Single Sakurazaka 5th Single [Sakuratsuki] (2023/02/15)

Well, personally I don't like this kind of publicity. I hope the girls were not scared...

 

I like this photo from the event, with the entire group, including 3gens:



This is from inside Shibuya Tsutaya, taken in front of a panel commemorating the single. You can see fans waiting there for them in the first picture below:


Then the fans milling around the Kouen-doori entrance:


And finally the look of the main CD area on the ground floor (I believe):


I hope this incident doesn't make the 3gens wonder what they have got themselves into. Myself, I do understand the feelings of the "fans", seeing in the flesh the girls they admire on the media, but I deplore their lack of kindness, consideration, and self-restraint. Staff apparently made a path across the sidewalk for the members, but when they began to appear, fans rushed back in to impede it. Eventually, members had to scurry out and up into the buses.

There's a video showing the fans clustered around the Kouen-doori entrance to Tsutaya, then rushing around to Center-gai, imagining the members were going to exit there. Then they appear to rush back, as buses (maybe not the S46 buses, not sure) pull up on Kouen-doori.

Just a couple of notes: Center-gai street is featured in Karin's Guuzen no Kotae, and Kouen-doori ("Park Street") is mentioned in Shibuya kara Parco ga Kieta Hi, the song for which Techi wears a sparkling red suit. Kouen-doori is the main road north from the Shibuya Crossing. Center-gai is a narrow street lined with shops and restaurants, etc., heading nw from the Crossing, on the west side of Tsutaya.

 

In this group pic there are members missing. Apparently from the 1st gen (I see Fuu-chan, Mii-chan and Habu-chan) and some from the 2nd but I cannot say exactly who. There should have been 19 in front of the 3rd gen but there are 15.

 

Thank you @David61

Fans all around the world are like that and usually the younger the fans, the less they respect the space in between them and idols.
It's something I don't agree with, but I'm not shocked by stuff like this happening. It's up to mngmnt (and eventual location staff) to find a way to keep Sakumembers safe and fans happy.

Stalking any member of any group should just be in the criminal category, but that is different than groups of fans excited to see their idols.

 

Oricon
Day 5: (2nd) 7,172 (343,286)
Day 6: (2nd) 5,607 (348,893)

https://twitter.com/ke3jiara/status/1627617449666543617
https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/d/

 

@ukifune I'm a bit late to confirm for your post, but yes, the CD main area where all those banners are hanging is indeed the ground floor of Tsutaya.

 

Oricon reporting almost 349k (rounded) for the first week (in line with cumulative daily sales, actual count to be announced tomorrow), another #1 single

https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2268609/full/

EDIT: 348,921 (hence rounded, they like to count to the nearest thousandth)

 

I think I've figured out the meaning of the astronaut in "Cool" MV. The astronaut is the girl who has seen the outside world.
The colorful creatures coming out of the astronaut are the aspiration to live vivacious diverse lives resulting from the story of the outside world.

The choreo of Sakurazuki looks "I run out of idea" kind.

You know Surrealism and Dadaism but not basic aesthetics? Symbol and narrative? Were you aware the MV was the visualization of the lyric?

 

Tokyo Girls Collection 2023.03 Sakurazaka lineup: Kobayashi Yui, Tamura Hono, Habu Mizuho, Fujiyoshi Karin, Morita Hikaru, Moriya Rena, Yamasaki Ten

Full Sakamichi lineups.

 

No, I was not aware of the lyrics, nor I intent to become... I enjoy my Sakamichi songs through music, dance and visuals only. I've looked for translations of the lyrics of only very few songs (less than two handfuls actually). My Japanese is still very elemental to understand this strange syntax (so different than prose). And for the majority of lyrics I don't think it is even worth the time (although Aki-P has reached some relatively high levels of actuall poetry in some songs).

So my dear, once again you are jumping to conclusions... However, I will say nothing about my artistic abilities or limits. These are up to me and the people I know IRL. Here, I'm here to judge as a fan, and the more I know about the girls, what they do matter less and less from what they actually ARE...

So as your judging (although based on some seeminngly solid base) is not supported by any kind of expertise, it seems as if you;re just enjoying "fencing" with the other members. So, relax, cut all this (and the bull word) and join us here as a fan (if of, curse you really are).

That's all, too much already...

 

Sakurazaka members on Love It! (ラヴィット!) currently Masumoto Kiras is a regular guest on the show for 3 months.

 

@ryandtw -- "Oricon reporting almost 349k (rounded) for the first week (in line with cumulative daily sales, actual count to be announced tomorrow), another #1 single... https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2268609/full/"

According to the Stage48 Oricon thread, the first-week sales of previous singles have been: Nobody's Fault 409k; BAN 374k; Nagaredama 376k; Samidare yo 393k. And now Sakurazuki sells 349k, the group's lowest first-week total ever.

This worries me. It seems to me that the group needs a new push, a new direction of some kind.

I do not want Sakura to go the way of Hinata, to a more classic idol style, and what seems to me some painted beauty that homogenizes the look of the members. Hinata is an excellent group, talented and entertaining, but not my style.

I think Sakura could do with slightly less frenetic dancing and more lyricism, but has to keep the meaningful lyrics that gave the group its big push with SaiMajo. I liked the "we're all moving together in the same direction" feeling of the Natsu no Chikamichi MV, which was a bit like SaiMajo in that way. In its own way, Cool was like that for me, too, with the lyrics' social/psychological injunctions and the feeling of unity (I thought) in the MV. SaiMajo's uniqueness was the feeling of "we're all together here telling you how to escape from being controlled".

I recognize the danger of having a permacentre -- about which we know too much -- but I'm hoping one or two of the 3gens can emerge as recognizable popular figures to focus the audience's attention. Unfortunately, my taste (Karin) may not jibe with that of Seed & Flower or idol fans in general.

[tl;dr/]
Sakurazaka's highest first-week sales were for its first single under the new name, after Keyakizaka's final single, Kuroi Hitsuji, had sold 750,000 (almost two years before). After a high in sales with Nobody's Fault, sales dropped back almost 30,000 units for BAN, grew slightly through Nagaredama and Samidare yo, but now have dropped to the group's lowest-selling single ever (for the first week; things may change).

For comparison, Hinatazaka grew from a 476k (Kyun) first week to 558k (Sonna Koto Nai Yo) but has settled into the mid-lower 400's over the last three singles. Nogizaka grew to over a million units in 2018-19, but since COVID has been around the 500s, now climbing again to 650k with Koko ni wa Nai Mono.

This is according to the standard Oricon singles count, which may not take as much account of online listens and buys as perhaps it should. (I'm not sure of the current situation in that regard).
[/tl;dr]

 

Please remember that we lost four veteran members of the group who surely had many fans, two of those members where girls who always sold out their HS/Meguri. Also note that fans of those four members could/would have purchased more singles to support and greet other members they liked, but with the graduation of their oshimen have thrown in the towel altogether.
It's little wonder the group sold less than what we would have hoped for. 50k drop isn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and they will most definitely reach 400k total, so it's a good single in terms of numbers. With the 3ki now joining in, 6th single is the one that will really show us how they're doing, and I suspect it will be an easy 400k+ first day sales.

 

Caution... Long post ahead based on @ukifune 's recent post that triggered my decision to write what I think of our group.

Spoiler: Open at your peril...

Thanks @ukifune for summarizing sales figure in a single sentence and putting them into perspective. This, in combination with my very recent thoughts and observations for which I wanted to make a post, give me the opportunity to do it here and now. So here are my two cents, which is nothing more than my personal opinions which can be wrong or distorted and in any case should be taken as such...

As an initial note I must stress the fact that lyrics is something that I almost never take into consideration when judging songs. Please have this in mind.

I've said before in this post that this single didn't appeal to me the way the previous ones did. I found it simply anaemic... This had nothing to do with Rena-chan (who is absolutely adorable), or the fact that Sugai was not part of it (as much as I respected our chapchen, I've never been particularly attached to Yuuka even from the early Keyaki days). To put it simply, for me Sakurazuki is the weakest song of all side A singles so far. The weakest musically and visually. It's "live" choreography I've seen in the above link (from the Love-It show) somewhat warmed my cold predisposition towards the song but nothing more. Now, what if my judgement is shared by many other fans as well, resulting in this (as @ukifune puts it) lowest first-week sales ever...?

My fellow forum member says after that:

According to my humble opinion, I would say: NO

The group does not need a new push, a new direction. And that's because I think it is already in the right path...

Before elaborating some more, I would like to put at this point what I was thinking recently as I mentioned at the beginning of this post: I'm worried A LOT about Karin... I don't oshi Karin, yet I recognize that this girl does have a killer combination: she is super-extra cool (the coolest of all, much cooler even than Risa), has her own type/character, her own beauty, the face that certain sculptors would kill to use as a model, looks sophisticated, is super elegant, knows what and when to wear (fashion sense), is one of the top dancers in the group, is a fighter and the only member that is a living-and-breathing link between the old Keyaki "frustrated teenager" and the new Sakura "mature young lady, wise from the turbulent years of her youth". The lady with the eyes of melancholy, the eyes that hide wisdom. And one more: She is also a loner!

I don't know if I'm delusioned but I see Karin quite demotivated... I see a tired Karin, a fed-up Karin, a Karin that keeps her distance from everyone and everything, a Karin that moves and behaves in a mechanical way. This Karin reminds me of Mon... It scares me...

And this makes me want to shout to the management: Use Karin! Give her a much deserved center! Make her the face of the group for one or two singles... Karin has already scored two mega hits with Guuzen no Kotae and NazeKoi... Karin has attracted new girls to the group, Karin has inspired many girls apparently. Karin is a weapon, so management for god's sake, use her! And don't dare to give her a lukewarm song like Sakurazuki... Give HER the song that would smash the minds and hearts of fans, the song that suits HER personality, the one that only she can make it happen...!

Sakurazaka is on the right path: What they have done so far for gen 3 and the hype they created proves this. And I'm very optimistic that gen 3 will bring this breeze of fresh air that will blow so wildly that it will push sales much much forward... Unless management does not screws things up. This post is not (only) about Karin. Karin's case is one of the screw-ups: Not playing the right cards at the right time... This was NOT the time for Rena. It was the time for Karin - period!

But to a different level, what if these sales figures indicate that Sakurazaka simply appeals to a different target group. A target group that is (a) either smaller, (b) more eclectic/refined, (c) has a wider spectrum of entertainment alternatives against which Sakurazaka competes with a small share-of-voice or (d) a combination of all the above. I have to warn the fans that maybe, I repeat, maybe, this ONE song that we are all expecting, this messiah of a song, this SilentMajority2, is nothing but a chimaera. What if this will not happen, ever! Because if this happens then WHAT? Should we stick to the person that would happen to center it as a perma-center? Again? Should we stick to the same format of songs and "rinse-repeat" the same recipe for all singles that follow? Would this be a death-trap of vicious repetition? Management did it once. And failed. And people (these girls) suffered.

So, maybe, it will be much better to have - each time - a different song, a different mood. A surprise. I like that Sakurazaka46 so far have produced songs that are SO DIFFERENT from one another, like night and day. And I like all of them (well some more and some less, but all are good up to simply amazing!). Sakurazaka has long gone sailing into new waters, new unexplored oceans. Can you see that, now, under such broader horizons, the group's options are so much wider that Hinata or Nogi? Sakurazaka can EXPERIMENT, can try many different things. Some will be just OK but others will prove to become diamonds. The girls certainly have the potential, that capacity and determination to execute impeccably anything that will be thrown to them!

And this is the image I would wish management to convey to the new gen girls: Listen here young kittens: you are the pioneers, you will try new stuff, new styles, new choreographies, you will create new visions because you have become part of the most avant-garde group in idol history!

But, at the same time, this group should keep one leg on the earth and provide the girls with more opportunities to appear in more events, on TV, radio, create new shows, new CONTENT. And THIS is what Nogi and Hinata are doing much more systematically and with great success. This may as well add a couple of 100,000 to the sales figures... For now...

 

Part 2


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

I just want to say that I have read @minaeshi's point that lower sales are a natural result of popular members having left, and think it's a good point. With the right song, senbatsu and MV for the next single, I agree that a 400k+ first week is possible.

I have also read @Philosophy Senpai's long and interesting post and like the idea that this group can have a broad range of styles and go in various directions with any single. "Can you see that, now, under such broader horizons, the group's options are so much wider that Hinata or Nogi?" And I agree that it's good the members are now getting more individual opportunities.

Of course I like the idea that Karin has a lot of positives and should be featured more. Senpai didn't specify this, but for me, her main strength as a performer is that she is the most graceful dancer in the group (and for me the most graceful dancer the group has ever had), even if she is not technically a "better" dancer than some others. I'm not seeing her drifting away, but I'm also not watching every SokoSaku, and may be missing things. I'm seeing her happy with her starring gig in a drama, and becoming more and more mature, cool and confident. But still herself, and no smiley idol.

I'm enjoying her Instagram account in the name of her character in the drama, and also a Twitter account called karingallery, as well as her infrequent blog posts.

 

My 2 cents:
You hit the nail in the face in describing Karin: "Graceful dancer". Of course, all those other attributes of hers as described by @Philosophy Senpai also apply. I remember Tsucchi saying something like "Sakurazaka's secret weapon is Kira" (maybe for variety?), whereas the real secret weapon was Karin all along. The 6th single will be the litmus test. Will Karin center it? I sure hope so. It'd be basically a slap in the face for her if (God forbid!) a 3rd gen girl would center it, however much we already love the new girls. I think Karin has earned that right, just as much as Matsuda earned the captaincy after Sugai.

As far as direction, I just want them to be different enough from Nogi and Hinata. And if there is a SaiMajo2 for Sakurazaka, that doesn't necessarily mean a perma-center. Let's keep our fingers crossed so that management doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past. BTW, I'm all for experimenting new things, as long as those "things" are good to great. We don't want a kitchen sink of just-OK songs.

 

I know you guys think they haven't timed it right with Karin, but I also feel like Karin is strong enough on her own to not need the right timing? We know that Karin gives off a cool and aloof aura, and yet she can also perfectly present a love song whether it's upbeat or sorrowful. I see Karin in the same light as Ten and Run, where management are so confident in their popularity not decreasing, that they're happy to try having other members, like Rei and Rena who need the boost, center A-sides and B-sides. I think them having Karin, Ten, Run, and Hono all in the 2nd row was a clear indicator of that.
On top of that, out of 40 songs she is in all but 9, those of which are 2 b-sides (dead end, mugon), 2 gen songs (1ki, 3ki), 2 backs song (im in, munen), and 3 units (on my way, seifuku, zutto haru). Of the 31 songs's she's included in, she center's 4 songs and is featured in 3 units (beer, saku8 unit, duet with run). She is absolutely in the same levels of treatment as the girls who have centered an A-side, the only difference between them is that she hasn't centered an A-side, which doesn't mean much when you realize both her B-sides are still performed on TV shows, has higher MV views, and is generally much more well received by fans and the public more than other A-sides of the same single.

And since I know we all love some trivia, here are the other active saku8 members participation rates in songs (40 in total).

Run, Pon - 32
Karin, Hono, Ten - 31
Koike - 30
Habu - 21
Rei, Rena - 20

So Karin, along with the top 6 saku 8 members, is already heavily featured in a majority of the songs, which when performing the amount that they do, will start to take a toll on the members mentally and physically. Not every idol is so consistently bright and genki like Matsuri and Hono, or as youth-willed as Ten or Kira. The same low-vibe photo's we see of Karin are the same kind I've seen with Run, Pon, even Koike at times too. The girls will get tired. So in my eyes, management have tried to 1) give Saku 8 top members a chance to rest while still giving them positions that aren't a disservice to their popularity, and 2) give girls who aren't yet in the same calibre as them a chance to move into those positions, which in turn gives the top members another chance to rest.

Would I like to see Karin center? Of course, I genuinely feel it's long overdue (as is Pon's! She's younger than Hono so if they can push Hono they can push Pon!! 1ki tenure be damned!!). But to say I feel worried about her position in the group? absolutely not. She's one of the essential pillars. She's a recognisable enough face to the general public, she still has a Keyaki flare that Saku fans appreciate, she's featured in magazines often, and has a drama role going. Whenever Tsuchi and Sawabe grill her on sokosaku, it's always a gloriously fun time. I'm not worried about her at all, and I would like for them to keep going as they are this year, giving girls like Rena, Rei, and even Kira or Inoue, more of a chance to solidify their positions in Saku 8/Senbatsu. Onuma and Uemu can use a push to make them sold out sellers (which i think is doable). And overall, make the group strong, and make it harder for management to simply throw any 3ki into senbatsu and neglect the other girls who still deserve a shot.

I can see what they're doing and I honestly think it's working. Sakurazaka is going through lots of changes this season with grads and new members, and I would like this single to be a mark of new beginnings while the group finally solidifies their concept/aura and blooms into a powerful group.

Also, a cute pic of the girls since they hit 1mill views on Cool!

 

3rd gen's Natsu no Chikamichi just went over 1 million views on YouTube! So happy for them and Sakurazaka46 as well!