Karin Miyamoto, formerly of Juice=Juice, opened up on her blog about a recent show at Zepp, revealing: “When I first went solo, I thought that if I put on good shows, fans would just keep coming back next time. But reality wasn’t that kind.” The post was picked up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board and sparked mixed reactions. Some in the thread defended the idea that “good shows should draw crowds,” while others countered that “it’s not that simple in an era when ticket prices are high and fans have to prioritize living expenses,” and that “how a member leaves her group affects her drawing power afterward.” The discussion turned into a broader debate about the difficulties of a solo idol career.
Today I want to write a little about the Zepp show.
TRIANGROOOVE2
Crimson×Azure
Queen of Hearts
UP TO 11
5ROOMS
Has Karin Miyamoto ever put on a solo show that rivals any of those?
24AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:19
Re: #2
If only Karin Miyamoto could split into all 11 members, huh…
13AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:03
She thought she was the one leaving Juice=Juice behind — turns out she was the one who got left behind.
14AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:04
A one-two combo she never saw coming: casual fans who were never on her radar, plus longtime fans drifting away ("ツープラトン" = tag-team combo, borrowed from pro wrestling).
Re: #16
Wait, is Karin-chan actually losing on ticket sales?
18AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:12
Once she said "I'm quitting to do DIY," she should've kept putting out some kind of DIY content for a while afterward, even fake if needed. If she'd kept it going, the pandemic would've hit like a bonus stage — she could've reeled in a ton of new fans stuck at home with nothing to do.
34AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:29
Re: #18
She could've become a DIY idol, like those camping-themed comedy talents.
19AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:13
Wouldn't AI make more money than this?
20AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:15
Everyone's talking like she gave it her all, but is she actually putting on shows good enough to satisfy the audience?
21AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:16
Selling tickets by hand outside Juice=Juice's own live venues
22AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:18
Re: #21
Couldn't some volunteer fans just hand out flyers for her?
26AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:20
Well, of course, given the way she left — Juice=Juice fans who support the group as a whole aren't going to follow her.
28AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:23
"Hito Sore" is a song that only really works because of Miyamoto (a track from her Juice=Juice days).
29AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:26
Even the view count on the "Hito Sore" MV — the one thing she still had going for her — has now been padded past by the "Moremi" live footage.
31AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:27
The agency only started really pushing her after she'd already quit — no wonder it messed her up.
33AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:29
I don't know how people who don't follow their former favorite feel about it, but if you were supporting the group as a whole, unless she was your absolute number-one favorite, you're not going to have the bandwidth to keep following her after she graduates. Money and time are both limited.
36AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:32
This is the same old delusion OGs have had going back to the Melon Kinenbi era.
37AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:33
Really glad the current members are the ones getting rewarded for once.
38AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:36
It's strange, isn't it — even with reduced capacity during the pandemic, her graduation concert at Budokan was packed enough that my assigned seat was in the very back row. Then again, I've only been to one of her solo shows myself.
39AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:38
"Solo-only" fans aren't as common as idols themselves seem to think. It's more that you fall for the songs and the group's overall vibe, then end up rooting for whichever member resonates most within that. Actually following her out of the group is pretty rare — like how few parents stay glued to a kid who's moved out and started living alone.
42AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:41
Graduating from a group is a turning point for the fans too, not just the member. It comes down to three choices: quit being a fan altogether along with her, switch to a new favorite, or keep following her solo. Sure, you still care how she's doing since you used to support her, but whether you actually spend money on her is a separate question.
45AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:45
If she'd wrapped things up and graduated the way Aarii did — giving it her all with everyone sad to see her go — I'd have kept cheering her on. ("Aarii" is another idol's nickname.)
46AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:46
She could've just started with wallpapering or painting one wall of her room. Then built a wall rack to match that color, and so on. Even in a rental where you can't damage the original walls, there were plenty of options, like buying pegboard panels.
47AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:46
It's the audience who decides whether a show was actually good.
48AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:51
I liked her as a group member, but as a solo act… not so much.
49AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:57
Why did she even leave M-line, anyway?
Also, it's about time her stage outfits went for a bit more of a mature look — the live vibe from her "karing" era was fine as it was.
50AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:58
She started out trying to transition into being an artist, but partway through she went back to being an idol.
52AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:01
So basically, the agency never ran a "please remember Karin Miyamoto" campaign for her.
53AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:04
A "good show" is ultimately just karaoke when you get down to it. The ticket prices are just too high.
54AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:05
If Karin-chan comes back to Juice=Juice, I'll go!
68AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:21
I used to go to her release events, up through around "Lonely Bus" or so, but I've completely stopped going now.
72AnonymousSep 24, 2026 20:26
Re: #68
Why'd you stop going? \(^o^)/
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Karin Miyamoto graduated from Juice=Juice in 2020, and her stated reason at the time — wanting to pursue DIY — became a talking point. The thread repeatedly brings up the circumstances of that graduation (No. 18), with many arguing that the way she left has shaped how many fans stuck with her afterward. The debate split into two main camps: one supporting the simple cause-and-effect view that “good shows draw crowds,” and another taking a more economic view — that given high ticket prices and fans prioritizing daily living costs, show quality alone can’t explain turnout. Comments like No. 39 and No. 42 also point to a structural pattern specific to idol fandom: a member who was popular within her group isn’t necessarily still followed as a personal favorite after graduating. The idea that center-level popularity within a group doesn’t automatically translate into solo drawing power is a phenomenon frequently discussed in the idol industry, and Miyamoto’s own remarks seem to confirm that reality firsthand.
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