【next center】the war comes to an end; Winner: Mayuyu!

Discussion in 'General AKB48 Discussion' started by Mano Haruka, Dec 30, 2012.

  1. Mano Haruka

    Mano Haruka Kenkyuusei

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    http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2073514266
    As Kouhaku is approaching, the war between the candidates of next center comes to an end.
    Suddenly all reports are conveying the message: Mayuyu triumphs.


    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A_WDKxUCIAEIMaI.png
    (the article depicts the scene of rehearsal.)
    In akb48, Watanabe Mayu is standing in center's position,succeeding to Maeda Atsuko, who graduated in this summer. It's said that in Kouhaku performance, akb are going on the convention of shaping characters, while 2 varieties this year, one more than before.

    (in rehearsal) Watanabe stood in the center of the stage. When music of Manatsu Sounds Good sounded, she came to the position where Maeda used to occupy. Standing out from the 171-girl group, she enjoyed the bright stage lighting and danced with smile.

    Her desire for center is twice of others'. Winning the 2nd place in June's Sosenkyou, Mayu proclaimed that she would surely grow suitable for center within a year. After Maeda's graduation, AKB has been confronted with its transitional period, when Mayu's chance of being center of 2nd generation also increases. However, her not being chosen as center in the 28th single UZA left her with remorseful memory. Even so, she remarked on the setback as "It was my fault...I have to work harder" and has been continuing her tough growth.

    Watanabe's professional awareness has been widely acknowledged by members and fans. Even Maeda admits that "Mayu is defending the idol image of akb48." However tired and uncomfortable, she also has smiles on face, stories like which are too numerous to tell. Gradually, Watanabe is taking over center in theater and music programs. Meanwhile, the experience of being group's face(kao) is accumulating as well.
    (here i've no idea how to translate akb's kao... face, image or symbol? Anyway you know Maeda used to enjoy this title...i think you've understood it...)

    Nevertheless, Kouhaku, the program having a 40% audience rating, is an extraordinarily big stage, where attention throughout Japan is gathered. It brings about huge burden to stand in center as Maede once did. Perfectly aware of the burden, she said with a smile:"I will do my best in final performance." Being 18 years old, she is genuinely a professional idol.
    Cherishing the hope to capture the nation's attention as "New Center Watanabe Mayu" , she is burning silently.


    one more similar article http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20121230-00000301-tospoweb-ent
    in it Mayu admits something happened during the UZA's dancing practice and vocal recording.
    but she could not disclose it.
    Let's just expect the unknown stories in next year's documentary :^O^:
     
  2. Aisansan

    Aisansan Kenkyuusei

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    Well good for her, but to me she is a huge turn off, grating, watching her is like fingernails on a blackboard, especially in the center. Meaning my buys from now on will be NMB SKE Wasamin only.

    I think it was inevitable anyway as a business decision, she is their biggest money spinner so they will put her where they can maximise income.

    But I am sure they will still sell their millions of CDs anyway. But AKB the next generation isn't anything in appeal like Stark Trek the next generation.
     
  3. gocchisama

    gocchisama Member Stage48 Donor

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    It's the 30th single which decide who is the next center. Also the 5 senbatsu election but it is too far away and we already get some hints about the next generation

    I mean in manatsu no sounds good, mayu was already second. It was logical to get her first since maeda left. For flying get, I agree it was a win for mayuyu to get center place.

    War is not over.
     
  4. xcrossfacekillahx

    xcrossfacekillahx Member

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    Others would want to have it but only one can claim it. The war is still on.
     
  5. Redirector

    Redirector Kenkyuusei

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    Why do you find her so grating? :(
     
  6. MrMojo

    MrMojo Kenkyuusei

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    If you look at past performances after Acchan left, Mayuyu has been center for some of them.

    Many people and news reports had speculated that Mayuyu could possibly be the next center, which was probably the reason why she was transferred to Team A during the recent shuffle.

    Of course, Paruru was also being pushed as the possible next ace (if not also possible center) as well, as dual centers were seen in many performances.

    Guess many reports are now publishing their suspicions that Mayuyu may be the new center, which is not surprising.

    It's not "official" until management says or shows otherwise. [aup]

    Let's see what happens in the weeks to come. :popcorn:
     
  7. gotbild

    gotbild Member

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    Excuse me but I have a simple question. Why is it so damn important to have a center and who it will be? :) I've written it before and can write it again, I'd be happy if they ended up favoring some girls at the expense of others. Why can not all the girls on stage get seen equally? I was heartily tired of Acchan appeared too much, will now Mayuyu or someone else take over the place! [sweat]
     
  8. YukoOshimafan

    YukoOshimafan Member

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    They write this like is a huge surprise that Mayuyu would take next center, lol if she does it wont be surprising at all
     
  9. Redirector

    Redirector Kenkyuusei

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    I think it's pretty much (and will always be) impossible for all the girls to be seen equally. That's because not every girl will end up being really popular. Of course the popular ones will get prioritized. That's basically how things work in show-biz, period. Also, if you're that tired of the whole "center" idea, then your life as an AKB fan is going to be very long and painful, because I highly doubt they will ever get rid of the current system. In fact, this is only the 1st time in AKB history that a center change is occurring. If you already can't stand the idea.......then as I said before your life as a fan is going to be pretty tough :(
     
  10. gotbild

    gotbild Member

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    The problem with the favoritism of the most popular girls are the position beeing permanent. How should a talented girl be able to climb the career ladder if she does not get a chance to be seen? Maybe if she's cute but it's just there to be counted? Think about it, now I will not disturb any more. Do not think about my situation. I get enough myself, I have a little different view of AKB than most people here. ;)
     
  11. M4YUYU

    M4YUYU Member Stage48 Donor

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    They need the public outside the fandom to be able to identify the group easily to make money. When people see Acchan or Yuko, they think immediately of AKB48 (the "faces" of AKB48). If they keep on rotating people who make media appearances, this is impossible to achieve. You and I may feel that more girls should be included in media appearances, but there's only so much screen time / billboard space / album art to promote the group and get a mindshare of the wider market. People tend to forget that Aki-P is running a business, and giving marginally popular members prime media exposure may not be the best business move. Having the members on different agencies also complicate matters.
     
  12. mieniem

    mieniem Member Stage48 Donor

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    Wouldn't that mean that akb should never have tried to have so many members?
     
  13. icehism

    icehism Kenkyuusei

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    They need all the members to work at the theater on a constant and stable basis. Otherwise AKB would have never stopped being a niche act.

    Without this many members, AKB would have probably ended after defstar dropped them.



    As for the topic of center, I still don't get why the only election ranks that matter for center is 1, 2, 9, and 23.

    Seems like a huge slap in the face for fans of 3-8
     
  14. M4YUYU

    M4YUYU Member Stage48 Donor

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    Probably.

    Maybe the profit coming from hardcore wotas buying 30 copies of a single just to support a member is good too ;) Somebody also gotta fill those seats! It would be interesting to see the balance book of AKS and the agencies.
     
  15. M4YUYU

    M4YUYU Member Stage48 Donor

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    This is probably the best answer. Without as many members, AKB48 would have been seen as another idol group. They banked on "these girls could have been anybody" vibe they had going early on. The downside would be, when they're popular, it's impossible to put everybody in the spotlight, and the rags to riches storyline doesn't really fit anymore.
     
  16. ganguro

    ganguro Kenkyuusei

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    I guess maybe his referring to the necessary amount of members? We all know AKB has theater shows regularly, at the moment, there are around 83 members and research students in AKB alone if I'm not mistaken (excluding sister groups, and those that are having double positions like Jurina/Milky etc). Since nowadays they are using many members from sister groups as well to participate in big TV programs like Japan Records Award or Kouhaku. Maybe they should set a limit at say 64 members? The theater shows can only fit a certain amount of members on the stage for performance at any one time, plus with the recent disbandment of Team 4 and I guess they are probably only going to stick with the 3 alphabetical teams for quite some time. We will see if Akip keeps trying to gather new members. The advantage of AKB is that because you have so many girls to pick from, chances are you are most probably going to find one you like. I know there are fans that only like a few members and those that like the entire group for idol fans. But I seriously doubt anyone can remember all the girls from the entire 48G, even the craziest fans I have as friends can't name me the ranking order of Senbatsu Sousenkyou which is only 64 members.

    Personally, I feel that management was only using Yuko as a stand in for center till they decide on the member to take over Acchan's position officially. Probably due to her age? I personally would want Yuko as center but the chances are slim. I always thought Mayuyu would take over after Acchan announced her graduation since she can also be considered one of the faces of AKB and shes the youngest member in top 7. I would presume that the management would like to use someone young and set her up to be a popular center so that they can use her for a longer time. I don't have anything against Mayuyu, except I feel that sometimes she seems to be lacking the "energy" and "effort" in some performances like the Flying Get performance of Japan Records Award I watched yesterday (or make that any Flying Get performance where she is center).

    There is some truth in this, even with AKB48 as a national phenomenon in Japan right now. I have quite a couple of Japanese friends (that lives in Japan) that even though may know the songs and always sing them in karaoke but not know any members at all by their name (or even face as some karaoke systems doesn't put the original PV) except for maybe Maeda Atsuko (face) or Oshima Yuko (Heavy Rotation boom). I have one friend who knows the dance for Heavy Rotation but don't even know a single member. When I asked them about why they don't follow or even know AKB I usually get responses like "cannot remember so many faces" or "members changing around too much".

    It's quite intimidating for someone entirely new to AKB to join the fandom especially if they have no friends who are fans. It's not easy to start when there are so many members and the person is still wondering whether to put in the effort to actually research them up. They may see them on TV and start getting used or interested in a certain member and then for another TV show its another member that appears instead.
     
  17. otoppoi

    otoppoi Kenkyuusei Retired Staff

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    Ah well. In my opinion, a center should be a bland sort of 'everygirl' representation for the group. A center should not have a 'schtick'. Mayuyu most certainly has a schtick, and she's extremely polarizing. You either love her or hate her. We can all agree that she's cute, but I don't think the Japanese public at large will ever grow to unanimously admire her. She may take #1 in the next election, but I don't think she'll ever be the most popular among the general public, and her name recognition won't ever reach the level of Maeda, Oshima, or Shinoda.
     
  18. Zippy

    Zippy Kenkyuusei

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    they need alot of members because they need to fill many categories
    - the face
    - megastars group
    - popular group
    - theater girls group
    - forever irrelevant group

    :awesome:
     
  19. Akira Hitoshi

    Akira Hitoshi Kenkyuusei

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    I honestly think that Mayuyu would make a good center for AKB, but the being center doesn't simply mean that they're the most popular member...it means so much more [shock]

    The fact that the one member is center, it means that they have the ability to lead the entire group in terms of lasting popularity and the key image of AKB...only a chosen few are actually able to do that [rock]

    which is why Acchan was center for so long...it's sacrifice that they have to endure
     
  20. kimunlimited

    kimunlimited Upcoming Girls Stage48 Donor

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    Its not really the election ranks that matter for the Absolute Center that Acchan was. The election is just one of the factors to determine it. The ultimate decision always depends on Aki-P.

    After all the election was supposedly implemented to try to unseat Acchan from the Center position, which happened in the 2nd Sousenkyou, based on fan response. But nevertheless it only happens once management choice always wins.

    As for the 3rd to 8th rank, it must have been the idea that this girls are nearing graduation, let's exclude Mariko she have already mentioned she won't graduate anytime soon. [hehe] And also, they have been rank like that or near it that many think they've reach their peak or no more potential is left for the management to explore. Look at Mayuyu, Jurina, and Paruru they are still young and many expected them to be in the group for a couple of more years. As for Yuko its rather because she was the only competition to Acchan that many still see her as the next in line.
     

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