Watanabe Mayu (Mayuyu) / 3rd Generation

As is being currently discussed in her thread, former AKB and SKE member Sato Sumire (Suuchan) has today announced that she recently became married so maybe Harugon's photo is from her wedding? It's impossible to say for certain because of all the blurring but it might be a plausible explanation.

 

The bride certainly doesn't look like suuchan. Beside, there is no point blurring them if Suuchan and her husband is like flaunting their photos like that

 

That woman is not Mayu (sadly), I just recalled she wore a similar wedding gown in Tatakau! Shoten Girl and no. I even zoomed the picture to check if Mayu's moles were there, and not.

Picture for reference:

Spoiler

I wandered here in slight hopes of rumors, news, anything but no...

 

Isn't that slight bit count as rumor tho?

 

I finally found time to watch these and I really really love these videos! Thanks to the fan who made them and thank you for sharing! I love all of them but especially Labrador Retriever because I actually love this song a lot and I have only good memories of the time when they released this single, I loved everything about it. it's so fresh and cute, the song and clothes, everything ;w; and it's a Mayuyu solo center ;w; I also really love 11-gatsu no Anklet and especially the music video with Mayuyu in the oversized red sweatshirt, she's so beautiful and natural. This song and MV always made me feel nostalgic, even when it was released, the music and the Mayuyu scenes really gave me a nostalgic feeling, a little sad too...

That's funny because a few weeks ago, I also randomly saw this drama on a drama list and it reminded me that there are a lot of Mayuyu dramas that I haven't watched. I'm always late with watching dramas even for my most favorite members, I'm taking forever, it's the same with Mayuyu. But in a way it's maybe a good thing, because now I still have dramas of her to watch, it's not new but for me it will be "new" since I never saw them. Other than the AKB group dramas (like Majisuka etc.) the only drama of her that I watched is Sabadol and I saw it years ago, very long ago, but I loved it so much that I saved it on hard disk and I still have it LOL. I might also rewatch that drama someday. I also have So Long drama saved, I want to rewatch it too, Mayuyu was lead role in the Team A episode. and I have to mention that I personally really liked the season 2 of Majisuka Gakuen where Mayuyu's role was bigger (main). Overall I can say that I really like Mayuyu as actress, I'll definitely watch all of her other dramas someday!

 

Another drama Mayuyu appeared in which I watched in 2015 is 'Tatakau! Shoten Garu' ('Fight! Bookstore Girl'). She played the part of an employee called Kitamura Aki who has ideas about promoting the bookstore in competition with online retailers but it causes disagreements with the store's vice-manager. (One of her colleagues was played by fellow AKB member Kizaki Yuria.) I remember watching it at the time on an online streaming service with English subs but I can't remember which one it was and it doesn't seem to be listed on Viki. Unfortunately I don't think it got very good audience ratings on Fuji TV but I enjoyed seeing Mayuyu and I liked her character in it. (The single she released in 2015 'Deai no Tsuzuki' was the theme music for the drama.)



(Photo source: https://realsound.jp/2015/03/post-2797.html)

 

The ratings were so poor that the show ended early. It was a sad moment in time for Mayu fans.

 

Izuta Rina (CGM48) recently spoke with Mayu, according to her live stream for iAM48:

Source

I'm so happy that Mayuzuna are still in touch! I really liked their interactions back when they were on Team B together, they bonded over common interests and took pics together.

 

My first ever post here. I’m worried about Mayu, so I’m a little bit relieved to hear some good news about her.

Believe it or not, I became a fan of Mayu after her retirement. I’m not a big fan of idol groups, but I heard of Mayu’s name a few years ago. Back then, in my home country, Mayu was occasionally being talked about for looking alike my first and favorite idol (a Taiwanese girl, who was active in the 00s).

After Mayu’s retirement, I was curious about what is going on. Then I found that Mayu is a very serious and hardworking person, e.g. she improved her singing/acting skills a lot over the years, changing my perception about idol group stars. Then I also found that Mayu has the same (rather extreme) introverted personality as me, which is so unexpected and fun for me to discover, so I think I can understand her emotions. And then I found rumors that Mayu had been suffering from mental issues for years, which I believe is true from my observations, and it is really heart-breaking to know that. I feel sympathy for Mayu.

I think you guys must know Mayu more than me, so it is nice to read something about her here. I have a feeling that many of the fans miss Mayu a lot. We all love Mayuyu so much...

 

An AKB48 Team TP member, Lin Yu-Hsin is reportedly a big Watanabe Mayu wannabe. Her love for Mayuyu and AKB48 gave her the motivation to return to TPE48. She adopted her twintail because it had been Mayuyu's signature hairstyle. Some Vietnamese fans say that they see Mayuyu every time they see Lin onscreen.
To me, she is probably Watanabe Mayu MKII.

 

Sorry late to the party, but I've noticed her mole too
The picture that Harugon posted has no distinct mole feature like her.

I also doubt that Harugon would post the pic either since she was retired after all

I haven't fully watch Shoten Girl lmao
It's been 6 years, I always delay it when I want to watch it

 

couldnt put it better myself, agreed on most part, i felt u, its almost like u voiced out my own opinion. lol

i alrdy past that phase, but indeed i would be lying if i'd say it didnt left some memory of bitterness. yeah.. start from kokoro no placard to the end of 2015 was rough journey (esp on this site lol), but that time was also the time when i find mayu was at her most shining/brightest era, she looks rlly pretty and dazzling. It was her busiest year and she get tons of opportunites too, from strarring in golden-hour drama, to MC show, to individual CM, etc. Trully one of the most gifted years for me as mayu's fan.

being mayu fan is such a journey, and i trully cherish that dearly. and i think all mayu fans would agree on that, no one in akb history had so much character development as much as mayu. *sorry if it sound too abstract bc i just too lazy to writes rn*.

that little girl who onces said that she'll become hikikomori if she hadnt joined AKB is now remembered as one of the most iconic idol in japanese history, every so often, even after her retirement, her name alwys appears everytime ppl talks about orthodox idol or what perfect idol should look like, and that is her legacy. and i'm rlly proud of that.

i myself has stopped visiting this site after mayu grad, but i alwys comeback to this thread once or two a year just to check out stuff. Esp when its near her birthday, and here i am, H-2 of her birthday (and her birthday is still the only idol birthday that i could remember), almost shocked to death to found a post saying that she alrdy married lol wth.

anyway..

u prolly missed out a lot of stuff @GTR but if i could reccomend u something, pls at least check her newest stuff in which she starred in NHK asadora drama. its from 2019, and she look rlly pretty there

 

This is really weird and I only just remembered this because I got a notification for this thread – but I actually had a dream about Mayu lmao. I was watching an AKB48 concert and Mayu appeared, even though it wasn't anything grand (in reality, I don't expect to see her again until Yukirin's gradcon). But yeah, everyone online was losing their minds over it lmao.

Mayu was never among my favourites because I love the expressive idols, the ones who are loud and force you to pay attention to them because they're super in your face. Mayu was quiet and sweet. I can appreciate it and now that she's gone, I miss her as an AKB48 member, but she was just too quiet to really reel me in.

Unfortunately, I also think that Mayu's center songs are among the most boring AKB48 singles. I genuinely dislike Halloween Night, Jabaja and High Tension because they're too rAnDoM, but I just think Kokoro no Placard, Labrador Retriever and old ballads like Sakura no Shiori / Sakura no Ki ni Narou are a bit too slow and boring for me.

One of my favourite singles of all time is UZA, and as far as I know, Mayu was planned as an original centre for this single. I would have loved that for her, because I respect and appreciate her, so it's a shame she didn't get it. I wonder if Aki-P was just playing it safe with her, which is a shame.

 

Just remember that I wanted to share this here. This year on 11th March was the 10th year since the 2011 earthquake, and for this, AKB uploaded a 1h40 video where there is around 1 hour compilation of past charity events of AKB. what surprised me is how much they show Mayuyu during this video, and it made me so happy, because recently during a TV show where they talked about Kami 7, they used pictures for all members except Mayuyu and used a drawing for her, so I was sad and worried that they might never show Mayuyu again. Maybe it's because that was on TV, or maybe it was a decision of the TV show because she retired... I'm glad to see that AKB still show past videos of Mayuyu just fine and they show her so much!


if the video does not show watch the video here

Among all the parts where she appeared, there is a very touching moment where a woman asked Tomochin, Mayuyu and others to visit her deceased son's altar because he was a fan ._. There's another moment where Mayuyu meets the little girl who appeared with her in the past on a promotional pamphlet, this moment is just adorable it made me really happy to see Mayuyu a lot again so for those of you who miss her, I really recommend watching this video. it's also worth watching just to see all the charity that AKB did through the years...

 

Happy Birthday Mayuyu!

 

Happy Birthday Mayuyu ~

 

Happy Birthday Mayuyu!!!​

 

Happy birthday to Mayuyu! Ah! Wonder if you still like others calling you “Mayuyu”, or just Mayu-chan? Life is so complicated, isn’t it? It is so wonderful to meet you, knowing your character is like looking at myself through a mirror! Your struggles and sadness will be understood. Although it is sad that we can no longer share the joy and tears with you, I genuinely have the belief that the smart, diligent and kind-hearted Mayu-chan will find happiness slowly and quietly! No matter where you are, Mayuyu will always have a place in my heart, and I will always be one of your biggest fan.

 

Happy, happy birthday to the one and only Mayuyu, wherever you are!