It feels like some people are natural-born aces at certain skills, while others blossom into those skills with time. The JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment Japan reality competition Nizi Project demonstrated both ends of that spectrum when season 1 was filmed between 2019 and 2020. Some contestants demonstrated overwhelming talent all along, while others stunned with their growth over the course of the competition. However, one really stood above the rest, and it’s no surprise that she would finish in first place and become the final group’s leader. So among Mako, Rio, Maya, Riku, Ayaka, Mayuka, Rima, Miihi, and Nina, here is the full answer to who the leader of NiziU is and why.
The Leader of NiziU is Mako
Mako is the leader, and for anyone who watched Nizi Project, the reasons why are obvious. She was a dominating force throughout the entire competition, finishing every single challenge near the top of the rankings and often ranking first place outright. During Part 1 of Nizi Project, the Japanese boot camp, Mako even ranked in first place for her character and personality, meaning she had the attitude that the staff and fellow contestants appreciated the most. At the end of the series, she ranked at the top for this a second time (with Mayuka), in addition to finishing the Nizi Project competition itself in first place. It was at that moment in the final episode of Nizi Project that Mako was officially announced as the leader of the group.
It is not just her singing and dancing skills that made Mako the leader of NiziU. Rather, she also demonstrated excellent leadership throughout the series, which was praised by her teammates and JYP founder J.Y. Park himself on several occasions. It began when she led her team well in Nizi Project Part 1 #9-2, and she demonstrated true warmth for her team when she actually cooked for them in Part 2 #5-1! At the end of Nizi Project, J.Y. Park actually thanked Mako for showing “great leadership” throughout the series, going so far as to call her “the driving force” behind the other contestants!
Basically, Mako is the aforementioned ace of NiziU. This isn’t entirely surprising, as not only is she the oldest member of NiziU, but she was a JYP Entertainment trainee for two years and seven months even prior to entering Nizi Project. Notably, Rima and Miihi were JYP trainees for seven month each prior to Nizi Project as well, and the three of them entered the contest together.
In summary, Mako is the leader of NiziU because she excelled through the entirety of Nizi Project and was even praised for having the best attitude among her members. You can’t ask for a better leader than Mako. For more about the group, check out how old all of the NiziU members currently are, who speaks what languages in the group, or the story of their debut in Japan and South Korea. Or for another international JYP girl group created under almost identical conditions, check out who the leader of VCHA is!
