Daaamn, it's 5 in the morning here and I've been scanning the other forums just now. Just HAD to watch H!M when it finished downloading about an hour ago.
More often than not, I've noticed that the first girl they introduce in the list of finalists gets in. That said, they've been interviewing Aika for months AND put her at the front of the finalists list.
Not surprised at Aika getting in, was surpised as hell that Ayami seemed to drop out of her own will. Choosing only one new member wasn't too shocking, as there's precedent. Though, I would've loved to see Ayami get in.
Now, I've just read that when Tsunku asked the girls why they wanted to sing, Aika said something like "to make the fans happy", which is supposedly what momoko said at some point. Seems to me, the reason for wanting to be in was pretty important, too. If a girl said "to become famous" or something, that probably wouldn't fly w/ Tsunku.
Nothing like audition results to polarize a forum. While the other forums are being "ZOMG, I HAET AIKA!" and "I wIlL nEvEr WaTcH aNy HeLlO pRoJeCt StUfF eVeR aGaIn!!!" (goddamn, that alternating-caps shit was painful to type), we here at jph!p have a thread to support the new girl.
somewhat off topic:
I've heard some random Ayami rumors:
-That she was going to be the second 8th gen member
-That she's gone to Avex (deja vu of 3rd gen Koda Kumiko)
I personally hope that Ayami will turn up later in Tsunku's master plan. It HAS happened before! (Fujimoto & Satoda from 4th gen audition)
Oh, and to everyone who is pissed off at the result, remember:
1. Tsunku is batshit insane
2. Tsunku makes crazy, unpredictable decisions
3. Tsunku's crazy-batshit-insane-unpredictable decisions usually work out amazingly well in the end
4. Four names: Tsuji, Konno, Michishige, Koharu
5. Keep it in the flaming/bashing thread