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The story
A thread titled “I really can’t stand female idols outside of Hello! Project,” posted on 5ch’s Morning Musume-related board (nicknamed “Ōkami,” or “the Wolf board”), drew a wave of reactions. The original poster complained about other groups’ “put-on voices” and Nogizaka46’s “synthetic-sounding unison vocals,” and while plenty of replies agreed, others pushed back, suggesting it’s “not that you can’t stand them, you’re just not interested,” or calmly compared it to how rock, jazz, and baseball fans all have different tastes — “different genres just mean different values.” The thread ultimately turned into a clash between people criticizing the Wolf board’s notorious “elitism” and those defending it.
What people said
I just can't stomach it, deep down.
Hearing that fake put-on voice especially makes me want to punch something.
Well, "the general public" covers a lot of different people, you know.
I get the others too.
But paid hostess drinking parties and cabaret club girls? No way.
The more you learn about it, the more you notice how weird it is that you can't tell who's actually singing.
Made me realize I'm not really an idol otaku.
Exactly.
I'm not an idol otaku — I just like Hello! Project.
the Sakamichi Series
Kawara Lab
the Sashihara Rino groups
Momoiro Clover Z
Hello! Project
Something like that?
As a genre, Hello! Project is basically closer to enka (traditional Japanese ballads).
I only like Hello! Project.
Anyone comparing it to other groups is probably running stealth marketing or something.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1675546476670496768/7orOdphG_400x400.jpg
https://www.thefirsttimes.jp/admin/wp-content/uploads/5000/09/20230905-st-200401.jpg
Isn't it just that you're not into strong-looking women?
Kyurutte Shitemite — Utaka Shimamura (Uta-chan) *former Country Girls member
Hinatazaka46 — Yoko Shogenji (Shogeko) *high school classmate of Hisaki Ebata
Sakurazaka46 — Aio Sato (Neogon) *former Sakura Gakuin member
Akisuto Zeneko — Yuma Sayashi *younger sister of Riho Sayashi
Private Girls' Junior High School — Waka Kazami (Nonokamaru) *close friend of Wakana Matsumoto
AVAM (Abeamu) — Yuka Himemiya (Yukapi) *has appeared on TV shows alongside Hello! Project members
Wait, Sayashi has a younger sister?
Ozechii's favorite: Blackpink.
You're into this kind of thing?
Such a modern kid.
But those groups have turned into a massive market though.
That "Itomomo" old-timer is full of hot air.
Talking like they outsell Nogizaka46 or something.
Jazz/fusion fans: "I really can't stand fans who only care whether you played it note-for-note like the CD."
Baseball fans: "I really can't stand any sport that isn't baseball."
Every genre has its own values, so there's no end to this kind of thing.
Rock fans are the ones who'd be disappointed if a live show sounded exactly like the studio version, no?
Though I don't get people who claim they can't stand it but are always on the Wolf board trashing Hello! Project anyway.
Their flagship group Morning Musume gets outdrawn even by Kawara Lab's second-string group lol.
I'm the type who can't get interested in something just because it's "buzzing" and someone recommends it to me.
If anything, when people push that stuff on me I just think, "this person has no eye for quality."
> "this person has no eye for quality"
Do you realize that makes you the minority here?
Hello! Project is the real relic idol group that's been left behind by the times lol.
At this rate it'll probably be genuinely dead in another 10 years.
Hello! Project's singing style is the weirdest one of all, you know.
Mumbling your way through a song kind of counts as not really singing, doesn't it.
What I can't stand is the mumbly singing or that weird put-on voice.
Realistically, Hello! Project is the one the general public can't stand and has zero interest in.
It's exactly this type of person who goes around slandering idols outside of Hello! Project.
I'm not.
I won't tolerate slander against anyone — including people like you.
Background and Key Points
Hello! Project is a long-running idol production project home to groups like Morning Musume, and its fan board on 5ch is nicknamed “Ōkami” (the Wolf board). That board has a history of being criticized by fans of other groups as having a strong sense of “elitism,” and this thread’s backlash against the “can’t stand them” comment follows that same pattern. Opinions in the thread split over whether the dislike stems from genuine discomfort with certain singing styles (unison vocals, put-on voices) or is simply a lack of interest in other genres — no clear consensus emerged. It’s also worth noting that claims about attendance numbers or CD sales are personal impressions without cited sources, not actual statistics. As the rock, jazz, and baseball fan comparisons illustrate, differing values across genres are nothing unusual, and this kind of “rejection of other genres” isn’t unique to idol culture.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “I really can’t stand female idols outside of Hello! Project.”
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