A big fan of Tsunku♂ and his Hello! Project acts: Morning Musumue, °C-ute, or Berryz Kobo? While I enjoyed Tsunku’s music in Rhythm Heaven, I admit I didn’t know much about his work in the J-pop arena. I definitely came out of his hour-long panel at Anime Expo this weekend with a lot more information about him, and also gained a huge amount of respect for his philosophical approach to music. This was his first trip to the United States, and despite the early 9 AM time slot, there was still a nice turnout. He was super-excited to see fans of his Hello! Project groups in the United States, and the crowd seemed to be really enthusiastic about his work.
While the majority of the panel was devoted to fan Q&A involving Hello! Project, Rhythm Heaven was mentioned a few times, and with interesting results. Unfortunately I missed the Morning Musume concert the day before, so I was totally in the dark about them and the other Hello! Project groups, but given that they’re such high-profile groups in Japan, I imagine some of this information will be of interest, particularly the parts about the Morning Musume recruiting process and about keeping his cool in the face of all the seductive and curvy women he works with.
Read our summary of Tsunku’s morning panel after the jump. (more…)
