Hiragana Oshi Explained

Native Name:
Kanji:ひらがな推し
L:Rooting for Hiragana
Genre:Variety show
Creator:Yasushi Akimoto
Presenter:Audrey (Toshiaki Kasuga, Masayasu Wakabayashi)
Starring:Hiragana Keyakizaka46
Narrated:Yōhei Azakami
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Num Episodes:50
Runtime:30 min.
Network:TV Tokyo
Related:Where is Nogizaka?
Nogizaka Under Construction
Keyakitte, Kakenai?
Soko Magattara, Sakurazaka?
Hinatazaka de Aimashō

is a Japanese late night variety show starring Japanese idol group Hiragana Keyakizaka46. It was hosted by the comedy duo Audrey and aired every Monday at 1:05 AM JST on TV Tokyo.[1] After the group was rebranded to Hinatazaka46, the show was succeeded by Hinatazaka de Aimashō.[2] [3]

History

As a subgroup of Keyakizaka46, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 members initially appeared on Keyakitte, Kakenai? with the main group members. In March 2018, a new show for the subgroup was announced.[1] After episode 5, a song performance was included at the end of the show.

The last episode aired on April 1, 2019, as Hiragana Keyakizaka46 changed their name to Hinatazaka46. The show was succeeded by Hinatazaka de Aimashō, which is identical except for the name.[3]

In March 2021, the first set of Hiragana Oshi DVD and Blu-ray was released, consisting of five editions. Instead of including episodes in chronological order, each edition was named after a first generation Hinatazaka46 member and included episodes which featured notable scenes, including deleted scenes, of that member; the same member would also lead the discussion segment in each edition.[4] The second set of five editions, named after second generation Hinatazaka46 members and Hinano Kamimura (the only third generation member who appeared in the show), was released in January 2022.[5]

Production

The Hiragana Keyakizaka46 management intended to create a program with the same atmosphere as Nogizakatte, Doko? (predecessor to Nogizaka Kōjichū) for the group,[6] and producer Makoto Nagao, who has also been the producer of Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46's variety shows, aimed for the shows to become a "catalog" for the group and lead to various outside jobs. The reason for using Audrey as MC was to create a similar relationship between the hosts and the members as in Nogizaka Kōjichū and Keyakitte, Kakenai?, so that it would look good if a joint special episode was to be produced.[7] They also had the reputation of not being good at working with young girls, partly because they had attended a boys' school during their youth, which was thought to be able to form an interesting dynamic, and many staff members had wanted to work with them.[8] Despite their busy schedules, they agreed almost immediately.[8] [9]

The production staff appreciated that many of the members were "cheerful and positive", and wrote detailed answers in the production questionnaires and asked questions after the recording.[6] [7] In the early days of the show, the Audrey duo did come across as being shy around a large group of girls, but Wakabayashi managed to bring out the members' individual characteristics and the "groove" of the show steadily grew.[10]

Nagao noted that Audrey and the production staff were comparable to boys' school students, while the Hiragana Keyakizaka46 members were like neighboring girls' school students who would organize joint events with them, creating a relationship that worked well. Director Katsutoshi Shirano commented that after the two-part episode titled "Let's Get Closer to Audrey!", the members and Audrey actually became closer and the members became easier to work with.

Reception

Pop culture writer Hiko noted that the production staff's love for Audrey was "extraordinary", and that Hiragana Oshi could be seen as a "redo" of Audrey's youth at a boys' school. He agreed that the members' excitement and "overflowing girls' school spirit" successfully created an atmosphere of "encounter between an all-boys school and an all-girls school", which became the core of Hiragana Oshi.[11]

Hiko particularly noted episode 43, in which Audrey introduced the shōnen manga Kinnikuman to the members, as the "pinnacle of boys' school enthusiasm". It was mentioned on Twitter by Takashi Shimada, one of the two Kinnikuman authors who share the pen name Yudetamago, and was featured on the obi for the 66th volume of the manga released on March 7, 2019.[12] [13] Konoka Matsuda, who was selected as the episode's MVP, was interviewed in the May 20, 2019 issue of Weekly Playboy as "an idol who knows too much about Kinnikuman".[14] [15]

Real Sound commented that Hiragana Keyakizaka46's variety skills "blossomed" in the show[16] and that the group's encounter with the Audrey duo was, in member Shiho Katō's words, "the work of fate".

Home media

First set (March 2021)

!Featured member!Title!Episodes
Shiho Katō
  1. 10 - 11 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Debut Album Hit Prayer!

#20 - 21 Find the Future Akutagawa Prize Winners! The King of Writing Contest

#44 Solving Your Problems! Snack Mao [Night 13 / 14 / 15]|-|Kyōko Saitō||#22 - 23 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Academic Test#29 - 30 Team Competition! Relay Cooking in 3 Minutes!

#31 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Artistic Ability Museum|-|Kumi Sasaki||#16 - 17 Doki! Hiragana Keyakizaka46's All-out Hilarious Comedy Contest#25 - 27 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Miscellaneous Ranking|-|Mirei Sasaki||#7 - 8 Challenge Kasuga! Special Skill Battle!#12 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Young vs. Adult Variety Game Battle!

#13 Hiragana Keyakizaka46's The Class I Want to Do The Most in the World|-|||#1 - 2 Kasuga Presents! Introduction by Member Profile Memorization! (Parts 1–2)#28 Solving Your Problems! Snack Mao [Night 4 / 5 / 6]

#33 - 34 Let's Get Closer to Audrey|}

Second set (January 2022)

Featured memberTitleEpisodes
Miku Kanemura
  1. 3 Kasuga Presents! Introduction by Member Profile Memorization
(Part 3)#14 - 15 Bring Out More Charm! Family Questionnaire

#38 New Year! Hiragana Keyakizaka46! Who Will Be The Luckiest in 2019?

#39 - 40 Adults vs. Minors, Maturity Showdown!

Akari Nibu
  1. 9 Fantasy Future History (Tomita, Nibu, Kageyama, Iguchi)

#24 Solving Your Problems! Opening of Snack Mao! [Night 1 / 2 / 3]

#36 - 37 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 Burikko Championship!

#47 Solving Your Problems! Snack Mao [Night 16 / 17 / Final]|-|Konoka Matsuda||#35 Solving Your Problems! Snack Mao [Night 10 / 11 / 12]#41 Hiragana Members' First Project Presentation: Let's All Make it a Success!

#43 "I Won't Even Need the Push from my Farts

" Let's Learn About Kinnikuman!

#45 - 46 Konoka Matsuda Presents: Hiragana Music Sports Competition|-|Miho Watanabe||#4 Kasuga Presents: Introduction by Member Profile Memorization! (Part 4)#5 - 6 Hiragana Keyakizaka46 2nd Anniversary, Unannounced Bag Check!

#18 - 19 1st vs. 2nd Generation Members Athletic Ability Battle

#32 Solving Your Problems! Snack Mao [Night 7 / Night 8 / Night 9]|-|||#42 Let's Get to Know Hinano Kamimura, The Only Third Generation Member!#47 Hinatazaka46 Debut Single Hit Prayer Announcement!

#48 - 50 Hinatazaka46 Debut Single Hit Prayer, 120 km Ekiden

Notes and References

  1. News: けやき坂「ひらがな推し」日曜坂道「冠番組」3連発 . 10 October 2019 . . 19 March 2018 . Japanese.
  2. News: 日向坂46、『HINABINGO!』初回放送からバラエティ力と個性を発揮 収録現場レポート . 10 October 2019 . Real Sound . 15 April 2019 . Japanese.
  3. 日向坂で会いましょう . hiraganakmax . 1112519995911598080 . 31 March 2019 . ja:「ひらがな推し」1年間ありがとうございました。「日向坂で会いましょう」もよろしくお願いいたします!. Thank you for your support after one year of Hiragana Oshi. Look forward to watching Hinatazaka de Aimashō!. Japanese . 10 October 2019.
  4. Web site: けやき坂46|レギュラー番組『ひらがな推し』初のBlu-ray作品5タイトル発売中 - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE . 2022-04-21 . tower.jp.
  5. Web site: けやき坂46|『ひらがな推し』Blu-ray第2弾5タイトルが2022年1月1日発売|オンライン期間限定10%オフ - TOWER RECORDS ONLINE . 2022-04-21 . tower.jp.
  6. 西廣智一 . May 2019 . 番組プロデューサー長尾真が語る「距離感」と「積極性」が生み出した日向坂46のアイデンティティ . Bubka . Byakuya Shobo . 25–27.
  7. April 2019 . 『ひらがな推し』ディレクター陣が語るひらがな推しのつくり方 . . . 4 . 47.
  8. 平田真人 . September 2020 . 長尾プロデューサーが語るひなあいとオードリーと日向坂46の魅力 . . Tokyo News Service Ltd. . 24 . 9 . 30–31.
  9. 平田真人 . September 2020 . 日向坂46への想い オードリー . . 東京ニュース通信社 . 24 . 9 . 26–27.
  10. Web site: 中山洋平 . 2021-04-01 . 日向坂46とオードリーの運命の出会い 名場面の数々生み出した『ひらがな推し』 . Fateful encounter between Hinatazaka46 and Audrey in Hiragana Oshi, which produced many famous scenes . Real Sound . 1 . 2022-01-10.
  11. ヒコ . April 2019 . オードリー史観でみる『ひらがな推し』 . . 15 . 4 . 48.
  12. Web site: 編集部 . 2019-03-07 . 日向坂46、オードリーの巧みな戦略で『キン肉マン』原作者に認知 40周年記念特需の便乗に期待も . エンタMEGA . ユニベルシテ株式会社 . 2022-01-10.
  13. 1102124679064506368. yude_shimada. 【いよいよ明日3/4発売】ジャンプコミックス『キン肉マン』最新66巻 帯コメント完成 。平均年齢18.8歳の日向坂46にもキン肉マン愛は伝わりました!!!.
  14. Web site: 中山洋平 . 2020-04-30 . 日向坂46の冠番組、アイドルらしからぬ企画で人気? キン肉マン、野球……『ひなあい』で奮闘するメンバーたち . Real Sound . 株式会社blueprint . 2022-01-10.
  15. Web site: キン肉マン 日向坂46 松田 好花 公式ブログ . 2022-05-14 . 日向坂46公式サイト.
  16. Web site: 本手 . 2019-04-07 . 日向坂46、『HINABINGO!』への期待 オードリーとの『ひらがな推し』で得た成長を振り返る . Real Sound . 株式会社blueprint . 1 . 2022-01-10.