How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

This is going to be quite a long post. Please bear with me.

Spoiler

I am not really into "real" idol stuff. I don't really know how idol business works. I only really know that idols cant date. I am more into female seiyuu stuff but I know Akb48 exists. But never really taken an interest on them since I am not into japanese idols. One thing that I don't really like about idols is how they are posing in bikinis in such a young age. That really turns me off. Rippi and Shikaco also did gravure pre-love live. Rippi was also very young when she did gravure stuff. Anyways, I am more into female seiyuss until now.

I first encountered Nogizaka46 was when μ's was in music japan last october and they were interviewed by a girl in maroon uniform. I only knew basic japanese so I don't really know who the girl in maroon uniform was. But she was actually very cute especially when she did the Nico nico nii (Nico's signature pose). I didn't bother to know the girl because I only watch music japan because of μ's. Every week, I always check who have a number anime single on myanimelist forum. I saw the cover of nogizaka46 there because on a certain week in october, they have the number 1 single. I know they are number one because they only post a picture of an album cover who have a number one single. Since they are not a seiyuu unit, I didn't bother to check them.

And then the kouhaku presser for newcomers came. It was live from where I am from so i was able to watched it. I only watched it because μ's was there. I was pissed because nhk didn't show the interview live. At that time, I was wondering who those girls in maroon uniforms were. My first impression of them is how they look beautiful, elegant and sophisticated in their maroon uniform. The girl with short hair caught my attention maybe because she was the spokeswoman and she was crying. Also I didn't even remember the girl who interviewed μ's is from this group.

And then Kouhaku came. Since I've only watched Kouhaku because μ's, I never really paid attention who the other performance was. And then akb48 performed. I am wondering why the girl in front was crying after the two girls appeared. I was so curious that I decided to seriously check them out. It turns out that the girl crying is graduating and the girls who appeared are former members and they are like the aces of akb48. After checking some members out, I followed some of them on twitter and IG. One of them is Mayu Watanabe. She's actually familiar to me because she voiced some anime characters. As I am looking at some of her pictures, I saw one tweet with the girl with short hair she's hugging and almost kissing. I thought that girl is so cute. And of course I still didn't check who that girl was. Lol.

I became interested with Akb48 after their performance in Kouhaku. I watched some of their videos and then I chance upon the video of Nogizaka46 performing Taiyou Knock live (at that time I don't know the title of the song) and I actually think that they have a better choreography than akb48. And I really really like it how in sync they were. But still, I didn't bother to check them out and watche more akb48 videos. While watching the subbed radio show of Takamina, Sayanee and later KojiHaru, Takamina and Sayanee called KojiHaru's younger brother, they asked if he likes akb48 but he answered nogizaka46 and his oshi is Captain. I decided to google for Captain and I agree on them how beautiful Captain is. And then decided to check the others too. But I am still not interested on them. Not until I check out who are in senbatsu for Kokoro no placard. I actually don't know that time the members of that was voted by fans. So I was quite surprised that a nogizaka member was there whom I thought was akb48 rival.

To cut this post short, Ikomachan basically brought me into the fandom. I found her very adorable when she was called in akb sousenkyo and how shocked she were. And after that, i watched nogidoko, their videos and listened to their song. And I love all their songs. My favorite will be Kimi No wa No kibou. My first impression on them on kouhaku as an elegant, sophisticated young ladies basically went away after watching their shows. These girls have some weid and dorky personality. Especially love Ikuchan because how my first impression on her that she's an ojou sama but she have to be dorkiest among the girls. And after few days watching nogizaka, I've only realized that Sayuringo is the one who interviewed μ's and how she's a Mimorin fangirl. Before Kouhaku,I have no idea who nogizaka46 was. Now I can name them all. Even the graduates. Lol

Aside from their songs, I like that they have a wholesome image and don't do gravure stuffs aside some swimsuit photos on their PBs. Heck they don't even paint their nails and keeps them natural.

When it comes to oshi, I have to give it to a girl that brought me here, Ikomachan. But I love all them. If not, i will not bother who the other girls are. And I can't hate/dislike certain members from a group that I love very much

Sorry for the long post. Lol

 

• How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?

Like most everyone, I came to Nogizaka46 through AKB48. I knew them as another idol group produced by Aki-P. I didn’t distinguish them as a sister group or rival group. At the time, when I was just getting into the idol world, I could’ve cared less about them. I was heading down the road to being an AKB fan, but that didn’t become the case. It is Nogi or nothing once I became a fan.

• How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

As I stated, I was more into AKB than Nogi at the start. That meant watching most all the AKBingo english subbed on the late j-hive.weebly. As I ran through most of them I skipped around towards the end run because I couldn’t really get into the newish AKB generations. I also always skipped over the AKB v. Nogizaka46 episodes. Who does Nogizaka46 think they are?

Eventually, I ran out of english subbed AKBingo such that I had to watch those episodes. During the introduction of Nogizaka, I didn’t see anything special. Then they did the first challenge with the ‘munekyun battle’ with the introduction of Shiraishi Mai, the member who is absolutely the most stunningly beautiful idol. You can’t beat the members of Nogizaka for pure idol beauty.

That’s when I began my interest in Nogizaka46, but I wasn’t fully a fan of theirs. I looked into them: reading the wiki48, watching NogiBingo, watching their MVs. I wasn’t completely sold. Not until I caught the Ikuta-Mayuyu rendition of Kimi no wa Kibou did I dig deeper. Ikuta became my kami-oshi.

From Kimi no wa Kibou, I began listening to all of Nogizaka’s songs. And it was the music that I fell in love with first. IMO all their singles are pretty great. I liked their songs because I could distinguish members of the group. Ikuta has a distinct voice, but so does Kazumin, Shirashi, Nanase. I was able to distinguish their voices, so I had to start watching NogiDoko to help in distinguishing the members.

After you watch a few episodes, NogiDoko will make you fall in love with the members. Who can forget Ikuta and dashi maki tomago? Or Kuroshi? The bancho contest with that huge frog and the epic spicy udon battle between Ikuta and Matsumura? The Mt. Fuji, sky diving, waterfall single campaigns? Valentine’s Day chocolate exchanges? NogiDoko had it all.

I can tell you when I became a full fledged fan: when Nishino bungied from Macau Tower. If you didn’t love her that act alone would make you want to —how she silently accepted her fate and went. Naachan! From there I was sold.

I promptly went looking for anything and everything about Nogizaka46.

 

For a long time I love Japanese songs. Globe's "Feel Like Dance" was a phenomenal song. If my memory serves me right it was the first J-song that got me into IT. Then the influence of anisong since I love watching anime also. But you can call me a late bloomer. As in late when it comes to liking these idol groups. I happen to bump into their music since I am always looking for any J-pop that I can enjoy. I mostly like them because of some of their music. Honestly I never thought of liking any of these idol groups. SO MANY OF THEM, TOO MUCH ACTUALLY. Just how many girls? The first AKB concert I watched was Acchan's graduation. Lo and behold during intro, it's like a crazy collection of Japanese dolls. During that time I think it's plain crazy.

My roots actually goes way back to Morning Musume. And even that time, only Michishige Sayumi is the only one left, while the line up I got to love still includes Natsume Abe. Like I said...late bloomer. Just couldn't think of another term to call myself. From MoMusu to NMB (not AKB mind you) with that dance hit "Kamonegikkusu". That's the reason why I believe, Sayaka Yamamoto is the best dancer among the 48 group (I just want to say that, I admire this girl also, she can also sing definitely). It took I while before I checked AKB48. I saw the release of "Koisuru Fortune Cookie" on TV, which for me is such a fun song "No money, No job, Too much bad news"...LOL. Then "Labrador Retriever", followed by "Kokoro no Placard". Heck, I don't even know any of these girls that time except Sayanee and Itano, who by then already graduated. Definitely have no idea one of those girls is from NOGIZAKA46 (Ikoma-chan). But I never pay any attention to them. But I'm already aware of "THE ALL TIME AKB48 SONG" Heavy Rotation. Somehow it caught my interest. Then, one episode of J-MELO played a list of popular AKB songs. What caught my attention was "UZA". What?!? These idol group can pull off that kind of song and choreography? The same group that sings "SO LONG!"? That's when I started my research about AKB48. Go to youtube, then watched this catchy "Gingham Check" song (today, one of my all time fav).

Fast forward....Janken Taikai, my ex-Oshi (but still loves her even now) "NyanNyan" KojiHaru enters with some other girls. "Girls Rule!" playing, well that song is already very familiar to me which gives the same "Heavy Rotation" effect to me when I got into AKB48. Kojizaka46? (hey, I need to check who those other girls are). Ok, let me check this '46 group. Forward a little bit more, there's a show on NHK World called Tokyo Girl's update. I actually missed the first episode with their guest, none other than 3 members of Nogizaka46. But Captain Sakurai is one the host and she seems interesting and a little funny. Let me check this show also. In my research about N46, "Nandome no Aozora ka" was the song that really caught my attention. Plus Rena-chan who I also like whether AKB or SKE, was a part of it. I already knew Rena was coming over and she really fit in the whole N46 image. "Nandome no Aozora ka", I love this song. And guess who's the center? Iku-chan!!! Rest is history. As of now, I'm only watching N46 shows.

That's basically how I got to know and became a fan of N46. With idol groups from MoMusu to a little bit of NMB first, then AKB, now it's Nogi. Funny, because I'm also into BabyMetal and after learning Suzuka's neesan is none other than Himetan, I started to look into them and also checking the old Sakura Gakuin group that still includes Ayami-chan. Late again, huh! Who knows, after a year or two, which idol group I will come to like.

 

I could honestly write a novel of how I became a fan of Nogizaka46. In March 2014, while watching an episode of HeyHeyHey Music Champ (big Downtown and GNT fan), I came across a segment that featured AKB48 and Itano Tomomi. I'll be honest, she really grabbed my attention and I started googling her, and obviously came across the world of AKB48. From most of 2014, I caught up with the history of the 48 groups, in chronological order, share laughs with AKBingo, shed real tears every time Takamina cried, felt like I lost a part of myself when Acchan graduated. Became a huge fan of NMB48 and their sound. Sayanee became someone I looked up to because of her work ethics and her personality. I basically consolidated 8 years of AKB history in about 6 months, and my life basically became learning more about the group and also Japan as a whole. Hell I even postponed watching Games of Throne. Last year, after watching the big reshuffle in feb 2014 (almost caught up with the history at that point), Ikoma's co-currency intrigued me. This let me to another long history lesson about her and Nogizaka46. There is something about their sound that really touch me personally. Maybe it's because I was becoming unsatisfied with the Sousenkyou results in AKB and the sound they were producing at that time. Started with Nogizakatte doko, watched every single episode, which is when I realize that after emersing myself in Japanese TV for a year, I could actually somewhat understand what they were saying or at least get a hold of the situation. Big props to the subbers out there for making life for us english speaking fans so wonderful. I spent much of 2015 in Nogizaka46's world, catching up to the current news and activities, ordering the cds, blurays, books, dvds so I could feel like i was contributing to their success, and I really wanted them to succeed. I had caught up with AKB news already, Yuko's graduation really hit hard I think, and it seems like everytime I started liking someone, they happened to announce their graduation (Nana, Ripopo, Kanakichi .....). It's really hard to pick just one person to like in Nogizaka, but Reika really got me with the gag she did during the camping episode on Doko, her role as captain, and the Letter Song to Wakatsuki. I also like to thank all the member of Stage48 for keeping me in the loop with news and things happening around their world. I am a Japanese Idol fan and proud of it. My family and Friends don't get it, think that I have some sort of fetish or something. I have to explain to them that once I realized the work they put into their craft, the hardship they go through, the relationship they build with each other, their love and respect for each other, it really felt like my life was missing something huge, that type of friendship, work ethic, never give up attitude.

As I am typing this, I realize I COULD actually write a novel! Maybe I'll do a blog or something about how I came to be a fan of this idol world. Had a baby last May and now that she's almost 10 months, she will only dance to music of Nogizaka46, we will watch the concerts together, and she sings when I play their music in the car. My wife thinks I created a monster, but it's really all going according to my genius evil plan of moving us to Japan...eventually... Can't wait for new single to arrive at my door, and every single time I get that CD, I wish i could use the handshake tickets, It's so sad! I'm a 34 year old man, happily married with a beautiful baby girl (future japanese idol i think), started learning Japanese by myself, finished learning Hiragana and Katakana, moving on to Kanji soon, vocab and grammar, and hopefully will be able to translate and pay back to the international Idol FanDom community. NOGIZAKA46 FOR LIFE!

 

I've always respected everything Nogizaka has achieved and kind of watched their activities in awe as an AKB fan. I also adore the group's refined aura, their musical style and how the members present themselves. I guess my journey to being a Nogizaka fan started already in 2014. That autumn I listened through their whole discography for the first time. I had heard some of their A-sides before, but this was the first time I got acquainted with their B-sides and rest of the A-sides.

Most of 2015 I listened to both 48G and Nogizaka's music, but my main fandom was still AKB48. During one day in the autumn I watched Nogi's document, which made me more interested in the group as a whole. During October I also started to watch ”Keyakitte, kakenai?” and got more interested in the Sakamichi series while my interest in the 48G dwindled. That autumn I also saw some Nogizaka concert backstage footage on AKB48SHOW (reporters were Miyupon and Sahhoo from AKB48), which strengthened my emerging attachment to Nogi. My AKB48 oshimen is Miyupon (Omori Miyu), who totally adores Nanasemaru. This was also one of the reasons why I thought I should get more familiar with the group.

While continuing to watch ”Kakenai” during the winter, I also happened to see some glimpses of Nogizaka's ”Koujichuu” while waiting for ”Kakenai” to start. At that time I was already leaving AKB behind and was starting to become a Keyakizaka fan, but the CMs I saw for Nogi's MV collection and ”Harujion” during the commercial breaks made me think more and more about Nogi. Recently I began to notice that Keyakizaka really wasn't my thing, though I had been enthusiastic about them some months ago. The shift from 48G and Keyakizaka to solely Nogizaka was a really natural one. Though I'm really new to the fandom, one day it just hit me: Nogizaka as a group feels like home to me.

I guess ”Harujion” was the final deciding factor for me in becoming solely a Nogi fan. The song is bittersweet but still hopeful and cheerful at the same time. I love the start of the A-side PV with the strings, Maimai's figure walking away from the camera and then her warm smile as the song starts. The overall Taisho era visuals also tug at my heart strings in just the right way. I've recently been watching various episodes of ”Nogidoko” and ”Koujichuu”, and I'm currently eagerly waiting for my copy of the MV collection and the Nogi piano sheet music book to arrive in the mail. I don't have an oshimen yet, but members I really like are Ikuchan, Nanasemaru, Kitano, Kazumin, Rottii and Reika. I used to do translations when I was an active AKB fan, so I'd be glad to be of help in the Nogi fandom, too!

 

if you'd do the blog translations i'd be over the moon happy

 

• How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?

Honestly it was strange how I got into them. I was watching the Latest Gaki no Tsukai 24 hour game and on the site I was watching I saw that they had subbed a few other things as well. I figured I was learning Japanese already so getting as much 'extra' stuff into the system wouldn't be too bad. I ended up watching 'Ebi Friday Night' with SKE48. If I'm honest I really didn't care for any of these idol groups. I thought they were just too huge to shine in and seemed a bit strange. So after watching Ebi Friday, I figured well that was fun too bad it's over. There at the top of the page of 'Wakarimasu' was the title Nogizaka46.

Clicked it and figured it'd be fun to see idols in that situation again and just have a good old laugh. First person that caught my eye was Hashimoto in that Nogibingo! opener. Figured, huh she looks really different.

• How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

Pretty much where it all went downhill. Binged the next 4 subbed seasons of Nogibingo. Got to season 5 and found out there weren't any more episodes. Despair. Looked up their songs, looked up anything I could find and found that I really enjoyed the way they handled themselves specially being labelled the rival group to the well known AKB. Seemed like a hard title to live up to and I guess I wanted to root for the 'underdog.' Bought their latest album available on iTunes and can feel the call to just buy as many of the singles as possible, which isn't an easy task for someone from Australia. At the end of the day, A new fan here and really just keep binging their shows and eagerly waiting for the new album to come in. Already overwhelmed that I have to choose between the different albums but hey I wanna support them and figure it's worth it. Specially for someone who really didn't care at ALL about idol groups. Ha! Only regret now is that I wish I found out about them while I was in Japan last November! Could've saved myself from all the pains of shipping prices.

 

How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?
I was a fan of AKB. When there's a new group that declared themself as the official rival of your favorite idol group, you're bound to know.

How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

Spoiler: wall of text

2013. It was around November. I got myself a (now ex) gf. She was jealous because I kept listening and watching some "girls who dance in swimsuits, bikinis, and lingeries" (her quote). So she ultimatum'd me, that I must stop this "creepy" hobby of mine if I wanted to keep the relationship with her. I was like, eh sure whatever, since I was pretty burned out of AKB because the quality of their songs went downhill at that time (that's my opinion) and their variety shows became more stale (again, at that time and my opinion, idk about AKBINGO now since I don't follow it anymore).
May 2014. I was shopping with her. She was looking for some shoes and we all men know women always took their sweet a$$ time when they're picking shoes and clothes. Since I am not built to endure such hellish trial, I wandered around the area. Then I sat down near the music store. I heard some bubbly J-Pop song faintly. My instinct told me it was AKB's new song. Since it's been quite some time since I followed them, I went to the store and asked the clerk;
"Excuse me miss, what song is this?"
"Oh it's... Nog... Nogizak... Nogizaka46, Romance no Start."
At that moment, I felt like a thunderbolt just strucked my body. This song was (still is) very good, so I bought the CD. They only had the type-B so I went with that. I instantly fell in love with Kidzuitara Kataomoi and Romance no Start. They reinvigorated my passion again. My now-ex gf knew about this and she ultimatum'd me yet again. I was like, "No. I want to follow them and I will follow them. I do whatever I want". She said with teary eyes; "Which one do you choose, me or those sh**ty idols?" I chose Nogizaka. We broke up, I'm single since then. No regrets, no f**ks given either. From there on, I follow Nogi religiously. Off topic, but the main reason I kinda don't like Ikuchan's singing voice because it reminds me of hers. I have nothing against Ikuchan, of course.

Spoiler

And btw Clara, for the last time, just because your voice is good, it doesn't automatically make you a good singer.

Now here I am, spending my time all alone with the girls, happily more than ever.
Sorry if this sounds like my personal blog, but I have to mention my ex because the end of my romance with her was my start of romance with Nogi.

Thank you for reading.

 

How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?
I was living in Washington state at the time near Seattle; Tumblr showed me the way. Spotted a rather cute girl on my dashboard and pursued further photos. Turns out it was Ikoma-chan.

How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?
I didn't really jump in at first, just had a couple photos of Ikoma floating about on my computer. Didn't listen to any of their music, etc. A couple months later I was in a book store in the city and spotted a photo of Ikoma on the cover of a magazine, picked it up and realized that there were a TON of cute girls in this mystery group called Nogizaka46. I bought said magazine and every once in a while would return to that book store looking for other issues. I think around this time I started looking for online scans of these magazines like UTB and stumbled across one of N46's songs for the first time. I didn't see a video first, just a random song uploaded on soundcloud. I can't remember what song it was and I didn't really connect faces to the voices. Up to this point the only Japanese music I really listened to was Enka, J Math-rock and anime soundtracks. I found a few of their other songs on soundcloud and gave them a listen, ended up liking them but still didn't go out of my way to watch any of the videos. For about five months after this I basically forgot N46. I ended up moving to the East Coast for college and was so busy I avoided spending as much time on my computer as possible. After the first semester things started slowing down and I also went into a pretty serious bout of depression, started messing around on the computer again. Somehow a photo of Ikoma showed up on tumblr again and this time I did some investigating, started reading about the group and eventually found a video clip of Nogibingo. Watching made me feel better and I started watching episode after episode in my free time. I fell in love with a lot of the members personalities and started learning more about the culture surrounding idols. In pursuit of more N46 media I joined H!O and started talking to other people and really listening to their music for the first time. This time I was really hooked. I started watching their music videos and listened to their album pretty much all the time, started listening to the singles..... Before I knew it was a huge Nogizaka46 fan. My housemate also started watching Nogibingo with me around this time, he got really into it as well and we started talking about Oshimen's and related subjects which I was still indecisive about. I ordered Ikoma's photobook when it came out and at the same time started paying attention to Aachan. Aachan won in the end.

 

@nullion wow Romance no Start is so symbolic in your story in more than one way lol

 

Hey all, just joined earlier. Thought I'd share a bit since Nogi is by far my favorite idol group these days.

How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?
Am a long time SKE fan (since their 2nd single) but never did pay much attention to the main or other sister groups as I wasn't particularly interested in the idol industry in general, only a select few girls from SKE and a number of their earlier songs. I do know quite a bit about the other groups though, from all the shows and stuff. First came to know about Nogi when I read a piece on their upcoming debut and their supposed 'rival' status to AKB on a Japanese music blog.

How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?
I initially thought I'd give them a try since they're a newly formed group and it was an opportunity to get to know the girls and see them grow right from the get-go, something I wasn't able to experience with AKB or their sister groups. It actually took a while though, as I wasn't completely sold until the 5th single (Kimi no Na wa Kibou) came along. The song was and still is one of my favorite songs from Nogi to this day. Also in the same year (2013, I believe?), I chanced upon a female colleague who is a huge Johnny's fangirl watching Bad Boys J starring quite a few of the Nogi girls and found myself watching with her right up to the end. Pointless fighting all the time aside, it really helped me get a better feel for the girls. After that, I just searched and watched everything that featured a Nogi member and I think it's safe to say that was when I became a true fan. These days, Nogi's shows are the only ones I truly enjoy. Oh and if you must know, having a great girl like Naachan in the group helped a great deal! LOL

 

I had lived in Japan as an English teacher for a few years and upon returning home (Canada), I met up with some old friends, one of which is Japanese. We all got together and he showed me a funny video on his phone of these Japanese girls taking an English test and we all had a good laugh about it. I later asked him more about that video as I wanted to re-watch it and he told me it was AKB48 in Mecha Iketeru. I never really cared about idol culture, and I used to actually find the whole sub-culture a bit creepy. There's a lot of things I don't agree with regarding the industry but that's besides the point lol. Anyways, I looked more into AKB but couldn't care less about their songs, I just wanted more funny videos lol. It was unavoidable that I grew to know the popular AKB members and so on. The latest AKB single that had come out at this time was Kibouteki Refrain and so I kept running into the promotional stuff for the song. I was familiar with at least the faces of most of the senbatsu members but there was one that stood out and I couldn't figure out where she was from. Turns out it was Ikoma Rina from Nogizaka46.

At that point I thought to myself "Nogizaka46?? Seriously?? This idol culture is getting out of hand..." So I actually stopped paying attention even to AKB at that time lol coz I just found it so stupid. However, I was actually following Matsui Rena on instagram coz that girl is a shoe addict and I'm a bit of a sneakerhead/collector myself and I think she had posted something about Nogizaka46. It was a promo picture of Inochi Wa Utsukushii. At this time I kind of went "Ah, I forgot about these idol groups..." and thought that... meh I had some free time, let's look up what this group is all about. Decided to jump straight into the variety aspect and watched Nogibingo 1. Oh boy was that cringeworthy haha. Gave up on the group again. Couldn't quite get the "Don't-try-too-hard-to-be-AKB" taste out of my mouth. After a few more months, while re-watching some old SKE variety shows, I saw a Nogichuu video on the recommended panel and the thumbnail was Ikuta Erika. I recognized her from their guest appearance in AKBingo and remembered that that girl was pretty entertaining. So I watched the episode where she got hypnotized and found it quite entertaining. So I watched another. And another. And another. Before I knew it I had watched all of Nogidoko, Nogibingo and Nogichuu. Though they're an idol group, Nogizaka never gave me the "look at how cute we are with our pink tutus and massive ribbons" feel that I normally associate with idol groups. They were more refined, more elegant, and easier to relate with as they felt more down-to-earth and more real than AKB. It didn't feel like an idol group, it just felt like a... a group, I guess? lol. Talent-wise, I also think they're more talented than AKB and I like the fact that there aren't 300 members.

I enjoy their songs, I like their personalities, I think they're all absolutely beautiful girls and I hope they continue to stay true to who they are no matter how big and popular they get. Just like Toffee up above me, they're also the only "idol" group I really care about and I wish them nothing but continued success both in the idol business and afterwards as well.

 

How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?

well, i know nogizaka from my friends, who's love Nogizaka46 since their first debut. then, when i looking for AKBingo, i found the episode when Yokoyama Team K vs Nogizaka46. and then i start to hear their song, but at that time, they can reach me so i just 'naahh'

How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

it happen when i accidentaly found Hatsumori Bemars. at first, i just searching for some dorama at show48. but, i found Hatsumori Bemars. then, i download it and watch it. and then, in the last episode, when Nanamaru try to reach the home base and 'Mou Sukoshi no Yume' as the back ground song, i start to feel, 'aahh, i love this song! who's the singer?'
so i checked all of their song to find the tittle of that song (well, because i don't pay to much attention to Nogizaka at that time, i don't know the tittle so i keep looking for it). then, when i found the singer, which mean Nishino Nanase, i start to like them and become their fans.

sorry for my bad english

 

There are 3 things that made me grad from 48 and turned compeletely into 46 fans.
1. Chiyori's transfer
At that time, I was so angry at management who easily grab one of uniqueness of HKT, and she also agreed with that decision, plus Tani Marika also did the same. Then, I gave up on 48 crappy system.
2. Takamina grad
She is the one who have responsibility to drag me into Idol world. She is also the reason why I can got out from my boring and depressed life. Once she announced her grad, and the worst of all, I found out about it after watching Mechaike Takamina grad dokkiri, I thought, okay, I'm finished with 48.
3. Seifuku no Mannequin
It's totally different than 48 songs and I love it. The combination between EDM and accoustic guitar is really awesome. This is it! Less kawaiiness! Then, before long, I've became 46 fans. The funniest thing is, I was a kind of fans that think, watching idol TV show, variety or listening to the song of other Idol than 48, as the act of betrayal. But, after Seifuku got into my ears, I'm officially betrayed my principal. And, I'm glad I did that.
Now, I totally focus on 46 grup. Just take a peek at 48 news rarely, and mostly didn't care about the content.

 

How did you get to know about Nogizaka46?

Briefly, I knew Nogizaka46 from an AKB48 article. I just know that they are exist, and since it was my peak in term of following 48Group, I didn't really care.

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How did you become a fan of Nogizaka46?

When AKB48 Group Great Shuffle came (2014), Ikoma Rina became kennin in Team B and Matsui Rena in Nogizaka46.
As the 48x46 kennin system turned out to be a clash to both fans, on the contrary, this system had fished my sympathy for Nogizaka46.
I watched B Garden PV (AKB48's 36th Coupling) which include Ikoma-chan for the first time in 48 single. After looping again and again, I became curious about the other side (i.e. Matsui Rena in 46 single). So I watched Natsu no Free & Easy PV. Yes, the music was meh, and all girls in the PV are totally strangers, except Matsui and Ikoma.

As Natsu no Free & Easy became a bit boring, I searched the other songs. I found Kidzuitara Kataomoi and Baretta.
After giving a few listen, Nandome came and I'm amazed. That was the first time I recognized Ikuta Erika (since I haven't seen her in Free&Easy).
Man, that girl is pure awesome and beautiful. Seeing her the first time while centering a beautiful song made a GREAT first impression!

I started to follow them eventhough many of them still looked like strangers to me.
For the half of 2015, I followed only for their singles, and I still didn't recognize many names, especially the unders.
And then Shitto no Kenri came. That was the first time I put interest to the unders, because the PV (and the song, of course!) is awesome, the screentime is so cool. The members were properly shown one by one. I played the PV over and over, and became used to their faces. After watching Koujichuu a few times, I could spot they all, face with their name.

Now I love them, and by the arrival of Keyakizaka46, Sakamichi made 48 Group glitters vanish gradually.

 

I don't really consider myself as a fan of AKB48 or anything related since the only song and PV I enjoyed was Koisuru Fortune Cookie, but Nogizaka seems different so thats why I decided to give it a shot.

It started out when I stumbled upon a Weekly Oricon video on youtube, Hadashi de Summer was at the top that time. I was surpsied at how cute everyone was, but I wasn't a fan of them yet, I just downloaded their PV. Later on, I went to Japan and coincidentally, I arrived just at the time of Naachan's second photobook. I didn't know any japanese but there was this guy who looked like he knows about Nogizaka, so I asked if I should buy Takayama's or Nishino's photobook. He highly recommended Nishino's, so I chose that instead. I don't really know why I bought it, but I don't regret it. So I began searching for who they were. Did some research, basically spending a lot of time on this page's wiki. I then watched their documentary, and because of that I officially made Naachan my oshimen. It's only been a week since I discovered them, but i'm trying to catch up on Nogidoko and Nogibingo at the moment. Just recently, I bought two singles from Amazon, and I plan to collect them all. I'm still new to everything though, I still don't know much about their events, or how their senbatsu is selected but eventually I can catch up to everyone on this forum.

 

i considered myself a big fan of akb48 starting from last year. It began when i search something interesting to watch in youtube. Suddenly, akbingo show came out of nowhere and i watched it. That show is so funny. As i watched and searched all their group information, i came to realize that all the episode that i watched is when all the popular member is still in the group. But when i watch the latest ep without all that member i feel something is missing. One by one, all my favourite member graduated. I felt frustrated. The only member i keep on following is yuihan and paruru.

That time i know nogizaka46 is a rival group for akb48. So i tried not to watch or read anything from them because i wanted to be loyal akb fan. Unfortunately, one day i came across nogibingo s1. My thought that time" why not give it a try". So i watched it and........ i fall in love with them. All of them is so pretty and funny at the same time. So i search all their videos and began to fall deeply in love with them. All their song is so good to hear especially kizuitara kataomoi and nandome no aozora ka. I played all their song many times and never get bored. Their other show nogidoko and nogizaka under construction is interesting too. They have so many modelling job and during the girls award, they rock the stage. They have amazing aura. Especially maiyan and nanase. But, the truth is i'm

Spoiler: really love her, don't know why

fan

 

First of all, sorry for my bad english. All started in march 2014. I was bored and watched old iron chefs video "Iron chef"-Videos on YT. One of the videos was a parody from a comedy duo. Later I found out their name was "Downtown". They had a music show called "HEY HEY HEY" and I saw the debut of "Morning musume". I got hooked up and watched all subbed episode. One of the episode was "Mecha Mecha Ikuteru"-Baka Test and Sport festival. I found two similiar videos with akb48. I know them since 2009 but wasn't really interest in them. After I watched the videos I began to search every information about the group. The system was really difficult to understand with all their sisters groups. I read about a rival group but wasn't interest. A few months later in October I gave the rival a chance and watched an old nogidoko episode. It was the episode in their was decided that manatsu was the worst at sport. I watched all their subbed episode. Especially Nogibingo season 3. Ikoma became my oshi. For me it was really not a big thing that she was a kennin in akb. And I was really happy for her when I found out she became 14th place in sousenkyo. So after a few months I was interest in their singles. Inochi was their newest single and it hooked me up! Since that time I became a fan.

 

funny story.

Started out in March this year. Friend of mine is mainly into the idol stuff whereas I only knew of a few choices ones [Mariko, Sayanee, Acchan] I am a sucker for short hair so he showed me Maaya and Kiichan at first but according to him, that was a fake play, because he knew Id fall for Nanamin.

Managed to resist it for a couple of months because I knew how slippery of a slope idol hell is.

So what he did was influence another one of out mutual friends. 2nd friend got hooked onto naachan, and she proceeded to flood me with everything nogi related.

I stumbled on the translated/subbed shows website and watched ever single nogizaka related video [even all the doko]. basically compressed 5 years of content into 3 weeks in May.

And here I am now. Nanamin is my oshi, but the shows turned me into an MD and I cant ever look back.
Poison is best when shared.
I adore everyone too much in this show, its not even funny anymore

 

I have been an AKB fan since 2012, being active fan around that year until 2013. Then, I had to focus on my studies as I was on my last year. After finally graduating,I tried to look again for updates from AKB, and knew about Rena's concurrency. Honestly, I never heard about Nogi not until 2014. Or maybe I heard about them since they are akb's rival, but maybe did not really paid much attention.
After knowing about them, I tried watching a perf of them. Since Im also a fan or Rena, her first live perf with them was also the first video of them that I watched. Right there and then, I loved the song which is kizuitara. Then, I looked again for another perf. Their kimi no nawa kibuo live with Ikuchan on the piano really surprised me. I mean, it is rare for an idol group performing like that and piano is really a weakness for me, and they sang live as well. From there, I knew that this group is for sure so different from others.

I knew about the group like 2 days before the 10th single senbatsu announcement and I still dont have an oshi. So, I watched nogidoko episodes to know more about them. I watched their most baka and most intelligent member episodes. Maiyan really caught my attention because she's really pretty, and its really funny that she is one of the most baka in the group. But, I noticed that the piano girl was not there so I looked for other episodes. After watching other epi, I knew about her name so idecided to search for her. Then bam! She's on hiatus... But good news cause she is back soon (and after two days, she was announced as the new center) lol. Then I read some facts about her and how talented she is. Then I started watchinh other nogidoko episodes and nogibingo as well. I was really amazed at how someone like Ikuchan exist. Her being part of the group really helped on how I view Nogi as a talented and elite group.

Though, I love Ikuchan the most, Maiyan and Nanmin follows closely behind. I also have a soft spot for Sayurin, Naachan, Himetan, and lately with Ranze