Quick Thoughts on 27th Senbatsu Election

Sorry about the lack of updates.  I spent all of May preparing for my wedding, which took place on June 2nd.

Anyway here are some thoughts on the election...


- Quite surprised that Muto Tomu ranked, super low-key KKS is now the center of Future Girls.  Looking forward to more of her.


- 23rd is a great place for Paruru to start.  It is low enough that if she does climb in the rankings, the progress will be very visible, and decently high for a popular member of a new team that is trying to prove itself.

- Akicha is much better as center of Undergirls than a back-row dancer in Senbatsu.  See also: "Kimi No Koto Ga Suki Dakara".

- 10 out of 16 Undergirls are NOT from AKB48, this will make the Tokyo girls work harder.

- Umechan finally in senbatsu!

- Kasai at 12th was quite surprising, considering we did not see a lot of her in the past year.  I almost thought she was not going to be called altogether.

- Jurina beats Rena.  I do acknowledge and admire her for being one of the hardest working members, but I feel that the hype surrounding her move to Team K and news about her physical condition gave her more votes than her work ethics / personality.

- Tomochin at 8th.  Both surprising and unsurprising.

- Mariko's speech was the most interesting of all.

- Sasshi jumped to 4th.  I still don't understand what her appeal is, but her visible hard work really paid off.

- Slightly surprised Yukirin did not move up to 2nd.  Queen of handshake events defeated by an Android :O

- I feel that Acchan stole Yuko's moment by coming out so early during her speech.

Quick Summary of 4th Senbatsu Election Candidates, Horse-Racing Style

This is taken from 2ch - therefore it is not "official" nor politically correct, but I thought it was hilarious and decided to translate it.

In Japan, betting on horse racing is quite popular, and there are newspapers/tabloids dedicated to this.  The writers use 4-character phrases to describe what they think of each horse.

Translated here are comments on last year's Top 40 members - I will try to use phrases with 4 words as well.

(edit - added Oba Mina)
(edit 2 - corrected translation for Nacchan, should say "good")

More Afterthoughts from AkiP and Togasaki about Jurina and Miyuki

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/hbTiZtd5gCg

Oops, I meant to post yesterday, but this post didn't go through.
It's difficult to decide whether or not to go ahead with something new,
because of course some people will disagree.
I am the producer of the entire AKB48 group.
I don't think it's a good idea to only focus on making AKB48 better.
SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48 are also important groups.
I don't know what the time frame is for Jurina and Miyuki's rental transfer,
because we haven't decided the schedule for original performance for Team N of NMB48, new performance for Team S of SKE48, Team K and B of AKB48.
Also because we want to give them more experience.
Of course it will be slow and we will not overwork the members.
We also want Jurina to do well in school.
It's possible that AKB48 members will be "studying abroad" and sent to SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48.
Let's try some new ideas.

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/Wuew2kD7CRH

Thanks for everyone's passionate comments.
"Please explain this in detail"
It's important to explain everything,
but I am not at liberty to tell you everything.
With regards to Jurina, her health condition is our priority.  She works harder than her body allows because she feels responsible as one of the two centers of SKE48.  In a good way her rivalry with Rena is keeping her up.
To be concurrently in SKE and AKB, I feel that she's not resting if she doesn't perform when she is asked to go on stage.  It's also no good to let Jurina rest when SKE is working very hard out there.  I talked to Yuko and Itano from AKB, and they think that Jurina can grow by learning the group stage songs, and SKE will grow by having to cover Jurina's absence.
With regards to Miyuki - she is always between being confident and being worried.  She always double-checks with the manager about her position for new songs or gravure shoots.  She is the type that cries and comes asking "Why was I not chosen" when we announced that Yamamoto Sayaka was picked for senbatsu for AKB's new song.  As one of the two current centers of NMB, and as future center material, we want her to have more charisma like Kashiwagi or Mayu.
We want Team K to benefit from Jurina's high potential, and Team B to benefit from Miyuki's "magic" - this should give them a good jolt.
I am doing this for SKE and NMB.
If this decision turns out wrong,
I will resign as SKE and NMB's producer.
Of course, if this is also a wrong decision for AKB,
then I will resign as AKB's producer as well.
I will push the entire AKB group forward, even if this means putting myself on the line.

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/KaEHywLF43K

Here's one more thing.
A lot of people are asking, "Why them?"  So here's the answer.
These are "signs".  Like when a flower about to bloom, I feel these girls are on the brink of stardom.
Even if it's just now.
Maybe there will be other "signs" in 6 months, from members that I didn't choose.
The cruel part,
is that blooming has nothing to do with seniority or hard work.
It's not that hard work doesn't pay off, but rather "hard work" is one of the minimum requirements.
But still they won't bloom equally.
I want to make as many members bloom, so I change how I shine the light on them, I choose different fertilizers, I change the amount of water.
Like Iwasa Misaki, the first Enka singer in AKB, and Matsui Sakiko, who is about to release her first solo album.
But what will happen to ones that haven't bloomed?
They get worried, and they become dissatisfied with how they are being brought up.
What kind of advice am I suppose to give them?
It's hard to console them.
"Wait until you bloom"
"Wait until the it's your chance"
Do I focus on a few, or open up the field to everyone and end up not having a lot of flowers blooming?
Maybe one can get into AKB.
But it isn't guaranteed that everyone will become a star.
It's "Can you accept this cruel reality?"
As a producer I always try my hardest to make as many people stars as possible.
But I want them to understand that the road to stardom requires more than this.
"But Akimoto-san decided that I pass the audition"
Exactly.
So even the ones that haven't bloomed will have a chance to bloom.
What if you're still not blooming?
Then that means I have bad eyes.
So please go see someone else who has more talent than me.
I will write referrals.
Until then, please let me know of "seeds" that I haven't noticed.

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/baBdEDm7XdV

Last week, I stayed up all night writing a new NMB song.  Now I'm writing a new SKE song.
I think about these groups more than anyone else, but am I making the wrong decisions?
I've stopped writing.
Hmmmm.
What to do.
It's a shame that SKE and NMB fans don't understand where I'm coming from.

From Togasaki:
https://plus.google.com/103388469578205010447/posts/PnnJvptUpS3

I have received a lot of questions from everyone, regarding the "Concurrent" roles.  We will let you know as soon as we work out the details and adjustments, so please bears with us.
As expected, we acknowledge that there are pros and cons.
Looks like there are a lot of people that want to talk to me in person - please come see me at the Theater CD handshake event on April 7th in the Manager Room.
I would also like to meet SKE and NMB fans to talk about this.
I have talked to the respective managers and will be going to their respective event venues, so please wait patiently.
Anyway - these sudden announcements might be shocking, but the theme for AKB48 group, known for its increasing sister units and sub-units, is "change".
The two members will bring DNA from their time in AKB48 and spread them in SKE/NMB.  By the same token, SKE/NMB DNA will be brought to AKB48.
We would like to think of this as a chemical reaction.
What kind of reaction, though?  I would be glad to wait with everyone and find out.

Full Togasaki G+ Post on Promotions/Transfers

https://plus.google.com/u/0/103388469578205010447/posts/Rxqc4MShNgD

We had some "surprise announcements" at the end of the SSA concert just now, and I'd like to report them here.

There were two announcements today.

First announcement was promotions to Team 4.  Those promoted were:

Kato Rena
Kawaei Rina
Iwata Karen
Tano Yuuka
Takahashi Juri

The other announcement is about filling Team K and Team B's roster, one spot each:

To join Team K:
Matsui Jurina from SKE48 Team S

To join Team B:
Watanabe Miyuki from NMB48 Team N

These two new members will still perform with their respective teams, which are Team S of SKE48 and Team N of NMB48.

As AKB48 members, there is a limited time for the "rental transfer, and we would like to see them develop while working with sister groups, as we think there is a lot they can learn from one another.  So please send them your warm thoughts and keep cheering for them.

Thank you for your continuous supportive to AKB48 and its affiliated groups.