The PonPon Debate: Morning Musume, Meet Your Member!!!

Morning Musume, meet your newest member! 11th Generation's sole member, Oda Sakura, has been added to Hello! Project's flagship group. A former Hello! Project Kenshuusei, Sakura is 13 years old and was one of six finalists in the 11th generation auditions. Beforehand, she had participated in the S/mileage auditions but failed to make it into the group, and was instead added into the Kenshuusei. Now, she is a member of Morning Musume and will start her activities soon!

Pon-Chii's Thoughts:

I didn't expect this. I really didn't, especially considering the finalists were revealed only yesterday, so needless to say, I am honestly surprised, a little overwhelmed, and incredibly happy. I wasn't expecting any sort of announcement at all, but to know that the girl I really liked made it into a group I love, I am extremely glad and quite proud of her achievement. I think that she really fits the 'Suppin Utahime' image that the auditions were looking for.

I am happy - like, really happy that Sakura made it in. When I saw the finalists and heard them fully, she was the one I liked the most. I loved her voice and how happy she sounded when she sang, so I really wanted her in because, out of all the six finalists, I felt that Sakura was the strongest, so when I came home and my sister told me that the finalists were picked, and I saw Sakura there, I was really happy. Probably not as happy as when 9th or 10th gen were announced, but I was still happy about her being added to the Morning Musume lineup.

The shocker for most people though would be the fact that Tsunku picked one girl. A lot of people didn't want that as far as I remember, but from the start, I wanted a small generation for the 11th gen. When the auditions started, I was hopeful for one member, but as it went on I thought two or three would be okay, but not four. I'm glad that Tsunku picked one in the end, because the current lineup is filled with new members already, and also... I am pretty glad that the girl chosen was a trainee, because she would already know the members, so she wouldn't be a total stranger to them all.

I'm glad that Sakura was added. Her voice struck me in her audition, and I thought that her energy, how she looked like she loved singing, and how she sounded was what Morning Musume needed. She has this endearing look to her, and a clear passion for singing that will fit well with Morning Musume, and I hope that she will become a key member to the group the more we get to know her. Right now, we don't know much, but let's just say that I won't have to pick many favorites in the 11th generation lineup. 

Azupon's Thoughts:

Can I say I remember the first time I heard the news was posted on Twitter I literally fell out my chair and started to post it around the H!P groups. When I first heard about the finalists the  day before I really like the group of girls at first. (Of course I had my favorites such as  Reina, Haruka, and Sakura.) Who would have known after the turn of  events Tsunku would pick just one. We all thought Tsunku was going to pick up to 3 to 4 girls. (WHAT A SHOCKER!!!) 

My thoughts of Sakura is that she's very sweet plus adorable! When I first  heard her sang the audition song, Be Alive, her vocals were very strong plus she looked very confidence in what she was singing. Plus she touched me to the point I teared up after. That really shown that Tsunku wasn't playing around when he picked her. I definitely known for sure that  she will have a bright future with MM. Lastly, she will have my fullest love & support as a fan.

As of my thoughts for the next current lineup, I know most people are going to say this is going to be awkward or that there should have been more members picked. But in my opinion I think one is a perfect number because it is rare for one girl to be picked. The last time we had a 1 member generation was 3rd generation & 7th generation. So this is very fitting to have just one girl. Plus she will have her time to shine more for sure!

Mambapon's Thoughts:

When I woke up to see the YouTube video I thought to myself, "Whoa, Audition footage on my b-day~" and then I found out it wasn't audition footage... But the 11th Generation Member Announcement. Well then... *Starts to Gangnam Style*

So, I didn't really get to see much footage of auditions as everything came out very, very quickly, and thus I never got to pick a member to root for. However, from the very brief footage, I did want all of them to join. I thought all of them showed varying forms of talent and could all do well in Momusu.

Tsunku managed to deny my wishes of a six member generation and gave me one member. One girl to pin all my hopes and dreams of Morning Musume over throwing AKB48.
...I'm not going to count my chickens before they hatch...

Thank goodness he picked Oda Sakura. Definitely one of the better finalists. Adorable (but somewhat plain), has great confidence, a relatively good dancer and has a beautiful voice. I really hope UFA actually do something with her in terms of line distribution rather than throwing her in the back with the under-appreciated Zukki. What would be the point in having a one girl generation and then not flaunting her around a bit?

I am very pleased with the decision to add Sakura, my only concerns are 1) She may feel a little lonely, although she has spent a little time with Morning Musume as a Trainee, I highly doubt she is just going to fit in straight away, there's going to be some awkwardness. 2) I'm worried that she'll have a lot of pressure placed upon her to be really amazing with little training. She's the only one in her generation, there's bound to be some pressure - if not from UFA, then definitely from fans.

I wish her luck, and I hope everybody supports her.

 

Mei- Pon's Thoughts; 

Sigh. ヽ(ー_ー )ノ Looks like I'm going to be the downer here. I never wanted a single member gen. I don't think it worked out very well with Goto Maki or Kusumi Koharu, so I'd been hoping for two girls, an egg and a "regular". From the second I heard the finalists, I'd had my heart set on Kishimoto Yumeno (As you can see in my other post     (*≧艸≦) ) so I guess some of my dislike towards Sakura stems from being bitter at Kishimoto's failure. Also, Sakura didn't really stand out to me, at all. She fits in with the background, and I predict she'll end up as one of those voices you always hear in the back but is never a lead.     ~(>_<~)

I really don't want to come across as a hater, truly. （；へ：） I just think it wasn't a wise decision to add only one member. I also don't think its wise for fans to start putting so much hope into Sakura. She's been a member less than a day, and already shes being type-casted as "The New Aichan". Her voice is plain. Her looks are plain. Maybe she will amount to something more as the time passes, but at this point I'm not really impressed. Let's bring back Kishimoto, or Haruka, or even Maria. I don't think they were given a fair chance. o(╥﹏╥)o

Back to Pon-Chii

To counteract Mei-Pon: I do think that people are jumping the gun with Sakura, which is where I do agree with Kamei to some extent, however I don't feel that her voice is 'plain'. Looks, a little bit I guess, but her voice? Not really. I think that Sakura has a very pure and likeable voice, one which isn't too deep or squeaky, it's a nice medium which makes her stand out in the current lineup.

And with the little bit about the auditionees not given a fair chance; These auditions went on for a while, and whilst we may think that the time the girls were given since the news broke out concerning the finalists, we need to remember that auditions went on for much much longer than that, and big chance the footage we saw concerning finalists is probably a week or to old, who knows? It takes time to shoot scenes, it takes more time to look at the girls and check out their voices, and even more time to edit an episode of Satoyama Life, so whilst it may seem 'short' for some people, there is a chance that Sakura got the news that she had become a member of Morning Musume way before we got the confirmation that she became a main member, so I do feel that the other finalists had the chance they needed, because it was clear from some footage we received that there was a final judging stage.

Azupon wanted to added: Alright, I too had to jump in just say I do agree with both Mei-pon on people assuming Sakura will the next this or the next that. Honestly, Sakura is her own person that we need to get use to and see what personality plus image she will delivered up to Morning Musume. But I still feel that she really did step up in the audition fair and square gain the shot needed.