The 2017 Stage48 Member Ranking Results (All Rankings Revealed!)

And my list is finally complete! Congrats Naachan for winning for the third year (second by herself) in a row! I do, however, think her high number of negatives came from SSK (when she absolutely pummelled Riripon).

01. (+15) Matsuoka Natsumi (No. 88, 32)
02. (+10) Ogino Yuka (No. 15, 105)
03. (+9) Matsui Jurina (No. 92, 31)
04. (+8) Yokoyama Yui A (No. 13, 118)
05. (+7) Sugawara Maya (No. 248, 7)
06. (+6) 1. (1) [42|12] Okada Nana {+297,-45}, 252
07. (+5) 3. (3) [27|3] Watanabe Mayu {+236,-7}, 229
08. (+5) Ueki Nao (No. 186, 12)
09. (+4) Shiroma Miru (No. 20, 96)
10. (+4) Iriyama Anna (No. 53, 49)
11. (+4) Asai Nanami (No. 92, 31)
12. (+3) Cherprang Areekul (No. 146, 18)
13. (+3) Tashima Meru (No. 42, 56)
14. (+3) Hyodo Aoi (No. 316, 3)
15. (+2) Furuhata Nao (No. 50, 51)
16. (+2) Wakatsuki Yumi (No. 48, 53)
17. (+2) Yoshida Akari (No. 26, 75)
18. (+1) Kumazawa Serina (No. 359, 1)
19. (+1) Honda Hitomi (No. 164, 15)
20. (+1) Taguchi Manaka (No. 186, 12)

 

But if the Riripon case was part of it, how did Naachan get around the same amount of negatives last year when she did nothing? There is around the same number of negative voters as well. To be honest though, why should fans be part of disliking or liking an idol. There’s ignorant ones that an idol can’t control and it’s kinda stupid to downvote them just because of dumb fans. Not that I’m defending Naachan because she’s my kami-oshi or I’m salty or anything, it just doesn’t make sense and it goes for everyone that got negatives despite not having done anything.

I legit have only seen 1 person speak up about down voting Naachan for the past 3 (including this one) annual rankings while everyone is quick to say that they downvoted, let’s say, Rika for her inappropriate behavior. If the reason was legitimate, what is so bad about it? The person that admitted they downvoted Naachan didn’t get attacked or anything.

 

What makes her stuck up? I've seen a couple people here say this but i'm not really sure why, she seems like a sweet girl.
Also, she's not the only one to not do IHS for a while, do you feel the same about Nanase? They're equally as busy. If they were to do IHS on top of their schedule they would probably collapse. They still take part in NHS. Just curious since i've never seen anyone downvote her before lol

 

Frankly speaking, yes, I'm in agreement with Forrestfuller. Neither of them is as busy as Sasshi, yet Sasshi fulfills her handshake slots for AKB. Same for Sakura, even with her insane schedule she at least tries to meet the fans. Sayanee isn't too posh to do handshakes either. Mayuyu, Yuko, Shinoda, Acchan kept doing handshakes when AKB was insane.

Annin understandably got a free pass from doing HS because of her trauma, the only other reason to miss HS is because of medical hiatus. Otherwise your getting the benefit of being in a group without doing the work.

 

I did a double take with the top three since right under them is the list of last year's winners and in the same order.

01. 92. (108) [9|4] Suda Akari{+45,-14}, 31
02. 2.(2) [34|1] Yamamoto Sayaka{+251,-3}, 248
03. 53. (81) [15|0] Takayama Kazumi{+49,0}, 49
04. 22. (103) [17|0] Yokoyama Yui (Team 8){+92,0}, 92
05. 27. (108) [19|1] Ma Chia-Ling{+76,-2}, 74
06. 82. (140) [7|0] Chou Kurena{+34,0}, 34
07. 131. (187) [6|0] Murase Sae {+20,0}, 20
08. 80. (66) [10|0] Goto Rara{+35,0}, 35
09. 221. (115) [3|0] Okita Ayaka{+9,0}, 9
10. 212. (394) [2|0] Higashimura Mei{+10,0}, 10
11. 13. (11) [19|1] Yokoyama Yui{+121,-3}, 118
12. 230. (---) [4|0] Tanaka Kouko{+8,0}, 8
13. 265. (---) [4|0] Miyata Manamo{+6,0}, 6
14. 1.(1) [42|12] Okada Nana{+297,-45}, 252
15. 6. (10) [33|1] Kojima Mako{+171,-2}, 169
16. 67. (122) [10|0] Goto Moe{+40,0}, 40
17. 338. (234) [1|0] Kawamura Mahiro{+2,0}, 2
18. 359. (263) [1|0] Takeuchi Saki{+1,0}, 1
19. 186. (192) [5|0] Shinuchi Mai{+12,0}, 12
20. 194. (328) [6|0] Sagara Iori{+11,0}, 11

 

06. Kojima Mako (+6); 6. (10) [33|1] Kojima Mako {+171,-2}, 169
An improved ranking for Mako from last year

01. Yamamoto Sayaka (+15); (2) [34|1] Yamamoto Sayaka {+251,-3}, 248
Like in the real SSK, deserved to be #1 but never got there.

No negatives

 

1. Tano Yuka (+15) / 44. I think it was fairly obvious I was gonna vote for her but I also have valid reasons~ She did a lot of work outside of AKB in 2017 (two stage plays and her first lead role movie) but I saw the negatives coming for her
2. Komiyama Haruka (+10) / 21. Imo she's been trying really hard the past year especially on her social media and I'm excited to see what's to come
3. Kato Minami (+8) / 27. She was my NGT oshi from the start and nothing has changed since. I'm excited about her future. Curious tho what caused someone to vote negatively for her
4. Minegishi Minami (+8) / 37. Despite what everyone says, I think she's a fantastic role model for younger members and really hard working
5. Okada Nana (+7) / 1. I'm really happy to see her in first place 'cause she is seriously hard working and although she's been quite honest and open about being nervous and scared of being in the spotlight, she works incredibly hard to get there and you can't even tell she's scared
6. Kitahara Rie (+6) / 42. She really proved herself as a captain, you could see how much the nuggets love her and she graduated at a really good timing
7. Yamamoto Sayaka (+5) / 2. Started listening to her solo music and even bought her album, which I came to love. Sad to know she might not be around for the next one
8. Yokoyama Yui (Team A) (+5) / 13. I wonder why she's dropped from 3rd in 2014 to 13th this year because I still think she's the same incredible person she was back then. Hard-working, beautiful and talented
9. Ma Chia-Ling (+4) / 27. Gotta thank AKBingo again for making me discover some gems in the group I wouldnt see otherwise. Ottamage!!
10. Yamaguchi Maho (+4) / 108. Watching NGT stages, I've always found her interesting to look at. I hope she gets more attention
11. Iwata Hina (+4) / 62. I guess this is partly 'cause of Mario as she's the STU member I know most about
12. Sashihara Rino (+3) / 24. Appreciated the fact she took a step back from SSK
13. Murashige Anna (+3) / 104. Probably one of the funniest girls in the 48G for me. I guess I like loud girls
14. Miyazaki Miho (+3) / 164. I've always found it a shame she dropped a lot in SSK because she's a good singer and has a fun personality, plus I think she's really pretty
15. Kashiwagi Yuki (+2) / 9. I kind of only voted for her cause I couldn't get her reaction at Ogiyuka's #1 in the prelims last year out of my head
16. Matsui Jurina (+2) / 92. Surprised to see her called so early, Jurina is a hard worker despite what anyone says. Kinda sad that she had a ratio of [13|12] as I personally don't think she deserves as much as she gets
17. Oba Mina (+2) / 104. Similar to Miho, I consider her an incredibly underrated member. I appreciate the older girls
18. Sato Kiara (+1) / 186. She really caught my eye during AKBingo the last year! She's really funny and has a super cute face. I need to pay more attention to her performances, too. I wanna know who the other three people are that voted for her!!
19. Shiroma Miru (+1) / 20. Although she's pretty low on my list, she's still in my top 20. I didn't know her before Tofu Pro Wres and I just think she's incredibly stunning
20. Miyawaki Sakura (+1) / 4. Mostly voted for her cause she's pretty

So that's my late list lol

I'm still curious who voted negatively for Katomina and why Would really be interested to hear an opinion on this

I also find it incredibly interesting how much this varies to SSK, especially when I look at people like Jurina, Sasshi, Komiharu, Tanochan, etc. Excited to see more Produce 48 and BNK48 names in the list next year, hopefully

 

My full ranking and short explanations:

Spoiler

01. Miyawaki Sakura (+15) - 04. [27|5] Miyawaki Sakura {+213,-17}, 196
Nice rank for Sakura! She's a member I've followed and supported since her debut and my support for her just grows bigger everytime. I like talking about her and following her news and career, I just find it all so interesting. She's also adorable and beautiful and she works hard, she's really my type of idol.

02. Shiraishi Mai (+10) - 10. [21|1] Shiraishi Mai {+133,-3}, 130
Literally perfect in every way. I used to follow her very closely since 2013 but I didn't have time to follow Nogi anymore 2-3 years ago, however I got back into them since 2017 and I love Maiyan as much as ever, or even more. She's a great performer, beautiful, funny, interesting, and very passionate.

03. Owada Nana (+9) - 230. [5|6] Owada Nana {+25,-17}, 8
I can't say I didn't expect the negs LOL but it's less bad than last year (btw my vote saved her LOL). She's getting hate since debut so I'm used to it anyway. She was my new gen fav in AKB and I'm sad she left so early, but she's working so hard after graduation and I'm glad to see her doing well!

04. Hirate Yurina (+8) - 62. [14|13] Hirate Yurina {+93,-49}, 44
Ouch! So many negs, but like it was said earlier here, the reason why she dropped so much is the lack of upvotes. Did all her fans leave the forums... Oh well. I personally think she's an amazing performer and different than other idols in general, I like what she offers. and she's a very sweet girl off stage.

05. Nagahama Neru (+7) - 16. [22|1] Nagahama Neru {+106,-5}, 101
Highest ranked Keyaki member! Congrats! Neru is just... I think there's no other member like her. I find her so unique and simple at the same time, she's super cute, sweet, she has like a calm aura, her voice and laugh and smile are just so relaxing. She's also interesting at the same time. Really a great idol.

06. Kashiwagi Yuki (+6) - 9. [29|0] Kashiwagi Yuki {+132,0}, 132
She will forever be on my ranking, one of my favorite member of AKB all-time ever since I got into the group. Amazing singer and performer too. Love her!

07. Watanabe Mayu (+5) - 3. [27|3] Watanabe Mayu {+236,-7}, 229
Another one of my favorite members all-time, I'm sad she graduated, but it was the right time and I'm happy to see her doing well, I'll always support her.

08. Kato Rena (+5) - 40. [12|2] Kato Rena {+64,-7}, 57
I always liked Renacchi and still do. She's a sweet girl even if she doesn't have all the strong points as an idol but I know she's trying her best in her own way. I feel like she's slowly becoming similar to Kojiharu in terms of career (model etc.) and that's nice! She's beautiful in her photoshoots and photobook.

09. Okabe Rin (+4) - 24. [15|1] Okabe Rin {+85,-5}, 80
Great rank for Berin! (still getting used to not call her Rinrin anymore LOL) She's my favorite Team 8 member and I never thought she would get all the push that she is getting. She's great in HS and deserves the push though. Captain of Team A and now ranked in elections, everything is going perfectly ;_;

10. Ikuta Erika (+4) - 5. [25|0] Ikuta Erika {+186,0}, 186
One of the most talented member in the whole 48/46 groups. She's working so hard to be both musical actress and idol at the same time and I just admire her a lot for that. She's a great singer and also pretty and cute, and very funny too, she literally has everything. Nogi is so lucky to have this girl.

11. Sugai Yuuka (+4) - 92. [6|0] Sugai Yuuka {+31,0}, 31
I remember back when I first saw her, she reminds me so much of Sayanee at debuts. Now I know her well and she's a great girl, beautiful and adorable, I love her! She's a very good leader too and great performer as well. and her photobook was nice! Her Twitter videos/photos for promo were so adorable too!

12. Yamamoto Sayaka (+3) - 2. [34|1] Yamamoto Sayaka {+251,-3}, 248
wow She almost won, it would have been nice since she's graduating soon ;_; Sayanee is perfect, I love her solo songs, I love her personnality, everything.

13. Shiroma Miru (+3) - 20. [19|0] Shiroma Miru {+96,0}, 96
One of my favorite member in NMB. Mirurun is very cute, a nice singer, and a good idol overall, I really want her to do well and become NMB's ace.

14. Suzumoto Miyu (+3) - 108. [7|1] Suzumoto Miyu {+28,-2}, 26
Somehow I really like Suzumon. I like her personnality, she's cute, she's a good performer, I just like her!

15. Kojima Haruna (+2) - 73. [9|1] Kojima Haruna {+43,-4}, 39
Last time that she can be voted so I gave her some points, she's forever a legendary member (like all top old gens) and while I do know that it was about time for her to leave (LOL) but I kinda miss a personnality like her in the group, there's no one else like her (both in visuals & her idgaf attitude LOL).

16. Kubo Satone (+2) - 62. [10|2] Kubo Satone {+46,-2}, 44
She's a cutie and one of the AKB new gens that I like (there aren't that many so it's an achievement!) I hope she can be successful.

17. Oguri Yui (+2) - 17. [18|2] Oguri Yui {+103,-5}, 98
Nice rank, not too many negs. Honestly Yuiyui's push is deserved and I think no one can argue against it. Becoming the best selling in HS for AKB members when she's so new is crazy and it's not just a one-time thing. She's an orthodox idol but that's good too and AKB really needs girls like this as well.

18. Nishino Nanase (+1) - 7. [25|2] Nishino Nanase {+158,-7}, 151
She's a nice member, good as idol, pretty. I quite like her, that's all LOL

19. Kosaka Nao (+1) - 100. [10|0] Kosaka Nao {+29,0}, 29
Rank #100 for her first time! My favorite member in Hiragana, she's very pretty and a good center (when given the opportunity) I hope to see more of her!

20. Komiyama Haruka (+1) - 21. [18|1] Komiyama Haruka {+96,-3}, 93
I'll be honest, I added Komiharu as #20 on my ranking because I couldn't think of anyone to put there at that time. If I did the rankings now, I would have made some changes, and probably Komiharu wouldn't be on it. However, I picked her because I think she's good as idol overall.

That's all for me! I think by now I have a better and more specific top 20 than when I did this ranking but it always changes anyway LOL I'm looking forward to the next stage48 ranking. a lot of my favs ranked top 10 though (7 of them) well I think it's expected since I don't have that much time to follow the groups like before so I don't know that many of the new or less known girls and many of my favorites are old gens who are popular and that I know for a long time.

 

Not much surprises at the end

01. Iwata Hina (+15)
02. Nakai Rika (+10)
03. Takino Yumiko (+9)
04. Okabe Rin (+8)
05. Kumazaki Haruka (+7)
06. Miyawaki Sakura (+6)
07. Hidaka Yuzuki (+5)
08. Kojima Mako (+5)
09. Kubo Satone (+4)
10. Ichioka Ayumi (+4)
11. Isogai Kanon (+4)
12. Ishida Chiho (+3)
13. Yamauchi Mizuki (+3)
14. Shitao Miu (+3)
15. Aramaki Misaki (+2)
16. Jonishi Rei (+2)
17. Seiji Reina (+2)
18. Kashiwagi Yuki (+1)
19. Arai Yuki (+1)
20. Murakumo Fuka (+1)

 

@ForrestFuller @minaeshi @Reveen

I just saw the discussion about Nogi and HS and it made me interested. Actually I think you guys might be misunderstanding why some Nogi members aren't doing HS anymore. I think it all started with Maiyan and Nanase, who both are the top HS sellers. I noticed that they stopped doing HS last year (but not sure when it started), I have no idea if management ever gave reasons why, but I'm pretty sure they didn't? Anyway, it never crossed my mind that they stopped doing HS because they're busy or other excuses. Especially because if Nogi didn't give HS to the busy members, Ikuchan would be first on the list LOL with all her musicals and outside projects, she is the most busy member by far. However, she is still doing HS.

My very first thought about it (and I think it's the reality) is that it's Nogi management's idea. I remember seeing the HS sales list last year and seeing most of 3rd gens of Nogi being sold out. 2nd gen of Nogi never got this kind of results, in fact 2nd gen of Nogi never really got pushed, but 3rd gen has been pushed, and Nogi management is clearly thinking of them as the successor of 1st gen and the future of Nogi. so I'm pretty sure that what happened is management is the one who decided to make Maiyan and Nanase stop doing HS, seeing as both of them are top HS sellers for years and most popular by far, they made them stop so that their fans who buy the single can instead go to other girls and eventually give a chance to the new girls, and it worked.

This is something 48G can't afford to try. Maybe if 48G did this back then when they were the top, then many of the fans of old gens might not have left with their oshi, they would have stayed with their new oshi. Let's say if Yuko stopped doing HS back then, but she stayed in the group. Her fans still buy the singles, but instead of going to her HS (they can't) they would go to another girl. That's like 50% chances for them to find a new oshi. in a way it's kind of a sacrifice for Maiyan and Nanase who might lose fans to other girls but they do it for the sake of Nogi, for the group to have longevity instead of completely dropping once the big names are gone. it's not like they're in the same situation as AKB where there's endless sister groups and endless generations being added to keep the sales high. Nogi have to try other ways.

Now 48G can't do the same as Nogi because obviously they're not in the same situation, not as popular as before, and they really need the sales right now. So you'll never see Sayanee or Sakura or Sasshi etc. stopping HS, that would just hurt the group. it's not because they're busy or not, because like I said, Ikuchan is busier than probably any 48/46 girl but she still does HS.

So that's why I think you guys misunderstood the situation. Actually I'm pretty sure Nogi management wouldn't just accept it if the girls said "we don't want to do HS anymore" LOL as popular as they are, they're not in a position to decide this. Just now I checked the Nogi HS sales of their new singles and this just proved my point: for this single, Manatsu, Misa and a few other 1st gens are also not doing HS. Those are the next top HS sellers from 1st gen after Maiyan and Nanase. so it's not about being busy or about not wanting, there is clearly a decision of management to make the popular HS sellers of 1st gen take a break from HS and it's probably to make fans move on to other girls instead. it's smart, and it kinda works.

So I really wouldn't blame Maiyan and Nanase for this at all. it's 100% not their decisions, they did so much for Nogi as a group, and still do so much now. in fact, by accepting this, they are allowing their own fans to oshihen to other girls which I think is a great sacrifice and proof that they truly care for Nogi.

Now for @ForrestFuller and your impression about Maiyan, which I guess is related to the HS issue (that I just explained), I really don't think Maiyan wants to leave Nogi and that management doesn't let her go. She could have left before Ikoma but she didn't, and I'm sure she is now carefully planning her grad (due to age rather than anything else) but she's not in a hurry either. She's someone who really loves Nogi and always had very strong and passionate feelings about the group, probably also because the group really helped her as a person (she used to be bullied in high school etc.). She always talks about Nogi like it's her whole life. She was the first member to be very open about wanting to become the top girl group and didn't want to ride on AKB's name and fame. She always did her best at everything and always wanted to make the group shine as much as she can, she always worry about the group not doing well (back then), about the fans' feelings (like when kennins happened). Even now in her recent documentary from last month, she talked about all these things. I honestly think she is the member who's most passionate about Nogi as a group so there's no way she's staying because she's forced or that she's sick of it, really no way.

I feel like there must have been misunderstandings to make you think like this, like the HS issue etc. but as someone who follows her closely, she really really cares about Nogi from debut until now, nothing changed about that.

Just wanted to share some thoughts because I think some people might have the wrong idea. of course it's ok if anyone still dislikes these members, LOL

 

@Reveen, fair enough then. I think it would be unfair to dislike Maiyan for that specific reason and not Nanase for doing the exact same thing. I don't really care about whether he likes maiyan or not, just wanted to know why he thought she was stuck up since i've heard some people mention that before, but i don't really see it.

@Mana See, I always thought they were absent because of their busy schedules, they seem to be doing things every day. It even further supported that idea when girls like Manatsu opted out of IHS this single too, another incredibly busy member. Erika also missed a IHS a couple singles ago too and that was at a time where her schedule was packed. Even Techi's recent absence (though it may also have been because of her health) from 6th IHS also came at a time where she was busy with shooting Hibiki, which is why i assumed non attendance = conflict/busy schedule.
While I can get down with your idea (its its a pretty good one if true), It's hard for me to believe management would allow for two of their top members to sit out doing IHS and risk losing say 50/100k just to promote 3rd gen, when the 3rd gen girls seemed to have been doing well on their own anyway. I would be amazed if Sony had the balls to do that. I thought it was more a case of; the 3rd gen's HS sales are doing amazingly well, and the groups overall popularity is increasing too, so if we allow our top girls to not do IHS, the 3rd gen have enough star power to make up for that loss, and maiyan, nanase, manatsu etc can appear in more schedules that they wouldn't have been able to before, thus increasing Nogi's exposure even more.

 

@minaeshi Your thought makes sense too. Honestly I think it's a mix of both (my thought & your thought) because clearly it's a win-win situation for all, new gens getting fans and being more responsible for sales (they're the future of Nogi), old gens getting more time for more solo jobs (before they graduate), it's really a win for all. and I definitely don't think it's the girls' own decisions, I think the fact that the ones who stop doing HS are the best sellers, 1st gens, and older in age, it says a lot. I think management decide for them to stop doing it and their logic is probably similar to what you & I are thinking.

in the end it's a good decision. and yes my point is that these girls really can't (and shouldn't) be blamed for this, it's a good thing for the group. it definitely doesn't mean they don't care for the group anymore and they definitely don't have the power to decide to stop HS by themselves too. so yeah ^^;

 

@Mana - Nice theory and full points for delineating it but I just don't agree with it, I think it's too convoluted and a little bit naive tbh. In most circumstances I subscribe to the adage "The most likelly explanation is usually the simplest one".

I see the conversations with Maiyan/Nanase going something like this

Maiyan/Nanase: I'm seriously considering graduation
Management: Wha? Why would you do that?
Maiyan/Nanase: I want more time for outside work, I'm physically and mentally exhausted, especially with handshakes
Management: You are important to our public image plus you make us a lot of money from CMs and other things, if we excuse you from handshakes will you stay?
Maiyan/Nanase: I can stay longer if I don't have to hs any more.

I think these members can be criticized, they're getting the benefits of staying in the group without doing the thing that is now a central part of the "idols you can meet" concept. Maiyan and Nanase win because they don't have to shake "sweaty wota" hands any more and they have more time to do outside work, management get to keep their golden gooses a bit longer but it's the fans that lose out because they can't meet their oshimen in IHS any more. If a fan is ok with that then fair dues to them but it would definitely turn me off them.

@minaeshi: personally I didn't downvote either Maiyan/Nanase as there were others more deserving of my downvotes but I can understand why they would annoy people and to me it's justified based on what I said but that's just my opinion at the end of the day.

 

@Reveen

But technically, girls like Sasshi, Sayanee or Miichan have probably a lot more influence on what they can do or not and yet they still all do HS. the only other girls who don't do HS right now are Annin and Techi (who both experienced HS incidents and went on breaks, which is understandable). if your theory is really how it happened then, how to explain that Manatsu, Misa and a few others are also not doing HS right now... I really don't think Nogi management allows all these girls to decide it, I also don't think all of these girls want to leave and are tired of Nogi, there's no way. what they all have in common is 1) they're 1st gens, 2) they're older in age, 3) they're top HS sellers for years. So management most likely made them stop, either to help the new gens, or because they just think the new gens doing HS is enough to keep the sales.

Another thing is about the "idol you can meet" concept, I know this is AKB's concept, but was it ever Nogi's concept? I don't remember them ever saying it. of course they do HS events for the sales like every other 48/46 groups, but unlike AKB, they don't have theater, they also don't have 2-shot? So they aren't the same as AKB when it comes to the "idol you can meet" concept, it's much more limited. in fact this is probably why they don't make Keyaki appear in Nogi senbatsu or make them do HS for Nogi like how it works in AKB. They're not as focused on HS as 48G which just makes it even more understandable that they would allow the older girls from older gens who have sold out HS for years to stop doing HS now, and it's not just Maiyan or Nanase right now.

I mean these top members did all the work for years to make Nogi the top group, they had sold out HS for years and shake hands with fans a million times, they did the most for Nogi and made Nogi what it is today and their presence in the group itself is already the biggest contribution right now. New gens are now more responsible for sales which is good so they can feel the importance of carrying the group in the future. and at least they can't ride on Nogi's past success and old gen members hardwork forever. I honestly think it's very fair and AKB should have done this back when they were at the top, but yes AKB is really "idol you can meet" and they care for sales a lot more so they definitely won't let anyone stop HS before and much less now.

 

Just adding, very first Sakamichi girl who absent from HS was Ikuchan during 17th single to 3rd album release. She really want to participated in HS event. She ask and consult to management to let her in. She talk about it on her Showroom with Himetan around June 2017. But then she never included on 3rd album HS, which can be mean management did not allow her.

 

@tiktok Thanks, this is a very interesting information! So Ikuchan really wanted to do the HS, but management didn't allow her and it must be because they knew she had too much schedules and did it for her own good... I really do think Nogi doesn't take the "idol you can meet" concept as far as AKB, they aren't strict with HS as much as AKB is... I mean I still think one of the reasons Kawaei graduated is because she felt guilty not to be able to meet fans again. it's a really important part of 48G, but not the same for Nogi, their management are very different. I'm pretty sure management is making all the decisions, if even Sasshi can't avoid HS, it's not girls like Maiyan or Nanase who will avoid it. it's very obvious that they hold no power as members. they can't even open social media accounts LOL

anyway I find it very interesting how Nogi works and the fact that there are more 1st gen members now who don't do HS. I like that it pushes the new gen members to work harder at HS to keep the sales high. it forces them not to take things for granted and that's how it should be for the group to last longer.

 

Sasshi and Sayanee actually seem to like doing HS (or at the very least don't mind it) whereas I can't see Maiyan and Nanase being the types to enjoy hs. I don't think Miichan does full amount of slots so it doesn't affect her too much.

The group is 7 years old and those girls are all at graduation age, hell there's been constant rumours of Misa announcing for a while. Nogizaka management still haven't fully exploited the "golden generation" of Nogizaka, for instance they still haven't done a dome tour. Also as other people have said 2nd generation were a busted flush and 3rd gen still have a while to go before they get known by the public so they keep as many first gens as possible till 3rd gen are fully ready.

Yes, it absolutely is. The main differences between AKB and NGZK are no theater, boring gravure and more conservative seifuku, pretty much everything else was copied from AKB. Without HS Nogizaka never would have taken off.

You can guarantee that when Nogizaka's sales start slipping (and they will, there's a natural curve to every groups interest and sales, Nogizaka is at the top of their curve right now) that they will start doing two-shots and any other gimmick that they need to in order to maintain sales.

 

It doesn't matter whether they SAY they are idols you can meet, they ARE idols you can meet.

That's just what's on the marketing brochure. You could just as easily call AKB, "Those girls you knew from the normal high school that you actually went to". Nogizaka is a variation on a theme, rather than a whole new theme.

Huh? 48 group have done musicals, Majisuka Gakuen, AKB49, Hakataza not to mention all the musicals individual members have done.