Oshima Yuko to star in Fuji TV Getsu9 drama [Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu]

AKB48's 2nd center Oshima Yuko will star in a Fuji TV Getsu9 drama starting October. Titled [Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu], it is a story about 3 women who can't fall in love. The other cast members is actress/model Karina and Yoshitaka Yuriko.

This is the first time Yuko takes on a lead role, finally completing her dream of being an actress. Yuko has casted in many dramas and movies since she joined AKB48, and even before that she is a child actress that acted on a number of dramas.

Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu will air on Fuji TV's Getsu9 slot (月９), or Monday 9PM, which traditionally is the time when the most popular TV dramas air in Japan.

Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu (私が恋愛できない理由)
Main cast: Karina, Yoshitaka Yuriko, Oshima Yuko
Channel: Fuji TV
Schedule: Weekly every Monday
Timing: 21:00 ~ 22:00
Starting date: October 2011

Cast description from Tokyograph
Karina plays a 27-year-old woman named Fujii Emi, who wants to truly fall in love but who is unable to forget her ex-boyfriend.

Yoshitaka plays the 24-year-old Ogura Saki, Emi’s junior in high school who has never really fallen in love. Unable to find a regular job, she started working as a hostess at a cabaret club, keeping it a secret from her parents. However, her “first love” ends up being a married man.

Oshima plays 22-year-old Mako, also from the same high school, who is always futilely running around in circles when it comes to love.

Tanaka Kei plays Emi’s former boyfriend and co-worker, while Kurashina Kana plays his current girlfriend. Other cast members include Nakao Akiyoshi, Kagami Seira, Nakamura Ryu, Katsumura Masanobu, Hagiwara Masato, and Inamori Izumi.

AKB48 22nd Single [Flying Get] 1st week sales

Will update when ORICON updates their page with the 1st week sales picture. If I do forget please remind me.

Flying Get surprised us all with it's incredible 1st day sales, selling over a million copies in it's debut day on the charts. So how did AKB48's latest single fare for it's 1st week? Not too surprising actually. 1,346 million copies sold, just barely broke their previous single Everyday, Kachuusha's 1st week sales with 12k to spare.

There has been some talk in the net that Morning Musume's Love Machine record of 1.6million would be broken by Flying Get in it's debut week. Personally I don't see how that is possible. Flying Get just isn't the breaker. Maybe within the month, but definitely not the 1st 2 weeks. Everyday, Kachuusha took 4 weeks to get to 1.5 million, lets see if Flying Get will get there faster.

[ORICON SCREENSHOT]

So let's now look at the records they broke. This has become customary for every AKB48 Single since 2009.

Records Broken
- Flying Get has the highest 1st week sales ever, breaking the record set by their previous single Everyday, Kachuusha.
- It is also the 1st ever single to sell over a million in a day.
- AKB48 is now the 1st and only artist to have 2 consecutive singles sell over 1 million in it's debut week.
- They are tied with Pink Lady for the record of "most consecutive #1 singles" (9 singles), as well as for the record of "consecutive million-selling singles" (3 singles).
- And finally they hold the top 2 positions for 1st week million seller singles in Japan.

1st Week Million selllers in Japan
1. AKB48 / Flying Get (2011/08/24): 1,354k
2. AKB48 / Everyday, Kachuusha (2011/05/25): 1,334k
3. Mr. Children / Namonaki Uta (1996/02/05): 1,208k
4. Utada Hikaru / Addicted To You (1999/11/10): 1,068k
5. Hayami Kentarou, Shigemori Ayumi, others.. / Dango 3 Kyoudai (1999/03/03): 1,026k


Really... can the AKB48 train be stopped anytime soon? Every new single they release ploughs through records and more records. Not that it's bad. Their doing a splendid job helping the Japanese economy at a time when an economic recession is eminent.

Not forgetting that Flying Get is the theme song of the remake drama Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 2011 (Hana Kimi), the show that is filled to the brim with AKB and is suffering from not so good ratings. Even though the show kinda sucks, at least the theme song is doing good.

Now I wonder what happened to that Passpo girl...... (don't follow Passpo news)

SDN48 [MIN.MIN.MIN] 1st Week Sales + Review

Weeeeird I remember clicking the publish button for this. how come it's still in draft?

Continuing a long rush of x48 related releases, SDN48 has released their 3rd single MIN.MIN.MIN last week and sold 72,584 copies of the single in the first week, managing to get the 3rd rank in the Oricon charts behind Johnny's group Kanjani8 and Kuwata Keisuke. 57,686 copies of that single were sold on its first day, when the single was able to reach rank 2 in the daily ranking.

Comparing MIN.MIN.MIN sales with the former single, Ai Chuseyo, which sold 64,020 copies in its first week, SDN48 was able to improve on sales a bit. The group's concept is different form the other groups in the AKB family which makes their potential fanbase smaller, so I don't think we could have expected more for the single. After both Watarirouka Hashiritai's and DiVA's sales went down for their last singles, we finally have good sales news again.



MIN.MIN.MIN
This newest track from SDN48 is a rather bland and uninspired followup to their last two title tracks which, I believe, were quite solid. The refrain does enough to make this song memorable, but it still lacks the oomph that makes A-side tracks stand out. The tacky cicada costumes that the girls have donned in the PV and live performances do not help to make this song any better. Even the concept of the PV looks cheap and confusing. I mean, come on! Where has SDN48's budget gone? The only positive I can see is Ohori Megumi's return to senbatsu; I don't like that Serina has taken Meetan's rightful center position.

Onedari Champagne (おねだりシャンパン)
An uplifting old-school song with an interesting concept. The girls sound so happy singing the song; in contrast to the dark and mysterious aura that MIN.MIN.MIN exudes, Onedari Champagne boasts a more festive mood. The amazingly catchy hook does well in drilling the song into listeners' heads. Undergirls A does not disappoint as this is one of the single's better tracks. Still, What is up with Kojiharu's random appearance as the club's #1 hostess? Is she seriously getting pushed into SDN?

Abazure (おねだりシャンパン)
Although I do not particularly like the PV, this track effectively showcases SDN48's coolness and confidence. Abazure is the kind of song that will grow on you after several listen. This coupling track allowed the girls to sing in their proper tone and display their true vocal talent. I would like to see Undergirls B perform this song live, minus the trashy outfits. Please put on something classier girls!

Everyday, Kachuusha (Everyday、カチューシャ)
What should I focus on in this review… the song itself or SDN48's rendition of it? Well, it has been a few months since AKB48 first released this song as the title track to their 21st single. In all honesty, Everyday, Kachuusha is starting to wear me out; this song can only hope to be as great as Ponytail to Shushu. SDN48's version does not deviate at all from the original track. With this song, the girls have abandoned what the group stands for, and opted instead for their sister group's cutesy and fun version. However, sheer versions of AKB48's promotional costumes have been used in the PV which consists simply of a mock studio performance.

SKE48 Matsushita Yui to graduate in September

Just announced this evening at the Team S performance today, SKE48 Team S's Matsushita Yui will be graduating at the end of September.

Back in January 2010, more than a year and a half ago, Yuimin injured both her ankles with osteochondritis dissecans. She left SKE48 temporarily to undergo an operation in April 2010 and at least 10 months of rehabilitation afterwards.

Things started to look up when she made a surprise appearance in July 2010 at SKE48's Best 30 2010 concert, though still wheelchair bound at that time. Starting earlier this year she started to go back into SKE48's TV and radio shows but has not resumed theater performances yet. Everyone was expecting her to get back to the stage soon.

However her injury was not able to heal in time. Yuimin will need another operation to remove the bolt in her leg. The rehabilitation for that operation will take years. And thus she has decided to fully graduate from SKE48.

This news just saddens me. Yuimin is one of my well liked members in SKE. Like I mentioned earlier I was totally expecting her to come back to SKE completely. Yuimin is not the first OOO48 member to leave due to an injury, Saeki Mika from the old Team B and Naruse Risa from the old Team K had also left both because of an injury to the leg.

Lets all wish Yuimin a speedy recovery and success in her future.

Matsushita Yui Graduation Announcement: http://www.ske48.co.jp/blog/?writer=matsushita_yui
Translated by Kieyuku
(please be forgiving if there are mistakes)

"Thank You"

I have something to inform everyone.

Announced in today's Team S performance,
I, Matsushita Yui, will be graduating from SKE48 in September.

For such a sudden announcement, I am truly sorry...

Before this announcement was made
I thought a lot, and also discussed a lot with my family and agency.

To all the fans who were waiting for my return,
I feel truly and deeply sorry.

During handshake sessions,
people who said "we'll be waiting",
made me really happy.

Even though I rested for so long
There were people who were waiting
It really became my support

Thank you very much!

But I hope that you understand
this is not a graduation that looks backwards.

This graduation is to me, a new start.

Even though I am graduating,
I love all the fans, all of SKE, and all of the staff!!

Thank you for giving so much support to me
I am grateful.

In the coming month I'll be graduating,
but for the handshake sessions that have been decided,
I will participate in all of them
Please take care of me until the very end.

AKB48 22nd Single [Flying Get] sells a million in a day

AKB48's latest single [Flying Get] released today and the sales are just staggering. I'm still shocked. Over 1 million copies sold in just it's first day. I've got no words for this. My hands are down. This is incredible.

Honestly I wasn't expecting them to sell so much, higher than their previous single Everyday, Kachuusha's 1st day (942k). Usually the single after the senbatsu elections will decrease in sales. After all, the wotas broke their budget buying 100 copies to vote for their favorites. So Flying Get selling more than Everyday, Kachuusha is amazing. Flying Get is also one of AKB48's weaker singles IMO. It's not as fun as the other singles.
So how long will it take for it to beat Everyday Kachuusha's total sales up to now? It stands at 1.5 million.

Unfortunately this success does not come without tragedy. If I'm not wrong, Passpo made a bet that if they do not get 1st place for their single ViVi Natsu, one of their members Fujimoto Yukimi will shave her hair bald. They got third with 14k sold. Will she still do it? I hope not. I feel sad for her now :(
http://newschoolkaidan.com/in-a-brilliant-move-passpo%E2%98%86-is-going-bald/

JKT48 (Jakarta48) in the works

In a bizarre turn of events, AKB48 has expanded to Indonesia. JKT48, short for JaKarTa, the capital of Indonesia, is being formed. It is said to be the twin sister to AKB48 and it is a joint project by Dentsu and AKS. JKT48 will be directly affiliated with AKB48.

Auditions have already started 2 days ago, and will continue till August 26th. Another set of auditions will take place from September 6th to 15th. Requirements for auditionees are that the must be an female Indonesian citizen, aged between 13 to 18 years old, attractive, talented and photogenic.

JKT48 Official Website: http://jkt48.blogspot.com/
JKT48 Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/officialJKT48
JKT48 Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/official.JKT48

But whats makes this piece of news interesting is that AKS has not said anything about it yet. Nor has any Japanese media. Their Official Website is on Blogspot, which raises lots of suspicions. Well I run this blog on Blogspot too, but that's because I'm poor and most importantly, not a official company. Dentsu is a professional Multi National Company and it makes no sense for them to use Blogspot.

Their Official Facebook for some reason also doesn't work quite properly. I don't know about you but While some people can access their page, I can't. Region locked maybe? But that doesn't make sense since they are connected to Japan. Here's a screenshot of the page provided by http://twitter.com/#!/kicklater.

And lastly the location of their auditions is a private estate as Tueac of Ani-Culture has found out. All the alarms in your head should be ringing by now that this is very suspicious.

AKB48Journal has also met up with some of the officials of dentsu and she reports it is real. That makes it better a little but it still seems suspicious.
https://twitter.com/#!/akb48journal/status/105896549124554752

I will be contacting Dentsu Singapore once the sun rises here to ask for additional information. Hopefully they know something.

A press conference is scheduled to take place sometime in November according to what people say is on their facebook page. From qrizta of aramatheydidnt.

Dear All,
JKT48 is still a work in progress. Rest assured that JKT48 is officially affiliated with AKB48.
A press conference will be held on November to make matters clear to the public. Please keep on supporting JKT48.

Warm Regards,
JKT48

It's up to you to believe them, so treat this as a rumor for now until we get official confirmation.

[Flying Get] 'Another Jacket' released in Shibuya Station

A new promotion stunt, AKB48 released an 'another jacket' cover of their latest single Flying Get at Shibuya Station earlier this morning. 3,000 copies of the new cover was pasted on the walls inside the station, and was free for passerbys to take.

Needless to say, they did. In less than an hour all 3,000 copies were taken, even though there wasn't any announcement of this beforehand. The 'another jacket' cover comes with a printed gold stamp with the words 「フラゲ認定」(Furage Nintei) (Flying Get Certifed). 'Furage' is the short form for Flying Get by the way. furaingugetto. Just like Everyday, Kachuusha -> Ebikatsu. Sadly these are the only 'another jacket' covers available. Those of you who want want, too bad.

Flying Get releases tomorrow, August 24th 2011.

Shinoda Mariko to produce her own magazine [Mariko Magazine]

note: Melos is feeling very feverish and won't be available for the next few days


Remember when Itano Tomomi "produced" her own photobook? Well Shinoda Mariko has bigger plans than than that. As one of the most visible members of AKB48, especially given her height and looks, Mariko-sama will be chief editor of her own fashion magazine titled [Mariko Magazine] to be released October 28.

Fans have been speculating about a graduation for a long time. Mariko is the oldest member of AKB48 at age 25, she is extremely popular outside of the idol group, and is busy with modeling gigs, variety shows, and occasional acting job. So busy in fact, that she barely attends AKB48 stage performances right now. Perhaps this is preparing her for something bigger. And hey, 1st generation graduate Kawazaki Nozomi opened her own nail salon and started her own apparel brand. Maybe Mariko will take a similar path. Preorders are available on amazon.

Nogizaka46 makes it's first appearance

Nogizaka46, AKB48's official rival group that is also produced by Akimoto Yasushi, has completed their auditions last month and today they made their first appearance to the public. There was a total of 38,934 applicants, a surprise for many since they weren't expecting people to be interested in it.

(conflicting reports for this. I'll give both sides of the story.)
1. Nogizaka46 will get their own Theater sometime in the future at Sony's Nogizaka SME Building.
2. Nogizaka46 will not be based in a Theater like AKB48 and will be going all over Japan to perform.

Official Website: http://www.nogizaka46.com/top.html

The group has already chosen their senbatsu members, frontgirls and even the center girl. The girl having the honor of being center of all Nogizaka46 is 14 year old Yoshimoto Ayaka from the Kumamoto prefecture. Her AKB48 rival is Itano Tomomi. The rest of the top 5 are Sakurai Reika (Rival: Eguchi Aimi), Akimoto Mantsu (Rival: Kojima Haruna), Ichiki Rena (Rival: Maeda Atsuko), and Hashimoto Nanami (Rival: Sashihara Rino).

That is not all. Nogizaka46 will have a unique way of deciding the senbatsu members. During all of their performances, everyone in the audience will get to vote for whichever member they want and the senbatsu will be decided according to the results. This will ensure different results and positions for each show and make it more entertaining.



The members of Nogizaka46 have an average age of 16 years old. Their variety show "AKB48 History" will start next month and a CD debut is in the works.

Members profile table, names romanised by Sada@Everyday48. Check out the original post for more information of the members. Do any of them interest you?

Akimoto Manatsu 秋元真夏	Andou Mikumo 安藤美雪	Asou Ririko 麻生梨里子	Etou Misa 衛藤美彩
Higuchi Hina 樋口日奈	Hatanaka Seira 畠中清羅	Hashimoto Nanami 橋本奈々未	Fukagawa Mai 深川麻衣
Hoshino Minami 星野みなみ	Ichiki Rena 市来玲奈	Ikoma Rina 生駒里奈	Ikuta Erika 生田絵梨華
Iwase Yumiko 岩瀬佑美子	Itou Nene 伊藤寧々	Itou Marika 伊藤万理華	Inoue Sayuri 井上小百合
Kashiwa Yukina 柏幸奈	Kawai Hina 川相陽菜	Kawamura Mahiro 川村真洋	Matsumura Sayuri 松村沙友里
Nakamoto Himeka 中元日芽香	Nakada Kana 中田花菜	Nagashima Seira 永島聖羅	Miyazawa Seira 宮澤成良
Nishino Nanase 西野七瀬	Saitou Asuka 斎藤飛鳥	Saitou Chiharu 斎藤ちはる	Saitou Yuuri 斎藤優里
Wada Maaya 和田まあや	Takayama Kazumi 高山一実	Shiraishi Mai 白石麻衣	Sakurai Reika 桜井玲香
Wakatsuki Yumi 若月佑美	Yamamoto Honoka 山本穂乃香	Yamato Rina 大和里菜	Yoshimoto Ayaka 吉本彩華