[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

They did Ambivalent with Kumi and Miho at either end of the front row, and Takamoto in the back and Higashimura in the second row.


if the video does not show watch the video here

Poor image, but all I can find right now. Lots of positive comment about Kumi and Miho. High excitement about Hirate being right on -- and also being thin. Live singing (as well as recorded?) praised. Hirate apparently sounded particularly good.

Formation correspondence:
Kumi＝Habu
Miho＝Pon
Mei＝Sugai
Teke＝Akanen (replacing the members who are in the stage play Zambi, which starts Friday afternoon)


３rd row --　Oda-Saitou-Takamoto-Berika-Ozeki-Yone-Ishimori-Satou
２nd row --　Uemura-Higashimura-Neru-Koike-Naako
１st row --　Kumi-Suzumoto-Hirate-Risa-WatanabeMiho

Should a Hiragana fan worry about Hiragana taking the role of unders and substituting as necessary? Or just be thrilled at how well the Hiraganas performed? Should a Kanji fan be worried that the senbatsu is about to be selected from both groups? How would Keyaki history have proceeded if they had done this last year when Zumiko's place was left empty rather than filled with a Hiragana? Would things have been less disrupted after that?

 

Any confirmation on that ?

 

They are probably just on loan. Rather being on a break and have nothing to do, you might as well let some members gain more experience on stage. This makes me wonder if they will start lending members among the sakamichi groups.

How about swapping Imaizumi with Techie in your hypothetical question? How would Kyz46 look today, if a Gana member stood in for Techie, for the budokan gigs?- We will never know.

 

I was just saying some people might fear that. Sorry if that wasn't as clear as I thought it was. I don't believe it's going to happen...but it might.

@radiohifi -- Good question, about Techi being replaced rather than Imaizumi. They did put subs in for her eventually. And in my opinion it didn't work: Techi is too outstanding, and too dominant a figure, to be replaced, in my totally biased opinion, even by someone as capable as Suzumoto. This is how Techi is both the group's main strength and its main weakness. Replacing Zumiko, in that case, would have worked, however, it seems to me.

I think one reason they put them in -- besides keeping the choreography more or less as it has been -- is to show Hiragana they trusted them at that level. I was particularly happy for Teke and MeiMei. And particularly impressed by Kumi. But Miho is getting a lot of praise and I have to watch her more. She looked good as far as I've seen so far.

EDIT: I've just been watching the Best Hits Ambivalent over and over again and getting more and more enthused. This is really Keyakizaka46. Fairly tight and very exciting. Hirate is on point and on message. Monta and Risa are great. So is Kumi! And Miho really does have something going there. But tears almost sprang to my eyes when I saw Higashimura there, so sharp and happy, throwing that tough little body around. And apparently Takamoto had tears in her eyes the whole time.... Tears of joy and nervousness. Another face that struck me was Uemura's. I sometimes have not liked seeing members smiling during songs that really aren't meant for smiles. But the smiles from her and her second-row neighbour MeiMei were so great. The other great smile? Yone-san. And Shii-chan's final high kick goes, as someone commented, "into another dimension."

EDIT2 -- That interview with the four Hiraganas posted above by @Xiphyas is terrific. They -- especially Kumi -- sailed right along with Trendy Angel. I can't imagine anyone who didn't know them watching that and not going: "Whoah! Who are those girls?" They looked great and conveyed a great atmosphere and personalities.

 

There is a lot of comments from different sites, optimistic and pessimistic. In general I can talk about how happy they were on the stage (especially Uemuu and Hiragana members), the energy they showed was really good and you can feel the group unity. And here in Japan you can feel it in the fan enviroment.

Comments talking about Techi's weight, Take's happy tears (she talked about it on the interview), Fuuchan strong presence, Monta sharpness, Shiichan's delicacy in the savage choreography and a long ETC.

Many people and fans thought about Hiragana like AKB48 Team 8, as a younger sister dependent on her older sister. We perfectly know Hiragana origins, "the error that got success" -as a horrible magazine said-. But no, Hiragana is not an error or a mistake, Hiragana was planned to support Neru's dreams and now hold the dreams of 20 beautiful girls.

Soon we gonna have big news and surprises. Now just please keep supporting Kanji and Hiragana as a whole, as the Keyakizaka46 family.

 

Well said. Total agreement. I don't know what the news will be, but I do know management have been thinking about it and working on it and I just feel it has to come pretty soon. The four Gana-chans with Kanji was the first surprise. If I wanted to give Hiragana a big push for its first single, I'd ask Neru to return to them. I don't actually think she fits now, but it's one of the thoughts whirling around in my mind. In any case, I'm with them: both groups, rain or shine.

As for Techi seeming thin, I laid it out there, but I don't know if it is significant or not: camera angle, lighting, temporary, thin but perfectly healthy...or the result of months of chronic illness. Don't know.

 

I wonder what do the members do as part of their daily routine when they have no outside/solo work. Do they hang out at the Sony Music studio or office for dance practice or as a sort of waiting room ?

 

2018 will be forever remembered as Keya's "Annus horribilis": Shida Manaka just announced graduation.

 

3 down.... almost 1 and half month of the year remaining, is there will be another? i really hope none, please... kanji fans really face heartbreak this year

 

Eh. Give it a few more years. Then you're gonna look back at only 3 graduations rather fondly...

 

Manaka's

 

Thanks to @too much idea for doing the translation. Sad reading, but great to hear from Mona directly.

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On a happier and less important note, fans at the Zambi performance today are given the opportunity to order the DVD/BluRays, with special extras. The disks will come out in May.



This is already a big weekend, with Techi reappearing; with Hiragana members joining the Kanji senbatsu for a Kanji song; with Mona graduating; with Zambi starting and the announcement of the disks. Might something more happen at Saturday's handshake event at Makuhari? Announcement of a single, perhaps? It's an individual event, so there's no live stage to announce from, so perhaps not. I've seen Japanese comments not expecting either of the younger members on hiatus to graduate. I don't expect it, either: they just need time to concentrate on school while they try to get into their choice of universities.

 

So Shida graduated? There wasn't any comfirmation about the rumor or redemption?
Also just wanna be sure (& prepared if it's true) but from the last Keyakitte Kakenai, there was sorta spoilor from Kobayashi about a drama on the way? Is it true?

 

Keyakizaka46 appeared on the event "NHK World-Japan SONGS OF TOKYO". To avoid day and time confusion, please check NHK event site and convert to your timezone. Also, the event will be by limit time on VOD and you can watch it for free on the NHK app.

Here is the announcement via Twitter.

 

Suzumoto centred both featured songs at Songs of Tokyo: SaiMajo and Ambivalent. Not sure when it was recorded or what the plan is with Hirate now. It seemed a bit as if they just did Ambiva without a centre, since there was a four-member front, instead of the four members flanking Techi, and they just featured Suzumoto in the camerawork. Often it seemed that Neru, in the middle of the 2nd row, was like the centre. In this and the Best Hits performance it has seemed to me that Neru's dancing has become pretty good.

This may be some kind of preconceived notion, or different camera work or something, but as great at Suzumoto was, and as well as everyone danced, both Songs of Tokyo performances seemed to lack some spark or urgency to me. I'd appreciate it if other people could tell me, after they've seen the show, if they felt the same or not.

The interview portion with a couple of tourist Keyaki fans (a guy from England and a woman from Iran) was interesting. The guy was a long-time AKB group fan, who likes Keyaki now, especially for its dance, but wouldn't commit to any one 46/48 group as his favorite. The woman made a point of saying that she liked Keyaki's dancing, and felt it had meaning, whether the meaning could be put in words or not. Pon made a lovely reply, expressing happiness that people can see the meaning in the dance.

 

i seen the performance,after seeing certain fan that try to brainwash/scaring the fans that keyaki B squad just useless/not good enought without techi i watch saimajo performance i see the member trying their best and i can see their really good me to carry the dance choreo althought without full member...

for anbiva little bit mess as everyone know that song really fast with limit time every time i see the song on tv the choreo performance like has been fast forward...just to fast...

 

For me that might have been my favorite performance of SaiMajo to date. The girls were sharp and into it like they knew they were being broadcasted to the world and took it seriously. I hate Ambivalent in general so no opinion on quality of that songs performance.