Mai Shinuchi: Staking an early claim to be next year's number one Queen!!!!

 

 Did Mai's last post ten days ago and said I was holding on to a new magazine spread so would do another by the end of the month, am doing this about ten days earlier than I thought it could be done. That post was for Mai finishing in the ninth spot on this year's faves list, in 2022 she was fifth. For so many years said how she would be a fixture in the top ten if only she could begin to have more solo posts which started to happen in 2020, will admit I've been smitten with her since around 2015. The odds are a billion to one that Mai will ever be #1 on the yearly list but was thinking a while ago she is my number one in two categories and can any other fave make that claim? Don't think so and talked about one of them in her last post which is that to me Mai would make for the best girlfriend of any woman I post about, perhaps even the top wife!!!! Plus for the last five years have said no woman in history(!) can top her legs and when you view these pics bet it's hard not to agree, WOW!!!!

 When Mai was with Nogi her solo posts drew fewer views than any other member, didn't please me but can understand why as Nogi did have so many superstars up until ~2019. For a while her pots did begin to receive more views and especially after she graduated almost two years ago. But noticed her posts this year have seen a decrease in views compared to 2022 and wonder why, no photobook? Then again it is tough to compare posts to previous years, though I think the views are down for 2023 could check in two years and those totals will have doubled(!) which often happens. Mai does have  solid core here of fans and think this will be a post all will enjoy. So even though that last post was done only ten days ago do have that new magazine spread plus some other newish pics. But what will make this post super duper is some older pics you'll be seeing and the vast majority of them had never been posted before.

 First up are these recent IG pics, some are so terrific wish she posted more of them. A pair are with an old Nogi mate and to be honest hadn't thought much about her the last year or so. But how about those first few which are unbeatable and are from a new Jimmy Choo store opening in Ginza, what's also a very good pic is the last one and has anyone in Japan seen Mai waiting for the train?

 Far too often when a J-Pop Idol graduates from their group they take an extended 'rest period', they then become slightly forgotten about and never regain that momentum they once had. Not so for Mai who has always remained busy since leaving Nogi, perhaps she's been even busier. Since she departed in February 2022 she's been the host or co-host of three radio shows and two TV variety shows, appeared in two stage plays, her first film and has been at about ten events. Wish Mai would appear in a regular drama so we could see her in a live setting but perhaps she doesn't want to. The one thing I would love to see her start doing again is modeling and she had such fabulous pics from 2018-22. The last place she was a model for was Oggi, she left them in April 2022 and was that because of leaving Nogi? Don't know but here are some stupendous older pics from their site, these are among her earliest ones for them from 2019.... aren't these pics just out of this world!!!!

 One thing we've rarely seem in the past are current or ex-Nogi members with their sister groups Hina and Keya(Sakura). However for today have a special bonus and where else could you find photos like these? Probably very few if any other places and Mai is the one member who does have many pics with the two other groups, have some of those rare ones for today. As you can see in the first one she's promoting their CD's, in the next two she performed a song with Hina back in January 2019 at a 'All Night Nippon' event, Mai was a radio show host for them for seven years. Then in October and November of that year she appeared on two of their groups radio shows and those members also visited her on the ANN show, sure you know everyone in the photos.

 Wow, doesn't that Hina member look so, so young in those pics? It being the Christmas season of course have been posting many holiday photos in recent posts, did have quite a few in Mai's last one. But there is one set of pics which I've rarely ever posted and that's for New Year's, one reason is because that's not so easy to do. However Nogi does have cards for the holiday and have a bunch below that go from 2022 backwards to 2019. Lucky Bag is also the name of a second set of Nogi cards for New Years, to me the 2020 Lucky Bag cards are the best of the lot.

 We've reached the end, not a lot of segments but a vast amount of pics with most being new for here. Final set is the magazine spread I was holding back and is from the December 18th issue of Big Comic Spirits. The date is very odd as it's issue #1 for 2024, at this time of the year many magazines double up on their issues meaning they may release just two this month instead of four. It's promoting Mai's second calendar which came out in November, in her last post had many pics from an event held for it. Guess the date isn't too important but do know one thing which is that this is one of the top spreads from the past year and as I mentioned in the intro how about her ultra perfect legs!!!! What's a major crime is that there's no video of the photo shoot and there usually is for the cover girl. So after the pics have a mini video from June that was promoting her mini "Evolution" web photobook, will be back around January 22nd for her next post as that's when Mai will be celebrating her 32nd birthday.