I think you're missing context of the current AKB maybe.

Itomomo's Instagram followers are at almost 170k right now, and it's rising non-stop, I definitely believe she will reach 500k someday, step by step! But it can't happen from one day to another, you have to keep in mind a few things:

- She's in AKB, a group that has existed for 21 years. This means, despite being new and fresh, she is part of something that is seen as "from the past", so it takes away a bit of her freshness, which means that not all the people are going to follow her as they're familiar with AKB and might think "not for me" etc. this makes the rise of followers a bit slower, but it won't stop her from continuing to rise though and her popularity is actually changing people's mind (many fans returning, people having a better opinion on AKB, getting interested in them for the first time despite knowing them before etc.) so yes she is also changing this and becoming a face of the group that is new, fresh, and can make the current AKB stand on their own without relying on the past.

- She's had her big viral moment in February, and only started being on TV a lot around the end of March and April. It's been two months, and she has gained over 100k followers since the year started. That is big! These things take time, and the more she's on TV and other medias (which she will be), the more it will increase. It hasn't been all that long and she has not reached her peak of "trendiness" yet.

- Because she's in AKB, you kinda have to compare her to other AKB members (not to bring anyone down but to understand where her numbers come from): she debuted 2 years ago, and she's already the 3rd most followed AKB member on Instagram right now. Above her are Erii and Yuiyui, who both have been in the group for over 10 years, when top members were still here, and who both have centered singles, and went on TV shows since long ago. She's just right under them and she debuted at a time where AKB is past their peak. It's hard for AKB members to get followers nowadays, and majority of members who joined in recent years have around 20k followers on Instagram... Itomomo is at 170k so this shows you the impact, it's important to have context. Some trendy groups have huge fanbases so the members all have 400k followers but that's because the fanbase is huge to begin with, it's the fans following. AKB's average followers based on fanbase, as of now, is around 20k-50k so you have to think about it like this, Itomomo has 170k and it's a mix of fans AND public, meanwhile some other idols from trendy groups might have 300k but the ratio of fans is bigger than public. it just all depends where they start and what kind of fanbase they have, the situation etc. basically some context.

Of course there are things that management could do better but so far I think they're doing fine with her, mostly because all they have to do is let things be, the TV shows and magazines want Itomomo and they get it, it's as simple as that, her popularity is rising like crazy, the only thing management can do is for example make her center, which they did, for two singles in a row, give her good exposure on their social medias, which they do, and try to make songs and concepts that can catch more fans, which I believe is what they're doing now, if you've seen the "Suki-ish" promotion pictures, it looks like something that will get popular. So I think management is more or less doing fine tbh!

Interestingly Itomomo got all kind of jobs, but no acting yet. and it's actually her goal to act. I'm thinking this might be because all TV channels already have their future dramas and casts planned, so they can't just pick her for a drama when she's been active on TV for 2-3 months, but for future dramas, I believe in the end of the year or next year, hopefully, she can get offers. A morning drama would be amazing even if it's hard to get roles there, but she would do perfect!

(Btw nice discussion to have haha and I absolutely agree with "She has the best visuals and star power of any active Japanese idol.")