[GENERAL] The Sakurazaka46 / Keyakizaka46 Thread

sounds good, is just that the management realized the gold mine having Techi as a center was, so they didnt wanted to change it, but at the end it just hurt the girls and Techi relation in the group, taking us to this sad news and damaging the image of what keyaki was

 

Funny how people who don't care about Keyaki seems to be the ones who always knows exactly what's going on behind the scenes.

@mb1619 please call Keyaki mngmnt and tell them all of that. I fear they have like no idea whatsover about what they are doing.

 

yeah, same way i see it.. least she could of did, if she cared about her fans or the group was have a graduation... not sure what happened to her, she used to seem different.. but then again, they say money brings out your true character, so i guess that's what it was...but, with that said, she's still young, so it could just be a phase that she'll grow out of later...

 

lmao you dont even give a damn about hirate fans's feeling. Also a hirate farewell party would totally look like keyakizaka funeral so yeah I'd like them to avoid that if possible

 

I don't thint that it necessarily means that. Not everyone like to keep being part of something that will not be part of their futures.

 

Just want to say my two cents on everything that happened, because right now being a Keyaki fan is really tough. (Apologies for the wall of text, just had a lot on my mind).

On the 4 members, Shii-chan is the only one I'm surprised by. However, I do hope for her best and that she will learn as much as she can while abroad. And when she comes back, I'll be so excited to see her again.

For Mon, she was never one of my personal favourites. However, she was undeniably the best dancer and she had such a great personality. I felt the pain when reading her blog since dancing/performing became somewhat of a chore rather than an enjoyment. I hope she can do well in whatever she wants to do.

Oda's graduation makes me feel so many emotions. Not just sadness, but unease, anger, and disappointment. Management is something that I want to touch on later, but even though the grad felt inevitable it was management keeping it hushed that made me infuriated. Dating scandals for my Western mind seem so archaic and it sucks that Oda (and also Shida) were punished with what I feel was a forced graduation.
That one segment (I don't remember where it was from, but I think a lot of people may know what I'm talking about) where Sasshi talked about the love ban and got opinions of fans made me see that I can't only blame management, but how the Japanese fans may be too obsessed with their relationship with their favourite idols. If a person's oshi finds happiness with anything (love, hobbies, etc.), I want to think that people would be happy rather than disappointed. Unfortunately, that isn't the case and any dating scandal ruins any idol (with a few exceptions).
And this is what makes Oda's grad hit so hard. Her blog crushed my heart and made me think about how Japanese/Chinese esports players blame themselves for everything. And seeing how much guilt that Oda put on herself felt so wrong. I only wish that she can bounce back from this and not go away from the entertainment industry. She was hilarious on KeyaKake, she has a great singing voice, and she (hopefully) has many opportunities she can take post Keyaki. For being my first oshi of Keyaki, I hope she'll find her way.

And Techi. She has the singing talent, probably acting talent (I haven't watched Hibiki or the dramas), and she is (in my eyes) one of the most loved and revered idols of the latter 2010s. And yet, she made me feel so conflicted on Keyaki's image. On KeyaKake, she rarely smiled or even showed up and she looked like she hated every second being there. I love KeyaKake, but seeing her made me feel infuriated because she always looked like she didn't care.
And with the music and the view of Keyaki, the complications of being a fan kept further intensifying. While I love every single that Keyaki put out and I saw how much I could love so many members based on the music, having Techi be the absolute center kept deflating me. I always longed for a new center (as I have seen many people express as well), and seeing Techi be injured when she was given 9th center made me think that nothing will ever change, and we will be stuck in TechiZaka46 until she graduates. Kuroi is amazing, but I can't help but only hear Techi and feel like this song could have been a solo song for her. It doesn't feel surprising that she quit/left/graduated or whatever. She looked like she was breaking down so Techi deserves a rest, and I know that her solo career will be pushed to the stars with how much S&F care about her for the most part. However, I can't deny that I'm excited to see a new Keyaki without the one person who has the most presence while being absent.

So, what now? I know that even through all of this, I will continue to be a Keyaki fan. Idols, Japanese music, and most importantly the Sakamichi groups improved my life drastically. And while some people would leave because their favourite member is leaving, I am a music fan at heart.

What I think needs to change is how management deals with everything.

Let's not wait for 5 million years in order to hear news about members, singles, etc. With Shida and now Oda, they let them linger for so long and gave false hope for any fans since their graduation would be imminent. I highly doubt Japan and idol culture will change, and the love ban will (for me, idiotically) be maintained for all time. However, the fans want transparency. And for me as a fan, I rather have someone be less featured and "be punished" with a 3rd row, rather than making them disappear, say nothing about it, and only deal with it once they decided "Yeah, get out of here." This no doubt affects so many things, like fan reception, member morale, belief in management, and the affected girls that have to face the harsh world of being an idol. And if this can't change, I can't see a bright future for Keyaki.

As for the 9th single, they have to release it. It was supposed to come out in December and yet delays, the 4 girls leaving, and the quietness of management shows that they need to do something in order to get back into shape. I want a senbatsu with all the members because now they have much fewer members. However, the fans want a pick me up. And doing something with the single may seem ideal.

As a final note, we CANNOT have a perma-center. We don't know why Techi left, but if it was from fatigue or what not, having a perma-center is not healthy. And I do not want to see Hinata in the same predicament (especially with Iguchi's scandal and, of course, the silence about it from S&F).

I want to think brightly for the future of Keyaki. However, if something doesn't change and this sort of thing happens again...Being a fan might not cut it for me.

 

I would like to talk about the "dating ban."

The idea that management has a "dating ban" and that its management who is "punishing" these girls. Thats not really true. Management doesn't have a "no dating" rule, management has a "don't get caught doing something that might make the group look bad or make the group lose money" rule. The members could be having nightly orgies and management wouldn't care so long as they don't get caught.

The fact is, in Japanese culture, there is an idea that if someone is in the public eye, whether they be idols or other "trivial celebrities" or more formal public figures like politicians, then that person should behave in a way befitting their station. Its not just an idol thing, it applies to everyone in the public sphere. And its different depending on what kind of celebrities you are. Comedians can pretty much do whatever they want so long as its not illegal or particularly salacious (like adultery or something). But just look at Sumo wrestlers. Sumo wrestlers have it tough. They don't even get to decide what clothes they get to wear in public. Everything is decided for them and if they don't fall in line then they risk their careers. That's just the way things are in Japan, and idols happen to be one of those types of jobs that have a certain behavior which is expected to be followed (i.e. no dating). Voice actors have it even worse. The amount of shit that voice actors have to put up with amazes me sometimes.

The other thing is that Sakamichi does not have a "no dating" rule in their contract. This was confirmed many years ago (I think by Matsumura during her scandal). And I believe there was a court ruling a few years ago that "dating bans" are actually illegal. However, that doesn't mean that a member can't be forced out for having a dating scandal.* Because that's just business. Think of it this way. Let's say there is an American girl group and it comes out that someone leaked one of the member's old tweets which contain racial slurs and other gross stuff. That member is probably getting kicked out of the group. The group doesn't have to have a written "no racial slurs on twitter" rule. She's become a liability and is therefore fired. That's basically how it is in idol groups. The public has a perception that idols aren't supposed to date. Therefore a member who gets caught dating becomes a liability to the group. So they get canned. Simple as that. The idea that management are these mean bullies who have some power-control fetish and are unfairly "punishing" these girls just isn't really the reality. They knew what they were signing up for when they became idols.

*It does mean that they can't be punished for dating specifically, i.e. the company can't sue them for breach of contract just because they got caught dating.

 

I never really knew about this stuff for the idol "dating rule." I only perceived it in that way because of what I've seen being a fan for just 2 years now. I can respect the management for them trying to keep their image clean. I guess I just don't understand why there is so much harshness on dating and idols. I've only seen that it might be due to the fans reacting and thus, losing sales because of the scandal. If there are other reasons, I would really like to know.

However, I want to know why managerial teams don't address the scandal. Anytime I see a scandal happen, it's always been reported by places like Bunshun. And because of it, those members are taken off of any public place, and eventually (in a lot of times), graduate. I can see it as the management not wanting to stoke the fire. However, would it be good if officials say something or would it just lead to more drama?

Maybe this is why my perception of the dating rule is so skewed. I want some sort of transparency because I want to know how they deal with the problem. But when I see how they respond, it usually leads to the graduation of a member and management leaving it at that.

 

This I think is a Seed & Flower problem. Basically management lacking the courage of their convictions.

A member's "punishment" for a dating scandal really depends on how popular they are. Like look at Matsumura. She actually did something really bad. She was caught dating a married man. And it was a big deal in entertainment news. It was pretty much everywhere. So what happened to her? Pretty much nothing. She had to apologize. She didn't even get taken out of senbatsu IIRC, she just got moved from 2nd row to 3rd row. Why? Because she makes money. She's one of Nogi's most popular members and she sold handshake tickets like crazy. So her status as an earner for the group outweighed the damage caused by her scandal. On the other hand you have someone like Kawamura Mahiro who was not a popular member, didn't really sell handshake tickets, had her picture taken standing near a boy with other members around, and graduated a few months later. Like it or hate it, management didn't really beat around the bush.

That's why I don't understand these long hiatuses that Seed and Flower does. If you're not going to make them graduate then fine. If you are, then do so. But at least make a decision either way.

Its like Seed & Flower are too timid to actually make a clear decision on their own that doesn't come directly from Konno-san or Akimoto-san.

 

so... in your mind. the feelings of Hirate's fans > the feelings of the other 20 girls combined fans?

that doesn't seem like good math to me but i get where you're coming form.. i mean, if she put her personal feelings ahead of everyone else's, then of course you, as her fan would think the same way..

and nah, to me... a group funeral would look like what it looks like now... the unprecedented act of the center dropping out the group without notice... i remember when people where upset with Yahagi Moeka, but at least she gave a graduation... this girl just chunked up the deuces and said "bye bitches!"

lol, bro.. c'mon, i like her too, actually.. but let's be real here...

 

Isn't that what S&F purposely doing? Put the "scandal" member on hiatus until they decide to graduate themselves. Because there is no way they can make them graduate since they don't technically breach any contract. As for Nogi, the management seems to be less strict. I don't actually remember any Nogi members having dating scandal were actually punished with hiatus. Kawamura Mahiro graduation is nothing to do with her scandal, it seems quite far off and she wasn't punished with hiatus (cmiiw). The same with Noujo Ami. And Wada Maaya too which is still in Nogi now.

 

This dating thing has happened so many times now, and still, there is no set protocol for dealing with this. It does seem true that the more popular you are, the more you can get away with, i.e. Nishino-san, Matsumura, etc.

Its not more the dating that does it, its getting caught dating that's potentially damaging. There has got to be a better way to deal with these situations.

 

As I've mentioned in the above post, there have been reports that her withdrawal from the group had been decided for months. And that's why the hastily announced Tokyo Dome concert with barely a month notice, her solo encore performance for the final song on the second day of the concert, the end of year performances with the group performing Hiraishin for the first time on TV, the elaborate Kuroi Hitsuji performance on Music Station followed by her solo Kado wo magaru performance, and then the Red Fukyouwaon performance at Kouhaku as her final performance to find peace for the 2017 Kouhaku performance.

And from Tsuchii's interview (you can read it here - https://twitter.com/toomuchidea) that surely nothing is suddenly decided, that they have surely talked about it in detail and being persuaded to stay, before finally coming to a decision.

She didn't just wake up one morning and made a decision, and then said that she's quitting immediately on that day.

 

In a way, I'm happy for Techi and her decision. At least she will rest, recharge her batteries, and come back full force, albeit as a solo artist. It also means the usual antis and haters will point their sights somewhere else.
Looking at the future of Keya, many people suggest and hope Yui-pon will be the next center. The question is: how many singles does a member centers before the hate begins again? 3? 5?

 

Habu's blog

Tsuchida talking about the news in his radio (vod)

 

There is a lot of things we do not know what is actiually happening in the industry. Non of us have seen their contracts and when they are going to expire. For what we know, and the fact that two of them are graduating roughly at the same time, their contract might have just expired recently. That way non of the parties have pay compensation for the breaching the contract. These situation might look dafft to us, but probably makes sense to the people in the know.

 

This may sound pleading but I want to say it anyway.
The girls started this journey not knowing what will happen in the future. It's just like in life, where we plan our future, but most don't go as planned. There are so many things that result in that & with keyaki, we trully won't know since it isn't our lives in there, nor our future, but the girls'. And if they are not ready to share with us, we can't go around demanding answers, saying what is not stated or following rumors. Just like in our lives. Fans of keyaki support them for various reasons and I can't stop you if you don't want to continue supporting them, but for those of us who are staying, it isn't the end of the road. We don't need explanations to help support these girls. They are normal humans, like all of us. The road is not over for them too. If their road is crooked, we can help straighten it up. If their future is bizzare, we can help clarify it. Their future, one way or another, depends on us, the true keyaki fans. So let's not be discouraged by what is happening now. The darkness vanishes once there is light and we can help shine that light. I want us all to be vigilant, smart as well as careful. Let's not help spread the hatred. Let's avoid these rumors & lies and focus on our love for the group. If we can do this, it will create the path both the girls & fans want for keyaki.
Sorry for this long post. Peace & love to you all. Thank you

 

生きるとは変わること (Ikiru to wa kawaru ko to) - "the meaning of life is to change and adapt"

I know its a rough translation and my Japanese is at a very basic level, but I have always loved this line from Saison, and it applies more now to this situation. Change is painful but necessary, and our girls will adapt. We should, too, as Keyaki fans.

 

@Iamyoung
Your post my friend is a model for how top-quality, civilized human beings must think! If I could think of an award for the top comment in this post it would have been yours. It's the perfect answer for all those antis, the perfect support for those fans that are losing faith and heart for the groups future and the perfect reassuring argument for all fans that (like me) believe that the group will continue stronger. Thank you!

 

Just because a member doesn't post here doesn't mean they aren't following the group.
But thanks for policing the forum!

Nobody knows exactly what happened. Non-fans don't know and super fans don't know either.
We are all throwing our conjectures around because there's nothing else to do at this moment.

Still, I can't help but believe there were some internal rifts that made the group come to a halt.
You can try and blame management, but they seem to be doing just fine with Hinata, aren't they? Surely they didn't want the money-making machine that is Keyakizaka to stop their activities (apart from the tour and some random TV performances to promote absolutely nothing new).

You don't freeze a group like that for nothing.
The only comparison we have is the 48G in the aftermath of Maho's assault. And even then AKB managed to release two singes last year.

Now I wonder if the creation of Hinatazaka was a way to salvage those girls from the mess that was probably taking over Keyaki.