[GENERAL] The Sakamichi Series group thread

Japanese idol group Sakamichi Series (Nogizaka46, Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46) will launch fundraising campaign in responds to the Hagibis Typhoon Relief at their handshake events, all collected donation will be transferred to Red Cross.

Typhoon Hagibis hit Japan on Saturday with record-breaking rainfall that caused rivers to overflow and left thousands of homes flooded, damaged or without power. The death toll from the typhoon has risen to 74, at least 200 people were injured, 30 of them seriously.

Original source: Nogizaka46 official site / Keyakizaka46 official site / Hinatazaka46 official site

 

Imagine if they had taken Nogi 4th gen, Keyaki 2nd gen, and Hinata 3rd gen, and combined them to make a new 21 member sister group.

 

TV Tokyo music show MelodiX! SP 2019 announces its first artist lineup today, all three Sakamichi series' idol groups Hinatazaka46, Keyakizaka46 and Nogizaka46 will participated in the music show special.

MelodiX! Special 2019 (working title)'s artist lineup:

• BiSH
• Creepy Nuts
• The Gospellers
• Hinatazaka46
• Hirahara Ayaka
• Kato Miliyah
• Kankaku PIERO
• Keyakizaka46
• Kishidan
• Koda Kumiko
• Kuraki Mai
• m-flo
• Moriyama Naotaro
• Nakamoto Mizuki
• Nogizaka46
• PENICILLIN
• SCANDAL
• Seishun Koukou 3-nen C-gumi (Idol Club)
• WANDS

 

Sakamichi Terebi


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

IkuMai's tension!

 

Sakamichi TV was simply fun. Quite an easy-going show. Hinatazaka has more coverage and they're well-deserving. Maybe it's just my love for Nogi, but they are shining ever so brightly in their casual clothes. Rentan and Kato Shiho's interaction was so cute. And man, Sakura is gorgeous. Sakura and Kakki side-to-side is perfect frame. This show actually makes me interested with Hinatazaka.

 

Kumi's casual clothes made me scream internally.

 

I got really lazy this year and didn't do any write-ups for any of the singles, save for a few individual songs. So I felt like I had to do something to make up for it and get back into the writing spirit, so this is what I decided to do:

Sakamichi Series 2019 Singles Song Rankings

Songs will be ranked in order of least favourite to most favourite. I don't (generally) take lyric meanings into account, and mostly base my choices off how the music sounds and the MV looks (where applicable). This time I went with purely how much I like the music itself, and how much I find myself listening to the songs on repeat (because I was too lazy to go back and watch all the MVs). The songs are colour-coded by group, with the A-sides bolded and underlined. I also chose to code the two Hiragana songs with Hinatazaka colours. This is how the 39 songs shook out:

Hiteishita Mirai
Boku no Omoikomi
Kimi ni Hanashiteokitai koto
Gomenne Christmas
Yonbanme no Hikari
Romendensha no Machi
Kawa wa Nagareru
Masaka Guuzen...
~Do My Best~ Ja Imi wa Nai
Tokidoki Omoidashite Kudasai
Am I Loving?
Heikousen
Aimai
Nobody
Toshoshitsu no Kimi e
Dakishimeteyaru
Dash & Rush
Mama no Dress
Kitsune
Chinmoku ga Ainara
Boku no Koto, Shitteru?
My God
Kyun
Yasashisa ga Jama wo suru
Footsteps
Cage
Tokimekisou
Konna ni Suki ni Nachatte ii no?
No You na Sonzai
Heel no Takasa
Ichiban Sukida to Minna ni Itte ita Shousetsu no Title o Omoidasenai
Kassouro
Joyful Love
Mimi ni Ochiru Namida
Honto no Jikan
Kuroi Hitsuji
Sing Out!
Doremisolasido
Yoakemade Tsuyogaranakutemoii

Some thoughts:

• Nogizaka:
  • I wasn't taken by the majority of Nogizaka's songs this year, but they hit a couple of homeruns with their A-sides
  • Yoakemade landing at the top of my list was a surprise. Thinking back, it snatched the title around the middle of October when the lyrics hit me hard personally for various reasons. It became one of the songs I used for motivation at the time, and the more I listened to it the more I loved it. It's a song about desperation and finding the will to keep going. The lyrics might not fit the tone of a typical summer single, but the energy level certainly does. And the full choreography is also wonderful. It's one of those perfect stage-performance songs.
    
  • Yoakemade is also a good contrast to the hopeful and laid-back Sing Out. They make a nice pairing for the year.
    
  • On Kassouro being so high: I guess I love disco now. It never died, it just moved to Japan.
  • On Heikousen: It's not ranked very high, but it's never fails to make me smile at parts. Whoever was on keyboard for this song was like "Oh my god this is my chance to SHINE!"
  • I wish I could rank Reika's song higher because she was one of Nogi's best singers, and the MV is so good, but ballads just aren't my thing.
  • Boku no Koto, Shitteru? feels a little like a RADWIMPS song.
• Keyakizaka:
  • With only one single released, it was disappointing overall on the music front this year. But what a single. It might not be #1 on my list of favourite songs, but I still hold that Kuroi Hitsuji is the most important song I've heard all year. It tackles social issues in such an artful and powerful way through music and MV. I also think it's the best MV I've seen this year, from any country. Not to mention the music itself is top tier. That soulful bass is something else.
  • Heel no Takasa is another of those bittersweet bops that caught my attention. Delicate piano and guitar melodies, but combined with a driving dance beat, and it all works so smoothly.
• Hinatazaka
  • The first thing that stands out is that they put out so many fantastic songs. That's a lot of blue in the top half of the list.
  • Doremi was my top song from the moment it came out until circumstances bumped Yoakemade ahead of it. It's just so damn catchy. It's bright and airy and so perfectly Hinatazaka. It's feels like a Disney song in all the best ways--the ones that have a big, boisterous dance number or montage. The MV was also great at giving everyone ample screen time.
  • Honto no Jikan takes the crown of favourite B-Side. It's ridiculously cute and catchy. It inherits the bouncy Hinata style, so that Konna ni can take them in more experimental directions.
  • Ichiban Sukida was a pleasant surprise. I mentioned it elsewhere, but this song is kinda like a mashup of Yorushika and Madeon. I also didn't think Hinano would be singing in that range when I first saw her, but it's great that she is. Hinatazaka has a nice roster of voices.

 

What's the latest news about Sakamichi Kenkyuusei? Any video about their performance before?

 

Nothing much and nope.

When's the best time to place them? Spring, summer, or fall? I have no idea why they're waiting so long.

 

^I actually think they'll add them in batches? like select a few for Hinata around spring, Keyaki in summer and Nogi in autumn (based on which group 'needs' the members most)

 

Another Sakamichi TV episode incoming... (to air Saturday night, 8 February at 18:00 JST on NHK BS Premium - not NHK-G - and two hours long)

https://twitter.com/nhk_musicjp/status/1219548243698143234

 

Somewhere in 2021 would be early enough. There is no need to add new members to Nogizaka at the moment (I don't know about the other groups though).

 

Sakamichi idol groups' TV special Sakamichi TV Vol. 2 was aired on NHK BS Premium on 30 December 2019. Within a month, NHK BS Premium announce it will air the TV special again on 8 February 2020, but this time it will be an extended version.

 

Yeah Nogi doesn't need them and I doubt they'll get any of them any time soon.

Hinata does need them. Based on how fast they've sold out handshake tickets for their next single. Out of 18 members, 9 have sold out in the first round (30/30) and 4 more members are close to selling out and will probably sell out in the second round.

Keyaki, uhh I guess they could use them since they've gone to senbatsu/unders system but they've got to resolve some things first .

 

Oh no please don’t give Keyaki any new members. Gen 2 just become fully integrated into the group and 9th single is still nowhere to be seen. Adding gen 3 is too abrupt for now. I’d really rather all of the kks form their own group.

 

IMO they should just put all of them in Hinata.

 

They should retitle Kamimura Hinano as a 2.5gen (like Shinoda Mariko was 1.5gen in AKB) and drop a bunch of these girls into Hinata as a FULL fresh 3rd gen. Nogi's 4th gen are stiill very fresh, it's too soon for new members.

 

I can understand the hostility to adding new members to any of the groups. I, for one, always questioned the need or the logic in doing an all sakamichi audition. I thought the status quo of 2018 worked. Except for the hiragana Keyaki thing, I thought they were good to go for another couple of years. But they went and did it. And here we are...

Put them in sooner. Like right now. Yeah, it's gonna mess with a lot of the way the groups work, but it's the bed management made...

I think I just want them to start their idol ways in earnest. They wanted it back in 2018 why make them wait so long?

 

The girl who withdrawn from Nogi's 4th gen will be regreting her choice maybe forever.