Houkago Princess will make their debut under Universal Music Japan it has been revealed, though the other details concerning their major debut, such as the time they are debuting or what their first major single will be titled, have yet to be revealed. Further announcements were also made during the live that are equally as important, making a few minor changes for the group!
All thoughts and opinions within this post are, amazingly enough, completely my own! Don't like what I have to say? You don't have to read! Still, if you're like me and seem to enjoy reading articles that make you think, or feel angry maybe, then read on! Please though, don't go around insisting I accept your opinions if you can't accept mind - it takes two to tango, so accept what I say, and I'll return the favour!
With BerryzKobou departing the world of Idols in just about two weeks, I think it's about time to start my little send off to them, in the form of my [A Week with...] series. This week-long series will be spent celebrating, possibly even mutilating, a selection of works from Berryz Kobou and what they have given us these past 11 years as a group. To finish off my send-off to the group, I will also write a post for each individual member for a second week as an 'Appreciation' for the girls of the group, all before we see them leave the umbrella that is Hello! Project.
For my first review, I will be looking at a side of Berryz I never truly experienced when becoming a fan of Hello! Project, but one I wish I could have been a part of. For this, let's turn back the clocks, and go back to a time that was carefree, innocent as can be...
On February 7th, it was announced during READY TO KISSES one-man live at Shinjuku ReNY that the pop-rock Idol group would have their Major Debut this Summer, and would make their official debut under the recently formed Stand-Up! Records (2014), a project that houses both Afilia Saga and Idol College. Formerly, SEISHUN GAKUEN had also been a part of the project, however have since been taken off of the website for unknown reasons. Now, it is time for READY TO KISS to join them!
This weeks Episode for my Podcast can be found HERE, so if you wish to listen to it, please do.
For Musings & Mutterings this week, I undertake a more serious topic that is very familiar to myself. I start off with my usual, updates and Idol news and such, however the second half goes into the heavier topic that is Bullying, and as usual, I make little to no sense, though somehow I managed to get through it.
Whether you can hear it or not, towards the end, I was almost crying. Almost. It's not a light topic, nor one to be taken lightly, so I apologise if I didn't do well with this podcast - finding the words and phrasing everything was pretty difficult, especially when trying to give advice, because I don't think I am the sort of person who should even give out advice. Still. I tried.
I did neglect to say that, with Bullying, do NOT take action yourself against the bully, physically or verbally - that could result in you becoming a bully yourself. I've experienced that, and it is not good, so just try and get as much help as you can. Do NOT keep quiet, please. I've realised that keeping quiet means you suffer as a result, and telling others helped me a lot, because I knew I had someone on my side.
This was a more serious Podcast, and it was hard to talk about at points, but I am glad I made it. Please spread the awareness of Bullying and spread the word about getting help. The more help, the better.
If you have a Topic Suggestion for the next Podcast, please let me know! Having a Topic means I have some more structure to my Podcast, and gives me something to talk about, so don't be afraid to suggest something! Thank you.
Last year, Idol Matsuri held their first event in the United States, and brought to the fans of the Japanese Idol scene Aither, RYUtist, Halko Momoi, SHEawase, Ally&Sally, Beckii Cruel, Beri! New Day and DJ Amaya. With the event being a big success for its first year, of course the team behind Idol Matsuri are once again aiming to bring the Idol-themed event back for another year.
Of course, this does not come without problems.
Idol Matsuri is still very much new, and with their second event planned for August 2015, the Team hope to improve on Idol Matsuri as well as what it provides for the fans and those performing. One of the things that they hope to improve on the most this year happens to be the location.
Last year, Idol Matsuri was held at Silverdale, which proved to be a little inconvenient for both guests and attendees, so this year, the Team behind Idol Matsuri hope to secure a venue in the Seattle-Tacoma area, which would allow for much easier access and also the possibility for more fans to attend the convention and to experience the true energy and feel of Idol Matsuri.
This is where the help of the fans and those who hope to attend comes in.
Aither performing at Idol Matsuri 2014. Video from Suwano Chibineko
With Idol Matsuri 2015 underway, the Team are currently putting together various campaigns, with one of the most important being the fundraiser to secure their venue so that this convention can happen. So, to help them on their way with the fundraiser, the Team has put together a KickstarterCampaign (which you can find HERE as well as in the Source links below) which will help them to raise some money for the venue's deposit. Currently, their target goal is $600 - this seems like a lot, but if everyone puts in even a little bit towards this campaign, then I am sure that it will not be hard to hit.
Of course, for what you give to help fund the project, you do get a little something for giving to the cause - there are Rewards involved, of course, with some of the highest of the Rewards being VIP badges or Vendor Booths. With the smaller Pledges, the rewards are still pretty sweet; you can have your name printed in the program guide, as well as get a photo-card of the events mascot, Kurumi.
With this fundraising system in mind, Bethany (Event President)and Melissa (Marketing) have made it so that the fans who donate will be able to secure the best possible prices for those who get in there fast, making it as cheap as they can for the sake of this fundraiser, and the sake of the venue they will possibly secure.
"In order to make Idol Matsuri happen again this year, lets work hard together to secure the venue. Securing a VIP ticket for the cheapest possible price will be the best decision you make this week" - Melissa, Marketing Manager for Idol Matsuri
"The VIP badges, the general badges, vendor table, and the artist alley tables are all the cheapest they will EVER be. Period. We really only need nine VIP badges to be fully funded! And we want to make sure people DO NOT succumb to the bystander effect, by thinking everybody else will buy the VIP, because everyone else is thinking the same thing." - Bethany, President of Idol Matsuri
Aside from this Kickstarter campaign however, there are other things the fans can help with to strengthen the future of Idol Matsuri; currently, the Team are looking for Staff to help them out in a variety of things, from Translators and Interpreters (Fluency in Japanese Reading, Writing, Speaking) to Marketing, PR, Publicity, Media and Copywrite. Also, a contest is currently being held to find a redesign of the events logo, one that is clean and professional in how it looks. The contest ends on February 13th, so if you wish to apply, then be sure to enter by joining the Facebook group (found HERE or in the Sources below) and also by sending your logo creations to idolconvention@gmail.com
RYUTist performing at Idol Matsuri 2014, video courtesy of Selective Hearing
This Kickstarter will not be around for long - it ends on February 15th in the US, leaving only a week or so until it fully closes. This is an event that I am sure a lot of people want to happen, especially those behind the scenes that made it happen last year, and saw it become a success.
Currently, it is the venue and the deposit that is the biggest risk right now - without that deposit, Idol Matsuri 2015 may not happen.
In order to bring more acts to America, whether they are Western or Japanese Idols, both of which Idol Matsuri hopes to bring to the event once again this year, then this fundraiser NEEDS to happen, and the venue needs to become a reality. This is something that they hope to improve for Idol Matsuri this year, an improvement that will allow the event to be more easily accessible for both the fans and artists, and one which can house more fans than Idol Matsuri brought last year, and hopefully in the years to come.
With your help, this can happen. So please, if you can, help out the Team behind Idol Matsuri and give a little to their cause. This Venue is the ticket to Idol Matsuri 2015, and without it, the convention may not happen.
On February 1st 2015, it was announced that Sakuragi Nene, a 3rd generation member of Houkago Princess, would graduate from the group on February 11th. This is due to Nene's difficulties with keeping up with the activities required of her as a Regular member, and also because she declined the position of a Cadet member. Because of this, the decision was made that she would make her departure from the group.
Below are the translations from the Staff and Nene, regarding her leave of the group. I give many thanks to Elsa for translating this post for me! <3
.｡.:*☆*:.｡.☆.｡.:*☆*:.｡.
"With regards to the Sweet-tooth chairman, Sakuragi Nene.
On 1st February, 2015, it has been decided that Sakuragi Nene will be demoted to being a sub member.
The reason is because she has not met the criteria of being an official member.We have given her three warning however she has not improved on her behaviors, therefore we we have decided to demote her.
In addition, on 11th of February at the live in Shibuya RUIDO K2, she will refuse the demotion and will be fired. The main reasons are due to the difference of our approach to the activities and the professionalism.
She will attend the live event on 11th of February.(She will not be attending on the 4th of February due to her academic reasons)
"Although I will be graduating in such an undelightful form, I appreciate your support from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for the love in the past 2 and a half years. There isn't much time left, however I will do my very best for the stage I love, all the fans and for the feelings I have towards myself as an idol.
Regarding the Graduation Announcement of Sakuragi Nene, I can safely say that I am not surprised, but rather taken aback by it too, namely in the manner the Graduation. Really, I can't say this was unexpected; it did feel like, as of late, Nene was not taking her role as a Regular member of HouPri seriously.
For two and a half years, Nene has been a part of Houkago Princess as a 3rd generation member. In 2013 though, she halted her activities to focus on University, and since returning to said activities around the early 2014 mark, she has since been in-and-out of the group, barely being able to juggle both school and being an Idol. A lot of the time, when I saw updates on the group, Nene was very rarely a part of the live performances or even the MV shootings - now, her inactivity has taken its toll. Whilst I really am sad about her Graduation, I can't say that I blame management for taking action here - Nene simply was not taking her career as an Idol as seriously as she should have, and she was not being a professional.
I understand that school is important, and it was good of the management to let Nene have days off for her studies (in the past, Shiraishi Rika (Graduated) and Michishige Saho (Cadet) have also taken time off for their studies), however it does feel like recently, she has not been as active as she could have been. So, I understand why they decided to demote her. In the end though, she and management have decided that she will instead leave the group, because she did not want to become a Cadet.
In more ways than one though, I do wish that she would have decided to Graduate by herself at one point when she realised it was difficult to do both things at once. I think then, she would have left in a more positive light, because reading the blog post, I just feel sad that she has to leave this way.
Well, at least she will be able to have a final performance a Graduation of sorts; she has done better than some of the girls.
I feel like I am being mean to Nene regarding her leave of HouPri, but honestly, I am really sad about this; I liked Nene, she was a very promising member to the group and, for a while, quite an important addition, having been given a center spot (more or less) after being a part of the group for only a month. She was 3ki's leading lady, and she was rather well-liked, so it is indeed sad for her to go out this way, as a member who did not take her activities seriously.
I will really miss Nene when she is gone, but until that happens, I will treasure her in Houkago Princess as they are now. Right now, they are a group of nine, but once Nene has departed from the group, they will become eight.
For her final concert, I really do hope that she delivers her best stage yet. Please, Nene, enjoy your final days in Houkago Princess. From now until the 11th of February, the fans will surely cherish you.
It's been a long time coming, but Holy Heck... I actually updated my Youtube channel with a Reaction video. Whaaaaat?
Seriously, even I'm yelling 'FINALLY' right now, because even I've been waiting. I've been waiting to come back to reacting to Music Videos, and I have been waiting until I could afford a new camera for the sake of no more shitty-quality out-of-focus, in-focus, nope outta focus again BS that my other camera pulled.
Also, this camera has nicer sound quality, too. I didn't record with a mic, granted, but I wanted to see how this ones mic worked; pretty good, though it still picks up background noise. Kuso!
Anyway, this is my Taiki Bansei Music Video reaction! Hopefully you all enjoy. I'm a tad rusty, so apologies.
Also, sorry for the shoddy lighting... I was either gonna film it today, or not. I chose to film, regardless of the lighting issues.
