Music / Hinatazaka46

Early 2023 lineup

"Reach for the sky, poka poka kyun! You're not alone, jump high with friends, Hinatazaka46, hi~!"

Hinatazaka46 (Japanese: 日向坂46) is a Japanese idol group, established as Hiragana Keyakizaka46 (けやき坂46) on November 30, 2015 as a subgroup of Keyakizaka46 (now Sakurazaka46). On February 11, 2019, they were spun off from Keyakizaka46 into its own group within the Sakamichi Series. As of April 2024, they have 28 members from 4 generations, and their captain is Kumi Sasaki.

The group's many works outside music are described in the Franchise page.

You know these tropes can't stop loving you:

• Abstract Eater: "Kono Natsu wo Jam ni Shiyou" is about preserving summer memories as jam.
• Achilles in His Tent: An incident often brought up for laughs (and dramatized in the manga adaptation of their biography) is when the first generation found out during the rehearsals for the Keyakizaka46 first anniversary concert in 2017 that the group would recruit the second generation members, even though they themselves were still struggling with their uncertain situation at the time, and locked themselves in the dressing room in protest against the management. They eventually calmed down and had to pretend to be surprised when the announcement was displayed during the show.
  • Suzuka Tomita was in the audience and, of course, joined the second generation.
  • Despite the prominence of the incident in the group's history, Kumi and Mirei Sasaki reveal in their appearance on Gyoretsu no Dekiru Sodanjo in 2024 that it only lasted around 5 minutes.
• Action Girl: The MV for "Sabitsukanai Ken wo Mote!" ("Carry an Unrusted Sword!") features the members as martial artists training at a temple (filmed at the ancient Tada Shrine in Hyogo Prefecture) and defending it against a Ninja attack with some Wire Fu thrown in. The aesthetics are a mix of Japanese and Chinese martial arts, with costumes that resemble kung fu shirts and the members employing both nations' fighting styles and weapons.
• Actor Allusion: In the promotional materials for "Mayonaka no Zange Taikai", Sarina Ushio's first center song, she wears a flower crown, an allusion to the stage play Hula Girls in which she would be starring near the time of the single's release.
  • The title means "Midnight Confession Gathering", an allusion to her reputation as the group's "Holy Mother", and is about a confession session in a Slumber Party.
  • Continuing the Christian iconography, the long table dining scene is a "Last Supper" Steal.
• Alternate Character Reading:
  • The group was named after the Hyūgazaka (日向坂) street in Minato, Tokyo, which is written with the exact same kanji characters. The title Hinatazaka de Aimashō (Let's Meet at Hinatazaka) alludes to this.
    • The Himukai Shrine (日向大社建) in Kyoto is also written with the same kanji as "Hinata", and several members have shared their private trips there.
  • Their former name, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 (けやき坂46), was written as "Keyakizaka46" with the "Keyaki" part rendered in Hiragana. The real street they were named after in Minato, Tokyo, is also written the same way, but is simply called "Keyakizaka", as normally the writing system used doesn't need to be mentioned in Japanese.
    • In 2024, the group started using the senbatsu ("selection") system, in which only selected members would perform the main songs of their singles. In the 5th Hinatansai concert in April, it was announced that members not selected for the main song would be called Hiragana Hinatazaka46 (ひなた坂46), again written as "Hinatazaka46" with the "Hinata" part rendered in hiragana.
  • The Hana-chans duo was named after the kunyomi reading of the ka (花, "flower") in Suzuka Tomita and Konoka Matsuda's names.
  • "Kodokuna Toki" ("Lonely Time") is written with the kanji for "Kodokuna Shunkan" (孤独な瞬間, literally "Lonely Moment").
  • In 2023, there were three members with the "sun" kanji (陽) in their names, and all are read differently: Hina Kawata (河田陽菜), Haruyo Yamaguchi (山口陽世), and Yoko Shogenji (正源司陽子). All three of them became the centers for their respective generations' songs on the ninth single, "One Choice".
• Alternate Self: Haruka Yamashita's 10th single personal video is about her (called Haruharu) living with an alternate version of herself (called Yamashita-san) who didn't join the group and lives a normal life as an Office Lady (as she briefly did in real life).
• Animal Motifs: Several members are associated with their favorite animals.
  • Kumi Sasaki: giraffes (because she's tall and friendly)
  • Mana Takase: the Pokémon Manaphy, dogs (particularly Sanrio's Cinnamoroll).
  • Mei Higashimura: her nickname is Neko (Cat), also called the Cheetah of Nara for her athleticism
  • Hina Kawata: pandas (she's chill and quiet)
  • Nao Kosaka: dinosaurs, especially Triceratops, and also fish due to her nickname Kosakana (homophone of "small fish")
  • Akari Nibu: frogs (she's good at frog impressions and owns many frog-themed items, but is afraid of real frogs and reptiles).
  • Konoka Matsuda: Octopus (their TV show co-host Kasuga calls her Matsudako, and dako is the rendaku form of tako, or octopus)
  • Hinano Kamimura: Goldfish (her eyes are somewhat goldfish-shaped); bunnies (prominently featured in the choreography and MV of "Am I Ready?", which she centered)
  • Kaho Fujishima: Sheep (matches her laid-back personality; her home prefecture Hokkaido also has the largest of Japan's modest sheep population)
  • Yoko Shogenji's gimmick is dog barking impressions and she's often said to look like a puppy. Hina Kawata comments on Hinatazaka de Aimashō episode 258 that the opening to the "Kimi wa Honeydew" MV, where Yoko looks like a squeaky puppy, is her best shot.
  • Mitsuki Hiraoka's name is written exactly like "jellyfish" (海月 kurage) and her introduction video features her visiting an aquarium to see her namesake.
    • Her 10th single personal video features her raising a pet immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii), which she then feeds with her own nail filing, hair, and blood, until it literally turns into her and takes her place as a form of Born-Again Immortality.
• Audience Participation Song:
  • In live performances of "Joyful Love", the entire audience coordinate (without official supervision) to form a rainbow pattern with their lightsticks, since each member also wears a different colored costume.
    Sarina Ushio: Usually we give the audience surprises, but that time it was the other way around.
    • In the Tokyo Dome concert, they performed the song in new all-white costumes, and then walked through the rainbow-lit arena as the costumes also lit up and glowed white.
  • Also in the Tokyo Dome concert, the management attempted to coordinate with the audience to form a message with their lightsticks during the encore, but unfortunately things didn't go as planned and the message went undelivered.
  • Other songs are also associated with certain colors by the fans, and the audience are expected to wave those colors during lives.
  • In "Dare Yori mo Takaku Tobe!" ("Jump Higher than Anyone!"), Kumi Sasaki encourages everyone to jump along.
    • In the Tokyo Dome concert, before doing that, she fired up the crowd by doing Trrrilling Rrrs, off all things.
  • They released an official fan chant instruction video for "Hey! Ohisama!" prior to their 4th anniversary concert (Hinatansai).
  • The 4th gen members released more instruction videos for the 5th Hinatansai, wearing Pom-Pom Girl attire:
    • The updated "Hey! Ohisama!" video features the three members who had been cheerleaders at the Koshien high school baseball championship before joining the group (Tamaki Ishizuka, Rio Shimizu, Mitsuki Hiraoka).
    • "Koi wa Nigeashi ga Hayai"
    • "Mita koto Nai Mamono"
• Badass Creed:
  • "Reach for the sky, poka poka kyun!^*onomatopoeia for warmth and the heart skipping a beat, so can be loosely translated as "warmly fluttering hearts" You're not alone, jump high with friends, Hinatazaka46, hi~!" (空まで届け、ぽかぽかキュン！1人じゃない、仲間と共に高く跳べ、日向坂46、ヒ～! Sora made todoke, pokapoka kyun! Hitori janai, nakama to tomoni takaku tobe, Hinatazaka46, hi ~!).
    • In the Hiragana days, they just used the Keyakizaka catchphrase and added "hi" like in their current one.
    • In an episode of Kaere Monday aired February 2023, Kyoko Saito leads a group of older male comedians in a huddle with the catchphrase before they start a 7 km hike.
  • The 4th generation has their own huddle call. Each member calls out the name of the one next to her, and everyone ends it with "Reach for the sky! United by Happy Aura! Hi...!" (空まで届け！ハッピーオーラ、一体感！ヒ～！ Sora made todoke! Happy Aura, ittaikan! Hi...!).
• The Band Minus the Face:
  • The group was initially formed to accommodate Neru Nagahama, but she became a full-time Kanji Keyakizaka46 member in 2017. Fortunately, they already have several promising frontline members by that time, as well as the newly admitted second generation members.
  • Nao Kosaka went on an extended health leave from June 2021 to March 2022, and during that time, the songs that she usually centered were assigned to other members, and sometimes they still assume the center position in lives even after her return. For example, Hina Kawata for "Kitsune", Mei Higashimura for "Sonna Koto Nai Yo", and Shiho Kato for "Kyun".
• Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: As image goes, the Color Chart subunit (a.k.a. Saitama Trio) were exclusive magazine model Miku Kanemura, expert gamer Akari Nibu, and muscular former basketball team captain Miho Watanabe. Subverted since Miku and Miho usually outperform Nibu in academic matters.
• Big Heroic Run:
  • Mirei Sasaki's choreography in "Kitei Shiteinai Jibun" includes her running on stage. "Japanese girl running" became a highlight in their first overseas performance at the Mnet Asian Music Awards 2018 in South Korea.
  • The "Seishun no Uma" MV has scenes of the entire group running. Amusingly, Manamo Miyata was slow and therefore wasn't caught on camera at all.
• Bifauxnen: In their 2021 Aichi concert, "Kyun" starts with a Silent Movie-style skit in which Mikuni Takahashi portrays one asking Marie Morimoto out in front of a European cafe (maybe an allusion to Marie's childhood in Paris).
• Body Uploading: In the "Boku Nanka" MV, Nao Kosaka is a 3D animator working on the MV itself from her own home office, but is then transported into the CG world she created and joins the performance, as an allusion to her return from a nine-month hiatus.
• Break-Up Song:
  • Shiho Kato's solo song "Nageki no Delete" (Delete the Sorrow) is about the inability to forget every memory about a former lover, because the feelings still remain.
  • "Additional Time" is about a couple close to breaking up, and while the singer acknowledges that things haven't been going that well, they question whether it should end so abruptly.
  • "You're in my way" is about the singer breaking up with her (atashi pronoun) overbearing partner.
• But Not Too Foreign: Several members have lived overseas, namely Sarina Ushio (Indonesia), Mirei Sasaki (Taiwan), Mana Takase (the United Kingdom), and Marie Morimoto (France). They occasionally cover English songs as a unit called Eimusu (although only one of those countries is in the Anglosphere).
  • Some members have also gone on homestays abroad, such as Kumi Sasaki (Germany) and Konoka Matsuda (Canada). Because of this, Konoka's 2024 photobook was photographed in Vancouver.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • Yuka Kageyama: "Gegenpressing to your heart!" (Anata no haato ni gegenpress!), which delights soccer fans for using a relatively obscure term from the sport.
    • Her graduation merch included a T-shirt with the phrase in full German, "Gegenpressing gegen dein Herz".
    • Her habit of closing blogs and appearances with the English "See you soon!" is also noticed.
  • Hinano Kamimura: "A curveball anytime, anywhere, Hinanonano!" (Itsudemo dokodemo henkakyuu, Hinanonano!)
  • Tamaki Ishizuka: "Tamaki, lively, happy-go-lucky!" (Tamaki, genki, noutenki!)
  • Kaho Fujishima: "From the leisurely north, Kahorin has descended!" (Nonbiri kita kara, Kahorin kourin!; she's from Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture).
  • Yoko Shogenji: "I'm the chocolate lover, born on Valentine's Day!" and "Kinkakuji? Ginkakuji? Nope, Shogenji! But I'm from Hyogo, so maybe Himeji?"
  • Nanami Konishi: "When you're feeling down, dial 524-773!" (the Goroawase Number of her name).
  • Honoka Kishi is Honoka "Heartwarming" (honobono) Kishi.
  • Kirari Takeuchi: "Always by your side, Kirarin T-Cell!" (Anata no moto ni, Kirarin T-saibou!, after the killer T cells of the human immune system)
  • Mitsuki Hiraoka: "The jellyfish from Fukui, adrift in Tokyo Bay!"
  • Some are reserved for food reviews:
    • Mei Higashimura: "Umei!", from umai ("delicious").
    • Suzuka Tomita: "Deliciousuzy!"
• Cloudcuckooland: The "Am I Ready?" MV was based on center Hinano Kamimura's random interests revealed in pre-production discussions with the director. Among other things, they dance in front of a miniature Chinese twice-cooked pork restaurant (probably to represent the Chinatown in Yokohama, their chosen home turf), Hinano sits on clouds with giant rabbits, and transforms into a Magical Girl who rides a giant magenta goldfish in outer space. She also wears a Pimped-Out Dress which happens to cost $10,000 at one point.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience:
  • Each member has a pair of signature colors (both could be the same color), which are used on her merch and waved by her fans during concerts with their lightsticks.
  • The live performance costumes for "Kyun" feature white vests for active members who were still in school when they debuted in 2019 (Memi Kakizaki, Miku Kanemura, Hina Kawata, Nao Kosaka, Hinano Kamimura, and Hiyori Hamagishi) and dark blue for those who weren't.
  • Their uniforms for appearances outside concerts also often have different color details to distinguish between generations.
• Coming of Age Story: Kyoko Saito's solo song "Igokochiwaruku Otona ni natta" ("I've Uncomfortably Become an Adult") is about the struggles of growing up.
• Continuity Nod: The 11th single's main song "Kimi wa Honeydew" MV includes various references to previous songs. The centers of the previous main songs do their signature poses, both in the MV and live performances (the choreography also includes a move from "Tsuki to Hoshi ga Odoru Midnight", which center, Kyoko Saito, was not included in this lineup, as she was about to leave the group); the world in the mirror is reminiscent of the "Koi wa Nigeashi ga Hayai" and "Soredemo Aruiteru" MVs; and the MV ends at the same building rooftop as the "Kitai Shiteinai Jibun" MV. The 4th generation members also joined the performance halfway through, referencing that this is their long-awaited first inclusion in a main song lineup, 1.5 years after joining the group.
• Cover Version:
  • The second generation covered Nogizaka46's "Oide Shampoo" in their debut concert appearance and their final concert as Hiragana Keyakizaka46. Some of the audience changed the song's usual interlude chant to "Hina Kawata only", since she was the center.
  • In the "Winter Great Unit Festival" special concert before Hinakuri 2021, the members sing both their own songs and covers, including Kumi Sasaki and Shiho Kato's very Kawaiiko-ish performance of the Futari wa Pretty Cure theme song.
• Crosscast Role: Many of the group's lyrics are directed to a girl, and while most don't specify the singer's gender, some explicitly portray the singer as male.
  • Shiho Kato's solo song "Otoko Tomodachi Dakara" ("Because I'm Your Guy Best Friend") is sang from the perspective of a man comforting his heartbroken female Childhood Friend, who to him is more than a lover.
  • "Soredemo Aruiteru" uses the very masculine pronoun ore.^trivia Years after its release, it was revealed that center Kyoko Saito actually uses the pronoun when talking with close friends.
• Crossover: Their first appearance on the music YouTube channel The First Take on April 1, 2022 was with Sesame Street characters, where they all sang "Ue o Muite Arukou" (better known as "Sukiyaki" to English speakers).
• Cunning Like a Fox: The song "Kitsune" compares a person hiding their true self to a fox.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune:
  • Re:Mind: "Soredemo Aruiteru"
  • Dasada: "Seishun no Uma"
  • Koeharu!: "Koe no Ashiato"
  • Hinatazaka de Aimashō: "Tokimeki Sou"
• Double-Meaning Title:
  • "Imanimiteiro" is written in katakana (イマニミテイロ) and can mean both "The Color You See Right Now" (今に見て色) and an expression comparable to "You'll regret this moment someday" or "This Means War!" (今に見ていろ). The song was first performed live at Hiragana Keyaki's 3-day Budokan concert in January 2018, which originally was supposed to feature Kanji Keyaki on the second and third days until they cancelled due to an injury; the title and lyrics were perceived by some as them standing up against their detractors among the Kanji fanbase.
  • "Tomo yo, Ichibanboshi da", which is about friends who part ways to pursue their different dreams and promise to meet again someday, can mean both "Hey Friend, It's the First Star this Evening" (they part ways under the twilight sky in the lyrics) and "Hey Friend, You're the Number One Star".
• Early-Installment Weirdness: In their early days, the management decided to turn them into an "entertainment group", with each one of them tasked to master a special skill to perform in Keyakizaka's shows, making them something like a Vaudeville act in addition to singers. Many of those skills were reprised years later in The Oner MV for "Konna ni Suki ni Natchatte Ii no?", and several members since then have obtained outside jobs related to their specialties.
• Easter Egg: The "Tteka" MV has illustrations by the members hidden throughout, an allusion to center Miku Kanemura's interest in drawing.
• Edible Theme Naming:
  • The Amechan (Candy) duo are Ayaka "Ayacherry" Takamoto and Mei "Meichigo" (strawberry) Higashimura. In fact, the "official" spelling is Ayameichan (あゃめぃちゃん) with silent ya and i.
  • Translated to English, the third generation members' songs include "Let's Make Jam Out of This Summer", "Waffle and You", "Coriander, Bell Peppers, Green Peas", and "Popcorn of Youth".
• Empty Chair Memorial:
  • The live choreography for "Soredemo Aruiteru" prominently features an empty chair, symbolizing Neru Nagahama's departure from the group. In Re:Mind, which features the song as opening theme, the empty chair represents the missing character Miho Watanabe instead (the missing character was originally also to be played by Neru, but she left the group before production started and was replaced by Miho, one of the new 2nd generation members at the time).
    • As more 1st generation members left the group, live performances keep using 12 chairs to represent all of them, naturally increasing the number of empty chairs.
  • The "Boku ni Tsuzuke" MV features seven empty desks and chairs in the 1st and 2nd generations' rendezvous scene, symbolizing the members of those generations who'd left the group until that point (Neru Nagahama, Memi Kakizaki, Mao Iguchi, Miho Watanabe, Manamo Miyata, Yuka Kageyama, and Sarina Ushio).
    • In the silent farewell scene between Kyoko Saito and the 4th generation members, Marie Morimoto is the only prominently visible non-4th gen (other than Kyoko), and some speculate that it's a subtle nod to Honoka Kishi, the only 4th gen member to have left at the time, who went to the same high school as Marie in real life.
• Everytown, America: Some of the visuals for their early 2021 work took inspiration from this. They entered their 2nd Anniversary Concert in an American yellow school bus (incidentally, a Blue Bird Vision) and varsity jackets, and the "Sekai ni wa Thank you! ga Afurete Iru" MV has a traveling circus theme. The 5th hit single campaign would also feature them cheerleading to the single's main song, trained by a choreographer who's a former NBA and NFL cheerleader.
• Fake Band: There are Factory (Konoka Matsuda, Mei Higashimura, Hina Kawata) in Dasada and Maririn & Rubie (Konoka Matsuda and Suzuka Tomita) and Chocola Chocola (Hiyori Hamagishi, Mei Higashimura, Hina Kawata) in Koeharu! Of course, they're all real singers and have performed in-character in the group's events.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: The costume for "Azato Kawaii" is a short white dress with a long blue outer dress only covering the right side. The "Koi wa Nigeashi ga Hayai" costumes have a similar design.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: "Kimi Shika Katan" ("Nobody's Better Than You") is about no matter how many relationships the singer goes through, none of them will ever feel better than the first one.
• Flashback: The “Koi wa Nigeashi ga Hayai" MV shows the members practicing and going out together, with their past selves (most of whom are wearing Hiragana Keyakizaka gear) doing the same next to them.
• Foreign Language Title: Such as "NO WAR in The Future", "My God", "My fans", "Joyful Love", "Right?", "One choice", "You're in my way", and "Am I Ready?".
  • "Kyun" is a Japanese word, but written in Roman alphabet on the CD covers.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: Miho Watanabe's 5th single individual video features her in the body of a mother who is against her teenage daughter's idol aspiration, and encouraging the (utterly confused) teen to go for it nonetheless. The mother appears in Miho's body in the credits, complaining as she is dropped right into a live stream.
• Friendly Rivalry: Tamaki Ishizuka's tenth single bonus personal video features her singing a song about her love of baseball and cheerleading, and her frustration over not being able to defeat her rival, Rio Shimizu.
• Funny Background Event: In the 2022 Kouhaku Uta Gassen year-end NHK concert, Yuka Kageyama broke away from the group when they were rushing onto the stage to Glomp co-host Kanna Hashimoto, who had been her friend since they co-starred in the Kaguya-sama: Love Is War film adaptation in 2021, and the two of them struggled to decide what pose to strike before agreeing on a joint full-body heart pose, all within seconds before the group's song started.
• Genki Girl: Akari Nibu is generally agreed to be the best representation of their "Happy Aura" concept.
  • As Kyoko Saito puts it, all humans were born as pure as Nibu, but gradually lost it as they go through life.
  • She and Hina Kawata are the Hi-Hi Kyoudai (literally Hi-Hi Brothers or Siblings; it's an homage to the comedy duo TT Kyoudai), who strive to find all the hi sounds in the world. They're also called the Miso Soup duo since they're "warm and comforting".
• Girlish Pigtails: Akari Nibu rarely appears without hers (at least before becoming an adult in 2021), and other members also occasionally wear them.
• Girly Bruiser:
  • Akari Nibu holds a third dan rank in kendo and used to demonstrate it during talk sessions in concerts.
  • Nibu also has experience in karate, and in the "Konna ni Suki ni Nacchatte Ii no?" one-take MV, her feat is breaking a board with a karate punch.
  • The choreography for the "Coelacanth" MV, centered by karate brown belt holder Yoko Shogenji, incorporates some karate forms into her personalized choreography in the first chorus (other members also have personalized moves according to their specialties, but hers is the most visible). Unfortunately, the personalized moves have never been used in live performances.
  • The signature pose of "Kimi wa Honeydew", also centered by Yoko, is the left fist pointing forward, with the right hand crossed over the left arm and forming the group's "hi" gesture.
• Gratuitous English:
  • Many of their songs have an English line or two.
    • Both "Kyun" and "Kimi Shika Katan" have lines listing the days of the week in English.
    • The last lines of "Seishun no Uma" are in English:
      Never give up, never give up
      The easy way has no meaning
  • The Hinakuri concerts are narrated in English by a native-sounding speaker, with Japanese translation on the screens, even though they're always held in Japan and not aimed at a global audience (although the livestreams can be accessed from overseas).
• Gratuitous Foreign Language: The subunit name Lima Cantik is Indonesian for "Five Beauties", suggested by Sarina Ushio, who lived in Indonesia. But since they're still in the process of becoming "beauties", the Japanese rendering is りまちゃんちっく (lima chanchikku) instead of the more phonetically accurate りまちゃんてぃっく (lima chantikku), and it's in hiragana despite being a foreign phrase because they were Hiragana Keyakizaka.
• Heaven Versus Hell: "My fans" encourages the fans to follow the group even to heaven or hell, and the live choreography usually splits the members to a bluish foggy stage and a red fiery one to represent both sides.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Mirei Sasaki's individual video for the 5th single is about her taking her dog Kuma to a dog training school. Manamo Miyata's beloved dog Minto also appears in one of her individual videos.
• History Repeats:
  • She went to a Sony vocal school and took part in singer auditions before joining a Sakamichi group, where she has been praised for her singing ability. She has also been a regular model for ar magazine and announcer for the radio show Appare Yattemasu. Yui Imaizumi or Kyoko Saito?
  • She's from Osaka, but is unexpectedly reserved and rarely speaks in dialect. She loves reptiles and became the group's center a few years after joining, as well as a women's magazine exclusive model and an actress. Nanase Nishino or Nao Kosaka?
  • She's an animal lover from Kansai region, has a sport as her special skill, and joined the group at around 15, and was appointed center of a single during a major change in the group. Nao Kosaka (former volleyball club member from Osaka, center for the group's debut single as Hinatazaka46) or Yoko Shogenji (karate brown belt from Hyogo, center for the group's first single to use the senbatsu system, in which only selected members would perform the title song)?
• Huddle Power: The "Tomo yo, Ichibanboshi da" MV starts and ends with Yuka Kageyama's narration about huddle (円陣 enjin) power.
  Opening: Huddle. You can't form a huddle alone. You have friends by your side, and when you raise your head, your eyes will meet theirs. The circle has no gaps, and nobody is the first or last. It feels good. You'd want the huddle to last forever. Ah... I want to make a huddle. I can already hear the cheers.
  Closing: The shoulders of friends feel warm. Meeting the eyes of friends, you feel their kindness. I run. I kick. I rush forward. Despite that, the huddle feels gentle. It will always remain round. Let's form a huddle again someday! Because the cheers will never end!
• Human Pet: Also human Virtual Pet, Hina Kawata's 5th single personal video has her as the main character of the Kawadatchi, a spoof of the Tamagotchi. She escapes to the real world in the end, while the player gets Trapped in TV Land.
• "I Am" Song: "Hiragana Keyaki" and "Hinatazaka" are about the group itself.
• I Just Want to Be Free: "You're in my way" is about the dislike of being overprotected and wish to live life freely.
• Introductory Opening Credits: The concerts usually open with a video showing the name and face of each member, starting with those in the back row. Since 2024, it starts with the Hiragana Hinatazaka46 (members not selected for the latest main song) lineup from the back to the front, followed by the selected members from the back, and ends with the latest main song center.
• Japanese Delinquents:
  • In her personal video for the 5th single, Hina Kawata portrays a virtual Human Pet, who at one point transforms into a stereotypical yankee and changes the clock on the gaming device to make her player wake up late for school.
  • In her 10th single personal video, Honoka Hirao tries being a bad girl "for the first time in her life" and accordingly dresses like a yankee as she does various pranks and comes up with mean nicknames for others.
• Kaiju: The MV for the 6th single "Tteka" features them fighting a giant ice cream cone which is destroying a city. A friendly giant carrot also appears later.
• Kawaiiko: The song "Azato Kawaii" ("Cunningly Cute") is about the singer's infatuation with a girl whom they often see during commute, despite their suspicion that the girl is deliberately leading them on with her calculated wiles.
  Today, I saw you again
  No, I guess I was looking for you
  So many high school girls there
  It was during rush hour
  But you always caught my attention
  The sleeves of your cardigan
  You made it just a little longer
  And the way you clenched both your hands
  Was cunningly cute
• Lady in Red: The costumes for "Kirei ni Naritai" ("I Want to Be Beautiful") are red dresses, matching the lyrics about wanting to look more mature.
• Large and in Charge: Kumi Sasaki is the oldest and loudest member (at least after Mao Iguchi graduated) and one of the tallest (Mikuni Takahashi is 1 cm taller). Don't call her The Leader, though, as she will kindly remind you that the correct title is "Captain" (maybe because she's a proud fan of Monkey D. Luffy). "Kumiten" (Kumi-tain) or "Cap-rin" (captain with the -rin diminutive) are also acceptable.
• "Leaving the Nest" Song:
  • The lyrics to "Hikokigumo ga Dekiru Riyuu" are not particularly about farewell, but the MV is about the closing ceremony of a women's dormitory named Hidamari, a reference to Miho Watanabe's photobook (the first one by a member of the group), as the single was her last one with the group.
  • Yuka Kageyama's farewell song, "Tomo yo, Ichibanboshi da", is about friends who part ways to pursue their different dreams, and laments that the days ahead will be lonelier without each other's company.
  • Kyoko Saito's farewell song, "Boku ni Tsuzuke", chronicles her time with the group since the Hiragana Keyakizaka days as she walks down a highway and is joined by each generation of members, and their costumes change to represent the milestones in their journey.
• Let's Duet:
  • The guitar duo Konoka Matsuda and Suzuka Tomita, or Hanachans, since the ka in their names are written with the kanji 花 hana ("flower"). Their MTV Acoustic episode was subtitled "Bell & Like" after the other kanji character in their names, 鈴 suzu and 好 kono (one of several readings). They also portrayed the musical duo Maririn & Rubie in Koeharu!.
    • Ayaka Takamoto claims to be an honorary member, since her name also has the flower kanji.
  • Nao Kosaka and Miku Kanemura's "See Through".
• Lighter and Softer: They have the brightest image among the Sakamichi groups. Their name literally means "sunny slope" and they strive to bring a "Happy Aura" (also a song title). Even the kanjis for hinata (日向) are written in only 10 strokes, compared to the imposing 21 strokes of keyaki (欅).
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: Lima Cantik's "Mama no Dress" is about a girl who wants to borrow her mother's dress for her first date, and aims to surpass her mother's teen dating life. It also mentions that the Mum Looks Like a Sister and confuses the young man when he comes to their home.
• Location Song: "Yakusoku no Tamago" ("The Promised Egg") is about the Tokyo Dome (a.k.a. The Big Egg) and their goal to perform there. They were actually scheduled to hold the 2020 Hinakuri (Hina Christmas) concert there, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and converted to an online concert. Hilariously, Suzuka Tomita revealed in 2021 that she'd actually performed there three times as a child cheerleader, putting her ahead of the rest for once.
  • They would finally have a Tokyo Dome concert for their third anniversary in March 2022. To celebrate this, the song was performed for the first time outside their own shows, in TV Tokyo Music Festival 2022.
  • On the first day of the concert, Konoka Matsuda ate a quail egg near the end, as she promised on Hinatazaka de Aimashō. On the second day, they started the show emerging from inside a giant egg.
• Love Hurts:
  • "Konna ni Suki ni Nacchatte Ii no?" describes the painful emotions of First Love.
  • "Sabitsukanai Ken wo Mote!" ("Carry an Unrusted Sword!") compares being in love to a Sword Fight to the death where one must be prepared to endure all kinds of pain and give everything they have.
• Magical Girl: The "Am I Ready?" MV features Hinano Kamimura transforming into a magical girl who rides a giant goldfish to outer space.
• Mascot:
  • Poka the sky blue bird, who debuted as an animated character at Hinakuri 2020, talking to the members and voiced by none other than Hinatazaka de Aimashō co-host Masayasu Wakabayashi (and had his biases for that show only). It got its own blog in May 2021, presumably not maintained by Wakabayashi. Despite being a bird hatched from an egg, Poka has a navel.
    I know all about you, since I've been watching you since last year. Santa Tomita, you cry if you don't get cued to talk, don't you? I also know about Santa Ushio, the Indonesia lover who rings her gamelan ball all the time. Santa Kawata is the thief among you, stuff in the dressing room keep missing. And Santa Kosaka... I'll always root for you.
    • Being the Consummate Liar that he is, Wakabayashi denied on his Instagram that he appeared in the concert (technically his voice did).
    • Poka is also a slang for "blunder" and the members point this out when the bird is captured by the enemy in the concert's climax.
    • The MV for "Coelacanth" features the members chasing a sparkling blue bird, which many believe is the live-action version of Poka. In an interview, Kirari Takeuchi also revealed that the costume, a blue dress with white outer layer, is meant to represent the growth of the members from a "white cocoon" to a blue bird.
  • Pickles the Frog is the second generation's mascot. Miku Kanemura's mother discovered the character and its nine color variants (the same number as second gens) while shopping, and Miku gave different colored Pickles to the other eight members as Christmas presents in 2017. In 2018, an official Pickles collaborative series was released, and in 2020, the Saitama Trio (Miku, Akari Nibu, and Miho Watanabe) lent their voices to the Pickles animated series. Each member received a color that matches her personality to some extent:
    • Miku: Soramame (Fava Bean), lime green
    • Kawada: Gōya (Bitter Gourd), green
    • Kosakana: Yukimaru (Snowy), white
    • Tomita: Nasubinchou (Boss Eggplant), purple
    • Nibu: Pyokonin (Bouncy), orange
    • Hamagishi: Ichiro, blue
    • Konoka: Ebimaru (Shrimpy), pink
    • Manamo: Kenketsu (Blood Donation), red
    • Miho: Bitamin (Vitamin), yellow
• Me's a Crowd: Marie Morimoto's short film for the 5th single, Marie in Wonderland, is a Haruhi Suzumiya-like Mind Screw involving multiple copies of her.
• A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: "See Through" is about the difficulties that come with having the power to see through minds.
• Mondegreen Gag: Mirei Sasaki is revealed to have pronounced the "One Team" lyric in "My fans" as "onchi" (音痴, tone-deaf) during their early rehearsals.
• Music for Courage:
  • "Imanimiteiro" is about rising to the challenge despite one's inexperience and fears.
  • "Soredemo Aruiteru" ("Keep Walking Anyway") encourages one to do just that even after failing.
  • "Sonna Koto Nai Yo!" ("That's Not True!") is particularly an encouragement for girls insecure about their appearance. The customary "hit single prayer" event aptly involved them visiting a girls' school to offer advice on various problems the students were having (the group was actually popular among those students, if their Squee were any indication).
  • "Seishun no Uma" (Horse of Youth) is all about chasing after dreams, and to never give up as (in English) "the easy way has no meaning".
  • "Cage" is about the singer's determination to break out of their imaginary "cage" and live life as they wish.
  • "Boku Nanka" (Someone Like Me) starts with the Insecure Love Interest's late realization that they've fallen in Love at First Sight and believing that it's already too late to make a Love Confession, but later resolves to overcome such insecurities and never say "someone [unworthy] like me" again.
  • "Tsuki to Hoshi ga Odoru Midnight" is about adults who are unsatisfied with their lives and rediscovered their youthful memories while visiting their old school, and deciding that it's never too late to make a change in their lives, despite having so far submitted to societal expectations.
  • "Mita koto Nai Mamono" (Monster Never Seen Before) is about two friends or lovers who promise to meet at a hilltop near their homes at midnight, despite the darkness and fear of the unknown "monster", which can also be interpreted as them promising to support each other when facing challenges in life.
• Music Is Politics: In the context of their early struggles as Keyakizaka46's subgroup, "Konna Seiretsu wo Dare ga Saseru no ka?" ("Who Made This Arrangement?") can be interpreted as their protest against the unfair management. Its tone is also more similar to Keyakizaka46's defiant songs.
• My Future Self and Me: "Koe no Ashiato" is about an adult who wishes to offer advice to their troubled younger self across time and space.
• Naming Ceremony: Their rebranding into Hinatazaka was celebrated with the two-day Debut Countdown Live, where they performed as Hiragana for the last time in the first half and debuted as Hinatazaka in the second, twice.
• Non-Appearing Title: "Hiragana Keyaki". It does mention keyaki, but there's of course no way to indicate that it was written in hiragana.
• Ode to Youth:
  • "Seishun no Uma" ("Horse of Youth"), the "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune to their high school drama Dasada, is about young people's tireless pursuit of a dream.
  • "Seishun Popcorn" ("Popcorn of Youth") compares the energy of youth to cooking popcorn.
• Old Flame: In "Ai wa Kocchi no Mono da" ("Love is Here"), the singer bumps into their ex-girlfriend in a club and attempts to seduce her back, before realizing she's there with her boyfriend.
• The Oner:
  • For their 3rd hit single prayer, they were challenged to make this kind of music video, called the "Konna ni Suki ni Natchatte Ii no? - Hinatazaka de Aimashō Edition", with ten different kinds of performance demanding precision and/or acrobatic skills by each member along the way and culminating in a group rope skipping; one mistake and they started all over again. They succeeded after more than 35 takes.
  • The "Mado wo Hirakenakute mo" MV from the 5th single is almost one, but has a few subtle cuts for switching between scenes.
  • The "Kimi Shika Katan" MV was also edited to look like a long shot, with some digital effects added.
  • Since Kyoko Saito didn't participate in the 3rd hit single campaign due to her commitment to the Sazae-san stage adaptation at the time, they attempted another long take MV for the 8th single, for which she's the center, with half of the members participating and a much simpler routine. They succeeded again.
• One-Steve Limit:
  • Averted with Kumi and Mirei Sasaki (no relation), or Sasaku and Sasami. Hinatazaka de Aimashō co-host Kasuga's often-mentioned wife is also named Kumi.
  • Mana Takase and Manamo Miyata also have similar names and were called the Mana-Mana Combi.
  • There's also Miku Kanemura and Mikuni Takahashi.
  • In September 2022, fourth generation member Rina Watanabe became the first Watanabe to join the Sakamichi Series after all four of the previous ones (Nogizaka's Miria, Sakurazaka's Rika and Risa, and Hinatazaka's Miho) left their respective groups through 2021 and 2022.
    • The same generation also includes Honoka Kishi and Hirao, Honoka Hirao and Mitsuki Hiraoka, as well as Haruka Yamashita, whose name happens to be a combination of Nogizaka's Haruka Kaki and Mizuki Yamashita.
• Otaku:
  • "My fans" encourages the fans to become as obsessive as possible, with some Clingy Jealous Girl and even Cultish vibes.
  • Probably due to the negative connotation of the word, Marie Morimoto got teased when she blurted out at the Tokyo Dome concert that she'd been there before as an "ota-" and quickly switched to "fan" to avoid implying that she saw the audience as otakus. Of course, none of the fans were offended and many actually self-identify as otakus.
• Picky Eater: "Pakuchi, Piman, Green Peas" ("Coriander, Bell Peppers, Green Peas") contrasts the singer's dislike of certain foods with their equally strong affection for their love interest.
• Protest Song: "NO WAR in The Future" is an anti-war song.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Hiragana's live performances of "Te wo tsunaide Kaerou ka" feature Kyoko Saito and Ayaka Takamoto having a lover-like quarrel and making up in the end with a hug or kiss (on the cheek). This is referenced in Re:Mind as well.
• Questioning Title?:
  • "Konna Seiretsu wo Dare ga Saseru no ka?" ("Who Made This Arrangement?")
  • "Konna ni Suki ni Natchatte Ii no?" ("Is It Okay to Be This Much in Love with You?")
  • "Right?"
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: All of them are said to be "weird" in their private lives and have one or more quirks or special skills. In Shiho Kato's words, the 1st generation are the Class Clowns while the 2nd generation, with their prior achievements in various sports and arts, are the honor students.
• Reading Lips: In the end of "Azatokawaii" performances, Mirei Sasaki mouths a few words, usually "I'm into you!" (気になってました！).
• Re-release the Song: "Dare yori mo Takaku Tobe 2020", "NO WAR in the future 2020", and "Yakusoku no Tamago 2020" on the album Hinatazaka are all originally from the Hiragana era, and re-recorded to include all 22 active members at the time.
• Retraux:
  • The "Hikokigumo ga Dekiru Riyuu" MV portrays life in a women's dormitory in The '70s. Konoka Matsuda in particular styled her hair after English model Twiggy, which made her real-life relatives mistook her for her mother when they saw the MV.
  • Kyoko Saito's solo song "Kodokuna Toki" could pass for one of her hero Akina Nakamori's song from The '80s.
• Sacred First Kiss: "Am I Ready?" is about a girl's nervousness about having her first kiss with her boyfriend.
• Sanity Slippage: Yoko Shogenji's personal video for the 10th single is about her experiencing various A.I.-Generated Artwork hallucinations due to influenza... Which might also be All Just a Dream (she was a co-host for an NHK educational show about information technology at the time, which might have served as an inspiration).
• Saving Christmas: The Hinakuri 2019 and 2020 concerts have a loosely-connected storyline about saving the Christmas Town in the World Above The Clouds, which is powered by the Sun (Ohisama, a reference to the group's fandom name).
  • In 2019, a girl (portrayed by Akari Nibu) finds herself in the World Above The Clouds. The Weather-Control Machine is disabled and the factory shuts down due to lack of solar power. After the machine is restored and the factory goes back online, she helps Santa Claus's workers (portrayed by the rest of the group) prepare the presents to be distributed and receives a magical egg as her own gift.
  • In 2020, Poka, the bird hatched from the egg, comes to the 22 Santas (this time including Nibu) to give them a quest to exorcise a haunted hotel, which evil magic has blocked out the Sun from the World Above The Clouds. They defeat the Spirit King, whose weakness turns out to be cuteness, by Cuteness Overload and he loses his evilness afterwards. However, it's implied that Hinano Kamimura is still under Demonic Possession by the end...
    • The egg was possibly meant as a reference to the Tokyo Dome (a.k.a. The Big Egg), where Hinakuri 2020 was originally planned to be held, but since it was cancelled due to COVID-19, it became Poka's origin instead.
• Scout-Out: In Hinakuri 2020, they make their way to the haunted hotel wearing scout costumes.
• Self-Titled Album: 2020's Hinatazaka.
• Set Behind the Scenes:
  • The "Boku Nanka" MV depicts the creation of the MV's computer-generated set by none other than the song's center, Nao Kosaka.
  • The "One Choice" MV depicts a fictional version of the MV production. Gamer Chick center Akari Nibu oversleeps on the shooting day due to having played video games all night long, and the director decides to send the front-row members to wake her up with a camera crew to record parts of the MV at her home and on their way to the studio, while the rest of the group are shown preparing and rehearsing until the front-rowers arrive. While she was apologetic for causing trouble for everyone, Nibu is then shown playing games again that night and, predictably, oversleeps again the next day.
• Sexy Whatever Outfit: For Keyakizaka46's 7th single self-made bonus video, Kanji Keyakizaka's Nana Oda holds a private photo session with Hina Kawata, in which Hina poses in various costumes while Nana gleefully takes her pictures.
• Shout-Out:
  • Mana Takase's nickname is Manaphy.
  • The duo Maririn & Rubie, originally from Koeharu!, have very similar names to the protagonist twins of Oshi no Ko, Aquamarine and Ruby Hoshino (that manga's author has also referenced the group several times in his works).
  • In her solo dance during the performance of "Kimi Shika Katan" at the 2022 Tokyo Dome concert, Shiho Kato forms the letters for the initials "T.K." after Hinatazaka de Aimashō co-host Toshiaki Kasuga, as the other co-host Masayasu Wakabayashi suggested to her.
• Signature Move: The group as a whole and many individual members have signature poses. When a member couldn't join a live performance, those present would borrow her pose to represent her.
  • The group's pose is the katakana hi (ヒ) with the right hand (the thumb and index fingers form a C-shape and the rest are raised) is part of their standard greeting and some of the dance routines. It conveniently works for both Hiragana (even though it's in katakana) and Hinatazaka.
    • Hinano Kamimura puts her left index finger in front of the right thumb to also roughly form na (ナ) and no (ノ).
    • The less-used hiragana version (ひ) is raising both arms and tilting the hands outward, like in the opening choreography of "Kyun".
  • They also often borrow the signature moves of Audrey's Kasuga, the co-host of Hinatazaka de Aimashō, including during live performances.
  • Kyoko Saito has the Kyonko Heart, which is drawing a heart shape in the air and blowing a kiss through it.
  • Mirei's is pretending to eat a melon bread. When she fell ill and couldn't take part in the 5th single hit campaign's cheerleading dance, the others slipped the gesture into the routine to represent her.
  • Akari Nibu's is saying "Nipaa" while touching her cheek.
    • As a Dragon Ball fan, she often releases a Kamehameha during larger concerts, visualized by the audience's stadium wave and light sticks.
  • Mana Takase's Manaphy Pose is putting her cupped hands to her head to resemble the Sanrio character Cinnamoroll.
  • Kumi Sasaki's is walking with her back arched so that her head stays behind, like in classic American cartoons.
  • Honoka Hirao has the Hira-cannon (Hira-hou, which sounds like her nickname Hiraho).
  • They often include Hinatazaka de Aimashō co-host Kasuga's Kasu Dance and other signature gags in lives, particularly when performing "Dare Yori mo Takaku Tobe!"
• Silly Love Songs: In contrast to their former main group, many of their songs are, including several main songs in their releases: "Kyun" (the expression for one's heart skipping a beat), "Doremisolasido" (the missing "fa" represents the sudden love), "Konna ni Suki ni Natchatte Ii no?" ("Is It Okay to Be This Much in Love with You?"), "Sonna Koto Nai yo!" (crush on a classmate despite her self-perceived bad haircut), and "Azato Kawaii" (crush on a cunningly cute girl).
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: "Sonota Ozei Type" ("The Blending-in Type") is about the singer's realization as she grew older that what she wants is a good and unassuming man, with whom she can build a solid relationship without worrying about competition from other women.
• Ska: The music of "Hey Ohisama!" has strong ska influence.
• Spin-Off: The group was the subgroup of Keyakizaka46, itself now known as Sakurazaka46. Memi Kakizaki in particular lamented that they parted ways with Keyakizaka46, but ultimately conceded that it was for the best.
• Stage Magician: The "Kimi Shika Katan" performance at the 2022 Tokyo Dome concert features several stage magic tricks.
• Stealth Pun: Yoko Shogenji has revealed that her lightstick colors, red and orange, are a reference to her name, as red represents the sun (陽 yō) and orange is a "lighter" red and can therefore be considered its child (子 ko).
• To the Tune of...: The chorus of "Mita koto Nai Mamono" is to the tune of The Magnificent Seven theme.
• True Beauty Is on the Inside:
  • "Tteka" is about the singer's dislike of people who are only attracted by her appearance.
  • In the next single, "Boku Nanka" ("Somebody Like Me", with the connotation of "I'm unworthy"), the singer is an Insecure Love Interest who becomes interested in a girl more because of her personality than her looks, and goes after her despite believing that she's out of their league.
• True Companions: Much have been said about the strength of their bonds and friendship, despite the pressures of showbiz and their pitiful beginnings compared to the other Sakamichi groups. It's quite telling that only three people had left the group within five years since their founding.
  • A Running Gag is people not believing them when they talk about this in TV shows, suspecting that they'll spill the less flattering truth after they eventually leave the group. On the other hand, their documentaries don't shy away from showing their moments of conflict and eventual reconciliation.
• Unusual Euphemism: "Kimi wa Honeydew" ("You Are Honeydew") compares the singer's love interest to the honeydew, a melon variety that's commonplace and unremarkable but delicious and irreplaceable to them nonetheless.
  You are honeydew, my favorite
  When it comes to fruits, it's the only one for me
  Whether everyone likes it or not
  doesn't matter, it's what I like
• What Is This Feeling?: "Coelacanth" is about an encounter with an unknown woman which makes the adult singer rediscover what it's like to feel attracted to another person again, after previously only feeling such emotions as a student, which is compared to the rediscovery of the coelacanth, an ancient fish thought to be extinct. In the MV, they seem to wear white dresses at first, which are actually the outer layer of the costumes and later removed to reveal the blue dresses underneath, which can symbolize the reveal of the previously unseen, although an interview has revealed that it's meant to represent the members' growth.
  Like coelacanth, the living fossil
  It was there at the bottom of my heart
  Emotional moments like this that I've forgotten for so long
  Nothing has changed since those times
  The excitement has returned
  I can't believe that it's been quietly living until now, such a miracle
  ...
  The coelacanth survives to this day
  It didn't go extinct
  Nobody noticed it, where could it have been?
  It didn't succumb to the glacial period of entering adulthood, nor to natural selection
  It was just forgotten and now it has reappeared, such a mystery
• White Stallion: The "Seishun no Uma" ("Horse of Youth") MV appropriately features a white horse, although it's later revealed to be a mare named Yuniko.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: Suzuka Tomita, formerly "Paripi" (from the shortened Japanese pronunciation of "party people") and currently "Suzy", has rapping as her gimmick and plays this straight in their concerts and TV shows.
• Work Info Title: Hinano Kamimura's solo song "Ichiban Sukida to Minna ni Itte ita Shousetsu no Title wo Omoidasenai" ("I Can't Remember The Title of The Novel I Told Everyone is My Favorite").
• Zashiki-warashi: Kirari Takeuchi's tenth single bonus personal video features her as a zashiki warashi, who is in her normal size instead of the smaller traditional depictions and lives in an old house, which is being considered for rent by a young couple. After the couple signed the rent papers, in large part thanks to her entertainment, the real estate agent gives her a thick envelope of money for her help.

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