Kobushi Factory to disband on March 30th 2020 (Last SG March 4th)

[Foni Moni]

That's a nonsense. I'd love to see someone plan a disbandment date, a single and everything else in just one day.

The single was probably already in the works as their next single, as was the performance. Any future performance can be set as a final performance simply cancelling or not booking anything beyond it. It's not so crazy that UF spoke to Ayano about the photo, Ayano confirmed that it was her, and UF decided she had to go based on the history of the group. If the other girls decided they'd rather disband than continue as a four-member group, that's that. I'm not saying this is definitely what happened, but it's not so far fetched, either. What makes be think it's likely, though, if the fact that KF got a full-length album just three months ago, and that leads me to believe that UF believed they would remain in the fold for more than seven month. But the logistics of KF's final single and performance were probably set in stone a while ago, just not as "final".

[resop2]

I find it hard to believe that they would come down on Ayano for having a boyfriend (if she has one) since she is very far up the food chain. I think it is more likely that they are disbanding March 31th so that Ayaka can transition smoothly into music college.

[Sohee]

^Yeah this. Whether Ayano having a bf or not is true to begin with and whether it's part of the decision - who knows. But Ayaka wrote a lengthy blog post abt how she went ahead applying to and even getting help from UF to schedule her activities to she could go to exams and stuff, so to me the leader leaving sounds much more likely to be a reason for disbanding. Especially considering the bond these five girls have with each other. Even if Hirose would leave, they probably COULD make it as 4, or even add 3 new girls or whatever to make two subgroups or something - it would work, but the whole "the five of us or nothing" seems to be a shared mindset among them so.

Considering Onoda Saori had way "worse" pictures out there and she got away with it without even being a center, I really doubt they would have disbanded Kobushi over this with Hamachan.

[Celedam]

For crying out loud, I can't believe I have to do this, but…

1) I said I COULD BELIEVE that IF Hamaura has a boyfriend then it was A factor in the decision; and

2) I said the timing of the disbandment is more about the fiscal year than about their contracts, and the fiscal year includes the school year.

I'm getting very tired of people taking one small part of what I said and then arguing with me as if it's the only thing I said. And it's not just here, it seems to be everywhere I go these days.

[Shoujo Q]

The fact that people are running with the Hama BF rumor has my eyes rolling in the back of my head. The photos in question and the evidence are so stalkerish that it just makes me sick and wonder why I even bother with this fandom sometimes.

This just feels like Berryz/C-Ute to me. Some girls wanted out so they decided to call it quits. Some girls went with leaving, others staying.

It sucks but that’s just the way this stuff happens. Speculation on reasons and trying to justify their leaving is just a knee jerk reaction to trying to explain something that’s really easy to explain.


Anyway. This news sucks but at least their last album was great. I’m just sad we won’t get more acapella stuff from them. I hope a future H!P group will carry the mantle forward with the concept. I’d hate for it to get lost.

[Sohee]

I can't speak for other people, but it's not just here on the forum but people generally seem to want to make this disbandment more about "Hamachan has a boyfriend" than the fact that Hirose wanted to leave the group, which is why I personally posted about that here. ^^;

About the timing of the disbandment, it's most likely definitely because school would start in April. The timing really sucks in general, though. I wish they would have given us some more time but considering everything there's no way they could have. Had they announced this earlier, it would have easily overshadowed Country Girls' disbandment, and announcing it right before Countdown/the start of winter concerts would have taken attention away from the actual concerts and Angerme auditions. So, it's all understandable but man the timing sucks.

I'm glad they're getting their biggest venue to date, though. I've been at TDC a couple of times, and it's quite a nice venue and takes about 3000 people or so. They probably could fit in 5000 to be honest, but availability and costs definitely would make it more complicated for sure.

[yumepin]

Just saw the news and I'm absolutely devastated. The response from fellow H!P members made me cry even more. Though it's been 5 years I can't help but feel the time they spent with us fans has been way too short. It's a pity I won't be able to see their last live, I wanted to experience at least one. I really love these girls. As much as I'm sad I understand that there must be a lot of new feelings and desires to make them want to disband. I wish them all the best. They certainly left their mark and I'm grateful they continued to work so hard and stay strong despite all hardships. It'd be nice if we could get a lot content from them these last few months

[JonCC]

1) I said I COULD BELIEVE that IF Hamaura has a boyfriend then it was A factor in the decision

Having a boyfriend means less chance that being part of the group is her main priority.
I'm all for idols dating whoever they want, but it certainly isn't conducive to career longevity.
No matter if it leaks out or not.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

Just saw the news and I'm absolutely devastated. The response from fellow H!P members made me cry even more. Though it's been 5 years I can't help but feel the time they spent with us fans has been way too short. It's a pity I won't be able to see their last live, I wanted to experience at least one. I really love these girls. As much as I'm sad I understand that there must be a lot of new feelings and desires to make them want to disband. I wish them all the best. They certainly left their mark and I'm grateful they continued to work so hard and stay strong despite all hardships. It'd be nice if we could get a lot content from them these last few months

I feel like this hurts a little more than °C-ute disbanding exactly because we haven't had nearly as long with them. I'm hoping they'll take pity on us and throw us at least one more a cappella video before they go out, without needing the latest one to hit 500k.

[Tobo_Junny135]

I had a feeling that Kobushi was gonna disband, maybe not this year, but later on. don’t ask me how, I just noticed the lack of single run, they haven’t had any auditions or added any new members (Rei is 18 now) and even if they did, they would have had to work out how to do acapella songs in future. I’m shocked but not surprised they are disbanding this early in the year. Considering the scandals with Rio and Rena, and Natsumi’s graduation (although I heard she had a scandal too) I wasn’t sure they could bounce back after that.

I’m gonna miss their acapella videos... hope we get at least one more before they disband, although that sounds selfish of me to request.