On Surveys

I'm a bit bored during busy season looking at business' financials all day, so I've decided to give this survey thing (which has been circularising around in the fandom lately) a shot. 

About You
What is your url? Do you have any nicknames?

My blog (i.e. the one you are reading now): http://themhcc.blogspot.com
My Tumblr: http://mhcc27.tumblr.com/ - I don't post anything there though so don't bother. Primarily used to follow other people's Tumblr blogs.
My Twitter: @mhcc27

(Not revealing my Facebook here as that's a bit too personal, although some of you could easily find me if you wanted to...)

I'm generally known as chewybacca (nearly) everywhere in this fandom. 

Gender: 
Male

Your 48-related talents/contributions (drawing, writing, debate, appreciating idols, liveblogging, etc)
I generally like to write lengthy opinion articles on various topics of interest in this fandom and on a broader scale concerning Japanese and Asian popular culture. I also like to play with numbers and statistics "for fun", for e.g. handshake slot sellout numbers, election votes, etc.

How long have you been in the fandom?
2.5 years. 

Favourites

Oshimen?
Kami oshi: Akari Suda (SKE48)
Oshi: Mayu Watanabe (AKB48), Miyuki Watanabe (NMB48), Chiyori Nakanishi (HKT48).

I've elaborated why for each of them in depth already, so I won't repeat myself here.

Sister group? Would you say you like them more than AKB? Why/not?
Honestly, I'm focusing more of my fandom energy on SKE48. Do I like them more than AKB48? Well, yes. My (kami-)oshi is there - that's partly a valid reason, is it not? Although these days, I just find them more quirky, full of character, a wider range of personalities and energy than more than half of AKB48 right now. Dare I say it, more "homey-looking" too.

Graduated member?
I don't have a particularly favoured graduated member, but if I had to pick one, ye olde Katsuo (aka. Mizuki Kuwabara) would be close.

48 Drama?
None. They're all flawed in some aspect which makes it incredibly difficult to pick one.

48 TV Show?
Believe it or not, I still catch up with AKBINGO every week. I also do go with the sister group varieties/light serials (SKE48 no Magical Radio, NMB48 Geinin, Hakata Hyakkaten) but they're all discontinued now.

Singing voice?
Used to be Yuttan (Yuka Masuda), but she's gone now. Takamina's (Minami Takahashi) everyone's favorite, but although she has the depth, she can go quite flat at times. A toss-up between Wasamin (Misaki Iwasa) and Airin (Airi Furukawa) for me, personally.

Fashion sense?
I can't say whose fashion sense is my favorite. Although let me say this: Takamina, Sae (Miyazawa), Churi (Akane Takayanagi) (to name a few) has some of the strangest fashion choices I've seen by any measurable standard. Funnily enough, Akarin (SKE48, duh) has the closest fashion sense to, of all people, mine.

Top 5's
Current Senbatsu Members?
"Senbatsu" needs to be more strictly defined. There's AKB48 senbatsu, which everyone knows, but there's also SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, Nogizaka46, JKT48's individual "senbatsu members" too. For the purposes of this question and the next, I'm going to go for the common standard, i.e. "AKB48 singles senbatsu", and the normal (non-election) current ones at that. 

In order: Mayu Watanabe, Rena Matsui, Miyuki Watanabe, Yuki Kashiwagi, Minami Takahashi

Current Non-senbatsu members?
In order: Akari Suda, Nanako Suga, Airi Furukawa, Yuria Kizaki, Akane Takayanagi

(okay, that just looks like a stock standard choice out of the SKE48 "senbatsu" lineup. Let's try this again...)

In no particular order: Mieko Sato, Momoka Kinoshita, Miki Nishino, Nao Furuhata, Anna Ishida

Single Songs?
In no particular order: UZA, Beginner, Choco no Dorei, RIVER, Aishiteraburu!

Stage songs?
In no particular order: Renai Kinshi Jourei, Dear my teacher, Rakuen no Kaidan, Saka Agari, Omoide Ijou

Outfits?
I have no opinion on 48 Group costumes.

Most beautiful members?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if you must: I'm going to break it down into "hot/pretty" and "cute", as "beautiful" is way too broad a descriptor that I rarely use.

Hot & pretty (in no particular order): Momona Kito, Aki Takajo, Akari Suda, Anna Ishida, Manatsu Mukaida

Cute (in no particular order): Mayu Watanabe, Aoi Motomura, Miki Nishino, Akari Suda (that's intentional), Nanako Suga

Funniest members?
In no particular order: Chiyori Nakanishi, Miyuki Watanabe, Sayaka Yamamoto, Mayu Ogasawara, Momoka Kinoshita

(if we were to include grad'd members too, then Mizuki Kuwabara is an instant shoe-in for this category)

Interesting members?
They're all interesting in their own ways. Not sure what's the point of this question.

Under-appreciated members?
Virtually all of 13th and 14th-gen AKB48 Kenkyuusei. Go watch a theatre performance and you'll see what I mean. Some of the current 5th-gen (and even 6th) SKE48 Kenkyuusei fit this description too.

From "full team" members, I definitely think Mieko Sato, Mai Takeuchi, Haruka Wakatabe, Madoka Umemoto, Sayaka Niidoi (the latter two until now) are a bit under-appreciated given their character and quirks.

Oshimen
What is your favourite thing about your oshimen (appearance)?
See link.

What is your favourite thing about your oshimen (non-appearance)?
See link.

Why is your oshimen your oshimen over any of the other girls?
See link.

Experience
What got you into the 48-family?
See link here and here.

Do you own any 48 merchandise? If so, what was your first? If not, why not?
This feels like a "how large is your... (yeah, use your imagination and fill in the rest)" question. Let's just say I've bought various 48 merchandise ranging from disc media of all types to books, magazines as well as various items of clothing. Exactly how much, let alone in dollar values, I'd rather not disclose.

Have you met any members? If so, talk about an experience you had with them. If not, who would you like to meet?
See here (handshake event) and here (2-shot event). I've also met Reinyan and Mariyanuu in Hong Kong once.
Apart from what I already mentioned, I'd still like to meet quite a few SKE48 members e.g. Nannan (Nanako Suga), Annya (Anna Ishida), Mikichan (Miki Nishino) and Rena Matsui (no, a casual look from an adjacent HS lane does not count).

Have you voted in the election before?
Yes, since Everyday, Kachuusha.

Have you ever stayed up late to watch a livestream? If you have watched multiple ones, which was your favourite?
Since I live in a timezone that doesn't have that much of a time difference to Japan, "staying up late" doesn't exactly apply in my situation. Nevertheless, unfortunately, all the past livestreams have been at inconvenient times but I've watched all of them post-livestream. Or at least the latter half live. Favorite? Has to be this year's one by far.

Opinions
Have you ever oshihened (switched oshimens)? How do you feel about those that oshihen?
Clearly I have oshihened. Part of the reason why has been explained already. I used to strongly dislike the notion of "oshihening". But in hindsight, I guess it's a natural part of fandom life; it's not like I've ditched any of  my previous oshimen completely and it's definitely not like I'm going to marry any of them in the future either (however much I would with my oshi... yeah, never mind).

How do you feel about the election?
Personally? I don't particularly "love it", but I don't "hate" it either. But it's what makes the 48 Group unique, so it has its place in the 48 Group world. It's become so much of an annual tradition though, that ditching it would be a little surreal (although given the state of play, especially considering the voluntary opting-out option, the relevance of elections may eventually be resigned to the history books).

How do you feel about 48-management?
They've made some eyebrow-raising decisions at times, so they're not perfect, but at least they're trying their best to balance the needs of the members, the fans and their other stakeholders. I think the fandom, especially the overseas one (I'm particularly looking at you, SKE48 fans), really needs to appreciate their effort more. All too often I still see a lavish heap of disdain dished out on their poor hapless souls, when really they're just trying to make things work for everyone involved. But obviously, you can't please everyone 100% of the time. The decisions that they make are, by and large (with a few exceptions), what is necessary for the group to flourish, and most of the time fans are happy with the outcome long-term.

If you were management what is one thing you would do differently?
Without knowing exactly what the current operational and managerial environment looks like behind the public eye, it's hard to say. But having a look at the (Yasushi Akimoto) documentary makes me feel for some of those staff members working overtime way past midnight, due to incredibly tight deadlines, for e.g. the filming is next day, yet they haven't even worked out the dance choreography. Project timing and resourcing seriously needs to be looked into, I reckon.

How do you feel about the no-dating rule?
Generally speaking, necessary. Mention any of the following words & phrases in relation to this question though and you are completely missing the point: "feminism", "women's rights", "employment rights", "sexual desire".

Which member(s) do you feel deserve(s) more attention/push/appreciation?
I thought I already partially answered this question above. Although I feel in terms of the wider 48 Group context, some of the SKE48 members (Akarin being one of them, despite her election success) deserve far more attention than they are getting right now.

Do you ship? If so, what is your top 3 OTPs? If not, why not?
I'm not an "active shipper", nor do I necessarily subscribe to the "OTP" theory, but I do recognise a few ships. If I had to name a few top so-called "OTPs", then it'd have to be

• Rena Matsui x Airi Furukawa 
• Mayu Watanabe x Yuki Kashiwagi
• Nanako Suga x Nao Furuhata (c'mon, you know those two are just being tsundere for each other...!) 

If you were to make a sub-unit, who would be in it and what would the theme be?
I thought sub-units were dead. In any case, if I really wanted to make one:
I'm going to be slightly unoriginal and combine the three renowned fishers* together into one sub-unit.

*Unless you've been living under a rock, you should know who they are by now. 

Why do you think AKB has done so well?
Too many factors to list: loads of character and different characters, emphasis on freshness (although some feel that's debatable), million sellers getting media attention, uniqueness and different music styles/PVs, the accessibility of members (through handshake events, etc.)... the list goes on.

Which graduation has hurt you the most?
None have "hurt" me so far, but SKE48's 9-member-at-once graduation was a little costly, emotionally speaking, considering that I was just about to be more interested in some of them.

Who are you most excited for in the future?
My oshi, who else? Her popularity's growing steadily, and getting media senbatsu in the election will be a significant boost to her efforts at gaining greater attention... as if she isn't already!

"Hard work will be rewarded." Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
Yes, but effort will only get you so far. The world is all about knowing the right people, getting the right jobs, presenting the right image, shaping yourself to be favoured by as many as possible. The 48 Group is no different. I don't necessarily believe that "a place in senbatsu" is necessarily a "reward" for every member either. Some might strive for achievement in other areas that isn't a senbatsu rank or placement, which is why we're seeing an up-tick in graduates recently. Only you yourself will know what you want your ideal "reward" to be, and not dictated by media, public expectation or even fans.

Who would you like to win the next election?
Mayu. She has the best chance so far, assuming Yuko graduates and Sasshi doesn't come and steal the thunder next year - again.

Fandom
What really makes your blood boil in this fandom?
Life shouldn't be all antagonistic. Neither should the fandom. Having said that, I've already expressed my concerns before here, and even then it's not really something that "makes my blood boil" either.
The behaviour of some SKE48 fans (Japanese and overseas) is also a bit of a concern too.

What is your favourite thing about this fandom?
The diverse community sharing the same devotion to their oshi, and to the group/s in general. Especially those who share the same oshi as you do. Why else would you want to participate?

Name 3 great people in this fandom. Why them?
Yes, I'm aware of the the "revered" original Japanese wota since AKB48's inception - they could well be considered "great" but I'm not one to judge that. Although I suspect this question is more targeting towards the international side of things, in which case none. Not that everyone else sucks, but I do believe in diversity and equality.