Mano Erina has graduated from H!P

[esm]

Solo idol artists just tend to be less interesting overall...

Mano has lots of good songs though. Her first album is awesome.

[Mizu_D3]

yeah right! Manoeri is good soloist at H!P, because not many soloist at H!P can play piano as well as her, talented, and nice voice (like child voice IMHO )

[Jessi]

What? Hajimete no Keiken is her best with Haru no Arashi, seishun no Serenade and My day for you!

I mean that's the thing... I just happen to disagree. I hated Hajimete no Keiken but all the others are just ok or good, but not great. It's like not good enough to put on my iPod and want to listen to it. It's just how I always felt about Mano.

Solo idol artists just tend to be less interesting overall...

I don't agree with this. At their peak Goto Maki and Matsuura Aya were awesome in ways that I haven't seen any H!P soloist achieve in a long time. They were super interesting and Mano and even Kikka (though not H!P) just can't compare.

[Sohee]

+Fujimoto Miki. Even though her peak as a solo artist was very short.

[iceymoon]

it's directly related to the music. Tsunku and whoever else is in charge of making/choosing their next song is more likely to enter snoozefest mode with a soloist than with groups. perhaps because soloists are more suited to ballads and mid-tempo songs? Ayaya had her Zzzzzzzzz era by the end of her run with H!P and Maki also had a string of less interesting songs in the middle somewhere. even if the individual songs may be good/enjoyable, as a series of songs they seem really toned down in comparison to their fun/unpredictable days and the artists become less exciting to us.. which is what i think has happened to all H!P soloists at some point.

except maybe Miki because she didn't get the chance to get that far.

[Rm88]

Koharu debunks that, though. Her stuff was top-notch from first to last single, I think she's my absolute favorite H!P soloist ever. Mano comes in second, but I do enjoy ballads, Otome no Inori is one of my favorite singles from her (my top two are definitely Genkimono and Love & Peace). Bleh, I'm going to miss her now that I remember loving plenty of their singles

[iceymoon]

i love Mano as well, but if whoever was in charge of her music direction gave her less ballads and more funky/sexy/interesting songs people probably wouldn't call her boring all the time.

true, i forgot about Koharu. but hey, there is a good example of what i was talking about.. if they don't slip into "let's take her seriously as an artist" mode with soloists you get only interesting songs. even the ones people don't like so much (Papancake) can't be called boring.

[Jessi]

Koharu debunks that, though. Her stuff was top-notch from first to last single, I think she's my absolute favorite H!P soloist ever.

Also true! I loved loved loved Koharu's solo career. I agree with her first to last singles were all great. I loved them all.

I never cared for Miki so I don't really count her, but she was quite successful in her day. I would agree with her being more interesting that Mano though. Koharu, Miki, Ayaya, and Maki all had that soloist feel to them. They are all such independent woman who can carry themselves without a group. Mano and Kikka never gave me that feeling. Reina has that feeling too, which is why i think her band has a good chance of doing well.

[Starra]

Kusumi Koharu was never a solo artist. You're thinking of Tsukishima Kirai.

And I dunno if I'd technically count her as H!P, since her music was only produced for the show/character and not for her specifically.

I'm not sure who my favourite solo artist is music-wise... Yukidon, maybe? As much as I love Yuuko most of her solo stuff was shit.

[Jessi]

Its the same person. Your nitpicking at this point since I know everyone understands that by mentioning Koharu as a soloist your really saying Tsukishima Kirari. Also she was H!P. She was on the H!P page as an H!P artist. Thats like saying Buono! Isn't H!P because they were originally made for Shugo Chara. Buono! is H!P.