Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ Stage Play Official Blog Opened

The official blog for Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~  the stage play has been opened.

Like most blogs for stage plays, this one will be opened temporarily. Though this play has a very mixed cast so regardless of the blog’s short life span I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re all doing together behind the scenes. A summary about the play was released but it doesn’t tell us much so I’m hoping we can get some hints of the play through the blog and when the play does begin I’m looking forward to seeing what the characters are like since we’ve only seen small previews of things.

So far there’s only one post, which is from the staff member announcing that the special blog will start soon. It’s not much a post but hopefully the cast members will start posting and I look forward to it.

Just a reminder the stage play will be from 10/8-10/17, so we can get an idea of how long the blog will be active.

Official Stage Play Blog

More Details About Hello! Project’s Stage Play “Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~” Released

More details about the upcoming stage play featuring various H!P members titled Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ have been released.

According to a report from a press conference and a character list from a flier these are the roles for each of the members (thanks to Amped for the translation):

• Niigaki Risa will be Joan of Arc
• Tanaka Reina will be Tezuka Osamu (creator of Astro Boy)
• Fukumura Mizuki will be Cleopatra
• Suzuki Kanon will be the historical Chinese princess Yang Guifei
• Ikuta Erina will be Ono no Komachi
• Sayashi Riho will be Shakespeare
• Miyamoto Karin will be Genghis Khan
• Kudou Haruka will be Leonardo da Vinci

Roles for Mori Saki, Miyoshi Erika, Sengoku Minami and who I think is Takagaki Sayuki, are not clear though since the quality of the flier isn’t the best.

It seems that the stage play will have a very interesting theme since having H!P members play the role of historical figures is a pretty fun concept, and while I’m not sure who some of the members will be I can say for sure that I’m looking forward to seeing Gaki play Joan of Arc as well as Mizuki playing Cleopatra since the roles fit them perfectly.

It’s also great that they didn’t limit themselves to only female roles since Reina, Riho, Karin, and Kudou have male roles, which will be fun to see since we don’t usually see many members play male roles, and also because their outfits seem a bit more feminine than what their roles represent (I don’t think Da Vinci used a cute blue dress). Apart from the main female cast there are also four guys at the bottom of the character list, who I unfortunately don’t know much so it will be interesting to see if they are the villains or have some other kind of role.

I will update this post with info from the rest of the members once it is clear, but until then I hope many fans in the area can go to the play since it looks like a great way to enjoy a play full of historical figures and H!P members.

The play is set for 10/8-10/17.

Mantan Web Site

Gekidan Online Site

Morning Musume 9th Gen First FC Bus Tour Announced

Morning Musume’s 9th Gen is having their first FC bus tour.

This news isn’t too surprising since we were eventually going to get a FC tour of with just the 9th gen. Regardless, this is a great chance for the 9th gen members to show off their personalities and to spend some time with their fans. This bus tour will probably be a very interesting one since the members of 9th gen are still pretty young and energetic so there will be a lot of things going on.

Since not much has been announced regarding the FC event I wanted to comment on the promotional poster. I personally think this is one of the best pictures of the 9th gen members. They all look equally amazing and their smiles look a bit more softer, in some of the earlier pictures of 9th gen they looked a little awkward.

Hopefully all fan club members are able to attend and for those that aren’t able to attend there will still be plenty of other opportunities to do so.

The fan club is set for 11/5-11/6 and will be taking place at Yamanashi.

EDIT: A clearer picture of the flyer for the tour has been released:

Tanaka Reina To Replace Mitsui Aika In “Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~”

Due to Mitsui Aika’s condition, Tanaka Reina will replace her in the upcoming stage play titled Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~.

This was confirmed by a flyer which was released recently on the stage play’s site.

It’s unfortunate that Mitsui Aika won’t be able to participate in the stage play but due to her condition it’s best for her to rest up so she can hopefully soon recover, and while it might be disappointing, it’s good to see that Reina will be able to join the cast since she has done quite a good job with her past performances.

From what I can tell there is quite a lot of variety from the cast for the show, and surprisingly it appears that this cast will be mostly female (if not completely), which should be interesting to see since there might be a few members who play the male roles, for example Gaki who appears to be wearing armor with a sword.

Everyone looks really good in their outfit, especially Kanon and Mizuki who have an elegant look, although the flyer is still a bit too small to know for sure how everyone looks since it appears that most of the members are in the back with only Gaki and Reina clearly visible.

All that is left to see is a bigger flyer and the start of the play, so hopefully everyone who can attend the show will do so since it seems like it will be very interesting to watch.

The play will run from 10/8 ~ 10/17.

Update About Sayashi Riho and Mitsui Aika’s Injuries

According to a recent announcement by the official H!P site, Sayashi Riho is cleared and will be back in time for her PB event this week, she will also be able to participate in the Morning Musume Fall 2011 concert tour as well as the stage play.

Mitsui Aika unfortunately didn’t get cleared and still has a few more weeks of rest left from the advised 8 weeks, so she will be limited with her performances in the upcoming Morning Musume concert tour and stage play.

It’s great to hear that Riho is recovered and ready to come back to perform, especially in time for her 1st PB event since it would have been disappointing to see her miss out due to an injury, but the upcoming tour will be very important so I’m happy that she will be able to join in with the other members and give everything she has for Ai-chan’s last performances as a Momusu member.

Mitsui’s injury seems a bit slower in healing (most likely because it’s a bit more severe than Riho’s injury) but there is still time for her to heal since she still has a few more weeks of advised rest, and while we don’t know for sure how limited she will be at the concerts or how well the injury is healing I am still a bit glad to see that she will be able to attend the concert tour and won’t have to miss out on any days, just a few performances where she will probably have to sit down and sing.

Hopefully we get to hear good news about Mitsui’s injury in the next few weeks since it would be great to see her dance on at least one of Ai-chan’s final concerts, and while it doesn’t seem like it will be possible I do wish for her to recover soon.

Official H!P Announcement

Sayashi Riho – “Sayashi Riho” PB Cover Released

The cover for Sayashi Riho’s 1st PB titled Sayashi Riho has been released.

I am very impressed with the cover of the PB since unlike the DVD cover, we don’t get to see a close-up picture of Riho but a full-body shot of Riho in a blue and white school uniform landing from a jum in the air with a backpack on her back and smiling widely.

The freshness of the cover immediately catches the eye since the overall white setting with the daylight, the white street and her pastel colored uniform all add up to give a pure and fresh feeling to the PB which is maybe it’s purpose since it’s Riho’s 1st PB and she’s only 13 years old.

Apart from the amazingly cute picture of Riho smiling, the title of the PB is written in the same style that on the DVD cover but it’s bigger and in blue to match her uniform, and the nice touch seems to be that they gave the title a shadow on the picture which is nice since it could be taken as a full part of the picture, and even though I personally don’t like the phrase “Photographs by Tstsuo Watanabe” that’s been put randomly, I don’t think it bothers that much the cover.

Overall, I’m really impressed by how fresh and cute the cover looks, and even though I’d have liked the title to be somewhat smaller, I still think it fits the theme thanks to it’s color.

Hopefully every Riho fan can score themselves with a copy to enjoy a nice release from her since she hasproven us through magazine pictures that she is a real photogenic girl.

The release date is set for 8/27.

WaniBooks page about product

EDIT: Some scans from Up To Boy magazine are featuring previews from Riho’s PB so check them out below (Credits to Amped @JPLOP)

Bijou Gaku Volume 13 Cover And Content Released

The cover and content for Bijou Gaku Volume 13 has been released.

This volume is based on 9th gen’s debut up until their 1st concert so it’s no surprise that they’re featured on the cover. The content is all in Japanese so I can’ t figure out what all of the content is but from Google Translate there will be the Bijou Gaku specials 1-3, Maji desu ka ska making of and dance lessons, as well as footage from their 4/3, which is the day Morning Musume’s spring concert started.

Here’s the tracklist (thanks to Sara Yolland for the translation!)

• Morning Musume 9th generation Big Decisions SP ①
• Morning Musume 9th generation Big Decisions SP ②
• Morning Musume 9th generation Big Decisions SP ③
• 2nd Stage
• Video Card & Concert Lyric
• Sign Writing
• Artist Profile Picture
• Dance Lesson
• Fan Club Event
• Recording Studio
• Maji desu ka ska! Dance Lessons
• Maji desu ka ska! PV Shooting
• Concert Rehearsal
• Concert Coverage

Most likely other footage of their dance/concert/singing rehearsals are included but I can’t confirm that for now. Basically this is a collection of 9th gen’s beginning in Morning Musume and it’s great for all fans since years from now we can look back on this and see how much they’ve grown.

As for the cover of the DVD, it’s very random and cartoon like. There’s a lot of background pictures that I don’t see fitting into the DVD too well like the watermelon, sunglasses, and a hamburger. Maybe it’s someone’s favorite food/accessory but since the members are wearing neutral colors they somewhat stand out from the colorful background. However the title of the DVD is hidden by the colorfulness but the real focus is 9th gen so that’s ok.

Hopefully everyone can reserve a copy.

The release date is set on 9/7.

e-line up page

H!P discography page

“Ribbon~reborn~” Stage Play Title Has Changed To “Ribbon~Inochi no Audition~”

The title for the stage play featuring various H!P artists has been changed from Ribbon~reborn~ to Ribbon~Inochi no Audition~.

I’m not sure if it’s Ribbon~Inochi no Audition~ or Reborn~Inochi no Audition~ since they used Katakana for the first part, but the new title for the play means something along the lines of Reborn~Life Audition~ which matches the description that was released when the play announced, and while we might not have that many details apart from what we already know it seems like this play will be very interesting.

As mentioned before this will be the first play for most of the 9th generation, although it will be fun to see who stands out since they all seem like they could do really well in the play. Apart from that Riho’s injury will most likely be healed by the time the play starts, but we’ll have to wait and see what the result for Mitsui’s checkup will be since her previous check up resulted in a longer healing time.

For now the play is starting to shape up to be a very interesting event since it includes quite a lot of H!P and UFA members, but I hope we get to see some previews or at least a promotion flier by next month.

The play will run from 10/8 ~ 17.

Stage Play Site

Sayashi Riho 1st Solo DVD Titled “Sayashi Riho ~Greeting~”

Sayashi Riho’s 1st solo DVD is titled Sayashi Riho ~Greeting~ and its cover has been released.

I have to say that I’m particularly happy with the title of her first solo DVD since for first solo releases, the PBs usually are named after the idol’s full name while the DVDs have her first name only or a cute nickname, but in Riho’s case, she follows the rule for the PB’s title but not for the DVD since instead we get a very nice title that is somewhat ressemblant to the other 9th generation members e-Hello! releases.

Since the title is somewhat similar to the other Kyuukie’s e-Hello! that all had the word Greeting in them, it’s nice to see that they made Riho follow the same pattern since they will all have a similar release as their first solo release instead of Riho having a very special title that sets her apart from her friends since she already is the first one to have a solo PB while the others don’t have yet but should follow soon.

As for the DVD cover, it’s really small since it has been released on H!P’s site, but we can clearly see it since it’s only a big and bright picture of Riho similing in a very adorable and cute way while wearing a red and white top and holding her hair back in a ponytail, and even though it might seem simple, I’m really impressed by this picture since it shows Riho’s natural charm and beauty, and the greenery alongside the sunshine in the background really make this cover eye-catching and attractive.

Some might not notice it at first (I didn’t either), but the title is written on the left of Riho’s picture in vertical and in soft pink, and since it’s really light pink and the font isn’t too daring, we can’t clearly see it but it seems to be written in a very soft and curvy font that adds a nice touch to the cover, along with her name on the left bottom of the cover also in pink.

Overall, I’m really impressed with how this cover looks since Riho is really a natural beauty and made this cover simply amazing, and I’m glad that they went for this kind of soft smiling close-up shots matched with a nice font for the DVD’s name.

Hopefully everyone can reserve a copy soon since I’m sure it will be a memorable release for all of her fans.

The release date is set for 8/31.

H!P page about product

Mitsui Aika and Sayashi Riho Have Been Advised To Rest For A Few Weeks

According to the official H!P site, after her checkup Mitsui Aika has been advised by doctors to rest for 8 weeks. Sayashi Riho was also told to rest 6 weeks due to ischium nerve pain on her right side.

They will both miss the rest of the Hello! Project 2011 Summer tour.

As always injuries are one of the main concerns for fans and while both Mitsui and Riho will miss the rest of the tour it’s good to see that they will follow the doctors orders and rest to heal their injuries since their health is the top priority.

Mitsui’s left ankle bone fracture seems to need a bit more rest before healing, and while she did appear at events and concerts and sat down during the performances it seems that it’s for the best for her to miss the the remainder of the H!P tour to make sure her injury heals well.

Riho’s injuries are a bit more sever than I thought since I had the idea that she had only suffered a minor sprain, but it seems that she has ischium nerve pain, which according to Wikipedia is a fairly common lower hip bone injury caused by sudden movements during some sports although in this case it was due to the many hours of dancing that members need to due during performances.

Despite the reason for the injury, I wish both Mitsui and Riho a complete and fast recovery and hopefully after the 6 and 8 weeks they are both well healed and in perfect shape to perform once again.

Mitsui will need to rest 8 weeks and Riho will need to rest 6 weeks.

Official H!P Site