Morning Musume。 ’16 no Morning Jogakuin ~Houkago Meeting~ #199 (2016.01.23)

This episode of Morning Jogakuin is chaired by Sato Masaki (seat number 7). Fukumura Mizuki (seat number 1) and Suzuki Kanon (seat number 4) are also in attendance, and the girls talk about H!P members they’d like to talk with, songs they’d like to sing, handshakes, and rooming with others at Hello! Cons.

Maachan: Yahhoooooooo~

Fuku-chan & Zukki: Yahhoooo~

Maachan: The next… broadcast… Will the be the 200th?

Fuku-chan: (laughs)

Zukki: The next one, right?

Maachan: Yup, the next one.

Zukki: And so this is the 199th.

Maachan: (in background) Wooooooooo~

Fuku-chan: One more left!

After some promotion for the Osaka Hello! Cons, Maachan asks the others if they noticed something missing. Zukki thinks it’s about seat numbers but ‘STOP KICKING MY FEET!’ Maachan simply laughs as Zukki explains that Maachan’s been kicking her under the table. And with that, they leap into the programme’s title call.

Opening Question
‘The H!P member that you’d like to talk more with’

Zukki picks Yajima Maimi. At both the recent and previous Hello! Cons, Zukki and Maimi were both stationed at the same stage entrance at the very beginning of the concert, which provided them with the opportunity to chat quite a bit. Zukki has always intended to ask for Maimi’s contact details, but never got around to it due to nerves. So she’d like to build up the courage to ask Maimi for her contact details and chat with Maimi.

Mizuki would like to just talk in general with her pick of Nakajima Saki, since she talked a lot with the 4 other members of ℃-ute at the previous Hello! Con. While she’s often heard that Nakajima-san is shy, Fuku-chan will be exchanging microphones with Nacky backstage at this Hello! Con, so she’s looking to take the opportunity to talk more with Nacky.

Maachan takes some time to deliberate on her answer, before deciding on Suzuki Kanon! Fuku-chan and Zukki get a good laugh out of this, with Zukki being like ‘Whatever‘.

Fuku-chan: And so, Masaki-chan, why Kanon-chan?

Maachan: Suzuki-san’s really chummy with the other 10ki. She went to Disneyland with them, of her own accord.

Fuku-chan: And now it’s gotten really scary (laughs).

Zukki: She suddenly drew closer to the microphone.

But Maachan wonders if the mood would have been different had she stepped in and said that she wanted to go as well. It’s something that’s probably not related to generation though: while Maachan says that she’s close to the 10ki, Zukki is indifferent to what generation people are from, and just talks with everyone.

Then again, Mizuki, Riho, Eripon, and Maachan went to Disneyland together at some point later in time. This made Maachan feel at peace since Zukki had been the one left out in that situation. Even when the 9-10-11ki go to Disneyland, they all split up. Maachan adds a quick mention that she’s just kidding, the 9ki & 10ki are still close friends.

♫ Morning Musume。´15 – One and Only ♫

Mail Corner

This first letter comes from a fan who harks back from the days of Iida Kaori and Nakazawa Yuko, and is happy that the girls sing old songs at Hello! Cons. They’d like to know if the girls themselves have any songs that they would like to sing. Personally, they would like to hear Fuku-chan sing Berryz Kobo’s ‘Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba’, Kanon-san sing Melon Kinenbi’s ‘Kousui’, and Matsuura Aya’s ‘Zettai Tokeru Mondai X = <3’ for Maachan.

Maachan would like to perform ‘Kiseki no Kaori Dance’ because she loves the guitarwork on it. Besides that, she’d also like to perform Tsunku♂-san’s ‘Touch Me’. Kanon thinks that it would feel pretty novel, though Fuku-chan remarks that Takahashi-san and Tanaka-san had previously done solo covers of Tsunku♂ songs in the past.

Come to think of it, there haven’t been much solos at the recent Hello! Cons. Perhaps the large number of people in Hello! Project at the moment makes it difficult to pass around solos.

Fuku-chan would like to do ‘Michi Naru Mirai e’ with everyone, impressing Zukki with her impeccable taste. Fuku-chan feels that it’s a song that most people aren’t familiar with, but she feels that it’s a song that’s fit to be sung en-masse.

Ah! Mizuki would also like to do Monkey Dance this year!!! It’s the year of the monkey after all! It should be done during the winter Hello! Cons, summer would be too late! From her perspective as a fan, Mizuki’s pretty mad that Monkey Dance isn’t in the setlilst.

As for Zukki, rather than performing it herself, she’d like ANGERME to perform S/mileage’s ‘Tachiagaaru’. Back when it was first released, the 2ki were still sub-members, with the song basically being sung by the remainder of the original S/mileage members at the time with minuscule contribution from the then-sub-members. Now that the times have changed, the 2ki are now senpai with ANGERME having added a 3rd and 4th generation, so as an ANGERME fan, Zukki would like the 2ki to try their hand at Tachiagaaru.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKp4XJt8wfY

Besides songs from the past, they also did collaboration performances. Coupling songs would be fun too, though they haven’t been doing those recently either. Just thinking of it makes Zukki excited.

While it might be difficult, Mizuki proposes that it would be nice to have someone, like different H!P members, produce individual performances – similar to the Fankora performances, where every performance had a different setlist. While those were tough, they were also fun. Similarly, the summer 2011 Wow Wow and Yeah Yeah Hello! Cons had themes to them. For example, Love Machine was picked for the theme of ‘Love’.

At this point, Maachan must have been messing around again, since Zukki asks if she’s listening as her hair’s in a mess. She claims to be, but she’s failing to remember these concerts. Which makes sense: the 10ki joined in autumn 2011, whereas these concerts were held in the summer of 2011.

Maachan: Well then, that’s fine.

♫ Morning Musume。´15 – Endless Sky ♫

Out of the blue, Maachan spells out the English word ‘honour’ in its American English spelling, and then proceeds to explain the meaning of the word in Japanese.

The next fan-letter is from ‘Alpaca no you na Alpaca’ (Alpaca who’s like an alpaca), whose name has the girls in stitches. Going back to the contents of the letter, the listener notes that Oda-chan had previously expressed shock in a previous MoJo episode when she heard that a fan had just gone through a handshake event saying ‘I love you’ to all the members. However, this listener is guilty of that as well, going through a handshake event only saying ‘I love you’ or ‘You’re cute’, partly due to nerves and partly due to lack of time. So this listener would like to know what words they should use at handshake events that would make the girls happy.

Indeed, the toughest handshake event the girls had gone through was the 2011 Mobekimasu handshake event at Yomiuri Land, where they received 10,000 people. Zukki even remembers the date – the 23rd of November – and standing next to Maeda Yuuka-san. For Maachan, it had been her first handshake event, she had been really nervous, her head had been in a mess – so she really remembers it but at the same time, she doesn’t. Mizuki doesn’t remember it, but she feels that it must have been tough on the fans as well.

Maachan thinks that no one would mind being praised, especially if the fan could highlight what they liked about the performances or at which points they thought the girls were cute. Zukki’s fine with anything, as long as she doesn’t get ignored. It’s not necessarily due to ill intent, but for example, if someone’s oshi is on either side of her, she often gets sidelined because that fan’s focus is on their oshi. Or it happens when she’s stationed at the end of the handshake line. With 12 people in their line-up, Mizuki thinks that having a single line is tough, and wishes that the lines could be split up.

Maachan repeats that she’s fine with anything as long as the fans are present, but the senior girls have heard rumours of Maachan disappearing from handshake booths. The fans have even asked them about it: ‘What should we do in order to receive handshakes from Maachan?‘ Maachan continuously protests her innocence, but they weren’t having any of that – Mizuki has even seen Maachan being encircled by chairs to make sure that she doesn’t get away.

Questions like ‘Do you prefer to be called cute or pretty?’, where she has to pick between a few choices, irk Mizuki. Because whichever she picks, they’ll use that on her repeatedly. Note that Maachan doesn’t like being called a beauty.

Zukki doesn’t get hit with such questions. Instead, what she gets are people wanting to give her stuff, like castella or senbei. Mizuki kind of understands where they’re coming from – She’d like to give Zukki Japanese sweets. The positive feelings get to Zukki, and it makes her feel like looking for the offered item after the event.

Maachan proposes doing handshakes in kotatsu, where they’d be able to eat tangerines or have tea. While Zukki worries that they might end up sweating, Maachan feels it would be easier and more laid-back, compared to having to stand all the time.

All in all, the girls are happy to receive whatever words people have for them, and are happy to just see the fans physically attending. So without thinking so deeply about it, please come to their handshake events!

At the Hello! Cons, the members usually end up sharing lodgings with members of the same group. And so, the final fan letter asks what they think about transcending the barriers, and rooming with members from other groups instead during the Hello! Cons. For example, if Fuku-chan were to room with Momochi, this listener feels like they’d make new discoveries.

Fuku-chan: It’d definitely be impossible to be with Tsugunaga-san.

Zukki calls out Maachan for constantly going ‘Nope’ in the background as Mizuki was reading out the letter.

Maachan: Masa’s fine with Morning.

Fuku-chan: With whom?

Maachan: With everyone.

Fuku-chan: Eh? Rooming with all of us?

Zukki: Like all 12 of us?

Fuku-chan asks if Maachan would be fine with Kananan, as they’re good friends. But Zukki kind of understands where Maachan’s coming from – while Zukki is friends with Katsuta Rina-chan & Take-chan and she enjoys being together with them backstage, continuing on until bedtime might get exhausting.

Maachan explains that she’s most relaxed with the Musume。 members, whom she’s always with. While there are people from other groups who watch her and really understand her, the place where she’ll return to is Morning Musume。 And there are times when she’d like to just isolate herself amongst the Musume。 So because they bring her peace of mind, she’ll stay with the Musume。

While it’s true that they tend to naturally stick together to their own groups when they go for meals and such, and of course they love their own groups, Mizuki reminds everyone that the question is about love that transcends such barriers.

Zukki: Eh? Tsugunaga-san?

Fuku-chan: It’d be impossible to be with Tsugunaga-san…

Zukki: Why?

Fuku-chan: Because Tsugunaga-san would hate it…

Zukki: But after that, you’d be together-

Fuku-chan: Completely completely completely impossible! Because even talking with Tsugunaga-san would be impossible for Mizuki…

Mizuki has an episode to share: They had just finished a shuffle, and all of them were saying things like ‘That was nerve-wracking!‘ Then she saw Tsugunaga-san give Ayumi-chan a hug. Upon seeing that scene, the thought that ran through Fuku-chan’s mind was ‘Ah, yet she won’t give Mizuki a hug…‘

Zukki thinks that it’s more a matter of timing. Fuku-chan has actually received a hug, just once. At an MC, where Mizuki had to catch Tsugunaga-san’s love, they hugged each other tightly. That moment has been forever enshrined in Mizuki’s memory.

Zukki remarks that Fuku-chan’s speech has become halting. Regaining her composure, the Musume。 leader takes a moment to ponder again on the question. Maachan’s suggestion of Mizuki’s close friend Take-chan reminds her that they didn’t really room together often during their Egg days. It only happened early on, as later they were split up due to the Egg boarding arrangements following age order.

Mizuki feels that it’d be fun to room together with Yamaki-chan or Inaba-chan. The issue is that if they roomed together the night before a concert, they might just have too much fun when they should instead be having an early night. So that might be a reason to room with members from their own group instead.

Come to think of it, when Maachan rooms with Ayumin, they don’t really talk a lot. But Maachan will talk lots with Oda-chan – though Oda-chan will be messing with her phone throughout the conversation.

And we come to the end of the 199th episode. That’s all from Sato Masaki (seat number 7), Suzuki Kanon (seat number 4), and Fukumura Mizuki (seat number 1) – but wait! Mizuki just realised something! Kanon’s still seat number 4! She didn’t move up in seat number, despite seat number 3 being vacated! Looks like Riho’s seat number 3 had been officially retired with her graduation.

And to end the show, Maachan has a message for Nakajima Saki-san, who’s show would follow on immediately after theirs.

Maachan: Nakajima-san, I hope that you and Fukunura-san talk lots and lots more!!!

But not before Maachan repeats the word ‘honour’ in English and its meaning in Japanese.