As of 9/23, all the groups combined have only launched about 24 newcomers making their debut, and this count of 24 includes those that are obviously going to flop right from the start. Compared to usual, this is probably about half the number. But as they say, during the October to December period, with the sudden drop in newcomers, this is actually a pretty good bonus for major newcomers. Because competition is low, their core strengths are more prominent, making it easier to seize the market. So, I'll give a quick rundown of a few hot photo newcomers for October. Mae da Minami Debut: October 11, 2022, with S1 T166cm / B84(E)-W60-H89 Born: December 15, 2000 This is a newcomer signed by S1 before the new regulations, probably filmed around April to May this year. Her debut work features short hair, and S1 went with their standard photo style (which is already high-quality anyway). By the time it entered promotion in September, Mae da Minami had grown her hair to shoulder length. This led to a weird situation: S1 produced a series of promotional photos, and she also set up her own SNS. But S1 posted polished short-hair shots, while she shared long-hair selfies, making it seem like two different people. This might be why her follower growth has been particularly slow— as an S1 newcomer, she should've been in the spotlight early, but her fans haven't even hit 5,000 yet. Go ba Debut: October 4, 2022, with Moodyz This newcomer had a single release before. Recent industry news mentioned Hinata's graduation and Moodyz's No. 5 supernova debut, but her follower growth... let's just say it's a bit disappointing. Her SNS was restricted right after registration, and she has less than 2,000 followers now. Moodyz is steadily releasing her photo shots for promotion, pushing hard, but it feels like an uphill battle. From the interactions on SNS, she comes across as pretty ordinary. Looking at the weekly and daily charts on FZ, Go ba's situation also seems a bit strained. I thought Moodyz could build a digital team for a nine-grid lineup, as their digital rosters usually get a lot of attention during promo. Go ba has some discussion, but compared to the previous ones, it feels a tad quiet. We'll have to wait and see; maybe she'll have a big surge later. Hoshino Riko Debut: October 6, 2022, with star T152cm / B84(E)-W57-H85 Hoshino Riko seems to be the type that star is pushing hard, and in the past, she'd probably have some debut gimmick. She set up her SNS back in June, likely to build up hype. But June was a messy time this year, so star might have had some hesitations and didn't go for any special gimmicks. Her debut ended up being pretty straightforward. Apparently, she was a pastry chef before, and she wrote a long post announcing her debut, full of that survival instinct. From her photo image, among the top studios' October newcomers, Hoshino Riko might be the most appealing—cute with a touch of adorableness, fair-skinned, and she gives off a good first impression. She's also leading in follower growth among October newcomers, already at 13,000. Mainly because she's got a killer skill at photo editing—that level is top-tier—so expectations are pretty high right now. Miyabi Chiharu (Miyabi Chiharu) Debut: October 6, 2022, with FALENO T160cm / B90(F)-W59-H94 Born: July 24, 1997 This one is probably FALENO's biggest potential newcomer for the second half of the year. I've mentioned her before; see the article "Miyabi Chiharu | FALENO Says: I'm Not Interested in Sales." Miyabi Chiharu is definitely a promising seedling—from an idol group background and a fashion model, she has great marketing points and sales potential. Her looks are distinctive too, basically putting her ahead of 90% of newcomers in terms of conditions. But given FALENO's marketing and production skills, we'll have to wait and see. Her follower growth is super fast right now, probably hitting 10,000 before debut. The only uncertainty is FALENO's handling—they're pushing hard, but the approach is hard to judge. Sometimes I wonder how Futaba Yume suddenly blew up back then? Ninomiya Riena Debut: October 6, 2022, with mary GOLD She's from a planning agency background, and mary GOLD is under the F group for amateur productions. Honestly, this starting point isn't that high. With LINX agency's capabilities, if Ninomiya had strong conditions, she shouldn't be at this level, so we'll just observe for now. Yamada Hana There's also Yamada Hana debuting around the same time, which is a bit hard to gauge. Namiki Aina (Namiki Aina) Debut: October 18, 2022, with Body studio T???cm / B88(G)-W55-H87 Body studio launched two exclusives this October, and Namiki Aina is pretty dominant on their newcomer charts right now. But she doesn't have a social account or any events. Overall, she's doing well on FZ's weekly and daily charts, and Body studio seems confident, hyping her up everywhere. The numbers look solid so far. Takahata Chihana Debuting at the same time with Body studio is Takahata Chihana, T154cm / B94(H)-W60-H88. Body studio is all about body advantages in their photos, and they're aggressive with editing, so they don't usually give out exclusive slots. But this time, they rolled out two at once. These two newcomers are solid overall; it's just about whether Body studio plans to build a stable exclusive lineup going forward. Their exclusives tend to fluctuate a lot, but maybe in the new environment, they'll settle down. Hoshino Yume Debut: October 18, 2022, with Rokujo Taki Yui Debut: October 6, 2022, with SOD Fruit Stand Hanamiya Ema (Hanamiya Ema) Debut: October 20, 2022, with DAHLIA T160cm / B89(F)-W57-H87 Hanamiya Ema's promotion is minimal, but she apparently has a big background, ranking on some fan site (though I couldn't find it). Usually, that kind of intro means she can skip the rookie phase, so overall, she's starting off like someone like Sakamichi. Sena Lumina Debut: October 20, 2022, with SOD Fruit Stand I didn't go into detail on the later ones, mainly just to pad out the word count. Because the photos are edited to the point of being over-the-top, and October has few newcomers anyway, so this is just a quick roundup.