Greetings fans! Once again it’s that time where you can say which member you feel had a breakthrough year and/or significant impact toward the group. Please state your thoughts why you chose this member although it’s not a requirement. My pick: Member of the Year Kaki Haruka. Kakki was my honorable mention from last year and since then she has made serious strides to the top. I get this wholesome girl next door vibe from her reminiscent of Naachan. Kakki can easily be seen on variety television representing Nogi like Asuka. Definitely a future ace of the group and is my clear choice for member of the year. Runner Up Yamashita Mizuki. Not so far behind nipping at the heels of Kakki is Mizuki. She achieved center position earlier this year followed by numerous modeling gigs and television appearances. Speaking of television, Mizuki is about to wrap up her dorama “Jyanai Hou no Kanojo” on TV Tokyo. Worth the watch if you haven’t checked it out yet. Anyway, Mizuki has a really bright future in the industry. Honorable Mention It was very difficult this year to pick one since these members ranked really close. In no particular order: Sakura, Yodachan, Umechan and KuboShi.
Member of the Year Endou Sakura. First of any non-1st Gen member to be center. She's very popular. She's being favored by the management. And she's grown as an idol. She may have been crybaby before, but she's found some confidence to be the center for Nogizaka. Not the next ace, but very much close to it. Runner Up Umezawa Minami. Was really stuck into everything happening with Nogizaka this year. And she's tapped to be the next captain. Her friendship with Asuka, her variety skills, modeling, and reliability has made Ume indispensable.
Member of the year: - Kaki Haruka: she has grown so much and can easily be compared with Endo as a 4th gen ace, forming a strong duo on different aspects. Runner up: - Yamashita Mizuki: same as Kaki, this year cemented her role as a current ace of the group paired with Yoda as a 3rd gen face. She centered a single and continued to be active on tv shows, modelling and acting jobs. Honorable mentions: - Umezawa Minami: more jobs, a vice-captain position (soon to become captain), this year Ume proved she's not just a Shiraishi wannabe, but a girl with her own role and force who can be essential for the current and future Nogizaka. - Higuchi Hina: we could say this has been the year where she has finally been rewarded for her hard work. She's now a staple senbatsu member, her variety skills have improved, has a more prominent role on the group and has been much more invited on tv shows. We could say that she needed quite all her genmates to graduate to finally be recognized as a group force, so that could be a note of demerit, but I think it's fine to still have some strong senpai on the group now that has totally changed and is still evolving.
I agree that Sakura has come out of her shell more as of late. I always thought that Chima would be perma senbatsu years ago. Competition is stiff within the group and the addition of 5ki won’t make it any easier. Hopefully she continues to be in senbatsu now that some members have graduated or will soon graduate.
