#also akanene is cute too

[sunberry-strawflower]

HanaNene or HanaKou? HanaNene all the way but idm Hanakou

KouNene or MitsuKou? OK I LOVE THEM BOTH BUT...KOUNENE WINS THIS ONE I'M SORRYYY

HanaKou or MitsuKou? MitsuKou definitely but again idm HanaKou

HanaNene or KouNene? KouNene wins this one again! HanaNene would've won but...I have to admit they're a little unhealthy...at least in canon. I totally prefer it in a normal school AU or something like the picture perfect arc but when it comes to canon, KouNene wins

TeruKane or AoiKane? Ehh I feel like TeruKane would work out better than AoiKane even if the latter is canon, so TeruKane

TeruAoi or AoiKane? Definitely AoiKane sorry Teru LMAO

MitsuTsu or SakuTsu? Ehhhh I don't ship Tsukasa with anyone but if I had to pick, probably MitsuTsu. I'll admit they're pretty cute in the non-canon After School Hanako-kun manga so yea. Also pretty sure Sakura is 17 and Tsukasa is 13 and I can't stand by that I'm sorry😭4 year age gap doesn't sound that bad until it's like teenagers. The largest age gap for teens I'll take is 2 years. So like 15 and 17 is fine to me and 14 and 16 and etc. but JESUS 13 AND 17? NO--so uhm yea MitsuTsu

TsuNene or SakuTsu? My God...uhm I don't like either of them tbh both for different reasons but ig if I had to pick it'd be TsuNene cause at least she's closer to his age.

AoiNene or TeruNene? AoiNene all the way <3 They're rlly cute I feel like it's a little overhated--at least on some other sites. The Tumblr TBHK fans seem to like the ship tho!

REBLOG WITH AN ANSWER!!

Okayyy..I'm curious now. I'd like to see what ships people prefer and why! You can choose one, multiple, or all! I'd love to read the answers!

So, here are the competitions, and my opinions!

HanaNene OR HanaKou? (I prefer HanaKou, but I love both)

KouNene OR MitsuKou? (I can get behind both, but love KouNene more😔)

HanaKou OR MitsuKou? (I prefer HanaKou)

HanaNene OR KouNene? (HanaNene is third favorite ship, so it wins this round)

TeruKane or AoiKane? (I absolutely love both, but TeruKane my beloved❤️)

TeruAoi or AoiKane? (Personally on this one I prefer AoiKane)

TeruKane or TeruAoi? (Again, I prefer TeruKane)

MitsuTsu or SakuTsu? (I don't ship Tsukasa with anyone really, but I enjoy MitsuTsu more as long as it's not toxic😬)

TsuNene or SakuTsu? (I prefer SakuTsu more tbh, but I hc Sakura as AroAce)

AoiNene or TeruNene? (I prefer AoiNene much more, TeruNene are cute as friends though!)

So, Reblog with your opinions! And please do not hate on me for my own. They are not canon, they are merely opinions.

[hanako-san]

"Break The Bond"

This fanfic is a request from an anon. Akanene as villains who want to separate HanaAoi. It's my first time writing something like this, so I hope I managed to meet your expectations anon-san ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚

-

A tearful nene entered the classroom, calling Akane, throwing her bag on the bench. Akane silently sadly gave her a handkerchief and wiped her falling tears. She stopped sniffling and looked at him, full of tears. "Akane-Kun…" she started crying again "I know…. that… Aoi told me" He looked sad "How could this happen?!" He hit the bench hard with his fist she jumped back in fear with a squeal. "I'm sorry" He said "No…" she wiped her tears, "I don't understand it either." She felt anger rising in her from despair. "Why? She can have anyone! Why him?!" "When did they get so close? How did I not notice? I'm always so careful… and I eliminate the competition" Akane felt anger wash over him. "I'm going to kill him" He said, burning "wait" yashiro grabbed his hand "Are you still defending him?" He was outraged "No! But you can't handle him! Tsukasa is stronger than him, but he also has strength. You have to do it by trickery!" "Yes!! We will separate them by trickery!" They both raised their hands up while on fire and screaming, beating each other up, forgetting that they were in class and causing a sensation. "but what will we do?" "I have an idea" nene said brightly and whispered in his ear, he nodded his head. Plan 1: -Girls' PE lesson- Hanako decided that he would support Aoi in her runs because she had a passing grade and she was stressed, so he promised her support and took out two fans with a Japanese flag pattern. "Come on Aoi!!! Good luck!!!" Hanako shouted beaming with flushed cheeks and smiling wider. nene's heart ached, she felt a pang in her heart, and tears began to flow again. Hanako did it for her too, but she noticed that when Hanako did it for Aoi, he blushed more, his smile was brighter, and he was happier in his face and voice. yahsiro felt a more pain feeling and their intimacy "Amane-kun" and "Aoi-chan" spoke to each other by name, they were really close to each other and she was happy that he called her "yashiro-san" she felt like fool and more determined to do so . yashiro ran after Aoi for a short distance, she turned when she reached Hanako and tripped over her feet, she bumped into him, catching him by the waist. Hanako was shocked and couldn't react, he fell to the ground and felt something pressing down on him. He saw a mop of hair and familiar clips. He sighed irritably. "I should be the one who's pissed and irritated." She rose and grabbed his wrists, preventing him from moving. They looked into each other's eyes. The furious nene squeezed him tighter, her strength under the tide of anger increased, he felt pain, but he did not move. She was hurt by his gaze, which had gone from warm and filled with love for her to cold and indifferent. "Get off me!" Hanako shouted furiously "Shut up!" She screamed, closed her eyes and forced him to kiss her. "That is sweet!" She heard Aoi's voice yashiro thinks: Be mad, break up with him! And I will comfort him! I'm sure it will work!" "You and Akane are cute." "Adorable" Hanako commented After Hanako's voice, nene opened her eyes and saw that she was lying on top of Akane, kissing him in shock. She quickly broke away from him and looked to her right side and saw Hanako and Aoi next to her. She didn't understand any of it. "How is this possible?" She uttered completely shocked and her mind was confused. Her eyes turned black and she looked at Hanako's eloquent face, filled with coldness and a malicious smile. Xplan 1 failedX

-After classes, in the girls' bathroom-

Hanako watched Akane and nene through the window as they conferred before entering the school. "You were right that they would start planning our break up" "I knew that yashiro would do something like this. She thought that by forcing me to kiss her, I would immediately change my feelings and choose her, and you would break up with me." He looked at the window thoughtfully "She thinks that something like that or a smile is enough to change my feelings. I'm not that shallow like her" His eyes became sadder and more worried. Aoi placed her hand on his cheek and he came back from his thoughts, looking at her and her sad face. "Don't worry, everything's fine. I'm worried about No. 1" he hugged her hand that she held on his cheek "I'm an expert on Akane. You don't have to worry." She assured him proudly "Of course it is, but No. 1 can be unpredictable, that's why I told Haku Joudai to follow him at school secretly. I'd rather be sure about who knows what they can to do when their plans are ruined" He said with a fake smile Aoi rested her forehead against his, lifting her hat slightly and it was slightly tilted upwards. "You don't have to comfort me by forcing a smile!" She said looking at him seriously "I know." He laughed honestly, showing his teeth and blushing. He looked at Aoi. Aoi saw the sparkle in his eyes "No matter what they do, we will stop them" "Yes" Hanako in full light of face and voice confirmed her words "Aoi, you brought the clock of number no. 1" He changed the topic Aoi looked away from his forehead with her eyes closed and a sincere smile "Yes! He didn't even notice that I took it and he didn't notice that I gave it back." "The watch saved me" "Yes, stopping time for a few seconds while nene held you was a good idea." "Yes. The power of the watch is very useful." "Amane" Aoi took her bag "I have to go. But I'll come tomorrow before classes" She kissed him on the cheek and when she left, she waved at him and left.

***

It was dawn. yashiro called Akane's house and waited for the door to open. In the meantime, Aoi left the house, hid behind the car and watched. It seemed strange to her that she had come to see Akane at such an early hour. Akane opened the door for her and she stepped inside. Aoi already knew that she had come to plan her next plan. -at Akane's house- Akane handed Yashiro green tea and sat down across from her, resting her elbow on the stole and tangling her fingers in her hair, looking in the opposite direction. yashiro looked at him, she looked exhausted and tired of Akane and she blushed slightly and felt her heart beat faster for Akane. "Akane still looks cute" she thought Akane's eyes were sunken and she still found him handsome. "I've been thinking about it all night and I'm giving up." "What!?" yahsiro screamed, hitting the table hard, pushing the chair so hard that it fell, the cup of tea bounced slightly and a small part spilled. "I'm sorry." She blushed with embarrassment, picked up a chair and sat down, looking angrily at Akane, "Hanako-Kun stole your Aoi. Don't you feel sorry and furious?" "I want Aoi to be happy" "Akane! You worked hard to push so many guys away from you, and you give up because a ghost who is younger than you stole your Aoi. I would feel so frustrated" She said, suggesting in a way that would get him to react. "I know what I will do, and if it doesn't help, we will need them for the final plan." "Yes Sir!!" She shone

Plan 2: -After school- Aoi reluctantly agreed to meet Akane. Akane took her to many places where they spent time when they were younger and reminded her of their adventures. Aoi felt uncomfortable. He didn't feel good about the situation either. Aoi didn't look at him once. They sat on a park bench near their houses. Aoi had her head down and was silent, and Akane laughed stupidly to relax the already tense atmosphere between them. "Akane, I'm sorry." Akane turned his head to her in surprise. "I know you love me. I loved you too, but I understood that in a non-romantic way. What I feel for you and Ama - I mean Hanako-Kun - is completely different. Akane, you are precious friend to me and I want you to continue to be like that. it stayed. With Hanako-Kun, I feel like myself, we have a lot in common and I feel like my life is complete with him. But I also don't want to lose our friendship. "I see…" He said, disappointment in his voice "I have to go" Aoi said as she stood up "Tell nene that she is important to me too, I don't want to lose her too" She added and left

Xplan 2 failedX

***

Hanako was at the meeting. No.1 wanted to check if Hanako was doing his work and duties properly, because he hadn't been doing well lately. Hanako didn't listen to Kako, and after a while he felt a cold sweat break out on him and he started to shiver. He felt that something bad was happening. And he quickly got confirmation, he saw how red haku joudai who was following Akane and nene at school came to him and when the red haku joudai told him what was going on. Hanako jumped in fear. "The meeting is over and you, No.1, are coming with me!" "What? We're not done yet!" "Yes! We're done right now!!" he screamed so loudly and decisively that none of the supernaturals, including Kako, were afraid to speak. Kako also understood that he wasn't joking, looking at him as if he was stabbing him with a blade with his black eyes and serious posture.

plan 3:

No.1 reluctantly led Hanako to their boundary. They couldn't object and saw the image blur and time intersect and stop. Everything was clear to them, someone had used their clock to make a mess and turn back time. -In boundary- "nene, why are you doing this?" Aoi asked, shaking "Because I want to get back the only person I love!" She said "Akane, do you agree to this?" She turned to her friend who was behind nene's back and remained silent "…" He couldn't look her in the eye. "Akane, stop her time, then we will make Aoi forget Hanako-Kun" "I may forget him, but my heart will remember" Aoi said firmly to nene "Akane!!" She got more angry Akane reluctantly moved his watch forward to Aoi and was shaking. "Akane…" Aoi was shaking and crying. He didn't want to see it and gave up, leaving his watch "I can't do it" He refused "Why?" nene asked furiously "I want Aoi to be happy" "Coward" grabbed the watch and pointed it at Aoi and a large watch appeared above Aoi's head. "And now-" "Get your hands off her!" nene fell, leaning away from the knife "Hanako-Kun" Surprised that he raised a knife at her and looked angry. He turned to Aoi and hugged her tightly. The clock's power disappeared and Aoi regained her time. At first she didn't know what happened and she felt him hug her. When she understood what had happened, she hugged Hanako tightly with tears in her eyes. nene attacked Hanako and started hitting him in the back, screaming and shouting at him. Hanako squeezed Aoi tightly and didn't let her go, absorbing the blows of the furious nene. This wasn't new to him, he always did it when she was mad. Aoi stood and pushed nene away from Hanako and covered him with her arms spread. Aoi did the same thing like nene did on the roof to Kou. "Aoi!" Hanako shouted, hugging her from behind and clearly showing that he wouldn't let her get hurt. "Enough of this nene!" Akane shouted Akane hugged nene "huh?" "You can't force anyone to love you" "But!-" Akane kissed nene to calm her down. The time they spent together… they got along better, it made him see her as something other than just a school friend. They had a lot in common and he understood her pain. "Akane.." nene blushed in shock "You didn't notice any signs because you were furious. You didn't even notice when you started calling me by my name." "?! That's true" "They really love each other" He looked at Hanako and Aoi hugging and he hugged nene "Akane…" She hugged him back and cried, calming down ✔ Plan 3 Success ✔

"Akane Aoi!" Akane shuddered and was frozen in place as he heard Kako behind him "Kako…" He turned his head with fear on his shoulder and saw Mirai "Mirai…" "No, causing confusion at school, damaging the clock and compromising the safety of students and supernatural beings is punished" "Will you take away my power?" "No, because you withdrew, but for a month you will clean the entire school and repair the broken clock" Kako looked at Hanako "NanaBanSama, you can give him more" "No need. I'm happy with the punishment." "If this egorcist finds out, he will hurt you" Mirai said disappointed "I know" Akane cried in fear "Don't worry, I'll protect you" Nene said happily "Thank you" Once they left the border, Akane asked Aoi to talk to her. Hanako wasn't glad, but Aoi told him will be okay and he trusted her. He and nene were left alone to talk as well "Hanako-" "Do you know what this is?" Hanako took out something that looked like a fish. "It's, mermaid's blood" "Drink" "But then-" "Give Akane this scale. The curse will be shared between you and him now" "Okay.. Hanako-Kun.. do-" "No… now… maybe we can be friends later. I need time. After all, I'm not blameless either, so let's both give it time." "Fine" She was relieved "No.1 come, I will help you repair the clock" "All right…" -In class- Aoi returned to her routine of watering the flowers in their classroom. Nene stood in the aisle and looked at Aoi. She shyly approached her friend and stood next to her "I…" nene began "…" "I don't want to lose you, Aoi. I love you, you're my best friend, I regret what I did." She screamed in one breath. Aoi, shocked and slightly scared and Aoi poured water from a watering can on her "I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose, you were just screaming" "It's okay. I deserved it!" "nene, I don't want to lose our friendship either. I'm so glad you feel the same way I feel" Aoi hugged her tightly and quickly, making nene fall and Aoi fall on top of her "It hurts.." Nene said with back pain " Sorry!" "That `s nothing" Aoi stood up and helped nene up and they laughed, hugging their foreheads together, laughing heartily. Standing in the doorway were Hanako and Akane, watching them both. "They made up" Akane smiled "Yes…" Hanako smiled and felt relieved as well.

[elephants-are-cool]

Yashiro!!

1: sexuality headcanon

trans pan ace poly queen!

2: otp

aoinene!!!!! love love love them so much... they're in love... flower symbolism... the hearts,,, the panels,,, the interactions,,, the besties,,, they're actually super fascinating though... aoi has put on a fake personality for most of their life and nene the most genuine person in the world... aoi's been put on a pedestal for most of her life, and nene does this too... but i love the idea of her becoming more genuine and working through this stuff together... also the mutual and genuine care for each other... remember the misaki stairs... also notice how ppl in love with aoi tend to call her ao-chan... human meinene is *chef's kiss* too!! they have mutual energetic chaotic energy, which makes them rlly fun!! sakunene is cute!! in a wow you're rlly pretty i'd like to know more about you and little pecks on the cheeks. i prefer them as a qpr tho. mitsunene2 is rlly cute, and their interactions were fairly adorable and pan4pan and mutual trust and friendship as they meet with the mirrors. it's fun, okay! hanakounene is rlly good too! there's mutual love and like personally it's either all or none with the three and just... they cute... and some of their interactions are like .... in love... and the little hearts... love them. slightly prefer them as brotp tho.

3: brotp

okay okay so the toilet trio is amazing and i love them... their t8t8t pan4pan4pan and ace... their interactions... the warmness... the slow build up of their friendship... remember at the start when hanako was like 'kid, your on your own' and then shielded him the second he was in danger? the mutual trust... calling on each other when in danger... the donut scene... they're just,,, amazing... they have little found family vibes ngl... them in the library was funny, and showcased how far their friendship had come, and they're rlly fantastic. qpr sakunene is like... 'wow you're rlly pretty i'd like to know more about you and little pecks on the cheeks'... talking about their problems and the twins and supernaturals... tea parties together... the akanene friendship in the recent chapters is adorable too... the slow build up of trust... the severance... meinene!! supernatural meinene has the art and the painting and the taking and like,,, i feel like they should open up to each other and be friends. human meinene!! has the chaotic energy, bubbliness and friendship and letting go and near approaching death and parallels... mitsunene2 should be besties. the mirrors scene. fantastic. and mitsunene1 siblings actually. no but their mums should date (soushiro) and they should be actual stepsiblings. pan siblings. bonus points if in an au mitsunene2 are stepsiblings too because yes. tsukasa and nene would be fun besties though...

4: notp

idk tsuchinene?

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

flowers!! she loves flowers!! she loves romcoms too but she loves horror movies even more! she's like,, incredibly goth. but also bubbly. albino (and japanese obviously) because of her hair. and she wears loads of skulls, not just in her uniform but also in her casual clothes. at home she likes mixing pastel colours with skulls and goth stuff because yeah. aoi helped her dye her hair because she thought it looked cool and also she loves the sea.

6: one way in which I relate to this character

idk, lots of ways.

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

i love her but she's super gullible. 8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

cinnamon roll

[gocchisama]

Normal is the new beautiful : Story of Nagahama Neru (長濱ねる）

Have you ever fell in love with one of your classmates? Peeking at her desk, hoping she doesn’t notice you, so you can keep looking at her. Someone you want to start a conversation with, but you’re too shy to do so. Japanese high schooler are often on the romantic side, thanks to this huge culture carried through manga and anime. Neru has this perfect image of lovely girl next door that you often see in shoujo or shonen. But it isn’t fiction. Sometime life doesn’t go the way you wanted, and you have to force your way through, building this such needed resilience to go forward. Behind this sweet smile, stand a girl who search for answers. Is Keyakizaka one of them?

“A girl in search of her honest feelings”

Let’s talk about the girl herself for a bit. Someone who’s into Keyaki most surely knows her unusual introduction to the group. Like Shinoda Mariko before her, Neru joined as 1.5 gen member because she didn’t went to Keyakizaka final audition. Her parents forbid it, even taking her back to Nagasaki. But seeing Neru’s potential, Keyakizaka staff invited Neru’s parent to attend a Nogizaka concert, and it eventually changed their mind. She then joined as Hiragana Keyaki (under-like members of Keyakizaka) and Kanji Keyaki kennin for the second single, Sekai ni wa ai shikanai. It was though for her; she couldn’t mix as well as the other kanji keyaki because she started late (she wasn’t in Silent majority senbatsu), but she didn’t took part in hiragana lessons either because she was busy in kanji keyaki promotion. Question rised: where did she belong to? Up to this day, we still don’t know. But don’t let her choose between kanji and hiragana, it’s impossible.

Most of pessimistic fans would say it’s a staged scenario to push her. Because she’s having an hard time, fans start feeling sympathy toward her. Well yes, she is popular (because of this romance affinity japanese have) but struggling to know her place in Keyakizaka was real. Yonetani nanami confessed in a Keya Room episode that she didn’t accepted Neru right away. It’s only natural, right? When someone is a newcomer in your close circle of friend, you can’t immediately be comfortable like you are with the others. However Neru won member’s hearts with her natural joy, easy going character, and light sense of humor. Members were fast to realize she just wanted to get along with everyone, and not taking someone’s else place. Being Hiragana instead of Keyaki didn’t matter anymore.

“Neru, like Yurina, was given a Solo in Keyaki second single”

With that issue resolved, Neru started to work on her individual skills. Fans started to notice her thanks to her weird and lovely individual PV, where she sang all names of the periodic element board, and thereafter all irregular english verbs. To see Neru doing a moonwalk while chanting uranium, or spelling sleep slept slept while headbanging, you have to admit it marks people mind. In her third attempt, it was a regular short film about “rules”, where she displays great acting skills, feeling very genuine and natural. Furthermore, she took part in Japanese variety show, answering quizz in order to earn 1 million yen for her team, something that only a few idol of the 48group could. Before being in Keyakizaka, she won a special prize in a cooking contest, with innovative kebab style sugar crepe.

Neru is smart, cute, funny and talented. She gets closer and closer to this “shoujo” ideal fans yearn for. It didn’t take long before she claims top position in member’s popularity chart, even being number one in Twitter most mentions in the group. Neru profile has high standard, but as a matter of fact, it isn’t something original. We have seen many other idols who are good at everything, like Yamamoto Sayaka. So why is she exceeding observers expectation in term of popularity? Because it is Keyakizaka. By contrast, something cool will always shine in a pool of cute, and vice versa. Because Keyaki is about rebellion and willpower, Neru orthodox image comes out amplified. Management is fully aware and try to develop it, by giving her a slow paced, cute song as solo. Neru presence and importance in Keyakizaka increased as her personality balance well with the style of the group.

“high socks, pink cardigan and silver ribbon; Japanese uniform aesthetics bring out the best of japanese girls feminity and youth”

Neru’s situation can be seen as very propitious to a success in Keyakizaka. But it isn’t the case, and she had to deal with a lot of pressure in a short period of time. People are often worried of Yurina hectic schedule, but Neru’s has nothing to blush from it : Not only she participates in all Kanji A and B side, but she also has to learn Hiragana B-side songs. Not counting her 2 solo and duo/quatuor with Yurina and Yuichanzu. Despite her hard work, she had to compromise. It’s quite cruel to put her in Yurina’s place in hiragana first showcase for their silent majority performance. You could obviously feel the lack of training, and beyond that, the gap of character between Neru and Yurina. It was management mistake to think Neru could manage to do a decent performance with such little time. And it affected her image. That her dancing is subpar of other members, or keyakizaka standard.

Can you imagine it? She was 17 when joining Keyakizaka (like Akanen) and was at the end of crossroads, where you choose to continue college. She’s a diligent student, but chose to be an idol. This same world that sometimes shows a cruel side, like asking for a perfect performance with minimum of preparation. An unfairness that could waver anyone’s determination to reach their goal, because they are not capable. Japan is still a society that hugely rely on academic background, and to choose the idol path instead of college is understandably contested by her parents. This is something that contrast with her overall sweet side. She went as far as confronting her parent to do what she wants to do. She’s not hesitant like those shounen female character who are often painted as weak and dependable to the male hero.

It’s not about being all sweet, or all cool of a character. Even though Keyakizaka staff built Neru character to be sweet, it doesn’t exclude the fact that each person hold a complex personality, that you need to cover as a whole to understand someone. Neru didn’t dislike studying. She likes subject like Philosophy, or science. But she wanted to try something new, something she decided for herself, and not what her parents told her to do. Despite her sweet character, she was actually the first to do an act of rebellion.

“Nagahama Neru is in fact a very entertaining girl, very connected to her fans”

It would be pretentious of me to know what kind of girl is Nagahama Neru. But there’s few hints scattered on all the data available. First, her blogs. She talks a lot about her relationship with the members. Probably because she was in a delicate situation of not belonging to kanji nor hiragana, becoming an important member on both side is now her biggest strength. She entrusted herself the mission to help the members get closer, like W-Keyakizaka no uta song. To break the distance between generation, is a harder task than we think. For example, Yukirin confessed she never was close to Kojima Haruna, despite many concerts, senbatsu promotions they did over the years. It’s hard, but it is also essential to build the group unity. The girls need to learn to open their heart.

In variety, she shows that her intelligence isn’t all about having good grades. There’s also how she use her screentime to get noticed. When to make cute face, react to host pun or joke, give sassy anecdote of other members. She’s also aware it’s good to show her emotions, when being overjoyed by other members reaction when joining the 2nd single senbatsu, or when Watanabe Risa read Yonetani nanami’s letter apologizing to her. How she juggles with those opportunities helps her not being a one-dimensional idol. Watanabe Mayu was much more of the orthodox style, but her image of cyborg idol was too strong and she had a hard time to graduate from it. 

“In Keyakizaka 4th single, she was next to Techi. Will she be center in the 5th?”

With all the opportunities brought by management, her good image as an individual (the others are more known as pairing, like Za cool, Yuichanzu), and the necessary change of Keyakizaka type of song makes me think she will lead the A-side of the next single. Neru never showed the ambition to take the 0 position, but if it’s the need of the group, she will gladly take it on. Because Neru has a great sense of responsability. When we think of reliable, mother figure-like character, we tend to think of Fuuchan or Oda nana. Neru is more like of a “i will do my best” responsible type. She doesn’t want to let people down.

In the future, we can expect her to break through in variety. This little sister character is loved by japanese audience, like Hirose Suzu or Arimura Kasumi before her. Her presence in variety is Key for Keyakizaka to get national recognition. But as said above, she’s also the key to tie kanji and hiragana keyaki together, and ensure the group unity. Without noticing, Neru became an irreplaceable existence for Keyakizaka outside and inside. You don’t need to read manga to follow exciting stories. You just have to follow neru’s normal life. I wish i could live such an exciting life, but unfortunately, pink cardigan and cute skirt doesn’t suit me as much as they suits her. 

[gocchisama]

Thorns x Roses : Story of Moriya Akane (守屋茜）

Sometime the first impression is the right one. Is it what you call love at first sight? In Moriya Akane’s case, i absolutely didn’t noticed her when Nogi’s sister group hold their first press conference. Not someone who stun you with their beauty like Shirashi Mai, or would give this cuteness vibe like Nakai Rika from NGT48. But Moriya Akane, Akanen, has unveiled herself as one of the fiercest, most well rounded character in Keyakizaka46. Her lean figure bloomed like a rose and her hate of losing is sharp, like thorns. She is the blade of Keyakizaka.

”Even if it’s life most severe, most painful thing, there will be no regrets. If i say Ok, let’s do this one more time, i will certainly do it” - Moriya Akane

There has been many hints of Akanen trait. First, in Keyakitte, Kakenai video introduction, she proudly shows off her tennis awards and certificates. In her “jibun history” (my story), she shows her old video winning a judo battle against a girl bigger her size. This girl likes to win. But was it always like that? Well not really, in a recent BUBKA interview, she said at first she wasn’t particulary mad at losing, but she changed when entering Keyakizaka.

Akanen was 17 when passing Keyakizaka audition, and as every japanese highschooler, she had to make a choice after graduation. It was a tough decision between going to the audition or going to college. While her family and friends were concerned of her choice, she didn’t wavered and took Keyakizaka audition. Since there was so much at stake, she was determined to give it her all as a member, thus explaining her “hate to lose” character. She also started to be self-aware of her apparence and professionnal attitude, learning make up or how to appeal to fan (she already knew her catchphrase). At the very debut of Silent majority, people noticed her change. “you give me a strong feeling” they said. Exactly, for akanen, it wasn’t college activities. To her, Keyakizaka is “work”.

“Akanen is the kind of girl you would think twice before approaching”

But as the fanbase grew larger, different opinions emerged. “You are kind of scary” “You are S, are you?(sadistic)” “You’re a tryhard fisher”. Akanen realized that being sharp was a double edged sword, that would put some fans off because she would look unproachable. Not only she has the beauty that makes wota think “she’s too pretty, i have 0 chance” and the attitude “if i talk to her she will feel i’m weak and i will be rejected”. As a matter of fact, she is not the easy-going type. Once again, there was a choice to make at the debut of “Sekai ni wa Ai shikanai” promotion. Either she would tone down, and hang over the cute field as a try, or she would pursue her “serious” character and definitively be recognized from it. Things have been decided during the “karai queen (spicy)” challenge when she ate a whole bowl of spicy tofu, to the point of crying right after. She doesn’t like spicy food, but she doesn’t like losing even more. For the first time, Akanen stole the show through determination.

It was a significative impact. Imaizumi Yui was known as the best singer, Sugai Yuuka had this lady personality, Neru was the most intelligent and Yurina was the Wondergirl. Despite the minor drawback, Akanen stayed true to herself and showed her ferocious competitive character. It was the best choice because no one in Keyakizaka had claimed the “strong type”. Her individuality was set in stone, and it was just the beginning. There was no guarantee it would work, but Akanen took it anyway. Because it fits her the most.

”When the time comes to do it, i’ll do it. And when i do it, i win.” - Akanen

What became an hot topic was the famous sports festival episode, when Akanen was the captain of the “serious team” against Yuuka’s team. Akanen not only displayed her natural sense of competition but was also credited as viable leader, pumping up her team spirit and lifting their morale. In a young group as Keyakizaka, a leader/sempai is often mandatory for the group cohesion. Throwing some taunts at the other team to make things funny, shaking her teammates up when they were questioning their ability to win, Joking with the MC to loosen up the tight atmosphere; once again Akanen shone in her natural environnement : competition. But what probably was the turning point was the last sprint against the second fastest member, Koyabashi Yui, where she managed to bite few meters on her but eventually lost by half a feet.

Not only you could feel from the screen she put everything on this sprint, raising the excitement to the max, but you also witnessed Akanen bursting into tears from losing to Yuipon. What could be seen as a bad loser attitude ( being fair play, you would shake hands with the winner) but in the case of Moriya, it was more of a genuine reaction for deceiving her teammates at the last second. Even though it was obvious she got paired up with the weakest members ( Yuuka’s team had Neru AND Koyabashi), even though she was like 6 meters behind, she blamed it all on herself. On her own incapacity to bring victory.

Fans felt sympathy toward Akanen and praised her strong will. The cold, hard to approach Akanen vanished to make way to Akanen, the girl who do everything with passion. Her being fired up is actually fuel for others to do their best, and her presence in Keyakizaka took another meaning.

“If it’s for my beloved teammates, i will do everything” - Moriya Akane 

She can be seen as harsch sometimes, but the one she’s the most severe with, is actually herself. Her strong will to win can be interpreted as a strong will to not disappoint those who believed in her. A strong character, is also someone people rely on. She want to be that kind of person to Keyakizaka46. During Sekai ni wa Ai shikanai, she didn’t remorse her position in second row, she accepted it. “In that place, i have a goal, a reason to move forward. “This is also a place i can learn a lot from” She said. An humility, unfamiliar with people who are self-centered. Akanen is not the kind of person who think of things as granted. She wants to earn things, with her own strength.

It paid off. In Futari Saison, she finally became front row, increasing even further her visibility and popularity during keyaki single promotion. Sugai Yuuka, who will be promoted to captain, congratulated her for her senbatsu position and wrote that Akanen is an existence that put her at ease when confronting tense moment like live performance. “Big sister” Akanen was also a significant trait that made her being loved by teammates in backstage. At the time, the girls didn’t known each other very well, especially Hirate Yurina who was the youngest. Akanen felt it was her responsability to make things easier and decided to break the ice by inviting Yurina to a meal together. Little by little everyone got along and the training room atmosphere got lively, thanks a bit to Akanen. Moriya Akane is working hard as an individual, but isn’t neglecting teammates bond, which is essential for Keyakizaka unity. Akanen truly loves the group.

“When Akanen is around, i allow myself to act like a spoiled child” - Techi

Akanen is a lethal weapon, with great use of visual, sexiness and flawless smile. But she uses her ability to protect those she loves, being a reassuring older sister when members finish rehearsal and are exhausted, being a leader when the girls are doubting. A versatile jack of all trades that allow Keyakizaka to hold it’s ground on a solid base. When you realize Moriya excel in visual but truly show her amazingness with her personality, you can’t help but be admirative. “Ah, Keyaki is in good hands with her” some fans on the internet said.

If she’s such a good leader, why isn’t she captain, you would say? Well another quality in Moriya, her “hating to lose” character doesn’t mean she crave for the spotlight as well. She has this self-awareness that holds her from having bad decision that would disturb Keyakizaka balance. Sugai Yuuka, who she’s very close to, has a refined style that may suits more as a representative. Moriya natural strictness balance well with Yuuka’s natural sweetness. Together, they make the ultimate captaincy. Moriya is definitively a girl to look forward, either it’s about her, or her interaction within the group. As we speak, she’s Tier 2 (she’s solding out round 2 of handshake event, she’s still not fans top priority) but Akanen’s potential shows no boundaries.

“If Akanen is S, does that mean her fanbase are all M? LOL” - Oda Nana