#chikarina

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I received this request a few weeks ago and thought the context in which is was provided was actually pretty interesting… while this is a name that’s big to me, because I’ve been following her ever since her kenkyuusei days in AKB48, she’s still somewhat of a newcomer to the JKT48 world, right?

So this time… I’m profiling my first member from overseas-- Team KIII’s Chikano Rina. Nickname = Chikarina!

Birthdate: April 23, 1993 Catchphrase: Her AKB48 and JKT48 versions are nearly identical and both basically translate to: “Mirackle, miracle? (Audience: Will surely come!) Thank you. I’m Chikano Rina, please call me Chikarina.”

But... she doesn’t wait for miracles. She makes them happen!

Where should I begin on Chikarina? Like I mentioned before, my history with this girl is a long one. She debuted in AKB48 in October of 2007 as a fifth generation kenkyuusei. During that time in AKB48, it was a long journey for the kenkyuusei, but after proving herself and constantly subbing into various units (and very vocally expressing her love for Team K—I recall reading about an MC that she was participating in during either a Team B show, and the participating kenkyuusei were asked their thoughts about being members about their thoughts if they were to become Team B members, and Chikarina boldly responded, “But… I want to be on Team K.”), in the spring of 2009, she was promoted to full member status of AKB48 within Team K. The very same year was the surprise shuffle, and, ironically, Chikarina ended up on Team B after that shuffle anyway.

She was a good sport about it. Hey, she ended up back in Team K, eventually!

To say the least, Chikarina is a bold girl. I think you can say this about any of the members of AKB48 that have chosen to go into a sister group… especially the ones that literally chose to do this. I can still remember feeling my heart in my throat when the teams were reshuffled last February, and Chikarina was the very last girl to be addressed. She’d been in my top five favorite AKB48 members for a long, long time. Early last year, it had come to a point where her exposure in the group had really stagnated, and I remember reading about what was going on as people were tweeting about it and thinking, “No, no, no. No. Not yet—she’s not ready to graduate yet. She’s been in AKB48 for a while, but she’s barely gotten anything… just…”

Seeing the video footage later on was so surreal… seeing her sitting all alone in her seat, seeing the camera pan to people like Ucchi, Shihori, and Reinyan—friends that she’d been around since the beginning, looking shocked when the announcers read the label on the last transfer—“Overseas.” And then the pan back to Chikarina… who was teary-eyed, her chin was shaking, and she was nervously fidgeting in her seat. 

She knew, at this point. She already did.

And then it was announced, Chikano Rina was transferring to JKT48.

And it. Was. Silent. Deafeningly so. The shouts of a few Chikarina fans in the audience broke the silence once or twice.

When she was prompted to comment, she responded that she wanted a new experience since she had turned 20. Even though she was worried about it, she wanted to have more, wonderful experiences in her life, and she asked the audience for their support. At which time, they finally launched into applause and shouts of “do your best!”

As for me? As someone who was already a fan of JKT48 at that point, I couldn’t have been happier for her. I SCREAMED when I read where she was going. If Harugon was any sort of telltale sign for this journey—someone who was so warmly embraced by the JKT48 community and who has recently announced her desires to continue living in Indonesia because she’s had such a wonderful time—I knew Chikarina had sunnier skies ahead of her.

“I don’t even understand why!” she announced the year before, expressing her frustrations over working hard to become an idol that can make fans happy and who will be well received by the audience… but after several years with the group, had little popularity.

Here was a girl who had been working hard in AKB48 for seven years who was finally, finally, FINALLY getting her chance. She later commented in a blog entry that no one should feel sad about her transfer—she was excited, she had been in touch with Harugon and had begun learning a lot of things already, and that she just asked for her fans’ support as she continues on in the next phase of her life as an idol.

Yes, yes, YES.

Here we are now, in 2015, a little over one year since her transfer announcement was made, and I’d say Chikarina is doing well for herself in Team KIII. Even surrounded by her noisy, boisterous teammates, this adaptable girl fits in just fine. Even in her “first performance” with JKT48 members, she had good chemistry with the group.

So, let’s talk about how she is as an idol!

With several years under her belt, Chikarina has been able to develop into a really polished performer over time. This isn’t to say that she wasn’t a good performer back in the day, but she’s definitely improved since, well, her days in the Himawari-gumi stage, for instance. (Yes, folks! Get ready for an AKB48 history lesson if you’d like to watch that DVD!)

She’s been in too many units and shuffles to name over the years, but here are a few of my favorites: “Anata to Christmas Eve,” “Hatsukoi Dorobou,” “Renai Kinshi Jourei,” “Zannen Shoujo,” “Itoshiki Natasha,” “Hajimete no Jelly Beans” (around 31:30). And an honorable mention—Chikarina showing off her strong singing voice in “109” from the A5 Stage around 2:25. 

You’ll see that in a number of these units, Chikarina is either the center or is featured in some way. Even from the beginning, she was known for her strong vocals! (Not to mention… you can tell she LOVES to be center… just look at how happy she gets in ‘Hatsukoi Dorobou!’)

I remember when I was first reading fans’ opinions on Chikarina when the kenkyuusei of her generation started performing, people also praised her for her dancing skills—commenting that she’s very agile and looks like she’s “floating across the stage” with her feet. I think you can see this style of dancing particularly in the video of “Hajimete no Jelly Beans” above. She’s very deliberate with her legs and feet—you can see how she stands out at time because of how fluid her movements are.

As a performer, she’s really able to handle a wide variety of songs on stage. She has cool looks, I think, but she still succeeds in cute and energetic songs, too. (Interestingly, on that oshi cam video of “Honest Man,” I really want to emphasize that Chikarina’s dancing strength comes from her legs and this angle totally cuts that off!! But she’s still cute!) She’s also discussed in interviews how she’s purposefully very attentive with the audience—and you can really see her staring down members of the crowd in a lot of her performances. Getting eye contact from Chikarina must be like a dream~

Personality-wise, Chikarina is an energetic and cheerful girl! She can be a giant dork at times, which I’m sure is helping her fit in wonderfully with the girls in her current team in JKT48 and, as I mentioned before, she’s really very bold. In her AKB48 days, at least, she was cheeky and brazen—but honestly, she was a person who was just very honest and resolute. She seemed to get along quite well with lots of other members, so her personality didn’t seem to scare many away from her! She’s remained close with most of the girls from her generation, too—it’s clear that she really values her friends.

As you can see in her mini-documentary from the first janken/rock-paper-scissors tournament that she’s able to keep up her high spirits all day long— whether she’s interacting with friends, just the cameraman, or cutely waving to fans in the crowd-- even when she’s surprised at being caught by a cameraman without makeup or when she loses to her friend Suuchan and tries to give her a hug over the table. Interestingly, Chikarina has stated that she wants to have a mature personality within JKT48—I can see her developing into a more mature girl even by volunteering to go overseas, to be honest, so I think she has the capability to do this! 

Important to note here is that as the result of that same janken tournament (she placed at #13), Chikarina made it to her first and only AKB48 senbatsu in “Chance no Junban.”  In JKT48 so far, it’s been a different story, as she’s participated in their senbatsu for “Kokoro no Placard” and “Kaze wa Fuiteiru.” It was really exciting for me to see her in all the videos surrounding JKT’s release of “Kokoro no Placard” because it was the first time I really got solid footage of her as a JKT48 member! 

Believe it or not, during her earlier years in AKB48, Chikarina got a small push—likely thanks to her agency (Itoh Company). She got a solo DVD called “Tropical Mermaid,” was featured in a calendar in 2010 with Fujie Reina, and was selected as an image girl for Mother’s Farm alongside Fujie Reina and participated in commercials/other promotional events for the company. If you’ve ever wondered why her call during “Team B Oshi” is “Mo mo me!” then this commercial should help to explain some things!

I am really excited about Chikarina’s future within JKT48. So far, it does seem like she’s getting along just fine over there and seems to be happy. She’s reportedly stated that she wants to stay in JKT48 forever, she is working hard on her Indonesian language skills (while she has a way to go, fans have commented that they’re very pleased with the progress that she’s making!) and it seems like she’s quite close with Team KIII’s Thalia who is helping to teach her the language.

Performance wise, I’ve been able to see a little bit of Chikarina with her new group via performances/videos of the newest singles and in the Seishun Girls Stage DVD. Interestingly, she is in the “Blue Rose” unit for that stage—one that she’s performed before on the AKB48 side. She rocks it here again, as usual, but more interesting for me are the group songs, where you can see more of her chemistry with the team. It’s really nice to see that smile of Chikarina’s back again on stage—that genuinely happy, excited smile of hers that I never want to see fade. Oh, not to mention… she looks fabulous and confident in her performances from the JKT48 “Kaze wa Fuiteiru” Handshake Event, too! 

Miscellany: Chikarina is skilled at cooking (in fact, in AKB48, she was a part of the “Cooking Club” and she’s even done a spot on iClub48 with snack tips); she sees Harugon as her role model within JKT48; she loves animals, particularly dogs and monkeys; she owned a monkey named Peach who sadly passed away a few years back; she is a former classmate of AKB48 graduates Nakatsuka Tomomi and Naruse Risa; also claims that she is the sub-leader of AKB48’s ‘Driving Club;’ lists her special dance talents as jazz and girls’ hip-hop dance; has an official blog that she maintains in addition to her regular Twitter. 

My personal thoughts: In case I haven’t emphasized it enough, I really love Chikarina as an idol. She was one of my favorite members of AKB48 for a long time, and I was so happy about her move to JKT—and even happier that she seems to be settling in well. She’s a really fun and dynamic girl, and I really do hope that she’s capturing the hearts of the JKT48 fans with her energetic and dedicated personality. I admire her for being brave and having patience to endure everything that she’s gone through as an idol, and I really don’t think her spirit will ever give up! I hope that this guide gave you a little bit of a soft spot for Chikarina if you’re unfamiliar with her… she has a lot of history as an idol, so I think she’s really deserving of all the fans she can get!