Naw, Sayu's my friend's favorite, I couldn't do that. I love all the H!P members a lot; I can only think of a couple I kind of dislike, but not many. I'm just REALLY into Rika, and I feel like so many people have these preconceived notions of her that are absolutely false. You're an English teacher? I might have to ask you a few things about that, since I'm majoring in English/Asian Languages and Literatures (Japanese, in other words 
) in college right now. I'll definitely rely on JPH!P for help, though. I don't know how far this will go and where I'll put it, but it's been begging me to write it, so.
Lol... wasn't being serious about the Sayu thing. But I really haven't come across any H!P members I dislike. Sayu is the only one who comes close though... I don't hate her (I can't hate somebody I don't know, that's just silly), but there's something about her I just can't warm up to.
Yeah, agreed. The biggest problem is that a lot of people just misunderstand Rika.
They come to conclusions too quickly. Morning Musume is after all a large group of girls, and it's a lot easier to keep tabs by identifying individuals based on a certain character, which the girls appear to try to cultivate ASAP to make them distinct from the others (e.g. Yossie the funny tomboy, Nono & Tsuji the little trouble makers, Eri the idiot, Sayumi the cuter-than-life-itself self-absorbed usa-chan peace founder, Ai... just Ai... o.o etc.). However, Rika is a person of many layers (more so than the average H!P member I dare say) and what seems to happen is that people only associate her with a certain persona (whether that be the self-praising egotistic person, the overly cutesy Charmy, or the uptight bossy-boot etc.). They discredit everything else that Rika is.
Too bad people don't give her a chance to win them over… they’re so missing out.
And
morningtime agrees too (some nice analysis of members from this site:
http://morningtime.wordpress.com/). Here’s some quotes that had me nodding.
“I mean just who is she? Is she a geek? A beauty? A villain? A mother figure to younger members? Is she part Charmy? Is she ditzy?”
“Maybe it’s because she’s so hard to really pin down.”
“So somehow she seems more real because she seems to have more to her. What other member is like that publicly? You can sum up most members of H!P with a few words. Normally the words are a mixture of ‘lively’, ‘funny’, ’sweet’, ‘cute’ and so on. Rika is harder to sum up. Even her nickname Charmy doesn’t begin to properly express her personality.”
“Rika’s personality is unique in H!P. She stands out. She was the perfect leader for V-U-den and will continue to entertain, tantalise, delight and maybe occasionally confuse. That’s as it should be. It’s more interesting that way.”See. Rika may confuse because there’s always more to her than meets the eye. She’s complex. And I guess there are those who just can't handle it.
---
Yup, 2010 will be my last year in uni studying to be a primary school teacher. I’ve been tutoring English at home since I was in year 10. I love English. Any help/questions about anything, ask away. I’m not an English expert by any means, but I’m competent enough.
How’s the Rika essay going, btw??? xD
You go writerserenyty!! I have had the feeling that the Rika-fandom had been dormant for too long. It kinda bums me that my closest friends have gone on to new fandoms, even tho we still love each other (I forever love u tama + Fen, HiME, Hakai <333) it ain't the same as before. BUTT y'all have given me and Masa new LIFE!!
I’ve just recently gone through this WHOLE thread (took me a while o.o) from the start… I understand what you mean. There was so much love from a few certain members who I haven’t seen post in this thread in a good long while. Oh wells… you can’t stop people from moving on to other fandoms. I’ve been guilty of just that for some years now xD But as long as the lovin’ doesn’t stop, I’m sure I can be a Charmy follower for a long time to come!
I was also digging through the RIVE Archives (when we started this section it was based on Rika and Viyuden ) and there's the great Fenrir fine work 
in the [Misc] Articles & Interviews Thread. where she translated "HAPPY" Rika's PB/Essay book.
Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention, Dai! I should do a bit more exploring around here, honestly. Fen is <3 that’s a lot to translate… bloody fantastic this is!!!!
I didn't know about her asthma until recently! It's kind of amazing she does as well as she does, with her smaller lung capacity and her asthma.
I read about her asthma quite a while ago too, but it simply slips my mind… I mean, the way Rika goes about her day, performing at 110% all the time… it just doesn’t strike you that she has such a setback.
I had asthma when I was a 5 year old kid, and while it hasn’t bothered me for a good decade, I remember how much it used to cripple me. Considering the live concerts that she’s done… the continuous hours of crazy, high energy burning… wow.
We take Rika for granted sometimes, just swooning over her body. When u just sit down and think about all the hard work she goes through training, overcoming her limits to become better and better everyday!!
LOL.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I’ve done little worshipping over her body. I mean, she has a divine figure and all, but that’s certainly not what has gotten me so fond of her. I’m in complete awe because of how much of a great, all-around
entertainer she is. And all the girls in MM are good lookers, sure thing, but Rika just owns because of everything else that she represents. <3
But so far, this is my
favourite Rika:
I’d love to see her doing more of this kind of thing. Though it’s obvious that she isn’t being appreciated enough for it (I feel that many a pervy fanboy had steered clear of this. As indicated by the page views/comments/thanks for the download xD).
First time I watched the video, I cried. I didn’t understand everything that was being said, but the sentiments were all there. Rika has a real caring and compassionate heart. I’d read some comments on the video before I had actually seen it, so it was at the top of my list to watch and I was looking for it all over the place. Found it here at JPH!P (
) and rejoiced. Watched it, cried, and loved Rika even more by the end. I wonder how many other idols would go through the same experience whole-heartedly to help others in need. (… J-idol Ishikawa Rika drank
that water and was not afraid to hold a child who had an infectious skin condition O.o ...
)
*ends adoring Rika rave*
Topic: The Official Rika Thread (Read 1923196 times)