Original commentary by 'Momochi' Tsugunaga Momoko on the selected ８ people who are making waves 「I'll introduce all of them to you as H!P's “belle representative”！」

“Oldest H!P Beauty” 「Momochi」 Tsugunaga Momoko
Gives a huge explanation about the ８ belles！

For the 「Spring H!P Belle Festival」 published in 『Weekly Playboy』 issue １７、 we have “Oldest H!P Beauty” 「Momochi」 Tsugunaga Momoko to make comments about these belles。

In 「WPB ＮＥＷＳ」、 we are publicly releasing the “Momochi commentary” that wasn't published in the magazine！　 Previously、 from among the ９ H!P belles、 Momochi talked passionately about her contemporary ℃－ｕｔｅ ・ Suzuki Airi-san。 （Previous article ⇒ http://wpb.shueisha.co.jp/2015/04/14/46529/） (Translation)

With that receiving an overwhelming response、 this time we'll be informed about the charms of the gorgeous ８ belles appearing in this magazine Sayashi Riho、 Kudo Haruka、Makino Maria（Morning Musume。’１５）、Sasaki Rikako（ANGERME）、Miyamoto Karin、 Uemura Akari （Ｊｕｉｃｅ＝Ｊｕｉｃｅ）、 Shimamura Uta（Country Girls）、 Hamaura Ayano（Kobushi Factory）！　The extremely extravagant follow-up!!

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― The “Momochi commentary” received rave reviews from the readers of the magazine as well as  WPB ＮＥＷＳ 。 This time、 we would like to ask for quick-draw commentary on ８ people！　And with that、 we'd like to ask about the ３ belles of Morning Musume。’１５。

Tsugunaga　In autumn last year、 Morning Musume。 added ４ new members to their ranks and there was the graduation of Michishige Sayumi-san, so they experienced quite a sudden change, didn't they。 And since then, the ace RihoRiho's （Sayashi） sense of responsibility has become really strong、 and I get this impression that she suddenly became this level headed onee-san over this half year。

― Indeed、 you can feel something like an aura in this gravure shoot！

Tsugunaga　In the middle of being pressured from all angles、 RihoRiho has this really high level of awareness of 「Having to show something that goes beyond expectations as Morning Musume。's centre」！　About ２～３ years ago、 Tanaka Reina-san who was a member at the time took a break from a concert because she was in poor health。 RihoRiho took over Tanaka-san's parts、 and she was able to do it properly on-stage、 but she herself had this completely uncomfortable face。 When Momochi said to her 「That was cool！ You did it」 she went 「No、 it's not enough to finish with just “doing it properly”。 It's regretful that I couldn't include something to give some added value…」。

― That's pretty stoic！　Her level of awareness is high。

Tsugunaga　If it had been Momochi、 I'd be like 「Yaaーy！　Did you see that？　Momochi pulled it off！」 with a smug face （laughs）。 But in her present state、 RihoRiho  has this spirit where she's never satisfied。 Like 「That's important」「It's cool」。I'm learning from my kouhai。

― For Tsugunaga-san to go as far as to say that！　Sayashi-san's amazing！

Tsugunaga　Besides that、 she's got a great grown-up face that she inadvertently shows at moments！　At RihoRiho's current age、 she has both cuteness and maturity。 And so、 both types of those ambiances appear。 Well、since she's an inspired girl to that extent、 perhaps she's studying on how to make use of it。 If that's the case、 don't get completely fooled！ （laughs）。

The ３ that belong to 「Morning Musume。’１５」。 From left: Kudo Haruka、 Sayashi Riho、 Makino Maria

― Well then、 how about Kudo Haruka？

Tsugunaga　Her face is completely to Momochi's taste！　She's just so cute！　But、 it's not just cuteness、 she can also tell funny stories、 and she's level-headed。 Also、 that husky voice is a treasure within H!P！

― By the way、 we've heard that within H!P、 there are lots of Kudo fans…？

Tsugunaga　That's right！　Inaba Manaka-chan who's in the same Country Girls as Momochi really likes Kuduu （Kudo）。 The other day、 a smile was plastered on her face as she was watching a video of Kuduu while taking screenshots。 She took over １５０ screenshots over the course of １０ minutes of video！　Well、 even though I get how she feels, it was like「That much！？　Couldn't you just watch it normally！？」 （laughs）。

― Her charms have people enamoured to that extent…！　And the ３rd  person、 Makino Maria-san who joined as a new member in autumn last year。 It became a hot topic amongst idol fans 「A real beauty has appeared！」！

Tsugunaga　When it comes to Makino-chan、 Momochi thought that she was cute since she was a Kenshuusei。 So、 when I heard the news that she had joined Morning Musume。 , I was like 「She really got in, huh。 Well、 Momochi had my eyes on her after all」 （laughs）。

― A beauty that even caught the eye of Tsugunaga-san！

Tsugunaga　Her cute looks are obvious、 but her prim and proper feel, a bit like an ojousama, it's captivating！　I heard this story、 that she asked Kuduu 「Which country's Disneyland does Kudo-san like？」。  It seems that Kuduu's reply was、 「I've only been to the one in Maihama」 （laughs）。

―A true ojousama！

Tsugunaga　But、 she's not just any ojousama、 she also likes the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters！　It seems that she likes them considerably much that once she starts talking about them, the only thing you can do is give responses like 「Ehー」「I see…」「Ehー」…（bitter laugh）。 With another interesting girl joining Hello!, I've got my hopes up！

― Well then、 let's talk about ANGERME's Sasaki Rikako-san next！

Tsugunaga　At any rate、 Rikako's movements on-stage are powerful！　It's amazing, to the extent that you'd think her hips would snap！　And her smile shines、 it's “dazzling”。 It's like the midsummer sun！　She's definitely got an aura、 something like that。 It's just that、 she'll occasionally make weird movements, similar to Airi （℃－ｕｔｅ ・ Suzuki Airi）…。

― She has similarities to Tsugunaga-san's good rival、 Airi-san？

Tsugunaga　Yuーp。 At the sight of Rikako-chan's looks、 I think １０ out of １０ people would say 「Beautiful！」「Cute」、 but if they were to talk to her, ９ out of １０ people would be like 「？」 （laughs）。 With Suzuki Airi… There definitely might be similarities。

Sasaki Rikako from 「ANGERME」

The ２ that belong to 「Ｊｕｉｃｅ＝Ｊｕｉｃｅ」。 From left: Miyamoto Karin、 Uemura Akari

― She brings about this impression of being a big-shot！　Continuing on、 how about Ｊｕｉｃｅ＝Ｊｕｉｃｅ's Miyamoto Karin-san、 Uemura Akari-san？

Tsugunaga　Momochi's said this ages ago、 but Karin-chan really is an “idol cyborg”。

― It's been mentioned。 As well as “Tsugunaga Pro”。

Tsugunaga　I'm really not a fan of being called that though、 because it isn't cute （laughs）。 At any rate, Karin-chan has an excellent drive for self-improvement！　For the sake of beauty, she properly picks out good cosmetics for her skin。 It's because she has this high awareness that “It'll be seen”、 she can do that。 Since for Momochi、 the cosmetics I buy come from the pharmacy！（laughs）

― The pharmacy！？

Tsugunaga　To make it easier to understand、 the drugstore！（clearly）

―…Tsugunaga-san、 you're unexpectedly like the common person！　Well then、 Uemura-san？

Tsugunaga　I actually didn't know that Uemura-chan was in the Kenshuusei。Seeing her join Ｊｕｉｃｅ＝Ｊｕｉｃｅ、  I thought 「Who is that？　 That cutie！」 , it turned out to be Uemura-chan。 But、 she also has a fushigi-chan (in-her-own-world) aspect、 and when we went around doing concerts together with Ｊｕｉｃｅ＝Ｊｕｉｃｅ、 she suddenly picked up Momochi's pinky and ate it！

― Ind、 indeed Tsugunaga-san's pinky is always raised… But why was it eaten？？

Tsugunaga　You see、 I have no idea！　 She ate it going ah～ with her mouth open、 it surprised me, and when I went 「W、 what are you doing！？」 she was like 「Eh？　Is something wrong？」。 There's something like airheadedness or something about her that I can't grasp。

― A fushigi-chan that even Tsugunaga-san can't grasp。 Isn't that kind of amazing！

Tsugunaga　However、 it feels like her dancing and singing will continue to develop、 and doesn't she have this “You want to protect her” charm。 Like there's the joy of watching over her growth。

― You have to watch her properly、 since they all grow up so quickly…（Eyes distant）。

Tsugunaga　That's right…（Eyes distant）。

Hamaura Ayano from 「Kobushi Factory」

― …and、 collecting ourselves、 please comment on Hamaura Ayano-san from Kobushi Factory, the unit that was newly formed in January this year！

Tsugunaga　Hamachan （Hamaura）says  「I like Momochi-senpai」、 right～？　Therefore、 doesn't she have wonderful sensitivity?

― She has a discerning eye！ At the photo shoot、 the length of Hamaura-san's limbs were surprising。 This is someone born in the Heisei era (after 1989)！

Tsugunaga　Momochi's born in the Heisei era too！

― T、 that's right…！　Also、 speaking about Hamaura-san、 she has this image of being a hard-worker, doing her best for a long while from ２０１１ as a Kensehuusei。

Tsugunaga　Mainly because she said she 「likes」 me、 I naturally paid more attention to her than the other Kenshuusei、 but bit by bit by bit she's grown from “cute” to “grown-up”！　Seeing that she's become reliable enough to play main roles for dancing and singing, something like parental affection gushes out 「She's gotten even better、 huh…！」…。 To the fans who didn't watch Hamachan when she was in the Kenshuusei、 it's something for you to regret a little about！

― Wowー！　That is regrettable…！！

Tsugunaga　But even now you can completely make it in time！　Since she's growing、 day by day！　Well～、 Hamachan is really cute～。 Even at dance lessons、 the file she uses to organise her lyric sheets is a Ｂｅｒｒｙｚ Kobo clear file with Momochi's face on it。 Since there's lots more including that、 I'd like to present Hamachan as a whole！

― I see、 in that way, she's highly recommended。 Tsugunaga-san's got into good spirits… Lastly、 the charms of Shimamura Uta-san from Country Girls, where Tsugunaga-san is acting as Playing Manager！

Tsugunaga　With a name change from Country Musume。 to Country Girls、 our first stage appearance was on New Year's Eve last year。 Since then、 an “Uta-chan fever” started amongst the fans！　Uta-chan wasshoi！

― Combined with the “power” to be able to cause that fever？

Tsugunaga　I think that the current Hello! really stresses on skills, where there's something like a principle of perfection。 Within that、 from the point of view of the fans, the novelty of Uta-chan's amateurishness, in a good way,  trounces the rest。 You know、 she ends up getting self-conscious from the cheers of the fans！　She turns her head downwards！　Isn't that super pure！？

― I get how that can go straight to the heart！　…And thus、 you've introduced the girls whose beauty could cause an upheaval～！！

Tsugunaga　Yup！　Momochi has introduced them as H!P's “belle representative”、 but besides that there are close to ５０ charming H!P members、 so for the time being, please take a look at the official homepage…。

Shimamura Uta from 「Country Girls」

― Tsugunaga-san、 you're like a PR person！

Tsugunaga　No no、 since Momochi's an active super idol、 that letting down my hair down from the “Momochi Musubi” became a news topic on the 'Net！　This time it's a 「Spring H!P Belle Festival」、 but next time I'll make sure to request for a 「Spring Momochi Festival」！

― We'll、 we'll consider it…（sweats）！　Thank you very much for this time！！

Source: Weekly Playboy