Berryz 1, 2 and 3, check! Time for 4, 5, 6 and 7.
Sudou Maasa
Poor Maa. It’s kind of hard what to say about her because she hasn’t gotten attention in a single since Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai. Recently she’s had a little luck as the lead of Berryz Kamen (BERRYZ KAMEN RED!), but she’s been given the shaft since then. Her voice is nice to listen to. It’s deep, which is what seems to give Berryz their character. Captain, Yurina and Maasa have deep voices compared to the likes of, say, Nakki and Mai from C-ute.
I especially liked listening to Maa’s lines in yuke yuke (migi mukanai!), but honestly it seems like Berryz songs have been so concerned with giving everyone a line that they don’t seem to showcase anything. Don’t get me wrong, I like Dakishimete Dakishimete and MADAYADE, but for some reason they just seem so. . . nonexistant. It’s like the management just told Tsunku ‘write a songs so everyone can get a line’ and he did. And we got those two. But this post isn’t about that, it’s about maasa. I’d love for any of these members in this post to be a soloist, but it doesn’t seem very likely if they don’t get some pimping now.
SOLOIST?: I’d love to hear maasa sing solo, or maybe do a Berryz Kamen unit, but. . . it’s very unlikely.
Natsuyaki Miyabi
Miyabi is the best singer in Berryz Koubou. That’s uncontested. Her voice is the most pleasant and she has the most control, in my opinion. I’d love to see her go solo. I don’t know a lot about Miyabi, though. I know she’s popular and she’s good friends with Chinami and Captain, but that’s about it. It seems like on TV shows she kinda sits back and lets the rest of the people speak for her. Maybe i’m just not thinking correctly, but she just seems to agree with everything everyone says.
Even with her non-scandal last year, she barely fell from grace. Sure, she was given the least lines on MADAYADE, which happened to be the worst selling Berryz single of 2008. Seems to be a connection, I guess. Especially since she was given lead back in Dakishimete Dakishimete. But she still seems on the outside. . . slightly. She was wearing blue, while Risako and Momoko were both wearing red. I dunno, maybe I’m just looking too far into things. Either way, I’m sure that if MADAYADE’s lack of Miyabi was in any close association to sales, Miya would make a great soloist, and I’m sure that if she was given a solo career she’d be able to showcase herself differently than from when she’s in Berryz or Buono!.
SOLOIST?: She’s an interesting case, but I think she’d do great.
Kumai Yurina
Yurina’s already got a gimmick for if she were to become a soloist: “WORLD’S TALLEST IDOL.” Honestly speaking, though. . . Yurina’s a tough case. She’s got a deep voice, like Captain and Maasa, but unlike Maasa and Captain, she was originally a lead. She’s absolutely gorgeous and she’s not a bad singer. Her personality is very polite, though. That may seem like a good thing, but for idols. . . it seems like being polite is boring. Generally the most popular idols seem to be vain (like sayumi or rika), mischievous (tsuji and kago) or tomboyish (yossy and makoto), but the polite ones like. . . say, eri. . . They never really took off. It took them a while for them to get any sort of following, and as a result they don’t get much appreciation from their management, which is probably why she lost her lead position after about 2006.
Fortunately, she’s blossomed into a beauty recently and that’s helped get her lead position back. Obviously, the idol world is vain. I like Yurina, so I’d love her to be solo, but she’s kinda. . . just there, honestly.
SOLOIST?: I don’t think anyone really knows what would happen if she became a soloist. I’m not sure if she still has as big a following as she had circa 2005, but a duo with chinami would be cute!
Sugaya Risako
Socko, Socko, Socko. . . you’re the lead singer in Berryz and always have been, but you can’t sing or dance. Whatever are we to do with you? Her personality is really what gets her her fame. She fits into the vain category of idols, not necessarily saying she’s cuter than everyone, but she just seems very snooty. She’s got a decent voice to listen to the voice but stay away from her singing, especially live. Everyone’s said this, but she seriously just screams.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate risako. She’s not my favourite, but i’m not anti-risako or anything. I’m just honest. And what I say here isn’t going to effect the fact that she’ll probably become a soloist anyway, especially with all the pimping she’s had since she joined Berryz. Her solo song on 5(FIVE) was great, especially the chorus, and the live performance wasn’t bad, either. So hopefully she’ll get a few better voice lessons before they start her on her blatant pimping for a solo career.
SOLOIST?: of course. Not that i’d enjoy it 100%, but we already know it’s coming, so why bother protesting?
So there you have it. Berryz Koubou. Up next, the oldest three in C-ute.
I’D ENJOY IT 100% :l
I’D TOO