13th Gen!!!

So, my darlings, 13th gen has finally been announced. You've probably all heard the news already, but if you haven't, our lucky ladies are Kaga Kaede and Yokoyama Reina. This is MM's first two-member generation and second generation entirely made up of KSS (everyone seems to be forgetting that Sakura did that first). 

Overall,I'm pretty happy with the results. Neither of the girls were my top picks (Takase, Kodama and Ruru) but they were definately in the Top 10 and I'm very excited to see what they bring to the group.

First up is Kaede!

 Maachan said in an interview recently that fans would be "surprised" by the 13th gen results. She was right (as Maachan often is). I don't think even Kaga's biggest fans were expecting her to make it in. She's been in H!P since the 11th gen audition and has failled 3 MM auditions, 2 ANGERME auditions and been ignored in the formations of Juice=Juice, CG, Kobushi and Tsubaki Factory. So yeah, despite her talent, everyone kind of thought H!P had given up on her. She's a pretty great performer and has clearly proved herself to be a hardworker. One complaint I've heard from a lot of her critics is that she seems to be a bit of a crybaby or diva (she once cried for not getting a solo part in a KSS performance) but that doesn't really worry me too much because: 

1. Her being upset doesn't necessarily make her spoilt or a diva, she may just be a very emotional person. 

2. If she was really a diva, I can't imagine her wanting to stay in KSS for 4 years without debuting. If not being the center of attention really upset her that much, I'm sure she would have left by now.  

3. It proves how serious she is about being an idol. 

Overall, I'm super happy and pleasently surprised by this addition to the group.

 Next up is 15 year old Reina, who in many ways is the oposite of Kaga. She's only just joined the KSS after being a runner up in the original 13th gen audition. We don't really know much about her yet, except that she seems to be very music orientated (she plays guitar, alto sax and piano and looks up to Ayaka Hirose and Oda Sakura, two of the best singers in H!P) so me and a lot of fans are looking forward to big things from her.

So there you have it. The 13th gen is finally here. It's surprising to have two "older" girls join, by which I mean this gen is one of those rare instances where the newest generation does not feature the youngest member (which is probably a good thing since Kaga seems pretty comfortable with her little sister persona and making her come up with something new so soon seems a little mean).