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So... I was a massive fan from around 2007 to 2017, but then I sort of got into K-pop and fell out of the H!P fandom. I came back this year, and I thought I'd share how I felt about things.
First of all, though I've always been a Momu fan first and foremost, I followed most of H!P back then. I'm finding it a bit difficult to get back into being a H!P fan and not just an MM fan this time. The releases slowed down a lot, so despite missing 7 years, I don't have that much to catch up on in terms of music, but I do have a lot to catch up on in terms of members. Every group has sooo many members, and every group is rotational now like MM. We used to have C-ute set at the same 5 members, and even S/mileage with 4, and then later 6 members for a long period, which was a lot easier to follow. Now every group is at least 8 members, and constantly changing. Another issue I have is although MM hasn't changed much, the rest of the groups did, and it's all new faces, or KSS I have faint memories of. Last time I remember Kamiko was still new to Angerme, now she's graduated and I have no clue who the rest of the members are. Last time we were still discussing where Ruru's going to debut, now people are expecting her graduation soon. Time flies so fast, and it feels a bit daunting to catch up. I might eventually, but it's been around 3 months since I've caught up with MM and I haven't found the motivation to even look into the rest of the groups. Maybe if I get hooked on some of the music, it'll help, but I don't know where I should even start.
As for MM, I have to say, part of the reason I fell out of the love was that they released three extremely mid singles in a row (Jama Shinaide to Furari Ginza). Which sucks, because I didn't even like Harunan's grad single, and she is my forever no.1 H!P oshi. However, I loved almost everything they've released since Jinsei Blues (Yes, including Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai, y'all just don't get it
), hell, I'd say Wake Up Call took over Sukatto My Heart as my favorite MM A-side, and I'm a bit bummed that I missed all of this. I also thought I'd struggle with having an oshi after Harunan, but I honestly struggle with it more now than I would've if I had stayed, cause damn, watching all the concerts I missed, I retroactively fell so hard for Chii-chan. Which is weird, because during her Country Girls era she didn't stand out to me that much (though I loved CG's music, and UFA fumbled the ball big time by letting them disband). I really like the HomaMei duo, Rairi too, and I'm warming up to Haru-san as well (though sometimes she looks like she does not want to be there lmao), I would've liked Rio too but I'm currently unsure how to feel about her. My point is, I just haven't gotten particularly attached to one single girl yet. Maybe time, or a new girl will fix that issue, but even if not, I love most of the members so it's not like I'll be unable to listen to them or anything. 
Now for the negatives, and there's a lot so bare with me, or stop here for you own peace of mind...
I'm honestly a bit baffled to find there has been so much drama in the group itself. I became a fan during platinum era, and I remember fanwars and the fandom being generally bitter about everything. During plat era everyone was hating on the Ai-Reina duo, Koharu, the music sounding all the same, and the low sales and AKB snatching the spotlight, during colorful era, things got a bit better but Riho got a lot of flak for her singing and being Reina's new duo partner, as well as Maa for being over the top, so yeah, fans have always been... well, fans. However, what I'm really shocked to find, because I don't remember it always being this way, is the group members struggling to get on well with each other so much. The whole Fuku-Kaedi drama, Sakura being a hypocrite, now Rio's private rants getting leaked... Also, there's a lot of discussion in the fandom around group dynamics, and how Fuku ruined it by shafting 12-14ki, and apparently half of the group having a toxic hierarchy mindset? I know this is not new to Momusu and that early gens had a lot of toxic rivarly between each other too, it's just that I became a fan during plat era when the members seemed to get along pretty well (except maybe Koharu lol), and during colorful era, I also didn't see signs of hostility in the group. I could've been just blind to it, I mean I'm sure some of 9-10ki must have felt neglected when entire songs were sung by 2-3 people and the rest were lucky to get 2 syllables instead of one, it's just... it was never as public?
I just feel a bit disappointed. I always say idols should be allowed to be more human, which is also why I don't feel as resentful towards Rio. I understand that the stuff she said about Maria was way out of line, hell much worse than what any of the other members who got into drama said, but IMO it's human to feel like ranting when you're under a lot of stress and even say things you don't really mean, which... we don't know how much of it she actually meant, but at least, it was supposed to be a private blog... Was it stupid? Yes, extremely, because it's the internet, and everything can get leaked, but she thought she was talking to people she was close with. Y'all can't tell me you never say anything bad about your classmates, colleagues, bosses to your family, or besties. (Also, random thought, but apparently Tsunku said she should come back, and I don't think he's the almighty god and he's made a whole bunch of dumb decisions throughout his time as Momusu's producer, but my bet is if he thinks this way, maybe the scandal isn't as big as it seems) But back to my point. When you yourself take your grievances public it feels a bit hypocritic to me. You can't preach about professionalism one moment and then go online and start public feuds in your blogs with other members. It's okay to have conflicts, hell it's impossible not to have them in a group of young girls, but don't advertise Momusu to us as this amazing sisterhood if you can't even resolve conflicts among yourselves. I'm trying to put a lot of the blame on the management for not cultivating a healthy group dynamic, because I know the members are under a lot of pressure, and they should've had better guidance but man, I'm developing bitter feelings towards some members, and it sucks. I understand why fans are concerened by the image of Momu these past years, but I'm hopeful about Miki's upcoming leadership, as she always struck me as a nice, friendly person. Hopefully she can reform the group. I personally never liked Eripon too much but I'll give credit to her for taking the first step in the right direction.
Another thing I'm thinking about, is just that I'm a bit worried about the future of the group. Half of the fandom seems to be very complacent, because Momu seems to be surviving every big blow to the group (big grads, dramas), and I've seen this mindset that Momusu is now a brand and fans are fans for the Momu brand, not necessarily for the members. I understand where they are coming from, but all this means is that they are more stable in times other idol acts are struggling (they survived COVID pretty well I have to say). However I'm still part of the other camp, who fears that relying heavily on your hardcore wota and sticking with outdated ways of promotion will eventually come back biting them. During my hiatus as a fan, I wasn't getting any news on H!P other than what my friends who still followed them occasionally brought up in our chat. They only share stuff every once in a while that are news-worthy. One day I see them being all excited about some H!P songs getting uploaded to spotify. I was mind-blown. We are in the 2020s and H!P sharing music on international streaming platforms is still treated as some kind of goddamn miracle. Forget doing tik-tok challenges or hell, bringing back english subs for their MVs. This is where we're at. It's almost like this company has no will to put any effort into keeping up with the times, or just... looking outside of their own bubble I guess. This might just be my experience as an international fan, and it could be easier for japanese fans to get into them... But from what I see, even when occasionally they have a momentum (such as The First Take... they should've skyrocketed in popularity after that, but it seems like the public quickly lost interest), they are unable to build on it, because it's as if they have no clue how idol groups should be operating these days. Either that, or the group spirit is so bad they are afraid of letting them loose and fkin up, but I don't even want to imagine they have so little faith in their own guidance for the group. Anyways... Momusu needs new fans. If not to keep the popularity, it's to get young girls to be interested in joining them. UFA also needs to stop being allergic to putting talent into the group, but I'm beating a dead horse, and I'll probably say nothing new if I start ranting about this too. Not that I've said anything new at all lol, but I'm just sharing my thoughts here.
Ehh I realized that I just ended up ranting about a lot of negative stuff... Trust me when I say all of this comes from a place of concern. I want the group to keep succeeding and still be around when I'm an old lady. I want to end it on a more postive note, so I guess I'll say a few nice things about the current members. Eripon is graduating in a week so I'll skip her.
Sakura: IMO, the second best singer ever in Momusu after Ai-chan, and unless they find a new utahime, Momu will have a huge vocal void in her place when she leaves.
Miki: As I've said, I'm super hopeful about her leadership, I personally also don't get why people shit on her voice so much, I think she has pretty good vocals.
Maria: This girl is a craaaaazy good performer, I can't keep my eyes off of her during concerts. Perfect energy for genki songs, perfect energy for cool songs, and she's a visual too.
Akane: I'm not a huge fan, but she surprised me with sticking around for so long and I think she's a good supporting character for the group
Reina: This girl is a talking machine, she needs variety gigs and she needs a lot of them. Funny contrast from her shy self when she joined.
Rio: I don't know if her damage can be undone, but if it can, she's a successor for Fuku-chan's role as a stable soprano, with a voice that is easy on the ears and can fit into a lot of genres. She's also really pretty.
Homare: I love her love and dedication to Momusu. I think she'll be one of those members who will want to stay as long as possible, I can even see her as leader one day.
Mei: Love her smile, and I've enjoyed her vocals since her tone matured a bit, and I'm also a panda-san enjoyer, so we have a lot in common
Rairi: I was floored by how much she improved by her second concert tour. I was worried during her first because she seemed very lost, but now she's up there as one of the best performers. Love her visuals and her personality too, she's someone who I think will catch a lot of eyes and bring in new fans by just being there.
Haruka: I think her timid personality is a breath of fresh air, she's super cute. I'm just a bit worried about her because she herself says she's struggling to keep up with the dance these days. She needs to work a bit on her focus during concerts too, but I think she's on the right track, she might just be a late bloomer.
Ako: I didn't like her at first, but I've had character growth since then lol, she is the kind of idol who makes me think she was born to do this, I've been amazed by her aura lately.
That's about it. I ended up writing an essay, but thank you if you've read through! If you have any song suggestions from non-MM groups to get me interested, like your fav single from the past 7 years, I'm all ears.
First of all, though I've always been a Momu fan first and foremost, I followed most of H!P back then. I'm finding it a bit difficult to get back into being a H!P fan and not just an MM fan this time. The releases slowed down a lot, so despite missing 7 years, I don't have that much to catch up on in terms of music, but I do have a lot to catch up on in terms of members. Every group has sooo many members, and every group is rotational now like MM. We used to have C-ute set at the same 5 members, and even S/mileage with 4, and then later 6 members for a long period, which was a lot easier to follow. Now every group is at least 8 members, and constantly changing. Another issue I have is although MM hasn't changed much, the rest of the groups did, and it's all new faces, or KSS I have faint memories of. Last time I remember Kamiko was still new to Angerme, now she's graduated and I have no clue who the rest of the members are. Last time we were still discussing where Ruru's going to debut, now people are expecting her graduation soon. Time flies so fast, and it feels a bit daunting to catch up. I might eventually, but it's been around 3 months since I've caught up with MM and I haven't found the motivation to even look into the rest of the groups. Maybe if I get hooked on some of the music, it'll help, but I don't know where I should even start.
As for MM, I have to say, part of the reason I fell out of the love was that they released three extremely mid singles in a row (Jama Shinaide to Furari Ginza). Which sucks, because I didn't even like Harunan's grad single, and she is my forever no.1 H!P oshi. However, I loved almost everything they've released since Jinsei Blues (Yes, including Chu Chu Chu Bokura no Mirai, y'all just don't get it
), hell, I'd say Wake Up Call took over Sukatto My Heart as my favorite MM A-side, and I'm a bit bummed that I missed all of this. I also thought I'd struggle with having an oshi after Harunan, but I honestly struggle with it more now than I would've if I had stayed, cause damn, watching all the concerts I missed, I retroactively fell so hard for Chii-chan. Which is weird, because during her Country Girls era she didn't stand out to me that much (though I loved CG's music, and UFA fumbled the ball big time by letting them disband). I really like the HomaMei duo, Rairi too, and I'm warming up to Haru-san as well (though sometimes she looks like she does not want to be there lmao), I would've liked Rio too but I'm currently unsure how to feel about her. My point is, I just haven't gotten particularly attached to one single girl yet. Maybe time, or a new girl will fix that issue, but even if not, I love most of the members so it's not like I'll be unable to listen to them or anything. Now for the negatives, and there's a lot so bare with me, or stop here for you own peace of mind...
I'm honestly a bit baffled to find there has been so much drama in the group itself. I became a fan during platinum era, and I remember fanwars and the fandom being generally bitter about everything. During plat era everyone was hating on the Ai-Reina duo, Koharu, the music sounding all the same, and the low sales and AKB snatching the spotlight, during colorful era, things got a bit better but Riho got a lot of flak for her singing and being Reina's new duo partner, as well as Maa for being over the top, so yeah, fans have always been... well, fans. However, what I'm really shocked to find, because I don't remember it always being this way, is the group members struggling to get on well with each other so much. The whole Fuku-Kaedi drama, Sakura being a hypocrite, now Rio's private rants getting leaked... Also, there's a lot of discussion in the fandom around group dynamics, and how Fuku ruined it by shafting 12-14ki, and apparently half of the group having a toxic hierarchy mindset? I know this is not new to Momusu and that early gens had a lot of toxic rivarly between each other too, it's just that I became a fan during plat era when the members seemed to get along pretty well (except maybe Koharu lol), and during colorful era, I also didn't see signs of hostility in the group. I could've been just blind to it, I mean I'm sure some of 9-10ki must have felt neglected when entire songs were sung by 2-3 people and the rest were lucky to get 2 syllables instead of one, it's just... it was never as public?
I just feel a bit disappointed. I always say idols should be allowed to be more human, which is also why I don't feel as resentful towards Rio. I understand that the stuff she said about Maria was way out of line, hell much worse than what any of the other members who got into drama said, but IMO it's human to feel like ranting when you're under a lot of stress and even say things you don't really mean, which... we don't know how much of it she actually meant, but at least, it was supposed to be a private blog... Was it stupid? Yes, extremely, because it's the internet, and everything can get leaked, but she thought she was talking to people she was close with. Y'all can't tell me you never say anything bad about your classmates, colleagues, bosses to your family, or besties. (Also, random thought, but apparently Tsunku said she should come back, and I don't think he's the almighty god and he's made a whole bunch of dumb decisions throughout his time as Momusu's producer, but my bet is if he thinks this way, maybe the scandal isn't as big as it seems) But back to my point. When you yourself take your grievances public it feels a bit hypocritic to me. You can't preach about professionalism one moment and then go online and start public feuds in your blogs with other members. It's okay to have conflicts, hell it's impossible not to have them in a group of young girls, but don't advertise Momusu to us as this amazing sisterhood if you can't even resolve conflicts among yourselves. I'm trying to put a lot of the blame on the management for not cultivating a healthy group dynamic, because I know the members are under a lot of pressure, and they should've had better guidance but man, I'm developing bitter feelings towards some members, and it sucks. I understand why fans are concerened by the image of Momu these past years, but I'm hopeful about Miki's upcoming leadership, as she always struck me as a nice, friendly person. Hopefully she can reform the group. I personally never liked Eripon too much but I'll give credit to her for taking the first step in the right direction.
Another thing I'm thinking about, is just that I'm a bit worried about the future of the group. Half of the fandom seems to be very complacent, because Momu seems to be surviving every big blow to the group (big grads, dramas), and I've seen this mindset that Momusu is now a brand and fans are fans for the Momu brand, not necessarily for the members. I understand where they are coming from, but all this means is that they are more stable in times other idol acts are struggling (they survived COVID pretty well I have to say). However I'm still part of the other camp, who fears that relying heavily on your hardcore wota and sticking with outdated ways of promotion will eventually come back biting them. During my hiatus as a fan, I wasn't getting any news on H!P other than what my friends who still followed them occasionally brought up in our chat. They only share stuff every once in a while that are news-worthy. One day I see them being all excited about some H!P songs getting uploaded to spotify. I was mind-blown. We are in the 2020s and H!P sharing music on international streaming platforms is still treated as some kind of goddamn miracle. Forget doing tik-tok challenges or hell, bringing back english subs for their MVs. This is where we're at. It's almost like this company has no will to put any effort into keeping up with the times, or just... looking outside of their own bubble I guess. This might just be my experience as an international fan, and it could be easier for japanese fans to get into them... But from what I see, even when occasionally they have a momentum (such as The First Take... they should've skyrocketed in popularity after that, but it seems like the public quickly lost interest), they are unable to build on it, because it's as if they have no clue how idol groups should be operating these days. Either that, or the group spirit is so bad they are afraid of letting them loose and fkin up, but I don't even want to imagine they have so little faith in their own guidance for the group. Anyways... Momusu needs new fans. If not to keep the popularity, it's to get young girls to be interested in joining them. UFA also needs to stop being allergic to putting talent into the group, but I'm beating a dead horse, and I'll probably say nothing new if I start ranting about this too. Not that I've said anything new at all lol, but I'm just sharing my thoughts here.
Ehh I realized that I just ended up ranting about a lot of negative stuff... Trust me when I say all of this comes from a place of concern. I want the group to keep succeeding and still be around when I'm an old lady. I want to end it on a more postive note, so I guess I'll say a few nice things about the current members. Eripon is graduating in a week so I'll skip her.
Sakura: IMO, the second best singer ever in Momusu after Ai-chan, and unless they find a new utahime, Momu will have a huge vocal void in her place when she leaves.
Miki: As I've said, I'm super hopeful about her leadership, I personally also don't get why people shit on her voice so much, I think she has pretty good vocals.
Maria: This girl is a craaaaazy good performer, I can't keep my eyes off of her during concerts. Perfect energy for genki songs, perfect energy for cool songs, and she's a visual too.
Akane: I'm not a huge fan, but she surprised me with sticking around for so long and I think she's a good supporting character for the group
Reina: This girl is a talking machine, she needs variety gigs and she needs a lot of them. Funny contrast from her shy self when she joined.
Rio: I don't know if her damage can be undone, but if it can, she's a successor for Fuku-chan's role as a stable soprano, with a voice that is easy on the ears and can fit into a lot of genres. She's also really pretty.
Homare: I love her love and dedication to Momusu. I think she'll be one of those members who will want to stay as long as possible, I can even see her as leader one day.
Mei: Love her smile, and I've enjoyed her vocals since her tone matured a bit, and I'm also a panda-san enjoyer, so we have a lot in common
Rairi: I was floored by how much she improved by her second concert tour. I was worried during her first because she seemed very lost, but now she's up there as one of the best performers. Love her visuals and her personality too, she's someone who I think will catch a lot of eyes and bring in new fans by just being there.
Haruka: I think her timid personality is a breath of fresh air, she's super cute. I'm just a bit worried about her because she herself says she's struggling to keep up with the dance these days. She needs to work a bit on her focus during concerts too, but I think she's on the right track, she might just be a late bloomer.
Ako: I didn't like her at first, but I've had character growth since then lol, she is the kind of idol who makes me think she was born to do this, I've been amazed by her aura lately.
That's about it. I ended up writing an essay, but thank you if you've read through! If you have any song suggestions from non-MM groups to get me interested, like your fav single from the past 7 years, I'm all ears.
Gonna comment this separately, but I'm amazed to find so many users from the old times still active here, with the same profile pic and all. It's so nice to see familiar people that I've decide to never change my pp ever again lol.