ºC-ute Appreciation Week! ☆ Day Six: The Current Members

It is now officially day six of ºC-ute Appreciation Week where I'll be talking about other things about the group aside from just reviewing their songs. Yesterday, I talked about the three former members of the group: Murakami Megumi, Umeda Erika, and Arihara Kanna. Despite them leaving, they are still remembered fondly. Today, I just want to talk about the current members of the group. Who are they? What is their impact on the group or on Hello! Project? What do I think of them?

矢島舞美 ♡
YAJIMA MAIMI

What can I say about Maimi, the leader of the group since the beginning? I feel like she has done in a good job when it has come to the group. She's been the one leading for throughout this entire decade and one of the Hello! Project's longest running leaders when it comes to their groups. She takes care of her group, looks after them- she's very respectable and mature in that aspect.

After Airi, she was the next member that caught my eye when I first came to know the group. Ever since their early days, she was always a lead vocalist. Depending on the single, she's a main vocalist as well. Her voice was always very distinguishable to me and stuck out to me as well. Yes, it could be a bit nasally or flat at times. However, I could hear that she sincerely tries her best. Aside from voice, her beauty also stood out to me as well. She's sincerely so pretty that as a girl, I kinda envy her but at the same time- aspire to be like her as well. No matter how bad an outfit is, she always look so great. Her photobooks are super nice as well.

After their disbandment, Maimi plans to pursue acting. I can see her becoming an actress as she has done a handful of small acting work in the past (I couldn't watch all of them because some are just so obscure and hard to find). Hopefully, she'll be able to participate in bigger acting jobs so that she can gain experience and show what she's really capable of. She has a lot of potential, I know. Although she will occasionally bus tours and dinner shows, I will miss seeing her as a singer full time. From being a leader of ºC-ute and Hello! Project, from being a major leader vocalist.. she certainly put a lot of effort into the group and I commend her for that.

中島早貴 ♡
NAKAJIMA SAKI

Saki has always been one of the back members of the group. She wasn't the strongest vocalist as she had quite a nasally voice nor did she gain much popularity in the beginning as well. I'll admit, I never really noticed her when I first came to know the group. She was just there. She wasn't really my top favorite either. Yet, as the years progress, as I get to know her more- I slowly come to like her so much and now she's my second favorite member of the group. Her voice may not be the best, yet her personality and dancing makes up for it completely.

In the beginning, she was always in the back. She was never the greatest vocalist if you compare her to people like Airi or Megumi. Yet, dancing is what gave her that well-deserved push to the front that she deserved. She improved her dancing ability as the years progress and dare I say it– she is the top, if not- one of the top dancers within Hello! Project. In fact, she even challenged pole dancing a few years ago while not she may not be a complete professional at her- she was still able to master a few routines. If that's not an example of her prowess as a top idol dancer, then I don't know what is. Dancing is where she shined and something that many will remember her back.

Another thing that really got me to fall for Saki was just her personality. She's very cute, inside and out. I find her to be a very endearing person and she has a smile that could just light up anyone's day. She's not a moodmaker or anything. She's always there but you could feel her presence. She's super nice and cheerful. I can relate to her to a certain degree. She's just a very sweet and cute person. She's my second favorite member of ºC-ute and I'm looking forward to her future activities. I wonder how she'll be like as an actress since she never really participated in that many works compared to Maimi or even Airi. However, I do know that she'll do her best.

鈴木愛理 ♡
SUZUKI AIRI

As my most favorite member of ˚C-ute, she already has her own dedication post. However, I will still include her in the post.. but I just won't talk about her much in detail compared to the others.  She's an amazing main vocalist, really it can't be denied. She was great as the center of ºC-ute, not just with her voice but also with her personality. While she has the appearance of the cool vocalist, she can be quite goofy and cute off of stage as well. Airi was the reason I even got to know ºC-ute in the first place. And I really do look forward to her future work, whether it be as a model or as a solo singer.

岡井千聖 ♡
OKAI CHISATO

In all truth, Chisato is my least favorite member of ºC-ute. However, that doesn't mean that I dislike her in any way. She has clearly left her mark in the group's history, from being just one of the back girl to rising to become the group's second main vocalist. Honestly, I would never expected for someone like her to make that rise like that. Yet, I was able to witness it (as I became a fan just as she began to gain more prominence) and I just found it completely admirable, amazing.

She grew to become a great vocalist, that cannot be denied. She can belt out really nice notes as well as Airi at times as well. She's an example of how a "back member" improved with time and rose up to become a prominent star. However, her voice isn't what made me come to like Chisato. It was mostly her personality. For me, I would like to think of her as the moodmaker of the group. There's a bluntness in her comments, which could be quite amusing at times, and is a bit more evident when she was filming Yorosen!. She's funny at times with her remarks and actions.

Chisato has a lot of potential to become a solo artist and I do sincerely think she can pull it off. However, for her plans after the group's disbandment- she says that she wants to participate in more variety programs and I honestly think it's quite perfect for her with her moodmaker personality. Now she can help liven up more programs, bring her own unique charms to shows and make more people smile. I do look forward to see what she will do in the future. She may not be my most favorite member but she left her mark. She will be remembered.

萩原舞 ♡
HAGIWARA MAI

Honestly, where do I even begin with Mai? Similar to Chisato, she's not one of my most favorite members of the group. However, she is still very much loved and respected. I do not dislike her in any way. In fact, with her- I'm just sincerely amazed with her resilience and hardworking aspect with her personality. She came into the industry when she was just six years-old, she was probably barely out of kindergarten by then. When I was six, I was pretty stupid and weird. Maimai? She was working to become an idol.

Her entire life up until now has her work as an idol. Again, she's been in this industry for approximately fifteen years now. It's been said that she had eye surgery early on yet still pulled through to perform with glasses. Her entire childhood and teenage years has been nothing but being an idol. She sacrificed so much for her idol life- like.. I've always been quite mind blown at this fact. Her vocals are never the best (and recently it's been getting worse) yet her dancing ability makes up for her. She's always putting a lot effort into her work and she still retains such a nice, cheerful, cute personality.

After the group's disbandment, Mai has said that she will retire from the industry and do other things such as studying abroad to improve her English skills. Honestly, good for her. She needs this well-deserved rest. She has been in this for, practically, her entire life. Mai, overall, is another very unique member when it comes to ºC-ute. She's the youngest of them all, has dedicated her entire life to the group up until now. She's cute, bright, cheerful. I sincerely wish Mai the best in the future. I hope she gets the rest that she deserves. She invested time as an idol, now she should live her life doing other thing she enjoys out of the spotlight.

And that concludes day six of ºC-ute Appreciation Week. This is ºC-ute, they have left their mark on Hello! Project's history. Honestly, the current girls will have work a tad bit harder in order to fill the gap that ºC-ute will leave on their final day. They are one of my favorite idol girl groups of all time and I will miss them. Yet, I also hope for the best in the futures after ºC-ute.

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