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Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

Discussion in 'Hinatazaka46 Graduated Members' started by ForrestFuller, May 11, 2016.

  1. gish0046

    gish0046 Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2019
    A lot of this talk reminds me of a video I watched of Morning Musume's Sato Masaki talking about how it makes her feel when a popular member graduates and fans can't let go. Maybe give a different perspective to think about.


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    You have to think of how other members in the group feel. Even though we are Memi oshis, I know all of us are fans of other members. Like if say if I was a Memi kamioshi but also a Paaripi oshi. And then Memi leaves and I'm all like "oh I can't oshi anyone else, its Memi forever, I'm done." Wouldn't that make you feel bad if you were Paripi? Like, I said I was a Paripi oshi but when push comes to shove am I really? Other people are working hard too.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2019
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  2. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    Goodbye....

    ROK 1 SF2.jpeg

    I feel some could wonder why I post this here instead of Techi's thread and I would understand it; but this is more about losing Memi than celebrating ROK. It has been the only way I found to show how torn I am right now. And since I've been one of the few TechiMemi shippers for a long time, I feel I'm losing this too, even though the moments we got were few and randomly shared... perhaps even more amazing for us because of it.

    So, just a last goodbye
     
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  3. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Memi's promised video message will be on next week's HinaAi. We saw a bit of promo at the end of this week's show:

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Not sure when this was recorded. Since they announced it three shows ago, it could easily be a month old. Or a few days. I hope Memi is now studying happily -- or even more happily getting ready for a trip to Europe with her father and sister, to look at art and architecture. From what she has said here and there over the past year or so, I anticipate her planning to go to university to study art...and/or drama.

    I like her fringe-less hairstyle (no longer having to keep her fringe cut), and the rich glossiness of her hair reminds me of the early days. Some nice expressions, but all calculated. Not much room for natural directness. A parting gift of burikko, stare and smile. I look forward to hearing what she says. I like how they arrange this, with her face clear and Kasuga seen just in profile. Much better than what they did for Shida. But her make-up seems heavy, for some reason.

    Neru has officially graduated. Memi may leave by mid-August. Their blogs both stop at the end of August. In her farewell event, Neru said of Memi that she is very amaenbou (acting dependent) and totally open (to Neru) about herself. She was apparently the only Hiragana member Neru mentioned as someone she would keep seeing.

    EDIT: Memi used to have a peak hour each day of around 20 tweets mentioning her, but that has sunk to under ten recently. This brief appearance on HinaAi bumped that number up to 1808 during the show. Not forgotten yet.

    EDIT2: Here's a link to a video clip of the promo, from Twitter.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2019
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  4. Meipon

    Meipon Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2015
    Location:
    Denmark
    Twitter:
    Memi_0107_
    Had just found my hinata oshi and now she's gonna graduate ;3; so glad i managed to get some merch before but hope whatever she finds something she really enjoys doing and are happy <3
     
  5. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    The official site has announced that Memi will "cease activities as part of Hinatazaka46" this Sunday, August 11. I think this means "graduate." I don't know if she remains tied to Aki-P's talent agency in any way. A previous announcement said she would cease activities with the final Kyun event, which turns out to be Sunday's individual handshake event in Nagoya, as widely predicted.

    However, there was an additional announcement that after the handshake event, everyone at the event would be able to enter a venue to receive a message from Memi herself -- even those without handshake tickets for that day. In the flesh or on screen, I'm not sure.

    EDIT: 5channel posters seem to expect live and some are planning trips to Nagoya. Others say she must not want to do handshake now (implying that she doesn't like it or that a bad fan experience of some kind helped lead her to go). Others blame her for not doing it. One person says she may not be well enough for handshake, just well enough for a statement.

    EDIT: There's some talk that Memi making this final appearance is an indication she may want to continue as an idol, or at least in entertainment. On the other hand, she may just want to apologize for leaving, both to fans and to members. The hydrangea pic she posted was a bit of an apology in flower language, symbolizing fickleness, pridefulness and indifference to others. And Manafi did write about Memi becoming "an ordinary girl," which suggests no showbiz. One thing that does suggest showbiz is that Manafi said Memi had plans for all kinds of things that would require her to graduate. Going to school shouldn't require that. But working in entertainment under another agency would.

    I do expect her to go to university or college and study art or drama, but on the other hand she could have decided to go directly into acting, for instance as a member of a professional theatre group...if she's good enough technically.

    There have been hopeful posts that Techi and/or Neru may appear. Techi comes from Aichi, the prefecture Nagoya is in. Seems quite unlikely to me, but who knows.

    The handshake event has already started, but Memi will not appear until around 19:30h, when the handshaking is over. That's over five hours from now.

    A few photos from here and there:

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2019
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  6. Tanoichan

    Tanoichan Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2019
    Oshimen:
    Harada Aoi
    So...Today we got to know one of the reason why Memi decided to graduate. I have to say that knowing this has made me feel really frustated and angry.

    How bad does it have to be, that she decided to leave her dream?
    She wants to be a normal girl again, there is no way to support her now other than (try) to understand how she and her family feel and wait for this to stop, not only for her but for other members and idols too.
     
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  7. Xiphyas

    Xiphyas Next Girls

    Joined:
    May 22, 2017
    Location:
    日本
    Oshimen:
    みなさん 美玖をお寿司かない
    @Tanoichan We are talking about that until now with some of her fans since the event finished.

    You can't imagine the deception, sadness and how angry her true fans are. That's why I don't like the people who tries to know about idols personal life. Let the idols being idols and her personal life need to be that, personal. If they want to share details, good. If not, there is not need to "investigate", that's not healthy for both parts. That's obsession.

    Everybody is appointing to a guy and others we don't see several months. Probably you had read/heard about a fan with the "marriage certificate". Well, I'm disappointed. I'm so frustrated.

    I know we aren't perfect as humans, our society is not perfect as many of the international fans can think. Hundreds of good fans worked hard to try to protect our beloved idols, we talked with staff and managers to try to find how to help, and this... This hurt me a lot.

    Thanks to our parents, me, my brother and little sister received some good education. But the most important lesson we receive everyday is to respect and protect others life, and millions here knows the same, sadly there is many with mental disorder but many of them know that and don't ask for help or are hard to identify.

    I'm still bad because Neru-chan graduation, I came to show my gratitude to Memi-chan too and this happened... I simply can't stop my angry-sad tears.

    I wanted to run, hug her and tell her "We will protect you... Please stay", ah~ this is sad.

    We don't know if management or members knew the problem but as was told us, they will act to prevent future incidents.

    My apologies to all Memi-chan international fans. I know how much this can hurt I really sorry.
     
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  8. Tanoichan

    Tanoichan Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2019
    Oshimen:
    Harada Aoi
    @Xiphyas I agree with you. Fans should be aware that their idol life is their idol life and their personal life is apart. They need privacity too, they want a normal life apart their idol life and they should have the rights to keep it and be safe.

    You're right. That is not support and people like that aren't fans. That is obsession and it is not fine. Unfortunately, even with all the good fans(for sure, more than that people), sometimes, traumatic events happen and leave them really affected.

    I have to say to you that this is something that can happen anywhere, and it is not fault of good fans that just support the girls. Yes, this is something that we see often in Japan because idol groups but it happens in America, Europe and the rest of Asia(I have seen it). Even with all the frustation that this kind of things give us, some fans like you share with us a lot of things that we truly couldn't see if it weren't for you. I've seen a lot of kind fans; obviously these situations are sad for all of us.

    All societies have bad things, that is why we should be realistic, and, not idealize and ignore this.

    How you said, we have to respect and protect other people's live.
     
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  9. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    What Memi actually said hasn't been noted here yet: in her Nagoya statement, Memi said that she and "people around her" (her family, I think) had bad experiences with a stalker (or with stalkers), and it made her scared to do handshake and special events (from 29 April on). A statement on the official site asked stalkers to stop, as she noted. Her father's twitter was hacked after that request: I think having her career interfere with his probably really bothered her (and him).

    In any case, apparently without saying directly that the stalker was the whole reason, she went on to say that she decided to graduate and leave entertainment and become "an ordinary girl." Her three years with Hiragana and Hinata were as happy as a dream. Manafi presented her with flowers, and Kumi presented her with a graduation certificate. I don't yet have a full and accurate transcript of her remarks in Nagoya, I don't believe, so she may have said more.

    She posted in her Message thanking fans for coming to the Nagoya graduation event on such short notice, and saying that her life as an idol was happy and she will work hard now to be happier in her new life than she is now. Here is a photo from last winter that she posted with her Message:

    [​IMG]

    On HinaAi, she had a nice back-and-forth with Kasuga, and he and Wakabayashi presented her with another certificate (click to enlarge photo):

    [​IMG]

    I love her more serious expression in this screencap. Happy and serious and sad at the same time. No forced smile, just Memi's real depth. A huge loss for Japanese entertainment, in my opinion, but I'm not sure that entertaining people is her real interest, anyway.

    I am not an idol fan, I am a Memi and Neru and Techi and Shida and Mon fan. I will continue to follow Hinata, but not as closely as when Memi was with them. Few of their shows have been of much interest to me since she left, although I admire their talent a lot. She was the salt that gave some savour to the excessive smiling, for me. Maybe my feelings will change as time goes by. However, there are a lot of things I want to do, too, that idol fandom has been taking time away from.

    I imagine Memi working hard this year to get into the university of her choice and then leading a full life, perhaps even as an artist herself. It's exciting just to think of, no matter how much we ourselves have lost by Memi leaving entertainment. For me, most of the best bits in GanaOshi and HinaAi involved Memi. Her style of humour was subtler and at a higher level than others, in my opinion.

    Each of us has their own feelings and opinions and approaches to being a fan, to be taken seriously and respected, as I do.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
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  10. Cost

    Cost Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2019
    so can we say that memi has officially graduated from Hinatazaka46 and move this thread to Hinatazaka46 Graduated Members thread, or any event soon to make she really graduated ?
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
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  11. gish0046

    gish0046 Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2019
    This is terrible to hear and infuriating but I think its something we all had in the back of our mind when management made that announcement a few days after Memi didn't show up at Music Station.
    I wish Japan had stronger anti-stalking laws, or I wish the police did a better job of enforcing the one's they already have.
    But no point dwelling over something I can't control. I've stewed over it enough today.

    In any case, I wish Memi luck in the future. She really is a one-of-a-kind and beautiful person. I hope to see her again in the future maybe as an actress or artist. But whatever the case I hope she has success in her future endeavors and is happy.
     
  12. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    1. Speaking only for myself, I think we're there. She has the diploma, and has officially "ceased taking part in activities as a member of Hinatazaka46" as of Sunday 11 August. I plan to move her to the graduated section of my own website today. Her mobame will continue live until the 14th, however, and be visible for a while thereafter. And her blog will be live until noon on the 31st. But I don't expect any posts on either. I'm not the one to make the shift, however. That would be a mod, based on whatever practices they want to follow.

    2. Sorry to mention it, but her name is pronounced Memi, not Meimi. I can't help bringing it up because I thought Koyabu-san made the same slight error when he first introduced her on HinaBingo, pronouncing it the way Tamura Meimi does.

    @gish0046 -- It was very far in the back of my mind, since I saw no hint of a stalker in anything the other members wrote about Memi. I'll re-read all that stuff to see if I missed something. I've been reading this as a more positive event (from Memi's point of view) ever since Manafi wrote about Memi having often talked about things she wanted to do that would require her graduating.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
  13. gish0046

    gish0046 Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2019
    It could very well be that she had been talking about graduating for awhile, to do other things, and the stalker incident was merely the catalyst that made her decide to actually do it. From what I understand, she said that the stalker was one the reasons, not the only reason.
     
  14. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    I read that "one reason" somewhere, too, but not in a report quoting her. I wish I had a full transcript of what she actually said -- or even a video. What I have seems too brief to be the whole thing.

    I've just moved Memi to the graduated section of my Hinatazaka members page. Sad process. And the 38th 5ch Memi support thread has just reached its full thousand posts, with no new thread being created. The thread-series ends with 38,000 posts, more than double the current number for any other member of Hinata.

    One thing to say is that it took courage for Memi to announce the reason to the world. Difficult for her, but a service to the remaining members, raising this issue in the public mind, and warning the perpetrator that people are watching.
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2019
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  15. Cost

    Cost Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2019
    @ukifune ok thx for correcting my spelling about her name :)
     
  16. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    It's taken me 24 hours and a sleepless night to realize this: but Memi's farewell at Nagoya changes everything. I had been thinking she really wanted to leave, as she indicated in June. But now it seems that she may have loved being in Hinatazaka and may be being forced out because she is not well enough protected. Here's a scenario:
    1. Memi is encountering danger because of her job with Seed & Flower
    2. employers are responsible for the safety of their employees from work-caused harm
    3. Seed & Flower (and Aki-P) had a moral -- and maybe even a legal -- responsibility to keep Memi safe
    4. 24-hour surveillance and private investigation to find the culprit(s) would be very expensive
    5. so Seed & Flower, instead of protecting her, have let her go
    6. this is unacceptable; there should be an outcry to make Seed & Flower discharge its responsibilities and give her the chance to come back if she wants and get real protection
    7. but I haven't seen an outcry along these lines yet
    Looked at this way, this case is almost as bad as Maho's.

    I was surprised when voices arose in the 5ch Memi thread demanding that it be closed. That was even weeks ago, as well as yesterday, when they succeeded. I wonder now if some of those voices might have come from the perpetrator(s), eager to close any forum where action against them might be encouraged.

    I can only hope that Memi really did have other things she wanted to do and the stalker was just the final thing that helped her make the decision. But the way she said it in Nagoya -- according to the rather scanty reports I've seen so far -- makes the stalker seem the key factor.

    It only makes this worse that I don't believe leaving show business will necessarily protect her. Her father is a public figure and his addresses can be found. And inside information from the schools could easily direct the culprit(s) to her school and/or college. The Maho case and my reading of some handshake tweets makes me think there is a network of rich young idol fans who have a lot of information-sources. And without the agency protecting her at least a bit, with a manager and so on, it seems to me she might be even more exposed. Will she have to go overseas to college?

    EDIT: In nicer news, Memi has posted to her blog about her graduation ceremonies, saying how much she liked doing HinaAi and thanking the show for helping her bring out the burikko character. There are pics of her on the show yesterday and at her Nagoya farewell, with her forehead-exposing hairdo and the long navy blue dress she wore. I will of course translate the post.

    EDIT2: This screencap from the HinaAi appearance makes me feel only slightly better, indicating that she does have dreams she is pursuing:

    [​IMG]

    "Everyone please work hard toward your dreams, too."
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2019
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  17. MasToppu

    MasToppu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2016
    Location:
    Nusantara
    Oshimen:
    Kosaka Nao
    Is it true, Memi graduate because of stalker? I never heard anything like this. Can someone provide a link to a news article, any reference, or something like that, about this case?
     
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  18. gish0046

    gish0046 Upcoming Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2019
    She mentioned it at the Nagoya event.

    I'm not sure I can buy into the idea that management forced her out so as not to pay for protection.

    For one thing, its not management's responsibility to hunt down criminals and bring them to justice.
    Its also not their responsibility to provide protection outside of the context of work (i.e. in her private life). Maho's situation was different because it involved other member's and managenent corruption, and it happened at what was, for all intents and purposes, an NGT dorm.
    And I doubt she was pushed out. She's not the first Sakamichi member to have a stalker. Apparently Ikuta Erika did as well. And probably others. Hopefully she'll be the last but I doubt it.

    The outcry should be towards police. Its really their responsibility to protect citizens from criminals, not entertainment managenent companies. The police are famously ineffective when it comes to anti-stalker laws and bringing stalkers to justice.
     
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  19. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    @gish0046 -- I know I'm feeling a bit excitable right now, but as I said, it's a scenario, not the truth. However, to me it is a possible scenario. And what is the "context of work"? There is no way this would happen without her appearing on their shows. And she may indeed be in an apartment building with other members, as Maho was. Yes, involving other members was different, but the protection aspect was the same.

    I am not one who likes to blame management too much. They have a hard job, too. But there are other indications they may have been deemphasizing her: giving her an ETV show rather than any drama, for example. Manafi apparently said in an interview in EX Taishuu that that seemed odd. And Aki-P's Yasashisa ga Jama wo Suru, which may be for Memi, is basically saying: "I won't stop you leaving. Good-bye and good luck." When I saw the graduation as positive, that was fine, but under current circumstances I'm not so sure.

    As for the police, I have seen posts (I can't remember in which language) claiming that there is no real law against stalking that police in Japan can use. And just because Ikuta-san had a stalker doesn't mean it is actually an acceptable thing, or that the situations were the same. Are we going to call Memi weak for being scared by it? Memi, who was beside Techi when the guy came in with the flare and the knife, and who was right back shaking hands the next day, when Techi and Mona stayed away? I see Hinata being aimed at a more classic idol style that Memi has some trouble reproducing, and which is at least not her strength, so it wouldn't actually surprise me if they were lukewarm toward her, despite her talents. Some Hinata fans certainly are. And I expect the announcement of new members any time, from last year's auditions.

    @MasToppu -- I haven't seen a full enough transcript of her remarks at the grad event after Sunday's handshake event, but reports from people there claim that she said the stalking scared her out of doing handshake and led her to leave the entertainment world. Sponichi. fan reports 1. fan reports 2. I myself am frustrated not to see more reports from the media. Does this mean stalking is so normal that the media don't even mention it? Or is it just that they want firm evidence before they go with a story, especially one that Aki-P would not like to see in print? PLUS: another source.

    Anyway, here's Memi's final blog post, with a couple of other things: https://sakamichinotes.blogspot.com/2019/08/kakizaki-memis-final-blog-post-thank-you.html.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    I've got to say, I like her look for the event: deko-dashi hairstyle and elegant dress. New life, new style?
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2019
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  20. MasToppu

    MasToppu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2016
    Location:
    Nusantara
    Oshimen:
    Kosaka Nao
    Wow. I never thought there were something like that happened. But, I think her decision to leave ent world is correct. At least, it can reduce the public interest to her, which also can lessen stalker interest, although it won't remove these stalkers completely.

    I don't know how these girls dorm system. But, if I have to take reference from kpop idol, there should be in-dorm manager that live in the same apartment/building with them. So, whenever they leave the building, there is an adult that accompanying them, although they have to cover themselves really well, if they're happened to leave building alone. And, for bodyguard, I think that is only provided by the company, when they go for work.
     
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