Sayashi Riho (鞘師里保)

Riho Radio Rip concert

Thanks for the translation always. now it solves the mystery why her hair is in a mess in the first place.

My japanese lesson starts in less than 2 weeks time! hope by 2014 i can help out with translation. or at least be able to read on the actual blog.

it's a download link to the micrips of all the girls. I just listened to Riho's and realized that she didn't get as much lines as I thought. I think that's good because she can rest her voice a little in between her solos. Also, she sounds good - but near the end, you can hear that she gets tired.

Riho's singing voice isn't really suited for the lines she's being given which are mostly on the higher range. So singing them puts extra strain on her and affects her stamina. But you'll notice while she's singing in Peaberry, her voice is great. Also, one thing I've noticed is that unlike previous concerts, she isn't using her usual low singing voice that we all like but she's trying to sing in her record voice which is difficult to do live. That's why many people are noticing that she's trying to shout her lines. But then, I also noticed Reina and Mizuki struggling a bit so it may be due to the acoustics of the concert hall? Not sure.

My issue with Riho's singing is that she really can't belt (at least not consistently, which basically means she can't and/or shouldn't), but the songs she's being given require her to sing with the power she doesn't have. I thought she was phenomenal in Silver no udedokei, where she wasn't straining nearly as much, but she seems to be under the impression that she needs to constantly be pushing her voice to the brink of collapse. Even in that mic rip, when she's singing non-chorus or bridge lines, it sounds like she's shouting and forcing herself to sound, as you put it, her recorded voice. Some strain is natural, I suppose, when dancing like they are, but I think Riho would do well to just try and sing without trying to force some kind of vocal power that she can't handle.

Just my 2 cent regarding the Nachhi's suggestion.
While no doubt the Momusu of her generation is the best in terms of popularity, that was a different era than it is now. This era is not called warring idols era for no reason. Group like Momusu is a dime in a dozen now. Not to mention monsters like AKB48 and their sister groups, who have the backing of various Japanese corporations, did not exist back then. Even if current Momusu become more like rivals, I doubt they can repeat the same dominance from that era.

I think the current Momusu should strike a balance between friendship and competition. After all, they might not have many friends in school due to their schedules. And not to mention having members as close friends will make the work routines much more enjoyable.

Regarding Riho's vocal, she seems to focus too much on power right now. She needs to make her voice more balanced between power and beauty. Although at her age, she would still improve both physically and technically. So give her another year or two. With that said, I still enjoy her voice. Not perfect but still enjoyable.

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Well for me, I'm at peace at the fact that they might never dominate the idol scene again, as long as they continue with those great songs and we keep having these great girls it's a fair trade for me. Of course they still have professional goals and if ever they did get to the top again, that's just "cherry on the icing" for me.

I think the current group actually has that kind of balance you are talking about. They all try to compete with each other and the end result is a group that is getting better as each single goes by. But they are all friends and don't seem to be at each others' throats like the Golden Era group was.

And as for her voice, I heard a concert rip where she wasn't shouting but I wasn't sure which concert that was (whether VIva or Bravo and the date of the performance) so it really shows that if she doesn't abuse her vocals that much, her singing is really great. Considering how much she's improved (and the fact that singing wasn't one of her strongest suits to begin with), I'd agree with you that she'll be so much better in one to two years time.

yea, we have to give her more time to prove herself. she's doing fine already.

In Ai-chan article, she did say that Riho pace in progessing is faster than Ai herself. Even Ai also admit the amount of pressure put on a 14yo girl.

Not only Riho, the 9,10 and oda all have been working really hard to improve themselves. They only have a year or two before they are on their own.

In Help Me!! dance shot the girls are improving greatly. If they continue this pace, by the time Sayumi leaves, i believe the Musume by then will be a strong team.

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Strong and hopefully a successful team. H!P is pushing the buttons right with this Winter Tour and hopefully they ride on the momentum. It's fine that they do not try and beat all those other idol groups but are doing their own thing. I've always respected MM for doing their thing rather than try to beat another group.

Gotta agree with you - I like how H!P does their own thing, and how the girls in MM have a friendly rivalry going on right now. I also think that if Sayu sticks around for at least a year after Reina leaves, the girls will probably be okay. The girls all have different talents, and some of them just need a bit more time to push it out.

Riho's sounding a lot better this concert - imo it's probably because she's not singing literally half the song for practically every song, and since it's an H!P concert there's a lot of time for rest. Also, she's probably a lot more used to this song now.

And...wow, Riho's still only 14? I could've sworn she just turned 15. Sometimes people expect too much out of these girls. I hope Riho's 16 before Sayumi leaves though, otherwise I think the pressure on her is gonna be crazy.

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Well, I think with Oda Sakura and the emergence of Ayumi and Mizuki, the pressure will be lessened a bit on the singing part. One of the greatest challenges for her is to charm their international fans (she's still very popular among Japanese fans) now that UFP is starting to realize the overseas market which, although still too small to warrant full attention, is nevertheless significant.

As an example, you guys remember the live action Rurouni Kenshin, right? It was a hit in Japan, and there were numerous calls for an international release. Well here in Philippines it got shown after almost two months of nervous negotiations. It was shown on only one Mall-Cinema chain, was supposed to be shown for only a week and got absolutely NO PROMOTION outside of Facebook. End result? The film went number 2 on the Philippine box office, had to extend to three weeks due to demand, and in one day had to stop the showing of Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Cloud Atlas to accommodate the long lines of people hoping to buy a ticket regardless of the sold-out sign. It was arguably the most successful Japanese movie ever shown in my country. So yes, if given enough attention, the international audience can really throw their support in a Japanese movie or group.

Asahi newspaper



http://www.asahi.com...0032.html?tr=pc

the team will grow. whether the team is successful is up to U/F advertising. they do realise its idol warring period and clearly they are going the right direction.

if they can survive this, keep us fan entertained. i have nothing to complain.

As for number one it is very far from coming true. Unless they can come up with a song so good that can gain instant attention or fame. if not it will be a long journey to be coming on top of all idols.

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One thing is for sure though, it will be a long AND interesting journey back to the top. I'd be more than happy to go with them on that journey, never mind if we don't actually make it there.

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New article! Hope it gets translated soon.

like what people say... win or lose, the result is not important. what matter is the process.

end of the day, each will be become amazing individual also a strong team

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Starts off with opinion about 52nd single, mostly positive, mentions its the first single with 11th gen member Oda Sakura, talks a bit how Sayumi has been in Momuse for ages and mandatory love machine reference.
There is apparently more at the link, but that requires paid subscription to access.

Asahi newspaper



http://www.asahi.com...0032.html?tr=pc

Translation, credit randompasserby:

--What makes Sayashi-san start wanting to join Morning Musume。?
　鞘師 In kindergarten during sports festival we danced to Go Girl~Koi no Victory, it leaves such a big impression on me that I started getting into Morning Musume. Since before I can remember, it feels like I've been watching Morning Musume on television and dancing to their songs afterward. Joining something that I've been practically raised alongside with, at first it feels so strange/mysterious I'm not sure what my actual feelings are.

--What about Michishige-san?
　道重 I didn't have any interest in joining showbiz and I can't say that I have that 「I want to be an idol！」feeling, it's just that I absolutely wanted to join Morning Musume. Morning Musume from what I saw at the time is like, when you turn on the tv Morning Musume is on it since Love Machine became a big hit. It was Morning Musume's era back then. I can feel the members' fighting spirit just from watching them on tv.
One day they were broadcasting the audition in one of the shows and watching that made me want to take the audition too. The other girls are around my age and they're all trying so hard, seeing them cry after they passed the audition I really thought they were amazing. That was what influenced me to try and take the audition.

--Last year in May you were appointed leader of this group you admire, do you feel any pressure Michishige-san?
　道重 Back when I was just appointed, I really felt the pressure. Even though before I actually become one I used to say 「I want to be the leader」 but when it comes down to it I realized that's not something you can lightly say. The burden of responsibilities and the pressure you feel every day. I especially felt very strongly that I don't want to give other people any reason to say that the situation has become worse compared to previous leaders' time. Things like 「The previous (concert)tours were better/more exciting」, I was really afraid of those comparisons.
During the the time I was just promoted to leader, even on stage I kept worrying 「I have to make all the members talk more」、「Who would be the best one to conclude the talks and what topic should I give her?」. I thought about those things too much and pushed myself beyond the limit, it was painful. But then the first leader, Nakazawa-san told me that there are many kinds of leader and I should do it my own may. Those words put me at ease, that it's best just to do it my own may.

　鞘師 Michishige-san is really the kind of leader you'd respect. Because of that the new members are also gradually starting to feel they've to become more reliable. We feel that when we're doing group activities, we have to think about the group first and not cause any confusion.

--Looking back on last year's activities, what do you think about it?

　道重 Niigaki Risa-chan and Mitsui Aika-chan graduations from the group and the next single after that being our 50th single, furthermore we are also heading towards our 15th anniversary. In a good way it feels like we're once again standing at the start line. Even though we're an idol group continuing from our 15th year, last year was the year we stood again at the start line as the second, new Morning Musume.

--There was also the World Handshake tour in Taiwan, South Korea and France. You're also popular overseas but how do you feel about the local response in those countries?

　道重 I was happy to see that we have so many fans around the world, it makes me think all over again that we have been able to continue doing activities for over 15 years is not only due to the Japanese fans support but also from our fans abroad.

　鞘師 I'm still a Middle High School student so I wasn't able to participate. I really wanted to go though. Listening to the conversations of those who went about how fans talked to them in Japanese and set up welcoming signs in the airport, we really felt loved. I'm very grateful.

--Recently, out of a great number of idols there's the impression that you're increasing the difference between you and other groups by pushing out your coolness.
　道重 We're frequently told that we're the cool/stylish Morning Musume right now and it makes us happy. But from our point of view rather than being able to do something that amazing from the start, it was the accumulation of daily efforts. From dance lessons to concerts, one by one we took it seriously and the end result is something born out of our full concentrated hard works. Instead of forcing ourselves by aiming 「We want to look cool！」 from the start , it was by giving our utmost effort that we managed to reach this far.

-- How do you see AKB48?
　道重 I like AKB-san too. At the moment we're in a period some called the "Idol Boom" and because of it we're getting featured in a lot of special editions (in newspapers/magazines) for idols so speaking on behalf of Morning Musume I appreciate it. We're getting a place to make our appeals too and we're going to make the best use of this chance. Right now part of the momentum for idols is being pulled by AKB-san. We'll also do our part to make things even livelier and more exciting, not exactly as rivals but as fellow idol colleagues doing our best together.

--Tell us your aspirations for this year
　道重 This year with Oda joining, we're starting activities an an eleven-members group. I want to make this Reborn Morning Musume to be a cool group you can take pride in being a part of. My Kouhai's strength/potential is really amazing, you know? They're of course still "fresh" but their growth is also very fast. They're on a totally different level compared to the 13 years old me when I joined Morning Musume. I've often thought to myself how amazing they are in both dancing and singing. With my 10 years of career, I think it'll be great if they can support me.

--　鞘師 Right now is the time we can still absorb a lot of things so I want to watch a lot of things and learn from it. We have a lot of great senpais as role models, I want to study those people's performances. There are a lot of new members so if we all grow rapidly Morning Musume will evolve as well. Currently we're in the still-growing period but I hope soon we can do an explosive power-up.

...reading that interview just gave me warm fuzzy feelings and makes me so proud to be a fan. The girls are all so mature and work so hard, Riho leading this, I think. An explosive power-up would be amazing.

Just found this video. You''ve probably seen it but it was just so cute so I'll post it anyways

Seen it before? yes, problem with seeing it again, no

Riho's blog


http://ameblo.jp/mor...1442179854.html
http://ameblo.jp/mor...1442696589.html

Ayaka's blog


http://ameblo.jp/wad...1442204962.html

She's growing quickly~ my baby