even saved her from a botched sabotage attempt, she reluctantly concluded a truce with him. As the series progressed, while remaining aloof from the other Kenkyūsei members, she was forced to admit that Minoru made a better center than her due to his charisma and hard-working attitude. Used to be a member of the stand-alone unit "Gekoku Jou" with Minoru Urayama and Hiroko Yoshinaga. she is former a member of Team B. Announced Graduation on Chapter 202. A 12th generation Kenkyūsei member of AKB48. Hailing from Fukuoka, she stays in a dormitory designated for AKB48 kenkyūsei members and became roommates with Hiroko after the latter was rendered homeless after a confrontation with her father. Revealed to be a former boss of a ladies biker gang back in Fukuoka. The manager of the stand-alone unit "Gekoku Jou". A tall and handsome person, he is also very clumsy and accident-prone. He is however extremely dedicated to his work and sincerely believed in fostering the unit to its utmost. He is described as "someone who fully understands the pains and regrets of an idol". A mysterious old man who appears to be a janitor, he is later revealed to be the director of Queen Records, the company that manages "Gekoku Jou". Real-life characters Minami Takahashi (高橋 みなみ) AKB48 team A's captain. Haruna Kojima (小嶋 陽菜) AKB48 team A member. Mariko Shinoda (篠田 麻里子) AKB48 team A member. Atsuko Maeda (前田 敦子) AKB48 team A member. In this story, she is portrayed as a very hardworking member who is credited with making the group famous. However, after she appeared unenthusiastic in a series of concerts, people started to criticize her as "lazy", and her popularity starts to drop. She is Hiroko Yoshinaga's favorite idol in the group and is also the reason why she joined it as a Kenkyūsei member. Rino Sashihara (指原 莉乃) AKB48 team A member. Rie Kitahara (北原 里英) AKB48 team B member. Sayaka Akimoto (秋元 才加) AKB48 team K's captain. Minami Minegishi (峯岸 みなみ) AKB48 team K member. Tomomi Itano (板野 友美) AKB48 team K member. Sae Miyazawa (宮澤 佐江) AKB48 team K member. She was cast to play the role of Minoru in the 2014 stage adaptation. Yūko Ōshima (大島 優子) AKB48 team K member. She was first introduced in this manga when Minoru Urayama accidentally stumbled into the AKB48 dressing room and surprised her. When interviewed, Yūko said