[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

Also Inori seems to be appearing more often, whether in variety shows or Saku activities, which is good for her as she is one of the better looking ones. Hope to see her in a drama or something. Btw, Runrun should appear more too.

 

The more I watch Omotenashikai, the more I feel like 3ki is a mix of (former?)buddies, sakura legacy, and something else more similar to old AKBstyle than Sakamichi, and it feels like a very much needed "evolution" at this point.
(Comparing 3kis to AKB is not bad in my opinion since some of AKB former members still held a place in my heart no matter the outcome of their choiches, or mine.)

I think one of their bigger strength is that each member personality is immediately recognizable.
My guess is that Sakurastaff chose each one carefully, making sure every member would fill their own space (and presumably hit their own target).
If a group is powerful as their weakest member, we are very, very, lucky right now.
Also, this gives the group as whole a strong identity.

On the other hand this open up tons of questions about what's gonna happen from now on.
The comparision between keyaki and 3ki @ukifune did and @Philosophy Senpai answer made me think a lot.

I believe having only 11 people instead of 20 created a stronger bond in a shorter time.
It's them against the world since the start, with a very real standard to reach (their seniors) and expectations to not disappoint (buddies'). Even the late comers were there since day one and the group just supported them instead of running ahead.
(Even because Yu and Shizuki may be the ones running faster than others lol)

The only problem now is that this fabulous balance is gonna break soon.

Back when 2ki was entering Sakura I thought they could have made a new group easily.
3ki is the same; they may be even better actually.
They are so complete as a group, they could just debut on their own and succeed.
But they are part of Sakura and this means the whole Senbatsu/Backs stuff I love so little and the natural division it will bring. Members will keep supporting each other the way we saw Akiho and the rest of 2ki support Rena, but it will never be the same. I think Natsu no Chikamichi will always be the higher point 3kis as whole is gonna reach.
Which is not bad at all, since it's already a serious contender for my favorite Sakura song, but still... I want more! lol

So I was wondering... couldn't we have like 2 senbatsu in the same old style and then a only 3ki senbatsu for 8th single or something?

Kidding aside, I hope mngmnt planned more for 3kis than the usual route... if wotas or not-fans are getting into them, capitalizing this new interest may be indispensable to push Sakura up.
and yeah... I want more of them together! lol
I feel this will become my new mantra from now on

 

Is 3rd gen then a bit too homogenous? Maybe. That can be good or bad. Good because they are at a higher standard as a group (In a way, it may force 2ki and even 1ki to not let themselves be overrun by the "new kids" on the block). It can be bad since as they say, variety is the spice of life.

 

What a great "assist" for scoring! OK, do you want me to be provocative? Do you want me to express some "unpopular opinions"? Would you like to have me say things that have passed through our minds but are oh so NOT politically correct to mention?

I will do so... Please have in mind that me myself I don't believe what will follow. But still I have to get into the shoes of the "devil's attorney" even if this is just for the fun of it...

Well here we go: What if, I repeat, what if, management selected a bunch of truly super-duper girls so as to delegate them the task of saving Sakurazaka? What if, despite all efforts, Sakurazaka just "didn't get the knack" to penetrate the market and reach the whatever high anticipated levels? What if, despite all the girls' efforts, 1ki were already burned out and 2ki were "running out of fuel"? What if the co-existence of 1ki and 2ki all these 3-4 years was "dropping the average". And then: Let's recruit some uber girls, present them (for the first time as with such a documentary) as the struggling group, the group that "would not stand on the stage together with their senpais unless they work their bu$$ off", so as to make the senpais look so great and at the same time achieve a self-fulfilled prophecy since the 11 new girls would DEFINITELY prove to be so good (OMG Yu is almost a pro-dancer). And then: "try to surpass your senpais" (because this is the only way the group can move on)...

OK I can carry on (you get the point with just that and if I do continue I'll start hating myself) but what I have writen so far make my own heart ache... No, I don't believe what I say, after all it's the senpais that support songs like BAN, Samidare-yo, Nagaredama and my favourite Masatsukeishu with their crazy, hellish dance moves... I would be super happy if you all say to me that there is absolutely not the slightest bit of truth on what I just said, but my sado-mazochistic self just had to emerge and put a finger on a point hoping that there is NO wound there and that there will be no pain following...

 

Thats a hard question. With what they've shown, some of them are eligible to be saku8/center in saku's next single. Besides it would be really interesting to see them standing as an equal with 1ki & 2ki right away instead of an "addition". They certainly needed to introduce themselves with natsuchika but I'd like to see them integrated in sakurazaka on the next single, even if part of me still want to see the 11 girls bonding. The saku8 system wont do them justice so I do hope they review it

 

@techizaka before writing the post I thought about having next single with a 3kis w-center, but that too would feel like a waste of the potential the whole gen has. Of course, my hope to have a 3ki snebatsu song is a provocation too; I know staff will never do it, fans wouldn't appreciate it and previous generations would be angry about it (and rightly so), still, it is a good dream to dream while we wait for next single.

@Philosophy Senpai you put in words so many of my thoughts I have nothing to add, except.. sometime to have those thoughts, make those connections. comes with a side of guilt towards 1 and 2 kis. I guess the only reason we are not fighting against tons of other buddies is because we are really few around here lately, but we still pay the price with ourselves.

 

...true that. We are made to feel guild after accepting that the whole thing (of castrating 20 girls because one happened to be more charismatic and leading a unique group into implosion) was "Nobody's fault". <OK this is the last time I say repeat this, I promise>

... this is because we happen to love this group (1ki and 2ki) so much that our emerging love for the new girls seems almost... illegal! <and referring to the buddies community, we are definitley like the two old guys in Muppet show>

 

LMAO
I'm not that old, but yeah

 

if the video does not show watch the video here

What show will they be appearing on ?

 

The more I read these excellent posts, the more confused I get. Give the 3ki their own song on the next album, but keep the senbatsu 1ki-2ki? Integrate a few 3ki into the senbatsu? Make a supersenbatsu of the best 15 or so dancers/singers/beauties/fishers from all three generations?

I do think Sakurazaka needs a bit of a reboot to reach the heights it can. Bring back Bugbear? Maybe we're in a stage of bringing all the girls together and letting them create their own style. I keep recalling Aki-P's statement he lets groups determine their own style. I have the 2015 early promo publication in which the Keyaki girls were presented in a mix of Nogi/AKB style. Somehow he decided in the end that they (and especially Techi) were more suited to a song and MV like SaiMajo. And the construction/destruction of Keyaki began.

The 3kis, by their own nature or by instruction, seem a lot more comfortable with fanservice than either of the first two generations. And they seem to start at a higher level of skill. Sakurazak is certainly dance-centric, at least, even though they are dancing too fast for my taste. I don't care how fast they move, I want them to move with beauty and energy.

I love how much Takahiro and the teachers emphasized that the girls had to sing, and had to understand the lyrics as they danced and sang them. It's like there is a serious meaning behind every song to be embodied in performance. Maybe that is the basic nature of Keyaki/Sakura?

But really I came here to post this photo, from a feature in Ray magazine last May:


Karin and Hikaru are in Ray again this month, but this photo has shown up in a Japanese post.

 

I've read all the recent posts. I think we all have gotten too excited with the 3rd gen, and gotten a little ahead of ourselves in the process. Not all of them have even been introduced in Sokosaku yet! I for one would like to know the 3rd gen better, let the dust settle a bit, and then we'll see.

 

Paruru ?

 

Maybe we need to bring Dr. Paru back...

 

I couldn't see anyone else except Paruru in the middle Am I wrong? ... or This is Hono?

 

It's Ray magazine (my mistake) and they say it's Hono. Photos can lie, lol.

 

You are right.. and yet I think we can't help ourselves.

Uncounsciously, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, because everytime mngmnt does something good, they also manage to take the wrong turn as soon as possible.
Yet, I'm also aware this is a lesson I will never really learn lol

3kis took me on a high I won't to get down from right now. And even if hard times are unavoidable, it's a good thing to hope and wonder and dream on these girls sake, while you work and hope and dream for your own life.
We are still walking together,

and I pretty much love it.

 

Very difficult to oshi any girl from 3ki... Take for example Airi: apart from being super pretty and kawaii her "nananana, nananana" while peeling the egg made me giggle like a baby. Yuzu in her grandmother's furisode was breathtaking, Nagisa that bright laughing sun, reminding me my piano repertoire while I was studying this instrument, the babiest of the babies Riko or the munchkin kitten Shizuki and and and...

However for me the die is cast: I love them all but I regard my sweet, sensitive, hard-fighting oneesan Rika and my Black Panther Miu as my favourites. I know that Rika will maybe never get the recognition of some other girls, but for me she has "won the game" already, by owning BAN. I apologize to my sweet Hikaru but I think that noone will ever see BAN again in the same old way, she has put her own mark on it IRREVOCABLY (at least this happens to me when, whenever I want to watch Ambivalent, I always see the Miimbivalent version of "online live"). She will become the fragile but dependable big-sister, the other Rika, the first one, tried but never achieved. Like my other queen, Nogizaka's Terepan, being the older, they both have the shortest expected lifespan of idol-career and I do hope and pray that they both make the most out of it, squeeze the hell out of the happy moments being an idol can offer and make beautiful memories, while staying as long as possible with us.

As for Miu, I sense such a power within that slender silhouette, that expressive face with corners, those bright brown eyes and that crooked mischievous smile, that every brain cell of mine screams that I have to support her and hold my breath waiting to see great things from her. For a moment, when the two "mystery" last members were revealed, I had the urge to start supporting also Yu (Shizuki = Riko = baby so I see them as cute babies), having also an interesting face and being a great dancer but somehow Miu is far more mysterious.

Miu is an elf... And I like elves! And if that elf happens to be an elven Queen then it's even better for me.

The Sunday to come will be super interestring. I am so much looking forward to it. I bet that Miu will be introduced by Kira herself, being the first 3ki to appoint herself as a Kirakid right from her docu...

 

I'm grateful to Jsprite for suggesting a bit of realistic restraint. But it's true for me, too, that I find that very difficult. The 3kis are just so talented (and now trained) as performers and fascinating as personalities.

It occurs to me that this is now the real reboot of Keyakizaka. It was hard on the 2kis that our love/pity for the bruised and battered 1kis made it hard to totally accept the 2kis at first, invading the holy ground. And of course hard on the 1kis that Techi's prominence kept them shadowed, even after her departure.

The 3kis may be the first group I could ever imagine going hako-oshi for. Miu and Airi captivated me from the start, but one by one all the others have done the same. The only member I have some reservations about may be the most talented: Shizuki. Yuu mentioned in a talk session in the Omotenashikai that she was tsundere, and that resonated with my view of Shizuki as hard and ambitious, a kind of fake cutie-pie. But also fascinating, I must say. My previous oshimen -- Mon, Memi and Karin -- have all had a bit of a harsh and selfish side that I enjoyed and approved of, lol.

 

...And after checking out that Ray magazine article, that girl on the left is Morita (I could swear she was Airi all made up). BTW, I didn't know Honosu could pull that worried-face look, Paruru-style.

 

For the new Borderless sequel drama, wouldn't it be good if Inori appeared in it ? So far it seems she has not tried acting yet. She is really an underrated 2nd gen.