Hello!Project Tier List
Ever wondered how each H!P act ranked up against each other? Well, in this nifty post each H!P group(even including older generations) will be classified in it’s own category. The placing is decided by various things such as:
- Vocals
- Dancing
- Members
- Music
- Sales, etc…
So let’s see how each group ranks…
Only the best of the best can make it into the god tier, these are…
GOLDEN ERA MORNING MUSUME.
Of course the legendary 9-nin line-up from a VERY long time ago was going to make it into the god tier. It was perfect, ’nuff said. You’ve got the perfect combination between talent and personality without any of the members seeming “extra”(like 8th gen is today).
Momusu was at their peak in sales and were releasing classics that to this day us wota still enjoy as much as the synth+violin stuff we get with every new release.
Plus, Mari is flawless, Yossie is flawless, Kaorin is flawless, Rika is flawless, Abe is flawless, Maki is flawless, Ai is flawless, Nono is flawless and Yasuda is a natural beauty. <3
BUONO!
Thank god for Buono! We have all been informed that the group is in fact still alive and will be releasing a single next year?! Musically, Buono! was H!P’s last chance these days.
Now, why does Buono! rank up with Golden Era Momusu even though they only manage around 20k sales? Well, these days 20k seems to be only a few thousand under the standard(and this isn’t considering that their only 3 members from other more successful groups), thus it’s beyond an issue.
Buono! has splendid, fresh music with their signature rock flair and a bit of cuteness on the side. It’s something no one else in H!P does, so it makes them unique. The members are all amazing(there shouldn’t exist a wota that isn’t a huge stan of at least one of these[Miyabi for me of course!]) and because of their vocals, are the only H!P group without a “Sayu/Maimai/Junjun/Chinami”.
These groups have marked their place as heavy hitters in H!P…
BERRYZ KOBO
Someone call me when this group does something bad, please. Ever since Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba(my personal favorite song from them), Berryz have yet to release any mediocre material(MADAYADE almost ruined that though~).
What has always made Berryz different from other H!P groups was their variety and that they could release their “wacky” music without it being childish. It also helps that their all gorgeous(Kumai, Miyabi <3) and the lead singers are pretty strong vocally.
7-NIN ℃-UTE
There’s no doubt that since their debut up to FOREVER LOVE, C-ute with Kanna and Erika were superb. <3 Their music was mostly “cute” but once they started releasing fierce songs, that was what made them simply awesome.
C-ute is just nice to look at and each member offers something unique. For example Chisato with her tomboy ways(which she is quickly growing out of), Saki with her amazing beauty and dancing, Maimi with her awesome leadership skills, etc.
It’s a shame that we will never see this awesome line-up together again.
MORNING MUSUME. WITH KOHARU KUSUMI
Do take notice that this is the era from ONSA until Kimagure Princess. I feel that people have forgotten this line-up that lasted such a long time. I know I certainly haven’t, but maybe that’s proof of how fast we adapt to things. I can’t see myself forgetting about Eri+JunLin.
This is the line-up in MM that I feel had the most personality(after Golden Era) and “idol” status. Not to mention that the music took a change into a certain violinish style(which I love) and was all amazing.
Also, MM just works out so much better with an odd number of members. Just sayin’.
They still attract our attention, although not as much as others…
S/MILEAGE
Oh S/mileage… Already so perfect but yet could be so much more. The group needs some desperate work on their vocals, but I’m sure that’ll fix itself in time once the girls mature and their voices change(minus Dawa, her vocals will always suck).
Sales wise the group is doing surprisingly well, capable of keeping up with the older acts like C-ute. That’s all thanks to their well planned promotions, which seem to be more than what the other groups get.
My only complaint with S/mileage is the music. They’ve recently gotten better, but I still feel they could pull a C-ute and release something fierce like FOREVER LOVE.
MORNING MUSUME.
Yes, this is current era Momusu with Eri, JunLin and no Koharu. Although they’ve only had three singles and one album with this line-up, it’s been very “meh” so far. One single was horrible, the other was generic and only Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game has been good. Their album doesn’t look like it’s going to be a hit either.
It has nothing to do with Koharu leaving since the lack of her vocals only made the groups sound overall better, but just a string of crappy music.
℃-UTE
This group has been struggling after it’s string of graduations but only with their recent and prior single have they finally gotten their mojo back.
It’s finally nice to see that the girls are noticeably maturing as well(they seem to never age sometimes) and that Saki is totally delicious.
Anyway, their only just hanging on to their sales but that’s the least of my worries since the quality of their music is back.
Gurl, it’s the thought that counts…
MANO ERINA
Oh this girl… I love her to death and she is a true ~natural beauty~ but dear god does her music suck. I won’t ignore that she has been changing it up recently and it’s a lot better than what it used to be(plus her vocals aren’t as mediocre now!) but even so, as a soloist, she doesn’t deliver with her albums.
As H!P’s only soloist, you’d expect a lot more. Mano doesn’t necessarily disappoint, but you just want more.
Only true wotas can enjoy this excuse for music…
LILPRI
What does your tier list look like?
Lilpri <3
AND I AM NOT OVER KOHARU'S GRADUATION D: !!
While I do like Buono!, I don’t think they’re even remotely comparable with the golden era of Morning Musume. Basically, MM was popular, and I wouldn’t say that about Buono! today (20-25k sales is really mediocre).
Well as I said, of course they don’t match up popularity wise, but when you compare Buono!’s music with everything else in H!P today, they come out on top.
I second that. Buono!
Now, look at this – the two famous 9-nin line-ups of Morning Musume. coming together in one blog post. I shall call this memorable moment… historic!
And I will always be a huge fan of the latter – graduations being an essential part of this whole idol world or not – thanks to a certain tall girl with long, black hair that immediately was cathing my eye, when I first watched their current music video back in May 2009. Oh, here they are again, those good old memories… well, it was definitely a lot of fun, while this line-up lasted.
Let’s see how this all works out once our beloved ones have graduated. Again, this probably won’t be easy – damn, this is some kind of a heavy déjà-vu I’m having right now.
Well I wouldn’t list any anime based group as high tier. For me Golden Era MM wouldn’t even be the best. The best would be when they still had Yuko but I’d connect the two. Man I hated 5th gen for so long when they joined, thanks for bringing up those memories for me. I just hated them with such a passion till 6th gens came and even then 6th gens came out above them. MM with Koharu was great from start to finish. That girl had great energy and personality and could handle a good chunk of vocal in a song unlike Aika. JunJun and LinLin are just the wasted talent in MM.
While 5nin c-ute is still relatively new I still like them more than 7-nin c-ute, then again in their entire existence I’ve only liked a handful of C-ute’s songs. 7-nin Berryz Kobo worked way better than 7-nin c-ute and I’m glad they’ve stayed 7-nin since Maiha left.
I’m sorry, are you saying that Koharu was a better singer than Aika? :o I’m not even a fan of MM anymore, and I love Koharu, because she was beautiful and incredibly quirky, qith lots of personality, but she was IMO, the worst singer MM ever had. The only reason why she might seem like she had more control than Aika is that she lipsynched all the time.
No girl in Morning Musume lip-synced all the time. In concerts easily the group sings live. There are even hacks of each girls individual microphone that have been leaked and you can clearly here in them that the girls aren’t lip-syncing.
However I’m not saying she was a better singer than Aika, both of them to me are around the same level, but Aika can’t keep control of her voice as long as Koharu could if she didn’t lipsync because she has a breathing problem at concerts and carries an inhaler with her just in case because of it.
Essentially if Aika ever got as many lines as Koharu did for a song that was incredibly upbeat we’d rarely see them perform it in concerts because she wouldn’t be able to sing her parts without hurting her health in the process.
I think you might be taking the whole AIka inhaler thing a little too seriously. She’s been in MM for almost 4 years now and we’ve never heard of her having any problems with it. It’s probably just a minimal thing.
Though I agree, Aika is a much better singer than Koharu, even when she’s given crappy lines.
Aika’s low voice as heard in her first like in Aisaresugiru Koto wa Nai no yo almost seem to channel a certain Ai-chan flair.
Well considering I might be having a similar problem to her I think any problem that requires you to carry an inhaler around just in case is more than just a minimal thing. I usually wander around on long walks singing along to j-pop or j-rock songs and lately because of a problem with breathing (the doctors keep saying its nothing but they gave me an inhaler just in case), I noticed I keep going in and out or singing certain lines only half way like I can’t finish, so I’m gonna assume Tsunku isn’t giving Aika a lot of lines in order to keep her from possibly hurting herself.
I’ve given myself headaches because of just walking and singing and ending up with shortness of breath from something that simple. Aika has to dance, sing, and keep the crowd interested, it’s gotta be even worse for her. Still he could do songs with one-liners. I mean seriously if the girls got a decent voice find a way to work with it not against it.
So wouldn’t graduating her be the best decision?
That’s true but I think Aika still has something to show, and she’s still young and with the direction of the group lately its felt like she’s still a new member to some degree. If by 21 she’s still around and the situation with her is still the same then yeah it really would be the ideal time for her to graduate.
Where is Mini Moni on this list????
And also, I’m pretty sure ANYTHING ranks higher than Mano Erina DX
Otherwise, I kinda agree with the list.
That is very true indeed.
H!P was going really well with Buono!.. until they didn’t release anything else after The Best Buono :/
Why did C-ute have to become 5-nin!?!?! They would have been an even BETTER group if any of the members didn’t leave (well, except for Megumi, she was good, but everything was way better when she left :P) C-ute is my favorite group, but to be honest, the songs they released last year and this year (except for Bye Bye Bye!, EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!!, Dance de Bakoon! and Aitai Lonely Christmas) sucked, ESPECIALLY SHOCHUU OMIMAI MOUSHIAGEMASU. Oh and SHOCK would have been good, if it weren’t an Airi solo…
I’m so glad that you told Buono are coming back next year. I was worried it was all over for this group. Whew! Thanks, Jin ^^
I just wish C-ute was better with parts, I mean you’re telling me after my two favourites left, they couldn’t give my other favourite Chisato more parts along with Mai and Saki? Ridiculous!! Yes, it’s nice to see them maturing but when are they ever going to do an epic song like Tokkaiko Junjou or Namida no Iro again?
Got nothing to say for S/mileage or Mano Erina I’m afraid.
Did you not like Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai? Though I do think most of the songs they do that have Onna in them turn out quite good.
OMNI was okay… I dunno, it was just kinda rushed and generic for me, especially in line distribution. Sure it was kinda fierce and all, but I feel it didn’t have anything that made it “stand out”.
It’s sorta funny that everything on this list I sort of agree with you except for the 9-nin MM, I’d say the 13-nin MM (9+5th gen) was the best for me. And I find it funny because usually my opinions are total opposites from all h!p fans…
the only thing I’d say I wouldn’t “rate” on is sales. My reason is sales compared back then and today I feel are kinda “off” because internet piracy is so common today people download the music instead of paying for it. I think if we were to compare the # of song downloads (including illegal downloads) that # might be the same (or a little less) than what MM sold years ago.
Also one thing you didn’t include on there that I think should be is Shugo Chara Egg (the 2nd version) That was just horrible… After 10 seconds of singing I turned it off.
Well, I only wanted to include active groups(although I have no excuse for including Golden MM and MM with Koharu).
I sort of kinda agree with the piracy thing, although that doesn’t explain why artists like Arashi, AKB48 and Nishino Kana can still sell so much.
Because they’re 2493 miles better?
Piracy is a lame excuse, who would want to pirate such crappy music anyway?
Anyway, I agree with the god tier. Buono! are talented, professional idols with brilliant music, and golden era MM show a lot of diversity music-wise and great personalities. The latter is also what makes AKB48 so successful.
:)
Better how exactly? Musically?
I don’t really listen Arashi at all, but since it is JE, it’s not hard to guess how the music sounds like, which isn’t the best.
AKB48 has good music most of the time, so I won’t lie there but Nishino Kana’s music all sounds the same.
This list makes me miss Biyuuden sfm. :( They were godly for me. I prefer Berryz over Buono!,ngl.
The best lineup of Morning Musume has no doubt been the 10nin for I Wish, Renai Revolution 21 and Best Morning Musume 1. They performed so well together and had this strange unity and competition going on between the members. And they had the strong but gentle leadership of Yuu-chan. As much as I loved Morning Musume with Kaorin as its leader I never quite loved a lineup with Kaorin as leader as I did that particular lineup with Yuu-chan. Definitely should’ve made it onto the higher tier list here.
7-nin Berryz Kobo is great and 5-nin C-ute while still new is the best lineup of the group thus far. I hate Buono with a passion but the have been active way longer than any other sub or side group which is the biggest advantage they have, they feel like a real group because of that unlike Tanpopo, Mini Moni, Pucchi Moni etc so I’m glad they’re on this list but I think they should be under Berryz Kobo. 9-nin Morning Musume with Koharu really don’t deserve to be here at all, they were a mess. Mano Erina should be at the very bottom even LilPri is less boring than her.
The picture of the Momusu from The Peace! era is super nostalgic. Morning Musume became crap after that and I find it hilarious that AKB48 has surpassed all of their overall sales for singles since then in first weeks alone this year. And I laugh hysterically at how people hate on AKB48 when they’ve managed such a feat. Morning Musume stopped being Japan’s number one female idol group when 5th generation joined.
I held out till Kaorin’s graduation but after that the group just got worse and worse. The instant I heard what Koharu sounded like I gave up on the group. No-one else really had a voice that blows your mind and no-one had an original personality they all just took over someone else’s personality.
I have to say the Morning Musume from debut to The Peace! are the very top of my tier list, anything else was just unforgivably messed up.
High Tier:
Morning Musume – Debut to The Peace!
Middle Tier:
Morning Musume – Souda! We’re Alive – The Manpower!!!
7nin Berryz Kobo
5-nin C-ute
Buono!
Low Tier:
Mano Erina
LilPri
Tsukishima Kirari staring Kusumi Koharu (or w/e her Kirarin stuff was released as)
Mini Moni (they only have one good song)
S/mileage (boring! voices all sound the same)
Melon Kinenbi (too much bias in line distribution for a 4nin group)
Heike Michiyo (I’m glad MM got more famous then her, she sucks)
Inaba Atsuko (I barely got to know who she is from how underground she was)
Country Musume (your group sucked so bad you needed 3 members of Morning Musume to gain even a small amount of success, wow!)
Coconuts Musume (Ayaka and Mika pretty much became the group)
V-u-den (Same as Mini Moni!)
Pucchi Moni (2 Good songs)
I forgot to say MM since Kaorin’s graduation doesn’t even make Lower Tier for me from how awful they are. I’ve genuinely hated everything after that.
I like your Blog. I enjoy reading your honest opinions, but I really disagree with you on C-ute, which is in my opinion the strongest group all around in H!P right now.
As sweet and adorable as Kanna was and as quirky-funny and “Mom” like as Erika was, their leaving has left C-ute streamlined and perfect as an astoundingly strong 5 nin group.
Airi and Maimi are strong center, older sister figures, one in the fierce-leader role and the other as the goofy/pretty older sis.
Leaving the younger members, each with a very distinct role and personality. Dancing and growing beauty Nakki, strong vocals and crazy-moody hyper Chisato, who is also gowing into a beauty albeit a very very short one and bitchy-somewhat evil-extremely cute Maimai, who seems recently to visibly enjoy her blossoming as both a personality and as a young woman. (see PV “Dance de Bakoon” and concert, “Shocking Live”)
Sales aside (I do not pay attention and do not trust Joe Public’s taste), in my opinion their singles have been great. BBB and Shock were my least favorite since the epic Forever Love, but still pretty good and Everyday, Campus Life, Dance de Bakoon and now Atai Lonely Christmas are all fantastic with DDB being my favorite song of the year. PV was awesome too. Fiercer than forever Love even.
The album Shocking 5 was my favorite H!P album of the year and the album tracks “The Party” “Kimi no Senpou” and “Shigatsu Sengen” are among my favorite C-ute songs of all time and were rendered beautifully live.
The B-sides are mostly really good too. And I think they have Berryz beat, even if the run of singles from Berryz before “Shining Power” may have been slightly better, their album was weaker and they have a weak link or two in their, now, massive 7nin gruop (hi Maasa and Chinami!) I love those girls but I’m just sayin’…C-ute is rock solid now.
Viva C-ute!
You are correct about Buono! though…GODLIKE!