ºC-ute is set to disband today. All five girls will graduate from Hello! Project and go their separate ways. Today, we look back on ºC-ute’s past.

Last time, Okai Chisato was in the spotlight. Finally, we will be featuring the youngest member, Hagiwara Mai. 

Name: Hagiwara Mai

Birth Date: February 7, 1996

Age: 21

Birth Place: Saitama, Japan

Group: ºC-ute

Position: Sub Vocalist

In 2002, Mai passed the Hello! Project Kids Auditions after performing “Te wo Nigitte Arukitai” by Goto Maki. She officially debuted with ºC-ute in 2007 with the song “Sakura Chirari”.

Subunits:

• 4KIDS
• Kira Pika
• Petitmoni V
• Cat’s Eye 7
• HI-FIN
• Hagi-King

Mai was always near the bottom of my favourites. However, I respected her for her maturity. Despite being younger than me, I always thought that she was more mature than I am. I often forgot that she was the youngest of the group. She displays this maturity when performing on stage as well.

Mai’s singing has never been the best in the group. To be honest, I often grouped her with Kusumi Koharu and Michishige Sayumi, two Hello Project members who lack in vocal ability. It was interesting to see Mai paired with Kusumi Koharu for the subunit Kira Pika. Her singing seemed to get progressively worse with time to the point where she even admitted her lack of skills.

Despite that, she was one of C-ute’s best dancers. She excelled when dancing on stage. One example of this is when she performed the pole dance to “Crazy Kanzen na Otana” with Nakajima Saki. 

Sometimes, she appeared to be serious and stern, especially when compared to the more upbeat members of the group (Airi and Chisato). However, she was actually focused and determined. She worked hard to keep up with the other members. She always wanted to put on a good performance for the fans. I really respect her for that.

Mai has officially announced that she would be leaving the entertainment industry. She plans to go abroad to study English and would be living alone. Her decision does not surprise me. I expected her to leave the industry. Also, there seems to be a trend of Hello! Project idols leaving the company to study abroad (Aika, Chinami, Riho and more).

I will miss Mai. She was one of the most hard-working idols in Hello Project. Good luck, Mai. I hope you continue to shine bright and reach for your dreams! Thank you, for all your hard work!

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