Just wait till my wish comes true: a location episode where Akiho is teaching Yuzu to swim... Akiho way... This comedy stuff would be pure, undiluted gold...
At first, Yuzu didn't strike me at all. She seemed ordinary and conventional. But she becomes more and more attractive in every way as time goes on and we get to know her: smart, kind, responsible, talented, good-looking, well-spoken, hilarious (sometimes even intentionally). She was a star of the athletic competition, though not for her athleticism.
Everytime I see Yuuzu with other 3kis members, on show or concerts, she gives me captain vibes. There are members who are hand down more talented, more ace-ish, and perhaps less... naturally hilarous (which may not be the best quality in a leader), but the way she carries herself in her group and the group respond to her is quite interesting. I'd give her a chace to vice-captaincy if it's ever brought back. Maybe not now, but in some months I'd give a thought if I was mngmnt. Of course, I'm not biased at all
I would agree if it wasn't for Nagi. Not that I don't see captain qualities in Yudu, there are... But there are also captain qualities in Nagi as well. Personallly however, I don't care who takes that position IF there will be such (and thats a big if). The case of Yuuka and Akane was different, at the moment of captain allocation both were two very strong leading personalities without any clear advantage for one or the other (although Sugai did have the upper hand on the details). I think vice-captaincy will not be repeated. If it does, 3rd gen is the source to select from (every 2 gens seems to be the proper time-difference) and any of these 2 girls are valid selections. I'm sure any of these would do a fine job to support Rina. But it would take some more time to see if and if yes, who...
Yeah, @Philosophy Senpai you're probably right and we may not get the 2-captains-thing ever again. But I liked it; both Yuuka/Nen and Yuuka/Marina had enough contrasts to have an interesting dynamic and when you add new gens to the group is a nice formula to rely on. But even if never happens again I just wanted to share my thoughts about this vibe I feel Yuuzu has. You also have a good point about Nagi; I thought a lot about it since training days (because this kind of unuseful speculations are part of the fan experience lol), while I was studiying and pondering and getting to know 3kis. And while Yuuzu gave me the feeling of a solid base to support the group on, Nagi gave me ace-vibes since the start. That's something I never saw when it comes to Yuuzu even though she's my Oshi, but Nagi? To me she looks on the way to be one of the members on top rather than one of those supporting the top. But like we said since the start of 3kis, there are a lot of tops in this group so..... yeah, everything is possible and every path is open for each one of them right now.
...that's the line I was expecting to hear LOL. So I will tag along with pleasure... Yuzu is (maybe) the prettiest girl... At first I thought she looks too much older than she really is, she had a very mature aura. But as time passed I realized that her face was just... different, while she was exerting an ever increasing "girlish" aura with her yaeba and antics. But after the athletics episodes I thing she smashed any "adult" aura in favour of an amazingly pretty girl that knows (maybe instinctively) to make people smile and have fun. To that extend, I would find the role of captain not so fitting for her. Now you (and anyone else) might argue: how is Nagisa - possibly - a better fit for the role? Well, I would say that for similar reasons, she isn't either. I believe that we are trained to consider them candidates, from their (so far short) role as MCs during the Omotenashikai. Don't ask me to elaborate further but I believe that idol fan-base is particularly susceptible to "social engineering" LOL. If I had to cast a vote for a vice-captain (and even a future captain) that would be Ishirika... Not because she is the oldest among the 3rd-ki but from the simple fact that what she did with BAN is the greatest accomplishment: she overcame her own obstacles, she overcame herself and she LED BY EXAMPLE. Surely leader stuff... The best Sakamichi captain IMHO is Sasaki Kumi. She is not among the most favoured members, not the cuttest, not the prettiest: She is a manager and leads by example. Now if Rika grows some b$$ls and become a little more sure of herself, she will become the point of referrence among her peers. Again, this is my opinion, as of today... P.S. If in any case you feel that you would like to continue "this kind of unuseful speculations are part of the fan experience" (as @Dill said) than I would recomment to carry on in the general Sakura forum thread... and of course, admins may move my post there.
Prettiness is always something subjective. Not one of my Oshis has ever been the most-beautiful-of-the-group and I think Yuuzu is no different. Miu is probably the one I would choose in a beauty contest. But I think there are very few fans who choose their Oshi based on her looks if not a first; there has to be something more, even though I wholly agree about our social engineering susceptibility lol I don't think someone really care if we push the conversation off topic here and there as long as it doesn't degenerate too much, but yeah..... the general thread may be the right place. Vote for Yuuzu-vicecaptaincy though Kidding, kidding
...me too, me too... and being my 3rd gen oshi I admit this is more subjective than objective. But Yudu is also VERY pretty and this is more objective than subjective...
2023 (Start over!) profile picture, photo card & message. Rough translation of her message via Google translator & DeepL (please correct if there're any errors) Photos from her blog Not again.. That pretty/cute face of her
Really, the more I watch of the Yuzu Showroom, the more I like her. She seems direct but playful, cute, fun to be with. A good person. I think it comes across in her voice and gestures, even without understanding all (or anything) she says. And she speaks pretty clearly, so she's easier to understand than some people. Showroom is wonderful thing. Quite intimate and potentially involving, depending on the performer and her relationship with the fans. Here we post YouTube videos, but on the original showroom-live.com, there are stars of various colours popping up at the bottom of the screen all the time. These are sent freely by viewers, to express support. And there are towers and pieces of gold that viewers pay to send. Viewers can also pay to have messages to the performer show up in the main window. In this screencap from a 2018 Memi SR, you can also see at the bottom the little avatars representing the top ten or so viewers (by some formula). So an idol is of course flattered that so many people are there supporting her and looking at her. Some of the 3gens -- for instance Matono Mio -- are just so tickled when they realize they are connected to admiring fans. Shows are live. The fans make them go by sending in a flow of written questions that we all see and which the idol does or does not answer.
Great News: Yuzuki is going to be a regular in Love It! every monday starting in October 9th. Source: https://x.com/sakuzakacentral/status/1711158314149740692?s=20
Sakurazaka46's Yuzuki Nakajima will appear on TBS's ``Love it!'' It was announced on the 9th that she will be in charge of Mondays for ``Love it! Family'' (Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.) from October to December. https://encount.press/archives/524059/
For some reason this translation by WSS from BLT escaped my Yuzu radar a must to read anyway https://westillsubbing.blogspot.com/2023/09/nakashima-yuzuki-feature-on-blt-graph.html She's so... I'd say cute but it doesn't even start to explain what she is.
Yudu is one of those rare personalities that is best described as a conflux... She is the pole that all kinds of opposites meet and merge together to make a harmonious and beautiful whole...
