Lucky 7! Nana Fujita is Crowned Champion of 2015 AKB48 Janken Tournament!

| 48 / 46 Group | Posted by Kai Okudara on Sep.17.2015

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For the 6th year, AKB48 held their Janken Tournament and 108 members and kenkyuusei from the different groups battled it out in a high stakes game of rock-paper-scissors for the chance to have the spotlight shine on them. After a string of well-known winners in the past few years, it was the time for 10th generation member Nana Fujita to take her place on the throne.

Despite being held an hour away from the Nippon Budokan, where it had been held previously, and rain showers, thousands of pen lights glowed brightly and fans shouted out encouragement for their favorite members as they stood on the center of Yokohama Arena on the evening of September 16, 2015.

Opening with performances of the 2014 champion Miyuki Watanabe’s solo song “Yasashiku Suru Yori Kiss wo Shite” and “Halloween Night” by the senbatsu members, the stage was set for an intense fast-paced evening of janken.

In her final janken tournament, General Manager Minami Takahashi appeared wearing an outfit just like the one worn by T.M. Revolution in the MV for “Hot Limit” (Japanese link, alternate unofficial link). Making her way past Mariya Suzuki, Takahashi’s path to glory was once again blocked, this time by Kiara Sato, who crushed her scissors with a rock. Sato (scissors) would go on to defeat the powerful Haruna Kojima (paper) as she made her way into the top 8.

The final match came down to Nana Fujita and Chiyori Nakanishi and neither seemed too thrilled about the position that they found themselves in. Before joining their fists in the center of the stage, they were quite vocal about how they believed that neither of them should be given a solo song, making it seem like a lose-lose situation. They both threw rock 6 times in a row, fans and members growing increasingly restless as the tension continued to build. With the 7th throw, Fujita’s hand opened, defeating Nakanishi, who went with rock.

Fujita’s fellow 10th generation members rushed to her side and congratulated her. Even the usually cool Anna Iriyama had tears in her eyes as the group celebrated the victory of their comrade, pledging to buy copies of the single when it comes out to support her. Even Yui Yokoyama declared that she would buy 3 copies!

When asked about her thoughts on what kind of solo song she would like to have, Fujita expressed her hopes that it would be something that could show off her dance ability as well as have a powerful message in the lyrics. Fujita explained that she had decided to audition for AKB48 after listening to “RIVER” (release date: October 21, 2009) so, if it was something similar to that, it would be ideal.

Congratulations to Nana Fujita on being crowned AKB48’s “janken queen” for 2015 and getting a solo debut!

Winner – Nana Fujita (AKB48 Team K)
Runner-Up – Chiyori Nakanishi (AKB48 Team A)
Best 4 – Miki Nishino (AKB48 Team 4), Yuria Kizaki (AKB48 Team B)
Best 8 – Yui Yokoyama (AKB48 Team A), Moe Aigasa (AKB48 Team K), Miyabi Iino (AKB48 Team 4), Kiara Sato (AKB48 Team 4)
Best 16 – Nao Nomura (AKB48 Team K draft kenkyuusei), Moeri Kondo (AKB48 Team 8), Seina Fukuoka (AKB48 Team B), Kei Jonishi (NBM48 Team N), Natsuki Kojima (AKB48 Team A), Aeri Yokoshima (AKB48 Team B), Mei Abe (AKB48 Team 8), Miyuki Watanabe (NMB48 Team BII/AKB48 Team B)

Related Links

AKB48 Official site: http://www.akb48.co.jp/

Nana Fujita Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/fujitanana_1228