Nooooooooooo! And she was my favorite in Juice=Juice and has been my 2nd favorite egg for quite a while!
It was announced today here on the official site that Otsuka Aina, one of the members of the recently formed Juice=Juice, will be resigning from Juice=Juice and Hello! Project entirely. This is quite a shock, as Juice=Juice is still a new group and was just announced to have a major debut scheduled, leaving the indies behind for the big time so quickly after its inception.
This is a particularly hard blow for me because I adore Aina’s voice, she’s got that higher pitched, delightful tone to her voice that I’ve loved. I was hoping for quite some time that she would make it into a group (her, Ayano, and the recent Rikako are my favorite eggs at the moment) and I was so happy she was in Juice=Juice. Her lines were some of my favorite, especially in their debut indies single, she was cute but still unique, and had enormous potential. It’s a real loss.
So what happened? A scandal, or something salacious? Seen within 500 yards of a member of the opposite sex (oh wait, this isn’t Airi)? Thankfully none of that nonsense, just that her family didn’t like the contract she was to sign and no agreement was able to be reached between the parties, as best I can understand it. I haven’t seen an official translation into english but it seems spelled out pretty plainly so I don’t think I’ve misinterpreted.
I find it so sad that an immensely talented girl who has worked her butt off for the past few years, since not making it into Morning Musume for 9th generation, is right on the verge of success and has it taken away due to this. While I can’t comment on the contract, its contents, or why the family objected, it does seem odd to me that she has been allowed to be with this company for so long, and has gone through auditions and whatnot over the years, only to reject (or be forced by her family to reject) her contract and involvement in the agency entirely when she gets her break.
Juice=Juice will not be adding any additional members, it says they will continue with the remaining 5 girls. I’ll keep cheering them on, but the loss of my favorite girl is rough news for me.
– Jess D:
Happy! Go! Lucky! 
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I’m wondering if all the girls’ contracts changed when their major debut was announced, to focus more on idol duties, and maybe Aina’s parents thought her education would be affected? Of course, it is possible to balance being an idol whilst being in full time education but maybe her parents place more focus on education.
I’m sure the contracts for the major debut must have been different, or they would have pulled her long before now. I really wonder what it was about the contract. I don’t immediately think education, but I wonder if time obligations, money, or what not play into it. It’s just so odd that her family was fine with her idol aspirations until now! :(