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The Group of Eternal Love:Morning Musume. 20th Anniversary Special Event Live Report!

愛の軍団よ、永遠に:モーニング娘。20周年記念イベント スペシャルライブレポート!
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The Group of Eternal Love:Morning Musume. 20th Anniversary Special Event Live Report!

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Morning Musume. 20th Anniversary Event ~21-nen-me mo Ganbatte Ikimasshoi!~ was held at Shin-Kiba STUDIO COAST on September 14, 2017, 20 years after the group’s formed back in 1997.

Morning Musume. polled their fans to make a ranking list of the group’s songs on a special site and announced that they would perform the highest-ranking songs. Tokyo Girls’ Update also asked our followers to choose the most favorite song on Twitter and received more than 70 answers! Then, let’s see if the songs you chose was performed! I note as an aside that I voted for “Moonlight Night ~Tsukiyo no Bandayo~”.


As the house lights dimmed, the 2,000 fans packed into the venue welcomed the members with huge cheer. Morning Musume. opened with the group’s 1st single “Morning Coffee” which was released on January 28, 1998 as the first song of the event. Their 20-year history began from this song. There was a thunderous cheer for Sakura Oda who celebrated 5 years since joining the group on this day in 2012. No other song could have pulled back the curtains on this memorial day.

The group performed the following songs in order of their ranking.

7th – Koi ING

“Koi ING” at first was planned to be the A-side of Morning Musume.’s 20th single instead of “Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~”. The group unveiled the undisclosed choreography with distinctive use of high chairs. This was the first time that YOSHIKO who later invented the current formation dance got involved with Morning Musume..

6th – I WISH(updated)

5th – Shabondama

4th – Resonant Blue

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Noting comments from fans, the group rushed into the three songs above. In a previous interview, Mizuki Fukumura revealed that she had received a message from Tsunku♂. It said that since there are the current members, both new and old songs can be inherited and the current fans can enjoy them. As he said, there were many moments that the new and old members crossed each other. This could be experienced only by Morning Musume., whose members repeat the cycle of joining and graduation.

In parallel with the regular vote, a unit song was also put on the ballot. The second and third were announced here.

Unit Song 3rd – Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai / Sakura Oda and Miki Nonaka

Miki Nonaka happily stated that soon after she learned how to sing this song, she got in touch with Riho Sayashi and received a message from her saying Sayashi believes in Nonaka. It is well-known that Oda reigns as an overwhelming songstress in the group but Nonaka is clearly emerging as that of next generation. She is still developing and she will certainly play a central role in singing in the near future.

Unit Song 2nd – Robo Kiss / Haruka Kudo and Masaki Sato

“Robo Kiss” was the 3rd single of W whose members are Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago released on October 14, 2004. In the golden era, the combination of Tsuji and Kago was very popular but in that day the combination of Kudo and Satou drew equal to them. Soon after showing energetic performance reminiscent of the golden pair at that time, Kudo hugged Sato who started to cry due to nervousness. The scene was heartwarming but also reminded me of Kudo’s graduation which would take place after their autumn tour.

The ranking of 8th to 10th was revealed, though they were not performed.

10th – Daite HOLD ON ME!

9th – Be Alive

8th – Pyokopyoko Ultra

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It was surprising that “Pyokopyoko Ultra” was ranked at 8th. This song was the first single after the 10th generation members joined so, people might have voted for it because of Kudo who will graduate the group soon. After this, the group rushed into the songs ranked at 3rd, 2nd, and 1st.

3rd – One・Two・Three (updated)

2nd – Fantasy ga Hajimaru

1st – Say Yeah!-Motto Miracle Night-

Maria Makino was impressive in “Fantasy ga Hajimaru”. Growing up as an adult, she really matched the lyrics of the song “SEXY de Gomenne (I’m sorry for being sexy)”. She is sure to lead the group both in visual and performance aspects. The 1st place song was “Say Yeah!-Motto Miracle Night-” released during the golden era year of 2001. Since Tsunku♂’s playful mind was scattered throughout the song, this song can be said as one of the representatives of Morning Musume. in the golden era. Kudo and Sato took over the lines which Tsuji and Kago did at that time, which must be what their fans wanted to see.

Unit Song 1st – Ookii Hitomi / Sayumi Michishige and Reina Tanaka

As the 1st place unit song was unveiled, the audience made the biggest cheers of the night. Sayumi Michishige and Reina Tanaka appeared as the surprised guests and the hall was soon colored pink and light blue. This was the first time that the two sang together after their graduation but their performance in good combination reminded me of the words “Legendary 6th Generation(6期最強伝説)”.

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The two really matched the current members during the MC. When Michishige called out the name of Chisaki Morito, she shouted out “yeah!”, which made the audience laugh out loud. Who could imagine of seeing the two performed “Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai” with the current members again? There could be seen some fans crying from being so moved.

They closed the main part with three songs, including their new song “Jamashinaide Here We Go!”. The minor code was used in the new tune but it is a genuine dance track. The choreography featured Sato and Morito, which looked very interesting.

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Morning Musume. then performed “Roman~MY DEAR BOY~” to start the encore. The screen showed the lyrics “Hand over our sash to the future There is no doubt in justice” bigger than usual. This song can only be sung by Morning Musume.’17 who continues the cycle of joining and graduation. During the following MC, Mizuki Fukumura stated with tears in her eyes that she had felt the importance of “Ganbatte Ikimasshoi!”. She added that with the determination of 21 years that they must feel the weight of being a member of Morning Musume. and not take it lightly.

Finally, the group performed their most famous song “Love Machine (updated)” and closed out this memorial day. The screen showed a short movie that the members took a new step and the phrase “Time Has Come”. Morning Musume. turned 20 years old in 2017 with Hello! Project to follow in 2018.

The “Idol Warring States Era” in which various types of idols have reigned has already fallen into decay. The new era will only value those whose performance is sophisticated. It is true that time has come. Morning Musume. and Hello! Project will increase their power more and more from now on. The new era where they will reign once again is not so distant into the future.

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Set List
01 Morning Coffee
02 Koi ING
03 I WISH (updated)
04 Shabondama
05 Resonant Blue
06 Daisuki Dakara Zettai ni Yurusanai/Oda and Nonaka
07 Robo Kiss/ Sato and Kudo
08 One・Two・Three (updated)
09 Fantasy ga Hajimaru
10 Say Yeah!-Motto Miracle Night-
11 Ookii Hitomi/Michishige and Tanaka
12 Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!/Michishige, Tanaka, and Morning Musume.’17
13 Jamashinaide Here We Go!
14 Wagamama Kinomama Ai no Joke
15 What is LOVE?
E1 Roman~MY DEAR BOY~
E2 LOVE Machine (updated)


Related Links
Hello! Project Official site: http://www.helloproject.com
Morning Musume.’17 Official site: http://www.helloproject.com/morningmusume/

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Author
ykmk

Growing up in Akihabara culture, ykmk became an otaku covering idol, anime, and pop music.

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