A New Group Appears in the Idol World!

So, anyone who follows Hello!Project whatsoever is very aware of the new group Juice=Juice. Everyone has some different opinions on the new group- the members chosen, the eggs who were not chosen, their image, their sound, etc. Here I'm going to blog about the group and my opinions!

First, I'm going to start with the members of this group:

Miyazaki Yuka

Yuka is 18, going on 19 very soon, and is the only member who is not a H!P Kenshuusei to be added to Juice=Juice. Personally, I think it was a good decision. She is talented, pretty, and older. I think she will be very good for the group, and will be good for anyone who took special notice of her in the unit Green Fields and wanted to get to know her better. She has a really nice voice that is only going to improve in an active group. Her "fruit" (color) is Peach. I personally really look forward to getting to know her better.

Kanazawa Tomoko

Tomoko is 17 and super pretty. She was first introduced to us at the December 2012 H!P Kenshuusei concert, so she has been in training a very short time before being chosen for a group. Her fruit color is Apple. We know very little about her at this point, but I am really excited for that to change. I can see her trying to take on a very 'cool' sort of image. Her profile picture and color give off that vibe for me. Also, I read that she likes the idol group Fairies (a favorite group of mine, read about them in this blog post) and they have a very mature and cool sort of image, so she might really like that sort of image and want it for herself.

Takagi Sayuki

Sayuki is 15 and a total cutie. She's been in H!P Kenshuusei since 2009, and the training shows. She has surprisingly strong vocals despite her baby face, and is a pretty powerful dancer. She gives a really great performance. Her color is Lemon (which is pretty impossible to read on white, and for that I apologize. xD) Sayuki is a favorite of mine, and may end up as my oshi in Juice=Juice. Only time will tell~

Otsuka Aina

Aina is 14 and the short-haired member of the group. (Clearly I'm running out of things to say, but personally I love seeing a group with one girl with shorter hair. xD) Aina was first seen by H!P fans in the 9th generation Morning Musume auditions. She did not pass, but in 2011 was added to Hello!Project's kenshuusei program. Her fruit color is Orange. I was a fan of Aina during the auditions, finding her to show a lot of potential and to be the best singer at that time. I've followed her a bit since then, quite liking her, but not completely considering her a bias of mine. However, I was very excited to see she would be in this new group, and after seeing her perform with them, I fell for her all over again, and am really excited to see more of her in this group. Clearly, she is the other girl in this group who may end up as my oshi. It's a tough battle! xD

Miyamoto Karin

Karin is 14 and is the most experienced member. She joined H!P kenshuusei in 2008, and since then has been in the shuffle unit Shin Mini Moni, and has also been in many plays/musicals, has had some photoshoots in magazines such as UTB, and has done solo work as kopink, with 5 digital singles and a mini-album releasing on March 20th. Her color is Grape. Karin is definitely talented as a singer and dancer, and I hope Juice=Juice gives her a chance to shine (as she has been waiting for this for several years) as well as show/develop more of her personality which, I feel, we have seen surprisingly little of in her 4 and a half years with H!P kenshuusei.

Uemura Akari

Akari is 14 and surprisingly the youngest member of Juice=Juice. (She has a rather mature appearance, so, compared to the other girls, I find it a small shock she is the youngest. xD) Akari was added to Hello!Project kenshuusei suddenly in 2012, and drew a bit of attention at that time. She was in the 213th issue of UTB, and will be in a stage play with several current and past H!P members in April. Her fruit color is Melon. Akari gives off a 'cool' image to me. We have seen surprisingly little of her since she joined H!P kenshuusei, but it seems that will finally change.

Those are the members of the new H!P group known as Juice=Juice! Despite the definite cuteness quality of some of the members, we were told by Tsunku Juice=Juice would have a cool, sexy image. This shocked many fans, but when you take a second look, I think it's very possible and can really work for them. Especially as they are an indie group- by their major debut I am sure they will have had the time to truly perfect this image. Tomoko and Akari already give off quite a cool image naturally, and though Aina can be really adorable, she is great at showing a bit of attitude. Yuka is going on 19, so I am positive she can pull this image off. Sayuki and Karin are the biggest "cute" looking members of the group, but they are also the two with the surprisingly strong, mature voices and the most dance training. I truly believe this image could work well for them.

Many people are upset about eggs who did not make it, but I do not worry. H!P is getting older, and will need to begin building some new groups, as much as I hate to think it. The members not chosen likely did not fit the image of this group, and they are going to be added to a new group in the future, that may even already be in the planning process. I expect a group very different from Juice=Juice, a group with a fun, lively, energetic, and maybe childish sort of feel. So don't lose hope if you are fans of eggs not chosen- I can see them fitting very well into a group more like that!

Juice=Juice will be releasing their first indie single, Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne,

 on April 3rd, and many of are extremely excited for it. If you have not seen it yet, I definitely recommend you check out this video of the live performance:

All of them performed really well, and it was live, which makes it more impressive for me. The dance is very cool, the song has an awesome sound (loving that saxophone <3) and all the girls are very capable singers. I was pleasantly surprised by Tomoko's voice when I heard it- it's really great! Karin, Sayuki, and Aina all shine a lot on the dancing, and that smile Aina has going on is too cute. 

All in all, a really great first release, and a really promising group.

I highly recommend everyone buy their first indie single, if you like them at all and can even possibly afford to. It's a great song and a promising group of girls, and I'm really hoping it can sell well. 

If you are interested in grabbing a copy, please buy from the link below! I will get CDJapan points so I can buy the single, too. (Currently, I only have $2, which overs about 2/5ths of the shipping cost. However, thanks to those of you who have bought things through my blog, I have 761 CDJapan points. So I only need about 300 yen to be able to grab this! I'd like to say thank you SO much to those of you who have bought through my blog, it means the world to me. And anything you buy by March 31st will give me the points by April, so I can grab Juice=Juice's debut single! If you have anything you plan to buy from CDJapan soon, let me know and if it's something I have interest in, I will blog about it and post a link on my blog so you can buy through me. It'd mean so much to me!)

Buy Here

Hopefully this single sells really well for an indies single, and the group gets some attention and makes a quick debut!

And now, some questions for those willing to comment:

♪ What was your first reaction upon hearing there would be a new H!P group?
♪ Do you think you will like Juice=Juice?
♪ Do you have a favorite member yet? (If so, who?)
♪ What do you think of their first single?
♪ Did you buy or do you plan to buy their first single?