[Joel]

Well, it's time for another AKB48 thread!

There's an upcoming single called called 10年桜 (Junen Zakura) with the c/w being 桜色の空の下で (Sakurairo no Sora no Shitade) with instrumentals of both songs (wikipedia) . I'm not sure if they are doing the AKB48+SKE48 thing again, but I'm not exactly sure. I don't have the covers, but I sure have the preview for the song here (jpopsuki)! It sounds a bit weird at first, but it gets better. It's just awesome.

Next topic is the Watari Roka Hashiritai which is a group consisting of 4 Team B members. One of them is Mayu Watanabe, and the rest I don't know. What I do know is that their first single is called 初恋ダッシュ (Hatsukoi Dash) with two b-sides which are 青い未来 (Aoi Mirai) and 恋のチューイング (Koi no Chewing) with an instrumental for the a-side only (yesasia). It comes in 4 editions which is CD-only and 3 different CD+DVD editions with different covers. Here are the Covers. Has there been a preview for this song yet?

Anything else I'm missing?

[Falcon]

Something we are all missing:

STAGE RELEASE CDS HOLY CRAP. It's actually starting to drive me insane, I just want the stage music in not shitty quality but it's been over a year for A4 now and not a god damn thing. A single every 5-6 months doesn't really hold my attention at all.

/rant over

At least Jurina from SKE48 will be in this single but I'm not sure if they will do the double release or what the are planning.

[strawberryjam]

I loveeeeeeeeeee AKB48. Rina is my most favorite idol ever. And I think all the girls from the mass graduation are getting photobooks, including Rina!

I haven't heard their new song yet due to busyness, but I always pay attention to stages. I will finally admit to Team B not sucking that bad now. Though I think most of the lot is still ugly. Temo Demo no Namida (?) is such a good song. It makes me like Yukirin, but I think Rina would do a better job. Sorry, I live in the past with Rina.

[Infinite Loop]

strawberryjam, on Jan 21 2009, 06:41 PM, said:

Temo Demo no Namida (?) is such a good song. It makes me like Yukirin, but I think Rina would do a better job.

No! You can replace the other one, but leave Kashiwagi alone

I haven't been following them very closely for a bit (but then, I haven't followed anything for a bit.). I did just realize that it's 2009 now, so I can actually put the weekly calendar in use!

[strawberryjam]

Infinite Loop, on Jan 21 2009, 04:07 PM, said:

strawberryjam, on Jan 21 2009, 06:41 PM, said:

Temo Demo no Namida (?) is such a good song. It makes me like Yukirin, but I think Rina would do a better job.

No! You can replace the other one, but leave Kashiwagi alone

OK, Rina can be the other one! I don't know if she would actually fit in it though. Her voice is so angelic.


What's everyone's favorite teams and all? Joel, you don't post at Klubhouse so I'm kind of curious how hardcore you are.

Team A was my favorite, but now they suck badly. I have no idea who or what is my favorite now. I'm in limbo. Myao's ok, but she's too young for me. I should post my measly picture collection of Rina.

P.S. I think Fujie Reina, Gussan, and Sat Amina are some of the ugliest idols I've ever seen.

[Joel]

strawberryjam, on Jan 22 2009, 07:59 AM, said:

What's everyone's favorite teams and all? Joel, you don't post at Klubhouse so I'm kind of curious how hardcore you are.

Well, I've been always planning to join there someday, but I love AKB48, just not hardcore-hardcore.

[Falcon]

Guu-whatever is pretty damn ugly. I don't really get the love for her.

Without OhYay there's no-yay for me!

[Hana]

Team A loses yet another member (LIKE THE FIVE THAT LEFT LAST NOVEMBER WASN'T ENOUGH?! ): Kawasaki Nozomi will graduate on February 27th.

[Falcon]

Damn good members keep leaving only to be replaced by ugly research students. What the hell man!

I'd guess Sato Yukari will leave soon as well as she's pretty much doing the same thing as Nozofisu (which is to say solo pbs/dvds).

I'm pretty disappointed.

[Kaworu]

Yeah, Yukarin's next for sure.

I like them both but I understand why they're leaving. Neither of them was a good enough dancer/singer. They were both really good looking and they built their career around it (PBs and DVDs). Now the performing level of the group is increasing, they just don't fit anymore (even most of the Research Students outperform them, IMO). And I don't think they were going to get any more popular than what they already were... so it all makes sense to me.
Anyways, both of them have agencies and they work a lot outside AKB so they're going to be fine. I'll be rooting for them.

As for fan obsessing discussion. Well, Team B is my favorite. Those girls just have shown how commited they are, they REALLY want to beat the other teams and they are really getting there, IMO. It's a shame as a Team they're still neglected: I thought it was an offense for them to use almost every B3 song in the NHK concert, replacing all the girls with Team A + K members only and not letting almost any Team B girl take part in the major part of the concert. Bleh. But they rock.

Team A used to be awesome but now it's kinda hard to judge them, they've just lost too many people. And although I kinda really like almost every new girl on the tem (Love Reina and Kitarie, like Chiichan, and are indifferent towards Amina and Aki), it's like having a whole new team to fall for. I still absolutely adore Takamina and she'll be my favorite forever (I think), but yeah, as a Team I'm inclined to B.

[Mudfish]

I'm Team K. :3 Erena and Natsuki~

[Hana]

Yeah, I'm all about Team K now too. Meetan, Yuko, & Nachinon (although moreso Nonti than Nacchi). Team B probably comes 2nd, and Team A is in last for now. It's kind of ironic considering Team A used to be my favorite, though.

[neshcom]

AKB meets Chun-Li!

[strawberryjam]

^ That article had interesting comments from non fans.

What did you guys think of B4 and A5? I'm too tired to say much more than that atm.

[Kaworu]

About AKB I have to say that part of me is feeling very good with the fact that in 2 days 10nen Zakura has sold almost what Naichau Kamo sold in it's first week, and most MM fans were thrilled with the sales of that single...

About A5 I will say that it's the stage that has grown on me the most, ever. At first I kinda hated all the songs but now there's only a few that I dislike.
B4 is Team B and Team B = WIN. So yeah. Awesomeness.

[Pi Kago]

10nen Sakura is a really, really solid single. The PV for it is so nice.

So who are everyone's favorite members? I've been watching more and more of AKBINGO lately.

My definite favorite is Ohori Megumi. I love how hard working she is and she's just downright funny to watch. Other than her, I like Sayaka (she got me after she ate all those disgusting foods that the little girl prepared for her just because the little girl was her fan), Jurina (who does not look like a little boy, Falcon.), Mariko and Aa-chan.

There really isn't anyone that I don't like, but i'm so new to AKB in general that other than Ohori i just have passing interest in the others right now.

[Em-El]

Pi Kago, on Mar 5 2009, 10:44 PM, said:

My definite favorite is Ohori Megumi.

I like her because as long as she's in the group, I won't feel old since she's older than I am.

I find it hard to pick a favorite but only because I only know them from their songs, and only watched their show during the Meetan saga of selling her single.

I'm still not impressed with the new single because what I've always liked about AKB48 is the way all the voices were produced together in an aurally-pleasing manner. This single seemed to not meld the voices as well. Maybe whenever I finally listen to the song on something better than from a compressed flash video of the PV on my bad speakers, it will sound better.

[Hana]

So, JCB Hall concert that just came out: This was an absolute dream come true kind of performance for me. Meetan & Nonti, singing *the* most ill-fitting song they could have picked for the two of them (lyrics-wise; those bananas aren't green anymore! ), and them using the dialogues in the middle and at the end to bitch about which songs they really wanted to do.

Also, while I don't really care for Amina, she did get props from me for performing with a fractured leg (or something, Japanese can be so vague when it comes to that stuff). I felt more when I saw that SKE girl limping off the stage and having to be carried off by a staff member, though.

[Shoujo Q]

Kaworu, on Mar 5 2009, 04:32 PM, said:

About AKB I have to say that part of me is feeling very good with the fact that in 2 days 10nen Zakura has sold almost what Naichau Kamo sold in it's first week, and most MM fans were thrilled with the sales of that single...

About A5 I will say that it's the stage that has grown on me the most, ever. At first I kinda hated all the songs but now there's only a few that I dislike.
B4 is Team B and Team B = WIN. So yeah. Awesomeness.

How many versions of 10nen Zakura are there and is there anything special in them that would make the sales skewed?

[Hana]

There are 2 versions (regular and one sold exclusively at the theater, although the latter has sold out and probably isn't counted on Oricon), and the only thing that would skew the sales is the handshake ticket they're including in each single. However, unlike H!P's system where you enter into a lottery to *maybe* get the chance to go to a single event (meaning you'd want to buy multiple copies to ensure a chance), IIRC you're basically guaranteed entry with the AKB handshake tickets. So at maximum, you'd only buy as many singles as there were handshake events you could go to (I think it's 4 this time around).

[The☆AEUGNewtype]

AKB now officially have 3 good songs! 10nen Sakura kicks some serious ass and I was going to make a thread for it, but since we already have an AKB thread, I figured I wouldn't waste my time. Carry on.

[Kaworu]

^I'm just curious but which are the other two? I used to dislike many MANY ABK48 songs at first, which was one of the reasons it took a while for me to really get into them, but their music in the past year has been noticeably improving.

I don't know if you've really heard all AKB48 songs, but I'm going to name a few of the (unit) songs I REALLY like, nowadays. Hope they're useful to some people who don't follow them
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=nmZOT8FOC4I --- Oshibe meshibe. A dream come true for pedo wotas. And for me xD Team K 4th Stage unit song.
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=CzbM45JZYgQ --- Heart Gata Virus. A happy poppy awesome song. Team A 5th Stage Unit song
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=UXEY7Qf9-WI --- Temodemo no Namida. Ok, this is probably my second favorite AKB48 song (after BIRD, which should be the FIRST song you listen to if you ever are interested in AKB). This is a clip from a shuffle concert held last year, where girls from Team A performed it instead of girls from Team B. But bleh, the song is so good that I figured I'd still post it. There's no clip of the original version, which features MM's reject Kashiwagi Yuki, with her POWERFUL vocals (I insist, I would LOVE to see Tsunku's face if he ever saw this girl perform, he'd reget rejecting her SO). It's a definite must hear. Team B 3rd Stage unit song. If you want to see the original version (u should), PM me.

[Special Needs Tricycle]

The☆AEUGNewtype, on Mar 8 2009, 09:26 AM, said:

AKB now officially have 3 good songs! 10nen Sakura kicks some serious ass and I was going to make a thread for it, but since we already have an AKB thread, I figured I wouldn't waste my time. Carry on.

Yeah, I'm curious too. I really can't bring myself to like AKB48's members, but I like 3 songs of theirs too, 10nen being one of them. The other two being Skirt, Hirari and Virgin Love.

[The☆AEUGNewtype]

The other two are Yuuhi wo and Babyx3. They have a few other tolerable songs like Boku no Taiyou, but those are the only 3 I'd actually listen to regularly.

[Special Needs Tricycle]

Hana, on Mar 7 2009, 03:07 AM, said:

There are 2 versions (regular and one sold exclusively at the theater, although the latter has sold out and probably isn't counted on Oricon), and the only thing that would skew the sales is the handshake ticket they're including in each single. However, unlike H!P's system where you enter into a lottery to *maybe* get the chance to go to a single event (meaning you'd want to buy multiple copies to ensure a chance), IIRC you're basically guaranteed entry with the AKB handshake tickets. So at maximum, you'd only buy as many singles as there were handshake events you could go to (I think it's 4 this time around).

Aren't they doing something crazy like a bowling date with a member or something too?

[Milly]

Hana, on Mar 7 2009, 08:07 AM, said:

There are 2 versions (regular and one sold exclusively at the theater, although the latter has sold out and probably isn't counted on Oricon), and the only thing that would skew the sales is the handshake ticket they're including in each single. However, unlike H!P's system where you enter into a lottery to *maybe* get the chance to go to a single event (meaning you'd want to buy multiple copies to ensure a chance), IIRC you're basically guaranteed entry with the AKB handshake tickets. So at maximum, you'd only buy as many singles as there were handshake events you could go to (I think it's 4 this time around).

I think it's basically one handshake per single. So if you want to shake the hands of multiple member (or all 48 ) or shake the hands of your favourite girl multiple times, you have to buy multiple copies.

I don't like 10nen sakura. Hate the vocals. Though if I were in Japan I'd probably buy a few copies for the handshaking. I think I like about 5% of AKB48's discography (Koike, 109, Korogaru Ishi ni Nare, Virgin Love etc).

[Hana]

Special Needs Tricycle, on Mar 10 2009, 03:30 AM, said:

Aren't they doing something crazy like a bowling date with a member or something too?

With members. That's not an unusual prize for them, though, since you can get that from the gacha machines in the theater as well. The difference in this case is that you're definitely going to be sharing that prize (if you win) with 47 other people. The other prizes you can win are a signboard (2 people) or a signed poster (30 people) BUT you have to pick one of those prizes to enter in for, and if you enter in for that it makes the handshake event ticket invalid (it's on the backside of that same piece of paper). I honestly think most people would go for the handshake event instead because of how bad the odds are for the prizes.

As it turns out, the handshake events for the regular version of the single (since I highly doubt Oricon is counting the theater version) are only held once per city (minus Tokyo, which has 3 events), so I don't think Oricon is registering people buying 62 copies to shake hands with every single member (counting the research students; there's only 45 girls ATM without them, although I wonder if any SKE members are being included in these events, since that could possibly increase the number... but I digress).

Either way, all's fair in crazy idol CD bonuses (unless it's that crap they and/or DefStar tried to pull with Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008).

[NekoNoAi]

Since they changed companies, it might be highly unlikely to get the rest of the stages in album form. Which pisses me off, because there are quite a few stage songs that I would LOVE to have good quality for.

I'm really praying for a 'best of stage' or 'stage collection' sometime in the future, but won't be holding my breath.

Oshibe Meshibe is one of the hottest songs ever.

[Kaworu]

I just wanted to pop in this thread to say that after this week 10nen Zakura is about 3k copies from selling 100k copies.
This is kinda huge, so yeah. They're still on oricon's daily top 20 after 4 weeks so I'm pretty confident they'll hit the mark.

I'm glad for them. I think those girls have worked their asses off these past 3 years starting from scratch, performing almost every single night, and have made a good job. Hope they keep becoming more popular

[Monkeypretzels]

Wasn't sure if any of you knew this?


Miki Saotome (17), once a member of AKB48's Team B, has officially graduated from the group. Her final stage appearance was on April 18.

Saotome made her debut as part of Team B in April 2007. However, she was demoted to trainee status this past January. According to a new post in the group's official blog, Saotome said that she felt she had been lacking in her skills such as singing, dancing, and speaking. Due to her lack of confidence, she ultimately decided to leave the group.

Saotome's future plans are uncertain, but she explained that she may not be able to give up on show business, so she plans to continue trying to find her place in the industry.