Fans Voice Concern Over Growing Gap Within Hello! Project — 5ch: “I Thought Only Morning Musume Would Ever Get a Shot”

Background and Key Points of This Discussion

Hello! Project is home to more than a dozen groups, and in recent years Juice=Juice has been raising its profile through music-show appearances and viral buzz on social media. Meanwhile, groups like Morning Musume。, Angerme, and Tsubaki Factory reportedly haven’t achieved the same level of exposure, and the thread saw frustration and defense swirl around that gap. The debate splits largely into two camps: one questioning whether the agency is deliberately favoring Juice=Juice, and the other arguing the difference simply comes down to results — hit songs, view counts, and the like. Those in the latter camp point to how a clip from a late-night CDTV New Year’s Eve live went viral as evidence. One thing readers might easily get wrong is that booking on shows like CDTV isn’t decided by the agency alone — the show’s own casting choices play a role too, which is why some in the thread pushed back with “shouldn’t they just make a hit song first?” It’s also worth noting the case of Moe Kamikoryo, who spent ten years in the group without landing a spot on a major music show — a fact often cited as background for this whole gap debate.