Berryz Koubou and C-ute's inevitable fate?

With C-ute members Kanna and Erika leaving/gone it made me really wonder the fate of not just C-ute, but of Berryz Koubou as well.

C-ute has lost two members in the past month. Bringing their well put together and stable seven member group down to just five. Now I thought C-ute looked lacking when Kanna was absent from their last two singles. But I can't even imagine seeing C-ute with Erika gone too. I can't imagine how C-ute is going to come back from this. Kanna and Erika weren't exactly vocal powerhouses, but they were still good singers. As C-ute is now with just five members, they aren't strong enough vocally.

Mai and Chisato are mediocre singers, but Saki is borderline terrible. In my opinion of course. Airi and Maimi will be forced to carry the group even more then they are now. Let's take C-ute's single Bye Bye Bye. It basically shows C-ute's currently line up because Erika only got one solo line anyway. New C-ute will focus on Airi, Maimi, and Mai, with Chisato and Saki as backup. Just like in Bye Bye Bye. However I think this song is really lacking, and I'm also not looking forward to hearing more Saki. They can't distort her voice forever.

I seriously think they should add a few more members to C-ute. It would be the smart thing to do. Kanna was an Egg and everything turned out fine for her. Sure she faded to the background, but if they choose one of the most popular Eggs it could increase C-ute's sales. With C-ute as it is they will fall even further behind the shadow of Berryz Koubou.

Being realistic here, it's pretty safe to assume that new member won't be added to C-ute. But I would still like to know where that leaves C-ute? Is the pull of Airi and Maimi strong enough to keep the heartbroken Erika and Kanna wota?

It might seem like I'm overreacting or thinking way too much here because Morning Musume graduates members all the time. However, Morning Musume also gets fresh new members to replace them months before the actual graduation. But Berryz Koubou and C-ute depend solely on the members they have. Which is why in the entire time they were groups only one member graduated officially, Maiha. And now Erika. And even though it's years away, eventually all the members will want to graduate. Whether it's to continue their studies or find a better career path, within or without H!P.

So what happens to Berryz and C-ute? What happens when the popular members want to leave? They have nothing to fall back on because the Hello Project Kids didn't follow Momusu's design. Which was good for the time, not to be seen as a younger carbon copys of Morning Musume. It's even good for the time being while all the members are young and want to be idols. But what happens when thy get too old? Does C-ute and Berryz Koubou just disappear forever?

I always took this as the Hello Project Kids main design flaw. As it is H!P can't make it without C-ute or Berryz Koubou. Without them they would be left with just Morning Musume, short lived subunits, ManoEri, and S/mileage. Which would be a catastrophe, since Berryz Koubou, C-ute and Buono have almost been surpassing Morning Musume. With the Berryz award in Korea, C-ute in Hawaii, and Momusu's Kohaku snub. They managed to create a following almost as large as Morning Musume's. And when they leave they'll be taking a significant amount of the fanbase with them.

Now, I don't mean to rain on anyone's H!P Kid's parade, but you still have to wonder what's going to happen to them in the future. And if this really is Berryz Koubou's and C-ute inevitable fate. With the H!P Elder Club graduation a few months back, after a certain amount of time they might be forced to break up anyway. To make room for younger solo artists and groups. To keep H!P's newly fresh and young image.