Hi people! I hope that you all had a wonderful christmas, I sure did! So now I’m back with an entry I had promised a while ago, about the little Kikuchi Ayaka rehiring situation. The name of this entry also happens to be the title of Team A’s latest stage, and also a unit song (featuring Takamina, Miichan and Myao), but the reason why it caught my eye is because it reminds me a lot of Ayarin and what she’s gone through. The translation was taken from Stage48, and belongs to Gideon, who kindly translated it because he is awesome

Kikuchi Ayaka, aka. Ayarin, was a popular Team B member who became even more popular because of the controversy surrounding her firing from AKB48 because she took a picture with her boyfriend and he posted it on his blog, making it very public. Since the first rule of idols might just be “Don’t date, and if you do, don’t get caught” it was a clear violation of said rule what made her go bye-bye. She had many fans who supported her, and even made a petition to Akimoto and signed it in order to keep her in the Team, but it was no use.

It’s been just over a year since we started dating…
None of our friends know since everyone’s always together

This part of the lyrics isn’t clearly related to Ayarin, since she had only been with her boyfriend for 2 months before the pic came out. But it’s sure interesting to put the second verse in context “None of our friends know” I wonder if the AKB girls who do have boyfriends (don’t panic, fanboys, I’m sure there are plenty out there :P) can tell their team mates about it, or if they have to keep it to themselves in fear that one of the others could be a snitch XD or rather, that she could be put in a compromising situation because of knowing about the other girl and her bf.

“Inside this circle, we have rules against love”
They make too much of a deal about this joke of a rule

This joke of a rule? I wonder if Akimoto is actually dismissing the rule as stupid (after all, he did marry an idol) or if he simply assumes that all girls (and Ayarin, in this case) might find it lame and ridiculous. “Inside this circle” implies a very tight group, just like idol groups are.

I love somebody somewhere
Even if I can’t do so at my own convenience
If it has to be let go,
It’s not real love
This is so against the rules

The “even if I can’t love somebody at my own convenience” line could imply that there’s always that yearning to find love, regardless of how sheltered this girls are, they still want it, like any other person would. But what really catches my eye in this chorus is the “If it has to be let go, it’s not real love” part. I suppose that Ayarin has quit dating this guy after all this mess, or maybe she still sees him, but has denied it in order to get back in the group. Does Akimoto mean that if she walked away from this guy, it wasn’t even love in the first place? It’s a puzzling line, considering how making a choice between career and love is very complicated and kind of a sad position to be put in, in the first place.

Isn’t it lonely being single? I wanted to make it a secret
If I send out a mail on my cell phone, soon nothing but love comes back

Again, Akimoto aknowledges the fact that these girls feel lonely because they aren’t supposed to go out and date guys like their non-idol female friends do. And if they do, it has to be kept a secret, which in a way is still a lonely way of loving.

Unconsciously I’ve been charmed, and he’s become such an important person to me
I only have myself to blame – feel the strings of fate!

This lines could be interpreted as a bit of a guilt trip from the point of view of the girl, but since Akimoto was the one who wrote them, is he subtly trying to scold her in a way? She let herself be charmed by a guy who probably didn’t respect her enough to keep their relationship private, even though he knew that she was an idol and was probably aware of what was at stake if he posted that pic. Then again, in the last bit, there’s a reference to fate, which could be interpreted as an understanding of the girl, she’s 15, she’s probably bound to make mistakes like this as much as anyone else of this age.

I love somebody all the time
I can’t stop the affection
If there’s a boy,
There’s definitely something going on
A chemical reaction

The first two lines are very true when it comes to hormones when you’re a teen XD They’re just out of control, and you’ll be insanely in love with the most bizarre people just because of them, it’s an undeniable fact! But the last verses I like even more, because they could imply that Akimoto knows very well that girl+boy=trouble, regardless of whether the girl is an idol or not. “Chemical reaction” is a brilliant way to describe it indeed.

I love somebody somewhere
Even if I can’t do so at my own convenience
If it has to be let go,
It’s not real love
This is so against the rules
Romance’s fuse
Because I have to hide it,
Passion only builds up
It’s so likely to go off

We already went over the first 5 lines, and the most interesting ones are the final 4. If it has to be kept a secret, it’ll only make it more intense “it’s so likely to go off” it’s like a statement “This will happen sooner or later anyway”. Ayarin wasn’t admitted back in Team B (yet) but she’s a Kenkyuusei of the 7th generation. There are 19 more girls that were accepted with her, and a “Team Kenkyuusei” is about to be formed. I think that she’ll lead it wonderfully for a while, and after that, maybe she’ll be accepted back in her beloved Team B. I was never an Ayarin fan, but I respect her immensely for having the courage to enter another audition and be willing to start from the bottom despite having been a frontgirl of Team B. It shows true passion and professionalism. Kudos to her.

And I also really like the perception I get of Akimoto from the lyrics of this song, he knows that girls are bound to fall in love, and the “no date” rule only worsens it. Of course, this whole post is pure speculation and guess work, but I don’t think it strays too far from reality because, again, Akimoto married one of the Nyan nyans he produced back in the day. He knows stuff. And that’s a good thing for the girls.