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The story
Nogizaka46’s Nakanishi Arno became a hot topic on 5ch after saying, “It feels like we get to appear on Kōhaku as a matter of course even without a hit song, and I feel sorry about that toward Juice=Juice.” Nogizaka has released numerous singles, but few could be called nationwide hits, whereas Juice=Juice is a group that has built a real track record drawing crowds, including a 3-day run at Tokyo Dome and 4 days at Jingu Stadium. On the thread, discussion ranged widely: some pointed out that Nogizaka’s name recognition was built by earlier generations of members, others argued that Kōhaku selection prioritizes popularity and ratings over actual hit songs, and still others weighed in on the differing fan bases of the “Sakamichi” groups versus Hello! Project.
What people said
What on earth is this guy even saying
Their presence in NHK taiga dramas is strong too (taiga = NHK's year-long historical drama slot)
That's the whole point — that name recognition belongs to the earlier generations.
I don't know anything about Nogizaka so I can't really weigh in, but did something happen with them this year?
Nogizaka has Inoue Nagi to thank
Inoue hasn't gone viral at all though.
Last year she said "Nogizaka right now is the strongest it's ever been" at a live show and got torn apart by longtime fans for it.
Now she's saying the exact opposite.
An influencer, basically.
• Kimi ni Shikarareta ("Scolded by You", 28th single)
• Suki to Iu no wa Rock da ze! ("Being in Love Is Rock!", 30th single)
• Monopoly (34th single, double center with Endō Sakura)
• Same Numbers (39th single)
• I see… (on the 25th single / a 4th-gen members' track)
• Manatsubi yo ("Midsummer Day", on the 39th single)
[Nogizaka did] 5 days at Yokohama Arena, 2 days at Nissan Stadium, and 2 days at Ajinomoto Stadium.
It'd be unbalanced anyway if every group just chased the same Gen-Z-friendly viral formula.
Sakurazaka's songs are way more edgy.
They're not chasing virality at all — the whole "rock" ethos is that it just needs to hit the people it's meant to hit.
Middle/high schoolers of both sexes? Popular guys with active social lives? "Low-status" men (slang for socially/romantically unsuccessful men)? Middle-aged guys?
1. Gender ratio
• Male: approx. 80–83%
• Female: approx. 17–20%
2. Age range / average age
• Average age: approx. 39.3 (per survey data such as Nikkei Trendy)
• Core demographic: working adults in their 30s–40s
3. Fan base traits and strengths
• High purchasing power and stability: Compared to idol groups centered on teens and twenty-somethings, Nogizaka's fan base skews toward working adults with more disposable income, so per-fan spending is said to be very high — buying multiple copies of CDs, traveling to shows, collecting goods and cheki (instant photos), etc.
• A culture of long-term support: In many cases fans who've followed the group since its early days keep cheering even as they age, so venues tend to have a fairly wide mix of ages, from younger fans to middle-aged and older ones.
Ever since Maimi's otaku jumped ship to Nogizaka 6th-gen member Ōkoshi Hinano, they've driven up the average age of Nogizaka fans. Sorry about that.
They did play the Dome this year.
no wonder people say they're dragging down the level of Japanese idols.
Hello! Project isn't exactly all that either.
That achievement will go down in history.
Funny how it worked out well even though nobody really gets Sakamichi culture.
That's Nogizaka's real sin right there.
That's just because they couldn't get into Nogizaka.
It's your own life that's cursed.
No wonder you're miserable.
You need popularity to get a lot of people watching though.
Among YouTubers, only someone at Hikakin's level could pull off a Dome live anyway,
and Hikakin's actually appeared on music shows too.
Their otaku can barely spend money supporting their idols but still act all high and mighty about it.
That image has really stuck, huh.
They should take a page from AKB, who sold 800,000 copies without even flexing about it.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
It’s long been said that NHK’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen selects performers based not just on whether a group had a hit that year, but also on buzzworthiness and contribution to ratings — meaning Sakamichi-series groups are often said to be chosen for “name recognition as a group” rather than for “a hit song.” Meanwhile, Hello! Project groups including Juice=Juice have built up a track record of performances at major venues like Tokyo Dome and Nissan Stadium. Nakanishi Arno’s remark this time brought into focus the contrast between these two different lineages: the “name-recognition type” Sakamichi groups and the “proven box-office type” Hello! Project. Specific figures on Nogizaka’s fan demographics (age, gender ratio) came up in the thread, but since no source was cited for them — and posts asserting that Kōhaku selection involves “collusion” likewise offered no supporting evidence — this article did not adopt those claims.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Nogizaka’s Nakanishi Arno: “I feel sorry toward Juice=Juice that we get to appear on Kōhaku as if it’s natural, even without a hit song”.”
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