Makino Maria

"Ten years from now, I hope I'll be the leader of Morning Musume. I'm a big fan of Michishige Sayumi. I want to devote myself to Morning Musume like she did."

- Makino Maria, November 2015

Makino Maria (牧野真莉愛) is a Japanese pop singer under Hello! Project as a twelfth generation member of Morning Musume. She first joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello Pro Kenshuusei on November 1, 2012 and was introduced at Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2012 ~12gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~.

Early Life
Makino Maria was born on February 2, 2001 in Aichi, Japan.

In summer 2011, Makino auditioned the Morning Musume 10ki Member "Genki Jirushi" Audition, but failed to enter the group.

2012
In summer 2012, Makino auditioned the Morning Musume 11ki Member "Suppin Utahime" Audition, made it to the finals, but failed to enter the group.

On November 1, Makino joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei. On November 20, it was officially announced that Makino joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei alongside five other girls. She was officially introduced on December 9 at the Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2012 ~12gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~ alongside Kanazawa Tomoko, Kaga Kaede, Wada Sakurako, Ichioka Reina and Kishimoto Yumeno.

2013
In January, Makino started her Kenshuusei activities by participating as a back-dancer in the Winter 2013 Hello! Project concert tour.

On March 6, a fanclub event was held for Makino and Ichioka Reina at Pacific Heaven venue. Hamaura Ayano, Ogawa Rena and Yamagishi Riko also participated the event as guests.

2014
From April 5 to June 29, Makino participated in ℃-ute's Spring 2014 Concert Tour as the opening act and challenge act alongside Hamaura Ayano, Murota Mizuki, Yamagishi Riko and Fujii Rio.

On September 30, during the Morning Musume '14 concert tour at Nippon Budokan, it was announced that Makino was selected to join Morning Musume as a 12th generation member along with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki and fellow Hello Pro Kenshuusei member Haga Akane, subsequently leaving Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

2015
On January 8, she began a weekly column in the Nikkan Sports newspaper (Hokkaido-region only), where she discusses her favorite baseball team the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

On March 7, she was offered the opportunity to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Nippon Ham Fighters vs. Seibu Lions game at Tokyo Dome on April 7.

On March 24, Makino released her first solo e-Hello! Blu-ray, Greeting ~Makino Maria~.

On November 14, Makino released her first mini photobook, titled Makino Maria Mini Photobook "Greeting -Photobook-", featuring photographs taken during the filming of her e-Hello! Blu-ray.

2016
On February 2, Makino celebrated her 15th birthday at a special event titled Morning Musume '16 Makino Maria Birthday Event, featuring two performances at IMA Hall in Tokyo.

Personal Life
Family= Makino is an only child. When Makino joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei in November 2012, she was a 6th year elementary school student. When Makino joined Morning Musume in September 2014, she was a second year middle school student.
 * -|Education=

In elementary school, Makino was a member of her elementary school's basketball club and Invention club. In 2014, during Makino's second year in middle school, she was second place in her school's sports festival 200m run.

As of April 2015, she is currently attending her third year of middle school. Makino is 1-kyu certified in swimming.
 * -|Sports=

The following list are notable friendships Makino Maria has acquired:
 * -|Friendships=
 * Takeuchi Akari: Makino gets along well with ANGERME member Takeuchi Akari. They are both a huge fan of baseball.
 * Kishimoto Yumeno: She is good friends with Tsubaki Factory member Kishimoto Yumeno. Both became friends since the Morning Musume 11th Generation Audition. During her time in Hello Pro Kenshuusei, she considered Yumeno as her rival within the trainee program.
 * Sasaki Rikako: She is good friends with ANGERME member Sasaki Rikako.
 * Fujii Rio: She also gets along well with Fujii Rio from Kobushi Factory since Hello Pro Kenshuusei.
 * Yamaki Risa: She is close friends with Country Girls member Yamaki Risa since their trainee days.

Makino's given name, "Maria", means true (真), jasmine (莉), and love (愛).
 * -|Name Meaning=

Here is a list of nicknames that have been used to refer to Makino Maria:
 * -|Nicknames=
 * Maria (まりあ): Official nickname, given to her since Hello Pro Kenshuusei. Also used by classmates and family members.
 * Makki (マッキー): Given to her by Tsunku during Morning Musume '14 Concert Tour Aki GIVE ME MORE LOVE ~Michishige Sayumi Sotsugyou Kinen Special~ show at Nippon Budokan on October 1, 2014.
 * Maria-sama (まりあ様/マリア様): Used by fans.
 * Marian LOVErin (まりあん LOVEりん, sometimes stylized as まりあん♡LOVEりん): Created by Makino herself when she performed as a solo act in the Hello! Project Hina Fest 2015. As of late December 2015, Makino has adopted it as a persona accompanied by an original "LOVErin" pose.

Profile
Stats=
 * Name: Makino Maria (牧野真莉愛)
 * Nickname: Maria (まりあ)
 * Birthday:
 * Birthplace: Aichi, Japan
 * Blood type: A
 * Height: 159cm
 * Western Zodiac:
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2012-11-01: Hello Pro Kenshuusei Member
 * 2014-09-30: Morning Musume Member
 * Morning Musume Member Color: 
 * Audition Song: "Seishun Collection"
 * Hello! Project groups:
 * Hello Pro Kenshuusei (2012–2014)
 * Morning Musume (2014-)


 * -|Q&A=
 * See Also: List:Makino Maria Pocket Morning Weekly Q&A & List:Makino Maria Other Q&As


 * Specialty: Ballet, Piano, Penmanship, Painting, Duck Face
 * Hobbies: Professional baseball games, Going to Walt Disney World
 * Motto: "Kokkoshin" (克己心; Spirit of self-denial)
 * Favorite Food: Pizza, Cheese, seedless Kyohou Grapes, peaches.
 * Least favorite food: Squid, spicy food
 * Favorite Subject: English, Art, Engineering
 * Least Favorite Subject: Physical Education
 * Dislikes: Goblins
 * Bad at: Eating food quickly
 * Favorite Color: Pink
 * Favorite Sport: Baseball
 * Favorite Flower: Rose
 * Favorite Season: Winter
 * Favorite Anime/Manga: MAJOR, Kirarin Revolution
 * Favorite Television Programs: Baseball matches, Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, Honoo no Tai ' ikukai TV
 * Favorite Facial Feature: Her teeth.
 * Favorite Body Part: Her beautiful, elongated navel.
 * Favorite Morning Musume song: "Ren'ai Revolution 21", "The☆Peace!", "Happy Summer Wedding"
 * Other Favorite Songs: "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (2011 Dreamusu. Ver)"
 * Recent Morning Musume songs that makes you feel "I want to dance along with them": "Ai no Gundan"
 * What is "Morning Musume" to you?: An eternal dream.
 * Looks Up To: Tanaka Reina, Michishige Sayumi, Hagiwara Mai

Discography

 * See Also: List:Makino Maria Discography Featured In

Solo Blu-rays

 * [2015.03.24] Greeting ~Makino Maria~ (Greeting 〜牧野真莉愛〜)

Solo Photobooks

 * 1) [2015.11.14] Makino Maria Mini Photobook "Greeting -Photobook-"

Magazines

 * [2013.xx.xx] Chara Parfait (with Hamaura Ayano & Sasaki Rikako)
 * [2014.01.23] UTB+ (Vol. 18) (with Hamaura Ayano)
 * [2014.04.23] UTB (with Tanabe Nanami, Hamaura Ayano, Ogawa Rena, Sasaki Rikako)
 * [2014.04.30] Cool-up Girls (with Tanabe Nanami, Taguchi Natsumi, Sasaki Rikako)
 * [2014.07.10] JUNON (with Tanabe Nanami, Hamaura Ayano, Sasaki Rikako, Niinuma Kisora, Danbara Ruru, Funaki Musubu)
 * [2014.07.23] UTB+ (Vol. 21) (with Tanabe Nanami, Hamaura Ayano, Ogawa Rena, Sasaki Rikako)
 * [2014.10.23] UTB (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.11.13] Gravure The Television (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.11.21] Young Gangan (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.11.22] UTB (with Kudo Haruka, Hamaura Ayano, Sasaki Rikako)
 * [2014.11.22] Cool-up Girls (Vol. 4)
 * [2014.11.30] Gekkan Entame (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.12.09] UTB (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.12.09] BOMB (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2014.12.16] Princess Bambina (UTB)
 * [2015.02.06] Top Yell
 * [2015.03.14] Princess Bambina
 * [2015.03.19] OVERTURE (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2015.03.24] B.L.T. (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)
 * [2015.03.24] Pa・League Pia
 * [2015.04.13] Weekly Playboy (with Sayashi Riho, Kudo Haruka)
 * [2015.10.20] Photo Technic Digital (with Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane)

Theater

 * [2015] TRIANGLE
 * [2016] Zoku 11nin Iru! Higashi no Chihei, Nishi no Towa

TV Programs

 * [2014–] The Girls Live

Internet

 * [2014–] Hello! Project Station (ハロ！ステ)

Radio

 * [2015–] Morning Musume '16 12ki Nikki! (モーニング娘. ’16　12期日記！)

Rankings

 * She ranked #3 in Gekkan Entame Magazine's "Best at MC in Hello Pro Kenshuusei".

Trivia

 * She's a fan of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and Tsuyoshi Shinjo.
 * She believes she won't lose to any other member in her support of professional baseball.
 * Her dream was to join Morning Musume, and become an idol like Michishige Sayumi.
 * Michishige Sayumi has said that Maria was her favorite Hello Pro Kenshuusei member.
 * Tsunku said that she looks clever, and said that if she joins Morning Musume, she could be at the front in no time.
 * When she became a Morning Musume member, the first thing she wanted to do was to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.
 * The first Morning Musume song she knew was Seishun Collection.
 * If God could grant her one thing, she would wish to become a beautiful lady like Michishige Sayumi.
 * Kanazawa Tomoko has said that Maria is very funny and the most interesting part about her is that she doesn’t put on much of a character; she’s the same person on stage as she is in the dressing room.
 * She wants to try singing "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (2011 Dreamusu. Ver.)" by Dream Morning Musume.
 * She thinks the best things about joining Hello Pro Kenshuusei were being able to do things she wouldn't normally be able to do and learning alot, and becoming friends with Sasaki Rikako.
 * She thinks the hardest thing about Hello Pro Kenshuusei was getting put in the back row on stage and not being able to see the audience.
 * She sang "The Peace!" for the 2013 test event and "Happy Summer Wedding" for the 2014 test event.
 * She used to be nervous for lessons. She feels like she has only improved in singing and rhythm by a little bit, but she wants to keep getting better, so she listens to the music to find ways to improve.
 * She and Haga Akane are the first members of Morning Musume to be born in the 21st century.
 * Tsunku's comments: "Please get a better sense of the rhythm and details in dancing. You have a look that you give too often where you seem so serious, so it would be good for you to have something individualistic about your self-introduction, or a gag, or a catch-phrase so as to overcome that wall."
 * According to an interview on JUNON Magazine released in July 2014, Makino hoped on getting a pink member color.
 * She works best under pressure.
 * She has bad eyesight, so she has to wear contacts, and sometimes, glasses.
 * She's good at cooking ohagi rice balls, and doing an impression of Donald Duck.
 * She thinks she's a boke.
 * During a prank show, Yoshizawa Hitomi asked her and the rest of the 12th generation who their favorite senior was and while Maria said Michishige Sayumi, the rest of the 12th generation said Hitomi, and later after Hitomi and Tsuji Nozomi left the room, Maria started to cry feeling the other 12th generation members betrayed her.
 * On her blog she said that she and her family often go to Disneyworld in Florida.
 * She is the first member to audition three times for Morning Musume and pass on the third attempt.