So. Farewell then...

Maa guide us, it's been a while since we last spoke, hasn't it?

So much has happened, so little time to explain it. But I'm going to start with the biggest news to hit me since the Miyabi scandal - Arihara Kanna's left Hello!Project.

It was announced about 2 or 3 days ago on the Hello!Project Official Website. Within hours the Kanna thread at Hello!Online had gone insane, of course, that always happens when news about a member is announced. As of July 9th, 2009, Arihara Kanna is no longer part of Hello!Project. For medical reasons and she wanted to go back to a normal life.

This news devastated me. Kanna has long been my favourite member of C-ute (often tied first with Maimi) and when she went on hiatus for her bunions... back then I probably wasn't fully aware of the situation. I'm no doctor, I didn't have a clue about the medical jargon. All that I could tell was that she had problems with her feet and would be out of commision until she can safely dance again. My ignorance, coupled with the optimistic reassurances of many other Kanna fans - and there was probably a bit of denial in there too; refusing to believe the worst - made me sure that Kanna would be back after a few months.

Time went on, and I became more and more worried. 2 singles rolled by and Kanna still hadn't returned to my world. She's a proffesional dancer, of course it would take longer than usual to get her back up and running. I guess I was getting short-sighted.

Then this news came. It was sudden. I was shocked. Kanna leaving? No! No! NO! I tell you, I was this far away from becoming the Angry German Kid. That wouldn't have been pretty.

But now that I've had time to think about it, I'm glad.

I don't give a shit about what other people think when it comes to these boyfriend rumours. As far as I'm concerned this was Kanna's decision and she wouldn't lie to us (her fans). If you believe those rumours then I put it to you that you aren't a very good Kanna fan or wota. It's our job as the wota to trust and support our idols. Without that the Idol-Wota relationship breaks down and no-one is happy.

But, since we've established that Kanna did this on her own willing and for the reasons given to us when she left, why wouldn't I be happy? When biyuuden disbanded I was happy. The group had officially ended and wouldn't spend the next 6 years doing absolutely nothing like Ayaka which was a total waste of talent. I'm happy in the same way for Kanna. She's gone now. No more need to worry. And she won't dissapear behind the curtain of the entertainment world as a do-nothing idol.

She quit while she was ahead. Not something that many people do in the entertainment industry. And because of that, we'll remember as the great idol she was, not the 4-years innactive singer that she could have become.

Now she can return to a normal life and be happy. She can now get a boyfriend, get married, start a family. As a young idol that's not acceptable. But now it doesn't matter. No matter what she does in her new life, we, the fans during her idol life, will continue to support her.