Monday, December 26, 2011

A look back at Airiindeshou's 2011 Hopes and Predictions

At the beginning of this year, I made a post containing what I hoped would happen and what I thought would happen. Now that 2011 is almost over, lets take a look at what I got right, what I came close on, and what I was horribly, horribly wrong on.



Things I wanted to happen

  • Shuffle groups used more
At the time, there was a glimmer of hope that the shuffle groups would return (for good) and actually do something (like release a single). In summer 2009, the shuffle groups had been revived to perform at the summer concerts and released new material for Pucchi Best 10 which released later in the year. I had hoped that they would release more new songs and maybe even compete for sales like in the olden days, but that didn't happen. However, what did happen was the Berikyuu joint single as well as the company wide Mobekimasu single, so I'll consider this one to be close.


Verdict: I came close; it wasn't exactly how I planned it, but I have no complaints.
  • Return of H!M
This time last year, Bijou Houdan had ended months before and a new show, Bijo Gaku aired. It was a huge step up from Bijou Houdan, but Bijo Gaku still left a lot to be desired. So, I wished for a return of one of the greatest creations ever thought up by UFA - Hello! Morning. That didn't happen. But, what did happen was something equally as good - we got HelloPro! TIME. It's near impossible to topple the awesomeness that was Hello! Morning, but HelloPro! TIME comes pretty close. The idea of getting the girls to film themselves is pure genius (and probably cheaper too).


Verdict: Again I came close and this wasn't how I planned it, but I still love the end result.
  • C-ute's 2nd Alo-Hello won't suck
Morning Musume and Berryz's latest Alo-Hello incarnations were Alo-Hellos only by name - they didn't have any of the Alo-Hello magic that any of Morning Musume's past Alo-Hellos did. Had they called them something else I wouldn't really have had a problem (similar to most the e-Hello series; you know what you're going to get when you watch one). By giving them the title of Alo-Hello, expectations were raised (and quickly shattered). So, I didn't want C-ute's 2nd to go that direction. But, disaster struck Japan March 11 and C-ute's trip to Hawaii was canceled (or as we now know, postponed until 2012).


Verdict: It didn't happen, so no verdict on this one.
  • One more new group
I mentioned a bunch of former Eggs and wished they'd get a shot in H!P as a new group. Well, a new group with those Eggs was formed (UFZS and Up Up Girls as well), just not in H!P. I wish UFZS luck with their K-pop plans, but I would have been much happier if they stayed in H!P as a traditional idol group.


Verdict: I was mostly right, but ironically enough, I'm not thrilled with the result.
  • Second Miyabi PB
It didn't happen. Though we did get some gravure Miya in the form of her solo e-Hello DVD.


Verdict: It didn't come true, though we got a consolation prize.
  • Berryz or C-ute weekly #1
Both are still looking for their first weekly #1, but Berryz did get their first ever daily #1 with Heroine ni Narou ka!


Verdict: Didn't happen. Maybe next year.
  • H!P x some other J-pop group collab
I wanted H!P and another non-H!P group to do a joint single. It didn't happen exactly as I wanted, but as said previously we did get H!P x H!P (Mobekimasu, Berikyuu) and we also got H!P x UFA (the Ai wa Katsu charity single).


Verdict: Didn't happen but we got some awesome alternatives.
  • Return of H!P Sports Festival
I knew this one had the lowest chance of happening and sure enough, it didn't. The sports fan in me would still love to see it return, but I'll probably have to settle for the random sports themed DVD Magazines, Mooks, etc.


Verdict: Completely wrong on this one, though I wasn't expecting it to come true anyway.


Things I predicted would happen

  • Ogawa Saki and Fukuda Kanon PBs
Nope, didn't come true. Obviously it's too late for Saki, but I'm still waiting for my Nyon-sama PB.


Verdict: I was completely wrong. We did get a S/mileage group photobook though.
  • Morning Musume sells 50,000 again
The last time they did it was in 2009. I was afraid we wouldn't make it, but Aichan's graduation single sold quite a bit past 50k.


Verdict: Oh hey I was actually completely right on something.
  • No graduations
I don't think anything needs to be said here. I'm never going to predict this again. So many graduations this year ;__;


Verdict: So horribly wrong.
  • Promotion for Kikkawa Yuu
She's been on Music Japan, Happy Music, Melodix, Coming Soon!!, as well as many other shows. She got a photobook within 3 months of debuting and even had a movie about her journey.


Verdict: Could've been a little stronger, but still solid promotion for a brand new artist. I'd say I was right.
  • More use of technology
Nothing really groundbreaking this year (that I can think of at least), but we did get a steady amount of things like Blu-ray releases, live shows (USTREAM and concerts), pay-per-view streams, more use of iTunes (pre-ordering singles and the occasional early digital release like DEEP MIND), etc.


Verdict: I was right, more or less.

And while I was on this nostalgic trip, I went and checked some of my posts when 9th gen first joined and I'm quite happy to see that a lot of my observations were accurate.

Stay tuned next week to see what I think will happen in 2012! And feel free to play along in the comments! It will be fun a year from now to see what you got right and what you got wrong.

10 comments:

  1. NEVER thinking that there will be no graduations. EVER. ;____;
    Aichaaan
    Sakichyyyy
    Yuuukariiiiiin

    ReplyDelete
  2. And don't forget Kosuga~

    It really sucks that she lost her chance to get into S/mileage because of something she couldn't control.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think it's already been confirmed that Winter 2012 concert is going to have brand new shuffle groups :p

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did this too (as wish list 2011 lol) but i failed in almost all T-T

    excluding my C-ute´s wish list,, there i got some wishes right ^^ (for example nakky´s 2nd PB).

    And this year graduations were unexpected, at least for S/mileage T-T

    ReplyDelete
  5. I thought the no graduations part was a bit funny and I think I jinxed it a bit too.
    One morning I thought to myself "If Ai-chan graduates I can't picture Gaki as leader and Sayu as her subleader." then I get onto the computer and I see that Ai-chan announced her graduation >.<

    Can't wait to see what your predictions are for next year :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I myself predicted a BerryKyuu single and wanted a Mobekimasu single and got both. That's about it.

    I don't think anyone could have predicted S/mileage's graduations.

    I have some predictions for next year. Nothing outlandish, just some educated guesses. Will save those for the 2012 predictions post.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My predictions are: 2nd s/mileage group photobook, Karin miyamoto debut, morning musume graduation(s). A baby for mari yaguchi, and a unexpected graduation in berryz .
    Things that I hope for: #1 single for c-ute and morning musume(with morning musume selling over 50,000), #1 single for s/mileage, photobooks for 9th&10th gen and nyon-sama and miyabi , and finally a successful debut in Korea for ufzs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have a feeling that there'll be more graduations in 2012. Most of the MoMusu members are hitting their mid-20s. I have a strong feeling that Gaki-san will be the next victim. <_<;

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Chris
    OH GOD KOSUGA.
    I TOTALLY FORGOT.
    ytfDSXDFGHU
    I really hope she gets a chance to shine in H!P Egg.
    And then gets put into a group.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I thought I posted this already, but oh well. My predictions: morning musume graduation(s), karin miyamoto debut,another graduation in another group,a baby for mari yaguchi,and another riho photobook. My hopes: a photobook for miyabi,nyon-sama, 9&10 gen. Morning musume or cute gets a #1 single and sells over 50,000 copies, a new group debut, and a successful Korean debut for up up girls.

    ReplyDelete