Morning Musume. '17 13th Generation : Kaga Kaede & Yokoyama Reina

[forgetmenots]

^Ogata is doing better than Miki, minus singing ability

Imo Ogata only exceeds Miki in looks/presence, and I think both are pretty cute. Miki's the better dancer and singer, but she needs to grow a lot more.

Ogata has way more personality, though. Miki speaks English... and that's it. Personality-wise I don't feel like I know her at all, meanwhile Ogata has been coming on strong since the beginning. Haga and Maria are even more bland, though.

I really don't think you can say Ogata is doing better than Miki right now. English may be Miki's thing, but she has gotten a lot of attention because of it (she even hosted J-melo) and on top of that has been featured in the singles over the other girls in her gen. I mean she co-led an A-side with Maachan... None of the other girls have gotten that much attention.

What I will say though is hands down Ogata is #2. She was my least favorite of the 12th gen, but I find myself paying more attention to her because she has a lot of personality and isn't afraid to show it. (Reminds me of maachan a bit lol)

I honestly forget Maria and Akane are in the group most days. ...Even off the top of my head I can't remember any time recently when either of them stood out...

I think this might be Japanese vs Foreign fans though. J-Melo isn't really as big among the Japanese fans as it is us, I've had to explain about it once to a wota so... >_> Ogata on the other hand has been picked to be on a lot of shows with other girls lately and tends to be the one that sticks out most to the Japanese fans (Look wise in MVs she's become one of the most striking girls).

I think that last year H!P had SO MANY new girls that they literally just weren't trying very hard with MM. To them, MM is always fine, so it's better to focus on the new groups instead (KF, TF, ANGERME rebranding, Country Girls). If Sayashi hadn't graduated, 2015 would have gone down as one of MM's low years I think. (60th single would have come out in 2016 and it was the best single for them this year so..). And with that 12th Gen didn't get pushed much at all (I mean they didn't even get any solos in their debut single, something that hasn't happened since... well... ever. At least one new member as always gotten a solo on a generation's debut single).

Haachin has done amazing for what she's got, has learned how to charm the camera, and has great timing. Miki's getting solo parts, center spots and is leveraging her English skills. Akane is very similar to Sakura in that her personality is very understated and we probably won't get a feel for it for a long time, until we'll realize that's what we like about her in the first place five years later lol. Maria is the only one that actually worries me. I've seen little progress from her at all in any way. She looks the same, still gets overly energetic in songs (though not as badly), gets about the same attention in songs, and her personality which seemed so strong in the beginning became rather one note.

What 12th Gen honestly needs to stand out is a 13th Gen. That's usually how it seems to work. Having juniors forces the girls to grow or be left behind.

[Amped]

you all need to watch more Morning Musume. DVD magazines to understand 12th gen.

[Zunu]

Amped, that's a fair criticism, from a fan perspective anyway. Back when it was hard to get my hands on good quality H!P stuff I would watch all I could find. I certainly don't do that any more. But from the position of the public, you can't expect a casual viewer to know or care that fan DVDs even exist. They need a map legend, something simple and memorable to distinguish one girl from the next in the vast ocean of Jpop idols, and that's management's job to make sure that happens by giving them well-defined roles, and teaching them to highlight their charm points and interests.

[sukibeam]

What 12th Gen honestly needs to stand out is a 13th Gen. That's usually how it seems to work. Having juniors forces the girls to grow or be left behind.

This is how I feel. Having juniors seemed to ignite a fire with each gen as they became senpai. I expect the same here.

[AyuHikaru]

I pay pretty close attention to Morning Musume. I watch those DVDs (even if I can't understand them T_T), I read the things, I scope the fandom and 12th Gen is REALLY hard to get to know. Miki is easy, aside from her English stuff, she is getting pushed in singles - which is always the main focus for fans anyway. I don't really need to know Miki's personality to know she is getting pushed as a the singer of 12th Gen. I didn't know Sakura for awhile either, but she sang the power lines and therefore was known. Never underestimate the power of the single. Who gets pushed in those is who gets known first. Ogata is SOMEWHAT easy. You have to kind of search around in the fandom instead of be lazy and just watch PVs like Miki, but she is really talkative so she eventually gets through, I think those old twitter posts the wota found really helped, too. They spread like wildfire and we knew Ogata before she officially started.
Maria is... harder than I thought. She started off pretty strong with the baseball stuff but she doesn't seem to talk much and isn't really featured in singles. I only notice her because her hair is ALWAYS ON POINT. I oshi Maria's hair pretty hard. Akane is the same - in fact I don't even know how I would describe Akane or even if I could. A few of my friends have decided to Oshi her and I want to ask why just to get to know her more, but I'm afraid that would sound rude haha.
I like 12th gen but they are reallllyy struggling compared to the ridiculous presence that 9th/10th/11th have. I THOUGHT Sakura struggled for a while but what she went through is nothing compared to this because she already had a niche prepared for her when she got in.

[otaku_blue]

I find it really hard to like Akane because she's the youngest in the group but one of the tallest members so its hard for me to appreciate her younger sister character. I just can't see her as this little kid that she's trying to come across as anymore since her growth spurt. I also don't like how lazy she can be with her expressions like Ogata Risa, that they're usually stoic or expressionless when they finally get their 2 seconds worth of screen time in a performance.

I definitely think it'll be a Oda Sakura type situation. There'll just be a bit more tension, resentment amongst the girls? As well as the pressure already with being an ace. Hopefully we get a Maki and not a Koharu/Maria though!

[Shoujo Q]

Maria's strong point is apparently her stamina in concerts and of course her visual skills. She's basically taking up the backseat roll Haruka and Masaki once had. You won't see her fronting right away but being built up to eventually front. I feel like this is also happening with Akane as well.

Beauty of a 4 member generation. You got one or two to use up first and then while you're not really paying attention the other few break out and come to the front once they find themselves. But they slowly build up a fanbase in the process.

[jeiwa42]

Maria is definitely slowly being built up. She actually has as many solos as Miki, but the difference being Miki getting to be in the front a lot more than Maria. And, yeah, the English thing really makes Miki stand out more because people can just go "She's that English speaking one" whether or not they watch J-melo or attentively follow her.
These two I feel are the two pushed, and Ogata and Akane are the ones who are developing on their own, with Ogata, I feel, is doing better in recently, but ofcourse Akane being young, and having stated before that she wants to stay in the group really long, has time to do so.

[Celedam]

Akane Haga, leader of Morning Musume. '23.

[321BreakinOut]

Following an abrupt scandal from Miki actually being a spy from America