TV / Radio Mechaike Dokkiri: Takamina Fake Scandal and Graduation (2014/12/06)

And that's where you are wrong.
Let's assume a single fails because of a scandal. Let's say a single misses the million mark. The nightmare that would follow would affect the whole AKB48 Group. Less media coverage, less jobs for the girls, less single sales, a downward spiral.

With each new single or scandal, there is a lot at stake for the girls. Especially now that a lot of the original members and their fans have left. And despite all that, some girls still worried about Takamina first then about themselves.

And by the way, had KR really failed, nobody would have looked to Sakura. I think you give Sakura too much credit if you think sales are affected much whether she is w-center or not.

Everyone would blame the scandal girl and not Sakura but that's not even important. If an AKB48 single fails, the whole group suffers. All girls, center or not, all of their careers would be affected. That's important.

 

So what if Sakuratan was worried about her JOB? This is a JOB for these girls, and Sakuratan saw that there was a possiblity of that JOB falling apart. And she voiced that concern in a meeting with one of her bosses at her JOB. Were is the problem in that? There is none.

 

For all of them, this is their job. And some of them were concerned about their friend and member and voiced those concerns to their boss. They were not worried about their own job security first.

 

Still not an issue to be worried about your job, on the job.

 

lol at this rate even she stay in man home, you will just say she just a human who have "need"

 

People have different priorities, to Sakura maybe work comes first and there's nothing wrong with that (although she gave off abit of blackhearted vibe *cough*Yukirin#2*cough*). I bet many of the girls thought the same but just didnt say it right out.

 

Loved it, was great. And no none of the girls realised it was a con. Some were like...huh, for real, so bizarre?

But would have been much better with some anonymous actor as the boyfriend, that didn't actually need to show up at all. Would have been good to have glimpse of Aki-p about the place.

Some of the girls so cute, and some of the old hands less than cute, and a little unattractive...but more to do with so many hardened years in the business. Especially for two of them who were basically in the same but real boat before and knew the ropes.

Wouldn't be getting down on Sakura or others I guess. I mean it is their Business to perfect being two faced...to be out the projecting the idol image they think can help them the most...in front of the world as much of the time as they can. People realise that these girls in normal natural life are not really the same.

I am no fan of Sakura at all but thought she actually looked better than her normal plain look (in my view), got lots of screen time, and would have attracted a lot of fans. And you could just see that for much of the time she was trying to process what was happening.

I think they could have made this much more dramatic....like Takamina performing then suddenly graduating at the end of a KB performance for that crowd at the end.

Then again the Dokkiri could have been Everybody in on the con, a reverse con, except Takamina.....!

 

lol more like just popularity than work.

lol you even try to framed it like other people to make it look "ok" with it, and that person didnt even included in this show(hope her fans not angry) lol

 

maybe it's something related to Kagoshima

 

I'm not saying how it is, I'm saying what some girls could've been thinking, hence their reaction. The bottom line is that we will never know and therefore shouldn't judge and make entire statements about their personality based on one instance. We can praise girls who immediately showed their concern for Takamina, but we don't know if that's what they were truly thinking. If we see a certain pattern in a member's behaviour we might carefully make assumptions about their personality, but not based on one instance.

I would also view this differently if Takamina got into an accident or something like that, but when it's her breaking the rules and facing the consequences, I don't blame any girl if they felt slightly mad at her. I wouldn't want them to stay mad forever, but I can see why not everyone would think "omg poor, poor Takamina" right away when they heard the news. Especially girls who try hard to stay out of trouble themselves and are all for abiding by the rules.

 

When I was studying about writing, the teacher told me to never make such a bold statement. In what research, on what theory that you can conclude that nobody would blame Sakura and everyone would blame the scandal girl?

The first person who thinks reversely is Sakura herself. Would you suggest her to think that if the single failed, whatever the reasons were, she would not be the one at fault? In this case, I (well, not everyone) would think she is irresponsible.

The second would be anyone (here and there) who blamed the failure (were there a failure? Well, they said so) of Kokoro no Placard or even the boring sound of LR on Mayuyu. People did think because Mayuyu was the center, the singles did not do that well on chart and whatever. I don't know if you think that way or not, but some think that about Mayuyu, and I bet there would have been people think that way about Sakura had the single failed.

The third would be an immeasurable amount of people who do not give a "bit" about the scandal. CMIIW, So Long is the first single that Miichan participated after being demoted to KKS, and its first week sale was less than every single before that since Every day Katyusha. She even shaved her head! Were there anyone blame her for the single's failure? Maybe. However, the only think that stuck in my mind about that time was people complaining about Mayuyu's boring first center single. Yes, the center again.

I will NOT try to defense for Sakura, since she is my Oshi. I just want to argue that base on these data from history that I have provided, she has the right to think and say differently than your "standard" kind of girl, because she is in a very very distinctive position.

 

When i said most of these younger members are worried about their future with AKB while the older girls were more concerned with Takamina, i believe some people here also made the same observations. What's so shameful about making such an observation? Can you explain yourself clearly?

 

I can't believe we are still having this conversation about who cares about takamina and how girls reacted. since it's still going on I'll add my input. Read below if you like (sorry idk how to put it as a spoiler).
We forget that the girls have a no dating clause and that takamina will be the first to remind them and follow the rules. All of a sudden the leader of grp48 has actually broken a rule (whether real or not or actually enforced I'm not gonna go into that). imagine what could've been going through those girls' head. To me it is more than human nature to get upset because here is somebody who should be the example for all of them and goes off and dates. I would've been mad at her too, because you should be following everything by the book and now u will be leaving a dark mark for grp48. also if I'm correct mayuyu and yuki have been known to follow the no dating rule and criticize people in general who are in the business and might break it. So her reaction didn't surprise me either. I don't feel any of them were hypocrites and I can't say if they care about takamina or not because I can't read minds. But to me it really went down to the no dating rule and how the most respected member in akb could actually break it.

 

Let us first be honest and acknowledge the fact that ALL these girls became idols for fame and fortune. Please don't tell me stuff like some became idols for fun or to make friends. With that we move on to the fact that idols are human just like us. They are emotional and will always have selfish desires, it is just how good they are at not showing it.

This dokkiri is basically presented as a scenario where by your leader/superior is your guiding light and a person you worship. However due to some reason she committed an act which is considered taboo and caused the company to go bust therefore leaving all the employees jobless. There are some that might not be so affected by it and they will be some that will be more affected by it than others.

I don't think we can fault any girls on their reaction be it negative or positive. The fact that Takamina herself was embroiled in a "scandal" is considered the ultimate betrayal by majority of the girls (if they believed in it). Many people condemned Sakura for what she said. I won't defend her by saying she's young. She's 16 and that's not considered young any more. She have also been an idol for almost 3.5 years so she should already "learned" what to say and what never to say in any circumstances. However... she is just human.

I enjoyed this dokkiri and seeing the reaction of the girls was quite an eye opener. I feel that we shouldn't generalized or bash any members just because their reactions are not pleasing to our eyes. Finally, my apologies if my post offend any one here

 

First of all, for anyone that might be interested, in the spoiler I have my thoughts on the nature and objective of this "dokkiri" posted last week when I first knew about Okamura Takashi as the boyfriend.

Spoiler: My previous post

First, like most of you, I thought that using him was a clear hint that the whole thing was a "Mechaike dokkiri", and that nobody would believe that it wasn't. But then, why do that? Don't they know that? Of course they do.

This is my reading on the whole thing. I believe that what they wanted to do was not a simple "dokkiri" but something a lot more complex. They wanted to put the girls through a emotional rollercoaster.
I believe they are using the typical "tragic/romantic" plot used in many animes/dramas in that part of the world.
This plot contains 5 main parts:
1 - Introduction of characters: In this part the characters are presented, and the viewer/reader/listener is "forced" into a emotional connection with the characters.
2 - Tragic event: Without any warning, some tragic event occurs that drives the course of the story into a very sad direction.
3 - Some hope: Something occurs that gives the reader/listener/viewer hope regarding a good resolution to the tragic event.
4 - Signals of a bad ending: This part, can sometimes be removed, but I consider it very important to the sucess of the last part. Here, some hints are giving that point to a bad ending (usually called "death flags"). This serves to increase the sensation of dispair in the reader/listener/viewer.
5 - Bad ending: Like the name says it's the end of the plot and usually culminates with the death of one of the protagonists.

When you apply this to the "dokkiri" you get:
1 - Introduction of characters: This one is not necessary because Minami is already well know and liked by the viewer/listener/reader (the girls).
2 - Tragic event: Shinobu presents the "news" about the scandal, Minami's graduation comes up and even AKB 's disbandment is mentioned.
3 - Some hope: The alleged boyfriend appears and it is Okamura Takashi. This allows those girls that are more aware about how variety works to think that it is all a farce.
4 - Signals of a bad ending: By allowing some time to pass, they allow the girls to consolidate their feelings about the situation. Then, they do a fake show where the proximity between Minami and Okamura is evident. This creates uncertainty in those girls that where convinced that it was a fake and consolidates the first scenario for those that were not convinced.
5 - Bad ending: By using a totally public event. A place where nobody would believe a prank could happen, they unexpectedly confirm the bad ending, driven the listener/viewer/reader into a state of shock.

This type of scenario to work, needs some time between events. If that time did happen, I wouldn't be surprised if girls as experient as Miichan or Sasshi were led to believe it was true.

In another point. By using Okamura Takashi as the boyfriend the program manages to solve several problems at the same time.
1 - Nobody outside the "dokkiri" itself would believe that.
2 - They managed to fulfill the requisites for the third point that i mentioned (gives hope that everything is fake).

The dokkiri itself:
I believe this dokkiri was almost perfectly thought out and executed.
What most people seem to think as bad: the duration and the fact that Okamura Takashi was the boyfriend, are in my opinion, two of the best points of this dokkiri.
Time was needed to obtain two results:
1 - By letting some time pass they decreased the possibility of it being a prank.
2 - Time allows more time for the girls, especially those not close to Minami, to settle their feelings and to think about the ramifications of the scandal and how it might affect them.
The fact that Okamura Takashi was the boyfriend allows for the "hope stage" in a "tragic/romantic" plot and serves to expose the girls feelings to what it is to come. Also, by doing what they did, they removed the idea that it could be a prank from their minds. Why? Because that was the perfect location and timing for the disclosure of the prank.
I especially loved little details like the clothes Okamura Takashi was wearing when he went to apologize. He was wearing the same boots as in the photo and similar clothes.

Real or fake:
I don't believe the reactions were fake just because I don't believe the girls are this good at acting. Yamamoto Sayaka's face while dancing completely sealed the deal for me.

Staff:
I love the work AKB staff did on this. From the little details like the "excuses" for putting the girls little by little in front of Shinobu, to big things like the cameras for the Documentary to the delicious little details of having the staff giving indications to the camera operators after Okamura came into the studio. And of course, who can forget the chase scene before Minami steals the microphone.

Problems:
I have two problems with the way this dokkiri was done.

1 - The fact that Shinobu did the first scenec (the photo).
I understand that using her would, probably, leave the girls more comfortable. But in the other hand, most, if not all, AKB fans, know that Shinobu is very close to Takamina. That condition would, obviously, condition their reaction.

2 - What happen in phase 3 (Takamina talk) and how phase 4 was done (Takamina talk and fake show).
Contrary to what seems to be the general opinion, I believe the choice of Okamura Takashi as the boyfriend was a real good one. Also, the way things were done (inicial talk one day, Takamina talk seven days later, final stage the next day) were perfect to obtain the desired emotional impact. Unfortunately, I would have liked a more obvious sign of their relationship during the talk. Something simple like Okamura touching Minami's hand, or, like he did in the final talk, putting his hand on Minami's shoulder tThe obvious problem with that in the talk with her three friends was the fact that they are close enough to react the way they did. Other girls wouldn't have reacted that way, and the point could have been made). My problem is that I don't know enough of Japan's social norms to know if this would be allowed. Like I said in my previous post, phase four is extremely important to established the final scenario.

News:
All happened before the picture or story actually come out. For that reason there wouldn't be any news outside the group or the entity that took the picture.

Reactions:

Mayuu: I wouldn't expect anything more or less from her. Like Minami said she is THE PERFECT IDOL.

Sae: A real good girl. Nothing more needs to be said.

Akarin: I like her, but don't know that much about her. She is very smart, and has shown a very good image of herself here.

Jurina: I didn't like her face or reaction in most of the scenes. This doesn't mean I think she did anything bad. It just means I couldn't interpret her face and because of that, the only thing I have is a general guess.

Ricchan: I didn't like her reaction, but I believe the reason is that she is just "baka" and was unable to understand immediately the gravity of the situation.

Paruru: A good reaction but it shows what I believe to be a lack of understanding of her position and responsibilities as an idol.

Yui: Possibly the biggest let down for me. Still, I guess that's the way she is.

Yuria: One of the best reactions. Loved to see her yankee side.

Mako: Just adorable.

Juri: Her group is the one that I would love to have seen more. This girl reactions are always top notch.

Tomu: I have nothing bad to say about her.

Miichan and others: Very sweet how they saw it first and foremost as photo of her friend and only afterward they thought about the consequences. Miichan looked, at least three times towards the camera. She was clearly suspicious but I'm not sure if she was convinced it was a prank.
One detail about Miichan, I would never be worry about her not believing what was happening in the end. Miichan is a really negative girl. If you place two possibilities in front of her, she will always choose the worst as being the truth.
The way they approached their chairs was really sweet.

NyanNyan: She is not a girl tot take much initiative as Miichan. That shouldn't be taken as her loving Minami any less. We all know how much She loves Yuko, and, when Yuko lost to Maeda in 2011 you could see that same situation in which it was Mariko-sama the one that ended up holding Yuko, in spite of NyanNyan being there the all time.That's just how she is. Nothing should be interpreted beyond that.

Sayaka: How people are different. First thought in her mind, the group.

Sakura: First thought in her mind, her future.

Neither of them is right or wrong. But I admire Sayaka more than Sakura.

Finally, Minami:
I have no words to describe her participation in this dokkiri. I, that never thought much of her acting abilities, was dumbfounded by her acting. Small details like the inability to hold the tone in her voice when trying to say "Good morning" to the first group, the sound of her voice/cry every time Okamura Takashi appeared in the studio or the way she was walking when leaving the studio, are just perfect. I won't even get into the last part where she did what should have been something like, at least ten minutes, of continuous acting while naturally changing her tone depending on the "target" girl. In one word, amazing.

EDIT:
One last thing That I forgot. The way the girls acted when Okamura went to talk to them was really rude. Just imagine that it was true.

 

It was an interesting dokkiri I have to say. Takamina did a great job at convincing the girls. Props to her acting skills!
If we don't count Takamina, Sakura-tan was the real winner of the dokkiri election but I think Takamina winning is also good. She didn't expect it. I hope Dokkiri7 gets a song on the album!

I'm not good at Japanese but I really liked Mako's reaction and kind words to Takamina. I would have said the same thing too.
Naanya's innocent crying on the whole thing was too cute~
Sae was funny at being branded as a "Gossip Girl" lol at the NGs! Her faces were the best too.

The Sasshi-Micchan-Nyan trio was the best group but also the most dangerous part of the dokkiri falling apart. The three can be considered veterans in the idol business now and two of them have had to face real scandals. I like how they said it was impossible when Shinobu revealed that it was Takamina. Micchan's hug and pulling the chairs closer was really sweet and shows their bond.

Mayu's reaction was kinda expected. And I don't get the criticism some are giving to Sakura-tan. Her reaction was very real and normal to me. They did mention that all this happened just when KR came out and it's natural for her to think that way.

I think the junior members fell into the dokkiri more compared to the older ones. Ikumin's reactions were really cute.
Ricchan's reaction was kinda expected but seemed too relaxed despite the atmosphere. Her baka laugh is a trademark now though.
I like how Paruru was mostly smiles and then going all serious when the scandal was revealed.
Sayanee's pissed off vibe at the end was real though. Good thing she was standing next to Paru.

I didn't understand why Takamina was bald though. She said she has cancer? If it was, strange turn for the scandal and could have been removed in my opinion so as not to be disrespectful to Micchan either. But that in itself has also transformed to an AKB meme already. I like how Micchan just played it off even when Tomu had mentioned it.

The dokkiri could have been better if it was a different guy that no one knew OR like what others have said, reveal Okamura at the end using the two pictures. Why didn't they show to the girls the second reveal picture anyway?
You can't really blame the girls for laughing when Okamura appeared. Totally unexpected and highly unlikely for Takamina. I can see the infamous pat on the shoulder becoming a meme among the girls now lol.
Also Takamina should have been more slightly obvious in showing affection to Okamura during the live perf part. The girls totally missed it.

Also kinda wonder what would have the grad girls think. Imagine this news getting to Acchan! But I guess Takamina would have already warned them had some of the girls asked if they knew about it.

Overall another funny Mechaike AKB48 collaboration~ Would love to see a second part with more scenes.

 

Actually, i like that Okamura was cast as the fake boyfriend, i don't like that it showed at half of the con. Other guy maybe it will made the whole situation even more awkward than already was. But yes, maybe using other guy and showing at the half will be better, but showing Okamura at the end it will the best for me.

 

when Okamura showed up half way to apologize to the 30 members....that was really unnecessary/awkward....one wrong move the whole dokkiri will fall apart. Fortunately, Takamina's superb acting skill keep it alive. overall, it was a fun episode and I hope they will write a song for Dokkiri7.

Lol at the fake Xmas show when SpeedWagon survey what kind of man they likes !!!! All members went complete silent when they saw Okamura was one of the choice.

 

I think they picked Okamura for a reason. Maybe it'll sound weird and/or stupid but it actually crossed my mind. If they picked a guy who suited Takamina's taste, maybe people (viewers) would take it like the Mechaike Dokkiri was made just to cover Takamina's relationship with that guy. By choosing Okamura, everyone would know it's 100% fake.

 

^Yes, like I said before, that was probably one of the reasons for choosing him.