Hirate Yurina (Techi) / Keyakizaka46 1st Generation

Mgirl no.27 ranking on Rakuten - photobook section:
#1 for the week of October 5
#3 for the week of October 12
#1 for the week of October 19 (week of release, released on Friday Oct 19)
#1 daily since the official release and still counting

Modelpress conducted a survey on "Which entertainers are the locals proud of?" Techi was chosen as Aichi representative, together with EXILE's Takanori Iwata and King&Prince's Hirano Sho.

We also got an offshoot from Sankaku.
"Under the cold weather
Even during a difficult scene filmed in the river
Hirate-san concentrated and did not feel the cold"

Director Morigaki retweeted the photo: Hirate-san really did her best in a skirt under the cold weather. Thank you for your hard work.



Starting in November, The Fable 2 will begin its promoting period. Two interviews from the director will be published on Nov 2 and four site reports on Nov 2 and Nov 7 (2 for each day).

LiSA and former Principle Tooyama briefly mentioned Techi on radio Month Artist File -The Voice-

Tooyama: Because I was hardly called to LiSA LOCKS ...
LiSA: Oh?
Tooyama: I wonder what it is. No, thank you for calling me today. I'm wondering what it is because I've rarely been called to LiSA LOCKS or LL classrooms. That's it.
LiSA: Ah, that's how it feels. Wait, the principal went to Keyaki Hirate-san rather than me while he was still in school (being the principle), that's why he didn't show up for LiSA LOCKS
Tooyama: No, that's not the case
LiSA: Even though the principle went to watch idol-san's live performances, he has never been to my live. Yet he's making a complaint at the end...
LiSA: (laughs) Can you see it now? LiSA-sensei. I was full of blood and now I'm covered in blood.*
LiSA "(laughs)"

*(probably mean his HP was full/he was energetic when he came in but kept receiving damage from LiSA lol)

-It's not the first time LiSA "complains" about Principle Tooyama favoring Techi (coming to her session and such). Usually, the principle wouldn't come to the recording or join the recording but he's visited Techi's session more than any other host. I really want Tooyama and Techi to do radio again. Techi's tension changes depending on who she's talking with (for example she was calm and mature talking to Yamaguchi-san or Noda-san) and principle Tooyama always knows how to raise her tension to level max. She's bratty and loud with Tooyama lol

A fan started a Twitter poll on Oct 25 to learn about Techi's fan ratio. The result will be used for a Techi booklet OP's making at school. The poll ends on Nov 1 (or Oct 31 depending on where you live) but we can already have some ideas on the distribution.

Gender (over 5000 participants):
Male: 31.9%
Female: 68.1%

Age group (over 3000 participants):
10-19: 46.4%
20-29: 32.5%
30-39: 10.6%
40 and above: 10.5%

-This is an SNS poll so the result is skewed toward younger age groups (teenagers and young adults) and females. But it still gives us some glimpse into Techi's fan demographic. I'm not surprised by the overwhelming percentage of female fans, I think even if we have more participants and more voting points (such as fanclubs, on the street, websites etc) then the male/female ratio still wouldn't fluctuate much. Age group is less accurate than gender since people over 30 don't normally have a Twitter acc, let alone making one to follow idols/entertainers. I'd say a considerable section of Techi fans are mother fans and auntie fans (usually housewives in their 40s). There's also this image of Techi having less older male fans since they usually prefer brighter idols. Some people said this demographic is very similar to Johnny's BG lol. I remember some Johnny boygroup members have declared themselves as Techi fans before, which is brave of them since Jp male and female idols try to keep the furthest distance between each other (one thing I find Jp ent industry to be especially harsh, I'm more used to my fave casually mentioning her friends), yet many fans replied with "if it's Hirate-san then it's okay". I find this very amusing. Just my 2 cents, and obviously my view is skewed since I don't have much exposure with Jp idols and Jp industry in general.

----
@Dill anything for our otter Following a Jp entertainer is surely hard since they don't generally cater to international fans. But we're really blessed to have a corner just for Techi so I'd like to keep it updated. If a new fan stumbles into this thread then I hope the content would keep them in.

 

Gosh I'm so freaking excited for Sankaku. I love the few chapters that I was able to read and the more information/teaser they give, the more I love it. The theme song for Sankaku will be released today (Nov 3) at 7pm JST.

Engsub of the morning news teaser, with a snippet of Techi surprising Masaki and Jun-kun when she traveled all the way from Tokyo to visit them. She's just too cute it's illegal. This clip really brighten up my day, which is kinda ironic given the theme of the movie lol


Then we also have this adorable offshoot from director Morigaky for Takiko-san's birthday. Sankaku team uploaded the birthday message from Techi, Masaki and Shison.

Kiryu translated some excerpts from Cinema Cinema‘s The Fable 2 filming report:

"Okada Junichi shows his amazing physical abilities. He spins around from the roof of the runaway car, with Hinako (Hirate Yurina) in it and tries to hold on to the door with a single lifeline rope. "Alright, let's do it! Keep doing it!" Okada maintains his high morale as ever, but in the next moment, the staff was overwhelmed by the speed of the car. The car was going really fast with a loud screeching brake noise, making the staffs screams "Scary!!" But Okada with somehow relaxed expression on his face, says things like, "It'd actually be better to speed up more"

Regarding Hirate, the producer says "She originally liked action movies and really liked the previous one (The Fable 1) too. She was very interested in the action scenes and learned a lot from Okada on set."Towards the end of filming, the climax of Hinako's rescue was filmed in the mountains. This sequence has great significance as a human drama as well, as it highlights the complicated and twisted relationship between Utsubo (Tsutsumi Shinichi) and Hinako. Tsutsumi leads the set with Okada, listening to the director's directing and sometimes adding ad-libs to liven up the scene. And Hirate gave an overwhelmingly passionate performance. In between takes, Okada gives her advice on how to deal with the wailing of Hinako's soul and other scenes that requires high concentration. Hirate was serious as she watched Okada's every action and listened to his words. In the scene where Hinako has reached the limit of her strength, Akira (played by Okada) quickly runs to Hinako to support her, as she fell down without worrying about her back at all, and her immense trust in Okada can be seen."


Hinako-chan gives off a completely different vibe compared to Erika-chan. I really can't wait for her performance. She must have learned a lot from Okada-san. I wonder if we'll get any action scene from Hinako-chan, given that she's in a wheelchair and the 1st movie's action scenes were done mostly by male characters. Hibiki jump-kicking that news reporter is still one of my favorite scenes from Hibiki.

Another great news, MGirl Techi cover sold 11,368 copies in its first week! This is really nice result for a magazine.

 

I can't post the picture right now, but Techi's new hair!!!!

I don't know if this also means new projects coming, but it's hard not to hope for it seeing how fast Techi is working
She looks SO DIFFERENT in Fable, but I didn't even had the time to get used to it, she completely changed again lol

 

THIS has to be one of the biggest surprise because absolutely nobody saw it coming. I never expected I could see this day tbh, I wonder what kind of project she’s doing. Techi always changes her hair according to the project.

We then have the reaction video of them three to the trailer. Techi imitated Masaki’s thumb up lol

Theme song is out! The official English name is Darken. It’s a very nice song

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Techi gained some weight back, that's good I really miss those otter cheeks. Good job on her co-stars for babying her LOL

On a more serious note, that trailer and movie looks awesome. Just hope she does not get typecast into the dark brooding female roles

I for one would LOVE to see Techi in a comedy role. I think she'd kill.

 

The Fable is actually an action-comedy movie so......... I'm not particularly keen on comedy either so I'd definitely prefer her to do more action, mystery, psychological, slice-of-life genre. If she could come across a drama like My Mister (one of the best dramas ever, an exceptional story about human interactions and what it means to be an "adult"), I wouldn't stop smiling even in my dreams.

I don't know if it's just me but all 5 roles (3 movies and 2 dramas from Keyaki days) Techi has taken are completely different. The only connection I can draw between Hibiki, Hiura Erika and Hinako (aside from them all being Hii-chan) is that they're somewhat an outcast to society. And for me, Hibiki is cool but not dark lol, if anything, she's the closest to "justice." Techi always brings something new to the table so I have lots of faith in her decisions. Also, she's only a newbie in the movie industry, there's so much time for her to venture out.

Kiryu translated some The Fable 2 site reports:

"[Cinema Square] The director mentions that Hirate who acts as Hinako was amazing and she shows more guts than he had expected. Her acting was very passionate and there were many things that surprised him. She's the type of person who doesn't want to compromise on anything as she's an artist herself. She's also the type of person who got better and better corresponding to her co-stars' actings. As this movie is also famous among women, he thinks that they could empathize with Hinako. He said to pay attention to the changes in Hinako's emotions towards Akira and the subtle changes in Akira.

[TV Guide] During the car action scene, Okada and Hirate seemed to have opened up to each other; greeting with just 'Osu!'. Hirate really likes action and in between shooting, Okada directly taught her how to throw punches. When Hirate does her moves on him, Okada exaggeratedly shows like he got beaten up and it lightens the set. During the scene in the mountains, Hirate serious figure can be seen when she intently watched Okada's movements and listened to his words."

I'm so glad that Techi got along well with her team. She always seems to go along exceptionally well with adults much older than her (Junichi is ~20 years older than Techi). I saw a fan pointed out that Techi and Junichi may be more similar than we expected. Junichi joined Johnny's when he was 14, joined his group V6 as the youngest member after just 3 months of training (when others spent years as Johnny's Jr.), took part in staging, had low self-evaluation and always seem to keep a distance with fans. He's definitely more likely to understand what Techi has to go through and able to give her some advice.

 

I agree with @DelicateEmpress even though I wouldn't mind to see Techi in different, more light, roles as much as I wish to see her in really complicate ones.
I think she has the same mindset as back in Keyaki.
She needs to "feel" she can portrait the role perfectly and I don't know how much confident is she about being a comedian. It's easier make people cry than laugh, after all.
But she seems to absorb a lot from older professional and engage with them frequently. I find that quite interesting.
I think every idol who want to become a real actress, no matter the amount of talent she has, needs to work harder and study a lot before being at the same level with actesses of the same age who actually had a preparation for it.
She seems to know this and keeping herself humble and open to learn.

Also, please, let's not do to Techi the same mistake people keep doing with Keyaki. It's not all dark and emo. Hibiki was quite interesting and not dark at all, TokuDare had its funny moments and no one really understood the other drama Keyaki had lol
Erika, much like Hibiki has been, seems to be a character I'll love fondly, but Hinako it's one of those roles that can make actesses grow up a lot. A real hard one, so I'm quite curious to see Techi in it.

 

Looks like the Fable 2 trailer dropped while I was sleeping... and then promptly deleted

Luckily someone did make a cut of Techi’s scenes in the trailer and... she’s truly amazing!! Link here.

The highlight of the trailer has to be... long hair Techi! I was not expecting this at all, she looks so pretty with this look!

 

Seems like they accidentally posted the trailer before tomorrow's announcement. Hinako is so raw and different, I really can't wait to see the chemistry between Hinako and Akira. That scream at the end though

Long-hair Techi appears in the most unexpected way lol...not that I'm complaining. I think this is like the longest length we have ever seen her? In an ideal world long-hair!Techi would have a magazine shoot. I can already imagine Mao-san having so much fun styling her. Even with short hair Mao-san already tries so many styles on Techi, she wouldn't hold back if Techi agrees to grow her hair out even just for a month or two

 

I'm ashamed to admit when I saw the pics on twitter I didn't recognize her instantly. I was even gonna write something like "oh, she's pretty! Good expression.. who is she?"
I don't know if I should be more proud of Techi whom once again promises to be amazing, or just hide myself in some hole until the release of Fable lol

Techi scenes look great so far. I can't wait for the movie!

 

Long hair Techi is sooo pretty

 

The Fable2 trailer

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Incredible actress Techi

I hope she opens a fanclub of some sorts, and with her site staff writing in English as well, I think a ton of people would sign up

 

Not exactly updates but related to Techi regardless.

In a recent TV appearance for her new movie Black List, Kitagawa Keiko mentioned her Hiichan. Basically she said Techi was really easy to talk to and just the other day they drank bubble tea together. Kiryu gives us a little throwback to Keiko/Techi Kadokawa 2019 interview:

Keiko: We're more than 15 years apart, so it's not surprising if there's quite a generation gap.
Techi: I wonder if there's a generation gap? Most of the people I actually get along with are in their 30's.
Keiko: You must be an adult mentally because you don't seem to be that interested in things that normal high school girls like to do.
Techi: Is that so? But I think I'm trying to live in the moment as much as possible. Like, going out to drink tapioca milk tea or anything. I like doing that sort of thing.
Keiko: I can't even bring myself to stand in the line, so I've never drink anything other than the ones on convenience store
Techi: Eh! Really! You'll regret not trying it, it's really good! You should drink it, seriously. I'll buy you one next time.
Keiko: Might as well we should just queue up together.
Techi: Yeah! Let's get in the line together.

Some fans speculate that with the pandemic going on and Keiko just gave birth, they might have ordered through UberEats and drink together at Keiko's house (or some other places). Techi might even hold Keiko's baby already. Gosh that imagery is so cute. Honestly, Keiko and Techi relationship is one of the best things we got from Hibiki. Isn't Techi's personality kind of contradicting too? She can be a spoiled brat middle schooler (on Sugarx2 she claimed to still be 14) but also has the same mentality with people in their 30s and over.

Some other The Fable 2 sites reports translated by Kiryu:

• [Nihon Eiga Navi]

Producer's iv: It's not like Okada thinks that he must do the action scenes by himself, or 'don't use stunts'. Instead, he thinks about how to take the best shots, and whether the viewers will enjoy it or not and what's the best way to achieve those things. If the best way is to do it by himself, he'll do it, but if it's better to ask for stunts and lead/direct it from an objective perspective, he'll take that position. That's how they improve the quality of every cut.

On new casts, he thinks that Tsutsumi, Hirate, Ando and Kurose are an interesting combination and the 4 of them should be portrayed in this movie. He mentions that Hirate has an unbeatable presence when facing Okada and Tsutsumi and she carries expressive power too. Hinako's role has a different image from the one Hirate has had before.

“Hirate is a stoic person, she's willing to take on whatever is necessary for the movie and gave an enthusiastic performance. She also seems to be interested in actions and asked Okada a lot of questions.”

• [JMovie Magazine]

Hirate’s acting as Hinako (a girl in a wheelchair with a fierce upbringing) also shines in the movie. In the climax scene, they decided to reshoot the scene that had been shot once. "Hirate was pulled by Tsutsumi's acting, and her emotions as Hinako were build. She wasn't convinced with the scene yet, so we decided to reshoot it. Her guts were amazing in that scene." recalls the director.

WeStillSubbing subbed The Fable's trailer

 

Last part is really interesting. It seems Techi's reasearch for perfection did not end with Keyaki, which doesn't surprises me but makes me hope she'll always met adults who will give her the chance to try again. Because believing a young woman's opinion, one who is barely an actress, by actual professionals is not that usual all around the world, I think. So it always hit me and makes me glad.

 

Question of the day (lol)
I was driving in the fog, could barely see the road in front of me and Yoake no Kodoku started. It had been one of the most surreal and yet peaceful and perfect drives I ever experienced lol
anyway, once at home I decided to post it on twitter and found the video on YT from Arena Tour 2018 and the question is:
when exactly Techi learnt to play the piano?
Because I don't remember her to be particularly musically capable at the beginning, nor her knowing how to play an instrument.. but maybe I'm recalling it wrong?

 

I don't rembember the episode, but her learning piano might have been mentioned in Keyakake. Or was it the interviews. Or Girls Locks.
Anyway, Japanese Wikipedia says she did ballet from 5 until 12 yo and learned piano since the age of 4.
バレエは5歳から始め[7]、12歳まで習っていた[48]。その他、ピアノを4歳から習っていた経験もある[7]。

 

Thank you! I remember she did ballet but I have complete amnesia about the piano part. Oh well...

 

Techi’s family pushed her to learn a number of things but she enjoyed none of them. Good that they came helpful for her during Keyaki era and even now. For the Yoake performance I think she had to relearn piano since she dropped for so long but I forgot where I read that. Also the iconic Jibun no Hitsugi with guitar that we’ll never get to see? I wish she’d continue learning the instruments and flex it to us when she has the chance.

Some stuffs to look forward to: Techi, Shison and Masaki will be appearing on ViVi and Cancam Feb issue (both release 12/23). Very high chance that we’d see brown-hair Techi.