[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

well you say that, but actually a lot of the "Rebel" image keyaki has right now actually comes from the members themselves, as in they are really a "rebel" that hates adult. some examples are Shida who has been in quite a lot of problem in her school, Neru and Yone who were rebelling from their own parent just to join the group, and hell even Techi openly stated that she hated adult and school. so saying that the "rebel" image is just for marketing is not completely accurate.

well the bond between the members are very strong, so that helped, but i'd say this, when the senbatsu started to change (which probably gonna be next single) then we could see probably see some disturbance in the bond. and one member that stick out to me that probably going to graduate when that disturbance happen is Yone and maybe Uemu. but i don't know, its just a hunch.......

 

I'd put money on Yone being the first graduate as well simply because she values her education so much. She seems like the type to pick school over work if the two ever clashed. But thankfully according to Shi-chan Keyaki management is very accommodating to their schooling so it may never be a problem.

 

One thing's sure, they won't leave because they are unsatisfied with their experience.

I really hope they will leave when they feel a chapter of their life has turned and they want to move on, after fulfilling all they wanted as an idol.

If we accept new generation within the group, we must accept graduation as well

 

I can see that happening, but I also think that she, as Misa when she entered Nogi, needs a few more years to reach her peak sexiness lol

 

but hinachima is just so sexy... she is 19 yo. tho

 

That's 5 years past legal in West Virginia.

Spoiler

Sorry West Virginia, but I couldn't pass up the joke.

 

Well, still better than trashing certain girl by saying "oh she'll have no problem doing that kind of thing" just because she's your least favorite member.
I'd like to assume they're at some level still concerned about doing that kind of thing. Innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around Sherlock.

 

Hi there, long time idol first time venturing into the Keyakizaka section, so i have a question that has come to my mind lately because the answer hasn't come to me. But i have to wonder. What is Hirate Yurina's appeal with so many fans?

Now this might get me a lot of answers with rolled eyes so i should probably explain myself first. I have been a fan of the 48 groups for almost a 8 years now and to be honest i've been losing steam after year 4. So much that when they announced the creation of NGT and Keyakizaka i didn't even bother trying to get to know and mainly just carried on for putting my energy mainly to SKE. However another thing that has developed from me is a love for idol variety shows. I usually like watch their simple formats and don't mind watching them for any group. So when i believe over half a year ago when 'good enough subs" started subbing keyakizaka's variety show, i eventually started watching it whenever i wanted to kill time, and that started my only window peering into the group known as Keyakizaka46. I didn't know any of the members, i never listened to any of their songs and wasn't an oshi to anyone, but i was watching their show. In any case after half a year of it, I have begun to recognize faces, started remembering a few names and just got the general vibe for the group. But recently for ske reasons i was looking up the rankings for this years stage48 member of the year contest and saw again that top keyakizaka member at 4th place was Hirate Yurina, thing was i had no idea who she was, so i looked her up and found out she was the center of the group and quite loved by the fans, but i didn't recognize her. So i thought that maybe she was just someone who was too busy and never appeared on the show, so i backtracked and found that she has been on plenty of episodes that i had seen. I eventually realized that this girl simply never made an impression on me at all so i never remembered afterall this time. The thing is i am atleast aware now that she does have a growing fanbase and is very well loved, so its leading me to ask "did i miss something"?

So going back to my original question up top. What is Hirate Yurina's appeal with so many fans? Cause i honestly have no freaken clue.

 

Techi is not really the best member in terms of variety skill, and she doesn't want to overshadow other members, which is why she decides to hold back in shows so the other members can get the screen time and opportunity.

She's also a good performer and a strong center. She was one of the reasons Saimajo could blow up that big, catching people's attention both from MV and from their performance. And she continues to do so.

Then there's the gap.
She can look so cool, strong, fierce when performing Fukyouwaon but at the same time in radio / shows she can very cute, laughing so much at jokes, and being shy and embarrassed.

People might also be drawn by how "mysterious" she is, how she hides her past from before she joined Keyaki.

They can also feel that Techi shares their feelings, of being frustrated by adults, how troublesome school is, both what Techi herself feels or the one she expressed through Keyaki songs like Saimajo and Fukyouwaon.

 

I'm not sure if you can find answers here, but i've talked about yurina : http://gocchisama.tumblr.com/post/159303425850/nadeshiko-glass-cannon-story-of-hirate-yurina

 

"Even having cried and been hurt by countless troubles and worries, this captain still smiles and trusts in the future of Keyakizaka46."

We translated Yuuka's BUBKA interview
wts

It's a long interview, but it's worth the read. You can see that through trial and errors, Yuuka is growing to be a good captain.

 

Watch their live performances or MVs, I think you'll get your answer

 

That's exactly the bias Im talking about in your first post. For some reason they're "guilty" of wanting to do gravure, as if it is a bad thing.

 

I don't think there's anything dreadfully wrong about somewhat revealing gravure, but if it were your sister, would you think it was a good thing or a bad thing? Making a living by showing people your body can have bad associations. Various points of view about this can all be valid. Personally, I hold more than one point of view at the same time, lol. I do agree that it's possible for a member herself to want to do this, and we have to remember that all of these girls intentionally entered an idol group, and can be presumed to like to have people look at them (even Techi, lol). One other aspect of these books is, I think, that they are directly profitable for the subject.

I think @too much idea and @gocchisama give good info on the subject. Performance -- and intensity of performance -- are key. And her image of resistance appeals to people, especially to Japanese high-school students.

I'd add that because her style differs so much from most other top idols, at first it may be difficult for an actual idol fan to see her strengths. She does not do many traditional idol things, and is certainly not a great fanservicey handshaker. Her strengths are in her ability to communicate a song, in her general intensity, and in that wide gap to her normal-girl cuteness. Also, there is something natural about her, unforced, not smiling on cue or trying to sell anything, but just being herself...until she gets on stage, a switch flips, and she transforms. I have to mention her dancing, as well, which may not be any more precise than some other people's, but is extremely spirited and expressive. (Silent Majority, Kataru nara Mirai wo..., Fukyouwaon, Kaze ni Fukaretemo....).

I've always enjoyed Keyakitte, Kakenai?, so I'm glad you can enjoy it even without knowing the group's work that well. Some people have criticized it as boring, but that has never been my feeling about it at all.

 

If she is an idol and wants to do gravure? I wouldn't care either way. But that person is assuming they don't want to do it, probably because it fits their narrative of pure innocent girls being forced into showing their bodies for the pleasure of men. Because apparently saying "that member wants to do that" = "trashing a member for doing that kind of thing", as if that "kind of thing" is something to look down on.

 

Aren't you talking about Shimazaki Haruka?

 

I don't know if I've heard "Shimazaki Haruka" and "intensity" used in the same sentence.

If you've only ever seen Hirate in variety, especially if its only from the time GEES started subbing regularly, then you probably wouldn't get much of any impression from Hirate. She's not a variety member at all and even when she's on variety she rarely gets any attention, unlike other "non-variety" popular members in other groups who still get featured a lot in variety episodes they appear in (like Nishino, Paruru, etc.). She actively avoids attention.

Hirate's appeal comes from performances, both live and in music videos. She has a certain undeniable charisma that other idols don't have.

 

All right everyone, thank you for answering my question and while i think i understand why Hirate is liked by as many as she is, even if i myself haven't been awoken to that appealing factor of her it does help me understand a little better.

Also just hoping for some clarification. Did Yurina herself state that she holds back for the other members on variety show? Or is that currently just that fan speculation made by everyone right now?

 

I don't think she's stated it like that. I think her holding back "for other members" is just speculation. I think its equally likely that she just hates variety and feels like she doesn't have to put any effort in it since she's such an integral part of the group. In truth, I don't think Hirate really likes being an idol. I think she'd much rather be seen as an artist than an idol. I also think being center is a heavy burden on her and management doesn't want to have her feel burdened further, since she's so important to them, by pushing her to do variety when she doesn't want to.

Also, she can be very moody and temperamental. If you go back to around December of last year and watch not just variety but also music show appearances and things like that you can see a change in Hirate's character. In older Keyakitte she was pretty bright and cheery but around that time her disposition gets a lot darker. There was a video back in December I think where they were getting interviewed and Hirate didn't even hide the fact that she just REALLY did not want to be there. Ever since then she's been more moody and shadowy so to speak. Lots of frowning and blank stares. But she does have a radio show that she does where she's energetic and talkative so I think its really just that she doesn't like variety or being on music shows.

But Hirate is huge for Keyaki because she's really been the driving force behind Keyaki's image. Keyaki as a whole has a much darker, rebellious vibe than other idol groups and Hirate really is the epitome of that. That's why she's so popular and important to fans despite not having much variety exposure.

 

Its mostly fan speculation but not entirely unfounded.
(But iirc in the past, I beleive she had expressed distress over the amount of attention that she's getting)

Just that fans saw in varieties the stark contrast between her last year, and the her at present.

She used to be the jolliest member, laughing unreservely at the silliest of jokes, and is proactive in engaging the MCs, whereas most of the members were still unsure how to project and are somewhat awkward.

Though, said cheerfulness might have been brought by her youth at that time (14y/o)

Regarding Keyakitte Kakenai, I recommend viewing the following for reference
Episode 3 & 5(her introduction), Episode 26-27 (1st single promotion)

Keyabingo1 too
(In the BTS, Bingo staff have compiled all of Techi's laughs. This, in myopinion probably contributed some resentment in Techi towards Bingo staff; which can be clearly seen in latter seasons)

As per @Navicon46's recommendation, see (iirc) 161211 Shibuya Note (シブヤノオト) interview with Naomi Watanabe, or the other video below me