The Real Thing, Part One (Egao YES Idols)

Like Maize, let me also say that I am so excited to see Samantha blogging again.  Although it isn’t like I missed her, I have run into Samantha three times over the past year in three completely different parts of the world.

In this post she details her very first experiences seeing AKB48 in person, beginning with a mini-live in Osaka followed by a handshake event the next day in Tokyo.  Wow!  Right off the bat and she is already meeting idols.  She gives her impressions of everyone she had a one on one with, including two of her faves Kashiwagi Yuki and Miyazawa Sae.  BTW, I didn’t know that Yukirin was Samantha’s motivation for getting into AKB in the first place.  I also love her experiences of meeting Acchan, CinDy and Haachan in Tokyo.  I still think Atsuko gets an undeserved bad rap.  She was really nice when I met her.  And like with Samantha, CinDy began speaking English to me as well!

As awesome and detailed as this post is, it’s just the beginning.  Samantha promises a report on her first AKB Theater shows, as well as her experiences at Los Angeles’ Anime Expo and the New York Anime Festival.  And let’s not forget her starring appearance in the “AKB48 in New York” television special.  I’m sure she has a great tale to tell for that!