Maria Makino (formerly of Morning Musume。’14) has drawn criticism from some fans over her eye-catching cheering style at Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters games, with complaints like “she’s annoying” and “she just wants attention.” Amid the backlash, Yasushi Kawasaki, who heads the “Jagaimon” (Potato-mon) project in Shihoro, Hokkaido, and Takuo Yoshihiro, deputy mayor of Japan’s second-smallest town, posted messages of support on social media in quick succession. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, reactions split between users welcoming the show of support and more measured voices arguing that fan passion and public annoyance are separate issues, making for a mixed bag of opinions.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:48
Yasushi Kawasaki (Shihoro, Hokkaido / Head of the Jagaimon Project) @yasu0826
As a fellow Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters fan, I fully support Maria Makino.
She's a genuine Fighters fan.
3AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:50
The Jagaimon Project??
Is that some kind of Hello! Project thing?
5AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:52
Being a die-hard fan and being annoyingly conspicuous are two completely different things
7AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:52
Calling it "annoying" is harsh — she's just doing it within the rules
9AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:53
She's got ties to the team president, so criticism from small-fry fans is just jealousy
11AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:54
She's not exactly a regular civilian (she's a celebrity), so complaining won't get you anywhere
13AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:54
If you'd actually been a fan for a long time, you wouldn't be reacting to Makino at this point
15AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:56
It's not an idol putting on an act of being a Fighters fan —
a genuine Fighters fan just happened to become an idol
16AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:56
Takuo Yoshihiro | Deputy Mayor of Japan's Second-Smallest Town
@TakuoYoshihiro
I got to appear alongside Maria Makino on the shoot for HBC Hokkaido Broadcasting's "Kitakoi"!
She's a Fighters fan overflowing with love for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ⚾ She talked about her love for the team on the show, and her passion came through so strongly that even I — a Hawks fan of over 20 years — genuinely found myself thinking "I want to cheer for the Fighters" and "I want to go to ES CON Field." That's how fired-up a Fighters fan she is.
Maria is a sincere, hardworking, wonderful person ⚾
#MariaMakino
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HS-53-haMAAfizm.jpg:orig#.jpg
17AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:56
A bandwagon fan who can't name a single song from Makino's time in the group
18AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:56
Re: #1
With a project name like that, isn't he actually a fan of Nagano instead? (referring to fellow Hello! Project member Nagano Momoka)
19AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:56
Both Angerme and Hane should be taking notes from this guy (referring to other Hello! Project acts)
21AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:57
If random people keep butting in like this and it turns into a bigger scandal, she might end up unable to stay with the agency
37AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:06
Re: #21
More like the agency will protect her precisely because of shady connections
23AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:57
Don't mistake "been a fan longer" for "more important"
24AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:58
Maria is amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing!!!!!!!
25AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:58
Wasn't Jagaimon actually Ogawa's thing?
29AnonymousSep 25, 2026 15:59
I thought the problem was that it's fans doing the trolling, not unrelated outsiders
30AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:01
Same as always —
Makino acts out, her fans force a defense, and both Makino and her fans end up hated
31AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:03
She wasn't bashed this much before leaving the group — why did the antis multiply after she graduated?
33AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:03
Her mom's got serious pull in fan circles too, so of course insiders come out to back her up
34AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:04
Isn't Jagaimon a show hosted by Makoto Ogawa and Seiko Ito?
35AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:04
Well, it's a small industry run by idiots, so of course she gets piled on by everyone else
38AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:06
A solid backer's shown up
Typical of "Shao" (a nickname playing on Ogawa's name)
39AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:06
This isn't about her love for the Fighters — it's about not busting out huge dance moves in the stands, no?
40AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:06
Is she really getting that much criticism?
Guess she won't be able to do that anymore
Poor thing
41AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:07
Next I want her to dance in something a bit more revealing
43AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:08
I don't get the standard where drumming is fine but dancing isn't
51AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:13
She kept saying "I'm just doing what I like, leave me alone" back in her Musume days too, so she must've been quite the nuisance even then
52AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:13
So I guess that means I, a 30-plus-year Hanshin Tigers fan overflowing with Tigers love, get a pass to chant "Drop dead, Yomiuri" too, huh
56AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:15
She gets picked up by the cameras even during MLB broadcasts
Being cute is a crime
72AnonymousSep 25, 2026 16:26
Re: #56
That was a Japanese camera crew, though
Background and Key Points
Maria Makino has been known as a devoted Nippon-Ham Fighters fan since her Hello! Project days, and her conspicuous cheering style at the ballpark has repeatedly made headlines. Opinions in the thread were split, with some arguing that “fan enthusiasm” and “discomfort with attention-grabbing behavior” are separate issues, and others speculating about who was actually behind the criticism. Notably, Kawasaki and Yoshihiro, who spoke up in her defense, both posted under their real names as local figures who know her personally — a different footing from anonymous criticism online. That said, exactly what behavior is being criticized and how seriously remains murky even within the thread itself, and no primary sources such as news reports have confirmed the details. Some speculation tried to pin the criticism on specific individuals, but since that amounts to unsubstantiated claims, it has not been included in this article.
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