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Panel
Question : Apart from founding Morning Musume and Hello! Project,
what was the happiest moment in your career?
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Tsunku:
Coming to Anime Expo to see everyone! I regret not being able
to come sooner. I like being in front of an American audience.
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Panel Question :
In terms of your auditions, what do you see in the young girls
that make you choose them?
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Tsunku: It has
to do with their personal energy or aura. I have an intuitive
sense and I can feel the energy when talking to them or watching
them perform. When I don't think I can sense the energy/aura any
longer, then it will be time for me to retire. I feel lucky to
be able to have this ability.
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Panel Question
: Will there be any new Morning Musume members in the
upcoming year? |
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Tsunku: I don't
know about this year, but a new audition is in the works. If not
this year, then most likely next year. |
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Panel Question : Following
the success of Morning Musume to Los Angeles, would other Hello!
Project acts be coming to America? |
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Tsunku: Morning
Musume has a special place for me as they were the first in Hello!
Project, so they were the first to come to the U.S. I would like
to eventually have Berryz Koubou and C-ute be able to come, but
we need the budget for it. But most importantly, we need support
from you to want us to be able to come back!
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Panel Question : Can
you tell us what Morning Musume's, Berryz Koubou's and C-ute's
best aspects are and what is it that they still need to achieve?
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Tsunku: Morning Musume
has had the same 9 member line-up for 2
years now. When the latest members joined, they were not so
great at singing and dancing and had to work very hard to catch
up with the other members. They have come a long way from when
they first started. Morning Musume is at a great level right now.
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Tsunku:
Berryz Koubou hasn't had any significant member changes but they
have been maintaining a high level of performance. Their best
aspect is how they look so uneven.
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Tsunku: More than Morning Musume
or Berryz Koubou, members in C-ute are the most athletic, so I
demand a lot out of them when it comes
to their athletic ability.
If I were to give any constructive
critisism to the members as
they mature and become adults, they will get their curves and
have sex appeal for the audience. But when that time comes, I
will have to keep my cool!
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Panel Question: Would
you be interested in recruiting new members here in the states
besides Hawaii? |
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Tsunku: If an American member
can follow the very demanding practices and work that we do here,
I think an American style
Morning Musume would be interesting.
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Panel Question:
What is your direction with the revival of Tanpopo, Puchimoni
and Minimoni and why did you decide to reuse these names and not
just give them new names/groups?
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Tsunku: Starting this summer
in Japan, there will be a rivival of those groups as the new Tanpopo,
Puchimoni and Minimoni and they will be reviving old hits as well
as doing new songs. There will also be some new shuffles that
will be occurring as well. As to why I decided to do this, is
because I didn't want my better songs to go dormant! |
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Panel Question: Are you
planning on releasing any other solo work?
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Tsunku: If you look on youtube
you can catch some of my singing on
there! I don't want to sound too negative right now, but for the
past
few years, I have been having problems with my throat. I'm having
a hard time using my falsetto. When I got my larynx examined,
there was some hardening there 5 mm in size. It's been difficult
as I haven't been able to demonstrate by singing when giving a
lesson. I am struggling to get my self back in shape and once
better, I hope to be able to continue
singing, including in the United States!utube
you can catch some of my singing on
t
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For Tsunku-san's final message
to the audience he said:
“Thank you all for coming.
The audience size here increased over the
course of the panel and I'm very happy to see that. I will still
have a
chance to see some of you as I am one of the judges at the AX
Idol later
today. I was very excited to see the support you gave at the
Morning
Musume concert and also to me, Tsunku, here at Anime Expo. I
find the
language barriers a bit frustrating through, but it's something
I have
to struggle with. I ask for your support to lead the way for
future
appearances of Morning Musume, Hello! Project and Tsunku here!
Thank you!”
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Overall,
this panel was very successful. The panel started with
probably about less than half the room filled and by
the end of the panel, I'd have to say it increased to
about a bit more than 3⁄4. I know around the same
time as Tsunku's panel, was Morning Musume's autograph
session, so it was hard for people to choose which to
go to!
-Kimiko
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