Hello! Project has a long-standing custom of assigning newly joined members whatever color happens to be open at the time. On the 5ch “Hello! Project” board, a thread was launched questioning the agency’s sense of taste in color assignments after both Shimoidani Yukiho and Murata Yui were given pink-toned member colors. Posters pointed out that other colors — white, green, light blue — should have still been available back then, while others argued a member’s skin tone and overall vibe ought to take priority over anything else. Still others took a cooler view, arguing that popularity, not color, is really what shapes a member’s image. The talk eventually spread into how colors have been decided in the past and whether future re-assignments might be coming.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:30
I think part of why she's not popular is that her member color just doesn't suit her — that's a real factor.
3AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:32
They just gave her the same color as Tamenaga so a single, solo color wouldn't expose how unpopular she is.
5AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:33
They rushed to fill the pink slot, so by the time Nagano Momoha joined, pink was already taken. Incompetent, useless agency.
14AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:40
Re: #5
Exactly that.
Honestly the whole thing is just dumb, including that part.
Pink especially is a color that only suits certain personalities.
Like Onoda or Kubota — they fit the image perfectly.
6AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:34
To begin with, it's weird that Aroi even got promoted in the first place.
8AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:35
They should've just kept pink open for Nagano.
9AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:35
Not being able to give pink to Mochi is genuinely painful.
10AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:38
There were quite a few people saying Goto — who was pink back in her Oha Girl days (a kids' morning-TV idol unit) — might end up with a deeper pink.
16AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:42
Re: #10
Goto's the ace member, so light blue is fine for her — it suits her anyway.
11AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:38
Isn't Nagano also kind of tan? Pink doesn't really suit her either, does it?
12AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:39
I recall hearing that with Murata, pink was just whatever was left over at the end. Is that actually true?
13AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:40
This is the same agency that once tried to make Matsunaga pink.
18AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:43
With 11 members I get that handing out colors gets tricky, but light blue could've worked for Murata too, I think.
No idea about Moimoi though.
57AnonymousSep 15, 2026 19:00
Re: #18
When the Hinas joined, Niinuma was still around and already had light blue, remember?
19AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:43
Member color doesn't matter at all if you're popular — any color works. It's fans of unpopular members who tend to obsess over it.
20AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:43
If Sasaki hadn't been around, Goto might've ended up yellow too. But light blue suits her, so it's fine as is.
21AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:43
Nah, white was definitely the right call for Lesser.
22AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:44
There are colors that don't bother you and colors that do.
Pink is definitely one that not everyone can pull off.
23AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:44
At the very least, I want red reserved for members who actually look good in it.
Yamazaki, Yonemura, and Kawashima were spot-on picks.
25AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:46
Really looking forward to seeing who becomes Tsubaki's next red.
Better be someone ace-level.
26AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:46
ANGERME's current red is scheduled to graduate next.
27AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:47
Aren't all the members with 'Momo' or 'peach' in their name pink anyway?
29AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:48
Goto listed white, black, and light blue as her favorite colors back when she was a trainee, so light blue makes sense in a way.
Shimoidani, though — purple tones would've suited her, and purple was also the color of Shimakura, the member she looked up to.
31AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:48
She didn't give off that vibe when she joined, but the way Itsuking carries herself now, red might've suited her too.
Honestly, it's a waste that her color is nearly identical to Yokaze's.
32AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:48
Maybe they should've changed the member color when Sasaki graduated?
Moimoi is technically treated as the dance member, after all.
33AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:49
So red's opening up in ANGERME too?
Let's make Tamura red.
38AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:50
Re: #33
Black Panther-chan already looks awfully purple, but going full purple would overlap too much with Meimei — so red is honestly a real option.
34AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:49
Murata's got a cool, blue-based skin tone ("burube" in Japanese beauty-speak) anyway, so light blue would've been fine.
66AnonymousSep 15, 2026 19:11
Re: #34
Exactly this.
And then Doipu could've had light pink.
They really didn't need to lock in member colors before Kiso graduated.
35AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:49
Nagano's outfit at her first birthday event was a pink dress, so everyone was like, "yeah… of course it is."
36AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:49
I want them to change King to red.
63AnonymousSep 15, 2026 19:09
Re: #36
Honestly the two yellows look way too similar — maybe one of them will get switched?
37AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:49
They're just slotting in whatever color's available at the time.
If a member happens to get her favorite color, that's pure luck.
43AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:53
Re: #37
Even so, at least put some thought into it.
White, pink, and green were all open, and there's no way Murata should've gotten pink.
Light blue was available too.
39AnonymousSep 15, 2026 18:50
Itsuki-chan would've been fine with orange.
62AnonymousSep 15, 2026 19:09
Re: #57
She's one of the newer "photo-ready" members (moreshin — fan slang for someone who always looks great in pics), so I wouldn't know about that.
69AnonymousSep 15, 2026 19:11
Re: #62
A genius comeback — even if it's obvious you don't actually care about Tsubaki and are just butting in, you can always pin it on a Juice=Juice fan.
“Member color” is a custom within Hello! Project and idol culture more broadly, where each member is assigned an official color used for goods and penlights. It’s often decided simply by whichever color happens to be open when a member joins, and the member’s own preference isn’t necessarily the priority. In the thread, opinions split between whether a color actually suits a member’s skin tone and overall vibe, and the more cynical view that colors are just assigned based on whatever’s available — both are ultimately speculation, since the agency has never published its actual criteria. Pink is considered a popular color, which means candidates for it often overlap, and cases like this one — where several members who joined around the same time end up with near-identical colors — have repeatedly become a point of debate.
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