Akimoto Yasushi likes girls with short hair, according to Takahashi Minami. Okay, nothing unusual there, until 2ch users take a look at center positions for non-senbatsu singles, and it all comes together. Do only girls with short hair becomes centers?

This quote comes courtesy of Takahashi Minami via TV show, “AKB to XX”, where Takahashi Minami is asked a series of questions. Question #7: “What is something you’ve always wanted to say to AKimoto Yasushi?” Her response? “You like girls with short hair, don’t you?”

 

One 2ch thread picks up and this, and lists out all the various “aces” and centers, divided by group:

• AKB: Miyawaki Sakura
• SKE: Matsui Jurina
• NMB: Yamamoto Sayaka
• HKT: Kodama Haruka
• NGT: Takakura Moeka
• Nogizaka: Ikoma Rina
• Keyakizaka: Hirate Yurina

Pictures for reference:

All these girls have relatively short hair.  Some even had long hair in the past, and was later shortened, and later become the center.

Of course, the same thread is quick to point out the exceptions to the rule (though one could argue that not every short haired girl can be center), pointing out previous centers with long hair, such as Kojima Haruna, and also noting that Mion’s hair is relatively long.

• Some more of the comments are as follows:
• Sutou Ririkia cut her hair, didn’t she?
• Oh my… suddenly it’s all coming together.
• Kojiharu’s in a class of her own!
• Mukaichi Mion doesn’t have short hair.
• It would be funny if Mion cut her hair for the new single.
• Wow, they all have short hair.
• Meada Atsuko.
• Short hair?  Yokohama Yui became soukantoku. Paruru was center for Eien Pressure, and Miywaki was center for Kibouteki Refrain.
• I guess this is just Yasushi’s fetish. But forcing girls to cut their hair is kinda pushing it.

As for my own observations at the moment: Shinoda Mariko. But then I think about Oya Shizuka and Yamaguchi Suzuran, and I’m not 100% sure.

One last interesting bit of information: there is news article from Oricon News, which talks about the formation of AKB’s unit “Not Yet”, which Yokohama Yui was a part of.    A quote from the article. dated 2011:

“Akimoto Yasushi gave me some advice that it might be best if I cut my hair. Akimoto, who makes all these great things that we love, I think he’s really great. I’m really curious what’s going on inside of his head.” (秋元康先生が切ったほうがいいかもしれないとアドバイスしてくださった。みんなが憧れるものを作り出している秋元先生は、本当に素敵だと思います。頭の中がどうなっているのか、気になりますよね)

What’s going on his head?! He just likes your short hair, Yui-han!