The year of kaisans has taken its toll on me. This is the last post I’ll be making on Cult of Pop.

Kago is alive and well - and yeah, it does look like her Mom’s a hottie, too! Anyway, Ikimasshoi has news and scans of what Kago’s been up to, based on a tabloid article. The site also has news of Goto Maki performing in South Korea and the success of Takahashi Ai’s downloadable solo single.

Tsuji and Kago as the Musix Elevator girls with guest Goto Maki, from 2001. Its a little over a minute long and 10 MB. More of the elevator skits will eventually follow, though it’ll be quite scattershot as we pursue larger projects.

Before “Sakura Kiss”, I was only vaguely aware of who Kawabe Chieco was. I knew she was part of the live-action Sailor Moon TV show - which I actually had several episodes of, a couple years back - though I couldn’t tell you which of the girls she was. I knew she released pop singles that were heavy on the cutesy stuff. And I knew there were photos of her in cute and funny situations.

None of it really interested me - well, actually, the Sailor Moon did, it was a pretty fun show (and I used to be a dedicated Sailor Moon fan, many many years ago) - but Chieco herself struck me as just another geinou trying to stand out from the crowd and failing. “Sakura Kiss” hasn’t changed my opinions too much - but if not making me a Chieco fan just yet, it’s made me appreciate what she’s capable of, given the right song and situation.

Im two days too late, now the special day’s passed!
July third marked the start of your own fourteenth year.
Statuesque Sudou Maasa, still so young - Alas!
For you, time’s winged chariot draws nowhere near.

I decided a long time ago that the best Morning Musume generation is the fourth one. And the best subgroup ever? Easy, Tanpopo Gen Two - the Johnson, Mari, Kago, and Charmy line-up. But what’s the best line-up of Morning Musume, member for member?

The impending departures of Konnogawa and the 30th single “Ambitious!” got me thinking, and I did a quick tally earlier today: by the time that Ogawa graduates, there would have been fifteen distinct line-ups of Momusu that have released singles. If you count interim line-ups that didn’t release singles - the 16-nin at Kei’s graduation, the 10-nin when Mari left, the 9-nin when Rika left before Koharu officially joined, and the 9-nin when Konno leaves (I’m assuming there’s no final single with Ogawa beyond “Ambitious!”) - that’s a total of nineteen different line-ups, not counting the 8-nin team that will emerge at the end of this summer.

Remember that really hyper review of Harenchi Punch’s “Megaphone” I posted last year? Or the sarcastic write-up on “Matsuken Samba III”? Or the detailed examination of Viyuden’s “Hitorijime”? No, no, and no? That’s cause I never got around to them. I had every intention of doing so, but inevitably some PVs just fall through the cracks here and end up going ignored.

Thea of Made in Paradise was the first one to call 2006 the year of the kaisan and now shes counted herself among the kaisand as well. She not only looks back at the first half of 2006 but also announces the end of Made in Paradise. Shell continue with other fan projects, so keep an eye out for them. It’s always a shame to see a quality blog like hers - and Phil of Breadready, and crs of 28 hundred hours, and Wapiko of Musings of a Fangirl, among others - but its a personal decision, and we can only wish them the best. In Thea’s case, shes got a future in nursing to consider: we know she’ll do well and good luck to her on that! Made in Paradise had a great run, and Ill remember the blog fondly.

So I woke up around 6 AM this morning, still sick as a dog and with a hacking cough added to the mix. While the Sunday Blog Roundup should go off without a hitch later, my pig puppet Babe (I know, unoriginal name) offered to take over Cult of Pop while I’m ill.

I’ve been sick as a dog since last night, but have some consolation. I look up from my stuffy-nosed, body-chilled, fatigue-ridden position and bask at a possible view of heaven, shown above. Yes, its time for the new sheet on the Berryz poster and its the best one yet! Maasa, Yurina, and Chinami - three of the loveliest non-Momoko Berryz, and looking quite U15 sexy in their outfits and bright smiles.

Country Musume to release second album. After something along the lines of two years since the release of their last single, Country Musume will finally release a second album later this year. I like Country Musume, though admittedly not as much as other H!P acts, so I’m happy that they’re at least back on track. With C-Ute becoming a powerhouse of releases, Melon Kinenbi releasing their new single, Maeda Yuki’s final single / graduation, and the formation of GAM, the notion of a revitalized Hello! Project is stronger than ever.

I went down by Ala Moana today to get a haircut - much needed for the past couple months - and stopped into Nippon Video to see what they had. As it turns out, I found a bunch of older H!P goodies at very reasonable prices.

The big gets was the Goto Maki Alo-Hello! photobook, which Johnny of The Mind was providing pictures of this past week. Despite having one of my favorite stuffed animals named after her, Ive not been much of a Gocchin fan as of late. However, this is a rather choice book, and one Im glad to add to my collection.