Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

In the first couple of handshake sessions on Saturday, Memi wore a knit dress and had her hair up at least partly in a bun.

In the fourth session, she wore her Lawson's uniform and had her hair in twintails, to the delight of the guests.

I've read that every member -- except Memi -- was present for Yone-san's grad ceremony. I wonder if we'll get confirmation and/or explanation of that.

EDIT: Memi blog post: Handshake event outfits, flowers. Mechakari. Plus handshake guest reports.




EDIT: From sansuke46 on Twitter (click to enlarge):

 

Memi's greeting video for November:


if the video does not show watch the video here

She talks about Joyful Love, and how pretty the "gradation" of colours is. She asks that we watch the Mechakari TV commercial. There's speculation in Japanese comments that she's wearing the Joyful Love outfit under that coat, lol. Could this be the week the single is announced? Independently or as part of a Kanji single? Or a double-A side single? On Hirate's radio show on Thursday? (Hopeful.)

And here's the CoCo Ichi curry house ad "making of" video:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Memi, Mirei and Miho are the stars of the show, for me. Note at about 0:50 how Memi leads the group's bow to staff (a Hiragana custom). Note how neat and exact her little jump is at about 1 minute. Note at about 1:50 that she seems the most comfortable of the three front girls on the little trampoline. She says afterwards that it felt funny, but was fun. Is it possible that Memi, Miho and MeiMei are the most natural athletes in the group? Her strong legs give her a lot, even if they don't give her a model's line. And at 2:05, she is the happiest-seeming when the three jump and say "happy!" At the end of shooting the commercial, she has a cute little conspiratorial side-glance for the camera. Outside of the parts being shot, she seems particularly alert and observant, with a smile.

Takamoto, Suzuka, Memi and Miku will be featured in the January bis magazine. It's a fashion magazine aimed at girls in their earlier teens.

And Nijika's blog has posted a pic of her and Memi appreciating some flowers that were sent to them together. By whom, we have no idea. Memi's "resting" smile is the best. Interesting pairing. Memi could learn some dance from Nijika. And they are both actresses. Note the bunny pose.



By the way, I like Memi's lacy dress in this and the other flower pics. Are these the "street clothes" she wore that day?

 

Magia Record will be on TV this Saturday night at ten. On the satellite channel TBSchannel2. 11月24日(土)22:00～　CS放送チャンネル　TBSチャンネル2 It's the full show, recorded at the final performance. I think there may be some backstage stuff, too.






EDIT: Zambi
Memi and Katoshi did the Friday after-live and were excellent. A few details in the Hiragana thread.

 

The full performance of Magia Record is on YouTube. Hope it stays there, but act soon:


if the video does not show watch the video here

I've talked about it in the Hiragana thread, including comments on Memi's amazing performance. Strong speaking voice. Amazingly strong singing voice: who would have ever thought a few months ago that Memi would be belting songs out solo on stage. And never getting a note even a bit off-key. Now she needs to work on expression, I think. And in her acting, she's fabulous with strong emotion, but I'd to see her get more experience with ordinary conversation. Apparently she's pretty emotional in Zambi, too.

You can also find the play here:
Stage 「Magia Record Magical Girl Madoka ☆ Magica Gaiden」 (Hiragana Keyakizaka46) (2018-11-24)
https://48idol.com/video/11036

In other news, Zambi has come to an end, and we finally know that Memi's character is one of those -- along with Sugai, Habu and Kyonko -- who turn into zambis. Zambis apparently are something like the witches in MadoMagi: really bad and really powerful. Also a bit like zombies. Talk in the Nogi world is that there will be a TV drama starring only Nogi members and no Keyaki members. Quite possible. The leading roles were apparently all Nogis in the play, and the Keyaki-chans were side-characters. This is reasonable, since the project began as a Nogi project. I'm just glad that more Nogi fans get to see Keyakis.

A week ago, Memi apparently did some drawings with one of the main ensemble members, actress Agatha Okada 岡田あがさ. They drew on a whiteboard during rehearsals. From Agatha's Twitter, here are (1) Agatha's self-portrait, then what she calls (2) a portrait of Agatha by Memi (in fact I've seen Memi call a similar drawing "a zambi's drawing of zombie"; but Agatha says it was so like her that it looked like a photograph, lol) then (3) another Memi portrait of Agatha. To me, Memi is clearly an artist, even if her drafting is not expert. She captures the spirit of things and people. Finally (4) is one photo of Agatha, for reference, lol:




EDIT: I earlier read that Memi had done a cartwheel in Zambi, but it was only mentioned once. Now Kyonko has explained in her blog. When the character played by Memi for Team Blue and by Kyonko for Team Red turns into a zambi, an acrobatic ensemble member, 徳河公子 Tokugawa Kimiko (pr?), doubles for them to do the acrobatics -- a cartwheel and a back flip. As a Japanese comment says: "Pardon me for thinking Memi might be able to do it herself." Which I do.

EDIT 2: There's a new clip from JOYFUL LOVE used in an ad for buying Christmas Live tickets at Lawsons. And a gif largely made from it, both with a new clip of Memi solo:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Spoiler: ANIMATED GIF

 

I've made a blog post collecting a few recent notes and photos: Habu and Kubo praising Memi, plus the new Lawson ad and this gif from the CoCo Ichi ad making-of video, with Memi jumping on a trampoline:

Spoiler: animated gif

She says the trampoline felt weird, but it was fun!

Memi is one of four Gana-chans in the January issue of bis magazine, which comes out 1 Dec. I've put small pics of all four in the Hiragana thread, but here is a bigger version of Memi. Are we ready for this Memi? A Japanese comment says: "What an expression! What a world-view!"

 

Good work @ukifune

.. I so wanna go to Japan and buy the Christmas live tickets but damn no.. I have stupid tests next year and I have to study for it...
Memi, please save my soul

Ugh when will they release the single!?

Sent from my Moto G using Tapatalk

 

Happy Birthday, princess!
Ever since I knew you, you are just getting more beautiful and confident. And no matter how much I see you, I am mesmerized every time..

You sure had a tough year with many live performances, stage play and many more but you took up the challenge and proved how hard working you are.
Have nice day and give it all for today's live performance!

Sent from my Moto G using Tapatalk

 

Happy Birthday Memichan!!

 

Happy birthday memichan!!!

 

Happy Birthday, Memi! So much growth as an idol in one year. Here's a blog post I made about her year, and about the future.

 

Memi post-birthday blog post: Hoping to shine more brightly, now that she is 17. Lots of pics. Joyful Love live video. Nao at centre, flanked by Miho and Memi.

 

"I am 17years old".

 

Takase Mana has written a moving and amusing post about her friend Memi, and their relationship. She feels the fact that she is not prominent in the group, and can only support Memi from behind. She realizes Memi often bosses her around. But she loves and admires her and wants to support her however she can.



(from Takase thread)

I'd like to add something about someone else who congratulated Memi on her birthday. Kunimori Sakura of Theatre $4.50, who participated in Zambi with Memi, wrote:

Happy birthday.
Am I just in time!?
I really think
It's so nice to be like an angel!
I've said this so often,
But it would be great if we could get together again and just talk and talk

17 years old! Please enjoy "seventeen"!!!



Theatre $4.50 is another enterprise of Aki-P. It's his drama troupe. He auditioned and chose members who did not have that much acting experience and they have been training for a while. Kunimori-san, despite being a member with very little experience, he chose to be its "centre." For a theatre troupe to have a "centre" is a new idea. Kunimori-san is nineteen. Aki-P said he chose her as centre because she was the one who least imagined herself in the position.

Since they are both prominent members of Aki_P production groups, I think they will get the chance to be together again -- probably in Hiragana's next drama.

 

I put these over in the Hiragana thread, but they belong here, too. There are some non-Memi shots over there, too. Memi and Hiragana arriving in Seoul for MAMA:

　
They will perform Monday and return for Budoukan Tue-Thu. I'd love to be able to post the two photos Memi herself put on Message today. Once again, Memi's Message photos are some of her best. She says there that this is her first time in Korea. Today we also got photos of Memi from bis mag (with Miku). An actress:



Plus this little video from Twitter, with Kumi:
pic.twitter.com/0v3PCWDcwM

 

Memi had a lot to do in the "GanaKuri" Christmas lives. She was featured in the first video. She centred a number of songs (Dare Tobe and/or Hiragana Keyaki, Eien no Hakusen, double centre on Tsukiatteiru), duet with Mirei, centre trio on Joyful Love and probably Kimi ni Hanashite. Maybe more. She may even have been in the dance group, but I have no info there. Since the first encores were Saizenretsu (Nao centre) and Eien no Hakusen (Memi centre), I see them pushing those two members. Mirei, however, had even more songs, with her solo, which was performed all three nights (Tricycle only the 3rd night). More photos from the event in the Hiragana thread.



EDIT: That image of Memi in bed is apparently part of the overall concept of the show: it began with her in bed, dreaming the show. At the very end, she climbs back into bed and gives the audience a wink and sticks out her tongue. The End. Disks, please. (from a tweet by erohiEX) The image of Konoka kissing Memi's hand -- the one of them standing together -- is from Bokutachi ga Tsukiatteiru, for which they are double centres. More scenario this time, perhaps. They are both good actresses. I have more and more respect for Konoka.

Memi gave us a little video in Message yesterday that is being hailed as unbelievably cute. She wears an animal-ear hat that flips its ears when you pull a string down below. Her natural little reactions to what she sees in the camera screen are amazing. She instantaneously widens her eyes in an amusing way when the ears go up.

I've been listening to the first song from Magia Record a lot recently. Memi is amazing. She is so clear and strong and accurate on the notes, singing alone, totally exposed, jumping up in pitch near the end with absolutely no drifting off the note. Like a real stage musical star. Unbelievable. Where did this come from?

EDIT: I read someone saying that Memi had volume but her pitch was occasionally unstable at Budoukan Thursday. She was definitely on-pitch for the last performance on stage of at Magia Record, so maybe there was some autotune happening for the play? Is that possible? Certainly everyone else was close to on-pitch, too, but some not quite as true.



There was a Christmas tree at the venue, to which members had attached signed decorations. Memi's writing has always been lovely. Her Japanese writing has always seemed to me to have balance, strength and a kind of relaxed motion.

 

Wow.. I just had my breath taken away by her beauty..
Congratulations for completion of three days Budokan !

 

Memi was great again on HiraganaOshi. In the continuing "burikko freestyle" competition, she and Manamo were seeded (and seated) while the others tried their hand. Her comment that girls were cutest in winter and she was going to be burikko "as much as I want" (やり放題 yarihoudai) has almost become a meme. I've done a blog post about her work in this ep.

She sat next to Kasuga and delivered commentary on the others' efforts. They referred to her in the titles as "Kakizaki pro," lol. She said she was surprised at how much potential Miho showed as a burikko. So was I, as it turns out.



I'm pleased they are now pushing Memi, and that she is responding to the opportunities so well. That yarihoudai, as I explain in the blog post, is very similar to the Mechakari tagline karihoudai ("borrow as much as you want," "borrow to your heart's content"). Coincidence? Not likely.

I wonder if having Audrey sit right in with the members is part of their attempt to reduce the distance between them.

EDIT: I love seeing Memi seeming fairly comfortable there beside the huge Kasuga. It contrasts with her apparent fear of getting close to Takahiro when she interviewed him last summer:

 

Possible spoilers for results of the GanaOshi burikko competition. Read on if you don't mind.

Memi was excellent again in a burikko skit on GanaOshi. Plenty of appeal in the little skit she wrote and performed, with Kasuga. A tweet from well-known quiz creator Furukawa Youhei 古川洋平 said: "Kakizaki-san was fantastic. Cuteness in the true sense." Koroyasu Yuusuke 頃安祐良, the film director who directed eps 7-8 of Re:Mind (and has done numerous Nogi individual PVs) tweeted: "SunoPri [=Snow Princess"] is extremely strong...." And then: "Congratulations to SunoPri for her victory...it was overwhelming..." I thought so, too.

Here are a few screencaps:



I also want to post a few caps from Matsuda Konoka's blog. Kono-chan and Memi were together in a lane for Saturday's handshake event, and were double-centers on Tsukiatteiru at Budoukan. This combo may be one management is starting to push. They may well be the two best actors in the group.



Looks as if Memi has someone new to grab and stick to. Kono-chan calls her "Hime" (="Princess"), and says her cuteness fills your heart to bursting.

The monthly personal video messages for December have started to appear. Here's Memi's. She thanks us for the year and says how much she enjoyed the three stage plays she was in this year.

 

Kasuga-san, I am so jealous of you.
Man, I am so much spoiled right now.. I want to watch their 3 days Budokan!
Aki-p, release the Blu-ray!

Kono-chan did mention(in yupara) that she sees other members from a boy's pov(do tell me if I am wrong)
'Hime' is quite clingy and beautiful.

 

Memi blog post: 2018 -- What a full year. She talks about how full the year was and how she is spending New Year's: eating sukiyaki and making osechi (New Year's foods).



Of course, that's not all. On Message, we have seen some wonderful little videos of her playing in the snow in Nagano. It seems she is getting a good chunk of time at home there this year. I can't post those, but there has also been a series of snowboarding pics on Keyaki no Kiseki:



I don't know if anyone else will find this amusing, but on 5channel, some posters are talking about her father, the artist Kakizaki Jun'ichi, but referring to him by the name "father-in-law" (義父 gifu).

EDIT: Here's a collection of Memi scenes mainly from HiraganaOshi. Just came across it on YouTube:


if the video does not show watch the video here