Yamagishi Riko and Kishimoto Yumeno graduated Tsubaki Factory/H!P on Nov. 6th at Nippon Budokan

[Idol Tenshoku Ondo]

Maybe I should further explain specifically what I have been disliking about generational groups is how frequently members are added. Angerme added members every year between 2015 and 2021 and it just killed me. When every single or two is a debut/grad single it stops being so special, that's what I don't want for TF.

[KakureW]

Gotta agree with Shoujo Q on this one. TF became a generational group the moment they welcomed new members.
I think everyone agrees UFP/members were holding back graduations due to the pandemic. And with Tsubaki, they had the aftermath of the Risamaru stuff (including adding new members) to deal with. Now that the pandemic is almost done (Japan is almost fully open now), it was obvious there was gonna be a flurry of graduations. I think we should be prepared for anybody before Yokoyan to graduate over the next year and a half.
Tbh, Riko's graduation is kinda expected for me, but Kishimon's is surprising. I thought she would continue another 2 years, but if she has found another goal then that's that.
What I find interesting is if we do have an exodus, how will UFP handle it. Riko graduating due to being close to 25 can't bode well for Icchan, Kurumin, and Miyo in Beyooooonds. I really don't wanna see Beyo become a generational group, but the office might not have any other option. And with the dwindling ranks of the Kenshuusei, they would need 3 auditions a year to have a hope of keeping a steady supply of Kenshuusei while finding new talented members.
I will say though, I do think Tsubaki's chemistry looks very good since the new members joined, to the point that whereas in the last audition that had to do a joint one with J=J, this time they will have enough of a pull on their own for auditions.

[Amped]

Upfront
Thank you for supporting Tsubaki Factory and Hello! Project.

Yamagishi Riko and Kishimoto Yumeno will graduate from Tsubaki Factory and Hello! Project after their concert tour scheduled for this Fall.

Yamagishi wants to pursue an acting career, which she has wanted to challenge herself when she turns 25.
Kishimoto wants to graduate from the group because she is now determined to work as a solo artist.
Since last year, we have been discussing the timing of the graduation.
The timing of this announcement was also due to their wish to make the announcement before the start of their Spring Concert Tour.

Further details will be announced as soon as they are finalized.

We will continue our activities one day at a time, so please continue to support Yamagishi Riko, Kishimoto Yumeno and Tsubaki Factory.


Yamagishi Riko
To everyone.

I, Yamagishi Riko, will graduate from Tsubaki Factory and Hello! Project after this year's Fall tour.

I am very grateful to all of you who have supported me through all of these years.

Last year, I conveyed my intention to graduate, and as the leader of the group, I was planning to let you all know after I made sure that Asakura Kiki graduated safely.
Kishimoto Yumeno also decided she wanted to graduate at the same time because she had a new goal.

As for my future activities, I still feel the same love for acting that I felt the first time I performed on stage, and I have always wanted to work on stage after graduation.
From now on, I have to carve out my own path.
I will continue to do my best to create opportunities to meet you.

Since joining the Hello Pro Kenshuusei in 2012, I have had so many valuable experiences.
I will never forget the day I was chosen by Tsubaki Factory. I was never good at public speaking, so when I was chosen to lead the group, I know everyone was worried, but I was the most anxious myself.
But I think I was able to grow little by little thanks to the support of the members.

I think that working in a group is a community of fate in good times and bad.
However, I believe that the bond between the members deepens as they spend and overcome these various days together.
Each member is reliable and I believe they will make Tsubaki Factory an even more wonderful group in the future.

I will cherish every day that I can sing and dance in front of you all and make many memories until graduation. I hope you will continue to support me.

Kishimoto Yumeno
I am Kishimoto Yumeno.
I would like to report to you.

I will graduate from Tsubaki Factory and Hello! Project after the Fall tour.

Including my time as a trainee, it has been a little over 10 years and I have experienced a lot.
I auditioned not because I wanted to be an idol, but because I wanted to be a member of Hello! Project.

I fell even more in love with singing, which I had always loved, and had a dream of singing on my own someday.

When I was hospitalized last spring and watched Tsubaki Factory's activities without me from my hospital room, all the members were more reliable than I had trusted them to be, and I thought that the group would continue to be strong even after my graduation, so I was able to make the decision to graduate.

After graduation, I would like to express myself not only through singing, but also through writing, speaking, fashion, fitness, and many other ways.

In the remaining months of my idol career, I will "desperately try" to leave something good for the group. I would be very happy if you could support Tsubaki Factory.


http://www.helloproject.com/news/15845/

[Starra]

I think H!P could do with a group or two that are smaller and have a stable lineup, but then you get situations like Kobushi where they don't add new members and go "Whelp bye then" because the group isn't making enough money or whatever stupid business reasons. (Then again, I do think Kobushi got fucked over by Covid, so that didn't help.)

The track record for stable lineups is pretty spotty. Sure, you get the groups like Buono! and Melon Kinenbi who stay the same and last for ages (side note: Melon releasing an album called MELON'S NOT DEAD and then disbanding within the same month or so will forever be hilariously sad), but you also get the Taiyou to Ciscomoons, v-u-dens, and arguably Country Girls (I know they added Yanamin & Funakki but I still think they count). After a while it seems like UF doesn't really know what to do with those groups anymore, and they either hang around doing nothing or they disband.

Also, FWIW, there are currently 65 main H!P members (as in anybody who's not a KSS), with 4 set to graduate by the end of the year already. I believe this is the largest lineup of main members in H!P history, although there were 58 (62 if you count Shugo Chara Egg!) members at the big 2007 winter concert. Including KSS, there're 75 members total, and I think the previous record is 69 (nice), which was also in winter 2007.

So, yeah, it seems like there are a lot of members because there, well, are. This size isn't unheard of, but I can see UF getting in financial trouble if they're not careful.

[Celedam]

Then again, I do think Kobushi got fucked over by Covid, so that didn't help.

How so? They discussed and then announced their disbanding before the pandemic was a thing for anyone outside of China. The pandemic became a thing in the months between their announcement and their final live, but that doesn't mean the pandemic had anything to do with it.

Really, the remaining five members never recovered from the events of 2017. Whatever happened behind the scenes with Fujii, Ogawa, and Taguchi, it fundamentally broke the group.

[Starra]

Then again, I do think Kobushi got fucked over by Covid, so that didn't help.

How so? They discussed and then announced their disbanding before the pandemic was a thing for anyone outside of China. The pandemic became a thing in the months between their announcement and their final live, but that doesn't mean the pandemic had anything to do with it.

Really, the remaining five members never recovered from the events of 2017. Whatever happened behind the scenes with Fujii, Ogawa, and Taguchi, it fundamentally broke the group.

I just meant in that even if UF had wanted to go against the members' wishes and added new girls anyway, or, like, restarted the group with a different lineup (which they could have theoretically done), they weren't able to. Ultimately yeah, it has nothing to do with those members graduating, but I think in another timeline Kobushi could still exist with some of the different KSS. Maybe even some of the members who ended up in OCHA NORMA for all I know.

(Also, I may have forgotten the timeline of events a bit. I thought the announcement happened just after the pandemic, not before. My bad. But I still think those other scenarios could've happened.)

[Solarblade]

I mean they left the door open to restart Country Girls but haven't done anything with that...

[KakureW]

Really, the remaining five members never recovered from the events of 2017. Whatever happened behind the scenes with Fujii, Ogawa, and Taguchi, it fundamentally broke the group.

This.

Getting back to Tsubaki grads, I do wonder if the next audition will attract more applicants because there are now four generational groups in H!P, since there will now be more opportunities to debut. It might even lead to a rise in KSS numbers.

[Celedam]

From another thread…

Hello! Project Station #474 (19 Apr 2023)

07:04~ Comments from Riko Yamagishi and Yumeno Kishimoto of Tsubaki Factory

https://youtu.be/l4_UaJZNQzk?t=424

[shineweare]

Tsubak Factory no Happy ni Sugosou Yo
Yamagishi Riko & Kishimoto Yumeno have first discussion after graduation announcement