The Morning Musume Thread (モーニング娘。)

[scorn]

Because of the recent news, I have 2 questions:

-will The Leader be graduating just from the group, or from Hello! Project?

-any announcement when the next leader of both potential successors will be decided or unveiled?

[JFC]

-will The Leader be graduating just from the group, or from Hello! Project?

According to the official statement that was released by Up-Front (english translation has been linked here - http://forum.jphip.com/index.php?topic=37432.msg1274707#msg1274707 ), she will graduate from both Morning Musume and Hello! Project.

-any announcement when the next leader of both potential successors will be decided or unveiled?

The next leader of Morning Musume will be one of the current subleaders, Fukumura Mizkuki and Iikubo Haruna. In terms of an official announcement, I would guess that will be made either shortly before or even during Sayu's graduation ceremony/graduation concert. 

Hell, for all we know, they may announce that since they were co-subleaders, both Fuku-chan and Harunan will get promoted to be co-leaders.

[kuro808]

^ I've had a talk with people about succession as of late and I tend to agree either co-leader or Fuku-chan

In the end, it will be a new identity for the group

[Rina the Robot]

So since I heard about the New York thing this morning, I've kinda been in a pinch. I haven't had really strong feelings for a Momusu member since Koharu graduated, I'm not sure which member I'd like to support at the concert/whatever else comes up.

Should I try to support a less popular member? I'd say go with my gut but I really have no sense of what to do 

[JFC]

I'm not sure which member I'd like to support at the concert/whatever else comes up.

Should I try to support a less popular member? I'd say go with my gut but I really have no sense of what to do 

Watch a bunch of streams of recent vids/DVD-rips and see who tickles your fancy?

[oaxiac]

9ki Fukumura Mizuki (17)
-----
Together with Iikubo she was appointed as my subleader since May last year.
She often said than she loves Hello Project's history and especially Berryz Koubou's Tsugunaga Momoko-chan and I think she really does love the Idol culture as a whole from the bottom of her heart. Even though she's a girl herself she really likes other cute girls and she has this air of pink fluffiness around her, she's that kind of girl. That natural inclination of hers as a result has led her to study up a lot on Idols, so I think it'll come in handy in her work from now on too.
On the other hand her dancing skills are very dynamic and performance-wise when she's up on the stage you can really feel her presence. She has a clear, soothing/refreshing voice and on top of that she can put some power into it too. From the start her singing has a feeling of transparency into it and it looks like in that aspect she has progressed even further.
She also has the kind of sexiness that you'd never think possible for a 17 years old, I believe that can also be yet one more weapon in Fukuchan's arsenal.

9ki Ikuta Erina (16)
-----
Ikuta seems like she's always going her own way, right? When looking at her somehow I feel relieved. The current members all have a very high awareness of their own singing and dancing skills. That's already wonderful in itself and of course Ikuta is also working very hard but her mischievous side still often comes out after all. She gives off that kind of cute good-at-nothing vibe (lol). It's precisely because there are girls like that in it that we are Morning Musume and looking at that girl doing her best despite her weaknesses, I think a lot of people would want to cheer her on. The girls all have different things they're good at, their birthplace and their personalities are all different too and it's great that way. We have a lot of members that brings out many different flavors right now.
One of the area which I personally find important is cuteness and in that regard I think her serious look is already exceptionally cute. Well, I thought she's a real beauty from the start. She just needs to learn how to smile more naturally. For some reason when she smiles her face looks stiff..... Even though the raw materials is so wonderful, it's a bit vexing for me as the Leader too (lol)

9ki Sayashi Riho (15)
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She's an especially hard-working girl. The other members are always doing their best too but even after considering that, her hard-working nature still stood out. She's a reliable girl. When comparing Sayashi to herself from 2 years ago, one thing that changed the most is her consciousness of her singing that has gotten a lot stronger. The other members have that too of course but after Reina graduated and the singing lines are redistributed, I think Sayashi's consciousness of her singing have gotten even higher. I feel that since about a year ago, Sayashi's not simply "the girl who's good at dancing" anymore. Recently the topic of who is the center was seldom brought up among the members anymore but the other members are most definitely aiming to have a better position for themselves. It's the same for even the member with the least amount of solo parts.
In that aspect I think Sayashi has become the goal for the other members. I want her to keep doing her best like she's doing right now.

9ki Suzuki Kanon (15)
-----
Suzuki has become so cheerful! I think she really looks like she's enjoying herself now. When she first joined she has this image of always having a cute smile and recently she seem to have found her own character too, I think everything's really going well for her now. And in relation to singing she has a great volume to her voice too.
In Suzuki's case, rather then talking abilities it's more the force of her character that's the main point. When we went to variety shows as a group, Suzuki who's always ready with one liner gag had many opportunities to have the MC swing the direction of the talk her way. I think it's wonderful how she goes full throttle to bring herself out there like that. Understandably, everyone has things they're shy about doing and that makes them hesitate. Suzuki has been doing impressions since long before but I think she finally shakes the last bit of hesitation off of her when entering this year.
Her attitude of having no fear to lay herself bare like that, I think it'll be a good stimulus for the other members too.

10ki Iikubo Haruna (19)
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She has no experience at dancing at all so at the beginning she had a lot of difficulties but in terms of growth, when compared to 2 years ago I think Iikubo has changed the most. How should I say it, her way of thinking is flexible or maybe she's just good at absorbing things. She listened so sincerely to anything that other people told her, I think she's a very good listener. In relation to work, in Sayumi's way of thinking what's most important is the preparation beforehand. Like thinking of what you're going to say at an event tomorrow and building the framework for it, that kind of approach to preparedness is very important in my opinion. Of course I make sure to convey this to all the members but I feel Iikubo in particular faithfully abides by that attitude. One time in the dressing room I saw Iikubo's script by chance, in it there are a lot of notes. She would probably say 「It's because of Michishige-san's influence...」 or something like that but at any rate, I'm moved knowing how earnestly she keeps that attitude.
It's because of such preparedness that when it's time for the real thing I can easily brings out/touch upon a lot of subjects, you know.

10ki Ishida Ayumi (17)
-----
For Sayumi personally Ishida is my current obsession. She's just so interesting I can't help it. But Ishida has bit of a shy side to her as well so she can't show her natural self to the people she just met for the first time. She's not very good at letting herself depend on others too. Different from the face she shows to her family or her hometown friends, the impression she gives off that stood out up until recently is like a lone wolf. She gave off this feeling like an honor student going 「I'll do my best with my Sendai spirits!」. When looking at the times she scolded Kudou or Sato I thought 「She's really working hard~」. But when I got closer to her, I found out just how interesting Ishida really is. One day I got to work together with her for the entire day and that time I finally noticed Ishida's interesting quirkiness. Furthermore, in spite of that, because her dancing is also extraordinarily sharp/precise I thought to myself just how invincible/peerless she is. Beyond just amusing Sayumi, I want the world to know just how interesting Ishida is too. That's what I thought as the Leader.

10ki Sato Masaki (14)
-----
I think Sato's awareness has really changed. Recently I've heard her say the phrase 「I want to grow」 from her own mouth. At the beginning she used to say 「I just want to do it the way I can have some fun」, that part of her really strongly feels that way and she prefers it above all else. Now, instead of saying 「I don't want to lose」 she says 「I want to grow」. There's unexpectedly a lot of difference in feeling between those phrases. I think the fact that Sato is beginning to express that idea from herself actually shows that she has indeed grown. Even though she's doing it in her own way, I feel this girl has also start to properly aim higher.
....... but besides all that, she's still the same innocent Sato in the end. In this aspect, on the contrary I don't want her to change that part of hers. It doesn't matter if I tell her to do or don't change that part though, for the moment I don't think she'll change anytime soon. Like when Sayumi talks to the other members, she'd look at me with a face that says 「Why?」 (lol), it's like she's saying 「Don't talk to Michishige-san~ she's mine」.
It's the very picture of a child's selfishness but I can't help but find that part of her personality to be awfully cute.

10ki Kudou Haruka (14)
-----
In Kudou's case, no matter how you see it, the biggest change is how her body has grown. Sayumi's not the one to talk about this but previously during concerts Kudou used to look so exhausted in the second half. She sweated so much and her face was red all over, it's on the level where I went to ask her 「Are you okay!?」 because it really worried me. But her constitution now gives me the impression that she had properly built a stronger core for her body. Now that the number of concerts she had experienced has increased and in a big part also thanks to her doing some weight training exercises, I can now watch over her with relief.
Concerning her looks, she has always been cute from the start but now she's running down the ikemen route. Personally for Sayumi, her look when she first joined is more my type (lol). I even told the person herself about that. How during Colorful Character (2012 Fall Tour), with her bob cut with the ends curling inwards, 「Kudou during that time was the best!」
But I like this Kudou that won't stray from her course no matter what I tell her too.

11ki Oda Sakura (15)
-----
Compared to the time she joined, she's become really cute now. I think she's gotten good at her make-up skills (lol)
That sounds a bit malicious from the way I said it but I honestly think it's also an important part of being a public entertainer. She was hailed as the Utahime since she was first brought out so her singing skills is of course naturally very good from the beginning. So just when I thought there's nothing to worry about regarding her singing, I noticed the person herself in actuality seemed pretty nervous about it when we were interviewed together some time ago. Of course at the time in my heart I thought 「Saying that in front of Sayumi, was that sarcasm?」 a little (lol).
But in other words, it means that her awareness of her own singing is even higher than any other person. Her skills as a singer is already high to begin with and she has her own way of singing to go with it but she won't be satisfied with just that. Listening to her singing now with that perspective in mind and comparing her to the time she first joined, there is indeed something completely different.
I think she has managed to find a way of singing that can even better "reach/conveys" something than before.

*Thx to randompasserby from JPLOP

[john_hung]

 



     

[Rina the Robot]

Now, instead of saying 「I don't want to lose」 she says 「I want to grow」. There's unexpectedly a lot of difference in feeling between those phrases.

Though Sayu said that about Maachan, I feel like that really applies to the entire group these days!

I don't know that I'm making any sense with this, but lately it feels like there's something really special about the current Momusu. With their success lately I feel like the girls have had to outgrow any sense of detrimental competitiveness within the group that might have existed when 9th-10th gen were first introduced. Like Sayu said, there isn't much discussion about who gets to be center but they all instinctively know what kind of level they need to be working toward. They seem really mature and cohesive, I loved Sayu as a leader but I love it even more that these younger girls seem completely ready to continue without her. Morning Musume '14 is the best 

[oaxiac]

MM on Mechaike

[JFC]

MM on Mechaike

Backup  -
20140517 「めちゃ2イケてるッ!」モーニング娘。'14

[JFC]

Sayu, Eripon, and Zukki as guests on the Quiz 30 game show.

20140518 「クイズ30～団結せよ！～」道重さゆみ・生田衣梨奈・鈴木香音

[Estrea]

http://prinnysquad.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-8.html

Sayu deciding who are the angels and devils in MM. Reasons are also given.

Personally I find it hilarious how her biases are showing, Riho's paragraph is about 3 times longer than everyone else's.

[oaxiac]

Morning Musume ’14 star in a promo campaign for Kagome
http://hellonewsservice.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/morning-musume-14-star-in-a-promo-campaign-for-kagome/

MM on Countdown TV

140525 COUNT DOWN TV

[Estrea]

http://prinnysquad.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-10.html

The True Strength of Morning Musume '14. Translated an article from http://www.hananoe.jp/culture/bouken/bouken114.html

Man that was long. lol

[oaxiac]

[oaxiac]

[JFC]

Hello!Online Twitter - Vine videos of fans riding the Morning Musume '14 train.
-  
-  
-

https://twitter.com/hello_online/status/472622014482903040

* JFC resists the urge to call out "All abooooooooooooooard!" and make "choo-choo" sounds.

[shirenuファクトリー]

モーニング娘。14 -- One Two Three--(2014)

Ok whoever styled them for this one, THANKS FOR THAT ERIPON TOP CHOICE! Her arms look AMAZING!


EDIT: Where is that train?!?!

[muppet]

^Famous station for tourists if they want
a view of a famous sight:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawaguchiko_Station

[JFC]

Morning Musume ’14 star in a promo campaign for Kagome
http://hellonewsservice.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/morning-musume-14-star-in-a-promo-campaign-for-kagome/

CMs







They also made individual videos for each of the girls!

Sayu + 9th Gen