Selective Hearing Radio

The Selective Hearing staff gather to analyze the rankings in AKB48’s 49th Single Sousenkyo. The opinions expressed in this broadcast do not necessarily reflect those of the other Selective Hearing staff/contributors, our partners and/or affiliates. UPCOMING GIRLS Matsuoka Hana takes the title of Ms. Irrelevant. Guess we were wrong on that one. Who are you more sad about? Mogi diving hard or Tani Marika dropping again? FUTURE GIRLS Yamaguchi Maho, toothy but pretty girl. Those who know more about her, tell us her story. Oguri Yui ranks and she doesn’t like her nickname. So cute yes? After opting out last year Tanigawa returns to the land of the ranked members. Were you crying tears of joy? Tanaka Natsumi makes significant gains. Are you happier for her or for the other 2 members who made similar moves up the ladder? Kitagawa makes absolutely no movement this year. She looked pretty disappointed in her lack of anything. What are your thoughts? NEXT GIRLS UNDERGIRLS Oba Mina takes the coveted scandal ranking of #26. What will her second scandal be? Or will she just repeat what she did before? Mukaichi becomes the only senbatsu member from last year to rank down. Is it because she turned heel in Tofu Pro Wrestling or is there a more plausible reason for this downswing of momentum? Two members had large jumps in ranking from last year. Which one do you think deserved the mega push? The big event coming out of this ranking group was Sutou Ririka announcing her engagement to an unknown person. What was your reaction to this? Is she trolling or is it the real deal? How bad did you feel for Minegishi having to follow up that? SKE48’s resident senior citizen returns to the Undergirls. Is she fated to be Undergirls forever? SENBATSU Honma Hinata (NGT48 TEAM N3) Who? The only Honma known to most casuals is the one who does the Kokeshi in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Another 2 large leaps in ranks from Yoshida Akari and Ogino Yuka with the latter failing to make enough gains to take #1. Are you disappointed that Ogino’s fans were unable to keep her on top or is this more than respectable showing moving 90 places up in rank? Okay, admit it. Ogino Yuka made you cry with her speech about never giving up and living your dreams. Is she John Cena’s catch phrase in idol form? Shiroma Miru becomes the new Watanabe Miyuki. Do you see her moving up past #12 in the years to come (assuming she doesn’t graduate)? Did you celebrate for Yoshida Akari? Miyawaki Sakura does not generate enough votes to get past #4. Are you happy that she is stuck in limbo or sad she didn’t get higher? The top 3 remain the same this year as expected. Matsui Jurina seems to be entrenched in the forever third spot. Is she destined to stay here until she finally gives up and stops entering the election? Watanabe Mayu announces her graduation. How many fans do you think are done with AKB once she leaves? What do you think her future career will be? Actress? JAV? Both? Sashihara Rino breaks vote count records again. There is the assumption that she is throwing shade at Mayu after complimenting Jurina on her willingness to do battle again next year. Do you believe that is the case or are people reading way into things? What did you think of the awkward hug between Mayu & Sasshi. Did you secretly wish they just kissed? Should they just retire Sasshi’s senbatsu election jersey next year? She seems pretty unstoppable until she decides to not take part anymore. FINAL THOUGHTS What do you think was the biggest story coming out of this event? Outdoor portion gets rained out and AKS is forced to scramble to Plan B. Suto Ririka drops a bomb and announces she’s getting married Watanabe Mayu announces her graduation Sashihara Rino breaks vote count again