The Sudou Maasa Timeline: 2009 - The Great Year of the Berryz

 For most people, 2009 was the year that Berryz Kobo really broke out. Or at least, the year that they had to.

For many Hello! Project fans, it was the infamous year when UFA did a major reboot on the line-up of their idol groups and graduated all of the older ones. As a result, there was a massive fan backlash (Haromageddon, anyone?) which technically left the once proud Idol umbrella to its knees. C-ute was also going through a major change, Arihara Kanna left the group and Umeda Erika was to follow a few months later.

But if you are a Maasa or a Berryz Kobo fan, there is no need to worry: the group stayed put and 2009 became their most busiest, and arguable their most successful year yet.

Let's start with the singles first. Of the three they released that year, only one sold below 30,000 copies. Dakishimete Dakishimete (released on March 11, 2009), Seishun Bus Guide/ Rival (a double A side released on June 3, 2009), and Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama/ Ryuusei Boy (released on November 11, 2009). It was a great year musically for the girls who have by now started to shed their kiddie image and adopt a more mature tone. Seishun Bus Guide and Rival showed that the girls can perform mainstream pop music and Ryuusei Boy proved that the girls can perform disco and be so damn good.

It was also the year that Berryz Kobo had their first Fanclub Tour in Hawaii for their 5th Anniversary. It was an exciting (it was their first visit to Hawaii after all), scary (watch Maasa run on that Van prank), and sentimental (the memory letter reading was very touching. It showed Maasa's thoughtfulness and gratefulness towards the other members. It also showed that at least one of them never got over Maiha's graduation). Here are some pictures from the famous fan tour along with a transcription of what Maasa read courtesy of ICU-Subs.

Yes, this was the famous Momo drawing. It featured all eight members with Maasa on the upper-right part. 

On June 21, 2009, Berryz Kobo held a mini-concertin Korea. Jang Da Yeon was also announced as the winner of the H!P audition in this event. This would be thier first concert outside Japan.

And who would forget the memorable Medachitaii concert? Baby Berryz, and the infamous fish costume. Maasa couldn't stop laughing while singing Special Generation.

For Maasa, she held her third solo event, singing Munasawagi Scarlet (accoustic version). Oh and have you seen Yorosen? Yeah, never mess with the girl with the strong arms. Poor badminton ace Chinami didn't stand a chance.

Yes, 2009 was a great year. An exciting year. One that the girls would try hard to top whether they admit it or not. It was also a year full of trials (the girls started falling sick mid-year due to the exhausting schedule they had...Chinami even collapsed on one Medachitai concert). They lost another H!P Kid member, Umeda Erika late in the year, and a long lost friend made the first of her two school leaflet pictures (Ishimura Maiha for Shinagawa Etoile). What would 2010 hold for them? Or rather, what would growing up hold for them? Because if this year was any indication, the girls are all grown up.