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The story
A thread on 5channel’s Hello! Project board asked whether Morning Musume trainee-turned-member Akisa Sugihara (nicknamed “Mesa”) might be “the first Kansai-native member in the group’s history that fans don’t find off-putting.” Posters compared her to past Kansai-born members like Yuko Nakazawa, Ai Kago, Aika Mitsui, Harumi Ogata, and Haruka Inoue. Many praised her easygoing friendliness — she told her juniors to just call her “Mesa” — and how she makes sure to give equal attention to all four of her fellow 18th-generation members. Others pushed back, calling her “too familiar” or saying she’s “just quiet for a Kansai person,” so opinions were split.
What people said
Apparently when it's just the four 18th-gen members together, she makes a point of bringing up topics with each of them equally
Like "I'm being so considerate"
It was Ishikawa or Suzuki who said that
None of them show up in full tiger-print streetwear
That's just the stereotype of loud, crass Hanshin Tigers fans
I hear Kawashima wears leopard print in her off-duty outfits
We're basically modest folks, y'know (said in exaggerated Kansai dialect)
She's Ma-chan's protégé
The one she looks up to is Wakana Matsumoto
With Sato it's more respect than admiration, right?
Well, she is quite a bit more senior
She's just chewing her out, that's all
Re: #43
Moa Suzuki & Karin Ishikawa joined as trainees in February 2025
Miyu Yasuda joined through general recruitment
Sugihara: "You can just call me Mesa"
Yasuda: "Mesa!"
Suzuki & Ishikawa: "M-M-Mesa…"
After her promotion was announced, Sugihara told Ishikawa to drop the honorific, and Ishikawa switched straight to that and casual speech without a second thought
Maybe it's because I'm from Kanto
Background and points of discussion
Morning Musume has had a long line of Kansai-born members over the years — Yuko Nakazawa, Ai Kago, Aika Mitsui, Harumi Ogata, Haruka Inoue, and others — and fans have come to associate the group’s “Kansai girl” image with an outgoing, overly familiar personality. This thread frames Akisa Sugihara’s calmer demeanor against that backdrop as “the first one who doesn’t trigger that reaction” — but that’s just one segment of fans’ subjective impression, not something Sugihara herself has claimed. Even within the thread, dissenting voices called her “too familiar” or said she’s “just quiet for a Kansai person,” so there’s no consensus. The anecdote about her telling junior members Moa Suzuki and Karin Ishikawa to just call her “Mesa” can also be read as an example of the dynamic between fellow 18th-generation members who joined via different tracks — trainee versus general recruitment.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Hello! Project) thread “Isn’t Akisa Sugihara the first Kansai person in Morning Musume history who doesn’t trigger that annoyance — Yuko Nakazawa, Ai Kago, Aika Mitsui, Harumi Ogata, Haruka Inoue.”
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