[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

I found this one, don't know if it's the one you are talking about.

 

It just so happens that I was googling '菅井友香トム' just the other day, so I'm fairly confident about this particular field of research. Can it be this one? Or maybe this?
Bonus

 

Thanks guys for the photos, both of you. We'll it was a series of pics (all of these were in - except for the bonus pic which is anyway sooo cute).
In the one I recall they are both profile almost touching their nose and in the next one they are looking at the camera. Someone used these to put comments as subtitles saying something about Sugai's fans.
P. S. Scrolling up on the discord wall of text is a real pain in the back...

 

I know I'm gonna stir up a discussion but it's a while I think about this and with Nogi-news going on and officially announced today, I think we should start talking about a possible Sakura 3rd gen audition.
Which I'd completely approve... and because I'd approve it, mngmnt will probably held it in 2030 lol

Seriously though...
I already said I believe mngmnt made the right decision putting Shinkisei in the respective groups. I'd have loved more a new group but their choices made sense and worked perfectly well for all the three groups. Yet, I think we need more young people who can grow in Sakura and create at the same time a continuity in time.

I don't know if next single is gonna change the rules or mix up members, but everytime I watch Sakura I see a system created to change everything and changing nothing.
It worries me that some 1st gen it's occupy spots no one else can get and some 2nd gen is not getting recognition even if they shown they can carry the center's weight and responsibilities.
It feels like we really don't have yet that solidity we need to grow and reach the top or getting there.

Akb seems to have chosen a "Sakura-like" song for their re-birth. I liked the choreo and I like the girls, but the song itself will sell more just because it's this AKB song then for the quality itself.
Sakura needs to grow and do better.
Getting young girls who can give their energy and quality to the group may be a step in that direction too.

Last thing.... someone pages ago asked about 3rd single; personally I think it will be announced either before Arena tour or at the end of it... perhaps we will see the single performed the 1st time in Tokyo... my only hope it's for it to be good and for things to change, even though I know it's near to impossible.

 

Sorry, but what are those Nogi news going on?

 

Nogi's 5th-generation audition is starting in 23 days, unless Dill meant about the summer in Fukuoka will be Live streamed.

I've been discussing it in other SNS, but kind of sad if they're doing all those arena tours prior to the Tokyo one just with 14 songs in total...

 

By the way, what's the use of a photobook ? It's only just pictures, and it is not cheap either. You can easily find free pictures of your idols online.

 

Some of us like to collect those books. I don't know how much of a cut the girls get from the sales, but I like to think of my purchases as supporting them. True that you can find photos online, but there's just something about having them in a physical form that's appealing, like sometimes I just want to go to my shelf and flip through the book instead of having to turn on my PC or squint at my phone.

Big downside to buying so many books is trying to find space to put them.

 

@Jsprite @innoaloe yes, I meant the 5ki auditions. Sorry, sometime I give for granted that everyone heard about everything lol

@Torigoya-San I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt but from someone who is here since 2012 this kind of questions are kinda trolling-ly.
You buy it because you like the girl or the group and you want to support them.

This is something you can see often on twitter and drives me mad daily (lol) tons of "fans" who have tons of "oshi" and like this group and that group but then do not buy anything.
Always asking for links and pics and songs and stuff.
Don't get me wrong, I know people can't always buy whatever they want as soon as we want, I can't either, but there should be a conscious effort to support the girls we chose as we can, when we can.
Buying PBs is not something I do except for Keyaki and Borderless, but that's is one of the way to support a group.
The girl herself may see only a small part of money, but her name and the group's name may reach more people and be seen with more interest if results are positive enough and the same happens for cds, magazines, online-lives, merch, and so on.

Then, like @JoltFiend said there's the appreciation of having the real thing and not digital pictures. It's just better and it's yours.

 

I don't recall this happening ever in the past, but this time I will have to disagree with @Dill about the 3rd gen for Sakurazaka. I think that the 15 Kenkyuusei "generation" is the most unlucky ever... If I'm not wrong these girls were auditioned and selected together with the 2nd gen Keyaki, 4th gen Nogi and Hinata's Hinano. They were left "in the fringe" for over a year and were incorporated in their respective groups after almost 2 years.

Now, guys, remember the freshness of the Keyakis when they first joined? Most were 16,17,18 years old... Remember how strong was the boost Hiragana received with the coming of their 2nd gen? Average age was 16... What I want to say is that the strongest impact idols have seem to be when they are still "young" (at least before their 19-20).

What we have is 15 amazing girls that have grown almost 2 years older and yet have to learn the ropes of variety, choreographies and that intense every-day life of idols, becoming "under" or hidden behind a wall of bodies at the third row.

The biggest mistake in my opinion was not creating a solid new (yes 5th why not?) Sakamich group out of these girls. That not being done, these girls need to have some time to be properly exposed to the public, acquire their fandom and get their chances to shine. If new girls arrive these girls will be sandwiched between the "established" and the "new-blood", practically eliminating their chances to move forward properly.

According to @innoaloe Nogi has announced their 5th gen. I feel sorry already for Runa, Haruka, Nao, Miyu and my precious Rika, but this may be justified because their management may be anticipating more graduations among the few remaining 1st and 2nd gen. But still 3rd and 4th gen are already more than enough to support the group with amazing success for at least two years.

For Sakurazaka it is still too early. A new gen would be disastrous for the whole 2nd gen: Sakurazaka is their group, their achievement, their future and all 1st gen girls not only know that but are there willingly to support them. New girls will attract new fans but mostly will attract (or rather distract and confuse) the attention of existing fans to the detriment of (1) all shin-2-sei and (2) girls who struggle to establish their presence (Chukemon, Inoue for example).

I would agree to @innoaloe that with only 14 songs to go... there may be 1-hour MC as a filler... What we need is a more dense series of singles, new songs, new songs, new songs...

 

Yes. You can find pictures of idols online, and there are probably people who buy, scan, and then post the scans of the photobooks and 写真集*. It's just like there are DVD/BD rips of live content being posted online as torrents, or the music singles and albums. You can download and watch/listen if you like.

As mentioned by other posts, it's about whether you want to give money to support the group or group member that you like. For some groups (not 46 or 48, as far as I know), there are limited edition goodies that can accompany the initial publication, such as limited edition additional posters, autographed copies, etc, of which may or may not be by chuusen**. The limited edition goodies can even be different for different outlets selling them (ie tokuten); this often happens in seiyuu fandom where Gamers, Animate, Amazon.jp will have a different accompanying tokuten.

Of course, for those familiar with the fandoms in Japan will know that there is a vibrant second hand (中古) goods market (you know those shop chains, Mandarake, Surugaya). You can easily find lots of the goods being sold at lower prices. Of course, the rare ones will instead be much MORE expensive. I once shelled out 10k yen (3x of the original price) for a seiyuu's 写真集 that was only printed in small numbers (back when she was less well known), and it wasn't in mint condition.

Of course, the sales of second hand goods doesn't generate revenue for the artistes/idols (' management), so it's more about wanting to have a physical copy than actually supporting them.

*The more popular they are, the more likely to find them online.

For some reason, 写真集 and フォトブック (photobook) refer to slightly different things. The former is usually just a collection of specially taken photos, and the latter usually contain more personal messages from the subject of the photobook.

**The cynical will easily see that this is a simple marketing strategy to maximize sales by making the hardcore fans buy multiple copies from different shops in order to collect all of the tokutens. Of course, there are those "Legendary Girl A" types who buy 3 copies of each...

 

I am actually glad this isn't a joint audition. After BACKS Live, it looks like everyone is more positive and willing to fight for their spot in the group (and for the group) and I would hate to see that change. As others have said, what they need is more songs for their tour, not more members. All Sakamichi groups had 4 singles within their first year, and while that probably won't happen with Sakurazaka, I hope we will get a 3rd single soon (ideally before the tour starts).

 

Totally agree with many of you on the 3rd single subject. If I had a chance to attend an actual in-venue live, but they would only perform the same repertoire that we've seen livestreamed 3+ times already... I'd still go for it, but much more reluctantly, considering that now there is almost no room for flexibilty and creative set-list arrangement. Bring back units, introduce generation songs, maybe an odd solo here and there. It's high time to liven the things up.

 

I heard you guys. Maybe you're right and it's too soon...

One of things that made me think about 3ki audition is BACKS Live though.
You're right @iroiroiro that has been the moment that brought positivity AND self-consciousness.
Both fans and - most important - members now know they can do it.
They can take the group and carry it for a bit, and share the weight and the honor of it together. I would be the first to support this change, and my first choice would be Hikari, who did incredibly well and whom deserves the chance to lead.
But I'm worried she won't have this chance now.
Nor other Backs-liners who deserve it... except maybe Rei because she's a fisher first and foremost.
And the more time it will pass, the less positive members will be... so having a new gen may break the status quo.
1ki who have all the jobs may be let go and 2ki be promoted fully while eventual 3ki gets ready to shine in the years to come.

Everything has it's pro and cons.. even I realize it would come with a cost. And not one fans would like to pay. Like... EVER.

@Philosophy Senpai it was bound to happen. I'm often the spark that start this kind of fires, but it's just a pourparler between buddies while waiting together this much wished for 3rd single.
No bad feelings

 

No time to be pessimistic now @Dill. Especially for certain girls like Hikari (and others). Koike is an example that even girls that had a slow start, girls that were wandering around the two-digit number positions at the 3rd row, can have their chance to shine and move to the "main cast". How knows, maybe one of the new 2-gen may be the star of the future.

But yes, these recent lives and performances have proved that Sakurazaka is a baby that is growing fast and it's clothes (songs) are becoming too tight, too soon. They need to expand this repertoire and learn from what the Backs Live has taught: Drop Saku8 - at least after 3rd single, just for the pretexts - and switch to a more free and flexible format both in number of girls and selection. As for the center, it's ok to narrow selection down to 8-10 girls and have all the rest chances to support centers at the 1st row. Trios, quartets and quintets would also be extremely interesting, especially for songs with styles compatible with the members flair and character.

P.S. And, of course, there will never be bad feelings

 

3rd single has to happen before the tour starts …I don’t know what management are thinking …especially since it’s their first year it’s better to release singles faster. well this wait better mean we are getting units solos and generational songs …

 

To be fair with Dill, given how much time has passed since Keyaki 2nd-gen debuted (late 2018), it actually makes sense if there is an audition for 3rd-gen coming up.
But yea, given Sakurazaka has not even having its 2nd birthday, doing so will hurt these girls who had just getting back their confidence.

 

You mentioned "...girls who struggle to establish their presence (Chukemon, Inoue for example)." It seems to me they have pretty much established their presence, especially on the variety front. Maybe I'm missing something? For the second 2ndgen I worry mostly about the Kaichou and Hikari.

 

1. Third single now, please. New repertoire for the tour.
2. No new gen yet. Current members, especially 2gens (a and b) have much more to give.
3. This entire group has suffered. The 1gens from being in Techi's shadow for so long, the 2gens from not really being promoted as a group of their own, dragged down by their association with Keyaki as much as they were raised up by it.

4. Naze Koi (Karin centre, 1st release) has now reached 8 million views on YouTube. BAN (Hikaru, 2nd) is next at 5.7 million. Then Nobody (Hikaru, 1st) at 5.2 million. Buddies (Ten-chan, 1st) 3.2 million. Guuzen (Karin, 2nd) at 2 million. Omotta yori (Ten-chan, 2nd) 1.9 million.

 

I agree that we need more songs, but among more good/OK songs, we need a friggin' hit song. Now if that hit song can be an anthem song, even better.