Kakizaki Memi -- Vampire Princess

Kakizaki Memi, 14, has clearly been designated by management as the presumptive centre in Hiragana Keyaki.

Last week, I translated an interview with her. This week I'll give some of my own observations, gathered mainly from her Showroom sessions and from members' blogs.

I'm calling her the "Vampire Princess." In a good way.

The "vampire" comes from her sharp incisors (photo below), and the "princess" from her oddly commanding cuteness, which seems to get older members to fawn on her and do her bidding.

The first example was Katou Shiho (18), with whom she has taken the most photos. Katoshi talks about feeling "Kakizaki loss" when Memi is not around. And we have a photo of her lying on Memi's lap.

Next came Sasaki Kumi (20), who wrote a post about Memi wheedling her into going out in the middle of a rainstorm, and how much she ended up enjoying going round secondhand clothing shops with her.

She seems a bit of a dangerous character. I'm sure her father thinks so, after last week's Keyakitte, Kakenai? TV show, which featured Hiragana Keyaki. Asked about her "rebellious phase," Memi said it was when she told her father that she hated him -- and that the phase was right now. She said her father stroked her cheek all the time, and said her name over and over for no reason.


Co-host Sawabe Yuu rescued the situation by saying Memi should forgive him, since all fathers are tactless and gauche. Memi didn't seem convinced.

Neru seems more nervous than Memi, lol

And Memi seems not at all awed by the older members around her. She called the older Hiraganas "flighty" in that interview. She seems to enjoy spending time with Katoshi and Kumi. And she is perfectly at ease calling Neru (18) "Neru-chan" (as Neru has asked).

Memi was obviously nervous in her first couple of Showroom auditions, but she got more confident with the situation as time went on. And since she was chosen, and especially since she has been appearing as part of Hiragana Keyaki, she seems to be swelling with confidence and pride.

She herself says she can't sing or dance that well, but her dancing in the one clip we've seen is at least okay. And despite saying she wants to be Keyakizaka's "French doll," she is also one of the fastest runners in her school, and is not at all a tiny person.

So: cute, selfish, charming, friendly, confident, demanding, a bit harsh. 2channel has decided she is S, not M. And as secretary of her school's student council, she is apparently capable and dependable as well.

A couple of stories from blogs:

Yesterday, Memi wrote about the birthday gathering the Hiraganas had for Neru. She said that after the cake, "Neru-chan" had a chocolate in her mouth and was so cute that Memi had to take a picture.  But, she said, she won't show it to us: it's so cute that she is going to keep it as her own personal treasure.

And a week or so ago, when a typhoon was dumping rain on Tokyo, Kumi wrote that Memi wheedled her into going out against her will. They spent time cruising secondhand clothing shops and Kumi said that in the end, she had a great time:

"Tsuntsun Memi avoiding me.'

"Memi soaked from the typhoon."

More photos:

Sharp teeth. Someone on 2channel said they should be straightened. Ridiculous!
Memi should show them more. I'm sure she will, at least figuratively.

 

With Katou Shiho

Katoshi on Memi's lap

With Kumi

With the capable Kageyama Yuuka, who is seven months older. Which is the queen and which the subject?
They both have big futures.

With Aoi-chan, who is about a year and a half older than Memi. Hirate is six months older than Memi.