Single Sakurazaka 2nd [BAN] (2021/04/14)

Omotta yori MV premiers at 5PM JST today

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

narrow minded much ??

 

Just a matter of taste I guess. To which I agree from time to time.
I like Hikaru very much and she's the kind of girl who is just natural driven.
Whatever she does, she does well, and there're moments on stage or under the spotlight she's just perfect.
Then she's not.
And I'm still trying to understand why. Where's the switch.

This said, I just saw Ten song MV.
I liked the song enough, the music feels very much like Ten lol
The mv made it better though. It's clear the girls are having fun and the MV feels like freedom. I already saw people comparing it with keyaki mvs but I'll leave that to you guys.

Probably this will be my favorite song on this single, but I still hope 3rd single will give us THE song... or at least one song that will make the group more recognizable and start pushing it outside the fandom bubble. I don't think 2nd single has it, even though a LGBT song is always going to bring people's attention.

 

Funny bc I prefer Hikaru as a center to any of Techi's center songs post Fukyouwaon (honorable mention to Hiraishin). I guess it is all a matter of taste but sometimes it feels like people are being too harsh on Hikaru.

Ten's video is really nice. Video wise they all seem to be an improvement from Nobody's Fault.

 

Very busy video, requires at lot of viewings to catch all the details going on! LOL. The song is OK, that last dance has a hint of Fukyouwaon in it. Ten-chan improving her facial expressions.
I know the video is centered around Ten (obviously), but why I couldn't take my eyes off Risa? After Ten, she stood out the most. Ahh, gorgeous Risa!

 

yea definitely hard on her because if Hikaru was taller I bet there would be next to zero complaints

 

I hadn't thought of that. Probably true. I think of Hikaru as the heart of the group, with her strength, personality, and ability. But her height means she's either at centre or hard to place. She's in a shopping cart pushed by Mii-chan and Karin at around 45-50 seconds in this video, lol.

Nice MV. Pleasant atmosphere. The video makes me like the song more, even though (as usual) it is hard to see everything/everyone clearly. Risa gets lots of screen time and looks good. Is that Ten-chan climbing the telephone pole? Ten-chan keeps growing in presence and ability. Such a strong voice. Step by step. Love her loose-limbed dancing. I still like Karin's song best, for various reasons (liking for Karin, her amazing dance and acting, the group dancing, the melody, its words, the MV story).

Fumi Diary already has the location: Miho Airfield in Shizuoka, on a peninsula east of Shizuoka City.

 

The best thing that could happen as if the 2nd single sales are down from previous single. S&F has been spoiled by Keyaki's fast success and they haven't worked as hard as they have shown pre-Kazeni era.

And the ones who will react the most on sales is Sony Music Group. Based on the MV views alone the general public is waiting for "that" song. Plus S&F is making consumers feel fed up with mainly group songs without unit, duo, solo and even band.

As of now, S&F isn't trying hard enough. Aki-P doesn't even seems to have passion to write a very strong song. For my taste recently all the good songs have gone to 22/7. The CD jacket being too similar to Nobofa in style and color gives me vibes of complacement from S&F.

 

I say that she cute but you only see i say that she small. You are the narrow minded one. There are alot of center that cute and small in another 46/48group like Ikoma, Mayuyu, Yuko. If i cant feel her aura then that is my taste problem. People cant post about what they feel now?

 

you literally said she has no centre aura because she’s small and cute. Does that sound like a compliment to you? Don’t act dense. It sounds narrow minded and close to obnoxious. If you didn’t know I’ll let you know now; Hikaru doesn’t want to be called cute when it comes to her performances. You can have your “tastes” but don’t act dense.

 

Watching the Omatta Yori MV, someone heard me about getting the girls white Dr. Martens.

 

Lmao you need to read again what i say that "i cant feel her aura" not "she has no aura". That is 2 totally different things since feeling can change in the future. And what you say that i denied/ never gonna accept her aura. Dont need to put your words in my mouth. And im calling her cute because she is cute. The end.

 

I think runrun has shown her cool side more than enough times in both keyaki and sakura so if people still choose not to see that then.... it's your loss.

Personally I'm happy with this single, but it does feel kinda similar to Nobofa, so I do hope we get a complete switch up for the 3rd single, bringing back the units, rotating the center and sakura8. This formation has been the same since the groups debut so i think a proper shake up would be welcomed now. As for their sales, I fear it will also remain stagnant if the group doesn't utilize social media like their sister groups. They don't have IRL handshake events or live concerts to help boost their popularity (which was ultimately keyaki's strongest trait that gained them fans), so I'd like management to properly set the girls up with more online content. Do a cute tik tok song relay or let the girls take over the twitter account for an hour just to chat, more presence on instagram.. maybe girls who reach a certain amount of HS sold outs or sakura8/ popular members can join insta? We're still in a pandemic so i'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they're a bit lost on how to gain more fans, but social media is the bare minimum for fan interaction and SNF/Sony prove with the sister groups that they can do it so..... Another random thing but, their name on spotify is in kanji whereas nogi and hina's are in english.. changing that might make it easier for new fans to find them.

 

Runrun is currently the center of the singles and hell yeah, she's doing a good job at it, no one can tell me otherwise. Why can't we accept that? We have tastes, yes but is that the real issue here? or is it something else? I literally read somewhere that they can't believe a short girl like runrun was chosen for center and I was very shocked to hear that. Are we bringing the, excuse me, kpop mentality to jpop now? Isn't the reason why Aki-P's idols are different, that they are girls anyone can meet and find themselves in them? Give a common person some reason? So what if Hikaru is short and as is put, due to that, her presence isn't felt? That is just rude! There are short ppl in JP as well as the world and seeing a girl like them holding an important position in the senbatsu is a motivation. When she was chosen as center in 1st single, ppl were complimenting her power and presence even tho she looks small. In all her performances as center, I never see anyone overshadow her. So what is with this kind of approach towards her?
Ppl are being harsh on her without giving her the chance or really looking at her and i feel such ppl can only accept those who look like Techi but this isn't the keyaki we knew. This is Sakurazaka46 and they are the same girls but different. If we can focus on them as sakurazaka and not see them through the eyes we saw keyaki, I think we will come to see how big she is even though physically she isn't as well as the strength of the other members.
Also their main two songs literally have lyrics that every person can relate too, same as all their main singles in Keyaki so saying you can't relate it to keyaki is kinda strange. But anyway, im not one to say so, hopefully you find the song you really want one day

 

OK 2nd single triplet... I was waiting for all three in order to get a solid idea of how this group is developing. My verdict is, well, perplexed.

All 3 songs are at high level and likeable. As a whole I would say there was no substantial progress after the 1st single but I would admit that the audience still has to digest the new key elements of the group, is that so?

Or not? Speaking of new elements there are (i could find two) but are well-hidden: What we see? We still get a picture of a group like those three-headed totems of the native-American tribes, the explosive, the soothing and the genki. This time BAN was the explosive, guuzen the soothing and omotta yori the genki. All three are OK, on-par or a bit better than the 1st single but still...

I do not complain about not receiving yet THE song. I recognize that, even if we get it, many people would fail to recognize it simply because there is Silent Majority. And that would be a pity because a new masterpiece is usually failing in comparison with an existing masterpiece. That is why we should take fans' reactions (even ours) with a bit of salt.

Now speaking about the three songs: For the 1st single my order of preference was Naze koi > Nobofa > Buddies. This time is BAN = Omotta yori >>> Guuzen.

Before you crucify me I have to say that Guuzen made me cry! Guuzen for me is only two things: Unanticipating pain for the black void of Rikopi and Karin. No music, no dance, no MV. All these faint in comparison with the first listening of Karin's sweet voice saying "Riko..." and seeing a different person and not our Rikopi. All this faint in comparison with Karin's presence, Karin's performance, Karin's overwhelming aura that permeates the whole video. A great actress was born guys...! If Karin's career in acting hasn't started with this MV then there is something wrong with people and this world sucks! Seriously, this girl is something great. Apart from that, the song started with a very nice melody that grasped my interest only to fade quickly behind the story, the acting and a melody that in the process developed rather flatly and with no noticeable points (according to my tastes - no need to crucify me).

Oh how I wish Rikopi would have made just a bit more patience. What made this song so moving is that "in retrospect" acceptance of Rikopi's unrequited love for Karin. What a bitter irony! Also here is one of the new elements: this song is a natural continuation of "Naze koi" and a psychograph for the new emerging iconic persona of the group: Karin. Naze? This is why...

BAN is not THE song but still it's a winner. There are several giga-Joule of energy in that song. The frenzied dance reminded me of Ambivalent one of my very favorites and the MV was of TOP quality, one of the very best in the whole Sakamichi productions. My Morita: A tigress you don't want to mess with her, was not the center of gravity as she was in Nobofa, yet her presence was omnipotent. The fiery song that carried over a Sakurazaka trend(?) with flamingo guitars is one I like very much and that does not tire me to listen again and again.

Omotta yori: Now that is fresh and new! The whole song is the second new element (and quite a novelty if you ask me). C'mon guys, this "road-movie/western style/rural gang" concept is completely new and the music is also unique for Sakamichi. It sounds like a production of those dozens of small indie Japanese rock groups that produce precious little musical gems. So youthful, fresh and reviving! Although the video is a mess to look at (way too fast paced even for the usual Aki-P group videos, where you cannot even focus on the faces of the girls) it speaks volumes about how much fun the girls might have had shooting it. Song and MV are mood-makers and Ten chan shows how much she has grown: Ten-chan is carrying the group, is a front-face, is herself (soooooo different than Tecchi), is creating her own persona (as Tecchi did) and she has proven that she owns the future. If BAN was even at a little bit less overwhelming Omotta could have been my number 1 for this single.

 

I just wanna say on the subject of short people I am 100% with Randy Newman.

 

Here are the 12-hour→24hr YouTube views for all six MVs:

Nobafo -- 508K→758万
Naze Koi -- 559K→830K
Buddies -- 412K→563K

B A N -- 421K→589K
Guukota -- 294K→424K
Omosabi -- 297K→370K
(source)
Yes, I'm worried. I hope @Rev4 is right: "The best thing that could happen is if the 2nd single sales are down from previous single. S&F has been spoiled by Keyaki's fast success and they haven't worked as hard as they have shown pre-Kazeni era." I am worried about public acceptance, and worried that the only thing that caught Aki_P's attention with Keyaki was Hirate. Two versions of Nogizaka is already a stretch. Sakurazaka has to have something more different from Nogi and Hinata, but also from Keyaki.

As disgusted as I am, I can understand people reacting negatively to a yuri song. And Guukota has less starry choreo than Naze Koi. But the size of the drop in all cases seems extreme, especially when I am used to the way Keyaki started, jumping significantly with every release. The group has not caught the pubic imagination, and is struggling to keep its old fans, is how it seems to me. For no reason, in my opinion, since I think this group is better than the original Keyaki (in 2016) -- except for Hirate and a great song.

I know I'm biased, but for me Karin has almost as much potential as Techi did in the beginning, aside from a less assured voice. I like the quality of Karin's voice, but it is not as strong. The acting and expression we have seen in her two MVs have been a revelation, and the dance is at the top, close to Suzumoto in sharpness and exactness and superior to her in gracefulness. Hii-chan and Ten-chan are also excellent dancers, in their own more forceful and less graceful styles, and have stronger voices.

 

Views is decreased of course but when it comes to mainstream idols, it's more about sales than views. Public awareness of the groups count but how mich are they participating in sales? Also, recently I noticed there is also a decline in nogi's views so maybe it has to do with youtube itself or that the corona situation at the moment got everyone sorta tired? In all, we can't judge by the views on youtube but by sales. My only hope is that they do well in sales

 

Yeah, Nogizaka's views for the latest single weren't that impressive, but Hinatazaka had great views for Azato Kawaii. I don't expect sales to be an improvement from Nobody's Fault, I wouldn't be surprised if they sold less. Hopefully this leads S&F to do an overhaul of the Sakura concept and to stop experimenting with Sakurazaka.

 

Hinata MV dropped before YouTube started bugging out. YouTube freezing views for kpop mvs isn’t new but for jpop is. The main reason why views for nogi and sakuzaka were slow.