How can I possibly begin to talk about Eri Kamei?
I watched this girl grow up as a member of Morning Musume for the last eight years.
There are countless moments, countless memories. All of them good.
It's always a challenge to try to sum up a career like this. I can't think of anything, even though I know there's a lot; but I just don't know what to say.
She used to be such a quiet and shy little thing, and struggled for a while to find her place, as the other three girls that came in with her seemed to gain instant popularity.
Her humor, her utter randomness at times, I think, is what finally managed to win the hearts of the fans. She's the type that makes jokes that only she gets, but somehow it ends up being funny anyway.
She's a girl that you just can't say anything bad about, and she never ever gave any reason to say anything bad about her. I honestly can't come up with a moment in which I criticized her. She's the most genuine and sweetest girl you could ever hope for.
Plus, she's just downright gorgeous.
It's impossible to sit here and sum up my favorite moments of hers. The early appearances on Utaban, seeing her personality emerge on Hello!Morning, all the goofy and random little things she did. The photobooks, the solo DVDs, the group special events.
And, of course, the music.
She was never really front-and-center all that much; never had a whole lot of lines. "Kimagure Princess" is the closest she came, and I think I sort of consider that one to be "her song." But her role in the group was an important one. I know some of the other members really looked up to her, and I know it kills them to see her go. Obviously, they'll see each other often, and remain very close, but the idea that they'll never be on stage or on a PV shoot doing their songs and choreography together is a sad thought. Eight years is a long time to be together, especially in their world with what they have to go through. As a fan, it's easy to become very attached, and there's something about getting to see them grow up and everything that makes them feel sort of like adopted sisters to me. So it's tough to see them leave. I'm not ashamed to admit that there have been tears shed over this, and there's no way I'll make it through the footage of last night's final concert without bawling my eyeballs out. It's a depressing inevitability that they will all eventually graduate out of the group. Luckily, it doesn't happen often, especially with girls of Eri's caliber, as there are only a small handful of those.
Wow...so many thoughts, but, like I said, it's impossible to really express the impact that this has on me.
I suppose I also need to mention the fact that two other Morning Musume members graduated last night as well. The two Chinese girls, Chun Li and Qian Lin, are also gone. I'm so caught up, though, in the fact that Kamei is no longer there, that those two leaving is sort of an afterthought. Not that they weren't both amazing, but they've only been around for three years, so the impact is not even close to Kamei's. They'll be missed, though.
So, what of Morning Musume now? It's the end of a major era, that's for sure. The group has been largely unchanged and has sort of had it's own new style and feel since Yoshizawa and Fujimoto graduated in 2007. Now they're down to five members. The last time they had five members was when they were first formed back in 1997, and that didn't last long, as three more were added in early 1998. As far as I know, auditions are currently going on, and may very well be in their later stages, so I imagine new members will be coming in before too long. I imagine any newbies will be 13 to 16 years old, so the look and feel of the group will have to change, as the current five are all a bit older. A 13-year-old performing "Kimagure Princess" would be downright inappropriate.
So, despite the sadness that comes with the graduations, I'm really looking forward to what the future holds for Morning Musume.
I just can't believe it's a Morning Musume without Eri Kamei.
...
Eri...
Thank you.
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