Momo♥Pro with Karin

That Karin, eh? Looking so delectable on the cover of UTB.

Of course, she had to start somewhere. The path to be the very best, like no idol ever was, is littered with challenges.
She would need to gather up her allies (like KanaTomo) and overcome those who would knock her down (also KanaTomo). But to ease the path, one should also enlist the aid of mentors, teachers, guides to help enlighten the path.

Let us look to one of the lessons she received, from a great teacher.
Let us go back to 2010, when the Momochi Musubi were not yet as majestic as they are now.

Increased precautions at H!P handshake events

{Spotted at a ℃-ute individual handshake event. Looks like H!P is taking more precautions.}

<To the customers in attendance>

It is forbidden to bring along any carry-along baggage with you into any of the booths.

Please ensure that you leave all baggage at the baggage storage area before entering the booths and participating in the handshake event.

During the handshake in the booths,

We request that there be nothing in your hands.

Any worn items that are unnecessary for the handshake

Are not allowed.

Concerning the above, please approach the officials,

In the case it is judged to be necessary

A body check will be carried out,

If that is the case, please follow the instructions of the officials.

We would like the understanding and cooperation of all of you.

via 2ch

A game of Guess Who with Ishida Ayumi

Ishida Ayumi appears in a call to the radio show 'SanaMiyo Upstage' to promote TokiSora.
In this part of the show, the show hosts have to guess who the other person on the line is. A week before, Sato Masaki made a highly amusing appearance. You can read a translated transcript of Masaki's appearance in the Hello! Online forums, courtesy of maxperkins84.
So let's see how the hosts do in catching out our girl Daa-chan.

2ch: Things that would happen you were washed ashore on an unpopulated island with the 5 members of ℃-ute

1: 名無しさん 2014/04/20(日)18:15:42 ID:???

Me and Chisato would be fishing on the beach with nksk's handmade fishing rods

Quick tweets on Sayashi birthday event

本日、鞘師バースデーイベント！ #morningmusume14 pic.twitter.com/D8JLxOvimK
— モーニング娘。'14マネージャー (@MorningMusumeMg) 2014, 5月 28

Sign: Meeting room
Below: Entry forbidden to Sayashi-san!!

Today is Sayashi's bierhday event! #morningmusume14 pic.twitter.com/D8JLxOvimK

KanaTomo’s Hello! Shop talk event

ハロショイベント打ち合わせなう。 金澤朋子緊張してます。 #juicejuice #kanazawatomoko
— Juice=Juice (@_Juice_Juice) 2014, 5月 28

Now having a meeting for the Hello! Shop event.
Kanazawa Tomoko is nervous.
#juicejuice #kanazawatomoko

金澤朋子ハロショイベントのハッシュタグは、 #かなとも で決定！！
— Juice=Juice (@_Juice_Juice) 2014, 5月 28

The hashtag for Kanazawa Tomoko's Hello! Shop event is #かなとも  (KanaTomo)！！

(Morning Jogakuin Blog) ☆ The １１２th period （May ２４）

Attendance（Numbers in brackets indicate frequency of attendance）
Iikubo Haruna （３８） Sayashi Riho （３５） Oda Sakura （２５）

On duty is・・・ RihoRiho （1１th time）

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

I'm in charge of this week's duty！
This is 'Riho Deli' Sayashi Riho！ lol

I was chatting with Iikubo Haruna-chan and Oda Sakura-chan、
The 2 of them have this unique atmosphere～
You could really feel it when we were talking。

But Oda-chan、 since she was talking with her unique atmosphere as usual、
When that mood makes an appearance、
It's become popular with the members to come back with 'It's an 『Oda-ism』！' lol

I'm pretty sure that the person who christened it as 『Oda-ism』、 was Iikubo Haruna-chan。。。

Did you get to enjoy MoJo with its atmosphere different than usual？
I hope so！

Well then！ Listen to the next MoJo, okay～♪

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～

Ｍ１：Happy Daisakusen／Morning Musume。
Ｍ２：Password is 0／ Morning Musume。'14

[Omitted: Details of events and such]

This week on the ２８th of May, Sayashi Riho-san will be celebrating her １６th birthday
So we went ahead with a surprise birthday cake！ Happy birthday

Original

{I don't have anything big for RihoRiho's birthday, so this'll have to do. Happy birthday!}

An Announcement Concerning Handshake Events From Now On

The reports of an incident concerning a handshake event gave us a huge shock, and we felt extremely enraged.
Above all, we wish to send our prayers for a speedy recovery to the people who were injured.

Coming to grips with the severity of this incident, the result of consideration within the company regarding scheduled events such as handshakes from now on is that, for the sake of the fans who are eagerly expecting them, the events will carry them out as planned.

For the sake of increased security for our company's talents as well as all of the fans participating, we will be strengthening our security and management even further.
We hope for your understanding, and beg for your kindness in cooperating.

UP-FRONT PROMOTION　Co., Ltd.

UP-FRONT WORKS　Co.,Ltd.

Source

Juice=Juice dialogue - Suzuki Airi x Kanazawa Tomoko - Summary

Since my English subbed version was taken down, I'm putting up this summary instead.

Starts at 36:35~

MoMusu。 Ishida Ayumi 「Michishige-san mentioning that I was cute made my day！」

A commemoration event was held for the sale of the photo book  『shine more』（Wani Books）featuring currently active Morning Musume。’14 member Ishida Ayumi-san's  。

12th May 2014  （Mon） Fukuya Shoten Shibuya Subnade Store

Following the J=J bus tour in tweets (Day 2)

{Same as yesterday, I follow the progress of the Juice=Juice bus tour as per what their official account is tweeting}

おはようございます！ メンバーは今日も元気です！ よろしくお願いします*\(^o^)/* #jj_bus #juicejuice
— Juice=Juice (@_Juice_Juice) 2014, 5月 24

Good morning！ The members are doing well today！ We're begging for your kindness *\(^o^)/*
#jj_bus #juicejuice

Juice=Juice dialogue - Suzuki Airi x Kanazawa Tomoko

One segment previously held on Hello! Station was the Juice=Juice discussion corner, where the members of Juice=Juice nominated a Hello! Project member they'd like to have a discussion with.
This ran its course from the end of last year to early this year.

 In Hello! Station #48, Kanazawa Tomoko had a one-on-one discussion with ℃-ute's Suzuki Airi.
For those not familiar with the connection, KanaTomo holds Airi in extremely high regard.

 I've extracted that segment and translated it.
As always, please turn on the closed captions to see the subtitles.
Enjoy~

{EDIT: Got taken down by copyright claim m(_ _)m
To make it up for you, here's a summary of the interview.}

 

I love how KanaTomo starts out more or less starstruck, but slowly gets pulled into Airi's pace, with Airi being her usual, spazzy self throughout.

Following the J=J bus tour in tweets (Day 1)

{So I'm following the Juice=Juice official twitter account and going through their tweets concerning J=J's first bus tour. There's an official hashtag, #jj_bus, as well, but I'll just be doing whatever pops up on the official account. Since, you know, information overload.

Another thing is that they sometimes use a third party service to provide photos, so I've attached the whole photos in that case. Enjoy!}

いよいよ明日から5/24〜25「Juice=Juice 1st Fanclub Tour 〜Miracle×Juice×Bus〜 in Yamanashi」開催です！メンバー全員楽しみにしております。 ハッシュタグ募集中です！ #juicejuice
— Juice=Juice (@_Juice_Juice) 2014, 5月 22

At long last, starting tomorrow the 24th~25th May will be 'Juice=Juice 1st Fanclub Tour ~Miracle x Juice x Bus~ in Yamanashi'! All of the members are looking forward to it. We're currently looking for a hashtag!  #juicejuice

皆様いろいろなご意見ありがとうございます。ハッシュタグは、 #jj_bus でお願い致します！ RT 5/24〜25「Juice=Juice 1st Fanclub Tour 〜Miracle×Juice×Bus〜 in Yamanashi」開催です！ #juicejuice
— Juice=Juice (@_Juice_Juice) 2014, 5月 23

Thanks to everyone for their ideas. For the hashtag, please use #jj_bus ! RT 24~25 May ''Juice=Juice 1st Fanclub Tour ~Miracle x Juice x Bus~ in Yamanashi'! #juicejuice

Questions from the Quiz=Quiz Rally

As part of the Juice=Juice bus tour, they're holding a 'Quiz=Quiz Rally', where you have to answer a two-choice question concerning the Juice=Juice girls. Since I'm taking them from Twitter anyway, I'm just going to poach the pics from the tweets by embedding them.

A sample of the question sheet:

クイズ＝クイズ(☆∪☆) #jj_bus pic.twitter.com/buJvlVZdRA
— けん坊♂ (@KenBou1106) 2014, 5月 24

Post 250!

Literally, Ice Cream and My Jiggly

Just a quick milestone post. Have also passed the 750 post mark for blog!project, at 797 posts at time of writing.

I'm on a two-week study leave, so if I'm unusually productive in translating, you'll know that I'm procrastinating from my studies.

If you're still reading, thank you for visiting this blog. I hope you got to know your favourite idols a bit deeper :)

Skoban out.

Miyamoto Karin talks about her first photo book in UTB

The melody of the tears of the sun

Juice=Juice's ace Miyamoto Karin's first solo photo book is scheduled to be released in June!!

Being her first time appearing on the cover and opening pages of this magazine,

Even this doll-like, quiet girl was extremely excited!

Tsunku♂ expresses confidence in Berryz' latest!

ありがとう。自信作です。RT @reinairisakO617: @tsunkuboy ベリの新曲『愛はいつも君の中に』が耳から離れません。イントロから前に進もうという気持ちになりますし、ベリの怖い雰囲気に合ってると思います!!!
— つんく♂ (@tsunkuboy) 2014, 5月 22

@reinairisakO617: @tsunkuboy Berryz' new song 'Ai ha Itsumo Kimi no Naka ni' lingers in my ears. Beginning from the intro, it makes you feel like moving forward, and it fits Berryz' scary atmosphere!!!
Tsunku♂: Thanks. I've got confidence in it.

【 Inside story ・ Minor joke】 Berryz Kobo ・Tsugunaga Momoko、 slight dissatisfaction with BARKS' article。「You say “Miyabi-chan、 Miyabi-chan”…」

{Here we have Momoko haranguing another interviewer, this time the Barks writer who usually covers them.}

Berryz Kobo acquired 1st place for [article of] the month of December 2013 as well as the year。 As a show of gratitude from the editorial department、we handed over a certificate to sub-captain Natsuyaki Miyabi、 and everyone's idol, cute as usual today, 'Momochi' Tsugunaga Momoko、 and received their comments （For reference, see the article published 28th January 2014 entitled  「＜BARKS News Award 2013＞、1st place for the year is Berryz Kobo（Japanese）＆ Lady Gaga （Western）」）。

And, then and there, Momochi had 'some thoughts' about the BARKS article. This reporter was filled with trepidation at the unexpected development. And from Momochi's mouth came some frank advice (?). In order to avoid any misunderstandings, below, we present to you the exchange with Momochi, uncut.

Harunan and Ayacho flirting over Twitter

彩ちゃん、そうやって私の気を引こうとしてるの、バレバレですよ♡byはるなん “@smileage_715: モーニング娘。'14の飯窪春菜さーんーはるなーん！イベント終わったかなー？？私は舞台稽古で、くどぅー(工藤遥ちゃん)とラブラブです～♪和田彩花#smileage”
— モーニング娘。'14マネージャー (@MorningMusumeMg) 2014, 5月 21

{Note: Rearranged for clarity}
@smileage_715: Morning Musume. '14 Iikubo Haruna-sa-n - Harunan! Has your event ended-?? I'm at a dress rehearsal, being lovey-dovey with Kuduu (Kudo Haruka-chan)～♪Wada Ayaka #smileage
@MorningMusumeMg: Aya-chan, if that's how you're trying to draw my attention, you've been caught out ♡ by Harunan

{I'd tell them to get a room and make sure to film a DVD of it, but they kinda already have...}

On grades and centres

Quick summary of the talk section after the cut, but I highly recommend the performance of 'Ai ha Itsumo Kimi no Naka ni' at the end. It's got like, proper live instrumentation, rather than sound recording, which makes it about 29 million times more epic.


20140517 MUSIC FAIR berryz工房 パフォーマンス by dm_526e8a36be26f

MoriMusu. Special Video

Bundled with the limited D edition of Toki wo Koe Sora wo Koe/ Password is 0 is the following video - Password is 0（MoriMusu。 Special Movie）

This special version has a bit of a storyline - combining the themes of passion, determination, and friendship.
And plus, there's a heart-stopping BATH SCENE!
I'd say this is the best MoriMusu. video so far, hands down.

So what are you waiting for?

For subs, please turn on the closed captions, thank you.
As always, any corrections would be much welcome.

{EDIT: Taken down for copyright claim reasons. Sorry if you didn't catch it m(_ _)m}



Uploaded this a few days back, but there was this copyright claim thingy on YouTube, so I tried putting it up to see if it would be pulled down. It's been about half a week and the video's still around, so I'm going on ahead and putting it on my blog.

Q&A with Minarun

{In 48G Land, Minarun, along with Yamada Nana (who gives me Nacky vibes), have been catching my eye recently}

Speech bubble: My charm point is my upper arms ♥ That's the only part of me that's slender (lol)

Q: What's your strong point?
A: My passion!! I'm unexpectedly hot-blooded!!

Q: What animal are would you compare yourself to?
A: A koala!! Since I like spacing out (lol)

Q: What are your dreams for the future?
A: For a lot of people to know about 'Oba Mina'!!

Source: Shonen Champion Magazine through Hebirote AKB48

MechaIke great rampage！ 「The 2nd Momochi」 MoMusu。 Ikuta Erina、 about to make a break in the variety circuit

On the May 17th broadcast of  『Mecha×2 Iketeru!』（Fuji TV）、  Morning Musume。'14 made a guest appearance、and member Ikuta Erina （16） was greatly featured。

A member's mother cries out bitterly……A 15-year old underground idol withdraws with a 「Large amount of money」cited as areason, creating a stir

From Otawara Yuka's official blog

The reasons behind the withdrawal of Otawara Yuka (15) from being a member of high school idol rap unit, Rhymeberry, has sparked discussion among idol fans.

In 2011, Rhymeberry originally started off as any other idol group with 4 members in junior high. 

In 2012, they made their CD début with their 1st single 'Hey! Brother' (Aries Entertainment), singing about 'their awakening feelings of love towards their brothers'. In 2013, they released their single 'R.O.D. / Sekaijuu ni I Love You' through T-Palette Records, an idol-centric label managed by Tower Records. They made an appearance at Japan's biggest Idol Fest 'Tokyo Idol Festival 2013'. Their rising popularity culminated with a one-man live in August of last year, and then they ceased activities for a while.

Yet, on Rhymeberry's official blog post on the 11th of [April 2014], they announced that they had separated with their previous office T-Palette Records and that they were starting with a new company. At the same time, it was announced that member Yuka was withdrawing, and it was clear that their activities thereafter would involve 3 people.

On Yuka's blog on the same day, her mother submitted a message to the fans. The reason for withdrawing was explained clearly: 'We discussed the resumption of Rhymeberry's activities, but a large amount of money would be involved for Rhymeberry to continue. We understand that it is appropriate, but we have decided to abandon continuing with Rhymeberry due to the financial circumstances of our family.' It created a ripple among idol fans, bringing up questions such as 'Why do idols have to pay money?', 'It might be company policy, but it's depressing', 'So it means that for the remaining members, they clearly had to pay 'a large amount of money' for their activities...'

'It is unknown why the mother would make a clear statement under the pretence of 'a large amount of money'. But this blog post has exposed the financial problems of underground idols, which has even been noticed slightly by idol fans. I don't understand the circumstances for Rhymeberry, but in the world of underground idols, lesson fees and company registration fees, publicity photo costs, clothing costs, are often laid on the family of the members. Naturally, there are many members who gave up due to the accumulated financial burden. On the other hand, from the perspective of the company, it isn't feasible to only do idol management, so there are many companies that are involved in real estate and marketing as well. So, it isn't rare for companies to depend on management trust fees and publicity photo costs from the members.' (A person connected to an entertainment company)

Ever since AKB48 made their break, countless numbers of female idol groups have been formed. In order to bask in the spotlight, should it be the case that 'a large amount of money' would be needed?

Source: NicoVideo

Candy Momochi messages Donut Erina

{Here's a 4koma from when Momoko had a serialisation in UTB}

Candy Momochi
- The pleasant days -

Panel 1
 Candy Momoko, almost turning twenty

Panel 2
Something that I had better do while I'm in my teens...
Have I missed anything?
Ah!! I'll ask that girl!!

Panel 3
Phone
Hey there ♥ You know
While I'm sill in my teens
Is there anything that you think is like
'You have to try doing this!!'??
Please tell me-♥♥♥

Thought bubble
I'll send this message to Donut Erina ☆

Panel 4
Thought bubble
I got a message from Donut Erina ☆

Phone
Sorry (> <)
Who is this?
I don't have you registered in my address book...
Sorry!!!
*Mano Erina*

Parting words
...It's a true story. (cries)

Juice=Juice JOL Interview

{This interview was from the 25th of July 2013, about a month after their major début announcement. Aina had withdrawn herself from the group earlier in that month.}

Heading towards their major début, 『Juice=Juice』 is progressing ahead day by day。
Let us get closer to the true selves of these 5 individualistic members！

Not giving up on the path to their dreams, they continued working hard to get to where they are now
These 5 have come together as 1、 and they want to develop further and further！

Sayubee's Admiration

More subtitles, different form.
Please turn on the closed caption function to view the translations please.

From last year's Summer Hello! Con, Sayuki answers a question about respectable senpai.

Mimicking the Momochi Musubi

Inspired by the radio show videos on the Japanese YouTube channel (b-k macaron) as well as TheMusumeShow's highlights of Riho-Deli, I tried my hand at putting a translated portion of Trattoria Buono! into video. (Also as an aside, Roborobosubs have some translations of b-k macarons stuff up as well.)



This was done with Windows Live Movie Maker, with zero prior video editing experience.
Messing around with the quality, 720 quality seems clear enough, and at lower qualities there might be some difficulty reading the words, particularly Miya's. My apologies.

Don't expect videos to be something that happens often, since timing just eats up so much time. Might try out a different video editing programme next time though.

Berryz Kobo's au Book Pass original photo book 'Girls Messing Around'

{This interview was from around March, when the au campaign was in full swing. By now, Berryz Kobo has won the competition, and reaped the reward. 

For S/mileage's interview for this project, check out this post on Lurkette's blog.}

For the right to appear on a special broadcast of JOLF's 「All Night Nippon」, the 5 groups in Hello！ Project are competing with all their strength, through the electronic photo book project 「au 『Book Pass』 Presents HELLO！PROJECT Original Photo Book Produce Battle！ ～The overall champion will get to appear on an All Night Nippon Special!?～」。 Celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut on the 3rd of March, Berryz Kobo's theme is 「Girls Messing Around」、 and they've produced an original photo book, with their photos outlining a story riddled with them fooling around with all their might。 Why the choice of  「Girls Messing Around」 as a theme？ Let us listen to the girls speak to their heart's content on the topic of their expectations。

Momochi and Mano-chan on Maachan

Ah, Sato Masaki. Among the many legends concerning her, one of the highlights was how she wormed her way into Reina's heart and broke down her barriers.
In fact, she has this knack of making herself endearing to others.
So let me share one of my favourite tales of Maachan, where she even gets through to Momochi.


ももち と 真野ちゃん と まーちゃん by 9102mn

Let sleeping Yasshis lie

May 6th Nakano Night Evolution Tour
Topic: Waking up

[...]

Sayashi「Electronic sounds don't wake me up. I can't wake up unless it's with an alarm that rings mechanically」

Ishida「Previously, at a hotel, when I was in the same room as Sayashi-san, she said to me 『Ayumi-chan, wake me up tomorrow kay』,  so when I tried waking her up the next morning・・・
『（Brusquely shaking her hands）Shuddup！』」（Audience laughs）

Oda「Me too. When I tried waking up Sayashi-san when she was next to me on the Shinkansen, she said 『Wake me up when we have to split』
When we arrived at the station, Sayashi-san was still sleeping after I had gotten out of my seat、 so when I woke her up she was in a rush, going『Wake me up sooner！』」（Audience laughs）

Sayashi「Sorry、 I don't remember either of those happening」

Ishida「You know、 Sayashi-san picks and chooses people。 If it was Michishige-san waking her up
At first she'd be irritated but once she's confirmed with her own eyes that it's Michishige-san、she's all  『Ah、 my bad』」（Roar of laughter from the audience）

Oda「Basically, it's like she assumes that kind of behaviour towards us」

Sayashi「・・・I can't do anything but admit that」（Audience laughs）

Source (#93)

℃-ute Suzuki Airi 「Although I was exposed…」 Her photo book commemorating her twentieth, done with a slightly mature feel

In the midst of many activities, Suzuki Airi, member of popular idol group「℃-ute」, held a commemoration event for the release of her photo book 『Kyoumei-KYOMEI-』（Wani Books）。

24th April 2014（Thurs） Fukuya Shoten Shinjuku Subnade store

The Girls Live: Berryz by Riho

Ah, one of my favourite songs, off Berryz' 9th album. So what did Riho have to highlight about the clothes she had prepared?

S/mileage Wada Ayaka「It would be good if the next leader of Hello! Pro after Michishige-san would be Shimizu Saki-san」

For the release of 『Mystery Night!/ Eighteen Emotion』、 S/mileage held a release event。

After its release, the sexy, danceable new songs immediately became the topic of conversation. This time, at the media scrum, Fukuda Kanon recounted the negatively unpleasant, 'I have nothing to say about those clothes,' mentioned by her father when he saw the extremely daring costumes. Then, with Nakanishi Kana commenting on the 75 days left to their Nippon Budokan performance, 'Since there's 75 days¹ I think I might cry at the Budokan,'  her sudden pun invited laughter.
¹ 'Nako-', which I've translated as 'cry' is an alternative reading for '75'



Also, when asked about the fan club priority tickets and on being told by adults that 'Just a mere half of them have been sold', leader Wada Ayaka boldly said 'I want to be able to triumph over those adults'. The graduation of Morning Musume. '14's Michishige Sayumi drew a sad response, and when Wada Ayaka and Fukuda Kanon were asked if they had any inclination to aim for the seat of Hello! Pro leader after Michishige Sayumi's graduation, Fukuda Kanon said 'It's too heavy a burden! Personally, I endorse Berryz Kobo's Shimizu-san! I'd even be willing to collect signatures for it!' Wada Ayaka also announced, 'I'm in agreement!'

Source: Dwango