Morning Musume 13 nin Gakkari X'mas Special 2001

Konno Asami is supposedly feeling sort of left out of the group, sort of a spare member.

There apparently had been a time when Konno was injured and unable to perform for a while.

There is something totally unsettling about this show at this moment, anyhow. First, it's obviously a staged event. That would be all right (the same idea was used for Mini Moni Documents and worked well) except that, while Konno Asami is trying to talk plainly and the girls are trying to be sympathetic the stage crew filming the scene is laughing.

This totally destroys the mood of the entire episode. The girls are trying to be supportive, the guys in the crew (it's male laughter) are laughing, going at cross-purposes to the girls.

She threatens to leave the group if they don't all work together.She gets the group to sing something together but keeps stopping and the group has to figure out what she's upset about. First it's someone's mufflers, then Kaori's hat. This all just makes it even more obviously staged.

They review some of the events of 2001.

They was going to be a food battle, but the decision was made to just have Nozomi and Kago Ai eat cake. Konno doesn't like the idea, though, and earlier had even said she was the "spare." This is one of the reasons I think this is staged because I just don't see any one person in Morning Musume being allowed to publicly go against all the other members.

(Unless this is all part of a set-up that will lead to some kind of conclusion at the end of the show; I'm commenting as I watch it.)

She starts to walk off the stage. I definitely think that if she had done this in a "real" performance she would have been canned. I doubt Tsunku would like this any more than Gordon Ramsey liked anyone walking out of the kitchen during the Hell's Kitchen series. It's a group effort (in both cases).

Which, again, is very much part of the Japanese culture, emphasizing the group dynamic and that the individual must subordinate their own desires for the good of the group. Someone walking out of a Morning Musume performance during the performance I don't think would be tolerated by the management at all.

The group agrees that everyone will participate and she gets back in line. (Again, people in the crew are laughing which just simply doesn't fit.) They are going to compete against a champion fast eater.

Ishikawa is eating faster than the other girls.The guy just watches them rather than eat (actually, he's supposedly watching Yaguchi but he asks for Maki Goto's autograph. If they're going to just stage an event couldn't they at least be consistent?).

The guy finally starts eating the cakes. Morning Musume eventually wins, but only because the guy waited for half the time before he started eating.

In talking about an endurance contest of some kind one again Konno disagrees with the others. This is just too staged; nothing natural about it.

First one guy does it alone. He has a piece of meat attached to his forehead and he's going to stay there as long as he can before he ducks down and out of the lizard's reach.

They get the girls set up for the endurance test. They will all stick their heads up through the holes at the same time. The lizard will be let loose and then it's a contest to see if they stay in and don't duck out, or if the lizard should fall through one of the holes himself.

Iida Kaori, the leader of Morning Musume at the time, leaves as soon as the lizard get's out of its holding area.

One of the guys grabs the lizard by the tail to try to get him to go to the middle. The lizard gets loose and heads directly for the left corner, causing several girls to abandon their posts rather quickly.

Notice Yoshizawa watching while the lizard runs. She's bored. "Oh. It's a big lizard. It's scaring the others. Big deal."

The lizard falls through one of the holes, ending the game and leaving Morning Musume the winner with six of the thirteen girls staying in till the end.

They do part of the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Next up is cooking.

This part will involve making a role of sushi. As expected, one person questions whether 13 people are needed to make a sushi roll so you know by now that Konno will object and the others will give in. This is a theme they've been beating over the head too many times in this show.

While they make the sushi roll they sing "Jingle Bells", but with words related to the making of the sushi roll.

A piece of the resultant sushi roll.

Their second attempt is actually worse. ("Any relationship to actual sushi is purely accidental and not the fault of the makers.")

This is to be the next contest. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, there's another of the staged balks by Konno about having only some of the members do it and, as expected, the others agree that everyone will participate.

Instead of being funny this part is absurd, so put-on it's ridiculous. One of the guys kicks the ball and the girls, predictably, all run away, letting it in. Then all the girls kick balls and lots of them get in. The two guys get in a fake argument, two of the girls are in a fake argument, etc. All of this fake stuff is ruining an otherwise good show.

They then have another round of shots, another fake argument between Yossie and Ishikawa, etc. They're calling this a Christmas "special"? The only really interesting thing about it is that the girls are doing (mostly) a good job of acting the part of being mad (though some of them are obviously having a hard time avoiding laughing).

Nozomi and Ai get into a fake argument about whether or not Santa Claus exists. This whole section of the show is a complete waste of time. The only reason parts of it are funny is that it's just so bad. Then they go on to other "arguments" between pairs of girls.

The last argument is supposed to be some of the youngest ones calling Kei an "old lady", but at least two of the group are having trouble avoiding laughing.

Another event.

Yaguchi says something which could be applied to the entire show.

Nozomi has a hole in her costume.

Konno is inside the locker supposedly hitting her head against it.

They are thankfully finishing the show using John Lennon's song "And So This is Christmas" (probably not the right title but close, I hope)

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