Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

8-21-2018 showroom

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https://www.bilibili.com/video/av29932095


source

Techi Memi fanart

Spoiler

fanart

 

Man! That wink! Straight through kokoro!

I am happy that Memi is taking her job very seriously and confidently... All the best wishes for the stage play..

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Tamaki Iroha's birthday was this Wednesday. She was 15, so now she must be..."sixteen years old."



Thanks to a commenter on my blog for alerting me to the fact.

EDIT: New pic of Memi in the play:



She said on Showroom that Ayumi was quite a different kind of play, with having to play a number of characters (all Ayumi, of course). This is the first time she has had a single character to work at getting into on stage. She knows the game and has clear ideas of what Iroha is like. She said Iroha is a "good girl", and she herself would like to do her best to be more like her.

 

Coincidences are sometimes surprising.. Her facial expressions have improved a lot.. I may not be a great observer but... You can feel a different aura she is emitting if we compared her acting career before the stage play..

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Early Twitter reviews are in from people who were there, and it sounds like the show was even better than people hoped and a triumph for Memi.
-- Memi-chan shone extremely brightly...she was so cute that my heart beat faster. I apologize if the sound of it beating disturbed people around me.
-- you could say the stage belonged to Memi.
-- the stage was overwhelmingly Memi's
-- as for the volume of their voices...Kyouko and Memi were amazing
-- I fell in love with Memi's singing voice
-- Memi and Mii-Pan again showed their great acting ability
-- Memi's acting, with its strong sense of presence, are a good argument for her becoming centre next time
-- Memi was on stage a lot, and her fighting was fantastic
-- I have to report: Memi was the best
-- Kakizaki Memi has set forth
-- Memi, Mii-Pan and Paripi as well as Sarina and Miho
-- everybody sang well, especially Memi
-- will the play be put out on disk? And a CD of the songs? I would truly listen to them over and over again. Mii-Pan's singing was especially good, and I kept thinking "Was Memi really this good?"
-- Everybody was good, but as the main character, Memi had lots of solos, and she was terrific. So was Mii-Pan.
-- I apologize to Memi oshis: I was watching her through binoculars the whole time

There was a lot of talk about Memi's thighs... One person wanted to give a Nobel Prize to th person who designed her costume, which showed her belly pretty clearly through the body-stocking. And that's just on Twitter. I haven't seen 5channel yet, lol. Really it sounds as if she was cute, convincing in the role, very good at the fighting, and an astoundingly good singer. Here are some photo from what seems to have been a dress rehearsal for the press the day before the premiere:



EDIT: As the lead, Memi spoke at the curtain call: "Most of all, I'm happy that we were able to get through this first day successfully. This is our first experience doing a 2.5D stage play, and we worked extremely hard. To have so many people come to see it brings us such joy. We will do our best, with all we have, right to the last performance. Please treat us well."

I just added those last two photos from TPL. I can see Memi acting in the second-last one, and she seems so happy, perhaps at the response from the people there, in the last one. Click photos to enlarge.

EDIT: And the beat goes on: the Saturday daytime performance is over (there is also an evening performance) and here are a couple of reactions:
-- It was fantastic. I'm so glad I came. Memi-chan was the greatest.
-- This was the play in which it seemed to me that Memi went from being a chick to spreading her wings.

 

The director of Re:Mind has Tweeted that Memi's performance was "overwhelmingly unmatched." "That kid really is outstanding." He also praised Mirei, Paripi and Miho as solid, and said the show was entertaining even for someone who hadn't seen the anime or played the game.



EDIT: People on 5channel are saying that no Memi oshi should miss this play. One guy said a friend in Tokyo told him he had to come, that if he didn't he would regret it for his whole life. So he was planning the long journey from Fukuoka.

EDIT2: If I ever doubted that artist Kakizaki Junichi was Memi's father, I don't now. He recently posted pics of the jellyfish exhibit at the Niigata aquarium. Jellyfish are Memi's favorite. He's playing with us now, lol. Hopefully this means that ota knowing who he is hasn't interfered with him much. Unfortunately, the big news in his life is that he has a detached retina and can't see out of one eye. He says that his camera is his eyes now.

His pics of his art, and other people's art, are great. Besides pieces, installations and photos, he works with others to do performance art involving nature, and especially flowers.

EDIT3: Memi will have what I think is her first solo TV appearance next Sunday at 8am on the weekly kids Pokemon show Pokemon no Uchi Atsumaru? ("Shall we get together at Pokemon's house?"). The other guest on the weekly show will be Sunshine Ikezaki! The last Keyaki-chan to be on the show (as far as I know) was Shida Manaka, in February 2017. Memi does like Pokemon and went to see the Pokemon movie not long ago.



Something is happening here. Memi the chick may really be spreading her wings and beginning to fly.

EDIT4: Next Wednesday's Weekly Shounen Sunday manga magazine will feature Memi on the cover between Miho and Nibu-chan.

 

Is it Eevee ears? Memi looks cute! Now.. Is it me or Memi looks toned a little? She looks more beautiful..

 

Memi blog post: Kage-chan's hiatus; fireworks; handshake yukata...plus photos/video about Magia Record.



@MysticInstinct -- Memi of a thousand faces. All cute. She seemed mature and a bit tired in her Showroom, and you can see that in the photos in this post, too. Yet another Memi. She has said that the rehearsals for the fighting in the play made her muscles sore...so she must be in better shape now. The photos of her in costume that have people gasping over the hint of belly-button and the more than a hint of thigh, also show stomach muscles. Memi has always been strong, however, especially in her lower body, in her shoulders, and in her hands. And when you see her dancing, you can see that she makes those sharp dancer movements.

 

Another Memi blog post: the pics of handshake event flowers that she promised above. Plus some interesting reports from handshake guests.



Interesting description of the dress in the first two pictures, from the Kakizaki Memi Birthday Festival Executive Committee 2018:
Isn't this dress cute? It's an adult pattern, but there's a cleanness about it that makes it not too adult. High quality. As for the hairstyle, the bangs are exceptionally neat, but with loose curls, and a red ribbon that echoes the colour in the dress. And does the make-up go with it all, too? The overall feeling is of a young lady from the Imperial Family who has been invited to a dinner-party. Memi-sama.

My own first thoughts were less artistic: I wondered if it had come from Neru, like other clothes. Now I wonder if it comes from management, who seem as if they could be giving Memi a special push. Duet on disk. Star in play. Solo TV work.

 

Full preview of next Sunday's "Let's Get Together at Pokemon's House," with guests Kakizaki Memi and comedy star Sunshine Ikezaki:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Memi seems to have learned how to smile believably on cue. Or else she is just so happy and entertained being there with Sunshine.

 

Here's a new digest video of the play, with a bit of live action, especially from Mirei and Memi, and brief interviews, especially from Memi:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Memi is fantastic, especially in the final interview. Real emotions bubbling up, from a tear at remembering how insecure she was at the start, to her joy at the prospect of doing this for another then shows. The acting is a bit dramatic for me, but must remember this is a musical. Memi is the emotion specialist, at any rate. They planned for her and Mirei to be the stars, and so they seem to have proved. Another level of acting. (I've already posted this video and some other info over in the Hiragana Keyaki thread).

 

http://48videodouga.net/video/8517

 

Ah, love seeing the girls doing well independently. Memi got pretty comfortable after the initial nervous intro.

Spoiler

Man, Shokotan is starting to look old. Still love her to death though.

 

I've been away for a month, and couldn't post. All I managed to do was follow Memi's 5channel support thread. But from that highly biased source, this seems to have been a fantastic month for her, maybe a turning point in her career. It started with Pokemon's House on TV with comedian Sunshine Ikezaki (who said she was like a little sister, "Sunshine Kakizaki"); went on to her starring role in the Hiragana Magia Record stage play, where she showed that she could act, sing and do stage fighting; to a new role in the upcoming Sakamichi Zambi stage play (along with Katoshi, Kyonko, and Nao, as well as members of Keyakizaka and Nogizaka); and ended with two GanaOshi episodes in which she was given a prominent role, with her "burikko" stares and winks, including a one-punch wink knockout of Kasuga and her little comedy routine with Takase.

For me, Memi's main strength has always been how natural and present she seems, and those "stares" they mentioned are part of that: her thing is to create moments of direct, eye-to-eye contact with audience members, giving a feeling of communication as much as performance. Something like breaking the fourth wall in drama. I saw this in her audition over two years ago, and it is finding new forms of expression now.

From Magia Record:



Word now is that they only had a week's real rehearsal before the first performance. Wow. Memi had far more lines than any other member of the cast.

From Pokemon's House, with Sunshine Ikezaki:



A pic from Message. She doesn't post that much, but some of her posts include some of her best photos. Instructions for how to subscribe to Message are here.



Video of her one-wink KO of Kasuga:


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Video of her comedy duo with Manafi:


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Memi the cat (check out last part especially):


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With Kubou Shiori promoting Zambi:


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Memi has suddenly gone from seeming shy and quiet to being a confident performer and comedian.

 

At Sunday's handshake mini-live a couple of hours ago, Memi made the surprise announcement that the Hiragana stage play Magia Record will be sold on DVD/BD, release date 27 Feb 2019. It will also be shown on TV on TBS2 from 10pm to midnight, Saturday 24 November. Details on official site. The recording is of the final performance on 9 September.

One tweet uses words that suggest Memi had an irrepressible and maybe somewhat self-satisfied smile as she made the announcement. Sounds about right. （芽実がホクホク笑顔でBlu-ray出ますって報告してたのが見れて良かった。）

A number of comments express delight at the "Blu-Ray" part of the announcement. Further detail here. BD will be Y9800 and DVD Y8800. Both will include the main disk and a disk of video extras, as well as a photobook, a random member postcard, and coupons to apply for a special event and/or present. source

One comment criticizes some otaku for shouting as Memi was making her announcement, but notes that when the word "Buruu..." (as in "Blu-Ray") issued from her lips, there was a great cry of "Yesss!"

Here again is the little TV ad they made for the play, about halfway through its run. A couple of Memi's interview bits are so emotionally effective. First, the tears in her eyes as she remembers how very worried and unsure she was at first. Then at the end, the way her voice catches in irrepressible joy as she says that as difficult as it was, now she wants to go on and make a whole bunch of fantastic works.


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Tonight on GanaOshi, Memi and Mirei sing Tricycle (Sanrinsha ni Noritai) from the album.

 

Memi blog post : At Pokemon's House with Sunshine Ikezaki. This post from 2 September is Memi's only post in September. She has apparently been concentrating on performance. Her singing on Tricyle was solid and stable, and it was actually she who sang some of the lines I had previously thought were so good they had to be Mirei's!

 

Thank goodness you're back!

I almost organized a search party.

 

Suddenly -- over a month after the last one -- a new blog post from Memi. She announces the BD/DVD release and says that she loved playing Tamaki so much that she is willing to make a contract with Kyuubey to be a mahou shoujo in return for getting a chance to act in a sequel to the play.



Memi in full Iroha glory. Memi with actress Kokubu Asahi, who is younger than Memi and played her little sister in the play (her Twitter). Memi with a dubious-seeming Kiku-chan at the Sunday handshake event.

EDIT: And here are a couple of shots from Kosaka Nao's blog today. Nao says that Memi may be an amaenbo, always depending on others, but when they're together, it's she who hangs on Memi..."because Memi's so cute." I noticed Nao sneaking peeks at Memi during their KeyaRoom together last season. Nao may find the calm, quiet Memi fascinating. Those two are the members who seem to me to have the least fear in their eyes. The photos are not very recent, maybe around last January.

 

For those of us who care: Memi and Kyouko were on the Yuugata Paradise radio show on Monday. The host, Hannya Kaneda, asked Memi who she loved. She said it was a secret. Later he asked again who she loved in the group mentioned (Techi, Manafi, Neru, Kumi). At first she said she loved all of them. He pressed her. She said: "You mean seriously?" And then she said the one she seriously is in love with (gachi koi) is Hirate Yurina. Here's the show, from YouTube:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Not that her saying it proves it, but...sounds true. Sorry, Manafi. Sorry, Kumi. Lol.

Memi was pretty good on the show, coming up with things to say and creating little playlets when called upon. She read things well, but with a bit too much cute lisp for them to be perfectly clear. They talked about Magia Record and Zambi near the beginning, and Kyouko made a point of saying that Memi was outstanding in it. Memi made humble noises, but I think she loves to hear that said. I would.

I felt that Kyouko was actually holding back a bit sometimes, making space for Memi to come forward into. It'd be great if they could work out a way of making comedy together, as Kyouko and Neru have done so well. Kyouko can be hilarious, and so can Memi, but in quite different ways. I hope that Memi becoming a bit more restrained in her heavy embraces is allowing Kyouko to like her more.

They talked about Memi being a "nature girl" and gathering mushrooms in the fall, and about Kyouko's ramen expeditions. Memi said she loved ramen and was eager to go along with Kyouko sometime -- but she didn't offer to show Kyouko her secret mushroom places, lol. Memi said she likes to go and do karaoke alone. Kyouko wanted to do it with her, lol. Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Maybe solo karaoke is part of the reason Memi can sing so much more strongly now: she could go and sing at the top of her voice without anyone to be embarrassed in front of. She did say what she sings are idol songs. Before the album, the mentioned ℃-ute's Sekai Ichi Happy na Onna no Ko.

The host asked what kind of high school student the two of them were: artsy or athletic or what. Memi said she was both: she did well on the physical testing and at just about any game, but was in the Art Club. Kyouko said she was the opposite of "both", and was not athletic at all.

Memi gave a lot of credit to Mii-Pan for taking the lead when they sing. Memi said she herself isn't very skilled at singing and Mii-Pan is. I thought Mii-Pan might have had more musicality, but Memi was slightly closer to in tune.