i'm so glad you liked this one!! it's definitely very emotional. i'll give you some context for the song and the group below (VERY long comment incoming): as you know, this is sakurazaka46 back when they were still known as keyakizaka46. keyakizaka debuted back in 2015, and disbanded/rebranded into sakurazaka in 2020. back during their keyakizaka era, they had a centre called techi (the short haired girl with the red flowers in this mv). she debuted at only 14 years old, and was seen as a genius and became popular very very quickly. techi was the centre for every single mv keyakizaka ever made, all the way from debut to disbandment. i'm serious. EVERY. SINGLE. MV. keyakizaka essentially modeled itself off of techi, and everything the group did revolved around her image and performance. this sidelined the other members to an extent, but also put an ENORMOUS amount of pressure on techi. it drove her to a very dark place, and throughout her career as an idol, techi was constantly very mentally and physically unwell. she often took time off from the group due to health reasons, and was pretty much a walking corpse near the end of her career. this wasn't helped by the fact that very early into her career in 2017, a fan attempted to murder techi, bringing an explosive device and a knife to a handshake event and rushing her. thankfully, he was stopped before he could do much, but she was only 15 at the time, and it was very traumatizing. due to her own mental state and everything going on in her life, techi was visibly extremely depressed, and this was reflected in keyakizaka's music and mvs. although (as you know) sakurazaka deals with emotional topics, keyakizaka did this to a much more extreme extent. they dove into very topical and serious issues in their songs. these topics included suicide, self-harm, mental illness, bullying, assault, and much more. this was very liberating and comforting for a lot of fans like myself, and was very unique to see in a more "mainstream" idol group. this song, kuroi hitsuji, is a great example of this (although it's also their final example). this was the final full single keyakizaka ever released, and the final single before techi left the group. the song, as you noted, means "black sheep", and there's been a lot of interpretations about what it means. the general consensus (based on the lyrics and mv) seems to be that the song discusses marginalized people pushed to the edge of society, as well as the consequences of that (specifically suicide). this single (understandably) took a lot out of techi, and the final scene in the mv where she walks away from the group and collapses actually wasn't acting. in behind the scenes footage, you can see that after they cut the cameras she has a mental breakdown and keeps sobbing, and the other members have to rush up to hold her and comfort her. it's a very harrowing clip to watch. the single released in 2019, and they had a tokyo dome performance the same year, which as also techi's final concert. one year later in january 2020, techi left the group. no graduation. no build up. she just left. no one could really blame her, but it left the group in shambles because the entire group up until that point revolved around her image and performance. several other members left alongside her, and the remaining members released one final song with no centre called "dare ga sono kane o narasu no ka?" that they performed during their final concert in july 2020 (it was an online-only concert for covid reasons). their final song was very emotional, and i think it encapsulated the group's feelings well after everything they've been through. i'd recommend watching it if you ever have time. after that, the members who chose to stay rebranded into sakurazaka46, and released their first single called "nobody's fault", which as you can tell from the title, dealt with their feelings regarding everything, as well as their plans to move forward. there's actually a documentary about keyakizaka if you're ever curious to know more about what went down, but that's enough on that for now haha cause this comment got VERY long. there's just so much to talk about! i guess i'll throw in some positive news to round things up a bit before i end it: techi actually started a solo career after leaving, although she's still fairly reclusive, and has only released two songs since then. she's been acting and modelling fairly frequently though, which is great cause as you noted, she's a very talented actor! she actually won the newcomer award at the japanese academy film prize for her role in hibiki. she also seems to be a bit happier these days, so it's nice to see. anyways, i really hope you react to more of their music and mvs from when they were keyakizaka46. despite everything, some really wonderful art came out of that group, and they spoke up on a lot of issues that other mainstream idol groups never would've touched on. also, they have some REALLY good live performances! they get very emotional on stage, and their acting is phenomenal. if you're curious, you could start by watching their live performance of kuroi hitsuji at their 3rd anniversary live. i won't link it cause youtube hates links, so i'll just give you the title to search for an upload on youtube: [Eng Sub] Keyakizaka46 (欅坂46) - Kuroi Hitsuji (黒い羊) but feel free to check out any of their other mvs or performances! they're seriously a goldmine of content. same goes for sakurazaka. these girls have been through a lot, but they still choose to keep fighting and perform with all they've got, while still remembering and honoring the feelings of the members they left behind.
This... is a crazy and a very sad story. I can 100% see why Techi seemed so natural playing this role in the MV. I can't even imagine being pushed that far at that young of an age, huge respect to her for persevering for that long. Obviously from what you've said I really don't think anyone can blame her for just quitting, there is nothing more important that personal health after all. I am really happy to hear that she seems to be doing a lot better nowadays, even from the little that I saw from her in this song, I can tell that she is really talented. I will check out more from both Keyakizaka and Sakurazaka for sure, thank you for all of the info, this is extremely helpful and informative. These kinds of comments make me appreciate the topic so much more - this community has been incredbile so thanks once again!
it's actually seed and flower (management) fault or Akimoto Yasushi (producer), they pushed techi to become center and not allowed another member become center 😭
keyakizaka is masterpiece 👑, i think sakurazaka become more like common group, most lyrics is talk about love and they have same feminine/elegant vibes with nogizaka46 🥲
Just so you know, it isn't only the center girl that has left. There were 17 girls in this song, and only 3 are left (the girl who was cutting her wrists in the bathtub in this video, she now has blonde/pink hair, and is on hiatus due to health issues, and 2 other girls), which makes sense I guess since it has been more than 5 years since this song was released. The last girl to leave is the one who appears here in a school uniform and is bullied at the start of the video, so "Ikutsu no koro ni modoritai no ka", the Sakurazaka song you reacted to was the first one without any Keyaki members (the 2nd generation members actually joined right before kuroi hitsuji, but they did not participate in any Keyaki singles with the exception of one digital single).
The choreographer for Keyakizaka46 and Sakurazaka46 is TAKAHIRO, who used to be a back dancer for Madonna. Their dance performances are distinct from those of ABK46 and other idol groups, as they incorporate elements of contemporary dance, making them highly individualistic. I recommend "eccentric." KEYAKIZAKA46 ruclips.net/video/OcH40Ja1tic/видео.htmlsi=KkKIUuV9zxGZ9l74 I was casually watching a TV program when I saw this dance performance and was shocked. It's incredible to see a cute idol group performing such an eccentric and unique dance. Choreographer TAKAHIRO is amazing for having the idols perform this kind of dance.
yep, this song also reminds me with green flash akb48, so i try to listen this song and turns out i really like it. Looks like we have the same taste of music
i'm so glad you liked this one!! it's definitely very emotional. i'll give you some context for the song and the group below (VERY long comment incoming):
as you know, this is sakurazaka46 back when they were still known as keyakizaka46. keyakizaka debuted back in 2015, and disbanded/rebranded into sakurazaka in 2020. back during their keyakizaka era, they had a centre called techi (the short haired girl with the red flowers in this mv). she debuted at only 14 years old, and was seen as a genius and became popular very very quickly. techi was the centre for every single mv keyakizaka ever made, all the way from debut to disbandment. i'm serious. EVERY. SINGLE. MV.
keyakizaka essentially modeled itself off of techi, and everything the group did revolved around her image and performance. this sidelined the other members to an extent, but also put an ENORMOUS amount of pressure on techi. it drove her to a very dark place, and throughout her career as an idol, techi was constantly very mentally and physically unwell. she often took time off from the group due to health reasons, and was pretty much a walking corpse near the end of her career.
this wasn't helped by the fact that very early into her career in 2017, a fan attempted to murder techi, bringing an explosive device and a knife to a handshake event and rushing her. thankfully, he was stopped before he could do much, but she was only 15 at the time, and it was very traumatizing.
due to her own mental state and everything going on in her life, techi was visibly extremely depressed, and this was reflected in keyakizaka's music and mvs.
although (as you know) sakurazaka deals with emotional topics, keyakizaka did this to a much more extreme extent. they dove into very topical and serious issues in their songs. these topics included suicide, self-harm, mental illness, bullying, assault, and much more. this was very liberating and comforting for a lot of fans like myself, and was very unique to see in a more "mainstream" idol group.
this song, kuroi hitsuji, is a great example of this (although it's also their final example). this was the final full single keyakizaka ever released, and the final single before techi left the group. the song, as you noted, means "black sheep", and there's been a lot of interpretations about what it means. the general consensus (based on the lyrics and mv) seems to be that the song discusses marginalized people pushed to the edge of society, as well as the consequences of that (specifically suicide).
this single (understandably) took a lot out of techi, and the final scene in the mv where she walks away from the group and collapses actually wasn't acting. in behind the scenes footage, you can see that after they cut the cameras she has a mental breakdown and keeps sobbing, and the other members have to rush up to hold her and comfort her. it's a very harrowing clip to watch.
the single released in 2019, and they had a tokyo dome performance the same year, which as also techi's final concert. one year later in january 2020, techi left the group. no graduation. no build up. she just left. no one could really blame her, but it left the group in shambles because the entire group up until that point revolved around her image and performance. several other members left alongside her, and the remaining members released one final song with no centre called "dare ga sono kane o narasu no ka?" that they performed during their final concert in july 2020 (it was an online-only concert for covid reasons).
their final song was very emotional, and i think it encapsulated the group's feelings well after everything they've been through. i'd recommend watching it if you ever have time. after that, the members who chose to stay rebranded into sakurazaka46, and released their first single called "nobody's fault", which as you can tell from the title, dealt with their feelings regarding everything, as well as their plans to move forward.
there's actually a documentary about keyakizaka if you're ever curious to know more about what went down, but that's enough on that for now haha cause this comment got VERY long. there's just so much to talk about! i guess i'll throw in some positive news to round things up a bit before i end it:
techi actually started a solo career after leaving, although she's still fairly reclusive, and has only released two songs since then. she's been acting and modelling fairly frequently though, which is great cause as you noted, she's a very talented actor! she actually won the newcomer award at the japanese academy film prize for her role in hibiki. she also seems to be a bit happier these days, so it's nice to see.
anyways, i really hope you react to more of their music and mvs from when they were keyakizaka46. despite everything, some really wonderful art came out of that group, and they spoke up on a lot of issues that other mainstream idol groups never would've touched on.
also, they have some REALLY good live performances! they get very emotional on stage, and their acting is phenomenal. if you're curious, you could start by watching their live performance of kuroi hitsuji at their 3rd anniversary live. i won't link it cause youtube hates links, so i'll just give you the title to search for an upload on youtube: [Eng Sub] Keyakizaka46 (欅坂46) - Kuroi Hitsuji (黒い羊)
but feel free to check out any of their other mvs or performances! they're seriously a goldmine of content. same goes for sakurazaka. these girls have been through a lot, but they still choose to keep fighting and perform with all they've got, while still remembering and honoring the feelings of the members they left behind.
This... is a crazy and a very sad story. I can 100% see why Techi seemed so natural playing this role in the MV. I can't even imagine being pushed that far at that young of an age, huge respect to her for persevering for that long. Obviously from what you've said I really don't think anyone can blame her for just quitting, there is nothing more important that personal health after all.
I am really happy to hear that she seems to be doing a lot better nowadays, even from the little that I saw from her in this song, I can tell that she is really talented.
I will check out more from both Keyakizaka and Sakurazaka for sure, thank you for all of the info, this is extremely helpful and informative. These kinds of comments make me appreciate the topic so much more - this community has been incredbile so thanks once again!
it's actually seed and flower (management) fault or Akimoto Yasushi (producer), they pushed techi to become center and not allowed another member become center 😭
keyakizaka is masterpiece 👑, i think sakurazaka become more like common group, most lyrics is talk about love and they have same feminine/elegant vibes with nogizaka46 🥲
"Black Sheep" is an idiom that means "a member of a family or group who is regarded as a disgrace to it."
you must see the video of their peformance. I think, you'll cry. The lyrics's so deep
Thank you for reacting to the group. I recommend watching the documentary movie in your patron. It is an emotional rollercoaster!
Just so you know, it isn't only the center girl that has left. There were 17 girls in this song, and only 3 are left (the girl who was cutting her wrists in the bathtub in this video, she now has blonde/pink hair, and is on hiatus due to health issues, and 2 other girls), which makes sense I guess since it has been more than 5 years since this song was released. The last girl to leave is the one who appears here in a school uniform and is bullied at the start of the video, so "Ikutsu no koro ni modoritai no ka", the Sakurazaka song you reacted to was the first one without any Keyaki members (the 2nd generation members actually joined right before kuroi hitsuji, but they did not participate in any Keyaki singles with the exception of one digital single).
"its getting a bit emotional"? from the start... the lyrics are very emotional and hard breaking.
Thank you for reaction KEYAKIZAKA46
The choreographer for Keyakizaka46 and Sakurazaka46 is TAKAHIRO, who used to be a back dancer for Madonna. Their dance performances are distinct from those of ABK46 and other idol groups, as they incorporate elements of contemporary dance, making them highly individualistic.
I recommend "eccentric." KEYAKIZAKA46
ruclips.net/video/OcH40Ja1tic/видео.htmlsi=KkKIUuV9zxGZ9l74
I was casually watching a TV program when I saw this dance performance and was shocked. It's incredible to see a cute idol group performing such an eccentric and unique dance.
Choreographer TAKAHIRO is amazing for having the idols perform this kind of dance.
yep, this song also reminds me with green flash akb48, so i try to listen this song and turns out i really like it. Looks like we have the same taste of music