{"id":34,"date":"2006-11-13T00:24:59","date_gmt":"2006-11-12T21:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/?p=34"},"modified":"2006-11-13T00:32:33","modified_gmt":"2006-11-12T21:32:33","slug":"morning-musume-utaban-the-relationship-that-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/?p=34","title":{"rendered":"Morning Musume & Utaban, the relationship that was"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been nearly a decade since they began their relationship, a romance filled with everything and anything you could possibly imagine. They\u2019ve had their ups and they\u2019ve had their downs, but behind the fa\u00c3\u00a7ade of Utaban and Morning Musume<\/strong> lie\u2019s a real genuine affection for one and other, at least that\u2019s how it used to be.<\/p>\n

So without the affair to seal off this partnership, who\u2019s at fault for disbanding the enterprise? A chemistry which seemed so real, you could hear television executives from across the globe shouting at their screens \u2013why cant we have that?\u2019. I\u2019ll tell you why, it\u2019s something you can\u2019t buy or manufacture. This is, or was, a real friendship between two parties that quite literally \u2013hit it off\u2019.<\/p>\n

The power of Ishibashi Takaaki<\/strong><\/p>\n

Utaban<\/strong> has been an integral part in promoting the image of Morning Musume and most importantly, creating the very myth and legend of our favourite Hello! Project<\/strong> idols. Try and Imagine a world without Taka-san<\/strong> (Ishibashi Takaaki<\/strong>), someone who has proudly and rightly so, positioned himself in close proximity with the girls, someone who has played out his arrangement in a smart monopoly of tact and care. He holds a cartel of respect over fans (male and female) who can only dream of having the opportunity to act as freely and carelessly around Morning Musume as he has. Without him, we\u2019d certainly have less fond memories and less understanding of the girls we have supported all these years.<\/p>\n

\"Love\"<\/div>\n

So how does he work his magic? Like all good hosts, being able to get the best out of your guests is something that should be required. And failure to do so will often result in a very placid, uninspiring and formal exchange of Ideas between the two. Taka-san is not only able to bring out the best in his guests, he is able to win over their respect and affection (Most of the time) and most importantly is able to gain their trust. By giving up apart of himself on Utaban and letting us into his world, as crazy as he makes it sometimes, he becomes relatable. This should come as no surprise considering his upbringing as a comedian, who wants a funny man that you can\u2019t relate to? They just don\u2019t exist nor should they. As most comedians are, Taka-san isn\u2019t exactly subtle either. To describe his hosting etiquette most accurately one might say he\u2019s a mixture of, to put it nicely, mean, terrifying, stubborn, sweet, gentle, na\u00c3\u00afve and caring. That actually wasn\u2019t as straight to-the-point as I wanted it to sound, however I feel it best describes his decorum on the show.<\/p>\n

Taka-san and Morning Musume<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s fair to say that earlier generations of Morning Musume saw this \u2013special service\u2019 more than the current trend of members. This will be discussed nearer the end. But without going overboard with nostalgia I\u2019ll try and keep this section quite brief as fans of Utaban and Morning Musume will know, you could easily wine and dine over the subject forever.<\/p>\n

First of all, members joining Morning Musume will always come with a prospectus of their likes, dislikes, hobbies etc. These are easy pickings for the ever sneaky Taka-san and like lambs to the slaughter, he\u2019ll exploit any and all of their quirks to the fullest. There\u2019s a lot of personality, or should I say there was (for the cynical) in Morning Musume and I think Utaban should take a lot of the credit for nurturing something pretty uniform within a uniform industry, and making it appear as real as the business-end will allow. Whether Yuko Nakazawa<\/strong> is getting shouted at for being the oldest and giving as good as she gets, Kei Yasuda<\/strong> for being anything but conventional (we love you Kei-chan) or perhaps Mari Yaguchi<\/strong> for being lovingly pocket-sized, it\u2019s the show\u2019s attention to detail that we take to heart. Having new generations on for the first time are good examples of the above. 4th generation\u2019s maiden voyage on the show saw Iida Kaori<\/strong> spacing out again, Yuko being picked on for her age as always, the newest members at that time being grilled by the panel and a game which revealed rather interesting thoughts on the older members, all in a days work.<\/p>\n

The love of Taka-san<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all about being picked on though, as some of the ex-members of Morning Musume will tell you. A select few have had the pleasure, or displeasure of trying to win over Taka-sans affections. Some of these include Maki Goto<\/strong> (his beloved Gomaki), Nacchi<\/strong>, Mikitty<\/strong> and of course Kei-chan. On face value, seeing a man of advancing years expressing himself around these girls the way he has may cause some concern. Of course, you can totally scarp that misconception straight away. Not only is it utterly absorbing to see a man in his position act out like a na\u00c3\u00afve school boy who\u2019s been given the keys to the candy store, it\u2019s made even better and genuinely heart warming that his Intentions are always good, to do right by them always. He knows it\u2019s just a front for the show and they know it to, and although it\u2019s a fantasy, both parties make the most of it.<\/p>\n

\"Taka-san<\/div>\n

I\u2019m sure Taka-san harbours a warm spot for a few of them, who doesn\u2019t? And all the crazy banter that goes on is truer than the producers could have imagined. Through a number of quizzes, compatibility tests and individual talks, Taka-san has struggled to choose who will be his number one Idol. Where would we be without him hopelessly failing to be compatible with Gomaki almost everytime? Apart from revealing more about the girls, it gives us a chance to see Taka-san\u2019s na\u00c3\u00afve, deceptively innocent side. I think this is what reassures us the most that it\u2019s ok for this guy to harbour a lottery of crushes. The girls certainly look up to him. If they didn\u2019t, I don\u2019t think we\u2019d have that much to talk about. You don\u2019t get this much attention unless your company is welcome.<\/p>\n

Nakai-san, who\u2019s he?<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can we forget Nakai-san<\/strong> (Nakai Masahiro<\/strong>) Taka-san\u2019s other half? Outside of Utaban this guy is certainly bigger than Ishibashi-kun, SMAP<\/strong> ring a bell? But it\u2019s easy to oversight him on the show. Almost all the set pieces are accommodated for Taka-san leaving Nakai out of the spotlight. This is certainly true with anything Hello! Project related. But he still holds a valuable contribution with his husky smoke ridden voice.<\/p>\n

\"Taka-san<\/div>\n

Taka-san isn\u2019t the only one on the show who can pick on their guests, in fact sometimes Nakai-san is the harsher of the two. Let\u2019s not forget the whole Yuko and Naki love saga which has been jokingly talked about since the idea started either. So he at least has some close connection to Morning Musume. I like to call him the unsung hero, whilst his other half is doing his thing Nakai keeps the ball rolling, a partnership and a friendship that works well.<\/p>\n

Current state of affairs<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would appear as though the spark has simply fizzed out, and the enthusiasm between both parties to make an effort has wavered. I find it hard to place the blame on Utaban, who have had to welcome in seven generations in as little as nine years. At the same time it seems unfair to accuse Morning Musume for something they have little control over. It seems right then, to point the finger at the process. What I mean by the process in simple terms, is the constant revamping of the groups image to keep with the current fickle trends of the industry and the constant change in their line-up to keep the mother ship of H!P rolling. Taka-san and Nakai-san must be pretty exhausted by now. How many times do we expect Utaban to work their \u2013magic\u2019 on what is essentially the same thing done almost the same way every generation?<\/p>\n

\"Taka-san<\/div>\n

I don\u2019t think they have it in them anymore to put\u00a0out the effort required to turn these rough stones into rare diamonds. This is a huge shame and possibly one of the reasons why some of the 6th gen and 7th gen have seemed a little uninteresting. It goes to show how important Utaban are at outing the girls\u2019 individuality but of course, it\u2019s not all bad. Members that were left over from 4th and 5th gen still managed, and manage to draw a lot of smiles and laughs when they\u2019re on the show. And one or two individuals from 6th gen are genuinely very interesting. It\u2019s fair to say that Eri Kamei has seen some attention from Taka-san and rightly so, although he seems more angry than playful towards the present line-up nowadays.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that Taka-san and Nakai-san are getting older and Morning Musume are getting younger. Are both sides becoming less relatable to each other? This could be a possibility.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> The Tokuban special aired on 23\/03\/06 is a lovely homage to both Utaban and Morning Musume\u2019s time together. Nakai-san\u2019s comment \u2013No matter how you put it, Utaban has been a big part of Morning Musume\u2019s history\u2019 and Taka-san\u2019s \u2013How about the eight of you come here again some time? The current members are a bit weak for my taste\u2019 spoken to the ex-members, are worth noting.<\/p>\n

Also, the goodbye comments by Mari Yaguchi upon her resignation from Morning Musume done exclusively for Utaban is a good, if not sad watch revealing how she views Taka-san as a father figure and Nakai-san, well she has no memories of their time together LOL. Mari Yaguchi also mentions how Taka-san would often come to concerts and give encouragement during recordings. By look on his face I\u2019d say he didn\u2019t want people to know he was a nice guy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been nearly a decade since they began their relationship, a romance filled with everything and anything you could possibly imagine. They\u2019ve had their ups and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wu-sans-mix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kakko-ii.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}