Winter Story

Riko Yamagishi and Yumeno Kishimoto announce their intent to graduate from Tsubaki Factory Well, I sure picked a hell of a day to skip my normal routine of checking several online H!P content sources (mm-bbs, Twitter and H!P Fans discord) before heading to work. And while the double graduation of Riko and Kishimon was a hell of a thing to...

Sister Act

Angerme – BIG LOVE Since 2014, Hello! Project has stuck to a fairly consistent schedule where their groups release an album every three-ish years, and Angerme’s BIG LOVE just barely missed creeping through the 4-year window by a mere two months. I suspect the company decided to hold the album back to more closely align with the coming graduation of...

Lost and Found

Youplus – “In your Dreams” A lot has happened in the Hello! Project since I last posted: three graduation announcements — including two group leaders! — and several new releases, so obviously the thing that kicked me in the ass hard enough to write about it is a recent song from Youplus. If you don’t know who Youplus is, they’re...

Miss And Hit

Angerme – Kuyashii wa / Piece of Peace ~Shiawase no Puzzle~ Soooo, I’ve been gone a while, eh? And I was doing so good keeping up with the new releases this year, you know, right up until I wasn’t. Ah well, there’s no internet law against late reviews (yet), so I’m gonna play catch-up starting with Angerme’s 31st single. Released...

Seeing Red

Kaede Kaga Announces Her Graduation From Morning Musume. Morning Musume 13th generation member Kaede Kaga has announced her decision to graduate upon the completion of the group’s fall tour this November. While it seems to be out of left field at first glance, it’s really not when you consider her position in current day Morning Musume, as well as the...

Festive Major

OCHA NORMA – “Omatsuri Debut da ze!” Track two of OCHA NORMA’s major debut single is really the only “new” song of this release, with the lead track, “Koi no Crouching Start,” having served as the opening theme for Mayonaka ni Hello! since January of this year. As such, “Omatsuri Debut da ze!” feels like the first chance to see...

Smells Like Biyo Spirit

Tsubaki Factory – “Idol Tenshoku Ondo” As with Tsubaki Factory’s previous song, it’s taken over a week for me to review the final track from their latest single — which might as well be a year with the speed at which pop culture moves in 2022 — but the reason for this delay is different from the last. Whereas “Yowasa...

Factory Standards

Tsubaki Factory – “Yowasa ja nai yo, Koi wa” There’s a reason I’m only now getting around to reviewing this song, a full two weeks from the day the video went live, and it’s not because life got in the way or I was taking a break from H!P. It’s because I didn’t have strong feelings one way or the...

Crouching Idol, Smitten Gaijin

OCHA NORMA – “Koi no Crouching Start” Debut singles always come with a bit of heightened anxiety, certainly for the group, but also for fans who have followed their journey from trainees to debut. Group members want the buzz and momentum of a strong debut to carry them forward, and fans want a return on their ground-floor emotional investment, not...

Power Flowers

Tsubaki Factory – “Adrenaline Dame” Sometimes changes creep up on you, almost imperceptibly, masked by the greater familiarity of presence until one day you look up and say “hey, when did that happen?” Other times, changes are immediate and jolting. The changes of Tsubaki Factory’s image from awkward teens to somewhat insecure young ladies to, by last year, confident young...