Reina: My Oshi is Moving On

So I'm on break for Thanksgiving and I wake up this morning, turn on the computer, and what do I find?

A Graduation announcement from Reina.

How am I supposed to deal with this!?

I mean, there are two parts of me that show up with this announcement:

There is a part of me that loves her so much and she's my Oshi so I'm sad and don't want her to leave.

There is a part of me that loves her so much and she's my Oshi and I want her to be happy so I'm excited about her band and the new things she's going to do.

Reina has been the face of Morning Musume since she joined the group, so like when Ai-chan left, this will be a big shift for the group.  I know the group will survive, since it survived when Nacchi left, when Koharu left, when Ai-chan left...so I'm not freaking out in that sense.

I'm just surprised.  About a month ago on her blog, she says she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon...but now she is leaving.

I'm just hoping she gets a proper send-off.  I mean, I'm sure she will, but as a big fan, I hope she gets the best.

Also, I'm kind of bitter about it in some ways, since a lot of people are actually celebrating her graduation, and being happy that she's going to leave, showing the same kind of hate that the same people showed for Aika when she left.

Which brings me to the other part of me.

I'm really happy the members for her band have been decided, and a picture was shown of all four of them together, and she looked so at home.

I mean, she looked really comfortable with them, like she felt at home and like she belonged.  Which is probably what she is missing from MM right now, with all of the younger members, she probably is feeling a major shift within herself.

People change, and Reina is no different.  She's not the same person she was 10 years ago when she joined, and I think she feels that to grow as an artist in the way she wants to, she has to move on from Morning Musume.

And in a way, I agree with that.  With this band, she may get more control over her image, the kind of music she puts out, and maybe even taking a hand in writing some of the songs.

It's a whole new thing that she's about to jump into, and it's exciting for all of her fans to see what she's doing next.

Whenever a girl graduates from Morning Musume, I always have this fear of that girl disappearing off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again.  But with Reina, that fear is not going to come true.  And as a huge fan of her, I will follow her activities in whatever she does, and I'm so glad I still get to hear her wonderful voice when she leaves.

Good Luck to you Reina, and make sure to enjoy your last 6 months within Morning Musume!

And make sure to love on Sayu lots, okay?  She's going to miss you so much!