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sonofgodzillaWhen Dream Morning Musume were announced, much like Sashihara, I lost my shit. Incidently, my favourite thing about this clip from early morning TV, is that, having shaken everyone's hands, you can still hear her wailing backstage with excitement. That's my oshi, friends. So, what were Dream Morning Musume, you might ask. Running from 2011-2012, the group were a gathering of graduated members coming out of retirement for one last tour—and the opportunity to make Hello! Project a bit more money. I feel like I should frown upon such behaviour, and at the time I thought it was kind of unfair to the then current line-up of Morning Musume, but I'd also be lying if I said that I wasn't exactly the audience for this kind of idol reunion tour. Comprised of some of my favourite members of each Morning Musume generation, one name included always sort of stood out to me: Koharu Kusumi.
Having graduated just over a year earlier in December, 2009, Koharu right out of the gate, we were told, was special, staff and fans often referring to her as Miracle-chan. There was a lot of noise about her, the only girl who passed the 2005 auditions, which in itself was a second set of auditions because, despite the high quality of attendees at the prior Lucky 7 auditions, which I think we're going to talk about later, Tsunku still wouldn't get off the fence. People really thought of Koharu as being indicative of a change in Morning Musume. In my friends group alone, there was such fervour over her manner and style, her strong presence, that it was hard not to get excited about her—and yet, looking back, I can't help but think that this was a heck of a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a 12-year-old, and I really did not appreciate how that would shape the end of our story at the time. In 2005, when Koharu debuted, divorced from regular contact with Morning Musume as a media entity, we all just assumed that idols arrived fully formed, popping out of stone eggs like the Monkey King, their nature irrepressible. Now we know different, and it is impossible to look upon the past with as warm a feeling as sometimes I would like.
In 2006, Koharu took on the lead role of Tsukishima Kirari in the anime, Kirarin☆Revolution, delivering the first of its theme tunes. I remember this song more than I remember the show as I bought the CD with some money I had left over at the airport just before departure. Her relationship with the anime was something big though, something I've mentioned before as not being the norm for Morning Musume, who we will all thought were above such media tie-ins. Yet, of course, we all loved Kirarin☆Revolution as if it had been our own idea, and the show went on to have a number of cameos from other H!P and MM members, including Kikkawa Yuu and Yoshizawa Hitomi, playing herself, whilst a special unit was built around Koharu for the show alongside Hagiwara Mai from ℃-ute, who was also in the show.
The above info dump is why I was really, really surprised to see Miracle-chan in such a diminished role in 2008's Cinderella the Musical. It's surprising to see her pushed to one side, considering the hype around her, and even more surprising to see her in the role of the very masculine lead guard. I mean, she looks smart and everything—she looks adorable actually—but it is a surprising role to see her in because it goes so much against type. But don't take my word for this, please check outnightless_castle's subs of the musical! :p
Seeing Koharu return as a member of Dream Morning Musume threw me, because it seemed as if she had only just left. Graduating at 17, she went on to become an actor and successful model, and raised a couple of eyebrows when declaring in interviews that, aside from being what she had always wanted to do, she thought of modelling as more significant than being a member of Morning Musume, than being an idol, and that, in her time with the group, she had grown to dislike the male fanbase. I smile as I write that, because, although I did not get to witness the response to this first-hand, I can well imagine it, but more power to her, we should call out what is broken about this industry, and a lot of that does stem from the entitlement of the male fanbase. Please look at the furore surrounding Okada Nana's graduation from AKB as an example.
The writing was always on the wall with Koharu. Even as a member of the group, I remember people saying that she thought she was "too good" for Morning Musume. I don't think she thought that, although I do think having the huge responsibility of "saving" the group pushed on you when you're 12 is bound to mess with your perspective a little.
Whether it was in the way management and the fanbase had intended, Koharu really did make a difference to Morning Musume, but I get the feeling that the route to making that difference wasn't exactly smooth sailing.
Having graduated just over a year earlier in December, 2009, Koharu right out of the gate, we were told, was special, staff and fans often referring to her as Miracle-chan. There was a lot of noise about her, the only girl who passed the 2005 auditions, which in itself was a second set of auditions because, despite the high quality of attendees at the prior Lucky 7 auditions, which I think we're going to talk about later, Tsunku still wouldn't get off the fence. People really thought of Koharu as being indicative of a change in Morning Musume. In my friends group alone, there was such fervour over her manner and style, her strong presence, that it was hard not to get excited about her—and yet, looking back, I can't help but think that this was a heck of a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a 12-year-old, and I really did not appreciate how that would shape the end of our story at the time. In 2005, when Koharu debuted, divorced from regular contact with Morning Musume as a media entity, we all just assumed that idols arrived fully formed, popping out of stone eggs like the Monkey King, their nature irrepressible. Now we know different, and it is impossible to look upon the past with as warm a feeling as sometimes I would like.
In 2006, Koharu took on the lead role of Tsukishima Kirari in the anime, Kirarin☆Revolution, delivering the first of its theme tunes. I remember this song more than I remember the show as I bought the CD with some money I had left over at the airport just before departure. Her relationship with the anime was something big though, something I've mentioned before as not being the norm for Morning Musume, who we will all thought were above such media tie-ins. Yet, of course, we all loved Kirarin☆Revolution as if it had been our own idea, and the show went on to have a number of cameos from other H!P and MM members, including Kikkawa Yuu and Yoshizawa Hitomi, playing herself, whilst a special unit was built around Koharu for the show alongside Hagiwara Mai from ℃-ute, who was also in the show.
The above info dump is why I was really, really surprised to see Miracle-chan in such a diminished role in 2008's Cinderella the Musical. It's surprising to see her pushed to one side, considering the hype around her, and even more surprising to see her in the role of the very masculine lead guard. I mean, she looks smart and everything—she looks adorable actually—but it is a surprising role to see her in because it goes so much against type. But don't take my word for this, please check out
nightless_castle's subs of the musical! :pSeeing Koharu return as a member of Dream Morning Musume threw me, because it seemed as if she had only just left. Graduating at 17, she went on to become an actor and successful model, and raised a couple of eyebrows when declaring in interviews that, aside from being what she had always wanted to do, she thought of modelling as more significant than being a member of Morning Musume, than being an idol, and that, in her time with the group, she had grown to dislike the male fanbase. I smile as I write that, because, although I did not get to witness the response to this first-hand, I can well imagine it, but more power to her, we should call out what is broken about this industry, and a lot of that does stem from the entitlement of the male fanbase. Please look at the furore surrounding Okada Nana's graduation from AKB as an example.
The writing was always on the wall with Koharu. Even as a member of the group, I remember people saying that she thought she was "too good" for Morning Musume. I don't think she thought that, although I do think having the huge responsibility of "saving" the group pushed on you when you're 12 is bound to mess with your perspective a little.
Whether it was in the way management and the fanbase had intended, Koharu really did make a difference to Morning Musume, but I get the feeling that the route to making that difference wasn't exactly smooth sailing.
