievable that anyone could hate this CHILD, who only wanted so badly to be surrounded by her idols.
A picture that I like:I chose two, lol, two extremes. (Well, I thought I chose two, doesn't seem to be working, that second sexy pic...)
 
A video that I like: How could I forget about Ayaka's English lessons. Another great way to learn about the quirky girls inhabiting H!P in and before 2002.

[Heika88]

rndmnwierd you made me back some few years ago with this Risa picture and video.. nostalgia^^°
It's hard to know that one of the best Morning Musume member will graduate soon.. 
But like rndmnwierd did, I think everybody will watch old videos and  pictures of Risa until her graduation ceremony..and fore sure long time after ..because she's a momusu member for ever for us.

[Beecubed]

^ your little comment at the end there seriously made me cry.  *is uber sensitive*

My Gaki-san story: I'm a relatively new fan, having really only paid proper attention to Morning Musume at the end of 2009 - even then, I was a super Charmy/IshiYoshi fan, so nobody else registered with me until a little later, when I began to watch H!M eps and other shows that weren't as OG-oriented. Oh, also running out of fanfics to read (refused to read anything but IshiYoshi at the beginning xD) meant I had to read other stories and thus stumbled upon TakaGaki and the other wonderful members  I confess, it took a while for Gaki-san to catch my eye. I was immediately drawn to Eri and Ai, and they'd been the top two I couldn't choose between as my favourite 'current' member. Still, I've grown to love Risa, and this love is still growing. Thanks in part to being half of one awesome pairing (AiGaki, duuuh), but I can't discredit Gaki herself  - it's so obvious how much she adores Morning Musume and what a hard-worker she's been. I've always thought that she's been something of a backbone for the current Momusu, and when the rare beam of spotlight shines down on her (not damned nearly enough!), she's been nothing but a joy to watch and listen to. Oh, not to mention she's pretty damned cute, and that S M I L E - mygaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.  If there were ever a smile that could draw out sunshine on a dark, rainy day and bring singing birds and cartwheeling squirrels and make flowers bloom, hers would be it. 

All things considered, like rndy two posts ago mentioned, I've never been able to fathom the Gaki hate. This isn't even about when she first joined (and who could friggin' hate on a kid anyway?! ABSURD!); even now, she still has many anti-fans (mostly in Japan...). I won't go into details 'coz I'm only going to make myself upset over it, but I'm just going to say Niigaki Risa is one of the most undervalued Morning Musume members ever. I'm a wee bit sad she never got to be a front girl, but I'm glad she got to live her dream. She's been such a wonder, a standard of person to truly aspire to, for so many of us fans. I'll never forget her! 


My favourite thing about Gaki-san: Didn't I just... ? Oh well, ahahaa...  so yes. Her smile. OH - and her reactions! Everybody knows her as the Reaction Queen, and that's definitely something I absolutely love about her.  Personally, I think Ai-chan's reactions are more natural (and thus endlessly hilarious), while Gaki-san is more theatrical - no less entertaining though. 


A memorable performance: Did Gaki-san own this performance or did she own it?




A moment that made me laugh: Apart from the infamous Chan Pon Chan answer, a lot of HelloPro! Time episode 23 (yes, that TakaGaki in Korea episode  ). Squealing and giggling more appropriate terms to describe my response whenever I watch that, but close enough. 

A moment that surprised me: The haromoni episode where Gaki-san was placed as the greediest member because of her reaction to thinking she'd won the lottery...  I was pretty surprised!   

A picture that I like: Couldn't narrow it down to one. So here's three (which I've so lovingly edited & resized). 

CUTE.




BEAUTIFUL.




SPUNKY.




A video that I like: Always brings a smile to my face. 



...

  Gaki-san forever.

[muppet]

I will never tire of Risa's performance on this cover of ジョニィへの伝言 / Johnny e No Dengon / Message to Johnny

[Ambenya]

My Gaki-san story: When I became a fan of H!P I knew next to no one. The first musumes I knew was Koharu then Sayu. Anyway they lead me to Cinderella the Musical. When I saw Gaki as the prince I knew she was going to be one of my favorites. She was handsome and beautiful at the same time. I never thought I would fall in love with a girl being one myself but she came along and things changed. She was my favorite until 9th joined. She is by far my favorite out of the first 5 generations.
My favourite thing about Gaki-san: Her smile, eyes, singing and speaking voice. Her expressions are just wonderful.
A memorable performance:
A moment that made me laugh:
A moment that surprised me: This surprised because Gaki is singing Sailor Moon and I really didn't expect her to.
A picture that I like:
A video that I like: Same as Beecubed. Got to love the reaction queen!

[shirenuファクトリー]

Since I've done the survey before, I'm going a bit freestyle with this and just posting a picture thing

This is the Gaki-san I've known through my fandom:

When I became a H!P fan, she was still the mayuge beam girl with an exposed forehead. People didn't seem to find her very pretty, which I didn't understand because there were already pics like the first one here in top left corner, where I thought she was super pretty. (That was one of my favourite Risa pics back then, and maybe still is :3)

Then she finally cut her bangs and it was one of the biggest hairstyle changes in H!P history (along with Eri cutting her hair short). People were like oohing and aahing how cute she suddenly was. Of course, she still didn't become popular, but it was interesting how big a deal fans made of it. I wonder if one of the reasons why Meimi Tamura of S/mileage newbieage got hers cut so soon after her debut is that they wanted to avoid comparisons to the young, unpopular Gaki-san... Her ponytails were certainly reminding me of her. But this is speculation >_>

Gaki-san got her first PB and that's my favourite picture from it. I actually bought this PB because at that time, she was my favourite member, or rather, I wanted her to be... But alas, it was not meant to be. Something like that can't be decided, it just happens.

Anyway, time went by, Gaki-san grew up and had that PB with shmexy shots. And now she's just gorgeous.

Her journey is a great example of what this fandom is about. The awkward girl with a boyish loud voice has turned into a confident, multi-talented entertainer with a husky, lovely singing voice. Few could predict that she would come this far :3 *cough* I count myself one of those, because in the early days of my fandom, there were people who said she was as bad a singer as Sayumi, and this was even back when Sayumi had not improved. And I'd tell them they were crazy, "listen to Sakuragumi omg" and they wouldn't believe. Oh well, that was then.

...I feel like I've told all these stories before. Sorry about that

I don't have much ~new~ to say really, so let's just leave it here then Yay for Gaki-san!

[muppet]

Post 3800 dedicated to Risa and her great fans like shirenu san......

I remember Risa mentioning how happy she was able to appear  in this PV- BE HAPPY 恋のやじろべえ /BE HAPPY Koi no Yajirobee (with Rika Ishikawa, Asami Konno, and Ayumi Shibata)

She was new to the group, and had just returned from a vacation with her family, and apparently she got quite a bit of sun. She was worried because she was a couple shades darker than when the company had last seen her (she tans very well), but it worked out fine, and she was so excited to be featured in a four member group.........

To me she was cute from the beginning, and 4th and 5th generation members are each, in their own ways, favorites. Cute back then, beautiful today, talented and funny always..........Risa Niigaki　　

[kawaii beam]

My Gaki-san story: its kinda hard for me to realy remember how i found risa...i mean when i 1st saw momusu from the "ambitious" pv i noticed reina, but eventually risa came into my sites when i looked for what was at the time teh most current single which was kanashimi twilight. i think what i noticed was that she wasnt showing her bangs, and that she looked epic in that pv in general lol. when i looked into her more like finding out that she was born in the same month as me and was a sucker for disney i think it sealled the deal lol maybe it did before with chan pon chan lol i honestly cant remember.

My favourite thing about Gaki-san: gah i love everything about her! but to just name one it'd be her smile. no matter how she's feeling she gives us this huge meggawat smile that can make een the saddest person cheer up inside. i remember how during the platinum 9 disco concert i noticed she wasnt really as into the moves as she usualy was only to find out that she was really sick that day, but through it all she still gave us her signature smile. that and her laugh and that she's probably was the 1st momusu wota to be in momusu

A memorable performance: gah again there's so many and boogie train was already posted but i guess it'd have to be this solo wise


and this duet wise. i'll never understand why the heck takagaki never got more duets on albums or singles...they're perfect together >3>


A moment that made me laugh: lol id say recently the gakikame haunted house thing from h!m that or her escelator confusion from the 1st mornng labo gakikame time starts at 8:13. she gets into full gakimama mode and the promise always cracks me up


A moment that surprised me:hmm id have to say 2 things...1st when she was finally allowd to cut her hair and 2nd her graduation announcement. when i 1st saw the winter con pics of her hair short i was devistated. like all of that long beautiful lushioush light brown locks were just suddenly gone! but i soon got over that once i noticed how epic she looked with fedorah hats and boyish clothes i was won over lol. for teh grad announcement, i know she'd be next in line but i wasnt expecting it so soon ;3;

A picture that I like: yet again hard ;3;but this is one of my faves blog pic wise

taken by aichan lol
 
A video that I like:of course aigaki trip to korea wins all for me right now lol the fact that risa is pretty much a bigger wimp that ai in the haunted house and then acts like she was all cool when they got out only to be shot down by ai over it was hilarious plus just how cute she acts with ai is awesome. that one and the dvd mag that had gakikame acting crazy in the pika pika gold costumes...reisa was just on something in that vid and i loved every second of it sadly i cant find either vid on yt ;3;

lol its hard to choose just 1 thing ;3; darn my indesiciveness ;3;

[nimrod]

Niigaki-Tanaka - interfm - Risa's Nighthouse 018 20120131
http://www.mediafire.com/?uu9wqkh07zf586j

Guess what they are chattin’ ;-)


http://www.interfm.co.jp/nighthouse/index.php?mode=tue

[nimrod]

swell a Gaki Fanclub Bus Tour
from April 21st - 22nd.
http://blog.oricon.co.jp/niigakirisa/archive/2235/0

[kawaii beam]

i legit wish i could go to this D:



sucks to be young sometimes >3>

and ontop of that....
RISA'S GOT AN AMEBA BLOG YO!!!
http://ameblo.jp/nigaki-risa/

do you guys know what this means??? we'll probably get bigger pics! 

i've been complaining/begging about this probably ever since she resized her pics in her oricon blog lol rndy can back me up on that ^^;