Maeda Atsuko (Acchan) / 1st Generation

I have a few things to say about this:

• First, about Acchan being described "aloof, self-centered, and unpleasant", I would like to know who described her this way? Because she definitely isn't... First, about being "aloof", she had close friendship in AKB from the start, and even when she worked in dramas, she made many friends. She's been close with AKB's 1st gens since 15 years ago, she's friend with the cast of Q10 for 10 years already, she also has other strong friendships. if she was "aloof", she wouldn't have so many close friends and long-time friendships.
• Next, about being "self-centered", let's not forget that this is Acchan who told everyone "you can hate on me but please don't hate on AKB" at the most watched AKB event (the elections), during AKB's peak of popularity. Someone "self-centered" would never say something like this. She put the group above herself. Even now, she accepts to be back in the group for anniversaries, graduations and special events. If anything I find her behavior very humble.
• Lastly about being "unpleasant", again it doesn't make sense considering Acchan has so many friends, she is appreciated by many people who work with her, there's Aki-P, but also actors and directors, like for example the director of To The Ends Of The Earth, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, talked about how he appreciates working with Acchan. Recently I rewatched the making of Time Machine Nante Iranai MV in New York, and the american people who worked for the MV only had good things to say about Acchan, she got along with them so well despite the language barrier, she was joking and having fun with them, they laughed a lot and enjoyed their time. She is definitely not "unpleasant"...
• About insecurity and emotional issues, yes, she indeed went through that especially during AKB but at that time she was a teenager and young adult, it's completely normal to feel insecure and have emotional issues, especially when she was in the spotlight so much as the center of the most popular girl group in the whole nation, she was the face, she had a lot of pressure and criticism, of course she would end up insecure and have emotional issues. I think as an adult now, she is more confident and relaxed, she's now doing what she loves (acting), she has a more relaxed life when it comes to her job and exposure on medias, she's 29, a mom, she's definitely not in the same situation as when she was a teen.
• For the AKBINGO! reference, not knowing one of the Bad Boys name might be because she didn't call them by name so she didn't remember, or maybe it was just for fun (after all it's a variety show). and about not knowing all the AKB members, that was probably true and completely normal. Acchan has always been very busy and there is no way she could have had time to learn about all the new girls in the group when new gens were being added all the time, Acchan wasn't in theater so much and even missed other group promos, she was mostly promoting with senbatsu, it's completely normal for her not to know all the names of 80+ girls when she didn't meet most of them. it was the same for other girls in senbatsu, they just didn't have the time or opportunity to get to know every new members, so they didn't know all names and faces in the group. and it's probably the same right now in the current AKB, I doubt every member knows all other members, and they are not as busy as AKB members back then and especially not as busy as Acchan was.

Either way, I don't think Acchan's personnality (the good sides or bad sides) would justify anything about her relationship with her husband... We don't even know his personnality, we don't know their private life, we don't know what happened, we don't even know if the rumors are true... Both of them can have good personnalities and still fail in a relationship. But they maybe don't even have issues right now and the rumors are false. All I know is that I personally think it's not our place to talk about their relationship when none of us is involved, I know I would dislike it if other people who don't know me personally would make theories about my relationship... and I also don't think it's fair to speculate that it could be Acchan's fault when we know nothing and I don't see anything in Acchan's personnality that could make it impossible for her to live a normal married life. I just hope that Acchan is happy and that there aren't problems between her and Ryo and I wish them the best...

 

I became a fan of AKB48 through watching 1ji59fun, 0ji59fun and AKBINGO! so in the beginning, I wasn't a fan of Acchan. That is because, as someone else pointed out, she barely ever participated in 1ji59fun due to clashes with her drama, and they used a cutout for her. It was my only way to get to know any members at the time and I didn't understand her popularity if she was never there. I thought she was selfish and feeling self-important at that time.

However, I've realised that variety shows gives a very skewed and singular representation of a person/idol. I also thought Mayu was emotionless, Kojiharu was stupid and Takamina a crybaby with no fashion sense. There is soooo much more to all of these members, obviously.

If you've ever watched an AKB48 documentary that was taken when Acchan was still part of the group, you can see that she's not selfish whatsoever. She was taken to the hospital and told to rest, but she still performed because she felt like she owed it to the fans. Acchan was so upset when she announced her graduation, and I don't think she was forced to graduate; it was her feeling bad because she knew it would upset her fans.

Watching one of the most recent documentaries as well, the 16ki members were sitting behind the wall while senior members got changed. I don't think members from different generations interact much, even if they're part of the same stage performance. I'm not surprised Acchan didn't know a lot of members when young members now shy away from members that are much less famous/popular. If current Kenkyuusei are scared to approach, let's say, Muto Tomu, then I don't want to know how intimidated members must have felt about approaching Acchan or any of the other Ori Kami 7 members back then.

 

I've actually seen a few articles from Business Journal on Acchan's marriage that kind of touched on this topic- I thought about translating them and sharing them here but I wasn't sure how reliable the info was. But the gist of them were that the marriage is somewhat strained and that Acchan's emotional sensitivity is causing problems for them. IDK how accurate this is, but I can definitely see it being true. Not only does Acchan tend to be very insecure, but she also missed out on the relationship practice that usually happens in the teen years. For most people, they get experience with dating and relationships in their teens and early 20s, so they better understand what they want and need from a relationship before they start seriously dating. But because of the love-ban rule, idols don't get that experience. I've been wondering for a while how that affects them as they graduate and get married. I'm no expert on this, so this is all pretty much a theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the ex-idols who were forbidden from dating as teenagers struggle with serious relationships later in life.

I think it's also really likely that Acchan's marriage was a shotgun marriage, given the timing of their (very short) dating, marriage registration (no ceremony), and the birth of their child 8 months later. So I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't really compatible and just got married because of the child

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You have to be very careful about how they give the news about celebrities in Japan.

I remember a news story that implied that Takamina and Miichan had participated in an orgy.

But it turned out it was a private karaoke party and it wasn't an orgy at all.

When I read it and understood what it was about, I thought if it becomes a real orgy, what word would they use?

In saying that Acchan was the first to eat, it is due that she ate one day yes and one day no.

I was amazed when he made the comment that he didn't even have time nor to eat.

It even came out in the scene that she ate Takamina's food because of her hunger.

About her private life, the truth is that we do not know what she really is like and I will open her world every time she tweets or news of what she does.

 

I don't believe what the medias say :/ I'll just wait and see if anything is said about their couple, but things like "they have problems because of Acchan's personnality" is typically what a journalist will write to get the clicks/sales. in my opinion, from what I've seen in the past, Acchan and Ryo got along very well and when they spoke about each other, they seem like they share common interests and get along. I know things can change so I'm not saying that this proves anything but they looked really close and sweet in the past... as for the present, it's a mystery, they both keep quiet about the rumors. I guess we will see sooner or later but I just hope the best for their couple and for the baby.

 

I just watched Remote de Korosareru! I first watched the TV version (46 minutes long) and then I watched the Hulu version (58 minutes long). For anyone who's interested in watching, I recommend to first watch the TV version, because it has more mystery, and then watch the Hulu version to get all the details and more scenes! I'll write my opinion under spoiler! (Please only read it if you saw it since I'll write a lot and I spoil the whole story! LOL it also has pictures so make sure not to click on the spoiler if you haven't watched yet)

Spoiler

So, this special drama is horror theme and as expected everyone is being killed, but I didn't expect that Acchan would have such an important role! She plays the role of Kayoko, and while she's the first one to "die" in the drama, she actually doesn't get killed and she ends up being the murderer. I was shocked to see her in that role considering she usually plays the "nice" roles and not evil roles! it's definitely something new and very interesting to see her like this! I enjoyed the Hulu version even more because it has more scenes including a lot more of Kayoko. We can see how she planned everything and also who is her accomplice!

At first after I finished watching the TV version and watched the Hulu version, I was wondering why did Kayoko and her accomplice kill everyone when the only culprit is Eri. But in the Hulu version, Eri asks the same question to Kayoko (Acchan) in the end and Kayoko says that it's because Yumiko (Asuka's role, who was killed by Eri in the past) would feel lonely where she is. well that's creepy but I guess it makes sense coming from a murderer LOL

I must also add that it surprised me that the whole past story ends up being because of jealousy or some kind of love-triangle between the 3 girls! and the kiss scene between Acchan and Asuka o_o Unexpected haha.

But more than anything, I was impressed by Acchan playing an evil role... I took a few screenshots of the scenes where she looked the most "scary" to me. Her acting was really good. Her smile on the 3rd picture, with her eyes opened so big o_o But still, during that scene, I was thinking "she looks so pretty" hahaha



I didn't include it but the scenes where she put the blood on her face and smiles, and also when she kills the man who was on the ground with a knife, that was creepy too. Overall she played this role very well!

I really recommend everyone to watch this!

 

I watched Acchan's videos about her drinking trip to Hokkaido, apparently this is for a book? I wish this was a show because I really love shows about traveling and going to places, trying drinks or food or activities and this kind of things. I saw a japanese comment in one of the videos who said that they really want to see Acchan in a show about traveling, I totally agree! I enjoyed the video, although it was very short, Acchan looks pretty and classy and the places are very nice! She must have tried a lot of different drinks (unless she mostly just posed XD)



Recently, both Acchan and Takamina updated their IG with photos together! I'm really glad they're still close and same for the other first gens! I tried translating both of their posts, they both used the same two photos so I only posted the photos once. Btw I'm also really happy that Acchan is using her IG more often these days so we're getting more updates from her

2020/09/16



Acchan's post

Recently it's getting dark faster outside。
Since yesterday I have been wearing a thin jacket。

These are not photos from today,
Takamina
She's an important companion☺︎♥

It's strange to think that we've been together for 15 years。
I wonder how it will be in 15 years from now。

Takamina's post

Recent photos☺️
Atsuko also wrote about it, but we met 15 years ago, it's amazingー。

As we grew older, the environment has changed,
but there are also some things that haven't changed in a good way☺️

#Atsumina #15YearsSinceWeMet

 

Back in July, a few days before Remote de Korosareru aired, Saito Asuka of Nogizaka46 did an interview with Nikkan Sports and talked about Acchan! For those who might not know, they both acted together in the drama, and it looks like they got along, that's so nice! The title of the article is: "Saito Asuka and "senpai" Maeda Atsuko, the meeting of former and current top idols", I translated the parts about Acchan:

"After shooting, Saito exchanged contact informations with Maeda。 「While recording, we didn't have much opportunities to talk。 I was later contacted by Atsuko-san」, she reveals。

AKB48 and Nogizaka46。 Under the same production by Akimoto Yasushi, they stood in the center of popular groups。 It's an encounter between former and current top idols。 「We talked about the groups, about Akimoto-san, and this kind of things。 When I was a kid, AKB48 was at the top and I used to watch Atsuko-san, so I have interest and I asked a lot, she answered back to everything」 。

「She knew about my current position in Nogizaka, so she gave me support, she gave me advices about things that worried me a little。 As expected it's "Acchan", when having idol-related discussions, her words carry a lot of weight。 I feel like I made a friend who's really kind to me, I'm really happy」"



This is what Asuka said! it's very sweet, Acchan is so kind. The juniors and current idols always have nice things to say about Acchan! I'm glad that she contacted Asuka, and that they discussed. it's true that when it comes to talking about idol careers, Acchan would definitely know what advices to give. it's great if her words helped Asuka. As expected it's Acchan

 

2020/07/21 Sekai Gyoten News (Maeda Atsuko Cut)



Back in July, Acchan was a guest on a show called Sekai Gyoten News! You can watch her parts here, it's quite interesting! From what I understand, first they show an old footage of when Acchan was a guest on this same show back in 2007. wow This show has been airing for a long time, I checked and apparently it started in 2001! Back in 2007 AKB was still not so popular so it was a big thing for Acchan to be guest. She introduced what AKB is, she was SO cute!!! Nakai was the host back then and now too, and after seeing the video, he said that Acchan didn't change LOL he's right! She was only 16 years old at that time and now 29 years old (and mom!) but you can recognize her easily aww

After that, Acchan told a story from the time of Ponytail to Shushu MV recording! She said that they were in Guam, and at the time of eating, she ate something that made her sick, she ended up with a big stomachache and she was at a hospital room to get treatment, she said that after that she was full of energy XD However the interesting thing that happened is that apparently, while she was lying in bed because of the pain, Nakai saw her by coincidence! I guess he was in Guam too if this all happened in Guam? What a coincidence that he saw her! Nakai said that he remembers, I think he said that he was at the hospital to visit his father and he was wondering which room it is, and accidentally he went to the room with Acchan XD Nakai explained his surprised reaction, haha. Acchan said that even though she was really in pain, it surprised her too and she thought "is that Nakai-san?" LOL this happened in 2010!

Then the other man (sorry, I don't know his name) told a story, he said that years ago when he was at the airport and he met AKB members at the lounge. The girls had a lot of luggage, and I think they had to go somewhere, so they asked him if he could look after their luggage and he said ok, so he end up surrounded by lots of luggage LOL

That's all! This was just 5-6 minutes long but with lots of interesting content and stories! and Acchan looks so beautiful with her white clothes! I kinda miss her longer hair XD

 

About the video of Acchan's drinking trip to Hokkaido that was shared back then, it was indeed for a digital book and you can have a look at it here! it looks very cute :3 This is apparently for a site/project that is called "Tabiiro" and they also posted a lot of photos of Acchan on their site. The photos look so nice and pretty and relaxing, Acchan looks beautiful





More photos (off-shots) from the Twitter (#1 / #2)



There is also another upload of the video, on the official channel of the site!
(and yes, this same video was uploaded on 4 different channels in total XD)


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

I know the meaning of "Tabi" because of French Kiss show "French Kiss no Kiss Tabi" (I really recommend it btw I watched that show without subs and it was very enjoyable because it's about going to different countries, and it's one of my favorite 48-related show ). "Tabi" means "trip" and for "Iro" it means "color"! I guess "Tabi Iro" would mean... "Color of a trip"? or maybe "Color of a journey"? I don't know, just making a guess XD

 

I went to the website (and ended up finding the video that Mana linked above anyway), which showed the Kanji title of the project – 旅色公式チャンネル (Tabi Iro Koushiki channeru in romaji). I guess that's the great thing about the difficulty of Japanese and having so many writing systems; it makes it a lot clearer what you're trying to say.

But yeah, Mana is correct. The kanji for tabi (旅) and the kanji for iro (色) mean travel and colour respectively. I went to their about page to see what tabiiro means, really, and it's about showing the different ways that people feel about travelling, introducing various female celebraties and their travelling stories and highlighting aspects they value in travelling. I'd guess it means something like "travel colours", with colours being a metaphor for an individual's experience.

 

Nogizaka46's Saito Asuka mentioned Acchan again in an interview for Vogue Girl Japan 2020 in October "Q: Is there a relationship that you "like"? Asuka: Of course there is! Recently I worked together with Atsuko Maeda-san, we talked about "idol", we get along well. However in the end Maeda-san took the lead in the conversation" (Source)


Acchan appeared in a show called "Kijima Ryuta no Kobara Suitemasen ka?" on 5th September, there is a photo on the official site and an explanation of what the show is about. it's a show with a chef called Kijima Ryuta and Acchan is the guest who shares her worry, she's asking him to make a menu that is easy to eat for babies because her 1,5 years old son has a hard time to eat with hands without getting dirty.



Here you can find a short cut of the show where Acchan talks about how during the time when she was in AKB, her mother still always prepared breakfast for her and she ate a lot. it's great that her mom took care of her so much, but after all Acchan was very young when she was in AKB so it's normal. it's good she still had time to always eat breakfast at home!

For those of you who want to see the full show, you can watch it here! it's not long, it's only 13 minutes! I watched it, at first the chef asked Acchan if she cooks and she said that because she has a baby, she cooks, and she explained her problem and asked him if he can cook something that's easy for a baby to eat, after that he looked into the fridge, I think all things inside the fridge were from Acchan's own fridge, so he found an idea and started to cook. Acchan talked about her mom making breakfast for her. Then they talked about tomatoes, Acchan really loves them (me too XD) when he talked about it, she stood up haha she seems excited XD At the end she tasted the food and she was satisfied. She looks so pretty and cute, her smile

Photo from the Twitter of Kijima Ryuta:

 

Back in 1st October, Acchan appeared in a show called "Waraeru! Nakeru! Doubutsu Scoop 100 Renpatsu"!



You can watch the full show here, it's quite a long show where they watch videos of animals. Preview here:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Acchan screenshots made by a fan