15.000 dedicated to Matsui Rena
When SKE48 first came out there were four girls in the spotlight: Rena, Kumi, Tsukina and Jurina. Kumi was the one that gabbed my attention. Jurina and Tsukina were kids and Rena seemed a bit plain. When I watched the S1 DVD I didn't like her vocals either. She sang in tune, but her voice had a squeaky quality to it. Her infamous line in Classmate is the perfect example. They even showed this bit during an AKBingo special and confronted her with it, haha. She improved so much, but more on that later. The point is, my initial ideas about Rena were wrong. Very wrong.
My Rena fandom started in July 2009. She was one of the girls who performed at he Japan Expo in Paris. Some of my pics are on page one of this thread. Initially it was unclear if she was even coming, because there was a baseball event around the same. Luckily, she came to Paris after all. When the girls come out, you try to get a good look at them and you start searching for your favorites. My oshimen at the time was Yuki, but out of Team Paris is was Kasai. It didn't take long for me to take note of Rena. She was in the center for quite a few songs and was basically right in front of me for good amount of the concert. I was blown away by her presence. The energy she put into her moves, the never ending smile and her cute pale skin with black hair combi made it impossible to take my eyes of her.
Later that day during the conference I told my friend to take a lot of pics of her. I already knew then she was the one. Actually, she was really cool during the conference because she was the only one who gave the people in the back a chance to ask questions. The next day there was another performance, followed by a signing event. I didn't get into the event, but I watched from a couple of meters away. Rena sat on the far side of the podium and somehow she took note of me. We waved and she 'treasure hunted' my smile, haha. Like I said in the Kumi post, little moments like these can take your fandom to the next level. I was already into Rena because of the previous day, but that moment sealed the deal.
Months passed and Rena's uprise began. The spicy food specials on Shukan later turned out to be the foundation for her Gekikara character. How epic was Gekikara! I think she gained tons of fans with that acting performance. She proved to be a good actress many times since then and I think her future career lies in this field. I don't worry about Rena's future, because I know people everywhere recognize her talents. Her vocals have improved over the years and she managed to turn her husky voice into a charm point. Kareha no Station getting #1 in SKE48's Request Hour concerts two times is quite amazing. I still love the song to death, but more importantly, I think it shows people want to support Rena in a big way. She has captured the hearts of many. In fact, the Rena song pack I once uploaded is my most downloaded file with 1011 downloads!
A random note to break up the wall of text, I still enjoy looking at Rena's old blog pictures. It's a glimpse in the world of Rena outside the spotlight. There's even a bit of wackiness in there which you wouldn't expect from reliable Rena. You can find a bunch of them in the first 10~15 pages of this thread. I recommend browsing them if you have spare moment. Here are some random ones I like:
In these past months I said some things about Rena which may seem odd. Allow me to explain.
1. I would be OK with it if Rena were to graduate from SKE48. If she stops on the top, she'll be a legend forever. I'd hate for her to slowly fade away or to become involved in some sort of scandal. In addition, I worry about her health. She's been ill a lot lately and she's been having back problems since she auditioned. Furthermore, it would allow her to focus on her acting career. Naturally, I think Rena can still achieve great things while being under the AKB48 umbrella, so hopefully she'll get the chance to do so.
2. I do not want to see Rena in bikini. This is a bit hypocritical, because I'd be lying if I didn't stare at some of her pics for too long, haha. She has an amazing body. I've never seen a waistline like hers, it's amazing. Back to my point, before I spend another paragraph on how pretty she is. I'm afraid appearing in bikini cheapens her image. I feel this happened to Yuki a bit, yet Yuki's situation is different because she uses her body to her advantage. In Rena's case, I feel like people just like her for who she is. They like her for her acting, for her voice, for her smile, for her own little quirks. That's why I feel she doesn't have to do this. I know she's still an idol and that it's part of her job, but that links me back to point 1. I'm really looking forward to seeing her upcoming PB. The preview is exactly what I wanted. It's show a mature Rena. It's intense, artsy and classy. While I'm on it, I always like it when Rena appears in regular clothes. Old school classy outfits suit her so well.
It's hard to explain just how much I value Rena. Somehow she managed to motivate me throughout my studies. Knowing she works hard every day to achieve her dreams make me want to work hard. In fact, the adventure I'm about to embark on is just one step. I need the experience if I want a better shot at landing a job in Japan. It's a bit of a double feeling. I'm at this point in my life where I don't "need" Rena to motivate me anymore and she doesn't "need" my fandom anymore. It's like we're graduating from each other, both ready to move on.
However, I will never forget these past three years. Rena brought me so much happiness and enjoyment. Seeing her perform, watching all the TV shows, the magazine spreads, blog entries, etc. I will always support her. No matter what. She stands miles above my Yuki and Kasai fandom. It's a completely different feeling. In fact, Rena has overtaken my Otsuka Ai fandom, which is quite amazing. I will continue to follow her career with great interest, both during and after SKE48. I hope you will do the same.
At the risk of sounding obsessed, I truly love Rena
This will be my last post for a while, so I'll leave you with this:
Topic: [TEAM E] RENA ~ The Matsui Rena Thread (Read 962189 times)