Catching up with their Shinzanmono concerts and it looks quite fun in that small of a space. One thing I'd like to acknowledge is the 5th Gen Unders who performed in tons of concerts this year and came through wonderfully: Iroha, Aya, Aruno, and Nao. Starting with 11th Basra, continuing on to 32nd and 33rd Under Lives, the summer tour sandwiched in between, and ending with Shinzanmono, they sure had a full slate of shows this year. If you think about it, no other Nogizaka generation had such a schedule, and no other generation had to handle 10 shows by themselves. Kind of seeing 5th Gen really powering up. (I had no idea I needed an Aya x Sakutanchan Atonomatsuri but dang glad I got one!)
^ Not ending yet for this year, they still have 3 shows of Chou Star Tanjou concert this weekend. There are streams as well!! Shinzanmono is great....!! And I really really hope that they distribute each member solo performance through some other means.
^ Oh damn. Completely forgot that. All I know is that this year has got to be the most concerts one generation ever had.
I translated 4 member profiles from Weekly Playboy 2023 No. 52 that delve into their backgrounds before they joined Nogi. Tomisato Nao Spoiler Charming and friendly. A character anyone would love and dote upon. Tomisato Nao gives people that sort of impression, but it seems her elementary school days were not at all cheerful. “During my elementary and middle school years, things didn’t go well between me and a certain girl in my class. Because of a minor disagreement, I was no longer able to call her ‘friend.’” She says it was “minor,” but for a girl during this sensitive period of time, it was more than enough of a stumble to cause her to start fearing others. Even after she entered middle school, she didn’t know who to trust or whose eyes she could meet. Soon, she was no longer able to go to school. “I wasn’t going to classes so I couldn’t study, and there wasn’t a high school I wanted to aim for either. When my future hit a dead end, my dad said ‘Try it out once’ and recommended I enter the 5th generation auditions. That was when I remembered the Kanashimi no Wasurekata movie I watched a long time ago.” The Kanashimi no Wasurekata Documentary of Nogizaka46, released in 2015. Exploring the theme of “people can change,” the documentary film portrayed moments when members took a step forward from their pasts. “When I watched it, I was surprised that even Shiraishi Mai-san was once unable to go to school in her past. When I remembered that, I thought, ‘This might be a place where even someone like me can change things.’” Her veteran senpai were idols who swept away their dark pasts. Aspiring toward that kind of Nogizaka46, Tomisato sought a place where she could belong and entered the auditions. Now, 2 years after passing the auditions, she says she is being supported by a certain sort of kindness. “I’ve met members who’ve been through many experiences, similar to myself in the past. I remember being surprised, ‘Even though this girl’s so amazingly strong, she’s lovely and considers other people’s feelings so much.’ It’s so nice to have been able to meet such girls I can look up to. Nogizaka46 lives up to the image I had of it before the auditions, it’s full of people who are earnestly considerate to those around them. Thanks to that kindness, I feel like I’m able to live life my own way.” Ogawa Aya Spoiler Ogawa Aya devoted herself to dancing from age 3 to 14, and at the same time learned to play the piano; she was a very busy girl. “I started dancing to imitate my brother who’s three years older than me, but my curiosity was too strong, the number of genres I wanted to dance in kept on increasing. At my peak, I was going to lessons six days a week.” No matter how busy she became, as long as it held her interest, she would throw herself into it completely. Ogawa’s curiosity also stirred her to action during the Nogizaka46 auditions. “I started liking Nogizaka46 itself during the Sing Out! (23rd single) era. ‘Even though they’re idols, they give such an ephemeral and beautiful performance.’ About 2 years after that, I thought, ‘Nogizaka46, I wonder if they’re doing auditions now?’ and tried searching, and it turned out to be right when they were starting to hold them. I think someone told me to audition or something, and I applied right away.” What she was longing for since that time was the “feeling of youth at a girls’ school” that Nogizaka46 created. “I really longed for that feeling of these older girls who sparkled like visions, enjoying their youth. Even now, after joining, that image hasn’t changed. The current ‘me’ probably isn’t living life like a normal high school student, but still, things like senpai and kouhai creating the Under Live together feel especially like youth. That’s surely something that can only be felt by being in Nogizaka46. I feel blessed.” Ogawa says when she initially joined, she was frequently hemmed in by the “Nogizaka-ness” built by senpai. “This is a bad way of phrasing it, but until last year, I was convinced that ‘I need to wear the mask of Nogizaka46.’ I don’t think I let my true thoughts out. But, Suzuki Ayane-san (who graduated this March), said to us before the start of her graduation concert, when everyone was gathered in a circle, ‘I’m sure everyone’s thinking that the 1st gen and 2nd gen created the image of Nogizaka46, but the girls who are here now are Nogizaka46. Don’t be held prisoner by the past.’ I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.” In March, with the exit of the last 2nd generation member Suzuki, all the 1st and 2nd generation members graduated. In August of this new era, during the final performance of the Summer National Tour 2023, Captain Umezawa Minami declared, “We are Nogizaka46!” As for Ogawa, she said this about her future self. “The person I’ve admired since long ago has been (Saitou) Asuka-san. But, I’m not Asuka-san, and it’s useless to want to become Asuka-san. So, in the way that Asuka-san was, by members, fans, and staff… I’d like to become someone whom everyone loves.” Ichinose Miku Spoiler “Whatever else was going in elementary school, I liked dodgeball. I had my own ball so I could play at any time, obviously during the 15 minute recesses and lunch breaks, and even after school. Looking back on it now, I was so swept up in it that I don’t even know what happened.” For Ichinose Miku who plays a coquettish character, her elementary school years were surprisingly active. In addition to dodgeball, she liked “cute girls” since an early age. As she was going through an AKB48 obsession, the Nogizaka46 member she fell in love with at first sight was Ikuta Erika. “My mother actually started liking Nogizaka46 before I did [laughs]. My mother was originally a Shiraishi-san oshi, but it seems like Ikuta-san performing on the piano in a drama had a big impact on her. I was also learning piano, so it was Ikuta-san who showed me, ‘Here was an idol who’s so cute and so good at playing the piano’—that’s how I encountered Nogizaka46.” A sparkling world full of cute girls. Before she knew it, she longed to be in the world of entertainment too. However, her mother, employed as a nurse, wished for her daughter to have a stable career. “I took part in the 5th gen auditions without telling anyone. One day, when I came home from school, an envelope arrived notifying me I had qualified in a preliminary round, and I got discovered immediately [laughs]. It happened during the most critical period when students were preparing for entrance exams, so I got totally chewed out. But, my mother likes Shiraishi-san and Nogizaka46. So after discussing it further, in the end, my mother allowed me to continue the auditions.” That was how Ichinose was chosen to be a member of Nogizaka46. Regarding her impressions of Nogizaka46 before joining it, she said this. “More than any other group, it seemed to have many things that girls aspire to. Beautiful clothing, an atmosphere where everyone’s cute but still get along with each other. When people in general say something is “like Nogizaka,” I think they must be referring to those things and a kind of neatness. But, when I began doing activities, more than those things, I started to admire how ‘each person has a strong heart.’” When asked, “Who, for example?” she brings up Yamashita Mizuki’s name. “Even though she’s in many dramas, famous with the public, and really busy, when she’s at Live rehearsals or TV programs, at any job at all, she puts in more effort than anyone. That’s surely because she has an inner strength. When I’m able to possess strength like that, I feel like I might truly be able to become Nogizaka46.” Nakanishi Aruno Spoiler The Arno River flows through Florence, Italy. This river, that her parents saw during their honeymoon, is the origin of Nakanishi Aruno’s name. “In a certain sense, it is easy to remember, so recently I’ve finally become able to be glad to have this name, but when I was little, I hated being made fun of, like, ‘Why’s your name written in katakana even though you’re not biracial?’” Whether influenced to some degree by her name, since early childhood, she was often called a “strange girl.” “Even when it was time to play in the schoolyard, I would be rolling up pill bugs and playing in the corner. Even when we had breaks, I would spend it staring at my ‘Illustrated Guide to Mushrooms,’ which was my favorite that I would hold close to me as I was walking. Since that time, I’ve always liked being by myself, I spent my life not really getting deeply involved with other people.” Looking back on those times, Nakanishi speaks in a passionless tone, almost as if talking about someone else. When she took part in the auditions, it was not a case of her holding a strong determination either. “The 5th gen auditions had a system where you could apply together with your friends or sisters. I was invited to apply that way by a college friend who likes Nogizaka46, and, while thinking, ‘There’s no way I’ll be let in amongst such cute idols,’ I entered without regard for whether I would pass.” In the end, it was not with her friend, but alone that she passed. She was not the type to become deeply involved with others, and especially not the type to harbor ambitions. Soon after joining, her heart was moved by the actions of a certain senpai. “In the earliest of early days, when I couldn’t tell left from right, Mukai Hazuki-san contacted me and said, ‘Let’s hang out.’ When I told her, gladly and honestly, ‘I felt helpless, so I’m really grateful you invited me,’ Hazuki-san said, ‘It’s ’cause I’ve also been saved a lot by senpai.’” It was almost the first time she had felt unconditional kindness. Nakanishi says she realized something during this period. “On the day of the 5th gen introduction ceremony, Umezawa-san came to officiate for us. I learned this afterwards, but that day, Umezawa-san had been working since early morning to appear on a morning infotainment program, and after that, she attended a stage play rehearsal. Only after that did she come to the introduction ceremony. “Thanks to Umezawa-san and Hazuki-san, I realized, ‘No matter how busy senpai are, they act with the kouhai and the group in mind,’ and, ‘This is a group that’s linked together by this kind of warmth.’ That became what I aspire toward in Nogizaka46, and it still is. I felt that I too need to become that kind of senpai someday.”
they get their own photobook https://www.nogizaka46.com/s/n46/news/detail/100002?ima=1020&pri1=202312 https://twitter.com/5th_nogi46
2023.12.20 Terepan x Nagi x Iroha x Aya Nekojita SR if the video does not show watch the video here Credit to uploader
New group foto from 5ki PB. Source: https://twitter.com/5th_nogi46/status/1743108255747043809 Reminds me of Nogi 1st group PB. Spoiler
IMO it's starting to get too much, the red jersey is fine but this pool shot make the PB doesn't feel like THEIR OWN, if they keep doing this 5th PB will feel like overshadowed by 1st gen. also too early mizugi shots for 5th
I also think it's too soon for 5ki lingerie/mizugi but unfortunally, it's hapenning. It gives more money and also more numbers to the PB account.
Totally agree. I guess this gives an idea of which member/s will first release a solo PB. W-center here we go
It's just a recreation of one of the most (probably the most) famous 1ki pictures, that's totally normal I feel. Idk, maybe because I don't really care about PBs so I'm not the target audience lol but I feel some wotas in Twitter are overreacting at this.
First gen will always tower over any subsequent Nogi generations. In my opinion, management is trying to associate 5ki with 1ki as they'll be the ones that the subsequent Nogi generations will be compared with. After all, 5ki barely spent time with 1ki never having to compete with the legends of 1ki. They are climbing a new hill. Anyhow, it's neat that they do callbacks to the 1st gen PB photos. I think only Nogi wota would get the reference. If it wasn't pointed out to me, I wouldn't have. BTW, doesn't Nagi look like Ioki in that pool picture? At first I thought it was Ioki, but, naww, it's Nagi.
Twitter wotas always overreact to these things. Every 18yo idol PB announcement is the same thing, in 2 weeks everyone will forget this and when the PB releases people are gonna ignore the fuss and share the leaks. It's always like this.
I know I should know, but in the 1st gen photo, I recognize everyone except the 3rd from the right showing all the cheek.
