Goto Rara (Rara) / 7th Generation

I hope that Lala's position in senbatsu will improve I really wanna see her get more screentime

 

i honestly don't know what happened
she went from top 3 on senbatsu to dead last position
i wonder if she has plans to start college so they're going easy with her push

 

I feel bad for her, she was pushed so much and now barely acknowledged. Except of course this is her choice (due to school or whatever). I mean, the push was working, her rank in SSK was good (much better than for example Ryoha, who has been pushed for years) and with a bit more of a push, she could rise up to Undergirls I think. I was kind of expecting a Rara + Yunana double center in the near future, but now I'm not so sure anymore...

 

I hope her rank improves next SSK so that maybe management would notice and decide to continue with her push before
I want a double center too
I feel really sad that it turned out like this

 

Glad she is still in senbatsu. I don't understand why she has too many antis. What's wrong with her?

 

I don't think she has many antis? She used to have plenty when they put her in Maenomeri, her first Senbatsu, but she was able to rank (#46) this year. I don't understand why management decided to shove her to the last row, though (her position in Love Crescendo's song isn't too good either, compared to Koppu no Naka no Komorebi).

 

I don't feel the antis too? She currently seems like she's just floating around with no clear position in SKE.

I hope mngmt won't give up on her yet, I could see this YunanaxRara formula working they just have to keep pushing and not drop them like what they did to MiyamaexRyoha. Mngmt can't expect good results after 1 try and then just drop them right off the bat.

 

I have decided to translate parts of Rara's interview from the last 100% SKE issue. She talked about her frustration in the early period of her push, Sousenkyo, comparison with Yunana, etc... Personally, it is quite a surprise to hear her thoughts on these problems, like, I knew that she was this kind of person but to feel that myself is still a discovery.

I am still learning Japanese and English is not my mother tongue either so feel free to correct any mistake.

Spoiler: Part 1

I: Interviewer. R: Rara. The parts inside ( and ) are parts that I put in so you can understand the conversations easier.

Tittle: Evolution
Introduction: Normally speaking, there is no endless rain. But the clouds clouding over her did not disappear because the sky got clear, but because she stepped forward. That road definitely leads to the future. So Goto Rara runs.

"I have had enough."

I: You did not appear on last issue of "100%" so it has been a year. Do you remember what we did last time ?
R: Eh ... Going to Nagoya Dome with Yunana, right?
I: That was one year and half ago *laugh*. (The time we are talking about) You wore the same uniform as Jurina-san, didn't you?
R: We went climbing! At Otokozaka! (fyi: the uniform she wore is from Oogoe Diamond)
I: Exactly *laugh*. From that time one year has passed. This time we are doing the theme "People who fully understand their own style are strong", but in this one year have Rara-san founded your own style yet?
R: Speaking of style ... or of deciding what kind of people I want to become, I think this year I have changed a lot.
I: Last time we talked, it felt like you was in a "What should I do" kind of mode.
R: Even if on the inside I always thought I wanted to change, I could not do it. When I performed in the theatre, I just unconsciously had negative thought that "Everyone does not want to see Rara at the middle. You can see that in those eyes, right ?". Now that has changed, my life now is much brighter, but at that time standing on stage and those (thoughts / the fans' looks, I am not sure what she is referring to) are scary and I could not perform. Still, I wanted to perform.
I: I have watched the 9th year Anniversary stage on DMM. In that, "Chicken Line" and "Sansei Kawaii" were really good.
R: Hihihi, I performed those. (She centered them)
I: Looking at Rara-san like that, it felt like you have overcome (the previously mentioned obstacles) really well, but what do you think about it?
R: I think maybe, I have overcome them! Theatre stage also became fun and not scary anymore! It's really "Unexpectedly Mango", huh.
I: Is that because of your position in the formation?
R: Position is also a reason, ... but even before that in "Natsu yo, Isoge!", my position has been slowly moving behind, but I did not ask "Why" but rather convinced myself that "Well, that's it" (The "soudesune" here generally means agreements with what was said). It is more because that when Mango was released, I thought "I can't keep going on like this after all, I have to seriously change myself".
I: Before that, on Showroom and the like you were pretty much falling (into a slump).
R: Yes, I was falling so hard *laugh*. At that time ... I really thought "I have had enough!" *laugh*. Manager-san also told me many times that "This is impossible".
I: Even if you was told by the staff that "I want to see your results".
R: Aa, that's it. Yet, it was not my going backwards but being told "You can do it, so let's try". Well, I myself understood that I could not do what was asked of me, so it was tough. From a general viewpoint, I knew I was not able to become (the person at) No.3 position, but when being told that I still said "I know! I know, I know! Rara knows Rara cannot do it!". Well really, I hate that I could not do what I was asked to.
I: Even if just a little, have you become able to do that ?
R: There is still a lot to do, I think. But in Mango, I got away and became free from the pressure I put on myself.
I: I think this year's AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo was also important.
R: Yeah, because I want to see my individual result in Sousenkyo ... As expected, when I who have not never had any result there stands in that position (her 47th rank), I was like "This is it!".
I: "It should be like this!" *laugh*
R: I did not think that! But because I had not thought I would have such a high rank I was surprised. Right before Sousenkyo, Yunana was announced to be Mango's center, so it seemed fans also got fired up.
I: I have also asked Rara-san's fans. It seems like they were not supporting you because of the comparison with Obata-san. They said it was not "because I don't want Rara to lose" but "because I like Rara".
R: I am grateful and happy ... I am also very good friends with Yunana and she takes care of me. But maybe there was still a little part of me thinking that. After all, we will be compared, right ?
I: About that, in your birthday stage didn't you say that "I am Yunana's windshield"? It was quite surprising.
R: I did say it. Well, not just only here, I think. From my blog everyone feels that I hate it (the comparison) *laugh*. But I don't necessarily feel like that. It's just we are from the same generation and I don't want to be compared. We are also completely different types, so in my simple wordings it is like that.
I: You two are really good friends *laugh*.
R: Really good friends! *laugh*.

 

The antis died in the 2nd half of the year after that SSK rank. Talking about it now is obsolete already.

But, it may resurface the moment she got upped again. You guys might want to be vocally louder next time, at least on this forum.

 

https://gamp.ameblo.jp/ske48official/entry-12360157541.html?__twitter_impression=true

This is a few days old, but Lala passed the Grade Pre-1 Eiken test (an English proficiency test in Japan) which is quite the feat. A Japanese person must pass this level of the test to become certified as an English teacher at schools. I'm not expecting her to go down that path after she's done being an idol, but I wouldn't be surprised either.

 

Congratulation, Eigo Princess. It's a better achievement than just a B-side senbatsu.

Now to see her back to active duty somewhat...

 

maybe she wasn't able to participate on AKB's b-side because she was studying hard for the exam?

 

So... officially she is better at English than most of us?? (the non native Eng speakers )

 

Short Hair

 

This hairstyle looks so cute on her, and good job on the English exam

 

Wow, she cut it even shorter! It's kinda cute. I really liked it at shoulder-length but I can get used to this too.

 

That's a good look for her.

 

today there was a national handshake event and Rara said that a lot of people came to her lane so it's good

two shot with Jurina from the event

 

Rara decided not to participate in the SSK this year. She just wrote about it in her blog. It was a (pretty) long one, and I will translate it asap.
Here is the original, for those who can understand some Japanese.

 

i wonder why i was looking forward to see how the newer ske girls rank(rara,yunana,egochan)