Kitahara Rie to appear in new reality TV show [Terrace House]

Kitahara Rie will participate in a new reality TV show on FujiTV called [Terrace House]. In this show three men and three women will live together under the same house. [Terrace House] will start broadcasting on October 12th and each episode will last half an hour long.

A few days ago Aki-P suggested to Kitahara on his google+ account via this post that she should join the show but it was up to her, because she will be living in the same house as men, and there is a ban on romance for the idols in AKB48.

Kitahara was going to announce her participation at the handshake event in Osaka today, but that was called off due to a typhoon warning, so instead the following video was posted at the official AKB48 Youtube channel:

Watanabe Mayu 3rd Single [Hikaru Monotachi] Announced and Release Date Set

Watanabe Mayu's 3rd solo single has been announced. It will be titled [Hikaru Monotachi] and released on the 21st November 2012. According to her official website this will be an up-tempo song incorporating elements of electro.

Included as a coupling song will be the [Sayonara no Hashi], the theme song for the upcoming anime movie Nerawareta Gakuen, in which Mayuyu also voices a character.

There will be a total of 6 new songs on this single, which will be released in 5 types. One CD only type for 1,000 yen, three CD+DVD types for 1,600 yen each, and one "CD＋α" type, which costs 2,000 yen.

It is planned that on the DVDs, Mayu will wear school uniforms from each of Japan's 47 prefectures.

AKB48 Kenkyuusei Saeed-Yokota Erena Announces her Graduation

12th generation kenkyuusei Saeed-Yokota Erena has announced her graduation from AKB48 via a message on the official AKB48 blog. She debuted in May 2011 and it seems her departure is immediate.

She recently participated in the janken tournament to determine AKB48's 29th single senbatsu, after winning the kenkyuusei preliminary rounds. However, she was eliminated in the first round by Takajo Aki. She appeared wearing a costume similar to that her sister Saeed-Yokota Nina wore when she participated in the London Olympics representing Japan in the rhythmic gymnastics.

Saeed-Yokota Erena's Graduation Announcement
Translated by emptystring

Good afternoon.

This is Saeed Yokota Erena, 12th generation kenkyuusei.

I hereby tender my resignation from kenkyuusei.

It has been 1.5 years since I joined AKB48 and I have experienced a lot of precious things that I normally would not have had the chance to. There were a lot of happy, frustrating and sad things that happened.

I wanted to balance school work with this, but it didn't go so well. This year I will concentrate on my studies and take my exams. My experience as a kks will help me in my future endeavor. Thank you for everything. I was fortunate to be a kenkyuusei and those days were great.

Until we meet again.

Thank you very much.

AKB48 12th generation kenkyuusei
Saeed-Yokota Erena (15)

Saeed was my favourite of the kenkyuusei from the last few generations who haven't already graduated or been promoted, so it is sad to see her go. Maybe if she had succeeded at the janken tournament things would be different. She was always a great performer and will be missed.

Sashihara Rino with AnRiRe Single [Ikuji Nashi Masquerade] Tracklist + Covers

The tracklisting and covers have been released for Sashihara Rino's second single [Ikuji Nashi Masquerade]. Surprisingly, instead of a solo single, this is being billed as Sashihara Rino with AnRiRe. The unit AnRiRe standing for Iriyama Anna, Kawaei Rina, and Kato Rena.

They first performed this as a group on the 24th September broadcast of Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ. Kawaei Rina takes the centre position on the front cover of the Type A release and centres the Type A version of the PV, whereas the Sashihara centre version is on Type B.

Sashihara Rino (HKT48)	Iriyama Anna (AKB48)
Kawaei Rina (AKB48)	Kato Rena (AKB48)

[Ikuji Nashi Masquerade] will be released on the 17th October 2012, and is the theme song for Sashihara Rino's upcoming movie Muse no Kagami: My Pretty Doll, which is released on September 29th. Similarly, Sasshi's first single [Sore Demo Suki da yo] was used as the theme song for her Muse no Kagami drama series.

The single will come on three CD+DVD types and one CD only type. Track 3 of Type B, [Maji de Koi Suru 5 Byou Mae] was originally performed by Hirosue Ryoko. Tracks 3 on Type A and D have lyrics written by Sashihara herself, and the Hakata-ben (dialect) version of [Ikuji Nashi Masquerade] on Type C had the lyrics worked out by HKT48's Kodama Haruka. Each copy of the single will come with a trading card and a special event entry ticket

Sashihara Rino with AnRiRe Single
Ikuji Nashi Masquerade
意気地なしマスカレード
17 October 2012

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade 02. Soft Cream Kiss 03. If no Mousou 04. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (off vocal.) 05. Soft Cream Kiss (off vocal.) 06. If no Mousou (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade PV (Kawaei Rina centre ver.) 02. Sashihara Rino no Amotenashi ~ AnRiRe to atta ka Nabe Party
Type B 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade 02. Soft Cream Kiss 03. Maji de Koi Suru 5 Byou Mae 04. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (off vocal.) 05. Soft Cream Kiss (off vocal.) 06. Maji de Koi Suru 5 Byou Mae (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade PV (Sashihara Rino centre ver.) 02. Sashihara Rino vs AnRiRe: Sashiko Quiz
Type C 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade 02. Soft Cream Kiss 03. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (Hakata-ben ver.) 04. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (off vocal.) 05. Soft Cream Kiss (off vocal.) [DVD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade PV (Muse no Kagami: My Pretty Doll ver.) 02. Sashihara Rino visits Hakata
Type D 1,000yen	[CD] 01. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade 02. Soft Cream Kiss 03. Toui Machi e 04. Ikuji Nashi Masquerade (off vocal.) 05. Soft Cream Kiss (off vocal.) 06. Toui Machi e (off vocal.)

NMB48 6th Single called [Kitagawa Kenji]+ Senbatsu Members out

NMB48 performed its 6th single [Kitagawa Kenji] for the first time on September 24. Kitagawa Kenji is a staff member of AKB48. The single will be released November 7.

Senbatsu Members are:
Team N: Ogasawara Mayu, Kadowaki Kanako, Kishino Rika, Kotani Riho, Jonishi Kei, Shiroma Miru, Fukumoto Aina, Yamada Nana, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yoshida Akari, Watanabe Miyuki
Team M: Tanigawa Airi, Yagura Fuuko
KKS: Kato Yuka, Yabushita Shu,  
Team yet unknown: Yokoyama Yui

In: Yagura Fuuko, Yokoyama Yui
Out: Kinoshita Haruna, Jo Eriko

So Yui is already in NMB48 Senbatsu. I guess her team will be announced during the 2nd Anniversary Shows October 8-10. Jo out is not surprising since she will graduate in a few days. Other than that not much has changed. Still an overwhelming number of Team N members. As much as I like Team N, some more M girls should be given a chance. By the way, funny song title.

HKT48 2nd Generation Revealed, to Perform [Party ga Hajimaru yo] Stage

HKT48 have revealed their 2nd generation. At the HKT48 Theatre today, the 23rd September 2012, they introduced themselves and performed the song [Aitakatta]. For the 2nd generation, 21 members were selected from the 34 who passed the auditions three months ago on 23rd June 2012.

The 2nd generation members of HKT48 will start performing the stage [Party ga Hajimaru yo] starting from the 30th September 2012. This stage was the first stage ever performed by AKB48, being the first stage performed by both Team A, and Team K, as well as SKE48's Team S and NMB48 kenkyuusei.

You can view the full profiles of all 21 members of the HKT48 2nd generation at the official site: http://www.hkt48.jp/profile/

Itano Tomomi launches social networking site [Teamtomo]

AKB48's Itano Tomomi has launched her own social networking website [Teamtomo], which can be found at http://teamtomo.com

As explained on the site itself:

"Welcome to Teamtomo! This site is the new community for the limited people who love Tomo, so you should not enter if you cannot believe your loyalty into Tomo."

"Teamtomo is the social network in order to share contents like photos, links, news and your own creation about Tomomi Itano, Japanese famous female artist.

This site is designed and operated as a part of Revolver Community, that is developed by Revolver Inc.

Please feel free to upload your own contents as far as you are law‐abiding citizens, and show off your passion onto Tomo. Let's enjoy!"

You can sign up with the site itself, or login using your Facebook account. For those only looking for new official content, Tomochin herself, as well as staff, have posted new pictures, including the ones below. You can choose to follow certain users and have others follow you, like any other social network. However, the focus is solely on hundreds of pictures of Tomochin and comments on them. You can easily link any post you see on [Teamtomo] onto other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter as well.

Watanabe Mayu to voice character and sing theme song of anime film [Nerawareta Gakuen]

Watanabe Mayu will be a seiyuu (voice actor) for the anime film [Nerawareta Gakuen], to be released 10th November 2012. This is directed by Ryosuke Nakamura and based on a science-fiction novel by Taku Mayumura. Mayuyu will also sing the theme song [Sayonara no Hashi]. It is unknown whether this will be released as a single.

Mayu will voice the character Suzuura Natsuki, a girl who has psychic abilities. The film revolves around a transfer student, Ryoichi Kyogoku, who joins a junior high school in Kamakura. His father orders him to use his telepathy skills to control the students minds and take over the school. Only one boy, Kouji Seki, is unaffected by the mind-control, and must free the other students.

The international premiere of this movie will be on 20th October in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of the Scotland Loves Anime Film Festival.

Watch the trailer for [Nerawareta Gakuen], including a clip of Mayu's song [Sayonara no Hashi] here:

Official website: http://www.neragaku.com

New HKT48 TV Show [HaKaTa Hyakkaten]

HKT48 will have a new TV show lasting for 12 episodes entitled [HaKaTa Hyakkaten]. This will start on the 7th October 2012 from 2am on Nippon Television. The following episodes will start at 1:30am and will last for half an hour each.

Sashihara Rino will host the show, which will feature AKB48 members including Oshima Yuko, Kashiwagi Yuki, and Shinoda Mariko choosing their HKT48 oshimen.

HaKaTa Hyakkaten
HaKaTa 百貨店
TV Network: NTV
Schedule: Weekly, 12 episodes
Air Time: Sunday 25:30 ~ 26:00
Broadcast starts: 7 October 2012 (first episode start time 26:00)
Official Website: http://www.ntv.co.jp/hakata/

I'm sure many will lament Sasshi hosting this, but this could be a really interesting show, and a great way to get to know more HKT48 members, and introduce them to the country, as this is their first national TV show. Having the AKB48 members there will help more people watch it and pay attention to HKT48.

NMB48 Dates for N3, New Team M and Team BII announced

September 20 was the last performance of NMB48 Team Ns 2nd Stage [Seishun Girls] and during the show three important dates were announced. On October 8, N3, the first original stage for Team N, will finally start. On October 9 there will be a show to reveal the New Team M and the next day, October 10, Team BII will perform its first show.

All these special shows are held to commemorate NMB48's 2nd anniversary.


A lot to happen in NMB48. Looks like N3 is finally on its way, which makes me happy but the annoucement of a "new" Team M confuses me a bit. Will they only replace Jo Eriko or shuffle around? Also I wonder if Yokoyama Yui will be part of any of the new teams, since it was already announced she'll join NMB48.

NMB48 Team N 2nd Stage [Seishun Girls] Senshuuraku announced

 

The Senshuuraku (final performance) for Team N's 2nd Stage [Seishun Girls] has been announced to take place September 20. Team N has been performing the stage since May last year. A DVD release is already set for September 25, shortly after the final performance.

A new date for Team N's 3rd Stage, originally set for May but already postponed twice, has not been announced. Will we finally get it now?


The whole thing just reminds me of KII's way to their original stage... But the Senshuuraku is only about a week from now, and I really hope this means they will start the 3rd stage soon.

Matsui Sakiko's Piano Album [Kokyuu Suru Piano] Tracklist

Matsui Sakiko's debut solo piano album [Kokyuu Suru Piano] will be released on 3rd October 2012. The full tracklisting has now been revealed. The album contains seven renditions of AKB48 singles, a Mozart piece, and three original songs by Hattori Takayuki.

The first of the new songs [Kokoro no Fumen] was used as the backing music for the Nissin Cup Noodle CMs featuring various AKB48 members, and the Mozart piece was used for the Aisu no Mi CMs.

The limited editions include a ticket to a special event. Three events are planned, a release event at Kioi Hall on the album's release date 3rd October, plus a special event at a venue to be decided on 28th October, and finally a birthday premium event in December

The album's covers were designed by the AKB48 Art Club. The CD+DVD cover is an illustration by Sato Natsuki, and the photo direction of the CD only cover is by Ishida Haruka.

You can listen to four songs on the album's official website.

Matsui Sakiko
Kokyuu Suru Piano 
呼吸するピアノ
3 October 2012

CD+DVD 2,800yen CD Only 2,000yen

[CD] 01. Kokoro no Fumen 02. Aitakatta 03. Flying Get 04. Utau Ketsueki ~Utsui Ken no Kaatsu Training no Theme~ 05. Everyday, Kachuusha 06. Tamashii no Idou ~Gugutasu-min no Theme~ 07. Beginner 08. Ponytail to Shushu 09. Heavy Rotation 10. Sakura no Ki ni Narou 11. W.A. Mozart Piano Sonata No. 18 in K. 576 [DVD] 01. Tamashii no Idou ~Gugutasu-min no Theme~ (Music Video) 02. Utau Ketsueki ~Utsui Ken no Kaatsu Training no Theme~ (Special Footage) 03. Making Of Footage

NMB48's Jo Eriko Announces Her Graduation

NMB48 Team M ace Jo Eriko has announced her graduation. The reason is that she could concentrate on her school as next year Jo will be entering middle school. Jo has been worried about her studies for quite a while now.

Her graduation performance has been set for September 28th.

Jo's G+ post:

今日、劇場公演でNMB48の卒業
を発表しました。
Today I announced my graduation at the theater.

皆さんの期待に答えれなくて
すみませんでした。
I'm sorry I couldn't live up to everyone's expectation.

卒業しても私は私の夢を諦めて
いません。
I'm graduating but I won't give up my dreams.

これからもNMB48と城恵理子
の応援宜しくお願いします。
After this, please keep on supporting NMB48 and me as well.

本当にありがとうございました。
Truly, thank you very much.

I didn't expect Jo to graduate this early but then she's still a student first then an idol. She joined NMB because she idolized Acchan and while her studies might be a primary reason, I also feel like Acchan's graduation also had some impact in her. I wish Jo all the best in her future studies as well as her life to come.

Matsui Sakiko's Piano Album Titled [Kokyuu Suru Piano] + Covers

Matsui Sakiko's debut piano album which releases on October 3rd has been titled [Kokyuu Suru Piano]. The covers have also been unveiled. They were done by AKB48's art club: Ishida Haruka did the CD+DVD covers while Sato Natsuki did the CD only cover. Check them out!
                                             
                                             CD Only                                             CD+DVD

Can't wait for Sakippe's album, also I love the cover Nacchi did. So artistic.