Mukaichi Mion (Miion)

170616 Showroom

if the video does not show watch the video here

News about the sousenkyo getting relocated was released while Mion was on Showroom so she found out about it through the comments.
Her reaction after reading the news article:

She's adorable even when she's angry.

 

Mion fell out of senbatsu and is undergirls center .

 

17th, Undergirls center. Fell out of Senbatsu.
The moment she and Miichan hugged as she walked onstage is just heartbreaking.
Cheer up Miion!

 

Was disappointed when I read that Mion didn't make the Senbatsu this year but still proud of her for being the Undergirls Center.

 

i was sure that she's make Kami 7
but at least she's #17 and i think she's an amazing center

 

Well disappointing but at least she is centering a song. Better than nothing. Still gonna stay one of my favs regardless her position. She's so cute!

 

To be honest, I knew Mion had a very small chance of ranking in kami 7 this year and thought there might even be a chance she'd lose a few thousand votes because she's lost fans in recent months. But I was so sure Mion would at least rank within senbatsu again.

In the past year, I've seen many fans oshihen from Mion and move onto Team 8, D2, NGT or Keyaki. Some still consider themselves Mion oshis but their general interest in her seem to be far less than before. This is something other Mion oshis have noticed as well and I've also spoken about it with a few of them. I know it's normal for fans to lose interest and move on but it still made me sad to see it happen to Mion especially because she works so hard and according to other members, she constantly puts AKB before herself. Seeing her lose fans made me feel like her love for AKB, determination and efforts were going largely unnoticed and unappreciated.

Mion did an interview with Bubka magazine a couple of months ago where she admitted that she's felt stagnated ever since her 19th birthday and thinks the wall in front of her has become too high for her to overcome. She also knows TwI did not leave a good impression on fans and because of that, she thinks she made no contribution to AKB by being center. But it wasn't her fault TwI was so poorly received and I absolutely hate that she blames herself for it. Despite that, Mion's love for AKB continued to motivate her and she set kami 7 as her goal this year because she wanted to protect AKB so that they don't have to heavily rely on their sister groups anymore (she also spoke about this on her mobile mail). I loved how ambitious Mion was, so I tried to be positive despite having my doubts and hoped her love for AKB and passion as an idol would motivate her fans to vote more.

Needless to say, I was absolutely devastated to hear Mion's name get called at 17th. I'm really worried how it'll affect her position as a young ace and her work opportunities until the next sousenkyo. It's likely that she'll still be included in management chosen senbatsu but her chances of being center again or just standing in the front row of senbatsu have probably diminished for the time being.

I'm sorry the above paragraphs were so negative but this is the most disappointed and heartbroken I've ever been as a Mion oshi. Apart from centering another coupling song, the only positive outcome from her ranking 17th that I can think of is that Mion won't be so busy doing senbatsu promotions this summer. That means she should have more time in the next few months to perform more stages, go on Showroom often, appear on variety shows again (she hasn't appeared on AKBingo since October and Nemousu since November). Perhaps doing all that can help Mion revive some of the interest from fans who moved on or gain new fans. Filming dramas, appearing on music shows and only getting brief closeups during senbatsu promotions this past year certainly didn't help her very much. Maybe appearing on other media outlets that Mion hasn't had time for recently can be more beneficial for her.

Next year, I hope I won't feel the need to write such a long post expressing my disappointment. I hope Mion not only ranks back in senbatsu but also reaches kami 7.

Anyway, Mion's Showrooms for today, before and after the sousenkyo. She ended her recent Showroom with a smile, hopefully that means she'll be able to cheer up and feel better soon

if the video does not show watch the video here

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

@sgtbubba well said

Let's stay strong and show Mion a better scene next year.

 

I suspected it. Especially with how management seemed to not to continue with the grand push after Tsubasa wa iranai. She still received quite a few jobs and there was her solo live. But I noticed a decline in her fan base too.

I truly believe that she will be able to climb up ranks in to Kami 7 next year. (^_^ )

 

I felt so disappointed that Mion dropped in rank to undergirls, I was really hoping she would at least rise in rank a little. I wish management kept with a good push after TwI since I thought that wasn't a great song and she deserved a better song to center. On the bright side we get another Mion centered single!

 

Miion is such a hardworker and a lovely girl. I expected her to reach at least top10 next year
We have a center song anyway.

@sgtbubba THIS! Thank you so much for your looong message but don't be sad guys, she will reach the top sooner or later.
Yeah, Im feeling kinda positive today

 

Miion ranked 13th in 2016 with 47,094 votes....this year she got 35,201 votes ......wow she lost 11,893 votes in 1 year....

wth is going on ? scandal ? dropping from Senbatsu to Undergirls must be disappointed....

 

What do we have here? It is ok by the way (I think graduating is good for Mayu), I respect Mion and I liked her in NnM when she subbed for Mayu. I think she did well in other things. Hopefully Mion can bounce back, I really like her.

 

@Rurouni thanks for the reply and i agree that Cabasuka Gakuen + Tofu really didnt do much for Miion. plus its hard to gain new fans when these late night drama were broadcasted. the 11k votes dropped could be a combination of things....like the rise of NGT and the management inconsistent push in 2016. Now with STU48....wota got lots of option out there...I think next year will be difficult to gain more votes (STU48 addition)

 

@sgtbubba that was a brilliant write up, thank you for that. While I have drifted away from the fandom I always kept tabs on miion and a few other members.

On of the things that surprised me this year was yes, she did lose votes, her "rival" naachan and juri only gained 5k and 1k respectively. So yes I am disappointed she lost votes, but it's more of slap in the face that if she just kept consistent votes she would have placed in between 9-10.

I'm more disappointed that she lost so much when the entry to senbatsu this year was so low. I hope management will keep her push and not akicha or rie her.

 

Anyone know what did she said in her speech?

 

Mion's sousenkyo speech
I’m Mukaichi Mion from AKB48 Team K. Everyone who supported me, thank you very much.

I’ve been given many chances since joining the group and I’ve been nothing but happy these past 4 years. But I think this is the first time in my life that I’ve had such a regrettable experience. However, I love AKB48. There’s no telling what will happen to me but because I love AKB48, I’ll absolutely use this ranking as a spring. I’ll continue to do my best aiming towards the top.

Truthfully, there’s something I’ve wanted to say ever since I’ve been part of senbatsu and I dare say it here. The current AKB is greatly supported by our sister group members, we’re being helped but I think that shouldn’t be the case. After all, AKB should be the center of the 48 [group] no matter what because I believe our desire to continue being the best hasn’t changed. And certainly, I want to help pull AKB. So I’d like to declare that AKB48 belongs to AKB48 and we can’t just give it up to everybody else.

17th place… I really do still have a long way to go but please continue to support me in the future. Thank you very much.
credit: http://uelectrifymylife.tumblr.com/post/162004827122

---

Mion placed 1st in the Rakuten Oshimen Sousenkyo: http://books.rakuten.co.jp/event/akb48/
Her prize is some kind of PR work, the event page doesn't give too much detail though. But Rakuten is the biggest Japanese online retailer, it might turn out to be a nice opportunity for her.


Flash magazine on sale June 20th



Mion's interview during the sousenkyo Showroom

if the video does not show watch the video here

170618 Tofu Showroom

if the video does not show watch the video here

170619 Showroom
She randomly chose and fulfilled 17 fan requests from the comments.

if the video does not show watch the video here


@Rurouni @CutePanda
Regarding Tofu and Cabasuka, the filming schedule and doing two dramas back to back was also inconvenient for Mion. On Showroom, she said she was grateful she was chosen to be in AKB dramas (and having a solo concert) because those were good experiences for her. But Mion thinks filming the dramas took time away from other opportunities where she could've connected with fans like performing stages. I believe many Mion fans would agree with her because I've seen plenty of comments which said they would've preferred Mion doing other jobs instead. The time she spent filming dramas wasn't worth it for them because they weren't interested.