Wota in Translation

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 19:59:42.44 0.net
Jissai

2: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:01:42.58 0.net
Tsuusan

5: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:10:59.51 0.net
After Tsunku got cancer, I went and gave a shot at seeing a bunch of other idols live. But I now think I may have actually just been searching for a replacement Tsunku.

9: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:16:53.95 0.net
I always assumed it wasn’t really just Tsunku writing all the songs… until I heard how low the quality of the songs fell once he left.

35: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:24:43.00 0.net
>>9
This.

10: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:17:16.27 0.net
I always just assumed it wasn’t possible for one man to write that much…

16: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:20:10.82 0.net
He was apparently writing two songs a week at his peak.

19: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:21:42.36 0.net
There used to be all those theories about them using ghostwriters, but now it’s easy to see that it was all just Tsunku♂ all along. Is he a genius or what?

6: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:12:12.29 0.net
There’s no replacement for Tsunku.

30: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:23:50.23 0.net
Yes. It never mattered who was singing. The most important thing was always the song.

62: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:33:13.70 0.net
Listening to recent H!P songs, I’ll hear the male backing vocals and still think it’s Tsunku even though I know it’s not possible.

63: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:33:25.12 0.net
It wasn’t just about the songs with Tsunku♂. He was the overall producer of H!P, but most importantly, he did a very thorough job of pure human management when it came to the members.

70: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:36:01.05 0.net
It was so painful reading Dakara, Ikiru and learning about the regrets he still has.

72: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:36:51.93 0.net
I like the H!P produced by Tsunku♂!

127: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:54:32.54 0.net
When it was still Tsunku running things, it was no problem for me to forgive them even if they were unpopular.

139: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:59:26.70 0.net
Tsunku was like a sandbag — he was a great outlet for the wota to air their grievances. Nowadays, that stuff’s all aimed directly at the idols themselves.

141: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 21:00:26.76 0.net
What do I need to do to get Tsunku to come back?!
Do I seriously have to go protest in front of their offices or something?!

211: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 21:17:41.01 0.net
Even if Tsunku did lose his voice, he’s still completely capable of doing his job. I wish he’d stayed on as the producer of H!P even if meant having to lower the pace a little bit.

359: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 22:00:03.16 0.net
I wish he’d fully produce at least one of the groups.
Even just Musume would be good.

1. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 12:18 ID:s5NrfrSF0
＞３５９
Agreed, although H!P as a whole would be better. But if that’s not doable, then I wish he’d at least come back to do just Musume.

8. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 14:00 ID:Xe6UzTOv0
The people in this thread aren’t even Tsunku fans but rather the new type of anti-fans — the people constantly calling Hello Pro by “Hashi Pro.” No matter how nostalgic it might make you feel, the days when wota were all just having fun flaming Tsunku aren’t going to come back. Besides, if you hate “Hashi Pro” so much, why don’t you just listen solely to the songs written by the Tsunku that you love so much? You’re supposed to be Tsunku wota, not H!P wota, aren’t you?

9. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 14:00 ID:1xAh0uuX0
I think it was good that other artists besides Tsunku♂ started writing them songs, but:

63: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:33:25.12 0.net
It wasn’t just about the songs with Tsunku♂. He was the overall producer of H!P, but most importantly, he did a very thorough job of pure human management when it came to the members.

↑ This really was a fatal loss to H!P.

14. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 14:08 ID:Xe6UzTOv0
※9
Agreed. Tsunku was absolutely vital to everything aside from the music.

36. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 16:50 ID:iSidQdKA0
Whenever I see people denying that Tsunku had good sense, I feel like… Do you understand anything about H!P? You don’t know what you’re even talking about. I bet you’re just an idol DD and you’ve barely even listened to the songs themselves. I think that songwriters other than Tsunku are doing a really good job as well, but lately I truly feel that Tsunku had that… weirdness(?) or addictiveness(?) that only he was able to create.

38. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 16:53 ID:iSidQdKA0
You know, when they first started introducing songs by other songwriters, I was worried. But honestly, now it’s fun just listening to all these different artists showing their respect to H!P. Like, I don’t think H!P in the past could’ve ever come out with a song like “Mukidashi de Mukiatte” and stuff. But even so, I still feel like if that respect towards Tsunku-san disappears, or if Tsunku-san no longer writes any songs for them, H!P is going to change to something entirely different.

39. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 16:56 ID:HrA5CSfG0
38
Completely agreed. I love H!P so I have no intention of hating on everything they do, and I still do love current H!P, too. But as the Tsunku-san songs get fewer and fewer, it just doesn’t feel satisfactory… It feels lonely. (laughs)

51. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月22日 21:54 ID:LQxS7Rxg0
At the end of the day, I love Tsunku.
The lyrics Tsunku writes…
The songs Tsunku composes…
The way Tsunku sees idols…
I loved watching him recording the songs! (Back on ASAYAN.)
I loved how it was like he was creating the songs together with the singers.

58. カラフル名無しさん 2017年01月23日 21:58 ID:GXCE1FNv0
I have plenty of non-Tsunku songs I like, and even with Tsunku songs I can find plenty of both good and bad about them. Some of his compositions need more work, some of the instrumentals are cheap… all kinds of things like that. But the parental love he had towards the members, or the way he would watch over their growth from a reasonable distance, or just the immense love that he has for humanity in general, I liked all of that.

Akimoto Yasushi makes songs about schoolgirl prostitution, or otherwise just repeats things that portray women as being nothing but cheap entertainment for men. Tsunku makes ambiguous songs from the woman’s viewpoint — ones that don’t try to suck up to the male listeners — and he’s genuinely kind and he respects the singers as people. I liked that about him. He’s someone I can trust as a fellow human being.

During the Platinum Era, their songs made me go like “ehhh…” (and they still do), but then again, he also never put too much weight on marketing like AKB by trying to make every song easy. I liked how he’s an artist who’s doing what he himself wants to do. That’s rock’n’roll.

I hope he still talks to each group individually, even if just once a year, and tells them: “you’ve grown so much.“

99: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/01/21(土) 20:48:01.62 0.net
Produced by Tsunku♂

Matsuko Deluxe:
“I love Morning Musume…
Or rather, I love Tsunku♂.”

1: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:35:31.72 0.net
Source: TV show that’s airing right now.

小澤麗那 @__zawao
0:38 – 2017年11月10日

Hyadain-san and Matsuko-san were having a great discussion on TV just now!

Hyadain: “You love Morning Musume, right?”
Matsuko: “Well, rather, I love Tsunku♂-san.“

Well said… ( ˘ω˘ )

2: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:35:50.25 0.net
She did say that.

10: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:36:23.93 0.net

3: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:35:56.10 0.net
Sonim! (laughs)

6: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:36:05.00 0.net
Matsuko sure loves “Curry Rice no Onna.”

21: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:37:31.07 0.net
“Current Musume is a bit…”

27: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:38:18.25 0.net
The way she said “well, rather than Musume it’s…,” it was like she couldn’t in all honesty say that she likes Musume today.

19. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 07:00　id：zbY37g4R0
I do get the feeling of not being able to just flat-out say “I like today’s Musume” and truly mean it.

26: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:38:12.76 0.net
H!P used to be an instrument for Tsunku’s music.
So she’s like, “why are they now making them sing these completely ordinary songs?“

47: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:41:20.03 0.net
Matsuko’s always been saying this.
Transvestites in general all love Terada’s moody, kayou kyoku-influenced songs.

56: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:42:40.73 0.net
What does she mean, “I love Tsunku“…?
Does she mean that as in…?

39: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:40:37.10 0.net
Maybe she sees Tsunku as an object of romantic interest.

49: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:41:28.10 0.net
Well, Tsunku did sleep with a transvestite before.

60: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:43:16.47 0.net
Matsuko’s said before that she likes Tsunku’s music.

78: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:45:21.86 0.net
She’s said that she likes “Uchuu de La Ta Ta.”

82: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:46:26.05 0.net
“Uchuu de La Ta Ta” is an awesome song.

98: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:49:13.28 0.net
I might be a Tsunku wota, too. I’ve been following him since Sharan Q.

213: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:15:11.02 0.net
Matsuko: “Maro needs to have more life experiences so she can write lyrics that are more profound.“

111: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:52:12.44 0.net
Matsuko: “I have high hopes for Hoshibe-kun, but he still has so much to learn.“

115: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:52:56.26 0.net
I get that.

305: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:40:20.63 0.net
Hoshibe’s songs are too busy.

267: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:28:36.41 0.net

200: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:12:41.85 0.net
People trust Tsunku. There’s this pleasant sense of security in his choice of members and the songs he writes.

212: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:14:58.77 0.net
Non-Tsunku songs lack that stickiness.

206: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:13:50.35 0.net
The cool lameness of Tsunku songs is addictive.

225: fusianasan 2017/11/10(金) 01:18:08.27 0.net
Yanakana, too, once made a blog post where she basically said, “at this point, I’ve started to feel like I might actually be in love with Tsunku…“

261: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:27:46.67 0.net
H!P wota place way too much importance on Tsunku. (laughs) Musume today has stayed popular enough with Tsunku. They’ve got new fans now.

15. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 04:10　id：OT5fx8Iy0
>>261
I do think there’s truth in that. But I also think it’s true that with the whole fanbase having completely changed, it’s now the case that H!P wota are mostly idol wota and the things these fans want out of H!P are different.

Michishige — who is herself an idol wota — was once speaking to Tsunku about Morning Musume, and she said she’s hoping to make her group into a “cute Morning Musume.” Tsunku corrected her: “don’t aim for just cute; aim for cute and rock’n’roll.” I feel like that rock’n’roll thing is now completely gone from H!P.

They’re still attracting new fans and doing alright so I’m not going to say that this idol wota-focused approach is “wrong” in any way. I’m just saying that personally, as someone who isn’t an idol wota, I can’t deny that I feel they’re heading in an unfortunate direction.

229: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 01:18:51.13 0.net
Even Jobs drifted from Apple once before coming back.
You can come back too, Tsunku.

3. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 02:56　id：bVaFm.PP0
I like Matsuko and I do feel sympathetic with what she said, but I’m disappointed with her statement. How do you think this must make the current members and staff feel? I don’t think they’re very happy about it. I wish she’d think of her position and influence a bit more before opening her mouth.

6. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 03:10　id：WKLxgx9K0
I don’t think liking Tsunku equals not appreciating anything else…

23. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 07:41　id：NcWT8SHw0
Matsuko’s only a fan — why shouldn’t she be free to say whatever the hell she wants?! (laughs)

7. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 03:20　id：AgtfjiIQ0
There’s no doubt that Tsunku is the identity of H!P. However, Tsunku being in charge isn’t all that is needed for H!P to be 100% H!P. It’s Tsunku’s unique sense of lyrics and rhythms and his simple, positive ideals, combined with Up-Front’s pickiness and somewhat unsociable nature as a music company, as well as all the stories created by all past and present H!P members. You need all of that to create the H!P atmosphere.

13. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 03:49　id：aX.fsJMT0
My favorite Tsunku songs aren’t the super kayou-influenced ones, but rather songs like “Zero Kara Hajimaru Seishun” and “Kono Ai wo Kasanete” — songs that I’ve never heard from other idols or artists. Those are the songs that are his complete originals.

20. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 07:13　id：br9SG67y0
There’s plenty of songs they’re putting out even now that I like. J=J is my favorite group so I’ll talk about them. I love songs like “Fiesta,” “Gin Tele,” “Feel,” “Kono Yo wa,” and “Ai Ai Gasa,” and l’ve listened to them countless of times. They all hit the spot for me.

On the other hand, I also love Tsunku♂ songs like “Iji Daki,” “Wata Daki,” and “Senobi,” and when I listen to them there’s that feeling of “yeah, that’s the good stuff.“

They’re different but they’re both good. Similarly, I think what Matsuko was trying to say is that it’s not that she dislikes H!P right now, only that H!P in her mind equals Tsunku♂ songs.

41. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 11:53　id：.e4kgeEF0
Matsuko said on Yanagihara Kanako’s radio show that she’d been listening to J=J’s “CHOICE & CHANCE” 40 times a day or something. I think she does enjoy the non-Tsunku stuff, too.

28. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 08:42　id：OT5fx8Iy0
There are different types of Tsunku fans, too. There are the people who like Tsunku’s music, and then the people who like Tsunku as a producer. Personally, I’m definitely in the latter group. The girls being able to sing these songs with lame lyrics wearing lame outfits while doing lame choreographies and doing it all while beaming with confidence, I think they were able to pull it off because both the performers and the people watching knew that there was this sense of security in knowing that Tsunku Producer was backing them.

To make a comparison to a song with a similar taste to Tsunku songs, something like Tsubaki’s “Shuushoku Sensation” was just painful to watch.

46. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 14:06　id：G8P.jdLW0
I loved Tsunku not only for his songs, but also for the cryptic tour titles, the sudden appearances during auditions, the demo vocals… H!P just feels lacking nowadays. I don’t like Cool Hello.

48. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 14:45　id：a9s0g.ZS0
Everyone’s free to enjoy idols however they like, and I personally place more importance on who’s performing over who is writing the songs or who is producing. At the end of the day I think the majority of fans are like that. That’s why even when Tsunku-san was making the songs and producing, some songs would sell while others wouldn’t.

49. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 17:25　id：cgpwr42X0
Liking Tsunku is not only about his great songs. It’s also about that tremendous amount of trust the H!P members had towards him. More than his production style or whatever, I wanted to keep watching over that relationship between them forever. Without that relationship, even when someone other than Tsunku does write them an incredible song, it’s just like “well, so what?“

61. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月11日 14:50　id：EbA.faMY0
※49
I appreciate your detailed explanation. Personally, I’m impressed by the quality of songs by Kato Yuusuke (composer of Country Girs’ “Itooshikutte Gomen ne,” “Barairo,” etc), but he’s someone who works completely behind-the-scenes. He never puts his face out there, never does interviews, never writes liner notes, never communicates with the members of H!P, never gives them advice on LINE or whatever.

And for me, personally, I don’t care about that kind of thing at all. But obviously to someone like you, not having any of that makes you feel like H!P is now lacking something. It’s simply a matter of different priorities. There’s no right or wrong answer here, and that’s fine.

51. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 21:50　id：lCd71jh00
※49
I so get this. Previously, Sayu was saying something like “it’s amazing how even though Tsunku-san has so many cute girls around him all the time, he’s never put his hands on them.” It’s true that there’s that relationship of trust between the H!P members and Tsunku. Yes, he was their producer. But he was also their father.

50. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 21:32　id：GuDlKR880
It ended after a mere two episodes, but I really wish they would’ve done more TsunClub.

52. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 22:06　id：MaJHIgNR0
I like the current Hashi Pro, but I liked Tsunku-produced Hello! Pro even more.
What I truly want is H!P members singing and dancing to Tsunku songs.

35. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 10:08　id：Rnh36XC.0
I like H!P members when they’re singing Tsunku songs.
I like Tsunku songs when they’re being sung by H!P members.

39. ℃-uteな名無しさん 2017年11月10日 11:10　id：Z7rFprPJ0
※35
Agreed. Even now you get people who miss the point by going like “if you like Tsunku that much, why don’t you just listen to like Bakusute then?“

128: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:56:15.73 0.net
I love you, Tsunku.

141: 名無し募集中。。。 2017/11/10(金) 00:59:46.82 0.net
Ah! Someone said it!

Sources: http://colorhello.blog.jp/archives/1063884934.html, http://c-ute.doorblog.jp/archives/51057536.html

Today marks the 5th birthday of Wota in Translation. As is probably needless to say, back in 2013 I didn’t expect to still be doing this five years later. But dammit, here we are.

Wota in Translation is now open for business! And what sexy business it is… http://t.co/hk6ecUWvV8

— Wota in Translation (@wotatranslation) April 5, 2013

With these last couple of posts, I wanted to once again celebrate the legacy of the person responsible for making me into a fan of Hello! Project way back over a decade ago. As is probably obvious from the posts I’ve made about the guy throughout the years and, well, the almost distractingly erotic header picture of the site, my favorite member is and continues to be Tsunku♂. I don’t think I will be oshi-hen‘ing any time soon.

This was the first 2ch thread I ever translated — I think it’s fair to say the subject matter of the site hasn’t changed all that much throughout the years…

However, from the very start, the crazy thing to me had been how so many of you guys seemed to accept my fandom of the Boy even if your own oshi members tended to vary. That’s been really nice. (Weirdly enough, a lot of you seemed to place your Hello! Project oshi votes on, you know, women instead of men!) While to my disappointment the situation between Up-Front and Tsunku♂ has obviously changed since I started this site, I still continue to watch over Hello! Project even today in 2018 — even if with diminished passion.

In any case, whether you’re a new or old reader of the site, you have my sincere gratitude for your support and interest throughout these five years. Let’s see if I still have one or two more in me.

Finally, if you like what I’m doing here on Wota in Translation, consider becoming a supporter of the site on Patreon.

As always, thank you for reading. Cheers.

Henkka