Sasshi has won, once again!
As a fan, this is my 6th Sousenkyo that I have been able to experience. I became a fan right when River had come out so I missed out in Iiwake Maybe (which remains one of my favourite singles) I don't recall there being a live stream for the 2nd Sousenkyo so I stayed in an AKB48 chat in the dark on my little laptop in the middle of night as the anticipation between Atsuko and Yuko increased, as to who would be the winner. Of course, Yuko won and Heavy Rotation was born.
As for the last couple of years, the sousenkyo has been a bit of a toss up. Sashihara won very surprisingly two years ago as people were saying the initial preliminaries were a fluke. She had been a member that had seen an increase throughout the years but for center after her scandal? No way...? But alas, she had actually won that year. Last year, many were wondering if she could live up to her Sousenkyo title but she was dethroned by Mayu. Unfortunately for Mayu, she got stuck with Koisuru Fortune Cookie pt 2 and wasn't able to replicate the success of Sasshi's single. (Though I actually did like Kokoro no Placard and covered the JKT version of it!)
This year was the year that I feel that three girls especially stood a chance of gaining the throne. Sashihara, Mayu and Yuki. Yuki has always been a dark horse but maybe this was her year to shine. After the prelimanaries showed her in second place, many were excited that it could be the year that she take the top. I even predicted that Yuki may win this year. My predictions put Yuki, Mayu and Sashi in that order.
Well, of course Sashihara would prove them all wrong. She not only won but crushed them with her votes. An impressive nearly 200k vote count almost 30,000 votes ahead of both Mayu and Yuki showed that she really deserved to win this year. Sashihara has always been one of my favourites and though she may not be the more orthodox idol, she has always managed to be an entertaining one to watch. Yuki and Mayu took their defeat very graciously and it is admirable that they were truly good "losers" in this year's Sousenkyo battle.
For the actual night itself, I was actually pretty sick feeling so I had managed to watch the beginning of the live stream for the concert but went to bed when the actual event was starting. I woke up around 7-8am when the top 10 were being announced and got up and figured I wanted to be there to watch it. I didn't want to miss a year of Sousenkyo! Unfortunately, it was very laggy when I watched so I was spoiled by chat/twitter comments. (Only a couple of minutes ahead of time, but still a spoil regardless!)
I'm glad I got to see Jurina rank even if it was at a disappointing 5 for her. She aims so high and her determination is admirable but I can see how it could turn some off. She is always striving for more. She wants to prove that she deserves to be center. Most fans of hers, including me, would like her to relax a little bit more but that is just simply not in her vocabulary. She is hard working and I am sure she will meet her goals, in time.
If anyone could beat Jurina, I am glad it was Takamina. Takamina, one of the first members I noticed in AKB48 and the first girl I really grew to love from the group. When she announced her graduation, it wasn't surprising but it was still very sad. She is definitely the heart of AKB and nobody can replace what she is to it. I am glad she ranked at 4th and reached her best. She deserved it. I am glad that Acchan showed up for her, two of my favourite girls.
I was actually partially asleep for Paru's ranking but I was sad to see her drop and I know she was sad by it as well. I really thought she would make kami 7 this year but Sakura and Sae managed to overtake her. Paru is one of my favourite members and though her chara isn't for everyone, I do enjoy it a lot. It is disappointing to see her rank drop and I hope she continues to climb in the rankings next year.
Anyways!
I could talk a lot about the rankings but I feel like I shared enough of my thoughts about it. Sousenkyo is an exciting time and it is the AKB event to look forward to in the year. I look forward to Sasshi's single and hope it's just as great as Koisuru Fortune Cookie (but please, no more fortune cookie clones!)
