Atsuko Maeda

27 at the AKB48 theater,* [2] and was streamed live on

YouTube.* [4]* [14]

Atsuko Maeda ( Maeda Atsuko, born July 10,

1991, in Ichikawa, Chiba) is a Japanese singer and actress
known for her work in the Japanese idol group AKB48.
Maeda was one of the most prominent members in the
group, and placed rst among all AKB48 and sister group
candidates in the group's general 2009 and 2011 elections, and second in the 2010 election. She also appeared
on many of its album covers. On March 25, 2012, she
announced her graduation from AKB48;* [1] it was held
on August 27.* [2]* [3] She has since continued with a solo
singing and acting career.

1
1.1

1.2 Solo career

On April 23, 2011, Maeda announced that she would
make her solo debut with her debut single "Flower", released on June 22.* [15] It was met with commercial success in Japan, debuting at number 1 on the Oricon Charts
with rst week sales of 176,967 copies.
The follow-up single "Kimi wa Boku Da", released in
June 2012, was Maeda's last solo single while still a member of AKB48. It debuted at number two on the Oricon
charts and reached number one on the Billboard Japan
Hot 100.

Career
AKB48

On June 15, 2013, at AKB48's handshake event held at

Makuhari Messe, AKB48 announced that Maeda would
appear as a special guest at the group's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome on July 31.* [16] There,
she performed her third single, "Time Machine Nante
Iranai" ( Taimu Mashin
Nante Iranai), which was later released on September
18.* [17] It was selected to be the theme song for the
live-action adaptation of Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo
(Yamada and the Seven Witches).* [18] Maeda described
the song as cheerful and funand hoped it would
liven up the show.* [19]* [20] Time Machine Nante
Iranaieventually peaked at number one on the Oricon
Daily charts,* [21] and number two on the Oricon Weekly
chart.* [22] On Billboard's Japan Hot 100, it debuted at
number one and stayed there for just the week of September 30.* [23]

At age 14, Maeda became a member of AKB48's rst

group, Team A,* [4] which composed of 24 girls and debuted on December 8, 2005.
In 2009, Maeda won the rst edition of AKB48's annual general elections, which are described as a popularity contest. As a result, she was the headlined performer
for the group's 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe".* [5] The following year, she placed second overall, but still had a signicant choreography position in the lineup for "Heavy
Rotation".* [6] Later that year, AKB48 employed a rockpaper-scissors tournament to determine the top spot of
AKB48's 19th major single "Chance no Junban". Maeda
placed 15th, which secured her a spot on title track.* [7]
Maeda would also win the group's third general election
held in 2011.* [8]

Maeda's 4th single Seventh Codewas released on

March 5, 2014. It was used as the theme song of the
movieSeventh Codein which Maeda herself starred in.
It debuted at number 4 on the Oricon charts and reached
number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

Maeda was one of the members who sang on every

AKB48 title track since the group's inception. Her streak
of A-side appearances ended in 2011, when she lost to
Team K captain Sayaka Akimoto at a rock-paper-scissors
tournament which determined the featured members for
the group's 24th single "Ue kara Mariko".* [9]

On December 12, 2015, it was announced that Maeda's

rst album will be released later the next year. Eventually,
the album is set to be released on June 22, 2016.

On March 25, 2012, during an AKB48 Concert at the

Saitama Super Arena, Maeda announced that she would
leave the group.* [10]* [11] This caused a large buzz in
the Japanese news, and spawned a rumor (later proved
false) that a student from University of Tokyo had committed suicide over the announcement.* [12] AKB48 later
announced that Maeda would leave after the Tokyo
Dome concerts;* [13] For her nal performance, there
were 229,096 requests led for seat tickets.* [3] Her
farewell performance and ceremony occurred on August

1.3 Acting career

In 2007, Maeda played a supporting role in the lm Ashita
no Watashi no Tsukurikata, which was her debut as an actress.* [24] She starred in the 2011 lm Moshidora* [25]
and appeared in Nobuhiro Yamashita's 2012 lm Kueki
1

4 FILMOGRAPHY

Ressha.* [26] She also starred in Hideo Nakata's 2013

horror lm The Complex.* [27] It was announced that she
will co-star with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's lm 1905.* [28]
In 2013, Maeda starred in a series of 30-second station
ID videos for Music On! TV where she played Tamako, a
Tokyo university graduate who does not nd a job and
lives at home where she just eats and sleeps, over the
course of the four seasons. This became a TV drama
special, and has been developed into a full-edged lm,
Tamako in Moratorium, the last of which is planned for a
theater release in November 2013.* [29]* [30]
Maeda starred in the lm Seventh Code, in which she plays
a Japanese woman in Russia who is trying to track down a
guy she previously met. The lm was shown at the Rome
Film Festival in November 2013, and was released for a
short theater run in January 2014. She released a single
of the same name on March 5.* [31]

small group songs: Idol Nante Yobanaide

(1st unit)
2007-2008: Himawari-gumi 2nd Stage: Yume wo
Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai (
)
small group songs " Hajimete no Jelly Beans
(1st unit)
2008-2010: Team A 5th Stage: Renai Kinshi Jourei
()
small group songs: Kuroi Tenshi
2010-2012: Team A 6th Stage: Mokugekisha (
)
small group songs Ude o Kunde

In May 2015, it was announced that Maeda had been 3

cast in the role of Kyoko Yoshizawa, the female lead of
the anime and manga series Dokonj Gaeru (The Gutsy
3.1
Frog), in a live-action version of the story set to air on
Nippon TV in July.* [32]

Discography
Solo singles

3.2 AKB48

In 2016, she took the lead role of the drama Busujima

Yuriko no Sekirara Nikkion TBS. The rst episode is
3.3
set to air on April 20, 2016.

DVDs

Mubbi (2011)

Stage units

A listing of Maeda's participation in AKB48's theatre

programs, called stages:* [33]
2005-2006: Team A 1st Stage: Party ga Hajimaruyo(PARTY )
small group songs: Skirt, Hirari(1st + 2nd
units) and Hoshi no Ondo(2nd unit)
2006: Team A 2nd Stage: Aitakatta(
)
small group songs: ""Nageki no Figure,
Nagisa no Cherry, Senaka kara Dakishimete, Rio no Kakumei
2006-2007: Team A 3rd Stage: Dareka no Tame ni
()
small group songs: Nage Kiss de Uchi
Otose!" and Seifuku ga Jama o Suru
2007, 2008:* [note 1] Team A 4th Stage: Tadaima
Renaichuu ()
small group songs: 7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi
2007: Himawari-gumi 1st Stage: Boku no Taiyou
()

4 Filmography
4.1 Films
Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata (2007)
Densen Uta (2007) Kana
Nasu Shnenki (2008)
Moshidora (2011) Minami Kawashima* [46]
The Drudgery Train ( Kueki Ressha)
(2012) Yasuko Sakurai* [47]
1905 (2013) (Production cancelled February
2013)* [48]
The Complex ( Kuroyuri danchi)
(2013) Asuka Ninomiya* [49]* [50]
Tamako in Moratorium (
Moratoriamu Tamako) (2013)
Tamako* [29]* [30]* [51]
Pikachu and Eevee Friends (2013) Narrator* [52]
Seventh Code (2013) Akiko* [31]
Eight Ranger 2 (2014)* [53]

4.5

Radio shows

Kabukicho Love Hotel (2015)* [54]* [55]

Initiation Love (2015) Mayuko Mayu
Naruoka* [56]* [57]
Mohican Comes Home (2016) - Yuka
Shin Godzilla (2016) - Refugee

4.2

Television dramas

Swan no Baka!: Sanmanen no Koi (2007)

Shiori to Shimiko no Kaiki Jikenbo (2008)
Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu (2008)

4.5 Radio shows

Atsuko Maeda's Heart Songs (20102013)

5 Bibliography
Hai (2009)
Acchan in Hawaii (2010)
Maeda Atsuko in Tokyo (2010)
Atsuko in NY (2010)

Majisuka Gakuen (2010)

Bukiy (2012)

Rymaden (2010)

AKB48 Sotsugyo Kinen PhotobookAcchan(2012)

Q10 (2010)
Sakura Kara no Tegami (2011)
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2011)
Majisuka Gakuen 2 (2011)

6 Awards
2013: 22nd Japanese Film Professional awards
Best Actress for Kueki Ressha* [58]

Saikou no Jinsei (2012)

Kasuka na Kanojo (2013)

7 Notes

Nobunaga Concerto Episode 3 (2014)

Kageri Yuku Natsu (2015) Yu Kahara (witness of
infant kidnapping case)
Dokonj Gaeru (2015)
Majisuka Gakuen 5 (2015)
Busujima Yuriko no Sekirara Nikki (2016) - Yuriko
Busujima
Gou Gou, The Cat 2 - Iida (2016)

4.3

Television shows

AKBingo! (20082012)
Shukan AKB (20092012)
AKB48 Nemsu TV (20082012)
Gachi Gase (2012)

4.4

Documentaries

Documentary of AKB48: The Future 1 mm Ahead

(2011)
Documentary of AKB48: To Be Continued (2011)
Documentary of AKB48: Show Must Go On (2012)
Documentary of AKB48: No Flower Without Rain
(2013)

[1] Team A would return to performing the 4th Stage program

from AprilOctober 2008

8 References
[1] Atsuko Maeda says she will leave AKB48. Asia and
Japan Watch. Asahi Shimbun. March 26, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
[2] " "(in Japanese).
Oricon, Inc. June 28, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
[3] AKB Google YouTube
" (in
Japanese). Oricon, Inc. August 21, 2012. Retrieved July
4, 2013.
[4] AKB48's Maeda Atsuko graduates and how!". The
Japan Daily Press. August 28, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
[5] AKB4813th
" (in Japanese). livedoor Co.,Ltd. Retrieved
October 8, 2011.
[6] AKB48 17th
(4)" (in Japanese). ScrambleEgg Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
[7] AKB48" "
19th !" (in Japanese). Oricon.
Retrieved October 8, 2011.

[8]
(in Japanese). Sponichi. Retrieved October 8,
2011.
[9] AKB48 Janken Tournament results for 24th single Senbatsu members!". September 20, 2011.
[10] " AKB 6
". Oricon.
[11] AKB48
6 " (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun
Digital Co.Ltd. March 25, 2012. Retrieved March 26,
2012.
[12] An idol 'graduating' should not be front-page news.
The Japan Times. April 15, 2012. Retrieved May 18,
2012.
[13] " AKB 9
" (in Japanese). Oricon, Inc. May 30, 2012.
Retrieved June 5, 2012.
[14] Maeda Atsuko makes a surprise appearance on the balcony. Tokyohive. August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
[15] Update: Video AKB48's Maeda Atsuko will ocially
go solo in June. tokyohive. tokyohive. April 23, 2011.
Retrieved April 24, 2011.

REFERENCES

[24] Mark Schilling (May 11, 2007). "'Ashita no Watashi no

Tsukurikata'". The Japan Times.
[25] Jean Noh (March 21, 2011). Drucker bestseller tops
TBS sales slate. Screen International.
[26] Mark Schilling (July 6, 2012). "'Kueki Ressha (The
Drudgery Train)'". The Japan Times.
[27] Ard Vijn (January 2013). IFFR 2013 Review: THE
COMPLEX Gives A Decent Fright. Twitch Film.
[28] Jason Gray (September 11, 2012). Kurosawa to direct
Japan-China co-production starring Leung. Screen International.
[29] Ouellette, Kevin (July 31, 2006).Atsuko Maeda reteams
with Nobuhiro Yamashita forTamako in Moratorium"".
Nippon Cinema. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
[30] " " "
11 :
- .com (in Japanese). Eiga.com. August
20, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
[31] Schilling, Mark (January 2, 2014). "'Seventh Code'". The
Japan Times. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
[32] Ex-AKB48 Atsuko Maeda to Play Heroine Kyoko in
Dokonjo GaeruTV Drama Adaptation, Crunchyroll.com, 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

[16] Maeda Atsuko to release a new single + perform the song

at AKB48's Sapporo Dome concert as a special guest. [33] Maeda Atsuko. stage48.net. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
Tokyohive.com. June 15, 2013. references "
AKB [34] Billboard Japan Hot 100 Charts (in Japanese). Billboard.
". Cinema Today (in Japanese). June 15,
2013.
[35] (in Japanese). RIAJ.
[17] Atsuko Maeda makes guest appearance at AKB48 concert. Japan Today. July 31, 2013. Retrieved August 24, [36] AKB48
" (in Japanese). Natalie. Retrieved July 27,
2013.
2012.
[18] Former AKB48 Idol Atsuko Maeda Sings Yamada-kun
to 7-nin no Majo Drama's Theme - Interest. Anime [37] " LOVE
" (in Japanese). Natalie. April 25, 2012. Retrieved July
News Network. August 6, 2013. Retrieved September
27, 2012.
19, 2013.
[19] Maeda Atsuko's new song to be used in drama 'Yamadakun to 7-nin no Majo'". tokyohive.com. August 6, 2013.
Retrieved September 19, 2013.

[38] Billboard Japan Hot 100 (in Japanese). Japan: Billboard. September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 25,
2013.

[20] " AKB48

7 - MANTANWEB
" (in Japanese). Mantan-web.jp. August
6, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.

[39] CD - 2014 03 03 2014 03 09 CD

". Oricon. Retrieved March 12,
2014.

[21] CD -ORICON
STYLE ". Oricon.co.jp. September 20,
2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.

[40] Billboard Japan Hot 100ChartsBillboard JAPAN

. Billboard-japan.com. Retrieved March 12, 2014.

[22] CD -ORICON STYLE

". Oricon.co.jp. September 24, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
[23] Billboard Japan Hot 100 (in Japanese). Japan: Billboard. September 30, 2013. Retrieved September 25,
2013.

[41] Center and A-side lineup information provided by

AKB48 2006
2013 " [(2006-2013) AKB48 successive single
member selection]. entamedata.web.fc2.com. Retrieved
September 23, 2013.
[42] SKIRT, HIRARI AKB48's second indies release ".
supermerlion. Retrieved April 24, 2011.

[43] AKB48
". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November
4, 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
[44] AKB48 AKB48 9
SKE48NMB48 71 ".
Mainichi Shimbun Digital Co., Ltd. (in Japanese). MANTANWEB. July 3, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2011.

9 External links
Ocial website (Japanese)
Ohta Pro Prole
Atsuko Maeda on Twitter (Japanese)
Atsuko Maeda on Instagram (Japanese)

[45] AKB48's secondRock, Paper, ScissorsTournament

conrmed. Tokyohive.com. July 3, 2011. Retrieved
April 25, 2013.
[46] AKB48's Atsuko Maeda Stars in Moshidora Film Next
June - News. Anime News Network. December 13,
2010. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
[47] Young, Deborah (July 13, 2012). The Drudgery Train:
Shanghai Review. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved
September 25, 2013.
[48]
[Film featuring Atsuko Maeda to be cancelled].
Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Japan: Daily Sports.
February 25, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
[49] Westlake, Adam (October 27, 2012). "'Ringu' director making new horror lm starring Atsuko Maeda of
AKB48. The Japan Daily Press. Retrieved September
25, 2013.
[50] Yamamura, Hiroko (January 21, 2013). Atsuko Maeda
gets terrorized in The Complex. Japanator. Retrieved
September 25, 2013.
[51] Trailer For Atsuko Maeda's Starring Film Tamako in
MoratariumRevealed. Jpopasia.com. September 18,
2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
[52] Atsuko Maeda To Provide Voice For Narration in New
Pokemon Film. Jpopasia.com. April 20, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
[53] (2014). allcinema.net (in
Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
[54] Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF.net - Kabukicho Love Hotel. TIFF. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
[55] Mark Schilling.Hot Japanese Stars Sometani Shota and
Maeda Atsuko Say 'Sayonara Kabukicho'". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
[56] Initiation Love. Nippon TV Program Licensing Catalog.
Nippon TV . Retrieved 26 May 2015.
[57] http://variety.com/2014/film/asia/
tohos-mystery-romance-initiation-to-star-shota-matsuda-atsuko-maeda-1201330457/
[58] Maeda Atsuko & Arata Iura Win Japanese Film Professional Best Actor Awards. Japanverse. April 24, 2013.

10

10
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