16 comments on “Morning Musume 20th Anniversary Official Book Interviews: Michishige Sayumi

  1. “I’m bad at singing, bad at dancing, I’m a deeply jealous person, and I do not have a good personality.”

    Shut up, woman. You’re fucking perfect.

  2. “The biggest reason people thought our formation dancing was so amazing back in 2013 and 2014 was because of her. Sayashi had that intense appeal about her that allowed her to lead the group.”

    Yup, ’14 was MM’s second break if you will. Riho graduating a year later was unfortunate luck, but her happiness is more important than all else. But it is hard to believe it’s been 5-6 years since then, this era still feels like an extension of ’14. They’re still aiming to become a hit with the public and make themselves known 5-6 years later, but they’re missing the spark and excitement 2013-2014 MM had.

    • I LOVE MM14. I felt like they are shining when they perform. Almost as if I can see their aura while singing and dancing. Maybe because Sayu is about to graduate at that time and the members are just too inspired and giving it all for Sayu. The consecutive number ones they achieve is also amazing.

  3. I remember watching fan footage of the chanting crowds parading down the street after Yasuda Kei’s graduation concert in 2003, in complete awe of this group’s appeal to the public. It was truly mesmerizing.

    Maybe Riho decided to graduate after seeing she was beaten by Ishida in the free dance routine for Oh! My Wish?

    • Nah, Riho was way out of it long before Oh! My Wish. As early as January wota started noticing she was not into it and she gained some weight and didn’t look as happy, which wota at the time thought was related to Sayu’s grad because that shot 9th gen up to the top of the hierarchy and Riho didn’t have that support anymore.

  4. The living legend!!!! Sayu is living proof that hard work pays off. She went from being one of the least talented idols ever to become one of THE MOST LEGENDARY IDOLS OF ALL TIME. She put the group on her back several times to keep them afloat or lead them to success. During the dark ages of the Platinum era where the group was arguably at his highest talent level ever yet lowest popularity she willfully went all in on that narcissist poison tongue character on variety shows even though she knew that she would get alot of hate from it cause if she stays relevant and gets attention on TV then the group stays relevant with the general public. Not many idols have the courage to be hated for the better good of the group. Cause of things like this she remains my #2 Idol of all time only behind the Goddess Kamei herself

    • What is remarkable is that she rose to that legendary level while still being this bad at singing, bad at dancing poisonous narcissist. She didn’t shed those flaws away, and the public totally embraced them. Simply unbelievable. Only the greatest can achieve something like that.

  5. Her growth was phenomenal, but I think the two most important qualities she passed on was “caring for your juniors to help them shine” and “an immense love for Morning Musume as a member,” which *really* comes through in every member. As a returning fan, the overwhelming love for Morning Musume with the simultaneous respect for its history is really what kept as a fan and willed me to support the group wholeheartedly again. Tanaka played a huge part in that too, but you can feel it throughout all the members whether in their book interviews or their media appearances.

    A shame we won’t get Eri’s side this time around, but I’m really looking forward to Fukumura’s portion. I may just need to buy the book myself… haha.

    • Yes, the 6th gen was pure gem. There have been many good members since, but not a perfect batch like those three, each of them completing the others.

  6. “Remember that you’re a Morning Musume and always keep your head high when you’re on stage.””

    I fucking love her.

  7. An idol legend, indeed. When I first saw MM I didn’t like her personalty/sharp commentaries but now I totally understand why she went by that direction, and how that kept Momusu relevant by the years.

  8. Sayu’s pretty good at adapting to all kinds of situations. It was nice to see her and Riho back together recently.
    Dammit all, that letter was too good! Eri’s word resonate with me too, being all moved now.

  9. The next time I see someone post on some internet forum that the leader position in MM is just a title, I’m going to link to this interview. It is whatever the leader makes of it, and Sayu is second only to Yuko as the most important leaders of MM. How she managed to grow into such a legend despite having so few tangible skills is a testament to her hard work and unstoppable drive to succeed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *