I worry that with a lot of these Team 8 entries, we are simply reiterating the same facts over and over again, but I really want to treat the stories of each of these girls as special and individual, so I don't care. If I have to repeat myself, I have to repeat myself, and with that said, Yaguchi Moka passed AKB48's Team 8 auditions and joined the group alongside Abe Mei, Okabe Rin, Okubora Chinatsu, Nagano Serika, Fujimura Natsuki, Onishi Momoka, Kuranoo Narumi, Shitao Miu, Cho Kurena, Hamamatsu Riona, Fukuchi Rena, Honda Hitomi, Yokomichi Yuri, the other Yokoyama Yui, Yoshino Miyu, Oda Erina, Oguri Yui, Yoshikawa Nanase, Hayasaka Tsumugi, and Hirose Natsuki, debuting in the SKE48 theatre performance of PARTY ga Hajumaru yo in 2014. Already highly thought of, Moka appeared with her peers in the opening number, Skirt, Hirari, and also Hoshi no Ondo alongside Nanase and Natsuki.

With the release of 47 no Suteki na Machi e on the B side of Kokoro no Placard in 2015, Team 8, with Moka amongst them, set out on tour, performing in a number of prefectures, not least of all her home ground of Miyazaki. Throughout this period, Moka and Team 8 were propping up the B sides of almost every AKB release, joining Tsumugi by making it as far Teacher Teacher before her graduation. I had stepped back at this point in time, but I can't help but wonder what these days must have been like for newer fans at the time, especially those brought in by the nationwide tour. It must have felt like there were two AKBs at this time, the "underground idols" doing all the hard work touring and actually being "idols you can meet," and, in contrast, AKB the institution, what remained of the Kami 7 and the golden age. This conflict can be seen in the results of the general election, for which Moka failed to rank each year of her time in the group right up until her final year when, like any sensible person, she chose not to participate.

From the age of three, Moka had been studying ballet, and whilst idols represent a very different kind of dance, I think it's obvious that, unspoken, she was part of the changing trend in the idol industry and AKB itself that saw the group pivot towards a more complex focus on dance than previous generations. Being an idol often implies having a number of talents, yet dance has become so integral to the identity of the medium, partly following the explosion of the Hallyu Wave, that I cannot fault management for wanting to make use of the inordinate number of trained girls that came of age and turned up at auditions during these years.

In 2017, as with other members of Team 8, Moka was afforded a concurrent position, joining fellow Team 8 member Yokoyama Yui over in Team K. Unlike Yoko-chan, however, Moka did not stay. Lasting almost a year, her graduation arrived in November 2018, this self-described flirty girl desperate to lessen the divide between fans and members finally heading out into adulthood and leaving her former teammates behind.

Like Nanase, like many members of Team 8, Moka isn't the kind of girl that gets invited back for reunions and anniversary, but also like those former teammates of hers, Yaguchi Moka was one of the girls who brought AKB48 shouting and dancing into where it is now, a place where anniversaries and reunions can be celebrated.

Alongside Noro Kayo, Ohori Megumi, and Sato Yukari, Kohara Haruka was one of the early AKB48 members moved over to SDN48 on 22nd September 2009, joining former SKE48 member, Ichihara Yuri in the two months before she up and quit, presumably over the move, and a host of other older members who later went on to become SDN's first generation.

Originally auditioning for AKB in 2007, she passed and quickly became a member of the kenkyuusei, appearing on their recording of Oogoe Diamond as well as appearing on the recording of Shonichi that appeared on Namida Surprise!, having been transferred into Team B in early 2009.



2009 must have been a tumultuous year for Haruchan. Originally promoted in Team B in January, she was then moved into Team K in August during the team shuffle event, however, before she could even debut with her new team, it was announced she was one of the members comprising SDN in September. I'm not often critical of decisions made during early AKB because I mostly have nostalgia goggles on, but this passing around of older members like they were a hot potato, and, indeed, the final fate of SDN remains a real sticking point for me.

Regardless of Haruchan's inability to rank during the first five senbatsu elections, two of which she did not participate in, when it came to the smaller circle of SDN members, she came in ninth place and, as a result is present in the lineups for all of the group's releases, from GAGAGA, to Ai, Chuseyo, to MIN・MIN・MIN, to Kudokinagara Azabu Juuban duet, a duet with presenter and television personality, Mino Monta, for which she appeared as Wcentre with Yukarin, and, at last, Makeoshimi Congratulation.

It feels frustrating even now that Haruchan and other members of SDN did not get more recognition. It's not as if she did anything wrong, in early AKB, she appeared during the second stage performances by Himawari-gumi, the multi-team lineups that included many of the Kami 7, she put in shifts in the AKB48 Café & Shop, and she took every transfer to every new team like it was a chance to really show what she was made. AKS let Kohara Haruka down, just as they let all of SDN48 down.

Following her graduation, Haruchan went on to work in gravure before joining a number of former SDN members—Kazue Akita, Okochi Misa, and formerly Kimoto Yuki, Fukuda Akane, and Fujikoso Yumi—as the idol group R, whose releases are really hard for me to find, but whose singles I would love to have copies of. Look at how awesome they all seem in their promo photos!

In 2021, Haruchan got married and gave birth to her first child. She's still a member of R, and whilst the group doesn't seem to be doing much as of 2022, I really, really hope we get to see more of them again any year now!

AKS may have let SDN48 down, but I'm going to continue to support these members no matter what!