Why Hello! Project Has Increased Female Fans Within The Past Few Years: The Rise Of Female H!P “Otaku”

| Hello! Project | Posted by Serina on Dec.25.2015

1. Live Performance

What makes Hello! Project so different from other idol groups is their high quality live performance, which sometimes go beyond the sphere of “idols”.

Live Singing
One appealing point of the concert of Hello! Project is that they don’t lip sing.

We can immediately tell if the members sing the wrong lyrics or become off tune, but can also feel the strong power that can only be heard in live performances. It is impressive when we hear the members improving their singing skills, and attending to their lives is a way in which we can directly feel their effort and current ability.

Dance Performance
Regardless of their live singing, they also perform a sharp dance, and this is the largest element that I like about Hello! Project idols. Since I have also been dancing for 9 years, I really respect the members who have good dancing skills and make me want to dance as well!

Although almost all idols songs have a PV free to watch on YouTube, Hello! Project also provides a dance shot version for most of their songs.

Having a dance shot PV is really helpful since there are a lot of girls who like to copy the dances of Hello! Project. In fact, there is even an idol-copy dance competition in Japan called UNIDOL(abbreviation for University Idol), in which I also participated in. I am quite sure that most of us have used the dance shot PV to prepare for our performance.

Accessibility
It’s fairly easy to get the tickets. Honestly, there are more popular idols groups than Hello! Project, but the tickets are super hard to get since its either you have to be in a fan club or the tickets will sold out in a split second. Even if you get a chance to go to the concerts, the venue is too large that in most cases you have to look into the monitor from the far back. On the other hand, Hello! Project concerts tend to be held in a live house or concert halls where the distance between the idol and fans are close. Also, greater accessibility allows new girl fans to go to the concert easily, which lead them to be a “repeater”.

2. Contents Aimed at Women

The worldview created from the lyrics
The lyrics of most Hello! Project songs tend to be written from a girls’ point of view, which makes it sympathetic towards girls.

For example, in Japan, there are many ways to refer to “I” according to gender and social standing. Women tend to use “watashi”or “atashi”, and men often use “boku” or “ore”. In the songs of Hello! Project, the protagonist tends to be a female and first-person pronouns such as “watashi” or “atashi” are commonly used, which makes girls easier to empathize. When we compare this with the lyrics of AKB48, the main character tends to be a male since the lyrics often include “boku” when referring to themselves, and this can be a reason why there are so many male fans.

In addition, many girl fans of Hello! Project say that they like the worldview created from the lyrics. Although most popular idol songs tend to sing about romantic love and youth, a lot of Tsunku♂’s songs are based on the concept of human, planet, and love as a whole.

When I first listened to Hello! Project songs, I thought they sounded strange, but as I listened to them repeatedly, I got into the world that Tsunku♂ creates. In Japan, these types of songs in which you start to like after listening to it many times are called “surume kyoku” (translated as “dried squid songs” because Japanese people like dried squid that tastes better the more you chew it).

The fashion in the Music Video
Throughout the previous years, I realized that the fashion of Hello! Project idols in the MV changed. Recent plain-clothes-like costumes became cuter and more fashionable than before, and the idol’s fashion is becoming a model for young girls. In the T.V. program “The Girls Live” (Hello! Project’s music program), a fashion corner was implemented, in which a member coordinate the studio live costume of the day.

3. Other Reasons

Being able to see the growth of the members and their abilities
A lot of the members join Hello! Project from a young age when they are still in elementary school, and they receive dance and vocal lessons to be able to debut as full idols within Hello! Project. These years of lessons from a young age create the base of their high-level performance, and being able to see their singing and dancing skills improve as they age is also a way to enjoy Hello! Project.

Celebrities such as Matsuko Delux and Mayu Matsuoka is also a fan of Hello! Project and they often talk about it on TV. Their advertisement can also be a reason to the increasing girls audience because those who are not originally a fan of Hello! Project may become interested after listening to them.

Overall, Hello! Project focuses on the quality of the live and many girls fan look at Hello! Project as a “performer” rather than “idols”. Recently, the increasing popularity among women is leading Hello! Project to expand the women’s area in lives and there are also more only-girls-events.

Related links

Angerme Official Website: http://www.helloproject.com/angerme/

Country Girls Official Website: http://www.helloproject.com/countrygirls/

Juice = Juice Official Website: http://www.helloproject.com/juicejuice/

Morning Musume ’15 Official Website: http://www.helloproject.com/morningmusume/

℃-ute Official Website: http://www.helloproject.com/c-ute/