Best in J-Pop ♫ Vox 2009-11-12T13:45:38Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom tag:vox.com,2006:6p00cd97093b5b4cd5/ > ☆ Berryz Kobo, Spring 2009 ☆ > TsuShiMiMaRe blows roof off Yoshi’s in S.F.! tag:vox.com,2009-08-19:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd5011016c478f0860d 2009-08-19T07:33:10Z 2009-11-12T13:45:38Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Yayoi, bassist, rips it for TsuShiMiMaRe, Aug. 15, S.F. (Photos c2009 by G.A. Carroll) Erilaz, before the insanity of Bacteria, TSMMA and Noodles. Yayoi and TSMMA, background, look on as Misha Kurita, 7, left, and dad Ken rock out. How five average American-looking girls transformed from plain-Jane ... ... to incredibly kawaii Akihabara babes at New People, Aug. 15! Low-key Noodles, on smoke break before Aug. 16 show at Yoshi's, got lost in all the noise. Superstar Mari of TSMMR in one of her rare calm moments Aug. 16 at Yoshi's. Omodaka, left, his portable monitor, and his Babes of DokiDoki-land.

Mari is everything she’s cracked up to be, and more. Take it from Erilaz, who got a little more than he bargained for during TsuShiMiMaRe’s explosive hurricane-force show in San Francisco over the weekend. It wasn’t enough TSMMR got crazy and...

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]]> All-girl bands from Japan invade S.F.! tag:vox.com,2009-08-11:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd5011018015ac0860e 2009-08-11T07:58:07Z 2009-09-28T07:14:32Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Red Bacteria Vacuum: Like the name, the music is meaningless, but incredible. TsuShiMaMiRe: This threesome will be handing out many musical treats. Noodles: They look as hard-core as they sound, but are balladeers, too. 6%DokiDoki: Just what in the hell is this? Akihabara in the Bay Area?

Holy moly, Tokyo Benten finally got smart and just brought the girls along this year in a twisted version of Japan Nite 2009 that will explode this weekend at Japantown in San Francisco. That’s when “New People,” a new Japan pop-culture center,...

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]]> Momusu's graduations and °C-ute’s future tag:vox.com,2009-08-09:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd50110163fcbdd860b 2009-08-09T07:08:06Z 2009-08-16T07:27:27Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Eri, center, January 2008, might beat Risa and Aichan to the graduation table. Yokohama Arena, 2006: Venue is worth $3 million per show to Hello! Project. Risa, far left, and Aichan, next to her, January 2009, will soon join Mako and Konno in retirement. Risa, left, with Aika, fall 2007, might be running out of time.. Risako, top center, and Maimi, bottom left, fit almost too well with Momusu in January. While °C-ute's Suzuki, center, 2007, is safe in Buono!, Hagiwara, left, and Chisato are not. Saki-O, with Manoeri, January 2009: Is the super-Egg headed for °C-ute or Momusu? The Eggs are all good, but there's just not enough of them to go around.

Tsunku♂ needs a graduation to keep Yokohama Arena a paying venue for January 2010. Just like when Yossie graduated from Morning Musume in May 2007 at gigantic Saitama Super Arena – and Miki left soon thereafter – the Japanese supergroup faces an...

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]]> °C-ute’s catastrophic collapse continues tag:vox.com,2009-08-03:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd501101681d3bb860c 2009-08-03T08:08:40Z 2009-08-09T08:39:52Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Umeda of ZYX in 'Fly High,' age 11, 2003: Future greatness was obvious from the start. Umeda, right, January 2008, never 'measured down' to Chisato, Suzuki and Saki. Umeda, left, makes the magic happen with Aichan, Yurina and Murata, summer 2007. Umeda, a ZYX snow angel in 'Shiroi Tokyo,' January 2004, Saitama Super Arena. Umeda, in yellow, fronts °C-ute, fall 2007 at their peak, Yokohama Blitz.

Why is Umeda graduating from °C-ute so soon (in October) after Kanna's recent retirement? Enough already. What in hell is going on, and why is all this happening all at once? The only thing I can imagine is that Tsunku♂ has a master plan afo...

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]]> UFA: Please, don’t let Yokohama Arena shows die tag:vox.com,2009-08-01:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd50110163bdd8e860b 2009-08-01T18:38:03Z 2009-08-09T08:44:09Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Hello! Project, spring 2007: The staff and ensembles have shrunk considerably since Hagiwara of °C-ute, center, fronts Melon Kinenbi, Yokohama Arena, January 2007. Berryz Kobo, Yoyogi Hippodrome, 'Selection Collection,' summer 2005. Melon Kinenbi, background, summer 2007 at Saitama Super Arena. Hello! Project explodes in Saitama Super Arena, summer 2007. Fans stream into Yokohama Arena for Hello! Project Winter, January 2008.

Hello! Project’s summer concert season, now under way, has numerous dates and locations, an excellent setlist and the usual array of fine ensembles – Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, °C-ute, the ever-improving Eggs and up-and-coming soloist Manoeri....

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]]> Morning Musume and the NHK breakthrough tag:vox.com,2009-07-29:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd501101858f909860f 2009-07-29T17:43:38Z 2009-08-11T05:42:03Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Reina fronts Morning Musume with JunJun, fall 2007 in 'Hello to You.' Eri, Aichan and Risa front Morning Musume in 'Bomb Girl,' fall 2007. Hello Project performers scorch 'Bomb Girl,' January 2008, in Yokohama. Maasa of Berryz Kobo fronts exhuberant wotas, all 'Hachama,' January 2006. Yen on display, Tokyo Midtown, 2008: NHK is going for the global gold.

NHK, the Japanese entertainment conglomerate, has some smart people running the show. Not only has the company unleashed a global satellite/cable TV service, NHK World TV, it invited Morning Musume to be a guest on one of its premier programs, “...

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]]> Manomusic: The masterful marketing of Manoeri tag:vox.com,2009-07-23:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd5011017f552cb860e 2009-07-23T08:36:09Z 2009-07-29T15:06:06Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Manoeri is winning fans, breaking hearts and fattening UFA's bank accounts. The explosive Manoeri in Ongaku Gatas' debut single, spring 2007. While Manoeri's keyboard work is simplistic, UFA's marketing plan is just the opposite. Manoeri, above, resembles °C-ute's Maimi, who looks older but who is younger than Mano. Kusumi, center, carved a unique path into Hello! Project that Maoneri is now following.

The decision by Tsunku♂ to pull Manoeri out of the ultimately doomed ensemble Ongaku Gatas took people by surprise in early 2008. Nobody is surprised now, and Manoeri has established her own genre of music. Call it “Manomusic,” for lack of a ...

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]]> Madara’s Morning Musume miracle tag:vox.com,2009-07-18:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd5011017f1f21c860e 2009-07-18T08:05:09Z 2009-07-20T03:41:03Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Madara, center, scoops the world by posing with Morning Musume in L.A., July 1, 2009. In comparison, a recent magazine shoot in Japan. Japanese college students interviewing U.S. tourists in Akihabara, January 2008. Kids reading manga on JR East: Japan needs more of the little tykes. Tokyo Midtown, January 2008: Japan is a fabulous country, but aging fast. Dancers at Wonderful Hearts in Nagoya, January 2009: They need to grow up and make babies.

You have to hand it to the guy. Madara wasn’t pulling any of our legs, and it’s easy to see why he stayed completely silent about the whole thing until it actually happened. He didn't want to screw up his big chance. And he didn't. The photo...

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]]> AKB48 vs. Morning Musume? No comparison tag:vox.com,2009-07-15:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd501101674aa8c860c 2009-07-15T19:37:43Z 2009-07-30T20:17:03Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

AKB48's Akimoto, center: An innovator, but nothing like Tsunku♂ of Hello! Project. Ono of Team K keeps hopes alive as one of the all-time great idol stars of AKB48. Sayaka, of course, made the cut, and remained classy and beautiful throughout the process. Schoolgirl obsession remains AKB48's forte, and limits their appeal. Hello! Project, January 2008: In contrast to AKB48, a lot more color and pizzaz.

AKB48 continues is headline-grabbing series of theatrics, and remains a major force in J-pop and idol music despite the self-destructive tendencies of creator Yasushi Akimoto. The recent so-called “Massacre” in which fans were permitted to vot...

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]]> Close encounters with Morning Musume tag:vox.com,2009-07-12:asset-6a00cd97093b5b4cd50110184c6c9d860f 2009-07-12T06:26:25Z 2009-07-14T17:29:21Z Rad♂ http://radicalpatriot.vox.com/?_c=feed-atom

Aichan showed superstar presence during the July 3 concert at Anime Expo 2009. Yes, I took this picture! That was July 2, with Eri, Risa and Aichan beaming. Koharu, Risa and Reina live it up during the scorching July 3 concert at AX 2009. Tsunku♂, between gigs during Anime Expo 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Aika, center, and Koharu, right, front Morning Musume during the historic July 3 concert. Yep, took this one, too, squeezing in Sayu, far left, this time around.

Wow. In the aftermath of Morning Musume’s visit to the U.S. and concert at Anime Expo 2009 in Los Angeles, it appears that Hello! Project media, bloggers and the mainstream press received a mixed reception – and, hence, an anguishing mixed acce...

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