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Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

Discussion in 'Hinatazaka46 Graduated Members' started by ForrestFuller, May 11, 2016.

  1. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Loved seeing this still from the DVD previews:

    [​IMG]

    Memi and Yurina. Friends at school -- but no talking about work, Memi once said.

    A couple of little things from Message:
    • Memi loves the drama, but is looking forward to the end of shooting because she has had enough of the twintails.
    • Kyonko loves ramen, Memi loves oshaburi konbu: sticks of dried seaweed you suck on.
     
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2017
  2. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    The DVD-extra video on Type C is fantastic: Memi/Techi/Mona/Fuu-chan/Shii-chan/Mii-Pan/Mao-chan/Aoi. Vivid reactions, lots of laughter. Memi always around Techi and Techi smiling a lot with her. Techi and Mona very easy together, with Mona helping her. It was a bit like Mona was Techi's husband and Memi her wife.

    Memi and Mona were ready for anything: the only ones to volunteer for all the challenges, from feeding the tiger to having the snake around their neck (although Memi didn't get to do this latter). And when Memi fed the tiger, she kind of teased it by moving the meat around. Fuu-chan said how S she was. I think that's confirmed, lol.

    Memi and Techi kept glancing at each other, perhaps amazed that the other did/did not want to get up close and personal with the animals. Shii-chan was so funny and real trying not to be touched by the big snake. Aoi and Mao-chan were not very comfortable around animals. Mao made a great comic schtick out of it, Aoi just faded into the woodwork when she could, with a strained look. Poor Aoi, as my grandma would have said. Fuu-chan was definitely the leader of this group, introducing and arranging things. The Type C video with Neru, Habu, Sugai, Nijika, Kyonko and others is also great (Neru is wonderful, Kyonko hilarious). Haven't seen the other two videos yet.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    In that radio broadcast where Memi and Techi played the "I love you" game (the goal is not to react when the other says she loves you), Memi just burst into tears when Techi said it. Techi laughed that Memi was not much of an opponent. In this video, I got the feeling that Memi in particular was so aware of Techi, always circling around the group to get back to her. And Techi made a point of walking with Memi sometimes, too, it appeared. In general, however, although the Kanjis showed respect for and interest in the Hiraganas, they did often drift into their two groups.

    One of Memi's problems as an idol was illustrated: her nice voice is both deep and soft, so it was hard to hear over the others, most of whom were both louder and shriller. It was also interesting to see that Memi was dressed to look younger than she is, while Techi was dressed to look older. Techi is only six months older than Memi, who turns 16 in a little over a month.

    Memi has not posted to her blog for several days now, after having posted almost daily for a while. Her Messages have dropped off, too. I wondered if she was busy somewhere, either with school or with work. In Message on Thursday evening, she wrote that she was very busy that day with Re:Mind, and it has been more tiring than before, but she enjoys it. I have the notion that Memi could be a good actress, so I'm hoping I'm right and that the director thinks so too, and has given her a role that becomes more and more important and time-consuming as the show goes on. That would be more interesting and promising than just having to do more schoolwork, lol. But that is also a possibility: Memi has said she's not that great in school, but does okay if she works hard.

    I'd also like to pass on a (very) little joke from Memi's Message. Tuesday, the day before a release, is an early sales day where you can go and buy the CD a day in advance of the official release. The day is called "furage," which is from the Japano-English "flying get."

    In one post, Memi wrote: "Today the 5th single, Kaze ni Fukaretemo, has its kurage!!!!"

    Quickly in the next post, she corrected herself: "Oh. Not kurage, furage."

    "Kurage" means "jellyfish," which is Memi's favorite animal.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2017
  3. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    Nice video indeed. Techi-Memi and Techi-Mona interactions were as heart warming as they could get, even considering that perhaps this is from the time Techi could barely talk. Memi and Techi seems to always find each other though.
    And while I like Memi wilingness to try out the challenges I also truly appreciated her take-it-easy way while everyone else was trying to cook lol I'm pretty sure she did near nothing there lol
     
  4. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    The way I saw it, I thought she was actually helping cook by cutting things. But I'll take a closer look, lol. Her family eats BBQs at home, so I think she knew more about how to prepare stuff than some of the others. And she was always ready to poke her nose in on what others were doing. Normally, she seems to make a lot of background suggestions and give (wanted or unwanted) guidance, but I didn't see that this time. With those sleeves, I hate to imagine what might have happened if she had tried her hand at the barbecue itself. Techi and Mona were very much on the edge of incompetence there, lol.
     
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2017
  5. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    I'll have to rewatch it too, but yeah, thankfullly she chose to stay away from the flambè-duo... at least for the time it took to cook.
    On another note, like you said, she needs to become more vocal for business reasons, but I frankly like how she is now.
    Hope management has already a well planned path for her future
     
  6. kovian

    kovian Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2016
    Location:
    MoNa Kingdom
    Oshimen:
    shidamanaka
    Memi should be more proactive on that video, like when she feed the lion. i think she were influence by Techi "shyness" lol. "the edge of incompetence" quote gave me a good laugh :) more like fall into it.
     
  7. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    New blog post: Memi and the snake. She eventually did get a chance to hold the snake. The post includes more photos of Memi from other members' logs, and much of what I put in the general post above. As well as a link to the video on YouTube.

    @kovian -- Yes, I think Memi was influenced by Techi's shyness. But also by the Hiragana shyness to butt in on the Kanjis. Personally, I hate that. They should all be equal, in normal life. But at the New Year's prayer last January, Memi made an ema prayer-board asking for "self-confidence." I think this video may be a milestone in her realizing she can be more forward. At least I hope so.

    I've watched again and Memi did help, though she seemed a bit diffident, and was pretty awkward with that big knife, lol. And she stuck with the Hiraganas at first.

    As another member said about her many months ago, she knows how to "read the atmosphere" like an adult. But maybe she reads it too much and hesitates to get involved when she should get involved. I wonder if she herself insisted on getting a turn with the snake, even though it wouldn't be taped, or if someone else pushed for her. The contrast between shy Memi and the Memi who crashed Kyonko's Showroom and gambolled about is so striking.

    I agree in liking the current Memi. It worries me that what I like about her are things that are not very idol-like and may impede her progress. Like her natural reactions and inability to give convincing fake smiles. The slight smiles in the Soredemo video are what suit her, but they may make too little impression even there.

    I have thought, like you, that I hope management understands all this (and more) and has a good plan for helping her show herself in the best way. They evidently have had high hopes for her, and are giving her some prominence, in variety and on stage, to develop and test her.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2017
  8. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Happy Hallowe'en everybody. In Message, Memi wishes us a Happy Hallowe'en...but says that if we don't give her candy, she will play tricks on us. That's the real Memi, lol. At the Sunday handshake event in Kyoto, everyone will apparently do Hallowe'en cosplay. I've always wanted to see Memi as a vampire, but perhaps her fixed teeth make that less likely now, lol. The pointed teeth she used to have (she has used that word "pointed" herself) always made me think of her as a young vampire. And I think they made her think that way, too. She has always said she liked horror and vampires.

    I am very happy that we are now seeing more of her: interviewed for the race on KeyaKake, fairly prominent on the Saitama video extra, clear images of her singing in the Soredemo MV and studio performance, commenting in Soredemo making video.

    In the race on KeyaKake, Memi's acceleration was amazing, but it was needed because of what happened at the beginning of the race. Right at the beginning, Memi noticed Mii-chan stumbling, and looked over at her a couple of times before deciding she had to get a move on. This clearly slowed her start. But her acceleration made up for it. I think her time would have been closer to her middle school 7.5 seconds if she hadn't been concerned for Mii-chan. As Memi gets going, you can see that she is actually a natural athlete, with quite a good (and determined) running style.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Others have suggested Memi looked over because she wanted Paripi-chan to win, and was trying to time herself to make that possible, but that when she saw how fast Nijika was going, she decided to speed up. That might have been there at one point, but I think noticing Mii-chan was the main thing.

    I'm not sure if Nijika's sore leg happened during the race or when she tried to slow down too suddenly after it was over. If the former, that played some role in Memi being able to win.

    EDIT: Just found this excellent gif of the race on Memi's 2channel support thread:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2017
  9. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    There's a very brief interview with Memi in the Soredemo making-of part of the recent AbemaTV special. We don't get many interviews, so I've subbed this one. Nervous, talkative, with a particular style and a peculiar cadence. The same person as in the auditions, but age almost 16 instead of 14-1/2, and with lots more experience. Maybe a bit less at ease than she was, though, unfortunately. Interesting snapshot.




    EDIT: New blog post by Memi: Red leaves reflected on the water. She talks about a little walk she took, and the sight of red autumn leaves reflected in the water.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
  10. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    No post-handshake blog post from Memi yet, but here's something from Satou Shiori's blog:

    [​IMG]

    from Shii-chan's blog: "Hey! Look! Look! Isn't this terrific? Lol. Makes your heart throb. Tekko and Memi-chan are the best. I've got another version that I'll send in Message."
    "Terrific" translates yabai, which means 'dangerous, terrible, terrific, amazing'). When she says that Techi-Memi is the best, she uses Neru's dialect phrase "saikou ka yo!"

    That's only one of Memi's two Sunday handshake outfits. I hope she herself will post both and tell us who they are.
     
  11. Dill

    Dill Next Girls

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Techi
    Those two tho... are doing everything to make me break my resolution to never ship real people. :cute:
     
  12. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Now there's a post from Memi, with pics of all three costumes she wore on Sunday. And no mention of Techi...yet. I've included the photo above and some comments from Twitter.

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  13. dedaydor

    dedaydor Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2017
    Oshimen:
    ishimorinijika
    Judging from the way Memi is looking at her in that photo, I could tell she really likes Techi. Love it. Hope their ship sails further.
     
  14. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Way back in her auditions a year and a half ago, Memi mentioned Techi as the member she admired. Earlier this year, when she was on Techi's radio show they did the "I love you" game and when Techi said it to Memi, Memi broke down in tears.

    Just to cover myself, I have to say that some (most?) of this kind of stuff is mainly pretense and entertainment. But that won't stop me believing what I want to believe, lol.
     
  15. dedaydor

    dedaydor Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2017
    Oshimen:
    ishimorinijika
    Ah, I see. If I remember it correctly, she also uttered Techi's name in one of Hiragana's group Showrooms.

    Looking at Memi like that, I don't exactly recall vividly but I heard something like this:

    If a girl looks at you the way (Memi) looks at (Techi), then wife her. She's a keeper.

    ..or something like that along the lines. :D
     
  16. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    I was just watching the one from July (?) where she was complaining to Kumi about Kumi doing things with Mei rather than her, but when Kumi refused to change, Memi fought back by saying: "That's fine. I've got Yurina." Mana was then gesturing to her as if to say: "Don't talk like that!" Lol.

    It was pointed out recently that in her blog Memi calls Techi "Yurina" (of course) and Neru "Neru" -- with no honorific (-san, -chan, etc.) The Japanese poster was struck by that, but admired it. That's how Kanjis refer to each other, reportedly after Ozeki told them early on to dump the honorifics and go informal and equal, regardless of age. I think that was a big contribution by Ozeki, and I wish all the Hiraganas could be as at ease with Kanjis as Memi and Kyonko seem to be.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2017
  17. dedaydor

    dedaydor Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2017
    Oshimen:
    ishimorinijika
    Ah. I remember it now. Thanks.

    During the recent KeyaKake Fall Sports Festival episode when they talked about the collision between the girls in the giant ball battle, I noticed Akanen mentioned the other team as 'hiragana-chans' while Kumi addressed the opposing side as 'kanji-san'. It is understandable, I thought, given that they're recording a tv show and proper honorifics should be used.

    But I partly remembered someone in hiragana said (is it Shihorin or Memi?) that they want to stand side by side with the Kanji girls. I sure hope they do and see it in the future.
     
  18. Navicon46

    Navicon46 Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2017
  19. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    New Memi blog post about the Fukuoka tour performance and showing off her winter muffler.

    [​IMG]
     
  20. ukifune

    ukifune Under Girls

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2016
    Drawing of Memi in her Wednesday Addams persona (right, from the last handshake event) about to "burn Santa to death". It's a Christmas story, lol. Drawing from twitter by @mcrngzk.

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Character from the Addams Family movie, played there by Christina Ricci. The movie, based on an earlier TV series, was horror comedy about a family of monsters. Just Memi's taste.
     

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