Fresh from graduating from AKB48, Tomomi Itano has decided to change her image.
The toothy, duck-faced lady has transformed herself into a hostess!
At least that's what seems to be the case if a recent photo she posted on Twitter is to be believed.
Could the 2012 TV Commercial Queen be heading for career change so soon? Well, sadly not, though the fashion style is pretty horrendous.
For the purpose of comparison, here is what she used to look like, many a moon ago. She's on the top left.
It is well known that Tomomi worked briefly as a hostess in Kyushu before she ...
Much like the yaeba snaggletooth phenomenon, the Japanese trend of the duck face has both fascinated and revolted foreigners.
Japanese girls make the duck-face pout (ahiru-guchi) as they think it makes them look cute and attractive to men. You look "dumb" and submissive, and, since Japanese ladies don't usually have much in the way of busts or butts they have to make up for it by charming gentlemen with their faces.
Classic duck-face advocates include Tomomi Itano from AKB48, singer Yuki, and voice actress Aya Hirano, though it can look sexier in the context.
It was first used in the ...
She might have been losing some ground with the public of late if those Senbatsu Election results are anything to go by, but you'd be a fool to count the achingly cute Tomomi Itano out just yet, especially when she's capable of producing material as pleasing to the eyes and ears as her new single 'Fui ni', released this week.
The song, available in Japanese retail outlets from the 13th, is the second physical single release from the 8th-placed AKB48 starlet, following last year's quite well-received 'Dear J'.
Cleverly (or should that be cynically?) coupling a pounding, ...
It might seem more than a tad cruel to publicly name and shame the least popular members of your group while vaulting others onto a pedestal to flaunt at the head of your column (at least until the next election rolls around).
Then again, with 48 members to keep track of, the marketing team over at AKB headquarters are probably grateful for any help at all in that department - hate to put a dud on the next single cover, after all. Thus, we have the results of the 3rd Senbatsu Election to mull over.
The divine Atsuko Maeda has, somewhat predictably, nabbed the top spot in this year's ...
Creator and marketing mad scientist behind AKB48, Akimoto Yasushi, was quoted as saying, "The least popular members are holding us back and we need to get rid of them." due to the less than stellar turn out for Oku Manami's graduation announcement event.
Of course you know Atsuko Maeda, Tomomi Itano and Yuko Ohshima. He's not talking about them. He's talking about the huge chorus of unknowns behind them who do little more than create a cheerleader effect that gets so many otaku hearts fluttering.
Upon hearing this news, quite a few of the "unpopular members" as they are referred ...
As Tomomi Itano, of AKB48 fame, embarks on her solo career, she took some time to promote her new single with a live performance.
After performing a few songs, Tomomi took a break to reveal a special prize. Seeing as the event took place just before Valentine's day, she would give one lucky fan a batch of her very own hand made chocolates. Let's back up just a second. In Japan, couples and lovers don't exchange gifts on Valentine's Day. Ladies give the man of their choice some sweets, usually chocolate. Guys reciprocate with sweets of their own, but not until White Day (March ...
