A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board asking users to name “the greatest idol song of all time, in your own opinion” kicked off a lively debate. Starting with Kobushi Factory’s “Haru Urara,” classics spanning the Showa and Heisei eras poured in one after another — Matsuda Seiko’s “Nagisa no Balcony,” Nakamori Akina’s “Kita Wing,” Yamaguchi Momoe’s “Ii Hi Tabidachi,” and more — sparking excitement that crossed generational lines. Along the way, someone pointed out that “no AKB or Hello! Project picks have shown up yet,” and a correction surfaced that Shoujotai actually came from the Kin-chan Family rather than the Onyanko Club lineage, spinning off into a discussion of the groups’ family trees.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:49
Fire away, let's hear it
2AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:52
Kobushi Factory – "Haru Urara"
3AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:53
Watakawa
Kawadame
4AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:54
It's a cliché pick, but as a songs-first fan (someone who rates the song itself over looks or performance), I'd say Nicola
5AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:54
Angel's Bodyguard
6AnonymousSep 8, 2026 00:56
I Wanted to Talk to You
15AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:08
Re: #6
I've heard of it, but who sang it?
8AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:00
The Vertigo of Goodbye
10AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:04
Rebel Yell
13AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:06
Gotta be Akina's "Kita Wing" (North Wing)
14AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:08
Cherry Bomb
16AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:08
Has to be "Momoiro Kataomoi" (Pink One-Sided Love)
The thrill I felt the first time I heard "Cinderella Until 9 PM" —
I still haven't topped that feeling,
though I've listened to it so much since that I'm kind of sick of it now
34AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:37
Sakurada Junko Re: #24
Listened to it, it sucked
Go listen to Sakurada Junko instead
26AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:23
I want to recommend the songs Tomo Miyashita wrote for young Toshi-chan (Toshihiko Tahara) early on –
every single from "Hatto Shite Good" onward is great
36AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:47
"Moshimo…" ("If…"), sung by Kudo Haru-chan (Kudo Shizuka)
40AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:56
"Dokidoki Love Mail," "White Parasol," "Sentimental Journey" – that's my range
44AnonymousSep 8, 2026 01:59
There are too many all-time classics, hard to pick just one
46AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:07
Kato Nori-chan's "Omoikiri Naite Ii" (It's Okay to Cry Your Heart Out)
49AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:11
Not Even All the Smiles in the World Could Compare
51AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:13
Honestly, recent songs just can't compete with the Showa-era classics
53AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:19
"Sore wa Chiisana Sora Datta" (It Was a Small Sky) – Dorothy Little Happy
56AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:23
It's a mystery why Shoujotai never got as popular as you'd expect, even with "Ookami" (their song "Utsukushii Ookami," Beautiful Wolf)
57AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:24
I can't recall a single Shoujotai song
64AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:36
Re: #57
I couldn't remember the title either, so I kept it vague lol
58AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:26
Wasn't Shoujotai like a spinoff of Onyanko Club?
65AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:36
Re: #58
Nope, they're from the Kin-chan Family! (comedian Kinichi Hagimoto's talent stable)
62AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:32
Matsuda Seiko's "Nagisa no Balcony" (Balcony by the Shore) is a classic
67AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:38
Tonight on Uta Kon, Pink Lady's Mie-chan and Kashiwagi Yuki are performing
68AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:39
Yamaguchi Momoe's "Ii Hi Tabidachi" (A Good Day to Set Out) is just too good a song –
that's what you'd call a real classic
69AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:40
Re: #65
Wait, it says right there it was produced by Akimoto Yasushi… lol
70AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:41
Shoujotai belongs to the more "carefully crafted" lineage,
so they're kind of the opposite of the Fuji TV/Akimoto crowd
Still no Ota Hiromi so far
74AnonymousSep 8, 2026 02:43
AKB's "Zenigata Heiji" is a wordplay homage to Nakamori Akina –
"Jikkai" (Ten Commandments) → "jitte" (truncheon) → coins go flying!
Background and Talking Points
The board where this thread appeared (“Hello! Project,” aka morningcoffee) is technically dedicated to Reiwa-era groups like Kobushi Factory, but the songs that actually came up ranged from ’80s idol royalty like Matsuda Seiko, Nakamori Akina, and Yamaguchi Momoe all the way to Shoujotai and the AKB48 family — a sign of just how easily this topic crosses generational and group lines. Posters repeatedly used the term “songs-first fan” (楽曲派, rakkyoku-ha), a label for fans who judge idols by the quality of the song itself rather than performance or looks. There were also moments that filled in entertainment-history details easy to miss for anyone who wasn’t around at the time — like the correction that Shoujotai actually came from the Kin-chan Family (comedian Kinichi Hagimoto’s talent stable) rather than the Onyanko Club lineage. One especially interesting aside: the claim that the lyrics of AKB48’s “Zenigata Heiji” contain a wordplay homage to Nakamori Akina, since her song title “Jikkai” (Ten Commandments) echoes “jitte” (the truncheon carried by the detective Zenigata Heiji) — an example of a later-generation group sneaking in a tribute to an earlier idol’s hit.
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