Itoha has a memorable part in last Sunday's SokoSaku (ep147). Her mother, little brother and little sister appear via live link from Hiroshima to talk about her on the show, revealing a warm and loving family. Itoha weeps all through the interview. She and her whole family make a strong impression. Several commenters suggest this will raise her sales in Meet & Greet. I hope so, since they are somehow the lowest of all members. Spoiler: Itoha and her family When her older sister ate a sweet that was being saved for her, Itoha threw a glass of cold tea all over her ("rebellious age"). When her now 11-year-old brother was ridiculed by his friends for not being good on his skateboard, and came home crying, Itoha got so upset and angry that she dressed herself (or both of them, I'm not sure) all in black, to seem strong and confident, and took him out with her to help him practice. Her brother said she was a nice person, but she also had some cool about her (kakkoii: cool, stylish, strong, standing out). Her younger sister said she followed Itoha around all the time at home and Itoha told her to stop. But they were very close: before Itoha left for Tokyo, they slept together at home on a narrow bed. Itoha said that when she returns from home to Tokyo, her mother always gave her a home-made bento lunch. There was lots more I didn't catch. The subbed version will eventually show up on Keyavids. Yes, Itoha tends to overdo things and go too far. But it all seems so natural. Just an exuberant character. By the way, the brother says his oshi is Takemoto, because she waved to him at a concert in Fukuoka. The sister says her oshi is Marino, because she seems so hakanai (faint, evanescent).
This one is definitely one of the most heart-warming episodes because of Mukai family. I hope Itoha get the love she so much deserves, as the one thing she gives above all the rest (good performances, laughter and chaos) is love...!
From Itoha's blog: Tales of the Third Generation Kojima Nagisa Start. In the early days, pretty well everyone called Nagi “Nagi-tan”!!! That’s what Itoha* called her, too. But somehow that suddenly changed to “Nagi” (lol) Sorry, the memory just came to mind and I wrote I down. It was easy to see that this Nagi did not want anyone to be alone. Somehow, whenever someone was alone, I have the image of Nagi going over to talk with her. Just some trivial conversation, but it could save someone…. Thank you, eh. When Itoha* could not attend the training camp, it was a very sad time. In videos and photos sent to me every day, I saw everyone dancing at the training camp, and to tell the truth, it was very painful. But in the midst of this, I think it was the day after the training camp ended, a long email came from Nagi. What was in the email saved me, I think, and turned me toward optimism and the future. Don’t blame yourself. Whenever things are going badly for any of the 3Gens – if Itoha is crying – everyone will go to her. These two messages made me especially happy. When I was thinking I was alone, these words gave me support, and I started thinking of wanting to work hard and do my best. *NOTE: Itoha seems to speak of herself in the third person more than other members do. It’s not unusual in Japanese, and doesn’t sound as odd as it does in English: more over-formal than self-important, I think. But she does it more often than others. Also from the same post, a photo of which one commenter said: "The destructive power of Itoha in a mini-skirt."
Reports of Itoha's Meet & Greet session are praising her as a "fishing master" (i.e., great at flirting with guests). Here are reports from guests at recent sessions: 1. "A 21-year-old guy being toyed with by a 16-year-old: Itoha: 'I wanted to see Kaku-chan [the guest] right away, and here you are....' (While getting very close to the screen.)(At this point I died. Just can't help loving her.)" 2. "This girl's Meet & Greet is 'fishing master' level. Please make a point of going to meet her from now on." 3. guest: Hi! Itoha: I know you. You came before. Thank you. guest: I'm pleased you remember. Itoha: I remember! Thank you. guest: Today, I want to get to know Itoha-chan better. Itoha: Sure! guest: What are your favourite foods? Itoha: My favourite foods recently are sushi, pasta and ramen. guest: I see. Your favourite colour? Itoha: Favourite colour? I like blue. And green. And black. guest: I like blue, too. Itoha: Oh? Hooray! We're the same. guest: Finally, please fish me in Hiroshima-ben [Hiroshima local dialect.] Itoha: Hiroshima-ben, eh... I love Saisai-chan best of all, don't I. (laughs) Thank you. guest: Aaah, so cute. I love you, too. Itoha: Really? It's mutual love... Hooray! (after a few seconds) I'll always love you. guest: Oh! Thank you. See you again. Itoha: Thank you. 4. "Itoha-chan is full of 'girlfriend' feeling. She's fantastic." 5. "I showed Itoha-chan this: [The words are her name. With the elephant from her original Vlog.] and with her voice cracking, she said: 'That's wooonderful! So cute!' She was so sweet. I'm weak to girls with voices that break." 6. "Wanting to explore the secret of Mukai Itoha, I went to Mt. Mukai. It was so nice that I was enthralled by it. Living in this world-line, there's no way I can escape going to Mukai Itoha's Meet & Greet." [Not sure where Mt. Mukai is. There are several of them.]
As someone who only had 10 seconds with her for 5th single, I can attest to this, omg. But yeah I agree with @Maruif in the fact that she'll end up gaining popularity soon, she's very chill
Late bloomer, late bloomer... But then: better late than never! Itoha is such an amazing cutie with the warmest of hearts...
Her time has come! Congratulations, Itoha! All Meet&Greet slots sold out! For Sakurazuki, she ended up dead last, with zero slots sold out. On Start Over! she was last among 3gens, with 8 of 24 slots sold. (Uemura, Fuuchan, Akiho and Marino had fewer.) On Shounin Yokkyuu, she sold out 9 of 36 slots, ahead of only the same four members. Now, suddenly, she has jumped up to be among the 16 members who are totally sold out after only four of the seven sales-periods. She is one of my favourite members, so this seems perfectly reasonable to me, but really it does require explanation. Here are some thoughts from Japanese commenters (I've included the Japanese where I'm not quite sure of my translation): Mukai is the only one in Sakamichi ever to have gone from the very last in popularity to a complete sell-out. This is honestly amazing. She started at the very bottom and seemed to be being dragged down. Mukai Itoha supported Murayama Miu several times when she seemed about to collapse [after a performance]. Mukai is outstanding, without flaw. The good feeling about her has been rising gradually. That she has surpassed this gradual rise and come up in one jump was unexpected. In all the history of Sakamichi, this kind of growth is unparalleled. Itomame is remarkable. She seems so happy talking. Her selling out makes me happy. Now it looks as if things will go well for Enrico and Rika-tan, and for Odakura, too. I dearly hope that Konnagi will share in this impetus. [Itomame="Ito-bean"] The 3gens seem awfully strong. Itoha cried in her blog. The 3gens are all good girls. Itoha is so cute. Wonderfully pure. The destructive power of Itoha in a miniskirt is amazing. [See image in post higher on this page.] Itoha...this is so good. Of course it brings tears to my eyes. The things that lifted the popularity of Itoha's character.... Of course there was Newcomers [Shinzanmono], but especially the excellence of her performance in BACKS LIVE. Itoha was really great doing Drone. What is so great about Itoha is that whoever you see her with, you think "What a good pair!" The bonds a member like this has with her fellow members are easy to see. Members, like fans, give her a good reception. Have you guys just noticed Itopi's charm? I've been buying her Meet & Greet since the first time! ...that's what I was going to write.... I had no idea she was going to sell out. Itopi is great! Congrats, Itoha. Her mother is weeping. And her little brother (whose oshi is Takemoto), and little sister (whose oshi is the evanescent Marino-sama) are cheering. I want to see Itoha appearing on television. Mukai Itoha is truly amazing. Idol otaku tend to respect first-team members who are cheerful and positive. Management didn't give her any special push, but it seems like when she got equal chances to stand out, she made maximum use of them and became better known. Even if she doesn't get into senbatsu for the next single, it would be strange if she were not rewarded with something like centre on the 3gens' MV. (向井純葉まじで凄いな アイドルオタクが一番敬遠しがちな一軍陽キャポジから、運営に特別推されることなく自分で目立つ機会を増やして全員に平等に与えられたチャンスを最大限に活かした感じがめっちゃ伝わってくる 次シングルは選抜入りじゃなくても3期曲センターMVありくらいのご褒美はないとおかしい) Mukai Itoha of Sakurazaka46 missed the 3gens' training camp, but she has been chasing after them like surging waves and has now for the first time sold out all her Meet & Greet slots. I'm not sure, but it seems as if Itoha may have the ability to bring otaku together. Itoha's recent activities: August -- family survey October -- watermelon game; presents from home November -- Newcomers live; Habu graduation message December -- Newcomers backstage; hits list Chuke diffidence (ヒット番付ちゅけイジイジ) January -- huge tree (なんじゃもんじゃ); vlog kitten every month since around October. After that, wonderful involvements with other members. This is why the Buddies have fallen in love with her. All this -- and her fishing in M&G -- may be true, but I think one big factor was her performances centring Drone Senkaichuu in the December and January Backs Live concerts. She really got the crowd going: sunny, happy, natural...and wild. As well as smart and well-spoken. After crowd chaos during the song, I thought I heard shouts of "Itoha" in the final applause. Here are some stills from the performances. Video can be found on Bilibili and Aidoru Online. And that's not all! Now we see she has a prominent place in the front row in the new 3gen MV, Nando Love Song no kashi wo yomikaeshi darou.
Much respect to Itoha for pulling from "last". As time goes by, this only proves how strong 3ki is as a group, no "bench warmers" or "background dancers" here. They are getting more and more comfortable with themselves. While this elevates the quality of the group as a whole, this also means the competition among themselves is going to get fierce, however close-bonded they are.
Click here to link to brief twitter/X clip (screencap below) of Itoha and Miu (with Riko and Rika behind them) dancing in Natsu no Chikamichi: Itoha's smile, above all.
