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=LOVE (イコールラブ, イコラブ, ikorabu, eqlove)

Discussion in 'The STAGE48 Idol Emporium' started by fatrain, Jun 15, 2017.

  1. fatrain

    fatrain Under Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    sugeeeee! =LOVE is going to Paris @ JAPAN EXPO on 7/7! :omfg::banana:
    first Taiwan now Paris... 48 groups are seriously aiming for World domination! :fear:

    https://www.japan-expo-paris.com/en/actualites/love-the-ideal-idol-group_105579.htm
    https://www.japan-expo-paris.com/en/invites/-love_915.htm
    http://equal-love.jp/news/detail/550

    "News
    =LOVE: the ideal idol group!

    The young idol/voice actress group =LOVE debuted a year ago and is already famous
    all over Japan. Now its members are determined to win Japan Expo!

    Co-produced by Rino SASHIHARA (member of HKT48) and the prestigious Yoyogi
    Animation Academy, =LOVE wishes to become a perfect idol group.
    With already two successful singles, =LOVE and Bokura no Seifuku Christmas,
    this goal will soon be (or may have already been) reached!

    In July, the twelve members of this promising group invite you to boost your energy
    during a lively showcase and come to meet you at signings!"
     
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  2. gocchisama

    gocchisama Member Stage48 Donor

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2012
    Location:
    Paris,France
    Oshimen:
    hirateyurina
    Twitter:
    Gocchisama
    tempting. I already saw them in TIF and thought they have a communicative energy.

    Good idea to go to Paris, it will boost the girl confidence that their activities have impact.
     
  3. sscrla

    sscrla Stage48 Moderator Staff Member Stage48 Moderator

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2015
    Oshimen:
    Takayanagi Akane
  4. chronophysicist

    chronophysicist Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2018
    Location:
    Australia
    Oshimen:
    minegishiminami
    why Paris of all places tho?
    is Japan EXPO like a convention to promote travel to Japan or something?

    just didn't imagine that idol culture was a thing in Paris of all places, Taiwan made more sense
    OR, was this part of Sasshi's plan all along, to make this dark themed single to be more appealing to the French audience somehow?
     
  5. May48

    May48 Future Girls

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2017
    Oshimen:
    Ishida Chiho
    Twitter:
    May2906
    I'm alrady in France in the beginning of June for Angerme, but I am contemplating about doing a 1 day trip by bus to France in July for =LOVE. I really want to see them. Do we have any schedule yet? Need to know if it works with the return time lol
     
  6. ArchieRinn

    ArchieRinn Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    hello, I'm new here, I'm interested in =LOVE since their MV appearance as ending theme of Anisong Station. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu~
     
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  7. bonjourmarlene

    bonjourmarlene Under Girls Wiki48 Editor

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2016
    Location:
    UK-AUT
    Oshimen:
    小林蘭
    Twitter:
    curioushitomi
    Japan Expo is quite a big convention and a lot of people from all over Europe who are interested in Japanese culture go there. It's not only idols, but also actors and actresses, as well as mangaka and possibly video game creators (last year Nintendo was also there). AKB48 themselves went to the Japan Expo in Paris in 2009 as well and performed Aitakatta, Namida Surprise, Sakura no Hanabiratachi and 10nen Zakura... maybe other songs too.

    Sakura no Hanabiratachi is interesting to watch 'cause it's in better quality (recorded for AKBingo) and because Matsui Rena says "This is the last one. Sakura no Hanabiratachi" in French and they sing the chorus in French


    if the video does not show watch the video here

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    I can imagine it's quite a good opportunity for up-and-coming Japanese artists to go there to spread out the market in Europe.
     
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  8. ArchieRinn

    ArchieRinn Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2018
    they got 200K views in 4 days... I don't know is it great or not, as I don't know MV Bokukuri views count from the beginning :wtf:
     
  9. fatrain

    fatrain Under Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    awesome! I hope they'll hang out together.

    ==========

    Ikaringu (Iori and Maika) got another saiyuu jobs!
    they'll voice over some characters in the Playstation 4 game Friday the 13th: The Game

    http://equal-love.jp/news/detail/553

    ==============

    Maika's and Naatan's Vital Gear (remember that audition with Tsunku?) characters a voice samples

    https://www.vitalgeargame.net/character/pana
    https://www.vitalgeargame.net/character/rithia

    ===========

    fan made animation of Teokure Caution
    (it's about time =LOVE gets noticed by anime fandom)

    https://www.bilibili.com/video/av22044460

     
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  10. Mayoyo

    Mayoyo Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2017
    Location:
    Jakarta
    Oshimen:
    sashihararino
    i wonder if Sasshi has a thing for a black sailor :lol:
     
  11. maman

    maman Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Nov 5, 2017
    Location:
    Indonesia
    Oshimen:
    SR, KH
    "『Documentary of =LOVE』 - episode6 -【2017:debut year part2】"

    if the video does not show watch the video here
     
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  12. chronophysicist

    chronophysicist Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2018
    Location:
    Australia
    Oshimen:
    minegishiminami
    Ugh Mirinya gets extra screen time again...

    but in all seriousness though I have mentioned before that Mirinya seemed often a lot more reserved in conversations and interviews, again because of poor Japanese will have to request help from people here about what happened in the video, trying to work it out myself from what I seen:
    - Mirinya feels still distant from her peers and therefore is not able to jump in on discussions and as a result the seclusion makes her sad (seemed unlikely since it seems that Maika and Hitomi do try to involve her at time, though admittedly those 2 really get along a lot more to the point it sometimes almost looks like they're intentionally excluding her)
    OR
    - Mirinya is disappointed in herself not being able to contribute to conversation as much as Maika and Hitomi a lot of the time

    leads me to questions why the company still often uses this trio (Maika, Hitomi and Mirinya) to attend interviews. since a lot of these are radio programs where you only get audio so looks don't really matter here. Seeing the full Taiwan radio interview it really felt like Mirinya was barely there.
    The rest of the video shows that a lot of the other girls could've been a good third candidate to attend these interviews instead of Mirinya (Iori, Sana, Oba and Nagisa in particular would easily have been better picks).
    Perhaps the aim was to have Miaka and Hitomi help improve Mirinya's confidence and charisma? in which case I have to ask why isn't Nonno/Kiara/Shoko (who I think are also often not given enough chance to shine) getting similiar treatment?
    Feels bad that Mirinya so sad but at the very least she gets already a lot of attention with her looks and all those gravure stuff she does as well as Instagram.

    again apologies I can't do the Japanese so perhaps a lot of this is already explained in the video.
     
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  13. fatrain

    fatrain Under Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    ^ Mirinya is awesome. I'd say she 100% deserves every promotion she gets. she is the most popular member in the group right now by far.
    she is the only member who sold out her HS slots for new single even though she had the most of them (and she even got added an extra slot).
    she cries a lot, but those tears are because she genuinely care about the group and fans. you can often see in her Showrooms that she cries when she has a serious talk about her fans. overall, I've noticed that those girls who were previously in others groups are the most dedicated ones. their work ethics is top notch. probably because they can appreciate more how blessed they are now in comparison to their previous groups, so they work their hardest to return a favor and "realize the chance this time".

    back to Mirinya's case... she was crying because she was "disappointed in herself not being able to contribute to conversation as much as Maika and Hitomi a lot of the time". she was frustrated that she was a downer back there and she felt sorry that it could tarnish group's image.
    yeah, she's a poor talker and she knows it herself (she even said that she didn't talk that much prior school's 3rd grade! :yikes:).
    yeah, they could probably send a better talker instead of her, but I can come up with dozens of various reasons why they sent her, so there is really no point in "witch hunt" of "why her and not someone else". maybe she was the only one free at that moment, maybe it was her "training", maybe it was just a push according to her popularity, maybe she's an "entry point" not just for fans, but for showbiz people too, so that's why they use her as much as possible, maybe they knew about her talk weakness and this is exactly why they've used her when there where documentary cameras around... there are many possibilities, but we won't know true reasons anyway so there is no point in speculating. either way, I don't really care, and I think it was a pretty good occasion to showcase her character.

    and I'm saying all this even though she's not even my favorite ^^;

    looking forward to 7th episode! after watching the stage play it would be even more interesting to see backstage stuff.

    =============
    Iori-kun! :inlove: a future action star? :cool: [hehe]

    [​IMG]
     
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  14. chronophysicist

    chronophysicist Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2018
    Location:
    Australia
    Oshimen:
    minegishiminami
    yes I wouldn't doubt that at all, seemed quite obvious she was extremely popular.
    I'm no expert with showbiz I guess but if I was in Shoko/Kiara/Nonno's shoes ( or even their parent's) I'd feel like I've been forgotten already
    But I dunno, maybe that's just how things work in Japan, I just want everyone to get a fair amount of exposure is all, I want so much to be more interested in some of the other members but because there's hardly ever much publicity on them it makes it really hard

    could just be because they've had experience and know better what is expected of them. :wall:I'm such a negative person

    probably not, they'll just do whatever they feel is right. Just to clarify I'm not trying to spread hate for Mirinya, but I need to occupy myself with something until a new single comes out, so I always end up really inspecting everything shared here.
    There are some other things I have been speculating as well that probably don't matter but I'm more hesitant to mention them here because I was concerned they'd be considered as spreading negative vibes.:yikes:

    sigh you know up until before this video she was way at the bottom of my list because I had the impression that she was just a bitch behind the scenes and that's why she's always left out of conversations
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2018
  15. Elementaljyt

    Elementaljyt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    I was really surprise by this, maybe because I don't follow Emiri as much. But she always comes off as someone with a lot of confidence like the time on Kono Yubi Tomare where the host ask "Do you think you are cutest?" everybody chose no while only she chose yes. The Kojiharu vibe from her helps that impression I have of her. After watching this, all I know is that an idol's tears is a very dangerous weapon......
     
  16. fatrain

    fatrain Under Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    ^ Mirinya has a vibe of a cool fashionable older sister like Kojiharu, but she's actually quite shy, timid and kindhearted.
    you should be very careful with info you get from variety. most of the time it's just fake characters, jokes and lip service, so you shouldn't take everything at face value.
    I find SR much truer in showing a real picture.

    this Birthday SR where she reads a letter to her fans is especially representative and informative about her inner thoughts and feelings.

    13:00-

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    another one where she was moved to tears
    23:50-

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    ============

    this inequality isn't a solely Japanese showbiz thing - this is how things work everywhere.

    well, I agree that previous experience helps them, but not a whole lot. I am sure they had to learn anew for the most part, because new group means new environment, rules, customs, routines, etc. most of the members do a lot of new things that they didn't do in their previous groups, like filming of MVs, shooting for magazines, appearing in variety shows and radio, voice acting, acting, performing abroad, etc.

    =============

    Ikoraji "RADIO=LOVE"
    #28 (180414)
    main trio from Teokure Caution!

    http://www.bilibili.com/video/av22119959



    ==============

    Naatan will have a first solo gravure in BOMB on 5/9!

    http://equallove-2017.blog.jp/archives/8607885.html

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    ============

    Anna got into news as a "Carp girl" (female fan of baseball team Hiroshima Toyo Carp)

    https://netallica.yahoo.co.jp/news/20180414-58365092-techinq
     
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  17. fatrain

    fatrain Under Girls

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2014
    as expected, STU's "hentai captain" Okada Nana fangirling over "Teokure Caution" MV and Iori :rofl:

    https://twitter.com/k3pofutatabi2/status/985470905210961921

    ============

    Nonno talks about how she fell in love with Iori (btw, her other passion is Mirinya))
    http://equallove-2017.blog.jp/archives/8497288.html

    Nonno liked her before, but she fell in love with Iori when members were learning "Teokure Caution" dance. they were divided into two groups of 6 people, one group would watch other group dance. Nonno was in one group and Iori was in another, so Nonno had a chance to watch Iori's dance. so then she couldn't see anyone except Iori)) even dance teacher said that at that point fans would notice only Iori, and she made only Iori dance the whole song so others could learn.
    and this when Nonno felt that she is blessed to be born in the same age as Iori, moreover, to be in the same group as her))

    she also said that she is envious of fans because they can freely express their love for their oshimen, but Nonno can't since she is a fellow idol.
    so enjoy a moment while you can)) a wise saying from Nonno))

    btw, Nonno's showrooms are one of my favorite from =LOVE members. even though she is quite negative she says interesting stuff and her way of thinking is fascinating.

    23:35-

    if the video does not show watch the video here

    ===========

    another skillful report from Maika in "Kimi Machi" radio show (180415)



    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Elementaljyt

    Elementaljyt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Haha it has been planned since the beginning! First establish Hitomin as the center and then switch in Iorin and the finally drops the hammer that is the Mirinya! :hehe::hehe: Probably.....
    ZFMpDJy.jpg

    I wonder if this single was what Iorin was worrying about when Sasshi took her and Hana for dinner. She has a really dominant role in this. Can't wait till they do their next live with this song the #イコラブ is going be filled with so many awesome pictures.
     
    Last edited: Apr 16, 2018
  19. chronophysicist

    chronophysicist Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2018
    Location:
    Australia
    Oshimen:
    minegishiminami
    are you suggesting that we could expect something from Hana coming as well? cuz she obviously didn't have as big a role in this recent MV
     
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  20. Elementaljyt

    Elementaljyt Kenkyuusei

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    ^
    No not really, when I saw the MV and read the last post, this post just pop into my head.

    But with Hana, you just never know because they haven't reveal any B-sides yet. Hehe I personally want Anna to get some prominent role in a b-side because I am an AnnZoo after all. :worthy::worthy::worthy:
     

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