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The story
A thread popped up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board imagining a hypothetical lineup where Angerme members never graduated at 25. With Sasaki (25) as leader, Kasahara (22) as sub-leader, and Funaki (24), Ise (22), and Hashisako (21) all still in the group, commenters responded that “they could easily hold their own.” Meanwhile, opinion split over whether Funaki’s departure was tied to Country Girls’ disbandment or was her own choice, and the thread spiraled into an age debate over the claim that “an idol’s peak is 23-28, so graduating at 25 is way too early.”
What people said
Sasaki (25) – Leader
Kasahara (22) – Sub-leader
She's excluded — regardless of her own wishes, that departure was over a scandal
Wasn't it the same for Funaki, though? Country Girls got torn apart against her will, so she left Hello! Project entirely because of that, right?
Kasahara (22) – Sub-leader
Funaki (24)
Having them still here is huge
Feels like with this lineup, Ise and Hashisako would've grown into their own properly too
Hashisako (21)
Kawana (22)
Tamenaga (22)
That's not bad at all
They could've done a string of back-to-back graduations as a highlight for the big-venue shows
The group wouldn't have ended up as soft as it is now
The point is whether she was able to make that choice to quit of her own free will
Ota's initial hiatus was forced on her too, but I think what came after that was left up to her
Kasahara (22) – Sub-leader
Funaki (24)
Ise (22)
Hashisako (21)
Kawana (22)
Matsumoto (19)
Hirayama (20)
Goto (18)
Nagano (16)
This lineup could easily hold its own
If the layer meant to step up after the veterans decline and leave is too thin, the remaining young members alone can't make it work
Once you factor in experience, skill, stamina, and even having enough room left over to play around on stage
however you slice it the peak runs from about 23 to 30
but they quit before even reaching that prime zone
and then once the strongest members in that zone leave, inexperienced middle-schoolers come in to fill the gap
you need prime-zone members and rookies coexisting, or it gets rough
They just don't want to be around each other
🙅♀ It's not Hello! Project that quits too early
🙆♀ It's Angerme that quits too early
she needs to stick around for another 7 or 8 years
Hirayama has the qualities too, but her chronic condition and absences are too much of a liability
No weak links from the veterans down to the rookies
Wish they'd bring in a big batch of new members soon to shore things up
Ise is doing great
Lol, you're really not letting this go
You've lost, so just give it up already
The idol scene now is different — the minimum bar you have to clear has gone up, and there's more of it
Back then, unison dancing didn't even need to be that intense
Now times have changed and there's more to do
Simply put, being an idol isn't easy anymore
So it inevitably takes longer to reach that level
In this day and age that just seems dumb, honestly
Like, the next 2-3 years are supposed to be your prime
Dragging the group's skill level way down by bringing in 13-year-olds
and ending up with a lineup that has nothing going for it but youth is just dumb
because youth alone is easy to get even from underground idol groups
you could just recruit elementary schoolers for that
the sheer effort it takes to develop someone over 10 years…
What's the deal with staying an idol past the "right age" until you finally get popular and pull it together?
If it were more of an artist path like Perfume, I'd get it, but…
Graduating before that, in this day and age,
is unthinkable if you actually put the group first
Like, what's Sasaki Rikako even doing now?
Those just feel like two wasted years to me
These days being an idol in your late 20s is normal, and idols that age are actually easier to support even for fans new to oshi culture
Quitting was probably a mistake, huh
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Angerme has publicly maintained a “graduate at 25” internal rule since the group’s formation, known as a unique policy not shared by any other Hello! Project group. This thread is simply a what-if game imagining a lineup had that rule never existed — it is not a report on any actual graduation announcement or agency policy. Opinions split over whether past departures from Hello! Project were made “by the member’s own choice” or were “beyond their control,” a point that’s open to interpretation. There’s also the recurring clash among Hello! Project fans between those who place an idol’s “peak age” at 23-28 and those who support the 25-year-old retirement rule — ultimately a disagreement over how to judge a group’s turnover.
*This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “The world where Angerme members didn’t graduate until 25.”
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