Wikipedia

Sakamichi Series

Sakamichi Series (Japanese: 坂道シリーズ, "Sloping Roads Series") refers to a Japanese idol group franchise that began with Nogizaka46, an "official" rival group of AKB48. It currently consists of four groups: Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, Hinatazaka46, and Yoshimotozaka46. Despite the name, the groups are not required to have exactly 46 members. Except for Yoshimotozaka46, all the groups were named after real streets in Minato, Tokyo and have all-female memberships.

Sakamichi Series
Background information
OriginJapan
GenresJ-pop
Years active2011–present
LabelsSony
Members

History

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The first group, Nogizaka46, was formed on August 22, 2011 with 36 members and released their debut single "Guruguru Curtain" on February 22, 2012.

The second group, and Nogizaka46's first sister group, Keyakizaka46, was created on August 21, 2015 with 22 members. It was initially named Toriizaka46 before it was changed for unspecified reasons.[1][2] They released their first single "Silent Majority" on April 6, 2016. A subgroup named Hiragana Keyakizaka46 was created shortly after with 12 members.

On February 21, 2018, Yoshimotozaka46 was announced as the third group in the franchise[3] and 46 members passed the final audition on August 20.[4] Unlike the other groups, it has both male and female members of various ages and most members are comedians affiliated with the Osaka-based talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, which also manages the idol group NMB48 and the Produce 101 Japan group JO1. They released their first single, "Nakasete Kure yo", on December 26, 2018.

On February 11, 2019, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 became independent and changed its name to Hinatazaka46, thus becoming the fourth group in the franchise.[5] They released their debut single, "Kyun", on March 27, 2019. On July 16, 2020, it was announced that Keyakizaka46 would also be rebranded into Sakurazaka46,[6][7][8][9] which came into effect on October 14.

In the summer of 2018, a joint Sakamichi Audition was held for the all-female groups and 36 of those who auditioned were accepted. Of the 36, 21 were immediately accepted into either Nogizaka46 (11), Keyakizaka46 (9), and Hiragana Keyakizaka46 (1), while the remaining fifteen were grouped as the trainee group Sakamichi Kenshūsei (坂道研修生) in 2019.[10] One trainee dropped out and the fourteen remaining ones were assigned to the three groups on February 16, 2020, with five going to Nogizaka46, six going to Sakurazaka46, and three going to Hinatazaka46.

In 2021, members of Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 co-starred in a television series for the first time in the mystery drama Borderless (ボーダレス), based on the novel of the same title by Tetsuya Honda.[11] Cinemas Plus positively commented on its production values and the members' performances, and highly recommended the drama even for non-fans of the Sakamichi Series.[12] The three groups would collaborate again in its 2023 sequel, Actress.[13]

Current groups

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Group name Group color Years active Teams
(if split) 		Location
Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46) Purple 2011–present 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, 4th Gen, 5th Gen Tokyo, Japan
Sakurazaka46 (櫻坂46) White-Pink 2015–2020 (as Keyakizaka46)
2020–present (as Sakurazaka46)		 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen Tokyo, Japan
Yoshimotozaka46 (吉本坂46) Orange 2018–present (currently on indefinite hiatus) 1st Gen, 2nd Gen Osaka, Japan
Hinatazaka46 (日向坂46) Blue 2015–2019 (as Hiragana Keyakizaka46)
2019–present (as Hinatazaka46)		 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, 4th Gen Tokyo, Japan

Parodies

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  • WACK debuted a one-off shuffle unit named Dōgenzaka43 (道玄坂43) consisting of every idol under the company at the time, they released the single, "Kyōniku Jakushoku ~Tsuyoi Yatsura wo Kucchimae~" (強肉弱食時代 〜強い奴らを食っちまえ〜), on June 16, 2021.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Toriizaka46's 1st generation members chosen, but changes its name to Keyakizaka46". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  2. ^ 乃木坂46、新グループ「欅坂（けやきざか）46」1期生メンバー決定 「鳥居坂46」からチーム名変更 (in Japanese). modelpress. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  3. ^ "「吉本坂４６」目指すはバラエティー感不要のアイドル 秋元氏「最強のグループを」 - スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "吉本坂46、メンバー46名決定 初代Wセンターは？＜一覧＞ - モデルプレス". モデルプレス - ライフスタイル・ファッションエンタメニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "けやき坂46が「日向坂46」に改名！ファンも驚き「まさか改名するとは」「おめでとう!!」". RBB TODAY.
  6. ^ "欅坂46 結成記念日8・21にラストシングル 10月にラストライブ" (in Japanese). Oricon. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "欅坂46が10月ライブで5年の歴史に幕、改名し再始動「これからも私たちに期待していて」" (in Japanese). Natalie. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "欅坂46、改名後の新グループ名は「櫻坂46」" (in Japanese). Oricon. September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  9. ^ "新グループ名発表!". Keyakizaka46 Official Website (in Japanese). September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "坂道合同オーディション合格者の配属先決定、12月には武道館でお見立て会". ナタリー. ナターシャ. November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  11. ^ "乃木坂46、櫻坂46、日向坂46がグループの垣根を超えてドラマ初共演！ 本格ミステリードラマ「ボーダレス」ひかりＴＶとdTVチャンネルで３月より独占配信". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "『ボーダレス』第10話までの感想｜坂道グループ主演ドラマの最高傑作！むしろ坂道ファン以外に観てほしい | cinemas PLUS" [Thoughts Up to Episode 10: The Drama Starring the Sakamichi Groups is a Masterpiece! I'd like non-Sakamichi fans to watch it!]. cinema.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "🍭 乃木坂46、櫻坂46、日向坂46、グループの垣根を越えて出演する本格サスペンス『アクトレス』Leminoで独占配信！ - Pop'n'Roll(ポップンロール)". popnroll.tv. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  14. ^ "BiSH参加の新ユニット「道玄坂43」デビューラストシングル無料発売 MVも解禁". Oricon News. June 16, 2021.
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