Idol Challenge 20 - Butterfly Charmer

Day #20: Most charming idol.

Zukki. She is able to draw my attention just by being her silly and cute self. Actually, Airi fits this, too. They are idols that are so likable whether their talent is rough (Zukki) or more polished (Airi). It's mind-boggling that they both have vocal haters: one camp thinking that idols shouldn't weigh over a hundred pounds ('cause you know, we have complete control over our bodies during puberty and any weight gain is the result of too much cake that we may or may not have eaten); while another camp is upset because the most skilled vocalist gets the most lines (C-ute now has solo songs for all the members and, well... ouch.) Despite both girls having sweet, modest personalities. But I think if just their characters are examined, it's practically impossible to hate them. Unless the hater happens to be a Care Bears villain.

Anyway, I choose Zukki over Airi, though, because I enjoy her sense of humor more. Airi also has great wit, but Zukki delivers her craziness with such enthusiasm and smiles to give me warm fuzzies and laughter every time. But that's charm, right?

Idol Challenge 19 - Like a Confident Badass or Butterfly

Day #19: Who would you like to be for one day?

Haruka and/or Zukki. Haruka is very close to my self-image when I was twelve. But she seems to have way more confidence, so being Haruka for a day would be like re-living my past in a more ideal way (I really liked my 6th grade year and have many fond memories, but my tendency to avoid people and not talk in front of class made me get some poor marks and I wasn't able to go to my best friend's birthday party, even though she was moving that year...)

Zukki also seems to have tons of confidence, not afraid to make those strange bug impressions of hers on television and concert stages in front of thousands of people. Also, she seems super happy most of the time. It would be amazing to have a whole day feeling confident and joyful.

But the coolest thing about being either of them is being a Morning Musume member for a day and being able to enjoy it because of the confidence and happiness!

Basically, I'd like to be the girls I most relate to, because I'd probably feel strange or have nightmares coming back from a day being someone like Maimai, who I think is cute but I can't relate to at all. (At least going by on-screen persona.)

Idol Challenge 18 - Kappactress

Day #18: The best actress.

To be honest, I've rarely seen the girls act aside from the acting they do as their idol personas. I know the girls act a lot in musicals and do have some movies and television shows they've starred or appeared in, but I haven't found them accessible and I don't have the time (let me know when Crunchyroll, Viki, or the like have them available to stream, though.) But I have seen commercials for some of the them, so I have concluded that Airi is currently H!P's best actress. (This is all my opinion from what I have seen, of course.)

She's such a goofy character as an idol, the laid-back absent-minded genius. So it really surprised me to see how cool, dark, even sadistic she appeared to be in the commercials for the horror movies "Ousama Game" and "Gomennasai". Looking fierce and such for a magazine photoshoot is different than actually acting out in a believable way on film (i.e. idols that can do sexy poses for modeling photoshoots but come off as dorks if they try the same pose on video, because they start laughing too hard.) In the commercials for those movies, I didn't just see Airi, the idol, but I saw an interesting character that made me wish those films (especially "Ousama Game") was available with English subtitles (legally, I mean.)

Idol Challenge 17 - Fangtastic

Day #17: N00b trying to bury their way into your heart.

Meimi. Unlike Haruka, who I liked practically from the start, I didn't know what to think of Meimi at the beginning. She was cute, both her face (yay, fangs!) and her voice. But she did have that weird forehead thing going on (though admittedly it made her stick out more and more fun to draw) and there seemed to be a lot of complaints about her. Normally in auditions, I just have my own opinions and the opinions of others aren't likely to sway me, unless there are some hilarious ideas for a girl's future in the group. We usually haven't seen all that the judges and producer have seen, only little snippets of what the agency wants to show us, so with all these girls we haven't seen much of, it really comes down to viewers' personal preference of which girl(s) will make the best addition(s).

But I wasn't able to see much of the S/mileage audition footage since I was busy and without Internet for awhile, and suddenly Meimi was announced as a winner. I was rooting for her, for the aforementioned cuteness, but then I had doubts. Did I miss the part where she was an annoying banshee that couldn't sing? And then I saw footage from Hello!Pro Time. And the live-streamed concert on YouTube. And then she became a lead singer when my least favorite member left. She may have messed up on her notes a bit in that concert, but she really can hold a tune most of the time and her voice is still so cute. And at least she sounds all right in the studio versions of the songs! (Maybe there is some recording "magic" going on, but at least it's to better appreciate her voice.)

I'm also a fan of her crazy hyperness, which makes her a lot more entertaining to watch than other members of the group. Any idol that can give me giggles has won a piece of my heart.

Fanart Corner - Fresh Legs

Maimi - Airi

The other half of C-ute, the more promoted/popular half, Maimi Yajima and Airi Suzuki. Maimi's face looks off, but Airi looks like Airi. Though I am proud of their shapely legs (and Airi's cute hand on her chest pose), their proportions are too close to their actual proportions for this series.

Kanyon

Kanon Fukuda caricature. Back when she had longer hair. I think I captured her features and character well (those eyes are so sneaky and teasing!) But I think her face shape is more round than what I have drawn. Like most of these caricatures, the wrist and hands are terrible. I think I was going to fix them when I inked, because technically, these drawings were never meant to be shown to anyone until they were finished. But that hardly went anywhere (only one was ever finished.)

Fanart Corner - The Smiles VS Linlinman

Sakichy - Yuukarin - Dawa - Kanyon

Old-school S/mileage in cartoon-style. I drew this around the time Sakichy and Kanyon had their haircuts, hence the visible edits. This reminds me of how much S/mileage has changed since 2009. Like C-ute and other drawings in this series I haven't posted yet, the heads look fine to me, what I was going for (maybe they could skew a little more in the cartoonish or realistic directions.) But the bodies are too elongated. I went from big-headed cartoon-characters to more realistic proportions to... you'll see.

LinLin

Part 3 (final!) of the Graduation Special! (Super)LinLin(Man)! Again, a One Piece reference. She's such a dork. But that's the only thing that really tips me off that it's her in this drawing, so I consider this one a failure. A costume and an aura are not the only ingredients in a good caricature.