Yoshida Akari (Akarin) / 1st Generation

I don't think she will drop. Even if she does drop, undergirls at most. She won't drop to future/next girls

She knows she's gaining momentum. smart girl. get that ¥

 

A second photobook already? Damn I still need to buy the first one lol.

And how cool tho if she does become the business idol/Entrepreneur-dol. That's a bright future tbh. She could even start her own make-up line in the future. Maybe one focused on idols. She knows how sweaty it gets on stage lol.

 

lmao 2nd one already? Give the general public your fans a breathe gurl At least this confirms that she's on demand.

Akarin's rise in popularity seems more genuine to me than Sasshi even though both are business oriented in their own way and both worked their ass off to get this far. Sasshi got a quite nice push for people in Entertainment industry to notice her, Akarin basically started from scratch and her push she got were just 2nd row senbatsu and decent theater position which do not really contribute much to the venture she's going in.

 

It makes sense that a second book is already in the works. I'm sure there was information, facts, tips, pictures, etc., that had to be squeezed out of the first book simply due to size and time restrictions. The girl certainly has a plethora of information to give out. I mean, seemingly every week, she churns out another 10 or 12 minute video and it she appears to do it effortlessly. Truly amazing. She has to be on guard concerning the matter of over-exposure, however, which is an hilarious thought when you consider that she was a virtual unknown a year or so ago.

 

Anybody have access to the photo book sales for week two? Many thanks in advance to whomever posts them.

 

The sales are available.

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/obp/w/2017-08-07/

3rd place with 4531 copies, with previous week of 17145 coming to a current total of 21676.

 

Thanks again for that. So how does it work in Japan with regards to successful book sales? A huge first week followed by a major drop the following week and within 5 or 6 weeks, book sales will run their course? If that's the case, her photo book will sell about 27,000-30,000 copies? Does that sound right? Anyone know how that relates to the sales of the other girls' photo books (like Mayuyu and Sashihara)? Thanks again for any information you can give me. It seems real tough to get those kinds of facts here in the U.S.

 

Comparisons are not really that viable - this is a makeup book, quite a unique type (I have not seen any other in the past year, if I'm not mistaken); maybe a comparison could be drawn to "style books", which seem to be about fashion, and from what I remember they sell considerably less than normal gravure books, that have been going as high as six digits in total sales. "Residual" sales for photobooks can be high enough to be seen in ranking even a year later (Nanase landed 9th (711 copies) the previous week with a book released on 2016-09), but with a lower start we might see Bible for two or three weeks in ranking and then it would drop out of view. It should be selling quite well over a longer time though, as it is a "utility" book, so casuals don't need to be in hurry - young girls can have limited financial resources and they are the primary target. While we might see sales going up to indeed 25000-27000, total sales in a year could be just anything like 40000, but I don't know if we will be informed about this in any way - only weekly charts are available to my knowledge.

 

Thank you for the informative tutorial on Japanese book sales----a subject of which I am totally ignorant. Very much appreciated. I was initially tempted to think of this as a gravure effort, but you're correct in that you can't really compare it to the photo books of Sasshi and Mayuyu and you nailed it when you mentioned that girls may be buying it ''down the line'' when they can afford it or when it's given to them as a future birthday/christmas gift. Whatever way it works out, the book's publisher's must be thrilled about its success if a second book is already in the works.

 

Are they publishing a second book, or is it a reprint of this first book? I thought I read her tweet as saying that it was getting a reprint, not that a second book was in the works. Either way it's great news though, but I'd appreciate if anyone could confirm this?

 

Looking at https://twitter.com/_yoshida_akari/status/892033859700707328

She is thanking for sales of first book (giving a jawdropping number of 58700, guess Oricon really misses a lot), also indeed mentioning a reprint...

...and then she talks about second book planned - final sentence is about plans on how or about what she plans to write/make it, so definitely not a mere reprint.

 

Ah I see, that's really great to hear! Thanks a lot for helping me clarify @goratnik

 

I want to again thank the folks responsible for subbing and posting those two videos. I know subs are never exact but they do a really nice job in understanding her tone and style of speaking. It's so funny when she discusses how much make-up changes a girl's appearance and then apologizes to her male fans for having to do all this. I think that's so cute. She really is a sweetheart and that 57,000+ number is truly stunning. Maybe Oricon doesn't take into account those copies that are sold in the AKB stores across the country.

 

I don't understand that part tho? I thought Oricon only counted that type of new way for CD's? There's a huge difference from like 20k and like 60k sold especially for a fashion/makeup style book.

 

Maybe that 57,000+ represents how many copies they ANTICIPATE selling this year.

 

oh well that would make a difference then. And that's a high number tbh, but possible I suppose.

 

I'm just guessing here, of course. It's just hard to imagine that a firm whose job it is to monitor books sales could be off by some 40,000 after a week or two following publication. THAT seems absolutely impossible.

 

I translated Akarin's latest blog entry!
She said she wanted NMB fans to read it, so yeah!
It was reaally long, but meaningful, so prepare yourself for long chunks of text lol.

Spoiler: Yoshida Akari 7th August 2017 Blog Translation

Title: The end of the 2-day LIVE…


Hello everyone!

This is Yoshida Akari, also known as Akarin!

Now that the 2-day live has come to an end…


There are really just so many things I’ve wanted to talk about, so I decided to write it all on this blog.






Let’s start things off with the concert we had on the first day entitled “NMB48 LIVE 2017 in SUMMER ~ Itsumade Yamamoto Sayaka ni Tayoru no ka~ REVENGE”.


A year ago, we had a similar concert entitled “Itsumade Yamamoto Sayaka ni Tayoru no ka” at Kobe World Hall.


As the title suggests, that was our very first time having a concert without Sayanee.


Last year, were unable to sell out the concert tickets and so, this year, we came back to that exact same venue for revenge.

This year though, the concert completely SOLD OUT!


Thank you so much to everyone who came!


Unable to sell out concert tickets a year ago, we cried tears of frustration and asked for a second chance to redeem ourselves.


This was not just a concert we wanted to do again, but it was also what we really needed to do.



So, I was both happy and relieved that we were able to sell out all the tickets.


In just one year, I was able to see how each and every member had grown in ways I couldn’t even have imagined a year ago.


I was also able to sense how our frustrations from a year ago built up the NMB we have today.


However…as the concert day approached, there was something latched in my heart the entire time.


As a 1st generation member, I was assigned the role of pulling the group forward on Sayanee’s behalf.


And with my juniors giving it their all now, perhaps I shouldn’t be saying this but…


Regardless of whether NMB is dependent on Sayanee or not, I want her to stay.


Even prior to the concert, I was talking to Sayanee every day in regards to what we should do for the sake of NMB’s future.


Things like how we can get even better…



Or things like how we wanted to rebuild the group once more, and how we didn’t want NMB to come to an end.


We were so absorbed in our discussions that we were messaging each other on LINE until dawn.


As I had known better than anyone else just how Sayanee felt, what I disliked the most was how having the concert itself seemed to be something that was leading up to Sayanee’s graduation.


But with a title like that, it was difficult for me to express that kind of sentiment.


For one of our MCs, we had even prepared a topic on ways to defeat Sayanee.


We came up with that after having discussions with our management.


The intention of having such a topic was to hype up the LIVE with some interesting talk material…


However, after reflecting back on it later on, I felt like we shouldn’t have used that conversation topic in the first place.


It’s fine that the No. 1 in NMB now is Yamamoto Sayaka.


I mean that’s the result of the crazy amounts of effort she has exerted all this time.


Talent.


Behind this one word are the feelings and hard work she has put in more than anyone else.


To say that we want to surpass her or defeat her…


I’ve come to think that we probably shouldn’t be simply saying things like that.


The thing is, all we wanted to show was our vigour and firm determination.


None of us actually think we could just simply surpass Sayanee or defeat her.


As members, we know better than anyone just how amazing she is.


You know, expressing all this in words can be tough.


To the members, it’s okay not to strive to be like Sayanee.


It’s okay even if you don’t strive to stand on the same platform as her.


Instead, you should definitely strive to find your own respective role within NMB.


It’s important for us as members to have that sense of awareness that we are able to stir up and change NMB for the better by utilising the strengths of each and every member.


It’s not about overcoming or defeating.


With Sayanee in our midst now, what we need to do is find our role in line with that.


Isn’t that what’s important for NMB at this present time?


Currently, we have members who are active and flourishing in their activities outside the group.


We also have members that help us carry out activities in MCs, dance and singing, and excel in them.


Not only that, we also have members who are always supporting others, and also members who help in pulling the group forward.


Apart from that, I’m sure there are definitely still other ways members can contribute.


It’s fine if everyone just does their best in their own way.


If everyone revolves their actions around what they can do for the group, this would no doubt be linked to NMB’s advancement.


If we can all do that, we are sure to become an even stronger group than before.


The theme of the “revenge” this time is neither to prepare ourselves for Sayanee’s graduation nor to give Sayanee a peace of mind in regards to the future of NMB.


Instead, the real theme is to present to Sayanee a NMB48 in which she would never want to leave.

By watching us going all out and doing this and that for the group, our aim is to make her feel like she wants to keep staying on and achieving dreams together with us in NMB48.


I may have unintentionally made a portion of fans think that NMB is okay now, so it would be fine for me to graduate.


Despite being a 1st generation member in this concert that was assigned to pull the group forward, it was my own lack of ability in conveying what I really wanted to say that I couldn’t get the right message across.


Although there were so many things I wanted to convey, I just couldn’t do it well…


Still, I was able to witness not just the hard work of the members, but also members discovering new roles for themselves, challenging themselves, and pulling the group forward together.


I was truly happy just being able to see everyone’s different emotions!


By experiencing a concert like this twice both this year and last year, we were able to really take a good look at both NMB and ourselves as individuals.


That’s why to everyone who came to watch us, thanks for coming and making it a SOLD OUT concert!!


Thank you so much for putting your hopes in us and getting excited together with us!






With so many reliable juniors around me, I’m really looking forward to the future!!


Then as for Day 2, with Sayanee also joining us, we had a concert entitled “SA SA SA SAIKOU!!!” (THE BESTTTTT!!!)


I bet there were people who were doubtful about the NMB48 now having such a concert title.


But just as the title suggests, we had the best concert ever from beginning to end.


Finally…really finally…


NMB, NMB fans and also Ririka were finally able to smile for real again.


After what took place at elections that day, honestly any attempt of restoration was probably impossible.


I kept wondering what then would be the best course of action.


I was troubled by that day after day.


It took us some time to come clean to everyone especially to the fans, so I’m sorry for causing so much worry.


Perhaps there were even fans that have left us because of this.


But there is just one thing I want you all to know…


NMB will always and forever be a group overflowing with love.


Even when we had become completely helpless, the one thing that remained was the strong feelings of love we had for our group.


The reason why there wasn’t even a single one of us that held it against Ririka for her actions was because she had helped pull us through many situations in the past.


That’s why we too want to support her until the end.


We the members all think that way and that is our expression of love towards her.


And so, yesterday, we were able to hear from Ririka herself what we all wanted to know the most, that being Ririka’s feelings towards NMB.


That alone is enough.


As Momoka had said, I don’t want to see her apologising or being sad anymore.


Just as long Ririka continues to love NMB now and for years to come, that alone is enough.


Thanks for coming to NMB.


Because Ririka was there, there were many things we were able to overcome.


Without knowing it, unintentionally, we had come to depend on Ririka who was actually a junior member.


It’s sad because I really wanted to be with you longer.


But I hope you’ll truly be happy, and live a wonderful life!!!




There are a number of people including myself who are not here, but it’s a nice photo with everyone smiling so (О´з｀О)


It was good that it could end with everyone smiling.


And after all this, I was able to have a proper good look at NMB once more.


For many years now, we were said to be stuck in a pinch.


So, I kept thinking and thinking of what I should do especially with me being a 1st generation member.


Should I be thinking more of my juniors, and creating an environment where I can help to raise the next generation?


Or should I be considering graduation instead…?


But I realised neither of that was the answer…


What I want to do the most now is to see that view I was able to see together with the 1st gen members a long time ago.


That sense of accomplishment after sprinting together towards a single goal…


I want to see that view again with the members now.


I began thinking that way.


These few years, I have been so frantic in my efforts in protecting NMB.


But if protecting is all that we’re doing, NMB won’t become any bigger.


So that’s why…


I want to build up a NMB that only us, the members here and now, can build.


I want to go and see a view that only we can see with the fans, members and of course with Sayanee too.


That’s what I really want to do.


I have to be thankful to Ririka for being the spark that enabled me to look at things from this perspective.


Perhaps, this may even be NMB’s chance to change for the better. Haha.






I’ll work on making NMB even stronger. That’s for sure.


That’s because there’s a view I would like to show to the juniors who are giving it their all now.


With Sayanee as the head, let’s play our respective roles in making NMB bigger and stronger.


There’s still power left in NMB.


We’ve been holding it back for both the Asia Tour as well as the Arena Tour.


From now on, we’ll be thinking up various things to show that the NMB now means serious business, so please stay for the ride ❤️


One last thing…


To the fans


Many things have been going on, but thank you so much for supporting us and being by our side even despite all that.


Everyone’s warmth helped us to pull through a lot of the tough times.


We’re still inexperienced in many ways but…


We’ll be happy if you continue watching warmly over us from now on too.






As I was writing up this blog entry, halfway in I felt like I was going to cry. Haha.


Thank you for reading this long chunk of text until the end.


I love NMB.


Please allow me to continue working hard here for some time longer ❤️


Yoshida Akari

 

Wow. Akarin certainly has a lot of thoughts concerning her group. Thank you so much for all the translations. It must have taken forever!!!

 

In patoAkarin we trust! Thank you so much for translating this.