This is just a quick update to get my thoughts out there. Morning Musume announced the 12th generation a few hours ago, and I don’t think I can let a momentous announcement like that go by without at least a nickel in thoughts. This is now the third generation of Morning Musume that I have witnessed at their induction. I certainly think that the buzz surrounding this group of girls surpassed that of the tenth and eleventh generations. That might just be my personal feelings, but it seems the time is right for a shake up. With Sayumi leaving in a couple of months, the girls could use a shot in the arm. The excitement and the new blood will definitely do the group good! We can now look forward to our first pairing, the first clique, and the first tiff!
About those girls, there are four of them. By name, we have the Kenshuusei girls: Haga Akane (12) and Makino Maria (13), and the new girls: Ogata Haruna (15) and Nonaka Miki (14). This generation is very cute! I definitely think that they came across better in the video above than their initial images. It’s as though Sayumi hand-picked the cutest girls to join the group, lol.
Ogata Haruna from Osaka is the oldest of the girls. Her claim to fame is her background as a figure skater. Haruna began ice skating at age 5. We also know that Tsunku gave her the nickname Daisaku (apparently an homage to the Enka singer Ogata Daisaku. Personally, some folks have taken to calling her H2O, which I like a little better. If you’re keeping track, we now have a Haruna, Haruka, and Haruka. I suppose it’s too late to simply call her “Haru”.
Nonaka Miki is next in age. Although Miki was born in Shizuoka, she lived in the United States (Alabama and Illinois) for 8 years. Because of this, Miki is now the English master in the group. I hope we can expect to see some “Miki’s Surprise English Lessons” soon. Just to be confusing, her nickname is also “Mikitty” (and if you don’t know Mikitty, get yourself an education now). I think the rest of the fandom will reject this nickname as well.
In a mildly contested decision, Makino Maria from Aichi seems like the cutest of the four girls. Maria participated in the finals of the 11th generation and has been a member of the Hello! Pro Kenshuusei ever since, so we know a lot about her. Tsunku gave Maria the nickname “Makki”, which might make you think of Goto Maki, or not. Judging by her Kenshuushi photos, this girl is getting prettier and prettier. I hate to just talk about Makki’s looks, so let’s listen to a few clips of her singing!
Finally, our baby of the group is Nagano’s Haga Akane. Although Akane also participated in the 11th generation auditions, she did not make the finals. Akane then entered the first 12th generation auditions, but landed in the Kenshuusei when no winner was selected. This makes Akane the only Morning Musume member to successfully audition for the same generation twice. Tsunku wants you to call her Akanechin.
So, do you have any tidbits about the girls that I should know? Who’s your favorite?
