mAyKB48 (6/48): Watanabe Mayu- Compatible 推しメン

Continuing down my list, let's take a look at my third favorite AKB member, Watanabe Mayu. And be sure to check out Amanda's 推しメン post on Oshima Yuko here.

Mayu, also known as Mayuyu, is a third generation member, joining the original Team B in 2006. She is one of my 推しメン because she is the AKB member I feel like I would get along with best. While I admire Sae's energy and adore Yuka's singing, I don't have much in common with either in terms of interests or hobbies. Mayu on the other hand is a die-hard otaku. She even chose to buy an anime CD over the release of the AKB subunit No Sleeve's single because she felt it was a "must buy" for her. This may not have won her any friends within the group, but I think it illustrates the intensity of her love for anime.

Mayu has been known to cosplay often, having dressed up as Sheryl Nome and Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier,  Ciel from Black Butler, and Mari from Evangelion among others. She is set to become a voice actress as well, portraying Chieri Sono in the upcoming AKB0048. Mayu made mention of this being the fulfillment of a dream during her acceptance speech for the role. Another of her otaku related hobbies is drawing manga. Here's an example of one of her four panel comics with a brief explanation given by Mayu.

In fact, one of her special abilities is drawing things in under 10 seconds.

It's around here that I tend to mention something minor that I enjoy about the member, so here is Mayu complaining about her dislike for vegetables. This is something I can totally relate to.

I don't think Mayu is a particularly strong singer or dancer, though I know some people are fans of her solo songs. It's not that she has a bad voice, but there is a certain quality to her singing that I don't quite like. Maybe it's just a little too high pitched. Still, she heads up one of the sub-units of AKB so she must be doing something right.

Even without her love for anime and hatred for vegetables, I think Mayu would make my top five. After all, there are several members with a love for anime that don't even come close. Mayu is one of the cutest members of AKB and is so delightfully quirky that I can't imagine not having her as one of my 推しメン. Here's one last short video to give you some idea of what I'm talking about.

Mayu strikes me as someone who would be a lot of fun to hang out with. In that respect, she may embody the concept of "idols you can meet" better than any other member (for me at least). Like Sae, Mayu has shifted around my rankings a bit, but has never dropped out of the top three, a place I think she will hold for a long time to come.

またね！