The New Generation: Who should be pushed in the 48-groups?
Since the Senbatsu Sousenkyo just took place, I thought that an appropriate first post would be about who should be the next generation of the 48-groups.
Just to be clear, I'm going to call any member after AKB's 1st Draft a "new generation" member because let's be honest, even saying that members who have been in the group for three+ years is pushing it. (I am including HKT’s 3rd generation members in the new generation because they’re all very young).
Without further ado, below is my opinion of who should be pushed in AKB's next few years.
Kubo Satone
AKB48 Kenkyuusei (Team K)
2nd Draft
Last Senbatsu Rank: 47
Satone was included in AKB48's 48th Single Negaigoto no Mochigusare senbatsu, but this was her first senbatsu selection since she joined the group in the 2nd draft. Despite having very little push, she does relatively well in handshake sales and ranked 47th in the 49th Single Senbatsu Sousenkyo. Satone is really young, which means that she has a lot of time to gain experience in the group. However, Satone's age is a double edged sword.In the past, members like Takajo Aki were popular when they were younger, but got less and less popular over the years. I believe that management can prevent this in Satone's case by pushing her more so she can gain mainstream popularity.
Oguri Yui
AKB48 Team 8
Tokyo Representative
Last Senbatsu Rank: 51
There isn't a 48-group fan today who doesn't know Oguri Yui. She's already been put on track for gori-push treatment similar to Kojima Mako. That being said, her push right now is less than Mako's ever was, and it resulted from her very high handshake sales instead of an arbitrary management decision. If anything, Yui's push was overdue. She really shined in the Sousenkyo, proving that management's investment was worth it. Right now, I think Yui is in the same position as Mukaichi Mion was before she centered Tsubasa wa Iranai: both members were pushed and ranked in the elections, have high handshake sales, and have been very well received by fans. Thus, I really think Yui should center a single before the next Sousenkyo.
Tanaka Miku
HKT48 Team H
HKT48 3rd Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 28
Yabuki Nako
HKT48 Team H
HKT48 3rd Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 37
In this year's Sousenkyo, Nako really dropped and Miku really rose. Even so, I don't think that one should be more pushed than the other. The two complement each other really well. In fact, they remind me of Mayuki. They will really do well as a friend/rival duo and should W-Center an HKT48 single sometime soon.
Ogino Yuka
NGT48 Team NIII
NGT48 1st Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 5
Wow. Ranking 5th in your second Sousenkyo is nothing small. Ogino Yuka clearly has a dedicated group of fans (or fan) and should be in the front line of both NGT and AKB's senbatsu selections. Although I don't think she should be an "absolute center" like Acchan or Jurina, she should get a chance to center one or two selected singles in her career.
Honma Hinata
NGT48 Team NIII
NGT48 1st Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 13
Again, wow. I think Hinata should be pushed similarly to Yuka, except that Hinata should center more often. The reason I say this is because Hinata is very talented and an orthodox idol. I really think that she's better center material than any of NGT's past centers, but I am biased of course.
Goto Rara
SKE48 Team E
SKE48 7th Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 46
Obata Yuna
SKE48 Team KII
SKE48 7th Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 72
Luckily, management has already started to push both of these members. Rara's push was already successful in the Sousenkyo, where she outranked Kitagawa Ryoha, who was once pushed more than Rara. Yuna also ranked in (the announcement that she would be center probably helped) without ever being included in SKE's Senbatsu selections. These two show a lot of promise and are probably the next big faces in SKE. As an ex-Matsui Rena oshi, it's nice to see that SKE is not totally doomed after Rena's graduation.
Yamamoto Ayaka
NMB48 Team N
NMB48 5th Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: Unranked
Like Rara/Yuna, Ayaka is already being pushed by management. Actually, I have to say that NMB48 is pretty set in terms of younger members (Shiroma Miru, Ota Yuuri, Yoshida Akari, Shibuya Nagisa, etc.), and Ayaka only adds to that list. The main reason that I included Ayaka on this list is to make a point about NMB's fans: they're really receptive to who is pushed. Ayaka is one example, but the other big one is Sutou Ririka. Yes, she was controversial when she was made center out of nowhere, and yes she has become controversial yet again, but she was considered one of NMB's next aces for a while. NMB management should start pushing younger members, like they have with Ayaka and more recently like Hori Shion. There are only a few big NMB pushes that failed, and they were at the beginning of the group's career, so nothing is lost in gori-pushes!
Toyonaga Aki
HKT48 Kenkyuusei
HKT48 4th Generation
Last Senbatsu Rank: 79
She ranked in her first Sousenkyo. She sold out all slots in a handshake event. As icing on the cake, she's very talented. For those reasons, I'm glad that Aki will be included in HKT's 10th single. It's easy to see that she's going places and she needs to be pushed and recognized.