Spent a while pondering over all the various reasons on H!O forums behind Koha's graduation.And this is probably the closest(and much more verified) reason behind it.

Morning Musume,for not changing their line-up for the past 2 years,has became stagnant.At least image wise.Whereas last time people can expect to see new faces every 1 or 2 years from their audition,at the moment people ARE expecting to see this line-up day in day out.Almost like Momosu now is your typical 9 girl group where the only thing to consider is their future release,their schedule,their appearances on TV.Anything but the changing of members,which more or less is unheard of in your normal 3 ~ 5 people grouping of J-pop/J-rock bands.

Having said that,producer Tsunku wanted to break free from this "false" image that people have of Momosu,since departures and arrivals of members are what made them unique in the 1st place.Take them like a group where the winner of their audition joins in the current grouping where they can leech and learn from the experience and fame of the existing members.We all know that the winners of "American's Idol" or even WWE's "Tough Enough" are not all established names in the industry even though they had won their respective auditions a few years already.I think the reason is that not much fans are willing to follow,or in this case "gamble" on supporting a up-and-coming star who seems to fare well against 20,30 others, but against veterans and talents that counts in thousands out in the entertainment industry?So Momosu is special as it is seen as a stepping stone into fame.Even if you don't actually manage to accumulate a large fanbase for yourself when you leave,you can at least be known as a former member of a "talent-gathering" group.Such is Morning Musume.Although all of us fans enjoy the current line-up,this isn't how Momosu was made to be.And it can never be.

So why Koharu out of the other 8 members?One thing to consider is publicity.With her seemingly successful seiyuu role as Kirari for Kirarin Revolution,she was mostly pushed to the front of any promotional art for Momosu together with leader Ai and 6th gen member Reina.It's no secret that Ai is pretty much what Momosu's song releases are for the past 2 years.She's always have quite a fair bit of solo lines in the songs even if she isn't the main lead for the song.So she cannot be removed from the group at the moment till people gets used to Morning Musume's songs being lead by someone else vocally.

Then there's Reina.OtsukaReina.Besides having the "yankii" image that makes her stand out amongst the other members,she is quite good with singing.Add in her weekly radio show and stuff and you'll find that there's still quite a fair bit to acquire from her for Momosu.

So it comes down to Koharu.Her vocals are always,always criticized as being piss-poor.But the simple fact that some of her earlier single releases sales are actually in the top 10 of Oricon weekly, shows that her "below-par" voice are perfect for animes.And everyone complains that she always,always uses her seiyuu voice to sing Momosu songs,which I admit,is off and not right.But judging from her carefree personality,I doubt she even knew that she's singing with that voice!!Yet it can't be denied that her voice is not fitting with the current songs Momosu is shooting out.(let's not mention about their last single Nanchatte Renai.Her singing well for once isn't enough evidence)

So Koha's up the rack to be removed from these 3 main faces of Momosu at the moment.Individual fanbase wise ... Koharu could actually have one of the biggest,if not the biggest,in Hello Project itself.And we knew how wotas and die-hard fans are.As long as they know that they are supporting their fav idol by purchasing her group's items,they'll do it regardless of how much coverage their idol gets.

So by removing Koharu from the current lineup,Tsunku can actually measure how much "damage" there is to their sales and fanbase if one of their main faces is gone.Ultimately everyone must leave Morning Musume at some time so to producer Tsunku,he can check for "post-main-star" damages,keep the current vocal quality intact,and of course add in new members without worrying that the group'll grow too big.(like you know,the bigger the group,the more profit u get,and the more chance of disharmony between the group)

It all sits well with me.Except that there's no clear indication of Koha's immediate future.It's pretty obvious that her modelling excuse is to be honest,just an excuse and a proper public reason for the fans.I've seen one too many gravure models becoming singers and actresses but not the other way round.Not saying that Koha's definitely going into a gravure model road but the general logic is there.You might not sing very well,you might not dance very well,but if you appeal to the general public,that's all it matters.She showed it during her time in Kirarin Revolution so it makes you ponder ... hmmmmmm ... re-inventing yourself and re-establishing your fanbase?A litttttttttttttle too risky if you ask me.

Bah life's a bitch when you take it too seriously.As long as she don't go do a "Sawajiri Erika" and goes MIA for a year,comes back to tell that she's getting married and then go back to studying(a.k.a hiatus from entertainment without any immediate plans to come back),I'm fine with it.

God speed ~