Mononofus Join the Debate Over the Pros and Cons of "Koropen"

A cross-fandom debate over the practice known as "Koropen" is taking place on X among fans of M!LK (a.k.a M!LKies), currently enjoying a major breakthrough as MCZ's junior group, and fans of Momoiro Clover Z, known as Mononofus.

"Koropen" is a coined term combining "koro-koro," a Japanese onomatopoeic expression describing the act of changing something frequently, and "penlight." It refers to the practice of changing the color of one's penlight to match the color of a member who comes nearby during a live show, as well as to people who do so.

The practice has also been a subject of debate at dome concerts by Snow Man, from a different agency, for some time, but there are no known cases in which the management has uniformly banned it.

The debate began on the M!LKies side. As more new fans have joined recent events, veteran-leaning fans have increasingly criticized color-changing, saying that it is done to seek fan service and that it causes the color of one's favorite member to become less visible.

At the same time, some fans have argued that the rules should depend on the situation: changing colors during unit songs or greetings is acceptable, while changing colors simply because another member has come over during a fan-service song is the problem.

Mononofus have now joined the discussion.

The Mononofus side appears to be largely in agreement. 

Since multi-colored penlights became common, the sight of the area around a member turning into that member's color as they approach has become an established form of celebration at MCZ concerts.

Many MCZ fans support the group as a whole rather than a single member, making it difficult to interpret changing colors as an attempt to take fan service away from another fan. Some have also suggested that language discouraging the practice could unnecessarily create divisions within the fandom.

There are also fans defending the practice by pointing out that the members themselves have said that they are happy when fans change their penlight colors as they approach.

In other words, the central point of this debate appears to be the suggestion that even within the same agency, concert etiquette may differ between male and female groups.

Ultimately, the issue does not appear to be simply whether changing colors is good or bad.

Rather, it seems to be a clash between a culture in which a member's color serves as a sign that their fans are present, and a culture in which the color is seen as a way of celebrating whichever member is in front of you.

In both cases, the starting point is the same: wanting to make the members happy. What differs is how the practice itself is interpreted. As long as it is not prohibited by the official rules, the decision is ultimately left to the atmosphere and etiquette of each individual event.