Kakizaki Memi (Memitan) / 1st Generation

I really think Memi could have gone on, except that her jaw started to shake. That's what she said when she quit: her jaw was shaking. That's something that happens to her when she's cold, or excited (like when Mona hugged her, lol). I think she quit more out of embarrassment than pain: she has said that the nickname she hated most was "Agomi" ("Jaw-mi").

But I think she has trouble doing what is required in variety. Her thing is being quiet and calm. And in variety they want extreme reactions like Mona's or even Akanen's in this show. However, I definitely do not want her to change in this way. To me, her excellence is in the quiet grace she has shown ever since her Showroom auditions. She has to be herself -- and yet she has to learn how to make more of an impression in variety. Ah, well. She has time. And they are evidently giving her every chance.

 

She has kinda set herself up as Akanen's official rival in Hiragana. She might have lost both competitions against Moriya, but she didn't embarrass herself and she's is 4 years younger than The VC so has more room to grow. Sarge better watch herself a french doll is coming to take her most athletic in Keya crown.

 

I'm waiting for the 50-meter sprint. I can hardly believe she could beat the refuse-to-lose fastest-idol-in-Japan in that, but you never know.

Maybe the rivalry was set up when Memi's jaw shook when Mona and Techi hugged her, but not when Akanen did. (That's what Mona says, anyway. Lol.)

 

I think Memi is just a more natural athlete than Moriya, just because a person is gifted at something it doesn't mean they are interested in that thing.
The rivalry started in the arm wrestling competition, Memi may not be completely aware of it, but I'm damn sure Sarge is.
Moriya has more of a will to win than Memi, but Memi has more athletic talent.

 

Mountain Memi goes out into the woods to pick wild vegetables. New Memi blog post.



As if to prove @Meiji Ishin's assertion of her natural athleticism, she enjoys playing around in an adventure playground/obstacle course set up in the woods there in Nagano.

I see just now that Memi has not sold out her last handshake lane (in Kyoto), while Sarina has passed her and sold out. Despite the fact that the Memi-Akanen arm-wrestling had happened before this sales period. I wonder what's going on. Has Memi gone from seeming too loli for people to seeming too strong? Easy to see why Sarina would sell out, though, from her appearance on Keyakake to her sets of gravure photos on Hustle Press.

 

Kakizaki Memi blog: Bunny-san April Fool. Looking forward to high school, a new life, and becoming a non-JK-like JK. (JK="high school girl")

 

Blog post (not saying much) about the PV featuring Memi and Mirei. You can see the preview on this Chinese site. I hope the full PV is more interesting.



Still no comment from her about the BokuTsuki MV. If it doesn't come next time, I'll think she was disappointed in her role or how she did. There was a point at which she seemed not to know what to do with her hands. But she was great in the decorating the office scenes, where she could react naturally. And good at other times. But not featured.

 

Memi blog post: 4th single, anniversary live. Not much info, but a couple of good pics, one featuring her amazingly thick and lustrous hair. No talk about the MV....



EDIT: As expected Memi has sold out all 12 handshake lanes she had, finally filling up the one remaining lane, in Nagoya. But she has been given no more lanes to fill. The only Hiraganas to get extra lanes were Katoshi (24 of 24 filled), Kyonko (21/24), Takamoto (15/18), Kage-chan (13/18), Sarina (12/17).

 

fanart of Memi



https://twitter.com/masa_shiho/status/850080514530660352

 

Memi blog post: first handshake event for the 4th single. Pics of Memi with Sarina and Habu-chan. Also images of the excellent caricatures of fans she drew as part of a special event on Sunday.

 

news articles about Memi


http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK3D61F3K3DUOOB00Q.html

 

Memi blog post about the portrait-drawing event. With comments (and pics) from people she drew. And her drawing of Aoi. I'd say her portraits may or may not look like their subjects, but they look very good, in any case. As in most things, I like her style.



I've got the full article from Asahi Shimbun (Nagano edition) and I'll try to get to it to translate it. If I do, that will be the last thing for a while, since I'm on the road for a month, and won't be able to do much except read the posts here sometimes. Have a look at this post. The reports of the portrait subjects put her in a good light. Also, have a look at the full PV she and Mirei made. They sing in it quite a bit, and it sounds good. It's many times more interesting than the short version.

EDIT: No, what I have is a photo of the article from the print edition of the paper, but it's no more than is on line there in @CutePanda's link, leaves out a couple of details and adds a couple. I've turned it into a blog post.



If I had been willing to register with the newspaper, there might have been more article available.

 

fanart of Memi and Miipan



https://twitter.com/asaibomb/status/856521119427313665

 

photos + interview from Hustle Press



https://hustlepress.co.jp/hiraganakeyaki_45/

Memi is a fast runner and she ranked 2nd in her school

 

The Kakizaki bot keeps posting even retweet of this photoshoot onto my twitter timeline. It's worst in the evenings JPT. I think I need to mute this bot...

 

additional photos from Hustle Press



https://hustlepress.co.jp/hiraganakeyaki_46/

 

Here's a translation of her Thursday post, about a photo-shoot with Kage-chan. Plus numerous photo highlights from the past month.

 

Two blog posts from Memi in the past 24 hours:
-- A new hairstyle for dance lessons that keeps her hair out of her eyes, showing her forehead.
-- A cute deformed pic of Memi and Manaka, after they were together for the handshake event Saturday

 

And now another post today, following the individual handshake session, showing what she wore and how she did her hair. I include first-person reports from some of her handshake guests.



I'm intending to translate all of the blog posts of my top favorite members: Suzumoto, Neru, Hirate and Memi. Memi's posting pace is testing my resources, but I really love her posts: so simple and straightforward and well illustrated and nicely written.

 

Memi just won't stop! A new blog post again today. With photos that help reconcile me to her bare-forehead look.