31 October 2011

AKB48 Internet Service Provider [AKB48 OFFICIAL NET]


At a press conference on the 31 Oct 2011, Oshima Yuko came out holding a baby. A new scandal? No, of course not. The press conference was the launch of AKB48's new Internet Service Provider [AKB48 OFFICIAL NET].

Official Website: http://www.akb48.ne.jp

At 1,480yen per month, subscribers will get:
  - internet connection services
  - email that ends with "@akb48.ne.jp"
  - an extra vote for AKB48's Request Hour Setlist best 100 2012
  - an extra chance to win tickets to AKB48's theater performances
  - AKB48 fanclub membership
and last but not least
  - AKBaby

Yup. [AKBaby]. No sadly you won't get a chance to mate with your oshimen. It's a special service for subscribers to [AKB OFFICIAL NET]. Starting from November 1st, they can find out how they and their idol's baby will look. The slogan for this service is "Why don't we make a baby? On the net." 

If you were wondering, the baby shown above is the baby between Oshima Yuko and Noda Yoshihiko, the current Prime Minister of Japan.

During the press conference, Oshima Yuko was asked what does her ideal family look like. She responded that she wants to have at least 2 children and to become a mother who can act as a close friend just like her own mother. Though she also mentioned that she has no plans for marriage and having children yet. Looks like it's career first for Oshima Yuko...


30 October 2011

AKB 1/48: Idol to Guam de Koishitara review


By the way, I'm a new writer to the team:

Gender: Male
Age: 21
Occupation: NSF
Favorite Artist: AKB48, Skrillex
Start of Fandom: Nov 2010
Oshimen:
AKB48: Oshima Yuko
SKE48: Matsui Rena

Hi people~ I'm a 21 year old, currently in army in Singapore(finishing with army soon in around 2 month's time). I'm into Japanese stuff, be it Japanese culture, goods, anime, manga and of course Japanese idols :D

I've been a fan of AKB48 for almost a year now, though it is only recently that I have become obsessed with them. The reason I became an AKB48 fan is actually kind of amusing as idols were never my interest in the first place. I was following this online Japanese lessons taught by a native Japanese speaker, Japancast.net. They posted a video of the now famous DANCEROID, Aikawa Kozue, dancing to RIVER. That was when I first knew of the existence of AKB48. As I've said previously, my obsession only recently due to AKB1/48, I mean come on, a galge featuring real life 3D girls? How good could that get? Soon I found myself engrossed in the game and wishing to find out more about this group AKB48.

Soon enough, I found myself watching all their shows, AKBINGO!, Shukan AKB, even back-dating to when the show just started, and that was when I found my oshimen, Ooshima Yuuko, during the second Gekikarabu when she ate the spicy hamburger ><

This is the first time I'm contributing a news blog, and hopefully, I will be able to provide you guys with timely and accurate news update of this AKB48 group.







Love your favourite idols?  Well then close your eyes and imagine them clad in bikini, like what you saw? Then this is the game for you! If you were a fan of the first game, then you'll definitely get hooked to this game with all the new features and surprises. Don't worry even if you are a first-time player of this game, or any types of galges, the game-play is easy enough for everyone to catch on pretty quickly.

Well, experienced players, you know the drill, reject every girl's advances on you except one who will ultimately confess to you and thus completing one round of the game.

Ok, now for the new features that makes it more interesting than the first game. Special date events, which instantly instantly boost your relationship meter like a best answer does.
Notice the anchor sign beside the DAY 10? That means it'll be special date day! :D I'm sure you'll wonder what happens during special dates, well here's what happens.
A one-on-one date with your bikini-clad idol!!! No one else will interrupt your date. By the way there will be no subtitles during special dates, only audio. Bonus: Guess who is the person in that special date? ><

Taking forever to choose the answer when in real-life it has to happen in a few seconds? They've introduced this special feature as well, according to the scenarios, you'll be given a 5 second time limit to answer certain questions. If you fail to answer within the time limit, the game will help you answer with an answer chosen at random. Better keep your fingers crossed that it'll be the best answer :/

If the idols are interested in me, shouldn't she be sending me randoms texts to catch my attention instead of making every text a request to date? Yeah well, they've improved this as well, and with a Guam-feel to it!
With the animated emoticons, it feels as if they idol is texting you real-life, not just some scripted text :)

Oh, in addition of the girls stalking you at the end of your date, hinting that they like you and sometimes ask you who do you like the most. We have the famous "Dare da?" random after-date event! You'll be given a few choices to choose from after hearing her say, "Da~re da?" A correct choice is equivalent to a best answer.

"Damn, I'm left with only one more photo to complete her collection, but I have to reject her and hope she will become available for me to date again on DAY XX to get it." Troublesome? I know, so do the producers, which is why they introduced the "seed" feature, after completing the game one round, you will get a seed with every completion.
Notice the bottom-right hand corner of the screen has a seed-like icon? That's the number of seed you have. Notice the bottom right hand corner of the photo has a seed-like icon as well? That's the photo you unlocked using the seed. Now THAT saves me a lot of trouble.

Do you have this experience with the first game when you accidentally accepted a girl's request to meet up again the next day, leading to the confession. BUT the girl you are aiming for isn't her. So now you have to start again from scratch. Fret not, in the second game, you still can go out with other girl even when you've reach confession stage with one of the girls.
The girls will also react to where you set your eyes on. Moving the analog stick can allow you to look at different place of the girls body. Try staring at their boob for long enough and they may even call you ecchi! <3 But it differs among the girls, some like it, some are ok with it, and some hate it. Try it at your own risk!

Confused about who's your true oshimen? Leave it to the oshimen calculator!
Well, how accurate it really is, I'll leave that to your own discretion...

Lastly! A game cannot be complete without EASTER EGGS! Enter passwords to unlock super rare photos of your idols! :D (Instructions on how to unlock them here).

Well hope that helped. Enjoy the game!

YJ7 vs YM7 Results

After several long rounds of voting, the result of YJ7 vs YM7 was broadcasted in a one-time, special 30-second TV commercial on TV Asahi on 30th October 2011.

The result should come as no surprise if you have been following the competition. Yes, the winners are YM7. They won 3 rounds while YJ7 won just 2, and the votes for YM7 overall heavily outweighed YJ7's.

It also seems that unlike the previous year's YJ vs PB competition, only the winners YM7 will get their own song. The song and PV was previewed during the TV commercial, and the title is Renai Sousenkyo. Sashihara Rino leads as center, yet another unsurprising development. Kasai Tomomi, a member of YM7, does not appear in the song as she is on a break from activities due to pelvic peritonitis.

The commercial can be viewed below. For now, congratulations to YM7!

29 October 2011

Not yet 3rd Single [Perapera Perao] Tracklist and Covers



The tracklist and cover for Type A of Not yet's 3rd single, Perapera Perao, has been revealed.

The Type A cover features all four girls in their waitress costumes from the music video, and they pose around a life-size tea cup, saucer and stirrer. While Oshima Yuko holds a giant block of sugar and Yokoyama Yui holds the huge stirrer, it puzzles me that Kitahara Rie is holding a normally sized jug of milk. It's a little weird, to be frank. Even worse, it seems they could not find anything for Sashihara Rino to hold, so she's just lying on the saucer...is she supposed to be an ant? Well, it makes for a cute cover despite these oddities.

The rest of the covers have not been revealed, which is rather weird. I suppose they are still finalizing them.

The tracklist for all three types of the single will contain the usual-idol-fare title track Perapera Perao, as well as the cool, dark coupling song Uminari yo. The tracklist also includes a second coupling song different across the types. Type A has Moto Kare ga Kekkon Suru Toki, Type B with Fuusha ga Mieru Machi, and Type C with Mikata. I'm almost sure Mikata and Fuusha ga Mieru Machi will be ballads, while Moto Kare ga Kekkon Suru Toki is either fun and silly, or really sad.

I'm most looking forward to Fuusha ga Mieru Machi from the title because it sounds like it could be a potentially beautiful ballad with chimes or piano. And I want Uminari yo because the preview is already floating around on the Internet and I love it.

Check out the tracklist table below for a clearer list and the English meanings of these titles.


Not yet 3rd Single
Perapera Perao
ペラペラペラオ
16 November 2011

Type A

1600yen
[CD]
01. Perapera Perao (ペラペラペラオ; Fluent man)
02. Uminari yo (海鳴りよ; It's the rumbling of the sea)
03. Moto Kare ga Kekkon Suru Toki (元カレが結婚する時; When you get married to your ex-boyfriend)
04. Perapera Perao (Instrumental)
05. Uminari yo (Instrumental)
06. Moto Kare ga Kekkon Suru Toki (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01. Perapera Perao Music Clip
Type B
1600yen

[CD]
01. Perapera Perao (ペラペラペラオ; Fluent man)
02. Uminari yo (海鳴りよ; It's the rumbling of the sea)
03. Fuusha ga Mieru Machi (風車が見える街; The town where you see windmills)
04. Perapera Perao (Instrumental)
05. Uminari yo (Instrumental)
06. Fuusha ga Mieru Machi (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01. Perapera Perao Music Clip
Type C

1600yen

[CD]
01. Perapera Perao (ペラペラペラオ; Fluent man)
02. Uminari yo (海鳴りよ; It's the rumbling of the sea)
03. Mikata (味方; Friend)
04. Perapera Perao (Instrumental)
05. Uminari yo (Instrumental)
06. Mikata (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01. Perapera Perao Music Clip

AKB48 24th single [Ue kara Mariko] Tracklist

The title was just announced and now the tracklist is out as well. The b-side is called "Noel no Yoru" and is said to be a Christmas song. The Team A song is "Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai" which earlier was used for AKB48 and HP's collaboration CM. Team K's is called "Zero Sum Taiyou" while Team B's is "Yobisute Fantasy". In the the theater version is Team 4's "Hashire! Penguin". The DVD of each type also contains the parts of this year's Janken documentary.


AKB48 24th Single
Ue kara Mariko
上からマリコ


07 December 2011
TYPE A
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai  (Team A)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai (off vocal ver.) 
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Rinjin wa Kizukanai Music Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 1)
TYPE K
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Zero-sum Taiyou  (Team K)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Zero-sum Taiyou (off vocal ver.)
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Zero-sum Taiyou Music Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 2)
TYPE B
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Yobisute Fantasy  (Team B)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Yobisute Fantasy (off vocal ver.)
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Yobisute Fantasy Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 3)
TYPE Theater
picture  
1,000yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Hashire! Penguin (Team 4)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Hashire! Penguin (off vocal ver.)

Ue kara Mariko
Team A: Oya Shizuka, Kojima Haruna, Shinoda Mariko, Maeda Ami
Team K: Fujie Reina, Minegishi Minami, Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka
Team B: Kasai Tomomi, Sato Sumire, Kitahara Rie
AKB KKS: Kobayashi Marina
Team 4: Yamauchi Suzuran
Team S: Kuwabara Mizuki
Team N: Yamaguchi Yuuki
NMB KKS: Hikawa Ayame

24th single title announced [Ue Kara Mariko]

The title of the 24th single for AKB48 has just been announced at a handshake event today and its titled "Ue kara Mariko". The PV was also revealed on the handshake event and is said to be a school PV. The actual a-side that was planned titled "Hashire! Penguin" will now instead be sung by Team 4 for the theater version. The senbatsu members are of course this years Janken tournament winners, Shinoda Mariko being the center.


AKB48 24th Single
Ue kara Mariko
上からマリコ


07 December 2011
TYPE A
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai  (Team A)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai (off vocal ver.) 
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Rinjin wa Kizukanai Music Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 1)
TYPE K
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Zero-sum Taiyou  (Team K)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Zero-sum Taiyou (off vocal ver.)
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Zero-sum Taiyou Music Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 2)
TYPE B
picture  
1,600yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Yobisute Fantasy  (Team B)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Yobisute Fantasy (off vocal ver.)
[DVD]
01. Ue kara Mariko Music Video
02. Noel no Yoru Music Video
03. Yobisute Fantasy Video
04. 24th Single Senbatsu Janken Taikai Documentary Video (part 3)
TYPE Theater
picture  
1,000yen
[CD]
01. Ue kara Mariko
02. Noel no Yoru
03. Hashire! Penguin (Team 4)
04. Ue kara Mariko (off vocal ver.)
05. Noel no Yoru (off vocal ver.)
06. Hashire! Penguin (off vocal ver.)

Ue kara Mariko
Team A: Oya Shizuka, Kojima Haruna, Shinoda Mariko, Maeda Ami
Team K: Fujie Reina, Minegishi Minami, Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka
Team B: Kasai Tomomi, Sato Sumire, Kitahara Rie
AKB KKS: Kobayashi Marina
Team 4: Yamauchi Suzuran
Team S: Kuwabara Mizuki
Team N: Yamaguchi Yuuki
NMB KKS: Hikawa Ayame

28 October 2011

GREE's [AKB48 Stage Fighter] Game!



As AKB48 continues their quest to take over the world, they are now being featured in a new game from GREE.  [AKB48 Stage Fighter] is a social game intended to be played on feature phones.

The game is a competition to hold the center position in AKB48, with gameplay format being a card battle.  Players duel it out using game cards featuring AKB48 members.  For the initial release, 250 different cards are planned, with more new cards to be released at a later date.

Set in some year 20XX in a post-apocalyptic world, the 48 members are thrown into a distorted spacetime and now must struggle to come out on top in an epic "Ken" game (janken is a subset of this type of hand-game).  The player's mission is to collect cards and secret items in order to assemble a deck for battling.

A typical mission involves battling another user in order to snatch away their "Center Aura" and thereby increase your own abilities towards taking the "Center Position."  In order to complete the collection of secret items, the player must also collect secret materials.  The social game aspect of this comes into play where each player must designate their "Oshimen," through which they can interact with other players of the game.

In addition, a special [Center Contest Battle] event to begin immediately after release will allow players to enter in card battles in order to win special promotional items featuring various AKB48 members.

The game was released 25 October 2011, As an additional bonus, between 11:00 to 23:59 on the release date, players were able to get a limited edition card.

I've never played much card battle games, so this sounds like Pokemon but with AKB48 girls instead...  I also find it hilarious that the "battle" involved here is basically janken (despite their attempt to be vague about it).  Now you too can participate in AKB48 janken tournaments!  The sample cards look super cute and all kirakira, but my phone wouldn't support this game anyways.  But for those with real technology, you may want to check this out!

Find out more on the GREE website!


27 October 2011

Kashiwagi Yuki becomes the image person for Kagoshima Tourism Bureau

Kashiwagi Yuki has been made the image person to promote Kagoshima. The 30 second CM will start from November 1 to November 30 in Kansai, Okayama and Hiroshima while it will be aired from November 1 to 12 in Kanto region. The CM of course stars Yukirin and the slogan for the campaign is "Real. Kagoshima Prefecture". The campaign will be promoting Kagoshima's natural beauties such as their hot springs.

Kagoshima is Yukirin's hometown so its great to see that the tourism board made her the image person.

[Team Ogi Matsuri Concert II] to be Live-Broadcast in Movie Theaters!


Due to popular demand, this year's Team Ogi Matsuri concert will be live-broadcasted in movie theaters across Japan!!

This is the second year for this 2-day concert featuring the members of the OOO48 franchise signed under OgiPro.  Tickets to the event sold out within one day, so in order to provide access for more fans, there will be a live broadcast of the concert in 17 locations around Japan.

Event: Team Ogi Matsuri Live Viewing in Theaters
Dates: 15 and 16 November 2011, 18:30 JST  (A different setlist will be performed for the two days)
Price: 2400yen

For a complete list of locations, see the Team Ogi website.

It's great to see the event getting so popular!

26 October 2011

AKB48 23rd Single [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] 1st day sales


AKB48's 23rd Single [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] releases today! The singlemanaged to ship 1.6 million over the weekend, the highest ever and beating [Everyday, Kachuusha]'s 1.45 million shipped. But how much did it sell?

On it's first day, 1,045,937 copies!

It's a slight improvement in sales compared to their previous single [Flying Get], which sold 1,025,937 on it's 1st day and ended the week with 1,354,492. Will [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] outsell [Flying Get]? I believe the question is not "will it" but "how long will it take?

[Kaze wa Fuiteiru] First Press Editions comes with the voting tickets for the [AKB48 Request Hours Setlist Best 100 2012] concert on January 2012.


Have you purchased your copy? What's your favorite song in the single?

Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 9th Single [Kibou Sanmyaku] Covers + Tracklist


Watarirouka Hashiritai 7's 9th single [Kibou Sanmyaku] covers and tracklist have been revealed!  They're clearly sticking with the red/white/black color scheme all the way through - I think I like the Regular Edition cover best.

Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 9th Single
Kibou Sanmyaku
希望山脈
30 November 2011

Limited A

1600yen
[CD]
01. Kibou Sanmyaku
02. TBA
03. TBA
04. Kibou Sanmyaku (Instrumental)
05. TBA (Instrumental)
06. TBA (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01.Kibou Sanmyaku Music Video
Limited B

1600yen
[CD]
01. Kibou Sanmyaku
02. TBA
03. TBA
04. Kibou Sanmyaku (Instrumental)
05. TBA (Instrumental)
06. TBA (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01. Kibou Sanmyaku Music Video
02. Kibou Sanmyaku Dance Shot Version
Limited C

1600yen
[CD]
01. Kibou Sanmyaku
02. TBA
03. TBA
04. Kibou Sanmyaku (Instrumental)
05. TBA (Instrumental)
06. TBA (Instrumental)
[DVD]
01.Kibou Sanmyaku Music Video
Regular Edition

1000yen
[CD]
01. Kibou Sanmyaku
02. TBA
03. TBA
04. Kibou Sanmyaku (Instrumental)
05. TBA (Instrumental)
06. TBA (Instrumental)

Vote for SDN48's [Kodoku na Runner] at AKB48's [Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012]

Voting for AKB48's Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012 has started yesterday. Have you voted yet?
If you haven't, and are still not sure of what song to vote for, then here's a solution for you.

Calling all SDN48 fans and non-fans alike. You probably know by now that the current members of SDN48 will be graduating on March 31st. This will be the last Request Hour concert for SDN48, so we fans want to give the girls the best rank possible.

SDN48 fans from all over Japan and the world are uniting together to vote up the song [Kodoku na Runner] (孤独なランナー). Why Kodoku na Runner you might ask? Well it is the song that links to SDN48 the most. Just like what Shonichi is for AKB48's Team B, and Omatase Set List is for SKE48's Team KII.



The lyrics of Kodoku na Runner itself is very fitting now that they are graduating. These 2 lines appear quite a number of times in the song:
"Don't Stop!"
"I Can't Stop!"

Many of the the members have mentioned it on their blogs during the hours after the graduation announcement. They don't want to stop their career. They can't stop. They want to continue singing, dancing, performing. It is their life. Even though they are not part of SDN48 anymore, that doesn't mean it's the end for them.

Kodoku na Runner managed to rank 24th in Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2010 due to the unity of the fans. However it didn't even rank in the top 100 on the 2011 Request Hour. I believe that by uniting together again, we can manage to get this song ranked high.


「孤独なランナー」
[Kodoku na Runner]
translated by Hana of Ganbariina!
In front of my eyes,
there's congestion
stretching towards my hopes
My rivals are
fighting at
full-power and
advancing down the road

YES!
I'll start running
This is my last chance
If I can't outrun them here,
I'll be a loser

Don't stop!
I can't stop
Don't stop!
When I get enthusiastic,
Don't stop!
I clench my teeth
My heart
races intensely
Don't stop!
I can't stop
Don't stop!
even if my legs cramp
Don't stop!
Show them that willpower
I'm a solitary runner

There are
countless
hills in life
Until you reach
the promised place,
you don't have any time
to turn and look back

YES!
Even if I collapse somewhere,
get up right away!
If I give up there,
everything will end!

Don't stop!
Believe in yourself!
Don't stop!
Your effort until now
Don't stop!
will pay off now
I can
surely do it
Don't stop!
Believe in yourself!
Don't stop!
In all the sweat
Don't stop!
Your natural face is beautiful
Miraculous runner

YES!
I don't have any regrets
even if I die like this...
Anyone who does all that they can
will be a winner

Don't stop!
I can't stop
Don't stop!
When I get enthusiastic,
Don't stop!
I clench my teeth
My heart
races intensely
Don't stop!
I can't stop
Don't stop!
even if my legs cramp
Don't stop!
Show them your willpower
Solitary runner

Don't stop!
Don't stop!

[AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012] concert voting starts!


The voting period for AKB48's upcoming yearly concert [AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012] has started today!

Spanning 4 days from January 19, 2012 to January 22, 2012, the Request Hour concerts are different from other concerts and you get to vote for what songs you want to see performed. Only 100 spots are available though, so if you really want to see a particular song, send in more votes!

The Request Hour concerts were started back at 2008, at the Shibuya AX concert hall. However starting the next concert, the location has been shifted to the newer and larger Tokyo Dome City hall. TDC Hall can hold 3,100 people, double that of Shibuya-AX's 1,500.

AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012
AKB48リクエストアワー セットリスト ベスト100

Date: 19 ~ 22 January 2012
Location: Tokyo Dome City Hall

Official Website: http://request-hour-2012.jp/
Voting Website: http://akb48-request2012.jp/

Ways to vote:
01. Voting ticket enclosed in AKB48's 23rd Single [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] Limited Editions
02. AKB48 mobame
03. AKB48 official smartphone app member
04. AKB48 LIVE!! ON DEMAND member
05. SKE48 mobame
06. SKE48 LIVE!! ON DEMAND member
07. SDN48 mobame
08. NMB48 mobame


You can vote for any AKB48, SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48 song, unless the song is sung by a subunit or solo artist (No Sleeves, French Kiss, Itano Tomomi, etc). The total number of songs up for voting is an astonishing 421!

Voting will end on November 30th. What songs did you vote for? Do share!

NMB48 2nd Single [Oh My God!] First week sales



Making the start for another x48 related release rush, NMB48 released its 2nd Single [Oh My God!] on October 19, managing to sell 265,435 copies in the first week. First day sales amount to 172,474 copies. With those sales, [Oh My God!] tops the Oricon Weekly Charts for the second time with a sales increase of almost 50,000 copies in the first week compared to their first single [Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo] (First week sales 218,441).

Not surprisingly, NMB48 is continuing the positive sales trend of the x48 main groups: [Oh My God!] outsold [Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo] (Overall sales 260,212) after only six days.

As usual for AKB48 and its sister groups, this sales succes comes with new records and titles: according to Oricon, NMB48 is now the first female newcomer group to sell more than 200,000 copies for the first two singles and the third new female artist to do so.

24 October 2011

HKT48 1st generation members first look


Earlier today we blogged about HKT48's first public appearance during AKB48's Nationwide Handshake Event. But earlier there were only group photos of the girls.

Now here's the close up photos of the 21 HKT48 members!

Just judging from looks alone, which members are your favorites? Mine are Nakanishi Ayaka, Nakanishi Chyori, and Taniguchi Airi.

All images from http://news.walkerplus.com/2011/1023/14/
Created with the help of Microsheep of Everyday48 forums.

Abe Kyoka
安陪恭加
(Kyouka)
Anai Chihiro
穴井千尋
(Chiichan)
Eto Sayaka
江藤彩也香
(Saayan)
Fukugawa Maiko
深川舞子
(Maikomu)
Imada Mina
今田美奈
(Mina)
Kodama Haruka
兒玉遥
(Harurun)
Komori Yui
古森結衣
(Yui)
Kumazawa Serina
熊沢世莉奈
(Seriinu)
Matsuoka Natsumi
松岡菜摘
(Natsu)
Miyawaki Sakura
宮脇咲良
(Sakura)
Moriyasu Madoka
森保まどか
(Madoka)
Motomura Aoi
本村碧唯
(Aoi)
Murashige Anna
村重杏奈
(Aanya)
Nakanishi Ayaka
仲西彩佳
(Ayakyanman)
Nakanishi Chiyori
中西智代梨
(Chori)
Shimono Yuki
下野由貴
(Chinamon)
Sugamoto Yuko
菅本裕子
(Yuukosu)
Tanaka Natsumi
田中菜津美
(Natsumin)
Ueki Nao
植木南央
(Nao)
Wakatabe Haruka
若田部遥
(Wakaharu)
.
Taniguchi Airi
谷口愛理
(Airisu)

23 October 2011

HKT48 makes it's public debut in AKB48's handshake event


HKT48, the newest member of the 48 family, has made their public debut today at AKB48's Nationwide Handshake Event today in the Seibu Dome. They performed [Skirt, Hirari] to an audience of more than 15,000.

HKT48 is based in Fukuoka, and their theater will be beside the Fukuoka Dome. They are the 4th OOO48 group to be formed, and 5th if you count in SDN48. The group plans to have a theater debut later this year

The 1st generation members of HKT48 have an average age of 13.8 years old, the youngest average age so far among all the groups. NMB48's 1st and 2nd generations had an average age of 14.7 and 14 respectively when they debuted. The oldest member on HKT48 is just 17 years old!


Top row, from left: Abe Kyoka, Eto Sayaka, Nakanishi Ayaka, Imada Mina, Shimono Yuki, Kumazawa Serina, Ueki Nao, Nakanishi Chiyori, Moriyasu Madoka, Anai Chihiro, Sugamoto Yuko

Bottom row, from left: Tanaka Natsumi, Furugawa Maiko, Komori Yui, Taniguchi Airi, Wakatabe Haruka, Motomura Aoi, Murashige Anna, Miyawaki Sakura, Matsuoka Natsumi, Kodama Haruka


pictures from natalie.mu, oricon.jp

AKB48 23rd Single [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] Full PV + Narration + Impressions



The full PV for [Kaze wa Fuiteiru] has just been leaked, and while about half of it shows the dance version again, the half that is new is certainly very interesting.



Other songs' PVs can be found now as well:
Kimi no Senaka
Gondola Lift
Vamos


Well, I'm sure everyone can judge for themselves, but the initial feeling I got from the PV was more of desolation, not exactly fitting for what they claim the message of the song is supposed to be.  They said it was supposed to be encouraging and uplifting, right?  The PV I guess you could interpret as leading to something encouraging, but is in itself kind of... fatalistic.  Let's just say that the post-apocalyptic interpretation of the dance setting is supported by the new material.  Before we interpret, however, let's figure out what exactly is even happening here...

The PV begins with a globe in flames, which presumably represents the state of the world before the story happens.

Now, story begins with the girls walking through a barren praire, and it becomes clear from later parts that they are in search of a large... creature? God?  Who knows.  It looks like a gigantic Diglett covered in hair and with derpy front teeth instead of a nose.

In any case, they find this Diglett dead and restrained with ropes tied to two gigantic walrus teeth stuck in the ground.  All around the Diglett are animal skeletons, blood-stained rags, and it looks like there was some sort of ritual killing of the Diglett after it was restrained.  The girls see it and some of them are (rightly so) like OMGWTFBBQ.  They all think it's dead, and they all become really sad (Tomochin bows her head; Acchan + Yuko and some other pairs comfort each other).

But, leaders Acchan and Yuko decide to put their ears up to the Diglett (eww why would they do that) and the dialogue overlaid on the song goes something like:

Acchan: It's alive.
Yuko: Yes, it's still alive!

IT'S ALIVE!!!  This certainly cheers the girls up a bit.  Now here's the key part of why they're looking for this Diglett in the first place:

Yuko: Let's rebuild a new world once again.
Acchan: Let's go!
Everyone: Yeah! (well, so they just grunt and nod, but that's the idea).

Commence all the girls trying to untie the Diglett from the walrus teeth, using axes, gigantic shears, whatever, to cut through the ropes.  It takes awhile, and they seem to have trouble, but in the end, they get rid of the ropes binding the Diglett.  WAHOO!  Leader-samas move the hair out of Diglett's still-closed eyes.

The girls then form some sort of spiritual circle, all holding hands around the Diglett:

Acchan: Spread all over the Earth.
Yuko: Please help us with your strength.

As the girls kneel, they channel the power of the Diglett, create electric current, and awaken it.  It's pretty awesome and very ugly, and the girls scatter to the side in awe and terror.  Electrified Diglett then makes a powerful roar, and spits a blast of air and dust that extinguishes the flames surrounding the globe.

Presumably then, the eerie world the dance is set in is the new Earth, after Diglett has blown out the fire, and still harnessing Diglett-power, the girls are going to rebuild the Earth.  A world built by AKB48... I wonder what that would be like...

So it seems that in the end, there is in fact a message of hope for rebuilding a better world in the future.  It may seem in the moment that the state of the world is terrible, everything is dead.  However, if we can just find a common source of strength, and share it with those around us, as a whole we can have the power to extinguish the terror and start anew.

I'll be honest, my first reaction was WTF and then I watched it a few more times to catch the actual dialogue and it made waaaay more sense.  I don't understand why they chose the Diglett-creature to be the source of power, but I guess maybe it's metaphoric: even the most ugly and terrifying of things can be a great source of power.  I do like that the PV has a storyline, and the cinematography is overall well done.  I really love movie-like PVs (for example, I love love loved the Team Dragon PV), and I would've preferred if the PV had more of the actual storyline and not the dancing, which we've already seen before.  Plus, that might've made it easier to tell exactly what was going on.

That said, I think it's worth watching the PV more than just once if you can stand to, because I really didn't get it the first time either.  After a few rounds, it starts to make more sense, and you can start to get over the derpiness of that Diglett.