A Talk About C-ute

The Betweens

 

C-ute continued to be a fun time overall, though after that point staying close was still not easy while juggling real life, other hobby, and of course Momusu. Still I loved Adam to Eve no Dilemma, and kept to watching things that crossed my path. The things that are here are just random things that I remember happening, and their point in time is as fuzzy as the memories, but they felt important to what keep C-ute powerful to me.

 

There were vids, and performances, streams that happened that were great here and there of course. It’s hard to remember what happened when and in what order, but C-ute Day had some fantastic shared performance on streams and in videos. There was that serious of videos with Maimai doing things that happened sometimes, those were fun. Of course in the past there were moments of Satoyama and stuff that stand out as fun with C-ute. It’s so hard to put it all together.

 

Their blogs have been irreplacable to me. Gree gave me a window to start following and their move to Ameblo continued to give me a way to look and occasionally comment on their activities. Without the obligation to translate them I felt free to just check up on C-ute when a blog came out, see the good and the silly. Up until a little while ago when the “last” posts started affecting me, I would regularly go and see what C-ute were up to with gusto.

 

C-ute’s direction had fun things all over the place. I loved that they had a tour where they were dressed as pirates for it. Or the queen of j-pop one where there were picture sets of them with broadswords, talk about showing strength and elegance at the same time. Speaking of sword fighting they took part in that sword fighting thing for Cool Japan one year. And what about the ideas that happened in concerts like doing flag performances? There were so many things that just felt cool in the C-ute performances.

 

In 2015 (I had to look it up to confirm the time), C-ute was on a show with an English challenge, where they had to have a dialogue in English. Seeing how much English they knew, the funny moments of them messing up, and just seeing the challenge was incredible. If you can find it online I definitely recommend you watch it cause it’s fun for any fan of C-ute.

 

If you really like Japanese girls speaking English, then C-ute had that performance singing “What a Feeling” entirely in English. No one expect extreme fluency in English from an Idol, but the effort and the attempt I think bring a lot of hope that they’ll reach out more beyond the boundaries they currently have. That ambition and hope is what can keep an wota soul burning in the darkest of times.

 

C-ute as I Know It

 

With C-ute coming to a conclusion soon, I felt the need to write this for all my appreciation for what they are and what they mean for me.

 

C-ute may have started out as young’uns for me but they grew and continued to give a spirit of appreciation, hard work, and having fun. I really only got to know C-ute once they became a group of 5 members, and with the many years of these 5 members, I was able to enjoy their growth and expression at my own pace. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to watch C-ute grow and become this force of positivity.

 

Maimi. Maimi was the one who got my attention first, her eagerness and her power in her performance were amazing. The hard work the puts in comes out in her sweat which you see almost every concert I’ve seen her do. When I first started watching her, her member color was still pink. I wonder now if that color bias helped me get into watching her, but regardless even now, her smile and her attitude is infectious. She’s a strong leader, she has a powerful personality, and I am glad she’ll still be around when C-ute is done.

 

Airi. Airi increasingly becomes a character that I enjoy more and more. I may have been cautious first getting to know C-ute because Airi always looked baby faced, and so many people already loved her that I knew. But exposed to her and watching her grow has been nothing but amazing. She’s a character in her own, embracing the silliness of what could be. Her birthday tours and stuff where she embraces characters to perform as shows spirit. Her approach to things practically but also positively is wonderful. While Maimi brought me in, Airi has kept me open to watching everyone. The fact that she was working hard on her degree while working was a sight to behold too. To ask me whether I like Airi or Maimi more has become more difficult to answer lol.

 

Chisa. Chisato is an interesting one to me because I know people who really love her. Not to say I don’t, but she’s of a different type for sure. She has her own way of doing things. Her own prescence and power. And that attitude that she has I think is an important balance to them as a whole. I remember her for having those straight out stories that just make you laugh cause they’re silly. And with her attitude she tells it in a way where I expect to say, “It’s crazy/dumb/messed up, right?” and then laugh. She feels like the kind of person you’d want as your friend cause she’d give it to you straight.

 

Nakky. You know Nakky is kind of an anomoly for me overall. I think maybe I know the least about her than anyone else and I feel kind of bad about it. I’ve never really been into bowling so that limits me I guess. But Nakky’s always been around. I think my first general just her kind of focus I gave her was when Gaki, Chisa, and Nakky were doing that song for that anime. Shouri no Big Wave is still somewhere in my mp3 player I think lol. And then she was in Guardians4 too right? She’s been in my vision but I’ve never given her as much attention as I could. For that I feel a little bad. But she as part of C-ute adds to their power and the good humor that happens and I won’t forget that. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out to see if I can get to know her more too.

 

Maimai. Maimai is still kind of a young’un to me (lol). While I’ve seen all C-ute grow up, there’s somewhere in my head that I still consider Maimai to be a young’un through and through. Maybe it’s because so many people say things about her just doing what she wants, or maybe it’s because seeing her with Aika so much was like watching a couple where Aika is more the logical reasonable straightman to Maimai being cute and silly? lol. Still she’s grown a lot as well, even if it’s in her own way. And while she’s planning to study, I’m sure part of the reason for that is so she can be with Aika again :P.

 

C-ute as a unit is a wonderful experience. It is unforgettable in terms of the kind emotional output it can bring out of you. I was greatly saddened to hear they were going to disband, despite understanding why and accepting the reasoning. I was also greatly saddened to find myself at a point in my life where I couldn’t be there for their final concert, or any of their overseas efforts. Yet in the end, I may regret not being able to go, but I’ll never regret being a fan. Sure I could give more or I could want to do more, but C-ute for me I guess wasn’t about that. Not everyone take a group in the same way, with the same expectations or goals, and I guess for me, C-ute was just a joy to experience. I look forward to seeing what comes from each member going forward, and I hope everyone can find their joy from the wonder that is C-ute.

 

But that’s just me, I’m just one “casual” member of team C-ute among the masses. How are you handling this end of era, what are you looking forward to in the future? Is there something that touch you about C-ute that you feel is yours to share?

 

Kyu-to- Sai-Kou-