Fanart Corner - Girlfriends

Chii and Miya

One third of Berryz Koubou in cartoon-style. Chinami Tokunaga trying to hug her "girlfriend", Miyabi Natsuyaki. Chii does not look like Chii (a pattern for the taller girls?) But Miya looks like Miya. Even for these two walking sticks, they are a lot thinner than they should be (if the heads were bigger it would be closer to my original cartoony concept. But their limbs are still too long.) Here, Chii especially looks like a pole. And Miya's pose looks painful. However, I think the outfits are cute though simple.

H!P's future rock star, Reina Tanaka! I think I captured her distinctive likeness pretty well here. I'm looking forward to coloring this with wild color.

Idol Challenge 25 - Double Trouble

Day #25: Past group you miss the most.

Oh gosh, this is so cliche, but I miss W. The W we can never get back. Even if there was a reunion (i.e. a miracle), I would still be missing W. Aibon's revelations of the truth made it so I can never see her in the same light again. I feel sad for how her life has been these past six years, but she destroyed the idol magic when she began making her comeback under a different label several years ago and basically told the fans how messed up her life was and how "Aibon" was all a lie. It's like if the guy in the Barney suit stepped out of his costume and told preschoolers that Barney's not real. The kids probably already had an idea, but the revelation ruins the character, too. I'm not saying idols shouldn't move on or shouldn't speak up about their problems. But once something like Aibon's situation happens, there's no turning back. Fans will always remember.

Also, the W image would be hard to maintain with two mothers now anyway. Here's where the purity aspect of idols comes in. Let's be upfront (yay, pun): a lot of idols, if not almost all, eventually get a photobook or photoshoot or video with bikinis in some quantity or form. Nono released a photobook not long before she announced her pregnancy. After she announced it, I saw some images fans had scanned from the book on forums and fanpages. All of the sudden it felt wrong to look at the pictures. Not in a perverse way, I mean. The pictures were artistic, particularly the shots I remember, and in good taste (one of H!P's hallmarks when it comes to swimwear shots) of Nono in a forest. It was one of those "one with nature" types of shots. But pregnancy does come from something that is usually not considered pure in our culture. Instead of looking at pretty pictures of one of my favorite idols (who isn't much older than me), I was suddenly looking at half-naked pictures of someone's mom. I was embarrassed.

The idol-ness of W is gone forever. They aren't coming back unless I listen to my old CDs or watch old footage from before the scandals. I can only play back fond memories of the first idol group I fell in love with. And so I miss them.

And as for why I love them so much to miss them (besides them being my first idol group)? Their music was so cute and catchy, their voices melded really well together, and the way they played a bunch of dumb hungry troublemakers intrigued me so much. Through music and character, they led me into this hobby and culture of idol fandom.

Idol Challenge 24 - A Sock o Soul

Day #24: Idol who is not your favorite but you still think is really good.

Risako Sugaya of Berryz Koubou. I admit, I was one of the people that thought Risako looked a little too full of herself, being the most pushed center. And I laughed at those unflattering pictures that cropped up in 2008/2009 that made her look like she had gained thirty pounds. But then the horrible comments people began making when it was discovered those weren't just bad pictures, she really was curving up, made me defensive for her. Next to the other girls, yes, she looks thicker. Put her in an oversize floral shirt, and yes, it makes her look bigger. But put her in a fitted dress and she can pull off looks the curve-less girls can't (and I don't mean 'fat'.) She's gorgeous.

And I think she's an awesome singer. She can pull off songs with soul, belting out lyrics with power. That power makes her stand out from the nasally and high-pitched singers prevalent in Hello!Project. I appreciate the variety she gives. Actually, of all the current groups, Berryz Koubou is the one with the greatest variety of voices, and I think Risako's is the power that binds them.

Idol Challenge 23 - Mari-a

Day #23: Past H!P member you admire most.

Mari Yaguchi. I really seem to admire or like the shorties: Momo, Nono, Kanyon, Chisa, etc. Mari's only 4'9", the shortest of them all! See, being among the vertically challenged myself, I admire these short women who stand out from their modelesque peers with personality and cuteness. But it's not really Mari's shortness that I admire. That's only one of the things I like about her.

It's what a cool person she is. She's the kind of person I'd want as a big sister. She's smart, driven, funny, sweet, spunky, cute, and ahh, I just really love her. She's a leader, too, training (what was at the time) the next generation of H!P idols. (I think she may have had quite an influence on Momo!) And she's vocal about her video game and manga nerdery and the fact she sleeps naked. She's awesome!

Idol Challenge 22 - Colorful Closet

Day #22: Favorite costume.

S/mileage's "Uchouten Love"

I really can't choose between S/mileage's "Uchouten Love" costumes or Morning Musume's "Kare to Issho" costumes. Both of those are relatively recent, so I wouldn't be surprised if within the next year, I have some new favorites. But for now, the two aforementioned costumes reflect two of my favorite tastes in fashion.

For "Uchouten Love", they have a "that's so 80's" look to them. There's nice bright neon colors that still retain a cool vibe. I love S/mileage's hair styles (that's part of the outfit, too, right?) and the wide-necked tops remind me of the ideal high school I dreamed of when I was little (and the disappointment when I realized those were re-runs from the 80's and nobody dressed like that anymore except teachers for retro day.)

Morning Musume's "Kare to Issho"

"Kare to Issho", however, looks like a comic or cartoon brought to life. Bright and vividly colored with lots of quirky detail. It's an escape to a more exciting, happy world. And they look so fun to draw. In fact, I'm going to be working on some small cartoony illustrations of the girls in these outfits because I love them so much!

Idol Challenge 21 - Spitfire

Day #21: Idol you respect or admire.

Chisato Okai of C-ute. She may not be one of my favorite personalities or voices, and I think her talent isn't as high as others claim (she's no Airi, her rival), but she has a determination I strongly admire.

When less popular members of her group began graduating and then C-ute pretty much had an Airi solo for a single, it would have been so easy for her to quit, too. (And it would be easy to assume she would then try out for AKB48 or a related group for more fame, but to be honest, I don't she would have fared so well over there either. Or at least, the odds would be against her. At least in H!P you have a greater chance for solo opportunities, just because of the smaller number of girls.)

Nope, Chisa doesn't quit, she takes things into her own hands (with approval from staff, of course.) She uploaded dance covers onto YouTube, the first of which garnered over a million views in a relatively short amount of time. This was before official H!P music videos on YouTube came close to that amount. Then H!P banked on this popularity with a photobook and allowed her to stand out more in singles, as well as have other solo projects.

And she really does seem honest and a hardworking. She doesn't pretend that she is problem free, she just works with what she has, relishes it, and aims higher.