The Japanese Revival
I believe it all started in 2003 when Miyako Miyazaki shocked pageant fans with a daring gown choice, a two piece Celine gown flown in from Paris. It was a risk that paid off, she landed in the Top 5 and more importantly put Japan back on the beauty map.
Miyako was a personal favorite not just because of her innate elegance and sophistication, but because she chose to keep it simple (straight hair as opposed to a curled glamour cut) ushering in a whole new trend for beauty pageants.
Of course part of this has to be credited to the Frenchwoman/National Director of the Miss Japan pageant Ines Ligron. 6 years after taking control of the pageant she was already beginning to feel the fruits of her labor.
Last year Miss Japan pageant soared to new heights, a revival of sorts (remember Japan was the first Asian nation to wear the Universe crown in 1959) when the lovely Kurara Chibana came one placement away from the crown.
And finally as if it was planned all along, a Japanese woman is declared Miss Universe 2007. Riyo Mori will be the first Japanese woman to wear the Japanese (Mikimoto) crown and she will surely pave the way for oriental women in pageants to come.
Thoughts on the Decision
I told myself last night that any lady in my Top 6 would make a good Miss Universe. Riyo was sixth on my list because unlike some of the other delegates she wasn’t the loveliest of them all. In fact in some photos and without make up she looks quite plain (unlike last year’s Kurara). But then again as someone in the comments section most bluntly put it, its not just about looks but about personality. Also your overall presence on pageant night is what matters most because you fate lies in the hands of the judges selected to pick the new Miss Universe. Without a doubt Japan was really special tonight. By the way on a side note, Japan answered most of her questions in English during the post pageant press conference, Trump was surprised and had to take the mic to ask, “what’s happening, I didn’t realize you spoke such good English.” I think Riyo is well prepared to begin her duties as Miss Universe.
Tonight Korea was the fairest, her beauty was impeccable and presentation flawless, but to be completely honest Japan out-shined her every leg of the way. I think Korea suffered from a bad gown choice (she should have stuck to her prelims gown), compare that to the amazing Gucci gown the Riyo wore. It was just amazing, not glittery, yet still the one with the most impact. I saw video of Korea walking out of the stadium and onto the bus, I cannot help but feel disappointment
Venezuela was the most prepared. If there was a pageant handbook, this Ly followed every single page to the note. Unfortunately that book is fast becoming obsolete, because the next generation of title holders will have to be fresh and natural. I applaud her for an amazing performance, especially considering how far she’s come since winning Miss Venezuela.
USA. The fall was terrible. I cannot help but feel for her. In a post pageant press conference Donald Trump was said that he was sure Rachel was not the one being booed, but perhaps the United States policy. After the pageant Rachel refused to comment on the matter, instead she said that she was a lady and that she would handle it with diginity. Still it was a horrible night for Rachel, still she held her composure and still gave a relatively good answer. I think she should be applauded for this. Having said that, I don’t think her entry into the Top 5 was a sympathy vote. She deserved it. And perhaps under other circumstances, she could have gone even further. I know she’ll have plenty of more opportunities as Miss USA and will have a lovely career ahead of her.
Brazil was a lovely first runner up and her face continues to grown on you. Still as a matter of personal preference she was a bit over the top. And too pageantry for my tastes. Still there is no denying the fact that she was a favorite of the judges early on, in fact she scored so high in the evening gown competition that I was afraid she would take it all.
Thought on the Pageant
The 2005 pageant in Thailand was probably one of my favorites in recent years. Last year was also glitch free. This time around I felt that the pageant lacked the excitement and color, it was less glitzy.
The hosts although, they didn’t make any mistakes were not as comfortable as Nancy’O Dell and Billy Bush, and Shandi and Carson were missing in action. I just loved Carson last year. Also I caught the hosts throwing down their cue cards on camera.
The swimsuit music wasn’t that good. I would have preferred it if they were all given one song with the same beat. Not a mix of songs by just one artist. Again the best swimsuit competition in recent years would probably be the 2005 pageant in Thailand.
The stage looked great but aside from the boxes concept borrowed from the Victoria’s secret fashion show, I think it was rather bland. I did love the huge screens on the side though and appreciate the catwalk.
The crowd was terrible, horrible. I don’t think Mexico deserves to host the pageant again, after the low maturity level of the Mexican crowd. Even a fanatic Puerto Rican crowd would have never done such a thing. Let’s get the pageant back to Asia where people are warm, loving and friendly.
What happened tonight with the questions is just proof that we need a final question. Korea wasn’t given equal opportunity to show off her knowledge, and could have probably won it had she been given Japan’s question. I have been in staunch opposition of this decision and totally believe that it should be brought back. Again its all about equal opportunities.
Moving Forward
In the end this was still a great pageant. A lot of developments will only push the pageant forward. There were a few disappointments in the selection of the Top 15, but they soon were cut off when they trimmed the lost down to Ten. I kinda felt Thailand should have made it to the Top 10 though, I think she was a big miss.
It is interesting to note that the Spanish broadcast posted scores from both legs of the competition whereas the International version did not have any. Here you can see that Miss Brazil and Japan led all the way.
This year’s pageant had its fair share of problems, Miss Mexico for example who had brutal images of rebels form a 1920s uprising was asked to change her national costume at the last minute and there was Miss Sweden who pulled out because their were complaints in her country that the pageant degraded women.
So far there has been no news as to where the pageant will be held next year. But wherever that will be I do hope that next year will be less political, instead it will be a new era for the pageant one that will continue to empower women into the next decade.
I agree that Ms Philippines lack the “it” factor, she’s so plain and even looked old, tired, and worn! There’s nothing special about her that could have caught the judges’ attention, and this, coming from a pinoy myself. Ms. Korea should’ve won the Ms. Photogenic award, if not for all those biased filipinos who voted for Ms. Philippines, sorry guys, just keeping it real. Japan has become such a strong contender because they’re starting to defy the pagent norms by bringing in girls that are confident and happy, not trying to be someone else other than themselves. Ms. Japan this year and last year exude a sense of fun, very unique and original, truly a breath of fresh air!!! I’m also glad that Tanzania also made it, she and Japan were my top 2 favorites! I’m very happy that Japan won this year!!! I love both Japan and Tanzania because of their unconventional take on being beautiful. Hope this becomes a trend!!! More than anyone in the competition, they showed the most courage, by being true to who they are, unlike most latin beauties like Venezuela and Brazil who seem to try so hard at achieving beauty pagent perfection that they start to look overly done and fake! As for Ms. USA being booed, hopefully this serves as a lesson to the Ms. Universe organizers that not because a girl has USA on her sash means that she’ll be automatically on top of the competition even if she don’t deserve to be, you’ve done this all these years! I’m tired of seeing Ms. USA making it when other more deserving girls are being left in the background!!! Be FAIR, your girls are getting uglier each year!!! Ms. Universe is a beauty pagent, it shouldn’t be used a stage for your propaganda!!!
I am really sad with what happened to Miss USA during the evening gown competition. You can really see the shock in her face when she fell. But still, she managed to stand and move on, as if nothing happened. She was able to finished her part well. She’s really a professional. Besides from being charming and lovely, i think she was the only one who answered the question straight to the point. Despite the booing of the mexican people, she managed to answer the question without being bothered with what she hears from the audience. She never had a hard time answering the question. She’s also a great player for she knows how to handle such kind of situation and she in fact greeted the mexican people in mexican language.
There are so many beautiful Japanese women, but not so many who are so well-rounded. There are a few though.
My personal pick: http://home.att.ne.jp/wood/grot/mika_yamaguchi/
additional, it seems that suleyka is not happy with Japan’s win. She never kissed nor hugged Miss japan when she gave the crown compared to previous MU, where the parting MU hugged and kissed the winner.
When I heard it was being held in Mexico, I was shocked. I remember clearly when they booed Miss USA in 1993, and that was when Miss Mexico did NOT make the semi-finalists. I know that NOT all Mexicans are immature. It is just unfortunate that the WORLD has to see this behavior. I remember Lupita Jones (Mexico’s Miss Universe) looking very upset at the 1993 pageant. This year, I remember Vanessa Minillo making a subtle hint to the Mexican audience that billions of people were watching. Anyways, the Asian audience…actually any other audience outside Mexico has always been cordial and respectful. I hope the editorials in the Mexican newspapers made some comment about this behavior.
While I am not disappointed overall as I like Miss Japan, I can honestly say she was not my overall favorite. I thought Miss Korea was a living doll, but her eveing gown was not that great. Other than that she very easily could have won. I also think Miss Angola was a stunner, sweet and sexy, but her evening gown was frankly tired and cheap looking compared to some of the other gowns. However, I can say that overall the gowns were fairly weak this year, and much to my surprise, I would say USA had the best gown-although the fall certainly took away from the impact of it.
Miss Tanzania could have gone further, but again with a better dress. Miss Venezuela was also stunning but that dress was awful! It looked like a bad Miss Future Space Colony dress! I did not like Mexico that much and thought she looked better with stick straight hair and red was definitely not the right color for her dress. Finally, Brazil was overall very strong as to sex appeal and confidence-her dress was not bad and she was pretty although not the prettiest. However, she also could have won it as well as Japan. As to the crowd-No More Pageants in Mexico! When Kenya Moore was Miss USA and competed in Mexico she was also consistently booed and heckled. It is not fair and it is disrespectful to the contestant and to their country as a whole.
Japan was ok… Sort of cute. But I really think Brazil or Venezuela should have won it. They were gorgeous, and more deserving of the title !!
The Latino women are always the prettiest. And no, I’m Latino. I’m from Europe!
i was dissapointed dis years winner,i thought it was brazil, so sad for tanzania ,she was my bet…and ohh, philippines did a good job ,i was shocked why she did nt make it to the 15 finalist…and she deserves the miss photogenic award isn’t it? for 3 consecutive years they got this award,’05, ’06, ’07..its the first in MU history,,,,
if philippines was given a chance to be in the top fifteen… for sure she have made it to top ten until top five…AND definitely win the title because she was so amart… very articulate and very confident in ansering any questions thrown to her…. thats the problem with philippines, not having the luck to enter the TOP 20/15/5.. I also agree that the final question in the final interview will all be the same for all the finalist.. it’s really unfair if a harder question is asked to a certain finalist. why dont they also make it top20 next year to give other contestant the chance to show what they really got
a lot of contestants who made it to the top 5 could speak fluent english too. but choose to use an interpreter otherwise.
but as for riyo’s case, she still fumbles a lil in english so i think it’s not that bad.
zuleyka, on the other hand, can speak confidently. that’s conniving :p then again i guess i’m just biased. never really liked her.
to manilastud: i think miss philippines this year is not as strong a contender compared to the previous year, whom i believe should be entitled to a top 15 placing.
this year’s one looks pretty like a plain Jane to me, at least not with that hair or red gown she wore at the finals. last year’s candidate was striking n stunning
I don’t get why people say that Brazil and Venezuela are the only one that had the real beauties. Maybe youre just saying that because you like latina’s beauty but you cant just look at it like that. You have to appreciate other culture beauties too. But my opinion is that Miss USA and Miss Korea are the most beautiful. I have nothing against Japan but and I think she deserves her title but she was not my favorite at all.
I also think that Miss Philippines was beautiful. When she received her awar i was like wow she should’ve placed at least Top 15.
And about Miss Korea, she was one of my favorite but when I found out she had a nose job wow! DOnt telll me that its just a nose job because it makes a whole lot of difference imagine her with an ugly nose, she wouldnt look that beautiful as she is now! I thought plastic surgery was not allowed. somebody explain me that! Miss USA was definitely beautiful. I love her!
She Really deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!
Her look is a result of pastic surgeries. A typical Japanese does not look like her. But then again, most Japanese, women and men alike, get their nose and eyes done. So I suppose that is the typical look.
Leonardo,
this is for you!!! not everyone has the same taste in women. some prefer latinas, some prefer white, and some prefer asians. you would leave with the brazilian babe, but not me. count me out. i rather go with miss japan, thailand, or korea. brazilian women are hairy, especially when they don’t shave their legs. you can’t tell if you’re rubbing a woman’s or a man’s leg in bed.
latina supremacy in beauty is over!!! get real and move on. it’s time for something new!!! i’m tired of seeing puerto rico and venezuela winning. women from these two countries look the same every year in the contest.
you are a prisoner of your own home, that’s why you think latinas are the most beautiful women on earth. you need to travel more. there are beautiful women in every corner of the world. get real and get moving!!!
For you all!!!!!!
the term “Oriental” is used to refer to people from the middle-east such as iraq, iran, etc. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, vietnamese, etc are not Orientals. They are Asians!!!!
Not every Hispanic is a Latino and Not every Mexican is a Hispanic, and not every Hispanic is a Mexican!!!!!!
Leonardo,
are you Mexican? if you are then i think you are as sick and rude as your people in the audience that night during the contest!!! you are one sick scumback and i hope you eat craws and die.
only an idiot like you would think beautiful women must be from south of the US border. Wake up and mess miss japan’s pussy shit!!!! maybe you can mix her pussy shit with you cocao drink or corona or tanquila. ciao!!!
it’s for you again, Leonardo!!!!!!!
are you Mexican? if you are then i think you are as sick and rude as your people in the audience that night during the contest!!! you are one sick scumback and i hope you eat craws and die.
only an idiot like you would think beautiful women must be from south of the US border. Wake up and smell miss japan’s pussy shit!!!! maybe you can mix her pussy shit with your cocao drink or corona or tanquila. ciao!!!
i’m from Italy and i hate latinas!!! they are hairy on the legs and face and all over their body. i guess Taziano was right when he said that mexican women look like men!!!!!
TO YOU ALL,
STOP USING THE TERM “ORIENTAL” TO REFER TO PEOPLE FROM CHINA, JAPAN, THAILAND, THE PHILIPINES, VIETNAM, SINGAPORE, INDIA, ETC. ORIENTAL IS USED FOR PEOPLE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST SUCH AS IRAQ, IRAN, KUWAIT, ETC. PEOPLE FROM THE VERY VERY VERY FAR EAST OF THE ASIA CONTINENT ARE CALLED “ASIANS”
IF I EVER HEARD YOU USE THE TERMN “ORIENTAL” TO DESCRIBE JAPANESE OR CHINESE, ETC, I WILL SHOVEL IT RIGHT BACK IN YOUR THROAT THEN SLAP YOUR MOUTH AND SEAL IT FOREVER!!!.
Well the scores were shown everywhere. But Star world which aired the show in many countries had its logo in front of the scores.. Well I also agree with same question idea. But I feel Korea performed better than Japan in evening gown. Japan cracked it due to the novelty gown and grace. I would also say that no experts please for picking semifinalists. Trust your prelim judges and see.. people are gonna crib in any case.. so why not let them be and do thing fairly…. also eliminate photogenic voting.. Michael’s favorite Tere dint deserve it…
night hider, orientals are referred to far eastern ppl; i.e china, korea, japan and taiwan, and descendants from that region, not referred to middle eastern.
Civ 1978,
You are wrong!!!!! Oriental is referred to people from the Middle-east. Go to asia and call yourself oriental and people will think you’re from Iraq, Iran, or Lebanon. Ask anyone from china, japan, thailand etc if they’re oriental and they’ll think you’re blind. you american people always mistaken other people for something else. For example, your vice president Dick Chiney mistook his old friend for a quail during a hunt in Texas. Now that’s truely blind!!!
KURARA CHIBANA is the winner of many people’s hearts in 2006 and still is today…
There are so many people who still can’t get over her loss last year (Just do a Google Blog search on Kurara Chibana and read the comments on related Youtube videos).
Although Miss Japan wins this year, I can’t help but consider this 50% of success was influenced by Kurara Chibana’s near-winning in 2006. If not for the publicity which Kurara had generated (with her personality and great intellect) without any recent major predecessor or influences since 2003’s Miss Japan who also made into the Top 5, I think Riyo Mori wouldn’t have the benefit of having the judges’ and audiences’ predisposed attention this year.
I mean it’s all about karma and sub-conscious factors, which perhaps can be defined along the line of “subliminal influences†and “rippling effectsâ€. Because people are still so charmed by Kurara Chibana’s endearing personality, linguistic and intellectual abilities from last year that they would naturally take a great interest in this year’s Miss Japan, and see if the standard is still there or even better.
Although I am not in a position to comment about who is better, I could probably and boldly concur that Kurara Chibana is an embodiment of what a 21st century Asian female should be – Western and Asian knowledge, Asian women’s strong and independent personality, great sense of style and beauty, and not forgetting a burning passion in one’s life.
After all, how many Miss Universes could we remember for their great personalities and beauty even years after they have won and passed on the crown? I don’t think there’s many to count on fingers.
For a 1st Runner Up like Kurara Chibana who is still unforgotten in some audiences’ minds and still greatly appreciated a year after, I guess this could probably be seen as the next highest level a Miss Universe finalist can go.
Because after the one year Miss Universe reign, what the ladies have got left are their personalities and individual qualities to help them in their future careers and lives, not the 250K crown or sash. More so, if we are more interested in a Miss Universe Runner-up instead of the actual winner, can we still say Kurara Chibana has lost?
From an alternative point of view, perhaps by not winning the title has made Kurara truly and even more unforgettable in the audiences’ hearts. Although it is still early to say, but thoughout the next decade or so, when people mention Miss Japan or Miss Universe 2006, I’m pretty sure Kurara’s name will pop up followed by praises and appreciative comments.
I’m not a Japanese. I’m not speaking for Japan.
I’m just speaking from a human’s point of view.
If years after 2006, we could still recall that charming and passionate Kurara Chibana in our hearts, perhaps that’s the kind of quality a Miss Universe titleholder should have. For Kurara to have embodied that quality, she not only has already surpassed the status of a Miss Universe winner but has also gone the way of truly being a gorgeous legend in people’s hearts.
Yours truly,
C’est Moi.
I think that Riyo Mori is a wonderful selection. And Brazil as #2 is awesome, too. I would not have chosen Miss USA as a top 5 and instead would have given it to Nicaragua, Mexico, or Tanzania. I was surprised that some of the powerhouses, such as Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Canada did not get into the top 15. I was also very surprised at Czech Rep and Denmark marking the top 15. Miss Aruba and Miss Italy were phenomenal.
All of you non-asians, pls stop. Just use your political maps in labelling us Asians if you don’t research in google.
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night hider, where are u from? im asian, and still living here. anyway, ur wrong. easiest way, search the word “oriental” in yahoo/google and see what comes out and what it refers to. stop pretending to know everything. and the word could be offensive, so might as well stop using it.
The Mexican crowd booed, not because MIss USA made it to the top 5, but because they are just plain rude. They’re the ones who need to wake up and smell the coffee. They did the same thing thing in 1993 to then Miss USA Kenya Moore. So hopefully Trump’s mistake of holding it there won’t repeat itself. Maybe Mexico will become angry enough that they’ll pull their delegate. Then if we’re really lucky they’ll start sneaking across someone else’s border !!!!!
I didn’t think Japan was the most beautiful and certainly not the most glamarous. Brazil and Venezuela had those qualities with Korea and USA right on their heels. I’m certain she’ll do a great job but won’t go down as one of the most beautiful….and whether some people like it or not, it is a beauty pageant. And correction to the note above who referred to this as MS. Universe. It has always been and hopefully will always be MISS Universe. If you can’t take that honey start your own !!
Civ,
you’re a sucker!!!! i live in Canada and i know we don’t use the term “oriental”. why don’t you mistake your stupid president for a pig!!!
Pave the way for “oriental” women??? We aren’t rugs!! “Asian” is for people, “oriental” is for rugs, food, and decor!!! ASIAN women!