Miyawaki Sakura (Sakura) / 1st Generation

Hey guys, I just wanted to add my opinion to this discussion. Is produce 48 gonna impact ssk? if its as huge as season 1 and 2, I think it will impact the next years ssk. When a project like this comes and you're someone as ambitious as Sakura, it doesn't make sense to refuse it, especially since some of you guys already mentioned she was having a quiet year.

What about Sakura getting hate? well she's always gotten hate hasn't she, do you think this changes anything, she's just getting more attention and haters but also more fans. If you go on youtube right now, all her hate comments are dismissed, defended and according to how she does on the show, it'll only be decreasing with more and more explanation posts. Every Idol gets hate, it slows down a lot when fans can shield it, and I think 48g fans who shitted on Sakura for no reason all this time, won't be so open about it anymore.

Finally, wanted to point out that in Sakura's intro video she said she wanted to get her name out there. And she's slowly succeeding, since nekkoya camd out, she's gained more than 15k followers when it was stuck forever. Her youtube channel views have doubled in last weeks video, her likes and retweets too. What im saying is this is just the beginning. Don't get scared of new things, Sakura obviously isn't, she's been working hard everywhere and in pd48 too, so support her as much as you can. I think if this show flops, she loses nothing but if it succeeds there is only wins for her, so support her decision, defend her with facts and let the new wave of fans continue. Oh and i've seen people say they're voting for her on ssk since watching the nekkoya video, it might not be much, but she's obviously gaining stuff from this show already. Lets hope she doesn't do anything thing wrong in the show and doesn't get evil edited.

 

First , this year was sakura last ssk. so next year means nothing. if she pulls another " last chance " next year , she'll got destroyed. and she's not dumb so this chance were going to be 0%.

viewers , retweed , or etc doesnt automatically convert to votes. also , top girls on SSK pulled out tons of votes. i can guarantee for the top 3 each girls will got more than 80,000 votes. in percentage , i imagine 75% was from the Japanesse Fans Comittee and 25% were casual fans. until today , they managed to secure extra 11,000 votes comparing to last year prelims result , it can be considered that sasshi&haruppi doesnt participating huge or small have decent impact for Sakura. look other contenders , Ogiyuka stands with 59,000 votes on first day prelims , ordinary / casual fans only cant make those happen , dont forget in terms of HS result , sakura or even jurina way more ahead than ogiyuka. it goes same with BNK Girls who IMO were very overestimated in this forums , their tons of viewers and followers will not automatically converts into votes. winning an SSK weren't that simple and easy like just gathering new fans on YT , IG or Twitter

it sounds unfair probably , but newer fans cant secure you too much, what you need to win SSK was fans club / comittee who willingly help to secure you thousands of votes. thats the truth anw since 3rd or 4th SSK imo.

also , regardings P48 , i'm agreed with some users said 2.5 years contract was too much for them who's goint to make into the final group. i'm still believing for top tier members like sakura , both for her and AKS , building career in Japan were the safest and best option. but if this were all of aki-p madness to conquer asia , i'm not surprised then.

 

Aki-p wants his own Twice. There is more to sakura's career than to win Ssk, and im also convinced it's not her last ssk, but lets say it is, what I meant it will affect ssk later, some girls rankings. Sakura wants public recognition, she wants to be famous. Like it or not, pd48 is a stepping stone to China and South east Asia fame, its a niche in japan but BTS and Twice pull some good damn numbers and can fill domes. If yall want Sakura not to be in it, okay, cool, let her win an ssk and then disappear like she did this year. Sasshi is famous for more than winning an ssk, if you dont see this as a potential chance of a stepping stone towards a bigger career for Sakura than she'll ever get later, then I don't get it.

 

Here it goes again ,

do you know where's the source she said this is her last SSK ? its exclusively from her mobame-service , mobame were sent to her fans who's subscribing by paid monthly fee.it can guaranteed only japanesse who can use this service and all of them who paid were her loyal fans / her fans comittee in japan. all of her fans were going all out this year , betraying them = destroying herself.

you've said it , P48 was niche things in japan , thats why i'm put any interest on it. BTS and Twice pull good numbers ? even SG sales only can outsell twice. BTS can climbed to the top easily anywhere in asia , but there's no chance they can break the wall Johny's had created in japan. dont forget anything in showbizz world was cash and not fame. you like it or not , japanesse market were #1 in asia. thats why tons of korean acts trying to sold in japan.
South East Asia can give fame , but not cash. Chineese Market were good, but the best things to conquer China were involving local girls and aki-p had done it with AKB48-China

winning an SSK will not throwing her into dumpster. she can got opportunities to signed by agencies in japan which she doesnt have right now. sasshi were famous more than just winning SSK , but she'll not go anywhere by not winning any SSK. if you underestimate the values from agencies , look how it works for girls like Ogiyuka , Dasu or even Rikahime

i dont mind anyone supporting her in P48 , but if you're point were better for her put japanese career to pursue international fames , i'll put it down. her dream were being a big actress in Japan and for the sake of her future and her dreams , concentrating in Japan was the best option for me.

if she did well , than its good. but being on PD48 wouldnt make her outshine tecchi or even standing in par with her these days. maybe this were a little bit harsh, but it comes from me , who's put tons of effort supporting sakura and wasn't following keyakizaka46.

see how good opportunities Nogi or Keyaki got after their big success. doesnt need to mention their members being exclusive model for tons of magazines. Live Action of Asahinagu and Hibiki or now the latest were Japanese Remade for You're the Apple of my Eyes, biggest C-Movie in 2011 era.

PD48 will not bring any of this opportunity , the final contract were too long , 2.5 Years , thats why i'm a little bit salty for this show. i can guaranteed there's no agencies or big companies want to invest with the girls which being tied with a 2,5 contracts from foreigners company.

also how you manage the schedule and promotion ? being in the final group means you need to promote the whole group in korea , dont forget sakura will probably involved at least on 2 HKT Singles + 3 AKB Singles + 1 AKB Albums. Duh , she's not a robot , i know how near seoul and Tokyo , but managing tons of IHS , NHS and Shamekai with Promoting the group in Korea were not an easy job.

i'm not meaning too put down sakura or comparing her to sakamichi members , but if you underestimate how good if you're famous in japan , then you can read my post.

Okay , i'm done with another Korea - Japan comparing topic. unless you're living in Japan or really put attention to the whole Japanese Showbiz World , this will be pointless talk and there's too many discussion about it in lot of pages behind.

regards her dream to being an actress , SSK can open her way into that. Got Picked by Agencies , starring some supporting role in good movies , and if she's can manage be a good actress , i believe she can success in cinema industries. Riichan doesn't make her career in a quick time , but look where she's right now , she's like everywhere , Movies , CM , Drama.

Okay sorry for long post , freely to discussed P48 things here. as long she's doing good i'm ok even tho i'm not 100% supporting this show.

 

Hmm, I'm not fully supportive of PD48 (yet?) but I think it does open new opportunities for sakura assuming she makes it into the final group. She'll be one of 12 members instead of one of 300 even if she's one of the aces. There's only so many opportunities that can be spread out from the 48 group (which is also in a little bit of a decline) and the lack of a separate agency is not helpful. If she can become more popular, she can be used to endorse products even if the PD48 group doesn't do that well in the area of sales. I think right now, the individual members of the 48 group are becoming less relevant as individuals. 2.5 years is a bit long and the key will be if she can manage to maintain a huge number of her activities in japan.

I think we'll have to ask ithebigc how the voting committee will feel if sakura is "coerced" by management to participate again in next year's ssk. I think the mobame message was that she would like for this to be her last ssk but it might have left room for her running again? She might also have bigger support next year if PD48 turns out well. Anyway I just hope it all works out -- that she becomes more famous and gains new supporters from produce and isn't made to do anything that will cause her to lose some of her japanese loyal fans and isn't made to do anything that will change who she is.

But right now the important thing is the ssk so I hope she gets more support form her fans, sasshi/haruppi/hkt fans and possibly her new PD48 fans. And I mean actual voting support and not "I hope she wins" support lol. And like all her longtime fans, I'm treating this as her last ssk. Just got my 70 votes from sakuraism and will use all of them to vote for sakura. Also have 50 votes from ithebigc plus some cds and my fanclub membership. Good luck to us.

 

I'm not very supportive of Produce48 either but I think for Sakura's own sake. Her dream is to be actress in Japan, but can she achieve this? Sadly, 48G isn't trendy anymore. No matter how many push she gets in the group, it won't help her. and the issue is that she is not even getting pushed anymore... so yeah it really isn't helping her. She doesn't even have an agency, which makes no sense considering even less known and unknown girls get signed (I'm sure she got offers but not sure why she's not signed yet...) but yes, Sakura has no agency, no push in 48G, and what did she do the past year... almost nothing ._.

So how is she supposed to achieve her dream in this way... The reason she cried last year on Showroom, wasn't it because she didn't get to talk in interview during the promo of her double center song? it was Sakura realizing she still isn't popular enough to even get a talking part... it doesn't surprise me that she accepted to participate in Produce48 when her situation is like this. Even recently, Nikkei released their yearly ranking, and I was sad to see that for the idols ranking, Sakura wasn't on the list. She appeared on the big chart, but the recognition/interest level wasn't high (I can find numbers if anyone is interested).

Sakura is definitely a top name in 48G, but how much does that help considering the situation of 48G now. even being a new girl in a 46 group gives more opportunities because 46 groups are seen as "trendy" and "fresh" while 48G is seen as an old brand, it's difficult...

Of course if Sakura could win elections, it would help her, but I still wonder how much would it help her?

So being on Produce48 might help her. even though I don't like the idea of her being in another group for 2,5 years, that's way too long... I wish it was shorter. but either way, she might get some help there. First, it definitely won't help her for this year's elections, but if she actually participates again (we never know if management convinces her, Sakura even said it herself on mobame) then next year, it could definitely have an impact, since Sakura will definitely increase her fandom until then.

I'm pretty sure the goal for Sakura (and 48G girls) when going to Produce48 is not to be popular in Korea but to be popular all over the world. Being popular in Korea = more fans in Asia (China, South-East Asia countries etc.), internationally, and even in Japan. because like I said, she didn't have a big recognition in the Nikkei survey. She can increase it if she becomes huge in the Produce48 group because Japan will definitely hear about it and more people will know who she is. = more recognition = more fans. That's why I say Sakura is going there to build a fandom then she can go back to Japan and do better with more support.

Even if she doesn't participate in elections anymore (and the new fans won't be able to help her then), having more fans will still be good for her. Simple things like followers on social medias do matter. For example having 100k followers VS having 1 million followers makes a big difference... She can get new Cm's, more offers etc. since brands will see that she can reach a lot of people and that she has many fans. and from there, she might get other jobs. and finally, an agency, and acting roles. it could work like that... it's all about being popular. So I'm fine as long as she gets more popular and gain more fans... and then things can get better for her compared to how it went in recent months...

Really my main issue is how long the group will last, it should have been 1,5 years, that's more than enough. Other than this, even though I don't approve this show completely, I can understand why Sakura would do it, how it could help her for the future and why she might need it to secure a future career in Japan.

I just want to support her and wish her the best in what she does in Japan and outside of Japan. Japan will always be her home and her main audience and I'm sure she won't forget this and will do her best to balance both sides, I just hope the managements (on both sides) will help to make this work well.

 

Well, I don't think PD48 is a definite win-win situation. Korean pop groups have a different image (more sexy and less down-to-earth imo) and there's a reason why some people prefer the 48group and other similar jpop acts. So while it's a sure thing that she'll gain more korean fans, we're not sure whether she'll have to trade her japanese support as a result especially if we see a "different" sakura. There's also the excessive amount of time korean groups supposedly spend training and practicing and we're not sure if sakura will be able to have significant activities in japan. This PD group seems like a full time job and japanese fans will not wait for 2.5 years if she's not able to maintain her activities. I think she's already successful enough in japan and winning ssk will help get her name out there even more -- and she does want to win. Anyway I hope this PD thing works out and that it'll be a true kennin and not a full time korea-based job. I'm also not familiar with korean fans and whether they'll support her for good or if it's just a passing thing. I think it's much better (for sakura) to gain more japanese fans so I hope PD48 will lead to that.

 

@GATX105 I agree but I think that's the reason why Sakura said in her intro video, to her japanese fans, that she will stay the same wherever she is. I think she knows about those worries that japanese fans (or all her previous fans, like us) have about her becoming like "Kpop idols", and she will make sure that she won't become someone else. I can see it in the little Produce48 videos we saw so far, that she is still being herself. it makes me relieved.

I don't think her goal is having korean fans, and I also don't think having korean fans will help her much tbh, like I said in my previous post, the main goal isn't becoming a "Kpop idol" and having a korean fanbase, but it's reaching to other asian countries overall, international fans, and also japanese fans. She is popular in Japan but she isn't a "big" name, as seen in Nikkei survey and other examples, like how she didn't get to talk in interview on music shows last year, and she cried about it on Showroom. Being popular in Asia/internationally = more japanese people will know and notice her. it's a win for her IF she becomes popular in the show (in a good way), and if she manages to stay the same as we know her (so she won't lose her previous fanbase) and of course, balancing work in both countries equally and not neglecting Japan (this is important). really the main issue is how long it will last, 2,5 years... :/

if it's up to me, I would still prefer that she didn't go to this show, and instead got signed to a good agency who would find her good jobs. but sadly that didn't happen, so at this point I'll take anything that can bring positive effect on Sakura's career and increase her popularity and recognition in Japan & the world ;_;

 

We're on track. For the preliminaries, our goal as the election committee was only to get her somewhere in the Top 3. Thanks to all her fans, we succeeded there.

Top 3 was vitally important because we needed to show the world, and in part to Sakura herself, that we have a fighting chance this year. It is our hope that her getting 3rd in the preliminaries, in a place where Sakura fans have been traditionally slow to vote, convinces those that are otherwise on the edge (even among the international fans!) to do all they can to get her to 1st, because it is possible. Ogiyuka was 1st in the preliminaries as expected because it's been the same guy voting her there since the last sousenkyo. It's literally one guy with 50000 Nihonbashira accounts, so now that that's mostly been used up, the remaining votes Ogiyuka gets can only come from her other fans, and I don't think she's on the same level as Jurina or Sakura yet in terms of normal fans. Jurina is still the main competition and she's as strong as we expected, but not an insurmountable wall that we can't overcome.

I do want to bring up the mobame that Sakura wrote two days before the preliminaries though: https://twitter.com/ithebigc/status/1001621849032212480. I tweeted it then, but I'm not sure if everyone here read it, so here we go. It may sound harsh, but I think what Sakura said has a lot of truth in it, both before and after the preliminaries. The point is - If you're a Sakura fan, if you call Sakura your kami-oshi, you, the person reading this, has to support you herself. You cannot rely only on others. "Oh well, @plomeplome is trying their best! @GATX105 is trying their best!" That's wonderful, but what about you? What were you doing when Sakura asked for your help in her last sousenkyo, both for her and for HKT48?

We all have different financial situations, of course. Some of you are students, and some of you are working to support your family. I'm lucky (unlucky?) that I'm currently single without anyone relying on me so I can choose how irresponsibly to spend my money, but even then, it shouldn't be the case that I, as a teacher whose salary sucks, is outspending all of you combined. Imagine, if we only had 300 fans like @plomeplome, we could make up the 30000 vote difference between Sakura and Jurina right there! Skip that steak dinner, get McDonald's for one meal instead, there's an extra vote. You don't need to vote hundreds, a hundred, or even 50, but imagine what a difference 10 votes from every person reading this post would make.

It's the same situation with the election committee. As a group, we're pooling money from Japan, from other countries and that may be the most efficient method, but we're all still voting ourselves too. Some are voting less than me, so are voting 2x, 3x more than me, but at the end of the day, we can at least be proud that we did everything in our power for Sakura. That's what it really comes down to, because we're all just fans who want to support Sakura however we can, right? Give this last sousenkyo your all, and it's a real possibility that once the dust settles, we'll have successfully handed the flag down within Hakata.

 

How do you know this? Ogiyuka's meteoric rise is a bit (or a lot) suspicious but it's all speculation.

 

It's a well known open-secret among the Japanese fans. The mysterious thing is, not even the Ogiyuka fans know his/her true identity because he/she doesn't actually go see Ogiyuka at handshakes

 

Or maybe he/she does it incognito?
I really don't think he/she would go this far for someone who they never met. Unless, well, they're crazily obsessive like me...

Btw... it's just something I've been wondering for a while: Would you Sakura fans or her fans in general still vote for her with the same motivation if she lost this year and was forced to join next year by the management?

 

Received my first batch of votes today, already used them all for Sakura!

 

So...... Second hand rumor.

 

I used 2 votes for twins.

 

I'll be covering Sakura's seitansai live on my Twitter, as usual: https://twitter.com/ithebigc. Go there if you need translations for her speech and other MCs that occur. We're celebrating her 20th birthday again, 3 months later!

 

Sakuraaaaaa TT
I want her to be happy so badly. She deserves the best of everything.
I really liked this seitansai. Sayanee and Yui's message was more funny than touching and the same goes with Aoi and Anya fighting over Sakura
But her speech... I cry every time she cries, really. Why did Haruppi have to go TT
I hope she gets well soon and pull the group together.

Sakura is really an amazing person and an amazing idol.

 

this year was my first and last time to cast more than hundred votes. if management pushes her to participate next year , i'll still cast a vote but not as many as this year , at least a tribute for my last 48G oshii.

Spoiler: unimportant past

i was only an international-college student in japan , i used almost all my savings and my salaries from baito and etc. i never experienced the sensation when you're no.1 oshii had a chances to be no.1 , back in few years ago , i always voted rena , she's my no.1 forever , 2013 i'm starting to also vote for sasshi since she had the biggest chance to beating my most hated girl at that time , oshima yuko lmao. when sasshi lost to mayu , once again i cast vote for sasshi as my tribute for her who beat yuko in 2013 , and also in 2014 i was began to know about sakura. in 2015 i've cast for sasshi in hope she beat mayu from akb and sakura since rena wasnt participated again. i would like put my best 3 ever was acchan , rena and sakura. but both of acchan and rena was past in 48G history , and sakura will be present and future. rena never had a chance to took #1 spot , thats why back in rena's era at 48G my motivation was lack comparing to right now. acchan , i'm too young at that time , how much highschool students can cast vote on SSK lmao.

i've passed all 10 out of 10 SSK in whole akb history. there's some girl i really hate before , but at the end i'm kinda neutral or even supportive against them such as yuko or sayanee. but only the aki-p fake heart whinning kuyashii little princess from nagoya i cant stand forever lmao.

i'm done with SKE after 2588 days , destroying J and SKE in front of thousand homecrowd peoples in nagoya will be my extra motivation this year which probably will not come next year.

no matter how much we vote , 1 , 10 , 100 or even 1000 , even 119.999 votes will not come into 120.000 without your 1 votes. so any votes was very necessary this time !

hope the best for Sakura ! also reading some local discussion in tieba baiduu , weiboo , and other chinesse blog/forums , this year probably better than few years back. i'm pretty sure we'll gain massive vote this year , but is it enough or not to beat jurina idk.

 

Thank you for all of your hard work

 

Are you from cat head bar?