1. Check the 2023 Stage48 Member Ranking Results, how did your Oshimen rank this year?

Matsudaira Riko (Rikopi) / 2nd Generation

Discussion in 'Sakurazaka46 Graduated Members' started by Ozeki, Dec 7, 2018.

  1. turbogig

    turbogig Member

    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2020
    Oshimen:
    Habu Mizuho
    Now that I think of it, they kinda did her dirty, didn't they? The whole situation was unstable those 2.5 years she was in the group, but I'm sensing that she really felt that her idol career didn't go in a way she expected. The renaming must have been the last straw. Props to her for holding off on graduating not to tarnish Sakurazaka's 1st single release.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
  2. Jsprite

    Jsprite Future Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2018
    Location:
    Los Angeles, USA
    The bigger questions are: What causes management to neglect/mistreat a member? They all basically start from the same point. Are you pre-destined to be successful? To fail? Does hard-work always pay off (like Takamina used to say)? Is it personality? Or perhaps the elusive "it", chiara, aura, whatever we want to call it. Maybe luck? Looks? A combination of all of these factors? Even if all members are pushed the same, you can't have 20 centers, natural selection will kick in at some time where a natural ranking is eventually established.

    Acchan was an awkward introvert, who couldn't dance or sing. Hardly idol material. Had she gone to Morning Musume or auditioned for SKE48 for instance, she would have probably just been one of the many "backup dancers" that many of the 48G sister groups have. Or... would she had risen to the top, regardless of where she had landed?

    As Maverick mentions in the latest Top Gun movie, "It is one of life's mysteries".
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Philosophy Senpai

    Philosophy Senpai Next Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2019
    Location:
    Athens
    Oshimen:
    Saito Fuyuka
    @turbogig For me it's certain: They did her dirty... Like what they do to other girls in SKZ, KYZ, Nogi (and - I wonder why - to a much lesser extend to Hinata).
    @Jsprite For me, again, it's no: an idol is to a great extend pre-DETERMINED to succeed and no, Takamina was unfortunately wrong!

    Takamina was wrong: even in that group (which I follow just sporadically and mostly between 2016-2018) the biggest example is Miyu Takeuchi, a hard working talent that was almost invisible in the group and had to migrate to Korea for the sake of her career. Another example is my oshi: Fuu-chan is one of the most hard-working members out there, but so what? Nogizaka provides an endless source of evidence towards this direction. So much talent and hard work is systematically untaped and left to dry in the hot sun of the relentlesly passing time.

    One might argue that this has to do with popularity among the "client base". Indeed, however one might never know to what extend this popularity is manipulated in very diverse and subtle ways. As an example I will mention Nakada Kana of Nogizaka. Kanarin, after participating in the first 4 singles and being - possibly - the best dancer in the whole group, just disappeared. It striked me so much when, at the day of her farewell to Koujichuu the production managed somehow to get Kanarin with a snake around her neck and a frog on the palm of her hand... Such a nice last image of a 1st gen member for the fans to remember!!!

    The life of an idol group is largely supported by the variety shows. That's true and also that through these shows we fans get to know members much better and see them more scrupulously in a wide range of situations and activities. However, (always in my humble opinion) these shows are the catalysts for manipulating the value of an idol in the "popularity stock exchange" through a diversity of actions. These shows are BUILDING the image of the idols, images that persist throughout their career and which, once established, are very difficult or impossible to change. Given the time and space I could go through such activities but I won't do that here and now. Just go through past episodes and see how MCs and their various professional guests create such images. The scary thing is that - typically - everything starts with a seemingly innocent "tag": the ponkotsu, the unfashionable, the weirdo, the baka, the crybaby, the scaredy cat, the lame, the bad-at-drawing, the glutton, the awkward, the, the, the... And you know what? There is something even scarier in the whole story: it usually needs ONE SINGLE unfortunate moment and there... the tag is attached to the poor girl to stay there practically for ever. From there onwards, no matter if that was a weird moment, no matter if the girl has dozens of qualities and strengths, no matter what she does or how hard she works, this tag is always there to follow her throughout her entire idol career.

    It has become a stereotype. Idols are plagued by stereotypes but fans seem to love stereotypes. And (at least for me, my aesthetics, perspective and up-bringing and of course culture) clinging to stereotypes towards other people is one of the worst sins. We all know people are multidimensional and we all want to learn as many facets of the personality of our fellow people (our mate, friends, colleagues). Why then are we lying in our comfort zone and accept idols in the one-dimensional way variety shows are imposing?

    P.S. I enjoy variety shows, I enjoy seeing the girls in every opportunity. I know I will never have the chance to meet them in real life, express to each and everyone of them how grateful I am that they brighten our everyday life. Yet, there are so many times that these shows are leaving me with bittersweet aftertastes because I see that some of them have dedicated their youth, education and other possible career paths to something that may (just may) make them not as happy as they were expecting to be...
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2021
    • Like Like x 2
  4. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    The entertainment industry in general, and the Japanese entertainment industry in particular, seems to me a fairly awful place. Popularity is all, and executives treat performers as so much meat. In Japan, I get the feeling that the yakuza, or at least some yakuza attitudes, are never very far away.

    But I see a certain logic in who gets raised up and who gets shunted aside. I may be wrong in some cases, but it seems to me that those who are most popular with fans in handshake are the ones who are raised up. This comes down to beauty of a certain kind, and an ability to make fans imagine the girls as their unthreatening, devoted girl-friends.

    Kana was one of my early Nogi favorites, but I could see she was not that beautiful, per se. And like both Fuu-chan and Matsudaira, there is something a bit irregular about her looks. Moreover, all three of these women have a kind of strength and solidity, a personal presence, that some guys could easily find threatening.

    Nijika, Fuu-chan and Yone-san were always among the last to sell, for earlier Keyaki releases. I see in the online handshake list for the first Sakurazaka release that Rikopi was the lowest-selling of the original 2gens. Strong woman Takemoto was the second-lowest and Seki-san the third. Among the 1 gens, Fuu-chan was the lowest, with Ozeki second-lowest, the recently returned Aoi-chan third, Uemura fourth, and strong woman Akane-san fifth-lowest. The comparatively unknown new 2gens were all near the bottom, except for Rei-chan and Moriya Rena, striking beauties who sold all their slots. (I think Endou is a striking beauty, too, so I'm a bit surprised she's at the bottom with Kousaka, whose beauty is ordinary, but whose mind is beautiful, lol.)

    Each member has 36 handshake slots this time (I think in-person events are usually 24), spaced over several handshake events, and in each slot of about an hour and a half, she speaks with a hundred or more guests (usually more, I think; I've never been to one). Applications are invited in stages, usually every week or two weeks. Here's a full list as of the fifth selling-stage:
    sold out in 2 stages: Yui, Yukka, Rika, Risa, Hono, Morita
    in 3 stages: Ozono, Habu, Koike
    in 4 stages: Ten-chan, Karin, Marina
    in 5 stages: Rena-chan, Inoue
    not sold out:
    Akanen (33/36). Uemura (31/36), Seki (26/36). Aoi-chan (15/36), Masumoto/Ozeki (13/36), Rikopi (3/36), Fuu-chan/Onuma (1/36), Endo/Kousaka (0/36)

    I have always felt Ozeki got the rawest of raw deals. I've been catching up on KeyaKitte episodes and see that she seems to have accepted her role with some kind of good grace. Sigh. But I can't claim that she is a great beauty, compared to others. On the other hand, Sugai is played as ponkotsu, but her conventional good looks, aristocratic connections and something about her nature that makes her seem unthreatening give her positives that allow her to overcome that. Of course, all the girls are pretty, compared to ordinary humans, but at these rarefied heights, some girls are not as pretty as others.

    I, too, find myself more disappointed in the loss of Rikopi than I expected. She's a real person with a special weird nature and special entertainment talents that I guess I and others appreciate more than the mass of Japanese fans. Too bad for us.

    I should add that it is not illogical for handshake to be the standard. It is handshake attendees who buy the most CDs: they have to buy one for every handshake slot they are granted. That policy is, in fact, the basis of the 48/46 groups' incredible string of number one hits, and has been heavily criticized by others in the music industry.

    Sorry to go on so long.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2021
    • Like Like x 2
    • Informative Informative x 2
  5. shinra94

    shinra94 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2015
    An absolute shame we only got to see her for real for a single minute as she said bye on SokoSaku. You could sense her frustration and once again management utterly fail an unearthed talent...

    She came across wonderfully at the end.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  6. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    It occurs to me that one reason Hinata has not had the same problem is the hosts. I believe one of them said he never wanted to do an idol show. They're not old pros in the same way Tsucchi is. They seem to me to treat the girls with a bit more ordinary respect than these hosts do. I remember Tsucchi once saying that a girl should be grateful to be given any clear image, whether good or not so good. And for early identification, I think that's true. But the long-term consequences can be awful.

    I also think that pure sexual attraction is pretty important, too. Talent is a great addition, but it comes second, for an idol.
     
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
  7. Jsprite

    Jsprite Future Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 25, 2018
    Location:
    Los Angeles, USA
    Uhh, by pure "sexual attraction" do you mean "good looks"?
     
  8. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    That's involved, but I think there's a difference. Somewhat distant beauty vs. an intimate-feeling beauty. Say Seki vs. Ozono. But yeah, "good looks" is the more polite way of putting it.
     
    • Winner Winner x 1
  9. sscrla

    sscrla Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Oshimen:
    Takayanagi Akane
  10. Maeda_Toshiie

    Maeda_Toshiie Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2020
    To some extent. There are two factors involved: the management and the audience/fans. Take the case of Ikoma as the first Nogizaka center. She was obviously pushed by the management but the reception from Nogi fans was less than overwhelming. From what I heard, she wasn't a great HS ticket seller. She centered 5 single before getting dropped. In the case of Hirate, she was pushed and in her case, she had that chemistry with the audience, which allowed her popularity to skyrocket.

    As for "stereotypes", it's more of a case of "labels"/typecasting. It's a common thing in the entertainment industry, made worse by the size of the idol group. 46/48 idol groups are large, and while not as identical looking as Kpop idols, can be difficult to differentiate from the start. The general public, not just the hardcore fans, may have difficulties in telling members apart. The labels help in the recognition, at least that's what the management thinks.

    The yakuza is heavily involved in many industries in Japan, including the entertainment industry and specifically the idol industry. That said, I cannot claim that the management of 46/48 groups have yakuza links.

    The HS is unfortunately one of the few ways to get sufficient statistics about the popularity of members. It is imperfect, there is practically no other way to poll the fandom of their favourites.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Philosophy Senpai

    Philosophy Senpai Next Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2019
    Location:
    Athens
    Oshimen:
    Saito Fuyuka
    @Maeda_Toshiie As usual your replies are brief, concise and insightful. Btw I miss your Okuno Kaya avatar pic, although the new one is definitely colorful.

    Regarding Rikopi, now that she is already a member of the past, it touches me that I see her in almost all members' pics (in Sakurazaka Discord) and I get the feeling that many fans "discovered" her just a little too late... Yet, it rubs me so wrong that a 2nd gen member left so early... And what makes things worse is that we got no information at all about possible new openings for her career (e.g. modelling or anything else). That reinforces the possibility that the girl was feeling bitter about something... (Aparently the same thing that makes other girls feel some kind of bitterness, although Rikopi was the one who finally could not bear it as much as others do...)
     
  12. Maeda_Toshiie

    Maeda_Toshiie Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2020
    I was kind of tired when I was viewing and posting earlier (it was midnight over here), so I missed out some things. This is sort of a continuation of the previous post.

    The stereotype of Yamato Nadeshiko remains alive and the entertainment industry helps to perpetuate it. Of course, not all (male Japanese) fans favour such demure idols over all others. Moriya has fans, even if not as numerous as the others.

    Ozeki never quite broke out of her weird category. Her physical awkwardness persists (it's not her fault), and she never had anything else sufficiently strong to override it. Sometimes, the kind of things she raised in Keyakakke and Sokosaku are rather "riaru", which doesn't help her image.

    Her height/stature can lead to her being typecasted into imouto category, but her personality certainly doesn't fit.

    As for Sugai, she is perfect (完璧) as an onee-sama from top to bottom, inside out. We will never find a picture of her in a gyaru outfit and smoking, beating the sh!t of someone with a baseball bat.

    As I mentioned earlier, the handshake selling rates is the only quantitative measure, albeit rather imperfect. It measures the popularity of group members among the relatively hardcore fans, which are predominantly male (for female idol groups). It's all we have.

    I agree that the long term consequences can be bad, if being typecasted into an undesirable category. However, consider the case of Oda. In the early episodes, she was labelled as unfashionable, sounding like an onee (オネエ) or trans, and having 前屈をします being her 名言. She manage to break out of that along the way to become an important member in terms of variety and forming her own harem.

    Yeah, in the Japanese idol world, attraction (sexual or not) is probably more important than raw talent. They don't strive for the machine precision level of dancing that Kpop has. It doesn't have to be sexual, it can be cute too. The imouto type is highly popular, such as Hoshino Minami. I know she does some rather risque gravure like shots, but her image is predominantly imouto like.


    @Philosophy Senpai
    I'm just using the current one to commemorate their disbandment (we had a streaming of their final live on the anniversary of the event).


    I went to do some digging and posted something relevant on idol management in Japan:
    http://stage48.net/forum/index.php?...yakizaka46-thread.10877/page-629#post-1710655
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2021
    • Like Like x 1
  13. sscrla

    sscrla Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Oshimen:
    Takayanagi Akane
    • Like Like x 5
    • Winner Winner x 1
  14. langsikretoooo

    langsikretoooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2018
    • Like Like x 3
    • Useful Useful x 1
  15. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    This has been the best news of my week.
    I'm so happy she get this chance. Even if this come later then I would have liked, she's back walking towards her dreams and I'm glad we can support her once again.

    Best of luck to Riko :chuffed:
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Agree Agree x 1
  16. Moomin

    Moomin Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2019
    Oshimen:
    Jaokhem
  17. ryandtw

    ryandtw Next Girls

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2010
    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    Twitter:
    ryandtw_jpop
    What the...?

    How come?
     
  18. veliem

    veliem Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2015
    Oshimen:
    Sasaki Kotoko
    Article didn't specify. I couldn't find anything online more concrete either. There were rumors that there are scandalous information about her online but no detail.

    Also article doesn't say that she left the agency, nor does it say she was let go.
    The article says the PR person said that "due to agency policy, they have temporarily removed her profile page for now." So no idea what policy she violated, or if she even violated any policy.

    PR person for Image Entertainment also says she is appearing in a stage play next month (on April 2nd).
     
  19. langsikretoooo

    langsikretoooo Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2018
    I don't know if I can post here some of the photos but have you seen Rikopi's off-shot of her digital photobook entitled "マイクロ小顔"?
    I was really surprised with her gravure shot because I didn't know she had those kind of curves, honestly I think it's above Kojiharu level.
     
  20. sscrla

    sscrla Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Oshimen:
    Takayanagi Akane
    There is no problem with posting images, as long as you are aware of the rules.
    • No adult content – Anyone 13 years old and up can join this forum, meaning a number of our members are minors. To keep this forum friendly for all-ages, refrain from posting or linking to any content containing nudity or overtly sexual subject matter. Also, when posting questionable content, please use a clearly labeled spoiler tag. (e.g., NSFW) You never know who might be reading, or in situations where seeing content like that may be completely inappropriate.
     
    • Informative Informative x 2

Share This Page