new mistakes in the biz

It's not that I haven't been paying attention, but the headlines have been coming so damn fast in recent weeks I never even had time to gather my thoughts on Hello!Project getting turned upside down in the last month. I was actually due for another DOM j-pop idol post but... well, okay, let's see if I can make this a DOM post and an editorial all at the same time (I really need a life).

So yeah, a little while ago it seemed Kago was in the middle of working a desk job at Up Front Agency (UFA) and things were looking up - that she'd be back on stage if she earned her keep around the office. I suppose I can see the positive reinforcement theory there... but I can also see how humiliating this could be for a 19 year old. So it doesn't surprise me that she'd have run off and get caught hanging out with a man twice her age... leading to her permanent dismissal from UFA. And I'm thinking, what a waste...

Which left Tsuji Nozomi to finally get off her arse and get set up for a new group (which totally turned me off when I found out it'd be a "Ganguro" themed act. Which later was a moot point because she went and got herself pregnant! (and you thought Kago had made a big mistake). So she's out (not fired, miraculously) for the summer at least with plans to get married with some actor who plays Ultraman... and I'm like, Ultraman is my hero in more ways than one! ^_^;

Which left producer Tsunku in a pickle: what to do with that new project? So he goes ahead and replaces Tsuji with Abe Asami... sound familiar? She's Abe Natsumi's kid sister... I don't have a decent photo of Asami, so here's older sister Natsumi (who was originally going to be this month's DOM feature anyway).
But if you thought that was all crazy... then hang on to your hats because history has a tendency to repeat itself. Remember back when I posted about Yaguchi Mari many moons ago? Well to jog your memory, the short story is that Friday magazine published an exposé revealing that she'd been dating a prominent celebrity (and you know that's a strict no-no in the Japanese business of image control). She she quits, making her stint as team captain the shortest ever... a couple of months.

That was then...

...and this is now. Last week Friday (yes, the SAME magazine) broke the news that recently appointed "leader" Fujimoto Miki was seen on a 3-day romantic jaunt with this comedian friend. And had photographic evidence of her entering and leaving his apartment, etc... and all the while I'm thinking, "I'm a comedian; I make women laugh all the time... what could I be doing wrong?"

Anyway, so here's a Mikitty looking like there's absolutely nothing wrong (because there really shouldn't be). I guess what I'm trying to say is given the real-life ages of these girls, shouldn't the requirement to "graduate" Morning Musume be a little earlier, taking their civilian lives into account? It'd sure save on a lot of embarrassment for all parties concerned... I mean, really, Mikitty turns 22 this year... even if she hadn't been "Friday'ed" who wouldn't suspect she was looking for love (and possibly getting some)? No really, I mean it. Because coincidentally (or not) Yaguchi was also 22 when she was Friday'ed in 2005. In both cases their only true crime was getting caught.
I guess the saddest thing about that case, however, is the fact that Yaguchi and her boyfriend broke up a year and a bit later... which was probably just as well because she's started performing on stage again and was there at the 10th Anniversary concert.

But where does all this leave Morning Musume? Well for one thing, they have a new record: shortest tenure as team captain is now 25 days (Mikitty took over when Yossie officially graduated in early May). Oh, and of course, they get a new leader and subleader. That being Takahashi Ai (who I featured as the second ever DOM post) and Niigaki Risa... my how they've grown.

I'm just imagining both of them getting their butts fired in a year or two.