"Was Momoclo the Originator of Member-Color Costumes?" Debate Continues on Social Media
From late last month into this month, a debate has intermittently unfolded, mainly on X, over whether Momoiro Clover Z pioneered the use of member-color costumes.
Neither the group nor its members have weighed in officially. Instead, fans and adjacent fan communities have continued trying to reconcile differing definitions of what constitutes an originator.
The controversy began in late August, when a personal account circulated a claim that was interpreted as saying Momoiro Clover Z was the originator of both member colors and fan names. Fans of the former Johnny's agency, now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, among others, reacted strongly.
The original post was later reportedly deleted or reworded, and the original wording no longer appears to be available. Another account identifying as a Mononofus, the name for Momoiro Clover Z fans, posted a correction: "Member colors themselves had existed before. But perhaps Momoiro Clover Z was the group that pushed the concept to the point where people could identify members by color even without knowing their names." The post received more than 8 million views and became a foundation for the discussion.
There were two main points of contention. The practice of assigning colors to individual members had clear precedents from the Showa era through the early Heisei era, including Candies, Shibugakitai, Shonentai, Hikaru GENJI, SMAP, and Kanjani Eight. Fan names also existed earlier, such as "Sumawota" for SMAP fans and "eighter" for Kanjani Eight fans.
On the other hand, there appeared to be considerable, if qualified, agreement that MCZ stood out among female idol groups for the intensity of its approach: consistently maintaining member colors in rehearsal outfits and television appearances, and spreading the concept to the point where even the general public could recognize members by color rather than by name.
Originator or popularizer? It seems that a single choice of words turned a shared set of facts into an argument.
The debate, which had temporarily subsided, flared up again this week.
A clip from a television program featuring stage costumes circulated online, and summaries such as "Member colors were rare among female idol groups and became popular after Momoiro Clover Z" began taking on a life of their own. A different group of viewers thus entered the debate, bringing the discussion back to the same issues as the first wave.
The turning point, however, came with a post by Natsumi Takenaka, a director and choreographer known for her work with Morning Musume and other idols.
Last night, she wrote: "Hello! Project has had member colors for a long time, but surprisingly few groups put them front and center. Because it risks making them look like a Gorenger (Super Sentai) team. In that sense, Momoiro Clover Z was the first group to 'embrace' becoming Gorenger (Super Sentai)." The post received more than 70,000 views and over 1,100 likes.
Rather than framing the issue as whether Momoiro Clover Z "invented" the concept or whether it had not existed before, Takenaka shifted the focus to the group's willingness to embrace the very Sentai-like image that others had tended to avoid. That perspective appears to have resonated with many people.
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Comments
There have long been differing opinions on whether or not to place them within the lineage of MCZ. Judging by past statements, it doesn't appear that the production team—including KWKM, Junjun, and Atsunorin—actually had them in mind as a reference.
That said, there may well be points of overlap that emerged naturally within the broader, long-standing tradition of Japanese idol culture.