That New ZOC Member Is WHO!?

/ Kerrie

This is gonna be a long one, folks.

So, ZOC unveiled a new music video today, with an added surprise bonus! 

You might have spotted, depending on who you are, either an unfamiliar face or an unsettlingly recognisable one.

That new face, Kannagi Maro, is only ex-ANGERME sub-leader Fukuda Kanon!

 

Kanon, now going by her old nickname, Maro, is somewhat of an idol veteran, having been active since 2004! That’s when she joined Hello! Project’s newly-formed trainee unit, Hello! Project Egg, at the tender age of 9 years old. After several years of training and participating in short-lived spin-off groups, she eventually debuted full-time as a founding member of S/mileage, later renamed to ANGERME, in 2009. In 2015, she graduated from ANGERME to become a lyricist.

By the way, her final single with ANGERME? Probably the hardest Hello! Project ever hit until BEYOOOOONDS happened.

I wish I could say that the news of Maro’s addition to ZOC didn’t surprise me, considering

  1. Maro recently left Up-Front (the agency responsible for Hello! Project, where most of its idols usually remain a part of after graduating).
  2. ZOC is no stranger to adopting past idol departures.
  3. ZOC leader Oomori Seiko is a notorious Hello! Project fan.
  4. Maro is also a huge Seiko fan.
  5. Seiko has actually worked with Hello! Project and Up-Front many times. (On that subject, here’s one of the Hello! Project songs Seiko wrote, it’s quite good)

But no, I thought that after over a decade, Maro was done with this whole idol thing!  Either way, given her years of experience in the industry and her glowing reputation, ZOC is about to become very interesting to follow from now. 

First Morning Musume’s Sayashi Riho becoming an official BABYMETAL avenger, now Fukuda Maro joining ZOC, is the concept of ex-Hello! Project legends joining pre-established “Homicidols-worthy” idol groups going to become a trend? Are we going to see Tsugunaga Momoko un-retire to join BiSH next!?