Why I Love Ayami

I had actually started to write this post long before Muto Ayami announced her decision to take a break from the entertainment world, but I kept putting it off - keeping it on the back burner as I worked on other more pressing things (or just goofed off instead of working). I guess this can be seen as another example of the classic "you don't really appreciate what you have until it's gone" syndrome.

There has been a lot of speculation about the meaning of Ayami's hiatus, or even if it is a hiatus at all...the worst fear is that Amuse has decided to cut ties with her, and this is Ayami's way of saving face. I know that often in Japanese business relationships, you cannot take everything said at face value, but I don't think this is the case this time. Ayami has been working almost continually since 2008 (not to mention attending school), so I find it perfectly natural if she wants to take a break and think about her future for a while. But anyway, here's why I love Ayami.

My admiration of Ayami is based on two things: First, her wonderful voice and personality, and second - and probably a bigger factor - is her strength of character and sense of dignity. I'll explain what I mean...

When Sakura Gakuin first began - in fact, even before it first began - it seems obvious to me that it was an Ayami vehicle. Well, that's probably too strong a way to put it, but it's clear Ayami was going to be the face and the voice that lead this plucky new upstart idol group. Twinklestars songs seemed crafted to highlight her vocal talents, and her outgoing personality and sense of humor made her a natural leader for SG. And then a funny thing happened.

Babymetal, started as a subunit of Sakura Gakuin, became more and more popular, to the point of eclipsing SG in terms of both devoted fans and media attention. It must have come as a bit of a shock to Ayami, finding goofy little Suzuka suddenly somewhat usurping her place in the hierarchy. The fact that they were friends, having previously worked together in Karen Girl's, must have made it especially confusing and frustrating. But maybe that's where she also found her strength of character.

It would have been easy for Ayami to become bitter and feel slighted (and for all I know there may have been some problems, but if so, they were kept in private), but instead she carried herself with a maturity far beyond her years. For someone so talented to have so much self-aware graciousness and dignity, as well as appreciation for what she has been able to accomplish, seems almost super-human given the level of maturity often displayed by stars even twice her age.

And that is also why I love Sakura Gakuin so much. In other idol groups, there seems to be a lot of jockeying (that's a little joke for the TA's) for position, and sometimes backbiting, whereas the SG girls seem to genuinely care about and support each other. SG has a unique atmosphere that I really appreciate.

I still think of Ayami as the best voice in Sakura Gakuin history. I expect she will take some time and get her head together, then craft an amazing re-entry into the music world. Or take up horse racing full time because why not. Or perhaps pursue her life-long dream to become the world's cutest burikko idol. Or join the competitive Pop-Up Pirate circuit. Her choices are limitless!

Funny girl

Good luck, Ayami, and come back as soon as you are ready!!!

Virtual Reality

Shy On Camera - Unboxing 3776

Irresponsible Speculation

Well, it's raining and I've had about a pot and a half of coffee. I'm all cooped up and bouncing off the walls, so what say we engage in a bit of prognostication? After all, I totally nailed Logica 1.2...

*Babymetal will release a new album in March 2016. It will have been two years since the release of their debut, so they've had plenty of time to come up with new material. And world awareness of them has grown enough that an exciting new release is sure to gain them lots of attention, just in time for the big Wembley show.

*The name of the next Babymetal album will be Kawaii Metal. Or something like that.

*2016 Nendo president will be Kurashima Sara. She will also read the farewell address for 2015 graduation. Over/under on Sara shedding tears is 90.5 seconds. I say over.

*Rinon will cry during her graduation speech.

*I will cry more than Rinon & Sara combined.

*Rinon will win the 2015 nendo test because she is a genius and has been gaming the system this whole time.

*The next surprise appearance on LoGiRL will be Horiuchi Marina and I will scream so loud I wake up my wife.

Please let me know how wrong you think I am in the comments!

Review - Message

Welcome to the first in my series of reviews Sakura Gakuin and related artists discography until like everything else it eventually peters out and I give up!

Today I will be reviewing Sakura Gakuin's first full-length album, Nendo 2010's Message. Seeing as how it has been out almost five years, it may seem strange to be reviewing it. That's something you'll get have to get over. I'll rate each song on a scale of 1-10, and then conclude with an overall album rating.

I've been hearing for years that "the album is dead" thanks to the resurgence of a single-driven industry facilitated by iTunes & the advent of downloading music. I still believe that a well-crafted album is more than just a random collection of songs, no matter how good, and offers the listener a transcendent experience.

So, diving in...

Su, you brought spatulas...what the hell?

FLY AWAY - The album opens with a soaring number ( just a little joke for the TA's in the room), and sort of a bold choice for the opening track of a debut album, sampling briefly from the tracks that come later. It's powerful and energetic, and really gets the listener pumped up for what's to come. FLY AWAY is a magnificent selection for an opening track, although in all honesty any of the first 3 songs would have been excellent choices. (9/10)

Hello! IVY - Lots of people have told me that this is the best song in the album. While it's so clearly not, it is absolutely an infectiously catchy song. I initially was not so taken with this track - I blame the guitar solo, which felt a little to studio-corporate (even for Japan) - but it has grown on me over time, no doubt to all the video of lives I've seen. (7/10)

Chime - This song is a little different from the first two, less traditional and with an unexpected sound. It's as powerful and inspiring as the album's opening track, but with a more mature and self-assured calmness to it. There's no denying that Chime has become one of the songs most ingrained into the institution of SG; the song's opening notes are the go-to sound track for introducing new members and merch at live shows. Chime is simply baked into Sakura Gakuin's DNA. (8/10)

Happy Birthday - This song is the first appearance on the album of an SG sub-unit. Let me just say this to get it out of the way: I Love Sub-units! What a great way for the individual girls to better showcase their unique charm points!! They are like the funnest thing ever!!! Okay, that said, Happy Birthday is one of the weaker sub-unit songs; it's great for when your friends on Facebook have a birthday and you can post the video on their wall, but for day-to-day listening, it gets a little repetitive. A good, not great, song. (6/10)

Princess a la Mode - I'm so glad they put two Mini-Pati songs on this album. This one is the obvious superior to Happy Birthday. The 8-bit effects are a bit stronger and more nuanced. It really hurt me bad in my soul to give an average rating to a Marina song, so I'm glad to give this an (8/10)

Brand New Day - Unfortunately, this is Scoopers only song. However, they went out on top. This song is amazing! It has a bit of an 80's Joe Jackson meets the Cars feel to it. But it's better than either of them. Way better. I would have thought that Ayaka's voice would overpower the soft-spoken Airi's, but it turns out they complement each other incredibly well. (9/10)

Dear Mr. Socrates - The Twinklestars sound has always seemed a little redolent of Ben Folds for some reason. Whatever, it works well. Upbeat as hell, it's impossible not to tap your foot along or drive aggressively but joyfully through the streets well above the posted speed limit while listening. (8/10)

Medaka No Kyoudai - Definitive Sleepiece masterpiece. Just try to keep your hands from moving during CHUNCHUN. (10/10)

Doki Doki Morning - By the end of the first chorus, it's obvious Suzuka has found her calling. Even if this wasn't an incredibly great song - which it totally is - it's game-changing importance to the landscape of modern music (especially the stagnant metal genre) as the beginning of BABYMETAL earns it an impossibly high rating. (11/10)

Yume ni Mukkate - Another uplifting song is the vein of Chime, but with more importance placed on all the girl's voices coming together in a stirring chorus. Good stuff! (8/10)

Message - Finally at the very end we get to the title track. If there was an official SG school song, this would be it. I don't usually go for ballads, but with this I cri evrtiem. (8/10)

Overall, I think you can make a pretty good case that Message is the best SG album ever. Hell, I certainly wouldn't argue with you. The tracklist almost plays out along the chronology of a nendo: the early excitement and energy towards the beginning, getting involved in clubs and academic life in the middle, and then finishing with a bit of weepy-eyed sentimentality and nostalgia at the end. Especially given that this is a debut album by a bunch of young and (for the most part) inexperienced singers, Message is close to perfect. (9/10)

Ibaraki Highschooler

I used to know this girl who has since seemed to drop out of facebook who was huge into [Ibaraki Highschooler]. I usually don't friend underage girls or boys because it's kind of really weird and creepy, but I will make an occasional exception if they are someone who seems mature, intelligent and also they never, ever message me or bother me in any way. This girl on facebook was 16 or 17, I think, but she was more articulate and witty than most college graduates I know, so I made an exception and accepted her friend request.

Anyway, this girl who has since dropped off the face of the earth (not unlike her oshimen) would always tell me that deep in her heart, what she really, truly believed is that [Ibaraki Highschooler] is life, [Ibaraki Highschooler] is love. I wish I could write it so that you might see it conveyed in its original, beautifully poetic form, but jackals at Amuse are so relentless.

Until she opened my eyes to the glory of [Ibaraki Highschooler], she held a place in my heart somewhere near Rau, basically right in the middle of the of the pack of the (at that time) 19 members.  I've discussed this before, but for a quick review:

• Oshimen: Marina, Yui, Megumi, Soyo, Mirena

• My queen: Suzuka

• The reason for my smile: Moa

• 2nd tier: Hinata, Rinon, Hana, Ooga Saki, Maaya, Ayaka, Kano, Sara, Ibaraki Highschooler

• Middle girls: Raura, Shirai Saki, Marin, Ayami, Airi, Momoko

• Not so crazy about (still love & support them, but whatever): Aiko, Yunano, Mariri

And before you ask, yes it's possible to have more than one oshimen. I totally looked it up online and everything. Don't worry if they don't seem to make sense: all of these categorizations are legit and ISO-9000 certified for your assurance.

Now for me, Mariri falls into the bottom category simply by the virtue of the brevity of her tenure. The 2012 nendo was before my time in this fandom, and there just isn't very much available recorded material to get to know her very well. Plus, she is the only member in SG history to quit - it seems almost like a rejection or betrayal on her part!

And so, somewhat ironically, one of he things that has endeared Nene-don - is Nene-don okay? -

*receives cease & desist letter from Amuse, Inc.*

- okay, one of the things that has endeared [Ibaraki Highschooler] to me is the fact that she herself came very, very close to quitting Sakura Gakuin in her second year as a middle schooler. You can read about it here; it's fascinating stuff if you've never heard about it before. Reading about it brought out another dimension in [Ibaraki Highschooler], and made me appreciate all her hard work and sacrifice - done especially for fukei like you and me - all the more.

It does make me wonder, though...what if she had joined Mariri and quit? How would I (and the rest of the fandom, for that matter) have seen her - would it have had that same sense of rejection or betrayal? Would it seem worse due to her long tenure in SG, and even before that, in Mini-Pati? The more I think about it, the more I feel that probably would not be the case. I think I'd see her as a tragic figure, maybe like a victim of the unforgiving idol machine that pushes these girls to such extremes. Plus, she would have been undefeated in the nendo tests, so there's that.

In any case, I admire her moxie in sticking it out and overcoming the adversity. And I support her decision to leave the industry on her own terms and go into the field of nursing. Can you imagine getting hit by a car in Ibaraki and ending up in her hospital? What a rush.

So yeah, maybe [Ibaraki Highschooler] is one of my second tier girls, but of course...

...each of the girls, no matter which tier, have their special and endearing charm points. They all deserve our appreciation and support. They are all our precious members.

Even Mariri.

Can't stay mad at u gurl

And especially [Ibaraki Highschooler]

Ichiban! ICHIBAN!!!

Iida Wowza

Okay, so this picture is the closest Sakura Gakuin has come to breaking the internet since Honjo Day (May 25, 2014 #NeverForget):

Wow, Rau...

Everyone is talking about this picture, so let's talk about it.

Actually, I don't want to talk abou tit. All I can say is that if Raura is comfortable and happy with her work, then I completely support her.  It's difficult to wrap my head around all this, because I still see her as the stern little ragamuffin who sang Mini-Pati songs and slapped people when they needed a good slapping.

For me, Sakura Gakuin-era Raura was not one of the girls who popped out at me and demanded attention. She was a wonderful member and remains a wonderful person and Super Lady. She was not one of my oshimen like Marina or Yui, but there is one thing about Raura that has endeared me to her...well, two things, actually: her 'BossPanda' mentality that helped provide a maternal influence to all the kouhai, and this wonderful sentiment she expressed:

I use this phrase like all the time

Ganbare, Rau!

*Sigh*

They grow up so fast...