2chan says

2chan says: What is the point in not participating in the election?

3 Comments

This year’s election has brought with it a good number of non-participants with popular and unpopular members alike. While wota may not have full insight on what goes on in an idol’s life, non-participation still begs the question: what is the advantage, if any, of choosing to not partake in AKB’s annual election?

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1: 47の素敵な(神奈川県)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲW 044c-0b2/) 2016/03/28(月) 14:51:24.71 ID:thkJL1jI0.net
Is there any merit to not appearing?

3: 47の素敵な(禿)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｵｯﾍﾟｹ Sr85-tcWT) 2016/03/28(月) 14:53:14.77 ID:JdqzPIsAr.net
Maybe it is because they don’t see any merit in appearing.

6: 47の素敵な(やわらか銀行)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲW d5ae-ZcPW) 2016/03/28(月) 14:55:54.78 ID:L3ec/s7R0.net
It is just a waste of money.

8: 47の素敵な(地震なし)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲW 6a27-Bjdu) 2016/03/28(月) 14:58:27.40 ID:uvMZC03h0.net
There are members where fans think: “What have you got left if you don’t participate?” Even those members choose not to participate – I just don’t get it.

9: 47の素敵な(大阪府)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲW 3cb2-HJAy) 2016/03/28(月) 15:02:18.10 ID:7B6vsYqX0.net
If you don’t get sick to your stomach, it is pretty easy. But if you are just there to “observe” the other members, the feeling is all that matters.

But if a girl thinks that she will not be ranked regardless of what happens, I think that it really cannot be helped if she is there or not.

There are some people who think that nothing comes from being in the election – but wota are different! We wota want them to feel happy that we helped them get there. If you cannot be happy that you made it there together then, yes, the election is really a useless thing.

10: (pc?)＠＼(^o^)／ 2016/03/28(月) 15:04:17.33 .net
My wota heart feels no pain.

11: 47の素敵な(チベット自治区)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ e1dd-I4xJ) 2016/03/28(月) 15:04:27.33 ID:1AK+5+iN0.net
>>1
Merit? It is less emotionally trying. Some wota are thankful for it.

12: 47の素敵な(茸)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｽﾌﾟｰ Sd24-tcWT) 2016/03/28(月) 15:12:18.61 ID:rBH/Fv4ad.net
It decreases the burden on wota.
It also decreases the burden on members.

Accordingly, since the “brand name” value of the AKB48 has weakened, the merit of appearing in the election and being part of the senbatsu has probably decreased.

Even as part of the senbatsu lineup, the younger members who get pushed by management end up grabbing the good positions on TV and in concerts anyway.

15: 47の素敵な(図書館の中の街)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ f9af-yw7J) 2016/03/28(月) 15:22:01.33 ID:h9RZyFdC0.net
Even if she ranks in, members who are left out to dry will simply be left out to dry. Even if my oshimen does not participate, I will still support her. Honestly, the election is not really meaningful.

17: 47の素敵な(空)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾌﾞｰｲﾓ MM24-HJAy) 2016/03/28(月) 15:24:35.53 ID:AG747rs6M.net
Some reasons for sister-group members to appear:

“I want to rank in!” This reasoning is meaningful.
“I want to be part of the top 16”. That has purpose.
“I want to be part of the top 7”. That also has purpose.

If a girl becomes part of the senbatsu and she gets put in the back row, there are still lots of reasons to strive for that. A lot of sister group members replaced AKB members from ranks 12 to 15, for instance.

In other words, unless a girl is part of one of the sister groups, and if she is aiming for the top 7, there is not a good possibility she will make it.

19: 47の素敵な(岡山県)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ 33a4-vHhq) 2016/03/28(月) 15:29:52.96 ID:WkoOFcao0.net
If a girl is able to get ranked in the election, she must show that there are good things that come of it. But if she does not, there is no point.

32: 47の素敵な(東京都)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ d90f-vHhq) 2016/03/28(月) 16:28:12.49 ID:MGOVDgbR0.net
If you really think about it, if all members just blindly believed in this election system and everyone participated, it would be pretty bad. Amongst the members, there are those who dissent, so it is good that they are not just some mindless, ritualistic group. There is a good balance of values here.

36: 47の素敵な(やわらか銀行)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ 3eae-vHhq) 2016/03/28(月) 16:35:17.03 ID:KZEzkUdL0.net
>>1
The top 16 and the top 7 are the only positions with value. It is a huge burden on wota, and it is not as if wota’s wallets are endless. Regardless of election ranking, our favorite members are already decided. If you think of it like that, rather than waste money in the election, it is better to spend money on CD singles and handshake tickets.

37: 47の素敵な(庭)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｱｳｱｳ Sa9d-ZcPW) 2016/03/28(月) 16:42:17.00 ID:oVj/Aflta.net
There might be a point if she can get into the top 16; for those below, she might only appear in a music video one time.

38: 47の素敵な(茸)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｽﾌﾟｰ Sd34-HJAy) 2016/03/28(月) 16:42:47.56 ID:LVxAU5tAd.net
1. For members who think they may have peaked during last year’s election, if she thinks she will fall in ranks, it is better to just retire and save face.

2. It is better to get a feel for things by comparing handshake tickets sales, so maybe she wants her fans to spend more money there.

3. It is related to graduation.

Out of these three possibilities, which do you think it the correct one?

40: 47の素敵な(庭)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｱｳｱｳ Sa9d-ZcPW) 2016/03/28(月) 17:08:41.61 ID:oVj/Aflta.net
Well, it does not really matter either way, to the outside world. I think it is because, regardless of whether she feels she can reciprocate her fans votes or not, the sight of wota spending sooooo much money is just too intense for her.

41: 47の素敵な(神奈川県)＠＼(^o^)／ (ﾜｯﾁｮｲ 6477-vHhq) 2016/03/28(月) 17:10:24.32 ID:n/qoezMa0.net
Seriously, I think that fans who expect something back from their oshimen are much more “intense.”

44: 47の素敵な(庭)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｱｳｱｳ Sa9d-ZcPW) 2016/03/28(月) 17:13:52.21 ID:oVj/Aflta.net
>>41
Money is something that you use and expect something back — even if wota say they are doing out of the goodness of their heart.

45: 47の素敵な(SB-iPhone)＠＼(^o^)／ (ｻｻｸｯﾃﾛ Sp85-ZcPW) 2016/03/28(月) 17:36:58.48 ID:Qmt8J9Tep.net
>>41
If there is a wota with such a pure and noble heart, instead of spending money on this election, he should just donate it to charity. LOL

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Author: yuki

  • NG

    if we’re talking about the merit of not participating
    they get some attention for not participating
    less merit for well known member
    but for member who’s not really known, they can get attention even if it’s just for short period of time (or maybe they get new fans from this)

  • Payuyu Fortyeight

    the last comment tbh lol im speechless

  • Derek Vasconi

    The Sousenkyo is always a good time and something that me, as a foreign fan, look forward to staying up all night and trying to watch on ten different live streams that all crap out in random intervals. Still, I always watch, every year, and smile.
    Also, I think saying only the senbatsu positions are meaningful is really not true. Tani Marika, my oshimen, didn’t get into senbatsu, but her ranking in the lower 20’s is one of the greatest accomplishments of any AKB48 group member in the history of the sousenkyo. Nobody has ever jumped that far without being ranked previously! And Kojina Yui’s memorable and hysterical speech… I didn’t even know that girl existed until then, and now, I’m a HUGE fan, all because of her ranking, which was pretty high up there.
    For other girls, just ranking means something to them, and we can’t discount that either. Tanabe Miku, anyone?
    I really, hope people understand that, yes, management has their eyes on certain members they want to push, and for very good reasons, but that doesn’t mean the ones who rank in the upper areas of the Sousenkyo positions can’t benefit either. It’s all relative to how you look at what the Sousenkyo is and can mean for the AKB group.