Hello! Project's Station '25 ~YT · TV · Radio · Magazines~

[Zunu]

They're not showing anything and probably serve more as an accent ... but dem semi-transparent fabrics

There's a nice old-fashioned word for that, diaphanous, which for me always lends an air of luxuriant, exotic mischief when used to describe such fabrics.

[Daisuki Daiiyo]

[youtube]gm3D-iJ0oU0[/youtube]

This is required viewing.

lol aw, I feel kind of bad for Momo. Her Momochi character seems to be the only person actively working to keep BK relevant. I had always thought that her and Chinami had become friends by now lol, and maybe Chinami was just playing up the dramatics, but that kind of makes me sad if she just views her as a business partner lol.

I remember being a fledgling BK fan back in the olden times, and watching their first few DVD Magazine's and seeing how apparent it was that Chinami hated Momo, what with all of the stink eyes she gave her That had all seemed to mellow out now though, with their recent apperances, so I'd hoped that they'd come to an understanding and formed some sort of weird friendship lol.

It is an interesting look into how H!P operates though, and how (as we've suspected) they tend to push certain artists at certain times, often at the expense of other groups.

[randompasserby]

I feel like the term "business partner" used by several idols are usually less cold than it implies though, it just literally means they don't hang out privately. Even Sayu and Reina still describes their relationship as such even though they get along very well and could always rely on each other. Realistically, most of the girls interaction we can see onscreen belongs under this category too but that doesn't mean they don't get along at all or that they're all cutthroat and bitchy behind the scenes

Maybe Chii just likes to emphasize it more nowadays to feed the abuse-Momochi train that's been on a roll lately

[resop2]

Since Airi works with Chisato in C-ute and with Momoko in Buono, I wonder how she would weigh in on the "Momoko offering singing advice to Chisato" controversy?

[Rm88]

I'm pretty sure they're acting, I remember a magazine reporting Momo and Chinami going out together for some reason.

[Sohee]

I don't think they're best friends, but it's quite obvious they are. What other way to make "Momochi" seem more annoying than she already does, than to make her group members say that she is, too. It's all PR for Momochi (which leads to PR for Berryz).

[Zunu]

Seriously I don't know how anybody would think for a second that they weren't acting.

[Celedam]

At the heart of every good joke is a kernel of truth.

Do I believe that either Chinami or Chisato actively dislikes Momoko? Of course not. I'm sure they like her just as much as they like any of the other Kids. They've all grown up together. They're practically sisters now, for better and for worse.

But…

Chinami isn't very good at hiding her feelings, about anything; that wide-open expressiveness is her gift. And there have been many times when she's given Momoko the "just stop it already" death glare.

[Daisuki Daiiyo]

^ Pretty much that. And maybe the Momo-abuse-train is a Japanese humor thing that I just don't get when it's outside of the realm of her being kicked for her yurushite nyan gag lol.

Seriously I don't know how anybody would think for a second that they weren't acting.

Given the history, I don't know how one wouldn't at least question it for the aforementioned second?

It's always been so apparent, to me anyway, that Chinami and Momoko have had a strained relationship, especially around their debut (I'm pretty sure they all disliked Momo then tbh lol). Go back and watch any of their old DVD Magazines, especially the one where they have the hulahoop competition right before Maiha left, and Momo and Chii are competing. It is so apparent there and kind of awkward tbh. As time went on, everyone else seemed to be fine with Momo, but even in BK Alo Hello's around 06-09 there was still friction. I'm thinking of the one where they played the prank on the girls where the guy was banging on their van, and Momo had an overreaction lol. Some of the Miki-faces Chinami would make whenever Momo talked during Making-ofs too, are quite annoyed looking. But I thought it got better, especially around the time when BK went to Seattle, also we got that tabloid RM is talking about where Momo and Chii hung out somewhere.

So while she may be acting now (which would make sense seeing as they've all had so much time for that initial dislike to smooth over, as fans witnessed over time, and as previously mentioned), one could see how there could be some lingering doubt and how as a fan I could find some truth in Chii's words given their specific history. Add to that Momo's reaction and rarely-heard low toned voice, and etcetc. Maybe the jerky was something that annoyed her, but as it is with friends and their habits, you grow to love/not care about it over time.

I took no issue with Chisa lol

[Zunu]

@Cel: Sure, as with any acting, you are coming from a place that you know. Even so, it's obviously a set piece. I mean, does Momoko love beef jerky, yeah probably. Does the fact that she plays to the fans that she like shortcake really bother Chinami? Cause her stress even? One would hope not, that's their job to play to the fans' fantasies; Momoko's only doing what she's paid to do. Chinami's indignation's supposed to be funny, not a serious indictment of Momoko's character. But on the other hand, it serves the laudatory purpose of gently showing viewers that Momochi is a put-on, it's a shtick, and they're pulling back the curtains. I mean, we fans know this already having known her long before "Momochi" was born, but maybe some casual viewers have the mistaken impression that Momochi = Momoko. Momoko herself highlights this by specifically calling attention to the fact that her colleagues, who after all know her best, dispense entirely with the Momochi fiction. By letting the mask slip, they're effectively letting her have her cake and eat it too.

And as we have both wished for in the past, hopefully she'll be able to at least partially graduate from her one-note character and present a more well-rounded public face, like Sayumi has done.

The fact that Momoko had a ready prepared answer to Chisato's grievance was clue enough. But knowing it's fake takes nothing away from the hilarity of Chisato praising Mikitty, who couldn't give a flying rat's tush about giving advice to anyone, over Momoko.

Anyway, for the foregoing reasons I really like this clip.

@DD: Yes, the abuse-train is a fairly common setup on shows like this. It's a form of publicity. When celebrities get taken down a peg or two it humanizes them, showing that they suffer from the same plight as everyone else who has to swallow their pride and take criticism from their peers. It also gets people more interested in their personal lives. Does anybody really think that Brad and Angelina were on the verge of breaking up every 14 days for the past 8 years?

Regarding their faux outrage, I see it like this: If I greet my cute lil niece with an impish scowl and shout "C'mere ya little brat!!" even though there have been actual times that I thought she was being annoying, she knows that I'm not really thinking she's a brat right at that moment, I'm just pretending to be gruff for a moment, for comic effect. She wouldn't even think for a second that if I were really angry at her that I would greet her that way. I'd probably greet her coldly if I were. Similarly Momoko knows that if Chinami and Chisato had true grievances against her, they wouldn't be voicing them so effusively on a comedy show. They'd probably be reprimanded for doing so, even. It's obviously humor. Yes, you can single out instances of friction at some distant points in the past. OK, yeah I've had points of friction with my adorable little niece too, and probably with every single person I know, to boot.

I'm not trying to convince you or say that you're wrong, I'm just explaining why I myself didn't think it was possible to take seriously. If you did, or do, that's okay, nobody's getting a grade or keeping score.