3054 replies to this topic

[hanawopun]

Super cute!  They could combine her with two members of Juice=Juice and make a new Buono!

[Danes83]

Please make new Buono with Rikako in it..

[iwabo]

While Buono is nice and all it wouldn't make much sense to just make another unit like them, especially now that they've been revived. It wouldn't fully "exploit" Rikako's taste either. They could potentially try the approach of an actual idol + metal fusion (I'm going to avoid any comparisons to other units who do that, for obvious reasons) and some of the songs H!P released in the past months show they can potentially write metal-ish songs if they want to. It's just that H!P is probably not wanting to invest in such a project or take any risks for that matter given their track record of being monotone. 

[LoveRice]

While Buono is nice and all it wouldn't make much sense to just make another unit like them, especially now that they've been revived. It wouldn't fully "exploit" Rikako's taste either. They could potentially try the approach of an actual idol + metal fusion (I'm going to avoid any comparisons to other units who do that, for obvious reasons) and some of the songs H!P released in the past months show they can potentially write metal-ish songs if they want to. It's just that H!P is probably not wanting to invest in such a project or take any risks for that matter given their track record of being monotone. 

Thing is unlike most metal idol singers, Rikako is legitimately into metal (she's into the classics which is mostly heavy metal with little to no growls but still) so she would be good in a metal unit or something but like you said H!P for some reason doesn't like going out of their way or taking the initiative. 

 

The idols they choose are always great and they have many girls who can crossover to other media (Rikako for example) but they really aren't doing anything.

 

When Rikako quit SCK Girls and joined KSS, I was happy but I really wish she joined one of the 48s instead because she deserved better. She could've had one heck of a push too because of the buzz she got and her talent in dancing. I know Aki-P would've pushed her to the moon.

[Ady001]

@LoveRice, unless Rikako learns how to strum an instrument and be like Lovendor or Buono or have stonger vocals like the girls at Babymetal/Ladybaby/Zekkyo Suru-60 Do, I'm afraid she'll just be a metal enthusiast rather than being one. And musical tastes change as one ages.

The good thing about Rikako crossing over to other media is that she started young and there was that push when she was younger. The push now though isn't as intense as before but I could see that she's doing whatever she can to get as many gigs outside of H!P.

About joining the 48s, it was my first impression as well. The 48s could provide more mileage for her, but then she'd be fighting for affection with other girls. Nowadays, with Rikako's looks changing drastically from 4 years ago, I hate to admit this but there will be some who will scream the big "D" especially among wota circles, and in the end, all that Rikako will need to have to survive the industry is that strong presence and improvements to herself, which I see so much in her these days.

[iwabo]

Thing is unlike most metal idol singers, Rikako is legitimately into metal

 

Who would be "most" in this case? The amount of units who do this kind of fusion in their own way is quite slim, and those who weren't exactly a fan at first became to like it eventually. It's no secret that usually metal is kind of like an acquired taste, usually something about it interests you and eventually you learn to love / tolerate other parts of the music. Band Maid for example legitimately love what they do, and in the case of BM there is (or was) a video on instagram of Suzuka having the time of her life at a Bring Me The Horizon concert.

 

 

As for what Ady said, I don't think she necessarily needs to become a "better" singer. If she has passion, which she does, and they actually give her creative freedom she'll definitely make it work. But if Maa-chan's case is any guideline...creativity isn't exactly encouraged. 

[Lurkette]

^ Honestly, though, they're not wrong in restricting their creativity. There are apparently a large number of fans who really just want basic idol standards and not much more, and H!P caters to those most conservative of fans. For example, one of Tacoyaki Rainbow's PVs was based around things that the girls really wanted to do in a video, and there were several people, even in the international fandom, who condemned it, saying that they had no place doing anything creative, so... I wholeheartedly disagree with that, but there are those kinds of people and a lot of them are attracted to H!P because they are nothing if not consistent and standard.

 

It's also not really worthwhile to say, "Well she would definitely be treated better in 48G/wherever," because there's no way of knowing that, and we have some evidence to suggest that she wouldn't be any better off. With 48G it's mostly just statistically she wouldn't stand a chance, but you also have cases like Satou Sumire, who was a prominent 8th gen MM finalist and eventually joined AKB. She got a fairly decent push early on in her career, but fans didn't really take the bait and she's just been kind of stagnant in the back for years now. Rikako would maybe, maybe get more opportunities to do a greater variety of things, but she already has the Seventeen gig, and that's pretty hard to beat, even if she isn't one of the main models. Remember that you can probably count on one hand the number of girls who have done any outside work of note in the past decade; Rikako's pretty well off, all things considered. 

[iwabo]

^ Honestly, though, they're not wrong in restricting their creativity. There are apparently a large number of fans who really just want basic idol standards and not much more, and H!P caters to those most conservative of fans.

 

Oh absolutely. H!P is where they are now because of their product. It only makes sense to cater to what the fans are coming for. Even now on those rare occasions H!P acts are invited to somewhat important shows they will always play like 10 year old songs.

That's an interesting story, much respect for TR's management to go that route, but all the more sad that some fans couldn't respect the girls doing what they want to do. 

 

And in addition to the AKB thing, I really wouldn't be so sure if she could pull enough fans to get a decent result in the elections. Then again I don't know that much about AKB but like Lurkette says it just seems like the numbers are (or were, rather) against her. Maybe if they added her right when she was at a peak of popularity but otherwise I'd doubt it.

[Ady001]

Here's Rikako's appearance in Hedoban with hi-res scans:

Spoiler

I'm about a month and a half in backlogs with Rikako's entries. Not even sure I can catch at this point. Her writing and the length of her writing really just is a challenge for me. Not sure I'd translate this one but let's see.

[cornyflakes]

^ Nice! Well you don't have to translate it if you don't want to, just concentrate at what you want to do.

Edit: A tribute video to the metal girl I found on youtube.
https://youtu.be/JTDqIaL-p8Y

 

Cute

[Ady001]

Still finding some energy to translate. On the other hand, here are some Rikako scans/pictures from the past few days:

Spoiler

[Miryoku]

During this voice training session, the teacher said Rikako's singing finally became better, and that her voice is the same kind as Maeda Yuuka's (and that she likes Maeda Yuuka's voice)

[miyooooons]

She's improving sooooooo much in her singing!!

[LoveRice]

During this voice training session, the teacher said Rikako's singing finally became better, and that her voice is the same kind as Maeda Yuuka's (and that she likes Maeda Yuuka's voice)

Her trainig is going well but you can tell shes does not feel too confident. If she really wants to improve she should try being more optimistic.

You can do it Rikako!

[Lovecen]

I might be biased of course...but I think she's improved a whole lot since she joined.   Her voice isn't the best by any means but she has a lot more control than she did during her KSS days. 

 

And to add... Rikako showing off her weird face techniques in Seventeen LOL.

 

[Miryoku]

^ Lol, it's written she takes photos of her with this kind of face on other people's smartphones ! The girl on the bottom of the page says "I suddenly noticed i had a lot of those in my pictures". Rikako denied and said she never did any of this

[zam（仮）]

This is like a scene from Love Hina

[Satur]

 Oh, I love Love Hina

[ensorcelledAubade]

^^ Ahh you're totally right it does

[spiro150]