Houkago Princess: 2016
On January 9th 2016, Houpriyusu members Nagasawa Marina, Kamiya Airi and Kojima Mayumi all held their coming of age ceremonies.
On January 17th, during the Miss iD 2016 Grand Prix, it was announced that Horii Nina had joined Houpriyusu as their newest and youngest member. Nina had originally entered the Miss iD 2016 competition beforehand and made it into the semi-finals, with the intentions of becoming an Idol after the competition had ended.
On January 24th 2016, Ayase Miho announced during her Birthday Performance that she would be graduating from Houkago Princess at the end of March. Her reason for graduating is that, as Houkago Princess was at its best in lineup during this point, she wanted to leave on a high note and to allow them to shine more with her departure. She also felt that recently, she wanted to change her environment, which would mean leaving the entertainment industry. She hopes to return to a normal life, and try new things that will allow her to move forward.
On January 27th 2016, it was announced that Nagasawa Marina's 3rd Gravure DVD would be released. Titled Marichu Biyori, the DVD would be released on February 19th, 2016.
On February 6th 2016, Izumi Sakura's first solo DVD was officially announcened, with a release date forApril 22nd 2016. The DVD was titled Minarai Princess Sakura.
On February 7th 2016, an important announcement regarding the members of HouPriyusu was made. First was that members Nagasawa Marina, Kamiya Airi and Sekine Sasara would all end their activities within the group, in order to pursue activities as a trio. The second announcement was that Izumi Sakura would graduate from the group in order to pursue her own solo activities.
On February 17th, Houkago Princesses second major single, Junpaku Antoinette, debuted on the Oricon daily chart at #2. They grabbed the #2 spot for weekly sales a week later.
On March 9th, Houpriyusu revealed the latest member to the unit, Makihara Yuyu. Though she was not strictly in the entertainment business prior to joining the group, Yuyu was a cosplayer beforehand, and fairly well known.
On March 19th 2016, Houpriyusu staff revealed that, regarding Marina, Airi and Sasara, the three girls had formally declined the new unit. The decision was made when Airi chose to instead graduate from Houpriyusu and the entertainment industry completely. The reason for this was due to Airi feeling like she was not pursuing the Idol career as persistantly as she had when she started it, and that if she continued as she was, she would feel rude to staff members, the other members, and her fans. Due to this, both Marina and Sasara thought more about their futures, and ultimately chose to continue their activities within Houpriyusu, instead.
On March 20th, both Kamiya Airi and Izumi Sakura both graduated from Houpriyusu, with Airi leaving the entertainment industry altogether, whilst Sakura chose to pursue activities within Gravure, instead.
Also on March 20th, it was revealed through Odagiri Nana and Yamaguchi Miran during Houpriyusu's performance that Kojima Mayumi had been promoted from a Candidate to an Apprentice!Active as a part of both Houpriyusu and Houkago Princess, Mayumi was able to fill in other members for some performances, and with Mayuka's absence, she was able to take over her spot.
On March 25th, Ayase Miho officially graduated from Houkago Princess and the Entertainment industry.
On April 1st, it was revealed that Nagasawa Marina would hold her very first bus tour, set to happen on April 23rd. Activities would include a barbeque and a small photo session.
On April 3rd, Houkago Princesses 3rd major single was announced! It will be titled Seishun Mermaid, based on the tale of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, with a release date of June 29th 2016. This would be the groups second summer single release. It will be available in ten editions; Limited DVD, Regular, Member only cover versions, and an Apprentice version.
Also on April 3rd, it was revealed that both Nagasawa Marina and Sekine Sasara had been promoted to Cadet status! Both girls would pursue activities with both Houpriyusu and Houkago Princess.
On April 5th 2016, it was announced that Michishige Saho would hold her first Birthday event.
Sometime in April, it was announced that Houkago Princess would take their very first overseas trip to Vietnam from April 22nd until the 24th to attend Sakura Matsuri in Chi Minh Ho City. All Regular members, plus Kojima Mayumi, would attend the event.
On April 14th 2016, Nagasawa Marina opened up a Crowdfund project to support an up-coming DVD she hoped to self-produce. Thiis to not only to convey her thanks to the fans around the world, but to also allow her to gain experience in production and to allow her more growth as a member of Houpriyusu and Houkago Princess.
On April 24th, Nagasawa Marina released information regarding her 4th Gravure DVD release, titled Marichu ni Muchu, set to release on May 20th 2016. The DVD was shot in Phuket, Thailand. Release events will take place on June 11th.
On April 23rd, it was announced by staff members that Houpriyusu's Makihara Yuyu would decline her activities within the unit on May 1st 2016. The reason for this is due to Yuyu's poor health, as she has a spinal cord disease that has worsened. Upon her doctors request, she will be stopping all physical activity for now, though she aims to pursue other activities within the entertainment industry in the future when she is better. Her final performance will be on April 29th, at Coconuts Stage Tokyo.
On May 22nd, it was announced that Miyashita Mayuka would graduate from Houkago Princess in July 2016 during the groups pre-release event at Akiba Sofmap. The reason for her decision to leave includes that she hopes to rest a little after her graduation, before studying to become a voice actress.
On June 15th, it was announced by both staff and Mayuka that she would suspend her activities and visitation events on July 17th 2016, though it would not be her official graduation date. Later on in July, it was revealed that Mayuka would instead Graduate on August 15th 2016, however she would be absent from all appearances and performances before then.
Throughout June, Odagiri Nana, Maika and Nagasawa Marina were interviewed for various articles regarding the release of Seishun Mermaid. Yahoo!, Music Voice, Idol@Utaten and POP UP GIRLS! all published their interviews online.
On July 1st, Yamaguchi Miran made the announcement through her blog that from July 25th until August 6th, she would suspend her activities within Houkago Princess due to Academic Training. Because of this, she would not attend Tokyo Idol Festival, however she revealed that she would be there for the groups final performance at the event on August 7th. Because of the suddenness of the announcement, Miran deeply apologised to the fans for her impending absence.
In mid-July, both Nagasawa Marina and Horii Nina travelled to Guam, presumably to do a photo or DVD shoot for Marina's fifth gravure DVD. On July 25th, it wa revealed that Horii Nina had a photoshoot of her own and, whilst she and management were unsure as to whether she might pursue Gravure as a career, the photos taken had garnered interest from various magazine publications, and mioght be published in the near future.
On August 7th, Houkago Princess made the announcement during their final performance at Tokyo Idol Festival that they would release their 4th single, Himitsu no Tiara to Gelato, on October 12th 2016. The single would be themed around the romantic Hollywood film, Roman Holiday, and would feature the members in a 'black and white world' where a Princess steps out of her palace to finally see the real world and experience a 24 hour romance. It was also revealed on the same day that Apprentice members Nagasawa Marina, Sekine Sasara and Kojima Mayumi had all been promoted to the Regular Lineup, and would feature in the up-coming single. The new members' coronation would be held on September 22nd, during the groups one-man live at Zepp Tokyo.
Houkago Princess celebrated their 5th Anniversary as a group in August 2016.
On August 15th, Miyashita Mayuka Graduated from Houkago Princess in order to pursue activities in voice acting. Her Twitter account is still active.
On August 28th, Odagiri Nana, Nagasawa Marina and Horii Nina were all featured on the cover of the magazine GiRLS-pEDiA. Shots of the three members were also included in the magazine.
For September 2016, Nagasawa Marina was a featured model for Saizo magazine, as well as the cover model. The magazine showed off Marina's 'Glamorous' side, as opposed to her popular Legal Lolita look that had been previously portrayed in Gravure DVD's and other magazine shoots.
In late August, it was announced that Marina would release her first solo photobook, Hatachi no Yakusoku with Wani Books. The release date is set for September 25th, 2016. Furthermore, it was revealed she would also release a solo Calendar on October 15th, 2016.
On September 22nd, 2016, Nagasawa Marina, Sekine Sasara and Kojima Mayumi were all coronated at Zepp Diver Tokyo City, becoming Regular members of Houkago Princess. Because of this, Houpriyusu officially became defunct, with only one active Candidate left.
During this live, it was announced that Houkago Princess would hold their first national tour in March 2017. It was also revealed that the group would be split in two, for random events, to showcase their individual strengths. Team Twinkle would include Odagiri Nana, Yamaguchi Miran, Kizuki Saori, Maika and Sekine Sasara, respctively, and would see them bringing higher quality performances. Team Miracle would include Sirosaki Himari, Michishige Saho, Nagasawa Marina, Kojima Mayumi and Nina Horii, and they would focus on improving themselves further, whilst also tackling such things as MC and radio appearances. They are grouped together based on thier skills, and might have a chance to go up or down, depending.
On October 1st, Nagasawa Marina was announced as a regular cast member for AbemaTV, a variety channel that focuses on Idols.
On October 6th, an interview with Kojima Mayumi for rensai was released.
On October 12th, it was announced that Houkago Princess would release their first DVD collection, Houkago Princess Music Clips 2015-2016. It would include all of their music videos from Seifuku Cinderella, up until Himitsu no Tiara to Gelato, as well as select dance versions of songs, and digests from their Zepp Diver live on Spetember 22nd.
Himitsu no Tiara to Gelato debuted at #3 on the Oricon Charts upon its release, on October 25th.
On October 27th, it was revealed that Nagasawa Marina had been cast in the up-coming Live-action project, Saki. Based on the manga of the same name, the film would focus on the competetive spirit of Mahjong. Marina would portray the character of Senoo Kaori, a shy, ditzy girl who is easily nervous, but with incredible beginners luck and great perception, and comes from Tsuruga Academy. The project will include a 4-episode drama series, aired in December, as well as a 2017 film release.
Houkago Princess released their second group Calendar on October 29th.
On November 5th, it was announced that Horii Nina would release her first gravure DVD, titled Minarai Princess: Horii Nina. The release date for the DVD debut would be on November 24th.
On November 15th, it was revealed that Nagasawa Marina, Sekine Sasara and Horii Nina had all travelled to Thailand for DVD related purposes.
In late November, Kojima Mayumi and Sirosaki Himari both travelled to Bali, Indonesia to shoot their own gravure DVD's. This would be the first release from Mayumi since joining Houkago Princess, and the debut of Himari as a gravure model.
On December 3rd, Michishige Saho and Sekine Sasara made a gues appearance on Radio NIKKEI'S Idol Generation.
On December 3rd until the 4th, Yamaguchi Miran took part in the 24 hour live Soccer King! Amore!, to celebrate the Soccer Festival for 2016.
On December 14th, the sudden announcement was made that Nagasawa Marina would withdraw from Houkago Princess on December 31st, with her final live being held on December 29th. She would also depart from the agency, Cute Black, as her contract had ended and she had not renewed it. She has not, however, said she would leave the industry altogether, though her future is still undetermined.
With the decision that Nagasawa Marina would leave the group and agency, it was also revealed that the National Tour in March 2017 had been cancelled, and all tickets would be refunded. The decision was made, because it had been advertised as a nine-member tour.
On December 14th, it was also revealed that Nagasawa Marina would release her final photobook, glows, on January 30th, 2017. Alongside the photobook, there will be a bonus DVD including 60 minutes worth of footage.
On December 21st, Morishita Rina was revealed to be the newest addition to the Houkago Princess Candidates. With her introduction to the group, she was also placed into Team Miracle. It was also revealed that Team Miracle would hold their first live on December 27th, with Sekine Sasara attending as a featured guest performer.
On December 26th, it was announced officially that Houkago Princess would release their up-coming 5th single, Unmei Red no Lychee, on February 17th 2017. The cover art for each edition, and its promotional image were also released. The single is based on Yang Guifei, and is the first Eastern retelling by Houkago Princess, who have focused on Western retelling's up until now.
On December 27th, it was revealed that from January 1st, 2017, two new Candidates, Ota Nozomi and Tanaka Asami, would join Houkago Princess. Both are former members of the group Heart x Strings, which has gone on hiatus from December 31st, after the leave of some members.
On December 29th, Nagasawa Marina held her final live performance with Houkago Princess, and withdrew from the group officially on December 31st, 2016.