Why Today is Awesome [Part I]

I'll admit, this day didn't start off too well.

You see, this week is Homecoming week at my school, and today we were supposed to dress in all black and white to show our school spirit. It's a pretty easy one; which teenager doesn't have a black and white outfit? Anyway, I dressed in a blouse and jeans, like I normally would, and wore my pair of lolita shoes.

During second period, which is library TA, however, the ankle strap on my shoes broke off of the shoe.

This has happened once before, but I was at school. I couldn't go home and get a new pair of shoes. So I was stuck walking around in a broken shoe.

On top of that, there were various sucky school things. Like, I failed a Japanese quiz just because I can never remember comparisons, and so I have to push my testing schedule back a day. And I had a timed write on Siddhartha, and about 15 minutes was wasted when one of the school security guards came in to tell us a hilarious story about our teacher's house. I couldn't finish my essay.


But all of those became unimportant when I arrived home and found TWO wonderful things waiting for me.

And I shall talk about the first of those two things now.



Hello! Project updated Morning Musume's artist photos.

Normally, I'd shrug and say whatever, but this is our first HQ look at the Kimagure Princess costumes. Now, I've seen low quality pictures of the new single cover, but so far very little has been released, which is a little strange, considering the single comes out in less than a month. They were showing off Nanchatte Renai related things immediately after Shouganai Yume Oibito became old news.


First off...






Takahashi Ai!

The theme for this single, I assume, is 'princely cowboy'. Because that's how I perceive these costumes, especially with Takahashi's. She's sporting a lovely black cowboy hat, black boots, a long white overcoat thingie, and plenty of black accessories. MM has been pretty boring with their clothing, using very contrasting colors like black, white, and red. However, it does make a very startling, eye catching look that I like for Morning Musume.

Takahashi has been showing off some gorgeous hairstyles, with the only exception being whatever the hell that was back during the Platinum 9 Disco concert. You know what I'm talking about.

However, my only complaint is the pants. The holes are an interesting touch, but the clear plastic covering them...? It would have been better without. It's not like I've never seen Takahashi's bare legs before. (Wow, that sounded so much worse than it is)






Niigaki Risa


Gaki is looking radiant as always. I really love her hair at this length. Really, you just can't go wrong with the long hair and thick bangs.

I really like the criss-crossing belts and the lacy glove. It gives a very feminine yet princely look. Gaki is the queen of princes, considering she perfected the art of playing one back in Cinderella. And she looks cute in the hat~





Kamei Eri

I'm really a fan of Kame's new haircut. When the first pictures of her new color were released, it was shockingly orange, but it seems they've toned it down. The length is cute, too. The curls at the bottom suit her perfectly~

Kame's outfit is one of my favorites, simply because I like the gloves and there are less plastic-covered-bubble-holes. And the star necklace is cute.

Kame has been full of crazy eyes lately, but this isn't as bad.





Michishige Sayumi

Could it be? Could I actually find Shige pretty for once?

It's a very flattering length and hairstyle for her. They always insist on giving her these huge Rococo-era hairstyles. You'd think that as a lolita I'd like the big hair thing, but I'm just in it for the shoes. ANYWAY.

The hairband is cute and prevents her from looking too plain... She had a bit of that going on in SYO. I find that she looks better with something on her head, but it can be something as simple and understated as a headband.





Tanaka Reina

...Uhm, I'm not sure what she was thinking with these poses.

Tanaka has more of a shawl than a coat/robe thing. Which is interesting, but add that with the white, and I think "Oh my goodness EVERYDAY Zekkouchou?!" (Which I'm listening to right now, by the way). And what's that on her head? Feathers? I'm glad to see that they're trying different hairstyles, but this is just too much like the others. Why is the ponytail always on one side of the head? Can't you put her in a ponytail like normal people? I've seen Koha, I know you can do it.

I do like her arm warmer thingie with all of the bangles, and I am liking the heavy eye liner.





Kusumi Koharu


MY GOD KOHA WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?!

I'm sorry, this hair is ridiculous. It's almost an insult to graduate her like this. This is the last artist image she'll have in H!P.

At least she's covering up any possible holes in the pants so I have nothing to complain about from the forehead down.





Mitsui Aika


*boooo hisssss* ...What? =D

(We'll discuss my growing dislike for Aika later)

It looks like they're growing her hair out. Or maybe that's just what her hair looks like when it's not curled.

Looks like someone's foot is better! Welcome back to heels, Aika! No more flats for you, unfortunately!

She has a butterfly necklace, and therefore must die.

(I lose my ability to critique productively when it's around someone I really don't like at all)





Junjun

I REALLY can't stand this hair. It's just not flattering. It doesn't suit her head shape, it doesn't suit the costume, it doesn't suit HER.

...However, I do like how the necklace sort of looks like it could be her hair. I thought it was her hair for a moment. xD

I also like the pattern in which the holes are going along the pants (not the holes themselves!). It looks a little more planned, rather than lack of ideas.





Linlin

WOW Linlin is turning out to be quite the beauty. I think it's the one who looks the strangest starting out (Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa, Goto Maki, Yaguchi Mari) turn out to be the most beautiful. It probably has something to do with being at a disadvantage at first. I mean, you have to work a little harder at your photos than girls who are naturally photogenic.

But I digress.

Linlin's hair is generally hit or miss with me. I love the top of the hair, I really do. The little ponytail thingie is cute. I just HATE how the bottom parts look. They're too stiff, it looks unnatural. I understand that with hair as short as hers, it's hard to have successful complex hairstyles like that, but still.

Her outfit is my favorite. It's just very cool and I like how it's balanced.

Tsunku Hates Us.

And by us I mean tall people.


Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Kusumi Koharu, the Ace of Morning Musume, the Miracle member, the sole winner of seventh gen auditions, is graduating.

But not just from Morning Musume. Nooo, that would be too fair. She's leaving Hello! Project. For good.




How can you get rid of this?!


I was definitely not expecting to hear that Koha, my beloved Koha, would be leaving us when I logged onto Twitter and saw the H!O announcement. I would have bet everything I had that Takahashi would be the first to graduate. I mean, she'd been getting countless solos at concerts and in albums and EVERYTHING. I was positive that Tsunku was prepping her for a solo career. Then Mano Erina's lack of talent could be counteracted and balance would once again be brought to the H!P soloists.

But no.

It's Koha.



The first thing I thought, of course, was that Tsunku hates tall people. Elder Club was full of tallies. Iida? Yossie? (Of course, these are relatively tall people. They are tiny compared to me.) Then Umeda Erika was graduated. I was JUST starting to recover from that shock when it was announced that Yuri-tan is graduating, too (I'm still pissed that she's not in the Eggs concert). And now, Koha? What's with all of the tall hate?

Tsunku claims he saw her improvement and wanted to give her a solo career. But wouldn't a solo career mean she stays in H!P? And if that's a solo career, then what the hell was that Kirarin thing she did for the majority of her time in Morning Musume?


Okay, I admit, she's had a pretty good run. She's had a brief solo career, voiced the main character of a hit anime character, and was in Morning Musume for four years. Back when there were fifteen or so members, four years was a long time to be in the group. People graduated after three, two, even one. But now we're in the age of endless lineups. Takahashi and Gaki have been the group for, what, six years now? Seven? The current lineup of MM has been like this for about two years. That's quite a feat.

And you know, I always sensed that Koha didn't get along with a lot of the other members. In backstage things or making of's, she tended to be alone. She has such a strong personality, like Linlin, that she comes off really strong in the generally personality-less Morning Musume. I mean, Linlin is a complete goof, and Junjun is no robot, but at least they were manageable. Sure, Linlin makes stupid jokes and is always laughing, and Junjun tends to be a bit of a camera whore and will speak her mind no matter what, but if you compare those traits to the eternally hyper and bubbly Koharu, the pandas seem like Takahashi. Seriously.

Yeah, Koha is amazingly photogenic and will make a good model (which she wants to do) and god knows she's better at modelling than singing, but she will still be missed. It's not like she's gonna appear in magazines next month. It'll probably be years before we see her again.

In the meantime, I can find comfort in the fact that I'll have all of her lasts: her last calendar, her last photobook, her last single, and her last concert. I mean, I have yet to preorder the MM 2009 fall concert and Kimagure Princess, but there's no way I'm missing out now.


This has been a terrible year for H!P fans (except for Takahashi fans, who are probably rejoicing that their beloved Ai-chan will be staying a little longer). I just pray that this trend of graduating the our beloved tall members doesn't continue.

YURINA, MAASA, JUNJUN.... DON'T GET ANY IDEAS.

[Icons] I Hate California Weather.

It's really hot here in Cali, or at least, it is in my house. Unfortunately for me, the computer is placed in the warmest room ever. Nice in the winter, not so nice in the summer/fall.

Anyway, I don't know why I started, but all of a sudden I was going through my files and making icons of whatever picture jumped out at me. Needless to say, there was a lot of Junjun. xD

Before I even made it to the bulk of my pictures, I got bored, so there still is a lot I can work with. ;D


Junjun--





Actually, that red one was supposed to had Junjun facing the LEFT side of the icon, but it flipped when I uploaded it. It looked cool, so I kept it. xD

Linlin--



Murata Megumi--



Niigaki Risa--



Okada Yui--



Ootani Masae--



Saitou Hitomi--



Sengoku Minami-- (Yah, I know)



Shibata Ayumi--