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Author Topic: In or out  (Read 2980 times)

Offline initial

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In or out
« on: December 31, 2013, 09:01:27 PM »
Looking at how the music is stronger and the dancing tougher, who (of the past MM members) would be able to keep up with these three Gens?

would we look at personality?
Michishige- Abe.

would we look at singing?
Tanaka- Sakura.

dancing?
Takahashi-rihoriho.

Offline JFC

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Re: In or out
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2014, 01:02:27 AM »
In all honesty, I couldn't see anyone from the 1st or 2nd Gen being able to keep up with the current level of dancing that the group does. From 3rd-8th Gens, none of them were as proficient dancers pre-MM as, say, Yasshii or Ayuyu were, however if they (the previous Gens) had started early enough with the training/practice drills (which I feel is the key to why the current lineup can do what they do), with a lot of hard work they could probably do it. Obviously some members would have a notably harder/more difficult time with it, but yeah, with enough work they probably could have gotten to something like...75-80% of what the current members can do.

In terms of singing, if we're talking about doing it in combination with the current level of dancing that the group does, then IMO, 1st and 2nd Gen would be having even MORE trouble keeping up with it. A lot of the early songs that MM did were not written with much, if any level of "serious" dancing involved. At the most, there was some slow side-stepping and/or some arm movements done while the girls usually stood in place. MM was initially conceived of as a "vocal group" after all, not necessarily a "singing AND dancing" group. At any rate, as is the case with many pop groups, the stronger singers in the group didn't always get the same promotion/attention as the girls who became front girls. And subsequently, the group's front girls weren't always their better singers.

Personality-wise, there's going to be a lot of discussion/debate about how certain members (especially 5th to 8th Gen) were either "dull as stumps" or not given a real chance to shine because they were always in the shadow of/because the focus was always on/because they were never given the same level of promotion as the "Golden Age" (i.e. 1st-4th Gen) members.  Others have said/will say that if the younger Gens had stronger individual personalities, they would have/could have been able to come forward on their own to "make themselves known"; and that the fact that they never did is evidence that those members really had little to no "personality". It's an old/ongoing discussion amongst the fandom.


Really, for me, all things being equal, the only former members that I could see being able to "hold their own" (in an overall sense) with the current lineup are Aichan (and I'm not saying that just because she was still around to mentor the 9th Gen and to see the 10th Gen join) and Maki. Singing and dancing was never really a problem for either of them. Between the two of them, Maki was probably the better choice for TV interview/talk segments.  For Aichan, sure she was often quiet/uninteresting in TV appearances, moreso in her early years with the group, she slowly started to speak up and come out of her shell a bit more when she took over as leader of the group. And no one can deny that what she lacked in the "interview" department, she made up for many times over in her performance/stage presence she commanded, which, IMO, could surpass what Maki had.  As far as the rest of the past members go.....if they were to join MM as it is now, they might have been able to do well in one or two out of the three categories (dancing/singing/personality), but it would be really difficult for them to do even that. Three out of three? I couldn't see many of them even coming close to being able to pull it off.

Risa could/would probably do well, but seeing as how she was still a part of the group when the bulk of the last 3 Gens joined, I didn't think she'd count for this. =P

JPH!P :heart:'s kuro808, Fushigidane, ChrNo, Jab & marimari. Always.

Offline shirenuファクトリー

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Re: In or out
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2014, 08:35:12 AM »
Haha I've been thinking about this and even dissing my previous fav Nacchi by saying I could never see her doing the dances that MM does now :lol: But the truth is... It's all about the training program, isn't it. Had they received the same training, I think they could've done it. Harunan was a "lost cause" at the time of joining and she doesn't stand out like a sore thumb in dances (at least to me) because that's just how hard they work and how excellent their training is.

Still, there are a few who wouldn't be able to do it at all I think... Asuka of course, because she would just quit like "this isn't what I'm here for", Yuuchan perhaps because of age?, and Kaori the legendary goofy dancer who shall never be replaced by another. I'd even argue Yossi because I found her dancing kinda awkward, it's just that her attitude was so cool that she completely got away with it. Oh and, looking at JFC's sig... Mikitty totally half-assed her dancing haha. She would not be able to do the sharp movements that current MM does, not because she lacks in physical ability but just because she wouldn't care enough. LOL

But that's just about dancing, really. I dunno about three out of three. :lol: Yuuchan always had one of my favourite voices, but can you imagine her singing something like wktk take a chance? I just don't think it fits, haha.

I have complete faith in gokkies and rokkies tho. :3 And Maki Goto. And perhaps surprisingly, Mari Yaguchi. She always had insane energy dancing and her vocals were also flexible, and I probably don't even need to mention her personality.

...BUT YEAH I think it's all about 1) the eagerness to improve one's skills, which I think current MM has in abundance, and 2) receiving excellent training. I think with these, anyone could do it, and that's the beauty of it... MM ~are~ quite ordinary girls, but their goals and aspirations and hard work are what make them exceptional. Basically, it's not what you're born with, but what you do with what you have. :heart:
LJ★  ~Rest in Peace marimari, Jabronisaur, ChrNo & Fushigidane

Offline JFC

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Re: In or out
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2014, 10:12:48 PM »
Harunan was a "lost cause" at the time of joining and she doesn't stand out like a sore thumb in dances (at least to me) because that's just how hard they work and how excellent their training is.
Oddly enough, I find myself specifically watching Harunan in the "Dance Shot" versions of their PVs for that reason and yeah, while she's still nowhere near Yasshii's or Ayuyu's skill level, I'd say she's doing a decent job of holding her own.
:yep:


Mikitty totally half-assed her dancing haha. She would not be able to do the sharp movements that current MM does, not because she lacks in physical ability but just because she wouldn't care enough. LOL
Yep, pretty much. XD 

She could do it for when they were shooting PVs, but yeah, the other 97% of the time, she was like, "meh, close enough".
:wahaha:

JPH!P :heart:'s kuro808, Fushigidane, ChrNo, Jab & marimari. Always.

Offline Rayle

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Re: In or out
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2014, 03:54:21 AM »
I dunno, let's not forget the old days.



Remember that? Right after that demo, all of H!P were split up into groups to learn that routine, including Nakazawa lol. (It's in Hello!Morning 009-013. You can find them on Youku)

There was also the Asayan where Abe was sent to New York to learn hip hop dance. 



A lot of the old routines are deceptively difficult, especially for Minimoni.

There was that dance break at Kouhaku, too: (3:05)



Still a little miffed that they stuck Takahashi in the "shitty dancers" group, but ah well.

Yasuda has quite crisp dancing, as well, although I don't have a specific moment showcasing that. But in the 2004 H!P Magic of Love, you can see that she has the same kind of body-swag that the other known good dancers in the perf have, (like Inaba, Melon, Maki, Abe, etc.) compared to the non-dancers.

Yaguchi rocked the hip hop footwork in Iku ZYX Fly High, the same kind of footwork that was in All For One, which everyone pulled off quite well. Rika and Tsuji weren't any slouches in Shall We Love and Daite Please Go On (the latter having a short dance battle thing) with Maki in Hello Pro Party 06. The 7AIR/SALT5/11WATER shuffles were also all dance-heavy.

JPHiP Radio (27/200 @ 128 kbs)     Now playing: Double - Run Away Love