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Unpopular Opinions

Discussion in 'General Nogizaka46 Discussion' started by ひめか, Apr 17, 2019.

  1. Isaac H

    Isaac H Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2017
    Location:
    Malaysia
    I felt the same way about Yoshida...and I can pinpoint the time when my feelings change. The valentine 2018 episode of koujichuu, I saw her with longer hair...and saying to myself "wow, she looks great...".

    Kana does deserve better...but I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, or how management actually thinks about her. To be honest, I don't really know about the senbatsu selection process...but I'll continue to root & wish the best for the members that I like. My favorite version of Kana remains to be the one in the Danso episode of Nogibingo when she was paired with Chii-chan. I liked long-hair Kana more, but that's just me.

    Being all "I don't get about so-and-so's appeal" is fine. To paraphrase @kanjo, you can express that without being toxic/poisonous. For example, I don't really "get" Maichun's appeal, but I'll just spend my energy on supporting my favorite members. Like wishing more screen-time for Ranze and Hinachima. :)

    I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but I feel that Hinachima is...under-utilized? Underrated? She gets spotlight here and there (eg. like that Doraemon play) but I feel that she could or should hit a higher popularity level than what she's at right now. Perhaps other more knowledgeable forum members could shine a light on why.

    Lastly, "unpopular opinion" threads tend to naturally get heated or negative anyway - it's in the title, heh - but I believe we are able to let cooler heads prevail and discuss things in a positive & calm manner, even when our opinions differ.
     
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  2. kanjo

    kanjo Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2012
    Location:
    Ireland->Shimane
    Oshimen:
    Nishino Nanase
    While we're discussing etiquette, I wanted to address something that came up earlier in the thread.

    Something like ~ "I wish we could disable dislikes in this thread"
    I get why people feel this way but I disagree.
    Yeah, you should be able to post opinions here and not be disliked for an unpopular opinion.
    But that should always be the case. You shouldn't dislike someone because you disagree with them. We have a whole button for that.
    But at the same time disagreeing with the opinion expressed in a post doesn't mean you shouldn't dislike it no matter what.
    The was it's expressed is more relevant.

    To me, the dislike button means "you shouldn't post comments like this". I usually only dislike something excessively rude. Someone who just doesn't "get" what's great about Nanase is a "disagree", at most.

    Side notes:
    1. don't fret about dislikes, there's no negative affect of getting them
    2. we actually can't remove emotes from threads even if we wanted to. Actually the currently active mods don't have power to edit emotes/reactions at all. If we did, the "old" button would be dead already and you guys could probably use "funny" like mods can.
     
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  3. silver247

    silver247 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2019
    Do you have more detail? I'd like to dig in
     
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  4. kanjo

    kanjo Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2012
    Location:
    Ireland->Shimane
    Oshimen:
    Nishino Nanase
    I don't have sources, but essentially fans online had noticed for years they never talk about each other. Maiyan will talk about/post pictures with Misa and Sayuri and for years fans have wondered where Nanamin is. Nanamin on the other hand apparently rarely spoke about anyone. Note: I don't use mobame or check blogs often, this is second hand information. But then it was pretty much accidentally confirmed on Nogiten episode when Kawago was talking about seats in waiting rooms. She spoke about who sat with who, what all the groups were like. The relevant ones which really supported the theory was that Maiyan and Misa basically always sat together, just the two of them, and Nanamin always sat alone unless Kawago and Suika friends invited her to eat with them.

    This confirmed for many people's theories that they were always a business-only friendship. Though I guess it could be reading too much into nothing. But personally it really clicked with me when I read it. It struck a chord with a vibe I always had about the pair.
     
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  5. Ikutafan

    Ikutafan Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Oshimen:
    ikutaerika
    Actually, I think that Nanamin’s closest member in the top members is Ikuchan (aside from Maimai). She had talked a lot about Ikuchan, especially regarding funny stuffs about her. And she had praised Ikuchan a lot of times. They were also seen talking and laughing a lot together behind the scenes. They also took a lot of pictures together for mobame and blog purposes that are not jusr looking like they just are obliged ro take a pic. Also it all made sense somehow to me when she had chosen Reika and Ikuchan to be with her when she announced her graduation. Because she was always “attached” as “close friends” along with Sayurin, Maiyan and Misa so I was surprised why nobody from them were there for her announcement. And she really chose them personally to be with her.

    These are just my thoughts that I thought I would never speak of lol. So maybe I got the wrong assumption as well
     
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  6. mayuri91

    mayuri91 Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2014
    Location:
    south east asia
    Oshimen:
    shiraishimai
    well, who knows many nogi fans actually here has so many things to talk about..i thought im the only one who seems outspoken/troll all the time..
     
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  7. Gofindnova

    Gofindnova Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2019
    Dang, I didn’t know that. I only remember their interaction during Nanamin’s grad concert. Obviously emotions run high at any graduation + she could be exaggerating, but I thought Maiyan was really shook up about it.

    I think the key to understanding Nanamin is that she didn’t really want to be an idol in the first place. During her graduation interview, she basically said she took the job to support her family. (I’ve heard rumors she didn’t want this part of the interview to be made public, but the staff leaked it anyway? If so, it kind of illustrates why she wanted to quit.) So she never bought into the whole idol business the way other girls did. You can tell by how uncomfortable she was acting cute, her being cool and detached, or offering opinions more like someone who’s lived a hard life outside the entertainment bubble.

    The reason Nanamin gave for choosing Ikuta and Reika at her graduation radio announcement was that she believed they were 自分に対してずるくない, they "weren’t deceptive toward themselves.” Not to keep harping on about authenticity, but that radio announcement is one of my favorite bits of Nogi media, because it reveals an internal dynamic that is partly what makes Nogi (the 1st gen, at least) special. Whether you like her or not, Ikuta, imo, is the most important member of Nogi in terms of her qualitative impact on the group. Ikuta’s push to be nicer and classier on variety is most responsible for the group’s current image; her openness to crossing over to non-traditional arts allowed other idols to follow. She embodies what's unique about Nogi more than any ace, which is ironic since all the other aces are/were more invested in succeeding with Nogi than her. The fact that Nanamin also trusted Reika so much indicates that the captain puts in some real work behind the scenes sticking up for members.
     
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  8. tpt13

    tpt13 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Oshimen:
    horimiona
    Ok, this is not really an opinion but rather a delusional wish. I have wanted to share it for awhile but I figure many will hate it so this thread is a perfect place.

    So I wish that they made a Nogizaka version of Majisuka Gakuen. In my delusional mind, this delusional drama will have two seasons, following the adventure of our main character, Hori, and her gang (2nd Gen members) on her way to take the top at Nogizaka Girl High School.

    Season 1 starts with Hori as the transfer 1st year students. She first encountered Keychain, a seemingly childish girl but extremely deadly with her weapon of choice which is of course a chain. Despite their initial animosity, Hori and Keychain quickly befriend each other and Keychain becomes Hori's right hand and sidekick. Hori and Keychain also befriend the Team Ramen which includes Shogi, Reki-jo, Plane, KTK and Nabe. A few episode later, Hori meets other strong characters like OL, Razor and Bombshell, who are stronger than Team Ramen (which is given cos Team Ramen is the weakest). Together with her friends, Hori desires to take the top of Nogizaka Girl High. Unlike other main character in the Majisuka Series, Hori doesn't have any backstory that explains her action (like a childhood friend who died defending her, or a father who left her with her mother, ...). Instead, Hori wants to take the top simply because she is very competitive and ambitious. Long story short, Hori and her gang finally defeat the old Rappapa (aka Nogi's 1st Gen) after 12 episodes (it has to be 12 episode since 10 is to short for such an awesome drama). There will be a scene in which the Rappapa's president, Kuroishi, after being defeated by the mighty transfer student, said that Hori is now the new president and entrusts the school to her. The season ends with Hori and her friends standing on top of the school building, looking at the sunset.

    Season 2 follows the story of the new batch of 1st year students (aka Nogi's 3rd Gen). Yamashita, who was known as the "Little Devil" since her day in secondary school, slowly recruits her gangs of fellow students including Master Jedi, Crybaby, Supermodel and Miyagi. They also have a food team namely Team Soba which includes Kurisu, Pikachu, Chocolate and some others (I'm tired of coming up with their nicknames). Those new students will square off against the new Rappapa which includes Team Ramen and Four Heavenly Queens: Keychain, OL, Razor and Bombshell. In a mean time, the Rappapa's president, the mighty Hori, just completely disappears for no particular reasons. There is some rumor that Hori gets into trouble with the Yakuza and was killed by them. Some students even jokingly say that if Hori ever come back, she would come back only as a zombie. Although the Queens want to find Hori, they have their hands tied with the new rebellious girls as Yamashita and her gang slowly defeat Team Ramen and the Queens one by one. In episode 11, Yamashita will finally fight against Keychain, who seemingly overpowers her as first. However, as Keychain is about to defeat Yamashita, her friend show up and cheer for her. By the power of friendship, Yamashita goes beast mode and overcomes Keychain. Right when the episode about to end, Hori finally shows up, again without any explanation. In the last episode, Hori asks Yamashita and her gang to fight her all at once since Yamashita is kinda small fry to her. After 10 minutes of fighting (half of the episode), Hori completely obliterates the 1st year girls all by herself. The Four Queens and Team Ramen then have a tearful reunion with their leader. They will be all happy that Hori is back and singing her praise, totally ignoring the fact that she allows the 1st year girls to beat up her friends in the first place. The scene will then switch to Yamashita and her gang, bruised and beaten up, lying on the floor. Yamashita thanks her friends who have believed in her and followed her thus far but then admits that they still have many to learn in order to become stronger.

    If only I am good at writing and my English is a bit better, I would have written a fanfic about this. But since I totally suck, I am happy with sharing this delusional thought on this thread.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2019
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  9. eternalord

    eternalord Future Girls

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2014
    Location:
    Sakurajima
    Oshimen:
    Kubo Shiori
    Yes, I was just thinking that downvotes may discourage people to post unpopular opinion as suggested, but seeing how it goes, it seems like you are correct. It's better to function as it is. Thanks for the explanation.

    This is... 48's Majijo plot (s01 and s02+s04) :D
    But let's do it anyway, it's nice to have Nogi silliness no matter in what form.
     
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  10. Conjyak

    Conjyak Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2017
    I don't know if describing Nanamin and Maiyan as "didn't like each other at all" is the right way to put it as that sounds like they hated each other. Not that I would really know because I've never read the fan rumors about it before.

    This seems more believable. They were colleagues and they worked together. But I don't even feel like management pushed any story line between these two. They just look good together and in symmetrical positions because they have similar height, age, both models, and both tend to be in the same row, whereas for Sayurin, although she fits some of those conditions, she just had a very different visual look (and of course after her scandal, she wasn't in the same row as Maiyan and Nanamin). So fans really like that symmetry with Maiyan-Nanamin, which makes sense to me.

    To me, Nanamin seems to like quiet and peace while Maiyan likes being in the middle of all the noise and talk in the backstage rooms. So naturally, Nanamin sits away from everyone and chills on her own. Well, at least that's the interpretation from that Nogidoko ep where they had a hidden camera and showed Nanamin put her stuff down at the table, walk over to a sofa, and lie down listening to music on her own.

    Googling around, here's the picture of their seating from that Nogidoko ep (Girls' Rule and Baretta era):

    [​IMG]

    taken from http://ikomach.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-6981.html

    and Kawago's seating chart (mid 2016, so I guess that's Harujion/Hadashi De Summer era):

    [​IMG]

    taken from http://48matomemolog.ldblog.jp/archives/1062156036.html. Lower in the page, there are a bunch of comments by fans posting diagrams/charts of seating they saw in other episodes, like the Guam dinner (when only 5-6(?) of the members were playing the game with Bananaman while barbecuing and the rest of the members were eating dinner), Nogibingo openings, etc.

    In the first pic above from Nogidoko, Nanamin puts her stuff down right across from Maiyan, so I don't know how to interpret that other than to say you know, I doubt they hated each other lol. But she does go lie down on her own. And in the second pic from Nogiten, Nanamin's seat does seem to be far away from "the action" since it's at the edge and pretty close to a manager. Nanase is known to be quiet, but Yuri is known to be talkative lol. But that indeed is the gen 1 Suika table.

    I have a feeling that Nanamin tends to not talk about her member friendships that much on camera for whatever reason, though I could be wrong. We know she had relatively strong friendships with Kawago and Asuka, but in both cases, the others are the ones who mention it on camera more than Nanamin mentions them I feel. When Nanamin does mention them, it's more like, "I think Kawago/Asuka are really talented" (like a business compliment) rather than, "Yeah, we hung out last weekend" (mentioning a member friendship). And IIRC, there were times when Fukagawa and Wakatsuki mentioned having a sleepover at Nanamin's. So my feeling is that Nanamin just doesn't mention those friendships much. It's easy to pick out the strong friendships that are obvious within Nogi, but I think it's really hard to pick out the "non-friendships" because there are friendships (or at least sleepovers) you would never guess, like Wakatsuki and Nanamin.

    The whole thing about Nanamin not really meaning to become an idol, wanted to support her family and brother until his college situation was solved(?), etc... to me is a mystery. It doesn't add up. So my unpopular opinion here is that while her story may be true to some extent, it was a cover story that Nanamin emphasized. I don't know what her true story is, but I think it's just a desire for a non-celeb/show biz life afterward. And there was an incident where malicious hidden camera pics of her were posted on the internet during the Nandome No Aozora era with the green uniforms (you can google them yourself), which (if those pics are true - they aren't high resolution) probably caused her to feel some sort of disillusionment or feeling a lack of sense of security with the show biz life. The reason I don't believe in the "cover story" is because if you really wanted to give financial support to your family, you don't move all the way to Tokyo to go to an art college... And you certainly don't go audition for an idol group in your free time. Nogi pays members well now but the pay would not have been good back in the early era. Wouldn't you just be studying at a regular college looking to get a good, regular job? And if financial security is that important to you, why would you quit and retire early from a front row position in Nogi, the biggest idol group by then? (In 2016, Nogi had more revenue than AKB.) If she wanted the $, she should've stayed in Nogi until age 30 and milked them for as much $ as possible lol. Or at least graduate and transition to a decent modeling and acting career. I don't know her brother obviously, but unless he's some genius, the chances he'd make more money than Nanamin if she stayed in show biz are unlikely to me.

    We know she had back problems by 2016 (visible in the second 46 hours TV and one of the Nogibingo eps) and was also known to have health problems earlier (was absent in one of the summer tours and was in the hospital or something?) But these are good reasons to graduate from an idol career to avoid the dancing but not a good reason to retire from a solo modeling or acting career, which she could do at her own pace. It's a mystery to me, but I just don't believe in her cover story completely. The simplest explanation is she just wanted a non-show biz life afterward (I kind of like the fan theory that she's currently staff at Sony lol) but decided to emphasize this cover story about her family and brother so that it looks like she has a good reason for retiring that will minimize people trying to pry further into her life.

    Agree with everything you said about Nanamin giving props to Reika and Ikuchan, although I've only read fan summaries of that. (So Nanamin had those two appear on radio with her when she announced her graduation?) I've read rumors that Nanamin wasn't afraid to voice disagreements with management, and it's believable to me that Reika and Ikuchan are the type of people also not afraid to disagree with management. 自分に対してずるくない is a bit of a cryptic statement but it definitely makes sense to interpret that as, "They were true to themselves to the point of disagreeing with management if that's what it meant to be true to yourself," and it makes sense to say that on your graduation to, well, minimize awkwardness later on.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2019
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  11. kanjo

    kanjo Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2012
    Location:
    Ireland->Shimane
    Oshimen:
    Nishino Nanase
    The story about her brother as told in Nogizaka Monogatari (as I recall it at least) was that she's in a three person family and they ran into financial trouble after she came to Tokyo. She decided to work to help support her brother through school but found Tokyo too expensive. She applied to join an idol group because idols get a lot of things provided, a dorm, bento, etc. and she could save on daily expenses.
     
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  12. KingCrimson

    KingCrimson Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 26, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Ikoma Rina, Saito Asuka
    Wait, a large portion of Japanese fans don't think that Maiyan and Nanamin were close? That's an eye-opener for me, because it's not a conclusion that I can come to. I've never seen Shiraishi cry as hard as she did at Hashimoto's grad concert. She was literally shaking. The vibe I always got from those two was that they had a really laid-back and private friendship--the kind where you don't really have to say anything to or about each other but feel comfortable just being around each other, and if the time comes can open up and talk honestly. Something out of the spotlight. Maybe they weren't the best of friends, but judging from the grad footage at least, Nanamin meant a great deal to Maiyan in the end and vice versa. Unless they're the greatest actors in the world, I don't think I can believe that those tears were fake.
     
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  13. Seditious46

    Seditious46 Next Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2017
    Location:
    The north star of Nija
    Oshimen:
    Higuchi Hina
    Things have been going nicely uphill for Chima. Besides Doraemon, she has many other stage performances such as Girls Revue, +GOLD FISH and Show Boy. She's also a JJ model. And her handshake sales are increasing as well.

    Somehow, it's not enough to get a Senbatsu spot regularly. I like to think it is because management wants to keep Under balanced and strong. But truth is, I really don't know. And it's frustrating, because to me it feels like she is sooo close to a major leap, but it doesn't happen.

    It scares the shit out of me. She is still very young but at the same time a 1st gen member. And management will prioritize the newer gens more and more in the times to come.
     
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  14. tpt13

    tpt13 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Oshimen:
    horimiona
    Surely creative writing isn’t my strong suit so I just threw a bunch of my favorite season into a hot spot. Honestly, I just wanna see Miona destroy everyone though lol.
     
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  15. baymon

    baymon Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2014
    Oshimen:
    Shiraishi Mai
    My thought exactly, if the above story is true, I don't know how to interpret those tears because I don't think it's fake and what is the use of faking it. On the contrary, she remained quite calm during Misa's graduation concert. Supposedly she is close to Misa, although not as close as she is with Ringo.
     
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  16. Ikutafan

    Ikutafan Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2016
    Oshimen:
    ikutaerika
    In my perspective, I think they are close but not as close as what the management let the public thinks. I’m sure that Maiyan sees her as one of those older and top members that she has been working with most of the time in Nogi. Nanamin, along with Ikuchan are ones of the frankest members so I’m somehow sure they wouldn’t want to hold it up for a long time being paired and have to act like your good friends for the sake of the camera. It’s just that they may not be those best of friends really.

    What I’m sure is that Ikuchan is closer to most of the oldest members from both 1st and 2nd gen rather than the younger members who are closest to her age lol.
     
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  17. NyanNyan's Pet

    NyanNyan's Pet Next Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2016
    Actually when they were hugging and crying and I think they said to each other "friends forever" cmiiw, I was like: are they this close, are they even friends? I always thought they look at each other more as collegues than friends. Actually I don't really know who Nanamin's friends are within Nogi. Never thought of it until now. She's like a lone wolf to me. Anyway, nice to know what everyone think about this relationship.
     
  18. Gofindnova

    Gofindnova Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2019
    Well, Nanamin said she was an idol to put her brother through college, not to make her family lots of money. But even according to her own narrative, if she decided to quit after her mom said they were financially stable, that still requires some deeper reason(s), because most people wouldn’t just end a career in the entire industry they’ve invested so much into. So I agree with you that she ultimately didn’t like celebrity life. If Nanamin’s story was a smokescreen, I think it’s because directly saying she hated celebrity life might lead to controversy for Nogizaka.

    Nanamin publicly announced graduation on All Night Nippon radio, with Ikuta and Reika in the studio for support. As she explained on the program, she chose the two because they “weren’t deceptive” and had sent supportive messages via Line after Nanamin told the group she was graduating. She said that at times, the two held emotions or ways of thinking similar to her own even if they didn’t speak out, which gave Nanamin strength, and she hoped the two could continue to be strong and honest in the future. Presumably they were referring to disagreements with management or members, but they never mention specifics. Ikuta and Reika didn’t know that Nanamin had personally asked for them, so as you can imagine, it was very emotional.
    I’m not sure if they’re technically legal so I won’t link to them, but there are raws on youtube if you look for オールナイトニッポン 橋本奈々未
     
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  19. Conjyak

    Conjyak Member

    Joined:
    Aug 6, 2017

    So Nanamin had them be in the studio but they didn't actually go on the radio to say anything? Interesting, that feels pretty deep. Thanks for the description.
     
  20. Gofindnova

    Gofindnova Future Girls

    Joined:
    Apr 18, 2019
    No, they were actually all talking on the radio. I said support cuz the program was all about Nanamin’s graduation, and the staff told her to pick any two members to join her.

    I didn’t have time for the whole thing before, but following the previous description:
    Ikuta’s reply was that knowing someone else (Nanamin) shared the same thoughts made a big impression on her even though she (Ikuta) was not the type to always speak out. Reika replied that Nanamin was a member for whom she could imagine graduation was coming for a long time, but it was still a shock when it was announced. She said Nanamin often had opinions that were coming from a completely different viewpoint than other members or management, which was a great help/relief (それにすごい助けられた), Reika felt her thinking was also similar in some ways, and that losing Nanamin felt like losing a big pillar. Ikuta and Reika then said it was “incredible” and “miraculous” that Nanamin could become an idol while taking on various burdens, and Ikuta said that Nanamin changed her conception of what an idol could be.

    That’s the most important part. The rest of the program is mostly lighter stuff, reading fan letters, etc.
     
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