Mai Hagiwara is argued to be the greatest idol in the world based on her attitude, talents, and popularity. She is the youngest member of Hello! Project Kids, known for having a strong personality as shown when she jokingly pushed the leader of C-ute away at age 11. While not all C-ute members have the same level of popularity, Mai's singing and dancing skills improve constantly. Her voice is identifiable and enjoyable to listen to. There is also evidence from C-ute themselves and Mai's respect within Hello! Project that support her status as the greatest idol.

1. When I was asked to write this article, I thought, and realized that there isn’t a single reason Hagiwara Mai isn’t The Greatest Idol In The World. I figured it will pretty much write itself, at this point. So first off, to explain to those who may not have the greatest idea of who Mai actually is, she has a few traits that make her stand out within Hello!Project. One, she’s the youngest member of the Hello!Project Kids, and the rest of H!P excluding the Eggs. And two, well, she’s the cutest and best, period. Another fun fact that Musume fans may like to know to help identify and relate is that she and Aika have a self-proclaimed great friendship, and a few blog posts on Aika’s UFA blog would only help to add sufficiency to this claim. The first of many notable reasons that attribute to Mai’s status as The Greatest Idol In The World is her attitude. For a long time, since they were still known as Hello!Project Kids and not C-ute and Berryz Koubou respectively, she has had quite a mouth on her. Some would call this a bad thing, I however couldn’t find it more adorable and awesome. Example, there is literally nothing more kickass than watching an 11 year old MaiMai push the 16 year old leader of C-ute, Maimi, away from her jokingly while firmly asserting to her, “Don’t speak to me like you’re my sister” JUST after her and Chisato poured sugar into her lunch and filmed her while she ate it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a47KFfN7K-k). Seriously, is there anything more awesome? C-ute is well-known for having 2 very popular members, Airi and Maimi, and the rest (not a suggested term to use to refer to them, by the way lol), Saki, Mai, Chisato, Erika, (Kanna R.I.P), being moderately popular and not having as many lines and exposure. But it’s not to say they are any less worthy, because it is also well-known how well Chisato can sing or how well Nakki can dance. So out of this shell, also comes Mai. I will still, and always, hold to my opinion (my opinion is fact, if you haven’t already noticed) that Mai’s singing and dancing improves massively and consistently with each passing day. Even without having the best vocals within the Kids her voice is one of the most dominant and identifiable, and to me the most enjoyable to listen to. If you have the chance, go listen to her performances from the Kids second solo event where she sang Goto Maki’s “Ai no Bakayarou”, one of my favorite performances ever. There is unending evidence for Mai’s superiority and status of The Greatest Idol In The World, if you won’t take my word for it (diaf), how about listening to C-ute themselves? She is very commonly referred to as the little sister character of H!P and is well-respected and this only further calls attention to her adorable-ness. On a more serious note, Erika is graduating this fall and I always loved the Mai Erika interaction we get in backstage/making of/extra footage and I hope they stay friends despite the separation and continue making memories together. I wish my words even got close to describing efficiently how amazing and perfect Mai actually is, but this will have to do for now. To my bros down in Mog, Mika, Monly, miya, dfsa, Rip, chill yo, her nose is a charm point. Mai is here to stay, so we might as well secure her status as The Greatest Idol In The World now~