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

Another Year, Another Election Massacre

Discussion in 'General NMB48 Discussion' started by joooooooooe, Jun 17, 2018.

  1. tzatziki2

    tzatziki2 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2017
    "アイドル不毛の地" or 'idol desert/barren land' because Osaka had few Japanese idol groups prior to NMB48, and the small number they did have weren't really successful. Probably a combination of both Osakans just not being particularly interested in idols (culture is a bit different there compared to Tokyo and Nagoya) and lower purchasing power / Osakan frugality (hence why NMB's theater tickets are cheaper). When people first heard Aki-P was planning to make an idol group in Osaka they actually thought it would fail.
    https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/59367?page=3
    https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMB48#地域性

    Hence the lyrics to Fumo no Tochi wo Mankai ni (In Full Bloom on Barren Land): http://stage48.net/studio48/fumounotochiwomankaini.html

    They kept on telling us
    that flowers wouldn't bloom here
    For all the water and light we provide,
    we never see the sight of flower petals

    But we still dream,
    believing that a miracle will come someday

    Sweat, wipe your sweat!
    Pierce the earth with song and dance
    from your brow
    Pour in your love and passion!
    In full bloom on this desolated land

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2018
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  2. souchan48

    souchan48 Future Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 8, 2013
    Location:
    Oshimen: Amami Yuki
    Oshimen:
    takahashiminami
    do you even have to care abt ssk thou? i would even suggest the girls to stop participating in ssk.
    nmb, in comparison to other sister groups were quiTe egaliterian in terms of pushing? and tbh, they have highest power to give the members external job... external job is more important than rank in ssk, tbh :')
     
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  3. tzatziki2

    tzatziki2 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2017
    Oops I bullied them into deleting their post. I feel bad now :(
    I'm sorry! Come back!
     
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  4. honeyNUT

    honeyNUT Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2014
    Oshimen:
    watanabemiyuki
    Twitter:
    satominameme
    The sad thing abt NMB in SSK is lots of key members dropping like flies while the new bloods got little time to solidify their fanbase. In other sister groups like SKE & NMB, most of the new gen girls took some time till they actually rank (NakoMiku, Ryoha, Rara) but they still have their key players while those members get a grip, while in NMB, girls are pushed, finally getting a grip, but then leaves (Shuu, Ririka, Fuuchan) and also losing their key players (SayaMilky, Nana, Keicchi, Ripopo, Macchun(?))

    Also, NMB is more appealing to casual fans? Loke sure they like NMB but they ain’t hardcore, or just hardcore Sayanee fans

    I hope Sayanee participates next year tbh
     
  5. joooooooooe

    joooooooooe Member Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2011
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Twitter:
    OsakaJooooooooe
    We say this every year, but we can't deny that the girls feel bad for not ranking or dropping immensely, and in some way it does represent our feelings towards them. If they want something and we can't give it to them, then we kind of suck as a fan community.

    Furthermore, it doesn't even look like we cared, which looks bad on them, because it's like we're openly denying something they wanted. Even if it showed that we cared then it wouldn't be so bad.

    ---

    I'd also like to say that this isn't post about NMB being dead. Far from it, the events are quite healthy and I think this should just be limited to sousenkyo performance.

    It's really just the fact that established NMB senbatsu girls are losing to random sister group kenkyuusei, making me feel bad that we're never going to get that same kind of random low-tier girl with a decent rank feeling, nor does it feel like we can even compete with our senbatsu.
     
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  6. minaeshi

    minaeshi Next Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2014
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Oshimen:
    Morita Hikaru
    Twitter:
    minaeshit
    THIS is what infuriated me the most about the elections. The amount of KKS members from other sister groups who ranked in or higher than our Senbatsu girls who have been here for years. It's not even a slap in the face at that point, it's literally watching the girls get body slammed onto the SSK stage. I've got absolutely no clue why Japanese NMB fans don't want to vote for their favorite members. All I know is, if I had an oshimen who wanted to rank in, if I could afford to do so I would try my best to save up and give her that rank, not let her drop.
    I truly wonder where the hell Miru, Uuka and Saepii's votes disappeared to. As frustrating as it is to see Nagisa so stagnant, I'd rather see her in the same position then ranking down dramatically. What it does show is that while her fans are consistent, she's not gaining any new fans.

    i think the fan community is definitely a problem within NMB. The most obvious one being for campaigns. How often do you see an election campaign for an NMB member? The only ones i used to see years ago were for Sayanee and Milky. You know how many I saw this year? One. And it was Akari herself who hosted it. If more fans rallied to get their favorites, or certain members to rank up/in, it would motivate more people to vote as well as they feel like their votes are going to make a difference. Until NMB fans bother to do this, I don't see them improving anytime soon.
     
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  7. flutterbyu

    flutterbyu Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2009
    Oshimen:
    Okada Nana
    Do you realize that the majority of the KKS who ranked are first generation NGT members who were promoted between filing for candidacy and the actual election when NGT added Team G? They've been here just as long as any other NGT girl. Of the other three, two are STU who do not have any teams yet, and just two girls to represent that entire sister group, one of whom is almost at the bottom of the rank, isn't a ton. The last one is Okada Miku of SKE who has also already been promoted to Team S before the election.

    I agree that the low number of NMB members ranking is really sad and frustrating, but other than maybe Miku (who is not even a KKS anymore really) these weren't just "random" newbies ranking.
     
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  8. sakurappu

    sakurappu Next Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2015
    Location:
    Chaldea
    Oshimen:
    idol!Sayaka ✈️ singer!Sayaka
    Twitter:
    sakurappu_
    I think the main problem is NMB girls constantly got a job by Yoshimoto, at least either YNN's xxx presents series or Kawaiian TV show. By appearing in YNN/Kawaiian TV regularly, fans start thinking "Why I should voting my girl a lot when my girl often appears in YNN tho?" thus they vote less for girls while thinking "It's okay they didn't rank, at least they still get job in YNN show". It's different with other group girls who only do theater regularly with zero exposure hence there's a lot of "unknown" girls got ranked in SSK. For those who don't know, the members who didn't participated in SSK have appeared in Kawaiian TV live show at same time with SSK.

    Question: Regarding members, who has the best "unique" personality among... 5th gen? Because I think their personality didn't attract me at all. The only 5th gen member that attract me is Reechan/Reicchi -but thats because her body :fear:
     
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  9. Rukuya

    Rukuya Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jul 29, 2017
    Oshimen:
    okadanana
    But the problem is they themselves as a generation haven't really recieved any variety shows. No one is going YNN or Kawaiian Tv if all they do is talk or walk around. And what makes it worse is that the only subbed NMB show is Geinin which mostly requires raw video and sub file to watch subbed. Now thinking about it, it is almost impossible to get into NMB without getting used to the other group first.

    Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk
     
  10. EinhanderX

    EinhanderX Next Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2015
    I'll just throw a question I asked year ago,

    "Is there any NMB48 fanbase meeting review (Especially in this month) that each of you know of?"

    Last year, I got a word that Jo Eriko fanbase is organizing something. This year, she rank.

    I'm pretty sure it's no mere coincidence.
     
  11. zeroshiki

    zeroshiki Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    Oshimen:
    aaabbbccc
    You'd be surprised at how disorganized most fangroups are. I know, for example, that Miru and Yuuri's groups are super disorganized while Saepii's barely exist at this point. Almost all of their rank is because of outside people voting for them.
    Uuka, on the other hand, has a really strong group but the problem with her is the lack of support from outside.
     
  12. Konno A.

    Konno A. Future Girls

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2014
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Oshimen:
    ichikawamiori
    As I've mentioned before, NMB fans are weirdo's lol. There is no solidarity. Honestly Milky and Sayaka were the only two in NMB that had NMB fans gathered together and with Sayaka just hanging around chilling and doing her thing NMB fans aren't exactly up in arms about SSK. Yukirin seems way more invested to try to get people to notice younger AKB members. Sayaka is just like, "Yo, NMB exists, but also, I don't care cause I got solo shit, but NMB pays me well too." Milky left and she doesn't talk about NMB. Not many seem that close in NMB; like look at HKT's solidarity compared to NMB's because they were created in similar time frame. And let's not forget Ririka's major scandal last year. NMB-member right. Not a good look for the group after fans tried hard to get a member to rank.

    U know what's interesting? NMB has no senior member who takes charge. Akarin and Miru are first gen members and like they act as if they're newbies around town. Other first gen-members seem absent. I mean NMB has no Jurina, or Okada Nana, or Yui Yokoyama. They don't have a yukirin or a Sasshi. NMB really only had Sayaka and Milky and both were so done with NMB lol. Management isn't all too much better tbh. They had something back in 2014 with NMB, but it just went bad after. I don't like putting pressure on Sayaka and she really shouldn't be pressured, but if she's unhappy about how NMB is I think she needs to get back into the swing of things and take charge. Jurina is SKE's #1, but we don't ignore Nao, Sally, Churi, Minarun, etc...fans remember them too.
     
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  13. convenience93

    convenience93 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Location:
    Malaysia
    Oshimen:
    Jang Wonyoung
    @Konno A.
    Erm are you implying that Sayaka doesn't care about NMB just because she hasn't been taking part in SSK?
    And by "NMB getting back into the swing of things", do you mean fans throwing all their money towards SSK just so that the members may be happy with a superficial rank?

    I'm not saying SSK is bad entirely, but I'm sure we can all agree the system is a messed up piece of crap that's really only around for the profit of management since the people who do well are the ones with the fans that are loaded. Really only some of the top girls have the balance of both the rich fans and actual popularity.

    It's sad because as long as the girls are in 48G, most of them feel pressured to still take part and go through that unnecessary emotional rollercoaster.

    That being said, Sayaka is kind of doing things her own way though. She did mention in her book, Subete no Riyuu, that the reason she stopped taking part in elections and went off to seriously pursue her solo career was yes, it had always been her dream, but also to open a door for the other members in showing them it was possible to achieve your goals while still being an idol in NMB48. Yoshida Akari/Akarin basically did the same thing too by working on her video editing skills, and diligently uploading Youtube videos on her channel regularly.

    And none of this was an overnight effort. In both Sayaka's and Akarin's cases, both these things took years to even come into fruition. It's something they always worked towards, and that's fair enough because SSK isn't and shouldn't be the only thing the girls remain fixated on.

    And since you brought this up, I'll share what Sayaka said in her mail in regards to the recent election results (translation only).

    Here you go.

    "And then there were the elections.

    From NMB, 9 people ranked in.

    Honestly, just words alone isn't sufficient to express how I feel about that result.

    While there are members who are rejoicing over the results, there are also members who are left with frustration.

    While there are members that are smiling happily, there are members that are shedding tears.

    It's fine to be satisfied with how things are. That's not something I would ever say, but as I've been watching over the members, I can't really say anything now anyway.

    I'm elated for members like Rei-chan and Koko-chan that ranked in for the first time.
    But it's also really true that it's heartbreaking seeing members like Miru, Uuka and Saeppi crying.
    I can barely stand watching their tears.

    But the members, regardless of whether they fall into the former or the latter, what struck out to me most was the way the members held themselves back from crying despite their frustrations and sufferings. More than anything else, they prioritised conveying their thankfulness to the fans. That was really amazing of them.

    For at this season, the fans are having an equally hard time too.

    Also, without the fans, us members wouldn't be here either.

    The members were fully aware of that fact, and prioritised the fans above anything else. I love the members, and I'm so proud of them.

    Even the members who were unable to go up onto stage, all of us combined together are NMB.

    Even for those members, it'll be great if people would come to love them and the group even more than before. And in turn also want to support us more too.

    We need to be moving the hearts of many even to the point of moving on a staggeringly rapid pace.

    We have to give it our all to the point we can't stand anymore.

    We don't have that leisure to stay down for too long, or even to rest."
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2018
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  14. tzatziki2

    tzatziki2 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2018
  15. convenience93

    convenience93 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Location:
    Malaysia
    Oshimen:
    Jang Wonyoung
    Also, since it's somewhat related, here's a fan report of a Milky fan on Milky's thoughts on elections etc. It's from 2 years ago, but I won't be surprised if there are many girls in NMB and perhaps even other 48 who have similar sentiments.

    The fan didn't share this at that time in 2016 as it was a month or two before Milky had announced her graduation, and it may have caused Milky ruckus etc.
    The source is from @nukonuko41 on Twitter whom I would say is fairly reliable as she is a long-time Milky fan, and is liked and trusted a lot by Milky.
    (If you follow Milky, you will know who she is as Milky often likes her post on Twitter and Instagram, and replies to her on her blog too etc even now)

    M will stand for Milky, and F for the fan.

    Here's a translation of the report.

    F: Are you unable to make up your mind about elections? (whether she’s running or not)

    M: I think I won’t take part.

    F: Oh…

    M: But it’ll be good if people can support me through different means. Not in the form of elections. After all, it’s something I couldn’t really say, but I kind of don’t really like the support I get in the form of elections…

    F: Ah, there’s that issue with money and all too.

    M: Up until now, I’ve been dependent on that, but when I sat down and thought about it, when I thought about it carefully, it’s just too cruel/harsh

    F: Yeah, that’s true

    M: Like to the fans.

    F: Ya, I got that. Thank you.

    M: And for us too…
     
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  16. Sakuraism

    Sakuraism Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 7, 2012
    Twitter:
    andilee1989
    I personally think it's a bit much to say Sayaka doesn't care for NMB.

    In regards to whether we should care for senkyo results, the way I see it is if the girls care, we should care.
    I think even among other groups and their fans by now we all know senkyo is a mess, and really is just there to give the girls and their fans an emotional roller coaster while profiting management.
    I also do think there are members that don't care for the ranking results, but this is clearly not the case for everyone. If your oshi doesn't care, lucky for you senkyo will just pass by like a breeze. The worst part is for the members that do care. Some care a lot. Sometimes I feel like the rank reward (being on the next AKB single, yada yada) itself isn't really what the girls are looking for. The way I see it is that many members use the ranking as a proof of validation for their hard work. It sounds very superficial, but come on..we're talking about an industry that's really just a constant popularity contest.

    I went to a handshake event the day after senkyo itself. I can tell you it kind of changed me a little, at least towards senkyo. I've witnessed first hand members crying out of frustration for not getting that validation. Rikati was even crying her eyes out, not because she didn't rank but because she felt her fans didnt seem to care or upset that she didn't rank. Then there was Miru...but I'm not going to get into that.
     
  17. ET920

    ET920 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2010
    Location:
    Buenos Aires, Argentina
    Sayanee always mentioned NMB is just a ladder to reach her dream, just watch old interviews (I think in Another Sky), she said she didn't want to be an idol, but her band wasn't working and thought it would bea good way to get some promotion until she could become a singer/songwriter. She was never an idol per se, she was a professional who did everything she had to do to get where she is.

    It's not that she doesn't care about NMB48, it's just that her head is somewhere else. When girls stopped doing gravure it would mean they were months before graduation, cleaning their image before. Maybe she's just trying to get some Yoshimoto to release her without triggering the 2-year hiatus clause.
     
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  18. convenience93

    convenience93 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2011
    Location:
    Malaysia
    Oshimen:
    Jang Wonyoung
    Erm okay but Sayaka has stopped doing gravure for more than just a few months now though.
    Honestly though, all of us know that if Sayaka really didn't care about NMB anymore, she would have graduated by now.

    Also, she may have not wanted to be an idol, but it's something she grew to appreciate and and as a 1st gen member with a prominent position as both ace and leader, it's not just the responsibility she still has, but attachment for the group that won't be easy for her to let go off.

    You may be right that there are probably times she is torn between her solo endeavours and her group activities, but the fact is she's still staying on when she could actually leave. Looking at her now, she definitely is able to go out there and challenge the world alone without being attached to the 48 name.

    Also, about that 2-year clause, it's nothing definite yet but Bunshun had claimed to have received the full NMB contract from a former member. And the clause is said to have been made void and removed from the new contracts.
     
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  19. Konno A.

    Konno A. Future Girls

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2014
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Oshimen:
    ichikawamiori
    of course Sayaka cares for NMB lol. But it's clear she's not into idol-work. NMB are idols 100%. I feel u either do the whole thing or u honestly should graduate. Why hang around? What benefits does that have towards the group? The members care for SSK. A lot it seems. Sayaka has not really benefited NMB by hanging on the sidelines. She still center's NMB singles even tho she's not really present in the group. I mean we had a concert that was explicit that Sayaka won't be there lol. What does that say about NMB fans? That they only care if Sayaka is involved? They did similar things with Jurina but look at SKE's mentality. Jurina is the face of SKE, but she does a lot as an SKE member.

    Fans that oshi Sayaka are most likely relaxed individuals cause she's just soooo ahead in her career, but the rest of NMB are strangers (minus like Akarin and Ririka now I guess lol). I'm happy Sayaka has a career. Love it, get that coin girl lol, but if she's still an NMB member I would like her - as the top member of the group - to really come back into idol-life. Don't tell me you're frustrated, show me on the stage that you're frustrated. And if she doesn't want to, that's ok too, but maybe it's time to graduate.
     
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  20. joooooooooe

    joooooooooe Member Retired Staff

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2011
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Twitter:
    OsakaJooooooooe
    I don't think anyone in any group votes in SSK with the narrative that their girl is going to get more work. That may have been true in the past but it's just not the same anymore. Nor do I think YNN/Kawaiian TV is necessarily work to be proud of; you can't say you "made it" being on those shows.

    As for 5th gen, they all have personality, with the weakest being Mion and Aayan. Suzu busts her ass off and is super uncultured, Cocona is awkward and shy which some find adorable, Rikati is crazy, Kojirin is an idol fangirl, Shiori is a weirdo, and Momorun is adorable for speaking really slowly.
    Come on, no one cares about the foreign fan community and subtitles are the least of anyone's worries for SSK.

    Aside from Sayaka, there is leadership with Yamarina and Antan; you'll often see them taking the lead at developing other members in theater. But they're nowhere near as popular as Okada Nana or Yuihan. (Quite frankly I don't what a "Yukirin" or "Sasshi" is, and we should pause for a brief joke that Yukirin was in NMB, along with Churi...)

    Not to mention Antan wrote a long Twitter about the evils of the election so even that leadership is anti-election.

    The other thing about Sayaka is that she doesn't want to play member favorites so is highly neutral on the other members, a strategy that may not have been the best.

    This election I feel like there were only two girls that were particularly neurotic about their election ranking in Akarin and Jo. Jo fans had several strange Showroom emo incidents so we knew it meant a lot to her; Akarin seemed to appeal to voting all the time, and it worked for them. In some other respects, the girls were too humble for ask for votes; Yuuri only mentioned the election twice since it was announced.

    While we might complain that the election is a cash grab, I feel like that's just the popular narrative being pushed by whales and other fantastic stories like the guy who sold his house for Minarun votes, and I think we can stand to do much better even without the otherwise ridiculous spending.
     
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