Most shocking/memorable news from 2011

[shirenuファクトリー]

Hay hay hay this is the first time I'm making a poll for this!

What shocked or surprised you the most, what will you be thinking about the most after??

Do discuss your picks in the comments, as well. 

[Slack]

Can't pick, had to narrow down to 5.

My criteria was "Which of these announcements came out of nowhere?"
By that I mean some of these just aren't all that surprising in hindsight.

Like for me, pregnant Mikitty would have happened sooner or later.
Aichan's graduation announcement was sudden but we all kind of knew it would happen at some point.
Also it's sad but not surprising to me that Kago attempted suicide, given her previous history.

That said, the ones I picked were ones that had no previous signs that they'd happen.
Things like Asuka's return to music and the 10th gen audition being held this soon really came out of nowhere.

[shirenuファクトリー]

For me:
Reveal of 9th gen members - was surprising because I wasn't expecting such good results. Haha. Everyone I liked was chosen, and then an Egg in Fukuchan was added as a cherry on top. I was thinking the Shark teeth girl would definitely be there... So yeah, shocking in a good way!

S/mileage submember bonanza - makes sense NOW, but at the time I thought "why? why would you add more members to S/mileage?" When Sakichy's grad was announced, it started to make sense. They needed to replace older members who were thinking of leaving. Whowouldathunk. In hindsight, it was stupid of me not to see the grads coming from the first audition announcement.

S/mileage's Yuukarin graduating - this mostly because I considered her one of the new H!P aces and her early departure is genuinely sad. It's different for Aichan who's been around for so long and will still be active.

Tsunku's youtube show etc. - Just because I really don't need to know how much of a perv exactly is this man I've been considering a genius and who is a producer to a bunch of underaged girls. It's not like he ever hid it, but now he has a fucking show for shouting it out to the world. That goes straight to TMI category for me. I've tried to watch his show and it's just bad, man. I still appreciate his song writing etc. but goddamn I can't think of him the same as before.

Asuka's return to music business - completely out of the blue. Never saw it coming. But lovely news!

I agree with Slack that some of these were (sadly) predictable...

[J-Triumf]

As far as shock and surprise, I voted for:

10th gen announcement - Definitely a shock with how soon it came about, and unfortunately it means it's still gonna take me a while to warm up to the winners and the drastically new look of the group. But as long as 9th gen remains awesome and their awesomeness rubs off on 10th gen through increased interactions I think I have a lot to look forward to.

Yuuka graduating - The S/mileage audition and Saki's graduation make sense when looked at together, but I thought that would be it. The signs were there (Yuuka looking less-than-enthusiastic, all the submembers getting promoted) but I was simply caught off guard.

Aibon's attempted suicide and pregnancy/marriage - It speaks a lot on how sad and rough her life has been that some people are not shocked by this, but personally I thought she had shed those dark times behind her with her post-H!P comeback. Getting hitched and knocked up...well, I'm still blown away by that.

The return of Asuka Fukuda - I don't think there was any way anyone could've predicted this. I'd been convinced she was done with showbiz completely.

Still, I think several other news items deserve recognition for memorability. 9th gen results were everything I could've asked for and more. Ai-chan's graduation was at the very least kind of a big deal considering her tenure. Yuko finally getting her man is something we all wanted but never really knew when or if it would ever happen. I think Mari's marriage deserves some mention, because LOL at that height difference. And there seems to be some drama going on with Tsuji's marriage but that story's only now starting to unfold and will be something to look out for in the new year.

I've never actually watched a full episode of Tsuntsube but judging by shi's reaction I'm starting to understand why each video I glance at has so many dislikes.

[JFC]

10th gen audition announcement
- mainly surprised because it happened so quickly after the 9th gen joined. Considering though that Aichan was due to graduate, it did make sense that the UF* PTB would likely be looking to do a little more "reinforcement" in the flagship group.


Ai Kago attempts suicide
- we all know that she hasn't exactly had an easy past couple of years, but really, can any of us really say that we honestly thought that it would get to this point?


Ai Kago getting married and preggo
- after the above incident, the fact that this happened (I think) gives a lot of us fans hope that this will give her real motivation to really try and turn her life around for the better.


Yuko Nakazawa - someone put a ring on it
- we all joked about it (much like how the girls and other Japanese entertainers like Taka-san & Nakai would), but really, we all knew that Yuko-sama was a major catch as long as there was some dude smart enough to "grab her up" so to speak. This was a major "feel-good" type of surprise.


Asuka Fukuda's (MM 1st gen) return to music business
- yet another "feel-good" type of surprise, if for no other reason than from looking at the early MM footage, one could see she really had the chops, vocally-speaking.  She may not be getting the TV time that she used to when she was still in MM, but she's (hopefully) singing and making the type of songs/music that she likes. As long as she's happy, that's good enough for me.

[Tian_Yuan]

The biggest and most shocking news for me was maki's PB and her leaving the music scene this year. I just cannot believe it or get over it. I have listened to her last cd a billion times, and i just feel so sad. She was my favorite member and i had followed her so long.

All the stuff with ai kago this year was pretty crazy too.

T. Ai's graduation was predictable but also very sad... However, i think the 9th and 10th gen look very promising. Of all the sad stuff this year, i feel like 2012 looks hopeful because of these girls.

I will miss Maki and Ai a whole bunch though T.T

[elgie]

Hard to pick only one, I go with Yuko's marriage mostly because it's been an ongoing joke for so many years.
Saito's divorce is a big surprise too, if only because I didn't know she was married
As for Kago's suicide and following pregnancy... it was shocking but quite predictable considering the turn her life has taken in the latest years. Much like Maki's leaving music for a while, her mother's death and her brother's scandals must have put a toll on her.
Any news about graduations and auditions doesn't surprise me anymore.
Asuka's comeback was a big surprise too, but I always knew that girl was dying to come back and kick ass in the music scene and MM (the original 1st gen) is such an oldie group right now that we can expect many revivals and comebacks from ex-members (mmmh, what about an Asuka-Ishiguro duet?? Plzzzzz  )

[tenkei]

1. Aibon attempted suicide.
2. Nekkid Gocchin
3. Death of Morning Musume. Aichan graduating.