Maeda Atsuko, the face of AKB48. The center. THE girl.
There was a time when I wasn't particularly into her. In the early days of my fandom I had initially latched on some of the less popular girls. I bought into a mindset at the time that some other parts of the fandom had that she was taking limelight away from other girls. (For the record I now find such a thing to be utter b.s.) I guess you could even say I developed slight resentment for her with that perception. That was four years ago. Things have changed so much since then for me as a fan. We went from one piece of content a week
at best to several a day
at least. We've had three senbatsu elections. We've had two janken senbatsu events. Even the fucking kenkyuusei are on TV now. And you know what I've learned in this time?
97% of these girls could never do what Maeda Atsuko does. 99% of them could not do it well.
Being the center of these groups takes expertise, talent, professionalism, and an ability to handle anything at any time. As we got to see AKB48 more and more, it's clear that Acchan knows how to handle being the face of AKB48. I might not say she is the clear motivator and leader, as Takamina seems to handle most of that role, but as far as representing the group in an elegant, fresh, and energetic way, Acchan takes the cake. Although, while I realized this some time ago, I didn't truly get into Acchan until a while later. Respecting what she does and being a fan weren't necessarily the same thing. These days, I am definitely an Acchan fan, and I think it has to do with a change in personality due to an event that SomethingWild pointed out: her coming in second place in the second senbatsu election. I think this made her think about a lot of things and realize nothing is ever set in stone. Her desire to appeal and be interesting dramatically increased from that point on, in my eyes. As SomethingWild said she smiled more, but she also seemed to bring more to the table in terms of personality. She moved away from what she was obligated to do and gave us more. I really liked that. She has a lot to offer and I'm glad she almost came out of her center-obligated shell and shared it with us.
And then of course, there's the beauty factor. Absolutely stunning, totally hot. A textbook Japanese babe.
To me, that pic says it all. I don't need to say anymore. Although
some other pics are also pretty easy on the eyes.
As for her acting, I think she's a good actress. I wish that she would get a show worth her time. In my opinion, several of the projects she has been involved in are beneath her, either in terms of writing or production quality. I think if put into a genuinely amazing show, she would be amazing herself.
Is Acchan my top AKB favorite now? No. Is she one of the main focal points? I'd say she is getting there. My respect for her has definitely turned into genuine like for sure. All I can say for sure is Maeda Atsuko deserves her place, and should be at the very least respected for the hard work she does, and does so well.
Topic: The Official Acchan Thread (Read 916267 times)