Ariyasu Momoka
有安 杏果
ありやす ももか
「Foolish little giant」, mostly refered to as Momoka
Nicknamed 「little frog」or「Dango」( a type of Japanese dumpling)
Reni’s pet name for her is 「Yassan」(short for Ariyasu-san)
Momoka was the latest member to the Momoclo lineup, joining on July 26th, 2009. With that said, in terms of years within the entertainment industry she is the most experienced out of all the members , starting since the super young age of 1. It is pretty easy to dig up old commercials and photo shoots with Momoka in them, and she has some super devoted fans(pre-Momoclo) that have stayed loyal throughout all these years. She is also the only one whom one can say has received proper training in the past, being a member of EXPG (affiliate institution of EXILE that specializes in dance and vocal training). Another interesting thing of note is that she is probably the only one within Momoclo that had her sights set on becoming a singer since the very start.
With hard work Momoka became a pretty forward ranked trainee of EXPG, and eventually she got a chance to tour as a backup dancer with EXILE, also making an appearance in one of their MV’s. Unfortunately, due to having a larger priority for school, she dropped out of EXPG and changed agencies to Stardust. There she was assigned to the idol group Power Age, which in a bad twist of fate, disbanded in less than 3 months after she joined (to further rain on the parade, the decision to disband was announced to Momoka on her birthday). This might have been a blessing in disguise though, as her next stop brought her into Momoclo.
With her extensive experience and professional training, Momoka’s addition made a huge impact on Momoclo. Or as Akarin put it, “it felt like we needed to step up our game.” From this point forward, Momoclo’s choreography increased in technical difficulty and intensity, gradually shaping into the Momoclo that we know today.
Momoka has the smallest figure out of all the members, which early on led her to be one of the two “little sister” types within Momoclo along with Shiorin. Nowadays though, Shiroin is much larger, so the only one who still looks like a little sister is Momoka. She does need to watch her figure a bit though….
Twin-tailed Momoka~
Besides this, Momoka is also famed for her selfies. To hide the fact that she has a rather large and round face, most of her selfies are taken from the same angle. This camera angle has since been coined as 「Momokakudo」(Momoka Angle)
In a way, it’s pretty impressive how she can hold the same pose in every picture…..
While we’re on the subject of “little sister,” this seems a pretty good point to talk about her personality.
First off, she’s a natural ditz. Although it seems that her academic scores are among the best out of the members, she is a constant origin of jokes whether through accidents, overreactions, or just plain facepalm moments. The fact that she has a lisp is also a source of much good-humored ribbing within the members.
Then we have the elephant in the room……..she is VERY quick to tears.
In contrast with the members I wrote of previously, Momoka is the type of person who does not hide her feelings and emotions very well. She has cried at the beginning of nearly every important concert Momoclo have held. (good examples being Momokuri 2011, Summer Dive 2012, etc). Of course, these are pretty big milestones, and one really can’t fault her for being emotional. But her penchant for crying is not limited to those large events. Indeed, she easily starts crying just from being a bit frightened or if she is put in a situation she dislikes. Some classic examples include Momoka’s breakdown on a TV program over a 「mystery box」game, or her extreme reactions to contact with avian. (speaking of which, Momoka seems to be afraid of a lot of animals)
The ever-emotional Momoka….however, this open personality also garners support from many fans
With that said though, Momoka also has a strong side to her personality!
I mentioned earlier that Momoka was the last to join Momoclo. At that time Momoclo had already been established for over an year, and was in the middle of a nation-wide tour to promote their indie single「Momoiro Punch」. Choosing this time to announce her addition alienated a lot of old fans, to the point where some openly showed contempt towards Momoka. As expected, this drove Momoka to tears, but at the same time she prevailed and earned respect through her hard work, determination, and attitude. And finally, these fans accepted her as an integral part of Momoclo.
Speaking of hard work, determination, and attitude, this is a pretty good part to touch upon the stark contrast in personalities between Momoka and the rest of the members. Momoka can be described as introverted, and not as prone to fooling around or doing stupid things as the others. This is glaringly obvious when you watch Momoclo Chan, where she’ll be the odd one out while the others are having fun. On stage and in various programs, Momoka is also the quiet type, seldom contributing unless the question was directed at her. She has said herself that she is not quick-witted or well-spoken enough, so she stays quiet most of the time. However, this does mean that she’ll largely be forgettable during these shows.
This difference in personality has also affected her relationship with other members. According to herself, she has always regarded 「on stage」and「off stage」to be different, and consequently does not exhibit traits of hyperactivity which the others seem to have even off camera. Eventually, this led to an “invisible wall” separating her and the other girls. Thankfully, this was finally resolved in the famous「Night of Yonago」during their 2012 summer tour, where the girls opened up their true feelings to one another.
Of course, that doesn’t mean all has changed. Even today we can still find Momoka to be more calm and collected than the others, quietly working on her own in a corner or silently observing. If I were to say the main difference, it’s that between themselves they have developed real camaraderie- Momoka is now more willing to participate in the craziness, while the others know just how far her limit is. I do think her closeness with Reni helped her quite a bit, as Reni can now find ways of easing Momoka into conversations, through jesting or otherwise.
I think both for themselves and for us fans, the fact that their relationship grew stronger because of this is indeed good news!
Now, now, be nice you two~~~~
Putting talk duties aside, Momoka’s strength undoubtedly lies within her singing and dancing. I’ve already mentioned above that Momoka’s addition changed the very roots of Momoclo’s choreography, which is extremely noticeable starting from「Ikuze! Kaito Shoujo」. Through observations, it seems that Momoka is the one who knows the most styles of dancing, including ballet, hip-hop, locking, popping, etc. Who dances the best is pretty subjective, but it’s pretty obvious that Momoka is the most diverse one.
As for singing, I think objectively speaking Momoka is clearly the strongest within Momoclo. She has a very wide range, capable of being deep and resonant (e.g 「Naitemo Iindayo」, or belting out the high parts (e.g. 「Hai to Diamond」). She also shows the most technique out of the girls, and is usually tasked with the most demanding solo parts (e.g. 「Sora no Curtain」,「Shiroi Kaze」). Especially in later years with the addition of vibrato to her repertoire, you get the sense that she tries to show it off every chance she gets.
However, I do think her projection needs work. Momoka has had numerous vocal problems in the past, to the point of having surgery, simply from the fact that she sings improperly. This resulted in a rather big change in her voice starting from their 2nd album「5th Dimension」. She has said she fixed the problem, but I still think she overdoes it quite a bit. A lot of times her voice just seems….forced…..with the notes coming out of her muddied and flat.
She is still the best singer in Momoclo though, which I think is really exemplified by her performance as「Tenkasu Trio」, a special unit comprised of skilled singers from different 3B Junior idol groups. This is not Momoclo’s song, but I think this specially made tune is perfect for showcasing her singing abilities.
And finally, I give you this fan-made video by 「太平洋男P」, which was made to commemorate Momoka’s 19th birthday. This is a great summary of Momoka’s journey from past to present, and after watching it you really get the sense that Momoka’s experience is enough to make her own story!
【ももクロ】有安杏果19th生誕祭【小さな巨人】 (It’s a Niconico video, so you might have to register to watch it. Don’t worry it’s free, and there should be an English version)
To conclude, I feel that Momoka is most representative of Momoclo’s 「hard work」, and stemming from this, the extension of their「talents」
Momoclo Plaza 