From our other sites
The story
On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, the addition of Hanama no Yuna to BEYOOOOONDS sparked a lively discussion about “the impact of adding new members.” The original poster lined up Morning Musume’s 18th generation, Juice=Juice’s Hayashi, and BEYOOOOONDS’ Hanama no Yuna, pointing out that the outcome depends on how a new member is brought in. Opinions clashed in the thread — some argued Juice=Juice’s success came not from the addition itself but from how well the group made use of the new member, while others pointed out that ANGERME has failed to properly welcome its newcomers — with differences in each group’s management style becoming the central point of debate.
What people said
Juice=Juice → Hayashi → ↗↑
BEYOOOOONDS → Hanama no Yuna → ↗↑
Wasn't she the No. 1 most-viewed on TikTok for a while?
Maybe loan them out to OCHA NORMA (another Hello! Project group) for some training.
Goto Maki: "…" (the legendary original Morning Musume idol — a wry nod to the Goto mentioned above)
Sounds more like Yoshida Teruyoshi, doesn't it? (a Japanese radio host known for his reactions)
Juice=Juice, which adds people little by little, hasn't managed to shake its image as 'Danbara and Inoue's group.'
Kawashima and Hayashi joining was basically the final tuning needed to turn Juice=Juice into a group that could sell.
Since nobody has left Juice=Juice except original members and people who came via Country Girls, it was easy to plan the personnel moves needed to build a successful group.
Well, it's still early and who knows how it'll turn out, but the vibe has definitely gotten better.
BEYOOOOONDS, who are a serious bunch, were starting to stagnate, and then a serious, hardworking newcomer joined — of course things got better.
The seniors are doting on her like crazy too, so she's a huge hit with the fans.
If they hadn't added anyone, BEYOOOOONDS would've been fine too, with everyone keeping that comfortable same-generation distance.
But add someone, and it was easy to predict everyone would dote on her like crazy and the vibe would turn out great either way.
And yet the members they did pick and choose to welcome in — Hirayama, Goto, Nagano — haven't been any use at all.
ANGERME not selling is basically just a self-inflicted wound at this point, isn't it?
Plain and simple, the ANGERME camp has zero eye for talent.
They could have scouted most of the current Juice=Juice members too, if they'd wanted to.
A Morning Musume fan analyzed this before — apparently the 18th gen isn't special because of who was picked, it's just that they brought in a bunch of young kids all at once. So in a few years the 18th gen will just be an aging liability.
But it seems Morning Musume fans basically think, of every member, 'once you've been active 5 years, it's about time to go' — so they're really just enjoying the endless turnover cycle itself.
But when a group runs like that, it's only natural they'd get knocked off the flagship spot once a group like Juice=Juice comes along.
Re: #55 seems to be expecting forced graduations by generation, not by seniority.
BEYOOOOONDS has its foundation solidly in place.
ANGERME is already shaky as it is, and with graduations plus a new member on top, it's just over.
Though among the new members themselves, aside from Kojima, they seem kind of invisible.
Maybe more fans are getting into that whole 'raising Yuna' feeling? (the doting, almost parental kind of fan devotion)
Precedents exist to be broken.
Hello! Project broke plenty of precedents this year too, didn't it?
If that lineup stays unchanged for 5 more years, that's seriously tough.
The younger members aren't even at the level of Lito or Hinakin (standout young members from other Hello! Project groups), yet ANGERME still gets to pin all the blame on the seniors — that's such a privileged position to be in.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
In Hello! Project, every group has brought in new members whenever there’s a vacancy to fill, but how well those members settle in and go on to thrive afterward varies widely. Among the three groups compared in the thread, Juice=Juice is said to have turned its additions into a major breakout, while ANGERME has reportedly struggled to make good use of its newcomers — and the thread’s central takeaway is that even the same event, “adding a new member,” can produce very different results depending on the group’s structure and how existing members welcome them. The split in opinion comes down to one question: is the difference in outcomes a matter of “structure” — how many members are added and who is chosen — or a matter of “execution” — how well the group makes use of them afterward? Read in isolation, the comments can look like they’re just judging individual members’ personal qualities, but most of the thread is actually evaluating each group’s management and casting decisions, which should be read separately from any judgment of the new members themselves.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread ‘New member additions matter — just look at how Hanama no Yuna breathed new life into BEYOOOOONDS‘.
Leave a Reply