1. Check the 2023 Stage48 Member Ranking Results, how did your Oshimen rank this year?

Your SKE48 Experiences

Discussion in 'General SKE48 Discussion' started by ithebigc, Jan 1, 2014.

  1. Chrissel

    Chrissel Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    May 23, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    Sugiyama Aika
    Twitter:
    kurisuuu48
    Glad to see you liked Aiai's performance ^^
    I wish more people would recognize it tho...
     
  2. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    These illustrations were made by Yokonyan. She frequently makes these kinds of pictures for members on 2janai. They had an exhibition of them in Sunshine Sakae and they took them down on Friday night and moved them to the event the next day.

    10/07 Sentimental Train HS @ Intex Osaka


    I never buy AKB singles apart from Sousenkyo but I found myself going to this event because of the cancelled tickets I had left over from 9/1. Rather than refund them I decided to go to Osaka and congratulate Maya for her inclusion in the AKB single.

    We originally planned to congratulate Maya on 9/30 but it got cancelled due to the typhoon. I wasn't very happy about that but I was sick so on a personal note it wasn't bad. We had less than a week to prepare for the sendoff on 9/30 since the AKB senbatsu was announced on 9/24. The others designed little flags to assemble during the event. The Nagoya events usually have almost all the regulars from Kansai/Tokai present and the high rollers from Tokyo so they're the best time. One of the main community organizers couldn't make the event, so she gave me the supplies to make the flags.

    I met with the other main community organizer and gave him the stuff. He didn't have any tickets so we set up a sweatshop outside the event where we had people make flags during their breaks. I think we had 250 pieces of paper but about 200 sticks, so we made ~200 throughout the day. He went to talk to the staff at the event to confirm if we could have a sendoff for Maya. They said it was okay but that it's ultimately on the member to decide if she wants to step out the lane.

    I had 24 tickets left from the 50+ I had from the first two cancelled slots. My friends asked me if I regretted oshimashi-ing the rest on 9/1 but I didn't feel like I really needed any more, and I enjoyed talking with Yumana last time.

    Slot 1 (9-10:30)

    Since I didn't have tickets for the event that day, I didn't expect to be able to use my tickets for oshimashi or for the lottery bonuses. I wasn't going to oshimashi anyway, but I ended up being able to do the lottery for my first slot where I had 17 tickets. Everyone I lined up with lost their bonuses (40 tickets in total) while I won 6 of my 17.

    I've never been to these AKB events with the bonuses nor have I ever been to a 2shot event, so I was nervous. I decided to take 3 videos and 3 pictures. My friend told me how to fill out the forms they give you but I was still nervous since I hadn't prepared anything and I hadn't seen Maya yet that day. (I usually go with 3 tickets to set up the day and say hi)

    I think the pictures and videos turned out nicely. I got a few remarks/jealous complaints about how comfortable she looks with me during handshakes. I think it's because of how friendly Maya is, she's so warm and approachable.
    Photos:
    https://twitter.com/nickjaylitt/status/1048749175758680064
    Do3nz2PUwAACEdT.jpg Do3nz2KU4AAIEaR.jpg Do3nz2IU8AAno4y.jpg
    Video 1: See the description in my tweet.
    https://twitter.com/nickjaylitt/status/1048755659561287681
    She asked me if I had any request for the other videos but I told her to do as she pleased since I was really unsure how this worked. She just did the stuff I circled on the forms.
    Video 2: Fashion show, matching clothes with Kumachan.
    https://twitter.com/nickjaylitt/status/1048753536333299719
    Video 3: I wanted her to say this for a little motivation to not go to other lanes and for a little laugh.
    https://twitter.com/nickjaylitt/status/1048754107345907713

    Afterwards we had a nice talk. She thanked me for coming to Osaka, I told her it was my first time taking photos and videos, and she told me to print out the photos and frame them. I said yeah, I'll put them next to the pictures of my cats. She doesn't like cats so she made a little face. I told her that incidentally I have a cat named Maya, but there's no relation since I had that cat before I knew about her. She told me it must be destiny and I told her no way, my cat is my cat. She made some fake angry expressions because I wasn't playing along. She then asked me why I named the cat Maya and I just said I like the name and some people are named Maya too in English. She asked me what Maya means in English. I told her that we don't always think about the meanings of names when giving them, and that I don't know what meaning Maya has in English, but that I just like the name. She remarked that Japanese names always have a meaning thanks to the kanji so it was a bit of a foreign concept for her. She was going to ask me if my name has any special meaning but we got cut off.

    Slot 2 (10:30-12:00)

    For the second slot I only had seven tickets. The bonus was a namashashin (photo card) signing, and I only brought one. The lane reception staff changed and the new girl didn't let me do the lottery, saying my redo tickets were only good for handshakes. I was super lucky the previous slot, in that case. I feel like staff are always a mixed bag and you pray to get some who can bend the rules and aren't rigid.

    I went with 3/3/1. The first time I told her that one of my friends from Thailand went the day before in Tokyo. She had a bit of trouble remembering so I said she was a girl and she lit up and said "oh yeah, the one with the short hair, I remember her." She remarked that I'm friends with many of the foreigners she meets and said I'm good at being friends with everyone.

    Next up I told her I'm thinking of involving foreign fans in next year's seitansai project, so I asked her if she had anything she'd like in particular. She just jumped around and acted cute and thanked me and said anything at all is fine.

    For the last ticket I said it was the last one, thanked her for the day, she thanked me back and asked me if I was leaving. I told her I'll stick around for the farewell and told her to look forward to it. She told me thanks for sticking around and said she was really happy to talk with me today.

    Slot 3 (12:00-1:30)

    I chilled with the other fans and we made the flags. They're really easy to make. We had double sided tape that we stuck to the rectangular pieces of paper and then stuck a stick on the tape and rolled it. Here's a close up view of the flag:
    IMG_3780.JPG

    Slot 4 (1:30-3:00)

    We kept making stuff until around 1:50. Me and a few others didn't have any tickets left so I was given a ticket to get past security. Security actually didn't care about tickets today, instead they were strict on you bringing in only one bag into the venue. I was bringing in some of the flags in my bag so I was afraid they'd get squished when I put my other bag inside of it but it was ok.

    We waited until 2:30 to distribute the flags. I had a good bunch in my bag and I distributed them all. I went around asking if people wanted to participate in the sendoff and if they said yes I'd give them a flag. There was a rush near the end of the slot as people from other lanes came and it was honestly quite nice seeing support from other members' fans.

    Maya's lane dragged on so we got moved to the front of the handicapped lane, which was quite spacious. While I was handing flags out staff and security came out to talk to the main community guy I mentioned. They asked us to keep a distance and they called a bunch of security from the venue. When Maya came out they cordoned off the space next the lanes around her by creating a human wall so no one could walk near her, although there was no security in between her and us.

    She was really happy to see our support and asked for a flag. One of the other guys gave her one. (Maybe it was one of the ones I made!) She talked a bit and laughed a bunch with us. But she had a "complaint": this was really nice, so why didn't she get a similar big sendoff after sousenkyo! We all shouted that we didn't have any money left. (Actually organizing this isn't that expensive) She meant it as a joke but of course some people felt some regret at not doing such a sendoff back then. There'll always be next year.

    The staff took a picture and she took a video of us all. She's only posted the picture... really unfortunate it caught my face just as I was about to sneeze.
    Do4vw6JVAAIzgMU.jpg

    I was really happy about how things went that day, especially given my luck with the lottery. I've always wanted a picture together so I'm happy. I'm getting tickets for the next AKB single (only the Osaka date) since Maya's in it and I've already been asked to get a video of her "trying" to speak English.
     
    • Like Like x 6
    • Winner Winner x 1
  3. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    18/10/20 - Ai Fes

    The 7D2 members minus Renahyuu performed for an hour.
    Dp8ciIUU0AEPr9A.jpg
    I often look at idol events as a time where I can enjoy myself to the fullest and not worry about anything. After a long week I was looking forward to seeing a performance. Unfortunately this was probably the worst experience I've had as an idol fan. I'm writing this mostly to vent my anger. There won't be much about the members so I'm sorry.

    To begin with I'll start by criticizing the management for their organization of the event. There was a seated area with benches right in front of the stage, however you needed a special ticket to get in. You needed to win this ticket from a raffle, which I believe you could only get by going to the BBQ hosted that day. I guess this was fair but the instructions online were confusing. I didn't want a seat anyway since I came after the BBQ. What I thought was poor though was the placement of tents right in back of the seated zone. There was an area where you could stand in between the seated area and the tents but there was only place for three people back to back. The people sitting on benches in the tents couldn't see anything because of the people standing in front of them. This led to people being cramped in that very small area. I think a lot of problems could have been solved by moving the tents back.

    ss+(2018-10-20+at+09.46.42).jpg

    The organizers wished for people to refrain from reserving places before the live, but this was predictably not respected. A lot of fans got there in the morning and waited countless hours before the live, so they gave up and let people reserve spots. The people I know had reserved an area so we put our stuff there and waited for the live. Right before SKE appeared there was a stampede of people and due to the limited space people just jumped over fans who were sitting down and started to take over space. I was looking over some spots for my friends when they left for the washrooms and some people stepped in and forced their way in front of us. I expected someone to say something but no one around did, so I tried to inform them that we had been waiting for a long time and they were currently stepping over the bags of people who had gone to the washroom.

    In Japan leaving your bags and stuff to reserve a place is very common and I see people respect this all the time, so I expected them to move. They refused to budge and claimed they were they before. They said they'd move when my friends returned, but predictably they didn't. I decided to argue with them some more but it was really pointless, they wouldn't budge and wouldn't apologize or try to compromise. I could still see but that exchange just left me in a bad mood. I went from being in the second row to the fourth.

    I was prepared to forget it all happened and focus on the live. The members wore very cute outfits and I couldn't take my eyes off Maya. Unfortunately my new friends would prove to be very annoying. I really appreciate people who add to the atmosphere with their voices and wave their penlights, however these people were hitting everyone around them. I got some elbows throughout the live and I saw them hit heads in front of them with their penlights. The worst part, however, was their constant shouting at certain members, calling them names and mean things. I heard them call Aiai and Airi fat multiple times during MCs when everyone was quiet, and others told me they overheard them shouting things about other members too. I would have loved to tell a staff or security but none were around and it's hard to leave and talk to one mid-concert.

    Anyway, enough of the rant. I have little to say about the members unfortunately. I thought Kano's performance was great and Yunana's stage presence was amazing. You can really feel a center aura from her now. I mostly looked at Maya and she was really trying hard today. She was trying very hard to appeal to everyone possible during the breaks. Just seeing her try her hardest made me happy. It was my first time seeing Maya be the center for Mae Nomeri, so that was really good too. I think everyone in 7D2 did well, and it didn't feel like much time was wasted.

    On a positive note, I brought a friend who hadn't ever gone to a 48g event but has followed the groups for 10 or so years. He really enjoyed it since he had someone next to him talk to him and it turned out they both oshi'd the same person years ago. He's always been nervous about going to events but he wants to go to more now, and he hit it off with some other fans, so it's reassuring to know that good things happened. He praised Maya a lot during the performance, and he liked Airi's MC.

    So I guess this is a remember that awful people exist everywhere. I just wish I could have ignored them better and gotten over it, because I honestly felt empty for most of the live and it felt wasted.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  4. hermionepj1

    hermionepj1 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2016
    Oshimen:
    Yamashita Emiri
    aren't there only 5 second draft members?
     
  5. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    Yup. 7D2 is the term used to refer to the 7th gen + the second draft members (D2). They debuted more or less at the same time so they feel like they are part of the same gen.
     
    • Informative Informative x 2
  6. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2008
    Location:
    Saitama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    Iwasa Misaki
    Twitter:
    Cristafari
    SKE48 'Ikinari Punch Line' National Handshake Event at Makuhari Messe (2018/11/03)

    A few days ago I was contemplating what to do over the weekend. Wasamin technically has the weekend off, from seeing fans at least. I really haven't been seeing any indie idols lately either. I decided to check the 48-group schedule to see if there were any Zenkoku events coming up. Lo and behold, SKE would be in Tokyo this weekend. Moreover, Souda Serina would have a special lane to do make-up handshakes...

    Back in July of 2017 I had my first ever ticket to meet Souda at an Igai ni Mango event, but she went out ill and missed the entire day. Since then I had been wondering if they were ever going to offer a make-up for that day. I mean I combed the entire SKE news feed and never saw any mention of it, aside from one random entry late last year saying it was undecided. But FINALLY I was going to be able to use the ticket that has been sitting in my ticket holder for over 18 months! Now what would I talk with her about, since my reason for getting the ticket in the first place was ancient "news"

    I didn't have any tickets for the event, but they said they would be selling tickets on site. Also, Tani wasn't participating. I decided to purchase two tickets, with a plan to use one on Kaotan and one on Hidaka Yuzuki, who I embarrassingly called by the wrong name last month at the individual event.

    ske24.jpg
    Three MVPs for me today; Hidaka Yuzuki, Obata Yuna, and of course Kaotan


    At SKE's Zenkoku events they work in slots, which have staggered time schedules. The members also change lane-partners throughout the day. Checking the schedule, I liked who both Kaotan and Yuzuki were paired with early. So it was merely a question of whether I would have time to visit both of those early lanes, plus Serina. Actually, Yuzuki and Kaotan were in a lane together for the evening session, but there was no way I was going to wait for that. I arrived at Makuhari an hour before the event, purchased two CDs (Types B and D) and had my two tickets...

    ske27.jpg

    I chose B and D because I wanted the songs from Team KII, and the unit Tani centered. For bonus photos I got Takeuchi Saki and Sugawara Maya. Not my top choices, but whatever. I drew a middle section ticket, which was already pretty full. I decided to hang out close to the back so I wouldn't be far from the railing if the girls walked the venue. However, they decided to open up a second entrance right where I was standing, and a deluge of people began flooding in, so I moved a bit closer to the center of the section...

    BTW, and this is a bit off-topic, but I was half-paying attention to the music they were playing on the P.A. until one song came on I particularly liked. I was pretty sure I knew the artist since I recognized her voice, but I decided to Shazam it anyway. Sure enough, Taylor Swift, and the song was 22. It's funny, every once in a while when I am forced to listen to American pop I will run across a song I like, and quite often it ends up being Taylor Swift. So I guess I am a fan of sorts. Who knew? Anyway, it was 12pm and time for the show. Kumazaki Haruka did the Kage-ana and screwed it up royally, which resulted in a giggle fit among a few members back stage. Then the lights dimmed, and the overture started. Here's the setlist...

    ske22.jpg

    Setlist
    1. Ikinari Punch Line
    MC: Welcome and Intro
    2. Parting Shot (Team S)
    3. Dareka no Mimi (Team KII)
    4. Kimi wa Ramune (Team E)
    5. Kimi wa Pegasus (11-gatsu Senbatsu)
    MC: November Birthday Girls
    6. Hana no Kaori no Sympathy (For You Senbatsu)
    MC: New Single Senbatsu announcement
    7. Akushu no Ai

    ske21.jpg
    Ikinari Punch Line

    It was too bad we didn't get to see/hear the B-Laviere senbatsu song, which Tani centers. But without her there, there's really no point. After listening to the three team songs, I decided I liked Team S' song the most, and I confirmed that I don't care for Kimi wa Ramune at all, LOL. Obviously the most interesting MC was the one that introduced the new single senbatsu. To be honest, I was hoping that Kaotan would somehow make it in since this could be her last SKE single. In fact after the video Yuzuki brought up the question of a graduation song for Kaotan. Yuzuki also seemed not to notice the announcement of the song title (Stand By You) as she began wondering what the song would be called....after it was announced, LOL. Also, and I felt kinda bad about this, but it seemed like the announcement of Jurina centering the song was a bit of a letdown to the fans. I mean everyone was cheering throughout the announcement, especially when they announced Arai Yuki's name. However, when they announced Jurina you kinda heard the audience begin murmuring before they started obligatorily clapping. The show ended, and we had an hour break before the handshake event began.

    ske23.jpg
    Arai reacting the announcement

    I arrived back in the venue a few minutes before the event re-started. I noticed Souda's make-up line had hardly anyone in it, so instead I decided to prequeue for my first Zenkoku ticket. It was one of the longest lines in the venue too...

    ske31.jpg
    Yuzuki

    (Lane 3) Machi Otoha, Obata Yuna, Hidaka Yuzuki: With Kaotan's graduation looming, I resolved to see Yuzuki more often since she is the one SKE member not named Kaotan or Tani who I really connect with. Plus, Obata was in this lane, who I think is adorable. I snaked through the line, getting the occasional glance at Churi who was in the neighboring lane. Finally it was my turn. As this was a National event, the interactions were quick.

    Machi: (English) Hello! Hello! Me: Yes, hello! (we both laugh)
    Obata: (look of familiarity since I saw her a couple weeks ago) Hey, it's you again! Me: Yes, and there's that beautiful smile!
    Hidaka: Hisashiburi! Me: I'm sorry I called you by the wrong name last month. Hidaka: Huh? Ohh, hahaha! (She smiled and waved to me)

    ske33.jpg
    Otoha Machi

    ske34.jpg
    Obata


    I really wanted to apologize to Yuzuki for that gaffe a couple weeks ago where I accidentally called her "Mizuki" (Had Yamauchi Mizuki on my mind I guess) although I'm sure she had forgotten about it until I brought it up. It made me feel better to see her take it so lightly. The fact that Obata is beginning to recognize me is awesome. I will have to get more tickets for her. Machi was cool too,so a successful lane!

    (Lane 12) Souda Serina: At this point the queue in Souda's 'Special Lane' had grown slightly, but it still wasn't a long line. As I mentioned, I originally bought this ticket on the heels of seeing her at a theater show, where she tried to fish me. Now 18-months later that interaction is a distant memory. But I had this ticket for so long, I was going to use it dammit! Eventually my turn came...

    Me: I saw Team KII for the first time in the theater in April of last year, and I wanted to meet you. So I bought this ticket. It has been a long time.
    Souda: (puts her hand up to her mouth) Oh, Gomen Gomen Gomen!!!!!!!
    Me: Daijoubu! (As I smiled and waved as I got pushed out)


    That works, it was pretty much what I wanted to tell her from the start. And using that ticket felt like such an accomplishment!

    ske32.jpg
    Souda congratulating Arai Yuki

    (Lane 7) Nojima Kano, Nishi Marina, Matsumura Kaori: My last ticket, and the handshake event had only been open for 25 minutes. I felt a bit sheepish about having only one ticket for Kaotan, but I am just over the practice of buying stacks of tickets. A small amount is enough for me. There was a medium-sized queue, and this was one of the lanes that started 30-minutes later. So I pretty much planned my tickets perfectly. Eventually the line started moving. Frankly, the guards were slightly pushy in this lane, so I had to be quick...

    Nojima: (English) Hello! Me: Hello. Nojima: Where are you from? Me: I'm an American, but I live in Ita....(As I get pushed to the next member)
    Nishi: (She's smiling) Me: I met you before, it was your first handshake event! Nishi: Ehhh? Me: It was, ummm.....(get pushed to Kaotan)
    Kaotan: Me: Hello Kaori-chan. Kaotan: How many tickets do you have today? Me: This is my only ticket. (I lied) Kaotan: Ehhh, (makes crying gesture) Matta ne.

    ske25.jpg
    Kano-chan looks so much different from when she first joined the group!


    By the way, Nojima Kano is awesome. I really liked interacting with her. I can't remember if I ever did a handshake with her before. I may have. I will have to check my old posts. But it would have been when she was brand new.

    But that was it, I had used all of my tickets, and it was only 2:40. Except I now felt really bad that I had somehow disappointed Kaotan. I couldn't just leave her like that, with the faux-crying pose. I thought about it for a few moments. Oh, what the heck, there was still plenty of time in the slot. I went back upstairs and purchased one more CD, this time I got Type-A, and I got a Jurina bonus pic. I pulled out the ticket, and went back into the venue to queue up, running into a couple Wasafans along the way.

    ske29.jpg

    (Lane 7) Nojima Kano, Nishi Marina, Matsumura Kaori: I was ready to make three idols happy by looping their line. Originally I thought if I had a third ticket I would use it on Dasu, or Sato Kaho, but this was for the best. Kaotan is always so sweet to me....

    Nojima: (Smiling) Konnichiwa! Me: I am from America but I have lived in Tokyo for three years. Nojima: Ehhh? Me: I have been to the SKE48 Theater three times. I have also met her before (pointing to Nishi)
    Nishi: Me: It was Yokohama Arena where I met you. I met all of the 3rd gen draftees. Nishi: Ahh, Naruhodo.
    Kaotan: Me: I bought one more CD! I wanted to see you again. Kaotan: Good, because I am here until 7pm! Me: See you soon!


    Now I felt a bit better. I don't like making girls cry, especially Kaotan. But that was really it. No more additional purchases. I was done for the day. I headed to the exit before seeing my friend Boma hanging out near the display costumes. He was spending the day trying get into the special Jurina talk show that was going on. Apparently there were four events, but they had limited space, so you had to win your way in via lottery. I hope he got into one, since he missed out on the first two.

    ske26.jpg
    The display costumes for the day. Ikinari Punch Line, and something from SKE's countdown concert?

    So at this point it is a matter of waiting for the announcement of the Mu-mo sale for SKE48's next single. I have no idea if Kaotan will be included, but I have a feeling she will be. But as I said, I am planning on getting more tickets for Yuzuki, and I will likely get tickets for Obata and Kaho. And then there's Nojima. She was really cool to me today. I think I may consider her for a ticket too. We'll see.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  7. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    SKE48 Ikinari Punchline Event @ Fukiage Hall

    I went to the handshake event on November 5. It was a redo of the handshake on September 30.
    gaikan01.jpg
    While I was initially not happy about the rescheduling it worked out well for me. The event was in Fukiage Hall near Tsurumai and I enjoyed going there much more than the usual slog to Port Messe, which is in the middle of nowhere and takes forever to get to. Fans were worried about the size of the venue, but given that it was a redo the amount of people present was diminished, despite the fact that it was a Nagoya handshake where the majority of slots were sold out.

    However as always I'll find something to complain about: the handshake pushers. I've never seen a more relentless and "dedicated" bunch of pushers. Even if there was no one in sight behind you they would shove you out 8 seconds into your ticket. Usually even after time is up you can talk to the member while picking your bag up but they would walk up to you and try to block vision of the member. It's unlikely that all lanes were like this but it was the same in the four I went to, and everyone I talked to complained about the pushers.
    fukiage01.jpg
    So let's get down to my little adventure:

    Noon slot

    I had a single ticket for Nacky during the noon slot to get me oiled up for the event. I was actually quite nervous so it helped a lot to have one practice ticket. She saw me and thanked me for coming after such a long time, and I congratulated her for staying in the senbatsu.

    A3

    DrKurccU4AAHCtC.jpg

    I decided to go see Ouchan first. I bought some tickets for her since she was supposed to cosplay an Earth Federation officer from Gundam on 9/30, but she didn't cosplay that day. I was disappointed, but I congratulated her on staying in senbatsu. She told me some stuff about how the single was great and she liked the song and to buy the single many times. Ok.

    Next up I went to see Kuma. I was in a bit of a withdrawal and she made a nice reaction when she saw me. She was too cute so I struggled to tell her congrats for the single. She thanked me and told me to keep coming to see her. She's super active and really likes hand contact and high-fives. Her grip is really strong too.

    Next I went to see Maya. I didn't get a chance to say anything as she noticed my green hoodie I bought a few days earlier. She asked me if I wore it on purpose for her, and I said of course. I even brought a green scarf but it was too hot. She was wearing a coat so I asked if she was ok, but the shove came and I really wasn't expecting the force and almost crashed into the side. How embarrassing.

    Next up I congratulated her for the single and told her I was really happy she stayed in. She told me that she really likes the song and the music video, so she hopes I like it too.

    After I told her I would be leaving Japan next spring. (I wanted to warn her in advance) She was sad and starting firing words at rapid speed but I told her I'd still come for handshake trips. As I got shoved out she yelled "don't forget me!"

    A4

    Now we get to the part where it all fell apart. For whatever reason the management put Nacky's lane right next to Maya's, so I had to walk in straight vision of both of them when I went to their lanes. Bad RNG.

    First though I went to see Kuma again and told her that I'd like to see her have more work with Maya. Kuma was really happy to hear that as they are both trying to appeal for the work. She thanked me for supporting her and Maya and grabbed my other hand and pulled me in and asked me to continue to see her. Woof. Yeah don't worry about that, I got you covered.

    I went to see Nacky next and I told her that I'd like to see her to do more stuff with Maya. She laughed and said that Maya's really been pushing for that recently. Since I'm still new with Nacky I told her some various things that I liked about her mail and blogs.

    However I was seen by Maya on one of my visits to Nacky. There was no one in her lane and she looked up and was about to talk to me but she noticed something was wrong. She blinked since obviously she wasn't seeing properly but I didn't appear in her lane. She was in complete shock, mouth wide open, and pouted. It actually made me chuckle a bit and I just mouthed sorry and bowed my head. Nacky saw this and she was laughing like a maniac. I told her that Maya was pretty angry and she told me to be careful.

    I ran over to Maya and she pulled me so hard to her. "Why. did. you. do. that." she muttered with a piercing stare without a trace of any humour. I couldn't try and explain myself away so I just apologized. "I guess you're one of those after all" she said while shaking her head. I told her that she's correct since I went to see Kuma too earlier. She clenched her teeth and told me that she already knew. (How!?)

    The next time I went with some friends who wanted to see her reaction. I talked to her about something I forgot but she was cheerful(looking).

    DrKu0OFVAAIwOmJ.jpg

    A5

    After the break I went to see Nacky again. I asked her several things about literature since she studied it in university and I wanted suggestions. I finished reading a manga that she suggested (親愛なるA嬢) and I really enjoyed it. I asked her for her favourite author and she said it's Shibamura Jin. I may pick up a book of hers.

    However Maya was on the hunt and she made sure to witness me every time I went next door. My sick twisted head thought it was funny and so did Nacky so we laughed about it. I was like a police officer in training who swallows up all the copaganda at the academy and trips on the rush they feel when they point a gun at someone. I couldn't stop myself from wanting to see Maya's reactions.

    Maya poked her head in when no one was at her lane. She asked me what the hell I was doing. Nacky laughed like crazy and played with my hands and I told Maya to chill (I have more tickets for you, relax). Nacky told me I really shouldn't have worn all this green since I stick out so much. She asked me if Maya was really angry and I said yeah, so she asked me if I was done seeing her, to which I laughed and said no way.

    When I went to see Maya again she gave me the glare again before smiling a lot. I quickly moved on to another topic. I told her about my friend's thoughts on her performance at Ai Festival and I told her he's coming next single. She was really happy to hear that and looks forward to meeting him.

    With my last ticket she was all smiles but at the very end she told me "I'll do my best so you don't cheat on me again" and said it with that infamous serious face. Right after saying it she switched back into happy mode and said she was waiting for me next time like always.

    DrKu_jgVYAEIBtD.jpg

    If Maya's goal was to make me feel bad with that last statement she certainly succeeded, but I really don't regret going to see other members. 自業自得 as they say. I think it's important in maintaining my interest in the group. It was definitely a shake-up from normal and entertaining, but I do worry a bit, although everyone I went with said she looked fine when we were talking. It's actually a privilege to get to witness Maya's super serious face - she reserves it only for critical situations.

    As for Nacky I really enjoyed talking with her again. While she's very relaxed and gives off the appearance of being reserved she's actually quite the troll. She really likes joking but she's also incredibly quick to answer a question. She's very articulate and I find it charming how she forms sentences and bombards me with difficult vocabulary, it's a nice challenge. I'll tone down the number of tickets though - I actually had more for her than Maya. A cardinal sin indeed.

    As a side note, a friend of mine lives nearby and I invited him over. He got in without a ticket and he was able to see what a handshake venue is like. He said it was exciting to just be there and see what fans do. I brought him along to drink with the Maya fans later and he promised to buy 20 tickets for his first time next single so I'll hold him to that.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Winner Winner x 2
  8. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    SKE48 Ikinari Punchline Event @ Intex Osaka

    A month without a handshake leaves me thirsty.

    I didn’t reserve a bus and I didn’t want to pay for a shinkansen. I had time in the morning so I decided to save money by taking JR trains from Nagoya to Osaka, with a transfer at Maibara. This route costs ~3300 yen one way, compared to the cheapest bus plan I get which costs 2500 yen one way. Comparatively a shinkansen ride costs 5800 and a Kintetsu train costs 4200. The whole journey took a bit less than four hours, so the ~900 yen difference with the Kintetsu train seems worth it, as that ride takes two hours.
    Intex_Osaka.jpg
    My last handshake featured annoying staff: tight security and overzealous timekeeping. Luckily the staff was fantastic this time around. The security was efficient and the timekeeping was the best I’ve ever had. I was able to get a lot of extra time after each handshake. The pushers were very lenient. They escorted you out, but they didn’t stop you from talking on the way out, and the girls kept talking while you were getting your bag even if other people were waiting. There was a mutual understanding that you wouldn’t step in to see the girl before the girl stopped talking to the previous fan. As a result I noticed people were in a good mood today. I even met a guy who told me that I seemed a lot happier today and that I usually look worn out during events.

    I started off by going to see Kuma. My friend went before and told her we were brothers and she thought it was true. She laughed a lot when she found out it wasn’t true, saying she’s too gullible. She talked to me about the theatre show I went to a few weeks ago. I went to see her during the next section too and I told her that I like her performance of Oteage Lullaby and she told me she’s doing Hungry Lion now since Makiko’s back. As always she was very physical with her hands and I felt awesome after since she's so sweet and nice.
    DtVPoMlV4AAFt6z.jpg
    I wanted to see Maya next but she had a line and Nacky didn’t have one. Their lanes were separated by the handicapped lane, so I quietly went over to Nacky. She saw me and pulled me over. I was surprised and my upper body was bent over the table and I could see where all the other members were seated if I turned my head left or right. I wanted to tell her that I’d get caught today, but she was quicker and told me “Look she’s used to it”, and tried to call out to Maya. I quickly stood straight up and told her to stop and she laughed a lot. Scary!
    DtM_B7cWwAArUXN.jpg
    Finally I went to see Maya. I told her I saw her on all the music shows she performed with AKB. She asked me if I found her and I said that yeah, she was sort of easy to find. She told me she’ll try to get a better position so she’ll be easier to spot. Next I told her I brought my older brother today. Her mouth dropped and she couldn’t believe me, I told her he flew all the way here and to look forward to it and she was very shocked and said yes.

    Next I went to see Yumana. It had been a really long time and I told her that, she said yeah. I just wished her good luck, I didn’t have anything to see. She told me that Maya’s face on my ticket holder is cute and I laughed.

    After that was another girl I hadn’t seen a long time, Miyo. The staff were talking to each other before I could go in for a good thirty seconds, and Miyo was doing this “come on” motion with her hands. My friend went before and teased her to show him her forehead, but she refused. Obviously I asked the same thing and she said no. She made a little comment about my Maya ticket holder and I told her that her clothes were really cute.
    DtVI9qgUcAASF9M.jpg
    I’ll pause here to give a special shout out to Yunana and Satokaho, who both waved to me and smiled while no one was in their lanes.

    I went back to Nacky and she teased me about something else but I actually can’t remember what it was about. I told her it was my last ticket and she apologized since she teased me the entire time. I said it was fine and she was glad to hear she could continue to tease me. Later on someone told me that he oshihenned from Nacky since her handshakes were not that fun and she's quite a rigid and formal person. I can definitely see why he thinks that and I don't doubt it's true for a lot of people; she seems to be rather serious talking with everyone else, but my handshakes with her have been nothing but the opposite.

    At long last I had gotten all the other girls out of the way and I could devote the rest of my day to Maya. Great. Except I was unwittingly going to be part of an epic, elaborate prank… you see I had received a photo of Nacky from a friend who gave it to me earlier, and I put it inside my ticket holder. My friend went to talk to Maya before me, and told her some secret instructions. I could see her glaring at me. When I went to her she reached for my ticket holder and spun it around and saw the picture. I laughed and tried to play it off but she said “Well it seems like I only have a few people who support only me…” and she laughed as I waddled off.
    DtQYruGUcAAaUDI.jpg

    I wished Maya some luck for All Night Nippon on Wednesday. I asked her to be careful but she shrugged it off and asked me whether I've listened to it in the past. I said yes, and she asked me which ones, but I couldn't remember anything in particular so I said I've watched a lot of the previous SKE ones.

    On the way out I unexpectedly met this guy who I first met two years ago. He was one of the first fans I ever met, and he also happens to be the same age as my dad. I told him that and he found it really funny, so he told Maya about that and how we met two years ago at my first event. I asked Maya how old she thought I was, but that guy spoiled it before. She asked me if I was a Nacky oshi before, and I said no, I was only a Churi oshi before, but it doesn’t matter since I like her the most now. She thanked me but retracted it since she remembered the picture from before and asked me why I had that. I said it was just a joke. She asked me when my birthday is, and when she found out it was this month she wished me a happy birthday.

    My mind blanked when I went back to see Maya since she was so pretty and was grinning at me while I was coming in. I mumbled a bit and forgot what I was going to say until I said some other stuff about music programs. She quickly answered me and remarked that I was wearing a lot of green. She noticed that my bag was green, and I was wearing the same green sweater as last time. I told her that I have a green scarf and all my accessories are basically green now. She praised me and asked me to step back. I showed her my pants and shoes, and she said I could get green shoes as the next piece of my set. I told her I'd think about it.

    I asked Maya what kind of work she wants to do the most. She still wants to do modelling. She asked me to help her get modelling work but I don’t know how. I also asked her what song to vote for AKB Request Hour. and she told me to vote for any SKE song. I *think* that she told me to vote for Stand By You (the new SKE single), but since you can’t vote for it I think she said No Way Man. My memory is really unclear. So I asked her if it was okay to vote for Mae Nomeri since she might be the center, and she told me that she doesn’t mind what SKE song I vote for.
    DtOEfULUwAIktkz.jpg
    At the end I told Maya that it was my last ticket and I was happy to have watched her niconico show and I told her she did a good job on it. She thanked me and then asked me if this was my last handshake of the year, to which I said no, I’m coming in a week. She said she’s looking forward to it and thanked me for representing her with so much green. I told her I’d be wearing green shoes next time.

    Afterwards I did the usual eating out with the lads and I got a lift from a very nice guy who saved me a ton of money. I think passionate idol conversations during late night car rides in the badly lit countryside are one of my favourite things about events.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2018
    • Like Like x 4
  9. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    SKE48 Ikinari Punchline National Handshake @ Port Messe

    img_tenji3-1.jpg
    It had been a good eight or so months since my last national handshake, and I had forgotten just how short the handshakes were, as well as the amount of people who come to these events. It makes a really big difference when you don’t need to reserve tickets and can just show up on the day of the event without having bought anything.

    Of course the nice thing about national handshakes is the mini live. It seems like SKE events hand out live tickets on a first come first served basis. There were only standing areas and I was on the left side. It was almost impossible to see the stage but we had a screen in front of us.

    Here’s the setlist:
    Ikinari Punchline (Churi center)
    MC – trying to attract fans to their lanes
    Otona no Sekai (Tani center)
    Rei no Potato Chips
    From then on I thought the next songs would be the team songs for the single but…
    Tsuyogaridokei (Churi, Minarun)
    Gyakuten Ojousama (Suzuran, Yunana, Reona)
    MC – It was Suzuran’s birthday today so they brought out a cake and wished her a happy birthday. She gave a rather long speech about the past year and the future which seemed a bit like a seitansai speech.
    12gatsu Kangaroo (Ryoha, Kuma)

    The mini live felt standard and fun. Since I like songs with calls the most (and couldn't see the stage) I enjoyed the first and last songs the most. I should note that Jurina was not participating in the live. I had to wait a few hours for my handshake afterwards though, so I ate a burger near Lego Land.

    These events seem really taxing on the girls. They have to go through countless people constantly with only the ability to say one line and without having the ability to prepare, yet all the while needing to present their best to the visitors. The more I think about it though, it seems like this is a bit what girls who fully sell out on the first rounds of individual handshakes experience, albeit with breaks after each slot here. So I suppose these events are less taxing for the likes of Jurina and Suda. Still, I noticed some members were quite tired near the end.

    The first lane I went to was the Sugabata lane with Maya and Yunana. Maya was first and I told her I brought a friend, who was behind me. She remarked that I have a lot of friends. (My friend thought she was surprised that I had a friend) Yunana was just way too cute. I told her I’m Maya’s oshi and I couldn’t help myself and told her she was cute. She said thank you and lifted her fist in the air.
    Dt5NXjzV4AAARvE.jpg
    Next up I went to the lane with Ryoha, Lala, and Maya. For Ryoha I had nothing to say so I just said hello and introduced myself. For Lala I got to speak English for the first time. I said hello and told her I’m Maya’s oshi. She asked me where I’m from and I told her and she said cool. With Maya I told her about the other person I came with that day who was beside me, and she remembered the person from before.
    Dt4-n8OUwAc2TcX.jpg
    With that done I lined up for Maya’s individual lane. I had two tickets, but I was given another two by a very kind guy I know who was tired and left before the end. Since I had four tickets I planned to tell her about how much I enjoyed this year and how I didn’t regret my choice to stay in Japan for a year, however I got approximately three seconds per ticket. I also got nervous since it was a bit of a serious topic and the words didn’t come out that well. Nevertheless she thanked me for the year and told me to keep it up next year too.
    Dt5H6DrUUAA_N-l.jpg
    We sent Maya off, and then I joined the Lala send off since her fans asked everyone to join. Lala came up to her fans since it was her first handshake since her return. I couldn’t see or hear much but it was neat.

    In total I had six tickets for the day... and yet I felt like I talked for what would normally be a single ticket. Given the total lack of time the girls barely have any time to say anything. You basically can exchange three words. It was a bit disappointing in the regard since I had grown fat, lazy, and used to individual events and thus I had forgotten just how short these events are.

    With that done I left the venue. I didn’t visit my dear Nacky or Kuma, and I thought I’d be fine with that but I wasn’t. I think I crave the teasing now. I’ll have to remedy my orders for the next single, since for now I have a 30:1 ratio for Maya to others. I’ve also had my fill of the usual 4000 yen dinners at night with other fans – why pay that much for a few appetizers when you can Eat Like A King at Saizeriya for 300?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  10. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    SKE48 Stand By You release event @ Zepp Nagoya

    aaa.png

    I went to the release event for Stand By You at Zepp Nagoya. It was the third consecutive release event I was able to go to. You could reserve tickets for this event at the national handshake I went to on Saturday, but I wasn't sure if I could leave work early to make it, and more importantly I'm not fond of watashikai type events, where a member just hands you something, so I didn't buy any before the day itself. Although the event was around Nagoya station I had to buy the tickets at Tower Records and HMV in Sakae, so I went to the SKE Museum in HMV while I was there. It isn't really worth mentioning here, it's tiny.

    I got to finish work early and I was hesitating about going but I decided I would regret it if I didn't. Now, everyone else I know, and indeed the vast majority of fans, had only one ticket for the event. You only need one to enter, and you don't get to talk much with the members after all. However the CDs have tickets for the national handshake events, so I bought ten for a friend who asked for some tickets.

    This would have some consequences, which I'll get to later. The event was split into three parts. Each part had three songs at the start. They started with a team song, which led into Kaotan's graduation song, and finally Stand By You. The teams, by order of the parts, were S, E, and KII. I only went to the last two parts. While the non-senbatsu team members appeared during the team song, they left thereafter. There was a parallel event going on at the same time throughout the day at the SKE theatre, but they didn't sing any songs there.

    Let me give my thoughts about the songs while I'm on this topic.
    I was closer to the stage for the second part while I was all the way at the top for the third part. I hadn't listened to any song apart from Stand By You before this - I had actually watched the Team E song's video but I muted it. While the Team E song, Iriguchi, isn't great by any measure, it is miles better than the previous song, Kimi wa Ramune, which is one of my most hated. The outfits were plain but the overall "visual" of the outfits combined with the dance was cute. I had a clear view of Maya during the song so I really enjoyed myself. I guess if I wasn't invested in the team I wouldn't have liked it that much. Also Suda should cover up.

    DuOnyNRVAAAFSGv.jpg DuOnyNRVsAAJMmM.jpg

    As for the Team KII song, Ketobashita ato de Kuchizuke wo, I thought it was alright. I didn't find it nearly as entertaining live as Dareka no Mimi. The lights were neat and fit with KII's image, but the lack of any calls for the song made it boring for me.

    DuOoAhnUcAAvSzZ.jpg

    Kaotan's graduation song, Arigatou wa Iitakunai, on the other hand, is just boring, but let's look at the bright side... I actually like it a lot more than Masana's graduation song, Eien no Legacy, although I'm sure plenty will disagree. I actually didn't mind Kaotan's antics as much as I thought I would. I warmed up to the song on the second time.

    DuOnyNVV4AAVY7M.jpg DuOnyNUU0AAFACt.jpg

    Stand By You was fun, but I have a big complaint: there are parts in the song, such as the beginning and the part right after the chorus where the fans chant. That's great, but they kept the chanting voices in the instrumental of the song during the live. I feel like it cheapens our effort and drowns us out, while replacing us at other parts of the song. My feeling is that you won't be able to hear the fans during concert recordings. Leaving that aside, and you won't believe this, I really like Jurina's part of the song where she walks around the stage. I'm not sold on the subsequent pairings of Suda-Sarina and Naochan-Minarun. They have limited time, don't feel impactful, and they don't receive loud calls compared to the absolute thunder that Maya and Ouchan get for their lines. I don't mean to attack the members in any way - it's more that their positions within the song and their lines aren't as suited for calls as others', and I suppose I would like everyone to get really loud calls. Overall the song is upbeat and very enjoyable live. Oh, and I had a clear view of Nacky in the back so I had fun.

    DuOnjaOU0AE0DI-.jpg

    Here's a picture of the crowd present during the last part. I circled where I was standing with my gang. Unfortunately one of those in my group oshihenned to Ouchan so he ruined our nice streak of green. Hopefully you can appreciate how narrow and crammed Zepp is.

    zzzzzzzz.png

    Afterwards the venue was split into two lanes on the opposite sides of the room. The single has 17 senbatsu members, however to even the numbers out they added Kaotan for lanes of nine people each. The members were seated in a line in back of a table with CDs on them.

    For my first round I was near the stage. It was cool walking right next to the stage they had just performed on. The first member at the table was the one handing out the CD, and they kept rotating. While you technically didn't know from who you'd get the CD from you could look and strategically go to make it in time for your oshimen's rotation. None of this mattered to me though. One look at the table where Maya, Kuma, and Nacky were sitting next to each other was enough to make me salivate.

    You advanced according to the number on your tickets, and this is where my ten CDs come into play. Most of the people who went had spent hours lining up for a measly ticket during the last handshake on the weekend, which meant they were done right after they got their CD and they left the building as soon as they did. It wasn't so simple for me, as I had the last numbers and had multiple tickets. I went while there were still some people and managed to use two of my four tickets for my first block.
    DuN09R7V4AEmq0u.jpg DuRlhWtVsAEZOQ9.jpg
    You don't have the time to say anything to the members, and I didn't have anything to say so I just thanked them. I got my CD from Jurina the first time and I was polite, don't worry. Maya saw me and told me that she saw me earlier. I actually forget who I got my second CD from, however before I could use my third and fourth tickets everyone else save for two other people who were left and also had multiple tickets. I told the staff I had two tickets, so some of them told me to just loop around, but others disagreed and wanted me to use them both at once. They had a discussion for a few minutes. Maya saw that I was at the front of the line so she put herself first, followed by Kuma and Nacky. While I was waiting Kuma remarked that my bag was Maya's color, and Maya asked the staff to just let me go twice, but they told me to get two CDs at once, so I got one from Maya and one from Kuma. Nacky handed me a third one, saying "here's your bonus for cheating on Maya with me" but the staff stopped her from giving it to me.

    I felt really happy after that. I was left pretty much alone with all the members, but I didn't want to cause trouble so I kept quiet while they were discussing. They were a bit surprised that I had bought multiple copies.

    For the second round I was at the back of the hall since the members got swapped around. Here they are.
    DuOs-SKUwAAK1Kg.jpg
    They actually changed some of the members in each lane, but my three favourites were still in the same one. I originally had six tickets, but I sold one to a friend who didn't have one. There were more people so this time I wasn't left alone at the end. I got a CD from Maya, Kuma, Yunana, and Nacky so I was really happy. This time Suda and Kaotan were in the lane and they said hello to me. I responded with Japanese and told them good job for the performance and Kaotan was shocked and asked me if I was Japanese or a foreigner. I said I was a foreigner, and next time she asked me why I could speak Japanese. Every time I went past them (trying to rush to see my Maya) they called me handsome, which I guess means I'm the ugliest thing alive beyond any doubt.

    But oh boy was there some next level stuff happening in that lane: although you weren't allowed touching the members I felt glued to Nacky and she did her best to keep the staff away. I felt like I stood there for a really long time (a few seconds since you're not supposed to stand still at all) and she would ask me things like "Do you like me the most?", "Let's keep it a secret", "Who do you want to meet the most?" and I couldn't help but get lost in her eyes. At one point Satokaho pushed her away and tried appealing to me so I walked away. Nacky just killed me, plain and simple. I'll go ask her to marry me at the next event or something.
    DuSAsXkU8AA55t5.jpg DuOtH3jVYAAJ5km.jpg
    I also want to note that the best looking member that night was Naochan for me. I usually think Ryoha looks the best but Naochan was just on another level that night. She was really into the performance and, as always, she shone brightest on the stage.
    DuOoAhpU8AEb3Kx.jpg
    Obviously I'm glad I went, with all that happened. You're really not supposed to get much time and you can't talk or initiate dialogue during these types of events, with 9 members in a lane. It's really difficult to talk with a member you haven't met before, unless she's good at that sort of thing, like Suda. I basically did no talking and the members that knew me did all the talking, and it was fun. Especially given the performance right before this type of event I think I enjoyed it even more than the usual release event where they have a longer concert.
    DuOtH3vU8AAHiGU.jpg
    (Maya's reaction to me passing an order for a ton of Nacky tickets right now)
     
    • Like Like x 4
  11. Cristafari

    Cristafari Stage48 Admin Staff Member Stage48 Admin

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2008
    Location:
    Saitama, Japan
    Oshimen:
    Iwasa Misaki
    Twitter:
    Cristafari
    SKE48 'Stand By You' Individual Handshake Event at Pacifico Yokohama (2019/01/05)

    I was pleasantly surprised to see Kaotan's name on the schedule when they announced the handshake schedule for this single. I planned on attending some of these events, regardless of whether or not she would be there. That said, I'm not sure how active I will be with SKE48 once she leaves. For this single they scheduled three events in the Kanto area, as opposed to their usual two. I decided I would place an order for two of the three events, choosing the April event in Saitama as my 'must go', and the January event as my other. I may get some February tickets via re-order, but I will decide that later.

    I ended up with only six tickets for this event, two of which were for Kaotan. I had three tickets for the early afternoon, and then after taking an hour lunch break, would return for my other three tickets in the late afternoon, wrapping up at around 4:30. I made one tactical error by not taking my cold medicine before leaving the house, so I was worried that I may get a bout of a cough, or stuffy nose. Luckily, I did have a mask, which I wore most of the day.

    Early Slots

    ske1.jpg


    Sato Kaho (Lane 8) I had around 45 minutes to get my first two tickets done, and looking at the two lanes, Kaho's was slightly shorter, although it wasn't that short. It took me around 20 minutes to get through it. Kaho's attire was casual cute, and per usual she leaned in close to me as she took both my hands. After wishing her a happy new year, I told her I liked the new single MV, particularly the way they used the costumes in the dancing. She reacted by saying the MV is cute, and as I left she blew me a kiss. Very nice!

    ske7.jpg

    Obata Yuna (Lane 17) I ran into my friend Nori while I was in queue for Yuna. I usually see him at AKB events, but I forgot he sometimes goes to SKE events as well. The line moved relatively quickly. She looked really fresh, and perhaps had her hair done. After giving h a New Year's greeting I mentioned that I liked her shorter hairstyle, and that she is becoming more of an adult. I am guessing she liked that, since her reaction was essentially "Yeahhh!" She kept thanking me and waving as I left the lane, and I noticed a bunch of her fans were looking at me and smiling, so I think they liked the way I got that exclamatory reaction out of her.

    BTW, while I was in line I noticed the new kenkyuusei were behind the lanes, watching their senpai members doing handshakes, all the while taking notes. This pretty much happened throughout the day. There was also a 9th Gen introductory stage which took place around 1:45. There were so many people gathered for that Nori and I couldn't get anywhere near the stage, and as a result couldn't even hear the girls introducing themselves, so we left after a few minutes.

    Tani Marika (Lane 15) I didn't realize it when I bought the ticket, but it was Tani's birthday. Great, that should have her in a good mood. And I'm glad I realized it before I met her, otherwise there might've been hell to pay. Her queue was not long, but she came out a little bit late. When it was my turn, I wished her a happy birthday. She thanked me. Then I asked if she was genki (She was) I then told her that I would be starting a new job soon, and she responded by giving me an "omedetou" and a "faiting!" It was good to see her in high spirits, although her eyes looked a little tired.

    ske8.jpg
    Unfortunately I didn't stick around for this

    And with that I went to lunch. There is a new Pizza-LA express in Pacifico, but unfortunately it wasn't open. Instead I went across the street to Queen's Square which has tons of restaurants. There was a random idol group outside of Pacifico handing out flyers, but they ignored me, and I didn't catch their name. I also checked out the goods queue, which was gigantic The only thing I was mildly interested in was the ticket holder, but I already have a bunch of them, so I didn't queue up. I also wanted to see which costumes they had on display. They were from the new single.

    ske4.jpg ske5.jpg


    Late-Afternoon Slots

    ske2.jpg

    Yuzuki and Tani

    Hidaka Yuzuki (Lane 9) I wasn't originally planning to use this ticket first, but her line was so much shorter by comparison I figured I would get it out of the way. Kaotan's lane was just two over, and I had a clear view into her booth. I watched her give her usual 'instructions' to the staff before she opened her lane. Luckily she didn't notice me staring at her. Anyway, Yuzuki eventually came out and when it was my turn, took my hand at first not noticing it was me. It took her a second to go "Oh, hisashiburi!" Like with Kaho, I told her I liked the MV, and additionally told her that I was specifically looking for her closeups when I first saw it (this is actually true) Interestingly, Yuzuki sometimes repeats my Japanese back to me in English translation, like she is showing me that she understands what I am saying. She has often tried English with me, which I do appreciate, even of I try to speak Japanese exclusively at these events.

    That left me with my two Kaotan tickets, which were actually for two different slots. However, they were for the shorter "B" slots, which are only an hour long, as opposed to the "A" slots which are 90 minutes. It was already 15 minutes into the slot when I queued up, and she had a pretty big line, so there wouldn't be too long a wait in-between tickets.

    Matsumura Kaori (Lane 11) <2 tickets> The lined moved slowly since Kaotan takes as much time as she likes with each visitor, which is why I never bother using more than one ticket for her at a time. Finally it was my turn; "Thank you for coming Kurisuuu" I told her that I am starting a new job, to which she had a ton of questions. She told me she knew the company, and asked what type of work I would be doing. Interestingly, I had the same conversation with Wasamin on Christmas Eve, but in two weeks I had forgotten the Japanese description of my job. She asked if I was going to be an engineer. Uhh, no. I told her I would tell her later. As I was leaving she asked if I had heard of her solo concert. I told her that I knew about it, and I would see her again in a few minutes.

    ske3.jpg
    cute-ness! Kaotan didn't post any pics today. :(

    (second ticket) I went outside to pre-queue for the next slot. There was only one person waiting, so I would be second in line. However, her queue for the previous slot was still big, and went 10 minutes into the next slot. In the meantime, various people were trying to jump into the queue, but staff kept telling them to wait. (SKE does this weird thing where they "open" the lanes, but you can't go in until they announce the lanes open on the PA) A few people started milling around at the last minute, but I still got in second. When Kaotan finished with her previous slot she waved to us and told us she would be back in a few minutes.

    She wasn't gone long, so when she came back I was armed with my full job description, so now she knew what I would be doing. I then asked her about her Solo Concert. I confirmed it was at Sonic City, and that it was on a Tuesday. She was like "It's Tuesday, really?" I think it's Tuesday. (I checked later, it is) I said I would do my best to go.

    ske6.jpg

    And with that I was done. Before I left I went to the Tower Records table to buy a Type-D version of the single, which is the one with Kaotan's solo song on it. And I got a Dasu pic. Not bad. As for Kaotan's concert. I don't know if I will be able to attend. It is going to depend on the curtain time for the concert. If it begins at 7pm, I can go. 6:30 would be pushing it, and any earlier will likely be a "no-go" I hope I can go. I will see Kaotan again at the AKB handshake event the day after request hour, so we can talk more about it at that time.
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • Winner Winner x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  12. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    AKB48 HS @ Kyocera Dome Osaka (19/01/06)

    Hello my friends. I know you're all dying to read my first report of the year so let's get into it.
    7.jpg
    Yet another Kansai handshake. It takes me four hours to go there the cheap way and I was planning on doing that for both directions. I had to endure an old man who was plucking his nose hairs and talking to himself for half the ride. AKB events feel very cramped but Kyocera Dome has a bit of a soft floor that makes it easier on the feet.

    I went over to Maya's lane first thing. The gimmick for her first block was a 2shot. I honestly don't like 2shots much - I'd rather just take a picture of her, having my ugly mug in the same picture as her is a crime. I won two pictures and stepped in. She wished me a happy new year and I asked her to take the pictures. She told me no, so I was surprised. I wouldn't take no for an answer since I won the pictures and I took two quick ones. Apparently she didn't want to take the pictures since she wanted to talk to me. She told me that I look like one of her friends. Due to the Japanese language's vagueness I thought she meant that I look like one of my friends, so I asked which one, and whether they came to see her in Tokyo. She clarified that she meant one of her friends. I asked her what kind of friend that person is and she said it was someone in her grade. I still had more questions but I had to leave.
    DwMr3V0UUAAMtHX.jpg DwMr3V1U0AAiOhN.jpg
    I went to see Kuma next. I went with a Maya/Kuma oshi and we basically asked her the same thing: what the hell did she give Maya for her birthday? She uploaded a picture on Instagram of the present. I thought it was a beauty product but I wanted to make sure, so I asked her if it was makeup. She said yes, it's eyeshadow. She got Maya some eyeshadow since she thinks it suits her and she needs different kinds of makeup that well with the hairstyle Maya chooses. I thanked Kuma for the present.
    47689862_2727702123919568_6984941098756990794_n.jpg
    Next up Maya again. This time I didn't win any 2shots, which I was happy about, because I needed to ask her about her friend. I asked her if that friend was from her middle school and I was right. She told me that during her vacation she went back to Miyagi and met up with some friends. She only spent a few months in high school over there, so most of her friends are from her middle school days. Anyway they talked about some people they went to school with and she looked at some pictures of them. At that time she noticed that one of the friends she went to school with looked a lot like me. I asked if that person is a foreigner but no, he's a regular Japanese person who just happens to look like me. I laughed a lot and told her that in the next block I'd like her to take a video for my foreigner friend. She told me that no, she refuses to speak English because she can't but I told her Japanese is ok and she calmed down.

    The guy in back of me for that was one of Maya's biggest fans (basically her top oshi) and she started telling him about how I looked like her friend and he decided to jump into that conversation too. I stood near the bag area since Maya was pointing at me and wanted me to stick around and see my reaction to their conversation. When he was done we laughed a lot about it.

    I was really hoping to get to take a lot of videos but I only won two. For the first video I asked Maya to say my friend's name and tell him something. After I took the video I told her a bit about my friend and how he can't come to Japan since he's a student. She told me to let him know that she wants to meet him some day.

    I sent him the video and he was really happy so I'm glad. He donated some money for last year's sousenkyo so I wanted to give him something in return. I think fans could actually commission videos or take more videos for foreign fans - it's a nice way to feel connected to the idol by getting a personalized message even if you can't make it to Japan.

    For my second video I asked Maya to state some of her goals for 2019. She refused since she'll reveal her goals during her seitansai. I told her it's no problem and told her to just say whatever she wants for the video. She's always very energetic with me and my friends got quite jealous of that, since she was less energetic in their videos. Here's the video:

    https://twitter.com/nickjaylitt/status/1081790665170669568

    "My first dream of the year was that Nicolas would come to the handshake and meet me, but it really happened! My dream came true!"

    After the video she asked me if I was applying to her seitansai, since the applications were starting that night. I told her yeah, but that I never got into one before and I was unsure about my chances. She told me to have some confidence and believe that I'll get in. In the worst case scenario she told me to watch on DMM. I told her I'd be at the lobby if I lost, but she told me I wouldn't lose anyway so it was pointless to think about this stuff.

    Next up I went to see Nacky. I desperately wanted a photo but I only had two tickets so I lost. I asked her what present she'll get for Maya's birthday. She told me that she didn't know yet, but she's thinking about panties since... well I didn't catch the reason but she mentioned the girls in the group needing more panties. Anyway she told me that she's not sure yet but I thanked her in advance for her present. (In case you're wondering, fans are not allowed to send members undergarment as gifts)
    47692597_1972588263041811_7095835067089456531_n.jpg
    I had a ticket for Yumana and there was no one in her lane. I was actually thinking of using that ticket to talk to Nacky more but I felt bad for Yumana so I went. Since no one was there I won a photo with her. We didn't have the time to talk after the picture, we only exchanged happy new years and it's been a long time/how are you-s. She was pretty as always.
    DwNmE4EV4AEHUy3.jpg
    By the way, this was the distance you were supposed to be from the idol that day. Everyone was taking pictures like this, sideways with the wall of the handshake booth as the background. It feels pretty distant compared to the ones I took with Maya, doesn't it?

    Last up you had to pick lots out of a box to see your luck for the year. (A lot of Japanese people do this during the New Year) If you picked a ''big luck'' from the box you won a calendar that she signed, or some other stuff. There were six to eight different kinds of luck inside the box and of course I didn't win anything. Two of the four I picked were the same kind of luck that Maya got this year. She apologized for laughing all day about how I look like her friend. I told her it's fine and she told me she's waiting for me at the theatre. I told her I'd see her next weekend in Kyoto at any rate. She kept laughing at the end saying I really look like her friend to the point that she was wondering if I was actually that person.

    Another successful handshake. I won't lie, it felt pretty good to hear that she talked to her pre-SKE friends about me, since I knew that she already talked about me with other members. It was time for me to get promoted into senbatsu. In other news we worked out a plan to write down the fan messages we collected. I spent the morning translating the messages I got, so thanks if any of you reading this wrote a message!

    I'll be back in the region Saturday for a handshake in Kyoto. I won Maya's seitansai so that'll be the next report.
     
    • Like Like x 4
  13. Jurinachuu

    Jurinachuu Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    Location:
    Jurinaworld
    Oshimen:
    matsuijurina
    Sorry if this is off-topic, but can I just say that's such a lovely idea<3 As a foreign fan I would really love something like that although I don't think it's possible in my case since I heard that the top members don't have these 2shots and video chances. The only thing would be the signed card, but I would be really happy to get even that someday.:oops: I don't have friends that could do something like this to me. It's so nice of you to do that to make your friend happy :blush: The closest thing what I got was another fan who talked about me to Jurina. I was really surprised and too happy of course and it was her idea so that was very touching to me :cry: It happened some years ago already, but she told Jurina that I will come to meet her someday. I still haven't been able to do that tho :( But anyway, lovely idea <3
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  14. Jurinavenclaw

    Jurinavenclaw Future Girls

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2010
    Location:
    Laguna, Philippines
    Oshimen:
    Matsui Jurina
    I just had my first experience of attending a national handshake event at Nagoya Dome. It was rather easy to go about despite of my very limited Japanese

    I showed my ticket upon entry. Had me and my bag checked by the entrance guards.

    There was a table inside manned by fans where you can write messages for some members. I wrote for both Jurina and Kaotan.

    Then I went inside and asked the staff there where its ok to sit for the mini live. Had some trouble understanding him since I though I needed to exchange my ticket for a seat. I think I was late for that and just had to seat at the back.

    The mini live was satisfying enough. Its funny how in the kageana, Rara and another member I didn't identify gave the reminders in English and Japanese.

    Setlist was:
    Stand By You by senbatsu
    Choco no Dorei by kenkyuuseis
    Stand by You team songs: S, KII, E
    Arigatou o itai by Kaotan
    Nakama no Uta by everyone

    Kaotan was in crutches, why was that?

    Then we had to wait before they let us go to the lines for handshake.

    They accomodated first the fans on wheelchairs.

    Then I lined up on Jurina's line.

    I intended to say something in Japanese initially then changed my mind the last minute. I figured she'll remember me more if I use English.

    "Nice to meet you. I'm from the Philippines."
    "Hi! Do you love me?"
    "Yes!"

    And my time was up.

    Went around the booths a bit. Bought a light stick and a Jurina muffler.

    Over all, it was a very satisfying experience. My next goal is to attend a two-shot event, hehe.

    And may I just say that SKE fans, while of course are mostly men, are consist of many female fans as well. As for age, I saw a good number of young boys and girls, from pre school to high school age, as well as grandpas and grandmas.
     
    • Like Like x 3
  15. Chrissel

    Chrissel Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    May 23, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    Sugiyama Aika
    Twitter:
    kurisuuu48
    The other one was Makiko ^^
    It was indeed super much fun, me and my friends had a good laugh xD

    (I'll write about my own experience as soon as I have time)
     
    • Like Like x 1
  16. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    Hello gamergaters. Here’s my report for Maya’s seitansai on 10 January 2019. I had written up a far more detailed version but Mr. Windows Update killed it and I don’t have the patience to rewrite it all.

    The report is long so I’ve divided it up into these spoiler boxes for easier access.

    First I’ll talk about the organization of the event. For regular theatre performances fans have very little input in the organization of the stage. You simply get your ticket and enjoy the show. At most you might present a trophy or other gift to the theatre staff who would the hand it over to the idol afterwards.

    I was part of the seitansai committee and I’m sure many of you are wondering what the committee does. For starters every member has to give some money to cover the cost of the event. Seitansais can become astronomically expensive depending on the display and gifts bought. Depending on the size of the committee the regular people will be assigned to a specific team/project and the leader(s) will overlook things. For smaller committees people will take on multiple roles.

    I’ll go over the various projects we prepared for the day:

    -Display

    The display might be the noticeable thing about the seitansai. Before the gates open and fans get their tickets the committee sets up the display outside the theatre entrance. Here’s a picture of the display:
    DwiO4Z7U0AASBdR.jpg DwjdxoTV4AAXPxI.jpg

    As you can tell the display is basically a bicycle with a background. Maya talked about wanting a bike for a long time during late 2017 and early 2018. She never asked fans to buy her a bike and used it more as a talking point, such as saying she asked her family for one and that she wants to ride one. Even if fans had wanted to buy her a bike there are rules regarding fan gifts to members – you can’t exceed a certain price and the item would have been too big. However members are allowed to take their seitansai displays home with them…

    By the way it was supposed to be a secret but apparently she got wind of it. She received the bike and a set of tools to fix/adjust the bike.

    -Messages

    I think international fans know about this stuff the best. Basically the committee creates a box and message cards to allow fans to write birthday messages. For Maya’s seitansai we collected the messages and placed them within two albums. Here they are:
    DwoQOG3UcAIli9D.jpg DwoQOG3VsAASiQ8.jpg
    I was part of this group and my job was to make a google forms page to collect messages in English and then translate them into Japanese. I couldn’t make it early on the day of the seitansai so some other people wrote the messages down and proofread my translations. Here are the cards:
    DwoQHnhU8AEGd6k.jpg DwoQHnlVAAAPkFr.jpg
    I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone who wrote a message! While international fans are indeed few and even fewer people write a message, we got 18 messages written by international fans in total (compared to 8 last year). I was expecting us to be dwarfed by the Japanese fans, but 16 messages were written via google forms by Japanese fans in total. Of course, most (hundreds) of fans wrote a message down in person either at the theatre or at handshakes.

    In addition to messages from fans we had to ask members to write and read a birthday message to Maya. I’ll go over this in more detail when we get to that part later, but basically we had a vote on it.

    If you’re wondering why one of the albums has a Harry Potter looking drawing on it, as well as Maya being dressed as a witch on one of the message cards, that’s because she called her fans magicians during her sousenkyo speech. We wanted to turn that around and make Maya the biggest magician of them all.

    -Organization

    There were a lot of other miscellaneous things done so I’m grouping them here.

    First, a bouquet of flowers had to be prepared. We chose the colours red and orange because those were the colours of her sousenkyo trophy last year.
    DwjjbQcVsAEom6o.jpg DwjjktMV4AYza44.jpg Dwjj770U8AEK3x8.jpg DwjjfFyVYAEe5e0.jpg

    Next we had a brochure/leaflet for the theatre performance. The backside contains some nice dates and milestones. The other side has the member colours and some instructions. During Juuryoku Sympathy we asked everyone to turn their penlights green. For the first MC where members introduce themselves we asked everyone to wave a small fan which said Yume wo Tsukamu! (Make those dreams come true!) during Maya’s introduction.
    DwoQVC7VsAAndjD.jpg DwoQVC6V4AA2KmA.jpg DwoQVC7UUAEVjn_.jpg

    Next, during Bara no Gishiki we asked fans on the left/ride sides to wave green penlights while the middle and standing fans waved red. During the birthday ceremony at the end we asked fans to turn the small fan around and wave the side with a stingray on it wishing her a happy birthday. Finally we asked everyone to wave green during the last song, Mirai ga Me ni Shimiru.

    These instruction were relayed to everyone by voice before the stage. The brochure and small fans were distributed to fans in a bag before they entered the theatre. You could also get one with a penlight in it if you didn’t have a penlight that could turn green and red. I only have a green penlight so I got one of those. On the topic of these penlights, people had to carry crates containing 400 of these before the stage.

    Most committee members took work off to get there early and help with the preparations. I couldn’t take the day off so I got there after work. I lined up with my friends and we planned on standing at the back if we couldn’t get a seat in the first rows. I asked another friend to join us, but he is older so he turned the offer down since he didn’t want to stand.

    I got #97 on my ticket...
    DwjKvdvU8AEEFTT.jpg
    Which meant that for the first time I won first place in the theatre lottery!

    Before entering the theatre I heard someone congratulating me but I couldn’t see who it was. Although we had planned on standing, we weren’t going to give up the front row. There was a rush and my friends got the two remaining seats in the middle, leading me to get the aisle seat on the left section. My friends laughed at me for being the one left out, but I had the last laugh since my seat had a better view of the stage, and my other friend, who I had invited to line up with us, got in second and sat next to me. The entire thing felt like destiny!

    I’ll quickly summarize my thoughts on the performance:

    Being in the first row is absolutely mental. You honestly feel pretty powerful. There’s no one ahead of you and you feel the gaze of all the girls while sitting there. Obviously there’s an entire crowd in back of you but you feel like you’re the VIP in the house. Adding to this was my entire row belonging to Maya’s fan community, which made it feel tight. I knew this was an illusion and I tried my best to not be annoying to the people in back of me with my penlight.

    The seitansai really lived up to its name. It truly was a festival, surrounded by friends, a good setlist, and great homages to Maya from her teammates. Regarding Maya’s performance, she was initially overcome by emotion when she saw all the fans, but she got over it quickly and was in a state of happiness during the rest of the theatre.

    Nacky didn’t really try to fish me but we made eye contact a few times and shared a laugh. When it was the time for the member introductions and we brought out the small fans to congratulate Maya, Hatagon tried to see what was written. Since she was right in front of me I let her read mine. I’ve never liked the Namida ni Shizumu Taiyo costumes, and particularly so when I was sitting in the front row. There’s a bit too much that you can see.
    DwoQpxQV4AUd8Ae.jpg
    Maya was really cheerful when she got her flowers. During her speech she mentioned her goal of getting 11th in sousenkyo… a tough task primarily set in motion due to Rena jumping from 29th to 11th during her first two rank-ins. I believe that most people (myself included) in the committee asked for Rena to write a letter to Maya, however Suda was the one to write Maya a letter. Suda praised Maya’s rise over the past year and her dedication to do whatever it takes, as well as being a nice girl. I’m not sure why Rena didn’t write the letter – maybe we got outvoted (doubt it), but perhaps letters from graduated members are forbidden, or maybe Rena simply didn’t want to or didn’t have the time to. Lala read the letter and Makiko followed it up with some words of her own about Maya's maturation since Suda wasn't there.

    Maya then declared that she doesn’t want to be compared to Rena anymore. She is linked with all of Rena’s past songs but she wants her own song and to assert her own identity. People kept talking to her in relation to Rena and so she feels that enough is enough. (I don’t see why she would stick to 11th place as a goal in that case however.)

    She also requested that her fans not go see other girls and only think about her. Our entire row laughed.

    After the theatre we had someone order and collect all the photos we ordered as a group. While this was being done the bicycle was sent backstage and we had to sort all the penlights back into the boxes they belonged to. Unfortunately there are always some lowlifes who don’t give back their penlights after the theatre and we came up two short.

    All I can say was that it felt like a dream! What a night! I was really proud of Maya for her accomplishments and dedication over the past year. After the theatre my friend came up to me and quietly asked if I had noticed any other girls that day. I said I occasionally looked at Nacky (ok more than occasionally) and he then professed that he fell for Kaho, Shiichan, Kuma, blah blah blah... but he'll only support Maya. I feel like that's the right note to end this on: we're all closet DDs but there's nothing our love for Maya won't overcome... maybe.
     
    • Like Like x 2
    • Winner Winner x 1
  17. jaylitt

    jaylitt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 7, 2015
    Location:
    Aichi
    Oshimen:
    sugawaramaya
    Twitter:
    nickjaylitt
    SKE48 HS @ Kyoto Pulse Plaza (19/02/03)

    Another late report, this one is from last week.

    Maya and I simultaneously greeted each other with a good morning, and she remarked that I cut my hair. I congratulated her for her #2 spot in P4U and told her I’m looking forward to the interview. She asked me to help her during the upcoming P4U senbatsu event.

    I went to see Nacky, but since I’m gachikoi of course I get nervous when I see her for the first time so I just burned the first ticket saying hi.

    After that I told her that I got accepted into a university and she asked where and clapped and said congratulations. She was really enthusiastic so I was happy.

    I told Maya about my acceptance and she asked me where it was. She looked hopeful at first: “Is it here? ...No I bet it’s over there...” I nodded and she frowned. “That sucks, I won’t be able to see you.” I told her I’d obviously come back.

    After that I used eight tickets to talk with Nacky about my plans in greater detail. She knew a lot about how university systems differ from North America and Japan so she taught me a few things. She asked me for my age and remarked that I’d be over 30 when I’d finish... it hit me how old I’ll be lol. Anyway she was interested in my area of research and asked a lot of questions so it was really nice.

    Next I talked to her about the recent Gifuchan episode where they tried speaking English. I told her I showed the episode to my parents and they couldn’t understand her English. She laughed but told me she really tried hard that day, it was tough. She recited her intro phrase they did that episode and I told her it was cute and well done. I told her that I really liked her and Kuma’s phrases. She asked me “and Ruka...?” and I sucked my teeth and she laughed a lot.
    (To be clear I thought Ruka had the best pronunciation, her phrase was just not very good when put into English)

    Next I asked her what she studied at university. It turns out she did her bachelors in literature (Japanese) and studied all kinds of stuff. She liked it to begin with but her teachers were great so it got her even more into it. I told her that a chance class with a great professor is what led me to learn Japanese and ultimately encounter SKE so she did a little bow for that teacher lol

    Here’s the main story of this handshake:
    Maya has a long-standing fear of English. Like most Japanese she’s bad at it, but she never had proper English classes during high school (since it was online) so I think that makes it worse. A couple of weeks ago she held a question time on Instagram and I asked her to speak with me in English. Her response was “English...” so yeah. In addition whenever I talk to her about other fans from abroad she’s scared about having to use English. It was time to put her to the test.

    I schemed with three other fans for us to ask her “do you love me?” We wanted to see her reaction and how she’d say no. I went first and explained to her what it meant. I think she sort of understood it to begin with. She gave me a big thumbs up and said “Yes!!!”

    Each of my friends went in after and asked her the same thing. She hesitated a bit during the first friend and looked over to me (I was standing at the bag exit) and gave her a thumbs up. She kept up the enthusiastic “Yes!!!” and everyone laughed a lot.

    For my last ticket I went to tell Maya bye for the day but she cut me off.
    Her: “Do you ... what was it again?”
    Me: “Do you love me?”
    Her: “Yeah, that. So do you?”
    Me: “Of course, yes I do!”
    She clapped then went to a completely emotionless face and asked “yeah what was it.”
    I told her it was my last ticket and she panicked and asked if I was leaving Japan. I said no, I’m just done for the day. She still panicked and I was forced out so I just waved.

    Lastly I went to tell Nacky bye. I told her to ask Maya “do you love me” since I taught her that today. She knew what it meant but she was shocked. “Are you sure you want me to tell her that? She’ll get mad.” I told her to go ahead since it’ll be funny and she laughed.

    --

    My thoughts on this event: It's crazy what you can do with only four tickets! I was kicking myself for having bought so few for Maya but even with just four I managed to have a lot of fun. Of course I got to talk a lot more with Nacky, and I'm happy I did. I find I need those kinds of talks to sort of establish my identity for the member. It makes them remember me better and gives them an impression of me beyond me being a foreigner.
     
    • Like Like x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
  18. Chrissel

    Chrissel Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    May 23, 2013
    Location:
    Germany
    Oshimen:
    Sugiyama Aika
    Twitter:
    kurisuuu48
    SKE48 Handshake at Nagoya Dome (9th and 10th Feb, Individual and National)

    So, I went back to JP after roughly 8 months, and started my trip of with the Handshakes at Nagoya Dome. Among all the J-Fans I haven't seen in a while it was also really great to meet @jaylitt again, and of course @Jeff86 from our Podcast, and also @Tuhis for the first time.

    When we got to the venue, we were surprised we immediately got tickets for the Minilive, even though in my case I didn't even have a National HS-Ticket yet.
    For Saturday I had of course plenty of Aiai-Tickets as well as some for Honono and some for Izurin, which would be my first HS with her.

    I started with Honono as a warm-up, and it was a great one indeed. I only had two tickets for her so I used them together, but I really got my money's worth. Can't believe how much she has grown since the time I met her first. She's barely shy anymore and really energetic. I told her that I'll apply for Monday's Seishun Girls-Stage and she promised me to pray for a good outcome for me (SPOILER: It worked ;) ).

    Then I went to see Aiai, and I split my tickets so I could do 3 rounds.
    She was super happy to see me again and we talked about various stuff, she asked about the length of the flight and how long I'll stay this time.

    The 2nd Block was free for me, so I just wandered around and then bought Aiai's Ticketholder and Wristbands, since last time hers was sold out.

    When I went to Izurin I was really surprised that she remembered me from the 7 stages I saw last May/June, but I guess that's the famous "Gaijin-Bonus". She was also really fun to talk to.

    For the next rounds of Aiai I asked her about her recommended Cheese-Dog-Shop since she always wrote Mobame about it and I want to try how it is. She told me her favorite spot and I promised to go the next week (I actually went today and it was really good :D )

    The Mini-Live was fun, the songs from the single are nice, however you can't really do calls for them. Luckily there was Te wo Tsunaginara at the end, that made up for that.

    On the national Handshake Aiai was in a lane with Kaho and Ami, so that promised fun. Kaho immediately tried to fish me by telling me that I look handsome, but of course I won't be deceived while my Oshi is standing next to her lol. Ami was really friendly, but I had absolutely nothing to tell to her...

    After that I went drinking with the other Aiai-Oshis, which was really fun and a great way to get to know them, and it got pretty late.

    2nd Day:
    Same layout for me, I had 1st and 3rd Block, this time Piyosu instead of Izurin.
    I started of with Honono again and told her that I won the Seishun Girls stage, so she was obviously happy.

    I told that to Aiai too and she made me promise to wave her penlights, which I of course did. One time I went together with Jeff (we actually went during the National too and the day before too), and she finally realized that the only two foreigners in her lane might know each other xD

    Piyosu was really friendly, however she is usually acting really awkward around people, just as the members say all the time. Nonetheless I visit her every time I'm in Japan because she likes Germany so much and I'm happy to see her.

    I spent the rest of the tickets for Aiai talking about these and that, and then wanted to wait for the Mini-Live, but right when I was almost about to fall asleep in the seats she tweeted that she and Izurin would go to Badminton, so I rushed over. There was barely anyone waiting so I quickly got to play, and man it was lots of fun. Aiai said before she'd go all-out, so we had a pretty fierce match. I definitely got more out of this one Ticket than I would have gotten out of a normal National HS.

    The Minilive had the same setlist as the day before, except they performed Nakama no Uta instead of Tetsuna (just as expected). The Kage-Ana was also hilarious, with Rara doing the English and Makiko trying to figure out which part Rara just translated. But you could tell Rara was a bit nervous, she made more mistakes than usual (I guess she translated it on-the-fly, so no surprise there).

    This time Aiai was in a lane with Nao and Izurin, so I went once, told Aiai that badminton was fun, Izurin that I got a cancel-machi for wednesday's Team S-Stage and Nao just the usual "Hi, nice to meet you". But I can see how people really like her handshakes.


    All in all these days were really great two days, meeting all the other fans from last year was fun, as well as meeting some for the first time. Next is Makuhari and Sendai, hopefully this will be as much fun
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2019
    • Like Like x 3
    • Winner Winner x 1
  19. hermionepj1

    hermionepj1 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2016
    Oshimen:
    Yamashita Emiri
    sasuga hononono
     
  20. Tuhis

    Tuhis Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2008
    Oshimen:
    Furuhata Nao
    Well well, finally got back and even if I am jet-lagged and tired and caught the flu, this trip was quite something:

    Individual/National HS, Nagoya Dome, Feb 9

    This was the day I arrived in Japan. I wasn't in top shape even if I had managed to score a business class upgrade, since I busted my back carrying my suitcases on the way to the airport. However, I did manage to get more sleep than I would have in economy so I was better prepared. Thanks to fast immigration at Chubu Centrair and having not much that much stuff in my luggage I got on quicker than expected even if my checked luggage was searched by customs. Quick shower at airport capsule hotel and I had time to store my luggage and grab tickets etc. and head to Nagoya Dome.

    I got there for the last individual slot, and I had been able to score only 5 tickets for Naochan for that day. With her it's always nice that she remembers even after several months' absence. I congratulated her for Dear Kimi to Boku and even if I had bought it, the goddamn finnish Post had lost it in transit. (This turned out later to be only semi-accurate but hopefully more on that later.) Also met up with @Chrissel @Jeff86 and @jaylitt .

    By the time I got to the scene, all the mini-live tickets had been doled out which meant that I could watch the mini-live from seats considerably farther away. It was all good, Kaotan showed up with crutches and sang her graduation song while seated. Good fun and off to Individual handshakes!

    I had in total 9 event tickets to spend, and planned to spend them (quite surprisingly) on Naochan's lane. Her lane had someone I didn't know, Nonogaki Miki and Naochan herself. I had zero clue who the first loli was, introduced myself. For Nonogaki I mentioned seeing her in Showroom and for Naochan I continued our previous discussion. Went in for second round on the same lane with similar results. After which it was Yuuyu/Yunana/Tani line which was easy in comparison but reason was that the staff was super rushing it. I could barely say hello to Yuuyu, touch Yunana's hand and Tani lost her shit seeing a handsome foreigner, with her going "Woooo! Ooooo!" and only after I was shown out she called out to me "Tani Marika desu!"

    After that there was a break and Naochan was again on for the last slot... and the lines were horrendous. I decided I was tired, jetlagged and 3 seconds weren't worth 45 minutes of queuing. So it was time to get to my hotel and rest a bit.

    Individual/National HS, Nagoya Dome, Feb 10

    Being properly prepared this time with some sleep, at least some breakfast and was prepared. This time I was at the Dome nicely in advance, so I got a mini-live seat ticket and not a bad seat at all.

    I had been able to score 17 of Naochan's tickets in total for slots 1, 2, and 4. And as always it was damn good.
    Highlights were:

    - I remembered I had not properly introduced myself so I did and showed my ticket holder. Finnish names can be quite difficult so Naochan gave me a nickname <3 (which will remain between her and me) and remembered to use it constantly ever since.

    - I told her my goal is to be her fans' Center

    - I told her in front of her eyes my brain turns to pudding which she called kawaii. In addition, I mentioned I am seeing Seishun Girls the next day, so she pouted and told me to come see KII. I told her I always try and lose but there's still a chance. (More on this later.)

    - I told her that if she holds a solo live, please hold it on a saturday so I can catch the plane to Nagoya friday after work. She asked if sunday is fine but unfortunately it is not.



    Off again to the mini-live! This time the intro was done by Lala and Makiko with Lala doing her parts in English. Her pronounciation is spot on but she does need some practice and vocabulary. The mini-live itself was nice, 9th gen once again cute. Then off again to the individual HS.

    First queue was Maya / Naochan. As can be expected it was quite something from the start. Having never spoken with Maya, I only had time for a quick "Hajimemashite" and something related to "here again" to Naochan.

    Not wanting to stand in queues again, went to have my pix taken with 9th gens. 20190210_083221758_iOS_rs.jpg Did another round too on another lane. That time they caught me just when I was blinking. Afterwards, I noticed that Churi/Rara queue had no people in it, and during an MC (assuming I understood correctly) Churi asked foreigners to come. So I did. Churi asked where I'm from and seemingly impressed with someone coming from Finland. To Rara I mentioned it's been a while since we met and told her good job with the intro.

    Afterwards, I had one event ticket left and decided I can spend it at a later event.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
    • Winner Winner x 2

Share This Page