The Sudou Maasa Timeline: 2008 is GREAT!

If ever there was one good thing the Berryz Kobo concert at Saitama Super Arena gave them, it is the exposure, the recognition, and the respect that they received from the industry. In Japan, sometimes it's the prestige that matters to the people more than the actual sales count itself.

Maasa and the group entered 2008 in a momentum. It began with a performance at NHK network's 58th Kouhau Uta Gassen as part of an H!P special medley.

It was followed up with Dschinghis Khan (released in March 12, 2008) which became the group's highest selling single. Then the cute and funny Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance (released on July 9, 2008) and finally, MADAYADE (released on November 5, 2008).

The group also participated at the Asia Song Festival 2008 in South Korea. They won the Asia New Comer Award and they visited the famous 'Lotte World'. I think this was the theme park where Momo and Risako cried buckets, but I'm not really sure.

Yeah, Maasa's the bunny. 

To round it up for the group, they performed at SharamQ's 20th anniversary concert on December 12, 2008 at the Nippon Budokan.

As for Maasa, this is the year she had her first and second solo event. The first was on May 21, 2008 where she performed Otoko Tomodachi, Sougen no Hito, and Chu! Natsu Party (probably the only other time she sang her audition song). Her second event was held on September 11, 2008 where she performed Aisuru hito no Namae wo Nikki ni and Bokura no Kagayaki.

And while her first photobook will be released in 2009, she did have a concert photobook. as you can see...

No here are some of the pictures of the other girls. One of which will be eerily familiar with another picture two years later.

Next will be 2009. It's July now, a few days before Maasa's birthday. But before I get there, I would have to beat the hurdle that is 2009, arguably their most successful and most busy year.

The Sudou Maasa Timeline: 2007 to Heaven

When I talk of the 'boring years' I'm not referring to the activities of Berryz Kobo, but more on the buzz they generated for that year. 2007 is no exception. Aside from the pivotal concert at Saitama Super Arena, the group's over-all performance was only OK.

Their three singles for this year were Very Beauty (released in March 7, 2007), Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba (released in June 27, 2007), and Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi (released in November 28, 2007). All three singles sold above 20,000 copies with Very Beauty the lowest at 20,227.

Berryz Kobo never really hit it off like Morning Musume did. But they can always claim that they had one up the flag-ship group. On April 1, 2007, Berryz Kobo became the youngest female group to ever perform in Saitama Super Arena (a record previously held by Morning Musume). The tickets sold out an amazing two months before the concert (the venue had a default seating capacity of 20,000 seats) and demand was so great that extra seats were made available a few days before the concert.

I don't have pictures from the concert on hand. But at least I found the setlist.

01. Jiriri Kiteru
02. Special Generation

-- Introduction VTR --

03. BERRY FIELDS (appear half song in)

-- MC --

04. VERY BEAUTY
05. Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND
06. Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~
07. Sakura wa Raku sa

-- MC / Shimizu, Tsugunaga, Sudou, Natsuyaki, Sugaya --

08. Nicchoku ~Geinoujin no Kaiwa~ / Tokunaga, Kumai
09. Koi wa Hipparidako / Tsugunaga
10. Toshishitsu Taiki / Shimizu, Sudou, Natsuyaki
11. Aisuru Hito no Namae wo Nikki ni / Sugaya
12. Suhada PICHIPICHI
13. TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY

-- VTR [Arigatou! Otomodachi] --

14. Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai
15. Fighting Pose wa Date ja nai!
16. Piriri to Ikou!

-- MC --

17. Aitai kedo...
18. Munasawagi Scarlet
19. Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW?
20. Yuujou Junjou oh Seishun

-- Encore --

21. Koi no Jubaku

-- MC --

22. Bye Bye Mata ne

If the girls had a concert today with this setlist, I bet only the most hardcore fans will come. But this IS the setlist on that Super Arena concert. The name of the concert was Sakura Mankai Berryz Kobo Live ~ Kono Kandou wa Nido to nai Shunkan de Aru!~

For Maasa, let's just say that it was this year that our humble little thread in Hello! Online was made.

I can't wait to see 2008!

As a parting shot, I leave you with one funny video taken in 2007.

The Sudou Maasa Timeline: Sleepy 2006

2006. New year, new start, new challenges for the now 7 member group.

The 10th single Jiriri Kiteru was released on March 29, 2006 followed by Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND on August 2, 2006. The otherwise sleepy year was rounded out by Munasawagi Scarlet which was released on December 6, 2006. From this point on, Berryz Kobo's singles will have over-all sales of not lower than 20,000 (I have yet to find accurate sales figures of Ai no Dangan).

As for Maasa, this was the year she was included in the H!P concert unit Wonderful Hearts. Unlike other H!P groups, Wonderful Hearts is composed of H!P members from H!P Kids onwards as opposed to 'Elder Club' composed of H!P's older members. This includes Morning Musume (which still has members that are technically part of Elder Club), Berryz Kobo, C-ute, H!P Eggs, and eventually Mano Erina.

Also, if my sources are correct, this will be the last "boring" year for Maasa. All subsequent years will have at least one or two events worth noting. 2006 is also the year I started seeing changes to Maasa. From little girl to young woman.

Here are the covers of the Berryz Kobo singles for 2006:

As I mentioned earlier, Maasa grew a lot on this year. But she wasn't the only one. These photos show how much the girls have grown.

If you have read Tokunaga Chinami's letter which she read in their Alo-Hello FC Tour in Hawaii in 2009, you know that she was concerned, after Maiha's graduation, about their respective futures. No, Maiha wasn't even a front girl, but if you are a Berryz Kobo fan, you'd start to wonder why the heck are they not hitting it off like Morning Musume. Turns out that those fears were unfounded as we will see in 2007 when Berryz Kobo will make headlines in a big way. For Maasa and the Berryz, there was no way to go but up....

The Sudou Maasa Timeline: 2005 - Bye Bye Mata Ne

Before I begin, let me say that this entry was hard to make. Before I became a fan of Maasa, I was a fan of Maiha. Yes, the girl who was once part of Berryz Kobo. Pardon me if at times my entry would lose focus although her graduation was one of the biggest events in the career of Maasa and the rest of the members of Berryz Kobo.

Also, if you notice, I haven't said anything about concerts or events and probably will not do so with the exception of the one I will mention later. I felt that although it will make my entries more 'comprehensive' it would require more time on my part and during weekdays, I simply do not have that luxury.

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2005 is for me one of the most defining years of Berryz Kobo and the Idol career of Maasa. No, she did not get more lines than she usually gets, but this is when her group improved musically and become stronger as a group.

There were only four singles released for the group this year as opposed to the blitzkrieg they launched the year before. They were Special Generation (released on March 30, 2005) which became their trademark song, Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW? (released on June 8, 2005), 21ji made no Cinderella (released on August 3, 2005) which was to be Ishimura Maiha's last single with the group, and Gag 100kaibun Aishite Kudasai (released on November 23, 2005) the first single of the new 7-member Berryz Kobo.

Maasa's voice will become deeper this year and for me this was they year she started showing her good MC skills. Quite a feat for someone who had a lisp a little more than a year before. This is also the year in which Kumai Yurina's growth hormone started going Rambo on her. So you can say that this is the year when the two towers of Berryz were truly formed. Until Chinami hit her growth spurt that is.

It is never easy to say goodbye to someone you called a friend. Especially if you know that with the type of work you are all in, it's hard for someone to leave to just come back in. It just doesn't happen.

Maasa earned a reputation among the Berryz as being motherly to the others enough for them to call her Mama. It may have started when she was the tallest and the largest among the group and continues today even if Kumai-chan and Chii were both taller. As a Maiha fan, I wondered if she was the same to Maiha.

The Switch On! concert was for me one of the defining concerts of Berryz Kobo and arguably one of their best. The girls had a tough first year, having low sales when almost everything else that has the H!P label gets higher numbers. Then just when their second year gives them more hope, one of their number has to leave. The group did get better sales from that point onward, but it pains one to think that one member didn't get to taste the fruits of her work even though she went through a hard time like everybody else.

Still, it speaks much of Berryz Kobo and their ability to stick together in situations like these that made them one of the premier idols in the business. And somehow, I feel that Mama had her part in all of that.

To end this very special year, let me show you the memorable Switch On! Tour courtesy of the Photo Book I was lucky enough to find.

The final song Bye Bye Mata Ne also included Maiha's graduation. One of the most emotional concerts I've seen so far.

The 8-nin Berryz Kobo has ended. A new period is about to begin. The following year will see them reach new heights and also new lows as they struggled with school, career, and growing up.

The last pictures of the 8 member group were made. All we will see from this point on are 7-nin Berryz. Bye Bye, Mata Ne.