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“Everyone! Don’t Cry!” SKE48 Bids Farewell to Sae Miyazawa at Her Graduation Concert
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Fans gathered in Nagoya’s Gaishi Hall on March 3rd and 4th for SKE48’s spring concerts, which also marked the final concerts of Sae Miyazawa’s 10 year 48 group career.
The concerts’ title, “Minna! Nakunjaneezo!” (“Everyone! Don’t cry!”) promised audiences an upbeat send-off for Sae to match her engergetic image. Day One of the concert delivered, with a high energy setlist characteristic of SKE48.
Medleys of popular singles were mixed with first performances of songs off SKE’s upcoming 19th single, Chicken LINE. (Watch the MVs from Chicken LINE here!) The setlist also featured several unit songs, including super cute Juriken (Jurina Matsui’s adorable dog alter-ego) on the run from her friends Akane Takayanagi the chicken and Miki Yakata the cat in Koutei no Koinu, and an extremely over-the-top Scandalous ni Ikou performed by comedy duo Sae Miyazawa and Kaori Matsumura. There was also a small portion dedicated to Yukari Yamashita who will also leave the group this March, concluding with her version of the solo song “Mushi no Ballad,” lit by a wash of blue penlights in the audience.
The second day of the concert began Sae’s graduation celebration. The SKE48 overture concluded, and Sae appeared on stage as a slow piano version of “Kiseki wa Ma ni Awanai” filled the hall. Sae’s original unit song made it to #1 in this year’s Request Hour Set List Best 100 concerts, and was arranged into a fittingly moving solo as a tribute to her graduation. As the chorus began, the other members took the stage and the song returned to its usual upbeat tempo kicking the concert off with a flash of electric energy.
After a burst of popular SKE singles like “Gomen ne, Summer” and “Banzai Venus,” the concert began the portion celebrating Sae’s 10 years in the 48 groups. As an intro familiar to the fans of the now-disbanded unit DIVA began to play, the stage rotated for a revival of the unit’s first single “Lost the Way,” centered by Sae and backed up by other SKE members. The Sae celebration continued with “Kimi wa Pegasus” (from Team K’s third stage), “Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru” (from the unit Chocolove), and “Hajimete no Jellybeans” (from Himawari-gumi’s second stage.)
Next, SKE48’s Ryoha Kitagawa (a good friend and devoted admirer of Sae’s) took the stage in a Little Red Riding Hood outfit, closely followed by a handsome wolf by the name of Sae Miyazawa. Amid a short and sweet skit, the two performed SKE’s “Ookami to Pride.”
As Little Red and the Wolf parted ways, Ryoha disappeared into a red tunnel that had appeared on stage, and Jurina Matsui emerged. Sae took the stage again to join Jurina in the cool duet, “TWO ROSES.” Finally, other members returned to the stage for a performance of the sweet song “Tenohira,” with Sae at center performing the lyrics translated into Japanese Sign Language. Sae revealed in the following MC that she had wanted to learn sign language since she was young, and when pressed by other members if she had shed a few tears, she insisted, “I’m not crying, I have a special button in my costume that when you press it, tears come out.”
The concert continued with Sae joining teams S, K and E for performances of AKB songs “RESET,” “Iiwake Maybe” and “Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?” followed by classic SKE songs such as “Okidoki” where the audience cheer of “O-KI-DO-KI!” was changed to “MI-YA-ZA-WA!” As the members left the stage, Gaishi Hall was filled with encore calls of “Sae-chan!” and a sea of light blue and yellow penlights formed a giant sunflower as a surprise from fans for Sae.
Keeping energy high, everyone took the stage for two more SKE singles, before a movie highlighting Sae’s 10 year history in the 48 groups featuring close friends Sayaka Akimoto and Yuko Oshima played on large screens. The mood in the hall changed, and Sae’s graduation song, “Tabi no Tochuu,” began. Joined by other members, Sae reminded the audience through the lyrics that her journey is only just beginning.
Sae began her graduation speech and took her time to thank fans and staff who’ve supported her along the way, as well as extending tearful appreciation to her family. She then turned to the members of SKE, who she credited as being the biggest influence in her two years in the group and said that “love” was what she learned from them most. The message she wished to leave with SKE48 members was, “There’s always someone, somewhere, watching over you.”
Sae then lead into her final song that she’s always held close to her heart, AKB48’s “Yakusoku yo.” As the performance concluded, members formed a path down the center of the stage and Sae began her goodbyes one by one, taking time to embrace and thank each girl. After exchanging tears and laughter with Jurina Matsui, the members of SKE thanked Sae for joining the group. Sae offered a last declaration of love for the members and fans, and left the stage. With Sae in mind, the remaining members brought the concert to a close with SKE’s friendship song, “Nakama no Uta.”
Setlist
-overture
1 Kiseki wa Maniawanai
2 Coquettish Jutaichu
3 Gomenne, SUMMER
4 Banzai Venus
5 Boku no Taiyou
6 Chaimu wa LOVE SONG
7 Winning Ball
8 Kesenai Honoo
9 Kiss datte Hidari-kiki
10 Bouenkyo no nai Tenmondai
11 Pinocchio Gun
12 Gonna Jump
13 Lost the way
14 Kimi wa Pegasus
15 Ashita wa Ashita no Kimi ga Umareru
16 Hajimeteno Jellybeans
17 Ookami to Pride
18 TWO ROSES
19 Tenohira
20 Escape ~Sekai ga Naite Irunara
21 UZA
22 Viva! Hurricane
23 BINGO!
24 RESET
25 Iiwake Maybe
26 Yuuhi wo Miteiruka?
27 Chicken LINE
28 Bukiyou Taiyou
29 Pareo wa Emerald
30 Sansei Kawaii!
31 Okidoki
32 Boku wa Shitteiru
33 Kyou made no Koto, Korekara no Koto
EN1 AishiteruLOVE!
EN2 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku!
EN3 Tabi no Tochu
EN4 Yakusoku yo
EN5 Nakama no Uta
Related links
Sae Miyazawa Twitter : https://twitter.com/oyasuminasae_m
Sae Miyazawa’s fanclub page : http://www.miyazawasae.jp/
SKE48 official site: http://www.ske48.co.jp/
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Rhythm (wamhouse)
English teacher by day, idol wota and subculture explorer by night. Specializes in danso groups; also weak to dyed hair, short hair and atypical idols. Sometimes a 2D nerd, always an animal otaku. Let's go exploring!
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