AkiP's G+ Post About Sashihara

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/MMk84e6DgUW

Let's talk about Sashihara Rino's move to HKT48.

We talked to her about the magazine article.
Her response was "Not everything in there is true, but there's nothing I can do about it if people want to believe everything."
This happened 3-4 years ago, when she was still a kenkyuusei.  As an AKB48 member, she is ashamed and deeply regrets these irresponsible actions.
She has been given a "yellow card" and disciplined accordingly.

Her mental strength and "never give up" attitude are exemplary among AKB members.
I would like for her to pass this strength to junior members, so she is moved to the recently formed HKT48.
Those who say that she was "demoted" is insulting HKT48 members, as well as the fans and staff who support them.
We reached the conclusions after a long meeting that we want to present Sashihara with a new challenge, as well as motivate the young HKT48 members.

How clumsy can she be, despite having reached 4th place as voted by fans?
This is an important time...
But this is Sashihara.
Maybe she will come back as the leader HKT48, the strongest group among this franchise.
Or she will blend in as part of HKT48, the strongest group among this franchise.

Please keep supporting the AKB member that is "most likely to not perform according to expectations".

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")

Hara Mizuki's Long Post on Her NMB48 Career

https://plus.google.com/116999436633946440277/posts/JtnYbPVutrV

It's quite late to talk about this now, but
I announced my graduation during the performance on 9th.

AkiP: Hard Work Will Pay Off Someday

This is most likely a response to Yamamoto Sayaka's long post, which itself is a response to a long post from Hara Mizuki (recently graduated kks).

https://plus.google.com/113474433041552257864/posts/auqZa1iqdbB

For those who think their hard work have not paid off.

The only thing you can do is keep up the hard work.
Work hard, and wait for your chance, that's really about it.

Maeda Atsuko's Video Message To Fans

Togasaki on SDN48's Final Concert

https://plus.google.com/103388469578205010447/posts/j6pcwYeLK8G

Hi everyone, I just got home from the post-concert celebration.
I am seriously drunk.
I probably will regret writing this drunk post...
But

I think today's SDN48 graduation concert
was really really the best concert.
"Complete Combustion" (translator note: going all out)
"Everlasting"
are probably the best words to describe the concert.
And even though I already know this, today I was reassured that SDN48 is really supported by passionate fans.

The cheering was loud enough to shake up NHK Hall.
The MIXing chants, and the voices from all the fans that called out their names one by one.
All of these show their love for SDN48.
Members were crying because they saw the fans were cheering and crying until their voices gave out
But in the end there were smiles on all of their faces as they finished with "Kodoku na Runner" in true SDN48 fashion.

Like Noro said
"We SDN48 may not leave a huge legacy like AKB48, but we are happy as long as we can remain in your memories."
Today will definitely be remembered.

The members that gave everything during the 2-year, 8 months of SDN48 career also gave everything they had today.  They "completely combusted" as some members collapsed after the show and remained immobile for a while.
They will treasure this experience as all 39 members were of one mind today.
From here on, please feel free to come back to the theater and recharge if you're having a rough day or feeling down.

Finally - after the concert I had an argument with a fan who could not come to terms with SDN48 graduation.  Things got emotional and I am sorry that it went bad.

Goodnight.