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sonofgodzillaOver the weekend, with the end of AKB48’s Team 8 in sight, it was announced that the group would not only be dissolving the whole of Team 8—and boy, do I have some feelings about that—but that they would in fact be folding the entirety of the established team system into a single group system, presumably as was done during the debut of NGT48’s first generation. I have feelings about this too, not only about the plausibility of taking NGT as an example to be followed, but also about the fact that I had to find this news out from Anime News Network of all places. The big issue here for me though, the reason for all this noise I am making is that I desperately, desperately want to believe in the current line-up of AKB48— Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da is the best AKB has sounded in a very long time, and that is entirely due to the hard work and enthusiasm of the current members, the current Team 8. In light of this, I thought we’d maybe spend the next few weeks talking about the senbatsu of this single, and we can both get acquainted with the current AKB48 together. It’s been a long time coming, and some of you may have seen this a mile off, but we’re going to begin with Honda Hitomi, and my sheepish current adoration of her.
I think a lot of people came to know Hiichan either through the hard work of Team 8’s touring across the country or through her prominent role in IZ*ONE. Coming in ninth place during Produce48, Hiinosuke’s dedication became increasingly apparent to everyone at this time having only previously been in the background during previous AKB48 singles. I suspect that already the Japanese audience were clued into her talent, but the 2018 airing of Produce48 feels like it is the real beginning of our story.
Hitomi came into her own within IZ*ONE. As one of only three 48 group members who made it to the finals of Produce48, I can’t imagine the pressure that must have been on her shoulders as a foreign girl working within the South Korea’s daunting pop music industry, and yet, despite this, she thrived, her talent for dancing really on show, her fierce work ethic more than evident. As a member of IZ*ONE she wrote the lyrics for a songs in both Japanese and Korean—Merry-Go-Round and the Japanese translation of La Vie en Rose—proving herself in a way that I am not sure she would have been afforded the opportunity to had she remained in AKB alone.
Why do I sound so hesitant when talking about this stuff then, you might ask, and the answer for that is simply that I’m just so uncomfortable with my feelings here, so uncomfortable with the evidence of her talents and the understanding of how much effort it must have taken for her to have honed them thusly.
In many ways, Hiichan feels like the girl at school who everyone had a crush on. Prior to AKB, she was a member of her school’s cheerleading team, and then enrolled in basketball team, Utsunomiya Brex’s cheerleading programme also. She carried these skills forward to her work in Team 8, and has become marginally famous for the work-out routines she posts on social media, the details of which are just totally intimidating to me, a girl who sort of muddles her way through a handful of dances every now and again, and has a daily exercise routine that it would be generous to refer to as weak. Hearing Hitomi playfully referenced to as the “Honda Police” or “Hitomi-sensei” by Yukirin and other members when it comes to choreography is kind of... intimidating.
Following the graduations of both Sakura and Nako from HKT48, I was initially inclined to believe that Hitomi would be next to graduate—after all, what could AKB offer a girl in Hiichan’s position? Yet whatever is happening behind the scenes, it is clear that some significant incentive has been placed on the table to make her stay.
Since Hitomi has returned to AKB, I feel more and more that the group is being reshaped in her image.
When I first saw the video for Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da, I thought they had brought back the old “dance centre” role for her. Since Nemohamo Rumor, it is unarguable that AKB has become more dance focused (RIP Chiba Erii), and I believe that is solely down to the presence of Hitomi.
Friends, I don’t know what’s going to happen with AKB in the absence of any defined team system. I don’t want to dismiss the move out of hand just because of my personal attachment because maybe this could be good? I want AKB to grow, I want them to be on Kouhaku again every year, I want AKB to be popular again, and I think girls like Hiichan and the senbatsu of Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da will be the catalyst for this, but, also... predictably, I just like blonde girls, so in many ways, I expect most of you are surprised that it’s taken me this long to get on the Hitomi hype train.
Things are going to get better, friends! I really want to believe this! I personally don’t think anyone has made a difference in AKB like this since Jurina and Sakura, so I’m putting my heart on the line with the release of this single.
2023 is going to be the AKB comeback year!
I hope!
I think a lot of people came to know Hiichan either through the hard work of Team 8’s touring across the country or through her prominent role in IZ*ONE. Coming in ninth place during Produce48, Hiinosuke’s dedication became increasingly apparent to everyone at this time having only previously been in the background during previous AKB48 singles. I suspect that already the Japanese audience were clued into her talent, but the 2018 airing of Produce48 feels like it is the real beginning of our story.
Hitomi came into her own within IZ*ONE. As one of only three 48 group members who made it to the finals of Produce48, I can’t imagine the pressure that must have been on her shoulders as a foreign girl working within the South Korea’s daunting pop music industry, and yet, despite this, she thrived, her talent for dancing really on show, her fierce work ethic more than evident. As a member of IZ*ONE she wrote the lyrics for a songs in both Japanese and Korean—Merry-Go-Round and the Japanese translation of La Vie en Rose—proving herself in a way that I am not sure she would have been afforded the opportunity to had she remained in AKB alone.
Why do I sound so hesitant when talking about this stuff then, you might ask, and the answer for that is simply that I’m just so uncomfortable with my feelings here, so uncomfortable with the evidence of her talents and the understanding of how much effort it must have taken for her to have honed them thusly.
In many ways, Hiichan feels like the girl at school who everyone had a crush on. Prior to AKB, she was a member of her school’s cheerleading team, and then enrolled in basketball team, Utsunomiya Brex’s cheerleading programme also. She carried these skills forward to her work in Team 8, and has become marginally famous for the work-out routines she posts on social media, the details of which are just totally intimidating to me, a girl who sort of muddles her way through a handful of dances every now and again, and has a daily exercise routine that it would be generous to refer to as weak. Hearing Hitomi playfully referenced to as the “Honda Police” or “Hitomi-sensei” by Yukirin and other members when it comes to choreography is kind of... intimidating.
Following the graduations of both Sakura and Nako from HKT48, I was initially inclined to believe that Hitomi would be next to graduate—after all, what could AKB offer a girl in Hiichan’s position? Yet whatever is happening behind the scenes, it is clear that some significant incentive has been placed on the table to make her stay.
Since Hitomi has returned to AKB, I feel more and more that the group is being reshaped in her image.
When I first saw the video for Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da, I thought they had brought back the old “dance centre” role for her. Since Nemohamo Rumor, it is unarguable that AKB has become more dance focused (RIP Chiba Erii), and I believe that is solely down to the presence of Hitomi.
Friends, I don’t know what’s going to happen with AKB in the absence of any defined team system. I don’t want to dismiss the move out of hand just because of my personal attachment because maybe this could be good? I want AKB to grow, I want them to be on Kouhaku again every year, I want AKB to be popular again, and I think girls like Hiichan and the senbatsu of Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da will be the catalyst for this, but, also... predictably, I just like blonde girls, so in many ways, I expect most of you are surprised that it’s taken me this long to get on the Hitomi hype train.
Things are going to get better, friends! I really want to believe this! I personally don’t think anyone has made a difference in AKB like this since Jurina and Sakura, so I’m putting my heart on the line with the release of this single.
2023 is going to be the AKB comeback year!
I hope!
