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The story
On September 27, photos of Juice=Juice’s Ria Matsunaga were posted on 5ch’s Hello! Project board, sparking a wave of praise like “She looked so cute” and “The edge is gone — she’s gotten so much more graceful.” At the same time, some fans mourned her old look, saying “She was better before” and “Her eyes went weirdly round, it’s kind of unsettling now,” splitting opinion on how to read the change. The thread also spilled over into praise for the group as a whole — “Juice=Juice doesn’t have a single unattractive member” — and renewed calls for a swimsuit photo book.
What people said
I straight up fell for her
getting more ladylike
Inoue and Ebata just happen to stand out more, but everyone else is super cute too
Not having a single unattractive member is their real strength
U-uh, y-yeah… t-t-t-that's right…
Cut it out with the backhanded hate-praise, lol (an "age-anti" — someone who fake-compliments to sneak in a dig)
◯ Asahi-reading old men glued to the Wolf board
"Tick Tock ~My Time to Shine~"
Grandpa
that's totally normal these days
go check out the trainees for a bit
her eyes went weirdly round and it's a little creepy now
Same, 2023 Ria is still my favorite
I get what you mean, but I can't figure out why it feels that way
Hard to put my finger on it
there's just this sense she's putting on an act
or maybe it's that her word choice is off sometimes
Tell me who your oshi (favorite member) is
Waaaaugh (´Д⊂ヽ
Even your writing is cute
This is basically half Mippuru at this point (a nickname tied to an idol famous for her round-eyed cute look)
Background and Key Points
Ria Matsunaga is a member of Juice=Juice, and the thread suggests her expressions and demeanor have softened since “the period when her group skill was being criticized.” That said, this yardstick is an insider metric used among Hello! Project fans, and the thread doesn’t spell out the backstory, making it hard for first-time readers to follow. The coexistence of “I liked her old face better” and “she’s evolved” comes down largely to differing gut reactions to how makeup and aging change someone’s look, not a simple better-or-worse verdict. It’s a good example of the classic 5ch dynamic where compliments and harsh critiques sit side by side in the very same thread.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Ria Matsunaga’s Beauty Level Is Surging — Now Exactly the Look Wolf-Board Fans Love!!“.
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