Let me be clear from the start: I'm not an Atsuko Maeda ("Acchan") fan, nor do I particularly like Acchan. Not a big fan of her personality and character, especially when she becomes all "Yeah guys, I'm popular so I can't be stuffed doing anything".
But sometimes, you've got to take off your bias-tinted glasses. Each and every one of our personal opinions of her is insignificant and irrelevant when you look at the amount of effort she has put in for the group thus far.
The choice to select Acchan as the center all the way back in the early years of AKB48 might have been purely out of managerial whim, and not necessarily one that was dictated by fans (or even the "best" possible choice from an outside perspective - and that in itself is arguable). Nevertheless, management chose this soft-spoken, all-too-polite girl to be the face of AKB48, and from there, history speaks for itself.
Personal opinions of Acchan herself aside, the Acchan era was a story of grassroots growth and the road to success, punctuated by hardships along the way. Many an account has been told of the difficulties the group has faced in its early formative years, and even more have been conveyed about its eventual successes. AKB48, with Acchan right and center at the helm (and motivated by a short yet fierce (Minami) Takahashi), showed that it could thrust the long-standing "nice and genteel yet normal girl next door" idol concept right into the heart of the 21st century, especially during the height of the social media boom. With much value placed on networking and social interaction by many, AKB48 played to this game - indeed, such a notion was the foundation of its maxim.
Sure, Yuko might be the playful, light and cheery one. Heavy Rotation demonstrated this implicitly. But Acchan was always going to be the go-to person to bring in the masses with her gentle and polite yet stoic demeanour. You could even go further to suggest she was a reflective image of an idealised Japan, especially in challenging times - approachable, pretty (but not overly glamourous) but maintaining her cool under pressure. And true to the character she was, topping most popularity and celebrity rankings, and subsequently bringing AKB48 towards household name and national recognition. Just as it was equally a team effort that got them to where they are now, yet equally it is Acchan whose image was etched into the national mindset regarding all things AKB48.
She have might have her weaknesses. Even more so her detractors. I might consider myself one at times. But I absolutely cannot deny that Acchan has left with us a lasting legacy of someone who, like many of the members (especially the 1st/2nd-gen who have lived with her since the beginning of time), started out as a nobody, worked their way up the ladder, climbed the rocky, freezing mountains and finally ascended to the peaks above. A path marked not just by commercial success, fame and recognition all over, but also by sweat, tears and most importantly, love from those around her.
My personal journey into the world of AKB48 certainly didn't start off with Acchan. And it certainly won't end with her. But along the way, her presence was unmissable, her heart and soul impenetrable by the pressures she faced day in, day out. She may not be the cutest, the prettiest, the funniest, the most awesome in my book. Yet I will certainly remember her as one of the most hard-working, stoic, image girls AKB48 will have ever seen, steering and representing the group through risk and reaping the rewards of effort.
As the curtains closed tonight, as the members said their goodbyes, as the thousands of cherry blossoms fell - each marked by messages from fans the world over - and Sakura no Hanabiratachi resonated throughout the theater one last time, an important chapter in AKB48's history has now closed and a page has turned over.
Emotional as it was, nevertheless, in true Acchan fashion, she calmly and stoically walked off. Stage left. Just as she has done in the past in this theater many times during the past seven years. But this time, for good, and alone, riding off into the sunset of a new dawn; her fellow friends cheering and motivating her on to continue walking down her own road. Indeed, as much as it is an ending of sorts for AKB48, it is really just the start of a new era for Acchan.
27th August 2012. ~8:55pm JST. Atsuko Maeda has graduated from AKB48.
Thank you for all the blood, sweat, tears and love that you have put in not just for yourself, but for the entire 48 family and everyone else who has an interest in it.
お疲れ様でした。ありがとう。さよなら。'Till we meet again.
Long live Atsuko Maeda.
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