[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

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@Dill -- Yes. Chihiro does remind me a bit of Memi, but perhaps it's just being (and seeming) young.

 

I'm glad there are more fans that share my worries regarding Neo. I repeat, I have nothing against the girl, on the contrary, I find her a real sweetheart, especially as she didn't torture her violin by playing a sakura song and preferred Bach. However, the only thing that I would hate to see is favouritism for the new girl that is already cooked and not raw. And well-cooked apparently...

Now, after rewatching the episode several times, I am still confused. This time from the large number of girls that are indeed oshi candidates. Compared to 3rd gen, there are more girls I like, however the intensity is lower. So unlike the wonder-generation where I was immediately hit hard by Miu and had Ishirika join in after her turbulent experience with BAN, this time I find at least 5 out of 9 girls that I like but none of these enough as to be "the one". So far the one girl that I find myself scanning to see is Waco... Could she be the one?

Haru, Hina and Ui are so similar to each other, it's utterly confusing. I like all of them... From the rest, Konomi, Chihiro and Momomi have so unique faces and so different from each other member and between them, that they clearly stand out. Each one is also candidate. Only Hiiro and Neo are left out, don't ask me why...

Finally, I am so happy Takahiro sensei (I'm sure it was him), chose Seijyaku to be the training choreo. Apart from being a favourite, it is the most iconic chaotic/modern dance of the group and the best benchmark to judge how the 4ths compare to the 3rds. If they manage this, they can do everything. Let's see...

P.S. I was expecting the 2nd episode today. Aren't they supposed to be aired every day?

 

Regarding the "instability of the forum", is it just me or does everybody else get the frequent "An unexpected database error occurred. Please try again later"?

 

Apparently, we all do.

 

I hate how bad this forum error is.
back to topic, for me I never feel worried about Sato neo.

There isn't something to milk her about. Not yet at least.
If talking about favoritism, I feel worried with shizuki (Her popularity at the beginning stage is concerning, making the other 3ki kinda lagging behind) but since she is falling now... I think if management keeps pushing her, it will only sabotage her popularity. So I doubt they will do it.

I also kinda dislike how management use hikaru too much, (like using her face for addiction cover instead of karin) but since she shows steady popularity, noone can't complain. No hate for hikaru. I like her.

For me recent sakamichi lack a good iconic song, but Sakurazaka actually get 2! The 3 ki boryoku and karin's start over is so iconic that if it is played on live concert, fans will know their assignment well.

 

I find the choice of Seijaku wo Boryoku brave and risky. Seijaku was the song that marked 3ki as a generation of amazing performers, it was the song that leveled up 3ki game and they got tons of praise as a result. I´m worried that the result will be endless comparisons with 3ki ver.

Interesting that they chose Yu and Shii to appear here. The 2 from the "another story" side of 3ki documentary. That + the 2 being front for addiction makes me feel that they testing the waters to push them as a pair. I´m already seeing some fans embracing our bunnykitten duo, guess it might work.

 

I wouldn't worry. No doubt Seijaku no Boryoku is THE holy liturgy of the 3rd gen but the time will come that it will be undertaken by younger generations. It won't stay a privilege of the 3rd gen. This does not mean that in the hearts and minds of Sakurazaka46 fans it will stop being forever the symbol of the 3rd charismatic gen. The gen that touched Keyakis but were not Keyakis, the first genuinely Sakurazaka generation.

Looking at it with cool mind, it will be an achievement if the new girls digest and perform it at the level of the original performers. It will be the gauge of their calibre, the threshold to pass in order to become safely, Sakurazaka. And we all don;t expect but actually know that they will do.

 

@Jsprite -- I often get that message, too. It's particularly a problem right now, but it comes and goes. I just refresh and wait until I get a stable page. Not a real solution, but a semi-acceptable workaround. Does anyone know what's happening?

@Philosophy Senpai -- I'm still at the stage of finding more and more of the 4gens more and more interesting. At first, I couldn't imagine any new generation being as good as gen3. Now I at least see possibilities. The more we see them, the more we will know.

I like Neo, and refuse to worry about management favouring her until I see it. I liked her apparent dependability and calmness in ep.1 of the documentary. But I was less charmed by how capable and controlled she was in her intro video. I preferred the apparent naivete and directness of Chihiro (reacting to the birds and monkeys), Hina (hiding from the "ninja") and Haru, whose daring fall at her audition solidified my enjoyment of her natural and slightly weird manner in her video.

@Dill -- I realized watching Chihiro's video again that her naturalness and innocent directness reminded me of Memi's audition Showroom broadcasts in 2016.

 

2nd ep
if the video does not show watch the video here
Interesting things:
Wako auditoned for 3ki but failed in the 3rd round
Neo danced to Seijaku no bouryoku during the final audition round
Hiiro danced to Shonin yokkyu during the final audition round


1st ep subbed http://keyavids.com/sakurazaka46-4th-generation-documentary-episode-1-eng-sub/

 

@ukifune she's sort like Memi but taller and she really gives that youthful cute energy, especially when she laughs. I can't wait to see what else she can put on the table (also, thanks for the pictures!)


I don't consider Seijaku no Boryoku the mighty 3kis song, just one of their (very good) songs... but it may be just me.

This said, it's not like BAN was that easy song either so, I'm quite positive 4kis will manage to surprise us


After watching episode 2 I appreciate the fact they may be less polished than 3kis already were back at the start, but they show the will to make it anyway.
Just wondering who decided to put Momomi in group with Neo lol The comparision is quite unfair.

This did made me like Momomi more though, so it may will works with other fans.
She makes me think a bit of Runa too now and watching her be so uncoordinated it’s like watching myself when I’m learning a new Kung Fu form.
Your mind knows what your body needs to do, but suddenly your limbs go where they want anyway, meanwhile the “senpai” are doing it faster, stronger and better…. I feel her. I’m definitely cheering for her. lol

I’m cheering for the others too and finally – finally – we can judge Neo for Neo and not for everything she did at thirteen before Sakura, which makes me appreciate her more. By the time they will be on their first SokoSaku episode I’m pretty sure I’ll like all of them.

Can’t wait to see the subbed version.


I don’t know how many Buddies are “against” this generation, hopefully they’ll change their mind soon, but some comment under the video are really nice for more girls than we expected at the start:

Translated with Google:

“Even though Wako-chan failed the 3rd generation auditions, she still loves Sakurazaka. As buddies, this makes me really happy!”

“Good luck, Hiiro-chan! If you can get through this, you'll definitely become stronger!”

“It's amazing how Asai-chan can dance so well despite having no dance experience...”

“Momomi Yamada has the kind of athletic spirit that makes you think, "I can't do it, but I'm going to try!" I don't dislike her. I want to cheer her on.”

“Hiiro-chan, if you can overcome this, you'll definitely transform. It must have been extremely frustrating for you to hit such a high wall when you first joined Sakurazaka46 and not be able to dance well or show your true potential, but Hiiro-chan has already overcome this, right??? I can't wait to see it, I'm so excited.”


Question-time:

1 – Do we know how many people were auditioning for Sakurazaka 4th gen?

2 – Is it always Pon the narrator voice? Seems her voice to me

 

1 - We won´t know unless media discloses the number. If I remember correctly, 44k girls auditioned for Saku 3ki.
2 - It's Ten voice (they say in the video) but in some moments it does sound like Pon's.

 

At last, the three days period for the 2nd episode seemed to last for ever...

The cloud is rising.

My eyes are always keep searching for Wako.

Am I turning bit by bit wacko for Wako?

Ok, I like them all. Each and everyone has many positive aspects and they're all so cute. But why do I find Wako to be the most elegant, fragile and sweet spoken of all?

Also the elderly girl is creeping close by, ready to grab a spot in the first place of my preference. Haru is there, she is strong, tall, imposing, brave, daring, determined and oh my god so pretty...

Let's see how the story goes...

P.S. Does anyone know if each episode is due every third day (meaning that we should expect the next in Sunday) or on Mondays and Thursdays? Or is it random?

 

Honestly after watching the episodes I think 4ki diversity might become their strengh. Until this moment, the girls who caught my attention the most are Neo and Chihiro. That vtr from the auditions made me think that Ui might surprise us later, she seemed very closeted in her vlog but we see her doing some cheering in that clip so I believe she has some unlocked potential.

 

1 thing I feel is that the girls shouldn't be too hard on themselves while learning the dance moves as it's only been a few hours. I don't think normal people can practise such a dance for a few hours and remember everything.

It's great and endearing to see their efforts. I know the videos will try and edit things to show their struggles first, before showing a more accomplished triumph at the end. But it doesn't take away anything from the effort they are putting in.

Neo looks stable to me so I do feel like she's more likely to be tapped for an early senbatsu inclusion. Haru wasn't shown much though. Only snippets of her here and there. Momorin was also shown quite a bit on her struggles to keep up with the dance at times but I do think she's going to perform really well later.

I'm still having trouble putting names to faces at the moment but this was the same with 3ki at the start. I'm sure by the end of the year, 4ki will be as synonymous with Sakurazaka46 as the rest are.

 

http://keyavids.com/sakurazaka46-4th-generation-documentary-episode-2-english-sub/ ep 2 is subbed now too!

 

On today's perfomance of the livetour a new single has been announced

12th single "Make or Break" to be released on June 25th!
(Selection will be announced on May 25th at Sokosaku)

•BACKSLIVE to be held!
July 9-10 at Makuhari Event Hall

Most likely we will get a teaser video later today

 

Hayai!

Anyway, 12th Single Thread

 

if the video does not show watch the video here new 4ki ep!

This time the teams also sang along with seijaku and the focus was on expressing themselves.
-
If I understood Neo was praised for the following: that instead of doing 3ki seijaku she did her own seijaku, as in her own worldview/expression came across well.
I think her team did quite well too.

Team A seemed to get quite some critiques, their voices were very soft during singing too often not singing (tho it's valid the song is intense and they seemed to be out of breath)
Team B: Seemed to have done well and it seemed like they got positive critiques. Also sang most of the song though a bit soft most likely cause of being out of breath. Haru stands out from the team for being the moodmaker during practice always smiling, the staff find this team the most stable.
Team C: They sang most of the song they were obviously very out of breath making their singing not always sound very pleasant but they did a good job. Neo really stands out, and I think did the best out of the 3.
--
I would say Team B did best as they are most balanced

 

Suddenly, I'm in love with all of them. From strangers a week ago, they are now all like our friends. The meal-making adventure was excellent. They could even make gyoza. Haru becomes a major figure, a mood-maker and leader. Neo advances further, making the song her own. Chihiro emerges. For everyone, the dancing is no longer such an impossible mountain. Wonderful.

EDIT:

• Group A (Hiiro-Hina-Ui) had the most trouble and received the most criticism, but I loved it when the teacher told them that when they overcame the wall they had hit, they could become the best group.
• Asai Konomi wept when she was praised. She said afterward that having been criticized before, hearing praise just made the tears come out.
• Ages: Group A (Hiiro-Hina-Ui) are all 19. Group B (Haru-Konomi-Chihiro) are 21-20-17. Group C (Wako-Neo-Momomi) are 20-18-16.
• I give credit to Haru for being a leader and mood-maker and helping her group-mates in both performance and mood. She and Neo seemed to have the most to say about the meaning of the song, but I couldn't really understand what they were saying.
• There are two centre positions to think of: the training camp final performance, and a potential track on the new single. For the 3ki, management chose someone who was having trouble (Rika) to be centre from the training camp. But they chose the best performer for the single track (Shii-chan).
• For Seijaku no Bouryoku, perhaps we will see Hiiro? Maybe even Momomi? Or Wako (who is not really having trouble). Momomi is the very youngest member, and I think they will choose someone older, as Rika was. Perhaps Haru?
• For a single track, at the moment Neo is the most dependable. But Haru has such personality and expression. They may go for some member they predict could be a star -- and that could be any of them, it seems to me. And it may not come until the 13th single.
• I'm betting on Chihiro for stardom in the future. She seemed to me to be eager for the spotlight, despite her youth and uncertainty, and to make fast progress in dance and expression. Hina seemed a bit stalled in ep3.
• I'm not sure about voices for any of them except Neo, and maybe Haru. I'm not good at picking voices out, but I hate off-key singing.
• I think Haru will become an important member of Sakurazaka, within the group at the very least. Japanese comments call her "a special person" and "funny" and say that it is "reassuring" that there is someone like her in the 4ki.
• One commenter says that the shopping group (Wako, Ui and Chihiro) give an "amazingly transparent feeling". Another calls them "so cute".

 

So true...

What can I say after these three episodes. The feelings are so powerful, more powerful compared to the three first episodes for the 3rd gen.

First, their reaction when Yu and Shizuki entered, and when they were performing and finished Seijaku, were priceless. Such amazing feelings...

Then, it's their camaraderie... Expected you may say, however, there's something in the air when they were walking and taking pictures at the lakeside. Their happy voices, their laughter despite the hardships of the training, gave out an aura of power, inner strength, like, everything will be fine and at the end we'll come out winners, all nine of us...

My heart was stolen completely by Wako... The decisive moment, the moment of choice was her little confession during episode 2. With her so sweet and cute voice, speaking softly and humbly, it was not without a sense of bitterness that she revealed she had failed the audition for the 3rd gen and hitting the wall of the age of 20, gave her everything to try one last time. I couldn't resist tears when she ended with: I had the same clothes for the second audition... Well done my angel, you won, even with the same clothes, you broke the bad spell! And what signed the deal for my new oshi: she makes obento for her younger siblings! What a precious soul...
Wako-chan, I wish you many happy and successful years in Sakurazaka, God bless you sweet child!

Haru. Haru, Haru, what shall I do with you? I guess she has to be my second oshi along the lines of Miu/Ishirika... This girl is full of passion, her eyes were on flames when she was performing during the 3rd episode. And of course, she is the strong older sister for all 4th gens...

I also like the two girls I use to call "strange faces", Konomi and Momomi. But I can't oshi all lol... I dare make a prediction here: I foresee that Momomi will be the next Karin for the group (you hear that @ukifune ?)

Chihiro could also be a future ace, it all depends on her...

Although it's still early (I should wait for the subtitles of the 3rd episode), however I am starting to worry about the trio in group A. I hope they catch up at least until the last moment.

Finally, Neo. I have to admit that I am still a little prejudiced against this girl and I feel ashamed about that. By watching these episodes and especially after this 3rd, it is evident that the girl is at a completely different level! She delivers such a strong performance and her tears during dancing and singing really melted my heart and made me feel remorse that I am not so fond of her... What I think now is that, yes, having a new girl joining Sakurazaka, that is so ready, "so cooked" for the job is unfair for all the rest, not only her genmates but also the rest of the group, however this has nothing to do with the fact that, objectively, she is very pretty, very charismatic and if she is worth it, then it's ok to be an ace (the ace they are grooming her to become, which is evident, if I may add)...

Let's see how this unfold during the rest of the episodes, the omotenashikai and their first song...!