#whenever i do something like this for makiko i always end up thinking of her sense of style and

[tvrningout-archived]

IMAGES OF FURUKAWA MAKIKO

     change will always be terrifying, but i cannot help looking at this spring's bloom with envy. i, too, want to blossom, and that desire may finally outweigh the fear.

   pg. 4/?

[reddowind]

I've seen Maki's relationship with her children! Now I wanna know Kaito's!

Sorry for the late reply Anon! >___< I almost forgot about this ask! ...Stupid Red..

Here's Kaito's relationship with his children!

KAITO x KAIMA

- The two have a strong relationship between them despite their personality is totally different

- Fun fact : When Maki is cleared to leave from the hospital after healed from childbirth, Kaito took Baby Kaima to stargazing for the first time. When Kaito turned his face to his first son, he found out that Kaima is also smiling. Kaito always did that since Kaima was a baby that successfully made Kaima also loves stargazing and became his hobby also habit

- Kaima also likes astronomy, so he loves it when his dad talks a lot about astronomy

- Sometimes, the two do sparing if Kaito's at "Stay at home" Phase. But somehow Kaima is always win.. Well, Kaima is overpowered as The Ultimate Soldier

- "Are you sure you wanted to give up to become a soldier? You really looked up to them, right? Your mentor.. It's okay you can do it, because you're my son.." Kaito definitely has a way for encouraging his son if their were down, Hearing his words successfully made Kaima 'raise his head' to not give up. And because of this, Kaito is a hero to him

- Kaito always reminded him to not overdoing it when it comes to train Keiji and Makiko also fighting the gangster who challenged him, Being ruthless is part of Kaima's personality. It's kinda annoying but Kaima's admit it

- Seeing Kaima became the way he is, Kaito is proud of him

- Seeing Kaima is often fighting with the gangsters, it made Kaito worries a lot. But he always tried to think positive and believed his son

KAITO x KEIJI

- Him and Keiji are really close to each other because their personality are really similar

- Keiji always get excited to hear his father's story nor astronomy, because Keiji loves astronomy the most among his siblings!

- Keiji became the way he is because of Kaito, He keep encouraging and comforting him in his way.. Because Keiji were really down and always blamed himself because of his past. Keiji also thinking that Kaito is his hero because of this!

- The two always get excited and happy whenever they talk about their day!

- Keiji sometimes ask Kaito to do volleyball sparing when Kaito's at home!

- Kaito is confused too why his second son can be this innocent despite of his age?

- Kaito also lectured him whenever Keiji did something dumb, Well its not scary as Maki but its enough to make Keiji terrified. But despite of his words sometimes Kaito laugh at Keiji's dumb action and ended up being scolded and lectured by his wife

- Different from his siblings, Keiji chose an "easier" path than his siblings who chose harsh and tougher path than him. Also, Keiji isn't sure about being an "Ultimate" and Hopes peak seems doesn't interest him that much. But Kaito always supporting him whatever path that Keiji will choose!

- Seeing how much Keiji insecure with his scar on his forehead and cover it with bandana, Kaito didn't blame him and forcing him to be confident enough to remove the bandana from him because he knew how harsh and tragic Keiji's past was, also knowing Keiji is always get a nightmare whenever he thinks about his scar..

- Keiji also loves stargazing! Especially when he's together with his dad!

KAITO x MAKIKO

- The two are really close to each other!

- Due to Mako is the youngest child and the only daughter of Kaito, He often to hug, kiss her and bite Mako's cheek because Kaito is too cuddly for Mako. Even Kaito always do this whenever he sees Mako

"Hmmm... Tou-san.. Stop it.. also don't bite my cheek..! It became stinks..!"

"Hmm who cares! Just let Tou-san do this to you! You're too cute!!"

- Ah, he even spanked Mako's butt after he did that to her (Please, this is natural for father and his children. Did your father never did that to you when you're still a child??)

- Kaito always reminded Mako whenever her sarcasm has gone too much

- "If that Shitty Kokichi did something to you, tell Tou-san. OK? I'll never forgive him"

- Mako always tried to hide her actual feelings whenever Kaito talks about astronomy, Kaito totally knew about it but didn't talked at all about it

- Seeing Mako pouty and beng embarrassed, he just smiling and thinking "Ah, she's really looks like Maki Roll~ So cute!"

[umi-tama]

November 4th 2018

Quick update without pictures: The Akai I ordered still hasn't been delivered tho and I assume something with my Packstation (something kinda like a PO Box) went wrong again and it's been sent back upon failed delivery :/ *

But my P's finally arrived and I also got myself a QPet Latter is very low maintenance and aside from the tinny sound works quite well. Another surprise was that it grew up again! Like, most reviews I saw where like "it's a shame you can pick the character you'll get in advance and it grows up straight from baby to adult" ... but I don't think that's how it works. Because while I did choose a dark purple Makiko when I started it up and the baby character grew into her and she could eat chewing gum and drink alcohol (which seems like an adult thing to do), she grew up again this morning. Into a character that looks like a toddler tho, but. Apparently there is more to the QPet evolution than just two stages! :D nice And about the P's: It came with the English patch already installed and a lot of gotchi points in its virtual purse, which was nice. Ofc the first thing I did was remove the face plate, not just to thoroughly clean everything but also to make myself a custom one ;P rn I'm still in the process of adding small pieces of holographic glitter tape to it to "fill" the jewels again, and I'm also undecided about how the "fake"/non-functional Deco Pierce I want to put on it (since it came without the little plastic heart) should look like.

So rn I'm running 3 vpets: the QPet, the P's and my iDL (to be the P's' friend and vice versa)

*

Before that I gave my Sanrio Mix another try but. Idk. It's just not much of an interesting tama? I'm glad it grows up so fast, otherwise I would probably find it boring. But anyway, whenever I DO run it, I plan to marry it to Gudetama in every 2nd generation, just to see how much of Gude's genetics will take hold over time ;P *

OH! And I recently ran Kimiko again, this time putting a bit more effort into research and it turns out last time I ran her I actually made it to the end of the game! Also I finally understood a lot of her needs better, I think, and therefor took better care of her than last time. Mostly. Aside from the 9 - 10 hours a day I didn't care for her at all bc I had to work and couldn't pause her. But her health never went below 3 bars and even though she was in a really bad mood a few times, most of the time her happy mood didn't go below 2 or 3 either. She still ran away from me 3 or 4 times, but always came back when I called her.

So! That was that for now! :) C ya

[tetsuocommittee]

“Went grocery shopping with Makiko…” read Kaneda, then squinting at the little face that had been scribbled on a corner of the note, and scratching his head “What time is it even…?”

“Almost midday.” replied Kei.

She was standing next to the balcony window, while Kaneda was leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Almost midday, I see…”

The television was off for once. The two empty cans of coffee, still on the table.

The usual beginning of a Saturday.

Kaneda took a moment to smile at an unfinished drawing Makiko had left on the counter, of a bear and a rabbit on a car, and then turned back to Kei.

“Something weird happened, right? Like, psychic kind of weird.” he said.

Kei didn’t answer this time.

“Because you’re staring into space.” continued Kaneda “I know you well enough to assume you’re staring into space right now, and whenever you’re staring into space, you’re thinking about psychic things.”

And it was true.

There was a deeply meditative gleam in her eyes.

“Did you see it, Kei?”

And a remaining hint of fear…

“Did you see Tetsuo too?”

Then she blinked and turned, rapidly.

Kaneda smirked in response.

“See, I told you.” he said, crossing his arms “Why were you trying to hide it from me? If I shouldn’t feel bad about having nightmares, why should you?”

Kei sighed.

“It’s not that, it’s just…” she began, then frowning “How did you even get it so accurately?”

“Well, to be honest… I actually saw you there for a second…” replied Kaneda, frowning himself, but in the more puzzled way “And it’s not even that weird at this point, with all the shit we went through, but… I guess it’s kind of a shock to spend ten years without anything happening, and then suddenly getting hit again like, right the fuck out of nowhere…”

“I know…” lamented Kei “That’s why I didn’t want you to know. I thought you wouldn’t appreciate that I might have entered your mind by accident…”

And she was looking so disturbed. So utterly, understandably disturbed.

Kaneda clearly wasn’t the only one who had been putting up a strong front.

“Is that what you have been seeing in your dreams, Kaneda? Is that… Is it really…!?”

“It is Tetsuo, yes. Well, was. I want to believe he’s not… dealing with that anymore…”

“Kaneda…”

Kei approached, as Kaneda proceeded to do the same, until they were close enough to hold hands again.

“I guess I have no choice now, huh?” he smirked “Now I gotta tell you everything because if I don’t, you’re gonna see it anyway.”

“Don’t be like that, you know I wouldn’t mean to.” she replied, a bit indignantly “If I could… learn more about it, about how these… powers work, I would…”

“I’m sure there’s a way. We’ll figure it out.” reassured Kaneda, as his features softened into a more soothing smile “We got each other’s backs, right?”

And Kei could only smile back at him, even if she was still a little shaken.

“Right…”

Kaneda was slowly putting his arms around her, and she was slowly doing the same.

“Kei, I… I’m sorry for making things so hard for you lately. I’m sorry about Makiko. We talked a bit last night, because she couldn’t sleep, and I think she gets it. I think she already knows that she has to go, and that it’s for her own good, so you don’t have to…”

“Shhh, it’s okay…”

We can discuss that later, don’t blow it now, Kaneda.

That was probably what she was thinking, seemed to suppose Kaneda.

But it was actually something different. Something completely different.

“I still would like to talk to her anyway.”

Kaneda blinked in surprise.

“I feel like I should.” continued Kei “Both you and Kai have been looking after her, and I…”

Then he shook his head, still smiling and securing his gentle embrace.

“There’s been a lot going on, and you have enough on your plate.” he replied “Hell, I didn’t even ask any of you first, I didn’t even consider that none of us knows shit about kids… It was an impulse decision. A pretty damn stupid impulse decision.”

“Well, pretty damn stupid impulse decision or not, I still want to contribute to it. After all the things you’ve done for me… it’s truly the least I can do…”

“Kei…”

“No, shut up. I’m doing it, you heard me? I’m doing it because I already owe you way too much, and I have to start paying.”

Then he chuckled.

“Okay, okay, knock yourself out.” he concluded, pulling her closer as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“You always take everything as a joke, you dork…”

“Not everything, just whenever you think you owe me, as if being with you wasn’t enough for me.”

Then Kei couldn’t help snorting.

“Alright, but you really are a dork, that was the dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But you liked it, didn’t you? So that makes you a dork too, you dork.”

“Oh my god…”

And because they didn’t have any couch to slump on, they just ended up sitting on Kai’s futon, that was still in the living room.

Wrapping themselves into a heartening snuggle.

A deserved respite.

It almost looked like they were about to fall asleep again, but then Kei decided to speak again.

“Kaneda…?”

“Hm?” muttered Kaneda, looking back at her.

“Thank you…”

Then he smiled again.

“Oh? For what?”

Kei shrugged.

“I don’t know, everything I guess…”

[akanemachurida-blog]

My top five members in terms of recent rise in interest (over the past eight months)

I’m not really a fan of rankings since they always change and people usually care about where their favourite members are and get angry if they are near the bottom. I thought I’d rank the top five members who have impressed me the most since I’ve been attending events and say why. The members here aren’t my top five members, but they are all members I like a lot.

Let me start off by saying that Takayanagi Akane has kept on impressing me thanks to her enthusiasm and fun events, but I had already been used to such a high standard that she doesn’t really fit here, since I wasn’t very emotionally invested in these other members before coming.

If Shibata Aya were still a member she’d make it in. Although I only had about thirty seconds to talk to her back in November it was one of the best (if not the best) experiences I had talking with a (ex)member.

5

Fukushi Nao / Sato Kaho

I don’t have much to say for either member, but ever since I have been going to Team E stages I’ve started to like these two members quite a bit. They’ve been in every performance I attended and I found that they really add to the atmosphere of the stage. I look forward to their MCs so much that I can’t imagine the stage without them.

Donchan makes me laugh so much each stage that I always vote for her as my MC MVP. I appreciate her as the vice-captain of the team, as I think she handles the role well and is pretty sincere in her role. You can tell she means what she says. She also always says bye to me, so that has to count for something!

As for Satokaho, I was not a big fan initially. She just isn’t my type of idol; I tend to not follow the gravure or flirty types. I’ve discovered that I really like her as a part of Team E. Her sense of humour fits well with the team and she clearly meshes well with the members. Like Donchan she always greets me, so that’s always going to get some bonus points.

4

Furuhata Nao

Being a fan of KII I always thought of Nao as being one of the best performers in the group.  After having attended several KII theatres and concerts I now know that she is the best. Her facial expressions, body language, gestures, and mannerisms are the [insert positive superlative]. I hadn’t realized the extent of how good she is at performing until I could see her in the theatre, contrasting her to the other girls, and noticing how easily she puts me in a trance. It’s remarkable how quickly she switches out of this goddess-performer mode when the MCs kick in. I had the pleasure of hearing her sing live during the Laguna concert, which was quite an experience. She isn’t on the level as someone we’d consider to be a truly great singer, but having been accustomed to terrible live singing, having someone sing well is a welcome change to say the least, and only served to deepen my respect for her. Of course all of this is obvious to a casual observer who didn’t have the chance to go to theatres such as myself, but seeing her live is a wholly different experience.

3

Nomura Miyo

I first saw Miyomaru at SKE48’s ninth anniversary during some sales. I barely knew her at the time and I wasn’t interested at all. She was cute but I’m not into the younger members. A month later I got into my first theatre for the kenkyuusei. Several members impressed me a lot: Yokonyan, Miyo, and Izurin. While Yokonyan is the best performer in the eighth generation, I was surprised by Miyo’s power of expression. She performed very well, especially during Blue Rose. The other two I mentioned overshadowed her during this particular theatre, but I got to see her again in January when I went to Tokyo for a mini handshake event. She is probably the wittiest member I’ve talked to. She is funny, an extremely good talker, and teases you. She will come up with the topics and makes the conversation as natural as possible. I went back to handshake her in April (last month) and she was witty as always. I’m also a fan of her arrogant personality and I love how much of a bad loser she is. I’m not interested in supporting her like I do some other members, but I like her character and will keep going to her handshakes since I find they are worth the money. This might be heresy but some aspects of her remind me of Ayachan, which can only be a good thing.

2 

Kumazaki Haruka

I mentioned that Nao is the best member in terms of performance, but Kumachan is my favourite performer. She bears a lot of passion that resembles that of Nao’s, but hers is one that feels more humane and relatable when contrasted to the feeling I get when watching Nao, namely that of watching something so sacred it must be enjoyed from a distance. She is able to blend a mixture of passion and control, which results in a product that invites you to partake in the experience – in a different manner from the unbridled enthusiasm Akarin shows (or used to show). This is most noticeable when she performs Oteage Lullaby: she is able to express some of that serious side which Makiko brings out to its fullest, while retaining a degree of proximity to the crowd. You don’t feel like she is miles away on the stage; she brings you closer to it.

I’ve long thought of Takagi Yumana as being the member who exemplified warmth and kindness the most, but Kumachan has become close. Part of an idol’s job is to appeal to fans and many of them wave to fans and try to give their fans a form of personal interaction even when denied proximity, such as pointing to the fan during the performance or looking at them. Kumachan appeals to her fans maybe the most in Team E, taking small gaps between movements of some songs to do so. (Of course only during songs which permit this behaviour.)

One expects idols to go out of their way to appeal to fans (in the manner they choose), and you often hear people criticize idols for being fake. I probably won’t convince you, but I truly believe that Kumachan is one of those girls who is really doing what she does out of love. She might go out of her way to appeal and bring you happiness, but I can’t sense an ounce of fakeness or cynicism. She has always said bye to me at the end of each Team E theatre. I think most Team E members know my face by now. When I’m leaving the theatre Kuma is always the most vocal apart from Maya. Members like Kaho or Tani love to shout at me and say things in English, but there’s something about the way Kumachan says bye which is just so genuine. I haven’t been to a handshake with her yet, so I realize this is a rather small thing to analyze and make a claim about her.

1

Sugawara Maya

Unexpected, I know. I saw a poll the other day asking if it was more fun to be a DD or to support a single member. The results of the poll were quite heavily skewed towards the DD option. I can definitely see why that would be the case and some part of me wonders if I would be better off as one. I also don’t only support a single member, but my main reasoning for why I support Maya is that I feel that it is an intensely rewarding experience.

Of course, you can experience this while supporting multiple members. I have difficulty experiencing that however, since I have limited time to devote and find myself enjoying the experience if I fully dive in and support a member the hardest that I can. I’ve talked a lot about why I like Maya elsewhere, so I won’t go into detail here. I’ll just list the obvious things: her handshakes are a lot of fun, I have a lot of opportunities to see her at other events, it’s fun to see her improve on radio shows and theatre performances, and I’ve rediscovered a passion for the hobby through her. To sum it up I feel a connection whenever I see her, and every event adds to it. It sounds silly to say, but her waving at me at every event is nice, and she always mentioned some of my comments. Having that kind of interaction has really sold me on her. Things have been going very well for her ever since I became a fan, so it feels like I am part of a special moment, which feels good in its own way.

While I do feel some regret and guilt for Churi, I still support her in the same way I used to. The harsh truth is that I just have more fun at Maya’s events. It’s really frightening in a way how Maya has eclipsed everyone for me. I supported only Churi for about four years and never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined myself supporting another member while Churi was still in the group, not to mention one in another team altogether whom I didn’t know much about. But here I am! And what a ride it has been and will continue to be. 

[angermango]

Kirby!

i’m guessing you want all of ‘em for Kirby? OKEY DOKEY!

(some of them aren’t fandom specific though i noticed because this meme’s format is a lil funky. I cut those out instead.)

1. Name one of your favourite characters

let’s put a bit of variety in and I’ll say Bandana Dee. He’s everyone’s idol, and a cutie pie to boot! When he first became playable in RTDL I was all over that because!!! Waddle Friend!!!

2. Name one of your favourite villains

Customer Service. Ha you think I can make an ask meme about Kirby WITHOUT MENTIONING HIM?!

3. One actor that you look up to and why

Banjo Ginga, perhaps expectedly~ How that man managed to voice both CS and Nightmare in the anime when they’re at least 50 octaves apart in vocal range is a miraculous thing

4. One actress that you look up to and why

Makiko Ohmoto. She’s a lowkey woman of a thousand voices in the series, and the mini-drama with Susie and Sectonia proves she could seriously do a full blown voice OVA with just her playing all those personalities spot on. Not sure if Kirby should go fully voiced in the future, but hell if he hasn’t proved it can be done!

5. Favourite episode from any show you watch? (Or just an episode you love)

Favourite ep of the anime probably still hands down the quiz episode. Troll on, based salesguy

8. Name 3 OTPs

none really stand out to me in Kirby, aside from friendships. Does the Susie/CS FoeTP count?

9. One character you have a crush on

none

10. One of your favourite fandoms to be in and why?

Even though this be a general one, Kirby has legit been the best for me all these years. You just can’t go wrong with Kirby, and pretty much everyone who loves Kirby is chill and friendly.

11. Describe (insert show here) in three words

Kirby = Eat the nightmares

15. If you were a fictional character in (insert universe here) what would you probably be doing and what life do you think you would have?

lol, if I lived in Kirby’s world, I’d be chillaxin for the rest of my life in Dream Land, enjoying the food and the sights. Sure, place gets frequently attacked and invaded by Eldritch Abominations but Kirby always pulls through doesn’t he?

16. Who do you think is a misunderstood character?

Hmm… I think ‘misunderstood’ in terms of ‘people tend to not portray them right’ (rather than ‘poor misunderstood baby’) would have to be… eh, maybe Dark Matter? I’m not against it but sometimes people seem to be quick to assume Dark Matter is like the ultimate source of evil in the Kirby universe, whereas I believe it’s just one of many evil beings that exist - albeit a powerful one. Maybe it’s just because Dark Matter has appeared more than once in the series, giving it an edge over most of the other bosses. I mean there’s a point where people going “X must be Dark Matter/Zero’s reincarnation because look!!! EYEBALL!!!1!” is basically becoming a bit of a meme.

17. Which character do you wish you were siblings/best friends/dating with?

I wish I could adopt Kirby as a sibling/friend. How could you not want that?!

19. What are three things you’ve learned from one of the shows you watch?

damn this is a little deep… But it’s true Kirby has really been an influence on my life in general since I first encountered it. If I have to say something, I’ll probably say:

[1] Being kind and gentle with others goes a long way (Kirby’s ‘All-Loving Hero’ status inspired this)[2] Cute, innocent and simple things should never be equated with weakness and childishness (The Kirby franchise in a nutshell)[3] There’s always going to be bad in the world as well as good, but we can always choose to punch it in the eye

20. If you could be a writer for any show you wish, how might you develop the plot/characters?

If I was a writer on Kirby, especially the anime, y’all know what the hell I’d be up to - BRING BACK CS/KEEP HIM ALIVE GOD FFUCKING DAMMINT!!!

Though the show had a good run, I wouldn’t mind a reboot or a comeback season. Can’t quite decide which would be nicer:

On the one hand, it would be cool seeing a sort of ‘X years later’ after the original ending with all the familiar anime cast back at it and a little older, a chance to introduce other game characters and elements in and maybe even play with adapting in a few of the game’s plots and devices.

On the other hand, reworking the original anime by expanding more into the GSA/Nightmare war and fleshing out some of the characters (like Silica & Knuckle Joe, the vets of the war, hell even those epic one-offs like Rona) as well as still having the chance to introduce game elements/characters into the anime universe.

I’m honestly easy either way, i would love to make either take happen.

Just as long as Customer Service also makes it back in, of course.

21. What’s one of your favourite quotes from a show you watch?

I rather like Sectonia’s establishing monologue during her first appearance. It’s just so… fitting. It’s cold and grand and tells you all about her and her motivation - particularly when she goes “My beauty rivals the divine… And my power shall crush all you hold dear!”

22. Favourite type of AU?

*crawls up slowly and leans very close to your ear* AN AU WHERE CUSTOMER SERVICE LIVES.

23. Write a brief headcanon for one of your OTPs

For the Susie/CS enemy ‘ship’: Both of them love finding ways to get the other’s personal emails/numbers and spamming passive aggressive messages or taunts. No matter how much encryption or changes of details either of them employs, the other always finds their way in.

25. Why do you love the shows you watch/books you read/fandoms you’re in?

What’s not to love about Kirby? Everything Kirby touches turns gold, and honestly the franchise can do just about anything and pull it off to a good level (even the slight duds still had their perks).

I particularly I love how the Kirby games are making this rich fantasy/sci-fi universe of their own - You can have the cute and fluffy and whimsical existing next to some pretty horrific shit, magic and tech working together like nbd, and in the recent games they’ve been hiding some really deep lore and feels under all the adorableness.

As for the anime, it’s still one of my favourite things to watch whenever. It’s like a favourite treasured childhood snack you can keep going back to and smile over, even despite its little hiccups and dated elements. It’s just innocent fun, and actually had a decent plot at times and even interesting characters, all which left room for expansion and the imagination while being enough as it was.

[akanemachurida-blog]

18/02/12 - Port Messe Handshake Report

I went to the SKE48 handshake on February 12 at Port Messe, Nagoya. It was my first time at Port Messe and my first kobetsu handshake event in two years.

I’ll start with Churi. I only had 3 tickets so this will be short.

Churi’s voice was very hoarse and she warned us about it on Twitter beforehand.

She recognized me when I entered her lane and she told me it had been a long time she hadn’t seen me. I agreed and said I wish I saw her more. I then congratulated her on her role as a voice actress for the new Disney/Pixar movie, Coco. (It’s called Remember Me in Japan) She said thanks and I told her I like Disney so I’m really glad she got that opportunity. She then said she’s happy I also like Disney and asked me to come see her again.

For the second time I lined up before she came to her lane. I was very lucky, as the members lined up near Churi’s lane to announce the April concert as well as the continuation for Musubi no Ichiban. Makiko was the one speaking. Afterwards I met Churi and told her that I miscalculated my tickets and just found out that she’s not going to the Kyoto handshake due to her play. She told me that’s correct and invited me to watch her play in Osaka. I told her I’ll definitely go if it lines up with my school dates.

For the last ticket I told her that unfortunately this is my last handshake of the year probably. (With her at least, since she won’t be in Kyoto) I told her I’d support her as always and come back next year for sure. She kind of nodded but suddenly realized what I had said and yelled “Are you serious!? The year’s just begun and you’re done for the year? What? Why?” I reminded her I’m leaving next month but she still looked visibly shocked.

Churi says she’s having the most fun out of her SKE career right now, but she looked exhausted today. The other fans all said the same thing, and apparently she wasn’t feeling well a week ago. She’s incredibly busy with her acting practice and has to go to Tokyo for it tomorrow. Most members went by plane to Niigata but Churi took a train from Tokyo for the tour since she was doing her practice for Basara.

White privilege definitely exists for idol events. I haven’t gone to that many events and I always buy a tiny amount for Churi at handshakes, but she always remembers me. I spent the day with my fellow Churi oshi from Taiwan, but Churi doesn’t recognize her despite her going to far many more events than me and buying more tickets. I felt like my interactions with Churi went well but my friend had trouble, saying Churi looked exhausted and didn’t say much and they had some trouble communicating. As usual, it was great meeting all the regular Churi oshis. I’ve gotten to know quite a lot of them and I spend my time around her lane bouncing from one to the other. (At least in one of the many Churi factions. I still haven’t talked to the vast majority of fans.)

Before I talk about Maya, I’ll talk about the other stuff that was going on today during the handshakes.

There was a sales stand for various things. The lines were huge and I thankfully didn’t have to line up in it. My Taiwanese friend bought me these stickers while I was eating lunch. They are called and look like stickers but they are actually the badges from the Muishiki uniforms that you can stitch on a bag. I think I’ll put them on a bag when I get back home. The Maenomeri sticker looks too girly for me but the Chicken Line one looks metal. Shame since I really like Maenomeri (the song) and don’t really like Chicken Line. I’ll probably buy Kataomoi Finally if there’s a next time.

The biggest thing that happened other than the concert announcement was the unveilment of the third generation draft members. They appeared with Yuasa and Makiko on a stage. I couldn’t get a good view but it was neat. They announced they were going to have a very quick handshake with the D3 members, free of charge. I wanted to go but I didn’t make it in time when I ended my lunch. My friend went and said they were cute.

Other than that, there were two badminton nets set up to play with the members. I sort of wanted to play but the line wasn’t clearly indicated. I was changing clothes in the washroom and when I stepped up Maya and Yunana were playing. I tried finding a way in but greeted some nearby acquaintances and gave up on it, since they finished playing a few minutes after. I stuck around and saw Nacky, Kumachan, and Rara play. An hour or so later I checked again and Satokaho and Yukina were playing, dressed in Cheongsam. That was quick the sight lol, they were pretty good too.

While I didn’t go to any other lanes, I noticed some of the lanes next to the ones I went to. I was most impressed by Uchiyama Mikoto’s lane. She had a lot of people in her lane despite not being a very popular member. I guess Strawberry Punch has helped her out. As expected, her lane is full of females. Her interactions with her fans is as you’d expect, they look very enjoyable and funny.

In much the same way Yuzuki’s lane looks like a ton of fun. About half of her fans are dressed in baseball uniforms of their favourite teams/players. I don’t follow Yuzuki that much but I was a bit surprised by how little Dragons uniforms I saw. They’re Yuzuki’s teams and yet people were sporting uniforms of all sorts of teams.

Another member who I was impressed by looking at their lane was Arai Yuki. I like Yukichan a lot but I am too cheap to go to her lane. She has a style I like a lot. She’s able to combine looking very sweet and cute with a certain kind of coolness.

Now for Maya, whom I had 30 tickets for.

For the first meeting I introduced myself. She greeted me with a “Oh, thanks for coming after coming two weeks ago!” before I said anything, so she definitely recognized me. I then told her I recently became her fan and that I’ve been a fan of Churi for about four years now… but that recently I like Maya a lot. She asked me what caused me to become a fan and I told her that seeing her in the theatre really made me like her. She was really happy to hear that and was glad that I got to go to the theatre. I also told her I always comment on her blog and she asked me for my e-name. I said Jaylitt but she didn’t understand so I said it again and she said “Oh! I know you! Thanks!” I’m not really sure if she knew what my name was since I didn’t pronounce it the way a Japanese person would and I think she was trying to be nice.

For the second one I told her I’ll be voting for her in the sousenkyo and I’m trying to work with other international fans for votes. I told her she has about ten or so oshis outside of Japan (that I know at least). She told me she’s very happy to hear that and is looking forward to it. I told her I wrote messages from fans during her seitansai and asked her if she read them. She told me she hasn’t been able to read them yet. I’m not sure if that means she didn’t get them or hasn’t had the time to do so.

The third time was really bad on my part. I picked on a topic and rehearsed it while waiting but when I found myself in front of Maya I totally blanked out and forgot. I didn’t hesitate and instead complimented her on her clothing. I told her it was really cute and nice and suited her. She said she picked it out yesterday night and thought it suited her, so she’s glad I think so too. She told me she always has rather simple outfits but she likes those kinds. I told her I like them too, and that at any rate the colours are nice. She told me that she’ll be wearing her school uniform at the next handshake in Kyoto.

During the next slot (#3), I told her I translate her tweets and blogs and she made this really funny face of surprise. It felt like her facial expression changed 500 times in 2 seconds. She then said my Japanese is really good and that I’m probably better at kanji than her. I told her there’s no way that could be true since I have trouble with it. So she said it’s our common weakness.

It must be redundant by now but I am short. Despite this Maya seems to think my legs are long and she told me she’s jealous. Whenever I enter/leave the handshake booth she notices that my limbs are long for my height. I laughed and asked her why she’s jealous of something like that. She answered that we’re both around the same height and she just thinks having longer legs is nice. I told her that running is my hobby so I put them to good use. She replied that that must be it, running is the reason for my long legs. She told me she’ll try to run to make her legs longer. I told her that might not necessarily true but who knows. Good luck.

I told her I’d probably go to the Kyoto handshake before I go back to Canada and she was very happy. She again told me she’d be wearing her high school uniform and I said I’m looking forward to it. She started dancing a bit and I told her I’m also looking forward to her school uniform gravure that she’s always talking about. She told me she really hopes she can get that done before graduating.

When I returned she remembered I said I was leaving so she asked if this was my last handshake ticket and asked me again when I’m leaving. I told her again that I’m leaving next month and that I’d probably go to Kyoto before leaving in March. She realized that I already said that but she told me she’s happy that I’m staying a little while longer and can make another event.

My first communication problem happened. I asked if she had any orders (meirei) for me for when I go to Canada. I have a hard time pronouncing the r sounds in Japanese so she misunderstood this as Meimei. She told me she hasn’t met Meimei since her graduation. Luckily this was only one ticket, but it still sucked to kind of waste it. At least I learned something.

I told her that unfortunately overseas fans can’t watch Empty Canvas since you need a Japanese credit card. I told her that I’ve been hesitating sending mail to the show since I won’t be able to watch it anyway. She told me that’s a shame but told me I could still try. I asked her if she’d rather I send messages to her other radio shows, and she told me that’d be better if I can listen to those.

On my penultimate (before last) ticket she looked worried and asked me if this was my last one. I told her I had another one left. She squeezed my hands and told me she’s really happy I came. I wore my green scarf on this occasion because I was cold and it is green and I wanted to see Maya’s reaction. She saw it and laughed, saying I’m super funny for buying a green scarf and touched it. I told her I got it for that reason and she told me she knew. I just laughed and told her she’s the best and she made this massive smile.

For the last ticket I told her that today was a ton of fun. She told me she probably had way more fun than I did and will be waiting for me in Kyoto. I told her I’ll always support her. She told me “Let’s laugh together and reach new places!” To which I gave a thumbs up which she mimicked. She likes giving thumbs up, I notice her doing it with a lot of other fans too. She told me to watch out and have a safe trip home if I can’t come to Kyoto. I thanked her doing our usual nodding (I do this with Churi too, but for whatever reason whenever we say something sarcastic/funny or something “heartfelt” like that both people nod their heads quickly.) I asked her to please remember me (yeah, selfish and dumb of me to ask that but I guess my evil side took control of me) and she told me there’s no problem since my face is really distinct and gave me a thumbs up and laughed, thanked me for the last time, and I left.

This event was very different from my other handshakes since I spent about 70% of it waiting in Maya’s lane. Maya sold out her handshakes and it was my first time at a sold out lane. The amount of people was quite incredible and the longest wait I had was thirty minutes. This happened during the second, third, and fourth blocks. Despite her fifth (final) block being sold out, it was late so I think some people used them all up at the beginning to leave early. Thanks to this I was able to use my tickets individually for the final block, but for the other ones I was forced to use three or four tickets per time. Still, I got a ton of conversation of my tickets and I really understand why people like stacking their tickets and buying a lot. With three+ tickets you’re actually able to have a conversation rather than you just blurting something out and the remember saying something back with no time to think. It’s especially great when it’s all on one member, since you can build up a sort of conversation and feel a sense of satisfaction having talked the whole day. I spent nearly seven? hours standing in Maya’s lane, so my feet hurt a lot afterwards.

I also took part in a Maya community meeting where we did a sort of meet and greet for other fans. Two people talked about stuff they’re organizing for the future, namely the Miyagi handshake event. It was kind of cool just being there and listening in, but I didn’t know anyone and felt a lot of stares.

I also took part in both Maya and Churi’s farewells. Despite selling out, Maya’s slot ended first and I ran over to Churi’s afterwards. Maya didn’t make her way forward but Churi did. Churi tried talking but her voice was so hoarse that no one could hear anything.

At any rate, Maya was great at reacting and initiating conversation. I really don’t regret buying so many for her, although I sort of wish I had more for Churi since I found out today that there she won’t be in Kyoto. Maya gives a feeling that she cares and she clearly puts a lot of thought. She’s really on-the-ball with her replies. As you can see we talked about a lot of stuff despite the time limit. I hope Churi can find some time to relax, but her schedule is so hellish, especially when I think she has to appear in the wrestling as well and practice for that.

On the way back I got a lift from the king of all Churi oshis, which was an honour. It was my first time riding a car in Japan and it sure beats the train since the roads were empty.

[akanemachurida-blog]

18/01/10 - Muishiki no Iro Release Day Noon Live Report

I went to the Muishiki no Iro release live on January 10 at Zepp Nagoya. There were two lives that day, one in the afternoon starting at 4pm and the other at night starting at 7:30pm. The doors opened an hour before then.

I actually failed my applications for both of those times online and I really felt bad since those lives were on Maya’s birthday. You could apply to both and up to two tickets, but I only applied for one ticket. What most people did was pair up with a friend and apply for two tickets each. That way if one got in they could give it to the other. Unfortunately this created a surplus of tickets for people who already had some, and I got none. I bought my ticket on Yahoo Auctions but I initially was really skeptical about it since the ticket said you needed to provide three pieces of ID and all the sellers crossed off a part on the ticket. I thought they crossed out names but they were crossing out the specific number as well as the place they printed the ticket from. After verifying with a friend I bought my ticket and the buyer mailed it to me.

Unfortunately that ticket’s number was in the 1700s, which meant I was one of the last to get in. I think there were 2000 tickets given out in total for each live. This ticket was for the afternoon live and I didn’t get one for the evening live since all the other sellers looked suspicious and didn’t offer a rapid means of sending the ticket.

You needed to buy a Muishiki no Iro limited edition single for the ticket inside for the event, since it was free (for those who got their tickets legitimately). I went to HMV to buy the single since you get a guaranteed picture of Churi there. Of course I got Maya as the random member inside! 3600 people went to the two lives, meaning there were 400 tickets unused.

I got lost and arrived at Zepp about thirty minutes before it started, which was much later than I wanted. It turns out that they were still letting people in the 1200s in at that point, so it really didn’t matter. I met some people in the line who I met two years ago during my first handshakes in Osaka. I hadn’t talked to them much but they remembered I was Canadian and was a Churi oshi. As usual I was called a DD when I told them I like Maya too. It’s funny how easily people remember me since I look different. I know some Japanese fans who go to countless events and yet their fellow fans don’t even recognize them lol.

I actually thought that my ticket number was an assigned spot/seat, however it was a first come first served basis. Zepp’s ground floor is all standing, but there is a small seated section on the second floor. When I got in I entered one of the doors in the back of the venue and I couldn’t see anything at all since I was among the last to enter. I asked some staff if I could go up but the seats were totally filled so I couldn’t go there. They don’t let anyone stand up there.

This was my original view:

Not a lot of fun right? I left and entered the next door. There are several doors that give access to the hall on both sides, so I sort of tried them out to see where there were less people. Surprisingly the one second from the last had the best view for me.

Here is a picture taken during the first MC. I circled myself. You can draw a straight line from me to Maya on this picture I guess. Isn’t that cool?

By the way, there was a reserved section for women near the front on the right side. I knew a few people who stood there and they said they had an amazing view. I think I had a good view where I was since I was behind them, and as women tend to be shorter than men I had a good view of half of the stage. I really couldn’t see the right side though.

This live had a much different atmosphere to it than the Laguna one I went to. Given the fact that we were in a room with closed doors and a roof rather than outdoors the calls were much louder, as was the recorded music. The Laguna live felt like they were singing live for certain songs but here the sound quality was pretty poor, as was expected. Women were much more visible at the Laguna live since there wasn’t a designated section for them there. It felt like the crowd was even more overwhelmingly male (which it always is) due to this.  

Nakki and Maya were the shadow announcers for the beginning, so I got to wish her a happy birthday when she asked us to wish her one. I was happy I got to do that at least.

M01 - Muishiki no Iro / Senbatsu

No surprise here for the first song. I actually hadn’t planned it out, but I was perfectly situated to see Maya on the stage, since I was right in front of her position for this song. Unfortunately I couldn’t see Churi since she was on the other side of the stage. I had come to support them both but since it was Maya’s birthday I just had my green penlight, and Churi couldn’t see me anyway.

M02 - SKE48 / All

This song is a lot of fun in a group. The part where everyone says S-K-E / 4-8 is great. I could see Maya perfectly for this song too, and it may have been my imagination but I think she saw me during this song.

MC1

The senbatsu members left for this. I think I have a big problem paying attention to MCs during these bigger events. I’ll just go ahead and admit it, whenever I can’t see the member who is talking I zone out and just think about Maya and the previous songs. Actually during this MC Yukichan/Chikako/Juna/Yumana were ahead of me so I just looked at them while daydreaming. Chikako is pretty interesting to look at during lives, since she tries to find as many of her fans as possible. She was also constantly talking with Juna and Yukichan and Yumana was making confused expressions and trying to follow along. I think Chikako found about twenty of her fans during this MC, and that group was just constantly chatting since they weren’t part of the talking group. It was pretty entertaining, like watching some students talk during class when they’ve finished their homework and have nothing to do.

This was also the first live I went to where I was near one of those screamers you hear. The ones who yell in a really shrill voice at all times. They look and act just as you’d expect. This guy was shouting Jurina’s name every single time she was there and he left in a rush after it ended.

M03 - Tsuyokimonoyo / Senbatsu

No guesses for what happened during this song. Again, Maya was in my view so I just stuck to her the entire time.

M04 - Aozora Kataomoi / Jurina, Minarun, Sarina, Churi, Nao, Kaotan, Akarin

Alright, so they got rid of Maya so I can focus on Churi for this song, except she was still on the other side of the stage. I kept angling my neck around for this song to try and look at her but no luck. I sort of looked at the screen for this song since it was hard to look at the middle of the stage. Anyway, great song live.

M05 - Gomen ne, Summer / Rara, Ryoha, Ego, Yunana, Sakipon, Kumachan, Maya

We’re back baby … we’re back. No need to try and angle my neck around for this song because once again she stood in the perfect place for me. Nothing to add that hasn’t been said before… just perfect.

M06 - 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku! / Minarun, Akarin, Wanchan, Piyosu, Suzuran, Oshirin, Yumana, Nao, Reona, Nakki, Rara, Makiko, Ouchan, Donchan, Nonochan, Morihei Riko

I think this is my favourite live song out of the better known single songs they perform, it’s got a lot of energy. I didn’t even really pay attention to who was there, I was just calling out everyone’s name and enjoying myself.

M07 - Banzai Venus / Sakipon, Yuzuki, Renahyuu, Piyosu, Kocchan, Sarina, Yumana, Nacchi, Kaotan, Airi, Yukatan, Naruchan, Satokaho, Maya, Hatagon, Tani

I spent the first thirty seconds of the song trying to see if Maya was in it. When I found her I was on lock-on mode and she thankfully stayed near my side for this song. She was really funny during this song, making a lot of faces and laughing.

MC2 - Kamimura Ayuka, Aiai, Kano, Oshirin, Mikotti, Yuzuki, Kaotan, Nakki, Makiko, Tani

The matome site tells me that they were talking about bonus scenes for the MVs. I remember Makiko saying something funny but let’s be real, I was daydreaming again.

M08 - Handshaeteki Suru / Love Crescendo

Unfortunately Maya was on the opposite side for most of this song, but I mustered my energy, craned my head, used my toes, and made every possible effort to look at her for this song. It sort of worked.

M09 - Because Docchitsukazu / Kosanga 7 (Tani center)

This unit doesn’t have an MV but they’re great. I like how they gave Suzuran an outfit to show off her shoulders. This was great to watch since they won’t get much exposure.

M10 - Furanu Romance / Sakura Love Letter 32 (Ouchan center)

First time I heard the 32 person song. It is a lot to take in live due to the amount of members but it’s fun. Honestly it was a bit of a sensory overload since I was trying to keep track of as many members as I could.

MC3 - Ryoha, Ego, Yunana, Ruka, Sarina, Nao, Kumachan

Same old story.

M11 - Pareo wa Emerald / Kenkyuusei (Inoue Ruka center)

A real treat to see the kenkyuusei do this song. It just felt like the perfect performance for them, even if this song has been done a million times and will be done a million more. It fit the moment and all the members looked great from where I was standing.

M12 - Okidoki / Kamimura Ayuka, Aiai, Piyosu, Suzuran, Mikotti, Narupi, Honono, Reona, Narucham, Makiko, Ouchan, Maya, Akarin, Saanan, Tani, Donchan

Just like 1234 Yoroshiku this song also pumps me up a lot, regardless of the timing. It was nice that Maya was there, and in a place I could see her well too. She was really lively during this song and kept looking around my area during the parts where they pump their fists.

M13 - Kataomoi Finally / KII

Wow! Was this the first time I saw Churi in Katafai? I actually had a lot of trouble seeing her since she was in the center, but I didn’t want to miss her so I kept looking at the screen for this song. It took something away from my viewing experience but I wanted to view the performance in its entirety. It was everything I expected.

M14 - Aishiteraburu! / Yokonyan, Chikako, Juna, Oshirin, Yukichan, Ayamelo, Kitano Ruka, Sarina, Sakipon, Yuzuki, Reona, Nakki, Kumachan, Saanan, Tani, Donchan

I don’t really like this song but I had a ton of fun with the calls! I was zoning out a bit in terms of the members and just looked ahead of me at whoever happened to be there.

M15 - Kiss datte Hidarikiki / Yokonyan, Makiko, Ego, Yunana, Renahyuu, Inoue Ruka, Kano, Miyo, Machi, Chikako, Kitano Ruka, Sakipon, Airi, Yukatan, Maya, Saanan

I was pretty tired at this point. It took me a while to locate Maya I think. This song is pretty boring live, but again, I just looked at Maya.

MC4 / Everyone

They handed out some signed posters during this MC. They designated members for each of the teams to reach into a box and pull out ticket numbers. I didn’t know where my ticket was so I was searching for it the whole time. Turns out it was in my pocket. My number wasn’t called anyway. The posters were signed by the team which drew the number.

M16 - Muishiki no Iro / All

I was a bit surprised. I was expecting Igai ni Mango but whatever. I didn’t mind hearing it again, given that the event was for this song’s release. Everyone was there this time so it was a bit harder to see Maya but she was in my field of vision still. I had no view of Churi as usual.

Maya stayed near our area for the end. Just like last time she tried to find her fans. She started with the people on the right/middle of the audience, but there seemed to be fewer there. Most of the fans were around the left side it seems. There were a lot of people, but she waved at me, pointing out my lightstick and smiling. I don’t know if she saw who I was but she noticed the lightstick for sure. I think that the benefit of being on the ground floor over the second floor is that the members wave to you first. It is rather hard to see the top seats I suppose.

This live was a complete change from Laguna in that this live only had group songs and no small units. I’m glad I got to experience these two different kind of lives. I also technically saw Churi at a SKE concert/live so I can cross that off my list, although I’d much prefer being somewhere where I could see her properly.

Afterwards I met people who were going to the evening live. From their accounts it seemed like a lot of fun, especially since they addressed Maya’s birthday a lot more. I also saw people on Twitter write accounts of them seeing members leave afterwards. Churi had to leave immediately afterwards with Ryoha and Akarin for ANN. As a side note, my green lightstick is bent now. I don’t know the reason but maybe it is a sign that I am excited by Maya’s presence lol.