Hirate Yurina (Techi) / Keyakizaka46 1st Generation

From what I heard they can’t delay it any further for many reasons. They (Shinzo Abe?) promised to hold the Games this year at all cost. Japan already had so much debt preparing for the Olympic, delaying it to this year increases the debt by another B$1+ and will only increase as they postpone it further. Then there’s also the risk of Japan being punished by the Olympic org and disqualify as a host for future Games. But who knows, only the organizers know exactly what drove them to hold the Olympic now

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The new Haagen Dazs CM is so cute. It revived Techi oshis from the drought, literally. Judging from Techi’s hair length and the set, they probably filmed this (and some more) with the previous CM released in Feb then roll them out as needed. Still very much appreciated

 

I just found this channel that summarizes data (such as Google trend, messages, YT views etc) for idols. The latest video gives us an insight of which idols (ex and current) people search for from 2004-present. We have WACK, Momoclo, 48G, Sakamichi series, Morning Musume, Niziu,... so I think it’s a sizable pool. In 2016 Techi was around top 20-40 and since 2017 has been very consistently hanging inside top 10. I’d say this is an amazing result, especially when Techi only pops up for releases then goes MIA (less fan contents less things to generate interest). With the success of DZ2 and Fable 2 I’m very curious of the Nikkei Ranking next year


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

After days of absolutely no news of Techi except for Haagen Dazs CM, we finally have new content. Techi will be the cover girl for Casa Brutus (art and traveling magazine) September issue (release on August 6) + 36 pages of her enjoying nature and the artwork in Echigo-Tsumari aka the origin of Japanese art festivals. Photos are taken by Shinto Takeshi, all Techi fans probably already know him by now. I really look forward to this, Techi and art is a heavenly combo


Director Harada Masato mentioned the Fable 2 in his diary. He dislikes the production lol but enjoys Junichi-san and Techi’s performance.

His comment: I was fascinated by the infinite possibilities of Hirate Yurina. Even if the role is boring, this child’s sensibility can’t be denied. It’s really attractive. I was also overwhelmed by (her performance in) Dance no Riyuu.

Kiryu also translated bits of Todai Senka’s interview for DZ2 memorial books. Great talk, I love their chemistry and hope they’ll costar again some time in the future. Fans also mentioned that there’re many Techi’s photos, more photos in large size compared to others in the memorial book lol

Dance no Riyuu played during Female’s trampoline of the Olympics Do you think we have some Techi oshis in the staff teams? LOL

Analysis of why Techi was chosen as Haagen Dazs’ new face

• The CM in March resulted in a 132% increase in sales compared to sales in 3/2020 and 122% increase compared to 3/2019 (before COVID)
• Haagen Dazs’s target audience is female in 20-30 age group. Techi, even after withdrawing from Keyaki, was able to keep her center power and positively challenged herself in a new path. So she was perfect to deliver the message “keep going forward no matter what”
• Techi has a lot of female fans
• By choosing Sato Takeru and Techi, who have both attractiveness and popularity, Haagen Dazs hopes to make the brand more approachable, especially since HD is more expensive than to their competitors

 

Hirate Yurina meets Chanel No5. Another collab between Techi and Chanel, this time featured in Ellegirl. They shoot this in Kyoto a few days after Techi’s birthday and the staffs held a small celebration for her


if the video does not show watch the video here


if the video does not show watch the video here

Special site

 

It seems like her Japanese fanbase have been out in full force since her Ellegirl's Chanel No. 5 collab release, because both the 100ml and 50ml Chanel No. 5 are now sold out on the Japanese Chanel online store.

 

Hirate came in 6th in the Female Idol Talent Power Rankings 2021 with 22.2 points, which is an increase on her 19.0 points last year. The ones ahead of her from 48/46 group are Kawaei Rina (5th), Oshima Yuko (4th) and Shiraishi Mai (2nd). The other ones in the top 10 are Ikuta Erika (7th) and Nishino Nanase (8th). The only other person from Keyakizaka46/Sakurazaka46 is Nagahama Neru at 26th.

Source: https://tpranking.com/female-idol-individual

 

A small correction is this ranking is of 2021 2nd quarter. She scored 19.0 in the 2021 1st quarter ranking. I checked the rankings that Techi appeared in and seems like TP ranking updates the poll quarter to quarter and not on the yearly basis like Nikkei. Her points also fluctuate quite a bit for example 19.2 (2020 2nd quarter) -> 17.9 (2020 4th quarter) -> 19.0 (2021 1st quarter) -> 22.2 (2021 2nd quarter). I thought that Techi appeared more on 2020 4th quarter compared to 2nd LOL

Anyways congrats to Techi. She’s also the youngest on the whole list

 

Ahh okay, that makes sense then I was getting confused with all the different rankings etc, and not being proficient in Japanese and getting by with Google Translate meant that I thought that the previous 19.0 ranking was last year's! Thank you for the correction

 

ANEVER has started another round of promotion and Techi’s not modeling for them this time. However, we should not be worried since she’s still the brand muse, I think she’ll continue to collab with them here and there in the future. In the meantime, I’m having lots of hopes in Chanel x Techi. Hopefully she’ll snatch an official title soon (probably the Beauty branch first, all 3 collabs was for Chanel Beauty)

Tomorrow is Hirate Locks! I can’t be the only one excited for her current photos lol. I wonder how long her hair is right now

 

New episode of Hirate Locks. This also marks the debut of Techiko no heya (Techi’s room) guest corner as Yoshida Mizuki (Rie in DZ2) and Kurihara Ayane (DZ2 badminton coach) became the first guests of Hirate Locks

if the video does not show watch the video here

Quick translation can be found here (by TMI)

Very glad to hear that Techi’s fine now. Her hair is also longer, so cute! Techi seems to like her purple suit a lot because this is the 3rd time we see her wearing this to Hirate Locks. Maybe she wears it to notify that it’s radio time lol

 

I really can’t congratulate Techi enough for her first NHK drama. Kaze no Mukou he Kake Nukero (Run Through Beyond The Wind) is a 2-part drama based on the novel of the same name by Kazue Furuuchi. Techi will play Ashihara Mizuho, a newbie jockey who lost her father in an earthquake. A longer description can be read here. The drama will air on Dec 18/25 at 9pm JST (Saturday). Based on the info circulating around, seems like they will start filming in September and will film all the way until November.

Based on the description, this drama seems like an emotional one that will challenge the cast’s delicacy in acting, especially the transition from being “useless” to realize the purpose of their lives. How to make it not feel forced etc. I think this is also the rare chance for us to see Techi’s real long hair

 

Cover picture of Hirate posted by Rockin'on Japan as a teaser for the special volume release featuring Hirate on the 30th August where they conducted a two hour interview with her including talking about her new song "Irreplaceable World". I'm guessing that the new song MV will probably be released as well on the 30th August or the 1st September.




Article Link : https://rockinon.com/blog/japan/199954

 

Outstanding image. Strong. Soulful.

 

Kakegae no Nai Sekai will be officially released in September 24 Gosh you don’t know how emotional I get from seeing the phrase “Hirate Yurina’s 2nd digital single”. The cover looks so pretty too. People say it looks like Adam and Eve? It has this magical dreamy vibe I didn’t expect, especially after watching the live performance that lies more on the Broadway musical style. Very excited for the MV, if the timing is similar to Dance no Riyuu then we’ll get the MV on Sep 21. Techi will also talk more about the song on Hirate Locks episode broadcast on the same date

 

The cover is like some tragic love story kind of movie poster and I love it
But judging by the cover people would thought that for a mellow love song

 

Kakegae no Nai Sekai was played in another radio this evening and surprisingly enough we have an updated version! This version contains a modification near the end, adding an extended note (or you can call it a high note). I remembered people say that SOL’s version was a bit different from FNS version too. They’re really perfecting it up until the release date

 

I'm just catching up with things, but... no Techi news around?
Don't get me wrong, I'd be glad if she catch her breath and plans for things, but... it's strange lol She's always everywhere

 

Well, Techi was on the special cover for Anrealage’s visual book. She’s featured in the Home and Clear Collection. Japanese fans found the full list of photos Techi took for ROJ April 2019 here. Saiki Keita, her co-star in Run Through Beyond The Wind, shared that Techi is healthy. She’s also extremely professional and respectful so he understands why she’s loved by so many. He can’t share too much though but seems like they’ve started practicing/filming some horse-riding scenes. From what I heard, NHK really cares about the quality of their dramas so the casts can’t do outside works during the filming process, which I think Techi actually enjoys lmao.

But I do agree with you that this drought is unbearable. Kakegae is released in less than a week from now but absolutely no promotion. They’re really just dropping the song and be done with it. I’m not pleased lol. Even though Techi can’t do promotional works for it, I do think her team should put more effort to extend reach to the GP. I doubts non-fans know that Techi’s releasing a new song. But I’ve preordered the song and is very excited for the MV. I just know that it’s going to be out of this world, simply because it’s Techi. I wonder if Shingu-san is still the director this time

 

Thanks @DelicateEmpress, these are some pretty damn good photos. A real treat. We hardly ever get such high resolutions, it's mostly either scans or low res previews.

 

Thank you @DelicateEmpress
Personally, I'm more a Dance no riyuu kind of fan, so her last song didn't really clicked with me, even though I recognized the difficulty of it.
Still, I can't wait for the MV too, even to just get a glimpse of Techi
...We have been so spoiled since the start it's hard to patiently wait for something lol
And thanks for the photos of course