From our other sites
The story
A comment from Juice=Juice’s Kawashima Mifu, published in the idol magazine “Bessatsu Kadokawa Scene 17,” became a hot topic on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. Kawashima said it’s their own activities that will determine whether people end up thinking “Hello! Project is really something” or “Hello! Project is just okay, I guess” — voicing a real sense of responsibility. While the thread showed plenty of agreement with the remark, discussion soon spread to the gap in ability between Juice=Juice and the other groups, and to differing impressions of Hello! Project as a whole. Many posters brought up other groups like HANA and Morning Musume. for comparison, once again making the perceived gap in reputation between Hello! Project groups a talking point.
What people said
Guess it's about time she had that kind of resolve
Being "willing to do a swimsuit shoot" is garbage by comparison
That's still on the other groups for not being impressive enough, though
Both of them are so cute
Nothing but gratitude to Karin-chan for saving Mippuru [nickname for Kawashima Mifu]
Don't go carrying all of Hello! Project on your own back when you're not even the flagship group
Juice=Juice's getting a bit stale lately, isn't it
You basically never hear it from idols at other agencies
That's because other agencies aren't a storied house with a lineage going back to the '90s
It's the difference between having something to carry on your shoulders and not
Nobody said anything about a battleship lmaooooo
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Hello! Project operates as an umbrella organization for multiple groups, including Morning Musume. and Juice=Juice, and there has long been said to be a gap in name recognition and reputation between them. The Kawashima Mifu comment that sparked this thread reflects a sense of personal stake in the idea that Juice=Juice’s performance shapes the public’s overall impression of Hello! Project, and most of the thread responded to it favorably. Where opinion split was over whether that sense of responsibility can actually translate into a better reputation for Hello! Project as a whole through just one group’s efforts. Since there’s already a gap in profile and scale of activity among the other groups, some pointed out that Juice=Juice alone being seen as “amazing” doesn’t necessarily mean the overall impression of Hello! Project improves. Though not mentioned in the original article, Hello! Project has a history of different groups taking turns at the center of the franchise from era to era, and Kawashima’s comment is being read by fans in light of that pattern.
*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Juice=Juice’s Kawashima Mifu: “Whether people think ‘Hello! Project is amazing’ or ‘Hello! Project is just okay’ comes down to us, and I feel a real sense of responsibility about that”.”
Leave a Reply