I have a question ...
On another forum, someone mentioned that Risa used to be the most hated MM member and that people even burned pictures of her.
I can't believe that's true! What did she do wrong in her early days that people didn't like her?
She was always so cute.
Well, #1: people suck. x__x
#2: There was a rumour that Niigaki's family bought Risa's way into MM since she comes from a rich family/family with some power. Something like that. So fans would be pissed off at her for that.
#3: 5th gen in general got a bad reception. Makoto was looked down on as well for expressing her dreams of a solo career - fans thought "wtf, that ungrateful bitch, she just got chosen for MM and she talks about a solo career??" Something like that.
#4: I guess she really wasn't that cute for many of the fans. You even notice it when some foreign fans say she was an uckly-duckling who's only recently grown pretty (though I agree with you, I think she's always been cute). Also, her voice was kind of like a loud little boy's voice, and although I've loved it since I saw my first MM concert (Kei's grad), it's obvious a lot of people have been turned off by it.
So in sum, people didn't think she had idol potential, thought she paid her way in and the timing for joining was bad?
Ironically Risa's beautiful now, has one of the nicest voices in MM in my opinion and is a charismatic performer and entertainer... Blah blah.