C-ute News and Poll Results

So i'm sure it's not new news to most people out there, but C-ute's new album and new single release dates have been announced! C-ute next album "Dai Nana Sho Utsukushikute Gomen Ne" is to be released on Feb 8th, while their new single "Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Denwa de Kitaku" is to be released on April 18th.

Aichan and Aika Haul

So I haven't lately told you about my new approach to buying H!P goods.  I've recently decided to stick to my oshimem (obviously Aika), and buy mostly her goods, instead of spending excess money on other members goods that I don't care for as much.

Shock! Niigaki Risa Graduation?!

January 2nd in Japan, on the one year anniversary of 9th generation members joining Morning Musume, it has been announced that leader Niigaki Risa will be graduating from Hello!Project and Morning Musume at the end of their spring 2012 tour Ultra Smart.

A new year and a new layout

First off let me start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Lets hope for the best in 2012 with plenty of Hello!Project goodness, starting with of course H!P Winter Tour 2012, Rock-chan and Funky-chan!

Lets see what kind of new greatness we're going to witness in the new year.

Morning Musume New Single Outfits

Morning Musume's newest single scheduled for release on January 25th has some rather...interesting outfits.  It has not been officially confirmed yet, but according to many fellow Momusu followers, these will be the new single outfits.

Mobekimasu Sort Update

The ever entertaining game of Mobekimasu Sort has been once again updated, this time including S/mileage second generation and Morning Musume's 10th.  With that being said, the results this time have probably changed from the last time I had to choose my ranking.

Berryz Kobo and Buono Overseas in 2012!

If you haven't heard yet, it has been confirmed that Buono! will be performing in Paris, France in February of 2012, and Berryz Kobo will return to the United States in New Jersey for AnimeNEXT convention.

Berrikyuu DVD Mag Vol 2 - A Plot Summary

You may or may not have already read my previous post about Berryz & C-ute's DVD Magazine Volume 1, but either way, here is the continuation post, featuring (wait for it)...yes that's right folks, Berryz & C-ute DVD Magazine Volume 2!!

Berrikyuu DVD Mag Vol 1 - In a Nutshell

Today I had the joy of watching Berryz Kobo & C-ute DVD Magazine Volume 1, which central focus a military atmosphere, obviously referring to their recent stage play, Sengoku Jietai.  This DVD magazine was accompanied by it's other half, Volume 2.  In Volume 1 (today's focus), we were blessed with the presence of half of our Berikyuu members.  In Volume 2 (stay tuned to find out), we get to see the other half.

Aichan + S/mileage Gets

So we all know that Aichan has officially graduated, and that as of recent, Maeda Yuuka has decided to leave the Hello!Project world, chasing after dear Sakitty.  Hopefully Yuuka and Saki are going to stay friends when they both leave UFA, and who knows, maybe even run into each other at the same University?

Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku Single Covers

Hello!Project's Mobekimasu single Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku which is set for release on November 16th, is coming out with a regular version, plus 6 limited edition versions.  Limited editions B-F feature a different H!P group and have a special cover, including a special b-side track.  Here they are:

Maeda Yuuka Graduating?!

It has NOT been officially confirmed yet, but there are many rumors and newspaper articles stating that Maeda Yuuka will be graduation from S/mileage and Hello!Project on December 31st 2011.  This is just as sudden as Saki's announcement, but the cut seems to be a little deeper this time.  If it's true (which we still do not know for sure yet), at least we have two months left with her.

Sayuminglandoll

For those of you who don't know, Sayumi has a new photobook that's coming out on October 27th.  It surprised me how different this photobook is from your average H!P photobook.  It's titled "Sayumiglandoll," and it's pretty darn provocative looking!

10th Generation First Photosets

If you'd like to pick up 10th generation's very first Morning Musume photosets, then you should head on over to HSU.  I think they're really nice and since it's their very first goods, I think it's somewhat special.

Morning Musume 12 Smart Previews

I haven't listened to any of the previews yet myself, but from what I have heard from concert rips and such, it sounds like its going to be a really awesome album!  If you would like to support Morning Musume, please buy the album at cdjapan!

Contest 2 Winner

My second contest is now over.  Thank you to everyone who participated!  I felt bad for only being able to pick one winner, because i'm sure that everybody worked really hard on their graphics.  It was a very close race between three graphics, but I decided on one.

Raffi's Second Contest!

September has promptly shown itself out the door, and October has wiped it's feet on the doormat, which can only mean one thing.  It's contest time!  After my first successful contest, I was glad to see how many people participated.

This time around, I want the contest to be something more challenging then just a raffle.  In honor of Takahashi Ai's graduation, I want to see some sort of graphic made in her honor.  It can be any size you choose (not too big please), and using any picture(s) of Aichan you can find.  You can even draw if you want to.  Anything really, just be creative, and think of Aichan!

Here's what you all will be playing for:

A Maji Desu Ka Ska Regular Edition CD!

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Please turn in your submissions to raffimitsui@hotmail.com.

Deadline is October 5th at 9:00PM PST! Good Luck!

Ai Takahashi's Graduation Concert

Last night (this morning, whatever) or wherever you are, Takahashi Ai officially graduated form Morning Musume and Hello!Project after over 10 years of having that as a part of her life.  As I woke up this morning, it hit me that she was no longer going to be involved in H!P activities, and we wouldn't see her anymore in future concerts and singles.  This hit home.

I don't have much to say right now, since I don't have much information on the concert details as to what happened or what was said during the ceremony speeches.  A few noteworthy moments in my opinion were that Aika (on wobbly crutches) came on stage to say her goodbyes and give her speech.  Just the picture alone got me emotional.  While Gaki was giving her speech, it was noted Aichan said to her "Gaki-san, i'm sorry, but i'm graduating now."

To end this short post here is picspam of shots of the concert.

Ganbatte Aichan~

13nin for a day

Give a warm welcome to the 10th generation of Morning Musume!  Here are your winners everybody:

Haruna, Ayumi, Masaki, & Haruka

For one day (today), and one day only, Morning Musume is 13 members again. LOL

Overall, i'm very satisfied with the results.  I'm so glad that Haruka was added, since she was my favorite out of all the girls who auditioned.  I have a feeling Ayumi is going to be the next Riho, since she has the look, and the prior dancing experience.  She's already a step a head of the other juukies (excluding Haruka).  Masaki is a mystery.  I don't know much about her yet, but she seems cute.  I feel that i'm going to fall in love with her eventually, but she will probably be one of those members that gets frequently pushed to the back. Haruna, I have my doubts about though.  Of course, there's always the one in the group that i'm not too fond of.  Her singing was deplorable from what I heard on Hello!Pro Time, and she looked like she hadn't slept for weeks.  Some people say "she's rough around the edges," but i'd consider her to be more like sharp, with dangerously high falsetto edges if you catch my drift.  I don't know folks...i'm gonna keep my eye on that one. :glares:

Look at Sayumi all happy with the juukies.  I wonder how she (and the rest of the senpais) feel about them.  So this (sorta) makes the kyuukies senpai's right?  Even though some like Haruna are older? I dont know, whatever.  Either way, those orange Ai Believe shirts are cool.  Wait...those ARE the kanji for their names...but those colors...I really hope those aren't their official member colors.  We DO NOT need a third green, a third pink, and a third purple.  Give me a break! -rant over-

ANYWAYS, after today, Aichan is graduating, bringing the Musume count down to 12.  I really hope the girls perform well, and I can't wait to hear/see them in the next single/PV!

I really wanted Sara to get in.  She had one of the better singing voices :/

It's Almost Time

So i'm sure we are all familiar with the fact that it's the last week of Ai-chan's graudation, but the biggest moments are yet to come.  Tomorrow (9/28), the 10 generation Morning Musume audition winners will be revealed.  And then on the 30th, Aichan will officially graduate, passing on the title Morning Musume to Niigaki Risa.

Tomorrow is a big day, seeing as the line-up for Morning Musume will once again change.  I wonder how many new members will be added?  How many would you like to see?

In other Ai-chan related news, here's a clip of her Memorial DVD:

It's rather hard to watch, because you can tell how emotional Aichan gets while speaking.  Risa also shows up towards the middle of the video and surprises her, which induces a rather interesting reaction from Aichan.  In midst of their discussion, Risa has a graduation message from Ogawa Makoto especially for her. It's going to be an emotional couple of days for all of us.

On a goods related note, the new goods for Aichans concert look pretty awesome.  The entire list of goods can be found here, from their official website.  Some noteworthy goods are (in my opinion are the shirts and towels) are nice enough to pick up.  I'm definitely getting some.  Are you?