Dearly beloved, today/night we pay tribute to one of the Hello! Projects most loveliest idols to have ever graced the stage: Kago Ai.

Kago_Ai_1507

Kago-chan has brought a degree of cuteness that is only something she’d bring to the table (along with her beacon of hope Nozomi Tsuji-Sugiura). After joining Morning Musume in 2000, this young 12-year-old from Nara-ken brought joy to our hearts. Her babylike face, her sweet vocals, everything! (Magi-Kat, you need organize this entry better, dudette).

When I came into liking Morning Musume in November 2003, Kago and her chum were still Musume. However… I don’t even know how I’ve gotten into this girl. Was it Mini Moni? (It’d had to be it!) Was it… I don’t know (Magi-Kat, you muddler!).

When W came around, of course, I looked into the unit. In fact, it became my favorite H!P act after Morning Musume and the one to replace the disbanded Mini Moni. Although I haven’t seen their PVs until late last year, I was delirious and deranged for W! Then… came the  train wreck to crash my H!P happiness for the time being….

That train wreck was Kago Ai’s smoking scandal. I was saddened by the news and was even more shocked at how Aibon broke the law! For the time being, I had to concentrate my energies on Morning Musume and my growing interest in Koharu’s career later on. Now that Aibon’s been expelled for being a return visitor to Scandal Land, I had to find an alternative to Aibon. Nono gave me hope with her “Athena” song (even if it’s a remake of a Morning Musume song) and Gyaruru but I quickly lost it after she left the limelight with a bun in her oven.

Fast forward to now: Kago Ai is 20 and doing who knows what. Nozomi’s resting from the birth, even cooking up a “Sugiura Special” for her hubby and Koharu’s releasing more anime-related stuff (I’ve finally downloaded her album… unfortunately, at this time, I’ve somewhat gotten out of Koha-chan). At this time, I’ve gotten over W’s demise and moved on with myself. However, no matter what happens, Kago-chan (and Nono) will remain my #1 favorite H!P member, even as an ex.

So, happy birthday, Kago Ai.

In other, more heartwarming news:

• 

  604px-Lalala_Shiawase_no_Uta_limited
  C-ute’s new song is super special awesome! For some reason, the song reminds me of Aqua and other bubblegum dance acts *is hit in the face with a pie*. I never really could hear the song in the Kouhaku performance and at this point separated the song from its origins. *Is pied even more for her liking the song*. I actually like this song more than “Tokaikko Junjou” *booed and pied especially for that*. I know C-ute has to move on as a group to dethrone Morning Musume as the flagship group, along with their comrades in Berryz, </sarcasm> but I’m a sucker for songs like this so forgive me. I might watch the PV later… *is pied until she is unrecognizable*.

• Morning Musume’s new single = “Resonant Blue.” Alright, home girls, don’t disappoint, Magi-Kat! With a new single comes a new chance to shine (especially for the 8th Gen) so ganbare!

• Same goes for you, Berryz, and that new PV. In fact, that goes for Tsunku and everyone else in UFA! If you ripe little Berryz and your C-ute comrades steal my heart like you’re beginning to, I might be able to get back into you guys again. Buono’s definitely helping you on your trek. Just for that, here’s a little treat for you H!P Kiddies fans!
  

  Miku, Rin, and Len doing Buono!

Cock Roach - Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)

Magi-Kat out (and be thankful I made an appropriate "pyon!" reference than a stupid "Bon kyu! Bon kyu! Bomb" pun the title)!

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First off, I must thank all who supported me and gave me words of encouragement after my little episode in the previous post. I highly appreciate it.

“WOW Suteki!” “SOME BOYS! TOUCH.” “Genshoku GAL Hade ni Yukube!” Sound familiar? “Sentimetal Boy.” “Dekoboko Seventeen.” “JINX.” Sound more familiar? If you are the seasoned Hello! Project fan, you’d notice that the first three song titles are Maki Goto songs while the last three are W songs (even if “Sentimetal Boy” is a cover song). What do these two have in common? Of course, they are all ex-Musume, along with former Hello! Project acts. Aibon smoked and onsened, Nozomi had a bun in her oven that had just finished baking, and Maki suddenly left (though speculation is still flying that this “graduation” was planned. After hearing how Maki’s voice has changed since the last time I saw her, I can accurately say she’ll be better off more confidently than that pathetic indifference mini-blurb. How ironic her graduation came days after this blog became set up, making it the very first Hello! Project news burst since “Morning Meteora” began).

With this little paragraph behind, let’s go a “W-mercial“!

CM W LiP Gloss

Thank you, W, for that lovely commercial message. Amazing how cuties grow up? (Not just those cuties either).

November was a month of discovery and rediscovery. It was the month I grew to like C-ute (“Ooki na Ai de Motenashite” and “Sakura Chirari” are competing Tsukishima Kirari’s “Ramutara” as “Most Played Song on Magi-Kat’s Hard Drive”), along with Buono! (one factor in my getting into Shugo Chara!). Totally Hello! Project allowed me to fill holes in my H!P MP3 collection, allowing in rarities like Petitmoni’s “WOW WOW WOW” and “Koibito wa Kokoro no Ouendan (hyper dance version)” by Country Musume ni Ishikawa Rika (okay, that’s a b-side but it’s a rarity to me). Even if all of that happened around Thanksgiving in America (fourth Thursday in November, some time in October in Canada), it was a great treat for me during my days off from my hectic school year.

A week ago, I decided to download the rest of W’s 2^nd album (courtesy of TH!P), along with the b-sides to “Aa Iina!“ (“Otome no Keitaidenwa no Himitsu.“ I have yet to listen to it as of this writing) and “Koi no Vacance (“Kanashiki 16sai (HEARTACHES AT SWEET SIXTEEN),” another I have yet to listen to), instrumental versions of “Aa Iina!” and “Ai no Imi wo Oshiete!,” in addition to the song “Sentimetal Boy” from their cover album “Duo U&U” out of curiosity. As with most W songs, I became hooked on them like a kid gets addicted to candy. From bopping my head to “Dekoboko Seventeen” (ironically my a- Magi-Kat, don’t tell them that!) to “tsuu tsuu”-ing to “Sentimetal Boy,” my love for W was rediscovered after the Thanksgiving Binge (where it was full blast), partially due to a “weirdest Hello! Project videos” blog entry I read some time earlier that had one of their videos featured.

This past Sunday, I decided to give Maki a chance and get as much of her songs as possible (again, courtesy of Totally Hello! Project). I admit that Maki wasn’t one of my favorite solo artists but I can’t leave her in the lurch after only “knowing” her for barely a while. I must say I’ve fallen for her later works, even if I have yet to see her videos. I also admit that the same entry that featured W was partially responsible for reacquainting me with Maki somewhat (the “Uwasa no Sexy Guy” PV was something else but it didn’t get my vote - it went to “Hana wo Puun”). Anyway, as a fan of techno-dance, became hooked to Gocchin’s recent works, munching Ferrero Rocher hazelnut snacks all the way. I would say how eating chocolate covered hazelnuts would be ironic considering Maki’s “sexy” image but… I’ll let you figure that out for yourself ;). New favorites include:

• “Genshoku GAL Hade ni Yukube!” (Old school favorite. I love the genki rock feel of the song and… words can’t express how much I like this song).
• “How to use Loneliness” (Love the slight Middle Eastern flavors of this “tech-R&B” *jots it down* song. Maki may be gone but we’ll always remember her).
• “Glass no Pumps” (I can see this song being background music for a fashion show, or maybe its theme song! It has this “voguish” feel to it and it’s not just from the name).
• “SOME BOYS! TOUCH” (*sings* “She’s bringing SexyBack…” Oops, wrong song (and artist!). However, that describes my initial reaction to the beginning - it reminded me Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack,” and when you live in a country where that song was played almost non-stop when it was released, you tend to get it stuck in your head in some way. Unfair comparison aside, it’s a song that’ll have you dancing when you hear it like I am somewhat as I write this entry. I can see “Some Boys! Blog” named themselves after this song because it‘s possibly one of Maki‘s best).
• “WOW Suteki!” (Sorry, “How to use Loneliness,” but you may just need to put that “How to” to good use because you may feel a bit lonely knowing that “WOW Suteki!” has taken the #1 spot for “Magi-Kat’s Favorite Album-Only Song from Maki’s Newest Album”). How Maki sings the verses in the song, the catchy coolness of the music, it’s a keeper!).

Prior to this, my favorite song by Maki Goto was “Nagadenwa,” the b-side to “Scramble” (though it could be tied with “Ai no Bakayarou” and “Sans Toi Ma Mie”). Not exactly an accurate picture of her but it shows… something. I can’t describe or explain it. While I try to find the words to describe it all, watch this second W-mercial.

W Moko Moko Hotcake CM

Thanks again, girls!

I know a certain rock lover might get the title’s pun but it’s a reference to the Beatles song “Hello Goodbye,” which appropriate considering a little problem I have with some acts (getting into them after they’re gone, like the Beatles!). W doesn’t really count since I was into them from the get-go (me being an Aibon and Nono fan) but I didn’t really absorb into my W love (along with compelting my collection somewhat) fully until after they’re gone, even if I forced myself to stray from them. (After all, W filled the void left by Mini Moni and their disbandment. Now that they’re gone and Gyaruru had lost the reason I looked at them, that void is obviously filled full-time by Koharu).

Both Maki and W are things of the past but golden reminders of how good Hello! Project had it back in the day. Maki was a Morning Musume graduate for more than a year when I became an H!P fan in November 2003 so she already said “goodbye.” Nono and Aibon said goodbye to Morning Musume and hello to “W” in 2004, quietly doing the same thing within a one year span in a matter of two years *insert double joke here*. So…

Goodbye Maki. Goodbye W. You may have said goodbye but I know that there are people like me who are willing to say “Hello!” to you in the days afterwards. (Jeez, that song can be used for all sorts of Hello! Project jokes, if not already).

And let's end this post with a final W-mercial

W Moko Moko Chiffon Cake CM

Mmmm... all of these food commercials are making me hungry, along with reminding me of a possible post I might make. Anyway, for now, sore wa Mōningu Meteora deshita~! Bye-bye!

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