Watch AKB48's Two New 動画 Featuring Departing Member Mayuyu 

Watch AKB48's Two New Videos Featuring Departing Member Mayuyu

Mayu Watanabe in the "Sayonara De Owaruwakejanai" music video. 

The Japanese girl group AKB48 will release their 50th CD single, "Juuichigatsu No Anklet," on Nov. 22. The single will be the last for key member Mayu Watanabe, or "Mayuyu" as she's referred to by her fans, who will be leaving the group at the end of the year. 

She's featured in the center position of the title track's choreography, and the newly released music video also centers around the doe-eyed 23-year-old who has been an integral part of the popular girl group since 2007.

Directed by art director Fumiko Hirano, the final scene where Watanabe leads the other members through the pouring rain symbolizes the way she has helped power the group to its current status by overcoming various setbacks along with her bandmates.

The video for Watanabe's solo song included in the CD, "Sayonara De Owaruwakejanai," has also been released, and this one depicts her as a young woman living in a gothic mansion who lets go of her past and ventures out into the world outside. The video is directed by Eiki Takahashi, who has shot numerous music videos for various Japanese artists including dozens of AKB48's, as well as several documentaries of the group. 

"It was my last time shooting a music video as a member of AKB48," Watanabe says. "It still doesn't feel like the end, and it's a strange feeling."

Watanabe announced her departure from AKB48 during the group's "general election" held back in June.