Kikkawa Yuu and Sengoku Minami are no longer Eggs

Before all you Eggs fans faint, it's probably not what you think. For all intents and purposes, Hello! Project Egg members Kikkawa Yuu and Sengoku Minami have graduated (the official statement has been translated as "completed their HelloPro Egg training"). The question is, what exactly does this mean for their future?

In Yuu's case, she almost definitely seems to be staying with H!P (or at least UFA) in some capability. She will be the opening act of the H!P 2011 Winter Concert Tour (similar to S/mileage opening for the recent Morning Musume graduation concert). Sounds like Tsunku is grooming another soloist for H!P.

I much rather would have her as a Morning Musume 9th Generation member, but being a soloist is the next best thing. Whatever happens with her, she needs to be a permanent part of Hello! Project, stat. She's waaaay too talented to go somewhere else. In my opinion, she would enter Hello! Project and instantly become one of their top 5 best singers. That's the main reason why I'd rather her join Morning Musume (to replace Ai's talent, whenever she decides to leave, especially since Linlin is gone).

Minami's case is a lot more cloudy. She will be in a new play next year, but who knows what will happen past that point. Her and Yuu are about the same age, so maybe a new W-ish group will be formed. One can only dream.

And while we're doing all of this shuffling of the Eggs, how about throwing Furukawa Konatsu a bone? She's been an Egg just as long as Minami (six years) and I feel that currently she is one of the most talented Eggs. With the 9th Generation auditions over, Tsunku has plenty of young guns to resupply the Egg pool. I say continue with the rummaging of the Eggs and start a new group or something. Kitahara Sayaka, Tanaka Anri, Morisaki, and a couple others have been waiting patiently for six years for an opportunity. The start of a new year is the perfect time for action.