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The story
A thread comparing members across multiple Hello! Project groups heated up on the group’s message board. It started with a post claiming, “Ebata and Mifu (Kawashima) tend to get talked about as a package deal, but in terms of raw talent, Kawashima is a clear step above.” Commenters weighed in with rankings across four categories — looks, singing, dancing, and talk-show charm — while others pushed back using Instagram follower growth as evidence, splitting the thread into pro-Ebata and pro-Kawashima camps. The debate even got into specific numbers around the response to the Utacon appearance and the impact of recent TV spots, turning it into more than just a simple matter of taste.
What people said
This.
People spin it differently now, but back then Kago was the only one who really had it.
The pairing is built around things like hometown and height difference, so Endo and Hayashi are both out of the question.
Besides, even by the antis' ("Ookami" crowd's) favorite metric — Instagram followers — Ebata holds her own just fine against Kawashima.
But then there's her casting as "Sacchin."
Granted, that might make sense if we're just talking singing ability (lol).
It's probably less the fans or the agency and more that the TV industry itself sees her that way first.
Not that Eba (Ebata) isn't cute too, though.
Sounds like she'd fit right into a Sashihara-produced group.
Hayashi's maybe more of an Ai Takahashi type.
Though don't forget about the "Ai Gaki" (Ai Takahashi's notoriously rowdy fanbase).
ttps://youtu.be/k1BewQY2oZU
Tsubaki Factory's crowd:
Angerme's crowd:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HO8r-47awAAeM8c.jpg:orig
Inoue Looks S Sing A Dance A Talk B
Kudo Looks B Sing B Dance B Talk A
Matsunaga Looks A Sing A Dance B Talk A
Arisawa Looks B Sing A Dance B Talk B
Irie Looks B Sing B Dance B Talk B
Ebata Looks S Sing B Dance B Talk B
Ishiyama Looks S Sing B Dance B Talk A
Endo Looks A Sing B Dance A Talk B
Kawashima Looks S Sing A Dance A Talk A
Hayashi Looks B Sing B Dance B Talk A
If this were a Power Pro stat card (the baseball game where red stats mean elite ability), that'd be all-red and amazing — though whether the real floor is actually a "B" is seriously questionable.
Must be a lot easier when they can just flex Angerme members instead.
Juice=Juice fans have spent so long stirring up rivalry wars on Ookami (the antifan board) that they end up turning that same mindset on their own group…
But watching TV, it's clear Juice=Juice's whole image is built around Dambara —
the way she's treated is just on another level.
https://imgur.com/bCLHLin.jpg
Singing: Kawashima.
I kind of just assumed that, but after watching the "Wink" performance, honestly Kawashima wins on looks too.
If anything, the rhythm-obsessed Morning Musume otaku should be the ones praising her singing the most (lol).
If belt-it-out singing is what's being criticized, then Oda and Hirayama must get hated by their own fans nonstop.
For the record, Kawashima had the bigger reaction from the Utacon appearance, and the bigger Instagram follower increase too.
But counting just this week, Ebata's got extra posts about her Sandwichman show appearance and how good her outfit coordination was that are close to going viral — so her growth numbers actually come out ahead.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Among Hello! Project fans, there’s a deep-rooted culture of ranking members’ popularity or ability across categories like “looks, singing, dancing, and talk-show charm,” and comparing growth in Instagram followers. What often gets overlooked, though, is that follower counts can be heavily swayed by the agency’s promotional pushes or TV appearances, and don’t necessarily reflect pure popularity on their own. There’s also a recurring pattern — as with Juice=Juice and Angerme — where inter-group rivalry bleeds into debates over individual members, and some in the thread even suggested this looked like infighting among the antis themselves. Read with this fandom-specific dynamic in mind, rather than as a simple popularity poll, the discussion makes a lot more sense.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “They market Eba and Mifu as a set, but honestly Kawashima’s on another level.”
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