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The Nogizaka46 Experience Thread

Discussion in 'General Nogizaka46 Discussion' started by spoiledleftie, May 21, 2014.

  1. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    ^ You went as well?!
    I was in the 5th row mostly calling out for Hinachima & Nene haha.

    -Proper report to come soon, including 7/21 hs-
     
  2. SMZ48

    SMZ48 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    Yes, I did! The first time since the Under Live at O-East in May.
    Unfortunately I was at the backmost, aisle seat, I'm not sure my calls could reach to the stage. :(
    But it was very close to the VIP seats, actually I could find Wakatsuki and Manatsu in a couple of metres. They came in right after the Overture and disappeared during the encore.
    And other cerebrities, I think I saw Saito-ke (Chiharu's family) came in from the special reception desk at the entrance. The woman who is probably the mother of Chiharu is very beautiful and looks young.

    I enjoyed the show so much but overall quality of vocals and chorus was not at their best.
    And I think the theatre is not for music but rather for play, there's no difficulty in seeing any area of the stage, that's a good point, but the PA of O-East felt more powerful.
    Dances were great and especially I enjoyed the single medley.:)

    I look forward to your detailed report!
     
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  3. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    Being able to spot Wakasama sounds like a blessing enough. :D
    But yeah, it's definitely a theatre hall, not a concert stage.
    -----------

    Anyway, reports from my two most recent events:

    Makuhari Messe Individual Handshake Event 7/21
    I'm splitting this up in handshake reports first, and then Seitansai + Graduation report, so not completely chronological.

    First time since I started going to handshake events that I went a full day - Morning 10 AM until it closed some time after 20. I had tickets in all slots, Minami for 1 and 4, Sayu for 2 and 5, as well as Misa for 3.

    As soon as I got to the venue I met up with some fellow Minami oshi, whom I proceeded to hang out with the entire day more or less. We were all seated at a very good spot in the trading area, being able to look into Minami's booth so long as no one was standing in front of us. First slot was the opposite of packed, so among others I had the opportunity to see her practice dancing, hiding under the table, and even waving at us during her downtime.

    As for the handshake with Minami, I only had one ticket so it went pretty fast. She's starting to get used to me though so she threw out the first word this time. Told her best of luck with her flash calculation challenge with got unveiled on Nogidoko the day before the event, and she pulled a really pained expression when talking about having to write blogs rich in content. I told her lots of us Minami oshi prefer her photo blogs so she's not allowed to lose.

    After my Minami HS ended and I was out of tickets I did walk around a bit peeking into the various booths. Nene was pretty as always and Sayu wore a yukata. Then I returned to the Minami oshi hangout to have even more staring battles with Minami from afar.

    Second round with Sayu was only one ticket as well. She still wore a yukata, so I just complimented her saying it looks good, and apologized for not having a topic last time. As Sayu's lines always take a minute or two I also got a moment to look into the neighbouring Misa-senpai's booth, which I was gonna visit round 3. Stunning lady. Her lane moved on at twice the pace compared to Sayu's though, so I felt sorry for her fans. Then again, she did sell out for Kizuitara Kataomoi. For my own personal experience, I called her hot, she called me hot, then I got violently dragged out. She was hot though, no regrets.

    Fourth slot was once again Minami. Line was a bit longer this time so I took the leisure of looking into Karin and Yuttan's lanes while waiting. More because they were so loud your head kinda turned towards them, rather than me actually wanting to look in. <- That's a lie, but damn those girls don't speak, they shout. Minami's lane was also delayed several times because she had to drink, right before my turn she also had to walk away for a few minutes, later coming back with her manager and a few staff who were speaking to her. Couldn't hear their conversation but she was shaking her head and doing hand gestures to say no at them, so I assume they were asking if she wanted to cancel the lane.

    When I was eventually let in, Minami started off saying my name then apologizing for the delay and acting really energetic, even claiming to be so. Because I'm a super nice guy I told her to rest up properly when she returns home after this slot and she thanked me and said she would. She listened to me too because according to her mobame she slept for 14 hours after returning home !

    As this was her final block, lots my fellow fans started packing up after this, so I had to seek contact with the Sayurists instead for the final one. Since they make up like 90% of my fan friends it wasn't that hard though, and we all lined up together for our Queen early on. By this point the the line was mega long, however, the neighbouring Kanarin lane was empty, so my friend called for her so she looked over, waved, and started dancing for us. She's actually a whole lot cuter IRL compared to on the screen, highly surprised.

    When I finally reached the Queen's lane, I noticed she had changed into a blue yukata, which I commented on, once again praising her graciousness. Then we talked about me going to Rock In Japan and about Japanese indie rock until I got kicked out and dashed out to go charge my phone before Renarin's grad ceremony.
    ---------------

    So, apart from Renarin's graduation there were three birthday celebrations which I figured I'd touch lightly upon before covering the grad.

    First up was Kiichan's at the end of the second block, which was still kinda early so the hall had yet to become all that crowded. The Kiichan bday celebration committee had created lots of small uchiwa which they handed out to fans of the girl and non-fans alike to help raise the awareness a bit, they even came up and asked people sitting in the trade / rest corner if they wanted to move up front and help out make some noise for her, which was really sweet of them, as it seems Kiichan is a girl with really bad self-confidence.

    Kiichan herself pretty much started crying as soon as she came out and witnessed all the fans. With her were her fellow second generation members Miona and Junna, who read letters for her. I think Miona's covered how happy she were when a fellow second gen girl was in senbatsu with her, and how she was specifically happy it was Kiichan cause she's one of the members she's closest with, but I don't recall it all too well. Then Kiichan's unprepared speech was pretty cute, her nose having gotten all runny and stuff by now. She said some self-deprecating stuff and thanked everyone several times, also declaring that she'll keep doing her best from now on and not let anyone down, before making her exit walk.

    Following Kiichan's was Yuttan's at the end of 3rd block. Being a big fan of Yuttan, I obviously reserved a good spot for this, and she actually pulled a really big crowd who stood up to watch. She entered together with her fellow Team Monster Hunter members Nanase and Nagasan - the two other members Whitestone and Sayurin (+ Maimai and Misa) stood further away, watching the whole ceremony.
    Nanase began her speech talking about how she's always relying on Yuttan, and stuff, Yuttan breaking in claiming it's untrue with a shaking voice (about midway through she started crying too). When it was Nagasan's turn the fans began shouting her "Nagasan!" loudly, upon which Nanase scolded us, saying "Don't call her Nagasan, she's Seira!" which was so cute I fainted until the end of the event...
    Anyway, Nagasan's speech was very lighthearted, mostly talking about how all of them have gotten really old but she's glad Yuttan is the oldest of the three etc. Yuttan's personal speech was her thanking fans, members, staff for organising this every year, and how she's happy she joined Nogizaka. She apologized for not being able to take a photo together with the fans, taking a photo of them before having a hug party with Team MonHan (+ Misa & Maimai).

    End of 4th block was Rotty's, which was heavily delayed, starting around the time when the 5th block was supposed to begin. Being said, the preparations done for this exceeded the other previous two ones by far, Rotty's booth being turned into a freaking garden. Not too surprising though, as Rotty has one of the bigger unofficial fan organisations, constantly being present at all events.
    Because I missed some of it due to cleaning up after me, as well as charging my phone outside the the hall, I failed to notice who came in together with her. However, what I did not miss was Rotty singing Sasuke, a song she wrote herself about her dog. Her voice really is fantastic.

    At the end of 5th block was the big, but sad, happening of the day. Renarin's graduation. Her fans, this being their final opportunity to cheer for her as a member of Nogizaka had obviously made huge preparations, handing out clear files to fans and doing everything to raise awareness up until the final moment. When she finally came out, she did her latin dance with a penguin to the tunes of Guruguru Curtain and Seifuku no Mannequin, her first and final senbatsu singles, leading on to a big speech.

    All members who hadn't left the building yet were present for the ceremony, some crying before the speech had even begun. In her speech, Renarin kept repeating how thankful she is to everyone for constantly supporting her despite her constantly taking breaks or not attending events. Especially the staff received lots of words of gratitude from her, which is understandable considering how supportive they are of girls who want to study. Following the speech and sobbing all over the room, Ikoma, who is the member she was closest too, also said a few words, followed by Renarin once again and a conclusion of the ceremony.
    All in all, something I was very happy to have been able to attend.

    Under Live 7/25
    My final Under live, the events who have come to be my favorite part of Nogizaka since coming to Japan. The Goddess of Luck finally blessed me this time, as I managed to pull a ticket for 6th row this time - and even managed to trade it for 5th row due to the guy in front of my being mega short.

    Setlist, apart from units was unchanged compared to previous reports, only the order of the songs being jumbled. Iori, the new second gen girl was present the entire concert right from the start, performing in everything in the same degree as the other members, although being mostly in the back. The kenkyuusei with the most favorable positions were either Ranze or Kyouka as far as I understood when I let my eyes off from the Undergods Hinachima, Nene and Marika.
    Being so close, as well as Nene mostly having positions on the left side of the stage (right for viewers) where I was sitting, I was hard to not get completely mesmerised by her marvellous visage.

    First MC was once again just asked people for their impressions, surprisingly enough Hinachima and Seitan were leading the MC this time, not Kanarin or Nagasan, no complaints though. They startled Ranze by asking for her impression, rather than a 1st gen member. When she collected herself however she asked fans to keep up with her cause she's gonna give it her all this live.
    Maaya also got her chance to speak, telling us she wants this friday to become the best weekday for everyone.

    Second MC was when they announced the units that fans had voted for. They brought in a huge board that had second rows numbered 1-12, and the fields next to the numbers being covered by white tape. Then they explained that they were ranked based on which song received the most votes, and the members participating are the ones who received the most individual votes in each song. Despite bringing out a list of twelve, they explained they'll only perform four of them, and which song they'll do is based on lottery, Rotty pulling a numbered ball out of a box.

    Prior to the pulling, the members got to do number one predictions. Nene predicted Dankeschön as #1, which many members agreed to, while Maichun believed Kodoku Kyoudai would win. After this, Rotty went on and pulled #2 - Kodoku Kyoudai performed by Nogizaka Number One Top Cute & Lovely Combo Itouchanzu who then went off stage to change. Someone pointed out Maichun ended up being wrong, and then the members on the stage began doing their best to fire fans up before the performance started.

    The performance started with both members saying Nene's famous "I'll bring that Itou down" quote, and then them heading to the center of the stage to begin singing. Nene did better singing-wise than she did the previous two times I saw this performed, which was pretty nice. During the instrumental break she also pulled a back flip which made the audience cheer. During different points of the song, the girls also headed over to the right side of the stage where I managed to get eye contact with both of them. (Marika I managed to get more eye contact and even a wave from later on during the concert too).

    Upon the song ending and everyone returning, Nene laughingly stated she wasn't prepared on doing it right of the bat, and Marika thanked everyone for voting in Itouchanzu's special version of Kodoku Kyoudai. They talked about the back flip then proceeded to pull #1 - Sekkachi na Katatsumuri with Marika, Kiichan, Renachi, Nagasan, Himetan and Hinapyon. (When Renachi was announced, Junna stared at her as if she was gonna whoop her ass, by the way.)
    During the MC while everyone was changing, Maaya and Rotty shared with us their facts about snails that made no sense, and Asuka dropping a very Asuka comment like "Well they did prove on Nogidoko that they're idiots."

    Once they come back Marika said she didn't think she'd to two songs in a row, and Kanarin was jokingly sad since it's her unit. Himetan thanked everyone for the loud calls, and Nagasan sounded genuinely overjoyed everyone called "Chouzetsu Kawaii SEIRA" instead of Nagasan which led to a mass Nagasan call to celebrate.
    Next unit pulled was Watashi no tame ni, Dareka no tame ni with Rotty, Hinachima, Chiharu, Kanarin and Noujou. As soon as they had left the stage, some were mentioning that it's only girls who sing will to which Ashurin responded that Kanarin is kinda... The girls went like "Hey!" at her for saying it, but Asuka stood her ground and said "Everyone was thinking it!!!"

    The MC corner suddenly changed a pace and become a lovely phrase showoff, because backstage Kiichan had talked about it with Nagasan. The topic was "Before splitting up after a date," and the ones who did it were Nagasan and Kiichan in succession. Kiichan was extremely bashful though.
    As for the following performance - original member Rotty had solo lines while the rest did shared lines in pairs.

    Upon returning, Kanarin claimed she was nervous doing a hard song like this, while Chiichan was like - this is the third weekend I get to do this song so I'm getting used to it. The other members ratted Ashurin out for hinting how Kanarin didn't suit that unit.

    The next and final unit pulled was Hoka no Hoshi kara with Nene, Kyouka, Ranze, Kanarin, Nagasan, Noujou and Rotty. For the preparation MC they continued with the lovely phrase showoff, having Himetan and Seitan do the same topic, and Ashurin after the fans shouting they went a big brother theme was forced to go half the way and do the theme "Confession to your upperclassman before summer break" - ending it with an Ashurin beam that left the audience devastated. Himetan got jealous and launched her own beam afterwards.
    Once Hokaboshi unit returned, Kanarin said she might like this line-up more than the original one, which left original member Marika heartbroken. Marika also asked Nene how she could run off and do it without her. Following this, the members explained that all the balls pulled today will be put in the box for the following day as well, so the fans tomorrow get an equal chance to see their favorite units.

    Before they moved on to the following songs, Himetan just wanted to share a story of how Manattan had done a beam and told her how it was 120 times cuter than Himetan's. This pissed her off, so she allowed herself to do a Zukkyun, and then told the fans in the venue to tell three friends each that Himetan's Zukkyun was 920 times cuter than Manattan's.

    No bigger change from now on, prior to the single medley they once again did a call battle - Though lady luck was smiling on me as it was Nagasan versus Hinachima, me being Hinachima team (prior to now she had only been a supporting member on the other side). Hina's voice is too cute and soft to kinda keep up with Nagasan's loud one, but eh, no complaints.

    Barette performance of the medley once again had a surprise. No Iori stepping out singing first chorus solo, she was properly positioned in the back this time - however, a certain Miona came out and stood in the up until now empty center position. If not for Risako being absent due to school, it would have been a full 2nd gen performance.

    During the encore, they called in the guest of the day Miona to thank everyone and saying a few words.

    At the end of the show, Marika thanked everyone as usual, and mentioned how she didn't expect the Under lives to become this popular, with them even managing to get extra shows. She and Ashu left the stage after everyone as usual for their final thank you, we love you.
    TL;DR Minami, Sayu, Nene, Marika and Hinachima are cool.
    Misa is hot.
     
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  4. spoiledleftie

    spoiledleftie Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2012
    Location:
    Hong Kong
    Oshimen:
    itokarin
    Report from 8/2 Tokyo Big Sight Handshake

    Prior to entering the venue there was a near-airport level security checkpoint:
    - everything in pockets emptied onto a tray
    - everyone must open all the pockets of their bag
    - if you were carrying drinks you have to take a test-sip in front of the staff
    - if you were carrying sprays you have to test-spray it onto your own skin
    - handheld metal detector

    The longest I waited was about 5 minutes, no complaints really. I'm used to flying domestically/internationally that this check is a piece of cake compared to the ones at US airports.

    Lane layout:
    hs.jpg
    Members no longer stood on a raised platform like back in June. There were 3 baskets on the table to drop off carry-on items and a dedicated bag watcher made sure no one stole from the baskets. A timer collected the tickets, operated a stopwatch and called out 3 times for every visit: # of tickets (when entering booth), "almost done", and "time's up", and the bouncer removed people from the booth.

    This time I met Kitano Hinako, Ito Karin, Yamazaki Rena, Hoshino Minami, Saito Yuuri, Inoue Sayuri, Takayama Kazumi, and the new KKS Sagara Iori. I also had Fukagawa Mai tickets but did not get to use them because her line was WAY too long and I would have missed meeting other members if I had gone to see her.

    Met up with SuperLemon/Vince at the venue and off we went...

    Kazumin:
    Used the "I'm from HK" opening line and got the "OOOHHH that's so cool" response. Had a good chat and told her about overseas fans and she was very excited to hear that. She was a little bit more subdued than I had expected but I'm a first-timer and she knows she probably won't see me again so I got the appropriate level of response, hahaha.

    Yuttan:
    Even prettier in person. Very enthusiastic/engaging. Told her I'm from HK and she said she's always wanted to go there. Also told her about fans on twitter and she went crazy like "OMG I HAVE OVERSEAS FANS!".

    Inoue Sayuri
    This was an interesting encounter because apparently she had lost her voice, so she had written down quite a few responses on paper and laid them out on the table, like "Thank you!" "Wow!" "Great!" "I'm fine I just lost my voice" and so on. Again used the "I'm from HK" line (because it does wonders in first meetings) and she held up the "Wow" sign. Then got the "Thank you so much" sign when I told her that it was nice to see her back in senbatsu for 9th and overseas fans are rooting for her.

    Yamazaki Rena
    She was wearing a yukata and had twintails. I am generally not a fan of twintails so I kinda ignored that and just told her that she looked great in the yukata. Told her my origin and that I hope she gets promoted soon. Then as I was leaving the booth she started playing with her hair and said "twin-tail!" and I kinda felt guilty for not complimenting her on that....maybe next time.

    Hoshino Minami
    For someone who is know for "energy-conserving" she was great at handshakes! Visibly excited when I told her I came from HK and she's got a huge following on twitter, and we also chatted a bit about her upcoming mental arithmetic challenge. A+++++ will go again.

    Kitano Hinako
    She looked great and her responses were sincere, but they don't facilitate further conversation and so it was kinda difficult and our conversations were all over the place. This time I ended up looping twice for each of the 3 slots, and we managed to talk about her mobame stuff, health issues, birthday celebration and some of the music she likes. In slot 2 she came out as Hina-Devil, that really caught me off-guard, forgot everything I wanted to say and just stammered for 2 tickets' worth of time. Will def go again but not sure if I want to get too many tickets.

    Ito Karin
    Biggest surprise of the day! The first exchange (2 tickets) was as follows:
    (in caps because she really was borderline yelling)
    Me: "I'm back from Hong Kong to see you..."
    Karin: "WAIT YOU CAME TO SEE ME BEFORE TOO RIGHT?"
    Me: "Yes I did, in May at the Nagoya venue..."
    Karin: "OOOOOOOOO I REMEMBER YOU OH MY GOD THANK YOU SO MUCH"
    Me: "Yeah! I love all of your mobame stuff, please send more"
    Karin: "MOBAME? YOU CAN RECEIVE MY MOBAME?" (started to get shoved out of booth)
    Me: "Yeah, it took a while but I managed to get it even though I live overseas"(still being shoved out)
    Karin: "THAT IS SO COOL THANK YOU SO MUCH" (as I was finally exiting)

    For the 2nd exchange we talked about the size of her mobame photos and I begged her to get a new phone to take bigger ones.

    Sagara Iori
    The new KKS! Her line was massive and folded 6 times as everyone wanted to meet her. The natalie gravure was great but she looks even cuter in person. Long hair, cute face (smaller than gravure) and THOSE DIMPLES ARE TO DIE FOR. She was wearing a dress with exposed shoulders (Manattan style) and was very enthusiastic to greet fans, no shyness whatsoever. Could be the real deal? A++++++ would definitely go again.

    tl;dr:
    Kazumin/Yuttan/Sayu great
    Renachi yukata wow
    Minami much cute
    Kiichan adorable as usual
    Karin SUPER EXCITE
    Iori NEW HOTNESS
     
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  5. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    I'm quicker than ever with this report!
    As evident from the report above, my latest event was the Tokyo Big site one. This time, I went there from morning until closing, but due to the venue layout I was unable to watch a single birthday celebration. The acoustics were horrid as well so wasn't able to really hear anything being said.

    Girls I met with were once again the two stars of the group - Minami and Sayu (Block 1), as well as newcomer Iori (Block 5).

    Tokyo Big Sight Individual Handshake 8/2
    So arriving at the venue shortly after the first round had begun, I first headed to greet some other Minami fans as has become customary for me by now, then headed straight to meet up with spoiledleftie to go scare my girl Minami together.

    From a distance the line looked empty, but I assume all the fans got scared when I came strutting in so ended up having to line for two minutes or so. Which I didn't mind, gave me plenty of time to figure out what to say. Also gave me time to inspect Yuttan and Kawago, both looking great, Yuttan more so. Upon landing first in line, I of course changed my gaze to Minami inside, who towards the end of her handshake with the guy before me looked out to see who's next and dropped me a great smile. By the way, the guy in front of me had two tickets, just like me, and they clocked him at exactly 20 seconds.

    Minami was wearing a Secret Honey dress and looking stellar like always, greeting me with her usual knockout smile. Telling her this would be my last handshake event this year I had to promise to come back for her birthday event. She also asked if I'd attend the tour. When I answered that I'd go to Osaka she tried to bully me into buying more tickets like always. After my time was up she strengthened her grip and told me to look at her and not Sayu during the concert before doing our byebyes. The staff behind me wasn't pushy at all and basically just patted my shoulder until Minami let go and he directed me to the exit.

    After Minami I took a short break to find the right angles to look into my various favorite members' booths. Misa and Nene both looked flawless as always. Once arriving at Sayu's booth there was absolutely no one in line, although I met some Sayu oshi outside with like 30 tickets each who were waiting it out. They told me that today's Sayu was fantastic, so in I threw my three tickets before dashing towards my lady.

    As spoiledleftie explained above, Sayu had lost her voice. She had those written response cards on the table below her, but for her beloved me she actually spoke as well as she could. Telling her this was the last time she made a super cute sad face, which forced me into pointing out she's cute today. I also asked her if her throat was okay, before bullying her saying she's even cuter when she's pushing herself just to be able to speak which won me my favorite pout response. Upon exciting she called out for me to show me one response card that said "Thank you" so I called out to again telling her " that's super cute" resulting in a final pout.
    Despite being three tickets, this lasted about as long as Minami's two, that is to say approximately 20 seconds. It's pretty consistent with previous times I went Sayu, that is to say around 7 seconds per ticket, for those who are planning to see her in the future.

    Once that ended, I had to go home for a while to pick up my Iori tickets I forgot, so I missed the first three birthday celebrations, only coming back slightly before the third one with Asuka. That I was completely unable to watch. Waiting for Iori I hung out with other Minami oshi for a few hours. All in all good times, though it definitely made me wish I had tickets for blocks in between 1-5.

    Right before it was time for block 5, I met up with spoiledleftie again so we could scare the newcomer together. Not only is it her first handshake event, she has to meet foreigners so soon, poor soul. Worth mentioning she blogged about us. (And other foreign fans that might have been there, but I think she thinks we were more meaningful.)
    Anyway, the line was massive, so how do you spend that time waiting... - by playing with booth neighbour Renachi! As spoiledleftie had visited her booth earlier that day, I think it was originally his attention she tried to grab, but she waved at us and tried to get us to switch line. If my National tickets had been usable for her I think I even would. Despite having people actually lining for her, girl kept looking over, shooting us and waving et cetera whenever she had some spare time. It reminded me of how Nene usually is when next to Minami lane, although she does it calmly with elegance as if she wants to tell us to revel in her beauty, while Renachi's excitement level was close to that of a preteen with ADHD.

    Since both of us used three tickets, and I was the second of us in line, I decided to check the clock. 12 seconds - 4 seconds per ticket.
    First thing to note about Iori is she's extremely pretty, possibly the prettiest 2nd gen girl even. Her face is super small, around the same size as Sayu's. It's hard to see it properly on TV and in pictures, but somewhere between two and three Iori/Sayu faces make up one Manattan face for comparison. She displayed absolutely no shock or so about an ikemen foreigner entering, rather she pulled off a beautiful smile that made her dimples very visible. I told her I went to three of the Undergirl lives she performed at, including her stage debut, and that her voice didn't sound too shabby. And when hearing where I'm from (she asked), she mentioned Sweden is cool cause she heard about it in school - and H&M.

    Given that this was Iori's first handshake event ever, I never expected her to handle it this well, showing little to no signs of nervosity and conversing effortlessly. I was already convinced that she's a solid addition by her great signs of improvement between her concert debut and the Under lives two weeks afterwards, but even handling fan interaction events this well made me think it even more. Probably won't go again, but definitely looking forward to see more from her very soon!

    After that finished, I forgot my phone with some Minami fans before heading home, realising it halfway through Odaiba, returning, getting my phone back almost instantly as I met them on the way, then finally returned home.
    After Tokyo Big Sight three times in one day, I hope they never use that venue ever again.

    TL;DR
    Accept Minami as your true Lord and Saviour.
    Sayu is cute.
    Renachi likes foreigners.
    Iori is a good newcomer, 11/10 points.
    I lost my phone

    Only Summer tour on Saturday left now!
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2014
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  6. SMZ48

    SMZ48 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    Here's Natalie's article of the concert tour final at Jingu Baseball Stadium last evening with 59 photos!

    http://natalie.mu/music/news/124924

    Unfortunately I couldn't be there, but according to the article and many tweets and SNS voices, it was very successful and someone calls it a new legend of Nogizaka46.
    Under the clear sky and rather cool atmosphere as an August day, around 30,000 fans reportedly gathered to the big stadium.
    Ikuchan is back now and joined the team, played the piano for Kokoro No Kusuri.

    Maybe @SUPER☆LeMON san was there?
    I'm looking forward to someone to write a report!
     
  7. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    Sadly, I was unable to attend this myself, as I have now returned to Sweden. :(
    I did, however, attend the Osaka concert, which I will write a report on once I settle down.

    Definitely seems like Jingu was a huge success though, a lot of my friends who went left the venue filled with all kinds of positive emotions.
     
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  8. iKuji

    iKuji Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2013
    Oshimen:
    takayamakazumi
    Okay guys, after lurking for a long time, I felt the need to write a little report after the amazing live from last night. As I am not used to write reports, it might not be really great. And it comes from someone who can only understand Japanese quite a bit, can't speak and can't read. So any quotes I might write come from my memory and my own interpretation.

    After finishing writing it, I notice that it's really long. I am very sorry, I wrote it without planning, and I hope some people will still read it and enjoy it.

    Report from Jingu Baseball Stadium on 08/30
    It was my second concert of Nogizaka, after the one in France, and it was so different (of course, huh).

    I came there at 7AM to buy official goods (the sale opened at 9AM), aaaand, guess what ? I reached the booth at 1115AM (Japanese are crazy to take the first train for every event!). "There is no more Takayama Kazumi's Uchiwa" I was told once I ordered my wants, and it really hit me. It was the goods I wanted the most, and it was sold out. "Why did they begin the sales yesterday ?" I thought, and I was really angry in myself not waking up earlier... (I could not attend the sale from the day before and it takes me about 1 hour to go there).

    As the gate opened at 1430 , I went to cool down a little by eating and taking a walk. Then, at 1330, I went to the stadium to line up. After a really light baggage control, I reached my seats in the stands (I really wish I was in the Arena!). And I was still pissed, waiting patiently for 1700 to arrive.

    http://i.imgur.com/Wyin0CO.jpg
    http://i.imgur.com/iywMfzT.jpg

    Ssh! Be quiet ! It was forbidden to take pictures! (Even though everyone did ahah)

    And once I heard the "Be careful, no photo, etc." announcement from Wakatsuki, Minami and Kazumi, I just forgot everything. Between Kazumin who said gibberish (and excused herself! the public was in laughter), and Minami who did not know how to read a Kanji and asking for help (Minami is really popular! The whole public encouraged her, even more than those who laughed for Kazumin :( ), Wakatsuki just played the serious type role (really majime~).

    And then, we still had about 30 minutes of waiting before the Overture began. From there, I just went full retard mode.
    I gathered the songlist from the previous concert, so I knew what was coming. (You can see the song list from the previous link).

    The scene was so long, "they have so much stamina" I thought, since I saw them run from one end to the other. It was so amazing. But I could not discerne their face since I was so far. I mainly watched the monitors during the whole concert...

    After Girl's Rules, we got the first MC. It was just the "Are you here Jingu ? I can't hear you", and the usual shout of the public. And of course, the legendary "Nogizaka46 desu~" followed by "Oh, it's a shame not everyone can be here tonight, but we will do our best!"
    Then we get a video of Ikuchan being tied up by an evil man who does not want the group to release their last single. We had to rescue Ikuchan, but we did not know how to do that!

    Came the hero, Kazumin! She declared that with the absence of Ikuchan, she will be the new center and the group would be renamed to "Takayama46". Even though I am pretty sure she used the same joke in a previous live event, I was just laughing so much. She then asked for the usual, which we of course answered with an "AMAAAAAAZING! \(^o^)/". She was really happy, but she said "Okay, let's change it a little. Everyone, let's Ameijiiiiiii~ngu" while spining around. You see the joke here, right ? (Jingu, the stadium and the jingu from the katakanisation of Amazing lol) And, no one around me spinned except me. Felt quite odd, but I was so happy ahah.

    The live started again and then "Koko ja nai doko ka" began. Everyone was "What the heck, has Ikuchan already been released?" Came Ikuchan's line... And we heard a Kazumin's voice who sang out of tune. It was painful to hear, but so funny. Her "Honto" was just SO BAD. And then she appeared and walked on the stage so proud, as if she was saying "I'm the new center, guys!". During the instrumental, she said "Ahah, you all thought Ikuchan would come right ?" After the song, or during the instrumental, I don't remember, she declared "How was my performance? I tried to sing with a Ikuchan feeling. I think I suceeded right?", which Ikoma answered "Ikuchan, please come baaaaack".

    We got more song after that (with Takayama playing the role of Ikuchan, of course!). After "Ushinaitakunai kara", we got another video of Ikuchan being tied up. The man said "I'll give you a way to rescue Ikuta Erika. Tadaa~ Sign Ball!" The challenge was for the Nogi46 members to sign 1000 balls, and throw them to the public. Their time limit was until "Ningen to iu gakki" ended. Ikoma was in front of my stand, but I was pretty far up so I did not think I would get any balls as I knew they did not have super human strenght. And then, she took out a pressure gun and fired balls. Unfortunately, a ball only reached like 4 rows before me, so I could not try to catch it :( Then, her gun dysfunctionned of something, and she went somewhere else, I don't know. Of course, between throwing balls, she took poses (the one where she puts both her hands upward and bend a little). I could not recognize the others as they were really far, and I did not get any balls :(
    I don't know whether it was the short version, but it ended pretty quickly and of course, they could not complete the challenge. And then Ikoma (who came back where she was, in front of my stand), went man mode and began sanging "La la la la la". The whole public followed her lead, and we cheated by extending the time limit lol. If I remember, Sayurin was the last one and she had so many balls left. While she signed them, Maiyan took them and threw them for her ahah.

    Once finished, the evil man was on mic. "Hey, you cheated there, Nogizaka46! Oooi, public! Do you think it was a success?" to which the public obviously shouted and answered "Yes!". Then, Reika took out a key from a chest and shouted "We suceeded, thank you everyone!". A video of Ikuta's liberation ensued, in which she ran and rode a helicopter. "To Meiji Jingu!", she asked. Everyone was "Oh my god, if she really comes by heli, it would be awesome". Unfortunately, we did not get an answer right away, and went back to the live concert.

    After "Sekkachi na katatsumuri", everyone was surprised. "Holy f*ck, there really is a heli coming!", I thought. Indeed, a heli went above the stadium, and we got a conversation between Reika and Ikuchan. And there, I thought Ikuchan would jump from the heli, and the girls also thought so (Ikoma was expecting this the most if I remember correctly). But the majime Reika said "She can't get off here of course! She will get off on a heli landing spot". I guess it was asking too much ahah. The heli left, and came "Hidari mune no yuuki". After this song, another overture (the original one)! And on the screen, we could see a cool video of Ikuchan getting off the heli, and running in the stadium. The video was so cool, with a gray video and everything. The "Hey" from the public really hyped this video, and Ikuchan comeback.

    Just after the Overture, began the new single "Nandome no aozora ka?", and you could see Ikuchan appearing on the stage just as the main picture of the above link. "Oh, I guess she would not come out with her prisoner clothers with black and white stripes! She had time to change even though she ran in the stadium lol." I never heard the new single before, and I really liked it. I feel it is the perfect song for Ikuchan return.

    After the song, Ikuchan said she was back and was warmly welcomed by the public. Talked about what she felt, her anxiety toward the 10 single and all. I was just shouting at this part, so I don't remember a whole lot about what happened. I think I began disconnecting my brain from this point. I think you can read parts of her speech in the site above.

    And how can we welcome her back better than with "Danke schön" ? Of course, we cannot! We got some more songs then, and Ikuchan played the piano for "Kokoro no Kusuri". Can't remember that well how it went after that. I don't even remember when it became dark. At first, it was still sunny, so we could not feel the public emotion. But once it got dark, my brain went off mode.
    For "Dekopin", we got Na-chan, Maiyan, Manatsu, Sayuri, Kazumin and a last one I unfortunately don't remember (sorry! It might me Maimai but my brain was off, about 60% sure about this) in Yukata! Yes guys, in yukata! And, following Kazumin's example, at each "dekopin" lyrics, we got to see their forehead. Damn, I went crazy when I first saw Kazumin's. The crowd was just shouting at each "dekopin"...

    I don't remember if it was before or after "Dekopin", but we got an MC from the Unders. They announced more Under live during fall, from 5th of October to I don't remember when (when I said my brain was off, it really was!). And they said that someone got jealous that behind of one's neck (Maiyan I think) was so beautiful, they began a competition to show behind their neck, in a sexy way of course! Sayu-nyan got to show her with a line I don't remember, but she said it in Nogibingo, I'm sure! Yuttan even said it has been a long time since we heard that! Then, Asuka got to show hers by saiying "Neko Manma" if I remember correctly. It has been said on Nogibingo too, so any Sayu-nyan or Asuka oshi, please help me! I can't remember what they said!

    And, we got some more MC from the Unders to warm up the crowd. We got to sing following their leads "Pony teiruu!", "twin teiruu", "chotto ue twin teeru" and some others I don't remember (I'm not even sure what I wrote were the one lol). It was concerning their hairstyle at the time. And some more things, like "I'm the best" or something. I can only remember Asuka's "Chozetsu Kawaii, Asu Asu Asuka!". Gotta love her!

    Then back to the live. When "Seifuku no Manekin" began, everyone was hyped. And since it's one of my favorite song of Nogi46, I was going crazy as hell! Some more songs (I never knew they changed the choregraphy from "Oide Shampoo" after the scandal though ahah. I love their smirk and how they move their finger saiying "No no!"), and the final! After a bit of MC of Nishino, saying she was so happy, grateful and that before the live she looked at the song list thinking "Damn, it's so long!" and that now, we already are at the last song, she thought "It went so quick!" .And as it was after all the last song of the day (here, everyone including Naachan laughed because we knew there would be an encore, but it was really funny ahah), she wanted everyone to sing with them : "Kimi no na ha kibou". It was just awesome. You had to be there. "KABOOOM, BOOM" sounded the fireworks. I don't remember the exact moment the fireworks were launched, but it was during a instrumental part, and everyone had their right (or left) hand toward the sky. Everyone was super surprised! Then, some more were launched and the awesome concert came to an end.

    Just before the end though (i think it was around this time, my time consciousness faded long ago), Sayurin and two other members (Maimai maybe, and one I never could recognize, my mind was so focused on Sayurin ahah) came to the stage, got to say a bit of MC and "Ooh, you know what ? I have a dream. I want to make a wave with all of you!", said Sayurin, followed by "Well, just to be sure, we will explain what a wave is for those who don't know!". The public laughed so hard. They then lined up and made a wave by sitting and standing up. "There it is. That's what a wave is!". They then explained how we would do it. The stands would follow Sayurin's lead, while the Arena would follow the other two. One said "That's right! Those in the stand, look at Sayurin!", which was answered by a "Yay! Only look at me, okay ?" said by Sayurin. If I remember correctly, she also said "Watashide, asonde!" from Nogibingo, but my memory is really fuzy. After more "Look only at me, I'm the cutest" of Sayurin, we got to make the wave, which resulted of course, in a big big failure. The left side of the stands (were I was) did not follow Sayurin as she only looked at the right side, with her hand pointed to them. She was also told she was so slow by the other two as she reached the center stage far later. She then told "Okay, we got a misunderstanding there. I was running and then I looked back, and saw no one of the right side (we were on their right side, since we were in the left stand) who made the wave. Let's do it again! Those in the stands, sorry but because of my mic, I can't point to both sides! Still, follow my lead!" And we got to finally succeed in making the wave. It was undescribable...

    After about 5 minutes of sitting, everyone was "No-gi-za-ka Forty-six! No-gi-za-ka Forty-six! No-gi-za-ka Forty-six!". Reika took the mic and shouted "We heard your encore, guys!" (Of course she did ahah) Every members came to the stage with the official T-shirts. Senbatsu were in violet and Unders in White if I remember well! After two song, "Kiduitara Kataomoi" (we got a nice MC of Naachan there too, saying that she wanted to reach everyone of us or something around those lines) and "Guru Guru Curtain", Reika took the MC and told "Caaaaaame!" (well "kimashita" or something like that) Everyone was "Wtf ?" and then, she explained "Even though her condition is not great, she came! Nanamin!!!" Then, came Nanamin on the stage (in casual clothes, damn, she is really beautiful). She talked a bit about her condition, how she is really sorry for all the fans who came here for her (lots of sticks and towel were raised after her statement), and how she really wants to participate in the next song but cannot. She then told every members that they were amazing, that she watched from the stands and really wished she was there. Then, Reika called Matsui Rena who was in a handshake event in Nagoya with AKB. She told that she was really bitter about not participating, and she really followed the concert by checking which song we were at. The call ended, Nanamin exited the stage and the last of the last arrived : "Nogizaka no uta". The public really became one as we all lifted our lightstick toward the sky at multiple times during the song. Nanamin came back to the stage, and we got a "Thank you very much". Yep, the end. After begining around 1715 and finishing around 2045, the 3 hours came to an end.

    Following that, we were reminded that goods were still in sale (well, they pretty much had nothing left once I came back there) and we got the usual instructions for exit depending on your seats, and that the JR Line got an accident (I don't know if it was a problem with a driver or a suicide), so we should take the other line. Everyone was "Really ?". After 5 minutes maybe, we were told "Okay, the problem seems to be solved, but still, we recommend not taking the JR Line". I took it maybe 30 minutes after exiting the stadium, and there was no problem, and not many people ahah.

    Got home at around 2200, and went to sleep immediatly and I dreamt of Nogizaka ahah.
    TL;DR or things I forgot to mention :
    - You had to be there.
    - Kazumin got a lot of screen time even though she does not seem that popular compared to Minami or Maiyan (all those "Chouzetsu kawaii Maiyan" were really loud compared to Kazumin's non existent one)
    - Ameijiiiiii~ngu!
    - Fireworks during "Kimi no na ha kibou" was the best moment of the whole concert.
    - There was a Black & White performance, but I don't remember when. There Ikoma did a "Gomu Gomu Punch" to protect Naachan, and it was so great!
    - Something else I don't remember.
     
    Last edited: Aug 31, 2014
    • Like Like x 2
  9. SMZ48

    SMZ48 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    Thank you, @iKuji !
    I enjoyed your report and felt like I was there. And I understand you love Kazumin so much.;)
     
  10. noginogi

    noginogi Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2014
    Location:
    non english speaking country
    Great Report!!
    when i clicked spoiler button ,"Its so long and im too lazy to read" but you mentioned kazumin a lot , :blush: thats give me power to read the report until the end :^O^:. Kazumin is really amejinggguuu right? ;)
     
  11. yic17

    yic17 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2011
    Location:
    L.A. / Taiwan
    Oshimen:
    hirateyurina
    Report: Nogizaka46 promoting HTC Butterfly 2 in Taiwan 2014.09.02-03

    Nogizaka46 sent 7 members to Taiwan on September 2nd and 3rd 2014 to promote the new HTC Butterfly 2 smartphone. The 7 members were: Shiraishi Mai, Nishino Nanase, Ikoma Rina, Matsumura Sayuri, Sakurai Reika, Wakatsuki Yumi, and Akimoto Manatsu. I am going to write a report of my experience. Hope you enjoy~

    2014.09.02

    The Nogizaka members arrived in Taiwan at around noon I believe. I did not go welcome them at the airport so I can’t really comment much about it.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    According to videos I’ve seen and some reports by other Taiwanese fans, it seems like it was quite a success. The girls seemed surprised by the amount of fans when they first walked out of the gate and they looked happy being welcomed and greeted by the fans. Ikoma was reported to have her head down most of the times though to avoid getting her face seen without makeup.

    Later the girls went to HTC’s headquarter to hold a conference with the news media. It was not open to public so I couldn’t be there as well naturally. One piccy~

    [​IMG]

    Now onto the actual HTC event open to public. Starting from 6:30PM they started handing out 300 lottery tickets to people who lined up. I didn’t line up since I heard people started lining up from 10AM and it was already packed by around 3PM. Anyway, the prize for the lottery is to get a free HTC Butterfly 2 smartphone. Also, for those who lined up, first 110 people who lined up got to take photos with Nogizaka46 members in group photo style later on. First 50 people who lined up and bought the phone got to take photo, plus they got an autographed poster by one Nogizaka member (randomly picked - you cannot choose your own oshi’s). Finally, first 10 people in line got all the above plus a free HTC headset.

    Nogizaka girls were scheduled to arrive at 8PM for the event to start. So I headed out at 7PM. When I arrived it was pretty packed already due to everyone who were lining up from earlier. Luckily just before 8PM, the HTC staffs told the first 110 people who got the lottery tickets to line up to wait for the group photoshoot when Nogizaka girls arrives. Taking advantage of this, I got a decent spot. I probably had 3-4 people in front of me.

    At 8PM, the Nogizaka girls arrived!! I shouted “Reika!” when they came out of the van. In case you don’t know I am a Reika & Nanamin oshi with Jurina being my 48G oshi. Anyway, the girls introduced themselves one by one with Mandarin. Maiyan got the loudest calls when it was her turn. Then it was Nanase, Ikoma, and Sayurin. I’m not sure if there’s much Reika calls because I was calling her name so I couldn’t really hear other people’s voices (if there were any). Manattan and Yumi got very little calls. According to other Taiwanese fans, they said Yumi looked like she was about to cry so they gave her a few sympathy calls … ^^;;

    Later that night on the Taiwanese Nogizaka Facebook group, the fans decided that during tomorrow’s event they’re going to help call Manattan and Yumi’s names. And after the English speaking Nogi fans knew about the situation on twitter I was given the task to help call Yumi’s name during tomorrow’s event as well lol.

    [​IMG]

    Back to the event, the host and Nogi girls talked about the new features of HTC Butterfly 2 and what they like about it. Which I’m sure you can read all about it through any of the HTC Butterfly 2 reviews. Let’s move on. The host then asked the girls if there’s any place they want to go to or specific food they want to eat. Sorry to say this but Ikoma made a small lie … she said it’s her 2nd time in Taiwan but it actually is her 3rd since she came here last month to shoot the Jump Police One Piece episode. Anyway, she probably said it just to keep things simple. As for Maiyan, she said she wants to eat xiaolongbao, shaved ice, and bubble tea. She wants to eat many variations of xiaolongbao until she’s very full so she can brag to other members back home. XD

    After the questioning it’s time for those 110 fans who lined up to take group photos with the girls. Well, not much to say except eye candy time. I’ll just talk about my impressions of the girls in person. First of all, all the girls look prettier in person than on photos - no lie. But two most distinct were Reika and Sayurin. Reika looked soooooooo beautiful like alfaskfaslfjalsfjaslfalfjafl seriously. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her ….. Maybe it is with bias but to me she truly looks more beautiful than Maiyan in person. And even if without bias, I would say she is equally beautiful to Maiyan in person. As for Sayurin, excuse me (aka don’t burn me) for saying this - she sometimes looks a little chubby on photos, but in person, she does not AT ALL. To me, she looks just as beautiful as Maiyan!!! Seriously equally beautiful. Sorry again, I’m sure there are fans who think Reika & Sayurin ARE more beautiful than Maiyan even through pictures and videos alone. I am just using Maiyan as the standard of beauty since most fans seem to see it that way. As for Maiyan in person, she actually doesn’t look any prettier than on pictures or videos. She looks exactly the same - as beautiful as ever. =D

    As for the other girls, like I said earlier they all look prettier in person so not much more to add. One thing I noticed though was how much makeup Yumi put on compared to other girls. It was OBVIOUS. Anyway, nothing against that just pointing it out. :v

    Here’s a picture of Nogizaka girls with some Taiwanese fans:

    [​IMG]

    After all 110 fans took their group photos, gotten their signed posters, Nogizaka girls picked out a number with 3 digits for the lucky winner to win a HTC Butterfly 2 phone. Once that’s over, Nogizaka girls left the scene with the van and day one event ended~

    Personally for me, no direct interaction with the girls today. I shouted Reika a few times that’s all. But still, it was great to see the girls in person for 1 whole hour and see how incredibly beautiful Sakurai Reika is … *_*

    2014.09.03

    Day two event was held at another location. Today I went 1 hour before the event started hoping to get a better spot. When I arrived, there was a line. They were giving out lottery tickets again but this time they’ll pick out 20 lucky winners to take group shots with Nogizaka girls. I was early enough to get a ticket - number 42. After I got my ticket I went to find a spot. This time there’s a stage so it’s even easier to see the girls clearly. I didn’t bring my camera during the first event since 2 years ago they didn’t let us take pictures. But this year they didn’t seem to care. So I brought my camera today to take some pictures of my own. =D

    The event started at 6PM. The Nogizaka girls came to the location with the same van. They got up on the stage with some executives of HTC and Taiwanese telecommunications company (I believe) for the media and fans to take pictures.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Reika so beautiful ….. ; A ;

    [​IMG]

    Maiyan~

    After that the executives got off the stage and the girls introduced themselves using Mandarin again like yesterday. To be honest I didn’t take notice if there were fans shouting Manattan’s name when it’s her turn since I was too busy focusing on taking pictures of Reika … And of course during Reika’s turn, I shouted Reika a few times~ =D

    Nanase, Maiyan, Ikoma, and Sayurin didn’t seem to need my help so I didn’t shout their names. Finally during Yumi’s turn, I remembered the task given to me by Nogi fans on twitter so I shouted “Yumi!!” - just once. =D

    [​IMG]

    After the introductions, the host asked the girls what they ate during their time in Taiwan. All the girls looked to Sayurin to answer the question lol. Sayurin then said she’s the eating monster of Nogizaka and she ate xiaolongbao and bubble tea today and they were very delicious. The host then asked the girls what apps do they usually use on their phones. Yumi answered that she usually uses them for music, shopping, and find good restaurants. (I am basing on the Chinese translator’s words not Yumi’s so I hope it’s accurate)

    After the questions, they brought out a table, a box with numbered balls inside. Each girl will pick out 3 balls which equal to 3 numbers (except Yumi who only got 2) to decide the 20 lucky winners to take group photos with them. During Reika’s turn she picked a ball with number 46 and everyone was cheering about it. =D

    [​IMG]

    And during Ikoma’s final pick … she picked number 42 … MY NUMBER!!! akfhsalfaslfajlfl I was so surprised I looked at my number again to make sure it’s correct lol. Anyway, so lucky I got picked wahahahaha!! So I went to line up for the group shot while the girls picked out the rest of the winners.

    Once all the winners were chosen, we were separated into 2 groups of 10 to take photos with the girls. During my turn, I went up to the stage - a little nervous - I stood in front of Reika & Nanase. After the pictures were taken, I turned around and waved at the girls. First of course I looked at Reika and waved at her. She looked directly at me with a smile and waved at me too!!! At such close distance aafsfafja.fa.fa.faf.f >__< *faints*

    Then I waved at Nanase who also waved back at me. After Nanase I waved at Ikoma and she waved back too. Lastly I tried to wave at Yumi but got ignored … ^^;; Well more like she just wasn’t looking at my direction. I guess my mind was a complete blank when on stage since I should’ve waved at Maiyan & Sayurin rather than Nanase & Yumi seeing how they are higher in my ranking. I definitely wasn’t thinking straight except for Reika … she is a must. <3

    After the group shots, the girls walked off the stage toward their van. While they were leaving, I was at a spot not far from the van. And the most magical moment happened … just as Reika walked in front/pass me, I shouted “Reika!!” … she turned around, looked into my eyes and waved at me as I waved back to her at a 5 feet distance … REIKA NOTICED ME!!! alfalfjalfjalfalfa;fka;fka;f ; A ;

    Wahahaha so happy. What a heavenly experience with my oshimen … ( ̄▽ ̄)

    So yeah, they left with the van and that wrapped up the Nogizaka46 in Taiwan events~

    Final Words

    Basically, they’re all so beautiful in person … if you think there’s some small flaws in their looks when you look at a picture, believe me they’re non-existent in person - or at least pictures tend to magnify those “flaws”. In person, you can hardly notice them. Reika was sooooo beautiful … ; A ;

    One thing I feel a bit bad about now is that I focused most of my attention on Reika. Which thinking back I really wish I gave more attention to Ikoma, Maiyan, Sayurin as well. Now that they’re gone, the next time I get to see them will probably be next year if I go to Japan to meet them. So yeah, really didn’t give them enough attention this time. =(

    Anyways, that’s all. Hope it was an interesting read. XD

    -----

    For all the pictures I took, go to: http://yic17.minus.com/mbrArXyQ8bs9p7
     
    • Like Like x 1
  12. SMZ48

    SMZ48 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2014
    Location:
    Yokohama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    itomarika
    It’s almost in the middle of two week Under Live Second Season.

    I procured cyalumes for my oshimen Marikka, the colours are purple and green.
    And also, I bought pink and orange for Nenekoro, she’s not my oshi but she’s going to graduate after this Second Season, I will support her when they perform ‘Namida ga mada Kanashimi dattakoro’ in which she'll be centre.

    In this series they will hold 18 stages with 18 under girls (+kenkyuusei).
    It seems to have a featured MC for each stage. Here’s the list so far and I will update it as possible.

    5 Sun : m Nakamoto p Sashihara Rino(HKT48) / s Kawamura
    6 Mon : Wada
    7 Tue : Kawago
    8 Wed : Yamato
    10 Fri : Kitano
    11 Sat : m Ito Marika / s Nagashima p Tanaka Masahiro (NY Yankees)
    12 Sun : m Shin'uchi / s Saito Asuka
    13 Mon : m Ito Karin / s Saito Yuuri
    15 Wed : Inoue g Kojizaka46 p Hashimoto Ai, Nakamoto Suzuka (Baby Metal)
    16 Thu : Higuchi p Ijiri Okada, Miyazawa Seira
    17 Fri : Nakada
    19 Sun : m Noujou / s Hatanaka / special Ito Nene

    October 2014 at Roppongi Blue Theater
    m=matinée, s=soirée, p=private visitor, g=guest appearance

    m01.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2014
  13. Takoyama

    Takoyama Next Girls

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2013
    Location:
    Kichijoji, Tokyo
    I really don't post my experiences here but I will write about the Nandome no Aozora ka? Cafe since it was only available for a month and haven't seen anyone post about it.
    image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg image.jpg
    I almost forgot about the cafe but I happened to be showing my friend visiting from Hiroshima the Imperial Palace nearby. When we walked toward the Marunouchi entrance at Tokyo Station, I saw the Kitte building and immediately thought Ngzk cafe. I persuaded my friend (not a fan) to come check it out. The cafe was easily found on the 4th floor and to my astonishment, there was no queue. Since it was the final week and now open to males, I was expecting a long line (not that I'm complaining).

    At the entrance, my eyes were peeled for manager Maichun as her picture/profile is proudly displayed at the front. Unfortunately, she wasn't present nor any other members. I glanced over the menu and settled on the coffee and fudge cake set for ¥750. You have to order at the front counter and they call your number when order is ready for pick up. The food was average at best and I was reminded of the food quality at the AKB Cafe in Akiba. Nothing really spectacular. The ambiance, however, makes up for the food. Various pictures from the single are posted all around as decor. You are not allowed to take photos of the mounted pictures. I imagine one can do so if sly enough. Also, all the Nandome PVs were played on a continuous loop from a projector.

    As for goods, you can purchase all Nandome CD copies and various books and magazines. I would liked to have purchased a Nandome coffee mug but they weren't for sale. I believe they would've made money hand over fist if the mugs were for available for purchase. I notice some fans keeping their tray mats as souvenirs. If I were to guess, I would say half the patrons were not Ngzk fans and only briefly stayed. This is Tokyo after all so I imagine they were taking a quick break from work. I noticed a few fans fixated on their keitais scrolling through the new 755 app. Since there was no line to get in, my friend and I stayed a bit and relaxed. I would say it was a nice novelty experience for a pop up cafe.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2014
  14. wahoho

    wahoho Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 8, 2013
    Location:
    Japan
    Oshimen:
    shiromamiru
    Ikuchan seitansai report

    Warning: This is quite long

    Preparation:

    I went to the handshake event early in the morning (around 7am) because the seitansai members will need to prepare for the booth and lane. In contrast with AKB’s seitansai, Nogizaka member’s seitansai is done during handshake events since they don’t have theater performances. Seitansai members would decorate the lane and put some designs and decorations to make the member feel that her birthday is being celebrated.

    In Ikuchan’s case, the committee decided that this year’s theme would be stage musical, particularly Beauty and the Beast. We wanted to make Ikuchan feel like she was playing the role of Belle and that she is the princess of the day.

    We prepared various decorations from the back of the booth, all the way to the entrance of the lane. We simulated before the actual day and thought we would manage to do everything within 40 mins (We were allowed to go to the booth first before the other fans at 9am and we were given until 9:40 to finish everything.) We needed to put all the banners, put all the stickers and designs inside the booth, decorate the long lane, make a “gate” in the entrance of the lane and put the carpet. But with only around 15 people working, it didn’t go as planned. We were running out of time and we were barely at 60%. Then some members from Minami and Nanamin’s seitansai (they were friends with our committee head) offered help. With their help, we were able to finish everything before the handshake starts (although we went a little over 9:40 but the head staff of Nogizaka was also a friends with our committee head and let us finish until 10). This is where I realize that Nogizaka fans, especially the seitansai members are really kind and would offer help even if it wasn’t their member’s seitansai. I could feel their love for Nogizaka and for Ikuchan also.

    First we designed a gate, representing the gate of a theater. We named it “生田劇場” or Ikuta Stage. Then inside it, were two long black cloths attached to the sides of the lane. The lane was designed as a hallway, and that the black cloths were the walls of the hallway. There were also roses attached to the black cloth and 6 portraits of Ikuchan. These portraits represented Ikuchan’s past experiences with stages. We had 3 Principals, Red riding hood (last year cosplay), Niji prelude, and Belle

    <Gate>

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    <Lane>

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    <Alice>

    [​IMG]

    <Sakae>

    [​IMG]

    <Porin hime>

    [​IMG]

    <Red riding hood>

    [​IMG]

    <Belle>

    [​IMG]

    <Niji prelude>

    [​IMG]

    Inside the booth, we decorated some stuffs in the walls of the booth. We put a curtain to represent the curtains of the stage, Beauty and the beast characters, the rose and mirror from Beast’s room and 5 parody posters (each for every time slot). The five posters were changed every time slot. These are the posters in order of time slot

    First: ET (drew by Ikuchan) and had the initials EI (Erika Ikuta) instead of ET

    [​IMG]

    Second: Planet of the apes. One of the monkey’s head was Ikuchan’s face (Remember the nogidoko episode were Ikuchan dreamt of gorillas)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Third: Phantom of the Opera. Ikuchan’s face was the Phantom’s head. Ikuchan mentioned before she really likes Phantom of the Opera.

    [​IMG]

    Fourth: The birds. It was an old film (around 70s or 80s where thousands of birds terrorrized a city.) This was a parody of Ikuchan fearing pigeons.

    [​IMG]

    Fifth: Sound of Music. Ikuchan’s face was used instead of Julie Andrews. This represented Ikuchan’s love for musical stages. We also put a little “Ko Go Say” since we couldn’t resist adding it XD

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Under her table, we also put a banner of a door that was used in Beauty and the Beast. This represented entering the hall. The at Ikuchan’s back, was a big backdrop of the hall that was used when Belle and the Beast were dancing. We wanted to make Ikuchan feel she was really on a Beauty and the Beast stage musical. We also placed sphinx-san flower at the back

    <Inside the booth>

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    During the handshake also, we distributed "tickets" for people every time they enter her lane. We then did a raffle for the fans. Winners will have a chance to have a special place in front where they will be able to clearly see the seitansai. There were 3-4 lucky people and they witnessed the great seitansai. Here is the ticket

    <Front>

    [​IMG]

    <Back>

    [​IMG]

    Flyers which contains the instruction for the seitansai
    <Flyers>

    [​IMG]

    Handshake:

    It was around 7months since I went to Ikuchan. My last was the handshake before she took a break. And knowing Ikuchan (she has really weak memory.) I wasn’t a frequent goer of handshake also (I usually go once per single) so I expected Ikuchan would forget about me but when I went inside, she was the first one who greeted me and said “hisashiburi” I asked if she remembers me and said yes! I was so happy since I really thought she would forget about me. She was also all smile and full of energy, very rare from my past experience with Ikuchan for the first time slot. Maybe she was also excited since it was her seitansai lol. We just greeted each other and I said that I’m sure she will enjoy her seitansai so look forward to it and gave me another big smile and nodded. I couldn’t stop smiling after that.

    During the second time slot, I went again and asked if she noticed the poster in my back. She said she did and asked me if I drew that one. I said yes and she laugh and said it was very interesting. I only told her once that I was the one in the seitansai that creates all the printed materials and was so happy she remembered it.

    This time the poster was Planet of the Apes and one of the monkey’s face is Ikuchan’s face)

    During the third time slot, she was already in her dress (the seitansai was at the end of the third time slot and I thought there was no more time to get dress before the celebration so she wore it on the third time slot. She was really a beauty. I couldn’t concentrate and forgot what I wanted to say to her. I just told her that the dress really suited her and she was really beautiful. She thanked me then shifted our conversation to the poster again on my back. This time it was Phantom of the Opera with Ikuchan’s face on the Phantom. She asked if it was her face on the Phantom and I nodded. She said it was so good and she really loved the concept. She then asked what Photo I used. I told her I forgot when I was on my way out.

    Then the seitansai celebration. (This will be covered below)

    During the fourth time slot, I told her that I was happy the seitansai was a success. Ikuchan nodded and gave me a big smile and said “Arigatou” My heart again burst because of the cuteness lol. I then told her that I also made portraits of her decorated at the lane and if she had time, she should look at it. She said she will and thanked me again.

    During the fifth time slot, I told her that the international fans also gathered birthday messages for Ikuchan and created a book. I said it was given together with the other presents when we gave it to her during the celebration. I told her to look forward to it. She said “arigatou” and will be happily reading it.

    Celebration:

    During the celebration, Ikuchan came from the backstage to her booth, then to her lane. There were a bunch of members also along with her. She was like a true princess - the yellow dress and the tiara really suited her while walking on the red carpet in her lane. She was taking it slowly. I could see stars glowing around her. She was that beautiful! Fans also going wild and was shouting and screaming. I really saw Ikuchan enjoying the celebration. I couldn’t help but smile myself also.

    Then she walked to the center of the hall and we sang happy birthday to her. Then himetan took out her letter for Ikuchan. This time Ikuchan was starting to have tears in her eyes. They then hugged each other and I think himetan was also crying (?) but it was a serious letter, very not himetan like lol. Usually himetan would be like read something then would “hehe” after. But it was different this time. I could really feel himetan’s love for Ikuchan. Then it was Ikuchan’s turn to make a speech. She first asked if the hat that the fans were wearing was an egg. Fans then reacted “it’s a plate!” (Fans were given a spoon, fork, and plate hats so that they could be part of the beauty and the beast theme, and a sky design at the back of the hat) She was laughing and was really enjoying the moment. She then gave her speech. She said she is now 18 years old and would now be able to join late night shows (18 years old below in Japan are not allowed to work after 11pm, 9pm for 15 years old below).

    Then it was time to make Ikuchan walked the hall to thank fans. This time we planned to sing Nandome no Aozora while she’s walking. But before she did, Maiyan took the mic and asked us if there were still left over hats because they wanted to wear it also. We gave them some but Ikuchan saw the sky design. The fans were laughing because it was supposed to be a surprise but Ikuchan already saw it. But we still gave it to them and they wore it. When Ikuchan was about to walk now, it was also great timing that Manatsu was near to our place. So our committee head called Manatsu and gave instructions to her on how to use the hat. Everyone was asked that when singing Nandome no Aozora, during the chorus, everyone need to switched from the character design to the sky design of the hat. Manatsu explained then to the members. So when we were singing Nandome no Aozora and reached the chorus part, we all switched to the sky design. Ikuchan was so surprised and was pointing to the hats. She turned to the other members and saw they were also using the sky design. Ikuchan was laughing and started to sing with the fans. Then the seitansai ended and Ikuchan was still smiling. She bowed and thanked everyone for the seitansai.

    [​IMG]

    During the chorus when everyone changed to Aozora (even the members)

    [​IMG]

    Manatsu even removed her headband (look at her hand) just to wear the hat. She was dressed as a sheep XD
     
  15. Dante

    Dante Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2013
    Location:
    Unkoland
    Twitter:
    CurlyUdon
    Excellent write-up sir @wahoho!!! That must have been so nice knowing that she really remembers you! Congratulations to the whole Ikuchan birthday committee and to everyone who have helped for yet another successful seitansai!

    And again, thank you so much for handing her our booklet!

    Ikuta Erika 18th Birthday Project: SUCCESS
     
  16. IkoSayu

    IkoSayu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2014
    Location:
    Paris, France
    Oshimen:
    ikomarina
    Great job ! Congrats to everyone ! :)
     
    • Like Like x 1
  17. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    Thanks for your writeup @wahoho
    Glad to hear Ikuchan remembered you. Makes me wonder whether Minami and Sayu will remember me, haha.

    Although I get the feeling I know who it is, kinda curious to know what Minami birthday committee people helped out with your decorations. Maybe I'll even ask :p
    Regardless, once again reassured that Nogizaka fandom really is one of the greatest ones to be in, whether it's in Japan or overseas.

    Definitely looks like a huge success, so good job and congratulations!

    Looking super forward to Minami's now, although my role practical role in our committee is notably humbler than yours.

    Finally
    Big thanks for making the foreign fan project a success! (@Curls too)
    Without your footwork it would never have been possible !
     
    • Like Like x 1
  18. rust

    rust Kenkyuusei Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Twitter:
    Rusted_Van
    iku seitansai sounds so sweet, creative, well done, all things wonderful lol (ノ)'ω`(ヾ)
    building theatre iku sounds mega fun too lol

    wish I was there to partake too >______<
     
  19. Deaththekid

    Deaththekid Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2015
    Oshimen:
    nishinonanase
    Twitter:
    _Desu46
    I really wish I could do something for Minami's birthday.....:(

    Wish I could be there if there is an event for her
     
  20. SUPER☆LeMON

    SUPER☆LeMON Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2013
    Location:
    On Twitter
    Oshimen:
    higuchihina
    February 8, Yokohama Pacifico
    It's gonna be amazing and we'll have English speaking people who can explain things for potential foreigners showing up.

    -Shameless promoting-
     

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