2009 Year in Review

As it is the end of year, I take this time to reflect on all that I can remember about this year. There’s no way I can remember the sheer amount of things that happen over the course of like 350+ days unless it sticks out. And this will be an overview of what stuck out for me. The review is separated into early winter, spring, summer and fall/winter seasons. Long post, but that’s only because I have a lot to say about some things and I like writing a lot. By the by, those links sprinkled here and there are links to the relevant post I made over this year.

2009 Year End Hello! Project Rankings

As a mark for me I’d like to remember this year as this year is one of the more important years in Hello! Project history. As far as I can remember I may have lightly sprinkled a ranking before, but I have never really solidified my rankings. And I would like to see year by year, through major developments and small subtle influences, how my rankings differ. Since becoming a fan of Hello! Project, many things have changed, many people have come and gone, and my likes and dislikes have varied.

As for the year 2009, the collective group known as “Wonderful Hearts” was made the real core of Hello! Project with the mass graduation of Elder Club. As we see above, the core consists of Morning Musume (9), Berryz Koubou (7),    C-ute (7) and Mano Erina. That’s a grand total of 24 girls.

This year Berryz Koubou is the only group that hasn’t seen any change in members. C-ute was silently dropped to 6 girls soon after FOREVER LOVE. Kanna was later officially announced as resigned. Erika graduated in October. Finally, Koharu graduated earlier this month dropping Morning Musume down to 8 girls. This makes for a grand total of 21 girls in Hello! Project (excluding Eggs).

So here we are read more for my rankings for Hello! Project as of December 2009.

Pucchi Best 10: The Year of Many Groups

As the year draws close we remember all of the things that happened this year and look forward to what next year brings us. While, this is not my retrospective year end post, it will make up a portion of my look back as the Pucchi Best 10 album features one of the most shocking developments of the year. 

Surprisingly, Hello! Project is really reduced to nearly this few girls.

That’s right, it was a big deal when it was announced… what just before summer? I’m talking about the revival of the sub-groups. Read more for my retrospective (you can call it a review too) for the album.

Warning… this is actually legitimately a long post, what with my required background check and all. Though if you are familiar with the sub-groups you may opt to skim/skip through it. I just felt like taking that stroll down memory lane ^___^. Also, do read the alternate text for images, as they contain some extra commentary.

Kusumi Koharu Sotsugyou Shimasu

When I hear that (the title), I understand what it means. Because I know what  sotsugyou, (卒業) means. Literally, I was introduced to this Japanese word long before I even knew of Hello! Project. But ever since Hello! Project the word means so much more. It’s a phenomenon that every Hello! Project fan has to contend with. Yes, I’m talking about the almighty banhammer that UFA wields, graduation!

For those who don’t know what this particular “graduation” is you can read below for a brief explanation, otherwise I assume anyone reading this already knows what this is about and can simply read more for the full article.

Graduation: By definition is a process in which one receives acknowledgement and his/her/their status is changed. Students graduate from high school when they have finished their required coursework. In Hello! Project, the groups have a graduation method in which a member leaves the group, having run their course, to do other things, to go back to living a normal life. These graduations to the fans mean a lot, very much like a school graduation means a lot to the parents of their respective child(ren).