Happy No-Longer-Jailbait, Captain!

I’m coming in pretty late on this, but happy birthday Shimizu Saki, the illustrious Captain of the Berryz ship.

In some ways, I think that Captain has really come into her own lately. She’s really begun to “own her body”, and not just when she’s dancing. She looks comfortable in her own skin even in front of the cameras and its translating to her taking better pictures. I’ve included a handful here so you can all see that Captain really did deserve a birthday PB as she is one of only 5 of the main H!P members to not currently have one.

So, agreed? Captain is looking pretty awesome lately.

Yet, in some ways, I feel as though she’s being allowed to sink into the scenery in Berryz. We know from numerous sources that Captain likes to put the other girls and Berryz in general ahead of herself, but I’d like to see Tsunku encourage her talent. Since her dance solo in Berryz first concert, Captain has become one of the girls who doesn’t always get a solo line despite having a stronger and more consistent voice than Yurina. She doesn’t get put center for dances despite being so obviously better than any of the other girls there. I know she’s content to speak for the group, but it seems like that hasn’t been happening as much lately either.

This is probably just be speaking as a Captain wota, but I want the girl front and center now that she’s 18. While that’s still an age of minority to a point in Japan, I think Captain is definitely able to own who she is and can take Berryz Koubou further than they have been previously. They’ve just broken 30k sales in the first week for their second time only. They’re the go-to group of the Kids groups for the one that celebrities know and the one that’s popular in other countries. Sometimes you have to sweat it out in the minor leagues until your big chance comes, and I think with Captain? That chance is possible.

My “proof”?

Yeah. Even Miya can’t take her eyes off of Captain.