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The story
As Hello! Project idol Akiyama Mao’s graduation draws near, a fan’s post on X (formerly Twitter) sparked discussion after pointing out that “individual sales of her past costumes were never a given” and “there was no final single or graduation special.” Akiyama was reportedly an original member of Dance Gakuen (Dance Academy) yet never got a feature segment, and when the post was reposted to 5ch’s Hello! Project board, it sparked debate over the gap in treatment compared to other graduating members. Opinions split between “just be grateful she’s even getting a solo graduation at Budokan” and “even so, her treatment has been thin,” with no consensus reached.
Kuwacho
@kuwacho_lab
Individual sales of her past costumes were never a given, huh.
Source: x.com / Original post here
What people said
Because Juice=Juice is busy.
They already boosted 'Mappira Datteba' with ads, and gave 'Dantotsu de Aishite' the same level of push — and yet the group's so unpopular now there's a huge gap between them, so there's no need for another MV. Tsubaki Factory's been cranking out way too many MVs lately anyway, hogging all the budget.
Who do you think is actually earning that budget in the first place?
Hello! Project as a whole, obviously.
There's no way Tsubaki Factory is the one earning it — it all gets wiped out by the yearly Budokan shows anyway.
There's just no public recording — I think they'll still do a graduation special episode. Wasn't the recording usually around mid-October anyway?
Nobody in this thread knows anything.
Background and Points of Debate
In Hello! Project, graduating members often get individual sales of their past costumes, a final single, and a graduation special on their flagship show, but none of this is guaranteed by any formal system — it varies member to member depending on popularity, which group they belong to, and recording schedules. The thread split into two camps: one holding that “just being allowed a solo graduation concert at Budokan is already more than enough,” and the other arguing that “compared to peers and graduating members from other groups, the treatment is clearly thinner.” Neither side is speaking from confirmed knowledge of the agency’s actual intentions — it’s simply a difference in how fans perceive things. One point readers could easily misread is that whether a member gets individual costume sales or a final single isn’t determined by popularity alone; external factors like a group’s activity schedule and recording timing play a role too, so the thread’s definitive-sounding claims shouldn’t be taken as established fact.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Akiyama Mao fans lament: ‘No individual past costumes, no final single, no graduation special. She was an original Dance Gakuen member but never even got a feature segment. Something’s off…’“
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