Here's my thoughts semi-coherently pieced together about how it all went down!
Overall, what a great show. Lots of twists, turns, trolls, and Skype fun to be had.
A few highlights for me:
Upcoming Girls:-Komada Hiroka ranked low, but she RANKED! That's awesome! I was hoping this would set the tone for the night for some HKT domination.
-Maachun ranked but did lose 21 spots. Still, great to hear her name. She's a lovely girl.
-Some of the SKE surprise girls dropped bigtime this year. Saito Makiko was the biggest drop with a whopping 33 spots down the list. Kobayashi Ami fared almost the same. Even the great cheerleader Madoka fell 29 spots. It's not terribly surprising as I'm not really sure what inspired their sudden rise to rank last year in the first place, but it's good to see SKE still has some momentum even though their promotion has been rather lacking the last few years, in my opinion. Oh, and welcome back Mikitty.
-Tanabe Miku ranking was epic. Her reaction was priceless. Even in her speech she demanded to know if this was a dokkiri. lol
-Aamin looked GOOD man. That hair to one side, so nice. Sad to see her fall in rank, though.
-I was hoping Saho would rank higher. Maybe next year her fans will vote a little more ha~ya~i.
-Nagao takes Upcoming Girls center with a position drop. That's so bittersweet to know that if this category hadn't been added, she wouldn't be there. That's gotta be a mindfuck.
Future Girls:-Hell yeah, Natsu got called! I would have preferred her be in Next Girls at least, but hey, she's here!
-My jaw dropped when Uchiyama Natsuki got called, but I'm so happy for her. This girl is the definition of a total sweetheart. Awesome surprise.
-Nishino Miki actually did a lot worse than I thought she would. Not a good starting point for the three musketeers.
-Ripopo. *thumbs up*
-I lost my jaw again with Rikopi was called at number 60. Thrilled doesn't even begin to describe it. I think she is a total doll, so to see her get in is great. It's just great.
-Jonishi Kei and Yabushita Shu losing some ground. I'm a bit surprised by that.
-Furuhata Nao ranked. This was a good thing to happen. If it didn't, I was about ready to be done with SKE48.
But seriously, good to see her rank.
-Yamada Mizuho out of nowhere! She seems like a cute girl, but I was nowhere near expecting her name to be called.
-Okada Nana already? Ouch. I had her pegged for high Next Girls, this is way lower than what I was hoping for. At least she's there and it's hardly a "bad" debut, but still, I was really hoping the majime revolution would begin with a bang. I expect she'll spike pretty high next time.
-Wasamin gets a center again, and her rank went up. I'd say that's pretty awesome for her. I definitely approve, she's awesome at enka but I don't want her to give up the idol thing either. Can't wait for her picture in the Mizugi Surprise magazine... she has been looking super fine the past year.
Next Girls:-Hurray for Aoi, Sasaki Yukari, and Tsugupon ranking! Very cool!
-Also happy to see that Isohara Kyoka not only ranked again, but went up! Sweet!
-Fuuko ranked way lower than I expected. NMB needs to pimp their idols as idols a bit more or something. This isn't good that their center's are coming in so low.
-Kinoshita Yukiko, it's about time. Great to see her not only rank, but totally burst onto the scene.
-Same for Anai Chihiro, who managed to beat Yukko by a mere THREE votes!
-Meru went up 17 spots but still a little low for being a center. Makes me wonder who might be ranked higher... teeheehee.
-Furukawa Airi's drop hurts. Furuyanagi split up is a bummer.
-Kojimako ends up topping out the three musketeers. I did not expect that but I think it's pretty cool. I've been a supporter of hers for some time so it's nice to see her do so well, even if I was rooting slightly more for Nana.
-Umechan's drop isn't very surprising. I feel like I haven't seen her too much the past year, and she's not really had time to make use of her new NMB stomping grounds.
-Harutamu got some support. Really surprised to see her rank so high. Nice one!
-Fujie loses a spot but gets to center Next Girls. I'd say that's a win for us and her. She's a sweet girl, and super fine.
Undergirls:-Kato Rena and Takahashi Juri making a GREAT sousenkyo debut. Really surprising, but Rena has been super gorgeous and Juri super cool lately, so why not!
-Churi dropped. Shit. It's not the worst drop around, but it still breaks my heart. Barely scraping undergirls... just a few years ago, I would never have believed it. It's sad to see. She seems content with it and all, but it makes me feel like the 48 Group I used to know really is moving on and leaving some of the old guard behind. It happens, it's the very nature of idols and I accept that and try to embrace the new, but... it's Churi, man.
-Masana is still in the game. I was worried she might drop, but she's about in the same spot. Cool!
-I really don't understand how Mio is the highest-ranking Tentoumu-Chu member, but oh well. I like her alright, but compared to the others.... yeah.
-Way to go Moriyasu! Awesome sousenkyou debut for her, and I hope it continues next year. She's awesome.
-Muto Tomu has some awesome fans. I thought she'd completely drop out this year as I haven't seen much of her, but she's UP 21 spots. Good job fans.
-Yuria is somewhat better than I expected. I thought she might lose the SKE support but it looks like her fans stuck with her for now. Next year could be interesting though.. hopefully for positive reasons.
-Miichan's drop was only four spots but I still said "ouch" when her name was called. Considering what she used to be, this isn't too good for her. Kinda sucks too, I loved her rebound from the scandal and dedication to Team 4. She doesn't deserve this drop.
-Haruppi moving up in the world, pretty awesome. I'm happy with this spot for her, but I hope next year leads to bigger and better things.
-Annin. <3 I figured she would get some extra support. Good to see.
-Kitarie's spot kind of amazes me. I figured she'd drop off some as she's not seen too much lately, but her fans still got her back I guess. That's cool. I'm not a big fan of hers anymore, but good for her.
-Oh, Milky. I had a feeling this would happen. She's just had one too many scandals and they broke her momentum. I hate to admit it, bit I feel like Milky has lost some momentum with me as well. Just enough that I don't feel like I have an NMB oshi tie anymore. It's a shame. She's a sweet girl and she is definitely a fan pleaser with a great personality and a rocking body, but she needs to watch it and stay away from the undesirable situations for idols. Not everyone comes out of it like Sashihara did, and repeats can be a career killer. Prove me wrong this year, Milky. Be awesome and on the up and up.
-Kaotan for Undergirls center is a huge LOL moment. Talk about unexpected. To be blunt I'm not a fan at all, but it was one of those "wow moments" so in that regard, it was interesting. The skype call I was in definitely had some fun with it.
SENBATSU!-Kawaei ranking in was nice. I expected her to get a ton of extra support, and the fans definitely did just that. The only thing more epic was her showing up. When she appeared on stage, it was honestly touching. Due to the very nature of idols and their focus on the positive, it's easy for us to downplay what happened to her, Annin, and a staff member at the handshake event. Make no mistake, the guy who committed this crime went in with the intention of killing people. Those terrifying moments are enough to break people, but for Kawaei to come out, accept her award, and tell the entire world that she isn't gonna give up, that is something to be respected. Not just as a performer or idol, but as a human being. That takes genuine courage. I have only the most massive of props for Ricchan.
-Shibata Aya making it into senbatsu is extraordinary. I thought she'd drop a bit but it looks like there's more to Aya's popularity then just a momentary hype. It's awesome to see, she's a great girl. Can't wait for her gravure pages.
-I underestimated the Nogizaka fan spirit. Ikoma actually made senbatsu! I had a feeling she'd be high or even center Undergirls, but this is huge. Good job Nogibro's! I think it's a good thing for Nogizaka's image, but at the same time I do slightly worry that it might lead to more Nogizaka kennin's and stuff in the future which I'm not the biggest fan of in all honesty.
-I thought Yui might advance a little, bit it's good that she was at least stable. Well, her rank anyway, she's still a mess. I loved that multiple staff people were on standby to help her down. LOL
-I'm amazed Sae didn't lose more ground. I love her, but she has still done so little with SNH48 and only recently came back to a Japanese group. Good for her though, she's one of the coolest members around.
-Holy Sakura! Bow down to the true HKT center! I like Meru just fine, but as far as artificial pushes go hers isn't working well. I remember a similar push years back with SKE48. People prefer Sakura just like people preferred Churi over Mukaida Manatsu. It makes me happy to see that Haruppi and Sakura have broken past the artificial push and are the highest ranking HKT members. Well, aside from Sasshi of course.
-Suda Akari did about what I expected. I knew she would go up. She is one of the most genki, awesome idols we have and there's nowhere for her to go but up. She's easily one of 48 Group's most lovable girls and her spot is well-deserved and not in any jeopardy in the years to come. I'm extremely biased, though. haha
-Takamina was a tiny bit lower than I thought she might be, but still within her realm. She's the sou-chan and isn't going anywhere, but I would love for her to get kami-seven sometime.
-Kojiharu is also in a very stable position, she totally trolled everyone in her speech too. Graduations are no joke, ma'am!
-Just my opinion here, but I have no idea how Paruru ranked so high. But hey, good for her. I don't hate her or anything, but this level of support is pretty surprising.
-I pretty much knew Sayanee would get a big boost. She is an extraordinary talent and perfect choice for NMB fandom to rally around. Not at all surprising but a very welcome development.
-Rena is where I expected her as well. She's never going to beat Jurina again, but she'll always get a strong showing. No doubt.
-I was really hoping for a Jurina miracle. Eclipsing 90,000 votes is terrific, but I was hoping she would somehow make it to #2 if not higher. She has been everywhere this past year, working even while injured and seemingly accepting every job given to her. She's also frequently been in some of the best magazine spreads, but I guess it's not quite her time yet. Some are putting her down for her speech, but I don't see what's wrong with aiming for number 1. At least in her speech, she was aspiring rather than complaining like some have in the past. I think she will get there, and next year will definitely be interesting.
-I didn't expect Yukirin to hang on to a lead over Jurina, but she did. Pretty awesome of her fans to continue being that supportive. In my routine sample of AKB48 media I barely see her anymore, so I am honestly surprised by this. She's a great girl and I'm glad for her, but show up to some 48 shows once in a while, girl!
-When "H" came out of the host's mouth for 2nd place, my jaw dropped to the floor. I was genuinely floored. I knew it would be close this year, but I thought for sure the momentum of Sashihara Rino would not be toppled just yet, but it was. This was a genuine surprise. Really though, doesn't bother me one bit. My idol kamioshi #1 favorite girl ever ranks #2 out of 310 members. She's a force to be reckoned with and 141,000 votes is no small feat. Obviously I want my oshi to win, but it's hard to find much to complain about. Support for her is still through the roof and that's pretty awesome.
-Welp, Mayuyu finally did it! She's number one at last... Honestly, good for her. She has wanted this for some time and the crown, or in this case the cape, is hers. Her fans definitely showed up for voting support and she broke right through the top vote count of last year, which is a pretty big deal. I'm curious to see what kind of single we get with her as center. Hopefully it'll be something neat. This was definitely a crazy moment. My Twitter client was un readable for several minutes as messages literally flew off the screen.
Overall, this was a very entertaining sousenkyo. Lots of twists and new girls ranking that lead to a lot of excitement. I'm sad to see that only two girls really dropped out of the rankings from last year who were eligible. That's gotta be pretty rough for Sato Sumire and Matsui Sakiko. I was also really wanting Okada Kanna to rank, but hopefully she will next year. I actually did the Skype party for this one and that was a lot of fun, too. Fun times all around. And yeah, it's a bummer my oshi didn't get #1 again, but it's all good. I'll be curious to see what a Mayuyu-centered single sounds like. Hopefully it will be fun. In the end, that's what matters most, right?
Until next year!
Topic: [2014.06.07] AKB48 6th Senbatsu Election (Read 36392 times)