Mukaichi Mion (Miion)

I disagree with saying that management did not push Miion... let's not forget that she ranked #13 so management can't just make her center of all singles after 2016. Remember when Paruru got her push and center single and she end up ranking #12 in 2013, after that she didn't center any of the singles, and she was put in a similar position as Miion was in the past year. and still Paruru managed to rank #7 in 2014. when the competition was strong(!).

If you remove the non-participating members from last year's elections, Miion would automatically fall in #8 rank. So all she needs was a little push from fans to rank Kami 7. However ever since her prelims where she ranked #29, I knew she won't rank in top 10. I didn't think she'll fall from senbatsu though. She end up ranking #17... at least she gets a center song, but that's 4 ranks lower than last year & almost 10 ranks lower than what she should have had "automatically".

For the past year (actually, 2 years) management put the most popular AKB members (Mayuyu and Yukirin) on the side to favor other AKB girls. Sure, they push Jurina and Sakura more because both are Kami 7-level. but they still put Miion in the front at every opportunity. Her original position has always been good and if anyone from the front row is not there, they would put Miion to replace her, which give her extra-exposure. also let's not forget Miion got a solo concert, and solo center of b-sides, center of a team, etc. she's by far the most pushed AKB member.

I agree her solo center maybe boost her votes last year, but again just like for Paruru, I would expect the popularity to still rise even if management doesn't put her as center again. you can't expect management to still choose Miion as a center when she's ranked #13, it was already surprising to give her a solo center when she was ranked #44. and I doubt they'll give her another solo center now that she ranked down to #17. Not sure what management will do now...

imo the main issue with Miion's popularity and the reason she lost ranks/votes might be because even though she seems to be liked by many people, but not many of them are actually "fans" of her who will support her, promote her, and spend their money on her. You can see this even in the international fandom.

 

^ No one on Mion's thread said management completely stopped pushing her this past year. Just a few people agreed that she wasn't given ace treatment or a massive push. Of course Mion gets opportunities and is still pushed, I haven't seen anyone deny that. And trust me when I say that many Mion oshis are grateful for the opportunities she does get because we know she could be in a far worst situation. The major complaint is that Mion hasn't been given any significant jobs or exposure within the past year that helped her gain a lot of fans who are willing to vote for her. Let me use the examples that you brought up to further explain why that is so.

With the exception of Music Station and Music Fair, the weekly music shows that AKB perform on all air past prime time. The extra exposure Mion is getting when she subs in for a front row member isn't as much as you probably think because these music shows don't actually have a large viewership due to their late time slots. Constantly performing on these shows doesn't result in a major boost in recognition or popularity because not too many people willingly stay up until 2am to watch Music Dragon, CDTV, etc.

Her solo concert wasn't an event that gave her much media exposure or draw in new fans since only a limited amount of people were able to watch it. Her concert wasn't nationally televised anywhere and it hasn't even been released on DVD yet. It was an event that only her existing fans in the audience got to enjoy and gave Mion a valuable experience. But was it a good way for her to increase grow her fanbase? Absolutely not. Her concert felt more like an award rather than an attempt to make Mion more popular.

She centered two coupling songs within the past 12 months, Accident Chu and Dare ga Watashi wo Nakaseta, the latter doesn't even have a video because it's an album track. Barely anyone outside the fandom is checking out coupling songs and there are even some people within the fandom who don't check out every single coupling song for each new release. So it doesn't have the same positive affect as centering an A-side especially if that coupling song isn't very well received like Accident Chu was. Non-Mion fans aren't going to take an interest in her if she centered a song or video that they don't like.

Mion centers a team that she barely works with. So far, she's only performed with Team K a total of 3 times this year, 14 times since last June. It isn't even a guarantee that Mion will center Team K's version of AKB singles when she is at the theatre (Love Trip was centered by Tomu, Shoot Sign was centered by Mogi). And because there hasn't been any new team songs recently, there's no Team K videos for Mion to center. Being labelled as a team center/ace doesn't give Mion a huge advantage like some people seem to think because she's rarely given jobs with her own team.

The way management has been pushing Mion since TwI clearly wasn't enough. In Mion's 2ch thread, there was a discussion earlier on what could be done in order for Mion to gain new fans who will vote for her. Most of the suggestions were things that Mion can do herself like doing different kinds of Showrooms on a regular basis or interact with fans on SNS more often. Seems like some of her fans believe that Mion taking matters into her own hands might show better results than the kind of push management gave her the past year. Rather than trying to gain attention with the public through 3 seconds of camera time on Music Station, maybe it'd be better for Mion to appear on AKBingo and appeal to existing wotas who aren't already her fans. In my opinion, Mion has a better chance at attracting a new fan who is willing to vote for her by appearing on AKBingo than on Music Station because those who watch AKBingo are mostly people who've already invested a lot of time, energy and money on idols.

As for the Mion and Paruru comparisons, I don't think that's fair to do. Paruru debuted in 2009 shortly before AKB exploded in popularity. So her pushed happened when the fandom was bigger, the group was more relevant and the pushed/senbatsu members had more media appearances and coverage. Paruru definitely benefited from being a pushed/senbatsu member during AKB's golden years. It's just not fair to compare Mion and Paruru because their pushes began during completely different eras for the group. Mion's push started when AKB was already in a decline and it's harder for her to gain support compared to Paruru because 1) there's more members and sister groups to compete with now 2) the AKB fandom is shrinking 3) AKB has had a decline in media appearances, so there's fewer outlets where members can gain recognition and popularity 4) Mion doesn't have an external agency supporting her and getting her outside jobs like Paruru does.

I do agree that Mion dropping in rank has probably decreased her chances of being center again but it isn't completely out of the question because we all know management can make unpredictable decisions sometimes. Besides, history has shown us that a member's ranking or popularity doesn't always determine whether she should be allowed the center position or not.

 

@sgtbubba

with how AKB is on decline, any kind of push doesn't have a "strong" effect, but still it has an effect on the fandom, it's just the general public doesn't care. Miion had the biggest push in AKB so I'm confused when I see people saying that it's not enough and she should get center of singles. Management doesn't just choose anyone to center. they mostly either give it to the top names who are graduating, or to the most popular younger girls. it took one year for Sakura to get center again in AKB and she is Kami-7 level, same for Jurina she got to center after like 2 years or more? a lower ranked girl like Miion can't be center more than once in the same year. it's just not realistic... and I don't think not being center is the reason why a girl would lose votes/ranks, or else 99% of the girls would lose ranks. Btw I know you didn't say any of these, my comment is more about the general discussions I've seen here & in other places~

Now maybe she could shine more by doing things that less popular girls do, like Showroom or AKBINGO!. So maybe ranking down is not a bad thing for her?

Also it's interesting to note that some other AKB new gens also lost ranks/votes (Komiharu, I think Kojimako too). so it's not only Miion, it's AKB new gens issue.

 

Life is hard

 

No matter what other people says,
"Mion is still one of the best in AKB" not only for fans but also from members.

Sasshi said she'll be alright and I felt like she still believes in her and can still climb up.


Talking about votes.
Even Sakura lose votes last year and look at the result now of 2017 sousenkyo? Her fans managed to increase it so Mion would be fine.

 

Mion should have already signed to, say, Oscar Pro at this point. We all know how Oscar Pro works.

 

Sakura or Jurina have been pushed both in akb and in their respective groups. People usually goes mad when management push hard a new gen face on an akb single but if its comes from a sister group then management is doing well because "we don't want X member centering all the songs" or whatever. AKB members only have AKB.

According to last ssk Miion is in the top5 of most popular akb members (not counting sister groups) which means fandom have interest in following her.





@sgtbubba I must say that I enjoyed accident chu a lot lol. For me was a great and catchy song. And yes, maybe I'm just not objective

 

Ehh, to be honest, I hope her drop in ranks makes management focus the push completely on her (and naachan, mako, and juri). They're the new leaders of akb once mayuki are gone and they need to be pushed as such.

 

Sometimes thing just doesn't work, no matter how hard the management try to push. Shimazaki is one of the examples out there.

 

Paru was pushed to the bone and her rank increased for years, after BwT, tkmn's prolonged grad and her injury, her push pretty much stopped and you could see the result of that in her rank dropping. If management are serious about pushing a member, they need to be consistent. Paruru's push wasnt consistent and neither is Mion's imo. A consistent push would be something like Sakura's akb push since Kibouteki. Im sure that if Mion recieved that kind of consistent push she would not have fallen in rank.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

If you really Shimazaki's push wasn't consistent, then I have other word to say.

 

if Mion moved to Team A, maybe her push will be continued

 

170621 Showroom
Mion asked for suggestions on what she can do during her stages at the upcoming Yukata Matsuri.

if the video does not show watch the video here


@icecream
I don't dislike Accident Chu but I don't love either it. I've probably only listened to it about 4-5 times. I try to be impartial so I don't automatically like a song just because Mion is center. Honestly, out of the 6 songs Mion has centered so far, the only ones I really like are Dare ga Watashi wo Nakaseta and Aishuu no Trumpeter.

 

Mion's solo concert will be released in DVD and Bluray during this year (August it seems) - she just announced it on SHOWROOM.

 

Her announcement on Showroom

if the video does not show watch the video here
The dvd/bluray will include:
- Making of
- Documentary focused on the week prior to her concert
- Interviews with concerned personnel (most likely staff and members)
- Commentary from Mion
- QR code for bonus footage via TakeOutLive
There's no exact release date at the moment but it will be out this summer.
Mion also announced she'll have a cafe event at a later date to commemorate the release.


Fresh Big One Girls on sale June 29th



Translation of Mion’s post-sousenkyo thoughts from her mobame

Spoiler

170618
I thought about it overnight..

First of all, I’m truly thankful for everyone who supported me.
I’m sorry everyone’s feelings were futile, I don’t know how else to say it.

It’s frustrating.
Although I’m facing forward, I’m really frustrated.

“I dropped out of senbatsu”
I’m burdened by those words. I tried to convince myself it’s not going to be like that.
But.. that’s how it turned out.

During handshake meetings, I felt everyone’s passion more than last year and the number of people who came to see me also increased. But rather than my rank dropping, it was more painful and hard to believe that my votes decreased. It was my own fault that I couldn’t become an idol who is able to increase the enthusiasm of every single one of my fans.

I wonder how I should continue my efforts
I wonder what I should change

I’ve been thinking about that since yesterday.
Since everyone is so nice, I keep being told that I am fine just the way I am. But all my efforts up until now haven’t been enough. From now on, I will not continue to be influenced. I have to earnestly find my own way to live life.

In the upcoming year, I think many of you will most likely have a lot of bitter thoughts.
I’m really sorry about that.

But I hope we overcome the pain together.
I don’t want you to assume that I’ll be okay.
So please support me.

And next year,
I still absolutely want to achieve my dream that I couldn’t fulfill this year.
I don’t want to feel as if I wasted any time, so I’d like to turn my frustrations into a smile.

Please continue to support me from here on out.

From Miion.

170624
I honestly didn’t know what kind of expression I should’ve had when I met with everyone today. It might’ve been the first time since I joined AKB that I was nervous for a handshake meeting.
I don’t even know why, lol

But when I went out to my lane and saw everyone’s expressions, I immediately realized, “Ah, they feel the same way.”
Though all of you had much more apologetic looks than I did..

Maybe it was because I said on Showroom that apologizing to me was banned but I was glad not everyone said the words “I’m sorry” to me.
(Of course, there were some people who said it and I’m glad that they were able to convey their feelings! But if I heard those words from everyone, it would’ve lost its meaning.)

I also intended to stop saying sorry.
Although the truth is I do want to apologize and I feel full of regret..

And today, plenty of fans told me,
“You haven’t been this negative until now.”

I wonder where I went wrong, what I should do now and I have many worries at the moment. But then I was extremely happy after hearing this remark, “so far, there’s been nothing wrong with your efforts and you properly convey yourself to everyone.”

It’s true.
Regardless of the outcome, my efforts up until this point and the time I’ve walked together with everyone didn’t change.

Therefore, I will stop apologizing.

Everyone told me, “thank you for the hard word,” “it was frustrating, wasn’t it?” or “there’s always next year” instead of sorry or even congrats, it’s nice that my fans understand me and share the same feelings.

It saved me.
Thank you.

From Miion.

170625 #1
Ever since the sousenkyo ended, I thought a lot about what I should do from now on, then I spoke with many people these past 2 days [at the handshake meetings]. I met with some fans and there are some I have yet to meet.

Some people want me to change
Other people don’t want me to change

Since I understand both sides, it’s really difficult, there’s inconsistencies in my mind.

Well

There are those who probably think, “I came to like Miion during this or that time.” You’ve liked me for a long time and wish for me to remain the same..
Those are the kinds of opinions I’m concerned about.

But of course, as an idol and a human being, I want to accept change, growth and challenges.

For example, there might be some who oppose aspects of my job, others may think that I’ve become a different person from my early days. And there are those who don’t know what the correct solution is at this time. I don’t know myself either so I’ll recklessly go about it in my own way.
But I hope you watch over me during my challenges.
And I hope you grow to like the sides of me that do change.

I wonder if I’m just being selfish by saying that.. ?

However. !

My love for this group
My gratitude towards all my fans
My dreams that I wish to fulfill within AKB

Those are my principals that I will hold onto forever. That will always be the same and I don’t want that to change. I can definitely be the way that I am without having to shake my core.

That is my conclusion.
That is my promise with you.

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

From Miion.

170625 #2
Also..

I noticed my fans keep telling me the same thing.
I continue to think about my troubles from this past year, it seems like I’ve forgotten the most important thing is to “have fun.”

I only live once. And I only experience my youth once.
I’ll try to have more fun being in AKB from now on.

Eheh （＾Ｏ＾）!!!

From Miion.

credit: http://uelectrifymylife.tumblr.com/post/162299934787

 

My mind goes to Kato Rena.. LOL They put her in all A-sides and she still could not rank in top 16

Thank you!

I think Mion is a lovely girl and I want follow her more now, I stard see her videos and she is so cute and so friendly with other people
the drop rank was so unfair imo

"So, so, so"... hahahahahahahaha

 

Weekly Big Comic Spirits on sale July 10th



Mion and Seichan's recent karaoke Showroom with an overlay, it's helpful for those who aren't very familiar with 48g discography or want to skip to certain songs.

if the video does not show watch the video here

 

Miion at the pool

https://twitter.com/mionnn_48/status/883695667704586240

 

Making of Big Comic Spirits

if the video does not show watch the video here

Mion and Komi on 24 Hour Showroom Broadcast

if the video does not show watch the video here

Subbed Team K MC about Mion during her seitansai