Risa Niigaki to Graduate after spring tour

[nimrod]

Gaki-san announced today's H!P concert that she will graduate at the end of the H!P spring tour!
Here's a translation of her announcement:

    I have always been thinking the timing of graduation since new member join in Morning Musume. I want to act as an actress or others. so I decide to graduate. I'll do my best as leader until the spring tour end. so please cheer for me.

I don't really like this announcement, it's too surprising that I can't breath normally now.. [Gome]
I don't really expect that she's going to graduate so soon.. Well, it's a little bit expected because Ai-chan already left..
According to the info, she decided to graduate with Ai last year, but since the new members will be added, she delayed her graduation.
It is also said that Sayumi will be the next Momusu leader, and Captain as the H!P leader, but still not sure.
I thought there will no graduations for a while, but Gaki, it's too soon.. I remember that they want to graduate together.. But it's really sad to hear this news, and since she's one of my favorite members, this really made me feel depress so much!..
Gaki will then study as an actress after graduating..
I still don't know when's the last day of the tour, and I hope it's not that soon..
Anyways, let's support Gaki minna-san!

http://sugoiidolkiss.blogspot.com/2012/01/repost-niigaki-risa-will-graduate-after.html
edit:  officially: http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/f-et-tp0-20120102-884272.html

FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU she just became the leader and now this!

[kyo-]

  

i know the day will come,, but this too fast.. 9&10gen still much to learn
spring tour  .. did anyone know the actual month?

[nimrod]

tour end 5月13日
Source: http://www.helloproject.com/event/1111231700_live_musume.html

http://forum.jphip.com/index.php?topic=31351.0

I'll probably go if I have enough money by this time

[shirenuファクトリー]

;_; gaki-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan

I've viewed her as the heart of Morning Musume for so long, after Nacchi grad so basically all the time I've been a fan

This is sad :/

If MM aims to be no more than 10 members, that means there's still one grad announcement to come...


[12:40] <shirenu> it shows again how much she loves momusu if she postponed her grad to help newbies, so selflessly
[12:41] <shirenu> graduating with aichan must've been so important

I know she was never a lead singer, but I think she deserves to be remembered as one of the legendaries after her grad

[Pauekn]

These are sad news. The more I hear about it. In the beginning I expected this to be a bad joke, but it was expected... =/ Gaki is actually my favourite of the current members.

[metoice]

gaki-saaaaaan T_T

[Tuffty]

Not a good way to start the new year Only 2 more members left until MM becomes unrecognisable from when I first started following them. There's no doubt she's been an amazing member, the reaction queen always made me laugh. Here's hoping she's succsesful in whatever career path she goes down next.

[nimrod]

http://www.nikkansports.com/entertainment/news/f-et-tp0-20120102-884272.html

http://www.helloproject.com/news/1201022100_musume.html
Official statement on the graduation from Niigaki Risa and Tsunku has been posted on Hello! Project's website
https://twitter.com/hello_online/status/153808752494129152

モーニング娘。リーダー・新垣里沙が卒業を発表 http://www.barks.jp/news/?id=1000075971&p=0

[metoice]

http://natalie.mu/music/gallery/show/news_id/62177/image_id/107516

[nimrod]

http://www.takamaruyo.net/?p=1786
translations

Hello!Project Official Website has put up the announcement notice along with the statements of both Tsunku and Niigaki Risa herself.

Tsunku’s statement:

    Thank you for always supporting us.
    On this day we have an announcement regarding Morning Musume。 ５th generation member “Niigaki Risa”.

    Niigaki Risa, on the final performance for the spring tour beginning on 2012/2/18, “Morning Musume。 Concert Tour 2012 Spring ～Ultra Smart～”, will be graduating from Morning Musume。.

    As an elementary schooler who loved Morning Musume。 she passed the 5th generation, “Morning Musume。 LOVE Audition ２１”, she was welcomed in her first single released in October of 2001,”Mr.Moonlight～Ai no Big Band～”.
    Since then, with constant smiles and cheerfulness, and her never changing “I love Morning Musume。！” title, she’s been a part of them up until now.
    As subleader since June of ２００７, she’s supported Takahashi Ai and the group, and after Takahashi’s graduation, she’s continued to support the continuing addition of new members into Morning Musume。 as leader.

    For this girl as well, as far back as a year ago, I’ve considered this path at the same time I was considering the timing of Takahashi’s graduation.

    Being challenged with songs and ＲＡＰ as well, for several years Niigaki has carried the heart of the groups songs. Our mission was also to be able to pass the torch to Niigaki.
    Certainly, there are times when we’ve relied on this girls vitality as well; we entrusted into her leadership the new members who had just joined as well, and so, I’ve searched for the right timing for her graduation.
    However, we couldn’t hold back her growth forever and so, even though she herself greatly expressed her sadness over graduating from the Morning Musume。 she loves, with the honor of “Longest enrolled member of Morning Musume。”, and with great significance firming our resolve, we decided that she would graduate on the final day of this year’s Spring tour.

    After graduation she hopes to focus on being a singer, being on stage, and acting, including variety work, being able to do a multitude of different activities.

    For now, she’ll be making this New Year’s Hello！Project Performancea success, from there until the final day of the Morning Musume。 tour starting after that.
    Everyone, until the very end, we wish that you’d please support Niigaki Risa！

    And, those of you who are supporting Morning Musume。 as well as all of Hello！Project, please support us as well！

    ２０１２/１/２
    Morning Musume。 Producer
    Tsunku♂

Niigaki Risa’s Statement:

    I, Niigaki Risa,
    will be graduating from Morning Musume。 and Hello！Project with this years Spring tour.
    I had been thinking about graduation myself, for about a year, I had thought about graduating with Takahashi Aichan・・・, but with the new members joining and everything, I postponed it just a little bit.

    After my Morning Musume。 graduation, I’ll be studying full force in acting; I feel like I want to challenge myself with experiences in theater and dramas that I couldn’t have experienced while I was doing group activities.
    But, with these months I have left in Morning Musume。, I’ll be giving it my very best as leader！

    ２０１２/１/２
    Morning Musume。 Leader
    Niigaki Risa

[J-Triumf]

I swear I had to fight the temptation to throw my desk chair out my window upon learning of this news!

We all knew she was next in line to leave, but holy shit I was not expecting it to be so soon; I thought she would be sticking around for at least another year or two due to not doing a double graduation with Aichan. Then again, the idea that she held back on the double grad to help out the new girls says a lot about her dedication to the franchise she once worshipped as a child.

What sucks is that after Aichan left I was in a bit of a scramble to find myself a new favorite member of the group, and my instincts somehow called for me to just pick Risa...only for this to happen!

Even though she's not as great a singer as Aichan, I've always liked her low, raspy voice and was hoping she'd be able to step up in singles prominence in the wake of the previous leader's departure. Hopefully she'll also follow in Aichan's footsteps with her own outgoing solo song.

On the bright side, Sayu as leader will be one hell of a sight to see! But considering the subleader position had never been officially replaced, would the usual rules of seniority still apply?

Also of note is the idea that, due to the H!P Kids having more tenure than Momusu 6th gen, Saki Shimizu might become the new leader of Hello Project; she'd be the first H!P leader to never have been part of Morning Musume, which is kinda mind-blowing. If this happens, does this mean she's also promoting her nickname to Admiral? *insert cheap photoshop of Saki's face on a David Robinson photo*

My heart sinks at the breaking of this news, especially with the group looking drastically different from what it was when I first discovered them 2 1/2 years ago. Of course, who am I to complain when what got me interested in the first place were members who had been long gone by the time I started paying attention! Besides, with Sayu, Reina, and Aika still sticking around, 9th gen already showing tons of promise, and 10th gen starting to develop, Gaki will be leaving the group in good hands.

[XcuteX26262X]

I'm speechless.

My mind went blank and there are no words to describe how I feel at the moment. I'll probably just edit this once my brain starts working again.

[MaxMcKay]

So now Risa joined Aichan, Sakitty, & Yuuka in seeing H!P & saying "FUCK this mess, I'm outta here"

I hope UFA reflects on themselves & think "why our key vital members wanna abandon H!P? What is wrong?"

Meanwhile Yasushi must be laughing himself to near-death "While I'm having all these consecutive oricon#1s & my shiny new award, over there either UFA's graduating their key members, or they want to graduate off themselves!"

[Rina the Robot]

^ I don't know about the graduated S/mileage members but I think it's a natural time for Risa to graduate, rather than her jumping ship because of sales. She's been supporting Momusu for a long time and with the rest of the 5th gen gone, it's reasonable that she would want to move on and try other things.

I'd somehow expected that the next graduation would be Aika's since she's had quite a lot of health problems, but I feel good about this one. I hope Risa enjoys her new life outside of H!P and gets to try new things. 

[kjpop]

I'm glad Gaki is at least staying in entertainment and not vanishing into former-idol obscurity. Hope to see her in some dramas in the near future

the coffee (and the news lol) hasn't sunk in quite yet, but ive managed to express some thoughts on the matter http://kjpop.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/the-dwindling-fire-niigaki-risa-to-graduate-from-hello-project-and-morning-musume/

[shurastriker]

her graduation was expected but no this soon... oh well now i'm just scared of Sayu as the leader of the chicks

[metoice]

新垣里沙に関する大事なお知らせ

いつも応援いただきまして、ありがとうございます。
本日はモーニング娘。の５期メンバー「新垣里沙」に関してのお知らせです。

新垣里沙は2012年2月18日から始まります春ツアー「モーニング娘。コンサートツアー2012春～ウルトラスマート～」の最終公演をもちまして、モーニング娘。を卒業いたします。

モーニング娘。大好き小学生として第5期『モーニング娘。LOVEオーデション２１』に合格し、迎えた最初のシングル曲が２００１年１０月に発売になった「Mr.Moonlight～愛のビッグバンド～」。
それ以降、常に笑顔と明るさ、そして相変わらず「モーニング娘。が大好き！」という肩書を大切にしてこれまでやってきてくれています。
２００７年６月からはサブリーダーとして高橋愛とグループを支え、高橋卒業後はリーダーとして新メンバーの加入が続いたモーニング娘。を支えてきてくれました。

そんな彼女とも一年程前、高橋の卒業を考えたタイミングと同じ頃からその先の進路を考えてきました。

歌やＲＡＰにもチャレンジし、この数年間はグループの歌唱の中心を担ってきてくれている新垣。そんな新垣に次への襷を渡してやるのも我々の使命。
確かに我々も彼女のバイタリティに頼っていたところもありましたし、加入したばかりの新メンバー達の指導等をゆだねている面もありましたので、卒業のタイミングを探ってしまっていました。
しかし、いつまでも彼女の成長を足止めすることも出来ませんので、本人も大好きなモーニング娘。の卒業はさみしい面も大きいとは言っていましたが、“モーニング娘。在籍最長記録”という名誉も手にしたし、大きな意味で決心が固まり、今年の春ツアー最終日での卒業を決めました。

卒業後は歌手、舞台、女優業を中心に、バラエティ等含めマルチに活躍してくれると期待しております。

ひとまずはこのお正月のハロー！プロジェクト公演を成功させ、その後始まるモーニング娘。ツアーの最終日まで一気に駆け抜けてくれるはずです。
皆様どうか最後まで新垣里沙の応援のほど、よろしくお願い申し上げます！

そして、モーニング娘。及びハロー！プロジェクトの応援の方も、どうぞよろしくお願い申し上げます！

２０１２年１月２日
モーニング娘。プロデュ－サー
つんく♂

 

私、新垣里沙は、
今年の春ツアーをもって、モーニング娘。及びハロー！プロジェクトを卒業します。
卒業は私自身、１年くらい前から考えていたことで、高橋愛ちゃんと共に・・・という事も考えていましたが、新メンバーの加入などもあり、少し時期をずらしました。

モーニング娘。卒業後は、本格的にお芝居の勉強をして、舞台やドラマを今まで以上に、そしてグループでの活動の中では経験出来なかったことなどにもチャレンジしていきたいと思っています。
でも、モーニング娘。でいる残り数ヶ月、リーダーとして精一杯頑張っていきたいと思います！

 

２０１２年１月２日
モーニング娘。リーダー
新垣里沙

http://www.helloproject.com/news/1201022100_musume.html

[kjpop]

^ translation of the above by takamaruyo:

http://www.takamaruyo.net/?p=1786

Tsunku’s statement:

 Thank you for always supporting us.
 On this day we have an announcement regarding Morning Musume。 ５th generation member “Niigaki Risa”.

Niigaki Risa, on the final performance for the spring tour beginning on 2012/2/18, “Morning Musume。 Concert Tour 2012 Spring ～Ultra Smart～”, will be graduating from Morning Musume。.

As an elementary schooler who loved Morning Musume。 she passed the 5th generation, “Morning Musume。 LOVE Audition ２１”, she was welcomed in her first single released in October of 2001,”Mr.Moonlight～Ai no Big Band～”.
 Since then, with constant smiles and cheerfulness, and her never changing “I love Morning Musume。！” title, she’s been a part of them up until now.
 As subleader since June of ２００７, she’s supported Takahashi Ai and the group, and after Takahashi’s graduation, she’s continued to support the continuing addition of new members into Morning Musume。 as leader.

For this girl as well, as far back as a year ago, I’ve considered this path at the same time I was considering the timing of Takahashi’s graduation.

Being challenged with songs and ＲＡＰ as well, for several years Niigaki has carried the heart of the groups songs. Our mission was also to be able to pass the torch to Niigaki.
 Certainly, there are times when we’ve relied on this girls vitality as well; we entrusted into her leadership the new members who had just joined as well, and so, I’ve searched for the right timing for her graduation.
 However, we couldn’t hold back her growth forever and so, even though she herself greatly expressed her sadness over graduating from the Morning Musume。 she loves, with the honor of “Longest enrolled member of Morning Musume。”, and with great significance firming our resolve, we decided that she would graduate on the final day of this year’s Spring tour.

After graduation she hopes to focus on being a singer, being on stage, and acting, including variety work, being able to do a multitude of different activities.

For now, she’ll be making this New Year’s Hello！Project Performancea success, from there until the final day of the Morning Musume。 tour starting after that.
 Everyone, until the very end, we wish that you’d please support Niigaki Risa！

And, those of you who are supporting Morning Musume。 as well as all of Hello！Project, please support us as well！

２０１２/１/２
 Morning Musume。 Producer
 Tsunku♂

Niigaki Risa’s Statement:

 I, Niigaki Risa,
 will be graduating from Morning Musume。 and Hello！Project with this years Spring tour.
 I had been thinking about graduation myself, for about a year, I had thought about graduating with Takahashi Aichan・・・, but with the new members joining and everything, I postponed it just a little bit.

After my Morning Musume。 graduation, I’ll be studying full force in acting; I feel like I want to challenge myself with experiences in theater and dramas that I couldn’t have experienced while I was doing group activities.
 But, with these months I have left in Morning Musume。, I’ll be giving it my very best as leader！

２０１２/１/２
 Morning Musume。 Leader
 Niigaki Risa

The final date for the concert is currently May 13th, but no

Gaki also published a more or less similar statement on her blog.

[strawb3rrykream]

Gaki-san

I feel like a lot of people called it though. People were saying that she wouldn't last long after Ai-chan left, I just didn't think it would be so soon. I really hope she gets to act more, whether it be in dramas or plays/musicals. And just maybe she and Ai-chan can spend more time together...and mend my TakaGaki heart

[Chibs]

I knew she was going, and to follow Ai also, but I didnt think it would be this soon.