Kyoko Saito: Her triumphant comeback post.... number one????

 

 Quite a few posts the past month(s) have been so massive, perhaps just about all have and am getting a bit burnt out from writing them. So let me try to make this a bit smaller and is one reason I put 'Number One' in the title as I could finish things off in another post which would be very soon. However I know myself too well when it comes to blogging and this may be another huge post, if it is another in that vein hope you're enjoying them! One thing you definitely should enjoy is that first pic of the post, nothing wrong with the second either or all of the other photos in this post. Lately have talked about some of my all time favorite pictures, an ex-Keya member has had my #1 for almost six years!!!! Just thought about it and that be a record which is of being number in a category for so long but it may stretch out for a few more decades! That first pic of Kyoko's is from her first and only photobook, that pic is my second favorite of all time and doesn't it leave you speechless?! It should and what a shame it was Kyoko only had one book while with Keya, I was praying for a graduation book which never happened.

 Before the first photo of the post became my favorite of Kyoko 'sthose two above were vying to be #1, the top pic was in her first ever post while the steamy second was from Hina's group book. It's been 22 months since Kyoko's last post and will admit I was a bit down on her for a while. She left Hina at the beginning of April 2024 but hadn't done much with them for the prior six months. She didn't appear on any 2024 singles, there was no graduation book, her appearances on their variety show dwindled to zero and it seemed to me Kyoko just wanted to leave as quickly and quietly as possible. So I was kind of bummed out about that period of time plus for so many months(a year?) after her departure she seldom would mention Hina46 in interviews, I thought did she want to white-out that important era of her life? Recently Kyoko has opened up more about her time being a J-Pop Idol and she's not the first to want to forget about her olden days and concentrate on the future. I've seen a few older ex-AKB members get a bit riled when their group days were brought up and how they're still introduced as So and So from AKB so can understand to an extent why Kyoko wanted to distance herself from Hina but without them we may not have heard of her!

 So gradually Kyoko did redeem herself in my eyes, every now and again I sour on someone though it hasn't happened often but I like to give my bigger faves a second or third chance. So for many months have been wanting to have some posts for Kyoko but it's been so difficult. She rarely appears in magazines, the second pic above is from the ar site and these days no longer models for them. Kyoko does appear at events and looks terrific at them so you will be seeing many of those photos today and in future posts. Since leaving Hina Kyoko has been busy as an actress and I think she's the best '46' member when it comes to acting. Thought her roles would have been much more edgier but she's appeared in a few fluffy dramas which are a turnoff to me. However one drama has caught my eye which is "Rebirth of Reiko: A Mother's Revenge" that aired last Autumn and looks to be an intense thriller. But the problem is the drama hasn't been subbed(?) though I haven't looked too hard but will now do so.

 So give me 2-3 weeks to whip up that next post, know it's been way too long since Kyoko's last one but to be honest I really haven't missed too much. A difficult question will soon be where will she end up on the third 'Top Twenty Faves of All Time' list when the countdown begins in six months? On the second list done in the Summer of 2022 Kyoko finished in the 14th position, that's was an impressive spot and I had only been posting about her for 3 1/2 years. On the yearly faves list from 2020 to 2023 she finished in the seventeenth, fourth, sixth and fourth positions. Not many have been in the top six three years in a row but this long gap without any posts will hold Kyoko back a bit. But hopefully can do four or more of these posts before the countdown begins, if so there's an outside chance of her squeezing into the top ten.

 Have a little of a lot for today, did say in the intro how I was hoping this post would be a bit smaller but can already tell it won't. First off are these fabulous recent photos from Kyoko's IG page, she does post many and also did so while with Hina. Kyoko is a shortish woman as her height is just 154 cm but you didn't notice that often as Hina is one of the shorter Idol groups.

 Have a few older Hina pics for Valentine's Day and had wanted to include some graduation cards but there were none, as mentioned earlier Kyoko seemed to want to make her departure a quiet one.

 But there were a few cards after her graduation which were promoting Kyoko's final concert. As you can see in the first card the DVD was part of a package with Hina's fifth anniversary concerts from February 2024. The group had been around for longer than five years but their first 2 1/2 they were the younger sister group of Keya and were called Hiragana46.

 Kyoko has a new movie out titled "Love on Trial", it's actually an older film and will explain what I mean in the final segment. For the movie Kyoko has done a few interviews to promote it, the pics below are from the Post-Seven site and she did wear those three outfits. Will have the link to the interview and in it Kyoko did open up a bit about her days being a Hina member and did admit she really enjoyed her days as an Idol: Post-Seven site

 Here's something we haven't seen for a while which is a Kyoko magazine spread, it's from the February 3rd issue of Flash. To me Kyoko looks absolutely dazzling and I've thought that way for well over five years, was down on her for a while but she's still my all time favorite Hina member. However Kyoko is anything but a favorite with you viewers, she was at one time but none of her previous dozen posts in this vein have received a thousand views and is it because of no new gravure photos?

 It was nice to see Kyoko finally appear in a magazine but the above spread was only six pages. Bet Kyoko has been the cover girl for a mag at least twenty times, her final one to date was this set from the April 18, 2024 issue of Weekly Shonen. It was also Kyoko's last regular spread until the above one and was one of the reasons for the lack of posts, this spread was for her Hina graduation.

 We've finally hit the end and for the finale have some ultra stupendous event photos. Above had mentioned the "Love on Trial" movie and had said how it was kind of an older film. That's because last May 22nd it had it's first showing at the Cannes Film Festival but didn't have it's official release until two weeks ago, January 23rd. Think things like that happen so the producers can see how a movie fares with the audience and if changes need to be made they can be done. In the movie Kyoko played an Idol who broke her agency contract by dating someone, it ended going to court and to me it seems like an interesting plot. Below are many pics from the film's premiere and doesn't Kyoko look so radiant, after the photos is a trailer for the movie.