I spent some quality time this week listening to Morning Musume's gigantic music catalog and along the way I had some revelations which I thought might serve as interesting reading.Everybody knows (well, now you do) that if I HAD to choose an all-time favorite Musume, I'd choose Kago. Why? She liked to pull pranks and wasn't particularly into education. After about a week of being shy, she had tons of energy and endless confidence. She's got big, dark eyes and an infectious smile, and more often than not was funny as hell. She did impressions of other famous people, some of which were terrible, and some were right on. She played coy with the public, pretending to be oh-so-innocent but couldn't hide that gleam in her eye which only meant that she was trouble (in a good and bad way). Also, her unmistakable voice has a nice 'bite' to it, so whenever she shows up on recordings you can tell it's her right away. Even if I'm listening at the office, I still want to scream "Kago-CHAN!" in time with the music after her lines.
Now that I've said that, this post isn't intended to be a Kago-lovefest. I'll have plenty of those on my own time because I've made my choice and no wota can tell me differently.
In choosing a favorite, I'm not saying that I hate all the other Musume because it's simply impossible to do so. I may like some more than others, but really, all 25 members throughout the group's history have made a positive impression on me and I wish the best to all of them.
Still, anyone who's followed this group has picked their own favorite (sometimes it changes) and I'd bet that the most common reasoning is that "she's better than the others". I could say this about Kago, although many would disagree. So is it all just in my head that every time I watch a video she stands out in the crowd? Am I making it up that her voice is so much more unique than the rest of the group? From a completely impartial perspective, I have to say yes. At some point I made a conscious decision to be 'on the lookout' for Kago, so that when the video (or the song) is over, I can say smugly to myself that she was the standout, and the rest were just there to support her. Other people talk about their favorite member and I think, 'are you crazy?'
Why would anybody pick Yoshi? She's got talent, but always seemed a little too boyish for me (which might be attractive to others). Her voice is unmistakable if you're listening for it.
Why would anyone pick Yasuda? She's got talent but always seemed a little too plain to me (which might be attractive to others). Her voice is unmistakable if you're listening for it.
And so on. Not to pick on those two, because I think that both Yoshi and Yasuda have made the group better, and again, all the members have done that. So why are they not my favorite, and why do I not hear them as individuals when they sing lines of songs? Because they're not Kago, and I'm not paying particular attention to them, that's why.
And, for a completely unknown reason, (eerily similar member) Tsuji never gets a high spot on my list of favorite Musume. She's my second favorite W member, and W always scores consistently high on my favorite H!P group list. She's my third favorite Mini Moni member (hey there, Mari-san!) and Mini Moni always scores consistently high on my favorite H!P group list. But as an individual, I can only tolerate others when they say she's so great; I just haven't felt that way. This anomaly only proves my point that once you've decided who your favorite is, objectivity goes out the window.
Sometimes you get so caught up with a certain member that you forget that others are even in the group. Some, of course, are actually more popular than others, and this depends on a lot of things which I won't even try to list. All in all, Morning Musume is an interesting cross section of the celebrity marketing industry, a topic which could span several hundred pages of investigation; and we, the consumers, aren't as diligent as that when we make choices. No matter how hard the marketing folks could try to push their favorite member on us, we'd still decide on our own who is the most favorable.
So when I say that Kago is my all-time-favorite (if I HAD to choose), I know I won't be converting anyone else to my belief. Maybe, though, she's one of the members you've 'forgotten about' (but not very likely in this case) and you might start trying to notice her a little more.
So if I say that Kamei Eri is my favorite current member -- and she may or may not be -- some who've forgotten about her might wonder what makes her so intriguing to me, and start to see why I would think that. Of course, in the end, it's up to whether I think she's better than the others.
So go ahead and pick your favorite members from whatever group you're infatuated with. Because I could agree or disagree, and any mention (good or bad) only keeps that person in the public eye. As well, they (the marketers) demand that you do, so they can find out what works and what doesn't, so they can keep your wallet open and keep on owning your wota ass. But oh, how great it feels to be owned.