32 replies to this topic

[megumibex]

i'm working on something to do with idol graduations (to help prepare myself emotionally for Suzuki Kanon's) and I want to know, What is the saddest graduation from any idol group? Why? What do you you think makes a graduation particularly sad? How do you deal with the sadness?

Thanks!

[Lurkette]

Personally I find Aika's MM graduation to be one of the most heartbreaking, but Akarin's grad ceremony from Momoclo was also fairly depressing. In Aika's case it was sad because it so wasn't what she wanted and it felt like she never really got to live up to her full potential. With Akain, it was less about potential (because she was a fairly weak member, all things considered), and more just the experience that Momoclo had shared up until that point and even though the rest of the group still wanted to work towards these goals, she just wanted out and they all struggled with it. Her grad was a sob fest.

 

Yuzu didn't graduate from Syachi but her hiatus was probably the most upsetting for me because, like Aika, it was all totally out of her control. Normally I have like a day of mourning when a favorite idol announces graduation and then I'm fine, because ultimately I think it's my role as a fan to support a girl in whatever she wants to do in her life, even if it means I never see her again, but if a girl leaves because of illness or injury, nobody is happy or secure with the decision. In both Aika's case and Yuzu's case, however, there has been some healing just because they never really disappeared and their respective groups have reminded us constantly of their presence.

[Blu-Cherri]

Akari Hayami from momoiro clover. I can't find the announcement video but basically she had come to hate being an idol for various reasons.

 

 

Oh talking of Aika reminded me of Saeki Mika from AKB48. She had an injury that left her unable to perform(she's ok now but too late). When akb48 invited some graduates back for an anniversary show she was there and she said she hadn't cut her hair since she graduated. She then also joined the 'part-time' akb member campaign they ran for a while and now seems to work as a staff member behind the scenes.(as she was included in the staff version of halloween night). She seemed to really really love akb.

[Fluffis]

If we were to venture outside of H!P and even jpop, but stick to idols I have someone else in mind. Perhaps even two. 

 

But I will stick to jpop and MM. Will go with what Lurkette said and say Aika. I was not around when she graduated and I still feel sad about it. Just by looking at the setlist alone it is horrible that she could not even be on stage for most of the songs. 

[RenaiHunter]

Junjun's graduation to me was the saddest. She obviously didn't want to graduate at all and it was visibly a forced graduation. She even mentioned a few times it's only because her "exchange student" time is over and that she doesn't want to leave. Even more Tsunku wrote that "he decided to graduate them".

[rinafest'19]

None of the graduations I've been through ever felt really sad to me so I guess I'd have to say Berryz because there were just so many mixed emotions from all of them that it makes me sad lol

[weeaboowoman]

Aika for me too. Not only because she was my platinum oshi, but mostly for the reasons stated in the thread before. She clearly didn't want to leave, but she had no choice in the matter. And that she was rarely on stage at her own grad concert and shared her graduation with Gakki, who was the leader of Hello! Project so of course Aika would get overshadowed. It really broke my heart. And it still hurts a little when I see her with the current lineup so often because its just reminding me that if it wasn't for her injury, she probably would be MM's leader right now, and she would have been a great one. ;n;

[DarkLaharl]

I don't follow too many groups outside H!P (that actually adopt graduations), and withingH!P I can't judge on like pre-grad feelings for any girls before plat era because I only follow them after. But just basing on graduation ceremonies and clips I watched on youtube, I have to say whenever I watch W's I wish, I just can't help but tear up....

I would say Sayumi's is a tear-fest as well, for obvious reasons, but other than the leg thing, it would've been less emotional..

But now that you guys mention Aika's and JunJun's reasons, I guess they are very saddening as well..more like a "they deserve better" kind of sad instead of "I am gonna cry so hard" kind of sad.

[the rose garden]

Even though she has never been a favourite of mine, Nacchi's always hits me the most. I guess it breaks my heart to see the last two members of the original line-up split up.

Ai-chan's also hit home, but that was because she was my oshimen.

I've had peace with every graduation except for Koharu's and all of the 8th generation's. All four of them were forced out. Makoto's has also always felt kind of forced to me and whenever someone complains about a graduating member "not getting enough" I'm like "hello, are you familiar with a person named Ogawa Makoto?".

[TotallyUncool]

For me, Takayo's graduation from ZONE, and ZONE's 2005 breakup.  Their last "Secret Base" encore on the Final Live at Budokan DVD is almost too much to take.

Spoiler

The breakup of the reunited ZONE in 2013 was more like a management trainwreck on the part of Runtime, but Maiko's final ZONE/solo performance, where she gave the group a decent burial, has to qualify as a sad/shouldn't-have-happened graduation (although the one H!O member who was at that performance said that the event itself wasn't that sad  --  more of a celebration of what ZONE had been, I think).

And even though I got into Ebichu just after Mizuki, Natsu, and Hirono left, that seems sad in retrospect.

[☆RisaReinaSayu☆]

The saddest idol graduations for me are those of idols who have had a long and fulfilling journey not just in their personal opinion but visibly for the fans eyes. Thus the last graduations in H!P that made me sad for more than five minutes were Michishige Sayumi's and that of the girls from Berryz Kobo. Within H!P the absolute saddest graduations ever for me would have to be Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, and Iida Kaori when they graduated from MM. I still cry like a baby when watching their graduations. Over in AKB48 they recently had Takahashi Minami's graduation and that's going to go down for me personally as the most sad graduation of them all in AKB48 history. I won't stop being a fan but much like my major attachment to MM died with Michishige Sayumi's graduation my major attachment to AKB48 died with Takahashi Minami's graduation. There will always be girls I like but it'll take something extraordinary for me to get as attached to these groups as I once was again. There's certainly a unique sadness for graduations like those of 8th gen MM and the countless idols who graduate because of the pressure of balancing school and idoling. You'll never quite stop wondering about the what ifs when it comes to graduations like those because so much was still to be seen and done in their cases.

[Fluffis]

*Depending on how I feel in two months I might go in and add Suzuki Kanon, but that would mostly be because she is my oshi.*

 

Outside of H!P I am not sure which one is more sad. Soyoung or Jungah from After School. Soyoung did not get a graduation, because they were not sure how to implement it back then. Most people don't know she even existed in the group in the first place! Then there is Jungah who was promised a graduation this year. It has been months and nothing has happened. I know After School are inactive but this is the former leader and last flipping original member of the group we are talking about here! Does 7 years mean nothing to that horrid company?   In the end I don't know which one makes me more sad. 

[vimoral]

As Lurkette said Yuzu Ando, she isn't my favourite syachi member but it seems unfair to her that she have to leave the group in this way.

 

Narasaki Towa the ex leader of Takoyaki Rainbow, I think she was a great leader and had much potential, I think the group sounded much stronger with her and that if she had followed with the group would be more popular now

[Mizura]

Shimamura Uta leaving H!P was really sad. It wasn't technically a graduation, but it happened suddenly out of the blue when no one was expecting it and there was pretty much no time to mentally prepare for it. 

[JennyInTokyo]

I have to say Takahashi Ai's graduation was the saddest for me because she is and always will be my all time favourite Morning Musume member. I also have to say Sayumi's graduation was also a heartbreaking one because she was the last member of the Platinum Era to leave so the old Morning Musume I knew was officially at an end. However, I still love the current line up and I think when Mizuki graduates that will hurt me a lot as well!

[banana]

I'm not a fan of Berryz but I cried during their last concert.. Maybe because I've been watching them ever since I knew H!P 10 years ago..

for Momusu Sayumi's grad & Riho's last Budokan hit me the most.. My Oshimen was Reina but I didn't cry watching her grad concert because u know.. Reina didn't made it a sad concert after all..

I don't usually feel anything before the grad concert but when the day come, it'll hit me hard..

 

The most shocking to me is Uta leaving H!P.. Even now I still can't accept it..

 whenever I felt like missing the graduated girls, I will watch this video & cry.. the saddest graduation song ever..

[Ares13]

hmm .. I would think along the line of saddest to the main fan when his/her idol graduate..

I think the saddest are those sudden short notice graduation ..
As in they suddenly announce it and there is a graduation but in less than a week kind of thing ..
and with no scandal, wrong-doing or health issue .. basically no signs of them going to graduate before that ..
which also include no hiatus before that because it does sort of give you time to adjust to the idol not being around ..
then she disappeared after that and there is no sign of her for a really long time ..

In short .. sudden graduation that technically no one see coming and happening in a short time so there was no time to adjust .. then she disappear from the face of the world ..
That is my killer graduation .. I hope I will never get one of this ever again ...

I really hate this shocker especially when if the idol means the world to me ..
which of course I got it from Ogawa Saki from S/mileage ..
It totally tear me apart .. and even after almost 5 years I am still sad about it ..
Just 5 days .. and she left .. and she disappear from the face of the world until last year when finally a picture of her appear on twitter ..

[Friday]

In MM, Yuko and Nacchi's graduations really hurt the most. Especially in Nacchi's grad when Tsuji couldn't even form words to say bye, and had to leave the stage for the rest of her gradation.

[Moondoggie]

I've just realised I've not seen that many graduations interestingly enough. Seen one live which was Maro's but that didn't feel sad to me even when she burst into tears when the group sang to her it felt mostly a happy occasion since she was doing what she wanted to do. Maybe that makes a graduation less sad as others have said. I do think Yuko Nakazawa's graduation and the stuff around it is sad though it was I guess the first graduation where a huge deal was made out of it they had members go before but this one was a big deal even if she said herself she had sort of outgrown the group and it seemed a mutual thing and it's not like she was leaving the company she was just becoming a solo artist. 

I think the biggest part is that in all the footage pre graduation and the concert itself you get the feeling the girls in the group really respected her and in many ways she was probably a leader in more than just the title to them. Nakazawa was put in the position of being an adult in a group full of probably squabbling teenagers and it likely fell to her to sort of keep them in line and focused on doing work. It's probably why she was known for drinking lol they probably drove her to it. Even a lot of future members had said they went to Nakazawa for advice more than anyone else backstage she seems to have been a leader and commands a lot of respect. You get that feeling a lot from her graduation too and just that feeling of how much she loves Morning Musume.

This thing kills me each time I watch it




Outside MM and H!P I dunno maybe Suzuka Nakamoto graduating from Sakura Gakuin. Again it wasn't like she was leaving the company she was still going to be in BABYMETAL though it's questionable if she wanted to graduate she just kind of had to do it because of the groups rules but like Nakazawa I feel like the other girls kind of saw her as the rock of the group who they could rely on to say the right thing or lift everyone's spirits when things didn't go right. I think Moa makes the whole thing even more sad with how hard she seemed to take Su graduating which as well as sad I always found a little funny like all the tears then the next day they probably saw each other at the office for a meeting about BABYMETAL going forward and she just sits down next to Su like "Yo". I guess if they only knew how much time they'd be spending together after that but it's all a very tearful graduation anyway and it feels genuine.

 

[Friday]

If you want, you could go watch some of the older MM graduations to get prepared for what's coming. Keep in mind, not all graduations have the same atmosphere (some are sadder depending on who the fans of the girls are and of they were fans of said girl), so it'll help you figure out how to deal later~