The girls keep getting younger every year: AKB48’s “Coming of Age Day” 2020

That is a lot of beauty.

AKB48 and their Japanese sister groups had their “Coming of Age Day” for 2020 on January 13^th.

I know that the Record Insustry Weasels will not allow these videos to stay up on YT for very long, so I will snag some quick screen shots!

Those members who participated – and will be turning 20 this year are as follows:

From AKB48: Ichikawa Manami, Okada Rina, Otake Hitomi, Omori Maho, Tada Kyoka, Kamachi Yukina, Harumoto Yuki, and Yoshihashi Yuzuka.

From SKE48: Nakamura Izumi, Matsumoto Chikako, Ego Yuna, Kitano Ruka, Takeuchi Saki, Sugawara Maya, Nishi Marina, Hirata Shiina, Fukushi Nao, and Iriuchijima Sayaka.

From NMB48: Nishizawa Rurina, Akashi Natsuko, Kojima Karin, Sakamoto Nami, Sato Ami, Shoubu Marin, and Mizobuchi Maria.

From HKT48: Ueno Haruka, Tashima Meru, Toyonaga Aki, Fukagawa Maiko, Tsukiashi Amane, Matsuoka Hana, Murakawa Bibian, Yamauchi Yuna, and Nagano Miyabi.

From NGT48: Homma Hinata, Yamada Noe, and Mashimo Kaho.

From STU48: Imamura Mitsuki, Oki Yuka, Taniguchi Mahina, Nakamura Mai, Yano Honoka.

I am still a fan, but I have to admit, I really do not know most of the girls in the AKB Family anymore. I recognize some of the faces from the music videos, but it seems I would need to start over again, and learn who is who. It is a lot more difficult in 2020, than in 2012. Where are the AKB Trading Cards? AKBingo is now off the air. I can’t learn the girls personalities if I cannot watch the skits anymore. Also the AKB Cafe is closing. One graduation after another .. Huh. It makes me wonder if Mr. Akimoto-san is planning to disband the groups during some type of announcement at the 2020 Olympics. … er … but I digress …

Starlight: Hopefully some better photographs will be up on social media by now. Most of the girls have Instagram and Twitter accounts, so a lot of cute images should be posted there.

 

MY SWEETIE IS NOW OFFICIALLY AN ADULT!

Wait … that did NOT come out right …

Yuka Ogino Seijin Shiki 2019

Ahem … what I mean to say is that my new AKB48 Family oshi has had her “Japan Coming of Age Day”. OgiYuka will turn twenty (cough, don’t look at me that way), this year!

Look it up! Japan’s “Coming of Age Day” – Seijin no Hi 成人の日 is the Japanese traditional holiday held in order to congratulate and encourage young adults who have reached, or will reach the “age of majority” between April 2 of last year, and April 1 of this year. Yuka’s 20^th birthday will be on February 16.

I am going to try and snag some more AKB Family kimono photos as more are available on the Interwebs. Hopefully, I will be able to post more by next week.

Tell it like it is sweetie …

Starlight: Seijin Shiki 2019.  

The moment might be a little tained however. I know that there are some bad rumors around now. What with the assault on Maho Yamaguchi and the NGT management firings. I hope that Yuka-chan, was not involved in any way. Yuka and Maho have had a little tiff. I don’t know what is going on. I hope the truth comes out in the next few days.

NGT48’s Ogino Yuka tweets apology to fans

 

Meet my new sweetie!

Click if you want to zoom in to the mole*

Meet my new sweetie!  Almost all of my favorite members of AKB48 have graduated. Pretty much the whole team from the “golden era” are long gone. I still like the group, but it is hard for a casual fan to keep up with all the new faces.  AKS Management makes it hard to be an overseas fan at all, but that is another story for another day. I have a new favorite now! Her name is Yuka.

Yuka Ogino (Ogina Yuka 荻野由佳  ). She is sometimes called “Ogiyuka” as a fan nickname, or even “Ogi” by those who love her. Yuka-chan is a rising star in the AKB48 Family. She is the favorite of about a million fans, ranking at or near the top of most lists of favorite Idols.  Technically, she is in NGT48, but is also an AKB48 family member.

Let me share a few photos from the past couple of years, and tell you a little about her story.  It was not always so easy for her. Miss Ogino Yuka had a rocky road as an aspiring Idol. She had auditioned for several Idol groups for years, including AKB, but never passed any of them. After failing two recent AKB48 auditions, she was chosen as a “Baito” or temporary member in 2014, and was eventually drafted for NGT48 in 2015. How did she rank in the Senbatsu election you ask? During the 2016 AKB48 General Election, Ogino ranked 95^th . In 2017, she rocketed to 5^th!  She ranked 4^th in 2018!!! Many fans believe that she might be elected to #1 in next year’s election.

I know what you are thinking. She does not have that typical “fashion model” look. She is unique looking – I think that is why she is so popular. The young lady is everything an Idol should be.

(Denny mutters under his breath): Maybe everything a girl should be …

OgiYuka is PURE IDOL MAGIC — and she is riding a rocket right now.

There is a very interesting Music/Story video from NGT48 where Yuka plays a young girl who aspires to be an Idol. It is a nice story video, although the song itself is only about average-to-OK. I mainly like it for the acting. Fortunately, it has ENGLISH SUBTITLES. There is great scene with AKB48 members Yuki Kashiwagi and Rie Kitahara. Yuka meets the two older, experienced  idols, who warn the young lady that she would have to give up her youth to become an idol.

Ogiyuka acts SO CUTE in this … Oh … Oh … give me a minute will you … oh … I am so happy for her that she has become so popular. There is another YouTube story video from NGT48, which tells the story of a young Russian woman who aspires to become an idol. I like the song a lot more in this one, but the dialog is in Russian, and there are no English subtitles.

* I was a fan for a while when I noticed that Yuka-chan has a mole. I’m just glad that it is not Russian. Ha. There is a little bit of Slavic-Nippon hugging in the video though.

You know that you are in love with an Idol when you look for her in group performances. A good example is here in The AKB48 single “11gatsu no Anklet” (linked here) which is a Mayu Watanabe centered song, and one of the best recent AKB48 singles. (sighs) I have eyes mainly for Yuka’s dance though. Mayu who?

There she is … Oh … (Denny waves his light-sticks) … my sweetie … my sweetie pie … There she is … Oh … Oh … give me another minute OK?

What will 2019 have in store for the this rising star?  I hope AKB/NGT uses her in a variety of singing roles. There are going to be a lot more magazine covers and articles in the next few years. I hope she can handle it. I’m sure she can.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Readers: Would you like to see more galleries of Yuka-chan in 2019?

Bye for now — wish all the nice people a “Merry Christmas” sweetie!

Starlight: Wait, do the math … will January 14, 2019 be Yuka-chan’s Seijin no Hi ?

In Birthdays today: Miss Yuki Kashiwagi — The REAL Superhero.

Assemble your team Yukirin!

Japan is 12 hours ahead of my time zone, so I want to be among the first to wish MY FAVORITE NIECE  a happy 25^th Birthday!!! I wish you all the happiness in the world, my dear young lady.

Twenty-five … Wow … a quarter-century. She sounds kinda ancient now. Of course, in comparison I am Precambrian.

If you are going out this weekend to watch the latest Marvel/DC tights wearing movie, please consider my case that Yuki Kashiwagi is actually the REAL superhero. She is a trooper. Remember a couple of years ago how she was sent to Osaka to join NMB48? I scoffed at the move at first, but look how great it turned out — “Ibiza Girl” and others. How did she know to be just in the right place at just the right time? Does she have Spidey sense?

Ha. Even if you are wearing your “Bat-Yukirin” costume — I CAN STILL TELL IT IS YOU!

She was also called upon to be the “den mother” to the newly formed NGT48. Heroically she has helped to get this new sister group off the ground. Forget “The Avengers” … (I’m not really sure what the new movie is called. I just know that Stan Lee makes a cameo!) … Yukirin is the REAL superhero.

Forget that “Superman marries Batman” … or whatever that thing was. I’d rather see Yuki’s new solo concert tour Blu-Ray!

Forget the Bat-signal — give me a Yuki Signal!

Indeed, Yukirin — even Superheros deserve a good foot rub once in a while!

Kashiwagi-san is EVERYTHING that anIdol should be. Will this be her last Birthday as a member of AKB48? Yukirin only ranked 5th in the last AKB election — where I thought she had a shot at taking #1.  I will bet if her recent solo concert tour came after the election she might have used the last day to make a graduation announcement. She is a trooper — a hero — she can take one for the team, so maybe she will take the 5th place and just roll with it … but I speculate and digress too much …

Starlight: Miss Yuki Kashiwagi – born July 15, 1991.

A song? Where are you going to find one of those?

See more Yuki on my Pinterest board for her, linked here.

Good GIF Charlie Brown! These are my favorite members of the AKB48 Family!

Good Grief … I miss the girls. That being said, I still want to share another 16-member “dream team” of my favorite idols. Of course I am going to make lame jokes in the captions. Some of my references are decades old. If you can think of better captions, I look forward to your comments.

Now that Minami Takahasi is about to graduate, there are new additions, and some shake-ups in my lineup. Also, this time, I want to share some moving pictures … Enjoy! .. and please comment — I get lonely fan-boying all by myself.

# Sixteen: Haruka Shimazaki – AKB48

Cooking Challenges? Paruru says that there is NO KIND OF MEAT that she cannot handle!

# Fifteen: Mako Kojima – AKB48

Ha! Young Kojima-san still cannot beat me in “Mario Kart”.  HA!!! I hit her with a green shell, just as she was about to cross the finish line!

# Fourteen: Kei Jonishi – NMB48

Denny: Oh, no! … Don’t say that routine AGAIN Kei …

Kei: “Jonshi??? Well, my name is Kei Keicchi Jonishi … you can call me RAY,  you can call me KEI, you can call me KEICCHI, you can call me K-CHI, you can call me J-SHI, you can call me SUNNY, you can call me KJ … but yas doesn’t have to call me Jonshi.”

# Thirteen: Haruka Nakagawa – JKT48

If you just got up five minutes earlier, Harugon, you would not be late for practice!!!

# Twelve: Miyuki Watanabe – NMB48

It does not look like it is ANYONE’S secret anymore Milky-chan!

# Eleven: Jurina Matsui – SKE48

Jurina, take it from AL BUNDY: Graduate with a degree. You do not want to wind up selling ladies’ shoes!

# Ten: Yui Yokoyama – AKB48

The last thing TakaMina saw, the moment before she graduated!

# Nine: Haruna Kojima – AKB48

Far be it for me to criticize anyone’s religion KojiHaru … You go ahead and say your nightly prayers the way that you want to.

# Eight: Sayaka Yamamoto – NMB48

Your hair? … No Sayanee, I do not think anyone noticed that your HAIR was slightly out of place.

# Seven: Minami Minegishi – AKB48

No Miichan!!! … Darn it, I am going to SMACK that guy who told Miichan that this was the proper way that American women greet each other at formal U.S. embassy meetings.

# Six: Aika Ota – HKT48

Lovetan — Jim Morrison called, he says NOT to sing it like that if you want to sound “deep”. That is heavy, Love-tan … heavy.

# Five: Mayu Wantanabe – AKB48

… Well Miss Watanabe, as we will be sitting next to each other for more than nine hours on this car drive …  you go right ahead and tell me everything I need to know about Scientology.

# Four: Sakura Miyawaki – HKT48

What went wrong when Sakura-tan auditioned for “The Karate Kid 5” …

# Three: Haruka Kodama – HKT48

Harrupi looked like she COULD NOT BELIEVE IT — when I showed her how “Nestles’ Quick” works!

# Two: Yuki Kashiwagi – NGT48

NO! … What is WRONG with you people? Don’t you know that ground up tororo root is a traditional Japanese food. NO! I was NOT thinking that … I wouldn’t … I like Yukirin, … oh God, NO … I never …

# One: Iwasa Misaki – AKB48!!! … as if you would have any doubt!

Sorry that I got carried away with that confetti snow Wasamin!

Starlight: Four decades of Pop Cultural references!

 

 

KIMONOS ON MONDAY: Final Jeopardy

KIMONOS ON MONDAY: Final Jeopardy

The category is: Things-That-Are-Too-Good-To-Be-True.

(Jeopardy Theme Music)

That would be “Yuki Kashiwagi … wearing a kimono … barefoot … in my hotel room”, Alex.

Somewhere in the space-time-continuum it really does exist, though right? If there are an infinite number of galaxies in a multiple-dimension, expanding universe, that means that somewhere this is a possibility, right … right?

In the meantime I can’t wait for more of Yukirin’s starlight from Niigata!

See more Yukirin on my Pinterest board for her:

Starlight: In this universe, there is only 11,068 km between me and that hotel room. 

Happy Birthday Miss Kashiwagi! / Krazy Kool Kashiwagi Kaptions

Dear Yukirin,

I know that I have not been able to use WordPress much lately, however I wanted to be the first in my time zone to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY on July 15th. Japan is 12 hours ahead of me, so I wanted to time my greeting before you start going out to nightclubs and such tonight. Be careful, young one!

Uncle Denny.

Everyone else: Please enjoy my tribute to Yuki Kashiwagi  柏木 由紀  (Kashiwagi Yuki), born July 15, 1991 in Kagoshima Prefecture of Kyushu, Japan. The delightful Yukirin was born in the shadow of Mount Sakurajima, an active strato-volcano! (Ask a Geology-nerd what that is).

Yukirin is my second-favorite AKB Member … and the subject of my photo tribute for her special day.

You know, except for the salt, this WAS my dream last night, Yukirin.

Yuki-chan … I said TAKE DOWN the drapes not WEAR them!

CLUE:  OK, I have Colonel Mustard … with the Candlestick … in the Library … Or was it all Yukirin ?.

Remember Yukirin: an apple a day …  er … uh … um … er … heh heh .. what was I saying?

Note for future reference: All I had to do was show up at the pool party holding a bag of “Doritos” and Miss Kashiwagi immediately kicked off her shorts!

Kashiwagi-sama: Obama called, he said something about you “getting off your high horse” …

… then Clint Eastwood called. He says you can KEEP the chair now.

(Denny imitating British actor Sir John Gielgud) Yes, I know that you went to “Finishing School” dear girl, I can still smell the varnish!

Help me Yukirin! I think I have scurvey!

Yes, indeed! You did bring my favorite flavor Yukirin!

Aye, Yukirin, I have the same kilt meself.

Are you kidding Yuki? Auto workers in the USA LOVE Schlitz beer!

HA! Well, I will have you know that I made a FORTUNE in weight guessing young lady!

Yuki?  Yuki?  Oh, there you are HONEY  … 

WHAT??? … WHAT??? Wait, let me turn OFF the wind machine Yukirin!

Last time I lend Yukirin my credit card number.

Yes, Miss Kashiwagi, I would be happy to give you my 100,000 mile “bumper-to-bumper” extended warranty !

You are CORRECT Yukirin, this place does need a good set of door-knockers!

Yes, thank you for the recommendation Yukirin, indeed I think I will “stay at the Y” tonight!

Some say the volume is half-full, some say it is half-empty. I say “sit down you morons” I can’t see Yukirin!

What?!?  I will have you people know that I only have “warm and fuzzy” feelings for Kashiwagi-san.

Yes, thank you for explaining how your “two seam fastball” breaks down-and-in on right-handed batters. Oh, and how can I get one of those “milk-fed” mustaches?

Please do not be JEALOUS ladies, Yuki only looks this good because she “does it all with mirrors”.

So much Yuki! … so little room. Enjoy my retrospective Yukirin SlideShow!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Happy Birthday Miss Kashiwagi!

I wish I could do justice to how talented Ms. Kashiwagi is. She is a trooper. I wanted to link some performance videos of her amazing 3rd solo concert, however Record Industry Weasels have removed every last one! … every last one!

See more Yukirin on my Pinterest board linked here.