AKB48 Rocks @ Fanservice - Reserved Tickets For Overseas Fans!

I've been hearing small things about it here and there but nothing extensive(?).  Anyway, the AKB48 theatre is in the process or finalized a section of six seats on the left side, FRONT ROW for fans traveling from overseas!  I always feared the process of getting tickets, and to hear that I have a good chance at getting a front row seat is amazing!  (Will the pillars be a problem in that area?)  I'm probably not going to Tokyo till I go abroad in my junior year of college.  So, I'll likely be there long enough to not have to worry too much about getting a ticket.  Unless, I end up somewhere not in Tokyo.  The tickets are called Super Enpou.  It is similar to how you would usually go about getting tickets.  You would email them, but you would also include how long you are staying and such.  Then you would receive a confirmation email and you would buy/ pick them up the day of.  You can follow while this story develops at Stage48.  Once it is final they will likely update the 'How to get a ticket' section.  I don't believe the AKB management actually believes that AKB48 stands a chance at being a force in the American music industry and all that.  By traveling overseas, which they do a lot of, they make headlines/ buzz and win over more fans.  (More fans, more money.)  Plus, if they have a good portion of foreign fans it will impress regular Japanese people.

*I was having a conversation with two Japanese girls who are attending (for only the year) the same University as me.  They are from the Japanese University that I want to attend while I go abroad.  And only one girl knew what oshimen was.  (I was asking what would be the male version of oshimen or if it works for both males and females.)  It kind of shocked me because I hear, well read, the word often.  I guess it is only common for those who are familiar with idols.  Anyway, they both like AKB48 which was nice to hear.

Momoiro Clover PV Preview - ココ☆ナツ

This PV preview has been out for awhile, but I have no idea at this point when they'll release the full PV.  They might even prefer to wait till the release of the single.  Momoiro Clover is definitely S/mileage's biggest competition.  Then again Watarirouka Hashiritai, sub-group of AKB48, has a similar concept and has already had a number one single.  Momoiro Clover is an adorable, genki group and their major singles are really catchy.  I actually want to start buying them, but I'm on a tight budget.  I just hope they improve their limited edition covers because last time they weren't very good.  I personally don't like the bikini over clothes for a look, but everything else is amazing.  I think Momoiro Clover is here to stay.  I can't wait to see this live.  Their performances for their last single were spectacular.  (This is what Coconuts Musume should of done, but with different outfits.)

French Kiss' First PV!

I am very impressed how well done this PV and song is done because even though the PV is pretty basic (storyline, then close up shots) but interesting.  It is hard to sell a ballad.  The girls remind me of Chocolove, just musically.  They don't sound the same or anything like that.  It is just that they also look like they are suited for only slow tempos.  So unlike other AKB48 subgroups I don't see a dance shot when I think of them.  Like the name they are sweet, beautiful, and romantic.  I feel at peace after watching it.  I can't wait to see more from them.  All three are pretty popular, but not the very front senbatsu.  They also remind me of perfume because I think elegance. 

Furukawa Airi: Why Are They Always Better Before?

If you know my relationship with Takamina, it is basically the same.  Actually Airin is very similar to Takamina.  Okay basically when I watch them real-time they freak me out or rub me the wrong way (crazy eyes).  However, when I see clips or performance before I find them cute and charming.  It is so frustrating.  I don't hate them, but because of it they won't make my Top 10.  Here is my original reaction to Airin:

"Not another crazy!  Why is she looking at me like she is going to kill me?  I think her name is Furukawa Airi."

Well, I am starting to reconsider after I saw this video on AKB48 (Overseas Fans Community) on Facebook.   

Nattou Angels Z: Better, Equal, or Lame?

When I heard that they had changed the line up of Nattou Angels I was hesitant.  All three members are either in or near my senbatsu/ Top 10.  The group also went from a trio to four members, and bigger is not always better.  I didn't really get an impression of the group because the PR I saw didn't have the full performance.  The costumes didn't help to my interest, so I summed them up as not worth my attention.  However, after watching them perform in just T-shirts and jean shorts at the HoriPro 50th Anniversary event.  (You know you have a strong group if they can be entertaining in plain clothes on a basic stage.)  I don't know why I generally don't care or like a new idol group when I first see them.  But just like YuiKaori and Momoiro Clover, I just can't stop watching.

With such a strong group before, I did not understand why they changed it.  Will this happen every year?  After listening to the full song I don't think the original line up could of pulled it off as well.  (Besides it might be fun if they change it up every year.)  Both Tomos and Myao are overall too high pitched for this song.  It also works out well to promote the younger girls.  Myao and Moeno are already established as general favorites, but could still use a boost.  Then we have the new members, which stand a good chance of being favorites.  Haruka looks like a young Erepyon, and Sumire is also a good candidate.  I think I might vote for them for the Top 100, which will come in the next single.  I might not if we only get one vote.  How many songs can we vote for?  I need to read up on this!  Sorry for the tangent.  Nattou Angels made it to AX2010, will both versions make it in 2011?  Who will rank higher?
 

24 Hour TV Review + Sassy Newss!

Let's start off with the small news. Sashihara Rino (Sasshi/ Sassy) has changed her (stage?) name to Sashiko.  (If you don't know who she is or doesn't care.  I can give you at least one reason why.)  There is some confusion as to why, but she (as well as other members) have been calling her(self) Sashiko even before the change.  All of her profiles have changed.  It may be just easier to write or more of an idol name.  Rino-chan doesn't sound very cute.  It makes me think of a rhinoceros.  I can understand wanting to change your name.  Personally, I want to change my name so (one I would like it more and) it would be easier to write in katakana.





Now for the 24 Hour TV Section!



I have to admit I wish the girls of AKB48 were more lively in the first two segments. Then again, I want to keep in mind that these are the front girls so they are probably extremely busy. I like to keep in mind the elder club's appearances on TV after graduation. They talked about how crazy and draining it was when they became a popular idol group. I think we know already how much less Morning Musume has going on. (I don't see how Morning Musume would ever have a more packed schedule than the front girls of AKB48. I mean concerts, stages, AKBingo!, Shukan, other TV appearances, handshake events because of their new single, school, magazine shoots, jdramas. Trying not to upset anyone.) Some of the girls of AKB48 were pretty lively, but I have to give it to Morning Musume for really shining. They look great and are all together. S/Mileage just fades into Morning Musume. I don't agree with some people who think they should just add them to Morning Musume. I love S/Mileage! In the Morning Musume B-side song AKB48 is kind of just pushed to the side to sing during the chorus. I mean, it isn't their song and their not really incorporated into the song. Why is the camera on them when they aren't singing? I understand like a couple shots, similar to the shots used for the personalities.

Now, I don't believe most people have seen the AKB48 only portion. I get why because most people were focusing on the collaboration. I wish there was a better collaboration. Mix them together. Have them medley a combo of both of their songs. I understand why them selected the song from Morning Musume they did because of its meaning. I just felt like AKB48 was there because they are more relevant, but Morning Musume is like their senpai and has been doing this longer. There are clips floating around on YouTube of AKB48 appearing on other shows as part of 24 Hour TV. I think I've seen one of London Hearts (w/ SDN48 there too).

New Poll!

It is a poll to see the most popular single.  This does not include B-sides or anything included on an album.  You can consider the PV (Promotional Video) to help you decide.

I am probably not going to blog as much because I moved into the dorms yesterday.  College starts on the 2nd so after that I'll be even more busy.  I'm going to post my dorm pics after the break, at least the ones to show my wota~ness.  I am still searching for an AKB~ally.  I'm taking Japanese so that might help me find one.


I didn't take a pic of my Watarirouka Hashiritai poster. I have some AKB CD photos and card covers poster around as well. Do you like how Acchan is in my closet? It is the dirtiest poster that I have. I think it is more filthy because it is hiding in the closet.

What Makes A Good Shuffle?

Shuffles are typically seen at concerts with fan favorite songs.  The great thing is that when you've heard a song performed a ton of times it is refreshing to see something different.  The only problem is that you need to consider a number of elements: vocal ability, general voice pitch, dancing strength, and personality/performance.  The producers tend towards one system of creating a shuffle: always and only the favorites.  However there is the occasional silly shuffle.
Favorites:

I've never once seen a good shuffle of this song.  As always they chose favorites, but forget about the actual music.  The original features Kashiwagi Yuki and (now) Takajyo Aki.  Yukirin has a beautiful voice that can be quite deep.  Then it is usually paired (for this song) with a higher-pitched, and weaker singer.  In that case, it works well.  It is duet so you need to consider the combination of the two voices.  Shinoda Mariko would likely work for Akichan's spot, but they never pair her with a deeper/ lower-pitch.  The Oshimas' voices are two high to pair with Mariko's.  The vocals do not work.


Here is a strong case for the senbatsu shuffle.  Want to overshadow the usual performance, then replace all the spots with the top.  Acchan tends to do well in any shuffle I've seen.  A more recent example is of both Acchan's power and the success of the senbatsu shuffle would be Dakishimeraretara during the Yokohama Arena concerts.


Here is neither a bad or good performance.  Blue Rose requires at least one to two of the singers to have lower voices.  Unfortunately, none of the girls fill the quota.  Minami Minegishi is then the only one, that I believe, fits the performance.  The other girls are too sweet or don't pull off the dark, sexy look.  So Miichan shines more than the rest.


I was really tempted to put this in the silly category, but that is only my opinion (I don't think it was on purpose).  This group also does not match the song.  The song is meant for loli/ young/ cute members.  The fact that the serious giant, Mariko, is there is extremely funny to me.

Silly:


I don't think that you are that stupid that you can't understand why these are the silly shuffles.

Personal Senbatsu (Media Line)

AKB48 Ranking
1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12

Click the numbers and it'll send you to a cute clip for each member.  Ever since I've seen this obagei?  wotagei? I hear it when I listen to Aitakatta.  I think it is hilarious.  I need to learn it and scare people on campus.  DAAA!

Blog Update?

Is my blog roll ridiculously long?  I think it might be.  Don't worry I won't trim it down, but could you also add me to your's?  Another thing is that I will never do another upcoming posts post because it is like the kiss of death.  I swear I don't do half the things.

AKB48's YYG Concert Broadcast Review and Summary

I was thrilled when I saw this on the H!O Tracker.  I had heard it would be broadcasted on TV.  I should of known that it would be edited down.  Therefore it is mostly the highlights from each set.  I hope that they'll release a full concert so I can see it.  What is nice about the broadcast is that it informs casual fans about the group and the basic inner-workings.  The backstage stuff is pretty good, but I bet they cut the really good stuff, then again I bet the girls were too busy or stressed to goof around too much.  It is pretty short.

Ponytail No Shu Shu - Ponytail Senbatsu feat. intro by Matsui (Team K)
When I heard Matsui was opening while playing the piano I didn't know what she was going to perform.  I thought, wow that is interesting, and unexpected.  It didn't take me long to recognize the song.  The stage is really beautiful and one of the best set ups yet.  The water works well with the single.  I'm on the fence about opening with only the senbatsu members.  Part of me thinks that a concert should always open with a huge group number.  On the other hand this is a great opening for new fans.  It is their latest single.  It is familiar, and I personally believe is a great track.

Next up is a short background video featuring their singles, concerts, stages, and major TV performances.  It goes from the very beginning to Team A's recent stage.  It is short and lacking detail but I believe it is a great introduction for the group.

Aitakatta - SKE48 (Team S?) and AKB48 Under and Theater girls
A classic.  The one thing I don't care for is we have yet to see all the girls in a big production number.  Once the girls come together it is kind of chaotic.  I've seen more interesting performances of this song, but I prefer to see singles performed by not just senbatsu (shuffle please).

Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara - River Undergirls
I will always love this song and performance.  One comment I have is that I feel like I'm watching the concert, but not the performance itself.  Like the cameras and shots don't bring you in like you are there.  I don't know about showing the background chaos during the songs.  It takes you out.

Oogoe Diamond - Members of AKB48 (not all)
What is this madness!  The performance and everything is great, but those costumes!  Those are just plain bad.  I've seen similar pieces in Hello Project concerts, which tend to be hit or miss, and the more boa the more miss.  Some of them are okay, but what are you doing to their figure.  I mean what is Acchan, a poodle swan or does she just have saggy boobs?  Trying to design so many costumes with boa is just asking for it.  Tomochin is a sassy grrl!  Myao is doing really well in Matsui Jurina's spot.  This is a song that should be performed by all the members from at least AKB48, if not from AKB, SKE, and SDN.

Iiwake Maybe - Closer to 13th Senbatsu Members (w/ some adjustments)
Did I mention how beautiful the stage is?  I can't stage those costumes.  I want to see them use the stage more, there is so much room to spread out and run around.

10nen Sakura - AKB48 and some SKE
Good, perfect timing.  I still want them to explore more.  Hello Project has less people but they would use their stage a little more.  I mean there are so many different paths.  The audience is so far away.

River - Same
Another great track for a huge group production.  I have to give a shout out to the lighting and tech people they did a superb job, especially with this number.  This would be a text book perfect performance if only the costumes were better.

They then break down the teams of AKB48 and the senbatsu ranking.  Then they show a performance by each team.

Namida Surprise - Team A
The costumes are okay but not really suited for this song.  At least it is not Dear My Teacher.  I mean the variety of the Team A concert songs are depressing.  They are classic, but they aren't that amazing.  I thought it was odd how the senbatsu members they highlight aren't consistent with this election but they typical senbatsu members.

UHHO UHHOHO - Team K
This is a great Team K song from K6.  I love the new Team K, but I still miss the old teams too.  Great Performance.  HOLY SHGFMGFK Sayaka!  What the heck was that.  I need a playback.  Oh did anyone else see Erepyon's hair flip or lack their of?  Gosh, God love ya!

Theater no Megami - Team B
Is this seriously the best team song they wanted to use?  I mean for one the costume issue is a little sensitive here.  On top of that they had so many better team songs.  (in my opinion)  I just noticed some girls have a skirt with a crotch stripe, nice.  Some of their faces in the close up are pretty hilarious.  I guess this is a good idol song, but for casual fans?

Yuuwaku no Garter - SDN48
All of sexy SDN48 doing it together!  LOVE IT!  Nachu is so cute, still idol voice.  Why did they cut it short?

Gomen ne Summer - SKE48 Senbatsu
This is my favorite single yet.  They always come out with a good single.  I think it is interesting how different all the groups turned out.  You wouldn't think they would sound or look so different.  

Then they show and interview the members behind the scenes and during rehearsals.  If you don't know what they are saying then this might not be very interesting.  (mostly talking)  You do get to see what you miss out of, like Oshima opening a concert and the veggies performance.  However, Sayaka fans get a very special treat.

End Roll -  Sayaka, Sae, Takamina, and Rie
You mostly get good dance shots except some close ups of mostly Sayaka.  Then there is some focus on Oshima Yuko watching them.  It is a shortened performance, but I don't think we missed anything spectacular. 

After we are done with Sayaka we move are attention to Matsui Rena.

Kareha no Station - Matsui Rena (SKE)
This is a beautiful performance.  The sad thing is that most of these performances are cut down.  This makes sense if they want to show a lot of variety, but you still miss a large portion of the concerts.

We then look at all the units including Team Dragon.

Kokoro no Hane - Team Dragon
It is nice to see this performed.  While I thought the PV was disappointing and the song nothing special, I do like the performance.  Leave it up to the girls to turn something around.

Now moving on to Majisuka Gakuen.  I mean two songs and a whole TV season, of course.  The girls are asked to show off their yankee faces.

Majisuka Rock 'n Roll - Senbatsu
If it is only senbatsu there isn't much to say.  I mean we've seen this song a ton of times.  It is basically just a different background.  I'm still annoyed that Jurina gets a major part in this song when she wasn't very present in the series.

 Majijo Teppen Blues - Senbatsu
And for this senbatsu... it is every major character.  I wish they had more song and less talking.  All the talking makes me think this should of been just a special bonus for the box set.

They do a good job on segways.

Yasai Sisters - Senbatsu
This is such a cute song.  And yeah we finally see them runaround, well skip.  A vegetable, three-tier cake! 

More background stuff then an MC.  It is not just any MC.  Here is the famous birthday cake.  And down it goes!  Good thing Tomochin and Acchan are such good friends.  We move onto this year's senbatsu election. 

Heavy Rotation - Senbatsu
Oshima Yuko is the madhatter!  I like the spazz jumps in the back.  I wonder what the audience's first reaction was from just seeing the performance?  It is a little party. 

Now for the 19th senbatsu election.  This also includes the extra special graduation announcement.  Then some more background stuff.  Ah Tomo~mi!  Who will she do the banana unit with?  You can tell we are getting to the end of the program. 

Hikoukigumo - ALL
This is the song to end any concert.  I don't really know a better song, maybe something for Akimoto to work on.  Very nice.

What I like to See for AKB48's Upcoming Single

AKB48 has been mostly releasing cute, pop singles.  Each are different and good and there has yet to be a single that I didn't like.  I know that AKB48 can do a wonderful graduation song and or pop song.  But I've been craving a dark single.  We know that they can pull off a really spooky or dark song.  (I'd be okay with a rock song too.)

Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (4th single)

 

Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou (5th single)

Inochi no Tsukaimichi - B3


Mori e ikou - H2

Friend, Foe, Girlfriend (Round 3)

The Top Three Tound. . . (round whatever)

Oshima Yuko
Maeda Atsuko
Shinoda Mariko

Takahashi Ai
Tanaka Reina
Niigaki Risa

Friend: Acchan (we both have the same temperament and similar style)
Foe: Mariko (She is too tall, I guess.  I think she is really funny, but being friends with a model?)
Girlfriend: Oshima (I'm quiet, she is a spazz.  we both love idols. she has a cute butt, and we both like to grope.)

Friend: Lovely Ai (we are too much alike to date, plus we are both goofy)
Foe: Niigaki (although she tries to be the comedian, I don't find her funny.  We wouldn't likely mesh.)
Girlfriend: Reina (she is cute and sassy and me love a sassy little asian, JK)

Bonus: AKB Horror

Ayaka Kikuchi

Yuka Masuda

Haruka Nakagawa

 Sayaka Akimoto

If you are familiar or want to you can do Momoiro Clover too!

Friend: Sayaka (more like older sister/ senpai, but okay)
Foe: Ayaka (scandal!)
Girlfriend: Harugon (duh!)