Minami Umezawa: Her unparalleled 44th post....

 

 This makes it three solo posts for three different Nogi members the past ten days, at one time that was so common but sure it's been at least four years since that's happened! In the second post done three days ago mentioned how I had just learned of Minami graduating from Nogi, she announced the sad news on February and her farewell concert was set three months later for May 21st. Minami is the last of the three somewhat 'Superstars' from the third generation to leave and though posts have slowed down a lot for Minami the past three years I will miss her. Back on January 6th she did celebrate her 27th birthday and has been with Nogi for about ten years so we can all understand why she's chosen to leave the group and who will replace her as captain? Made my prediction three days ago and I think Minami will be a member I can continue to do posts for in the future but we won't need to worry about that for a while.

 Did a post for Minami six weeks ago and was planning on doing another before the end of February. Forgot all about that until yesterday so will have another within two weeks and think I can scrounge up enough goodies for that post, this one for today could be in contention for best post of the year so far. This is also Minami's 93rd post so she's not too far from hitting that seldom reached 100 post milestone but have said it's been easier for Nogi members to hit that figure due to so many group posts. But I haven't done any of them for a while, as the title says Minami is up to 44 solo posts plus has ten for dramas and films which in a way I consider to be solo posts. So when she hits the 100 post mark that will be an achievement as it's been a long while since I've done any Nogi group posts but having another seven posts is much easier said than done.

 The two pictures above and the two below are from Minami's second photobook that was released on February 3rd, have more pics from it later in the post. What I haven't done is post many photos from the event held for the book, that will happen in her next post. What I also need to work on is determining if Minami may sneak onto the third 'Top Twenty Faves of All Time' list when the countdown begins in August. Her not being too busy for about a two year stretch or at least not being able to do posts for her is definitely a negative and at times is not easy to overcome. But that's the only negative for Minami and her posts have always been terrific, she has done quite a bit to make her deserving of one of those twenty prestigious positions on the list.

 Minami has been in the top ten on three yearly fave's list, for a long time she had my #1 favorite photobook but it may have dropped to third which is still very impressive. I would say Minami just may be my third favorite Nogoi member and if not no lower than fifth. Plus for over five years have said how in my eyes Minami is by far Nogi's most alluring and sexy member 😍 so she's certainly done enough to be one of my top twenty favorites of all time. But a few other women are in the same boat so now is the time for that group of gals to get some momentum going to make the list and I can see Minami doing so with another four or so of these posts over the next few months.

 Minami is also an actress and she was my favorite in the "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken" drama and movie. She has a show airing on March 31st called "Shitsuren Karuta" but not sure if it's a TV movie or regular drama, will have the info for her next post. Have a little bit of many things for today and will begin off with some recent photos from Minami's IG page, she's just a so-so poster but the pics are always superb! Have a large batch of 2025 Nogi cards which hadn't been posted, there's enough pics for today so will hold on to those for her next post.

 Whew, below are my top members from Nogi's second and third generations, the pair were close while with the group and can I find any photos of them with my top first generation gal? Hmmmm, that is something I'm not sure about as there's been about four who I've called my top 1G member but who is it these days????

 What I hope continues after Minami leaves Nogi is that we'll still see her at those major fashion shows, she's appeared at almost everyone the past seven years. But have noticed when a member leaves a '46' group many of their activities cease such as them hosting radio or variety shows along with modeling for sites and magazines. On Saturday the Spring 'Tokyo Girls Collection' show was held at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. Minami took two strolls, this set is from the Creates stage and because there's so many models at the shows a stroll on the catwalk only lasts for 30-40 seconds.

 Walk #2 was on the "TGC Special Collection" stage, Minami looked fine and especially in the above photos. But these shows are more conservative than they once were, the way Minami looked at their March 2019 show may be my second all time favorite pics from a fashion show.... whewwww....

 Minami will be the cover girl for the May issue of UTB, it's been a long time since a Nogi member has appeared in that magazine and that will be coming out next month. Minami often is the cover girl for the magazines she appears in, this set is brand new for here and is from the January 22nd issue of Young Magazine, don't know why it wasn't in her last post.

 Photobooks these days sell so fewer copies than they once did, did discuss that more in the post below this one. Minami's first PB that came out in September 2020 is such a classic and is in my top three of all time, to date it's sold over 110,000 copies and perhaps has reached 125K. Her second book "Transparent Resolve" is currently at 47,000 copies sold and it's kind of baffling why the sales haven't been higher but I wouldn't doubt if sales will zoom up once it comes close to Minami's graduation. I do have that rule where I wait at least three months before posting a regular book so won't have it here until mid-May or June. Below are more promo and outtake pics from the book, all except for two hadn't been posted before. All the photos are of course fabulous but especially the fourth and fifth ones, there is a reason why for over five years Minami 😍 has been my all time most alluring Nogi member and wonder how she would stack up against other J-Pop Idols????

 We've hit the end and hopefully her next post will be right after April 1st. Minami has been a model for the Classy magazine/site since April 2024, I hope she remains with them after her graduation. Minami's modeling pics with them are beyond terrific and like to end her posts off with them. This batch finishes off Minami's January photos and will have February modeling pics in that next post. The first picture has been seen before and I often have that first in batches from the Classy site as it's one of those photos I adore to no end and can't explain why! Nogi has their own streaming channel on YT for member's to upload personal videos, have one for Minami after the pics but it is 41 minutes in length(!) but worth skimming through. It's Minami's latest one which was uploaded on December 12th, she loves camping as this is the fourth video of her doing her favorite activity.