Okay! Musume Digest! #10

Another day, another dollar... Another week, another Okay! Musume Digest. Okei, ready, set... DISCO!

So, this week has been a lot more eventful! There has been quite a bit going on, such as CD releases like Cha Cha SING, Tweet Dream and others, as well as a few videos which I had a great time watching and, oh boy, yet another Morning Musume colour change, one which I reacted to quite badly, and ended up liking more than I thought. Yup, I enjoy over-dramatising a situation, don't I?

Anyway, before I really get into any news, it's time to look at the results of this poll I put up! So, Which Group/Talent would YOU take to the beach? Let's find out!

Congrats to Morning Musume! This iconic girl group took the poll by the storm, and won the deciding vote! They are the group/talent that YOU, yes, YOU, would like to take to the beach! But, who will you spend the most time with? Who knows, that is for you to decide ;D

With 53% of the votes, Morning Musume has won!

But how did the other girls fare?

C-ute 33%

Berryz Kobou 29%

S/mileage 16%

Mitsui Aika 14%

AKB48 11%

Arashi 11%

Hey! Say! JUMP! 11%

Mano Erina 9%

SKE48 9%

KAT-TUN 9%

PASSPO 9%

NMB48 8%

StylipS 8%

AAA 6%

Sexy Zone 4%

Fairies 4%

Fudanjuku 3%

NEWS 3%

And that's the poll results! WOW there were a lot of groups, but hey, everyone has a group they like, right? We all have individual tastes, and I try to cater to those tastes in my polls... xD And personally, I want to spend some time at the beach with Eripon, Harunan, Zukkini, Haruka, Nishijima Takahiro of AAA and ManoEri xD Cos that's just me :P

OMG FUDANJUKU, TOO!!! <3

Anyway, with that all done and dusted, let's move onto...

Le News of Le Week!

Morning Musume members Iikubo Haruna and Sato Masaki voice their concern for fellow member Suzuki Kanon's sanity...

Kudo Haruka kicks ass in the latest Black Variety...

Almost quite literally, actually!

And Iikubo Haruna strips for you!

... Kinda...

Okay, silliness over and done with. It's time to move onto the real...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

A new week means another new episode of Hello! Project's new series, Hello! SATOYAMA Life! This week we have another agriculture and cooking based episode, featuring Mitsui Aika, Ishida Ayumi, Iikubo Haruna, Nakajima Saki and Yajima Maimi and a little bit of a Sayu appearence (in the form of an Uchiwa!)

Firstly, we get to see the girls wash and wrap plants, we have some Aika and Daishi time where the girls cook for the other girls who are busy tilling the land and working hard for the others. It seems that the cooking segments are quite well liked by people, and I can see why. It shows us another side to Aika, who likes cooking, and we get to see the girls enjoy the food made by the crops that they are learning about and helping to grow, whilst also giving the viewers ideas of what to do with the food and what they can make. These segments are helpful and informational, and enjoyable to watch because it allows us to see how Aika interaacts with the people she happens to be working with on the dinner.

There is also a small segment with Hagiwara Mai, Nakky, Iikubo, Ayumi, Haruka, Fukumura, Zukki and Eripon where Iikubo, Ayumi and Nakky present their fellow group members (Nakky to Hagiwara and Iikubo and Ayumi to the 9th and 10th gen members) with 'gifts'. It is a cute little segment.

There is also another segment which I am sure all fans will enjoy, as it shows clips from the latest Hello! Project concert, focusing more-so on the two new units formed: Peaberry and DIY♡. The segment also shows a clip from Mao Erina's graduation announcement.

Overall, the episode was nice to watch! Quite entertaining, and I liked the concert clips in it. Hopefully, everyone will take a look at this weeks episode!

What might happen next week: Clips from Chinami in Thailand! YEI!!!

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Morning Musume posed undercover as Staff members in a segment from Mezamashi TV on 25/7!

This clip is really entertaining to watch, because we get to see some members of Morning Musume pose undercover, though Sayumi and Reina were recognised pretty easily. We also get to see some performance clips from the girls singing a few of their songs.

If you love Morning Musume, and you love reactions from fans, then watch this - some of the reactions from the fans recognising the Morning Musume members are quite fun! I would say the only thing that I wasn't pleased about was that the members chosen were the girls who are being pushed a lot now, as well as the two most recognisable members (Sayumi and Reina), but other than that, this is a fun segment, and whilst short, is worth the watch.

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A preview of Tsunku's up-coming single, titled Shoppai Ne has been released. The video shows Tsunku recording the song in a studio. The single will also be featured on an upcoming tribute album dedicated to the late Miki Takashi.

I haven't really listened to Tsunku's songs, though I've seen a few clips on youtube where he has performed with Goto Maki or performed Morning Musume songs, so I am quite new to his voice, but when I first heard this, I was surprised by the nice tone of the song and how slow and gentle it was. Tsunku's voice also surprised me, it's quite different, but I like it. He suits the song well and I think the song is, overall, quite beautiful. I would love to see something like this on a Morning Musume tracklist, honestly!

Hopefully a longer preview will be available soon, because this sounds to be a really good song!

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7 BeriKyuu members have been casted in the Stage Play Cat's Eye. The members are Shimizu Saki, Hagiwara Mai, Sudo Maasa, Yajima Maimi, Kumai Yurina, Nakajima Saki and Sugaya Risako. The stage play will be based on the manga of the same name by Tsukasa Hojo.

Hello! Project members are never out of stage plays! But that's good, because it means these girls learn about acting and also get noticed by people outside of the Hello! Project fandom, and this time they will probably be noticed by fans of Cat's Eye. Seeing the lineup, I am happy to see that Nakky has once again snagged a role in a stage pay - she seems to be one of the popular choices, and the same goes for MaiMai - they both have been in a few stage plays recently, so it's nice to see the two continue to get roles! I was also happy to realise that Yurina would be in the stage play too, as I don't see her in many acting roles (from what I know of, anyway).

This is exciting news, and I'm happy that these girls have been able to get the chance to perform in a Stage Play and experience acting and singing together in a temporary unit!

The girls will also be a part of a small group called Cat's Eye 7, and they will sing the theme song for the stage play.

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MaiDigiTV has uploaded footage from the Cat's Eye press conference.

From what I can see, the girls basically introduce themselves and answer questions, and there really isn't much else to it other than that. However, it is nice to see some footage from the press conference and to see the girls in their costumes. Hopefully, there will be more videos... maybe a performance video of their song?

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BiS successfully wrapped up a 24-hour live event! The unorthodox Idol group held the special in-store event to celebrate the release of their major debut single, PPCC. The event was held at the Don Quijote Shinjuku store in Tokyo from July 20th until July 21st.

When I saw this headline on Tokyohive, I was really surprised - how did they hold a live 24-hour event? Well, the girls rotated throughout the night and alternated between performances and handshake events hourly, and apparently had no breaks in between. The fact that these girls even managed to continue for 24 hours is absolutely amazing! Then again, it's BiS - they seem to do anything!

It is honestly great to see that BiS are getting so much coverage, and are trying different things to promote themselves. The event itself would have attracted both fans and casual music lovers because of how different and appealing it is, as well as attracting everyday shoppers. It seems that there was a lot of attention for the girls too, as hourly events would bring in 100 to 200 people, and sometimes the store would be overcrowded with over 300 people coming to watch the girls! That is absolutely amazing!

Also, the girls later switched from regular handshake events to something a little more out-there - hitting the butt with a baseball bat, intimate hugs and even some PPCC action (licking and kissing). If that isn't out there, then I don't what is! The actions themselves would have pleased fans greatly, and it seems that it did go down well - so it's all good for BiS!

So, for their event the girls sang over 100 songs and attracted a total of 5,000 people that day, from fans to casual music lovers to everyday shoppers. This was an amazing event for BiS, and it's great that they were able to do this for their major debut single!

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Another video for Cat's Eye 7 has appeared on ComicZenon's youtube channel! Here, we get to see the girls talk as well as have a little look at the dance for their song.

More promotion for the stage play, I have a feeling that this will be a much-anticipated play and single for Hello! Project and Cat's Eye fans, because there seems to be a lot of promotion behind it. Good promotion is always great, especially for the girls who aren't as popular as others (Saki, Nakky, Mai) and to see that the play and the girls are being promoted quite well is nice to see!

Hopefully everyone can check out the video.

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Takahashi Ai will star in a new Musical comedy titled the Wedding Singer.

Currently, there isn't much information on the musical itself, but its great to see that Ai is continuing her acting activities with a new play! Of course, with it being a musical, she will most likely sing, which is something that her fans will look forward to. From the website, Ai may be a main character in the play, and if she is, then this is wonderful news for her fans.

There is a CM available for the play if anyone is interested in taking a look at it.

This looks to be a fun and interesting musical, so hopefully more info will be leaked, and maybe when the musical has finished, some clips?

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S/mileage will be holding a handshake event and a mini live at the Tokyo Bay Lalaport Mall on August 21st.

More promotion? Heck yeah! Of course, the promotion will be for S/mileage's up-coming single, which will show a cool and cute side to S/mileage that we may have not seen yet from the group since their lineup change.

S/mileage are one of the more promoted groups within Hello! Project since their debut, and they continue to be uite popular and hold many events for their singles, so of course a new handshake event and mini-live isn't new. Hopefully many of their fans attend the event and get to meet their Idols.

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A radio rip for S/mileage's up-coming single, titled Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki has been released!

This is a song that I expect many fans will be anticipating as it has a cool sound mixed with a cute chorus, something which is rather new to S/mileage. Hearing the song in good quality, I am really impressed with the overall sound, though I get more of a C-ute/MoMusu vibe from the cool sound of the song, whilst the cuter sound reminds me more of the S/mileage we know than any other Hello! Project group.

This is a good song, and I hope that the PV is just as good. Finally, after two lacking singles (in my opinion) S/mileage have come back with another good song! Hopefully everyone can check out the song itself, and hopefully, PV previews or the actual PV will be revealed soon!

PS be warned: The woman in the beginning of this radio rip is too over-enthusiastic and annoying. She is headache worthy.

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Macpeople have released an LQ image of S/mileage's regular edition cover of their up-coming single, Suki yo, Junjou Hankouki. The image can be seen at the bottom of the page.

S/mileage seem to be on a bit of a roll with their updates this week, as the girls have secured another small event to promote this single, released their song on radio, and now the RE of the single has been released in low quality for all fans to see. The cover is pretty basic, but it looks good. Of course, Dawa and Kanon are in the front, with Maimi a bit more to the front than Rina, Akari and Kana, though it seems that Kana's had more of a push forward for this cover, which is nice to see. Everyone has a pretty cute pose in the picture, with Kanon sporting a cooler and my dynamic pose than everyone else.

I like the colours used in the background, and the girls look cute. Good to see that H!P are continuing to give them short skirts and hats.

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The latest episode of Black Variety, featuring Morning Musume and Momoko Tsugunga, is now available to watch - and if you haven't watch it, I highly recommend that you do.

This has to be, by far, the funniest and most interesting Black Variety episode featuring Morning Musume I have ever seen, because pretty much from beginning to end I was laughing. In general I don't watc variety shows, even with my favourite Idols in them, but after the debuts of 9th and 10th generation MoMusu, I have gained more of an interest in them because we get to see how the Idols act, and seeing this episode just proved to me how much of a great generation both 9th and 10th gen are.

This episode is a continuation from previous episodes, and shows the members challenging other teams with a bungee cord game. I've actually played this kind of game before at fairs, so seeing Idols play it was even more interesting, and extremely fun to watch - especially Haruka's. Whilst Masaki's was quite cute to watch, seeing Haruka was even funnier and I loved how she reacted. For sure, she is the toughest member of her generation, and watching her here helped me to see how impulsive and tough she was. I think I fell for her more, because watching her react so quickly was absolutely wonderful! She was the most hilarious with her actions - I won't go into too much detail, because I don't want to spoil the episode, but I loved it, and I love Haruka so much more now! She actually reminds me of Reina, with a Yankee edge I guess. No wonder Reina is the one that Haruka admires the most!

Anyway... watch it. Don't regret watching it, because this episode is hilarious.

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Morning Musume's 10th Generation will be holding a One-Year anniversary FC event this September on the 28th, the day before they joined Morning Musume nearly one year ago.

The news was announced on the 10th Generation based Ustream regarding Harunan's graduation from her Chocolate' colour before revealing her 'Honey' colour, and for the 10th gen and their fans, this is great news, because it means that their fans will get to see them perform and see how much they have grown since they joined Morning Musume, and to see how each of them have improved individually.

This is exciting news, and hopefully any fan who wants to go can attend to support their favourite 10ki member!

Prepubescent Zone Sexy Zone will be releasing their very first photobook, titled Sweetz, on August 1st and will cost ¥1,800. The photobook will contain pictures from their live rehearsals as well as shots of the boys in Hawaii.

Member Satou Shori says he can’t wait for the photo book especially since it’s their first one. He jokingly said that he “might go out and buy one dressed in disguise.” - Tokyohive

When I saw this announcement on Tokyohive, I was overjoyed. I love news regarding Sexy Zone, as they are one of my favourite male groups right now and I enjoy hearing updates regarding them. Regarding the photobook, it will be interesting to see what photo's there are of the boys. Hopefully all fans can reserve a copy and support this cute group.

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Actress, Idol and singer, Kawashima Umika, and fellow 9nine member Murata Hirona have both cosplayed characters from the popular and famous anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Umika cosplayed as Ayanami Rie, and Hirona dressed as Soryu Asuka Langley. Te cosplay was for a photo exhibition project titled J:COM presents Evangelion X Bishojo Sahshinten -Girls Collection of EVANGLEION-. Around 30 models and Idols participated in this collaboration between Neon Genesis Evangelion and Collaboration Concept Photo Exhibition.

The photo exhibition will be held from 1st of August until the 6th at Ikebukuro, Tokyo at the Seibu Ikebukuro flagship store, and from 8/15-8/21 at Shisaibashi, Osaka at the Daimaru Shisaibashi flagship store.

Murata commented about her cosplay, “For this photoshoot, I’m no longer Murata Hirona, I have become Asuka. Asuka is a girl with a strong will, and I have become the same.”

Kawashima also made a comment about cosplaying the major anime character Ayanami Rei, “I felt a lot of pressure and was uneasy. I was very nervous during the photo-shoot and think I forgot to breathe!” adding, “I hope that the people at the exhibition will be brought into the world of EVA when they see these pictures!” She also revealed, “I get comments that the blue hair is unexpectedly suitable for me, so (my favorite part is) the wig.”

When I saw the headline on Tokyohive that Umika was cosplaying a character from a well known anime, I was immediately interested, but I was happy to find out that alongside her, Hirona, my favourite 9nine member of the current lineup, was also cosplaying as a character. Whilst I don't watch Evangelion, nor am really a fan of it, it's great to see Idols participating in an event like this whilst also promoting a well known anime.

here are another two photo's from the shoot:

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Morning Musume have revealed that they will be releasing their 51st single on the 10th of October! The release will come in 7 different editions, regular and A to F. Currently, the single is untitled.

Even though the 50th single has just been released, and is still being promoted well by UFA, we have an official announcement for the 51st single! Whilst details are few, many speculate that this single will be the last to feature this lineup before the new generation is announced, however I do wonder if the new generation will have already been added... It depends, really. The new generation may be added just after the release of Morning Musume's 13th album, which is set to release around a month before MoMusu's 51st single.

Regardless of the few details, this is exiting news! Hopefully the title and tracklisting will be revealed soon, as well as the covers and outfits and any previews.

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A video of Hello! Channel 9, featuring Ikuta Erina, Tekeuchi Akari, Katsuta Rina, Nakajima Saki, Sudou Maasa and Natsuyaki Miyabi has been uploaded, showing the girls bowling.

There are a lot of gutter balls, and a helluva lot of cuteness and some lovely Nakky-pout scenes here, and for people who like bowling (like me, mwahaha) this should be enjoyable to watch. Watching this video clip actually gave me a new appreciation for Akari - she is extremely cute in this video, and I enjoyed watching her bowl. It is the same for both Eripon and Rina - all of the younger girls are cute in the video! That said, Nakky, Miyabeam and Maasa are all lovely here, and I love the pouts Nakky gives every time she throws a gutter ball xD However, it needs to be said that watching the same thing for twenty minutes or so can be rather boring, so if you like something that is fast-paced and changes every 10 minutes or so, then this isn't for you.

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Morning Musume's official logo for their Colorful Character Concert Tour 2012 has been released, showing the first letter of everyone's first name in their member colour which fills the kanji.

Whilst the logo is small, we can already see how colourful everything is - it's like a rainbow, and seeing Eripon and Harunan's new colours added into the mix is refreshing, and both of the colours work with everyone else's colours. I love the look of it, and I also like the name - Colorful Character - because that is what Morning Musume has now become - a Colorful group of characters, with everyone having a different personality and style, something which makes them stand out from the others.

This is a nice little logo, and I can't wait for the concert itself!

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Berryz Kobou's official youtube channel has updated with a new 30second spot CM for Cha Cha SING, which features Momoko Tsugunaga towards the end.

I watched the original CM for this, but the extended edition shows off Momochi, promoting her solo song that is available on the single as well. I thought that the little edit was quite cute, especially as the couple didn't seem too bothered with Momo herself. Anyway, all the CM's for Cha Cha SING are worth the watch, and it's great to see that the single is still getting promotion even after being released.

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And that's pretty much all the news of the week I have gathered! This is the last week of July, too, so to end this month with the 10th release of this Digest is great! Next, August! I wonder what this month will bring us all in the World of Idols and cuteness? Stay tuned everyone, and may updates continue to leak! I need them, and so do you! >3<

Chiima~


PING!!! Idolminded Recommended Reading: July 31st, 2012