Single Keyakizaka46 3rd [Futari Saison] (2016/11/30)

I'd say she lacks niche appeal. Every other member seems to have that something extra, a distinct trait. Just looking cute isn't enough.
She is probably the best actress in Keya though. She's had some acting gigs and she will probably continue getting those.
So on a personal level she will be fine. Group wise I don't know if her HS will explode in the next forseeable future.

 

it would be hard to determine a girl poor sales. my best guessing would be, she lacks hs technique. aside of that, in three departement of talent, visual, and personality, she did good.

 

or maybe she actually isn't selling poorly, it's just that the other members are too good.

 

Probably this.

I can think about two main talents of her - acting and dancing (the latter not the best but solid). Both however are not what primarily attracts fans. Her mimic/facial features are unorthodox (dark) which might turn fans away, and her overall appeal is just about average, she lacks the 'special something' in a group that is full of distinctive personalities. Even Odanana and Fuyuka -two very polarizing personalities- sell better, likely because they still are able to attract attention. Nijika was the only out of all Kanji members whose HS sales didn't benefit from the rising sales of the 3rd single.

It might be still too early and pessimistic but to be honest I'm pretty clueless about what she is supposed to do to sell better. When the things keep going like this (despite some acting features here and there), it will take her forever to improve the sales, particularly with hopeful Hiraganas coming up. And since moves from managament have proved to be totally unpredicable at times, she could or could not receive a push, but whether she will benefit from it is another story.

 

She got me impressed in Tokuyama.

I know what it feels to grow up in a very competitive atmosphere, and i really want her to avoid thinking she is lacking when not performing as good as the others

For example Saito Asuka was kind of a late bloomer from management, now she is one of the most known of Nogizaka thanks to her many magazine cover. You have to keep fighting!

 

From the beginning, I thought of her as what is called (from French) a "belle laide" -- a "beautiful ugly woman." And at that time, I saw the "ugly" more than the "beautiful." She has features that are somehow witch-like, like the witch in the original Wizard of Oz. I think that's the main thing that reduces her appeal to most fans.

The other thing that put me off for a long time was how negative she was about how her career was going. She really did work hard to improve things, but all I could hear was her negativity, and it was a real downer for me. Her feeling was understandable, however, since she was one of the members with some actual experience as an idol (she was a local idol back home in Miyagi) and probably had high hopes for stardom when she joined K46.

Two things turned her (and me) around: (1) her acting and her movie role, and (2) her inspired decision (or whoever's it was) to take advantage of being the last to leave the stage and to give the audience a deep formal bow to cap the performance. The audience loved it; it suited the group's upstanding image; and the cheers probably made her feel great. Her mood seemed to me to turn right around during the summer. Now she seems much more positive, although she still sometimes has that hangdog (lol) look. The turnaround is one reason I loved her strong, positive statement in the KeyaKake clip that she wanted the group to put on a performance no idol group ever had. And her changed mood seems to me to have brought out her beauty. But other fans haven't quite seen that yet, I guess.

 

Hopefully she will improve by the time of the 4th single.

Also to everyone who thinks Ishimori has/had less pretty features than others, she is one of the members who first stood out to me, and I personally think she looks great lol. Maybe I just have weird taste.

I will agree she doesn't really stand out in anything like character or the "special something" Atreyu talked about. I think this is the main reason she doesn't sell well.

 

Every person is something special, lol. Also Nijika is stunning. I hope she doesn't think that she's worse than other members, or something along the lines.

She's a good actress, not great or amazing but she's good. Ishimori is a hard worker, just like all other members, she's one of the better dancers of the group. She's quiet and reserved, and a bit awkward and maybe it just doesn't appeal to everyone. I wish her the best.
Hopefully we will stop thinking that someone lacks personality just because her HS sales are not up to par with other members. Nijika still meets fans and still greets them, and slowly she might climb that slope to popularity.

 

I've written a post on this topic but actually posted it in the wrong thread, lol.

One more thing that comes to my mind about Nijika is that among the members short self-introductions in the Debut Countdown Live in April 2016, she was the first to go on stage and for me, one of the best. She immediately heated up the crowd like a real pro.


Credits: @BlackSwan

If I see her like this, I wouldn't like her to become that humble about herself noticing her low current position, but just keep going all-out like this when she has the chance. The talent is there.

By the way, remember her acting role in Otone e Novel as Nagi Kokone? I actually came to watch a repetition of it when I was in Tokyo by pure coincidence. The version that is on the net is significantly shortened, because there were talking sessions of hosts/guests inbetween (like when Yukka and Akanen were guests). In the end, her singing sounded much better because in the net version the audio was cut (probably copyright reasons), and after the show and after she acted her singing performance, one of the guests was actually in tears because he was so moved by the strong impression her role conveyed.

 

I actually quite like Nijika, I think only time will tell if her HS will get better or not, but you know, HS popularity isn't everything there is for an idol, the most notorious example would be Paruru who was downright terrible at hers and still managed to be an ace of AKB48. Now, I'm not saying Nijika has the same appeal as Paruru, but if she finds it in her to capitalize on her qualities and maybe use that negative character in a more light hearted way, she could be some sort of Miichan or Sasshi character for the group. I love her in variety, and I don't think she's a downer, she's inadvertedly funny many times, maybe in contrast to the rest of the bubbly keyakis.

 

Keyakizaka46's 3rd Single (Futari Saison) (7th Week Sales)
Week 7: 11,267 (531,633) (9th)

Week 8, Day 1 Sales: 4,128 (535,761) (1st)

 

Just to reemphasize that last line in @ForrestFuller-sama's post: in the daily Oricon chart for Monday, Futari Saison, a month and a half after its release, was the #1-selling CD of the day! And it sold over 4000 copies. Truly outstanding.

But wait, there's more: Silent Majority had risen back into the top ten, at #8. And Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai was #11! Unbelievable! I can only conclude that either the broader public in general or idol fans in particular are really getting into K46. Possibly both. And just to cap the good news for Sakamichi, Sayonara no Imi was #7.

And that's not to mention the continuing strength of Futari Saison in the most recent overall weekly chart. Saison has now sold more copies than Girls Rule or Barrette, Nogizaka's 6th and 7th CDs. (I want to repeat that N46's popularity is the basis of Keyakizaka's very existence, so this is not to say K46 is doing "better," just that it is moving very quickly.)

 

I know i say the same thing again and again but, it looks like the next single will be a milestone for Keyakizaka because it will have the difficult goal to persuade all those curious listener from Kouhaku that Keyaki is not a one time thing and they truly make good music.

 

This is true, but what I see is the fact that all three singles are soaring in sales. That means to me that people are interested in the group, not just in one song.

Nevertheless, I agree that this next single -- and year -- will be extremely important -- as Neru has also said. If they don't keep the momentum going, they could stall. But I imagine Aki-P knows that and will make sure they have a saleable song (or three) to work with. And in my opinion, they have made good music with every song on every CD they have released. I don't see why that should suddenly change.

In speaking after the Christmas lives, Tsuchida-san said he expected there to be an anniversary live in April, commemorating their first single, and joked (sort of) that he would attend if his work schedule permitted. So they should get a big venue full of fans, and more scenes of joy and adulation to use as promotional material for the fourth single. I can hardly wait.

 

I'm really hoping for this and that it will be in a bigger venue than the christmas lives.

 

Saitama Super Arena(37k)!! Do IT!!!

 

That would be awesome! I hope they make it.

If Tsuchida-san can attend the event, then maybe it would be a good time to officially unveil Katakana Keyaki...

 

Budoukan to me is and always will be the japanese arena to play at so i want to watch them there if i ever have a chance to. Its a dream of mine to watch a favourite performer of mine in budoukan

 

I think they still have a way to go before Budoukan though. But I hope they get there soon, they've had an amazing run so far and their popularity and public recognition are on the rise, so it's probably not too far fetched to consider it imo

 

I don't think Budoukan is very far away at all. In fact, if they do a spring live, maybe it can be there (the venue's schedule permitting). They sold out three shows of 9000 people at Ariake Coliseum. Surely now, after Kouhaku, they can sell out a show or two at 15,000. This has all happened faster than I expected.