My opinion of this H!P member drastically changed when...

[KeriChan12]

^And just remember: One of those Onyanko Club members ended up marrying one of those weird old men, their producer Akimoto Yashushi (he's now AKB's answer to Tsunku), so I have no doubt those creepy old geezers'd love to abuse their power. Another reason for me personally to respect Tsunku even more: He looks at the girls as if they were his daughters, rather then some young hot bimbo who they have easy access to.

To make this post somewhat relevant to the topic: My opinion of Gaki-san dropped when she said she actually wanted to graduate with Ai-chan, but management convinced her to stay for a bit instead. While she really deserved the leader title (we all know who the actual leader was during the Platinum Era after all), It was just so obvious she was more than done with the group, that passion she always used to brim with was nowhere to be found, and I felt the way she communicated with the new members at the time also gave this 'can't be arsed' vibe. Especially when you compare her tenure with Sayu, she seemed so lackluster at the end. Such a shame to end her awesome idol career like that. That being said, her graduation concert was great, and she seems a lot happier these days and that's what matters after all.

[Celedam]

I can't bring myself to believe that things like the dating rule serve to do anything other than make the girls more marketable to wota

Of course.

But I don't understand what's so awful about that. It's part of the job/lifestyle, and the girls know that going in. If they don't like it, they can quit, and many do. An idol complaining about the rules is like a nun complaining about her vows.

Remember, an idol is by definition an object of adoration. She exists for her fans.

[TotallyUncool]

To be honest, I just don't like any industry that caters to the infantile fantasies of the most emotionally-stunted segment of its market (and by that I don't mean all wota - just the ones who would get seriously upset if their idol had a boyfriend, or even went out on a date; there is something wrong with them, and I really don't give a flying F if anyone gets upset that I said that). And yes, that does mean that most Hollywood movies make me want to hurl, and I haven't turned on my TV in six months. I ignore an enormous amount of stomach-churning BS in the idol industry (I grew up on this planet, after all, and I am a card-carrying member of the human race, so by nature I'm good at ignoring BS and going on with life), because there are enough parts of it that are charming, lighthearted, fun, amusing, and non-icky (which is more than I can say for most of the crap that comes out of Hollywood). But the ickiness is there, and as far as I'm concerned, the no-boyfriends rule is part of it.

[Zunu]

The no-date rule discussion is more of a rant, so I'm gonna follow up in that thread,

[TotallyUncool]

And I'll get back to the subject at hand, with a general questions:

Haruna fans (hey, AyuHikaru! ), when did she first start to go on about honey? I guess she changed her color to honey in July 2012, but I just sort of gradually noticed her honey obsession.

Or to put it another way, let's talk about how strange and charming Haruna is until everybody else here goes crazy.

[AyuHikaru]

She started calling it Honey THE MINUTE she got it, like right after she corrected that it was "Honey" to play off of the Chocolate Brown thing. She then started doing the "Your Honey, Everyone's Honey" thing on her blog shortly after. I miss her doing that, she needs to pick that up again.

Oh are we gonna have a Haruna discussion?

[TotallyUncool]

I think so -- let's hijack this thread and turn it into a Haruna thread!

I have this image in my mind now of Haruna pouring a large jar of honey all over the stage just before Morning Musume comes on, so everybody has to sing and dance while ankle-deep in honey.

[erilaz]

She should do a dance routine with Winnie the Pooh.

[TotallyUncool]

Accompanied by the rest of Morning Musume in bee costumes -- which inevitably brings this (ancient) video to mind

[sb]

Well let's go again.

Captain - She went from being a creepy little alien girl, to me being impartial when I finally 6 to 7 years after the fact, got into Berryz. But then in Seattle I saw her in person and my goodness she was gorgeous. After that I really caught notice of her dancing ability and she is now one of my favorite H!P members.

Momoko - I really disliked her. She just looked annoying. Once again meeting her in person changed this. The girl was just "on" the whole time. Smiling, happy, it was unreal how she was with the fans. I respect the hell out of her for it and I don't think I could ever dislike her again.

Chinami - Another who just bugged me. Same deal as the other two I saw her in person and had a nice little English/Japanese conversation which shifted my opinion. She came off as such a sweet little girl that weekend. I can't dislike her either.

Maasa - Even when I wasn't into Berryz Maasa was a girl I paid attention to. Even though she had a blank look she was still pretty. Nowadays she looks like she doesn't give a crap about anything. She's basically one is the major f my least favorite H!P members.

Miyabi - She was really whatever to me but because of Shining Power and Berryz announcement that they were heading to Sakuracon, I saw a lot more of her and they way she carried herself. Her femininity and charm appeal to me big time and she is my favorite Berryz.

Yurina - Was my favorite and is the major reason why I finally caved in to paying attention to Berryz. But she's like a kid in a grown, attractive woman's body. She has these physical gifts that very few idols have and her personality basically wastes it. If she had even half of what Miyabi or Captain bring to the table she'd absolutely dominant. She, like Kaori, is effected by my tastes changing. If I was 15 years younger I'd probably love her.

Risako - She should be a top ten, maybe top five H!P member to me. And was, cause even though she has lax moments and I don't really like her voice, her looks were amazing. She was next level hot in Heroine! and Ai no Dangan and still quite young. Then she decided to be "individualistic" and her look has suffered greatly. If she wants to do her thing, that's fine. She's a grown woman she's allowed. But I'm allowed to not be a fan of it as well.