Hirate Yurina (Techi) / Keyakizaka46 1st Generation

Fyi, the day they performed in ROJ was extremely hot, especially the most upper position aka the place Hirate was. As you can see in the video, not only her mental but also her physical health was negatively affected and Hirate is famous for her perfectionism - 100 or 0. If she knows that she can not perform perfectly, she will somehow become "depressed". I dont like this kind of character, in my opinion her perfectionism is too "artistic" and not suitable for idol works but this is also one of the reasons why fans love her including me. And I know some might say "if Hirate doesnt feel good, mngm should let her rest". I totally agree with this but not for ROJ's case. 3 years passed and we all know the main reason why Keyaki has been invited to this rock fes and mngm can not let her rest. Btw, I also think that Hirate will be absent in Laguna fes happened in Oct.

And as s.o who saw her perform live, i would say that I am in the opposite side to your opinion. "at the moment, she truly shines during filming performances rather than live ones.". Yes her live condition is kinda unstable but if she can be in her 100%, the live became phenomenal as Tokyo dome last day.

She is always that powerful, it just... depends on her mood and health.

 

Just speakin' about workloads, mate. Nothing against Master Ozeki, I love all the Keyakis and I love Ozeki style too.

 

Hmm.. if I had to describe it I'd say that her moves lacked commitment. For example, her arms didn't reach positions with any strength or reach. Almost like she'd kinda of waft her arms to positions without much purpose. (This may be due to the fact that she had her arm in a sling not too long ago. However, I've seen other performances with her arms like that and I'm not sure what to think of it.) Her head was facing the floor 85% of the time with her expression completely blank. Everytime she'd move off to the side for a solo highlight (let's just call it that for now) in the choreography it would feel like it had no impact. And with choreography that's meant to be as fun and energetic as Ambivalent, it felt like she was tackling it at quarter strength..?

Don't get me wrong, I think the main reason why it effects the overall performance as much as it does (for me) is because she's in center. As the center point of the choreography, a large majority of the time, the audience's focus will be on her. And if that center isn't displaying a convincing performance it starts to drag the overall energy down. See the main word there is convincing. No doubt, every member has their issues with dancing and stage presence, which is something no idol group is exempt from. And let's be honest, we don't follow idol groups for top-tier dancing or singing. However, it's a lot easier to look past "weak" dancing if the member looks like they're engaged with the performance and their audience. Her facial expression and body language were almost screaming 'I don't want to be on stage' or 'I don't have the strength to perform right now'. Either way it takes away from other members who are at least trying to put on a lively performance.

If anything else, I've felt that in the past, Techi was the powerful spearhead of the group which made up for the lack of skill and presence of other members. Which makes watching her live stages now much more difficult to swallow. For me at least.

 

Hmm, I think I know what you mean now. Its like watching your favorite sports team losing. You can live with the loss if you see the effort is there at least.

I think it all goes back to the age-old notion about Techi needing proper rest. Who knows if maybe its Techi herself who pushes through, but I understand that part about her feeling disengaged - I see it on the variety shows too at times. A Techi smile in a KeyaKake episode is a relief to me, I want her to enjoy herself more.

 

It's good to hear that the Tokyo Dome live was great; I would've loved to have been in the audience. If she decides to stay with keyaki, I hope her all or nothing mindset will eventually fade away over time. I just want perfectionism to leave her alone and let her accept herself enough to be at peace with what she does. Because we will love her regardless !!

The sports team comparison is amazing wow yes. And yes for sure, Techi's smile can make my day a million times better. We want her to be happy and a break would surely help with that.

modedit: don't double post

 

Honestly, I dont want to talk much about 2019 ROJ. In that moment, Techi's health condition was really bad, I would say one of her worst in this year. In the past, despite of how weak she was - both mentality and physicality , she always did the cartwheel. However she couldnt do it in ROJ, it seemed like she nearly passed out on stage. It did hurt my heart a lot and then, seeing s.o said about her on this day as "listless" or "lack of commitment" really pissed me off. Yeah, you can say this thing about her at other days but i hope it isnt for the day when her health reached its bottom.

 

@myinnersloth Perfectionism is one of the reasons so many people are drawn to Techi and Keyaki. Tokyo Dome reports are all extremely positive, even from not Techi fans, and her last solo was so good to bring tears from whom had the luck to witness it. I was moved by Kado Wo Magaru but I can't even imagine how touching could be to see her performance live. But, yeah, let's focus on the performances she gave when she was hurt and down.
Let's ask Techi to be less Techi, to be less unique, less powerfull, less "artistic" (whatever that means, I never understood it.)

Does Techi need to rest? Yes, since years. Is mnmgnt interested in making her rest, 9th single proves that no, they aren't.
Man, they even made her perform on a freaking piano... just to throw away last bit of safety and make me lose 5 years of life in the process.
And yet.... she delivered it.
In my opinion, instead of talking about lack of commitment we should applaud her professionalism.

But I actually have no idea who is the "We" you're talking about, I'm pretty sure it doesn't include me though.
I love to follow idols to discover talent. And there's enough in Keyaki to make me fell in love with them and, most important, stay. And there's enough in Techi to make me follow her without pretending her to be someone else again and again.
Just for my pleasure.

When she'll chose to graduate (since you brought that up here and there) as Techi Oshi, the only thing I'd say to her would be Thank you. Not because she smiled and made my day, but because everything she did touched something inside of me and made me think, made me be brave, made me fight harder, stand up more.

No, actually this wasn't something I thought to find in idols.. and yet, it's what Keyaki and Techi gave me every single time.

 

Listen, I'm not trying to cry down Techi's efforts or make it seem like I'm hating on anyone except management. I'm not trying to minimize what impact Techi and Keyaki has had on your life. I really think it's great you've found something special. We all seem to enjoy different things about keyaki and as long as those things are positive I think we cheer for the same team. I love keyaki and I love Techi. No hate here.

 

Anyone succeeded in pulling SSA Techi for focus live (Uni’s)? So many people got them already but my luck is just disappointing

 

I can barely play the game without make my phone explode, so, believe me, you could be more unlucky than this (I hope you'll find Techi soon though)

@myinnersloth I was disagreeing with several points you made in your three posts. But it feels like we are speaking 2 completely different languages so, better close it here.

Absolutely Important Question of the day: Does anyone knows some good Techi/Keyaki fan artist to follow?

 

I did! With my first 10 card roll. It's my first Techi SSR too (I had a SR from Keyaki Republic). I'm very happy. I still haven't watched her focus cam though (I play with a still image as the background).

 

@myinnersloth you didn’t say anything bad, it’s just that techi’s oshis are so used to her being bashed that we tend to react negatively to any criticism.

That roj performance was indeed painful to watch, but just as others have said, she got better.
Mngmt can’t let go of techi on major events whether or not she can perform. I guess the buzz she generates by being there is enough.

Rather than being excited about the 9th single, I’m worried. I hope the promotions will go smoothly.

 

I listened to techi's solo song yesterday as it first popped up into my recommendation feed. Is this song going to be on the next single? I had it on repeat all day!!

 

I’m 80% sure that it will be, especially since they release the MV and it was also the closing performance for TKD.

 

I love seeing Techi smile because I want her to enjoy herself. Makes me happy to see her happy.

I'm excited to see next week's KeyaKake Tokyo Dome ep, Techi looks electric as always in the preview.

And I know that she is called the baby otter, but I actually was not aware that she had a selfie TV where she visited baby otters! So amazing.

 

Techi smiling sure is a precious moment.

I really hope she goes to rest after the promotion (since it's not happening now), and management should not rush her for the next single at all. Give someone else a chance, some fans are even bashing Techi for taking center after hiatus, and she doesn't deserve getting hate as well. She can be center for life, we do love her a lot, but it's not worth if she's not at her best.

 

I do think mmg has kind of found a way to keep Techi at center while still let her have just enough rest for occasional performances. Aside from centering (the most stressful job in her schedule), monthly sol, some appearances and photoshoots here and there, Techi is pretty much waived from all other activities including handshakes, Keyakake, non-major performances (like the one at TGC). Other members are also assigned center positions when Techi is absent and are gaining attention too. I can totally understand if mmg really thinks this "plan/balance" is working.

Don’t get me wrong, I still prioritize Techi’s happiness and health over anything else, and think that she deserves a real break (her official hiatus lasted for like a month -_-“). Just that mmg might have found a way to get around that.

 

I just feel bored so wanna make a topic to discuss about. Do you guys find that Techi's case is kinda unique in idol bussiness. Usually, idol in any countries - Jpop, Kpop or T-pop and not artists, need fanservice activities to maintain their fame. At least, when they reached their peak, they can reduce the fanservice things and feed their fans by continuos jobs like drama, musical stage, modelling. But in Techi's case, her popularity has gone up like sky-rocket after she's no longer done the usual fanservice (the only thing she does is mobame which happens once a month and if we are lucky then twice) and mngm reduced her jobs as much as possible (though it's still a lot). In 2017, there was discussion she had the biggest fanbase or not. Yeah she might be the most popular but the gap between her and other members wasnt big at all. Then in 2019, despite her absence, her popularity remains and even increases a lot. She moved up in fem idol celeb ranking, her solo song has more views than some a-side songs from other idol (48, as example) groups, her goods sell like hot cake, she appears on a lot of (cover) magazines which idols usually arent able to like Casa brutus, GQ, ROJ (she is the only female idol who's ever appeared on them).

Despite the "im tired with Hirate center", she always gains some new fans whenever she performs on TV. Why can she do it? I think Techi is the example for the theory that an idol doesnt need to always do the fanservice to gain popularity and she can built her fame through her talent - which i think its really rare to see. But at the later sentences, i think its more like about an artist? Rather than Techi, the only other girl who I can think about is Sayanee who steadily becomes an artist.

 

My personal views on Techi and why I love her:

- When she debuted, she said that she wanted to be like Shiraishi Mai and Ikuta Erika, who, according to her words, gave her strength. At the time, she was the youngest in Keyaki but seemed to be the most mature in terms of how she answered questions and how she carried herself. I admired her quiet strength and resolve to be a person who also inspires other people;

- Traditionally for me, Techi leans more towards cute than beautiful, but she can be super intense one moment and adorably cute in an instant. I have not seen an idol before who can do that so effortlessly.

- The way she dances, God, this kid can dance. I feel her performance in her every move, and this is just through seeing her on a video. Seeing her perform live, I can only imagine how these emotions translate.

- For me her absences from variety shows and other traditional idol stuff makes it special whenever she appears. I understand she has various projects and all, and I personally would rather not have Techi in KeyaKake if she is disengaged.

Overall I look at Hirate-chan as more than just a regular idol: she did just what she set out to accomplish which is to inspire people. Its so hard to forget that she just turned 18, with how mature she is and just how magnetic she can be. She may not be doing some of the regular idol stuff, but Techi ain't a regular idol in my eyes so.

 

I think in general, but more regarding idols, the space between themselves and fans had reduced too much. This means fans keep asking, never satisfied if not for a very short period of time and idols need to give too much and have no time themselves to grow and metabolize their growth. I don't know anything about T-pop but it's something I see in both K and J pop. At best it's extremely taxing on idols, at worst became a dangerous situation with fans stepping way over the line because they think they own the idol. There're too many cases in jpop and there are even more in kpop for both girl and boy groups.

I think Techi case works because her lack of fanservice is in contrast with this reality in which everyone else is obliged to give so much. So she stands out, alone.
It also helps that Keyaki music gives her a particular aura she won't have if we were having super-cute A-sides.
If Sakamichi and 48 would all step back from the super fan service they offer she would already be one of many and perhaps it won't have the same impact she has now.

This said, there's something in Techi that steal the viewer attention and all it took to her in the past was to be in half frame of a video to captivate all the comments and interest (it was around Kaze Ni release, but don't ask me what video is because I don't remember.. it was a after-show group small video though).
There's something in Techi that convinced mngmnt to give her the first center and it's still there, a stage presence, an aura that many other artists recognizes and use as reference to make their own art. This alone is one of the greatest compliment she could receive, and that explain better than any words the power of Techi.

Artistically, I think Sayaka is way above Techi because since the start Sayaka had her goal. She IS a musician. She was an idol, of course, but that was her job. I don't know if I explain this well... it's the difference between someone who sing and dance (an idol) and someone who has the music inside, all the time (Sayaka).
In the same way, but less mature than Sayaka, Techi is a Performer.
The only other person still in Sakamichi and 48 who gives me similar intensity Techi has on stage is SKE's Nao, but again, Nao feels more mature somehow than Techi.

I've rambled enough lol but these three girls are the one who I'm more curious to see in the post-idol career.
Sayaka's already sterted, Techi I'm not sure if she'll continue but hopefully we'll get movies and drama from her and Nao.... well, I'm not sure Japan is ready for Nao yet.