Manoeri and the new dawn of civilization

The explosive Manoeri in Ongaku Gatas' debut single, spring 2007.

Take the collective sentiment that Ray over at American / International Wota has displayed for Momoko, multiply that by, say, 100 – then shove it all under a big rock for three months. That about sums up my own suppressed opinions about Manoeri, or Mano for short.

Hard to believe that Mano, left, was an Egg as recently as this July 29, 2007, H!P concert.

Mano, Mano, Mano. Turns 17 on April 11, getting up there in years for a Hello Project Egg. Got her shot with Ongaku Gatas, cut a couple singles with this fine band, performed in a few concerts, received more than her fair share of attention on all the wota Web sites and – holy mackeral, she’s suddenly the second coming of Goto Maki.

Here a Mano . . .

That must be it. Tsunku’s otherwise fine lineup of all-girl groups has been decapitated over the past year; he’s lost a major-league soloist in Gomaki, who just up and quit (later to sign with Avex) after  being made to slither around like a sidewinder during the January 2007 Hello Project winter concert at Yokohama Arena. Yossie graduated from Morning Musume, and Miki got the boot because of boyfriend issues.

There a Mano . . .

So why not just give it all up to a kid who has practically nil in terms of vocal credits? OK, she looks very, uh … great, actually, somewhat like a younger Gomaki but … well, even better looking than her, and can move and smile and laugh like, uh … well, Yossie, only she’s better looking and more pleasant than the steely Yossie, and, uh … maybe Tsunku isn’t so dumb after all.

Everywhere a . . .

But I smell another TNX or Pony Canyon rat amidst all this hoopla about the spritely Mano leapfrogging above almost everyone in the company to attain this lofty, if undeserved, status. And how are we to read this? Tsunku said March 2 that Mano is already out of Gatas, and that she will be out of the Eggs as of March 29, but then what?

Mano, Mano!

Please, please don’t sell this kid out to Pony Canyon, which has already cherry-picked Momoko, Miyabi and Suzuki from Hello Project for Buono! (yes, do the math, Buono!'s new album has already done 18,000 in the short time it’s been out, and since Pony Canyon is charging AKB48-level prices for it, $34 US, the earnings have already gone to more than a half-million bucks US and the promotion for this album has barely begun). At least Berryz Kobo and °C-ute have held up through all this, but how long will that last?

Mano, center, upstaged Gatas' Konno and Yossie, to the right, in the H!P summer bash, July 2007.

And, oh Lord, don’t hide Mano away in some closet like what has happened to The Possible, who play in obscure clubs and whose noble Egg beginnings have been corrupted by some kind of twisted insider’s game tucked within the seedy underbelly of the J-pop music business.

So much for the Mano vs. Nocchi (at right) Egg rivalry!

Or it could be that Mano might have surfaced in, say, the proposed Milky Way unit, in which Gomaki, otherwise known as simply Gocchin, had been rumored to be a future part of. Now, hold on, it’s coming to me … that actually makes sense. Having Gocchin and Mano in the same group, maybe paired up like Abe and Maimi? But, alas, that is not to be as Kusumi and a couple more lucky Eggs will be in Milky Way, it was announced recently. 

Otherwise, the possibilities are endless.

Otherwise, it’s good-bye to Mano for now. The good thing about all this is that I can finally justify paying all that cash for the January trip to Japan to see Ongaku Gatas live, three times, doing both singles each time – with Mano. Little did I know that would be the last time I might ever see this fabulous talent.

This is Radicalipton signing off –  for now.

Bye, bye to you, too, Mano, and may your solo career blossom with or without us!