H!P Shirts and Some Photos

Wednesday, 14th November 2007 01:50

It feels like an age since I last posted, I was planning to catch up on all posts last week, but as per usual work has been getting in the way, thankfully after a straight 20 hour work marathon on Sunday, everything has eased off and all I need to worry about now is catching up on my sleep...and finally getting around to going through someof these H!P items I have.
At some point last week I received some t-shirts and photos that I purchased from Ohta. Personally I love H!P t-shirts, as therey're something that I can appreciate when I have no time on my hands, and obviously wearing them is a statement of my fandom. Wearing them because I'm a fan is a big reason for my liking of them, I'm proud to be a H!P fan and I don't care who knows.
The interesting thing is the reactions they get from friends who know about my passion for H!P, the majority of them are fine with it, but there's a few, that just think it's strange. Now the thing that I can't understand is that they basing their idea without actually giving them a chance. They base their whole reasoning on the fact that as it's a large group of girls of various ages, the soul reason anyone could like them is because they like looking at girls, in other words (probably their words) we're all pervs. OK the fact that some of them have bumped into me whilst buying the latest issue of Up to Boy doesn't exaclty help matters along, but have you tried explaining H!P to someone when all you've got is a magazine of scantily clad Japanese girls and they've already have their mind set and aren't willing to change it?
Within the UK, I find that the majority of people aren't open to a lot of things, especially when language becomes a barrier. My family is a classic example, Anime and Manga are considered childish no matter the content, no thought goes into how good the artwork or the stories are or anything like that. Foreign movies are another good example (whilst I've brought up foreign movies, if you get a chance see Nightwatch and Daywatch do, two amazing Russian horror films...the subtitles really add to these films), the chances of getting any of my family to sit down and watch a film in a foreign language are slim to none, I may on the occasion get lucky but it won't last longer than a couple of minutes, apparently sub-titles are to hard and dubbing is to confusing and so a lot of extremely good films get over looked. I find that this isn't just within my family, but also spreads out into some of my friends and based on this I can only presume that the majority of other people feel the same way. And this is what I believe is the problem with a lot of people that are not accepting of H!P, they have this initial lack of understanding as to how anyone could possibly like the music, concerts, TV shows, DVD etc etc in the first place, then taking a closer look they notice that it's a large group of girls...it doesn't really help matters, but what really amazes me is when my MP3 player consists solely of H!P music they still refuse to believe that I like them for the music.

Anyway, I've gone way off topic, which was T-shirts!


This shirt is from Morning Musume's Bomb! Kyu! Bomb! Kyu! Bomb! tour. I'm trying to expand my member T-shirts out and want to try and get a shirt for every current member, so with these I decided to get a Reina shirt. The photos included with the shirt are great, although I could swear the shirt that Reina has on in the photos is ever so less in your face turqoisey blue than the one I have, the shirt is amazingly bright. Looking at it makes me glad that I didn't buy a Sayumi shirt, my mind has come to terms with one day wearing a pink t-shirt, but one so bright...that's a different thing althogether. I've made a promise to myself that when the next of shirts come out, they'll be no hesitation or wondering which one to get, Sayumi's will be heading my way the minute it goes up.


This one was from the Cultural Festival 2007 "Acchi Chikyuu wo Samasunda", I'm really impressed with the design and quality. The print on the front with the two polar bears looks great and really does help convey the message of the event. This measures up slightly different to the other H!P shirts that I own, probably as it's made specifically for the event using the Quicksilver brand. Although it's a large the size is smaller than the concert shirts, I would imagine that this would be the perfect for someone that finds the concert ones too large.

Along with these I also ordered a set of Risako photos. This was an unexpected purchase, but when I saw them I knew I had to get them, the first two shots are the best shots I've seen of her, with the first one being my favourite, there's jsut something about that red top and her pose. Also there are the shots of Reina that accompanied her shirt, as usual she looks amazing.



TAGS [ Morning Musume Ohta Reina Risako ]
Posted Wednesday, 14th November 2007 01:50 | 2574 Reads

Comments

Comment by BladeMaster on Wednesday, 14th November 2007 05:20
I like the official color of Reina's T shirts, guys can wear these everywhere, no problem.
I was wondering where else can you wear Sayu's T shirts apart from H!P concerts;)


Comment by laura on Wednesday, 14th November 2007 05:31
Hey, my family think the same way as language being a barrier thing...Its kind of annoying as they dont even give films or music a chance if its not in english. They also think the music and the anime's are to childish. As for my friends I guess they understand the anime and all of them accet my music. Some of them even like it when I force songs upon them xD

The t-shirt and photo sets are awesome! I currently own neither but I hope to get a few t-shirts in the upcoming year :)


Comment by Shirow on Wednesday, 14th November 2007 07:54
I think I share the same problem with you paul, I think in the UK there is alot of foreign prejudice in regards to most cultures, Japanese things tend to be a recurring fad, my friend stacie recently said to me ''how come you are into all these japanese things?'' ... which I retorted with ''well ... fans of football wear shirts, tattoos, buy exspensive merchandise, talk about it all the time...'' she then proceded to shut up.
But I think I made a pretty decent point.
Im not ashamed at all of my h!p fandom .. when I first got into h!p a few years ago it was more of a guilty pleasure ... but now its with zero guilt,
Although I do get funny looks when friends see my Kusumi Koharu photobook on the shelf ... whats wrong with a 13 year old girl running around in swimwear ....... its Koharu damnit!!!!!!
Ive half converted a friend into h!p .... but I think he only likes the girls ... and not the music ... oh well.
Nice stuff you got there, you must have a room filled with h!p stuff ... Im quite envious ... I intend to buy a massive amount of h!p merch right after xmas ... ebay here I come .....



Comment by Wahashimoto on Wednesday, 14th November 2007 10:29
Wow, that's a very strange photo of Risako -- o.o
I'm not used to seeing Jiriri + Straight hair. It really threw me off. But the photos are't really the main hub. x]

I guess, in Australia it's pretty much the same, although a lot of my friends are really understanding, with even two or three of them asking for a burnt CD! Although I wish I had access to buying over the internet, I'd buy myself any and all Gakisan shirts and wear them non-stop!
I actually only really joined H!P fandom at the beginning of this year, and amazingly only listened t Moring Musume when Onna ni Sache are came out! But I already feel like I know the girls.

H!P is a confsuing, wonderful world. =]


Comment by Strawberrie on Wednesday, 14th November 2007 14:11
Yea the same thing goes on with my family. They think anime is childish (which is why I haven't finish my Rurouni Kenshin & Sailor Moon collection). They also getting piss at me because all I order for Christmas was Hello! Project items and I did the same thing for my birthday. My mom is okay with it since now I'm double majoring in Japanese and Psychology. I have another two years before I can go to study aboard though.


Comment by Hotaru on Thursday, 15th November 2007 01:20
Haha, Reina's blue can be a bit blinding. Its a great color, though :D
My friends and family do the same thing. While my sister is into Anime, she isn't into Hello! Project, and my family is often confused as to why I like it so much. No matter how well I describe it, they still don't fully understand it it...Most of my friends are like "Oh. Whatever." to my fandom, although some like the dances and learn them with me!


Comment by John on Thursday, 15th November 2007 07:37
Most of my friends or family didnt really get it either! I guess we all have that in common haha. Alot of people really overlook the positive effect of listening to happy energetic music, and imediately label it as childish; which I guess it sometimes can be. And I really like the fact that japanese idols really get into it and dress in costumes rather than street clothes like american singers. Sometimes it can be a bit much (kenchozshozaichi) but sometimes its really cute (very beauty, kanashimi twilight). How great does tanaka look in those pics? near flawless! Is it just me or has tanaka lost alot of her wonkiness? maybe i just got used to it.


Comment by mrs hello blog on Thursday, 15th November 2007 12:29
however, some of us buy you hundreds of hello project items for christmas and your birthday and also buy you really good dvds, for example the azumanga boxset etc etc.



Comment by luchan on Thursday, 15th November 2007 12:47
Yeah, my familiy mainly make fun of me alittle! But before i discovered H!P and jpop in grenreal i was really bored with western music, especailly hip hop and rn'b. And i really want to learn japanese now! It's really fun learning it!


Comment by Namika on Thursday, 15th November 2007 22:40
nice to see a fellow brit who likes hello project ^___^, my parents are ok with me liking anime and stuff, though I think its more to do with the fact my mum is from Peru and we have quite a bit of Japanese influence over there, like on cable you can get the NHK channel, one new years I managed to catch their new years program and saw morning musume perform live witch was cool , even though I didn't understand what was going on lol especial at the end there was a strange lottery prize draw just for the presenters. My mum even has a copy of some of the songs from tusji and kago's first album cause she thought some of the songs where cute. my mums a bit odd lol


Comment by Aoi usagi on Thursday, 15th November 2007 23:53
Same with me, my family doesn't really seem to understand that I look up to the h!p girls as role models. They just think I have some weird obsession with their bikini-ness. ^^'

Have you ever asked Ohta about find you a specific shirt? A week or two ago I asked him about one and never received a reply.


Comment by Strawberrie on Friday, 16th November 2007 01:41
@Aoi usuagi, he may not be able to find the item you are looking for. I am ask him to help me get a copy of the DVD Minimoni movie on Amazon JP from one of the sellers. He reply back but I haven't heard anything because I know sometimes how it is dealing with other people selling their items on Amazon. He is really nice in my opinion since I'm a first time customer.


Comment by Yoshimi on Friday, 16th November 2007 02:08
None of my relatives care about the fact that I like Hello! Project, or have any interest in trying their music out (one day I made my mother listen to "Koi no Dance Site" [probably a bad choice for a first-time listener, but I was too excited that she was actually going to give it a chance to care] and she was freaked out by how "noisy and childish" the music was). :/ It really disappoints me sometimes, since I'd like to have some kind of common interest with someone in my family.


Comment by MorningBerryz on Friday, 16th November 2007 03:06
I know what you mean about some friends finding J-Pop in general strange and maybe even more so with H!P. Heheh if they're in my car they have no choice. Living in Hawaii I imagine that the whole J-Pop culture in general is more widespread and I've been lucky to have a few friends here who are into the same things as me. But as far as sharing with others you never know what kind of reaction you're going to get. Some of my friends at work enjoy J-Pop too so that helps a bit as well. I got my mom into Arashi, Tackey & Tsubasa, and a bit of Morning Musume. Whenever a new pv comes out I share it with her for some thoughts and reaction to get a different perspective. Heheh that may sound strange! :P I actually got my mom to make a Morning Musume favorite member list. I think it was late last year sometime.


Comment by Strawberrie on Friday, 16th November 2007 03:10
My dad can't stand it that I listen to Jpop but my mom has no problem. Probably because she sees Western music the way I do: Most of it today is trash and most of the good artist don't even last too long.


Comment by Aoi Usagi on Friday, 16th November 2007 21:20
@Strawberrie: Okay, thank you! I was just wondering if it was his habit to wait a while before replying, cause if so then I could stop worrying that some strange new breed of internet goblin had eaten my question before it could reach him.


Comment by paul.thomas on Saturday, 17th November 2007 02:53
blademaster, i'm hoping that the pink of Sayumi's shirt won't be as in your face as Reina's blue one...although I seriously doubt it. Hahaha, it sounds like a perfect excuse to buy one....'i feel like wearing my Sayu shirt today...time to book a flight and go catch a concert'...if only! If it turns out to be pink to be worn on a regular basis, I can always give it to my girlfriend (aka mrs hello blog) her favourite colour is pink so I'm sure she wouldn't turn it down, but the question is could I part with it even if I wasn't going to wear it?

laura, it can get quite annoying with family and foreign films, I really love foreign films and there's some really great ones out there, I can't count the number of times I've shown (in particular) my mum, who is a big film fan, a non-english speaking film and no matter how good it is, it's on for about 5 minutes before getting turned off, lol and I never seem to learn I always try to persuade her to watch them but it never happens. Lol, with my parents it's not just foreign films it's most programs that don't fit the norm, I managed to get them to watch the Mighty Boosh yesterday (amazingly funny and surreal UK comedy) I was very surprised they made it all the way through it's not their normal type of program...although I know neither of them wasn't keen on it. And I know you'll love the shirts when you get around to getting some, they are amazing!!

shirow, i wasn't actually chatting to a friend the other night about the whole H!P thing and I used your football argument and it seemed to work. But you do have a really good point, when looked on it that way there's really no argument. I think the only time I've really freaked someone out with my H!P stuff was when a couple of my friends watched a Sports Festival DVD, although I just sat there laughing at how Aibon was doing in the running they just sat there going 'why are we watching this!?!?', lol, made it all the more amusing.

Wahashimoto, the photo of Risako with straight hair does look a little strange doesn't it, her wavy hair suits her best i think. Gakisan is moving up my list of favourite members all the time, she has such an amazing smile and really great personality. Wow, so you're fairly new to Morning Musume then? What group got you into H!P?

strawberrie, hows the Japanese language lessons coming along, I keep meaning to start taking lessons again, but at the moment finding the time is the hard part, I occasionally practice some basics on the train into and back from work, but generally I can't keep my eyes for more than 2 or 3 stops. If I had my way I'd be passing out Christmas lists filled with H!P items, chances are someone within my family will get stuck for a present for me and ask me to get something from them, so who knows I may get a couple of H!P presents too.

Hotaru I may try that as a way to persuade friends of mine that aren't to sure on H!P, although I'm not to sure if it would just make things worse ;p

John, the thing I argue about with people is that the songs aren't really that childish, for me H!P is what pop music should be about, it's all about having fun and making some nice happy music, when I compare it to the stuff that appears in the UK pop chart it really stands out. And yeah the way that the idols get into it is another great aspect of it, some (ok most) of the costumes are amazing.

mrs hello blog...do i have to call you that? sounds so strange, lol. yeah that's true, you are very tollerent of my H!P obsession and yes you have got me some great presents in the past (lol, im hoping this year is no different ;p).

lucahn, i know exactly what you mean, before I got into H!P I had practically stopped listening to music altogether, but finding Morning Musume and H!P has really thrown me back into it again big time. It's also a great incentive to learn Japanese, as I was saying earlier I really want to start doing courses again, I wonder if there's any decent online courses?

Namika, always nice to meet another UK fan, your mum has copies of W's singles!!! Your Mum rules!! If I ever found a channel which had Morning Musume on it in whilst channel hopping I'd be so excitied! There was an episode of Joanthon Ross's Japanorama awhile back which was based on Japanese music, I was quite surprised that they didn't feature on there, I think instead they had AKB48.

Aoi usagi, yeah I think there's a bit that in my parent thoughts as well, they've seen some of the PB's and photos I have and I think they think I'm more interested in the girls for their looks more than anything else. I'm not going to deny that the looks are a factor, no one really wants to watch ugly people, do they? But I'd still be just as big a fan as I am now even if things like the PBs and Alo Hello/Love Hello DVDs didn't come out. The fact that on occasion we get to see the girls in their bikinis is just another plus point ;p Ohta is normally good with replies, he can occaisionally take awhile to get back to you if he's looking for an item for you, hang in there chances are he'll get back to you.

Yoshimi, I can relate to the 'noise' comment as that's just how my dad referes to it. But then he generally refers to any music made in the last 10-15 years that way, hahaha. I have on occasion played some Morning Musume to my brother as you say some common ground is always a good thing and seeing how H!P is such a big thing to me it would be great if he liked it to...but I knew even before playing it to him that he wouldn't like it, lol, although there has been the odd occasion I've heard him humming Mini Moni songs.

MorningBerryz, your mum and Namika's should go for tea, lol. But seriously that's cool that your mum does that, I'd be interested to know how your mum ranked the girls if you can remember. I guess from showing the PVs to her you do get a completley different view on them, what's her general opinion of them? Is she a fan? The influence the Japanese have had on Hawaii I would imagine really helps Jpop become more popular over there. Lol, you're like me when driving! Generally if i'm going somewhere local the radio is on, but the minute I hit the motorway out comes H!P, and as you say if they're in the car they have no choice. Secretly deep down I know they like it.


Comment by MorningBerryz on Saturday, 17th November 2007 05:40
I kept my mom's Momusu member ranking and it's from awhile back as you can tell by the members in it. This list was made primarily from her watching their pvs and making of segments:
10. Konkon
9. Sayu
8. Makochan
7. Rikachan
6. Tanakachi
5. Kamei
4. Mikitty
3. Gakisan
2. Yossi
1. Aichan

She started off not really wanting to watch them but after a few attempts she really started to like their dances and some songs. But she really likes Aichan a lot. Maybe it runs in the family. lol! She thinks that she looks absolutely perfect! And I can't argue with that!! She likes J-Pop artists from the 70's and actually went to a concert once. She's shifted a bit as she watches a lot of Korean dramas right now. And I mean a lot!!! :O Whenever a good new Japanese drama comes out we watch it together though.

Heheh I think they do really like it. :) So I play mp3's that display the titles just in case they want to "secretly" look them up when they get home. ;)



Comment by Wahashimoto on Sunday, 18th November 2007 09:12
Hmm, I think it was Berryz.

I saw 'Koi no Jubaku' and thought, "WTF?!" But I listened to it a few more times, it got stuck in my head and then Maiha stole my heart, plus I thought she looked like my friends sister, who's her age. o.o
I think I didn't listen to Morning Musume, because I thought it was more mature or something, but I knew of certain members through certain Shuffle groups, like the 2005 shuffles - I knew of Ai and Reina through Elegies.

I also remember my first Morning Musume song (apart from Onna ni) was Iroppoi Jirettai, and I kept hearing of this 'Mikitty' that everyone loved. At first I thought it was Makoto cause I swear she looks like a cat in that PV. x]

Woo, I'm getting my first H!P CD for Chrissy, the Anniversary Album from Momusu. I can't wait!


Comment by HarimaKenji on Sunday, 18th November 2007 23:37
My parents are thankful for my interest in foreign things. I have good English in a country where most people my age have... well, nothing. Those idiots can't even write in Portuguese, their native language, imagine in English -_- So they're glad they don't have to pay for English lessons.
Anyway, they don't really care about whatever I like. I have different values/lifestyle/taste from theirs, and they respect it. I only don't know what they would think about an idol group... which is why I forgot to tell them until now about H!P.
No one in the family wants anything to do with Japan, though. That's just me.


Comment by paul.thomas on Wednesday, 21st November 2007 11:52
MorningBerryz, you're mum sounds great! I'd love to be able to sit down and watch those type of programmes with mine, she's such a big film and drama fan that I know if she just gave some foreign stuff a chance she'd really get into it, there's so much great stuff out there. It's when she watches American reworkings of old or foreign films and really likes them, the chances of getting to watch the normally better original versions are near impossible.
The results of her favourite member list are really interesting, it's really good to see that Aichan is up at the top...although I think you need to start showing her some more Sayu ;p but then I guess mums don't really go for the cute thing, I'm guessing the more matureness of Yossia (I'm guessing you haven't seen how good Yossie looks in the new Ongaku Gatas PV, she just keeps looking better better everytime I see her), Aichan and Mikitty appeal to her more.
Hahaha, to help my friends get around the secret looking of the song titles, I randomly mail them links to PVs on Veoh, the surprising thing is how many actually go and watch them and like them, I know of a few of my friends that check out the site just to watch the PVs...although they don't comment, I guess that would mean they'd be showing an interest and in turn a liking to the music, lol, they can't have that.

Wahashimoto, I'm going to have to do a search on Veoh after this post and have a check of the PV off the top of my head I don't think I've ever seen or heard this song, having only really started to like and pay attention to Berryz from Munasawagi Scarlet there's a lot of their releases that have passed me by, I think I need to have a Berryz catch up. That's a great H!P to start with, so many amazing songs on it!

HarimaKenji, it's good that your parents respect what you like, I've never explained the whole Idol thing to anyone in my family either, it's quite a strange thing to try and understand I think as there's not really comparisons here in the UK.


Comment by namika on Wednesday, 21st November 2007 16:05
lol thanks for saying my mum was cool.
I saw that episode of Japanorama with AKB48, the fans they interviewed where kinda freaky though made me feel a bit sorry for them. I've always wondered about the acts they've brought on that show like there was that odd para para guy , one of their guests i've seen live hear in the UK, they where called electric eel shock or something they did an in-store event for HMV's anime day, they where a bit odd, i did win a years worth of anime so that made more than made up for it lol ^___^


Comment by Daniel on Monday, 3rd December 2007 01:11
I would definetly get hooked up with some Morning Musume member t-shirts...if only they were'nt so expensive! The first t-shirt I would wear would be a Sayumi Michishige, she's my favorite member of the current Momusu lineup...and she has a new photobook coming out!


Comment by paul.thomas on Tuesday, 4th December 2007 14:22
Daniel, I'd recommend the shirts to any fan, they're so great! It's got to the stage now where I'm wearing all the time, I really love them. I'm in desperate need of a Sayu one, I can handle the pink I've decided but I'm not to sure as to whether I should buy one now or wait for the next tour...I noticed that Ohta has a Sayumi one in from the same tour as the Reina one in this post.
I can understand her being your favourite from the current line up, for a long time Sayumi was my favourite too, until Koha pushed her down to second, but I'm really looking forward to her PB, I'm curious to see which they take it, cute or sexy, perhaps a mix of both?

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