Last week, an interesting topic came up during discussions in social media. This topic has been discussed and debated long before MNL48 began. A debate that seems fated to never have a resolution as long as the J-idol system exists. The topic in question is the center.

Centers in the 48 groups are more than just “the girl in the middle”. As the most visible member, centers are made to carry the weight of a single’s success or failure. She is generally the “star” of all performances by virtue of being in that prime position where people can see you from whatever angle.

Unlike K-pop where each member can be given specific roles, centers in J-pop idol groups are also the group’s “face” during the duration of a single’s marketing campaign. In some cases, songs are made with a specific center in mind, such as AKB48’s “Koisuru Fortune Cookie” which was tailor-fit for Sousenkyo winner Rino Sashihara.

In the 48 Groups, the center position is magnified, both because of the prestige of the annual Senbatsu General Elections, and the personalities that once carried the title. By being chosen as the center for a single, a member is deemed worthy to carry the weight of the whole group for at least the duration of that single, and for idols struggling to get noticed, that’s the supreme boost possible.

There is also the fact that being a center means you are in very august company. It is a very exclusive “club”: around 90 to 95% of members in all of the 48 Group family will never be center. Not even once. Being chosen isn’t just a challenge from the powers-that-be, but also a declaration of your standing within the group. It means that you are not just a reliable performer, but more importantly, a marketable one. Such is the reputation of the position that even members chosen to center less than impressive tracks (looking at you, Jabaja) have their stock increased for the very simple reason that she became a center.

However, it is important to note that not all centers were blessed with a career like Atsuko Maeda or Yuko Oshima. Yes, most of them became regular fixtures in the senbatsu line-ups of subsequent singles, but they never really were that big in the same sense as the winners of the AKB48 General Elections. That said, it is quite hard to locate any member who became center at least once but have fallen so far from grace that she became just another member.

MNL48 has released only two singles with a third on the way. The center in all three is Sheki Arzaga, who ranked number one in last year’s General Elections. She has centered four songs to date: “Aitakatta-Gustong Makita”, “Talulot ng Sakura”, “Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie”, and “First Rabbit.” All are major songs of the group to date. She also centered “Heavy Rotation” during the MNL48 First Fan Meet.

Since there’s only been one major center for MNL48, it is quite difficult to make a comparison to better evaluate how she did in the group’s prime position. “Palusot Ko’y Maybe” was centered by Coleen Trinidad, but comparisons to the much skilled Sheki are quite unfair, since the latter had a much difficult job of being the center, while Coleen took over a Team song.

Some fans are getting tired of Sheki as center, and it is inevitable that some will be vocal about it. While I respect the their opinions especially since this fandom is known to be a bit fractious on the topic of senbatsu lineups and centers, I hold the belief that Sheki is the center MNL48 needs right now.

Sheki may have become center by winning last year, but she has since shown that she can transition from a songbird to being an idol. Her singing and dancing skills are a given, but it was her hard work and dogged determination to fulfill the role she was given, both as the group’s center, and as a member. A role she barely understood coming in. She has developed her own MC style, and her image is enriched by her “jejemon” personality. I have been to all seitansai to date, and Sheki has done remarkably well to date of serving as an MC for a part of the program.

I find her antics funny, endearing, but it was her performing skill that really made me sold on her as MNL48’s face. If that “Blue Rose” performance during Asia Festival 2019 didn’t impress you, than you are certainly hard to please.

A long time ago, HHE’s original idea for their center is that the winner of the General Election will be the center for the entire year. Now, it’s been years since that press release, and many things have changed. But fans are pointing to it as the reason why Sheki has remained the center for so long.

That may be true, but I also believe that hard work had a lot to do with it. Hard work that produced results. It is easy to make a case for other popular members like Faith, Sela, even Alice, and indeed, they may all turn out to be really good centers. But with MNL48 rising through the ranks, slowly gaining popularity and fans, you will need a very reliable center. One whose skills are above everyone else’s. One who works hard, and has the ability to carry the immense responsibility that will be placed on her shoulders pretty well.

Sheki also has one important trait that makes her an obvious choice to be MNL48’s current front girl: accessibility. Sheki isn’t some porcelain doll dressed up to fish wotas, she’s your next-door neighbor in both word and deed. She’s the type of girl you bump into in markets, malls, and who doesn’t hesitate to eat siomai during breaks in training. She’s the type of girl that will make you say “she doesn’t feel different from us, but she’s impressive.”

That’s the type of center MNL48 needed in their first year. A center who is relatable, someone who has really good performance skills, but also very human. She reminds me a lot of former AKB48 member Minami Takahashi. Both have unusual fashion tastes, both have a sense of humor, both know how to make fun of themselves, both know how to adapt to the situation. Even their height is similar.

Someone asked me why I prefer Sheki as the center over certain other members (that I also happen to likewho knew Japanese/J-pop culture.” But knowing about the culture isn’t really a decisive factor for me. It certainly isn’t a good barometer of an idol’s ability.

Yes, Sheki knew zero about the culture before applying for MNL48, but that’s not really the point of the position. A center’s job is not to go onstage to talk trivia or exhibit superior cultural knowledge. Those things don’t mean anything when the music starts. What is more, people fail to notice how Sheki morphed from what some fans call a “normie” into a really good idol. One that gave an impressive performance in a major stage.

Eventually, MNL48 will move on – one way or another – to other centers who will be tasked to add on to what Sheki gave. Centers who will offer something else to the table, or maybe redefine what it means to have the world placed on your shoulders. But I doubt anyone will forget MNL48’s first center and ace, who became the face of the group when it was still struggling, and who did very, very well.