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Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

Discussion in 'Hinatazaka46 Graduated Members' started by ForrestFuller, May 11, 2016.

  1. kyuudere

    kyuudere Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Aug 29, 2015
    Location:
    Indonesia
    Memi-chan's showroom today


    if the video does not show watch the video here
     
  2. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    If you thought Memi-tan was going to be some cute little nothing, shy and retiring, her and other Hiraganas' blog posts should change your mind. Have a look at the pictures in Takase Mana's blog here.
     
  3. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    As predicted by many -- but not believed by me -- Memi-tan centred the Hiraganas' first performance on Saturday at the Nagoya handshake event. She was a double centre with Nagahama Neru.

    I'm beginning to think the youngest Hiragana may become almost as important to that group as the youngest member of the original group is to K46: Hirate Yurina. I still have no idea how well Memi-tan can sing or dance, but her personality seems fairly strong, from what we see in photos, in blogs, and in the couple of videos we have. And she is not actually that short. She will probably stretch up like Techi, as time goes on. I'm beginning to think of her as The Young Queen.

    Here are a couple of photos from the weekend, when all the Hiraganas were crowned with flowers. First, with the second-youngest member of the Hiraganas, Kageyama Yuuka. Memi (left) says her dress is by Ank Rouge:

    mobXnpNrX_600web.jpg

    Now with her close friend Katou Shiho, who says that when they're not together, she suffers a feeling of "Kakizaki loss". Memi is 14 and in third-year middle school, Katoshi is 18 and in first-year university.

    mobE3kwjC_600web.jpg

    Here's Katoshi sleeping on Memi's lap:

    sub-member-4120_Z600web.jpg

    One peculiarity of Memi-tan's appearance is her sharp canine teeth. Perhaps she's a vampire queen. We shall see.

    Ch8E7MKUUAMrbBE_Zweb.jpg

    EDIT: Here's a blog post with more photos and more details.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2016
  4. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    I've been able to make a link to the part of Neru's Showroom appearance ten days ago where they play the Hiraganas' song with a video showing them in training. Sarina, Mana, and Memi are the three who most struck me in that video. Sarina's precise twirl; Mana's serious singing; and Memi's playing around with Kumi and then abandoned dancing. I think she said once on Showroom that she was good at sports.
     
  5. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi-tan proved again a few hours ago on Showroom that she is a natural idol. Young, hesitant, but totally forthcoming and confident in dealing with fans. And clearly still on a high from her debut. The praise and affection that poured in to her in Showroom messages did nothing to dampen her spirits. Here is the first part of her session, to give you an idea of who this person is. You'll be seeing a lot of her in the next few years:



    She said was nervous before her first handshake session last weekend, but was happy to discover that she enjoyed it a lot. People were kind and she could talk with them. She wished she could answer every question, but couldn't find the words. She will try to get better at that.

    She said she will wear a yukata at the next handshake event in a week and a half, and the fans were thrilled. She accepted congratulations that her lane at Chiba two weeks after that had sold out. When people congratulated her on being double centre with Neru for the performance last weekend, however, she deflected the praise and said that she still had to improve her singing and dancing. She said "Neru-san" told her a lot. She said she admired all the members of Keyakizaka46, but especially "Yurina-san."

    Her Showroom session was a total success. She got around 15,000 viewers in her hour on the air -- the highest total of any of the members -- and the time went quickly for her and for the viewers. Amid the showers of stars, roses, darumas, etc., fans gifted her on-screen, there came one Tokyo Tower, which cost the giver almost $100.

    In fact, Memi was not the only natural idol this Showroom series gave us: Takase Mana actually smiled, sang along beautifully to various songs from the CD, and was easy and very natural with fans. Sasaki Kumi, with her long face and mature manner, was easy, natural and personable. Ushio Sarina's little smile was engaging, her high voice was sweet rather than shrill, and her moving around as she sat there helped confirm she loves to dance. Takamoto Ayaka was just as nice and vivid as always. And Katou Shiho was funny and quirky and charming, even before the accident that showed us her messy room and made her weep, eliciting messages of love from her fans.

    Since I had seen photos of out-of-town Hiragana members together in "roomwear," I suspected they had now moved into the dorm, and that we would see different backgrounds for member such as Memi-tan and Mana. This did not happen. Posts on 2channel say that they only spend the weekends in Tokyo, and that is why Showroom sessions are done during the week. Whether this will change in the fall, I have no idea.
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2016
  6. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    The first 20 minutes of Memi-tan's 0818 Showroom, with English subtitles:



    If you don't quite get her appeal, maybe this will help. She seems more and more confident and happy as the weeks go by, and expresses herself pretty directly. Her set-up gives her an advantage: she can read viewers' comments pretty well, it appears, and seems to be looking into the camera when she is looking at the screen. She doesn't seem nervous at all, and just calmly watches the comments go by until there is something she wants to say. Her reactions seem honest and immediate, flickering across her face as she reads the comments.

    She and Techi couldn't be more different in style, but they share a relaxed confidence that seems amazing in people so young, facing an adult world. I only hope she ends up being able to perform half as well as Techi.

    EDIT: Go to "HD" and change the quality if the stream you get is too blurry.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2016
  7. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    On Monday, Memii (the nickname Katoshi seems to be using thee days) will appear alone in Weekly Playboy. Can't say I'm thrilled about a 14-year-old being in that mag, but I said the same about Techi, so at least there's a precedent. She appears to be in twintails in both features, a style she specifically said on her recent Showroom broadcast that she didn't think suited her. That was probably after doing the photo-shoots. Playboy cover first (Memii is near the lower right-hand corner), then some off-shots from a shoot that is in the current UTB mag:

    wpid-BT274LU.jpg mobxVAfEp_001.jpg sub-member-4636_jpg.jpg mobhJYOLC.jpg mobUzDtP8.jpg mobYU2xKV.jpg

    Playboy cover. Memii. Memii and Katoshi. Manafi, Memii, Gumi. Mamii and Gumi pretending to fight, then showing their true feelings.

    EDIT: I just checked, and it was a ponytail she said she didn't like, not twintails.
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2016
  8. MasToppu

    MasToppu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2016
    Location:
    Nusantara
    Oshimen:
    Kosaka Nao
    Memi's gravure

    Cq9qJ6GUIAEwQNe.jpg Cq9qJjSUIAEGO89.jpg Cq9qVVUVIAAaFws.jpg Cq9qUt_UAAQf_W_.jpg
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 29, 2016
  9. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Thanks, @MasToppu.

    Here she is in her yukata from Sunday's handshake event:

    sub-member-4718_02_jpg.jpg mobqvCzLF.jpg mobKO4LTU.jpg mobNSwqIa.jpg mobtKDagr.jpg mob8QAkke.jpg
    Memi-Katoshi-Mana; Memi; Memi with flowers given her at handshake event; Memi-Katoshi; Memi-MeiMei ("we are always laughing"); Memi in a dress she says he likes.

    Here's a screencap from the preview for next week's KeyaKake, with Hiragana Keyaki members arranged in Japanese alphabetical order. Memi may be young, but she is not particularly small or shy. (front: Neru, Iguchi Mao, Ushio Sarina, Memi, Kageyama Yuuka, Katou Shiho. back: Saitou Kyouko, Sasaki Kumi, Sasaki Mirei, Takase Mana, Takamoto Ayaka, Higashimura Mei.

    5f08ca66.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2016
  10. jujuchuu

    jujuchuu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2014
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    I translated the new B.L.T. interview with all 12 members of Hiragana Keyaki, We are Hiraganakeyaki, Nice to Meet You!

    The first part of the interview is dedicated to Neru, but the rest of it interviews all the Hiraganas!
    You can read it here!

    tumblr_ocld96pZpj1tsk04no5_1280.jpg
     
  11. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    There's an interview to go with Memi's Playboy photos. I'm not sure it's in the magazine, but it is on the web. Here's a translation. Turns out she is the head of her school's Art Club and the secretary of the student council. As well as being the second-fastest girl in the school, and drafted onto the relay team every year. And despite her current girliness, as a kid she preferred to climb trees with the boys.

    Now if she can only learn to sing and dance.... Lol.

    Sasaki Kumi's blog post today is really cute. She says that she's posting these pics to lure people into reading her blog. It was raining during the typhoon, but Memi wheedled her into going out. They spent time cruising secondhand clothing stores, and in the end, says Kumi, it was lots of fun. Here are three photos. First, "Tsuntsun Memi avoiding me. Me grinning."

    sub-member-4759_01_600w.jpg

    Then: "Memi drenched from the typhoon."

    sub-member-4759_02_600w.jpg

    And finally, from the handshake event: "Adorable Memi."

    sub-member-4759_jpg.jpg

    It looks as if Katoshi has a rival for Memi's affection. Techi rules the Kanjis by being so darn good at everything, and so intense and hard-working and thinking of the group. Maybe Memi will rule the Hiraganas by making them all fall in love with her pure infantile cuteness. Lol.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2016
  12. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi has posted some offshots from the Playboy photo shoot. She says she had a post ready on Monday, but apologized that it somehow didn't get uploaded. She marveled that they gave her four pages, and said how happy it made her. She said she got a copy of the magazine herself, but seeing her pictures was embarrassing.

    One of the shots is of her sprawled on the ground writing something. She shows that it was practicing the hiragana "me" from her name, and says, quite rightly, that she finally drew a really good one (the last one in the middle of column five on the page). She says the school uniform they provided her with was cute and she liked it.

    mob1jBx9c.jpg mobIZuy0b.jpg mobTSvuxd.jpg mobwYcX2g.jpg

    EDIT: In today's blog post, Memi says she loves UVERworld, went to their concert in Nagano and cried. Especially likes Narubeki Katachi and All Alone.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2016
  13. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

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    Mar 29, 2016
  14. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Today Memi posted off-shots from a Young Jump photo-session. And then I found the magazine, which came out this week. The photos there aren't much, but I may translate the interview, if this summary isn't enough.

    In it, she says she used to be embarrassed by her sharp teeth, but when fans told her they liked them and they reminded them of a vampire, she was happy, and followed their advice to call them a "charm point." She had a period when she particularly admired "vampires and things like that", she says. Chuunibyou? She also mentions being infatuated with gothic lolita clothing, after a store specializing in it opened up in Nagano. But she was never brave enough to actually wear it, and settled for some frills instead. She has wanted to be a doll since she was little, and the elegantly dressed "French dolls" she now likes are just the latest ideal. In elementary school she did a little rhythmic gymnastics, and then some dance later, but she was never very good at either. However, she enjoys the movement in the Keyakizaka46 dance training, and being together with the other members. Told that Katoshi said Memi bullied her, and asked why she did it, she said because it was fun. Asked if she was really "S," she thought for a moment and then agreed that she guessed that was true.

    I guess I'm just happy that my interpretations of her character -- or at least how she is presenting it -- are so far proving true. Cute but dangerous. She may be easier to like at a great distance, lol. Although the older members of Hiragana don't seem to mind her antics. It will be interesting to see how this plays out: she seems so totally unlike Techi, the other "youngest member as centre." Maybe just as confident, but apparently less mature.

    She says it was her first photo-session and she was terribly nervous. She looks it. Offshots and magazine pages:

    mobPGugde.jpg mob2upbEp.jpg 309 (2).jpg 310 (2).jpg 311 (2).jpg

    She loved wearing the high-school-style uniform and says she always wanted to wear a uniform with a white cardigan.
     
  15. arvinbfg90000

    arvinbfg90000 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 7, 2012
    Oshimen:
    inoueyuriya
    This girl kinda reminds me of Inoue Yuriya from HKT.

    I found my Hiragana Keya oshi :cute:
     
  16. jujuchuu

    jujuchuu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2014
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    [​IMG]

    Memi will have a double gravure with Shiho in next month's MARQUEE Vol.117 (10th of October release date)
     
    • Like Like x 1
  17. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Lol. You beat me to it. I was waiting for you to get the larger size. I guess this is just the beginning of Memi becoming many magazines' dress-up doll. I'm waiting for the gothic lolita effect, to say nothing of the classic lolita (two styles she has specifically said she likes, right?). And Shiho will be in demand, too, I suspect.
     
  18. jujuchuu

    jujuchuu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2014
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    Yes, for sure both of them will get a lot of magazine work. I'm predicting some Larme (fashion magazine) work as well for both since I think they fit into that magazine's aesthetic.

    I noticed that Memi in particular already pulls a lot of model-like expressions in her photoshoots so I think her modeling career could potentially take off rather soon!
     
  19. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi finds a four-leaf clover (two of them, actually). Blog post with pics and a bit of translation.

    mobx1nNkR_640w.jpg

    Her luck makes me think of Neru's -- and there they are (so far) as co-centres of Hiragana Keyaki.
     
  20. oscar6262

    oscar6262 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2013
    wow those outfits are cool! did Hiragana performed with Sekai?
     

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