From the left: Mizuho, Tomoka, Miyu, Maiko
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ZONE
I'll say it right here: ZONE is my favorite J-pop group of all time. Yes, that would even put them above my favorite Momusu. It's not an easy decision at all, but when I think of the combination of musical talent, great songs, and wonderful personalities, ZONE comes out on top. I discovered them purely by coincidence really. I happened to be watching an old episode of Warau Inu Taiyo (episode 2003-10-14 to be exact and I only dl it cuz it had Yaguchi from MM lol) that I had lying around for a few months before I got around to it, and ZONE happened to have been one of the guests on the show. They played "Secret Base ~kimi ga kureta mono~ and I was actually paying more attention to the joke PV the show made for the song (which was hilarious btw) but then later realized, "hey that song was pretty good." So I found it and it pretty much all started from there.
A four member pop band (who actually do play all their own instruments), they formed in 1998 and released 17 singles and 3 albums by the time they disbanded on April 1st, 2005. This is probably the only case where I can say that every one of their singles was pretty good at the very least, and were execellent most of the time. It's not like they were the most original group around, but they had a very unique sound which no one else possessed and it really set them apart from the rest of the J-pop world in my mind. I really wished that they had stuck around for another full album (since their last album "E" was a best album) but since a few of the girls had graduated from high school, they decided to split ways there. My dream of seeing them live in concert will never come true now...oh well. They are still #1 in my heart.
Top 10 Favorite ZONE Songs:
1) Secret Base ~kimi ga kureta mono~
2) Hanabi ~kimi ga ita natsu~
3) Boku no Tegami
4) Glory Colors ~kaze no tobira~
5) Good Days
6) Ashiato
7) Sotsugyo
8) Hitoshizuku
9) True Blue
10) Going (sono ki)
Favorite Albums:
1) E
2) N
3) O
4) Z
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Profiles:
Miyu
Vocal & Guitar
Birthday: 1988/5/20
Blood type: B
Height: 156cm
Comments: Miyu is the lead singer of the group for most of their songs and has a great voice. It's a little deep, but very strong and she has a great range. She did a bit of solo work while still with ZONE, and will definitely be launching her solo career full time soon. She's super cute on and off the stage to boot :-D
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Mizuho
Vocal & Drums
Birthday: 1985/12/12
Blood type: A
Height: 153.3cm
Comments: Mizuho is the one who brings all the energy to the group. She's incredibly loud and ultra genki all the time. Think of Tomo from Azumanga Daioh and that's Mizuho in real life lol. She says she's best friends with Ayaya (who always denies it lol) and super owned her whenever the two of them were together.
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Maiko
Vocal & Base
Birthday: 1986/07/24
Blood type: O
Height: 154cm
Comments: Maiko is the quiet one of the group (think Inoran in Luna Sea). She doesn't mind hanging not having the spotlight on her all the time (since Mizuho gobbles it up) but when she does say something, it's usually really funny. She tends to space off at times lol.
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Tomoka
Vocal, Guitar & Keyboard
Birthday: 1986/09/19
Blood type: O
Height: 160cm
Comments: The new member who joined in 2003, Tomoka didn't spend much time with the group before they disbanded, but was a great addition to them. She was a good guitarist with a strong voice and a great smile. What more could you possibly want?
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Takayo
ex. Vocal & Guitar
Birthday: 1985/06/13
Blood type: A
Height: 154.6cm
Comments: Takayo left the group in 2003 prompting the addition of Tomoka to ZONE. She was the leader and handled most of the guitar work in the songs, which was later split between Miyu and Tomoka when she left. Her role was to also keep Mizuho from running wild during tv shows lol. Those were golden moments.
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Links:
ZONE Official Site
Runtime Office Homepage
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THE SUPER HAPPY
FUN HOUR
created 09 Sept 2005
updated 25 Sept 2005
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