Minimoni

Minimoni ミニモニ。 Shin Minimoni 新ミニモニ。
Minimoni, 2003. (Pictured starting from top left to right) Nozomi Tsuji, Mika Todd, Ai Takahashi and Ai Kago
Background information
Also known as	Minihams, Minimoni to Takahashi Ai, Shin Minimoni
Origin	Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Pop
Years active	2000–2004 2009–2011 (as Shin Minimoni)
Labels	Zetima
Associated acts	Morning Musume, Tanpopo, Coconuts Musume, W (Double You), Baka Tono-sama to Minimoni Hime, S/mileage, Dream Morning Musume
Website	Hello! Project.com
Members	Akari Takeuchi Karin Miyamoto
Past members	Mari Yaguchi Mika(Coconuts Musume) Ai Kago Nozomi Tsuji Ai Takahashi Linlin Kanon Fukuda

Minimoni (ミニモニ。^?) (stylized as "mini-moni.") was a subgroup of the Japanese idol pop girl group Morning Musume, and a later a group within Hello! Project. In 2009, Minimoni was revived as Shin Minimoni (新ミニモニ。^?) and remained active until 2011.

The group was founded in late 2000 by Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi. Together with Morning Musume's songwriter and producer, Tsunku, she selected two new members, Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji and the trio began performing in concerts as Minimoni. American-born Mika Todd from the band Coconuts Musume was later added to the group. Their debut single, "Minimoni Jankenpyon!," was a #1 hit.

The quartet released several singles in 2001 and 2002, with most of these tracks compiled on their first album Minimoni Song Daihyakka Ikkan. Simultaneous to their single releases, the band became the subject of a series of short cartoons, Minimoni Yaru no da Pyon!, voicing their own characters. They also contributed their voices to a string of movies based on the Hamtaro cartoon series, which featured a hamster version of Minimoni known as Minihams. The group released three singles under this name.

In 2002, Mari Yaguchi graduated from Minimoni to take on the leadership of the subgroup ZYX, one of the first Hello! Project groups to incorporate members of the Hello! Project Kids (who would later split into Berryz Kobo and Cute). Ai Takahashi also joined the group, while Mika Todd, took over Yaguchi's place as the band's leader. That same year, all members of Minimoni filmed the movie Minimoni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! (Minimoni The Movie: The Great Cake Adventure), which explained Yaguchi leaving Minimoni and how Takahashi joined the band.